#i can only say that the most concerning and uncomfortable movies for children i have ever seen were made in france and good for them

[betweenblackberrybranches]

Does any one here remember the "avatar the last airbender/weirdly christian" ass fever dream that was "legend of enyo"?

Please tell me i am not alone this stuff was so weird

[oddyssey77]

The Festival Part 2 - Nico

POV Nico Di Angelo

I had been looking forward to the festival for weeks. And no, not because Will Solace is going to be there. Ok maybe a little. I have been pining over Will for weeks and no matter how hard I try I can't seem to get over him. Somehow though, every step toward the camp that I took, I became less and less sure that I was doing the right thing by coming to this.

I am now questioning whether I should've come at all. I hang at the back of the crowd as I normally do in situations like this. Children of Hades were never truly welcome amongst other half bloods and I have gotten well used to it. The dirty scowls, the nervous glances, the trying and failing to ignore him, it all builds up. And it always hurts. I wasn't even sure I'd be welcomed back at camp after the what happened last year.

It took over 45 minutes for Camp Jupiter and the huntresses to get themselves organised and for the rest of us to get in line. I spent most of my time leaning against a tree picking at my nails, but I also talked to Grover for a bit.

"You know, you couldn't look any broodier over there," Grover notes to me jokingly

"Yep," I say, "I am meticulously planning my operation to bring Kronos back to power and bring on the fall of Olympus all while staring deeply into a nailfile."

Grover laughs, which helps me loosen up a bit.

"So how are things going with Juniper?" I ask him. He shifts uncomfortably

"Gods man, I haven't seen you in forever." he says completely skipping over the question as if he hadn't heard me. I decide not to push it and help him change the subject.

"Well while you go around restoring the land of life, I reside in the land of the dead helping to assure people get fair judgement of their lives. So it's not like our to jobs cross paths all that much."

Grover laughed again, but had a pained look in his eyes.

"You haven't seen, umm..." He mumbles shyly. He looks like he is about to cry.

"Who?" I ask him, "I haven't seen who?"

"Never mind, its nothing" He states. I was about to press him on the matter a bit more but Grover isn't looking at me anymore. He is staring out into the field trying to make out a large figure with one eye.

"Is that..?" he begins "Tyson!" Grover leaps forward to greet Tyson while I hang back 

"Goat Boy!!!" Tyson yells as they run towards each other and meet in the middle for a hug like something out of a movie. They confer for a few minutes until Tyson looks over Grover's shoulder and notices me.

"Ahhhh!!!" he yells, still looking at me "ITS SCARY EMO DEATH BOY!!!" Tyson runs away from me while Grover chases after him.

"Alone again." I mutter to myself grumpily.

"Not for long..." a voice whispers in my ear. I look around but can't see anyone. "I've been looking forward to our reunion, Ghost King." I know he is talking to me even though no one ever really addresses me as Ghost King. "See you soon." I knew I recognised the voice from somewhere in my past but I just couldn't remember what it was. I wait for the voice to speak again but it doesn't.

~30 Minutes Later~

As the march up the hill begins I very much consider leaving and pretending that I had never been here. It would be easier that way. I didn't want to have to go up to Chiron on this day of joy and tell him about a spooky ghost speaking in my ear and telling me something's coming. Something bad. On the other hand though, this doesn't concern the rest of the camp and bringing my trouble here is only going to mess things up for everyone like it did last time. I finally make a decision and turn to leave when someone taps me on the shoulder. I pounce back from the jump scare. Human contact can catch me off guard sometimes seeing as I spend most of my time with floating, transparent souls.

"Hey, Nico," I finally pay attention to the person who was trying not to giggle at the fact that I jumped 5ft from being tapped on the shoulder. It was Percy, Percy Jackson.

"Are you coming in or are you just going to stand there?" I was going to tell Percy the truth about how unwelcome I felt but I didn't really want to share my feelings with someone who I only see a few times a year. Although, a few times a year is a lot more of me than people see of me nowadays. I also realise that now I have been greeted by Percy there was no way I could get away with disappearing.

Percy is walking me through the camp when I see my cabin. Cabin 13. I hadn't even thought about having to stay in my cabin. I knew that I wasn't going to be able to face being in there again since the incident. I try to find an excuse to turn around and go somewhere else but nothing comes to mind. Every step closer to the cabin, my lungs get tighter. Percy starts to notice.

"Are you alright?" Percy asks clearly worried for me. I can tell he's being nice to me mainly because we were both besties of Jason

"I don't think this was a good idea," I tell him, turning away from the cabin.

"Listen to me Nico. Everyone has forgiven you for what happened. Even Travis."

"And Connor?" I ask him already knowing the answer.

"Just go into the cabin Nico, I promise you will love it."

Hesitantly, I make my way to the front door. Everything looked the same as before I wasn't sure what Percy meant when he told me I would love it but so far I was definitely not loving it. I reach my trembling hand for the door knob when Percy stops me.

"Wrong door Nico," he says to me as he turns the corner around to the side of the cabin. I walk around the side and realise that the whole thing has gotten an extension. There was now a new room attached to it, one that wasn't quite as black as the rest of the building and had instead took on a more dark grey color. Painted on a plank of wood were two words NICO'S ROOM.

I couldn't believe it. They cared the other campers cared about making things better for me after what happened. When I walk into the room I notice that I am smiling for the first time in months. I look around see a classic teenager's bedroom that still retains my whole darkness theme.

There is a desk with a load of notebooks and sketchbooks ready for usage. There is a framed photograph of me and friends on the bedside table. Oh, and the bed, the bed is a incredible. It was soft and comfy, with black silk covers. It has a dark wooden frame with a large bedhead with an odd array of buttons. I decide not to ask about them and instead think about how much comfier this bed is than the one on the other side of the Hades cabin which was made of hallowed obsidian from the underworld. 

"It's beautiful," I tell Percy, still in shock.

"You have to do one more thing," Percy says, "Close your eyes and lie down on the bed." I do as I am told, trusting Percy to safely direct me to my bed without bumping into anything on the way. I lay down, face up and Percy tells me to open my eyes. I am staring directly at a mural on the ceiling and I am shocked. A tear streaks down my cheek. 

I was looking at a navy ceiling with a ton of painted white stars and in the center, painted skillfully was my sister, Bianca. She isn't dressed in her hunter's outfit or a camp half blood tee, instead she is simply wearing casual, human clothes. Her hair is tied in a singular braid that was hanging down the front of her left shoulder. She was leaning in with a kind smile and an outreached hand as if to help someone up after falling down. 

I hadn't realised just how much I was crying. I didn't like how vulnerable it made me feel but I couldn't seem to stop myself.

"Who painted this?" I croaked

"I did," but it wasn't Percy who had responded to me. I turned around and saw Will Solace smiling at me. I put my feelings aside and hugged him.

"Thank you," I sob, "That's the first time anyone has recognized Bianca as anything other than a huntress or a daughter of Hades. That's the real her, that is my sister."

~4 Hours Later~

It is 5 o' clock and I am on my way to see if I can help prepare the Dining Pavilion for dinner. On my way, I decide to visit Cabin Eleven to talk with Travis Stoll. I slowly make my way to the cabin door trying to find the right words to say to him. I knock on the door, even though it wasn't much of a knock, more like a nervous tap. The door is opened by a tall figure with slick, black hair. It was Connor Stoll.

"You," He grumbles malevolently, looking like he wants to punch me. I couldn't really blame him though could I, "What do you want."

"I want to talk with Travis." The other Hermes campers notice me standing on their porch and start whispering frantically with each other.

"Why, so you can break his arms too!" he is furious now and I begin to think this wasn't so great an idea and step back to leave

"Connor, who's at the door?" a voice speaks from the back of the room and I know its Travis. But before anyone could say anything else the door slams shut in my face and I think I hear Connor telling Travis that it was nobody.

~1 Hour Later~

When everyone arrived at the dining pavilion for dinner, I was taken aback by the sheer amount of people standing there waiting for Chiron to speak. Mr. D commanded the group to....

"SHUT THE F$*k UP!!!" Everyone fell silent. "Thank you all for coming to this event and stuff. To the parents, can I just say that your kids are a joy, and it has been a pleasure to teach and train them everything I know over the last years. So if anyone would be kind enough to write a recommendation letter to Zeus about how my punishment deserves to be expedited a few decades please see to the pen and paper I have placed on that table."

"Alright, that's enough Mr D," Chiron managed to interrupt him before Mr D got the chance to convince people to get him some wine. Chiron continued with a much longer and more boring speech so I decide to step away for a few minutes. I see three people over by the Athena cabin. It is Annabeth and a short, middle-aged man with glasses who I assume is her father. They seem to be in a three-way argument with a Korean woman who looked like she could be Annabeth's step-mom. It ends with Annabeth storming into the woods and Dr. Chase trying to go after her but the woman holds him back. They turn toward the big house and make to leave the camp. I spot Percy look in Annabeth's direction trying to figure out what happened.

"Now let's eat!" I hear Chiron shout. Behind him is a large array of tables all in one line. No one was separated by Cabin like things usually are. Instead Anyone sits down anywhere. I am invited by Will, Leo and Percy to sit with them and shyly make my way over there. The tables were adorned with all kinds of meat, vegetables, sauces, stuffings and soups. I pick a small piece of chicken onto my plate alongside some carrots and peas. 

"That's all your getting?" Will asks me curiously.

"For now, I'll grab some more later," I tell him through my teeth. Will nods his head but didn't really look like he was paying attention to me anymore. He is staring into the distance as if he's dreaming. It takes a few seconds but he eventually snaps out of it with a look of shock on his face

"We have to go, They're coming," he says looking more terrified than I'd ever seen anyone in my life.

"Who?" Leo asks urgently.

"My father sent me a vision. It was an army of stone warriors, marching up the hill," he is shaking now "they are on there way and... they just killed Annabeth's parents"

This Chapter is dedicated to Ella

[patricia-von-arundel]

It's Friday the 13th! Here's a list of 13 of my favorite scary books.

(If you have any particular triggers you're concerned about, feel free to send me a message about any of these! Please do not risk putting yourself in a bad place! I never mind giving a heads up on this kind of thing.)

General trigger warnings: sexual content, pedophilia, rape/sexual assault, extreme violence, deaths of children, deaths of animals, physical abuse, pregnancy, gore.

1. Let's deal with the reigning monarch first - Stephen King. I'll just let him have one entry for several books, since the guy has written 18 million.

1a. It. I read It, and then immediately read it again, for the first time when I was 12 years old. I carried the book around like a Bible. Not only is it truly scary as hell (the history, the deaths of Edward Corcoran and Patrick Hockstetter, and overall the idea that some things, no matter how far you run, you cannot escape - only try desperately, again, to destroy), it also has some of King's most solid characters, and an ending that isn't a total crap-out. He couldn't write great female characters then or now, but Beverly is far from his worst. And there is that scene near the end, but it's brief and easy enough to skip. 1,200 pages of story managed to work when I was a kid, and they still work now, even looking at the whole differently.

1b. Any of King's short story anthologies. I'd say my favorites are Night Shift, Nightmares and Dreamscapes, and Everything's Eventual, but they're all pretty great. The guy really shines in short form. And I dare you to read "The Jaunt" and not feel at least a little freaked out at the end.

1c. Different Seasons - the stories are far less supernatural, and it works. The four novellas are all tight, and all very different. Apt Pupil is one of the creepiest things I've ever read, and there's nary a ghost or beastie to be found.

1d. Christine, Pet Sematary, Salem's Lot, Desperation/The Regulators - the opposite of the above. These are pure supernatural terror, and a hell of a lot of fun. If Different Seasons is the drama looking for award nominations, these are the slasher flicks you watch with your friends while screaming at the characters and tossing popcorn at the screen. (Cujo's another one, but since it's rabies, it's a little more real-world.)

2. Let the Right One In, John Ajvide Lindqvist - an absolutely terrifying book where the scariest thing is not the vampire. Oscar and Eli are one of the sweetest platonic love stories I've ever read, and the bad guys absolutely get what's coming to them. It's a bleak look at suburban childhood - and desperation for something more.

3. In the Miso Soup, Ryu Murakami - this book sets you up for an uncomfortable time, and only gets worse. Short, tight, and terrifying. Murakami is more well-known for Audition, but I found this one far more disturbing. His stuff generally is not for those with sensitive stomachs.

4. Battle Royale, Koushon Takami - the movie is good. The book is better. Once you get past the slightly rocky translation, this one's going to have your adrenaline going from the very beginning. There's not going to be any Hunger Games-esque changing of rules: of 42 students, only one can survive. (I do not recommend the manga. It's mostly torture porn - sometimes literally. It's more disgusting than frightening, and while that doesn't automatically make me dislike a book - see just above this one! - I felt here that it was an unnecessary addition that actually draws away from the horror of kids forced to kill one another in favor of shock value.)

5. Ghost Story, Peter Straub - if there's ever been a horror writer who could easily have made the jump to awards-winning literary fiction, it was probably Peter Straub. Don't expect easy answers or easier scares here. Ghost Story is a very, very slow burn, where even as answers start to appear, so does a creeping fear you never even noticed until it already has you in its grip.

6. The Ritual, Adam Nevill - okay, I'm one of those who doesn't like the weird stuff that pops up near the end (you'll know it if you get to it), but the first 2/3 of the book? Holy shit, good luck turning the lights off before bed. It's rare that a book terrifies me. This one did. In the best way. Too bad about that last bit, which I mostly find ridiculous. 🤷‍♀️

7. The Passage, Justin Cronin - another contender for being closer to literary fiction with a veneer of scare. The first part is tighter than the end (and this is only the first part of a trilogy), but the whole is excellent, and the level of character development is as deep as any I've found in horror. When you feel sorrow and kinship even for the monsters (both human and otherwise), you're in good hands. Or bad ones, I suppose! I've read this one, like It, several times despite the extreme length, and it's always a ride.

8. Books of Blood, Clive Barker - short stories from a guy who not only never pulls punches, he'll start hitting harder just when you think you've gotten used to the pain. It has a story called "Midnight Meat Train," for god's sake! Just give it a go. This is pure horror, and you'll find both hardcore splatter and intelligent presentation.

9. The Final Girls Support Group, Grady Hendrix - a lot of fans of Hendrix actually dislike this one, but I found it a ton of fun, even if I also wanted to smack basically all the characters. 😅 It's just dumb fun jumping off of the same dumb fun as the movies that gave us the concept of final girls. If you ever wondered how Laurie or Nancy did after the end of their endless franchises, give this one a go. (If those names mean nothing to you, try Horrorstör instead!)

10. 20th Century Ghosts/Full Throttle/Strange Weather, Joe Hill - like his rather well-known dad, Joe Hill (legally Mr. Joseph Hillstrom King) has the horror gene, and it manifests best in his shorter work. His novels are good, but his quick-punch short stories and novellas are better. (Bonus points that in one story in Strange Weather, his main character is a butch lesbian, and while he clearly tries hard, it's... well. Let's say "a valiant attempt.") If you saw The Black Phone, it's based on one of his stories. (I hear Locke and Key, his comic series, is also amazing, but I haven't read it.)

11. Swan Song, Robert McCammon - Robert McCammon has never gotten much attention outside of horror circles, and I genuinely don't know why! Like Peter Straub and Justin Cronin, McCammon's stuff is more akin to literary fiction than "paperbacks from hell." This one is a take on apocalypse, and it does it amazingly. Many people cite The Stand as one of their favorite Stephen King novels, but I think McCammon did the same idea much, much better. Give it a go! His other books are excellent, too.

12. The Book of Accidents, Chuck Wendig - I went into this one blind, and loved it. It was creepy, the characters are interesting, and it honestly presented twists I never saw coming. Many Wendig fans say Wanderers (and its recent sequel) are better, but I haven't read them yet. They're on my list for this year!

13. The Gone series, Michael Grant (6 volumes, with another 3 in a sequel series) - these are YA, but they hit like a truck. What begins as a veneer of weirdness just gets crazier, bloodier, and darker. It's a quick read, and I swear, once I got past what initially seems like a snooze-fest main character and "meh" plot in the first book, I didn't put them down until I'd finished them all. These books are dark. Grant is also excellent at writing characters often reduced to stereotypes in horror (including female and LGBT+ characters). (As an aside, he [uncredited] helped write the Animorphs books with his wife, so if you liked those, you'll probably enjoy the equally well-developed-but-hard-hitting material in Gone. He and Katherine Applegate are also the parents of a transgender woman that they have fully accepted as a daughter instead of a son, and are vocal advocates of trans rights, as well as the Black Lives Matter movement. Solid people I very much admire!)

Thirteen seems the appropriate number to end on, but if you're looking for more, a few additional names you might seek out: Natsuo Kirino, Scott Thomas, Dan Simmons, Stephen Graham Jones, Nick Cutter*, Otsuichi, Poppy Z. Brite*, Ronald Malfi, Jason Pargin, Shaun Hutson*, Lee Mountford*, Jack Ketchum*, John Saul, Kelly Link, Ramsey Campbell, Alma Katsu, Katherine Dunn, Lee Mandelo, Paul Tremblay, Gretchen Felker-Martin*, Shirley Jackson, Max Brooks, Graham Masterton, Jeff Strand, Lisa Tuttle, Tim Lebbon, James Herbert, Josh Malerman, Catriona Ward, Richard Chizmar, Kealan Patrick Burke, Brian James Freeman, Bentley Little, Simon Clark, William Peter Blatty, Norman Partridge. Also check out the publications of Cemetery Dance and Valancourt Books!

*Extreme content warning

I will not and will never insult your intelligence by recommending Dean Koontz.

Happy chills! 😁

(And if you ever want personalized recommendations based on what scares you - or not! - drop me a message!)

[johnhardinsawyer]

Living Faith

John Sawyer

Bedford Presbyterian Church

9 / 1 / 24 – Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost[1]

James 1:17-27

“Living Faith”

(Quick to Listen, Slow to Speak)

Eight years ago, this summer, my wife and I were invited to a dinner party with some friends.  The only issue was, we had a newborn baby.  “Well, bring the baby,” our gracious hosts said.  So, we packed up our entire house and carried it over to their house.

When we got there, we unpacked all the stuff from our house – including the baby – and we had dinner.  It was fun! Everyone was having a good time – talking about children, and music, and telling funny stories.  And then, out of the blue, one sweet woman asked, “So, who do you think is going to win the election?”  

You know the thing that happens in movies or TV, where there is a sound like a needle scratching on a record player and suddenly everything goes quiet?  Well, it was like that.  

“So, who do you think it��s going to be?” she asked, again, into a veritable chasm of awkward silence.  She was, of course referring to the very contentious Presidential election that was underway at the time – an election that had people (even people around the table in that kitchen) divided.  Looking around the table, it was as if we were all checking our memories to see whether or not there had been a pre-approved list of possible dinnertime topics and – if there was a list – if this particular topic was that list.  

“So, who do you think it’s going to be?” she asked, again.  And then one person said something – trying to answer her question – and another person said something, and it went downhill from there.  I mean, people were civil – we were all friends – but there was a palpable tension that had been introduced into the room. . . a tension that didn’t necessarily go away, even after we all left at the end of the evening.  Amy and I packed up all the stuff from our house and carried it back to our house, and all we could say as we drove home was, “Well, that was uncomfortable!”  

I’d like to say that over the past eight years, all of the world’s problems have been resolved and nothing is ever awkward or uncomfortable, but. . . alas. . . this is not the case.  And, I’d like to say that most of you have likely never been in a situation in which somebody says something and then things get oddly difficult, but chances are you have had – or will have – moments like this. . . maybe even this week, maybe even with people you know and love.  

