#i feel like whatever happens it's going to be very surprising to at least 70% of people. and i might be in that group.

[ratgirlcopia]

honestly i'm not even sure what this one is.

okay this isn't even womanposting, it's more just about the inherent funniness of what it's like to write copia into anything at all, and especially what i've noticed about the pitfalls of copia x sister of sin oc / other oc / self-insert kinda content i've stumbled upon. because in most media, the Main Character is usually, at minimum, either really competent at a specific thing, really invested in a specific thing, or really well-versed in the setting, which makes it easy enough to slot an oc or a reader in there and make it make sense.

and copia is not any of those things. copia doesn't write the music, doesn't seem particularly passionate about anything ministry-related while offstage, and seems to know and care fuck-all about how the setting around him works. which is both hilarious and depressing. but it makes him really hard to handle in certain types of writing.

most self-insert/oc insert ship writing relies on the oc being the one who's new to the setting or less experienced in it. but it's incredibly hard to do that with copia because it just...does not make any sense for him to be aware of any of the blank spots in the lore. he can't be used as a vessel to explain even, like, headcanons to flesh out the world more, because so much of his vibe is just not understanding or caring what's going on.

so then you end up having to kind of either 1) make him an expert on things anyway, which risks making him pretty ooc or 2) make the oc an expert on things, which risks relying almost exclusively on fanon.

i think the exception to this is if you take copia out of the ministry. because then you can maintain the "doesn't know shit" aspect of his personality and it doesn't matter what goes on with the rest of it. but then again a massive massive allure of this type of content for people is the satanic ministry aesthetic, so this is not a popular option.

but even that's hard, because it needs a narrative justification, and there's really nothing you can build off that would suggest copia would either leave the ministry or be kicked out and make it make sense.

and then you get all the way down to the root issue here, which is that copia is an awkward, isolated person doing his job because he's been told to and having a good time with it but then ultimately going back home at the end of a tour cycle and spending his time either alone in his room or with his weird-ass parents, feeling paranoid. and it's hard to work narrative excuses for a romance into a world that seems to be sheltering him on purpose. fascinating.

[bryan-damage]

James Gunn Presents: Guardians of the Capeshit Formula Vol. 549

Featuring

WHITE MAN, easy-going, makes jokes, always confused, the kind of guy you want to have a beer with, everyman, Literally Me, default human, not political

EXOTIC WOMAN, looks like a model, has unusual skin color (not white), only person in the entire cast who is not a liability, sexy but not sexual because sex doesn't real, White Man wants her to be his girlfriend but he must Prove Himself first, when he does she will be his reward but tragically she will probably die to motivate him

SMARTMOUTH ANIMAL, a cute anthropomorphic animal that might be the director's barely-disguised fetish, says snarky quips, makes fun of stupid things before the audience gets a chance to, does dangerous things that frequently come very close to killing them all, hilariously angry, behaves compulsively, exchanges regular verbal abuse with friends but it's nice but not really and everyone really hurts each other's feelings

MUTE COLOSSUS, a large thing, whatever, could be anything but must be cute, makes noises that everyone else seems to understand, should easily be rendered in plastic for purposes of selling children "toys" that will sit on a shelf for twenty years and then take up space in a landfill for the next 100,000 years

MAN WITH NO BRAIN, not stupid but yes actually very stupid, it's kind of surprising he hasn't already been killed several times over, doesn't have any abilities except to say things that are so ridiculously stupid that even the average toddler finds him annoying, occasionally makes a poop reference which might also be the director's barely-disguised fetish

WOMAN WITH NO BRAIN, pretty much the same thing but booba

ANGRY WOMAN, wears several layers of prosthetics and makeup to guarantee an authentic performance from the actor, least stupid of the entire crew but so angry that every action is impulsive, everything she says is angry, and it's hard to blame her because she is surrounded by dumbshits

DIRECTOR'S BROTHER, Mom said give your brother a part and he sighed heavily and said "okaaaay I guess we can find him something"

ACT ONE

Popular "80s song" from the 70s plays while the crew barely accomplishes a simple task, almost dying several times in the process because of the general dumbshittery of almost the entire cast. Simple narration tells us what has changed since we last saw the group and makes several references to events from five or six different movies and/or television shows that only a handful of dedicated Nerd Cultists have watched. The group performs an advertisement for an unhealthy product and winks at the camera. Suddenly a character from the comic books that only Nerd Cultists recognize comes along and tells White Man something about a close relative or something, I don't know, maybe he has a sister or some shit. They all leave their home base while another popular 80s song from the 70s plays loudly. White Man tells us all about the song and makes reference to several 80s movies while everyone pretends to be interested. Poop joke.

ACT TWO

Turns out White Man's sister lives in a place that looks like every other place they go even though this is definitely a place they haven't been before. The sky is a blend of red and blue and purple, or maybe just orange and a few shades of orange. Sister welcomes the crew, watches as the crew break things while doing stupid shit. Several more poop jokes. 70s song that might be an 80s song I don't know let me get my phone.

Sister gives a long backstory about her relation to White Man and their Tragically Dead Father or maybe their other Tragically Dead Father, I don't know, they have a few of them I guess. This one is also played by an actor who was a popular leading man in the 80s, I bet Steve Guttenberg could use a Disney paycheck. It's not clear if Tragically Dead Father is actually dead, who knows, they do another commercial for a popular but unhealthy product, more funny stuff happens, Deadpool appears, says "OMG so random!" and leaves.

ACT THREE

Holy shit, in a big surprise twist it turns out Sister is evil and Tragically Dead Father is alive! The movie transforms into a cartoon and they all fight! There's a sky beam because of the obligation! Half of the main cast dies but then it turns out they are okay! Sister gets killed but who knows because she literally just disappears, on the off chance she ends up super popular we'll want to bring her back a few sequels down the road! The Guardians of the Status Quo will live on to be in another movie except for that one character played by an actor who would rather drink cyanide than be in another fucking Marvel movie! Play another popular song from the 70s that might be from the 80s!

THE END

Except no, I think Julia Louise-Dreyfus is going to show up and talk to White Man for a minute.

THE END

Except no, there's a scene where the Mute Colossus does something cute to make people want the product it is advertising.

THE END

Except no, one more poop joke.

[sheisadykewomon]

Really interesting discussion this week on the Radical Feminist Perspectives youtube series… today’s was about Sonia Johnson’s book, Going Out of Our Minds: The Metaphysics of Liberation. Essentially it is about making the case for separatism and Johnson’s ideas that women need to disengage from men and focus on ourselves. Sheila Jeffreys brought up in the chat — “I never consort with men but I certainly keep my eyes on them.” She said all her research and life’s work is about teaching and reminding women of how much men truly hate us and that while we need to focus on ourselves, we can’t truly turn our backs on men. It reminded me of the research on women leaving abusive relationships; she is in the most danger in the year after she has left. As the man begins to realize that he truly is losing power over the woman, he will take increasingly desperate measures to claw back his power over her, if he can. If you apply that to society on a wider scale, women focusing on ourselves and disengaging in the form of separatism will require us to keep our eyes sharply trained on men for a period of time. Men will try desperately to maintain power over us if they feel that power is slipping. And I believe that is what is at the heart of the trans movement — it is a desperate attempt for men to maintain their power over us, after the second wave shook things up and made it seem like women really could liberate ourselves. The second wave in the 70s was women on a large scale “leaving the abuser” — and the trans movement is the attempt to keep us from leaving for good. Is the rise of the queer community the feel-good love-bombing? The cycle of abuse has periods of calm before tensions begin to rise and then an incidence of violence occurs. If we apply the cycle of abuse on a macro scale, we’ve had a period of calm with “choice feminism”; women believing we are basically liberated and can do whatever we want now. The rise of men identifying as women and infiltrating female-only spaces could be viewed as the tensions building. Have we reached the point of the “violent incident”? It’s hard for the victim to leave an abusive relationship during the calm period. The abuser will tend to love bomb at that point, and eventually both the victim and the abuser forget that the violence has occurred. The victim forgives the abuser and he promises it will never happen again. She hopes against all odds that when the tensions build, violence will not occur this time. And then it does. She’s shocked, but not surprised. This is the most favorable point in the cycle of abuse for the victim to leave; after the flashpoint occurs. The victim remembers, all of a sudden, all the times the abuser promised he wouldn’t do it again, and yet, he has done it again. She’s disillusioned. She sees him for who he really is. This is the point where the victim has the most power and the abuser has the least. She can leave with relatively little fuss, because the abuser doesn’t believe she’s really “gone for good” yet; as far as he knows, they are still “playing the game”. He believes she will eventually forgive and “come crawling back”. She has to stay strong and ignore his attempts to win her back. But once he realizes the love bombing is not working, and she really is gone, this is where things can become violent again. So she can’t completely ignore him, she does have to keep an eye out during that time; to notice the love bombing, and to resist it, and to set very firm boundaries to keep herself away from him if he attempts to exact revenge or retribution for her rejection of him. I think this can be applied to the feminist movement as a whole. A woman leaving an abusive relationship does need to focus on herself, however she can’t completely ignore the abusive man. And she’ll do better to have other women to help her stay safe and remind her of what is at stake; to help teach her how to enjoy her freedom, how to enjoy life again. A woman without a strong support network is more likely to return to an abusive relationship. This is where separatism has a very strong precedent. We know separatism on a small scale already saves women’s lives and provides them with a new way of living and being in the world. Why not separatism on a large scale? 

[osmpalliumduo]

Hello! May I hand u my healer!Tommy au??

-Tommy had passed most of all his life training to be a hero just like his brothers and father, this ones being the owners of one of the biggest agency of heroes in the country

-In his family, everyone manifested their abilities as soon they turned 15

-His father, Phil or known as “Philza”, got this big gorgeous black wings in his back as soon as he hit that age

-His first older brother, Technoblade or “The Blade” presented this inhuman strength and was able to manifest a huge blade in his hands whenever he wanted

-His other older brother Wilbur or known as “Mockingbird”, noticed that he could suddenly use this tone of voice that would force anyone around to copy whatever he said

-Being said that, Tommy was nothing but excited to know what kind of sick ability he would get as soon as he turned 15

-but much to his surprise, nothing happened

-well, not until the next day after his birthday, when Wilbur accidentally tripped and fell down the stairs of their house and somehow despite being this huge hero, hit his head really hard to the point it started bleeding

-Tommy grabbed onto Wilbur’s face gently, trying to calm him down as his father called an ambulance and suddenly, the pain faded away along with the blood

-and Tommy’s eyes looked strangely brighter than before, like shining stones

TOMMY: so.. you are telling me that, I am a healer?

WILBUR, PHIL & TECHNO, nodding enthusiastically:

TOMMY, tearing up: THATS SO FUCKING SHIT!

-Tommy didn’t liked his power, not even one bit, so he trained even harder to make up for the fact of not having a “cool ability”

-he got guns. two silver guns which later Tommy painted red with a graffiti paint can he stole from a guy on the streets

-anyways, he didn’t gave up on his dream of being a hero, actually, he decided to become a vigilante until he got his license

-moving on, Tommy is constantly sneaking into Wilbur’s missions even tho he isn’t allowed in, getting sometimes even kidnapped by the villains themselves as a hostage

-Techno always makes sure to make them regret it deeply to the point that most of the time, if a vandal sees Tommy wandering around, they’ll stay as far away as they can

-Tommy thinks it’s because he is very intimidating, he really isn’t

-Eventually, Wilbur and Techno let Tommy hang around in the hero agency where the “big” heroes talk about plans and shit

-it quickly backfires

WILBUR, grabbing a whiteboard: as I was saying, we should talk about the patrol schedules, as you see here-

Everyone there, chuckling:

WILBUR, looking at the whiteboard, finding a doodle of Tommy with the header “SUCK IT WIL” instead of the schedule: ...

-Tommy always finds a way to get into Wilbur’s or Techno’s nerves, interrupting their meetings, stealing their shit, sometimes even hiding their hero suits

-but he also helps a lot at the station, whenever someone gets badly injured in battle they get send back at the station so Tommy can cure em

-Tommy pretends he finds that job annoying, but he kinda feels great whenever he fixes a broken leg or a very bad burn that could have been problematic

-he also helps a lot with the interns! Also known as the “in-training heroes”

-the in-training heroes are people who are very close to getting their hero license but wish to know how’s the career actually like! So they train with actual heroes and act somewhat like their sidekicks

-And, that’s how Tommy meets Tubbo and Ranboo, two guys who get chosen to be Wilbur’s interns for a couple of months

-at first Tommy messes with them in purpose just to piss them off but he ends up getting attached to the two boys

TOMMY, entering the station: Big man is here!

WILBUR, putting down his paper work: oh hi Tommy! Come here! Give your brother a hu-

TOMMY, walking just past by Wilbur: Tubso! Ranboob! Wanna go get some milkshakes? :D

WILBUR: ...betrayal >:(

-Wilbur gets kinda jealous of them, which ends up on a stupid battle for Tommy’s attention

-Oh! by the way, Tubbo and Ranboo also get attached to Tommy much to their dismay

-why a dismay? They kinda are there to kill Wilbur, Techno and Tommy

-yep! Villain bee duo! They were infiltrated into the station as two interns and aspiring heroes, but they are actually just there to spy on em and kill the three brothers

-the plan backfires, they are kinda attached to Tommy now

TUBBO, in the meeting with all his gangster mates: so, problem here

Everyone: ???

TUBBO, erasing Tommy’s name off the “to-murder” list: we aren’t doing this anymore

RANBOO, nodding while holding onto one of the sweaters Tommy knitted for him: we are attached now

-The group wasn’t very pleased but out of fear of Tubbo and Ranboo, they said nothing, deciding to continue with the murder plan just behind Tubbos and Ranboo’s back

-and that kinda ends up with everyone going for Tommy in the missions, attempting to kidnap him, to shot him, and of course murder him

-so, Tubbo and Ranboo are always behind Tommy in the missions, keeping a close eye on him

-Tommy just thinks they are clingy, like his brothers or dad

Extra stuff:

-Tommys power drains a lot of energy out of him, so he has to constantly eat or drink things with lots of sugar before missions so he doesn’t end up passing out after healing two or three people

-He used to drink lots of coke cans but Phil got very concerned for Tommy’s kidneys so he exchanged that with sweet apples, so Tommy always has to bring a backpack with apples to the missions

-If he abuses his ability too much and doesn’t “regen” with the apples he will end up passing out! Example: (healing 5 persons with no regen = passing out for two hours) (10 = a whole day) (40 = a whole week)

-one time, after a huge attack with bombs, Tommy healed about 70 people in the accident and ended up passing out for almost two weeks straight

-the whole family (and Tubbo & Ranboo) got so scared that they didn’t let Tommy use his ability for at least a month after

-Ranboos ability consists on teleporting and inhuman force (apart from being able to manifest a huge axe into his hands whenever he wants to)

-meanwhile Tubbo’s ability consists on being able to manifest bombs with his hands (tho he likes to call them “nukes”)

[oliviayamaoka]

Heartfelt Deception (Joey / The Legion x F!Reader)

 Y/N is a rather new and young survivor, taking a while to become accustomed to the brutal trials set out by the god-like figure known as the Entity. 

