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woniepop · 3 years

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➜ sunghoon had never fallen in love with anything the way he did with skating. the wind in his face, the crunch of the ice beneath his feet, it was wonderful. and yet, something about it made your blood boil. you once loved ice skating too, for the same reasons as he, but maybe all you needed was a simple goodbye to understand park sunghoon.

wc: 4.6k

genre: ice skating au, best friends to lovers (ish), angst, fluff, romance, slice of life

content warnings: illness, mentions of medication, mentions of blood, death, mentions of anxiety, mentions of fainting, hospitals, angst, death of a loved one

heavily based off Your Lie in April

tagging: @svnghoonie @unghoon @swanlakesujin @heeblr @sweetseung @ferxanda @katberri @usdolans @kisshoons @scintillasofbeomgyu @leemika @qngelhoonie

a/n: hi everyone! this is my first time i’m writing something like this, so i hop eyou guys enjoy it because i’d be super down to write more in the future.

Friday, October 16, 2020

The busy sounds of couples, families, and friends fill the air as the cold wind hits your face. Holding hands with your mom, you glide through the ice, laughter filling the entire rink. The bleachers, the other skaters, the floor, it all disappears and the only thing that’s left is you and your mom. Your seven year old self had never felt so alive.

And yet, here you were, seventeen, staring off into the ice rink as other kids and their mothers ice skated. Ever since you fell in love with the sport it had been the bane of your existence. Mom died, so you stopped. You swore to never go back again, it gave you anxiety. You tried, you really did, but something about being on the ice reminded you so much of the past you wanted to leave behind. It went downhill from then on.

“Hey, what are you thinking about?” a familiar voice calls out to you. Sunghoon, who had been practicing for his upcoming competition, leans against the side of the rink, talking to you who was sitting on the bleachers.

“Just my mom again,” you reply.

“It’s been a while since she passed away, huh. Should we go get some ice cream to cheer you up then?” He says as he skates towards the exit, walking to you. You stand up, bag in hand, and wait for him to change out of his skates. Sunghoon, who had been your best friend since your five year old skating class, had been with you through everything. He always seemed to know just what to say to cheer you up.

“Hey, y/n. Do you think you’d ever try to skate again?” Sunghoon asks, fully knowing the answer but hoping maybe this time it'll be different.

“Haha, you really want me to get back into skating that badly?”

“Well, it’s been a while since you’ve done it. You don’t have to compete with me again, you know. But why don’t you just try it again for fun?”

You stop in your tracks and think about it. It wouldn’t hurt to try for fun. It was your life at one point. “Fine, tomorrow afternoon. But that’s it.” you say, watching his face light up.

Saturday, October 17, 2020

“Don’t let go, Sunghoon. I SAID DON’T LET GO.” You shout, as he laughs.

“Y/n, just relax. You know this. I’m letting go now.”

“SUNGHOON!” you shout. Your legs bent and you stand in place, too scared to move. You watch as he takes your hand and guides you around the rink. The nostalgia comes rushing back. The wind in your face, the feeling of your feet gliding across the ice like nothing, it had been so long. Before you realize it, you had let go of Sunghoon and gone way ahead of him. Looking back, you find him smiling at you. You remember this feeling, and you loved it.

You’d definitely got your love of skating from your mom. Being the daughter of a professional skater, it had been your dream to be like her. She was and always will be your role model. When you had quit skating you wondered if she’d be disappointed in you for quitting, but thoughts of her always flooded your mind and you could never focus on the task at hand. You knew your mom would never be disappointed in you, but you were disappointed in you.

It had been half an hour of skating and an all too familiar voice calls out to you.

“Y/n!”

“Mom?” you say in response. You look back, no one. Not soon after, your breathing gets heavy, the world starts spinning and the nostalgia of the rink gets washed over by spots of black, your head was pounding. You keep looking. Where was she? Why was this happening? You wanted to hug her. Was she proud of you? Upset that you didn’t skate anymore? Why did she leave you? Before you know it, you could feel Sunghoon holding you on the floor before going unconscious.

Sunday, October 18, 2020

“Y/n, I’m so sorry.” Sunghoon says, clutching your hand while kneeling next to your bed.

“Sunghoon, I’m fine. It’s not your fault.”

“BUT IT IS! I asked you to skate with me and now you’re hurt.”

“I’m not hurt. It’s okay.” you say as you rub the back of his hand with your thumb. You look at the clock. 7pm. It was the next day. “Don’t you have practice? Let’s go.”

“What do you mean let’s go?!? You just woke up??” Sunghoon utters in a panic.

“Yeah, which means I’m energized. I need to make sure you don’t stay there for too long and hurt yourself too.” you say, standing up to shoo Sunghoon out so you can change. “Wait on the couch,”

A few moments later you both were out the door and on the bus to the ice rink.

“I’m not going to stay for long then. I don’t want you to be out for too long.” He decides.

“That’s fine.”

The noise Sunghoon’s skates made as they hit the ice and the chilly air gave you comfort as you watched him run through his routine. Running his fingers through his hair, your eyes follow him wherever he went. He knew you were watching, which was why he was putting on his best performance. The both of you had never felt butterflies for each other like the way you did now. Before you knew it, the two of you were falling hard.

“Y/n, let’s go now.” Sunghoon says as his chest rises up and down, panting from his last run.

“Okay, you did good today.” You compliment him as you walk to the bus. His hand accidentally bumps into yours. You desperately wished that he had gone to hold yours, but he was just your best friend. Nothing more. The ride was filled with a comfortable silence. You stared out the window while Sunghoon stared at you. Feeling his gaze on you, you turn to look at him only for him to turn away and pretend like he was looking the other way. Having spent almost everyday for the past ten years with Sunghoon, you guys never needed to talk constantly, having each other there was just enough to have a great day.

You get off together, but Sunghoon was acting suspiciously jittery. He walks you home, but you see him turn the opposite direction of your house once you’re inside. Weird.

Alone, Sunghoon gets back on the bus. His home was close enough to walk from your house, though. “What was he doing?”, you thought.

Arriving at his destination, Sunghoon sighs as he puts a hand up to his backpack strap.

“Name?” the receptionist asks.

“Park Sunghoon.”

“Sunghoon! I’m sorry to see you back. You’ve grown so well. The doctor is ready for you in room 306. Good luck!”

In and out of hospitals ever since the seventh grade, twelve year old Sunghoon stands in the dark hospital hallway, watching his parents cry in the moonlit lobby. He didn’t have much time left, he thought.

Trudging through the all too familiar hallways, Sunghoon makes a left turn and opens the fourth door to the right. He knew this place like the back of his hand.

“Hey Sunghoon! Welcome back! Just take a seat over there and I’ll start preparing to run some tests and then we’ll talk about starting your physical therapy.” The doctor says in a way too cheerful voice.

“That sound’s good. Thank you.” Sunghoon replies. Hearing the sound of the door clicking shut, Sunghoon sat deep in thought. He wanted to skate with you again, but he was worried about your health. Just one more time. That was what he wanted. The glimmer in your eyes, you huge yet adorable smile. He wanted to see it again.

Next Saturday, October 24, 2020

The day started out hectic but you finally found your seat in the stands. You waited for them to announce Sunghoon. Alas, he came gliding out and the crowd was already cheering. Before he starts his eyes search for you, smile widening when his eyes finally meet with yours. Although he had other passions, like skating, his favorite one would always be you. The music starts and the audience quiets down. You had probably seen this routine over 100 times, but something about the setting, the mood, made it seem like a whole new dance. Every move he made drew you further in. He pushed the audience to the edge of their seats leaving them in awe. It was all for you. Everything about him at that moment was brilliant. Once he ends, the audience roars and Sunghoon, not surprisingly, ends up winning. Of course he won. He was your Sunghoon.

You make a beeline towards the performers’ hall and jump onto Sunghoon’s back, accidentally hitting his face with the flowers you had purchased a few moments before.

“Y/n, I told you to stop buying me these. They’re a waste of money.” Sunghoon giggles, happy to see you. You’d had always brushed them off as a pretty reward for a pretty performer, but there had always been a separate meaning behind the red tulips you give him. They would always end up in your home, in the glass vase next to the couch. A gift from your father to your mother, every Friday. Red tulips, the symbol of true love.

“Alright, I need to go change, wait here.” he says, leaving you behind.

An hour goes by and you were starting to get a bit worried. You knock on his changing room door. Nothing. Did he leave without you? You knock on the door again, and nothing. Opening the door, your eyes widen and you let out a gasp. Sunghoon had fainted due to exhaustion and the blood from his head injury had stained the floor.

You call the ambulance and thankfully they arrive quickly. Refusing to leave Sunghoon’s side, you watch as the nurses wrap bandages around his head. This had been the first time you’d seen Sunghoon like this. Was it happening often? Did he not get enough sleep last night?

“Sunghoon, I’m glad to see you’re awake. You passed out from exhaustion again and we’ve handled your head injury. You’re free to go anytime.” The doctor says.

“Again?” you ask.

“Yeah, but only a long time ago. You don’t need to worry about it.” Sunghoon says. “My parents have been overreacting and making me get routine tests, though.”

As a kid, you hated going to the hospital, and Sunghoon knew that. It was bland, it was boring, but most of all it’s the place you lost your mother. You hated the hospital. You’d come almost every month, week even, watching them run tests on your mom, prescribe her what seemed to be like hundreds of different medications, it was terrible. Losing your parent to cancer was not fun. No more skating, no more family days, no more cheering at competitions. Your family dinners turning to just you and your dad, and then just you. Referring to your parents as my “parent,”. Learning how to live life without the person you cherished most. It seemed like your life revolved around that retched place you called the hospital.

The rain poured and thunder boomed through the quiet hospital. He had sent you home before it rained, not wanting you to get wet and sick from the cold. Sunghoon sat still and thought to himself in his bed. “I see, so I’ve passed out again,” he thinks.

Monday, October 26, 2020

The chair screeches across the floor as Sunghoon drags it to your desk.

“Y/nnnnnnn” he whines, seeing you eat your gummy worms.

“No.”

“But I’m hungryyyy” he cries. You roll your eyes, placing one in his hand. You watch as he holds one side close to his mouth as if he was waiting for something.

“Sunghoon, what are you doing?” you ask.

“Bite the other side” he says, causing your face to go red.

“No”

“yes”

“no”

“why not?” he says with his best attempt at puppy eyes and a pout.

“why?” you ask, hoping he hasn’t noticed your tomato red face yet

“cause I want to. we can lady and tramp it.” he says. “you know you want to.”

“I’m not going to lady and tramp a gummy worm with you. eat it or i’m taking it back.” you argue.

“Fine, but I have a proposal.” he announces. “I want to enter the next competition with you. Just one. Give me one more duet before you quit for good.”

“no,” you reply. “I’m never skating again.”

“Why not? You love it”

“Why do you want me to skate so badly?” you ask. He didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t tell you the real reason. He couldn’t tell you he was dying, that was a huge no.

“I miss being able to skate with my best friend. I feel so lonely.” he says, puppy eyes resurfacing.

“I’ll think about it then.”

“Good. Meet me at the ice rink on Saturday at 10am” he exclaims before getting up to go back to his desk.

“I haven’t even agreed.”

“Oops I can’t hear you!” he says as you roll your eyes.

Saturday, October 31, 2020

Little you steps off the ice as tears threatened to pour out of your eyes. Running out of the rink into the changing room, you latch on to your mother.

“Mommy, I’m not gonna win,” you say. Her hand comes up to run her fingers through your hair. She coos at you until your breathing has relaxed.

“Why don’t you think you’d win, honey? I loved watching you out there. You were so beautiful.” she says.

“I fell on the ice! Winners don’t do that. I wanted to win just like you.” you manage to sniffle out. You feel your mother give you a kiss on the forehead before kneeling and holding both of your hands.

“Ah, you see, my love, they do! Mommy fell all the time! She still falls! I promise you no winner has never fallen. Mommy only wins because she knows what it’s like to fall! Even if you don’t win, mommy is very proud of you, okay?” she says.

You bolt up from your sleep. It was just a dream. Scrunching your face, holding back the tears that threatened to spill out, you force yourself to get ready for the day, not giving any time to be sad and reminisce.

You enter the complex, Sunghoon standing at the entrance of the rink, impatiently waiting for you. He was so excited. This was going to work out for him. You both walk to the bleachers to satrt lacing your skates, Sunghoon practically bouncing off the walls.

“Aw man, I forgot my hair tie” you complain. Sunghoon pauses lacing his boots and holds his arm out to you.

“Here” Sunghoon says as you look at the extra hair tie on his wrist.

“Why do you have these.” you ask.

“You always forget.” he says, unsurprised.

“Awwww you were thinking of me?” you teased.

“Of course, idiot. Did you forget? I’m never not thinking of you” Sunghoon argued, wallking away, leaving you dumbfounded and blushing like a tomato.

Once again you step into the rink. You were stronger this time. Taking a deep breath you start to glide across the ice once again. It was very unsettling, though. Being on the ice, having fainted the last time you were here. Both you and Sunghoon were on edge, but you were determined to help him win this competition.

The day was filled with talking with your instructor, cleaning up your spins and jumps, and getting back to where you were before. You were getting it and you showed no signs of panic. Sunghoon was so proud of you. YOU were proud of you.

Sunghoon was happy, and he was hopeful. On his walk home all his thoughts were filled with you. Loving you ever since the seventh grade, when he found out he had an illness. He had decided never to tell you, fearing his time would come and leave you alone, but it was too late now. He didn’t want to push you away, you were his ride or die. His heart ached, he didn’t want to say goodbye. He didn’t want you to have to live alone.