So, what are we supposed to do?  Because things don’t seem to be getting easier in this regard.  The truth is, they never were easy.

In today’s passage from the Letter of James, we read, “You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. . .” (James 1:19)  This is scriptural exhortation that doesn’t come naturally to very many of us.  

Now, we’ll get to this verse in just a moment.  But first, you should know that the Letter of James almost didn’t make it into what we call the “canon” of writings that make up Bible that we have come to know.  

Even though this letter – which is Jewish in origin and has been traditionally attributed to James, the brother of Jesus – was considered to be holy scripture as early as the third century, by the time of the Protestant Reformation, people like Martin Luther didn’t really like James all that much.  Not only does James not refer to Jesus very much (only twice!)[2], the way that Luther read the letter, it seemed to Luther that James contradicts the Apostle Paul’s emphasis on justification by faith.[3]  James is concerned with people’s behavior and how acting in a moral – ethical – way is good, while Paul is concerned with people’s faith, and how faith is not linked to works.  Luther was very much against the idea that people can earn their way into heaven by how they act.  Instead, it is our faith in God that makes us right with God, not how we act.  So, when Luther made his list of “approved” books of the Bible, James almost didn’t make it into the Protestant version of the Bible.  

The Letter of James did make it in, though, because how we act as people of faith is important.  For James, faith does matter, but what we do – how we live out our faith in Christ – matters very much, too.  James encourages us to be “doers of the word, and not merely hearers [of the word.]” (1:22)  If Jesus has come into our lives and if we seek to follow Jesus in what we do and say, then the Letter of James gives us some practical behaviors that we can adopt and seek to live by.  In doing so, we might just offer the world a glimpse of what the love of Jesus looks like.  

Over the next few weeks, we will be spending some time with the Letter of James, talking about how we live out our faith – especially when it comes to showing the incarnational and invitational love of Jesus to others.  

Today’s passage provides any number of possibilities for sermons about giving and living faithfully, but when it comes to being “quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger” James wants us to make a connection between our actions and God’s action.  It would seem that our actions will often distract us (and others) from God’s action.  Not only does our inability to be good listeners get in the way of our relationships with other people.  It also impedes our relationship with God.  When John Calvin writes about this passage, he says that,  

. . . inasmuch as we do not calmly hear God speaking to us, when we seem to ourselves to be very wise, but by our haste interrupt [God] when [God] is addressing us, the Apostle requires us to be slow to speak.  And, doubtless, no one can be a true disciple of God, except [they] hear [God] in silence.[4]

Calvin is writing about prayer, here, and how our prayers could (and perhaps should) include just as much time for listening as talking.  But, in a plain reading of the text, this also applies to our interactions with other people.  In both prayer and interactions with other people, God will often show up and speak in surprising ways.  

A friend of mine was telling me about a recent conversation they had with someone who had a completely different view of the world, and politics, and science, and even facts.  At the beginning of this conversation, all my friend could think was, “Boy, I can’t wait to start yelling at this person and tell them how ridiculous they are.”  But, in the not-so-simple and oh-so-difficult act of being quick to listen and slow to speak, my friend began to hear just how afraid their ideological enemy was and, all of a sudden, my friend’s anger began to dissipate, and they started feeling these strange feelings of compassion and empathy for a fellow human being and child of God who was so afraid.  In other words, in the act of listening, God showed up and taught my friend how to better love their neighbor.  “Wow,” my friend heard themselves saying, “it all sounds so frightening!  Is there anything else you need to share?”  Can you imagine:  not just letting someone with whom you differ speak without you interrupting them, but inviting them to share even more?     

Finally, the person who had shared so many their fears, because they had been given the space to do so, said, “It feels good, just having someone listen.”  This is an act of living our faith – one way of learning how to live out what we claim Jesus teaches us – providing space for someone to share the burdens of their heart.  

Now, I know that there are some arguments that we may feel need to be had – conversations to convince other people that they should change their minds – or, at the very least, hear us out.  But most of these hard conversations that we think will miraculously end with some kind of radical conversion – a change of mind and heart – don’t just happen out of the blue.  There has to be some mutual trust built and some compassion present.  The hard ground of people’s hearts and minds needs to be lovingly tilled up and prepared for the Spirit to plant something new there.  

This takes hard work.  And oftentimes the first step in this hard work is to be honest with ourselves about our own stuff – preconceived notions, deeply held prejudices, ironclad (and yet sometimes-flawed) logic.  Just like Amy and I packing up all the stuff from our house only to take it to someone else’s house, there is a whole lot of emotional, spiritual, and ideological stuff – baggage we all carry with us.  And sometimes, this stuff can get in the way of us being truly present and able to listen to someone.  

Thankfully, we have some help.  Our own Presbyterian tradition gives us permission to disagree – to have freedom of conscience – but also the challenge of learning to bear with one another.  The old-timey language that we find in our Book of Order is that we practice “mutual forbearance.”[5]  If, as the Apostle Paul once wrote, “[love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, [and] endures all things,” (1 Corinthians 13:7) then the practice of bearing with one another is an act of love.  

So, we have our Presbyterian tradition and a scriptural mandate.  We also have this Table, to which Jesus invites us – no matter who we are; no matter how we vote; no matter what we feel makes us tick, morally and ethically.  At this Table, all of us are one in Christ Jesus and at this Table we are invited to set aside whatever extra stuff we might be carrying so that God will make us new.  

We are made new by the One who forgives us and sets us free.  We are made new by the Spirit, who grants us all that we need to go out from this place – ready to love and serve the Lord by loving and serving our neighbors.  We are made new in ways that we might not fully realize until the moment the Holy is revealed in our midst.  It can happen at any moment – in surprising ways – but it can happen even to you and to me. 

May it happen today.  May it happen to us, and for us, and through us.  And may the Spirit be at work in our lives, helping us to live our faith in ways that are overflowing with grace.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.  

[1] Year B, Proper 17.

[2] See James 1:1 and 2:1.

[3] Wayne E. Meeks, ed., HarperCollins Study Bible (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1993) 2269.  Sophie Laws, “Introduction to the Letter of James.”

[4] John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentaries – Vol. XXII – Hebrews-Jude (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009) 294.  

[5] Book of Order of the Presbyterian Church (USA) – F-3.0105.

[denimbex1986]

'The “would have” is a moment in space and time that we turn to when the results of an action are not as expected and we need to regret what was not. But what if instead of using it as a mental punishment, it became an introspective journey to self-discovery? The movie All of Us Strangers responds to this .

The new film by Andrew Haigh ( Lean on Pete and Weekend ) tells the story of Adam, played by Andrew Scott, a gay screenwriter who has spent much of his life in solitude and is having difficulty writing his next project. At the same time, he goes through an existential crisis that has led him to remember his childhood. One night he has a chance encounter with his mysterious neighbor Harry (Paul Mescal), which sets a new pace in his life.

As the relationship between them develops, Adam also becomes more concerned with those memories of his childhood, until he suddenly finds himself dragged back to the town he grew up in, to his childhood home and where he "reunites." ” with his parents (played by Claire Foy and Jamie Bell) as if they hadn't died 30 years ago.

It is a strange journey in which we can discover everything that Adam has kept throughout his life, such as the feeling of abandonment, the lack of affection, having to fend for himself, isolation and loneliness as his only destiny.

The reunion with his nonexistent parents and the conversations that he would have liked to have with them are precisely what leads us to reflect on the true meaning and use of “would have.”

Jamie Bell himself, who plays Andrew Scott's father, tells us what it was like to build a character that in reality "does not exist", which was born from the deep desire for him to be alive.

“One of the things that led me to accept the role was that the script was very well written, I was really moved by the way this story is told. A topic like this is in itself sensitive and emotional, but having the element that Andrew (Haigh) has such a personal connection and a special perspective made it much more attractive,” said the also star of Billy Elliot (2000).

Another of the details that made Bell say yes to All of Us Strangers was Haigh's decision that, in the story, it was the mother who felt most uncomfortable with her son's sexual preferences, a very unusual approach in themes like this.

“I love Claire (Foy). Our part of the film is very specific in the narrative and she is a very skilled actress. She has a complicated role, she is the one who least accepts Adam, who she has become, and that was really interesting and refreshing and Claire handled it wonderfully,” she maintained.

Much of the emotional impact of All of Us Strangers comes from the tender and heartbreaking healing bond between Adam and his parents, who appear alive and are the same age they were when they died.

This gives an absurd sensation, but at the same time unique and very endearing, making it almost instantly feel normal. Regarding the construction of his character, Bell mentions the following:

“To bring the father to life I started thinking about the relationship I have with my father and, at the same time, the one I have with my children. So it is a mix of both angles.”

Likewise, it invites us to watch the film because it tells an endearing story full of very raw moments, but also the idea of ​​love as an impulse to continue living. All of Us Strangers is a reflection and an invitation to delve into those painful memories that do not allow us to move forward in life.

Jamie and Andrew

Jamie Bell is an actor originally from Billingham, United Kingdom, who rose to fame thanks to his role as Billy Elliot in the film of the same name. Since then he has participated in important films such as Jumper , Skinhead , Rocketman and Besieged . Andrew Haigh is a British filmmaker recognized for working with LGBTQ+ themes in his projects. Among the most important are Weekend (2011) and 45 Años (2015), for which he received excellent reviews. He now returns to the big screen with All of Us Strangers , out in theaters this February 29.'

[gikairan]

Man, there are people actually excited about this stupid Apple Vision thing and just....

why? 🙃

Its literally Google Glass, but worse. It will fail for the same reasons Google Glass never got off the ground. From privacy concerns about the cameras on someones face, to people finding out that staring at a screen SO close to your face is an actually Awful experience.

I've seen people go "Theyre not the same!!!" and like... they are. They really are. They are both designed to do very similar things, except ones got an Apple logo on it. If anything, Apple Vision is worse because its got the form factor of a VR headset. Something already considered bulky and uncomfortable for long-term use. The form factor of VR is one of the major reasons it is likely to remain niche.

I've seen people say "you poo-pooed the iPad and the Watch and now look!" And like... okay i get it. Everyone really did poo-poo on the iPad. But i'd argue the original presentation focused more on "you can do everything on your phone, but on a bigger device!" rather than "hey, heres a smaller, thinner device that will replace your laptop, that runs the apps your phone does". Like, i remember people making fun of it because it was an oversized iPhone. Who wants a giant face-sized device to make phone calls? No-one. And thats why it was ridiculed. And i dont remember people making fun of the Watch, because.... by the point the Watch was released (2015)... the Pebble Smartwatch was already around (Kickstarter was in 2012, release was 2013). It hadn't just done well on crowdfunding, its still in the top 10 highest grossing kickstarters of all time.

These things have proven their use since their release. I really doubt Apple Vision is ever going to justify its use to the normal consumer.

It will absolutely have niche applications, dont get me wrong. The Hololens already exists, but most regular normal people likely didnt know it released. Because its not tech for the general public. The Kinect isn't actually dead- its got its use in some very niche applications, and Microsoft just tried to force the tech into gaming to make it more widespread (probably to justify actually creating it?). There will likely be industries that find AR extremely useful (I keep hearing about surgeons and AR. Though i also think architecture and construction might find a lot of use for this)

In terms of the video Apple showed off, theres very little I can see on it that will actually improve someones life.... Sure you can relive your memories in 3d.... but you've got to wear a bulky pair of ski goggles to record it in the first place. You can relive the memories of your children after the divorce!! .... And you lost that human connection during the actual moment itself, because you obscured the top half of your face for a giant screen. The best "use" i thought was obscuring the view of a busy plane around you. ... Except in reality, obscuring such view would likely be awful.... So the thing only has about 2 hours of battery life and needs to be plugged into an external battery with a wire. Given the bulky nature of the device, thats... really bad. The video showed a woman on a plane watching Everything Everywhere All At Once. The film is 2 hours and 19 minutes long. .... You cannot watch that entire film on a single charge. Then theres the fact we see most of her field of vision obscured by pretty sunset clouds. And the idea of getting rid of a peripheral vision of A Flight sure sounds nice. ... Until you realise how much you rely on that vision during a flight.... For a long flight - you'll need to see when the flight attendants are coming around for drinks, food etc. You'll need to know when people sitting around you might want to get up. Obscuring 100% of your vision is maybe not the best idea? Even for a short flight, obscuring all your vision might cause you to miss important announcements. Or, you know, your neighbour who just wants to pee? Then theres how the movie window is going to work full stop. We see earlier in the video that you can put a window in front of you, and a window to the side that you move your head to look at. Are you going to be able to put windows in a 360 degree circle around your head, and you just spin around in real space to see them all? ... If so, will the movie player stay in one space in "real space", or will it stay in the same place according to the screen? Imagine if a movie player on a small screen in front of your eyes stayed in the same place relative to real space, and every time you adjusted yourself in your seat... you had to physically move the window to see it. And think about how often you do minor changes to how you sit, how your head is positioned etc etc....

Most of the rest of the announcement seems to just be office related stuff. Controlled by hand gestures.

... You know why hand gesture devices have never caught on? People hate using them (: Have you ever used a Kinect before? You'll find your body got tired quite quickly trying to just navigate menus. We dont like holding our hands/ arms up all the time to navigate digital menus. It feels worse than a mouse, a controller, or just tapping a screen. Its just awkward. People will try it for work and then go "wow just using my mouse & keyboard is way easier" and then never put on the stupid goggles again.

All in all, this thing is just... bad. Its not good. It wont catch on. It'll be an extremely niche product that will only every really have a handful of uses. And none of them will be for the general public.

[mercy-burning]

Myth or Movie

Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!Reader Summary: Unbeknownst to the two of them, Y/N and Spencer's children have worked up a plan to get them to meet... Category: SMUT (18+) Content: Strong language, oral sex (female receiving), penetrative/unprotected sex, someone is misgendered (nothing too bad, it’s very brief, and it’s sincerely apologized for by the person who misgenders) Word Count: 4.2k

MASTERLIST

NOTE: This is my 2nd entry for Pom’s ( @imagining-in-the-margins ) Enemies To Lover’s Writing Challenge! This one was one of the prompts she provided: You and (Character)'s kids don't get along, so you have to have a talk. Turns out you... really really get along... and I couldn’t wait to tackle it! I believe my exact words were: “I’m gonna Parent Trap these bitches”... So do with that what you will lol

———

"I'm so sorry I'm late!"

Two heads turn to stare at me as I burst through the doors. I'm out of breath from running through the building, something the staff really didn't seem to appreciate, though their shouts and annoyed glances were the last thing on my mind.

As I try to catch my breath, the two heads stand, and suddenly I feel a lot smaller.

One of them I recognize— Principal Anteros. I'd met with her before over some of Sky's academic achievements, all positive things, which is why today's circumstances make being in this office rather uncomfortable.

It's also why I seem to shrink with embarrassment at my tardiness— and appearance. Waitressing has its benefits, but today's whirlwind of phone calls and a mention at meeting another parent are not any of them.

Speaking of, the other person in the room is one I've never seen before. He's taller than both Anteros and I, extremely well dressed, and probably the most intimidatingly beautiful human being I'd ever met. I can barely meet his eyes, and so I try not to think about what he's doing here—to think about having to talk to him.

I shrink even further.

"Ms. Y/L/N," Principal Anteros greets. Thankfully she doesn't sound too upset given the circumstances. "Please, have a seat."

I do, brushing off my uniform as if that will somehow help my appearance. The soft leather of the chairs, however comfortable they might be, fail to bring me any comfort at all.

"As I'm sure you've guessed already, this is Doctor Reid, Vivian's father."

Great, he's a fucking doctor? This already bodes well for me...

Regardless of my reservations, I turn to him and give a faint smile. He waves in turn, and for the time being I'm extremely glad he doesn't insist on shaking my hand.

"It's nice to meet you," he says, surely nothing but a formality.

"You, too," I say quickly, then turn back to Principal Anteros. "Your phone call sounded urgent... Is everything alright?"

As soon as I say it, I feel kind of dumb. Because of course everything isn't alright. My child's principal called a meeting with another parent, and that can never mean anything good, not to mention the fucking intimidation and awkwardness in the room right now. I almost apologize, trying to explain that that wasn't exactly what I meant to get across, but then I would have just been talking for way too long, embarrassing myself further.

Once again, I'm thankful for Anteros's ability to move the conversation along. "I'm not sure, but it doesn't seem so. I only bring this to attention because Sky and Vivian are both stellar students. They've never had any disciplinary issues or difficulties with other students..."

"No one's hurt, right?" Mr. Reid asks. I know he's just concerned for his child, but for some reason it feels like an attack on me, like he assumes my kid had something to do with it.

"No, no one's hurt. Thankfully there weren't any physical altercations. But it seems your girls are quite... loud."

The doctor looks like he wants to say something, but I'm quick to jump in before he can. "Sorry... Sky is non-binary. They use they/them pronouns."

I half expect one or either of them to make a big deal or just roll their eyes at me, as most people seem to do when I correct them on the matter, but Anteros gives a sincere apology and Reid probably couldn't have cared any less.

I still can't tell if I like him or not...

But that doesn't matter right now.

"What do you mean by loud?" I continue.

Anteros sighs. "Well, while there hasn't been any physical violence, your kids seem to have very heated arguments, usually during lunch or in the hallway in passing... We thought maybe we could resolve it here since, like I said, they're both excellent students, but then it started escalating to classroom arguments... It's a lot of screaming..."

I have never known Sky to raise their voice at anyone, not even in a situation where I probably would have. Lord knows I'm thankful they don't have my impatience and tendency to get pissed off easily...

So what happened that was so bad, it made them snap?

"You... You're sure you mean Vivian is acting out like this?" Reid asks slowly, and I can't stop myself from laughing out loud.

"Come on, she's a professional. This has been going on for weeks, in her school, I'm sure she would know if it was your kid having a screaming match with someone else..."

This time Doctor Reid actually looks over at me, an eyebrow raised, and though I very much believe what I've just told him, the way he's looking at me right now drops my heart straight down to my stomach, like he's the principal and I'm the student acting out—No, it's worse than that... I feel like he's a disappointed parent, but not with Vivian, with me.

I avoid his intimidating stare and look down at the ground. "Sorry... I'm just... This isn't like Sky, either, I don't know what to do..."

"Well, usually when we have these sort of disputes, we like to have the students talk it out amongst themselves with a moderator present. But we've tried that, and it seems that they still haven't made any progress. Now, I know your children are good at heart, and it seems like you both are excellent parents— You know your children better than anyone here ever could. So, I'm proposing the two of you take a meeting some time and try to figure out how to settle this."

Seriously? If it hasn't been made clear already, this man is a doctor of some kind, planets away from my league in any capacity, and I can just picture the two of us in a screaming match close to what I imagine our children's looked like...

Maybe we can just e-mail.

"Okay," he agrees evenly, and I'm surprised he seems this calm considering I've just practically yelled at him... "I have free time this afternoon if you want to talk it over."

"I have to get back to work, but I get done at five," I sigh, wanting to get this over with. "Are you free then?"

"Mhm."

"Good," Anteros chirps, standing and leaving Doctor Reid and I to follow suit. "Perhaps over the weekend we can get this settled."

I sure as hell hope so.

———

"Ms. Y/L/N, wait!"

I have no idea what he could possibly want from me now that we've set a time and place to talk tonight, but I'm just praying desperately that he doesn't want to take this time alone in the parking lot to get back at me for accosting him in Anteros's office...

Thankfully, his face when he approaches seems rather kind.

"You can call me Y/N..."

"Right," he says, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets and nodding. "I'm Spencer."