Feeling alone and in despair, you meet somebody who begins to slowly change the way you perceive yourself and your current situation.

Y/N wasn’t sure what this place was called, it was a cold place. You shivered as you hugged yourself, walking through the snowy winds trying to find a generator. A part of you felt crazy for thinking your clothes were thin but it was just the piercing cold weather. Y/N looked up before noticing the killer shack, you quickly ran towards it. You hoped there was a generator there to warm up your hands slightly. 

As you entered the shack, you stumbled across four lockers, a generator, and a firey totem at the corner. You shut your eyes in relief, stumbling somewhat. You felt as though your legs were about to freeze off at any moment. A part of you regretted not asking any other survivors about this realm. You were relatively new to the realms and hadn’t fought many killers yet, not that you wanted to.

“Oh, god.” You mumbled as you kneeled downwards, immediately getting to work on the generator. Your lips curved into a smile upon feeling the warmth of the machine and the sparks of the wires. 

Your eyes averted towards the totem with the fire. For a second, you wanted to use that to warm up but you wanted to finish this generator as fast as you could. There was a strong sense of focus and determination within you at that moment.

“You got this.” You mumble. You weren’t exactly hyping yourself up, it was just you reacting to your circumstances by mumbling.

It felt lonely and pathetic, doing a generator by yourself, You felt a small sense of pity towards the others for not accompanying you. A sigh escaped your mouth for even thinking about that. Five generators, four survivors. Of course you all should split up for the sake of survival. Stop being so selfish, you thought to yourself. In fact. you didn’t even see which other survivors were here. Your train of thought was interrupted as somebody entered the shack.

Your hands trembled as you observed the figure that walked in. Within those seconds, you just assumed it wasn’t the killer. It was a guy in darker clothing. There was a streak of black paint spread across his eyes. His expression remained unchanged and rather welcoming. Another survivor.

“Um, hey.” You say awkwardly to him as you turned your head back to the generator. There were two wires that needed connecting.

“Hey, hey.” He replied, nodding his head as he watched you. 

“Wanna help? If you want, of course. There’s also a totem there. The Entity told me that the firey ones could help us.” You said. He smirked slightly as he began to work on the generator, kneeling down beside you. The guy seemed lean.

“Let’s finish this up first. I don’t think I caught your name, by the way.” He said to you. His presence felt relaxing, he was about eighteen or nineteen. it was peaceful to have somebody else young here.

“Oh, I’m sorry. My name is Y/N, what’s yours?” You asked him with a smile. 

“Name’s Joey.” He responded to you as you nodded.

“It’s nice to meet you, Joey.” Y/N said as she looked around the shack again to make sure there wasn’t anything out of place. 

“I haven’t seen you around much. Well, I have, I guess. We just never got to talk and whatever.” He shrugged.

“I wish it were under better circumstances.” You replied as you stood up, walking towards the firey totem in the corner. His eyes shot up as you did so.

“Woah, woah, woah. No need for that right now.” Joey reassured you, quickly standing in front of you with his hands up to his chest to slightly push you away from it. Your eyebrows raised up in surprise for a second.

“Oh, I thought breaking them would help us.” Y/N said as he scratched the back of his neck with a small smile.

“Eh, not really. You ought to avoid these ones entirely. The Entity will say anything to have you--or us suffer. Trust me.” Joey explained as you nodded your head, being rather naive about what he said.

“Makes sense. What is this place, anyways?” You asked him as he peered out through the killer shack window. The winds calmed down.

“It’s called Mount Ormond.” He said in a rather reminiscent yet relaxed tone. 

You nodded a bit, This must’ve been the realm he was plucked out of based on his reaction to it. Maybe his family resort? You weren’t sure at all but you enjoyed making assumptions and theories about the people here. Hell, you met somebody that claimed to be from the 70′s. Either way, at least you found a friend in Joey and somebody to hang out with at the camp.

“Are you from here?” You asked him.

“Huh? Oh, well... It’s complicated. I do really like this place though. I’ve never felt more free before this whole shitshow happened.” Joey replied. 

“Sorry to hear... sounded fun.” You say to him.

“It was... best few moments of my life until Frank... nevermind. Is your generator almost done?” He asked.

“Almost, I think.” You responded as the generator lit up. 

Your face immediately lit up as you bounced back up, proud of your accomplishment. Joey smiled and lifted his hand up to high-five you. You smacked your hands against his. He chuckled at your excitement, he seemed to quickly grow fond of you. Y/N looked around before looking back at him.

“You should come with me.” You say to him.

“I... wish I could.” He said with a small hint of guilt and sadness in his voice. He quickly noticed how depressing he sounded and stood up straight.

“I wish I could! I mean, we already wasted enough time on one generator. And you’re a fast learner so I’m sure you can pop these motherfuckers really fast.” Joey said to you, confident in your abilities. You nodded with a small smile.

“Thanks, Joey.” You said to him, rubbing your hands together at the door. Joey noticed you must’ve been freezing. He stared for a moment before building up the confidence

“Here, you must be freezing.” He said, sliding off his gloves and giving them to you. You felt your cheeks burn up as you reluctantly took his gloves, he seemed to push them towards your chest. Joey was very insistent on you taking them.

“I, um... thank you. I mean it.” You stammered as he nodded, clasping his hands together and taking a few steps back in a very confident manner.

“Like, I know I don’t sound genuine or anything but thank you. Thanks for helping me and um, being my friend. I’m sorry if I sound stupid but like, this place is just so fucked up, y’know?” You say to him as you sat down in front of the generator, sliding his gloves on. Joey felt his heart tingle slightly.

“Nah, you don’t sound weird at all. It’s probably shitty to...I mean, it is shitty fighting killers and whatnot. I get you.” He said, sitting down next to you. It felt strange yet intoxicating for him to be in such a close proximity to you.

“Yeah... how do you do it, Joey? Having to live an eternity getting fucking hooked... and tortured by these fuckers.” You asked him as your voice began to crack and tremble. Tears welled up in your eyes as he stared in shock.

“Just--don’t worry about that right now. The killer hasn’t hurt you this time and he won’t, I promise he won’t. Believe me.” He said as you wiped your eyes with your sleeve.

“I just wanna go back... I don’t get it.” You mumbled, looking upwards as you tried to relax yourself. 

Joey hesitated but wrapped one arm around you. You welcomed the gesture and rested your head against his chest slightly. Any form of comfort right now felt nice to have. Your eyes shut as Joey rubbed your shoulder a bit. He felt very scared and vulnerable in that moment but he did his best to comfort you. Joey never would’ve imagined his first encounter with you would be so... nice?

“It’s fucked up, I know but... don’t let these things destroy who you are. You seem like a tough person. I never let what happened to me destroy who I was. And now, well... I’m free. I can do what I want, when I want.” He said to you.

Joey felt guilty. He saw a part of himself he never wanted to acknowledge within you. A part that needed consoling, a part of him that only felt regret and pain. For what he would do to you one day and for what he did to that janitor. Why did he have to be so stupid sometimes? Joey found you in the purgatory he was meant to be punished in, to kill for god knows how long.

“That does sound nice... sorry for being a suck.” You said as you got up and hurried towards the door. Joey seemed to be in a bit of a rush too since he needed to please the Entity some sort of way.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Thanks for being my fourth friend... I meant what I said, though. Just don’t think of me as.. bad.” He said as he slid out the door.

You stared in slight confusion before bracing yourself for the coldness. You began to make your way to the next generator.

One all generators were complete, you made your way to the exit gate. You noticed three girls. Y/N stopped in confusion as she stared at them. Feng Min, Kate Denson, and Claudette Morel. Claudette was wrapping up her own wounds as Feng began to open the door. Four survivors... four survivors.

“Hey there, stranger. You okay?” Kate asked as she playfully nudged you.

“Where is Joey?” You asked her as she stared blankly at you.

“Joey?” She questioned as you finally put two and two together.

You spoke with the killer? He didn’t kill you. Wait, you let a killer embrace you. No, not a killer, it was Joey. No, Joey was a killer. Your mind raced as you spaced out, ignoring the blaring noise of the door opening. Kate nudged you softly again.

“Did you get caught in his frenzy? That shakes a lot of folks up.” She said.

“Oh, yeah... I guess...” You replied as the gates opened.

“Alright, ladies, Let’s roll.” Feng said jokingly as you walked with them outside of the place. You were both confused and horrified at what just happened. It was weird because you felt so at peace and even inspired from him. Joey made you feel confident. You inhaled sharply from the coldness as you made your escape.

Joey watched from a distance at the lodge with his mask on, he leaned against the doorframe. He felt disappointed that you’d figure it out sooner or later. He sighed deeply, feeling frustrated and angry. Now, he felt like listening to his mixtape and returning to being the edgy troublemaker he was until he got to talk to you again.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Thank you for reading! This was kinda based off of the HC’s I made of the Legion where Joey always had a crush on you. Might do a part two since I enjoyed writing this but stay tuned if I do :)

[extremelyblackandwhite]

innocence - 35

PAIRING: bodyguard!bucky barnes x innocent actress!reader

WARNINGS: fluff

A/N: i wanted to wait until tomorrow to post this but i have no self control. as promised, here’s some fluff. hope you enjoy xx

NEXT CHAPTER

     - We’re getting married. - she smiled at him, one of those sunny smiles that always made him feel like he was way too lucky to be marrying someone like her. Bucky leaned his forehead against hers, his hand caressing her the side of her waist as that sunny smile morphed into playful one. - You do have to leave this bedroom to get married though. 

     - But the bedroom is an important part of our marriage, princess.

     - No. You shouldn’t be even seeing me on our wedding day. It’s bad luck, besides Steve, Sam and Sharon are outside. - she played with the hair in the back of his neck. 

The super soldier playfully rolled his eyes at her answer. He hadn’t even had time to buy her an engagement ring or even tell anyone other than her parents and Steve, yet he guessed Sam and Sharon now knew it too, and yet the two of them were going to get married. Her family wasn’t here and it definitely wasn’t what he thought it’d be when he was younger. He’d pictured a much more traditional wedding, maybe somehow in the middle of war and he’d marry in his uniform with his family and hers surrounding them in a small little church yet, she was right. There weren’t a lot of things that were normal about them but she loved him and he loved her. That was the basis of marriage after all. 

His finger traced her jaw, feeling her features under the calloused texture of his fingers, the same features he hadn’t seen in two weeks and had barely seen yesterday. He examined everything, almost if he wasn’t going to see her again, yet that was mostly his mind screaming at him about the restraining order they could order. His eyes, however landed on almost fresh bruises at her lower neck. 

    - Princess, what this? - his fingers slightly lingered over her bruises. 

    - Oh ... - her gaze moved down before it moved up. - Stunt gone wrong while filming, it’s nothing major really.

    - Seems like something major, princess. It’s looks pretty bad. Did no one do anything?

   - It looks just like your bruise does. - she kissed his cheekbone. - Let’s go before Steve, Sam and Sharon resort to hearing behind the door.

He sighed, knowing she wouldn’t really say anything more about it so he dropped it, for now. The two of them left the bedroom and walked into the living area where Steve, Sam and Sharon were still sat in. 

   - So ... - Bucky started. - How do we do this? 

   - A wedding? - Sharon questioned. - We get an officiant, a marriage license, and make sure no one but us know about it. 

   - Oh Chuck has to know about it. He’s my only friend here and I’d like him to be present. 

   - Okay but we can’t do it here. - Steve added. - It’s most likely under surveillance and if they even dream you two are getting married, Bucky’s going right back to prison.

   - What do you suggest? - Y/N cocked her head to the side.

   - Me and Buck will get rings, Sam will get the marriage certificate and the officiant and Sharon will stay here with you. We’ll all meet at the HQ in an hour. 

   - You’ll be okay? - Bucky mumbled over to Y/N who nodded. - I’ll see you in an hour, okay?

   - I’ll be the one in white. Or at least something white. 

Bucky kissed the top of her head before leaving with Steve and Sam leaving her with Sharon. Of course like most girls she had pictured the eve of her wedding, even the hours before, what it would be like, who would be by her side, where it’d be. She had to admit it was very different from what she had envisioned but it was okay. Better have an odd wedding with the right person than the best wedding with the wrong one and she knew Bucky was the one. She felt it whenever he looked at her or whenever he’d fall asleep on her shoulder after telling her he wouldn’t. Her parents were right and so were the movies, when you know you know. 

She knew. 

    - I have to message Chuck. Maybe he can pass by my apartment and grab me something white. - she took her phone from her pocket to text Chuck.

    - Something new, something blue, something old, something borrowed. Luckily for you, I have your something new. 

Y/N furrowed her brows at Sharon as the blonde spy made her way inside her shared bedroom with Bucky. Y/N watching with confusion as she opened the small closet which was still a mess with packed boxes from both Bucky and Y/N which both of them kept putting off unpacking. Sharon moved some boxes and small trinkets off her way and pulled out a white big short rectangular box before putting it on top of the still yet to be made bed. 

The actress approached the edge of the bed as Sharon pulled the lid off and removed some packing paper from the top of whatever was laying inside. She quickly recognised what was inside of it, somehow through her prosecco influenced mind that night she could still remember what her favourite dress looked like. Her eyes looked up to Sharon’s before looking again at the dress, taking it from the box and holding it in front off her. 

     - When did you get this? No ... scratch that, when did you hide it in my flat?

     - Same night we got it. I’m prone to shop lifting when drunk. Besides there’s more than 5 thousand dresses in that shop, she won’t know. - Sharon shrugged, a proud smile on her lips. - You’re not gonna get married in a used white dress. You’re already not gonna have a big ceremony so you should at least have a wedding dress.

     - What if I get arrested? It’s illegal. 

     - It’s the least illegal thing I’ve done, besides, she won’t know and we can return it in the end if it makes you feel better.

     - It’s so pretty. - Y/N held the dress against her chest, almost hugging the fabric. - You’ll be my maid of honour right? I don’t have a lot of female friends here yet. 

     - Sure. Now, we have an hour to do preparation and hen’s night all together.

     - It’ll be okay, right? With Bucky ... they won’t hurt him because of me, right?

     - Don’t concern yourself with that now. It’s your day, no matter how little it is. Whatever comes after that, me, Steve, Sam will be there for you two. You’re family. 

     - I don’t want him to get hurt because of me. - Y/N dragged whatever tears were trying to spill out of her eyes with her knuckles. - I don’t want to be the reason he’s not free and he keeps telling me it’s fine but ... I love him so much and it broke my heart to see him handcuffed because of me when he’s been always there. 

     - Hey ... - Sharon patted the side of the bed next to her, waiting for Y/N to sit by her side. - No relationship is easy. I mean maybe most relationships don’t have the downsides yours has but you have something that only a small part of them have.

     - A huge age gap?

     - Hey, I have that too. - Sharon laughed before rolling her eyes. - Unconditional love. Trust me, it’s not easy for someone who is not in my “line of work” to understand what happened to Bucky and he isn’t one to open up easily. And you just love him and he just loves you. That’s all it matters at the end, that you love each other hard enough you will hold each other’s hands through the worse of storms. Not everyone has a hand to hold in their darkest moments and when you do, and when you know, those monsters become folklore. 