Opening the door to his home, he walks through the hallway, leaning against the wall limping to his room. Every big event Sunghoon would write you a letter, and so tonight he poured his heart out onto this piece of paper, tears staining his face.

Sunday, November 1, 2020

On Sunday, you show up to his house unexpectedly but not surprisingly. “Sunghoon, get dressed. We’re going to the market.” you say. Without question, he does as you ask and you both head to the market in no time.

Walking down the ice cream aisle, you grab all the flavors you enjoy, filling your whole basket with different ice creams, toppings, fruit, drinks, and even a cake. “You’re quite hungry, aren’t you?” Sunghoon teases, earning him a slap to the arm.

As soon as you get home, you send Sunghoon alone to his bedroom, telling him you need time to prepare everything. You had pulled all the stops, whipping out the cheap snoopy shaved ice maker, birthday party hats, streamers, balloons, and banners. It was no one’s birthday in particular, but the fake birthday party put you in a festive and refreshing mood. You had set up a giant ice cream sundae bar, and had even made lemonade.

Calling Sunghoon to come out of the bedroom, he was not surprised but very impressed. Wanting to make it even more fun, he suggests to make sundaes for one another, which you happily agree to. The day was so fun, and it was hardly possible, but Sunghoon had fallen in love with you even more.

Sunghoon was so happy that you planned something like this. He was never one to do anything cute for you unless you begged, so this time he wanted to show you how grateful he was to you by giving you one FREE boop on the nose. Scooping some ice cream with his fingertip, he lightly taps your nose, leaving the melted strawberry ice cream to drip off your nose. You turn to look at him in disgust, eventually dipping your finger in the ice cream and starting a war.

Monday, November 2, 2020

From: Sunghoon (sent at 7:30am)

[ GOOD MORNIN PARTY PEOPLE!!! ]

From: you

[ where are you ]

From: Sunghoon

[ Oh yeah I forgot to tell you I’m not coming today. ]

From: you

[ what, why? I don’t wanna eat lunch alone like a loser. ]

From: Sunghoon

[ oh yeah. i’m back at the hospital LMAOOOO ]

From: you

[ WHY ]

From: Sunghoon

[ idk i forgot. i just woke up here and they were like “hihi” and i said “hihi” back ]

From: you

[ you are unbelievable. i’m coming after school. ]

From: Sunghoon

[ NO DON’T ]

From: you

[ why ]

From: Sunghoon

[ i don’t wanna get yelled at again. only come if you bring me more gummy worms ]

From: you

[ fine. since you’re sick ]

You acted like you didn’t care, but you were so worried. What could’ve happened? Why couldn’t he remember? Even when bed ridden, he still managed to get you to fall head over heels.

That afternoon, you arrive at the hospital, finding Sunghoon playing video games while lying in bed. You chuckled. Even with head bandages and an IV drip, he still managed to be his teenage boyish self.

“Y/n! Today was so boring. Can we take a walk in the garden, I’m sick of being here.” he asks, to which you reluctantly agreed.

During your stroll you talked about anything and everything, a common activity you both did.

“How was school today? Did you miss me?” Sunghoon asks cheekily.

“I did actually. I didn’t realize how much time I spend with you until today.” you respond. “But, it was okay. I got your gummy worms and some other snacks too. I know you hate hospital food.”

“Well I missed you too, there was no one but the staff to bother.” He chuckles. “You know, I’m not always going to be around to help you.”

“I know, but we have time.”

Before you knew it, the sun was setting and Sunghoon sent you home so you didn’t have to walk alone in the dark. On his walk back to his room, Sunghoon worried. The thing was, you didn’t have time. The fact that you missed him in just a few hours? How would you feel about forever? He never wanted you to have bad days, let alone be the one to cause them.

Walking through the hallways he trips and falls. Landing on his knees. He tried to get up, but he couldn’t. Why wouldn’t his legs move? He punched his leg. Nothing. Again. It was no use. He had lost feeling in his legs. Tears start pouring out of his eyes. Move, it’s just your leg. Get up. Move. Water droplets fall from his face as he bangs his fist on the floor. Why can’t he move. Eventually he gives up, dragging himself back to his room with his arms. They hurt. His heart hurt. Everything hurt. Was this it?

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

After last night’s events, Sunghoon felt out of it. He wouldn’t be able to go back to school for a while, the nurses claiming that if it happens again the situation can be way worse. He couldn’t skate anymore. He couldn’t see YOU skate anymore. This was it. His illness was getting to him.

With a knock on the door, Sunghoon falls right out of his daze and watches as you come in with another bag of goodies.

“I brought you some stuff from the convenience store.” You say, taking out a bottle of green tea and handing it to him. He reaches out to grab it but as soon as you let go the bottle slips out of his hands.

Ah, so it’s spreading to my arms too, he thinks as he realizes he was too weak to grip the bottle. The doctors told his parents last night that surgery was an option, but it would only give him a little more time, but he wanted to take it. He wanted to be able to skate a little longer. He wanted to make it to the competition.

“I’m in the mood to watch all the Studio Ghibli movies in one sitting.” Sunghoon says as he leans his head back.

“Scoot over,” you reply, getting up to sit in his bed with him. “Good thing I brought my laptop.”

“Are you sure? That’s gonna be like all night.” He asks.

“Of course, I’m always in the mood for you,” you say as Sunghoon wraps an arm around you, prepared for the whole night of cuddling and movie watching.

Half way through the marathon you feel Sunghoon nuzzle his face into your neck. His soft snoring tickled you. You bring your hand up to stroke his hair. Park Sunghoon, I am so in love with you, you think. Your smile. Your eyes. Your lips. Your hair. Your voice. You teasing. The way you say my name. The way you stare at me. The way you talk. The way you smile at me. The way my day isn’t complete without you. I love you.

Wednesday, November 4, 2020

The next day was supposed to be better. Sunghoon was going to see you and you were gonna get him more gummy worms. Sitting up with him on his bed, you were cuddling, and he seemed to be getting paler and paler by the minute. He seemed really tired, like he was sick to his stomach.

You got up to go get him a drink from the vending machine, and as you came back nurses and doctors were rushing in and out of your best friend’s room. Your heart feels like it’s going to beat out of it’s chest and you run to his room. Sunghoon was clutching onto the sides of the bed, doctors scrambling to get the defibrillator going. His heart had stopped.

You’d later learn that he had gone into cardiac arrest, and you watched as the nurses wheeled his bed to the ICU. But the surgery didn’t work, and he didn’t survive. You felt numb. Stretching out a trembling arm, you took hold of Sunghoon’s hand. You shut your eyes and squeezed his palm. It was cold. Your hand trembled harder with each passing second, as if the movement would cause Sunghoon to wake up. Your face buried into the crook of his neck. You nudged the bridge of your nose against the cool skin. Your lips brushed against his collarbone in desperate search of that familiar warmth. Both hands had clasped around Sunghoon’s, quavering without pause. Devastation weighed down on you. It was a surreal feeling, one that you could never in one million years describe. It squeezed you, threatening to crush you from the inside out. The pain seared itself into your soul, hindering him, rendering him speechless to a point where he no longer knew what words were. A sob wretched its way out from your throat. You tried desperately to hold it in. Tried so hard to keep yourself together, but you knew you were too weak to pull such a bluff. Once the second sob had left you, you felt yourself spiraling. There was no hiding it.

The doctor comes to hand you a letter. Weakly reaching out, you read it right away. You were desperate. You needed to hear something from Sunghoon, anything.

Dear Y/n,

HI BESTIE, I know I write you one of these every big event, but I’m afraid this might be my last. I’m sorry if you’re getting the before the competition. I desperately wanted to skate with you, but I guess if you’re reading this then my time has come. I hope you’re doing okay. I don’t want you to miss me too much. Please keep skating. I love watching you skate, more than anything. You look so happy, so carefree. I want you to live like that always. It’s a lot to ask, I know, but I don’t want you to associate something you love so much with sadness. I’m with your mom now, and we’re rooting for you. Always.

I know it was pretty obvious, but I love you. Actually, that’s an understatement. I’m so in love with you that my heart hurts when I’m not with you. I’m in love with you. And I love that I’m in love with you. I love the feelings. The happiness when I think of you, the butterflies when you text me, the excitement I get when I know I’ll get to see you. It’s amazing. And you’re amazing, and I love you. And I’m sorry I had to keep so many secrets. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to the competition. I’m sorry for not telling you about my illness. I didn’t want you to carry this burden with me. You’re the light of my life, Y/n. I love you.

Love,

your bestie, sunghoon.

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writemywaytoyourheart · 3 years

Text

Aim For The Heart Chapter 4: New and Old

Pairing: hitman!jk x female reader

Genre: E2L, romance, drama, angst

WC: 3.5k im sorry she’s short :(

Warnings for this chapter: strong language, jk is a lying sh*t, a knife is mentioned but not used, alcohol consumption

Tag list; @hopekookies @moonchild1 @barbellastyles98 @teresaisla @ggukkieland @mwitsmejk @scuzmunkie @sugaslittlekookies @jaebeomsblackgf @moon-asia @yoonchrisgullwrites @armyhollander

summary; Jeon Jungkook is an infamous hitman, known for his inability to fail at whatever job is thrown his way. At least, up until now. Y/n, a kind-hearted and full of life teacher, is his newest target. Jeon isn’t sure who would put a hit on this seemingly innocent girl, but fortunately, that isn’t his problem. All he has to do is pull the trigger.

Previous → Next

"What made you want to be a teacher?" Jungkook asks as the two of you stroll over to a trashcan to throw away your trash.

"I've j-just always loved working with k-kids," You say with a bright smile. "I guess I th-thought why not teach? Y-You know?" You look up at him and he nods.

You turn to look around you, then you get distracted and point to an ice cream stand, "Ohh, I'll b-buy us some ice cream."

Jungkook shrugs, "Sure."

You do your little run over to the stand and Jungkook finds himself biting back a laugh. He catches himself though, why the hell are you laughing? She's trying to throw you off track.

Jungkook hurries over when you wave to him.

Keep your head on straight, Jungkook.

"W-What kind would you like, J-Jungkook?" You ask sweetly, watching him with big eyes.

Jungkook clears his throat and glances at the menu, "Uh, I'll take a scoop of mint chocolate chip."

You walk up to the man at the stand, he smiles when he recognizes the girl that always stops by his stand for a scoop of ice cream.

"Hello!" You say cheerfully and the man bows, "Hello again, missy! What can I get for you today?"

"Mm, c-can I please get one s-scoop of-" You turn back to Jungkook, "You sure y-you only want o-one scoop?"

Jungkook nods and smiles, but again, the smile doesn't quite reach his eyes.

You turn back and finish your order, "One s-scoop of mint chocolate ch-chip and two scoops of p-plain chocolate please."

The kind man nods and makes your order quickly, then you hand him your card. After he swipes it, he hands it back to you along with your two ice creams.

Before you can grab them though, Jungkook's arms wrap around from behind you and he snags them.

You feel your heartbeat increase and try to control your breathing. Jungkook is unaffected as he simply smiles at you and hands you your chocolate ice cream when you turn around.

"Thank you," Jungkook says before taking a big bite.

You smile, hoping your cheeks aren't as red as they feel, "Y-You're welcome."

You two continue on your walk, both of you eating your ice cream and making small conversation, then you take Jungkook by surprise when you suddenly speak up with a mouthful of ice cream and a very random question.

"Do you w-want to have kids in the f-future?" You ask casually as if that isn't an intrusive question at all.

Jungkook swallows the bite he had in his mouth, "Uh, I haven't really thought about it much. But, probably not."

"Why n-not?" You ask, very curious.

Jungkook clears his throat awkwardly, "I don't know...I just-... I don't think I'm cut out to have kids."

Why the hell is he having this conversation with one of his targets?

If a few weeks ago he could see himself now, he'd disown his own self.

"I think y-you would make a g-great father." You say in a matter-of-fact tone, "I just h-have a feeling."

"Uh, thanks." Jungkook takes another bite of ice cream, he needs to get the attention off of himself and quick. "What about you?" He asks stupidly.

"Oh, I want to h-have lots of k-kids." You say with a dreamy smile on your face, "I can't wait to be a m-mother."

Your words turn his stomach to rot as it twists inside of him. He looks down at his melting chocolate chip ice cream, a feeling he doesn't understand swirling inside him. He stares intently at the green blob in his cup, trying not to put too much thought into what you said.

"D-Did I say something wrong?" You ask quietly when you realize how silent he's become. He looks at you and notices that you have chocolate around your mouth from your cold treat.

Jungkook just shakes his head, "No, it isn't you." He mumbles as he looks away.

You both finish your ice cream in silence as you walk down the path through the park.

After you take your last bite, you walk over and toss your cup into a trashcan, Jungkook right behind you.

"Now what should we do?" Jungkook asks you, trying to forget about the previous conversation.

"Mm," You put your hand to your chin, your eyes squinting in thought, "Do y-you like to p-play games?"

Jungkook nods, "Yeah, sure."

"Ok!" Then you take off running, making Jungkook jog to keep up with you. Once you make it to the arcade you had gone to last week, you stop and turn to smile at Jungkook.

"D-Does this look fun t-to you?" You ask hopefully.

Jungkook nods again, then he moves to go inside. You follow him, but he doesn't hold the door open for you, so you have to catch it before it hits you.

When you go in, you see Jungkook standing there waiting for you. "W-What do you want to p-play?" You ask awkwardly. This outing had started off good, but now you're starting to feel out of place around him and you don't like that feeling.

Jungkook fakes a smile and shrugs, "I don't care."

"Um, o-ok." You look around the arcade before picking a game and heading over to it. You grab the little puck on the air hockey table and gesture for Jungkook to go to the other side. He moves over and gets into position.