"Spencer... So, um... Did you need something?"

"O—Oh, I just... I know you have to get back to work so I'll make this short, but I wanted to see if you wanted to do, uh... dinner tonight?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, I just figured since we probably didn't expect for our weekend to go this way... We should make it worth it?"

"Are you really trying to turn this into a date?"

"W— No, not really, I just... You know, I thought it might be nice to... make this less like a chore, you know? A—And don't feel like you have to say yes, it was just a thought, I'm sorry if I made this weirder..."

The fact that I still can't figure this man out bothers me, but right now he's blushing, and he looks like he's trying to save himself from embarrassment, and it's so fucking adorable that I don't really care that I was just annoyed.

So I tell him, "Sure. Why not?"

"Really?"

"Yeah... Besides, Lord knows I haven't gone out for dinner in a long time."

The doctor is relieved, a smile creeping up on his lips that suddenly tugs at my insides and makes me wish for a second that it really is a date he's offering... "Okay, good. Do you want to meet at Waterstone, seven o'clock?"

The excitement starts to drain from me as he says it, followed by an incoming wave of embarrassment. "Oh, man, that... That place is kind of expensive, I don't—"

"Oh, it's okay, I'll pay for everything. I'll even wait outside for you so we can go in together if you'd like..."

Why he's being so nice to me I have no idea, but it's making my annoyance melt and my heart start to beat faster, and I really don't know how to feel about that. In fact I'm pretty sure it's weird as fuck given the circumstances.

But all I have to do is make it through this weekend, hopefully all will be back to normal, and I won't ever have to think about it ever again.

"Alright... It's a date."

———

Out of all the scenarios I'd pictured for the end of the night, this definitely had not been one of them.

I finished my shift at the diner, imagining on my drive home the look on his face when I inevitably showed up with something on my face or stained on my dress; Instead I showed up to Waterstone and was greeted with wandering eyes and showered with bashful compliments.

I expected to get into some type of argument about how each of our kids were better than the other or something, but we ended up talking through their traits with compassion, interest, and pride, all while agreeing that we just have to sit with them this weekend and explain that there are easier, better ways to sort out disagreements than screaming at each other in public.

I expected not to have much fun at all, but by the time we gathered the check and headed out the door, Spencer and I were laughing, just a little tipsy on Cabernet, our hands gently brushing and sparks shooting up my arm at the feeling.

I expected to go our separate ways and walk to my car and drive home, but instead he ended up telling me he was taking the Subway home, and I offered to give him a ride to the opposite side of town where I lived (Waterstone was right in the middle).

I expected to walk through the door, stumble straight up to bed, and sleep until Sky inevitably woke me up with them saying I've slept in too late and needed to get ready for work, but instead I ended up following Spencer up to his door to say goodnight.

And now we're at a fork in the road, and I can take one of two paths.

I can say goodnight, watch him walk in, and then go home and forget about this whole thing.

Or I can keep letting him stare at me until I find myself leaning in to kiss him. Whether or not he'll actually reciprocate is another story, but the little bit of wine tingling in the surface of my body and the dark, intense look in his eye gives me more courage than I've had since I met him.

Before I can make a move, Spencer talks, his voice small and inviting. "Do you want to come inside?" The beating of my heart quickens immensely as he takes another step forward and brings his fingers out to graze my chin. "Vivian's with her mom tonight."

Yes. Vivian's mom, who divorced Spencer pretty soon in the marriage after she just decided his job was too much to handle. He'd quit and took a teaching job, but even still, she declined his pleading to stay married and eventually admitted that she just wasn't in love with him anymore. At least she had the decency to let him have joint custody once his schedule cleared up, and it seemed like they were decent co-parents. Maybe even friends.

I think about Sky, how much they wish their dad had stayed, and how much I wish he had too. I was devastated when he left without anything more than a note. For years it took a huge toll on us, and I barely had the headspace to even think about dating anyone since then.

But here I am now, standing with this man who has also lost a spouse, who's somewhat of a single parent, and who seems kind and genuine enough that I don't think I'd have to worry about bringing him into the life of my child.

Though, I don't even know it'll go that far. I'm getting too far ahead of myself, and so to slow down I look at what's right in front of me. Right now.

Spencer looks at me like he wants to devour me. My whole body is tingling from head to toe. I want to kiss him, and I'm pretty damn sure he wants to kiss me back. He just invited me inside, which means that if I accept, we'll most likely end up sleeping with each other.

Again... Definitely not one of the scenarios I'd had in mind when I left the school today. But it's a damn good one, and he's so hot I want to cry.

My flirty switch turns on so fast, it nearly gives me whiplash. "And what are you gonna do if I say yes?"

"Depends... How badly do you want to walk tomorrow?"

My first instinct is to jokingly tell him to put me in a wheelchair, but I settle for kissing him instead, hoping that gives the same sentiment.

The way he melts into my body tells me I've succeeded. My arms fly up to his neck and pull him closer, and he holds me tightly to him, waiting for my lips to part so he can expertly slip his tongue past them.

I whine out and take a step towards the door. Spencer comes with me and fumbles with the keys in his pocket before reluctantly pulling away to get us inside.

Once we take our jackets and shoes off, he clings to me like static, drawn to me like a magnet, and I let him near without a second thought. Our lips find each other perfectly, like they've always meant to fit together. And as pieces of clothing come off on our way through the house and up to his bedroom, our limbs fit together just as well. Nothing is out of place.

Hell, I don't even remember how inferior to him I felt earlier in the day. Our jobs and lifestyles might seem like polar opposites, but for right now, the two of us are on very equal footing, coming together like it's always been meant to be.

I nearly fall apart when his fingers gather wetness from my cunt, just enough to tease me before pulling away and bringing them to his lips. I watch with a whine waiting on the back of my tongue as he slips his fingers past his mouth and sighs.

"More," is all he manages, and I want so badly to tease him—tell him how I know he can be more eloquent than that—but words are all lost on me too, when he drops to his knees and spreads me apart with ease. I have no choice but to reach behind and grip the foot-end of the bed as he works his tongue expertly against me.

Each of my sighs and whines are met with more avidity from him, taking the form of sharp flicks of the tongue over my clit, and once he adds his fingers to the mix, pumping them expertly inside me, I'm a fucking goner.

I come with a silent shout, clenching my thighs around his face and gripping the foot of the bed so tightly it feels like my hands might go numb.

Once my body loosens, Spencer gets up and kisses me, nearly knocking me over. I'm breathless and dizzy as the tang of my arousal coats my tastebuds. His hands are gentle despite the hunger in his lips, and the medley of sensations of all of these things has me weak in the knees.

"Getting harder to stand already, sweetheart?" he laughs, catching me as I fall into him. His hands clutch at my thighs and he carries me to the edge of the bed, crawling over top of me and kissing down my neck. "That's okay... I'll take good care of you."

I still can't manage to speak as he gently pushes in, the slow burn of him splitting me in two rendering me utterly incapable of even thought. I gladly welcome the pressure, especially once he's inside me all the way and lowering his body to mine. Our chests press firmly together as he pulls back and starts a steady pace with his hips. He traps me with his arms, bringing them to either side of my face. And when his fingers brush the hair from my eyes, he stares into them with intensity as he fucks me.

It's slow and hard. It's heart-pounding. It's earth-shattering. It's everything that makes sex worth having. In that moment we're two equals, so wrapped up in the mere feeling of each other that everything else is just background noise. He breathes me in and I do the same, and with each cant forward of his hips, he brings me deeper into this world we've both ultimately created together.

I want more than anything to wrap my legs around him and keep him close to me, but he's fucking me so good that I don't have the willpower. Instead, they lay spread out, lazy and open as his hips move between them. I'm warm all over, tingling everywhere our skin connects. When he kisses me, swallowing my pathetic attempts at whimpering his name, I'm positive that this is what Heaven must feel like.

Whether it's hours or only minutes later, eventually my body tenses, unable to hold back any further, and two particularly deep thrusts from Spencer send me barreling over the edge.

"There it is, sweetheart..." he praises, caressing my face with long, gentle fingers and leaving little kisses wherever they trail. His voice only seems to help me along, each warm syllable soothing the muscles that pulled taut at his mercy. "That's a good girl..."

I feel tired, calmed, and relaxed, when he pulls out only to jerk off over my lower stomach. Through tired eyes, I watch as he lets go and covers me with his release. Hearing him grunt out my name as he does it nearly wakes me up again, and it even finally brings some words out of me.

"God, you're so fucking hot..."

Well... Not exactly elegant, but the feeling gets across.

Spencer laughs and rolls over so that he isn't nearly crushing me anymore. He kisses down my neck, my arm, and he ever-so-slightly swipes the tip of his tongue over the mess he made before kissing my thigh and getting up to leave— presumably to get me something to clean up with.

Sure enough, he returns shortly with a wet washcloth and tenderly cleans me up. I manage to sit, leaning back on my elbows once he's done and smile at him. He's practically kneeling in front of me again, smiling back as his lips press featherlight kisses to the inside of my leg.

"How're you feeling?" he drawls, letting me pull him up to lay down with me.

"Really good. I haven't done that in so long..."

"Me either... I um... I hadn't really thought much about seeing other people once Lena and I got divorced... I guess I just wanted to put all my focus into being the best father I could, you know?"

"Mhm," I answer, turning to face him and interlocking our fingers. "I know exactly what you mean."

We lay like that for a few moments in comfortable silence, hands and limbs tangled while we breathe the same air and revel in the afterglow we've just created.

Suddenly Spencer laughs, and I squeeze his hand. "What is it?"

"I was just thinking... We probably wouldn't have met if not for Anteros calling us in, right?"

"Yeah..." I piece it together. "Guess I never thought of it that way."

"I just think it's funny, because in Greek mythology, Anteros was an Erote, known as an avenger of unrequited love, and he punished those who scoffed at romantic advances made by others... You and I never even thought about dating after our separations, and yet... Here we are now, because of Anteros."

Hearing him educate me on Greek mythology only serves to remind me how different we are. Still, the little story brings a comforting smile to my lips. "Well... Remind me to send her a basket of muffins or something to thank her."

"And tell her what? That you're grateful she got you laid?"

"Yeah. And what about it?"

The two of us dissolve into laughter that eventually fizzles and leaves us silent again. Our fingers are still tangled, and somehow we've snuggled in even closer.

"In any case, I'm glad I got to meet you, Doctor Reid."

"And I, you, Ms. Y/L/N..."

———

In the past two weeks since that first meeting, I hadn't received any more phone calls from Principal Anteros, which bode as a good sign.

Spencer and I decided to see each other as secretly as we could, which meant only giving vague details to our kids as to what we were doing in our spare time— It seemed weird to spring it on them if they didn't get along, so we figured it was best to wait until the situation was handled.

I tried to talk to Sky about their progress with Vivian, but they only insisted that everything was fine and they wouldn't have to worry anymore. And after relaying this information to Spencer, he informed me that Viv had said the same thing to him.

It wasn't until we both realized that they'd said the same things verbatim each time we asked, that something odd was going on.

And that's how we end up right here, Sky and I sitting on a park bench bathed in the golden October sun while I patiently wait for Spencer to 'coincidentally' show up with Vivian.

Thankfully I don't have to wait too long, because almost five minutes after we sit, I hear the familiar sound of my name falling from his lips, and it's hard to contain the cocky, playful smile that appears upon my own.

"Spencer, hey!" I call back, standing up and going to give him a hug. He pulls me in and he's nice and warm. He smells like burnt wood for some reason, and I want to breathe him in forever. Instead, I settle for a sweet kiss on the lips, both because I simply want to and also because it should baffle the fuck out of our kids.

Sure enough we pull away and look to them, and they look panicked. They have no idea what to do, what to say...

"Oh! Sorry... Viv, this is Y/N, Sky's mom."

The pure amusement in Spencer's voice makes me feel even warmer than being in his embrace. I look to his daughter and give her a wave. "Hi."

"H—Hi..."

It almost seems cruel to laugh at their predicament, but as I turn to Sky and introduce them to Spencer, they have clear annoyance written all over their face.

"Okay, Mom, I think we get it... How did you guys figure it out?"

"What, that you two pretended to hate each other so your principal would have to call us both in to meet?"

The pre-teens look at each other and sigh, truly defeated once and for all. "Yeah," they mutter simultaneously.

"Well, it surely didn't make any sense when you got in trouble for yelling at each other in the first place," Spencer points out. "And then when we asked you how things were working out, you both said the same exact thing..."

"It wasn't that hard to figure out, but we appreciate the effort," I add, reaching out to ruffle Sky's hair. They jerk away playfully, and I can't help but notice their smile as they peek over at Vivian.

"Our plan worked, though, so I call it a win," Vivian says with a shrug.

"As long as you two don't plan on causing any more disruptions at school..." Spencer looks between the both of them, and then at me, his eyes softening as he takes my hand and squeezes it. "Then yes. I'd call it a win, too."

I lean into him and laugh. "Turns out it wasn't Greek mythology that brought us together. It was The Parent Trap."

He raises an eyebrow, like he doesn't get what I mean, and before I can ask or explain, Vivian does it for me. "He's never seen it."

Spencer looks between the three of us like a lost and confused puppy, and we all laugh.

"Well, then, maybe we'll have to have a movie night sometime soon," I offer, reaching out for Sky.

Hand in hand, the four of us continue down the pathway, walking away from the setting sun while dried leaves rustle under our feet.

———

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[nessaxc]

___________________________________

Every Part Of You || Oikawa Tooru

You feel self-conscious about your stretch marks, and Oikawa shows you just how much he loves you and your stretch marks.

~ Rating: Explicit, 18+

~ Words: 1.9k

~ Tags: Smut, Fluff, Comfort Sex, Cunnilingus, Lap Sex, Praise Kink, Pet name

___________________________________

You walked down the stairs with a frown on your face. Ten minutes earlier you were staring in the mirror at your reflection, gazing at the new marks stretching across the skin on your stomach. Running your fingertips over the raised scars lightly as your eyebrows creased at the silver streak running across your abdomen. You already had stretch marks that were smaller and easier to conceal, but these were out in the open. Huffing slightly, you pulled the long shirt back down to cover your body and unlocked the bathroom door. With each step down the steps leading into the living room where Oikawa was, a new inquisition leapt to the forefront of your mind. What if Oikawa finds it ugly? What if he hates them?

The questions were flooding your brain as you finally reached the bottom of the steps, your nerves shooting through the roof as you looked over at Oikawa who was searching for a movie to watch. Deep down you knew he wouldn’t mind your scars at all, he was always so supportive with anything you approached him with, no matter how ridiculous it was. Every time you walked downstairs, dressed up and ready for your date night, Oikawa could never stop the compliments. But a tiny part of you was always hesitant over talking to him about your insecurities.

“Hey, Y/N. You alright?” Oikawa concerning tone pulled you from your thoughts and you blinked out of your daze, realising you had been stood unmoving at the bottom of the stairs.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m good. Sorry, just lost my train of thought for a second,” you smile at him, walking over to the sofa and flopping down next to him.

“You figured out what we’re watching yet?” Side-eyeing him, you saw on his face that he had no luck in choosing a movie, the defeat slowly becoming evident in his features. It took about twenty minutes to finally find something to watch, twenty long minutes of playful arguing over movie choices like children. Oikawa’s hand snaked around your waist as you cuddled into him. He played with the hem of your shirt, lifting it slightly to brush his fingertips along the skin of your hip causing you to tense at his touch slightly. Oikawa looked over at you, his brows furrowing in confusion at your ministrations.

“Baby, are you sure you’re okay?” You met his eyes, his soft, chocolately orbs gazing into yours.

“Can I ask you something?” You asked, shuffling slightly to face him properly. “Anything,” he responded, his hand that was on your waist shifting to run up and down your thigh.

You fiddle with your fingers and, Oikawa notices your nervous tick. “You love me, right?” His eyebrows shot up at the question. He wasn’t expecting that query to come out of your mouth.

“Baby, of course I love you. Where’s this coming from?” He covered his hand with yours, rubbing soothing circles.

“I just-I wanna know if you’d still love me if I had…body imperfections or something.” You chewed your lip as he pulled back slightly, startled.

“Y/N, you have no imperfections.”

You chuckled slightly, “Tooru, everyone has imperfections.” But he wasn’t having any of it. “Nope,” he claimed, “babygirl you are the most perfect woman in the world.”

You giggled, shaking your head slightly as you gave him a half-smile. Cupping your face with his hands, he looked into your eyes, trying to decipher what was going on. “I would love you no matter what. But, you gotta tell me, is there something specific that’s bothering you?"

Your eyes dropped slightly as you continued to bite at your lip, "I found some stretch marks on my stomach and I didn’t know how you’d react.” Oikawa’s head tilted slightly as he registered your words. “Oh, sweetheart, I love you, I love every part of you. Your stretch marks are beautiful, and I love them just the same.”

Your eyes shot up to meet his, filled with compassion and sincerity. “You do?” Your whisper was barely audible as you forced it out. Oikawa nodded, his palms dropping from your cheeks to bring your hands up to his face, kissing your knuckles. “Baby, everything about you is perfect. You should never feel uncomfortable telling me about this stuff. I’ll never think any different of you. Never."

Oikawa leaned forward and pressed his lips to yours in a sweet, comforting kiss. You felt his hands travel down your body, one to your waist and one to your thigh. Within seconds you were led on your back whilst he hovered over you, your breath mingling with his from how close he was. His hands found the bottom of your long shirt, pulling slightly and looking into your eyes for any uncertainty. When you didn’t stop him, Oikawa lifted your shirt over your head, tossing it over the television that was still playing the movie you had put on earlier. You looked up at him, expecting him to lean down and kiss you, but he did the opposite. He leaned back on his haunches and looked at you. Observing you.

"What?” You questioned his actions, confused as to what he was doing exactly.

He shook his head, cocking it to the side as his eyes raked over your body. “I just don’t understand how you don’t realise how flawless you are.”

Your heart jumped at those words. Your face broke into a small smile as Oikawa leaned down, kissing you deeply, tongue tracing along your bottom lip. Almost upon instinct, your lips parted and his tongue slipped inside your mouth, licking at each tooth and into each crevice. You could feel him hardening against your thigh as his hips slotted between your legs, his jeans rubbing against your bare skin. Oikawa’s lips left your own, dragging your bottom lip between his teeth before trailing wet kisses down your jaw to your neck, and sucking at your pulse point. Your back arched at the sensation as your fingers entangled themselves in his hair.

“Tooru”, you moaned as his lips trailed lower, eventually resting against your lower stomach.

“I got you baby. Look so beautiful.” His skin tickled your sensitive skin as he kissed over your marks, taking care to give attention to each scar ample affection to each and every one, never leaving one feeling neglected. “So lucky to have you in my life baby. So pretty.”

Oikawa’s fingers hooked around your panties and pulled them down your legs, flinging them over the back of the sofa. His kisses travelled lower until you could feel his breath against your slick heat. “So ready for me. Could stay between your thighs forever, babygirl.” His words alone were such a turn-on. He always knew what to say to make you writhe under him, make you wetter than pansy petals after rain. Before you could respond, Oikawa licked a stripe up the middle of your slick. Your mouth fell open as one of your hands gripped his hair, the other hand grabbing the sofa as your hips involuntarily bucked into him, desperate for his touch. He chuckled against your skin, the reverberating feeling going straight to your core. “Easy baby. I wanna take my time with you this time. Show you how perfect you are.” And with that, he delved back into your pussy, licking and sucking in all the right places to make you fall apart beneath his touches. His tongue dipped into your aching core, pulling a throaty groan from your mouth, one unrecognisable to you. “Taste so good. Would have you for every meal if I could.”