   - Wow, Sharon. If super heroing does not pan out for you, you should become a poet. - Y/N leaned her head against Sharon’s shoulder. - Well, if they don’t handcuff my fiance during the wedding, I don’t think it can get any worse. 

   - Good. Now hop onto the shower and only come up when you smell like a baked good. Exfoliate everything. 

   - Wait, what about something blue? I have something old ... and something new and ... somehow borrowed. What about something blue? 

   - You have Bucky. 

   - I have to be in something blue. 

   - Well, Bucky will be in you later tonight, I’m sure. Just get in the shower, Y/N. The clock is ticking. 

Bucky looked at himself in the mirror, old army suit on and somehow still fitting even with the metal arm. To be honest, Bucky was more surprised that a more than 70 year old suit hadn’t been made into a ball of threads and dust yet there it was looking exactly as it did when he first got it. He straightened his back and the lapels of his jacket, looking up only to return to a slouched position as the light hit the metal of his arm. James Buchanan Barnes was not the same man he was 70 years ago yet he was doing the thing which was expected of him back in his day. Now ... now she just had to show up and he hoped she did. All he wanted right now was to see her walk whatever path she was gonna walk, as long as she met him at the end. 

He straightened the lapels of his jacket once again, trying to appear as confident as he used to be back then. His rushing mindset was interrupted by a knock on his door.

   - Steve, not again. I’m still here and I’m fine. - he barked at the door.  

   - It’s not Steve. - his sister opened the door. 

   - Becca? - he abandoned the mirror to go to his sister. - What are you doing here? Is everything all right?

   - I would’ve preferred you telling me you were engaged and getting married today rather than one of your bride’s friends, I think his name is Chuck. - she crossed her arms, that childhood smile that she still remained making her way across her lips. - You think I’d let my big brother marry without me to see it? It took a long time but here we are. 

   - Yeah, getting married in the Avengers’ HQ. How romantic. 

   - Mum would be so happy. - she started to straighten up his tie. - She always said she wanted you to marry a nice girl and seems like you found one. Although, I was expecting you’d propose to her with mum’s ring. I guess you could give it to her for her birthday or something.

   - She doesn’t even have a ring. - he sat down on his old bed. - I feel like she might not even show up.

   - I’m sure that if she didn’t run away when she saw your baby photos, she won’t run away now. 

   - Bucky, five minutes. - Steve poked his head into his old bedroom. - Let’s make a move before the bride is there before you are.

Steve and Sam had decided it would be best to hold the wedding in the inner private garden where no one but the Avengers or people with an access pass could come into. No media, no police, nothing. Bucky did remember that garden, the one with the cherry blossom tree which was somehow always on bloom. Genetically engineered, Bruce had told him, whatever that meant. All he knew was that it was pretty, it was pretty enough for her to get married in with the flowers standing over where whom he guessed was the officiant and the petals which would fall with the wind, laying on the ground.

  - Dude, you’re not taking the photos. 

  - Sam, I am the best man, it is my duty.

  - You can barely use a phone. - Sam retorted. - Remember the last photos from yours and Sharon’s vacation?

  - C’mon Sam, we all loved to see Steve’s thumb in all of them. 

  - Fine, I guess I’ll just stay here and do nothing. - Steve stood by Bucky’s right next to Sam and his sister.

Time went slowly even when Sam told him Sharon was already in the building. Despite that, his mind still told him she wasn’t going to come. No one in their right state of mind would marry a super soldier, much less him. Definitely not him, he did not deserve this. He did not deserve this. Yet, she stood there at the end of the makeshift aisle with Sharon and Chuck by her side. 

He’d definitely heard many stories from many men and women about how they felt when they first say their loved ones on their wedding date but he never thought about how it would felt. It felt as if he could only see her, everything was blurred and blacked out and all he could see was her approaching him with a wedding gown and veil holding a few white flowers tied together with a white string. He definitely did not deserve her yet there she was. She was there and she took his hand standing by his side, looking more radiant, more beautiful, more ... god words failed, yet all he could say was he felt like he was floating. He was sure in that moment he had to be standing next to an angel. 

Y/N handed her flowers to Sharon before turning with Bucky to stare at the officiant. 

    - Welcome, friends, family and loved ones. We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of two people in marriage. You have come here to share in this commitment they are making to one another and allow James and Y/N to start their married life surrounded by those who care and love them. Marriage is perhaps one of life’s great adventures, one where you chose someone who will see it through with you to the end and support you during your darkest and brightest times. A wedding ceremony is not what makes a marriage but merely a celebration of the choice you have made to support and love each other. This is merely the start of the life you two will carve together. Will you James take this woman to be your wedded wife? Do you promise to love, honour, cherish, and protect her, forsaking all others, and holding only unto her forevermore?

   - Absolutely. - he turned to look at her, holding her hands in his, 

   - Will you Y/N take this man to be your wedded husband? Do you promise to love, honour, cherish, and protect him, forsaking all others, and holding only unto him forevermore?

   - Absolutely. - she giggled a bit. 

   - I have been told the bride and groom have chosen to say their vows in private so we will skip to the rings. Rings are nothing of importance and have no importance unless you give them value. Your wedding rings are a reminder and will be a reminder of the choice you made here today, a choice which is never ending. That’s why the ring is a circle, it’s never ending. - Steve handed Bucky one of the rings they had picked up in a rush from the jewellery shop downtown and Y/N the other one. - James, please place the ring on Y/N’s left hand and repeat after me. As a sign that I have chosen you, as proof of my love above all else, I give you this ring. With this ring, I thee wed.

   - As a sign that I have chosen you, as proof of my love above all else, I give you this ring. With this ring, I thee wed. - he slide the ring on her finger, thanking heaven he’d gotten the right size. 

   - Y/N, please place the ring on James’ left hand and repeat after me. As a sign that I have chosen you, as proof of my love above all else, I give you this ring. With this ring, I thee wed.

   - As a sign that I have chosen you, as proof of my love above all else, I give you this ring. With this ring, I thee wed. - she slide the ring onto his finger. 

   - And now by the power vested in me by the state of New York, it is my honor and delight to declare you married. You may now kiss the bride. 

Y/N gave him a little smile, nose scrunching as it did whenever she smiled out of shyness before he pulled her in for a kiss. It wasn’t long, it was a short and sweet. He knew the two of them had little time and would have to be back in the flat the sooner as possible but it was still a kiss. Their first kiss as a married couple. The two broke the kiss as the clapping became just too loud to ignore and she merely leaned her head against his shoulder, holding his hand in hers as the people around them clapped. 

   - Good, back on the road. - Steve said taking the lead to exit the garden to which everyone followed, with Bucky and Y/N behind them.

   - You look beautiful. - he mumbled to her, kissing her cheek as Sharon and Steve lead them to the back of the HQ where a white van was parked. - Where did Sharon get a van?

   - She stole the van. 

   - I didn’t steal it, Y/N. I borrowed it. I will park it back where it was. - she said as she entered the drivers seat, Steve opening the back for Y/N and Bucky to get in so no one would see them. 

The two of them just sat in the back of the van in silence. Her head leaned against his shoulder during the whole trip as he merely basked in the fact that he was married. Not only married, but married to her, to the woman whose head was now leaning against his shoulder. She’d chosen him, she’d come. 

Sharon parked behind his apartment, bringing the van to a stop as Steve hopped off to open the door to the apartment complex and Sharon opened the back of the van. Bucky was the first one off, reaching out for Y/N’s hand to help her out. 

   - Have fun. - Sharon winked at Y/N. - And I am keeping your bouquet. Maybe someone will take a hint.

   - Congratulations, Buck. Y/N, you look beautiful, congratulations on dealing with him for a very long time. - Steve added. - I don’t know how long, but expect a few more hundred years.

   - I am okay with that. - she smiled at Steve. - Thank you for helping out.

   - We will see you in court.

   - See you in court. 

Bucky kissed the top of her head as the two of them walked inside the apartment, hand firmly clutching hers as the two of them walked up the stairs with her in a rather voluminous dress. She just looked so beautiful to him, he was love drunk on merely her voice but looking at her just made it all even more intense. Catching her little side looks, a small giggles she’d let out whenever he’d kiss her cheek or lips mid climbing the stairs up to the floor where his flat was. It was a tiring day and right them both of them just wanted to be with each other and celebrate witch each other.

As they stood in front of his flat’s entry door, Bucky picked her up bridal style as if they were in some cheesy sitcom, yet it was tradition. 

   - Bucky, what are you doing? - she giggled at him, her hand holding her veil against her head so it wouldn’t fall down.

   - I have to carry my bride over the threshold, that’s just how it works. - Bucky opened the door to his flat and entered the place the two of them already called home with his wife in his arms. He helped her back on her feet before closing the door. Finally, it was just the two of them. - You look so beautiful, princess. 

   - You’re making me flush, Buck. - she turned her head to her own shoulder, her shyness looking absolutely endearing to him. Yet, everything she did was endearing to him. 

   - It always looks really sweet, princess. 

Bucky kissed the top of her head and walked up to the old vinyl player he’d gotten as a gift from Steve a few years ago which laid on top of a mahogany dresser leaning against the wall of the biggest window on the living room. He fished through a basket of old records, placing one on the vinyl player before walking up to his wife who had a curious look in her sparkling eyes.

   - What are you doing, Bucky?

   - I’m not doing anything. - he took her hand in his, softly and carefully pulling her towards him. - I want to dance with my wife.

She leaned her head against his chest, listening to his heart softly beating against his ribcage. Everything was so peaceful and despite all that was lying in front off them, they were just focused on each other and the music which softly played in the background. Nothing really mattered in that moment, it was just the two of them, his head buried in her neck and her head against his chest, softly lulling to side, one hand on her small back while the other one held her hand. Fingers intertwined, new shiny copper coloured thin bands on their fourth finger of their left hands. 

Wise man say only fools rush in but I can’t help falling in love with you. Shall I stay would it be a sin if I can’t help falling in love with you ...

    -  Bucky ... - she rose her head slightly up, not to disturb him. He moved his head to stare at her, bright blue eyes filled with calm seas. - I love you.

    - I know, princess. - he smiled, softly and slowly twirling her, before bringing her back to being flushed against his chest.

    - No, I don’t just love James Buchanan Barnes. I love all of you. - her free hand rested upon his chest, right over his heart. - I love what you’ve been, what you are and what you’ll be. I love you during your best times and during your worse times. I know you think you’re crazy and damaged but I don’t think you are. If I had gone through half you what’ve gone through, I wouldn’t be a good person after but you ... you decided to help other people, you’re kind, you’re warm. You have a golden heart, James Barnes, and I will always love it. No matter what happens. 

Bucky was taken aback by those words, almost as if he wasn’t expecting to hear them. Everything came back into flashbacks, a kaleidoscope of memories from seeing Steve in the train as he fell down, killing the Starks, almost killing Steve, the Zemo events and then it was just her. Seeing her for the first time in the preppy skirt and shirt, the little charming smile she had given him when she had interviewed him, hearing her sing for the first time, kissing her for the first time to seeing her walk down the aisle up to him just a few hours ago and he knew. Bucky knew he’d do it all over again, he’d go through all the pain, through all of what HYDRA did, through all of it as long as she’d be there at the end in her little cupcake shaped white wedding gown and shy smile. He’d do it over again. 

He’d do it over again for her. For her touch, for her embrace, for her smile and laughter. 

So take my hand, take my whole life too for I can’t help falling in love with you. Oh, I can’t help falling in love with you.

taglist: @disasterbi @lookiamtrying @buckysteveloki-me​ @americasass81​ @jamesbarnesappreciationclub​ @lostinthebeans​ @mariahthelioness29​ @oh-nohoney​ @peaches-roses-sins​ @theadorasabditory​ @sipsteacasually​ @saiyanprincessswanie​ @booktease21​ @noiralei​ @learisa​ @everythingisoverratedbutgreat​ @uglipotata72829​ @naturalthrone22​ @husherstan​ @mandiiblanche​ @vicmc624​ @newyorkgoddess​ @itsallyscorner​ @chipilerendi​ @emzd34 @writerwrites​ @bluevxnus​ @that-girl-named-alex​ @captnrogers​ @nsfwsebbie​ @sarge-barnes-sir​ @niki-is-a-thing​ @cynic-spirit​ @tenaciousperfectionunknown​

[shenanigans-and-imagines]

If it's at all possible I would absolutely love to see whatever you come up with for Liz and hawkeye with the mixed tropes 70 Locked in a Room and 74 Huddling for Warmth its ok if this takes awhile or if you can't do it 😉

Ah yes, my favorite trope. Thank you. 😆

Hawkeye had been is worse spots. He couldn't think of any right at that moment, but he was sure there had to be something.

He had been so cold in his tent he couldn't sleep. Laying there shaking wasn't doing him any good and so he decided a turn around camp might do the trick. At the very least it would get some circulation back.

He made it approximately ten seconds before regretting his decision. His first instinct was to go back to his cot, but he quickly dismissed the thought. There had to be something to do about the cold, he just had to think. Maybe there was something somebody missed in the supply room; an extra pair of socks, a spare blanket, something.

Before he could question he was across camp and shaking the door loose. When he finally got the door open, he was surprised to find the light already on and Doc laid out on the floor in front of him.

He opened his mouth to speak, but she was faster as she sprung to her feet.

"Don't close that door!"

Hawkeye floundered his exhausted mind barely registering what was happening before the door slammed behind him with a dull thud.

Doc shot past him, her hands going straight for the lock. The door rattled, but did not move an inch.

"Damn it!" she snapped, kicking the wood for good measure.

"What just happened?" Hawkeye asked.

She huffed out a breath. "You just locked us in for the night. The cold or something morphed the door and now it's basically impossible to get out."

Hawkeye furrowed his brow, taking his turn at the door. Sure enough, the lock wouldn't budge.

"Whoops," he said, sheepishly.

"Yeah, whoops." She then turned away from the door and back to the floor.

It's then Hawkeye noticed she seemed to have made a little nest for herself. The floor was covered in what must have been spare tent canvas. Jackets that were not fit for wearing, but fine enough for pillows and partial blankets were also being utilized. He also could help but realize she was shaking.

"Doc, are you cold?" he asked.

"It's been known to happen."

"No it hasn't."

"First time for everything then." Her lips formed into a little pout, clearly annoyed at her own body for daring to feel the very human sensation known as freezing your butt off. She was adorable.

"Are you going to sit down or are you going to stand there gawking all night?"

Hawkeye blinked, but thought it best not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Soon enough he was on the ground doing his best to cocoon himself in the pile of fabrics.

"How long do you think we'll have before somebody opens the door?" he asked.

Doc glanced down at her watch. "It's two o'clock now so...four, five hours?"

"Great," Hawkeye said dryly. "What do we do until then?"

"Well, I'm going to sleep. You can do what you like."

He was about to say something along the lines of "what he had in mind required at least two people" when the word caught in his throat. Liz was taking off her jacket.