You hit the puck and he hits it back, immediately dodging your block as the puck slides right into the goal on your side. You huff out a breath in annoyance and glance up to see Jungkook smirking.

Ok, it's on boy.

Then you smack the puck suddenly, catching Jungkook off guard as it hits the side of the air hockey table and skims past him before he can catch it. When it goes into the goal on his side, you see him look up at you in shock and you send him a smirk of your own.

"That was lucky," He scoffs.

You nod innocently, "Oh y-yeah, probably."

Jungkook takes the puck and sets it on the table, faking a move before hitting it the other way. You block it effortlessly, sending it straight back to his side as he grunts in frustration.

You two go at it for a few minutes, Jungkook hitting the puck furiously and you calmly blocking and sending it back. Eventually, Jungkook sighs and hangs his head when you've blocked his recent moves more than five times in a row.

You're tied on points and now neither of you are getting anywhere.

"W-Want to call it?" You ask, sensing his frustration.

Jungkook purses his lips, his competitive nature wanting to do nothing but annihilate you in this blasted game. But alas, you're apparently a lot better at this game than he had anticipated.

So, he sighs again and nods, "Yeah, let's call it a tie."

You walk around the table and stick your hand out to him. Jungkook hesitates, then he takes your hand.

"T-Tie." You say while smiling, shaking his hand up and down.

Jungkook grimaces, then pulls his hand back, "Ok, now what?"

"I picked th-the first game. N-Now, you have to p-pick." You say with a sneaky smile.

Jungkook looks around the arcade, then he points to a game with two fake guns sitting in front of a large screen. "How about that one?"

You don't really like those types of games, but it's Jungkook's turn to pick and if that's what he wants to do, then you'll just go along with it.

So, you nod and follow him over to it.

Jungkook smiles to himself as he grabs one of the guns, there's no way she's gonna beat me at this one.

He looks over and sees you grab the other gun cautiously, it looks huge in your hands compared to him holding one.

Jungkook bites back another less than kind laugh seeing the look of uncertainty on your face. "Ready?" He asks casually.

You nod and heft the gun up, trying your best to keep it steady.

The game starts and there's instantly a bunch of zombies on the screen. You aim and shoot as best you can, but you're barely hitting anything.

But right next to you, Jungkook single-handedly takes out more than half the crowd in less than a minute. You manage to hit a few zombies before the game ends. At least you think you did.

KILL COUNT: 2

The words flash across your side of the screen in bold red letters. You look over at Jungkook's screen and gasp at the letters flashing on his side.

KILL COUNT: 43

"Wow, y-you're really good at th-this game." You say in astonishment.

Jungkook shrugs cockily, "That wasn't my best."

You nod absentmindedly, then you point at a claw machine in the middle of the arcade. "Oh, l-look!" You jump up and down in excitement.

Jungkook sighs when you rush over to the pink claw machine full of stuffies and candy. You pay his annoyance no mind as you immediately start getting your money out to try and get the kitten stuffie.

"Look at it J-Jungkook, it's s-so cute!" You turn to him with a pout and the biggest puppy dog eyes he's ever seen.

He tears his eyes away to look at the kitten stuffie sitting there, "Sorry to burst your bubble, but you're not gonna get that."

Your pout deepens, "R-Really?"

"Yeah, not in a million years."

"Why n-not?" You huff, looking more and more like a disappointed child.

Jungkook scoffs, "Those machines are designed to steal your money. You're not meant to have even a chance at getting the prize you want."

"Oh," You look crestfallen as you stare at the little kitten that seems to be looking back at you, pleading you to get it out of that stuffy old box and bring it home with you, "That's m-mean."

"That's just the way the world works," Jungkook says simply, hoping you'll give up and pick a different game, "Everything is about money."

"Not e-everything." You counter, finally peeling your eyes away from the little toy to look at him.

Jungkook cocks an eyebrow but you continue anyway, "Not everyone d-does stuff for m-money. Some p-people care about other's f-feelings."

He laughs in disbelief, "If that's the way you see the world, you're in for a nasty surprise as you meet more people and see the real world."

"If you always l-look at the world the way y-you do, you won't be v-very happy." You say back, then you turn on your heel and go off on a search for more games.

Jungkook watches you in surprise, he didn't think you'd actually stand up for yourself and clap back with something like that.

Huh.

Jungkook squints at you, the plan going through his head again before he hurries to catch up.

_______________

"T-Today was fun. Th-Thank you, Jungkook."

You're standing at your front door, having just unlocked it.

Jungkook nods, his lips pressed together before he says hesitantly, "We should hang out again sometime."

You smile and nod, "I'd l-like that."

"Well, goodnight," Jungkook says quickly before turning and hurrying down the stairs. You watch him disappear behind the corner before turning and going inside.

You set your bag down and yawn, stretching your arms above your head. You stretch a little more before moving to your room to get dressed for bed. Pulling out one of your nightgowns, you make quick work of changing into it. Then you go to the bathroom to do your nighttime routine.

By the time you're climbing into bed, your eyelids feel like they're being weighed down by a ton of bricks.

You pull the covers up to your chin, cuddling into the warmth of your comforter. The giant octopus stuffie next to you is quickly pulled into your side as you wrap your legs around it and squeeze it tightly.

"Mm, goodnight." You whisper to it before you slip into a deep slumber.

______________

Jungkook drags himself up the stairs to his apartment, his feet killing him. The target dragged him around half the city and the entire arcade today, and he's gonna have to do it all over again until he can earn her full trust.

Never again will he underestimate the simplicity of a target.

She might be the dumbest person he's ever met, but she sure is a handful when it comes to trying to finish his job.

Jungkook pulls out his keys, fumbling with them for a second before he realizes something is off. He looks closer at the door lock and sees a few scratches on it.

The fuck?

Jungkook quietly pulls out a little knife he keeps in his back pocket at all times when carrying a gun around isn't the smartest decision.

Then as gently as he can, he puts his keys in the lock, turning it as slowly as he can.

When he pushes the door open slowly, it creaks.

The light from the hallway floods into his studio apartment, showing how truly dark it is inside. Not a single light is on.

He always leaves his kitchen light on when he goes out.

Jungkook stands up to his full height as he opens the door the rest of the way. He steps inside, then everything that happens next happens in a matter of seconds.

An arm comes from behind him and wraps around his neck.

Jungkook grabs the forearm of the intruder and lifts himself before bringing himself back down and flipping them over his shoulder. A loud thump sounds as the assailant hits his floor with a pained grunt.

Jungkook leaps on them and wrestles the man to the ground again before straddling his chest. Jungkook pins one of the man's arms with one of his feet and the other he grips tightly in his hand.

"Who sent you?" Jungkook growls.

His small knife is pressed to the neck of the person whose chest is now starting to shake. Jungkook can't see his face in the dark but he can tell he's definitely laughing.

"Shit, boy," The man groans, "You've gotten a hell of a lot stronger."

Jungkook's breath releases at the sound of a familiar voice. He leans back, releasing the young man's arms but still sitting atop his chest.

"Fucking hell, Taehyung."

"Hello to you too, kid."

Jungkook rolls his eyes at that but doesn't move.

Taehyung pushes at Jungkook roughly, "You've also gotten heavier. Get the fuck off my chest, asshole. The fuck are you doing anyway? Trying to seduce me?"

Jungkook laughs but finally gets off of the man lying on the floor in pain.

"You wish," He retorts as he moves to flip the kitchen light on, making Taehyung squint and hiss in annoyance.

"Fuck off, fatass," Taehyung growls, making Jungkook laugh again.

Jungkook walks over and offers the older boy his hand, but the other just smacks it away and proceeds to get off the floor on his own.

Jungkook shuts the front door and locks it, "You still suck at picking locks."

Taehyung rolls his eyes, "Yeah, I'm a little rusty, whatever."

Moving to the fridge, Jungkook opens it to pull out a bottle of soju, then he gestures for Taehyung to take a seat on the couch.

The older boy listens begrudgingly.

"What are you doing here anyway, Tae?" Jungkook asks as he opens the bottle and hands it to his friend.

"I have a hit around here," Tae says simply, "Knew you'd let me stay a few days."

Taehyung is always on the go. He's never in one place for long, so he tends to stay with people he knows when he gets a hit that'll take a little longer than usual.

Jungkook knows this, so he isn't surprised.

"Yeah, whatever. Next time just ask me, don't break into my home, dumbass." Jungkook says before snagging the bottle and taking a long swig. After he swallows he continues, "I almost killed you."

Tae snatches the bottle back, "You're no match for me, little shit. I let you win."

Jungkook snorts but lets it go. Honestly, he could be right.

Among all of the hitmen he's ever met, young and old, new and experienced, Kim Taehyung is by far the best.

He gets hundreds of hits every year.

Jungkook is glad he's on his good side. He'd hate to be on the other side of whatever weapon Tae decides to use at that time.

"So, who's your hit?" He asks his older friend curiously.

Tae takes another drink, hissing as the liquid warms his throat and stomach.

"Mr. Chen."

He smirks at the look of shock on the younger's face.

"Why you so surprised, kid?" Tae asks, tapping Jungkook's nose with his finger. Jungkook flinches back in irritation making him laugh, "You shocked you weren't hired to kill him yourself?"

Jungkook shakes his head, "No, stupid. Just surprised the bastard is still alive. I thought he would've been a hit a long time ago."

Tae nods, "Piece of shit deserves to be twenty feet under, that's for damn sure. I'm glad I get to be the one to do it."

Jungkook takes the bottle from Tae for another sip.

They sit in silence for a few minutes before Jungkook sets the bottle of soju on the coffee table and stands up, groaning.

"Ok, well your ass is sleeping on the couch. You get in my bed while I'm sleeping like the pervert you are, I'll kill you." He points at Taehyung threateningly.

Tae just chuckles and man spreads on the sofa, "Sure thing, JK."

"I'm taking a shower, you're welcome to take one after me. Ramen is in the kitchen, make yourself some food."

"Wow, JK. You're a wonderful host, I should've come here sooner." Tae smiles cockily and Jungkook scoffs before moving to the bathroom to get washed up.

Half an hour later, Jungkook comes out, one towel wrapped around his waist as he dries his hair with another one.

Tae is sitting at the dining table eating a cup of ramen noisily. He glances up and sees Jungkook, then he swallows and whistles lowly at him.

Jungkook rolls his eyes, "Shut the hell up. Do you want to stay here or not?"

"Hell yeah, I do."

"Then stop being a fucking pervert."

Tae finishes his last bite then stands up raising his hands in defense as he makes his way to the bathroom, "It's called a joke, sweetheart. I'm straight as a pencil, I swear."

Jungkook whips the towel he was drying his hair off with at Tae, smacking him in the thigh and making him yelp as he runs to the bathroom.

After a little while, Tae comes out dressed in the pair of sweats Jungkook left for him there. His hair is damp as he shakes his head like a wet dog, sending water droplets flying. He looks over to see Jungkook lying in his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

Taehyung walks over to the couch and notices Jungkook put a pillow and an extra blanket there for him. He smiles and glances at Jungkook, "Aww, you shouldn't have, sweetie."

"Another word and I'll take 'em back," Jungkook mutters.

The older boy just laughs and gets comfortable on the couch before Jungkook turns out the light by his bed. The silence in the dark room is deafening.

Then Jungkook hears Tae speak up from across the room.

"What you so grumpy for, JK?"

"I'm not grumpy."

"Is it your new hit?"

Jungkook sits up in bed and stares where he knows the couch is, "How did you know I had a new hit?"

"I saw the folder earlier. It must be bad since you tore up the picture of the target." Tae muses.

Jungkook lays back down, "The whole thing is just a fucking mess, Tae."

"How so?"

"My target acts like a kid-"

"A kid?"

"Yeah. I think there's something up with her. She's a dumbass and doesn't have a single sense of self-preservation."

"Shouldn't that make your job easier?" Tae asks, making Jungkook sigh.

"That's the thing, I just don't understand why she's a tar-"

Rustling from the couch makes Jungkook pause.

"Wait, are you questioning your hit?" Tae asks in disbelief.

"No," Jungkook flips over onto his side, "No, I'm not. I just need it to be over with."

He hears Taehyung sigh from the couch and he stares into the dark, something stirring in him at Tae's next words.

"Remember why you started this, JK. Don't question anything. It isn't our job to judge why someone sets a hit, but it is our job to get it done."

"I know." Jungkook snaps.

"Ok."

Taehyung's right.

He just needs to remember why he started this whole thing in the first place.

______________________________

a/n: sorry its late and short. hope you liked it tho :)

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anothersievefistedfind · 4 years

Photo

Photo © by Andre Hernandez

Fugazi, Showcase Special Events, San Antonio, TX USA 11/18/1995 (FLS #761)

Even though I set my sights on the US leg of the 2002 tour for the time being, it is damn tempting to go wandering the Fugazi live archive and to indulge in the first interesting recording that comes your way (and there are plenty of those).

Having recently visited the (last) gig in San Antonio, Texas from 2002, and having revisited the (first) one from 1990, I downloaded the other two shows that took place there as well and listened to the one from the tail end of the USA / Canada tour in the fall of 1995 straight away.

The running time of this recording sits at 1 hour and 20 minutes which is nothing out of the ordinary. However, since it only offers a rather short selection of 16 live tracks, it tells the listener something about the turn of events on this particular occasion.