“Fu-fuck Tooru. I’m gonna-” you were cut off by Oikawa sucking harshly at your clit, expertly working his tongue on it. The feeling pulling you to the familiar warm sensation only Oikawa could make you feel. Your back arched off the sofa and your grip in his hair tightened as a warmth flooded through your body, making your whole body shudder with pleasure as Oikawa lapped up your juices. “Love hearing those pretty little moans of yours. Got any more in you?"

He stayed buried in your folds until it became too much, only pulling away when you forced his head away from you with the little strength you had left. His mustache was coated in your slick, his eyes hungry for you. Pulling his own shirt off, he kissed his way back up your body, leaving a trail of your release in his wake. After what felt like a lifetime, he reached your lips, kissing you deeply as you tasted yourself against his mouth. Oikawa’s arms wrapped around your back and leaned back, pulling you up onto his lap.

"I want you to ride me, baby. You look so beautiful when you ride your man. So pretty bouncing on my cock.” God, how could you refuse this man?

Your hands snaked between the two of you to release his sweetpants. After his sweetpants and underwear were discarded somewhere in the living room (you were gonna have a hard time finding your clothes later), you rose on your knees, lining his cock up with your entrance. Oikawa fused his lips to yours as you slowly sank onto his cock, his tongue licking into your mouth. Once fully seated inside you, Oikawa’s hands drifted down to grip your ass, holding and kneading at the flesh with his fingertips. “So gorgeous, baby. Looking so damn perfect, up on your man.”

You smiled, moving your hips slowly as you adjusted to his length, the tip scraping deliciously against the aching spot inside you. His hands gripped your hips while your palms laid on his chest, heart thumping rapidly in his chest as you rode him at a slow, aching pace. Your hips sped up as you felt your second orgasm approaching fast and hard. Like a tsunami building up inside you, threatening to spill over at any point. Oikawa’s thumb found its way to your clit, rubbing circles as your head fell back in pleasure, mouth open as you moaned his name.

“Oh god, Tooru, gonna cum,” you managed to breathe out, nails digging into his bare chest, most likely leaving indented half-crescent shapes in his skin.

“That’s it, baby. Cum for me. Soak me like I know you can.” Oikawa’s words pushed you over the edge, your orgasm flooding you, pleasure searing through your veins as you clenched your walls around him. “Goddamn babygirl, always look so gorgeous when you cum for me. Like a goddess. I don’t deserve you sometimes,” Oikawa’s strained the last couple of words as you clenched harder around him, drowning his cock in your cum. Triggering his own release, you felt as he coated your walls, warm ropes of cum painting your insides. Panting heavily, you collapsed onto Oikawa’s sweat-slicked chest, fingertips trailing patterns across his chest. His hands ran up and down your spine, trailing along the ticklish spots on your hips.

“Thank you, baby,” you mumbled, tipping your head up to kiss his jaw. He chuckled, tilting to look down at you.

“Baby, you don’t need to thank me. I’ll happily do that any time you want. But you’re perfect, and I’ll tell you that every minute of every day if I have to.” Oikawa kissed the top of your head as his arms around you tightened. “I love you Y/N, all of you.”

“I love you too, Tooru.”

You leaned up, pressing a kiss to your man’s lips as the movie credits rolled, visible on the part of the screen that your discarded clothes weren’t covering.

___________________________________

[cherienymphe]

None Of Your Concern (Chris Evans x Reader)

WARNINGS: DUB-CON(NON-CON?), AGE GAP, CHEATING(?)

DNI IF ANY OF THIS OFFENDS YOU

➥ {page breaks done by @whimsicalrogers}

summary:  costars for a little over a year, Chris has always been protective of you in the cutthroat industry much like a father would be. However, when he learns that your boyfriend is even older than him, he realizes that his feelings might not be so familial after all

~

“Okay, so it’s sort of cool that a small chunk of the Avengers gang is reunited for this movie,” the interviewer said with a chuckle.

You all joined in, in agreement. She rested her blue eyes on you.

“I know that you were a huge fan of the franchise, Y/N. I mean, over the years there have been quite a few tweets from you about the movies, ranging from…‘Spider-Man’s on team Iron-Man so therefore I am on team Iron-Man’ to ‘Scott Lang deserves the world’,” she said, reading from her phone.

Tom got a huge kick out of that first one, and you rolled your eyes. The interviewer’s eyes flickered between you two, a small smile on her lips.

“I mean, am I wrong? Does Scott Lang not deserve the world?”

She nodded with a grin.

“No, you’re right, he definitely does! I just feel like being cast in this movie and having been on the set for a little over a year must have been something like a dream come true,” she pressed.

You thought about your answer for a moment, just like your publicist advised.

“Yeah, you could say that. It’s sort of surreal going from having been kind of a casual fan of someone to interacting with them almost every day for a year,” you honestly answered.

You didn’t know if you would ever get used to interviews, no matter how private they were. You were grateful you weren’t on Jimmy Fallon or something with a live audience watching your every move, but sitting next to Tom, Anthony, Sebastian, Chris, and Tessa in a room was almost just as bad in your eyes.

“…and you’ve gotten super close with your castmates, I’d say.”

You heard Tessa clear her throat, and when you caught her eye, she gave you a look, but you didn’t understand it.

“Yeah, definitely! I love them all and they’ve easily become some of my closest friends now,” you replied, eyes meeting the interviewer’s again.

She threw you a secretive smile.

“…but you and Tom seem to hang out together more than the rest of the cast. As thick as thieves some would say,” she pressed.

Your lips parted, caught off guard, and when you caught Tessa’s eye again, you recognized the sympathetic look she was giving you. A light bulb seemed to go off in your head as you realized what she was trying to warn you against earlier, the very thing you’d unknowingly walked into. Luckily, Tom jumped in before you did.

“Well,” he started, straightening in his seat, shoulder brushing your own. “Y/N and I are the youngest members of the main cast. We don’t really have much in common with the senior citizens to my left.”

He feigned a whisper during the last part, not so discreetly pointing to his left. It had the desired effect, and you were grateful that he was trying to draw the attention away from you.

“Um,” Tessa loudly began, straightening up in her seat just as Anthony, Chris, and Sebastian all spoke up at once.

“I think what he means to say is we don’t allow the children to eat at the adult’s table,” Anthony threw in.

“Yeah, its definitely more like we exclude them, and they have no choice but to hang out together,” Sebastian joked.

“Senior citizens,” Chris scoffed, cutting his eyes at Tom.

The interviewer laughed at the turn of events, but unfortunately, she was determined to expose whatever she thought was going on between you and Tom.

“So you two are rather close then? Being alienated and all,” she chuckled.

Tom laughed, albeit a bit uncomfortably as it became clear that she wasn’t going to give up. He nudged you, gesturing for you to take the stand, having already tried to steer her in another direction.

“Well…yes, but we’re all rather close, but yeah. I would say that Tom is kind of like my best friend,” you honestly told her.

She aw’d at that, tilting her head to the side. You cut your eyes to everyone else in the room, narrowing them as it became clear that they weren’t going to help the two of you get out of this. You just knew Anthony was enjoying this…

“Just friends then? Because you two have a lot of fans, and a lot of them seem to think there’s more to the friendship, or at least, they hope there is, and honestly? Who can blame them? You two are always spotted hanging out together, going for coffee, running to Target… You’re practically joined at the hip.”

As she came outright and said it, you both wasted no time in refuting it.

“Oh, God no,” you cried, shaking your head.

“No, no, absolutely not,” Tom laughed. “Y/N and I are simply good friends. She has much better taste than I do, hence why I have to drag her to Target. Besides, we don’t have Target back home, so whenever I’m in the states, I’m going shopping there every chance I get.”

“I don’t know, I think they answered that just a little too quickly for me,” Tessa suddenly wondered aloud.

You threw her a look of betrayal as Chris added on.

“Yeah, that…that wasn’t convincing, at all,” he said in between chuckles.

You gaped at him as Tom ran his hand through his hair.

“No, Y/N and I are just friends, and nothing more. She-she has a boyfriend, anyway,” he threw out, and you playfully hit his arm.

“Tom,” you warned.

You weren’t genuinely upset that he’d let that slip, especially since you didn’t exactly care if people knew. People knowing you had a boyfriend wasn’t the cause of your apprehension. It came from certain details about your boyfriend…

“Wait, you have a boyfriend?”

Four people said several variations of this at the same time, and you cringed. Tom at least looked a bit ashamed as the interviewer watch on in amusement.

“I didn’t say any names,” he defended, hands up.

You caught Anthony’s eye and he was looking at you like you’d just hid the world’s biggest secret. Tessa looked scandalized as well, and you didn’t dare look at Chris and Sebastian.

“Wait…wait a minute,” the interviewer said, sitting up in her own chair as she looked at you two.

There was a slow smirk forming on her lips.

“So…you have a boyfriend that nobody else seems to know about…except for Tom…”

You both froze, realizing how this looked. A few chuckles reached your ears, and you exhaled.

“Okay, I know how this looks…”

“It isn’t like that, at all,” Tom reiterated. “He’s a swell chap, no, really. He’s brilliant-.”

“You’ve met him then?”

“Well, yeah-.”

“Wait, wait, wait. So how come you’ve met this ‘boyfriend’ and none of us have?” Anthony wondered.

“Yeah, this sounds like a bit of a cover,” the interviewer added.

“Not a very convincing one,” Sebastian whispered.

“Okay, okay! I know that I’m not super talkative about it, but have we all forgotten that I have a girlfriend?”

That seemed to quiet everyone down.

“…besides, her boyfriend is like forty anyway, so its definitely not me,” he laughed, realizing too late what he’d said.

“Tom!” you cried.

Both of his hands were covering his mouth, eyes wide as all hell broke loose. You blinked several times, mouth agape in shock.

“I’m sorry, what?” Tessa yelled over the others.

“Forty?”

Sebastian, Chris, and Anthony were all talking over each other, all of their questions directed at you while you just stared at Tom who stared back, pleading. He slid his hands down, teeth bared as shame filled his features, cringing.

“I’m so, so, so sorry…”

His apology was overshadowed by Sebastian.

“Forty?” he repeated.

“Tom’s exaggerating, okay? He’s more like thirty,” you quickly said, trying to ease the tension and make light of the situation.

Tom’s eyes were wide as they met yours, and you quickly looked away.

“So, the boyfriend isn’t Tom…and he’s only thirty then?” the interviewer finally spoke up when the room was finally quiet once again.

You sighed, eyes meeting Tom’s again as he looked to see what you were going to do. You thought about what your publicist would advise. You’d been a part of stan twitter once. You knew how the internet could be. They’d dig until they found out the truth, and discovering his actual age, and identity by extension, would be pretty bad for both of you. Against your better judgement, you decided to be truthful since the cat was out of the bag, hoping it’d be enough to keep people’s curiosity at bay.

“No, he’s definitely 43,” you quietly admitted.

Once again, all hell broke loose.

As soon as the interview was over, you were the first one out of the room, Tom right behind you. You could hear your name being called, and Tom pushed you along.

“Go, go, go,” he urged.

You had just made it to your dressing room when a muscular arm slid between the door and the frame as you attempted to close it.

“Anthony, not now!”

“No, no, now.”

He pushed the door open, and you denied him entrance, two familiar faces behind him. Neither him, Sebastian, or Chris looked pleased with you, and you just knew that they weren’t going to let this go…not without a fight. Tessa passed by, and you sent her a pleading look.

She heaved a sigh, slowing down before reaching out to pull them all back.

“C’mon guys. Leave the poor girl alone,” she said.

“We just want to talk,” Sebastian said.

It was a lie.

“I’m not discussing this with you,” you told them, eyes meeting Chris’. “Any of you.”

You tried to ignore his frown as you closed and locked the door. With a sigh, you dug through your purse for your phone. You texted Alex, your boyfriend, warning him of what might make it into the article. You weren’t actually upset about the turn of events, you just hated the aftermath that would ensue.

You blamed the interviewer most of all. You knew that Tom was just trying to clear the air and make it known that there wasn’t anything going on between you two. You knew how flustered he could get sometimes when he started rambling, and you also texted him to let him know that everything was fine, and you weren’t mad.

Your main concern was the trio down the hall. Tessa felt like an older sister at times, and while you wish that it had been on your terms, you weren’t opposed to talking to her about this. You knew the conversation was going to happen eventually. Anthony, Sebastian, and Chris on the other hand were a completely different matter.

You stuck your head out, glancing around before leaving the room.

Your friendship with Seb was way more casual than with the other two. You cracked jokes and hung out with all of them often, but half the time it felt like Chris and Anthony were scolding you and telling you what you could or couldn’t do. Sebastian didn’t care, and you liked that. Hence why you didn’t verbally oppose when he suddenly came out of nowhere, easily falling into stride with you.

He didn’t say anything for a while, but you knew it was coming. You bit your lip, glancing at him out of the corner of your eye, noticing that he was doing the same. He abruptly stopped, and so did you.

“Forty-three?”

You avoided his piercing gaze, adjusting your bag on your shoulder as he faced you.

“Seb…please…”

“I mean, I’m not judging, I promise,” he said, hands raised.

“Except, you are though,” you sighed, looking at him. “You’re judging, just a little bit.”

His arms fell at his sides.

“Okay, so I’m judging just a little bit, but can you blame me? The guy’s older than Anthony,” he scoffed.

You chuckled.

“Yeah, he is, but I don’t care,” you told him.

“Clearly. I’m just saying, he’s old enough to be your father,” he said.

“Well, it’s a good thing he’s not, because then that would be weird,” you threw at him, rolling your eyes.

He heaved a heavy sigh, and somehow, you got the feeling that he’d drawn the short straw on who was going to come and talk sense into you. You briefly glanced down the hall, brows furrowed. He placed his hands on your shoulders, and you hated how he was looking at you. Like you were a child doing something bad. Your jaw clenched.

“I know you’re an adult…”

You let out a humorless chuckle.

“Do you know who you sound like, right now?”

He rolled his eyes towards the ceiling.

“At the risk of sounding like Chris…”

“You sound like Chris, that’s who you sound like.”

“…this industry can be…ruthless,” he continued.

“Don’t I know it?” you sarcastically replied.

“…and you’re still so fresh and new and there are plenty of people just looking to take advantage of someone like you and your talent and potential…”

“My boyfriend isn’t one of them, okay? He has plenty of talent on his own,” you informed him.

Sebastian tilted his head to the side, eyes narrowing.

“What his name, anyway?”

“I don’t think that’s any of your business,” you slowly sang.

“Well…what does he do?”

“Again, none of your business.”

“How did you meet? How long have you been seeing him? Something, anything! Anything at all?”

You pursed your lips before releasing a soft sigh.

“We’ve been seeing each other for about 7 months now,” you admitted.

His eyes almost bugged out of his head, lips parting.

“7 months?”

You pulled away from him, the day finally getting to you.

“Look, Seb, I have to go. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you guys, but to be honest, this was the main reason why, so…”

You paused, facing him again.

“Please, tell Chris and Anthony not to worry, okay? I know they’re freaking the fuck out and probably sent you on their behalf. I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” you called over your shoulder as you exited the building.

When you got home, there was a slew of text messages awaiting you. Most were from Anthony, and you answered all of them as best as you could. He was just worried, and you definitely understood that, but he was freaking out more than your own mother had when you told her about Alex.

“It just…took me by surprise,” was the first thing he said when he picked up the phone.

“I know, I know,” you sighed, browsing your fridge for something to eat. “I was always going to tell you guys if it ever got more serious.”

“More serious?” he scoffed. “Seb said you guys have been dating for 7 months.”

You rolled your eyes.

“We clearly have different definitions of a serious relationship,” you mumbled.

“It’s just concerning, alright? If my kid was dating someone 20 years older than them, I’d be rightfully concerned,” he defended. “Especially considering I’ve never met this man and don’t know anything about him.”

“Look at the word you just used: kid. That is something I am not,” you said, slamming your fridge shut. “…and there’s no need to meet him.”

“I disagree.”

“That’s fine,” you tersely replied.

You heard him exhale on the other end, a tense silence falling between you two. You were being a little harsh, you knew that, especially considering Anthony always treated you like family, but you needed to make him, all of them, understand that you were an adult who could make her own decisions. They had no say in this.

“…you heard from Chris?” he eventually asked.

“No, actually, and that’s a little worrisome, I’m not going to lie,” you honestly added, running your eyes over your wine collection.

“Yeah, well, he’s not happy,” Anthony told you.

“If he’s going to pout about this like my personal dating choices offended him or something, then he can suck my ass.”

A laugh met you from the other end, a genuine laugh, and you cracked a smile.

“He’ll come around. You know how much you mean to him,” he finally said after he calmed down.

You did know. Chris was one of the first people to talk to you on set, trying to make you feel more comfortable. It was your first big movie, your first time starring with household names, with people that had way more experience than you. He got you to laugh on your first day and even dragged you over to meet everyone else. He’d taken you under his wing…

Your heart clenched as you thought about how he must feel. It was your business, sure, but you couldn’t pretend like you didn’t feel guilty. You felt even worse once you thought about the fact that you’d told Tom and not him, but Tom didn’t judge you. Tom didn’t treat you like some kid who didn’t know any better half the time.

“I’ll text him,” you told Anthony. “See if I can get him to accept my white flag…”

“You do that. See you tomorrow, kiddo.”

You texted Chris as soon as you hung up, and as the night wore on, your worry grew. You found yourself periodically checking your phone for any type of response, but you got nothing. Alex called though and talked with you until you fell asleep. He was overseas, filming in his home country at the moment, but he called you every day.

He wasn’t bothered at all by what might be in the article, only making sure that you were okay.

“Yeah…I’m okay,” you quietly replied.

“Are you sure? You don’t sound it,” he quietly replied, deep voice gruff.

You frowned before turning to look at your clock.

“Isn’t it like…3 in the morning over there?”

“You didn’t answer my question,” he lightly said, ignoring your own.

You sighed.

“I’m fine, really. It’s just…there was a reason I didn’t want to tell everyone, and some people are proving me right…”

“They’ll come around,” he assured.

“You know Seb isn’t the type to care too much, but even he was more judgmental than I expected. Anthony is slowly coming around, but Chris… He’s not answering any of my texts.”

He was quiet for a while before finally responding.

“Maybe that’s for the best.”

You frowned again, sitting up in bed.

“What do you mean?”

“He is a bit…overprotective of you, isn’t he? I know he just gets concerned, but sometimes he acts like he’s your father and…he’s not. He shouldn’t have any say in what you do,” he elaborated.

You rubbed your eyes.

“I know what you’re saying is true because I’ve thought it myself, but for some reason it sounds harsh coming from your lips,” you groaned.

He chuckled.

“I don’t mean for it to, I promise. I just mean that maybe this will force him to lighten up a bit and realize that there are boundaries and lines he shouldn’t cross…”

You blinked.

“Huh. You might be onto something,” you admitted. “I know he thinks I’m such a child sometimes. Maybe this will make him wake up.”

You didn’t stay on the phone for much longer, and your heart sank when you hung up only to see no new notifications. Was Chris ignoring you? With a huff, you plugged your phone up and settled into bed.

You sipped on the coffee Tom had gotten you on the way here, leaning against the wall as you watched Chris and Anthony talk to the interviewer. This one preferred to talk to a few of you at a time, and considering the disaster that happened a week ago, you quite liked that.

That pushy girl had indeed included the bit about your love life in the article. Fortunately, it was tastefully done, only mentioning it in passing, but she had included that the rest of the cast, sans Tom, had been none the wiser. You hadn’t checked to see what people were saying about it. It wasn’t their opinions that mattered to you.