"Hey, hey, you know, there are better ways to get a good night's rest than hypothermia."

"I'm aware," she said. "I'm also aware that skin to skin contact is a much better source of heat. Take your shirt off Pierce."

Never in his life had he pulled off a jacket so quickly. "Doc you have no idea how long I've been waiting to here you say that."

She sent him a hard glare. "Oh no you don't. If you're going in with that attitude, you can keep everything on and find your own nest."

"You would leave me alone in the cold?"

"And I'd keep your jacket. What will it be?"

Hawkeye threw his hands up in surrender. "Fine, fine, you win. Hanky and Panky are off the menu. They weren't even on it."

She still looked annoyed, but the small quirk of her mouth told him she wouldn't be for long.

Still, to stay on the safe side, he kept his undershirt on before getting himself comfortable under his jacket.

It was clear now that Doc was not only very cold, but desperate as she quickly wrapped herself around him with not even a comment on where he needed to keep his hands.

God, she was better than a hot water bag. Hawkeye quickly held her close rubbing his hands over her arms to get some feeling back into his fingers.

"Next time, let's skip all the steps of being locked in a closet and go straight to this," he said.

"Speak for yourself, I might as well be holding onto a telephone pole in winter," she said, dryly.

"Haha, nice try, but I'm not letting go."

"Worth a shot."

But even as she said it, he could feel her breath start to slow as sleep started to take her.

"Goodnight, Liz."

"Night, Hawkeye."

He laid back, closing his eyes and focusing on the heat and weight of the woman in his arms. The whole camp would give them hell in the morning, but the joke would be on them. He'd have the best night sleep of them all.

[the-bau-quinjet]

Walk Me Home

Chapter 3 of In Breakable Heaven! I don’t love this chapter, but it felt necessary. idk. Everything picks up in the next one!

Summary: It’s pretty much all in the title! 

Warnings: confronting a cheating ex

Word Count: ~2200

“You really didn’t need to walk me home. I didn’t mean to make you leave earlier than you wanted.” You said as you walked next to Spencer.

“Trust me. I’m normally home by now anyway.” He replied easily. You shifted closer as you thought about the buildings surrounding your apartment complex.

 “Where do you live?” You blurted out, unable to think of anything else to say.

 “Oh, I live in Langham Apartments.” He replied. You thought about the name, recognizing it as you had toured there when you first moved to DC.

 “Isn’t that North of Penelope’s though?” You said, double checking you were walking south toward your own apartment.

 He sighed. “Yes… I know what you’re thinking. Your place is definitely not on the way to mine, but I didn’t want you to walk by yourself and I didn’t think you would let me walk with you unless you thought it was convenient for me. More than 70% of violent crimes happen at night, and midnight to 1:00 AM is the busiest hour for many of those crimes.” You stopped walking, turning him to look at you by grabbing his hands. “Thank you.” You said it with as much sincerity as possible, wanting him to know how much you really appreciate the action.

 You dropped one hand so he could turn back around, but held the other as you walked down the street in a comfortable silence. You were still drunk enough to not think anything of the innocent act. A cat ran out in front of you, scaring you in your still tipsy state. You jumped into Spencer, with your hands grabbing his arm, and you pulled yourself closer to him. He laughed as he saw the source of your sudden fear. Shuffling past the feline, you didn’t make any effort to distance yourself from him. If anything, you leaned on him more as you grew tired throughout the walk.

 You didn’t want to say goodbye as you arrived home. Spencer, being the incredibly intelligent and observant person he is, felt you tense beside him as you turned the corner and your building came into view. “Are you okay?” He asked as your grip on his arm tightened.

 “Yeah, I just… it was a lot easier to think I would be able to get rid of all his stuff before actually having to look at it.” You replied.

 You saw something flash across Spencer’s face before he stuttered “I, uh, I guess, I could, um, go up with you, uh, if you think it’ll help.” You turned to him, a small grin slowly spreading across your face.

 “That would be amazing. I just don’t think I can be alone right now.” You were entering the elevator, pressing the button for the fourth floor before returning to cling to his arm.

 Nothing could have prepared you for the sight in front of you as the elevator doors opened. You held tighter to Spencer’s arm as you realized it was Drew standing in front of your apartment door. He looked almost sad, but quickly shifted to anger as he glanced down at your hands around Spencer’s arm. “Drew, I don’t want you here. I want to move on from my life and pretend like you were never in it.” You could feel the tears pooling in your eyes, threatening to escape as you confronted Drew.

 “I came to apologize, but obviously you already found someone to move on with. You were probably already sleeping with him.” Drew’s words felt like a whip hitting you in the face.

 “How. Dare. You.” You spit back at him, the tears giving away to pure hatred. “You are not even the least bit sorry. God. You don’t get to yell at me for having a friend- that’s right A FRIEND, help me through the complete bullshit you’ve put me through. You are the one who cheated on me. On our fucking anniversary. You don’t get to spin this around and act like I’m a bad person for trying to forget you. Get the hell out of my apartment building or so help me god I will…” You trailed off, not knowing what you could possibly say that would intimidate him.

 “You’ll what? You can’t do anything to me Y/N.” Drew’s eyes were cold and careless as he laughed at your rage.

 “She actually can. She can file a restraining order.” Spencer started. “You see, I work for the FBI in a unit that specializes in catching the world’s worst criminals. We’ve handled our fair share of stalking cases. I will not hesitate to see you prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law if you so much as think about contacting her again.” Spencer’s eyes were hard. He was staring down at Drew as if he were invincible. You clung to him as Drew muttered “Yeah, whatever. Like I’d waste my time on her anyway” before leaving.

 You forced a smile on your face as you walked into your apartment and looked at Spencer. You wanted to be happy that he’s gone, completely out of your life, but you just felt empty. You have experienced way too many emotions for one night and you know exactly what you need right now. Rushing over to your speaker, you turn it on and pull up your Taylor Swift playlist for when you are feeling everything all at once. What can you say, the woman really knows how to write emotions. As you hear the soft music of this is me trying begin to play, you sink into the couch and start crying.

 Spencer shuffles over from where you left him by the door. As he sits next to you, unsure of what to do next. He’s not really sure why you put on this song. It sounds like it will only play into your upset state. You know you just need to flush yourself of the emotions before ridding your life of him entirely. Instead of asking about the music, he surprises both of you by pulling you into his lap and rubbing circles on your back. The small gesture is so kind that you start crying even harder, remembering how nice you thought Drew was. You aren’t sure how long you cry for before you eventually fall asleep.

 -- 

Reid’s POV

Spencer wasn’t sure why he was so set on walking you home, but upon seeing your reaction to Drew standing outside your door, he’s very glad he did. He’s never really been an intimidating person, but there was some instinctual feeling in him to protect you. Not that he thinks you need protection. He just knows you are in an emotionally fragile state and the man who put you there just accused you of the exact thing he had done hours before. It was pretty messed up. Maybe that is why he threw all his rules out the window for you.

 He really doesn’t understand the choice of music. Although, it does cover a range of emotions. The only thing he is completely sure about is that he never wants to see you this sad ever again. Maybe that is why he pulls you into his lap. You clearly need comfort right now, and it would be worse if he just awkwardly left. His barrier to touch has never been broken down so easily. It takes a lot of getting to know someone before Spencer would ever even consider shaking their hand.

 The songs shift from gut-wrenchingly sad to sweetly reminiscent to seductive before he’s sure you’ve fallen asleep. Every time he tries to stop rubbing your back, the softest whimper leaves your lips. At least, that’s what he tells himself as he drifts off, dreaming about meeting you under happier circumstances.

 --

 Y/N POV

In typical fashion after a night of drinking, you wake up around 6:30 wide awake. As your eyes adjust to the dim light, you notice you are still on the couch, but now laying down, with Spencer’s arms still wrapped around you. He looks so adorable sleeping. You slowly untangle yourself from him, so as not to wake him up, before walking into the kitchen for some water. It’s always good to hydrate, even if you don’t ever feel the hangover.

 You began thinking about what you could do to thank Spencer for everything he did last night. Not to mention you forced him to sleep on the couch. You settled on breakfast, but you knew if you started cooking you would wake him up. After finally deciding on a plan, you quickly get dressed. You grabbed your keys and left a post it on the door saying you would be right back, just in case he woke up before you returned.

 You quickly ran across the street to your favorite diner. Not knowing what Spencer would like, you order pancakes, French toast, an omelet, two different breakfast skillets, a sandwich, and sides of bacon, sausage, and toast. While you’re waiting for the order, you walk farther down the street to the small coffee shop you frequent. Again, you could only guess how Spencer liked his coffee so you ordered your usual mocha with extra sugar, a cold brew, and a hot black coffee. After collecting your drinks, you make your way back to the diner to pick up the food.

 It is a struggle to re-enter your apartment with all the food you just bought in your hands. When you finally push the door open, you see a confused Spencer sitting up on the couch glancing in your direction. He glances at the bags in your hands and his confusion only grows. With his help, you finally manage to set everything down on the counter. “Coffee?” You ask, gesturing to the cups.

 “Which one is for me?” he chuckles. “Oh! Right, I got a few different kinds since I didn’t know what you’d like. You can just take your pick and I’ll grab one after.” You begin to unpack the food choices as he tries the first coffee. Almost instantly he gags.

 “That one must be mine.” You say sheepishly as you take the cup from him. “That’s the usual response when people try my drink of choice.” He looks at you funny as he settles on a cup.

 “Really? I thought that was a normal order. I just like my coffee different than pretty much everyone.”

 You look at him as you take a sip of the drink, instantly spitting it into the sink that was behind you. “ew ew ew, that is black coffee. That is disgusting. Oh my god how can anyone drink that.” You chug some water to rinse the taste from your mouth. “Which coffee did you pick?” you ask as you grab the creamer and sugar to fix the monstrosity in front of you.

 “The sweetest one…” Spencer looks almost shy as he admits how sweet he likes his coffee.

 “Ahh, the mocha with extra sugar. That’s my go to.” You say as you dump the sixth spoonful of sugar into your dup. He stares at you in amazement as you finish stirring the now creamy looking beverage. “Much better” you exclaim after taking a sip.

 “I have never met anyone who likes their coffee as sweet as I do.” Spencer has a dopey grin on his face as he looks at your cup. “It’s refreshing not to be judged for something so minute.”

 “I know exactly what you mean! It’s so weird how people can think they are superior for some reason just because their taste buds don’t automatically reject the disgusting bitterness of unsweetened coffee. I mean, I’m still a perfectly capable adult even though I like sugary things. You don’t have to fit into some mold…” Your rant fades from your mind as you meet Spencer’s gaze. “Sorry, I tend to ramble.” You look sheepishly at the floor, immediately jumping into describing the foods you bought. “Now, as for breakfast. I wanted to say thank you for last night, but I wanted to make sure I got something you liked.”

 You scan the array of food you’ve placed in front of you. “You can even feel free to have some of each if you want!” You say as Spencer just stares at you with a look on his face that you can’t quite place.

 “You are incredible,” he says as he takes a seat and gets some food. You don’t really know how to respond to that, so you just grab some food for yourself as you sit down across from him.

 Talking with Spencer during breakfast is so easy. It’s almost as if you didn’t have a major break-up less than 24 hours ago. All too soon, breakfast had come to an end and there are no more dishes to do or leftovers to clean up to stall anymore. Spencer grabs his bag and says “I should probably get going, I have a few errands to run.”

 You let out a small sigh before responding “oh, yeah, of course. I wouldn’t want to keep you. Thank you again for everything yesterday. It was really nice of you.” Spencer shrugs before responding, “I just wanted to help,” turning and walking out of your apartment.

 After locking the door behind him, you sink to the floor fully letting your strange mix of emotions take over. You just might need to listen to that playlist again, only now you’re feeling a range of emotions instead of just a range of sadness.

 tag list:

@mac99martin @eevee0722 @l0ve-0f-my-life @haylaansmi @dinonuggets15 @laurakirsten0502 @green-intervention @burnin-passion

[grandexodus]

Breaking and Entering (Part One)

Aaron Hotchner x Fem!Reader

Rating: T

Word Count:  1,830

Content Warnings:  discussion of stabbing (wound), stalking, breaking and entering, animal abuse (not explicitly detailed), blood, fighting, light cursing.  Fem reader insert, she/her pronouns.

Summary:  When the replicator continues their criminal activity, you find yourself as their target upon arriving home from a long case with the BAU.  Aaron Hotchner, your unit chief, is more than accommodating during the string of traumatic events that you endure before, during, and after the replicator case.  

Next Part

Listen to the playlist based on this story -> Spotify // Apple

“How are you feeling?” Your unit chief, Aaron Hotchner, asked, abruptly breaking the silence that had fallen between the two of you.

A very long case had just come to a close in Memphis, Tennessee. It ended with you being stabbed in the thigh by the unsub followed up by you shooting the unsub nearly point-blank.  

“Like I got stabbed.” You’d always had a dry, rather dark sense of humor, but it wasn’t appreciated in the current climate. You chuckled nervously before changing your statement, “I’m coping.”  

Silence fell over the two of you once again. You had never spent much time with Hotchner, not even when it came to working cases. However, since you hadn’t been cleared to fly, all of the unfamiliarity was changing with a twelve-hour drive back to Quantico. Thus far, it had been grueling. The stab wound in conjunction with two-sentence conversations made for a long trip. You glanced at your watch. It hadn’t even been two hours.  

“Would you mind if I played some music?” You asked once you decided the silence had lingered far too long.  

“Not at all.” Hotch handed you the AUX cord. He never took his dark eyes from the road.

“Any requests?” You asked as you plugged in the cord.

“I’ll be honest, I’m curious what you listen to.” He shot a quick side glance in your direction, and you caught the corner of his mouth twitch. It was the closest thing to a smile you had seen from him.

“Well, Hotch,” you allowed yourself to smirk in hopes of maintaining the light-hearted energy, “I listen to a little bit of everything.” You pressed play on your 70’s playlist.  

“Of all the music in the world, I never would have guessed that 70’s rock was your thing.” Hotch admitted over the opening lines of Cheap Trick’s ‘Surrender.’

“What can I say?” You smiled before you turned the music up. “Mama raised me well.”  

“Now, wait a minute.” His impassive tone was gone, and he sounded more sincere. “Do listen to 70’s rock, or do you know 70’s rock?” 

“Hotch, I-” He cut you off.

“Aaron.”

“Aaron,” you corrected while you suppressed a grin, “I’m absolutely heartbroken, but I accept your challenge.” You turned the volume even more.

“What challenge?” He shouted over the music. In response, you began belting along word for word. You looked over to him, and for the first time ever you saw him laughing.

As the song came to an end, you turned the volume down. “It’d be a lot more fun if you joined in.” Though you were hopeful, you were sure he wouldn’t take part.

“Okay.” He simply stated. You raised your eyebrows in genuine surprise. “However, I have a request.” The two of you locked eyes for a brief moment before he returned his back to the road. “Stutter.”  

“Kiss. Really?” You searched for the song. “I never would have guessed.”

“Why not?” He asked. Finally, he was making conversation.

“Would you like the friend answer or the profiler answer?” You questioned.