After polite introductory remarks and a bit of praise for a couple of local food joints and a bookstore, things pretty much go haywire fast as both Ian and Guy get into some altercations, calling out an “angry young man flipping the bird” for disrespecting the meet-and-greet and being a “sad sad square” as well as reiterating that they “come to play music and definitely not come to play soundtrack to stupid violent bullshit”, offering full refunds right off the bat for those in disagreement and apologizing in advance to those who come to listen to the music for “ending up to talk a lot to about five fucking people in the middle of the room”, imploring those of good will to have some patience.

Alas. As soon as set opener Cassavetes draws to an end, Ian addresses the “crowd-surfing nonsense” before further taunting his interlocutor. Merchandise follows suit yet while the last note still rings out, Guy urges the audience to “step the fuck back because this barrier is coming down” which takes some time to fix while the band addresses a couple of people in the audience, invites some of them to come on up to get their 5 dollars back and has them leave the venue.

The band then miraculously makes it through Target, Birthday Pony and Last Chance For A Slow Dance undisturbed, after which the confrontations and bad vibes further escalate.

Returning The Screw clocks in at 11+ minutes and is “definitely the longest version of that song [the band] ever played, congratulations.” By the time the songs ends, the show has been stopped no less than 2 more times, multiple people have been referred to the door after a refund, one guy gets called up to the microphone to publicly apologize for kicking a woman in the face, and even Joe steps in to confront some knuckleheads.

Bulldog Front (tagged “Beautiful Child” by The Blow Monkeys: “you’re such a beautiful child, you’re so young and so winsome, you drive me wild”) appropriately ensues since it mirrors the adversarial mood of the evening. It sounds great, but is cut short because the band throws out another idiot for fighting.

Going into Bed For The Scraping, Ian adds it’s an appropriate song, “it’s all about good dance steps you know, figure out how to move your body according to what you hear, it’s about putting your [inaudible] steps with a sort of movement and rhythm you know, here let me show you [some cheers].”

Cool versions of Two Beats Off (tagged “The Place I love” by The Jam) and By You (during which another guy gets to go) follow.

Before concluding the main set with the combo Long Division into Blueprint, Ian elaborates, “you know, I just figured it out, we all woke up today and everybody was feeling really stiff and kind of in a bad mood, I think it’s the weather, because I can tell you one thing for damn sure, there are a lot of people in very bad moods out here tonight, […] so here’s a soothing number, so we can try to all figure out how we an all tolerate each other for another, say 20 or 30 minutes.”

After a little impromptu jam, Waiting Room ushers in a memorable encore (notice how Forensic Scene transitions smoothly into Long Distance Runner) which fortunately plays out uninterrupted and gets dedicated to “everybody here who has been so fucking patient with this nonsense.”

Looking over the set list, Red Medicine is the main go-to for the night (6), followed by Repeater (4), In on the Kill Taker (3), 7 Songs EP (2) and Steady Diet of Nothing (1). This includes the last out of just 6 performances of Last Chance For A Slow Dance on this leg of the 1995 tour, and rather rare 1995 renderings of Bulldog Front and Reprovisional (which includes some unknown song referencing).

A great sounding recording which will be particularly of interest to those who prefer their dose of Fugazi on the edgy side of things.

The set list:

1. Intro 2. Cassavetes 3. Interlude 1 4. Merchandise 5. Interlude 2 6. Target 7. Interlude 3 8. Birthday Pony 9. Last Chance For A Slow Dance 10. Returning The Screw 11. Bulldog Front 12. Interlude 4 13. Bed For The Scraping 14. Two Beats Off 15. By You 16. Interlude 5 17. Long Division 18. Blueprint 19. Encore 20. Waiting Room 21. Interlude 6 22. Forensic Scene 23. Long Distance Runner 24. Interlude 7 25. Reprovisional

#FLS1995 #fugazi #fugazi live series #dischord #showcase special events #san antonio #texas

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boop-le-snoot · 4 years

Text

PARTY FAVOURS | CHAPTER 5

Rating: Explicit.

‼️TW: Reader is EIGHTEEN! Recreational drug use, smoking and alcohol consumption, deeply internalised self-loathing, very questionable moral standards. Daddy kink taken half-seriously. BDSM themes in later chapters - explicit content will come with it's own TWs. FIRST PERSON POV.

Summary: You're Peter's classmate, a child of rich and famous but uncaring parents. Getting paired up for a lengthy project with the boy was an interesting turn of events and you don't know whether to feel blessed or cursed when you develop, seemingly, a perfectly normal, harmless crush on Tony Stark. Fueled by feelings of inadequacy and boredom, your life spirals out of control - and you're lucky your newfound friends are there to pick up the pieces even if you cannot find it in yourself to believe these amazing human (and not so human) beings voluntarily give you more than a fleeting glance and an offhanded thought. And they brought cake!

A/N: Revenge is sweet but a well-timed dick joke is sweeter. xoxo gossip girl. Please supervise one Bucky Barnes on the internet. Questionable music taste. Detention is the price we pay for justice. Bruce Banner is too precious for this world, too pure.

THE TAG LIST IS NOW OPEN! @another-stark-sub @mostly-marvel-musings @vozit @littlegasps @pilloclock @shereadsinquiet @downeyreads @hermione-grangers-wife @individualistfem

Beta read by the lovely and patient @miscmarvelwritings ! 🎶🎵I love you biiitch ain't ever gonna stop loving you biiitch 🎵🎶

"Initiate phase one," I added a growly undertone to my whisper, holding my phone inconspicuously, as if I was making a simple phone call. There was no answer but I didn't expect one: I was testing the voice recorder app that I had downloaded for the sole purpose of documenting and relaying the inevitable fall of one Flash Thompson.

Making my way through the crowd of students during the busiest time of the day, I made the most intrigued and outraged facial expression I possibly could. Spying my targets, I leaned against a nearby wall, putting a hand over my mouth in fake outrage, keeping my eyes wide and trained on the opposite wall. Just as I had predicted, the two sophomore girls started giving me side-eye by minute two of my staring and finally approached me as I contemplated the wall for whole five minutes.

"I'm sorry, are you okay?" The brunette asked, her blonde friend hanging a step back.

"Yeah, totally," I mumbled. "I'm, like, shook beyond imagination, but nothing, like, bad."

The girls traded a curious look, seemingly coming to some sort of conclusion. The greedy gleam in their eyes had me internally cheering. "What happened?" The blonde one asked, coming closer.

"I'm not sure if I should tell that to anyone," I stammered, watching them bodily move forward. "Well, okay, I can't keep quiet. But you must never, ever speak of it or I'll get expelled or something," I said nervously. They both nodded so rapidly it reminded me of Funko Pop figurines. "You know the senior guy, Flash? Brown hair, kinda hot?" Again, they both nodded, conspicuously grinning. "I think I just saw him in the closed girls bathroom on the third floor with, like, some brunette from Ms. Johnson's History class," They both gasped. Predictable. "But that's not the worst! They were like, y'know," I made an obscene gesture with my hand and they instantly covered their own mouths with their palms in shock. "And the chick was like 'is it in yet?' and he was like 'yah' and I just closed the door and ran, oh my god I hope they didn't hear me," I squealed at the end, playing the part of a mortified teenager.

All three of us giggled uncomfortably for a moment. The blonde girl stared at me suspiciously. "And what were you doing there?"

I faked a nervous stammer, looking around briefly and showing them my lighter for a moment. They both gasped and nodded in recognition. "Don't tell anybody or my mom is going to have kittens," I pleaded. Both of them nodded solemnly, noticing their own group of friends approach. I used the brief moment to get lost in the river of pupils and by the time they turned around to introduce me, I was already at the opposite part of the hallway.

For the time being, everything seemed peaceful. There were a few giggles and side-eyes directed towards Flash Thompson but nothing out of the ordinary. He was disliked by most of the student population even if nobody dared to admit it outright. I took care to walk around without my earbuds for the day and pulled out my phone to record the most interesting conversations around me whenever I caught the tell tale signs of a gossip mill beginning to run its course around the school.

"Oh my god, I heard about this girl that was caught fucking Flash in the girls bathroom and she literally said 'is it in yet', can you imagine the shock, jeez!"

"Some chick literally just rejected Flash because his dick was too small."

"Rebecca from AP chemistry told me someone saw Flash's micropenis. Poor guy!"

"I wonder if his girlfriend dumped him because he can't do shit, I mean, he doesn't look like the type to eat the kitty."

Those were just the highlights of the Friday afternoon. Come the weekend and the news of Flash's unfortunate condition will make the rounds through every single group chat that the school has and by the time Monday rolls around, nobody will have a clue who started the rumour in the first place. I had to carefully select the girls who were to distribute the rumour and I was happy with the outcome: Marissa and Layla with their squad of chatty, bored rich girls were the perfect choice. I thought they would jump at any opportunity to cause drama and I was right.

It was sufficient to say I was bristling with pride as I cut and compiled the audio track from today's school day before sending it to the group chat.

Clint, Peter and Natasha appeared online as soon as the message delivered and I was delighted at their response. Romanoff's kind words, specifically, made me all warm and mushy inside. I didn't resist the feeling, basked in it even as I did a happy dance around my room. Peter's nonsensical string of emojis was another point of laughter for me.

It wasn't exactly the smartest way to go about killing Thompson's reputation... Alas, simplicity is the way to success when it comes to large crowds of teenagers. That tiny little vindictive part of me was very much looking forward to the weekend and the results of the inevitable distortion of the rumour I had started. Who knew, maybe by Monday Flash Thompson would not only have a micropenis but horns and hooves as well.

Near bedtime, I had all the avengers send me their regards and thumbs up. I answered the flurry of texts as quickly as I could but there was no point in keeping up with ten or so people constantly streaming their questions, opinions and comments.

I settled on a single easiest response: pulling my dad's old uni sweatshirt over my tiny lacy pajamas to preserve some modesty, I settled in front of my mirror, turning on my Bluetooth speaker to play "Boss Ass Bitch". In true gen-z fashion, I put on my best resting witch face and solemnly lip-synced to the song's eponymous chorus. My eyeliner was sharp enough to cut paper and my prismatic highlighter glittered enigmatically in the cold light of my blue lava lamp.

The response was, once again, delightful and I genuinely belly-laughed at the adults' attempts to meme after Peter. His blushy face emoji started a whole nother conversation that I didn't participate in but watched from the sidelines with glee, snorting every time his friends and mentors gently teased him about the very obvious crush he harboured on me.

Seeing Peter starting to go absolutely nuts, I interjected with an offer (more like a dare) of a lip sync battle. He jumped on the bandwagon, immediately going offline to undoubtedly film an epic video of what I thought would be dorky-dancing to some hipster song. I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be a pre-recorded tik tok video of him and Ned fighting with lightsabers while mouthing the words to Fergalicious that played over the Imperial March.

Weirdos. I still followed him on the app, though, it was pretty funny.

Bucky interjected with a very well executed rendition of "Bring Me to Life": he was wearing his full Winter Soldier get-up, complete with an AK-47, dramatically serenading Steve who looked seventeen shades of done with his partner's antics. Wanda's following twenty second voice message consisted of nothing but pure hysterical laughter, summing up everyone's reaction to the video. Bucky was going to go viral one of these days...

Obviously, I had good competition and nobody else seemed to want to participate so I rearranged my surroundings a little bit and stood up at my full height and swapped the old sweatshirt for a cute crop-top hoodie. My thigh-highs were on display and with my make-up, I looked like a proper internet e-girl. I leaned against the mirror as I mouthed along to the song with my best interpretation of the famous Lucifer smirk, seasoned with a tiny bit of angelic innocence: "Doctor, doctor, give me the news, I got a bad case of loving you..."

Needless to say, I won the competition. Eventually Wanda joined in, looking menacing and ominous with her dark clothes and Natasha's red hair flashing somewhere in the background; even Tony did a round (AC/DC as his soundtrack of course) with one of his Iron Man suits but nothing beat my stunt and the reaction that it caused.

I had accidentally called out Bruce with the choice of my song and his teammates gave both of us a lot of cheeky comments about it. We relented and flirted with each other a bit as the conversation flowed into more mundane discussion; I said my good nights somewhere between Tony's bitching about the hobbies of my generation and my nightly skincare routine. The little green heart that I'd become accustomed to over the past few weeks greeted me just as I was about to lock my phone.

Bruce was really too precious for this world. My crush on him was different than the one on Tony, it mellowed out in comparison. I wanted him to hold me, to stroke my hair, to call me his darling and wrap me up in one of those dorky button-ups that he insisted on wearing in spite of Tony's unwanted, however very valid, fashion advice.

For all that's worth, the scientist probably knew or at least suspected and had the good grace to play along just enough to satisfy my deep need for attention... Without crossing any actual lines. It was frustrating, it was disappointing but I had virtually nothing to complain about. Besides, I didn't want to lose the quirky friendship that we had. Banner was, probably, the least judgemental person I knew and I wasn't about to trade that for an awkwardly stolen kiss.

Monday and Tuesday passed in a flurry of giggling and snorting every time Flash walked by. His girlfriend broke up with him, very publicly, accusing him of cheating and he didn't even deny it - just insulted her and stormed off, leaving even his friends looking lost and clueless. I started dragging Peter and his two pet nerds along with me just about everywhere I went in case Thompson decided to do something stupid again. If judging only by the looks he was throwing our little company, he was on his way to figuring out who began nibbling at his reputation.

The week was coming to an end and the rumour began dying off, slowly. That just didn't sit with me, I wanted the fucker gone. Due to the obvious time constraints, I approached MJ regarding Peter - after a brief argument, we came to an agreement regarding Peter's safety should I need to leave him alone in the hallways or at lunch.

I needed to do this alone so if I got caught, I won't drag them down with me. Granted, I would probably get something like a suspension and the school will attempt to call my mother (she never picks up) but that's about it. That's where her reputation comes in handy-people consciously avoid dealing with her, she can be that unbearable.