Chris hadn’t talked to you since, ignoring every one of your messages. Eventually, you gave up, deciding that he’d talk to you whenever he was ready. At first you were angry once you realized what he was doing, but eventually you became more understanding. He was probably more hurt than anything that you hadn’t trusted him enough to tell him.

You perked up when you heard the mention of your name.

“So, word on the street is that Y/N does indeed have a beau and it’s not Tom Holland…” he started.

Chris and Anthony chuckled, but you could tell it was forced.

“Yeah, man, I don’t think anyone was more shocked about that one than their fans,” he laughed. “…but we all know they’re just good friends. It was a nice running joke for a while though.”

Chris didn’t say anything, and the interviewer continued.

“Speaking of shocked, is it true that the rest of you guys were completely in the dark about it? I read that the ball was actually dropped during the interview. I mean, how awkward that must’ve been…”

Chris exhaled.

“Yeah…it was definitely something. It made my day though.”

Your jaw ticked as you realized that he was putting on a front.

“…and is it true that he’s 43? I mean, I’ll definitely ask Y/N this later on-.”

“Then it’d probably be best if she answered that,” Anthony interrupted, and you mentally thanked him.

“Well…the secret’s out, right?” Chris laughed, and you frowned. “Yeah, she says he’s 43.”

Your frown deepened.

“That’d be like dating one of you guys, I’d imagine, but at least it’ll be easy for him to get on well with you guys. You all are rather close with Y/N, so that must be of some importance to her,” the interviewer replied.

“I don’t know about that one considering we found out with the rest of the world,” Chris joked, but you saw right through it. “I suppose it’s a good thing we didn’t know though because…”

He suddenly trailed off, letting out a low ‘whew’. He shook his head.

“No. I never would have allowed it.”

Your jaw dropped, staring at him like he’d grown a second head as the words registered within your mind. You didn’t even hear the rest of what was said as you backed up. You almost bumped into Tessa, and she steadied you.

“Woah,” she said. “You okay?”

“No, actually,” you slowly replied, turning to face her. “I’m not.”

You found that it was true. Your stomach churned and you felt like you were going to vomit any moment. The audacity of him!

“I…I have to go,” you told her.

You let your publicist know that you were feeling ill, and you waved bye to Tom on the way out, his brows furrowed in confusion as he hesitantly waved back. You fought tears the entire way to your apartment, shaking your head in disbelief. Never mind the fact that Chris has said that, but the fact that he’d confidently said it in front of other people.

“Never would have allowed it?” you mumbled to yourself.

You were gripping the wheel so hard you were sure it would break. As you furiously got out of your car, you thought to yourself that you didn’t even care if he texted you back or not. You weren’t in the mood to even look at his face, let alone talk to him.

After you showered and poured yourself a glass of wine, you curled up on your couch, staring at the tv…but not watching it. Chris’ words kept replaying, and you wondered how he could even fix his mouth to say such a thing. He wasn’t your father! There wasn’t a damn thing in the world he could forbid you to do.

And before you knew it, you had downed two more glasses and that was exactly what you were texting him. You were certain your thumbs would crack the screen with how furiously you were typing. When you were done, you turned your phone off, slamming it on the table as you returned your gaze to the tv.

It was hours later when you heard a knock on your door. You briefly wondered who it was, but you had suspicions that it was probably Tom. You’d left in such a hurry, and your phone was off, so he was probably coming to check on you. With a buzz coursing through your veins, you pulled the door open, only for your face to drop when your eyes connected with blue ones…not brown.

He didn’t exactly look thrilled to see you either, and you were certain that your face was no different. You pursed your lips, going through a pros and cons checklist of letting him in before scoffing. You swung the door open wider before turning your back on him. You heard him close it, his feet following yours into the kitchen.

You didn’t spare him a glance as you poured yourself another glass, taking up residence on the other side of the small island. Eventually, when he didn’t say anything, you looked up at him, a frown on your face.

“Are you actually going to say something? Or just stand there and stare at me?”

Chris heaved a sigh, resting one hand on the counter while the other found a home on his hip. He stared you down, jaw ticking beneath his beard.

“You’re upset with me…”

“I wonder what makes you think that?” you mumbled into your glass.

“…but I’m upset with you too.”

“Yeah, well, at least my anger is valid,” you spat.

“…and mine isn’t?” he threw back.

You huffed, glancing away from him.

“If you’re upset that I didn’t tell you, then I’m sorry. I mean that. I don’t want you to think I don’t trust you or anything, but you have to understand why I didn’t say anything. Look at how you’re reacting,” you said, gesturing to him.

His nostrils flared.

“What does a man like that have in common with someone like you anyway?”

You jutted out your hip, resting your hand on it as you stared him down.

“Someone could easily ask you the same thing. What, I can be friends with you, Anthony, and Sebastian despite the age difference, but I can’t date someone who’s the same age as you?”

“It’s a bit different. We are your friends, we look out for you, we are not trying to…”

He swallowed his words, seeming like he couldn’t even bear to say it. You smirked at him.

“So I can choose my friends, but I can’t choose who I fuck?”

He glared at you.

“I mean…that is what you’re saying, right?”

“You can choose someone who’s acceptable…”

“…and who are you to say he’s not acceptable?” you demanded, offended on Alex’s behalf. “You don’t even know him.”

He made himself at home, taking a seat as he stared at you, hands folded on the counter.

“So tell me about him then…”

You heaved a long sigh, leaning against the sink as you crossed your arms over your chest.

“He’s…sweet,” you started, pressing your hands to your eyes. “Oh my God, he’s so sweet, Chris. You’d get along great with him. He’s funny, he loves dogs, and he has the biggest and kindest family you’ll ever meet. He’s filming overseas, right now-.”

“So he’s an actor,” Chris interrupted, sounding displeased.

“Yes. He calls me every night…,” you trailed off, suddenly uncomfortable.

“You told Anthony that it wasn’t serious…”

You looked down.

“I really like him, okay? That’s why I don’t care what you guys think. I’m not breaking up with him just because you don’t approve,” you said, eyes meeting his again. “You’re not my father, and you can’t tell me what to do.”

“No, I’m not your father, and I’m sure as hell glad for that, but someone definitely needs to be…”

“Screw you, Chris,” you murmured.

He glared at you, and you fought back tears, surprised at how much this was hurting your feelings.

“I don’t understand why you’re so mad about this! Why are you treating me like I can’t make my own decisions?”

“Because I think you’re making bad ones,” he answered, rising and heading towards the door.

You balled your hands into fists as he made his way out.

You spun away from Tessa, a thin layer of sweat clinging to your skin. Today was the last day of filming, and the crew members were hosting a party. You’d almost let Chris’ sour attitude ruin it for you, but Tessa convinced you to come.

She’d arrived at your apartment early in the morning, fed up with your sulking. You told her about your argument with Chris, and she listened while you ranted about his behavior. You talked with her about Alex too, eager to tell her everything. Talking to Tom about him was nice and all, but it was different with Tessa.

She comprehended why you had never said anything about your relationship, far more understanding than Chris or even Anthony had been. She made you feel a lot better about the whole situation and assured you that Chris would get over it. He hadn’t spoken to you the entire time you’d been here, so you didn’t know about that.

It pained you to think that your friendship with him could end just like that over something so insignificant as to who you were dating, something that didn’t affect his life in the slightest. You stumbled away from Tessa, realizing that you’d had more to drink than you thought. You touched her arm.

“Hey, I’m gonna head inside. Try to rest my nerves for a bit…”

“Okay,” she said. “Hurry back when you feel better.”

“K.”

You trudged your way inside of the huge house, heading straight for the kitchen. You filled a glass with water from the sink, emptying it in no time. You were ready to go for another when movement from your left caught your eye.

You looked over your shoulder, pausing when your gaze connected with that of Chris’. He didn’t look like he was having fun, and your shoulders sagged.

“Can we talk for a minute?”

You eyed him, almost sadly, before swallowing. You nodded, forgetting the glass of water and opting to follow him instead. You stumbled a few times, alcohol coursing through your system, but thankfully Chris didn’t notice.

You followed him into a guest bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed as he turned on the light. He was dressed plainly in jeans and a dark tee, a darker cardigan hugging his arms and shoulders. He rested his hands on his hips in that Captain America way you often teased him about, and you fought a smile.

“I’m sorry,” he eventually breathed.

You blinked at him, the alcohol making it hard to process what he said.

“You’re…sorry?”

Your voice was small and unsure, and his face crumbled as he moved to sit beside you.

“You’re right. I can’t tell you who you can or can’t date. I shouldn’t have said what I said in that interview,” he admitted.

You let out a soft chuckle.

“No…you shouldn’t have. I was so…embarrassed when you said that Chris,” you said, looking at him.

“I know,” he whispered. “I don’t want to make you feel that way. I thought I was upset because you hid it from me, but…”

You eyed him, waiting for him to continue. His gaze met yours.

“I don’t have any rights to your dating life, but…I want to,” he slowly replied.

You frowned at him, and he continued.

“I care about you…”

“I know. I care about you too,” you told him in the quiet room.

“I’m attracted to you, Y/N,” he confessed, making your eyes widen. “I always have been.”

Your lips parted, surprise and confusion filling you.

“I told myself from the beginning that my feelings were innocent, that I was just looking out for you. I convinced myself that my anger at your relationship came from a place of concern…but that isn’t true.”

“Chris…”

“Somewhere down the line, in the back of my mind, I had accepted that anything between us would be inappropriate. That you’d be repulsed…and then, come to find out, your boyfriend is even older than me.”

He chuckled, finding some warped humor in it all.

“I felt cheated. I felt like that could be me…like that should be me…”

You didn’t know what to say. You’d have to be blind to deny that Chris was handsome. He was one of the most sought-after men in America, but your feelings had been fleeting…shallow. You thought Anthony and Sebastian and Tom were handsome too, but in an appreciative sort of way. That was how you saw Chris too.

“I’m…with Alex. You know that…”

He took your hands, scooting closer.

“…but could that have been me? Tell me the truth,” he pleaded.

“I…I don’t know-.”

“I think you do. I think you thought like I thought and pushed any desires out of your mind.”

Your mind was fuzzy, too much alcohol in your system to fully process this conversation. You moved to stand, but he held you in place.

“Chris, I think I should go…”

You trailed off when his lips met yours, and you jerked back, eyes wide.

“I have a boyfriend, you know that…”

“You haven’t answered my question,” he told you.

“I…I don’t know! But it doesn’t matter because I am with someone!”

“…and that someone could have been me.”

“But it’s not, so-.”

He kissed you again, wrapping his arms around you. You reached in between your bodies, pressing the palms of your hands against his chest. He moved back, but he brought you with him. He rolled you over until you were beneath him, and you made a noise of protest deep in your throat.

“Chris,” you mumbled into his lips, pushing against him again.

He was smooth in reaching under your dress to take hold of your underwear, pulling them down your legs with ease. You opened your mouth to protest again, but all that came out was a gasp when his hand slid between your thighs.

You shook in his arms as he played between your legs, fingers ghosting over you and prodding you until he was able to slide them into your soaking lips. A choked moan climbed out of your throat, and he hummed as his lips trailed down your chin, peppering kisses along your neck.

Your body felt light, limbs numb as you heard him fooling around with his pants, the sound of his zipper deafening in the quiet room. You knew what was about to happen. Your brain was screaming at you, but you couldn’t move. You didn’t know if it was the alcohol or shock, but you were powerless to stop him.

You reached out to place your hands on his when he parted your legs, and you didn’t know if it was to pull his hands away…or not. You caught a glimpse of him as he settled between your legs, stomach sinking as you blinked at the sight of him…bare…for you.

“Chris,” you mumbled, unsure of what you were going to say.

It didn’t matter, anyway. His lips were covering yours as he pressed the head of his cock against your folds, prodding and prolonging the inevitable. You thought about Alex, and that sobered you up a bit, but it was too late.

You threw your head back against the mattress, nails digging into Chris’ hands as he thrust inside of you. The noise that escaped him was orgasmic, the deep sound causing you to clench around his length. He hissed at that before completely leaning over you, forearms pressed into the mattress beside your head as he started to move.

Shallow breaths left your lips as he pumped into you, the squelching sound of his retreat and entry reaching your ears. Your eyes were unfocused, hands coming up to rest on his sides as you started to moan. He joined you, bending his head to kiss you again and again.

There were odd brief moments at the start of filming where you idly wondered what it would be like to kiss Chris. You never imagined that you’d find out for sure. Then when you and Alex happened, you’d left those girlish and embarrassing fantasies behind. His lips were soft and sweet with the taste of whatever drink he’d had, and he moved them over yours with so much expertise it made your head spin.

“That feel good?” he breathlessly wondered, jerking his hips into yours.

You gave a shaky nod.

“U-uh-huh,” you gasped, clenching around him.

“God, you’re so beautiful… You know that?” he mumbled, kissing you again.

Your toes flexed, stomach clenching as well.

“I thought about you all last night,” he quietly professed. “I thought about your lips and these fucking thighs and how it’d feel to be in between them…”

“Chris,” you whined.

“You’re so tight,” he hissed in your ear. “Tighter than I’d imagined you’d be.”

One of your hands traveled to his back, bunching up his shirt and sweater.

“Chris,” you gasped, breath hitching. “Chris, I think…”

Your words died on your tongue as you moaned, wrapping your legs around him, pulling him closer. He groaned against your skin, lifting his head to look into your eyes.

“You gonna come for me?”

You gave a jerky nod, tightening your grip on him. He hissed when you clenched around him again, blue eyes boring into your own.

“Yeah? You’re fucking choking my cock. A greedy little thing,” he murmured, never taking his eyes off of yours. “Come on, baby. Show me what I do to you…”

You shook in his arms as your climax rushed over you, legs trembling and eyes rolling as you clenched around him again and again. He wasn’t done, fucking you through it until you were an incoherent mess beneath him.

You never did rejoin Tessa on the dance floor.

~

tags: @harryspet​ @coconutqueen21​ @readermia​ @nickyl316h​

[ssaagentemilyprentiss]

Baby Talk

Emilyxreader

Word count: 1200

Tw: Mention of pregnancy and IVF

A fic based of my head canon that Emily doesn’t know how to change a baby’s diaper.

This is only my second fic so I hope you guys enjoy. All mistake are mine I’m really bad at editing 😋

Prompt: You’re crying

You’ve always wanted kids growing up. It was the deal breaker for you in a lot of your relationships. Most of your previous partners jumped ship when you mentioned that you wanted to have at least two kids. Others just thought that they could agree but just kept putting the idea last on their list. So by time you and Emily began dating you had just about given up the idea that you would ever be a mother. When you met Emily your life changed in so many different ways. You finally had a family within the BAU. You were happy but you still felt as if something was missing. After 2 years of dating Emily asked you to marry her and of course you immediately said yes. It was the night of your wedding day that you finally gained the courage to tell Emily you wanted a baby. You thought for sure Emily would say no because of her job and prepared yourself for the possibility of rejection. Instead you got the opposite reaction, she was ecstatic. She told you about always wanting to have a family of her own and you guys soon began to plan for your future children. It was almost a year later that you found yourself pregnant only after the second try of IVF. You were finally going to be a mother.

It was about 3am and you had already been to the bathroom four times that night. But the little soccer player growing in your belly doesn’t seem to care and wants to keep kicking mom’s blatter meaning another trip to the bathroom. You try your best to get out of bed without waking Emily but being 8 months pregnant makes that task just a little difficult. After the third attempt you were successful to make it onto your feet to wobble your way to the bathroom. You’re exhausted and a little emotional due to the lack of sleep.

“Carrying a baby is the most rewarding experience a woman can enjoy.”

That’s the thought that kept you going. No matter how uncomfortable you felt. The constant backaches, the swollen ankles, and not to mention the sensitivity to smell and constant nausea. You just keep reminding yourself that you were doing a beautiful thing and would be bringing life into this world and finally starting a family with your wonderful wife. It always makes you super emotional thinking about finally having the family you always wanted. You wiped the tears from your eyes and heads back to the bedroom. You were so lost in your thoughts you didn’t notice Emily was awake.

“Hey baby you okay” Emily asked with concern

“Yea. Um yea I’m fine. Go back to sleep” you said with a sniffle

“You’re crying baby what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I’m just tired and a little uncomfortable. But I tell you what this baby better be a soccer player with all the kicking going on” you said with a wince as the baby kicked hard again

“Aww sweetheart c’mere I’ll see if I can the baby to calm down so you can get some rest”

“No Em it’s fine I’m just gonna go lay on the couch and maybe watch a movie. You need sleep you have work in the morning”

“Well you need sleep too and if you think for one minute I’m gonna leave my pregnant wife up alone when she clearly needs me then you’re wrong. So get over here and lay down and let me talk to our baby” she reaches out for hand to help you climb into bed, she waits a moment to allow you to find the best way to lay before laying her head on your swollen belly.

“Hey there peanut.” She was greeted with swift kick “listen I know you are excited in there and Mommy and I can’t wait to meet you in less than a month time but baby Mommy is very tired and she needs her rest” the baby kicked again but not as hard.

“Em I think it’s working keep talking”

“Little one it’s bedtime so let’s just settle down for the night so we can all get some rest.” She placed a kiss on your stomach and began to rub your very large baby bump.

“Em baby you know in less than a month we are gonna have a screaming, crying baby keeping us up at all hours of the night.

“Yea I know it’s exciting. I can’t wait to hold our baby.”

“Babe there’s also the feeding and let’s not forget the changing. Are you ready for that or are we gonna have the baby Hank situation all over again?”

It was the night that Derek and Savannah invited the team over for dinner. You and Emily were the first to arrive wanting to help with the set up.

Savannah and Emily had been secretive all night but you just thought they were plotting something against Derek. It wasn’t til much later that evening that you truly found out what Emily was really planning.

“Hey babygirl Savannah needs your help. Something about picking out an outfit for something. Anyways she upstairs in the master bedroom” Derek said you nodded before you quickly headed up the stairs to the bedroom

“Hey Sav, what’s going on?” You asked. She puts a finger to her lip to tell you to be quiet and points to the monitor on the wall. You turn to look at the screen and you can’t help but silently laugh at your girlfriend frantically trying to change little Hank’s diaper.

“Hey Savannah so how do you get the diaper to stay on?” You hear your beautiful girlfriend call for help through the baby monitors.

“Seriously Emily?. The little tabs on the sides”

“Oh so those weren’t supposed to come off”

“Em. Do you need help?”

“No!! I got it this.”

“Oh my god, Sav you’re letting Emily change Hank’s diaper? You do realize she has never changed a diaper before?”

“Hey, she volunteered something about needing practice”

“Oh no Hank I thought you liked me. Guys help me, he is peeing everywhere!” Laughing at the cries for help we both head to the nursery to try help. The sight before our eyes was historical. Hank is laying on the changing table gurgling and giggling away while Emily is using a teddy bear to shield herself.

“Emily baby are you okay?” you ask still while laughing at the situation

“Yes, just great, you know me and Hank here just spending some time together. We were having a blast until he decided to give me a golden shower. Sav you really need to teach him that is not polite to pee on people”

“Well babe the trick is to get the diaper on before the baby springs a leak” you helped put a new diaper on the baby while Savannah gave Emily a new outfit to wear.

“Ha ha very funny, but in my defense no one told me about the possibility of being peed on. I’m a BAU agent. I’m good at everything except changing diapers but that’s okay I can just leave the changings to you. I will do all the feedings”

“Ohh no. You, my beloved, are gonna change diapers too. You know what they say practice makes perfect.”