“Friend answer.”  

“You just seem like the type of person who prefers music that’s, I don’t know, less in your face.” You paused, “I would have pegged you as a Cash kind of guy myself. “

“I’ve been known to listen to Cash.” Hotch countered. “I do prefer Kiss, though.”

“Kiss, it is then.”  

As ‘Stutter’ began to play, you saw Hotch just barely moving his lips along to the lyrics.

“Sing like you know the song.” You teased.

He chuckled as he spoke, “I’m not sure you want to hear that.” A small smile lingered on his lips.

“Oh, I’m sure I do.” You countered. To your surprise, he turned the volume up and he sang much louder than before. His singing definitely wasn’t bad like he had led you to believe.

“You had me thinking you were going to be a bad singer.” You prompted as the song ended.

“You’re not too bad yourself.”  

It had been three hours since the drive back to Quantico started, and you and Hotch agreed it would be a good idea to grab some dinner before it got too late. Hotch had just thrown the van in park in front of a local diner that was located in a very small town.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Hotch asked as you began the process of getting out.

“Getting out of the van.”

“Y/n, you were stabbed in the leg. The doctor instructed you to not walk on it.”

“I understand that, but it’s not like they gave me crutches or anything.” You paused. “I’m fine.”  

“Let me help you.” He got out and met you at the open passenger’s side door.  

“Seriously, I’m fine.” You stubbornly assured him while stiffly lowering yourself out of the vehicle. As soon as you put weight on your injured leg you nearly collapsed. You steadied yourself against the van. Hotch simply held out his arm. You took it, defeated. In one fluid motion, he closed the door and locked the van.  

“It will be much easier if I steady you rather than you steadying yourself.” Hotch prompted. You nodded in agreement with his statement. “May I?” 

“Yeah.” You say, eager to use as little unnecessary energy as possible. Hotch snaked his arm around your waist, and you did the same to him. You were able to at least limp this way.  

“You can lean on me as much as you need.” He assured, his tone gentle. Butterflies came to fruition, so all you could muster was an understanding nod.  

Once seated in a booth you said, “Thank you.”

“Of course.” His expression was once again stoic, but his speech was laced with empathy and concern.

“Hi, I’m Dorothy, I’ll be your server today. What can I get for the lovely couple?” A chipper teenager asked. Your brow furrowed, shocked at the assumption you and Hotch were together. 

Before you could correct her, Hotch spoke, “I’ll have the cheeseburger with fries, and water to drink.” He didn’t seem phased by the assumption.

“And for the lady?” Dorothy turned to you.

“I’ll have the same, but hold the pickles.” Dorothy finished jotting the order down and took the menus.   

“You didn’t correct her when she called us a couple.” You stated quizzically.

“I believe her words were, ‘lovely couple,’ and you didn't correct her either.” A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. You wanted to justify why you hadn’t corrected the waitress, but before you could, your food was placed in front of you. The two of you ate in silence.

Dorothy returned to the table after a while. “Here’s the check when you’re ready. No rush.”  

“Could we split this?” You asked before she walked away.

“I got it, thank you,” Hotch said to the waitress. You didn’t argue.  

Hotch finished his glass of water and placed $30 on the table. “Ready?” You nodded, and Hotch was quickly by your side to help you back out to the van.

“You should try to get some rest.” He suggested once you were back on the interstate. He glanced in your direction, and a small smile crept onto his lips when he realized you were already asleep.

“Y/n.” You awoke to Hotch gently shaking you. “We’re at your apartment.” He had already opened the door for you and was ready to help you out.

“Did I really sleep the entire ride?” You asked tiredly.

“You had a long day,” Hotch assured with his hand out for you to use as support to lower yourself out of the van. “You’re not doing those stairs tonight,” Hotch said sternly. Your brow furrowed.

“I can make it.” You said stubbornly.

“I’ll bring you crutches tomorrow, but you’re not taking those stairs without them.” He was dead serious. You opened your mouth to argue. “That’s an order.” He stated before you could utter a sound. You gave up on arguing and got out of the van. Hotch almost immediately had his arm around your waist to support you.

You exhaled sharply. Partly due to the pain shooting through your leg, and partly because the butterflies were back. Hotch was undeniably handsome, sure. But there was a strict no fraternization policy within the FBI. Nothing could ever happen between the two of you even if both of you wanted to be together.

“I’m going to carry you, okay,” Hotch said, breaking your train of thought. You were taken aback by his statement, and it was very evident. “If you’re not comfortable with that--” His tone was leaning toward concern.

“It’s fine. Whatever you need to do.” You interrupted him. He simply nodded before picking you up. “Shit.” You hissed at the pain that shot through your thigh before placing an arm around Hotch’s neck.  

“Sorry.” He said quietly. As he made it up the steps to your second-floor apartment you couldn’t help but rest your head on his shoulder.

“Sorry, I’m just in too much pain.” You said tiredly.

“You’re fine. No need to apologize.” He assured, “2F, right?”

“Yeah.”

He was approaching your apartment, but he stopped in his tracks. “Did you leave your door unlocked?” He asked. His voice was so low that only the two of you could hear. You saw what he was seeing immediately. Your heart sank into your stomach.  

Your door was wide open.

“No.” 

“Stay here.” He set you down. You leaned against the wall, and the two of you drew your guns. You watched as Hotch entered your apartment. “Clear.” He finally shouted.

You were holstering your weapon when he appeared in front of you. “It’s the replicator.” His voice was still low.  

“What makes you say that?” Sure, you trusted him, but you didn’t want to believe what you had just heard. You started toward the open door. You didn’t need to go all the way inside to understand how Hotch knew.  

There were black and white photographs of you and only you hung all over your living room. In large letters, the word ‘zugzwang’ was written. No doubt, written in blood.

“Whose blood?” It came out in a whisper.

“Your dog was in the bathroom.” Hotch placed a hand on your shoulder. What he meant was your dog was in the bathroom dead. Likely splayed open. You were frozen, feeling way too much all at once. “We need to go.”  Hotch prompted.

Once in the van, Hotch called the team with a brief explanation of what happened and with orders to meet at the office. You remained silent, staring forward.  

“We’re going to catch who did this, y/n.” You felt warmth on your shoulder, a reassuring gesture from the unit chief. “I promise.” With that, he intertwined his fingers with yours. You didn’t look at him. You simply laced your fingers with his before giving his hand a gentle squeeze. You were terrified, but you were as determined as he was.

[dannyboyzone]

Why these Lookism Bad Guys are liked, a rant by me

Alright, so I have came across a post talking about how Johan is hated on despite being a "bad person", and trashing other characters for absolutely no reason other than guilt tripping people. I personally think the post is immature, but due to my own personality and mental state, it has still got me kind of pressed, because it all sounds ridiculous. This post will be about some people in Lookism that are viewed as a bad people and or are hated on, and why I think they are liked. I won't speak for everybody liking these characters, and it will include some characters that I hate. This post is just to give a general idea for people who are really ignorant about why some characters might receive love. You might have come across that post, and if not, I am talking about this one below. - Well, only a small part of it, that threw me off. -

I didn't include the person's username out of respect and also so they don't feel attacked or anything of the sort.

Before starting this off, there are a few things I would like to say. If I sound petty, I truly don't care. I never saw anybody hating on Johan, at max maybe give criticism, I also don't hate Johan or try to disvalidate anyone's feelings, just get some things straight. Liking someone's looks does not immediately mean you are attracted to them, neither does liking the person's look you are attracted to mean you are toxic. It means you are loving. If you like someone's personality, you will find them beautiful consciously or subconsciously. If someone finds a character handsome, it is not a crime, people have types and preferences, and if they do it's none of your business. Hating good looking people doesn't make you woke, neither hating on people who are attracted to good looking people. What are you, Crystal Choi? And yes, people will be attracted to looks, it's a normal human act. People will notice if they find someone more attractive or unattractive which is not a bad thing. What is a bad thing when they start treating people different because of it. I assure you, most of the lookism fandom that I have came across doesn't do that.

This post will not include Seong Yohan because I never saw him get hated and I don't think nobody knows where he is coming from.

Samuel Seo

Yeah, so what seemed to be a surprise for me is that not a lot of people like Samuel, or at least understand why the people liking him would. Now, I personally feel no romantic attachment towards him. - Which is yes, normal, even if he is fictional. It's called fictophilia and I better see no judgement about it. - However, I do love Samuel a lot, and would love to care for him and grow a strong bond. To me, Samuel is not a monster. At all, believe me, Samuel isn't liked only for his looks. For me, personally, I love him so much because I can relate to him. I absolutely hated him at first, but grew to love him because he is human. He is complex, has a hard life and isn't perfect. That's exactly why I love him, and someone else I really adore does too. Yes sure, as you grow to like someone's personality, you find them handsome and or pretty. It's so much easier to say someone is pretty than to say, 'Hey, I love this person because they helped me go through so much.' Not everyone has the same love language, not everyone is comfortable with blunt affection. Besides, Samuel can and will achieve anything he wants. He has SO much sides to himself, not just 'good looking violent guy with big tits'. That's not Samuel at all. Besides, if PTJ oversexualises him, it's hard to not notice his body.

Yes sure, Samuel hits women, but I personally, don't f%cking care. Your vagina doesn't define if you deserve violence or not, your behaviour and the person's you face personality does. I am personally someone that doesn't mind violence as long as the person deserved it, because some scumbags in this world do. If they happen to be a woman, that's not on me, they shouldn't have done whatever they did. If you are not a violent person, I am not even sorry to tell you this, but you are probably sexist. It's not like all women are fragile and unable to get hit. Besides, if his violence is the problem, why is it fine that he hits men? Because men can handle it? According to statistics women have a higher pain tolerance. By your logic, you should call him out for hitting anyone in his way. Stop acting like hitting women is a necessarily bad thing, start saying that hitting innocent people is a bad thing.

If you must hate on him, maybe use the fact that he killed his abusive and neglective parents. Don't give a hard time to others for liking him though.

Ahn JongGun

Does Gun seem like a bad guy? Absolutely, he has done some horrible things. Then why do we like him? Because he seems to have a smaller character development coming, he has so many things to him and he is an absolutely incredible and complex character. I am very curious of his background and what caused him to be so violent and yet so calm. I like him because he allows himself to be human. From his religion, to his knowledge of material arts, to his adoration towards Vasco's material arts teacher - I forgot his name, so excuse me for that -, to his attention to details, to his fashion sense, it all makes him human. It's nice to see someone be a human, instead of just 'hot guy' or 'villain'. He is a nice character that brings many depth to the story. I could list a hundred of reasons why I love him, and no, none of it is his "weird" fashion sense. I do find him incredibly stylish, I just think some people in this fandom don't understand fashion. - Oops, I guess. - My main reason to liking him is that he is most likely either bisexual or pansexual. That he has a crush on Daniel. I might seem like I have a weird fetish or something, or that I am a crazy "fangirl". That's not the case though. I am a part of the LGBTQ+ community, and while not huge, I adore the hell out of the representation. It's nice to see such a smart, elegant and powerful guy be the representation. Because he is a character that's not there simply to be gay and full of stereotypes. Like, no hard feelings if you fit into stereotypes, but as a person who doesn't fit into them, it's a refreshing thing to see someone that's allowed to have many sides to himself other than just 'the gay friend'. Of course I am sure there are a lot of people who have many other reasons to love him, like his endless knowledge of material arts. There is so many reasons to be interested in his character, and just because you can't see it that doesn't mean others are blind to it too.

Yeah, he might have slept with countless women, but the main reason you can't count it is because he never stated the amount of women he slept with, neither did anyone else. Sure, he did say that Daniel is better than any women he ever slept with, but for all you know that could have been 3. Even if, it doesn't matter. He could have slept with 3, or 70 women. It doesn't matter, because not everyone's sexual life will reflect your own. And other people's sexual life is none of your business. Sure, you can say it's only fiction, and that I am overreacting, but when it comes to such small or personal details, people tend to put their own personal view into it. It's really not fine to shame others for their sexual life. As long as he uses protection, and didn't make anyone pregnant and doesn't play with the feelings of anyone, who gives a f%ck.

Some people tend to lash out sexually if they experience trauma or stress, and no, I don't mean they go and r%pe people, I mean that they go and have sex with different people who give consent. Even if he doesn't do it because of that, why does it bother you so much? Sex isn't a disgusting act. Some people like it, some people don't. Whatever their decision is, as long as no one is hurt, you should respect their decision.

Kim JoonGoo

Alright, this got me f%cked up. Goo is such a good character, and no way he would ever cheat on his S/O. He has morals and a lot of good sense in himself. Sure, he might have said that Samuel will be his secret friend, which led OP to believing Goo would cheat, but that's... a terrible reason, in my opinion. Gun knows that Samuel works for Goo, and Goo owns up it too. Besides that, nothing, absolutely nothing would lead to the fact that Goo would cheat. Because he wouldn't.

Now, why do I like Goo, and why some other's might like him too. He is such a well put together character, unpredictable yet so simple. He damages people to a point they have to retire, doesn't get scared of murderer, is a money maniac and hates his boss. You would think, he is dirty and fits the "gangster" stereotypes. That's not the case at all. He is more hygienic than most of the characters of lookism, if not the most hygienic one. He hates drinking and smoking, doesn't have tattoos - not that there is anything wrong with that - and is incredibly patient.

He might be a money maniac sure, but his ability to control money so well the way he does just shows how high his IQ is. I find that amusing, since it's something hard to do. What I completely love to the moon and back about Goo is his creativity.

When he gets into fights, he is patient and maybe let's himself get hit a few times. That's a good thing because he has time to learn about what he is facing. I think that's neat, because not a lot of people think about that during fights, and he taught me to do that. Also, the way he harms people is very creative too, no matter how harsh that sounds. He stabs people with chopsticks, kicks people with a glass piece stuck in his shoe and harms people with a katana. It's all so unpredictable yet fits him so well. I really love the way he fights and handles situations because it tells so much about him. Also, he is so fun, who would do karaoke after beating a bunch of guys unconscious? Only your one and only Kim JoonGoo. He is such a fun person to study and to read about.

So, no, I will not put up with the bullsh%t that he would cheat on his s/o, because he is a very respectful and none judgemental person. Just because his fights look violent to you, and his friendship with Gun unstable, that doesn't mean he is a bad person. It just means he is different from you, and yeah, he does f%cked up things, I won't deny that. That's exactly what makes him an interesting character.

Xiaolong

Now, I personally don't like Xiaolong that much, so this will not come from heart, but a place of logic. For a disclaimer, I am not caught up on the latest chapters, because I want to binge read it.

Now, even though I do not like Xiaolung, I can see why other people would.

He is a responsible person, who takes good care of himself even though he has to look after Vivi 24/7. He is not only good in his job, but takes it very seriously too. He isn't afraid to take action to make sure his job is going smoothly, and that everything is on it's place. He would do anything to protect Vivi, which can be appealing to some.

And from what I saw from spoilers, he is very strong. No, admiring his strength does not make the person toxic or fragile. It means they find the place in their heart to appreciate the type of struggle and hard work he puts into it. He has an unique way of fighting, which I could only see a small portion of. However it's clear that he must be impressive. I completely understand if people find that neat.