But first, I needed to get a teacher that's on my side. After carefully considering the candidates, I settled on my Social Studies professor - he taught the college-level classes and was overall a very chill, nice dude. And he disliked bullies with a flaming passion. So it didn't take me long to work him into a righteous fury - just a quick chat over a cup of tea in his homeroom and a few pictures of Peter's bruised face, complete with my own pleading puppy eyes. We agreed Mr Davies would "accidentally" leave the teacher's lounge unlocked during third period and I would sneak in. The plan wasn't foolproof but if it worked, not only Flash, but also his whole misogynistic, bigoted family would go down.

As I was leaving, Mr Davies looked up at me with a bright smile: "Give them Hell, alright?" And I suddenly noticed he was, in fact, very attractive. The smile brought out the fine wrinkles around his mouth, the crow's feet around his eyes - he smiled a lot. Silver strands mixed in with the wooden brown of his hair.

I let my eyes slide over him briefly before baring my teeth in return. "I owe you one," I don't know what possessed me to say that. My mouth really had a mind of its own sometimes. The room suddenly became hot.

"Sure," He replied, totally oblivious.

On Friday, I made myself a small nest in the empty classroom opposite the teacher's lounge and sat waiting for the signal from Mr Davies - he'd tap on the door once and I'd quietly go inside the teacher's lounge, retrieve Thompson's file and make my way back to the empty classroom to grab my backpack and carry the file to my locker for further examination.

The first part went successfully and I managed to snag Thompson's file. It was heavy and hefty, all the evidence of his rowdiness compiled into one flimsy plastic folder. There were A LOT of pink slips and I rejoiced internally: at least there was a paper trail of his exploits. The principal didn't do anything about it which was... If not against the rules then at least frowned upon; the plan was to take copies and anonymously submit them to the school board prompting at least an investigation into the blatant disregard for Flash's immoral and illegal behaviour.

On my way back I stumbled upon the principal herself which got me not only a stern talking to, but a whole detention for skipping class. Whatever, I was too elated from potentially ruining the life of a dumb fuck who ruined my friend's face.

Surprise came in the face of Mr Davies, who, having heard the commotion in the hallway, stepped out of his class and saw me being lectured by the principal.

"I'll take her for the detention," I heard the familiar voice behind me. The principal nodded solemnly and I had no choice but to sigh in resignation. "Three thirty, be here," He nodded to me, walking back, looking way too smug for his own good. So I wasn't the only one excited about the successful completion of stage two of my nefarious plan. Cue evil laughter.

#tony stark x reader #tony stark x y/n #bruce banner x y/n #bruce banner x reader #stephen strange x reader #Stephen Strange x y/n #bun writes #party favours #author doesn't advocate for small dick jokes but tbh the abusive fucker deserves it

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puddygeeks · 3 years

Text

𝑾𝒂𝒓 𝑶𝒇 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 - 𝑪𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒔, 𝑺𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓 𝑹𝒆𝒊𝒅 𝒙 𝑶𝑪 - 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 8: 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝑶𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚

Masterlist

Rating: Mature

Summary: 𝐴𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠. 𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝐴𝑈 𝑓𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑦, 𝑚𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑡.

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Pairing: Spencer Reid x OC

Status: Ongoing

LONG TERM ONGOING PROJECT :)

My writing is entirely fuelled by coffee! If you enjoy my work, feel free to donate toward my caffeine dependency: will work for coffee

𝑾𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔: 𝐺𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑤. 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑢𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟, 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑎𝑏𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 & 𝑠𝑒𝑥𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑏𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝐴𝑈'𝑠 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘. 𝐼𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑦 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑙𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑠 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑑, 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤.

Eᴘɪsᴏᴅᴇ: Pʀᴇ Sᴇᴀsᴏɴ 1

Chapter Eight

“You know, it’s remarkably similar to Brighton Pier here.” I commented, fanning myself in desperation under the scolding sun and Ricky pushed his large sunglasses down to allow me to feel the full force of his judgement. “Well, except that it’s unmistakably hotter, obviously.”

“How dare you compare this beautiful sandy bliss to your pebble filled nightmare?” He remarked with a sweeping hand gesture at the beach, before sipping out of his straw with offence and I rolled my eyes at him.

Ricky has always been a force to be reckoned with, but as he got older, he only grew more confident and I was constantly inspired by how comfortable he was in himself. His thick brunette hair reached his collarbones now, but he currently had it pushed back out of his face with a colourful bandana so that he could tan. In order for him to worship the sun to his full capacity, he was wearing a worryingly small pair of shorts and had stretched himself across a lounger like the diva that he absolutely was.

“Hmm. Your actual beach is better, I’ll give you that one. But you’re seriously lacking on drag queens, quirky cafes and fancy boutiques to shop in.” I pointed out, fondly recalling the whirlwind weekend that we’d spent in the British city the last time that he’d visited me and he shrugged in defeat.

“Touché. You win this round.” He admitted, laying back to bask himself again, whilst I shuffled my sensitive skin further under the sun umbrella that he’d reluctantly agreed to allow me to bring over on the condition that it didn’t cause a single shred of shade over him.

It was a beautiful day, only improved by the quality of my company and I had to admit that I was endlessly pleased to have decided to extend my stay for another few days. Despite the years that had passed since we had last been in each other's physical company, Ricky was still able to put me at ease in a way that no one else had ever been able to emulate and I cherished the opportunity to simply relax with him at the Virginia Boardwalk.

“So, what’s it like being an FBI agent?” Ricky asked, turning his attention back to me with a smug expression. “Is it wonderful knowing that you have the power to stop anyone in their tracks? I would absolutely abuse my power for evil, but I know you’re too pure for that.” He muttered with delight and I chuckled at him knowingly. The things that he would use an FBI badge to accomplish didn’t even bear thinking about.

“Darling. I already told you. I’m not an FBI agent. I’m still a technical analyst for Interpol. I’m just on loan.” I repeated, already losing count of how many times I had made this distinction, but he still seemed as unconvinced by this as he was the first time that I told him.

“Oh, semantics! Sounds to me like you’re working for them and considering that you saved a girl from a burning building like a freaking hero, I’m just going to treat you like one.” He argued, seeming amused as if I were simply downplaying things, when realistically, it was a case of him dramatising the arrangement, as he did with most things. “We have an FBI agent in the family. That’s pretty cool.”

“There is absolutely no reasoning with you.” I groaned, shaking my head in embarrassment and he shrugged dismissively, as if this were an obvious fact that I should have accepted already. “How’s university going? Have you sorted your accommodation for your second year yet?”

“College is going fine. I’ve done a fantastic job being the life of the party, so I have plenty of offers for people to live with. My only struggle is choosing people who aren’t completely filthy as housemates. I can’t live in a grubbly little student hovel.” He explained, seeming repulsed by the very idea and I raised a brow at his diva attitude. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not being dramatic. My first year in dorms, I shared a bathroom with straight men. You don’t understand the trauma that I’ve lived through.”

“Does your mother know that you haven’t arranged housing yet?” I interrogated, already sensing a hint of dishonesty in him and his features quickly contorted into a guilty look. “Rituparan! I understand being picky, but you’ll end up with no choice other than to live with the grimy jocks if you don’t hurry up. You need to get organised.” I scolded, earning an eye roll so severe that I worried his face might never recover from the strain.

“Don’t get your panties in a twist, Alley Cat. I’ll get it sorted. Now, drink your mocktail before it gets too diluted.” He ordered, sipping down the last of his drink and placing the little umbrella from the top in his hair with a flourish. The moment that he faced me, I knew that he had mischief in mind.

“Okay. Are you ready? Who am I?” He pouted so dramatically that his cheeks all but disappeared and I almost choked on my drink.

“Oh, too easy! That is the unforgettable Lola, the only woman on the planet who considers a cocktail umbrella the perfect hair accessory for any occasion.” I answered, earning a cheer and wicked laugh of satisfaction from him. “You know, I love having someone else to mock dad’s exes with. You’d think the fact that he only dates women my age would mean we’d have something in common, but alas, apparently a sense of humour isn’t shared by age group.”

“Of course they’re not funny! The only thing those girls come with is a price tag.” He sassed, flipping his hair back out of his face in a ridiculously bitchy gesture and I was immediately reminded of just how much I loved him. “At least you don’t have to pretend to like Tanya anymore. Honestly, if she had a second brain cell, she’d be dangerous.”

“Oh, no! They broke up?” I gasped, almost sounding convincing with my upset and he whipped his head around with drastic confusion. “I guess she had to bleed my dad dry of pocket money eventually.” I drawled, prompting a small yelp of surprise and a quick high five from Ricky.

Tanya had been dating my dad for just over six months now, so I knew that she was likely to be approaching her expiration date soon. His routine was well known amongst the entire family now and in an effort to counter the embarrassment that it caused for my mother and I, it had become a running joke for us all to share.

“Didn’t you hear the details?” Ricky crooned, turning to face me fully on his lounger with a devious expression and I shrugged nonchalantly. “According to Maji, she tried to charge her lip fillers to his business credit card. Caused all sorts of uproar at the office. I guess she’ll be making that duck face at someone else’s wallet now.” He divulged, pouting into an exaggerated model face for effect and I struggled not to splutter my drink everywhere in response.

Ricky’s mother always seemed to know everything that was happening in our family and I’d long believed that this was where he’d learned to dig information out of people. She was abnormally gifted in guilt tripping the truth out of even the most hardened family members and yet, she doted on Ricky as if he was the very thing that made her world turn. If I ever wanted to know what was going on in my dad’s life, I knew that I could rely on her to be up to date with events.

Before I could manage to recover enough to speak, my mobile rang with it’s sharp tone and I had to clamber around in my bag to find it. As soon as I saw the private number, my eyes grew wide in dread.

“Oh, no! The bat phone?” Ricky asked, seeming genuinely horrified that I might be called into work and I quickly nodded, before holding a finger to my lips to shush him.

“Agent Hawthorne.” I answered, feeling utterly ridiculous referring to myself this way in my current company. This insecurity was only made worse by Ricky sliding his shades back on in a judgemental manner and I gestured to him to stop distracting me.

“Alice. This is Hotch. Are you still in Virginia?”

The voice on the other end of the phone was as serious as ever and though I was enormously relieved to find that it wasn’t anyone from Interpol trying to order me home, I felt nerves building in my chest already.

“Yes, Sir. I am.” I reported, noticing Ricky raising his brows at me in interest and I knew that he was dying to know what was being said.

“I realise that you’re spending time with family, but would you be able to come into the office for a meeting? I have a matter that I would like to discuss with you in person, if possible.” Hotch requested, allowing me absolutely no hint of the cause for this meeting and I felt my face change into one of alarm.

My mind had already begun racing with all of the possible complications that I could be facing for my actions at the base now that all of the documentation for the case had been submitted and I was terrified that if any further charges were brought against me, they could contradict the deal that I made with Interpol to avoid imprisonment.

“Yes, Sir. I’ll come in right away.” I stuttered, attempting to fight down my terror. My hands shook with nerves as I hung up on the call and Ricky looked positively thrilled to have been given the opportunity to witness this conversation, as if he’d just been personally included in a matter of national security.

“It’s a good thing that you went for virgin cocktails, my dear. I have to get back to Quantico.” I confessed, quickly burying my nerves so that he wouldn’t sense trouble.

“Oh my god! This is so exciting!” He announced, hopping straight to his feet and flustering to grab his belongings that were spread across every surface around him. “One cab for Agent Hawthorne, coming right up!”

--⥈--

Outfit: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/460070918191621506/

Standing in the lift of the Quantico building, I was overwhelmed with anxiety. I had been in such a rush to get here that it hadn’t even crossed my mind to change clothes, or to do anything to prepare my appearance at all. Though I knew that I didn’t have any more office clothes with me anyway, I acknowledged that I could at least have found something that provided a little more coverage and didn’t leave me feeling so exposed.

The idea of walking through an office where everyone was dressed smartly, wearing a white floral mini dress was an absolute nightmare and I realised that I only had a few minutes to make any changes. All I could think to do was to untie my waist length hair, shaking it out to at least cover some of my arms and attempting to make it look styled.

The doors opened to reveal a full office, with most of the team present at their desks and I gulped nervously. My dress felt as if it had actually shrunk in size since the beach now that I would be seen in it by people that I had worked with and I had to remind myself that I had bigger things to worry about with being called to come here than my attire.

JJ’s heels clicked on the polished floor as she entered the reception, her professional appearance clashing horribly with the casual style of my low top converses and I tried not to feel intimidated.

“Alice! I know that I said we wanted to see you again soon, but this is a little crazy.” She breezed as she approached me with a warm smile and I tried to force myself to relax. “Hotch is just finishing a call and he’ll be out to meet you.” She explained, before her gaze fell onto my outfit and I felt myself physically become stiff under her scrutiny. “You look pretty!”

“Oh, thanks. I was just on the beach. I’ve already worn all of my work clothes so, um, this is all I have?” I offered, shifting awkwardly and she smiled sympathetically at me.

“We’ve all been called in at unexpected times. I was literally collected from home in my pajamas once. You’ve got nothing to worry about.” She soothed, leaning closer to me as she spoke so that no one would overhear my concern and I let out a long breath in relief.

“Besides, I know that Hotch is just going to appreciate you being able to come in at such short notice. I hope you got to enjoy at least a little bit of your time off before we intruded?” She asked with an honest concern in her eyes and just as I opened my mouth to see if she could give me even the slightest hint of what to expect, Hotch stepped into the room.

“Alice. Thank you for coming so quickly.” He stated in his usual serious manner, reaching straight to shake my hand and I complied immediately, forcing a smile through my nerves. “I’ll try not to take up too much of your time. Let’s talk in my office.” He offered, opening the glass doors to the main office for me and I stepped through hesitantly.