“I’ll keep practicing. I still have a month left. Alright baby let’s get some sleep before the little one decides to start kicking again.” She leans up to give you a kiss before settling back on her side of the bed.

“Emily I love you and thank you for giving me a family”

“I love you too and you also gave me a family as well. Good night baby get some rest”

[blu-joons]

DATING NCT A⇴Z HEADCANON ⇴ Lee Jeno

A ⇴ AFFECTION

Jeno’s affection always works in order to suit you. Whether you want him to hold you tight or just rest a hand against you, he’ll do whatever you ask. He’s incredibly accommodating, he doesn’t mind how he holds you just as long as he is.

B ⇴ BEFORE DATING

The two of you met on the set of The Show, you were there on his first day to help him out as a member of staff and show him the ropes. It was only natural that the two of you started chatting as professionals, but over time you found that balance changing into something different for the both of you.

C ⇴ CONFESSION

On his last day of The Show, Jeno knew that he couldn’t risk potentially losing you. As he was clearing out his dressing room, you appeared to say your goodbyes, however Jeno couldn’t let you go that easily. Rather than say goodbye, he sat you down in his dressing room, taking a strong hold of your hand as he began to tell you how he felt about you and how desperate he was not for this to be the last time you saw each other.

D ⇴ DATES

You never quite know what to expect when it comes to a date with Jeno, he loves to surprise you and find unique things for you to do. If there’s a fair in town then Jeno will drag you along, or if a new restaurant has just opened up, he’ll book a table so that you guys can go and explore. If there’s one thing that you can always guarantee on your dates however, it’s that Jeno is a complete gentleman. He always makes sure to hold your hand, open the doors for you, and pays whenever you stop arguing with him that you should split the bill.

E ⇴ EXPERIENCE

The biggest concern that you had with being Jeno’s first relationship was the relationship that he had with the fans. Jeno chose to be clear and transparent with the fans so that they could get to know you and your relationship too. He loved social media at the best of times, but he would often keep the fans updated on the things that you were getting up to on his social media feed too. The connection between you and the fans was key, and so if Jeno could help to build a bond between you both, then he’d do it in a heartbeat.

F ⇴ FIGHTING

Jeno isn’t someone that likes to argue, especially with the person that he’s supposed to love. Whilst he appreciates small squabbles happen between even the best of friends, large and out of proportion arguments are not something that he enjoys. He much prefers to talk things out with you when either of you is frustrated with the other, he tries his best to maintain his composure and keep himself calm, no matter how angry he gets. He’s always respectful, he’ll never go below the belt and risk hurting you, a disagreement is one thing for him, but to go personal is not something that he does or expects you to do either.

G ⇴ GETTING TO KNOW HIS FAMILY

Bonding with his family was actually not a priority for him or his family, they knew that they’d love you, but their biggest concern was how you’d get on with the cats. New people were often a difficult time for them, so it was a much bigger hurdle for you to pass over then ever meeting the rest of his family was.

H ⇴ HOME

Having his own room in the dorm was definitely a bonus for you both and made life easier. Jeno was in no rush to move out anyway at such a young age and knowing that you had a room of privacy certainly made you much more relaxed about living in the dorm too, even if you could always hear the boys outside still.

I ⇴ “I LOVE YOU”

Jeno was the first to say, ‘I love you,’ on a date night one evening. He’d been trying to find the perfect time for quite a while, but sitting down to a meal, without any interruptions, ended up seeming like the perfect place for you both. He was nervous for most of the night until he found the courage to say the words you’d always wanted to hear.

J ⇴ JEALOUSY

Being jealous wasn’t something that typically occurred around Jeno, he was usually quite calm and trusting of most people around you. Even if he did feel jealous at all, he’d never make a big deal out of it, especially for your sake, and would wait until the two of you were alone to tell you a little more about how he felt. Causing a big deal over jealous is not his style at all, however, he isn’t afraid to step in like a hero and save the day if he feels like his jealousy is verging on uncomfortable for both him and for you.

K ⇴ KIDS

Having children was something that Jeno had never given any thought to, before dating you, and even at the start of your relationship. When you first mentioned it for the first time it definitely caused his body to tense up for a while. Growing up still felt like it was a long way away for him at times that children had never crossed his mind. For a while you were anxious that you’d said the wrong thing until Jeno quickly reassured you and began to open up his mind to the thought of having children as well.

L ⇴ LAUGHTER

Laughing is one of Jeno’s favourite things in the world, especially when he’s with you. He knows he has the charms, that was one of the first things you learnt about him when you watched him as an MC, but when the two of you were alone, he really felt like he could be himself. He was always laughing and joking around with you, and if you’d had a bad day, then he’d be right there to pick you up straight away and try anything that he could to try and make you smile again. He never wanted you to have a frown when he was around.

M ⇴ MISSING

He tries to smile his way throughout any time that he’s away from you, he doesn’t want the others to notice him missing you, and he definitely doesn’t want you to notice him missing you when he’s on a call with you either. Throughout a tour, you’ll often have small gifts arrive at your front door that Jeno has organised so that he can make sure that you know that he’s still thinking of you and missing you. He loves coming home and seeing all the things that he sent you positioned around the house so that you always have a little something that Jeno has bought for you at your side no matter what room of the house you’re in.

N ⇴ NICKNAMES

Jeno likes to be traditional with his nicknames, ‘jagi,’ is very much a go to for him, however he won’t be opposed to throwing a few different ones in there from time to time as he knows how much it takes you by surprise.

O ⇴ OBSESSION

He’s obsessed with your height, because as far as he is concerned, you’re the perfect height for him to cuddle up to and hold tightly against his body.

P ⇴ PDA

Any affection from Jeno that you receive in public is usually so that he can keep you well protected. There are plenty of times when he’s busy, but he loves to have you join him on his schedules. Whether it’s fans, cameras, or anything else, he’ll always grip onto your waist to keep you near him and away from any sort of trouble.

Q ⇴ QUESTIONS

Whenever he writes a song, he loves to ask for your opinion on what he’s written. You’re far from a lyricist, but Jeno will still come to see you and see what you think, although each time you tell him it’s faultless and perfect.

R ⇴ RANDOM FACTS

As well as songwriting, Jeno loves to play his guitar for you. Whenever you have a bit of a restless night, he’ll pull your frame to rest in between his legs and settle your head against his chest, playing his guitar over you. He always knows the perfect melodies to help try and ease your mind from anything that you’re stressing over and won’t stop until he can comfortably look down and see that you’re fast asleep on him.

S ⇴ SEX

He’s a true romantic when it comes to being intimate, it can often feel like something out of a movie. A dark room, perhaps even some light music in the background, Jeno likes to create the perfect atmosphere so that you can relax under his touch and allow him to take control. He tries to look after you as much as possible and will only let you take care of him if you beg him to let you make sure that he feels good as well.

T ⇴ TEXTS

You never quite know if you’re going to see a text from Jeno or not. Some days he’ll text you constantly, other days, you’ll barely get one, a lot of it depends on how busy he is and whether he can sneak a few minutes on his phone.

U ⇴ UNIVERSE

The chance to fall in love appealed to Jeno from a young age, he just never imagined that it would happen so soon for him. He truly believed that fate brought the two of you together when you met on The Show, and he would always be eternally grateful for it.

V ⇴ VACATION

Europe is somewhere you know that Jeno would love to travel around, so when he gets a bit of time to go on holiday, the two of you organise the perfect road trip for you both. You try to tick off as much of Jeno’s bucket list as you can because with how busy he is, you never know when the opportunity will present itself again.

W ⇴ WHINING

He’s not someone who will tend to whine too often, he’s understanding that you work hard, but he doesn’t want to be left for too long without your attention.

X ⇴ XXXXX

Whenever he has the chance, it becomes second nature for Jeno to kiss you. Even if it’s the quickest kiss in the world, he’ll still give it just so you know that he’s there and has you in his mind. It doesn’t matter to him where he kisses either, he does prefer to kiss the top of your head and engulf you against his chest, but he’ll often kiss the back of your hand or your cheek too depending on how accessible the space is to him.

Y ⇴ YOU

You were his true love, the one that the world had given to him.

Z ⇴ ZZZ

At night, Jeno would make sure to hold you nice and close to him. He knew how important touch was in the evening to ease your mind when you were restless, so much so that you’d often have to ask him to loosen his grip before you fell apart.

---

Masterlist

[ijwrsmff]

I thought your Kokicbi fluff alphabet was really cute, can you do one for Rantaro? Stay Hydrated!

You stay hydrated as well! Thank you for requesting I hope you like it!

A-Activities (what do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?)

He loves to watch movies, so one of his favorite things to do with you is take turns picking which movies you’ll watch! He definitely has favorite movies he’ll have you watch with him, and in return he wants to watch all of your favorites too!

B-Beauty (what do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?)

He likes to look into your eyes. He loves how eyes alone can show so many varying expressions, you’ll catch him often looking into your eyes. Maintain eye contact with him...please. 

C-Comfort (how would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack/etc.?)

He’s one of the most comforting beings out there. He’ll have your back, and learn exactly he can help you when you’re feeling down/having a panic attack. Some people need to be touched, some reject touch. He’ll spend enough time with you and have a sit-down about how he can best help you when you’re in one of those moods. 

D-Dreams (how do they picture their future with their s/o?) 

He wants children eventually, but doesn’t care if it’s from his partner or through adoption. It doesn’t really matter to him, he would love an adopted child just as much as if it was his own. So if you didn’t want to have kids yourself, he would respect that and is completely comfortable with the idea of adopting. 

E-Equal (are they the dominant one in their relationship or are they more passive?)

He’s pretty passive, letting you make all the decisions. If it was important, he’d give his input but doesn’t mind if his ideas are shut down.

F-Fight (would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?) 

He is rather quick to forgive unless you really crossed a lot of lines. But he doesn’t like to let negative emotions show, so oftentimes you’ll have no idea he’s upset unless he tells you upfront. 

G-Gratitude (How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?) 

He’s eternally grateful for you. He says it often, never wanting you to think otherwise. He likes to tell you how much you mean to him. He also makes it obvious by remembering your conversations and bringing up your interests whenever possible. You told him you like x a million years ago? He remembers. And will get you something related to what you like. 

H-Honesty (do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?)

He has some secrets, but he prefers to let you know what he’s thinking. Chances are, if he’s keeping something from you he’ll tell you when he’s ready.  

I-Inspiration (Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?)

You both have each other, he’s your rock and you’re his angel. You saved him in a way, and brought determination back into his life just by your being in it.  

J-Jealousy (do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?) 

He doesn’t really get jealous. He trusts you, and knows you wouldn’t do something like cheat on him. He gets concerned if someone is flirting with you, but more because he knows it makes you uncomfortable rather than getting jealous about it. 

K-Kiss (are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?) 

He’s a great kisser. It can be passionate, it can be casual, no matter what kind of kiss it is, he’s good at it. First kiss would be gentle, almost as if he didn't want to hurt you. But after that it would depend on the mood. 

L-Love confession (how would they confess to their s/o?)

You would have to be friends first, and you would notice on the day he confesses that he’s...hesitant. While he doesn’t want to keep his feelings hidden, he’s worried you won’t receive him well. He would have you over to watch a movie...this time a romantic comedy. Not really something he likes, but he figured it would set the mood to confess. At the end of the movie (of which he never said a word during) he would tell you how he feels. He doesn’t outright say it, but beats around the bush for a while before finally coming out and saying he likes you. 

M-Marriage (do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?) 

He wants to get married so bad. Please just let him marry you. It’s all he wants. He would propose on a date (dates are pretty common with him, but usually only movie dates. This time it was a restaurant). He would give a long speech about how much you meant to him, and finally get down on one knee and propose. During the marriage...he’s so...happy. He’s always smiling, looking at you and saying “I knew I made the right choice. You’re meant for me.”

N-Nicknames (what do they call their s/o?) 

He adores getting to call you “love”. It shows his feelings in an obvious way, and says it sometimes even if you’re not there, just when he’s thinking about you he calls you love. It puts a smile on his face every time. 

O-On cloud nine (what are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious to others? How do they express their feelings?)

It’s obvious because he gives a genuine smile a lot. He’s also always holding your hand. In that way, it becomes obvious to others. He likes to express his feelings verbally, always telling you things he loves about you as well as common compliments. 

P-PDA (are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?) 

He’s not one to brag, but he does like to hold your hand. Near constantly. He gives you kisses in public, he doesn’t really care. But only casual kisses, the more passionate ones are reserved for when it’s just you two. 

Q-Quirk (some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship?)

He seems to always know when something’s wrong, sometimes even before you do. It shocks you when he asks if you’re upset when you haven’t outright said anything. He also seems to know when panic attacks are coming and helps you combat them.  

R-Romance (how romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliche or rather creative?) 

He can be very romantic. Less so in public, but still romantic nonetheless. He likes to tell jokes just to make you laugh. In his mind, you look even better when you’re laughing. He knows he’d do anything it takes to make sure you can laugh and have fun. He likes to surprise you with your favorite things, or things relating to your favorites. In that way, he can be both cliche or creative. Depending on what you get. 

S-Support (are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?)

He believes in you more than he even believes in himself. He would do anything to help you achieve your goals. Just give him the word and he’d help with whatever it is. He swells with pride when you’re actively working on something you’re passionate about.  

T-Thrill (do they need to try out new things to spice up their relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?) 

He usually prefers routine, but every once in a while doing something out of the ordinary is fun for him. As long as it makes you happy...he doesn’t really care what you do together. Though if you ever expressed it would be too much, he’d leave with you immediately. 

U-Understanding (how good do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?)

He enjoys getting to know you. Your favorite foods, movies, games, colors, anything big or small he likes to know. He can be very empathetic when it comes to you, which means he can easily play off the positive things. Though...it also means when you’re hurting, he’s hurting too. And he’d do anything to put a smile back on your face.  

V-Value (how important is the relationship to them? What’s it worth in comparison to other things in their life?) 

He’s always wanted a forever relationship, and he believes that's what the two of you have. As soon as you’re in love...you’re stuck with him. He would admit he’s wrong, even if he knows he isn't. Anything to keep you with him. He values your relationship above most else, the only thing he would consider above you is his relationship with his sister. If she didn’t like you (once he found her) he would try and make it work. But her opinion of you really matters to him. 

W-Wild Card (a random fluff headcanon)

He has panic attacks, and always seeks you out when he feels the tug of a panic attack starting. Just being in your presence calms him down. He’ll hold you close and won’t let go until it has passed. Your presence is comforting to him, and even if he’s just feeling down, being by you makes it all better.

X-Xoxo (are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?)

He can be very touch starved. He loves cuddling, he likes being the big spoon and feeling your back against his chest. Opposingly, he likes to be the little spoon because it makes him feel secure...safe. He gives kisses pretty frequently too, sometimes he’ll even just look at you with this adoring look on his face and lean in for a kiss. 

Y-Yearning (how will they cope when they’re missing their partner?) 

He lets it be known how much he misses you. He can go for short periods of time, a couple days at most before he’s calling you. If you answer, he’ll keep you on the line all day/night long. If you don’t...he’ll leave a sweet voicemail describing all of his favorite things about you, with jokes in there just so he knows he made you smile. 

Z-Zeal (are they willing to go to great lengths for their relationship? If so, what kind of?)

He’s willing to do just about anything for you. You wanna move countries? Sure, let him get his passport. You want to quit your job to pursue your dreams? He’ll get another job so he can provide for the both of you. As long as you’re waiting for him when he comes home he doesn’t care what he has to do. As long as it makes you happy. 

[nikibogwater]

Aight, loves, I’m only running on four hours of sleep here, but it’s time to Blether (bitterly)

Niki Blethers: Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans (SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT!)

Okay, um, how ‘bout we start with the good stuff first and then move into the Real Discussion.

Animation? Gorgeous. Even watching the movie on a janky iPad screen, I was blown away by the visuals.

Voice Acting: *chef’s kiss* I think this is easily Emile Hirsch’s best performance as Jim. And oh land, Colin O’Donoghue once again nails Douxie’s desperation, exhaustion, and sorrow. Give everybody an Oscar here, they deserve it.

Some of the emotional beats hit so hard. I can’t say all of them, unfortunately, but I was definitely in tears in a couple of places.

Dang, this movie did not screw around. It was extremely hard to watch the Arcane Order torturing Douxie and Nari, Nomura’s death, Jim breaking pretty much all of his ribs…I know whump fans are gonna have a good time with this.

Douxie body swapping with Nari was both viscerally uncomfortable and also made my heart bleed because oh my gosh Douxie you selfless king, c’mere and let me hold you, you brilliant boy. Also @sergeantsporks, how in the blue blazes did you predict that was coming.

Really great to see Barbara in the thick of things. I guess she and Strickler adopted out all the Darklands babies. I’m also so glad that Jim’s father wasn’t some important, mysterious person who left for a noble cause. The guy is just a deadbeat, and that’s all there is to it. It really helps build up the theme of Jim’s arc—that anyone, even the most unlikely people, can move past such challenges and be a hero.

The moments between Jim and his mom were wonderful. Very heartwarming.

DOUXIE BREAKING THROUGH BELLROC’S CONTROL OVER NARI WAS JUST 👌👌👌 LITERALLY EVERYTHING I WANTED FROM THAT SCENE.

MAGICAL SIBLINGS HUG AAAAAAHHHHHH!!! LOOK HOW RELIEVED HE IS, LOOK AT HOW MUCH HE LOVES HER, YA GIRL NIKI TOTALLY CALLED THEIR DYNAMIC!

Badass Nari with the Earth Titan lives in my brain rent-free now.

As much as I hated Nari’s death, I have to admit that Douxie’s response to it was appropriately heart-wrenching. The way he kept desperately calling her name, only to gasp it out once more when he realized she was gone—that was some good angst right there.

I still hate it, tho. 🙂

CHILDREN OF THE SUN, YEEEEEEAH!!! GET ‘EM, JIM!

Jim and Toby being both the beginning and the end for the series is so heartwarming. Honestly lost it over Toby’s death sequence and the way Jim was clinging to him and sobbing.

Okay, time to address the many elephants in the room:

M!Preg Steve should not have happened. Period. That wasn’t funny, that was disgusting, and honestly kind of insulting to the very real challenge of bearing children and giving birth. I’m sorry Dreamworks, but that is a hard no for me.

There were a handful of scenes where characters didn’t feel fully present, emotionally. Like, when the team realizes that Douxie is in the Order’s clutches….no one seems very worried? Like, guys, I know there’s a lot going on right now, but they literally killed him the last time he meddled in their affairs, why is nobody expressing any concern here? And when Douxie realizes he’s never going to see Archie again, he just kind of….shrugs it off? Bro, Archie is your Familiar, he practically raised you, and has been your one constant for nearly 1000 years, don’t you at least want to shed a tear or something? This isn’t anything major, but it was enough to break immersion for me in a few places. Just….why aren’t you guys emoting like you usually do?

I especially noticed this with Nari. She always seemed…really disconnected from everyone, which felt odd, because in Wizards, she very clearly cared about the others, and expressed genuine sorrow over Jim’s suffering and Merlin’s death. But here she seemed kind of….ditzy and out-of-it. Girl, why don’t you just tell Jim what to do. Use your words, I know you have them.

The ending. Oh. My. Gosh, that ending.

Let me make one thing clear here: I’m not averse to bittersweet endings. One of my favorite movies of all time is How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. What I hate is the fact that this movie basically retconned the entire series.