Also, Xiaolong seems like such a f%cking loyal person. That's so incredibly important. A lot of people can find that appealing, for various reasons. I am aware there are poly people, or anything similar to that, but loyalty is so important for some people and can form a very deep sense of love.

Yeah, he might take care of Vivi when she is drugged and let her get away with drugs but consider this that's his job. He is payed to do that and swore to do his best in it, as it's very important to him.

Outro;

Yeah, I don't care, like who ever you want to and defend them, but if you drag down other characters and guilt trip people because of liking specific characters, you are not going to be "woke" or special. And I will find you, and e a t you. - For legal reasons, that's a joke. -

That is not the only post that I saw shame those characters and people who like them, but is the one that made me messed up.

This fandom absolutely loves shaming people if they love the character design and looks of their favourite character. Let me tell you something though; You are missing the point of the whole manhwa you are reading.

Finding people attractive and beautiful is completely normal. Treating them differently because of that is not. As far as I am concerned, I never saw any lookism fans hate on characters they find less attractive. - Rather on the attractive ones. -

People have a type and that applies to looks and personality. Literally everyone does, even if it's unconsciously.

If you want your favorite character to get more love, don't make other people's comfort characters look bad on purpose, because in their eyes they aren't simply the bad qualities you see in them. And if you highlight them at least make sure they are true or at least reasonable bad qualities.

Well yeah, that was my little rant. And I didn't even mention the psychological aspects of why each character is like, or in other words what people they might attract. Or, the difference kind of personal life experiences people had to go through to appreciate each kind of little detail about the characters.

Yeah, this is the end of my little rant. If this post will get actual mature answers and discussions, I will make a similar one for Vinjin, Logan, Olly and Jiho. Yeah, I hate all of them, but other people might not.

END

[lasquadrasfuckhouse]

since i've been talking a lot about my hcs for la squadra's backgrounds i figured i would drop what i've thought of so far for risotto 👀

as a heads up there will be talk of ❗catholic trauma, familial death, and grief❗

prefacing this: so i saw an idea somewhere once that risotto and mariah are related b/c their stands both deal w/ magnetism and they both have white hair and then i made a mental exercise to play around with the idea of how that would actually Work but then the idea stuck lol

so they're half siblings and mariah is like, 5 or 6 years older? they have the same dad. he and mariah's mom separated on good terms and he eventually moved to sicily for work but went back n forth a lot to still be active in mariah's life

which is where he met risotto's mama. risotto was born and raised in siracusa but the family went to cairo a lot and likewise mariah and her mama would come visit too

so risotto's family life may have been unconventional (especially considering it was the 70s in a catholic country and his parents weren't married, nero is his mama's last name) but was very happy. he had good and loving parents, he and his sister loved each other a lot, their moms got along really well and mariah's mama was very nice to risotto too and vice versa, it was all pretty chill!!!!

maybe a few months (or a few years) later some wreckage washed ashore that could be identified as part of their vessel, but that's the most closure risotto had. he knows in his heart that they're dead because they were good parents, they would never have abandoned him and mariah. he doesn't blame the sea though and he's not afraid of it, it's just nature, and nature happens sometimes.

but when risotto was about 8 or 9, his parents were lost at sea. not sure if they were on a ferry and there was a freak storm and there were others that were lost too or they just liked to sail or what, but their boat pretty much vanished and they were never found.

so as presumably, probably, an orphan, he was taken in by his maternal grandparents in the sicilian countryside and lost contact with mariah and her mama. his grandparents had also taken in his older cousin prior to that too so it was the two of them being raised in the middle of bumfuck nowhere by their grandparents.

and their grandparents were, hm. Not Great. they were pretty hardcore catholics who ran a strict house, made ris and his cousin go to church whether they liked it or not, tried to instill them both with Catholic Guilt™️, were very conservative, kinda broadly fucked up and controlling etc. it was just, not an emotionally healthy environment.

risotto's mama probably moved away for a reason 😬 they were definitely aghast that their daughter had a child out of wedlock and it wouldn't surprise me if they had this notion of having to '''save''' risotto from '''sin'''. which probably made him feel like something was wrong with him, which he thankfully knew wasn't true because his early childhood was happy and healthy enough to give him that perspective, but it hurt nonetheless.

he and his cousin were each other's confidants and partners in crime, they loved each other so damn much and were always looking out for each other. often it was big cousin looking out for baby ris cause he was like ~5 years older but risotto wanted to be there for him too.

they got up to a lot of trouble as kids in small towns in the middle of nowhere do and it was stupid as hell but fun and freeing. authoritarian houses make good sneaks and good liars and the two of them definitely lived up to that. risotto also couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and love when he did what he pleased and tried his best to live freely because he felt like it brought him closer to his parents in spirit.

as soon as big cousin graduated the two of them hit the road and moved to palermo, against their grandparents' wishes. they shared a shitty cheap apartment that felt like a damn mansion to them cause they could do whatever they wanted and just live their lives.

they lived there for about a year before risotto's cousin was killed and he felt like the fucking world crumbled from beneath him. he viewed it very differently from his parents' deaths: one was nature, one was some asshole who couldn't be considerate to the people around him and now risotto's best friend is dead.

so he was back with his grandparents but without his cousin and he was pretty fucking miserable, but he refused to just be sad for himself, he was sad for his cousin first and foremost and couldn't stop thinking about him. and he was angry. big cousin had his whole life ahead of him that was cut short, he was a whole person with dreams who loved and was loved, and this guy only gets four years in prison and then could just go back to his life like nothing had happened when his cousin wasn't alive anymore? no. it wasn't right. risotto refused to let that go unresolved.

and that thought is what kept him going but he still ran away a lot, didn't bother with school unless he thought it could help him, etc. he became sort of numb to his grandparents and the irony of plotting revenge in his head while he was made to sit in church wasn't lost on him.

he probably dropped out and left his grandparents' place by the time he was 17 and he hasn't spoken with them since, went back to palermo, and went from there with his plotting. that's how he got involved with passione.

he got vengeance for his cousin at 18, and it was at least something, but yeah, he realized it would never be enough and the pain stayed. not that he regretted it in the slightest tho, he can still sleep a little easier and feels like he can do.... something aside from just being consumed by it.

but then he was indebted to passione for their help with getting risotto to the guy, risotto took it in stride cause again, he didn't regret it, and the rest is history.

not to say he's necessarily happy or satisfied being in passione tho, but he accepts it and works with it. he doesn't really think about what he'd like to do cause this is what he just.... does.

he tries to visit his cousin's grave in palermo every year for his birthday (and maybe throws some flowers into the ocean for his parents too, they left from the opposite coast but he figures the water will carry his intentions where they need to go). he would be perfectly happy to never see or hear from his grandparents again. once as an adult (and with gang connections) he realized he could try to track down his sister again, but decided against it. not only because he's not sure if she would accept him for who he became (he can't stand the thought of her rejecting or being afraid of him), but if he put her in harm's way, he would never forgive himself.

he doesn't know mariah is also a stand user, nor her involvement with dio or who the fuck dio even is or basically the whole mess of stardust crusaders. but she IS alive, she got very injured but is alive. maybe once giorno becomes boss, gets in touch w/ his joestar family and the speedwagon foundation etc all the little strings start coming together and risotto and mariah can find each other again. and she very much does love her big baby brother and wouldn't even dream of rejecting him. so they can be brother and sister again and it's really lovely and healing :')

[mrs-dr-reid]

The Girl Behind the Desk

(A Criminal Minds Fic)

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Summary: Requested by @imagining-in-the-margins​; “Spencer goes to the same library whenever he can. In part because he likes to read the encyclopedias, but also because he’s in love with one of the girls who works there. Unfortunately, he’s also convinced she doesn’t know he exists.”

Genre: Super fluffy, doods

Warnings: Pining, I guess? (is that a thing that needs a warning? I dunno, maybe)

A/N: Okay, this was so fun to write? Oh my god. I hope you guys enjoy it!

Word Count: 1858

———————————————————————

Spencer didn’t know why he kept going there. Well, he takes that back. He kind of knows why he keeps going to a very particular library in the D.C. area: There’s a very robust collection of encyclopedias there that he can go and read whenever he has time off from the BAU. Therein lies the kicker: he’s already read the entire collection at least half a dozen times. So why does he keep going there if he’s already read the one thing there that interests him?

The answer is quite simple... the encyclopedia section is within viewing distance of the check-out desk, and whenever he goes in to read them, there’s always a beautiful young woman there with shiny Y/H/C hair and striking Y/E/C eyes checking out books, answering the questions of other library patrons, and taking the reshelving cart to some other section of the library. He’s never plucked up the courage to go over and talk to her, but he knew from overhearing the conversations she had with her coworkers that her first name was Y/N.

Spencer’s played out a thousand interactions with her in his mind, but he’s never gone over to the desk to actually play one of them out. So for the past month and a half, he’s just been sitting in the corner by himself pretending to read a book while staring at the beautiful librarian from across the room like a lovesick idiot. And he was a lovesick idiot, because he couldn’t recall a single time in his life where he was utterly captivated by a woman he’d never even spoken a word to before.

He noticed every little thing about her: the way she would smile at young children who would plunk a Magic Treehouse or Percy Jackson book on the counter and stand on their tiptoes to hand her their library card, then give them a small lollipop from the glass bowl on the desk before they left, the way she laughed when one of her coworkers told a really lame library joke, the way she could pull her hair into a neat bun while she was working without one of those hair donut things he’s seen JJ use a couple times, and the way there was always a skip in her step and a song in her head when she was pushing the reshelving cart to whatever section she needed to go to.

She never looked over at his lonely little table because she was busy focusing on the more busy sections of the library, like the magazines, the research computers, and the children’s books, so the logical half of Spencer’s brain managed to convince him that she had no idea he even existed and that he really had no business being in the building. Still, the other more fantastical half of his brain kept him rooted in his plush library chair on the very slim chance that one day she’d look over and at least give him a smile. He highly doubted that would ever happen, but a guy can hope.

—   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —

Y/N could tell that the guy in a purple sweater vest with unruly brown hair and thoughtful brown eyes sitting at a table near the encyclopedias wasn’t really there to read all of them every time he came in, because she was pretty sure she saw him read every single one of them and put them all back in the right place in the span of a few hours the first day he came into her library.

Sometimes when she was refilling the candy bowl, she would steal a quick glance over at him and see him absentmindedly flipping through the pages of an encyclopedia she knows she’s seen him read in record breaking time with a furrowed brow, because she had to admit he was handsome in his own nerdy little way. And she’d always feel her stomach flip when he pushed his hair away from his eyes or adjusted his tie, because his hands look HUGE, even from far away, and she knows that if they ever shook hands, his would completely swallow hers.

She only knew his name because he answered his phone one time, and she heard him say, “Dr. Spencer Reid,” which made her raise her eyebrows in amazement, because he couldn’t have been much older than she was and he was a doctor. She could tell by the way he dressed that there was no way he was a medical doctor, so she assumed that he was a college professor with a proclivity for literature.

He came into her library sporadically over a month and a half period, and when he was gone for long lapses in time, Y/N assumed he was doing lectures either at the school he worked at or at nearby schools as a guest speaker. But whenever she looked over at the empty table where he usually made himself at home, she couldn’t help but miss him, which was utterly ridiculous because how could you miss someone you’ve never even spoken to? She then made a pact with herself: the next time she saw him come in, she was going to find some excuse or another to talk to him.

—   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —

Spencer got back from a really rough case, and he figured that a trip to his favorite library might lift his spirits. He walked in through the doors, expecting it to be a normal session of “pretending to read so I can stare at the desk girl”, but he stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a voice he’d only heard from a distance say, “We just got in a couple new ones about fungi and spores, in case you wanted to look at something new.”

He turned around to see the woman he’d been admiring from afar for nearly the last two months with her award-winning smile on her face. She pointed at his table and said, “I noticed you liked hanging out by the encyclopedias, so I thought I’d let you know if I caught you before you hunkered down over there,” making him struggle to find the right words to say. He finally settled on, “Ummm, okay. Cool. Thank you for letting me know,” and smiled before starting to walk away.

Y/N knew that was her last chance, so she said, “I’m Y/N, by the way. Y/N L/N,” and held out her hand, so Spencer hesitated before grabbing it and saying, “Hi, Y/N. I’m Dr. Spencer Reid. Sorry, but, handshakes aren���t normally my thing. You see, the number of pathogens passed during a handshake is outrageous. It’s actually...,” making Y/N say, “Safer to kiss, right? I’ve dealt with my fair share of germaphobes who whip out that fact,” before shooting him a wink.

Spencer didn’t know how to react to that, but he knows for a fact he went pink in the cheeks. Y/N continued, “And I already knew your name. I heard you answer your phone once. You’ve never checked out any books, so I just thought you were too busy with teaching to remember to return them and never went over to ask you about it,” while she started grabbing new books to stamp and stack.

Spencer didn’t really know how to respond to that, but he remembered how to speak English, and he said, “You think I’m a teacher?”, so she said, “Yeah. I mean, based on the way you dress and the fact that you’re slightly too germaphobic, there’s no way you’re a medical doctor. I figured you were a college professor, more specifically in the English department. How close am I?”, while sitting down in her swivel chair.

Spencer was impressed by her profiler-level deduction, so he said, “I’d say you were 70% accurate. I’m not a medical doctor, but I do have three PhDs in Mathematics, Chemistry, and Engineering, 2 BAs in Psychology and Sociology, and I’m working on a BA in Philosophy. I am a college professor, but I teach Criminology. I’m also a Supervisory Special Agent with the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI,” which made Y/N’s eyebrows fly up. She said, “Seriously?! All this time, I’ve been sneaking peeks at a super genius pretending to read an encyclopedia in the corner for the past two months?”, which made Spencer’s sly smile drop off his face.

He said, “You knew I was pretending?”, so Y/N grabbed her water bottle and said, “Yeah. You breezed through the entire collection in less than 3 hours the first day you came in, then you put every single one back in its rightful place. I even double checked after you left, and I didn’t have to swap a single book into the right place,” before taking a sip of water. Spencer said, “Well, I guess that’s what happens when you have an eidetic memory and can read 20,000 words per minute,” which nearly made Y/N choke on her water.

Spencer’s eyes widened in concern, and he said, “Oh my god, are you okay?”, but she waved him off and said, “Yeah, I’m fine. Just wasn’t expecting that,” before setting her water down. She checked her watch, then said, “Okay, my shift ends in a couple hours. And knowing you you’ll probably finish all those new encyclopedias by then, so how about when I clock out, you and I can go get coffee or something?”, which took Spencer completely by surprise. He said, “Uhhhhh, sure! Yeah, sure! That sounds great!”, his voice betraying him by cracking awkwardly.