Within approximately two steps of entering the space, I could already feel eyes on me and tried not to allow myself to be unnerved by the attention. The anxious voice in the back of my mind screamed that I was the most inappropriate looking member of staff to ever enter this office, but I forced myself to keep my head held high as Ricky had always preached.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Spencer was watching me from his desk as if he’d been stopped in his tracks and I waved subtly at him, prompting him to hurriedly do the same back in a fluster. Morgan passed Hotch distractedly, before he noticed that I was following him with obvious surprise.

“Looking good, Poppins. Welcome back.” He muttered as he squeezed beside me, sneaking a charming smile and thanks to the combined warmth of the two men, once again I felt my nerves beginning to settle slightly.

Hotch encouraged me to take a seat in his office, before closing the door behind us and I felt as if I couldn’t think straight in the silence that followed. He settled into the seat opposite me, knitting his hands together on the desk between us and despite feeling before that I had reached the point where I could understand his expressions, his face at this moment was completely unreadable.

“For a start, I want to discuss what happened at the Twenty Nine Palms base.” He opened, his stern eyes studying my face for every minute reaction and though my heart sank at the suggested topic, I nodded back calmly.

“Whilst it can’t be denied that your actions resulted in saving a young girl's life, they were also unacceptably reckless. You demonstrated absolutely no regard for your own safety and jeopardised the reputation of the whole team. You are aware that we appreciate your support, but I’m not convinced that you realise we are legally and morally responsible for your wellbeing whilst you are under our service and that I would be personally held accountable for your death as a result of your irresponsible actions.” He lectured, his voice sounding even more severe than it had when I was in the ambulance and I felt my confidence crumbling with every word that he spoke.

It became clear that he had paused his speech to allow me the chance to explain myself and I cleared my throat to speak with a feeling of terror.

“I’m truly sorry for my actions, Sir. You are entirely right. I was reckless and selfish, and I didn’t consider how my behaviour would reflect on your team, and especially on you. I’m not going to make excuses. I just want you to know that I accept any and all consequences that you feel are appropriate.” I answered calmly, ensuring that I kept my tone calm and respectful, and he sighed as he studied me.

“I didn’t call you in here to punish you, Alice. This is a conversation, not a lecture. What I aim to understand is why an agent with no field experience, or any personal stake in the case, felt that they had no choice other than to risk their own life to save a child who they’d never met?” He clarified, his entire demeanour remaining unchanged even as he moved to a gentler tactic of questioning and I chewed on my lip.

It took a few moments for me to consider how best to answer this, but eventually I decided that I respected this team as a whole too much to lie. I prepared myself for a conversation that I knew would likely change his opinion of me permanently, but assured myself that honesty was a necessity at this point.

“When I was fifteen years old, my mother was abducted.” I began, glancing down at my hands as I spoke to avoid the intensity of his gaze. “It took four months for her to be found and when she came home, she was a different person. I never saw the mother that went missing again.” I paused, clearing my throat to keep the emotion from my voice before continuing.

“Three years later, a girl at my university went missing. She wasn’t the first, but the stakes were high as all of the others had been found murdered. I obsessed over everything that my mother had survived to come home and I couldn’t imagine how awful it would be to endure that at just eighteen years old. So, I began looking into the case and after a while of digging, I compiled enough information to anonymously assist law enforcement in safely recovering the missing girl. I realised then that I had the skills to make a difference to the world and I kept going, one missing person at a time, until Interpol found me.”

“You were given a choice between conviction, or working for them?” Hotch asked knowingly, as if he’d seen this very situation many times before and I recalled the recent conversation that I’d had with Penelope about hackers frequently being recruited through their questionable activities. I nodded slowly in response, deciding that this wasn’t the time to divulge any further information about the circumstances of my hiring.

“I didn’t join this field by choice. It was never the plan for my life. Don’t get me wrong, I always wanted to help people. I actually trained to become a psychiatrist, like my dad, but a job like this had never even been on my radar. Yet, here I am.” I explained, shrugging awkwardly as I realised that this sounded like I was ungrateful for the mercy that I was shown and I tried to be more careful with my wording when I spoke again.

“When I was standing in front of that building, watching the smoke pour out of it, all I could think about was how my mother told me that she spent every minute of every day that she was in captivity praying to come home. I could just imagine Amanda doing the same thing, hoping with everything she had that someone would save her and I was right there.” I stopped as frustration seeped into my voice, allowing myself to regain control so that I could resume my explanation.

“I knew that there was a chance that she was still alive and I felt like everything that had happened, all of the crazy unplanned situations that had led me to being there at that exact time were so that I could save her. It sounds insane, but it was like my legs moved before I had even decided what I was going to do. For the first time in my career, I trusted my team, this team to have my back and with all due respect, Sir, it was the right thing to do.” I finally finished my rant, forcing myself to meet his eyes to allow him to see my sincerity and I was shocked to find that his face was filled with understanding, causing me to realise that he was already filling in the blanks between my words.

“You said that this was the first time that you felt this way about your team. You shouldn’t be working with people that you can’t rely on. In our line of work, we are forced to face horrors that most people can’t even begin to imagine. The people around you should be your anchor in the storm.” Hotch advised, causing my eyes to become watery and I sniffed back my emotions, desperate not to cry in front of him. “You have options, Alice.”

“What options? Prison?” I scoffed, recalling my conversation with Shepard with a flinch.

Though I had thought in detail about leaving Interpol many times since my recruitment, I knew in a serious light that it was merely a fantasy and nothing more. Without my employment to them, I was considered as nothing more than a threat to security and returning to normal civilian life was no longer something that I could consider.

“Join our team.” Hotch offered, causing my mouth to drop open in shock and I noticed the corners of his lips twitch slightly upward at my reaction.

“It’s clear that you are neither happy, nor valued at Interpol. You have already proven the difference that you could make across multiple cases and the entire team have agreed that you make an excellent addition.” He elaborated, listing reasons that I struggled to even associate with myself and I couldn’t seem to form a response, as I stuttered in the silence.

“But, I-Sir, we just discussed how I jeopardised this team. I don’t mean to seem rude, or ungrateful because I absolutely am not, but I fail to see how I’ve given you the impression that I would make a suitable field agent. You already have Penelope for technical support, so I’m not sure what else you could need me for here.” I pointed out, hardly able to wrap my head around the sudden detour that this conversation had taken and found myself baffled at the very concept of him offering to employ me.

“When your team brought you for the Valeno case, you showed potential that they were purposefully dismissive of. After you left, Gideon suggested that I speak to you about a position within the BAU. Unfortunately, at the time we didn’t have the available resources to do this. Due to the recent successes of this team, we’ve been granted the budget to expand and I would be foolish to ignore a candidate who has already contributed to that success. You are a good fit and the first choice of every member in this unit.” He presented, completely disregarding my concerns and when I looked at him with confusion, he sighed.

“I have discussed the recent incident with Gideon and we share the opinion that with the correct mentoring and the support of a team that believes in your worth, you could be an exceptional field agent.” He divulged, causing me to raise my brows impossibly higher in surprise.

It was bizarre enough that Hotch wanted me to join the team, but finding out that Gideon had been the instigator for this offer blew what remained of my psyche to pieces and Hotch cleared his throat to regain my attention from my inner turmoil.

“The offer would, of course, be conditional. It would be based on your own commitment to overcoming your experiences. None of us are immune to personal biases and each of us have elements of our pasts that make certain cases more challenging for us than the others. However, we rely on each other to hold us accountable, and have all learned to be objective and to know our limits. If you think this is something that you can also undertake, then there is a place here for you. As long as you want it.” Hotch clarified, causing me to stare back at him in blatant disbelief.

“I-I honestly don’t know what to say.” I stuttered, fiddling with my hair anxiously and Hotch cracked a rare smile at me. “It isn’t as simple for me as just changing state. My life is in France now. I’ve already left my mum behind once in England. I’d also have to renounce my dual nationality and become an American citizen.” I thought aloud, considering the enormity of the decision before me and Hotch nodded in understanding.

“Can I have some time to think about it?” I asked nervously, unsure of what else to say and Hotch seemed completely unsurprised by my reaction, as if he’d actually been expecting it.

“Of course. It’s a serious decision that you aren’t expected to make right away. Take all of the time that you need.”

--⥈--

“Girl. Your life is crazy!” Ricky gasped, studying me with a fascinated expression and I had to laugh at his dramatic reaction, despite mostly agreeing with the sentiment. “You’re gonna say yes, right?”

I sighed deeply as I considered this question and the way that he considered me now revealed exactly how insane he thought I was for even needing to think about it. In order to avoid his prying eyes, I stood to start clearing away the takeaway boxes that littered my hotel room bed, but Ricky refused to be silenced.

“Alice. Honey. What are you doing?! Life at Interpol has been miserable for you since day one. You said it yourself. I can’t imagine anything there that could be worth turning this offer down for!” He scolded, staring at me in complete disbelief and I shook my head at his youthful attitude to things.

“It’s more complicated than that. I never planned to work in this sector at all, much less as an FBI agent!” I explained, still struggling to process the fact that this was even an option that was open to me. It felt as if it had come from nowhere and I was already overwhelmed with the mere concept of making such a serious life decision.

“This isn’t just a job that we’re talking about here. It’s a completely different life. I need to be sure that I can handle it, before I move away from everything that I know. I’d hardly ever get to see mum and Roger.” I clarified, struggling to make him understand the severity of the situation.

“You never visit your mama anyway! I should know. I overhear Maji talking to her about it enough.” He groaned, only causing me to feel even worse about the idea of moving even further away from her.

“Besides, if you took it then you’d be living right near me and there isn’t any better benefit than that!” He added, posing across the bed as if he were the most important factor in the proposal and I chuckled at him with fondness. He sighed at my lack of enthusiasm, before dropping to a more serious tone.

“The most important thing for all of us is your happiness. You’d be crazy to stay somewhere that is making your whole existence taste like bad Aloo Gobi. And you deserve better than that! You deserve for your life to always be like Maji’s cooking, full of love and happiness.” He described, seeming as if he’d distracted himself along the way and he glanced back down at his plastic container of curry with disdain.

“You realise that you have a gift for being able to relate literally anything to food, right?” I remarked playfully, observing him with amazement and he shrugged carelessly.

“Food is one of the most enjoyable things that sustains us. It’s important.” He argued passionately and I couldn’t think of a single point to dispute his statement with, having to allow him the pleasure of being correct. “Fortunately, Mumbai Gardens is able to provide an almost authentic experience, right here in the heart of Virginia. A good meal can heal many things, you know. Even the stress of your biggest ever life decision.”

“That’s high praise coming from you. Could it pass the home test though, do you think?” I queried with curiosity as I disposed of the remaining trash with the Mumbai Gardens logo on it and he scoffed as if I’d asked something utterly ridiculous.

“Not a chance! Even Mama would be able to tell you that it wasn’t completely correct. You know, she’s actually been with Maji long enough now to have better cooking taste than some of my other actual Indian friends.” He revealed, showing his love for his step mom, who happened to be my paternal aunt Heather, clear in his voice.

I couldn’t withhold a wide grin as I thought of my aunts, both filled with a warmth that radiated even in my memories. Heather and Ricky’s mum, Nabhitha, had been married for almost ten years now and were the main reason that I still had any faith in true love. They had done an admirable job of raising Ricky together, with Heather always treating him as if he was her biological son and I was endlessly proud of them. Thanks to them, Ricky had grown into the confident, funny teenager that I loved. Their blissful blended family gave me hope for my own future.

“I just had an idea.” Ricky breezed, sitting up particularly straight as if he could barely contain his enthusiasm and I turned back to face him with interest. “If you take this job, we could totally rent a place together! I could be your stylist extraordinaire, in-house councillor and professional Indian chef.” He suggested, his eyes gleaming with excitement and I scoffed loudly at the idea.

“Absolutely not. I’ve already got enough on my plate, without considering parenting you, Ricky.” I laughed, wincing at even the thought of dealing with his dramatics on a daily basis and he gasped at my refusal, seeming as if he could never have expected me to refuse his generous offer. “You can be as offended as you like, but I still don’t have the energy to deal with a college kid in my space. I’m not gonna be your easy way out of student housing. Pick some other teenagers to live with already.”

“Fine. I was offering you a lifestyle of sheer luxury, but I guess I’ll just have to take my fabulous self somewhere that I’ll be better appreciated.” He announced, acting as if he were hurt by my denial, before quickly softening back into a smile barely a few seconds later. “You should definitely think some more about taking the job though, queen. You deserve a fresh start.”

“We’ll see.” I conceded with a chuckle, desperate to simply end the conversation. “Now, which film do you want to rent?”

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dizzydancingdreamer · 4 years

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Sweater | The Mikaelson Boys

Hey Lovelies! Hope you're all doing well in this time of uncertainty, I know it can be tough. Never fear though, as always the Mikaelson boys are here to the rescue. I almost wrote another smut, like I had to put my laptop down and walk away, but alas I kept the tale on track. Kind of. None of my stories ever stay on track. Oh well, here you go loves, happy April 1st! Also, stay tuned for a master list that I will be posting sometime in the coming days!

Description: The Mikaelson household is a household that shares everything, something that Y/n finds out when she unassumingly picks up a sweater and puts in on without a care.