These characters who we have loved and followed over the last few years, related to their struggles, took comfort from their triumphs—all of that is gone now, in terms of canon. Everything and everyone was reset, with the exception of Jim. That doesn’t feel bittersweet. That feels pointlessly cruel. And to make it even worse, it wasn’t reset in a way that would allow for everyone to live in much-deserved peace. The Order is still there, the trials and suffering of the series still have to be repeated—but hey, it’s fine, because at least Jim gets to live happily ever after!!!

I cannot fathom how in the blue blazes anyone thought this was an appropriate finale to this series. What was the point of all those adventures, all those relationships, all those struggles and triumphs, if you were just going to erase them at the end? It feels cynical, not bittersweet or conclusive.

This was….a very difficult morning for me. Most of you know that my passion and love for this series has been a huge driving force in my creative growth as an author and an artist. To have it turn so sour, so suddenly, right at the end of it all…I’m probably going to need some time to get over this.

That being said, I know the team behind the movie was under a lot of pressure. Tales of Arcadia is known for being innovative and breaking storytelling molds. I can understand their desire to take the ending in such a drastically different direction. But I don’t think it was the ending this series deserves.

However, I’m aware that this is all pretty subjective. If you loved the ending, please don’t let my take on it ruin that happiness. Just be aware that I will probably be ignoring this movie’s existence as I continue to create fan content. I love these characters too much to abandon the fandom altogether, don’t worry.

[lovethisletters]

The Bat & The Lantern || Batman x Reader

Hi, lovely! I had so much fun writing this (I'm not gonna lie, I was quite nervous at first, since I don't know that much about the whole green lantern universe, but guess it turned out...ok?) so I hope you enjoy it as much as I did and to be honest, I would like to revisit this story again in the future!

Little disclaimer: The reader is a Human green lantern but similar to star-lord she lived the majority of her life in space, that's why she's so oblivious as to whom Batman is, also this takes place during Dick Grayson early years as robin (12-13).

Word count: 2233!!!

Summary: Reader is a new member of the Justice League...but Batman doesn't seem too happy about it.

Keys: Y/S/N: Your Superhero Name | Y/N: Your (real) Name.

Hal Jordan was your friend since you joined the green lanterns (which it was barely 3 or 4 years ago)

Basically...you were "new"

But that didn't stop your fellow green lanterns (?) From seeing all your potential.

Everyone is convinced that with the right training and perseverance, you will become one of the greatest green lanterns of all time.

So, it didn't take long before you proved yourself to be capable enough to join the big leagues.

More specifically, The Justice League.

Hal was the one to introduce you to his companions.

The Amazonian, the human looking alien, the speedster, the other Alien not so human looking, the half robot; everyone was so nice to you since they met you.

Everyone except...The grumpy bat.

When you first introduced yourself, he didn't even bother to be as welcoming as the others.

He just stood there, looking all big and serious that you almost thought it was a statue or the poor guy had catatonic lapses or was way too shy or socially awkward to approach you.

You felt bad, so you approached him instead.

—Hi! I'm Y/S/N...—You said enthusiastically before being abruptly interrupted.

—I know, I heard your introduction already—His voice so devoid of any kind of emotion that you may as well had been talking to a machine.

"Scanning complete, Batman"

A voice inside his cowl informed him, it sounded like an older man with a British accent.

—Thank you, I'll check it later.

That’s when it hit you…the reason why he was watching you so intensely and standing so incredibly still: He was scanning you.

Fucking. Son. Of. A. Bitch.

You stayed there, your face paralyzed with surprise and anger, without knowing very well what to answer; you didn't want to cause a scene on your first day, but this man was just so rude; That is not an appropriate way to receive a new member. yes, it is normal to have suspicions, but you would appreciate if he had the decency to let his suspicions be known when you weren't present.

—she just introduced herself and already on with the paranoic behavior, Bats? seriously? —Hal stepped in your defense.

—this is a routine procedure; I'm just being cautious.

—He was like that at the beginning with all of us too, don’t worry he’ll warm up to you in no time—Wonder woman whispered in your ear after watching your uncomfortable expression.

Ultimatedly you decided to listen to the amazonian and let that one slide, “is normal to be wary of new things anyways” you repeated yourself.

As the months passed you have grown quite frustrated. Between all the missions and meetings even though you felt your relationship with the rest of the team grow closer and they began to trust you and respect you; your relationship with the Batman stayed pretty much the same.

Yes, there was a bit of progress….a bit.

He was bit more talkative to you, a bit more “friendly”, a bit more trusting.

But it was always just a bit never actually fully a teammate to you, your relationship felt more like distant coworkers.

At the beginning it didn’t worry you too much, until your lack of communication started to mess with your performance in the missions, sometimes something completely bizarre and unexpected would happen and because both of you didn’t know each other very well, the mission would take the double amount of time to resolve since you couldn’t coordinate at all.

One time he almost ran you over with his batwing…

The whole thing was kinda funny looking back on it but at the time you were furious (rightfully so)

In his defense, he didn’t knew you were there…I mean…you basically where standing in his parking spot (not that you knew there was such a thing, most members could fly or at least jump really high, so you kinda always forgot he couldn’t…and to be honest you didn’t know his exact powers)

—Sorry—was all he said as he got out of the strangely shaped flying vehicle and directed only one glance at you to make sure you where ok before entering the building, always maintaining that characteristic calm and cold demeanor.

One day you entered the hall of justice earlier than usual only to find an unexpected guest sitting in one of the empty chairs his gaze fixated on a book, he was wearing a rather colorful suit of some sort matching his green mask, then you realized when you were close enough…he was a C H I L D.

You panicked, why was a child here? Is he some sort of mini spy? How was he able to get through the security system?  Did he touch anything dangerous?

This and many more questions ran through your mind, the child noticed you were looking at him and only gave a polite nod as a greeting before returning his attention to his book.

Perhaps a school trip that you weren’t aware of was taking place and this kid strayed from his class? Perhaps he was looking for one of your teammates to ask for a photo and got lost and decided to wait here for his teacher? That will explain why everyone wasn’t here in the meetings room, perhaps they were busy giving the (hypothetical) group of children a tour?

—Hey kiddo! Are you lost? —you began the conversation in a friendly tone before kneeling down a little in order to appear less imposing…after all he was a child you didn’t wanna scare him.

He looked at you so incredulously.

You could almost hear him think “ma’am wtf are you doing???” through his expressions.

—What’s your name?

—Ummm…uh…Robin?­—He spoke like it was something obvious  while signaling the “R” symbol on his chest.

—Robin, uh? What a pretty name! tell me Robin…why are you here? Are you lost?

Poor boy he was so confused, you didn’t know who he was? Didn’t any of the members told you about him? And more importantly…Why where you talking to him like if he was a 5-year-old?

—No, ma’am…I’m just waiting for Batman.

“Batman? Was he a fan of Batman of all superheroes?”  It surprised you a bit, usually kids tend to like superman or wonder woman more since they are nicer and charismatic, and Batman was the opposite.

—Sorry Kiddo, I don’t think he’s one for photos, perhaps you could ask the others some other time! ­— you began explaining trying to dissuade the kid while guiding him towards the exit.

—He’s not here for photos—smooth as ever…the Bat was behind you.

—He’s my sidekick.

Your jaw dropped, a sidekick? He’s a CHILD! You knew superheroes had sidekicks, but you never knew they were that young!

Before you could even begin to protest, Batman ignored you, looking down at the child and instructing him to collect his things.

—Hurry, you’ll be late for class again. — He said before disappearing behind the door that led to his parking spot.

Robin quickly followed, hanging his backpack over his shoulder before stopping in his tracks directing an apologetic smile towards you and saying:

—Don’t worry miss, I can take care of myself! — He must have noticed the concern on your face before leaving.

Since that day your routine changed.

You would wake up earlier, many times you’ll be the first to arrive to the Hall of justice, and even have breakfast flying on your way there all for one thing: Robin.

Once you learned he was Batman’s sidekick you couldn’t help but worry over that poor child, “what if he gets hurt? Is he eating/sleeping/resting properly?” you just couldn’t help yourself.

At first it was just checking on the kid by just…seeing him in the morning and greeting him casually but there were times he wasn’t there, and you would panic internally and there was no other way to calm your anxiety until you would ask the Bat about the child.

He would always replay shortly: “He’s at home” “He’s at school” “He’s busy” and your conversations always would end there.

One day that Robin was there however, instead of your usual ‘greeting nod’ he started talking to you.

He asked you all sorts of things (that weren’t compromising to your real identity ofc) “What’s your favorite color?” “What music do you like?” “What’s your favorite movie?”

And it started from there.

The conversations with Robin grew not only more frequent but also more personal (as personal as someone with a superhero lifestyle can be), to the point it had become a routine for you to come early and talk to the boy, sometimes you had breakfast together or even helped him with his homework before the Bat would take him to school.

Perhaps it was because you didn’t have many acquittances here on earth, but Robin became family to you.

And family takes care of each other.

It had been a rather difficult and spontaneous mission; Lex Luthor was starting to act a little bit fishy (more than usual) using his connections and money Luthor had been acquiring/robbing very specifically concerning items all over the US, his next objectives: a Radion sample being investigated in a secret laboratory in Star city and a Dionesium sample...contained in the Wayne tower laboratories...

The team decided to split to put a stop to Luthor’s minions and his plan.

The Bat insisted the rest of the team should go to Star city, telling them that he and Robin could handle it, but everyone was immediately against it: Luthor had already collected relatively powerful items and being the intelligent motherfucker he is, probably transformed some of those items to give to his goon’s so they might have a chance in harming any of the members if they were to interfere.

Ultimately, the team agreed you and cyborg would accompany them to Wayne Tower.

Robin was stoked, he would get the opportunity to fight alongside you! But Batman…not so much…he kept trying to lose the two of you on the way there; fortunately, cyborg put a tracker on the batwing, he wasn’t going to get rid of you that easy.

Upon your arrival, you could spot several men (armed like if they were military but with a much more upgraded equipment) already leaving the building, carrying two tanks (presumably full of that substance Martian Manhunter had mentioned before) and heading to a truck without any plates.

Long story short: you organized a plan as quickly as you could but…something went wrong…Cyborg and Robin were supposed to create a distraction while the two of you recovered the tanks without damaging them, since the properties of the substance within remained unknown.

But something went wrong: You and Batman failed to coordinate and so you were spotted by the henchmen, they started aiming their weapons at the two of you, initially you thought a force field generated by the power of your ring would be enough...oh no, honey, you’re so wrong.

Sonic weapons were able to not only break your concentration quickly, but also made your ears bleed! One after another you kept re-making the fields, but the sonic waves so deathly and loud just kept coming.

You don’t know how but you were able to stand your ground long enough to make cover not only for Batman and allow him to get the tanks back safely but also for the rest of your team and give them a slight advantage to take down as many of Luthor’s minions as they could.

And then…you passed out.

You woke up at the infirmary in Justice Hall, your head a mess and wrapped in bandages, you had broken your arm because that shit inside a cast too for some reason…and…your ring was gone!

Panic!

No, never mind it was on the nightstand next to the chair in which batman was sitting on.

WAIT…next to the chair in which batman was sitting on?!?!?!

—How are you feeling? — you didn’t know if it was him suddenly talking or the genuine concern on his voice that startle you, so you just nodded slightly while he approached you.

—Can you hear me properly? —Surprisingly you could, but you still were a bit taken aback by his presence.

—I…­—Before responding your brain reminded you of the fact that you didn’t had your ring on, hence your secret identity was revealed to Batman. Your hands practically flew to your face in embarrassment. You didn’t know why but without your mask you felt naked and vulnerable.

He noticed.

His gaze studying your pained expression before he let out a small sigh.

—I came here…to thank you…and apologize— hesitantly his hands moved to the back of his cowl.

—You not only put yourself in danger for Cyborg and Robin, but you also concerned yourself with my safety even when it was probably my fault that we ended up in that situation —He admitted pressing a hidden button loosing up his cowl before finally taking it off and reviling the most gorgeous man you’ve had ever lay your eyes on.

—And for that I thank you and apologize…sincerely—Such sudden action left you speechless for a while, Batman not only had thanked you and apologized, but he had entrusted his identity to you.

—I think-…I think we started with the wrong foot; you know? —You finally were able to respond, breaking the silence that filled the room and surprising him slightly by your sudden declaration.

—Let’s start again…Hi! I’m Y/N—You imitated the same friendly voice tone you first used to talk to him.

The lips on the man in front of you curved forming a subtle almost imperceptive grin.

—Hello, Y/N, I’m Bruce…Bruce Wayne.

 ♡♤♡♤♡♤♡♤

 WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! IT. TOOK. SO. LONG. Sorry :c

I had a bunch of ideas for this request but ended up going with this one since I wanted to expand on their beginning, I’m still trying to figure out a way to write Bruce and this was my first attempt, so…sorry if it was…bad :c I’ll try harder next time!!!

Any errors you might see, please let me know; English is not my first language so I’m trying to improve.

In the final scene I wanted Bruce to show he recognized the Reader as an equal so that’s why he took it off…still I felt like it could improve.

 ♡♤♡♤♡♤♡♤

I will forever thank you if you go check out my other profile: @aileysmirnov​ where I post things about my OC: edits, one-shots, imagines, art, etc. If you like Greek mythology and the bat family maybe you would get to be a little bit fond of her as much as I am!

Anyway! Thank you for reading!

[do-y0u-have-to-let-it-linger]

EXT. The Roof (Winter) - Sunset

Not Just Attracted to Women!Peter Maximoff x Fem and Not Just Attracted to Men!Reader

Based off of a dream I recently had: Peter and Y/N have a conversation on the roof of Xavier's in mid-December. Peter accidentally lets it slip that he might not be straight, and he is afraid that Y/N will think less of him because of it because this is the 80s. Y/N reveals that she is also not straight, and is saddened by the fact that Peter could think that she could ever hate him- especially for that. She calls him wonderful. Feelings ensue. Also, a touch of Cherik at the end because I give the people what they want.

Warnings: Swearing, Peter cries, internalized homophobia (this is the 80s-ish and Peter uses the word 'queer' in a kind of incorrect and kind of offensive manner, but it was internalized homophobia and not actually intended to be mean to anyone but himself so I forgive him), a touch of angst but mostly fluff, Charles called you two "children" even though you are obviously not, Erik is happy that his son has someone that cares about him the way you do, Peter is insecure but not super blunt about it, Peter has been deprived of being adored his entire life, bad writing, I mention a serial killer twice, historical inaccuracy because the word queer was still a slur so yeah.

A/N: This is literally the first thing I have ever written so please be nice to me, I wrote this instead of an essay. I would love a comment of any kind, even if it's just a heart emoji or something, and constructive criticism would be highly appreciated. Also 'N/N' stands for nick-name.

(Ok, so, full discloser: the format is odd. The bullet points represent dialogue, and the only dialogue is between you two love birds. The first bullet point is Peter, the second is Y/N, the third is Peter, and so on.)

“I dunno, the whole ‘liking people’ thing has always been weird for me.”

“How do you mean?"

“Pppffftt- 'how do you mean,' what are you, Shakespeare or somethin’?”

“Yeah, because that’s the era when ‘how do you mean' would have been a popular term. Ok, what do you mean?”

“Just- when other people were liking people I never really was?”

He was gesturing wildly and avoiding eye contact, as always. He wasn't uncomfortable with eye contact, he just got bored easily in conversations, he needed to keep himself occupied. In this situation that meant staring at the red and green lights covering the rest of the roof, the snowy trees all over the yard, and a holly garland around the gate. Peter wasn't Christian, but man, did he love their Christmas decorations.

“Like… now? In school?”

“Well- yeah… but also when I was younger. And I never liked the right people? Or... liked them in the right way?”

“So you’ve never liked anyone.”

“No, no… I definitely have. It was just… weird! I don't-”

His hands dropped to his side in defeat.

“I don’t think it’s that out of the ordinary. I would tell you if it was. Also, if it was... 'weird', like you said, that wouldn’t mean it was necessarily bad.”

He hadn’t really heard what she said, he was too busy pondering what his next sentence would be. When she wasn't speaking, he was rambling.

"I had some of the normal crap… like in movies when they talk about the fluttery stomach junk. I've had that around a few girls I've been friends with, also that phase with the boy stuff, a-"

“Wait, what phase with the boy stuff?”

“Like- when you’re in middle school or whatever and you're gay for a second.”

His phrasing was a joke, but the statement as a whole was not.

“…‘Gay for a second’?”

“…Yeah?”

“Hmmm..."

"Is that- not-"

"I don't think that is... 'normal'... per-say..."

“Oh… Really?”

His heart sunk.

“…Yeah.”

“Huh.”

“…Mhm.”

“…Shit.”

He suddenly looked almost embarrassed. He shifted his posture, seemingly trying to shrink into himself.

“Do you... wanna chat about it?”

Panic started to slowly rise in him.

“Um- forget I said anything.”

“Why?”

Something in him said to go on the "defense". He did not appear as calm as he was intending to.

“I’m not- gay! or anything. I like girls! I do!”

She put her hand on his arm.

“Hey- look at me for a second. We are not in court, and I never 'accused' you of being gay. That would be a very funny reality TV show, but not what is happening right now. Listen, theoretically if you were gay that wouldn’t be bad! And I wouldn’t be… whatever you.. think that I would be? I mean- however you are afraid I would act in a negative reaction to it? I would try to be here for you, and be as supportive as possible.”

He didn’t believe her.

“Ok, sure.”

“Peter.”

“What? You’re going to tell me that you would honestly be friends with a queer person- be friends with me if I was... not... normal?”

She was taken aback by his tone, the word he had used, and the way he said it, felt like a weight dropping on her shoulders.

“Oh. would you… not?”

It was her turn to seem nervous.

“What?”

“Would you- stop being friends with someone for liking someone that they… I don’t know… shouldn’t... would be the word I guess?”

Why, in this situation, was she nervous? Oh. His fear was replaced with guilt.

“No.”

“Ok.”

“So… are you… do you… why were you scared?”

“... Why were you?”

She expected a joke from him, something along the lines of “touché".

“Are you… gay?”

“No.”

Yeah, he didn’t believe her.

“Uh-huh”

“Really, I’m not. I’ve liked boys, but also... I've had feelings for girls. I’m not… straight. So I just want to let you know that it’s okay if you aren’t too.”

“I never s-“

She smiled at him with a bit of pity, she had been there. The self-loathing, the feeling of walking on minefields with so many people in your life.

“You are…”

She paused.

“I am… what?”

“Give me a second I’m trying to find the perfect word.”

“… Okay?”

“Wonderful.”

That was not exactly the word he was expecting. Like, at all.

“Huh?”

“That’s the word. Wait- let me start over. You gotta look me in my eyes as I say it, because it’s gonna be really poetic.”

“Uh… should I be scared?”

“No. Maybe a little. No.”

“… Okay.”

He looked at her.

“You are… wonderful.”

“Oh... Thanks?“

He looked away again, to be honest, he was a bit uncomfortable. He rarely received compliments, especially ones that seem so... genuine.

“I’m not finished, look back at me, just for a second. You are so wonderful- and I will support you as whatever you are! I want you to know that I can- I can barely even think of something you could do that would make me genuinely hate you- like… maybe if you Dahmer-ed people or like chopped up a-“

He found this was amusing, yet disturbing.

“Y/N?”

“Sorry- I just- the fact that you thought, even for a second, that I could hate you… is just-“

“I’m sorry”

“No! Stop it. Don’t be sorry.”

She stared at him expectantly.

“What do you want me to-“

“Take it back! The sorry!”

“How?”

“Say you aren’t sorry”

“N/N-“

“Peter.”

“Ok. I’m, ya know, not sorry.”