Clearly Y/N thought it was cute, because she grabbed a pink sticky note and a clicker pen from the cup on the desk, jotted something down, then handed it to him before saying, “Be sure to think of some interesting fungus facts to tell me later, Dr. Brainiac,” winking, and heading off to reshelve some books. Spencer stood there awestruck for a solid minute before shaking himself and going to his usual spot. He finally looked down at what she had written, and he felt himself go completely red, because on the note was a series of numbers that could only be her cell phone number, an address that could only be hers, and the words “call me sometime, Boy Genius” written in a gorgeous looping scrawl.

Spencer looked up again to see her talking with one of her coworkers behind the desk, so he pulled out his phone and punched in her number before typing “Is texting okay, too?” and pressing send. He saw her pull out her phone, and she looked up and gave him a playful eye roll before typing something and putting her phone back in her pocket. His phone buzzed again, so he checked it to see that she had sent back “Of course it is, Dr. Reid ;)”, making him smile before going to grab those encyclopedias she was talking about.

———————————————————————

Tag List: @agenthotchner​, @hurricanejjareau​, @xgoldentigerlilyx​, @therestisconfettis​, @less-intelligent-spencerreid​, @aryaarathornson​, @thomasgibsonfan01​

Let me know in the comments if you want to be added

[clatterbane]

Buying my first apartment in Sweden: How we won the bidding war - The Local

Beautifully lit photos of apartments, all staged with the same furniture and art, tell you only so much. So, for weeks on Sundays we found ourselves shuffling on wet socks through, admittedly often very charming apartments, the purchase of which we were apparently going to be deciding on based on a ten-minute viewing.

If that was not stressful enough, the bidding per SMS would start right after. I quickly found out that the apartment you were already decorating in your mind, could easily be sold for a million and a half more than the asking price which was about, well, a million and a half more than you were able to afford. Being outbid at an auction, I was assured, is a quintessential Swedish experience. Think of it as part of your integration.

You can therefore imagine the surprise when one Monday night, after some listless bidding on a place we liked but seemed way too nice for us to win, our latest bid was top of the list. Never mind that we only saw the apartment once and together with 70 others: What if we put the sofa there?

Kinda wishing I had run across this piece before going through a very similar confusing whirlwind process recently, tbqh. For possibly a little better idea of what to expect!

Because the main things that experience had in common with any real estate purchasing procedures I had encountered before elsewhere were that (a) there were agent listings involved, and (b) we went to physically look at some places.

I really, really was NOT expecting the bidding blitzkrieg which immediately followed, basically as soon as we saw a place that we both thought we could live in, with a vaguely affordable anticipated selling price. Some back and forth with the bank and the agent, and within about a week and a half in that case? Bing bang BOOM!

We now kinda-sorta own* an apartment! Which we did only look at once for maybe 10 minutes, as the second showing straight in a row. When I was seriously overloaded and also soaking wet from the pouring rain--trying to carefully wheel and peer around the place, without venturing too far into most of the rooms to avoid dripping dirty wheelchair water all över the current residents' previously spotless floors! 🙃 Padding around in wet socks would have been WAY less stressful, and I was working pretty hard on avoiding an obvious meltdown. At least we were the only potential buyers there, until another couple came in as we were about to leave.

I really wasn't taking in more info in that effectively by that point, and didn't even manage to get my own photos/video of the place to process later. Just too brainfried, and didn't realize that was the only real chance we were going to get to evaluate the options before making any final decisions.

But, we have a final handover meeting set for the beginning of December. Yay? 🥴

I knew the real estate market was supposed to be pretty wild, with a bit of a housing shortage ongoing in Malmö too. (Cities in general, AFAICT--and getting out beyond the suburbs unfortunately wasn't looking like a practical option right now, for various reasons.) But, I really was not expecting the process to move that fast! 😰 Figured there would be more time to consider the options.

Another case where I was SO GLAD to have the Household Swede handling pretty much the whole adulting shebang there including the money, really. He did seem to know what was going on, and what he was doing. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Even though that did also leave me feeling even more discombobulated, and without much control over important things happening in my life!

Bit of a continuing theme lately, but hey. Too autistic for this shit, but trying to deal! 😬 Not much else you can do, beyond staying aware of the problem--and focusing on whatever you can manage to hopefully avoid too serious a burnout. (Which is of course another story of its own. 😑)

_________

* It's complicated, since the default here seems to be condo type setups where you also pay a monthly fee to the housing cooperative association? 🤔 Unless it's a freestanding house, but the standard in more urban areas does seem to be housing cooperative apartments. (More on how things work: The road home – buying a residence in Sweden)

Glad to be in a better position than many to move straight from a temporary rental that his New Work helped set up, and into buying a place. Especially with the crazy rental situation. But, it's all A Lot to take in!

[seijch]

of slushies and shitty coffees ft. iwaizumi hajime.

🍬 iwaizumi hajime + gender neutral!reader

🍬 1.5k, convenience store worker!reader, vague immortal and reincarnation au

🍬 this was for vee but i think she deactivated 🧍‍♂️ its also the first one i wrote back in october so its ... maybe not my best

"you know what i am, don't you?" + being immortal boils down to 70% loneliness, 20% doing whatever the hell you want, and 10% recurring nuisances that bear an odd resemblance to your first love. 

To say you hated working the night shift would be an understatement.

Sure, most days it passed with relative ease and allowed you to study on the clock, your studies rarely interrupted. A group of friends with the munchies here, a fellow student in need of a pick-me-up there, and an elderly woman that came in like clockwork at the 4am mark to buy cat food for the strays living nearby. You were well-acquainted with the few regulars of your shift and fond of the night manager, Saeko. On paper, there would be little to hate.

But the classes you had a mere three hours after your shift ended were nothing short of a living nightmare to push through; at this point, you’re sure that your blood is almost entirely comprised of the slushies and shitty coffee you spend your shift helping yourself to.

In fact, you’re in the middle of making yourself one of these slushies when the door opens behind you. “Welcome,” you throw over your shoulder, catching a glimpse of the customer as you achieve slushie-making self-actualization.

Your mouth goes dry instantly.

You’re sure they don’t just let Greek gods walk into the nearest 7-11, but there’s clearly a first time for everything. He’s handsome, with a jaw sculpted from the highest quality marble money could buy. In an attempt to prevent your jaw from hitting the floor, you take a long sip of the slushie. “Fuck!” you hiss, clutching your head as you wait for the brain freeze to recede.

In the time that it takes you to get back to the register, the attractive stranger is about ready to check out. “Just this for you?” you ask, the only noise being the whir of the air conditioning and the scanner beeping at the energy bars. When you don’t get a response, you glance up at him. He’s looking right at you, but there’s something deeper behind it.

It’s like he knows you, that you’re as familiar to him as the beat of his heart, the air in his lungs. It’s both too heavy and entirely too intimate for an interaction that consists of you ringing up his 2AM transaction of three protein bars. ”That’ll be $4.17.”

He pays in exact change. Not another word is exchanged between you, but the intrigue and infatuation you have for the stranger lingers, even into the classes you have the morning after.

The next time you see him, he’s with someone else. A friend, you assume — the man with the perfect brown hair ribs at him as they walk in. Once he makes eye contact with you, however, he falls silent.

You’re beginning to feel like you’re missing out on something, especially when the stranger’s friend pulls him over, saying something in a hushed whisper. Something begins to prickle at your skin, and it’s not (just) the way the AC vent blasts on you from where you‘re sitting.

Thankfully, Saeko has excellent timing, bringing the mop out and greeting the two with a wide grin. “We doing alright over here, boys?” They nod, Mr. Shampoo Commercial saying something about midnight cravings before they make their way to the slushie machine.

”Listen,” Saeko whispers to you as the mop passes your spot at the register, “if those boys do or even say anything strange, you know what to do.” When you’d first started working the night shift, Saeko had been very clear that your safety was her top priority.

(“You college kids remind me of my baby brother,” she’d told you one night as you dusted the shelves. “I know it’d kill me if any of you got hurt.”)

You ring up two slushies: one cherry and one cola. Mr. Shampoo Commercial’s the one paying, and it’s as you‘re returning his change that he decides to speak. “Don’t you remember us?” His voice is smooth, with a dangerous lilt to it.

”Oikawa,” warns Mr. Protein Bar. “Don’t.”

”Why not, Iwa?” To you, Oikawa asks, “It’s been a while, don’t you think?”

”I’m sorry,” you say, trying to keep your voice even in the face of his questions, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Your foot is poised to knock over a busted shelf behind you; it was Saeko’s alarm system, something she claimed could be heard from anywhere in the store.

A look is exchanged between the two men. You don’t bother trying to read it; it’s the sea and the storm, roiling with a language only the two of them are fluent in. “Sorry,” Iwa says, taking his slushie and shoving the cherry one in Oikawa’s hands. “Have a nice night.”

You don‘t see Iwa for a few weeks. The next time you do, he’s alone. It’s another wordless exchange; this time, he’s buying two cans of shitty coffee. “Is your friend waiting outside?” you ask. He looks surprised to hear your voice, probably expecting you to give him the bare minimum after your last encounter.

”Actually,” he rubs the back of his neck, sliding one of the cans your way, “that one’s for you. Sorry about what happened last time.” He pops open the tab of his coffee. “Oikawa doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut.”

You nod, opening your own can. ”What was that all about?” you ask, taking a stab in the dark. You miss, unfortunately: he almost chokes on his coffee, the lines on his face growing more defined as he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.

”Don’t worry about it.”

It‘s a shitty answer paired with shitty coffee, but you take it.

And if you notice that he almost glimmers with an unreal sheen under the flickering fluorescent light, you dismiss the thought. Nothing else seems very real at three in the morning anyway.

He becomes another regular, swinging by twice a week. Two cans of coffee, paid for with exact change. You don’t have the heart to tell him that as an employee, you could just take from the pot whenever you wanted before you had to brew a new one for the morning rush. At first, he slides the can to you and wishes you a good night on his way out, but he grows more chatty as the weeks go by.

He asks about your day, asks about class, asks about work. Never does he share anything about the life he leads outside of shitty coffee and the four walls of the humble convenience store.

But it comes, little by little, like mismatched pieces forming the mosaic of Iwaizumi Hajime. You see it in the weight of the world trapped in his gaze, the way he rolls broad shoulders as if expecting the bones to crack. Most of all, you realize as you take a sip from your can one night, it’s the way he seems to know you better than you know yourself.

It started simple enough, a nod and a flash of something on his face when you told him what you were majoring in. A knowing chuckle, more to himself, when you mention how the old woman that bought cat food was one of your favorite customers. It comes, little by little, until one piece remains. The only way to get it is to ask.

He beats you to it. “You know what I am, don’t you?” he asks as you’re lifting tonight’s can of coffee to your lips. You spare him a glance before taking a long sip, delaying a response for as long as possible.

“You definitely look too good to be human.”

The corners of his lips twitch. “It’s good to know you never change.” You set the now empty can on the counter.

“Have we met before?” Iwaizumi, at least, has the decency to look sheepish. “Your friend with the perfect hair asked if I remembered you.” He snorts with the identifier you’ve given Oikawa, but you press on. “I don’t. But I think you remember me.”

You wait with bated breath for the final piece to fall into place, but he regards you with a look you can’t read.

You’re about to chalk it up to another swing and a miss, but he pulls out his wallet, a worn leather thing. From it comes a single picture, the color faded yellow, the image predating even black and white photography.

It’s Iwaizumi, looking just the same as he does now. He’s got his arm around the person next to him, pressing a kiss to their forehead. The other person is grinning from ear to ear, and it doesn’t take long to recognize who it is.

It’s you.

[skellebonez]

70/75 with one of Spicynoodleshipping getting deaged and forming a little kid crush on the other?

I don't think I have seen a fandom have so much de-aging fancontent at once since... MCU? While I was happy to write the concept itself, writing stories focused on little kid crushes is not something I’m interested in (sorry anon). It's still there, though, just mentioned in passing so this is more Gen than anything. A short exploration of the concept itself and some little "what if" ideas that I personally don't hold as headcanons but I thought could be interesting.

But hey, this is also INCREDIBLY LONG. Why was I so inspired???

Mild warning: mentions of a character being ill. Nothing is described and it’s only mentioned in passing, but I know some people don’t like being hit with that with no warning.

Was this supposed to be a romantic gesture?/It might be a little silly, but I still like to believe in fairy tales.

"Well..." Tang said with a sigh of relief as he entered the kitchen of his shared apartment with Pigsy. "Xiaotian seems to be alright now. Red S-Red BOY insisted I let him watch over him and get myself something to eat."

Pigsy nodded, handing Tang a finished bowl of simple noodles. "He, uh, ain't exactly what I was expecting when you came running into the shop with them shouting 'they're babies help me'. ya know?" He turned back around, carefully mixing some medicine into another smaller bowl of mostly broth. He wasn't sure how well Xiaotian would take medicine without feeling sick again so this would be the easiest way to hopefully help him keep it down. "Kinda pictured him a lot louder. And angrier."

"I didn't picture Xiaotian so..." Tang trailed off, sitting down turned away from Pigsy so he could look out of the entrance to the kitchen to keep an eye on the two now-children covertly and frowning as he sipped his broth. "Did you know?"

Pigsy sort of knew, before all this.

Before Tang ran into his shop with Xiaotian and Red Son held under each arm screaming, both unconscious and shrunk down in equally shrunken outfits, which would have been adorable if it wasn't confusing and terrifying, to what Pigsy could only estimate as ages 5 and "whatever the super powerful demon equivalent of 5 is". That was the last thing Pigsy ever expected to happen but this was his life post Monkie Kid now. Weird shit happening. This weird shit just happened to be closing his store for the day to start taking care of two grown men de-aged into children as Sun Wukong went off with Xiaojiao and Sandy to find the offending demon and undo whatever magic they had worked to make this happen.

They weren't exactly their 5 year old selves, though, not directly. The magic had left them in some kind of semi-muddled limbo, physically and mentally 5 but with some of the knowledge and memories of their adult lives mixed in with their age appropriate memories. And this left both of them incredibly confused and scared when they woke in the apartment and Red Son insisting on being called by his old name Red Boy and Xiaotian...

Xiaotian had become so scared and worried he had made himself sick. Pigsy knew that as a kid Xiaotian wasn't the healthiest but he had never elaborated past “I got sick a lot”. He hoped that it was the anxiety he developed as he got older mixed with his weaker stomach as a child making him so ill so suddenly and not an indication of anything else, even though he also wished it wasn’t anxiety at all. Mostly he just wished he wasn’t sick at all.

Luckily, it seemed that just enough of Red and Xiaotian's friendship was mixed into their memories that the small fire demon child immediately took an insistence on making sure his friend was alright in that single minded determination only small children could possess, not leaving his side for a single second unless absolutely necessary.

"Sort of," he answered after a moment, ladling in another helping of soup into a second bowl for Red as well. "Didn't think it would be this bad. Hopefully that’s the worst of it.”

Tang hummed, drinking the last of his broth and smiling once again. “They seem to be settling down, at least enough that they’re not scared anymore.”

“Thank the heavens,” Pigsy muttered as he grabbed the bowls and made his way into their shared living room. “Alright you two, time f- what are you doing?”

He heard Tang laugh behind him, clearly finding amusement in being aware of what was happening while the pig was oblivious. Red Boy was sitting on the arm of the couch with his hands wrapped around Xiaotian’s forehead.