Pairing: The Mikaelson boys x Fem!Reader, definitely leaned this in Elijah's favour though

Warnings: None? Sharing? Is that a warning? They share Y/n there, I said it, you've been "warned"

Word count: 3798

Tags: FLUFF, very light smut, like not even just a heavy make-out scene,

(Photos do not belong to me but the mood bard does :) )

Life at the Mikaelson compound is, by no means, an ordinary one. It’s a lot of loud conversations, a lot of even louder fights, and a delirious amount of laughter. The kind of laughter that immobilizes people. It’s a life of never being alone, even when you want to be. Someone’s always around; chewing loudly when you want to read, sitting on your bed while you pick your clothes in the morning, hell even hanging outside the bathroom while you shower. It’s a life of love, the kind that fully consumes you.

Above all, though, life at the Mikaelson compound is a life of sharing. Food, books, beds, you name it. This house coined the phrase “what’s mine is yours”, literally. After two centuries of life with the Mikaelson siblings nothing surprises you anymore. Clothes are the main culprit. You don’t bat an eye these days when Rebekah strolls out of your room in a newly purchased dress or pair of pumps. You simply couldn’t care less. That’s just how things are.

That’s why it doesn’t cross your mind when you pick up a hoodie that someone had lazily draped over the back of a dining room chair. You were freezing and it was there. It’s probably Kol’s. Holding it up, it’s massive. You shake your head. Definitely not Kol’s. There’s a chance it’s Bekah’s but it doesn’t strike you as something she would wear. It's a cream white color with a Cambridge logo. Someone must be feeling sentimental. You settle on it being Klaus, the temperamental artist, pulling the hoodie over your head without a second thought.

You continue on your way to the den, padding barefoot in a pair of lounge shorts and your newly aquired hoodie. It has a familiar scent, one that riles your senses in the most delicious way, but you still can’t place it. Pine and nutmeg. You would think that a surplus of two hundred years with the same people would make you better at this but it hasn’t.

It’s unusually quiet. Considering you didn’t wake up cuddled next to Bekah, you’re already a little off centred. You haven’t woken up alone in years. By now you should have encountered at least two of the brothers and maybe a sister. Kol is usually up early. It’s kind of suspicious. You hear the slightest hum of noise as you get closer to your destination. Nothing crazy, but it’s there.

Entering the den, your questions are answered. Almost everyone is piled in, draped across the couches, sprawled on the floor, curled in armchairs. That’s more like it. Only one person is missing. Elijah. He’s been gone for a few days now. Your heart hammers at the thought of him. His smile flashes through your mind. Your veins sing. Every nerve in your body feels like it’s calling out to him. You seriously need to get that in check.

“Something on your mind, love?” Kol’s voice breaks you from your thoughts.

Of course he heard your heartbeat pick up, he’s a millennium of trained vampire hearing, “I’m fine, don’t worry.”

You walk over to the couch he’s stretched over, tucking yourself under the book he’s holding and into his chest. Cuddles are a big part of the Mikaelson household, just as much as sharing. He smells heavenly too, but different from the sweater. Sweeter, not as earthy. It’s just as lovely. Your mind falls from Eli as Kol places a kiss to your forehead. His arms are cool and you try and keep your pulse in check this time. This whole family has had you enamoured from the moment you first met them.

He nuzzles his chin against your hair, “that’s what we do, hun.”

“I know,” you murmur, your heart slowing back to normal as you pull a comforter from the back of the couch onto your legs. You’re still chilly, he’s not helping much with that.

“Hey, no fair,” Rebekah whines from the floor, “I want cuddles.”

You giggle from Kol’s hold, “guess you should have waited for me this morning then, huh?”

She pouts from her own pile of blankets, giving you puppy eyes. Bekah has perfected that look for centuries. Her blonde hair is piled in a messy bun on the top of her head, a few strands trickling down around her face. She’s wearing one of your t-shirts, the blue one you got at the New York Zoo a few years back. She makes it look like a ballgown.

“Don’t pout, sister, it's not becoming,” Klaus calls from the armchair he’s sat in, his bare chest on display for your viewing pleasure, “besides, I do believe that it’s my turn.”

Klaus is no exception to the Mikaelson charm. He's mischievous and playful. Yes, he can be ruthless and, yes, he did have a reputation for boxing his family members when you first met him, but now he’s different. He cares recklessly, a page he must have taken from Rebekah’s playbook.

Not to mention he’s undeniably gorgeous and he makes your chest flutter every time his blue eyes sear into yours. You are in way too deep.

Kol grumbles, tightening his arms around you before whispering, “can’t I ever have you for five minutes before the wolves descend?”

Naturally, everyone hears his complaints.

“Vampires, Kol, vampires,” Klaus chimes in, a devilish smirk on his lips, “now hand over the girl, brother.”

“Y/n, babes, cuddles please,” Bekah intensifies her pouting and you giggle again.

They’re in an all out war for your attention, but what else is new. Your eyes dart between Bekah and her pile of blankets and Klaus’ outstretched arms. You hate to say it, but the choice is a pretty obvious one.

You rest your head against Kol’s chest, breathing his intoxicating scent one last time, “I promise I’m all yours next time.”

He gives you a tight squeeze in return, “whatever you say, love.”

You wobble slightly as you stand up, readjusting your sweater and pulling it down where it had ridden up. The chilly air nips at your exposed legs as you stumble over to Rebekah, whose arms are now open and waiting. There's a blanket around her shoulders ready to engulf you. You’re more than ready to jump into her little nest.

Klaus’ words stop you though, “that’s a nice sweater, doll, where'd you get it?”

Wait, what?

“It was in the dining room, I figured it was yours,” you more than figured; you had been certain.

His laugh sends tingles flying up your spine, “unfortunately no, love, but I’ll never turn down the opportunity to get you in my clothes.”

“Or out of them,” Kol chirps from the couch, his nose turned into his book without a care in the world about who heard him.

Your cheeks flush at his suggestive words. Not because you aren't used to them, though. Comments like these were quite usual in the Mikaelson household. It wasn’t a normal day if at least one of them didn’t make you want to squeeze your thighs together and jump one, or maybe all, of them. No, you blush because it's been two hundred years of not one of them having actually followed through on anything and it pushes you closer to doing it for them everyday. Especially lately.

His words made your legs tremble but you continued with the topic at hand, “Kol, is it yours?”

He pulls his head from his book, his eyes dark with something you can’t say you haven’t seen before, “I wish.”

The sigh that leaves your lips is not of your own volition. His brown eyes burn into yours, daring you to turn away. You do. Sorry Kol, now is not the time for a staring competition. You cross your legs desperately and put your hands on your hips, looking to Rebekah for relief.

“Sorry, sweetheart, but that’s not my sweater.”

You run a frustrated hand through your hair. You don’t know why this is bugging you so much. Your whole body feels like it's being pulled in every direction by every Mikaelson. Except Elijah, who’s not here. His name in your mind alone, though, is enough to add him to the rest. He doesn’t need to be here for you to feel his pull. Everyone of your senses is on fire right now. The earthy scent hits your nose again and you close your eyes, trying to soak up every last drop. It's driving you mad and you can swear it’s getting stronger, but it’s probably just your sanity wearing thin.

You can hear the flimsy distress in your voice, “then who, pray tell, does it belong to?”

“Me, love,” your head goes fuzzy at the sound of his voice.

You spin around on clumsy legs, practically falling into Elijah, “Eli!”

He catches you easily, pulling you against his hard chest. You don’t hesitate to throw your arms around him, standing on your toes to get closer to him. Even through his suit jacket you can feel how strong he is. You hadn’t heard him come in, too distracted by the other three Mikaelsons in the room. He smells exactly like the sweater, which makes sense now.

He laughs into your hair, squeezing his arms tighter around you, “I missed you too, baby.”

His words make you breathless. They’re so unlike Elijah. Well, not the ‘I miss you’ part. It would be unusual if he didn’t say that. But baby? That’s very much not a word he frequents often.

“Elijah,” his name is a whisper coming from your lips.

Your heart pounds furiously in your chest. Being so close to him makes you delirious. You struggle to keep from pressing your legs together. You know he can read it all over you, they all can, his lazy smirk giving it away. Your face flushes again for what feels like the millionth time today. His eyes darken, the same way Kol’s had, and drag all the way down and back up your body.

He takes your face in one of his hands keeping the other arm hooked around your back, drawing his words out slowly, “you look ravishing in my clothes, baby.”

“Eli, what-”

You’re cut off by a pair of warm lips colliding with your own. His arms wrap once more around you fully, pulling you closer to his hungry mouth. You kiss him back like you haven't been kissed in years, and you haven’t, lacing your fingers through his hair and feverishly pulling his lips harder against yours. It takes everything in you not to moan against his mouth in the middle of the den.

“Awe, no fair Elijah,” you pull back, shocked and breathless, at the sound of Kol’s whiny voice, “I wanted to be the first one.”

He glances over your shoulder, past your wide eyes, at his brother, “too bad, little brother. I gave you two hundred years. You had plenty of time.”

“Well, I’ll be damned if I’m not the second.”

In the blink of an eye you’re in Kol’s arms, being dipped theatrically as he places his own lips where Elijah’s had just been. He tastes different, like berries and honey, whereas Elijah’s lips were peppermint. You kiss him back just as strongly, twisting your fists in his tee and pulling him as close to you as possible. All your senses are consumed by Kol, just as they were Elijah.

When he pulls away, your head is swimming, “I’ve been waiting for that for an eternity, hun.”

His eyes are shining, a huge grin on his pink lips. You haven’t been kissed this much in as long as you can remember. You feel lightheaded, like you’re walking on a cloud. When you peer up at Elijah, he doesn’t look upset. He probably should. You feel guilty for reeling at the new kind of attention.

You feel a hand on your shoulder and you're pulled into a new pair of arms that scoops you into a firm chest.

“My turn, love.”

Klaus’ lips taste like chocolate. Kissing him is, again, different than both his brothers. Playful. He pulls your bottom lip between his teeth, tugging gently. You sigh into his mouth, your hands on his face. He spins you around, laughing against your lips. Your heart soars once more. All you can see is Klaus.

When he sets you down, you break away from the three of them, at a loss for both words and air. Your whole body is on fire. Somehow, you can taste all three of them on your lips at once. You can hear your heartbeat furious in your ears. Your eyes dart between them, like a deer in the headlights. Your hand finds your lips. Swollen. But what did you expect? Your legs start shaking again but less out of pleasure and more out of shame. The room feels like it’s shrinking. You wish it would just swallow you already.

You whip your head around to meet Rebekah’s eyes, who looks as shocked as you feel. She sends you a small smile, though, nodding her head. She doesn't seem disappointed, but, then again, you could go on a killing spree and she would still look at you with kind eyes. You grasp at your chest, trying to slow your pulse even slightly. You can’t breathe. Your eyes dart to the door and then back to her eyes. She nods again. Then you bolt.

The Mikaelson boys are fast, they're a thousand years old after all, but you’re determined, and that makes you faster. You just barely close your bedroom door before there's a knock.

“Y/n, it’s Elijah,” his accent flows like honey through the door right to your ears, sending traitorous warmth to your core, “please open the door baby.”

“Why, are you all going to kiss me again?” Your voice is shakey.

You can hear him try to stifle a laugh, “I can if you want me too.”

You huff, frustrated, “I am serious, Eli.”

“It’s just me, love. Let me in?”

That makes you feel the slightest bit better. At least you only have to face one right now. You debate just leaving him out there but he’d probably bust the door down. Elijah is a gentleman but when he wants to talk nothing can get in his way. You run a hand through your hair, trying to make yourself look more presentable, less wanton. You pull the sleeves of the sweater over your hands, trying to hide the shaking.

Opening the door, you come face to face with a half worried Elijah. There’s a small smile on his lips but also a tinge of hesitance in his eyes. You step aside, letting him in before shutting it once more. He grabs your hand leading you towards your bed where he sits on the edge, drawing you to stand between his legs. His hands move to settle on your hips, settling under the hoodie and tracing small circles with his fingers.

“What are you thinking about?”

Your laugh is humourless. What are you thinking about? He can’t be serious. Each of the Mikaelson boys just kissed you, one after the other, all in front of each other, and he wants to know what you're thinking about. The weather Elijah, you’re thinking about the weather. God, you feel so dirty, which you know wasn't their intention but you can’t help it. You feel something for each of them. Something you definitely shouldn't feel. Something you had pushed down for a very long time. It’s hot and throbbing and you don’t think you could bear it if you had to choose between them.

You can’t look him in the eyes, “what do you think I'm thinking about?”

You don’t realize that you’re crying until you open your mouth, your words choppy and broken. As soon as you do, though, it’s like the floodgates have opened. You start sobbing heart wrenching cries, hands over your face, blocking out the now very concerned man. At the thought of losing any of them your lungs constrict. For someone who’s pretty indestructible, you feel like you’re suffocating. You barely register the curse that flies from his mouth before he has you tucked into his arms, his hands sliding over your hair and rubbing your back. Really, doing anything he can to get you to calm down even a little bit.

“Baby, shhh,” he’s frantic, trying to calm you down, “it’s okay love. You’re ok. We’re ok.”

“Eli,” you hiccup into his chest, “what happened out there?”

He holds you tighter against him, “you happened, Y/n. From the moment you walked through our door that’s been it.”

You pull back slightly, finally looking into his eyes, “what are you talking about?”

“We want you. All of us. Kol, Klaus, myself. Hell, even Rebekah is enamoured by you,” he picks you up before sitting back down, still holding you, “Am I too forward in assuming you feel the same?”

Your cheeks flame, the familiar heat returning to your thighs, which are straddling Elijah’s lap, a position you weren’t aware of until now. You wish you were still clueless, though. You positively ache for him, let alone the rest of his brothers.

“I shouldn’t Elijah, it’s not normal,” your hands rest on his shoulders, bringing you to his eye level for once.