“Good. You shouldn’t be”

“You’re weird.”

“Yuh-huh. Says the most likely, from the little information I've gathered, bisexual in denial who also happens to be the fastest boy on earth who had to slow down exponentially to interact with other people who also, also, happens sitting on a roof in the dead of winter with me.”

“What’s by smexual?”

Something about the way he attempted to repeat her words must have been hilarious, he thought, because here she was, sitting in front of him, in a fit of childish giggles. He would smile if he weren't so confused.

“No- that’s not- what I said- it’s… wait!”

“What?”

“You’re tryna get me off topic!”

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

“Am not!”

“Am not!”

“Are t- shit.”

“HAHA! Victory is a sweet dessert... wait is that even the saying? Still, I win you lose, nerd.”

“Ok, okay! go on.”

She was attempting to gather herself to give off a less jokey aura. It was half working, the "am not! are too!" argument a few moments ago made it hard for him to take her seriously, but he could tell it was important to her that he did, so he tried his best.

“You have to look at me again. just for a second.”

“I sw-”

“Just do it? Please?”

His attempt to put up a fight was thwarted by her small "please". He was pathetic.

“Okay.”

He looked at her.

“You…”

“Me… or- wait- I…”

“Are w-“

“Wonderful, yeah yeah. just get to the n-”

“No.”

“… No?”

“When you say it it doesn’t encapsulate it. It sounds silly.”

“Ok little miss ‘you art thou wonderful’, how would you have me say it?”

“I am you wonderful?”

“What?”

“You called me ‘little miss you are you wonderful’ what does that-“

“Ok! Would you just- shut up and call me wonderful one more time, please?”

She looked at him and blinked. That sentence surely came off as less ironic than intended.

“You are wonderful.”

She grabbed his face, in a half-joking manner. Her grab smushed his cheeks and she couldn't help but laugh a bit when she did it. Even though it was clearly a bit, he was still flustered.

“W-“

She shook him a bit.

"Shut up 'cause I'm about to say some beautiful and true shit. You are wonderful. You are wonderful. You are wonderful. You are absolutely, unchangingly, and irrevocably wonderful and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it, Maximoff.”

After saying what she would (in 40 years or so) recall as a painfully John Green-ish statement in her blunt and matter-of-fact manner, she let go of her semi-ironic hold on his pink cheeks. Were his cheeks pink because it was absolutely freezing, or because his heart was beating faster than he had ever (and would ever, mind you) run, you ask? No comment.

“Wow.”

“Wow what.”

“You do say it better than I do.”

“Did you like how I stressed different parts of the sentence each time? I thought that was a nice detail.”

“Wow.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“Wow.”

Did his voice just... break a little?

“Peter?”

“Uh- yeah?”

Was he a little... sniffle-y? She was now very concerned.

“Are you okay?!”

“Oh- um... yeah!”

No! No he was clearly not! He was sniffling!

“Really? 'Cause, you don't seem it.”

“It’s just- I just- wow.”

“Wow, what!?”

“That was just- uh-"

“Just what? It really wasn't that fancy, you seem much too impressed with me. Oh my God, was it terrible?”

“I mean it was really corny but w-“

“I swear to God if you say 'wow' one more time I may have to add ‘use of the word wow too much’ to the list of things that could make me hate you. Right next to the Dahmer stuff. That was a joke. Your use of the word wow is only mildly perturbing. Sorry."

She was panicking "just a bit".

“I’m sorry, I mean I’m not sorry. Sorry. Shit! sorry! I mean I’m not!”

And he was absolutely... full-on crying at this point.

“Peter.”

“Yeah?”

He was looking down at his mittens. Not that this is important, but they were very pretty mittens.

“Look at me, you klepto.”

He didn’t.

“You know- I’ve been hearing a lot of that 'look at me' stuff from you today. I mean- the klepto part is new-“

“Peter.”

“What?!”

He peaked up at her.

“Talk to me. Please, you're kinda scaring me, let me help.”

“I’m not sad!”

“You’re crying!”

“Yeah but not from the sads!”

“… The ‘sads’?”

“You know- when you get sad! It just means being sad! I don't- that’s what Wanda calls it, not me!"

He wiped his nose, tears still running down from his puffy eyes to his reddened cheeks.

“What are you crying from?”

“No one’s ever called me wonderful before.”

“I'm sorry! I did a few minutes ago and you didn’t cry!”

“No! You can't 'sorry' me if I can't 'sorry' you! And- yeah but that doesn’t count!”

“Why?”

“Because it only felt big when you said it the certain way!”

“What way!?”

“You look at me, you grab my cheeks-“

“I'm sorry about that by the way I was j-“

“No! It’s really ok! Do it whenever! I mean don’t do it whene- shut up!”

“I’m not even talking! You're the one talking!”

“You look at me, you grab my cheeks, and you go: you are wonderful.”

“Yeah???”

“No one ever called me that before!”

"Peter, I- well- they- they should! They should! More often! Then the amount that it happens now! I think. In my opinion."

"Or really looked at me like that!”

“Looked at you like what, Peter?”

“Like I was somethin’!”

“Well, you are… ‘somethin'! Whatever that means! And- I think you deserve to be looked at as such!”

“See?”

“What!?”

“You just-“

A strangled sob escaped from his throat. He didn't know how to explain.

“Pete.”

“Ew. I hate that nickname.”

He crossed his arms over his chest like a toddler, trying to completely ignore the fact that he was an emotional wreck.

“Peter.”

“Yeah?”

She opened her arms and gestured for him to come closer. He was hesitant at first- but gave up all the reasons he shouldn't move to be closer to her in exchange for the promise of comfort she was offering him. He crawled over to her and curled up in her arms. The way she held him made him want to cry more. Who does she think she is- holding him like he was worth holding? With her chin sitting on top of his hair? Letting him do that gross cry sob with the spit and the snot into her only winter coat? Rocking him, and shushing him, and petting his stupid, silver hair? She was warm, too! The audacity of this woman.

When Erik brought Charles into his office to grab a chess set, they saw the two in the window. For a moment Charles considered telling Peter and Y/N to get off of the high platform, seeing as the two were the reasons the "no sitting on the roof" rule was enacted in the first place (neither of them were coordinated whatsoever). Charles quickly dropped this notion when he saw the look on Erik's face, Charles could tell it made him so happy to see Peter be held like that, cared for like that. Erik's expression made Charles want to both tell Erik that he is the most precious thing in the world, and make fun of him (look at Mr. Metal, gone completely soft). Possibly he could do both at the same time. But for now, he is just going to pretend he didn't see the two outside of the window, and have Erik grab them their game, go to the living room, and pretend not to have read Erik's mind when he inevitably asks him how he always manages to pick the white chess piece at "random".

[willgrahymn]

Strangely Estranged

this is my gift to @romansandersprotectionsquad for the @sanderssidesgiftxchange!! I really hope you like it :]

Description: Remus just wants to make his art, but Roman is still distressed by the events of SvS Redux/POF and it's affecting both of their abilities to create. When Remus goes to confront him about it, he gets a little more than he bargained for. Content warnings: Some Remus being Remus-y type lines, blood mentions (again, Remus), a good amount of swearing, and throwing some shade at Janus. Word count: 2747 I’ll rb with the ao3 link :]

- ’Honestly,’ Remus thought, ‘this painting could use more blood.’

He stared at the incomplete project. It was at least the 7th time he started on something today, but no matter what he always came to a pause.

Roman, that motherfucker, he probably had a creative block. Remus didn’t care much about only being half of Creativity, hell, it was fun coming up with the most gory stories he could imagine, but it seemed like whenever Roman hit a block he just had to drag him down with him.

He leaned back against his wall, tossing his paintbrush and catching it again. He stuck the brush in his mouth. Blue paint didn’t taste as good as green, but maybe he was just biased.

Remus glared at the painting. If it had eyes, he was sure they would be staring back, mocking him. Maybe he’d scrap the thing and use it as a target next time he played with his throwing stars.

He ground his foot into the stained carpet. Whether it was paint or blood didn’t matter. Come to think of it, he’d been at a pause for some time now. Roman hadn’t left his room nearly as much either. The only people he’d seen Roman hang out with recently were Virgil, Logan, and (inescapably) Thomas. Then there was Patton and Janus who hardly spent time together before. Now they never left each other's sides. Remus would be a liar if he said it wasn’t somewhat upsetting.

Remus loved drama. He loved watching people fight and be seconds from either murdering each other or making out right then and there. It was exciting to see people so close to their limit. Roman’s drama wasn’t fun though, it was just fucking sad.

He was pretty sure it would stay that way unless he took matters into his own hands. He grabbed his morningstar. He didn’t think he’d actually use it, but if he had to literally knock some sense into his dear brother, then so be it.

Walking down the hall of the mind palace the lighting got brighter. Silently, he wondered how the hell Virgil had managed to live with the other three for so long. With Roman’s obnoxiously loud personality and old villain accusations, he doubted the rogue raccoon could’ve slept the day away like he did when he tried to avoid him.

He stood in front of a tall, white door. It looked like something you’d find in a children’s movie or fairy tale that told the protagonist there was some sort of grand adventure on the other side… 

How boring.

Without bothering to knock, Remus opened the door to his brother's room. Maybe for Janus, he would have knocked. There was hardly anything that could truly shock him anymore with all the fun little fantasies that ran through his head, but Janus’ wrath was something he would save for a day when he needed that extra kick.

Then again, maybe he was wrong to say that he couldn't be shocked. Not when Prince Perfect’s room was such a mess. Not when one of his mirrors had been knocked to the floor. And certainly not when he took in the sight of the other half of Creativity, sitting there at the side of his bed in his black undershirt and dress pants.

Something in Remus’ guts told him there was something wrong here, and this time it wasn’t because he had been impaled or ate something Logan and Janus insisted he shouldn’t have. No, this was something else. Something he hadn’t been allowed to see since the two split up. One brother deciding he needed to be pure as white, and the other allowing himself to be the darkest black imaginable.

He stepped closer. Roman hadn’t made a sound, not yet, but it felt like approaching a lion. A lion that stood for courage yet fell to shattered pieces of what it once was.

And maybe if he hadn’t been feeling real, genuine concern for something other than Thomas’ lack of flare in his art, he would have laughed when his mind went to Scar and Mufasa.

It wasn’t like he cared though. Concern, maybe. But he couldn’t be bothered to care for his brother who he hardly ever spoke to for purposes other than making him uncomfortable with his ideas.

Roman shifted on his bed, still not bothering to look to see who entered. “I already told you I don’t want to talk about it.”

Remus rolled his eyes. Of course his brother would choose to be a little bitch about this.

“First off, you didn’t tell me shit.” He said. Roman sat up, looking at him. A mix of defense and curiosity in his glare. “Second, I’m not the one making your life any harder than I normally would.” His brother scoffed. “Aren’t you though?”

“You’re the one affecting my work!”

Roman huffed, pulling his legs up to his chest and hugging them closely. He liked the pressure. Logan would probably be able to tell him why if he asked. He remembered hearing a conversation between him and Virgil when the darker first showed up. Something about pressure was a stress reliever.

At the same time, Remus crossed his arms, tapping his boots and rubbing his fingers against his sleeves. Whatever response he had been waiting for didn’t come. Maybe he should leave. Pretend whatever this was wasn’t happening and go focus on something else until the other half got his shit together. That would be a lot easier than standing here, the air of the room suffocating him into silence.

Either way, neither brother knew what to say. It would be easy for the pensive prince to turn around, to tell the other not to speak to him and to go back to wherever he came from. At least it should have been.

Remus bit down on his lip not minding the pain. It wouldn’t do any good to try to beat at what was already broken. “I can go find someone else.” It was more of a statement than an offer.

His twin tensed. “Please don’t.”

Remus just nodded. He didn’t know what to do or what to say. Normally he didn’t have to think this hard. He didn’t want to care about his brother and his problems. He knew at least part of the reason behind the other’s mood was because of him because Roman hated him and being compared to him. Yet still, despite being twins he couldn’t help but feel like he had to care for his baby brother.

‘What the fuck am I supposed to do now?’

He was Dark Creativity, the embodiment of intrusive thoughts and other so-called disturbing ideas and imagery. It wasn’t something that ever upset him, and hell it was fun making the other Sides and Thomas uncomfortable. It was fun telling Patton things that would make him shift in his seat and try to change the topic as if nothing had happened. It was fun to create thoughts that would fuel anxiety and haunt the sad little Side who harbored them. It was more than amusing to sit beside Roman, watching as he tried to do his work and ignore his bothersome brother’s constant suggestions that ruined his fairytale fantasies.

If Thomas didn’t want to use all the available ingredients he gave him to create that was fine. He could manage just fine! Really, the repression only made him stronger.

But Roman knew how to make people feel those warm fuzzy feelings that were like caterpillars in your ribs. Something that looking at it now, maybe Remus regretted not trying to pick up on the wholesome little messages that his brother always cared about. At least maybe then he’d have a better idea how to deal with all of these emotions going on. Even Logan would have done better in this situation.

His brother sighed, sitting up and turning to finally face him. He looked worse than expected. No wonder he didn’t want to see anyone else. Remus couldn’t tell what he was feeling, taking in the sight of this mess. Roman’s brow furrowed, his jaw clenched. He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, his nails digging into his skin.

“Why are you still here?” He asked.

Remus bit his lip and chose to ignore the question. “I know you’re pissed about Jan being accepted.”

“Yeah duh,” Roman scoffed. He sounded like a dam ready to break. “Excuse me for not being absolutely overjoyed at this… Manipulative Malefactor being accepted by our very own Moralidad.”

The Duke nodded. Sure, you could call him friends with Double D, but he wasn’t going to be like him and lie and deny that Janus certainly had… a way… of getting what he wanted, whether it meant using others as a stepping stone or not.

“I never should have trusted him.” Roman continued. “I mean, I never even liked him. Hell, right after he revealed himself to Thomas I said I hated him… I only went along with what he wanted because he pretended to be someone I’m supposed to be able to trust, and then he used me again by flattering me with fake love and bringing up Thomas’ dreams. And I just– I just keep falling for it because I’m an idiot and I keep fucking everything u—”

He hadn’t noticed Remus approaching him or pulling him into a hug until it happened.

It was tense at first. Roman froze at contact. Slowly, he sunk into his brother's arms, not caring about the way the material scratched against his face. He just wanted to feel safe.

“What’s happening?” He asked.

Remus wasn’t sure he had an answer.

“I think Patton would refer to it as brotherly bonding, but I really don’t know.” Remus laughed lightly.

Eventually, Remus slowly pushed his brother off of him, still holding onto his shoulders and smiling in a way he could only hope came off as sympathetic. On any other occasion, Roman would despise the fact that his brother was just the tiniest bit taller than him, but right now he didn’t care. He wouldn’t tell him it was good for hugs though, he hadn’t lost all of his dignity.

“Listen, Ro-bro, we’re twins. What affects you affects me too. I know it might not change much, and you might still not want to be around me. That’s fine. Just… remember that we’re two Sides in a trenchcoat trying to make up for one, got it?” Roman nodded, rubbing at his eyes and smiling slightly. “I would have expected a darker way of phrasing that from you.”

Remus shook his head. “I may not think much, but I do know enough to understand it’s probably not the best timing for it.”

He smiled, watching as his brother lightened up a bit.

The room was still a mess. They’d have to fix it up later. Not right now though, he didn’t think his brother was ready enough to face his own destruction.

“C’mon, get your outfit on.” “Huh?” “You weren’t planning to stay locked up in here like Rapunzel all day, were you?” “I mean… kind of, yeah?” Remus shook his head. “Not happening,” He said. “We gotta do some dumb shit to make you feel better.” “Ree, I’m fine now, really.”

He ignored him, grabbing Roman’s stupidly bright white shirt off the floor and throwing it at him. Checking around for his sash afterwards.

“You at least gotta put yourself together! I know how you are about your looks– even if mine are better.”

Roman rolled his eyes before pulling his shirt on, grabbing his sash from under his pillow. “I can’t stand you.” They both knew it wasn’t the truth. Not right now at least.

“I’m going to fix… this.” Roman said as he waved his hand in front of his face.

The prince left to his bathroom, grabbing some of his makeup from his desk as he went. Remus flopped onto his brother's bed. This wasn’t exactly where he expected his day to go. It was fine though. Actually, it probably went a lot better than whatever he originally planned. Bitching at Roman could be fun, but he doubted it would have made anything better. Hopefully getting rid of some emotional block would stop the art block too. It sounded like something Logic would approve of.

Remus stared up at the glow in the dark stars that littered his brother’s ceiling. Roman’s room was less loud than usual. More quiet. Like a heartbeat that once echoed so loudly had suddenly stopped, or a fire which finally died out leaving nothing but smoke and ash behind.

He heard it when the faucet turned on, when a hairbrush hit the floor, and when Roman cursed at his eyeliner.

‘His hands must be shaky.’ They’d have to fix that.

Remus got up again, half-assedly making his brother’s bed and tidying up the place. He didn’t know where everything went, so he could only hope he was putting stuff where it shouldn’t have ever been. Even if he was trying to cheer up his brother now didn’t mean he couldn’t work in advance to cause trouble for him later.

When Roman came out he looked as if nothing had happened. Like nobody would be able to look at him and think twice of if he was okay. It was an art in itself to be a raging storm and to settle down to the tranquility of dewdrops on flower petals within a matter of minutes.

When had he learned to do that?

Or maybe it was just that he didn’t spend enough time around the other to know. Maybe if one of the other Sides saw Roman now, they wouldn’t even have to study his movements or expression to know he had been upset. It would be as easy as looking at  him and recognizing the scripted smiles and rehearsed words for what they were. Was he really that bad at being a brother to fall for his own twins’ tricks?

Roman shifted on his feet. “So… What are we doing?”

“Oh!” Remus bounced, the beads on his shirt clicking together. “Well I was thinking about it earlier and since Papa Patton and Daddy Dee are spending so much time together–” “Never call them that ever again.” “You never let me have fun! But fine. You know how those two have been hanging out more.”

“I can’t let you do anything mean to Patton, he’s off limits.”

Remus pouted. “I thought you were mad at him!” “He’s Patton!” Remus glared, and Roman glared back.

Remus sighed. “You’re so lame, but I guess we can just focus on the snake. Oh! And don’t worry, I can take the fault. Besides, I haven’t fucked around with him in a while and have been waiting for a good day to do it.” He grinned. Roman would have considered it evil, but this, this was pure sibling mischief. “I was thinking we could start subtle like moving his shit 2 inches to the left and work our way up from there. I was thinking about leaving my pet rats in his room and letting them go wild, but he is a snake and I don’t trust like that…”

Roman tried to stifle a laugh. Remus tried not to smile. Remus turned away, heading to his room to put his abandoned work away before anything else. Roman, he noticed, hadn’t followed. Slowly, he turned to him. “Are you coming?” “Oh, yeah I just...“ Roman paused, taking a deep breath and smiling softly. A real smile, not the mask he had given before. “Thank you. For doing all this.” Remus’ eyes softened, nodding as he spoke again. “Don’t go getting too soft on me, Ro-bro. I’m still going to attack your side of the Imagination.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” The two brothers stood there, an awkward yet comfortable quiet moment of understanding neither wanted to interrupt. “C’mon,” Remus said, waving his brother along. “We have vengeance in our hearts and glitter in our pockets. Let’s fuck shit up.”

The prince glanced to himself in the mirror. Now wasn’t the time to focus on his shattered world view, or how his brother may not be as horrible as he thought. Now was the time to have fun messing with the one who had messed with him.

He looked to his brother, eyes sparkling. “Let’s do it.”