“He said he had a headache so I’m helping!” Red Boy exclaimed proudly, voice low for his usual volume and little bull tail swiping the air behind him in his pride. “Heat’s supposed to get rid of headaches, daddy told me so when I started growing in my horns and my head hurt all the time.” They were so used to hearing Red Son call DBK by the formal “father” that hearing him refer to him as anything else felt odd.

“Did he now?” Tang smiled, keeling in front of Xiaotian. “Is it working?”

“Yeah,” he answered softly, much softer than he would have as an adult, with a small smile on his face. “I still don’t feel good but I feel less bad now.” The simple answer seemed to bolster Red, the very tips of his hair sparking as his face lit up in clear delight and victory.

“Well, hopefully this’ll make you feel even more less bad,” Pigsy chuckled, holding out the bowl he had prepared. “There’s medicine in here that should help, shouldn’t even taste it.” As Xiaotian took his bowl from his hand carefully Pigsy held out the other one. “You are not eating on the arm of the couch, sit down please.”

Red Boy looked like he was about to protest with Xiaotian looked up at him with a nod and a smile, apparently being just enough to make him let him go and clamber over the back of the cough to flip down right next to him. Again, doing things in a way that only a kid would do.

The two thanked Pigsy for the food and ate their bowls slowly. The adults watched and noticed that Red seemed to gulp down his food and wait to watch his companion eat a few sips before returning to his own bowl and repeat the cycle, not finishing his bowl until Xiaotian’s was completely downed. Honestly, it was adorable. Much like most of this situation, if peppered with lots of worry and anxiety at the same time.

After they finished and Pigsy gathered their dishes he watched as Red and Xiaotian whispered about something and raised an eyebrow as Red jumped off the couch to ask Tang something before running off farther into the apartment.

When he returned the two were curled up on the couch again, this time with Red reading an old book of fairy tales Pigsy didn’t even know Tang owned softly under his breathe so Xiaotian would be the only one who could hear him.

“OK, Red’s never been this attentive to anyone before,” Pigsy muttered from behind Tang and hoping the demon was distracted enough that he wouldn’t hear. “What is-” He tensed as Red Boy sparked his hands on fire ever so slightly, relaxing and stopping from telling him to put them out only when Tang nudged him.

“Watch,” he said in explanation, and Pigsy did. He watched as tiny little figures started to form in the fire, presumably little people to act out whatever was happening in the book they were reading. Red was being so careful not to hold his hands close to the book or the couch or his friend. Xiaotian’s face was one of awe and delight, and When the figures dissipated he laughed and Pigsy watched as Red blushed and smiled wide as he returned to the book and scooted closer, his tail wrapping around his companion’s wrist and purring so loud they would be surprised if he wasn’t actually shaking a bit with the force of it.

“Oh,” he said softly in realization, piecing together Red’s behavior with some things he had noticed before this entire fiasco started. “Oooooh. Red has a crush on Xiaotian, doesn’t he? Was this supposed to be a romantic gesture? Does he even know what he’s doing or is this just kid logic runnin the show?”

“I’m not sure,” Tang replied. “But it’s sweet, the way he’s making sure Xiaotian feels better. If they remember anything when this magic is undone I hope this is something we can tease them fondly with.”

Pigsy couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “Watch out, you know Red’s gonna have his temper back. And what makes you think they’ll remember anything? They may forget all of it, you know, they only kind of remember little bits and pieces of everything past their age right now.”

“It might be a little silly,” Tang said with a shrug. “But I still like to believe in fairy tales. Like the ones they’re reading. Seems appropriate to think maybe something like one of them may happen I guess.”

“You’re a nerd,” Pigsy said with fondness in his voice as Tang wrapped his arm around Pigsy’s shoulders.

[bokunoheroanalysisforthefuture]

And into the cavalry battle we go! Can’t believe this is gonna take three whole chapters to get through… sports festival feels way too long already, man, and I’m only a handful of chapters into it...

[No. 28 - Strats, Strats, Strats]

We start off with Shouto speaking to his team, explaining that he chose them in order to make the most stable formation. Kaminari will guard the left and keep people away with his electricity. Yaomomo takes the right, makes the insulator, and shields and supplements their movements. Tenya takes the lead, since his mobility and physical stature make for good defense. 

One of them (I think Tenya?) asks if Shouto will hold people off with his ice and fire. Shouto doesn’t reply right away, instead looking over to the stands - more specifically, towards where Endeavor is watching from. He tells them no, in battle, he refuses to use his left side.

Huh, they do have the same eyes here. Wind dude kind of has a point. 

As the teams stand along the outside of the perimeter of the battle arena, Present Mic does a final, rhetorical check to make sure the teams are formed and are ready to go, then announces the start of the countdown to the battle royale. We jump around a bit as the countdown is given: Monoma tells Tetsu^4 no hard feelings, which Tetsu returns. Toshinori watches on from the stands. 

We see team Bakugou and team Todoroki in formation and ready to go, both of them focused on a single target. Izuku himself has gotten over most of his nerves and now is focused on the moment. All of them have their point totals given and also broken down by members of the team, in case you weren’t able to do the math yourself from the previous chapters. 

Since Hori is giving the team point breakdowns for our three main teams anyways, this is where I want to insert the team and point totals for all the teams, from most to least points on the headbands:

Team Midoriya [10,000,325 P]: Midoriya [10M] + Uraraka [135] + Tokoyami [180] + Hatsume [10]

Team Tetsutetsu [705 P]: Tetsutetsu [165] + Honenuki [190] + Awase [155] + Shiozaki [195]

Team Bakugou [665 P]: Bakugou [200] + Kirishima [170] + Ashido [120] + Sero [175]

Team Todoroki [615 P]: Todoroki [205] + Iida [185] + Yaoyorozu [130] + Kaminari [95]

Team Mineta [420 P]: Mineta [125] + Shouji [145] + Asui [150]

Team Hagakure [330 P]: Hagakure [25] + Jirou [110] + Satou [140] + Kouda [115]

Team Monoma [305 P]: Monoma [35] + Tsuburaba [100] + Kuroiro [65] + Kaibara [105]

Team Shinsou [295 P]: Shinsou [80] + Ojiro [160] + Shouda [50] + Aoyama [5]

Team Kendo [225 P]: Kendo [75] + Tokage [20] + Komori [45] + Yanagi [85]

Team Kodai [165 P]: Kodai [60] + Bondo [90] + Fukidashi [15]

Team Rin [125 P]: Rin [55] + Shishida [70]

Team Tsunotori [70 P]: Tsunotori [30] + Kamakiri [40]

Have fun keeping track of points in the canon event, or mix stuff up for your own teams if you wanna do alt teams or whatever. Anywho, moving on, as Mic announces the start of the match.

And of course, it’s no surprise that several of the teams immediately rush Izuku’s team, even though I feel like it makes way more sense for them to hang back and wait until there’s only a few minutes left in order to actually take the points. But I suppose competitiveness and all that. More specifically, it’s team Tetsu^4 and team Hagakure after team Midoriya first.

Tetsu is the first to acknowledge (loudly) that the whole match is really a fight for the ten million, and everyone knows it. Hagakure herself is just eager to be going after Izuku, which is inch resting. Competitive, she do be. 

Tokoyami notes the two teams incoming and ready to attack, and checks with Izuku (in his own way) what their response will be. While the girls are a bit in wonder at Tokoyami’s choice of words, Izuku says that of course they’ll be running away. Honenuki, no doubt hearing this, attempts to prevent them from moving by causing the ground under them to soften into a gloop that they start to sink into. 

Oh no, quicksand! Too bad it’s not movie quicksand. Izuku quickly realizes whose quirk it is (I think) and tells Ochako and Mei to turn away for a second. Then, once they do, he turns on the jetpack, and they all go flying up and out of the pit trap and over the heads of the teams going after them. Tetsu realizes that the support girl must have provided the tools for flying, still focused on going after them. Hagakure calls for Jirou to try and stop them, with Jirou sending out her earjacks to try and keep them from getting away - only for Dark Shadow to smack away the jacks, allowing team Midoriya to make a clean escape.

Tokoyami tells Dark Shadow well done, and to cover the teams’ blind spots. Dark Shadow accepts the task with great enthusiasm, twisting around to watch behind all of them. Izuku takes a moment to gush over Tokoyami’s quirk, talking about how its defensive power was just what they needed, and how now the team is covered at midrange from every direction. Tokoyami is the one to point out how Izuku is the one who chose him. 

Ochako gives her team warning before they land, with her boots (from Mei) being the first to hit the ground with a poof of dust blown away from her landing site. Mei asks how Izuku is liking her babies, bragging about how cute they are and how she made them that way. Izuku complements the mobility they’re giving the team and Mei’s work in general, leading to her gushing more. Meanwhile, Izuku reveals in his thoughts that Ochako had made everyone except herself weightless, so that all the weight that’s being carried is her plus their clothes and equipment. 

Ochako, meanwhile, is a bit put out that Izuku hasn’t gushed over her part in all this, because the only part he gushed over her about was internal. Izuku, you should have complemented her work out loud as well, you dummy.

Team Hagakure prepares themselves to go after Izuku again, only for Sato to notice something important - the headband she was wearing is gone! Hagakure is shocked and freaked out, trying to figure out when and how it happened. Meanwhile, Monoma and his team are heading away, Monoma spinning said headband around his finger as he says to consider him an opportunist. 

We get a bit of an overhead view of a number of the teams running around the battlefield (which was very helpful in putting together the team listings). Present Mic states that two minutes have just passed, but the battlefield is already chaotic. Everyone’s scrambling for headbands, but there isn’t just the ten million out there! Other high rankers are also worth a shot as well. 

Just as an overview here, we see team Tetsu^4 and team Hagakure are still going after team Midoriya, with Shouji just there in the corner of the textbox approaching from behind as well. Teams Rin and Shinsou are rushing at each other, as are team Todoroki and team Kendo. Team Mindoriya, meanwhile, just seems to be trying to get out of the way on foot.

Shouji (or is it Mineta hiding inside the ‘bunker’ made by Shouji’s dupliarms?) laughs a bit, saying how this isn’t a scramble, but a one-sided massacre. Yeah, in retrospect, that sounds way more like Mineta. But also, Izuku thinking Shouji’s alone, even though this event is a cavalry battle, so maybe it was him? Eh, whatever. Tokoyami notes that they have to keep their distance, since fighting multiple foes is a bad idea. However, that plan goes a bit awry when Ochako steps on what turns out to be one of Mineta’s quirk balls, causing her to become stuck in place. Izuku quickly tries to determine where Mineta is, only to be surprised when he sees Mineta hiding inside Shouji’s dupliarm bunker. 

Someone (maybe Ochako?) asks if that’s legal, which Midnight confirms it is. As if that’s not enough, Tsuyu, also on Shouji’s back, lashes out with her tongue, just missing both Izuku and Tetsu thanks to their timely dodges. As she retracts her tongue, she complements Izuku’s dodging; Izuku wonders how many people Shouji has hiding on his back. 

Tsuyu quickly reminds Izuku to use her first name, but probably isn’t heard since team Midoriya make a strategic retreat back into the sky - breaking one of the hoverboots in the process, unfortunately. Present Mic comments on how team Mineta using the size difference of its members to form what can be more considered a tank than anything. Mei is distressed at the destruction of her baby, with Ochako apologizing but noting that they got away.

Too bad someone was prepared for their second takeoff, and really, really wants those points.

Izuku: Oh fuck I’m gonna die.

Katsuki, looking pretty gremlin-y, as per the norm, yells how Izuku is getting pretty damn full of himself (which is hilarious in its irony.) Izuku quickly calls for Tokoyami to react, and Dark Shadow takes the explosive blow meant for Izuku despite the massive discomfort in its expression. Katsuki is confused, but has no time to make a second attempt, as Sero tossed his tape and latches onto him, pulling him right back into the waiting arms of his team. 

Present Mic wonders whether leaving one’s unit is allowed, which Midnight confirms is allowed on a technicality - aka his feet didn’t touch the ground. In the staff booth, Death Arms comments on how those class A kids sure are something else. In the crowds, people comment on how it’s fun to watch, what with all the flashy moves, and that it’s just the level the kids are at after fighting real villains. 

Present Mic cuts back with with more commentary, stating how both the doggedly pursued first place team and the determined pursuers from class A are nothing to sneeze at. He then draws attention to the current standings, asking rhetorically how said teams are doing after seven minutes of play. There’s a moment of silence, the crowds and the two in the announcement booth shocked as they actually register the standings.

Why, it looks like almost all the points are being held by teams from class 1b! What a plot twist!

Monoma sweeps by, grabbing the headband right off of Katsuki, as he comments on how it’s too simple, really. Katsuki demands the head back back, threatening Monoma with death, while Mina comments on how easily he caught them by surprise. 

Monoma goes into a bit of a monologue on how Midnight’s announcement of the first event made it obvious that the number of participants wouldn’t be thinned that much in a preliminary. It wasn’t a stretch to imagine that a good number of students would be advancing to the next event - around forty or so. It was really the perfect opportunity to hold back and observe their soon-to-be-rivals’ quirks and tendencies, so it was only fair they ended up placing more modestly. 

Kirishima asks if the whole class was in on it. Monoma says that no, not everyone was, but it wouldn’t have been a bad idea, instead of aiming for some fleeting first place, like a horse going for a dangling carrot. Meanwhile, team Bondo approaching as well. How is Katsuki taking all this?

Not great. And of course, because Monoma has no chill, he turns back to give Katsuki a mocking look, commenting on how Katsuki’s already a celebrity - the victim of the sludge incident! He’ll have to ask sometime, how does it feel to be attacked by villains on an annual basis?

RIP Monoma, you fucking dead. Katsuki tells Kirishima there’s a change of plan. As Monoma glances back at him curiously, we see that Katsuki has gone completely feral and around the bend, and is probably actually going to murder a man by the end of this. Katsuki’s plan? Before going after Deku, he’s gonna murder every last member of Monoma’s team.

Izuku, apparently overhearing Monoma’s monologue, notes how class 1b threw the qualifiers and planned for the long game. Even before the sports festival, he had the impression that they were stronger than they seemed, and that they want to end class 1a’s supremacy. On the other hand, because of that, they aren’t quite so deadset on targeting Izuku. 

Izuku starts to talk to his team about how it shouldn’t be too hard to evade - only to be cut off both physically and verbally by team Todoroki getting in front of them. As Present Mic announces the match being halfway over already, Izuku takes a deep breath and recenters himself, stating how it won’t be quite that easy. Shouto states kind of menacingly that they’re coming for him; other teams are shown briefly reaction to the loss of points in their own ways. 

We close out on Present Mic noting that class B is on the rise, but in the end, who will wear the ten million point crown?

Anywho, glad to finally have that chapter done, even if there’s still two more before we get through this second event and finally move on to the finals. At the least, this sports festival stuff has actually gotten me thinking about the reasoning behind the decisions made for the entrance exam and sports festival, which I will probably end up making posts for after this arc is over.

See y’all next time! Character sheet will be up in just a moment.