He laughs quietly, leaning in close to your face, his breath hot on your lips, “baby, we aren’t normal.”

“How are you okay with this? You should think I’m easy. A tramp,” you cast your eyes downward, landing on his red tie.

He grabs your chin with his hand, forcing you to look at him again, “I would never, could never, see you that way. Love, you’ve been with us for two centuries and haven’t touched us once. You are anything but easy. I have loved you for two hundred years. So have they. If sharing you means I finally get to have you then I am ok with that.”

Your lips are on him the instant the last syllable leaves his lips, your hands curled around his tie pulling his mouth to yours for the second time today. It’s not like you to make any sort of move but if ever there was a time it’s now. He groans into your mouth sending electricity dancing down your spine. You squeeze your thighs hard around him, reveling in the feeling of his hips bucking up to meet your own. His hands slide up underneath his sweater, grasping at your skin desperately. He pulls it up and over your head, tossing it on the floor without a care before attaching his lips to your neck.

“That's what made me cave, baby, seeing you in my clothes,” he mumbles into your skin, hands under your tank top, roaming up your sides.

“Mmph, Elijah,” you can’t stop the moans from flowing freely from your mouth, you don’t want to. You’ve waited for this moment for what feels like an eternity.

Your hands tug on his tie, practically ripping it off his neck before starting on his shirt, pulling it open without a care for the buttons popping off around you. He leans back on his elbows, looking up at you with dark eyes. His hair is a mess, falling into his face in a very un-Elijah fashion. His shirt is wide open, putting his toned stomach on display for you. His breathing is heavy, his chest rising and falling harshly with the air. He looks positively disheveled. Undone just for you. Sexy.

You slam your lips to his once more, pulling the shirt off his body before dropping it on the steadily growing pile of clothes. You wrap your arms around his bare shoulders, trying to get as close to him as you possibly can. Your fingers claw at the bulging muscles of his back, pulling a moan from him. The sound is music to your ears. You wish you could listen to it on a loop all day, every day.

His hands pull at your tank top, bringing it over your head and leaving you in nothing but a pink bralette and your shorts. His eyes devour every inch of bare skin, soaking up every curve and dip of your body on his. He looks exquisite. He looks hungry, his eyes pitch black and wanting. Elijah looks like a god.

His mouth attacks your collarbone, sucking harshly at the skin at the base of your throat. Your hands land in his hair, tugging at the soft strands. You never knew he had this side to him. This dominant, hungry side. It makes the ache between your thighs grow. Two hundred years of pent up energy threatens to spill over now and you don’t want to stop it.

So, of course, now is when someone decides to knock on the door, “Surrender the girl, Elijah, you already got the first kiss. Time to share, brother.”

Make that ‘someones’; Kol chuckles at his brother’s antics from behind the door. Klaus’ voice is playful but you can hear the serious note at the end. It makes your already lust-clouded mind even foggier. You know you have to go out there.

You pull Elijah in for one last kiss, sighing into his parted lips, “that’s my cue I think.”

He presses a kiss to your lips reluctantly, “I suppose it is.”

You stand, separating from him for the first time since he walked into your room. You dig his hoodie from the pile of clothes, reveling in the way his eyes, which had only recently gone back to their usual brown, turn black again when you pull it over your head. That will never get old. You toss him a knowing wink before reaching for the door. When your hand hits the knob he spins you back into his arms in a dizzying kiss. Your head twirls from all the times his lips have been on yours today.

With a slight growl, he pushes you out the door, “hurry back.”

You stumble into the hallway, giddy and full of life, right into Klaus’ waiting arms. He doesn’t waste any time throwing you over his shoulder, giving you the perfect view of his gloriously sculpted backside. You can't help the giggles that fall freely from your lips.

“Finally,” he starts jogging down the hall, towards his room, “now, about that sweater, Love.”

You look over his shoulder at Kol who shakes his head but smiles nonetheless. You barely make out the ‘me next’ he mouths at you before Klaus kicks the door closed and tosses you on his bed. The last thing you think before his mouth descends on yours is that you should have picked up that sweater one hundred years ago.

#the originals #the vampire diaries #tvd #klaus mikaelson #kol mikaelson #elijah mikaelson #The originals #to #rebekah mikaelson #elijah mikaelson x reader #kol mikaelson x reader #klaus mikaelson x reader #imagine #reader insert

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lifeofroos · 3 years

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Part 65: Nico is doing some research with the gang.

In short: Nico gets therapy from Dionysus. In this chapter, Nico and his friends go to look for his family line. The rest is on AO3 and FanFiction.net! And in Tumblr tags like Pjo, Dionysus, Nico di Angelo, etc.

This Might Be Crazy: Chapter 65: Grape flavoured Gatorade

Hades had been easy to persuade. He was almost eager to let me go to Italy, as if he wanted to see if there were any di Angelo’s left as well. It meant part of my plan succeeded. Now it was time to do some research.

There was a centre of genealogy in camp Jupiter, where they obsessively kept track of family lines. Every line was written down in a huge book, which were a metre or so tall and broad. You couldn’t even lay them down on a table, you had to sit on the floor with the book in front of you. So it was the best place to start.

Will went with me. He was the first I had told about my plans after my last therapy session. Already waiting by the centre was Hazel and furthermore, I had brought Pollux from Camp Half-blood with me. Dionysus already knew about my plan, so it felt safe to get his son on board.

I sat down in front of my book. ‘Okay. We have a clear goal.’

‘We’re demigods,’ Pollux noticed dryly. ‘We never have clear goals. Or maybe we do, but it’ll become less clear in a minute or so.’

I narrowed my eyes. ‘Then we have one minute of serious study. Go. Search for Italy. Search for di Angelo.’

We managed to look through the Italian lines for a whopping five whole minutes before someone got distracted, when Hazel pointed at a name in her book: ‘That’s sounds like the last name of one of the new recruits.’ Will left his own book (Which had a fold-out family tree; they went for extra in camp Jupiter) to go look over her shoulder. ‘We have a new recruit called Gio Colombo. There is a Colombo over here.’

‘From 1876,’ Will thoughtfully said. ‘That could be a possible connection’

‘Maybe.’ Hazel sighed and looked at the branch that came after the aforementioned Colombo. ‘I don’t think I’ll be able to find Gio’s name, though. Not like this.’

Will blinked, before smacking his hand against his forehead. ‘We’re idiots, too,’ he mumbled. We all gave him a strange look. ‘What Hazel just said made me think: We should have just started looking for Nico himself, instead of the di Angelo lineage. There might be lots of people with the name Di Angelo. After we found him, we can search for family members.’

I blushed a little. ‘Eh, yeah, that sounds like common sense.’

Will sighed. ‘We’ll do that from here on out. Unless! Wait, before we make another mistake, Hazel, are there any maps for these books? As in, is there any way to see in which books which names are?’

‘Eh… yeah, I think so. Let me go take a look, I am sure...’

‘Of course we do.’ A girl with a hoarse voice walked around the corner, with a map in her hands. She laid it out on the floor. ‘Look. Over here, you can see the family name, which are sorted alphabetically, and the books the names are in. Then, you can look it up again, and…’ There followed a whole lot of other instructions, which I kindly ignored.

When the genealogist walked away, I looked at my friends. ‘Did any of you understand any of that?’

‘There is something, somewhere, and it’ll help us,’ Pollux stated.

‘Yeah, not. We’ll just have to keep looking until we find… well, me,’ I answered.

The rest mumbled something, before we all turned back to our books and maps.

After quite a lot of searching, Pollux tapped my shoulder. ‘I found... a di Angelo, from the nineteen-thirties.’

I crawled over to him. ‘Where?’

‘Here. Francesca di Angelo,’ Pollux muttered. He had a funny look on his face.

‘Where did she live?’ I asked.

‘According to this, eh… Rizziconi? Is that how you pronounce it?’

‘Could be. Rizziconi is not Venice, far from it, but Francesca is probably a woman, so…’

‘So what?’

‘It means she probably went to live with her husband. Which means we might be related.’ Will, who was hanging above the book as well now, tapped the picture of the man next to her. ‘Then again, if she has a husband, she probably took his last name…’

‘Not according to this book? Her husband's name is not di Angelo,’ Pollux answered. ‘Oh, I see it now, her married name is right under her maiden name. Her married name is not di Angelo.’ He sighed. ‘Anyway, then we should go up, because her parents must be the di Angelo branch. The name probably comes from her father. He had a bunch of kids, anyway, eh, your mother might be around there somewhere, I think…’

‘I see no Maria,’ Will breathed into my ear.

‘No,’ Pollux stroked a strand of hair out of his face. ‘Then we go up a ledge, maybe it is a different di angelo branch. Then we are looking for a man with a daughter named Maria, because at this point she can only have gotten that name from the male line if it is the correct line…’ Pollux almost tore the paper out. My head began to spin.

‘How do you keep track of this?’ Will asked.

Pollux shook his head. ‘I don’t know. Anyway, I… still see no Maria di Angelo, I think, at which point we should go even further up… and that runs off the map, which means I have to flip a page.’ He sighed.

Will looked over his shoulder. ‘Hazel, did you find anything useful? We might find something here after another hour or so, but…’

Hazel pushed her book closer to ours. ‘I have been looking at Hades’ family line. The map doesn’t show every family member of his children, but I think that if we combine our maps, we can find something.’ She put her book under that of Pollux.

I looked over her shoulder. I saw my dad and, miracle miracle, my own name, next to Bianca’s and slightly further away from Hazels’. It mentioned my mothers’ name, the names of my grandparents and those of my great-grandparents. ‘Pollux, do you have a… Nicola di Angelo somewhere?’ I inquired. ‘Never knew I was named after my grandfather, but alas, it made sense. Or otherwise a Marco di Angelo? He was my… great grandfather. It doesn’t run further.’ I took a deep breath and put my hand against my forehead. ‘He… I mean Marco… was married to someone named Maria Veronese...’

‘I have a Maria Veronese!’ Pollux exclaimed, while excitedly pointing into his genealogy book. ‘I got a Maria Veronese and praise the gods, she is married to a Marco di Angelo. They have a son, Nicola di Angelo, Who has a daughter, Maria di Angelo, who…’ He took a deep breath. ‘Has a son named Nico di Angelo.’ He pointed into the book, before laying down with an arm over his eyes. His breathing went very quickly for some time, until it slowed down again. ‘Oh, man.’

Wil kneeled down next to him. ‘Are you okay?’

He opened his eyes. ‘I am.’ He shrugged, even though he was still on the floor. ‘Information overrun. Dangers of the job.’

‘If you want to see ‘child of Dionysus’ as a job,’ I said, while staring into the book.

It was told me who of my family members had died. It was strange to see a ‘deceased’ next to Hazel and it hurt to see it next to my mother and sister. For a moment, I doubted whether I was doing the right thing by going to Italy, but I shook that thought off. I could worry about that later. Pollux didn’t almost drive himself insane for me to walk away now.

‘So. Unsurprisingly, all of my grandparents and their siblings have passed away. My mother had two sisters and a brother. Her brother didn’t have any children... but her sister did. That, sadly, means she changed her last name and then moved to… Toulouse.’ I raised my eyebrows. Sure, France, why not. ‘Okay, but I can’t do anything with that,’ I muttered, a little sad. ‘Alright, then her second sister, she had a daughter and two sons… blah-blah-blah… and...’ I took a deep breath, ‘to make a long story short, her three youngest descendents live in Foggia.’ It felt like a relief. Finally. A place of reference.

Will produced a notebook from his pocket, with a pencil. ‘I am writing that down. What are their names? Of the last decendants, I mean?’

‘Sofia, Elena and Lucia. Their parents are still alive too, eh, Gabriella and Collin. That doesn’t sound all that Italian to me… anyway, them.’

‘Cool.’ I looked up at Will, who wrote it all down, before looking back at me. ‘Do you think that's' enough?’

‘What do you think? Actually, Will, how do you feel about me going to Italy?’

‘I am already worried and you haven’t even left yet. However, it’s Italy. I think Dionysus, Hades and Persephone, or, I don’t know, Apollo for that sake, will be there to save you whenever you are almost getting yourself killed, or something.’ He tugged on his shirt. ‘You’ll be fine. It’s Italy, the gods are with you.’

I nodded. ‘Thanks,’ I whispered.

He gave me a tender smile. ‘I hope you’ll get something from it.’

‘I hope so too,’ I heard Pollux say in a defeated voice. ‘Otherwise this whole exercise was for nothing and my head hurts.’

‘Are you seriously hangover from a book?’

‘Shut up, Nico.’

Hazel got up and stretched her limbs. ‘Shall we go get something to drink? I’m parched.’

‘I feel like getting lunch,’ Will answered.

‘I find these ideas top-notch, if I can be candid,’ Pollux said from the floor. Slowly, he got up. ‘Although I also got a life supply of grape-flavoured Gatorade with me.’

‘That’s called purple,’ Will corrected him.

‘Grape-flavoured.’

I sighed and stood up as well. ‘Let’s get something to eat. I got my information.’ I took a deep breath. ‘Now I just have to seek out contact with one of them, and then maybe...’ I could actually go. To Italy. Now that it was basically within reach, it felt like the scariest thing ever.

A/N: More Nico/Dionysus kid interaction! I wanted to add Dakota but then the truth hit me. Honestly that still hurts me to no end, I loved my kool-aid boy.

Does Pollux have a canon last name, actually? I don’t think so. I don’t even think we are ever told about heir second parent is. In the fandom, it ranges from some mortal woman to some guy to Ariadne herself, I believe.

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mysymestash · 5 years

Text

RFA + Saeran accidentally injuring MC

I FORGOT JIHYUN LIKE A BIG DUMB MAYBE I’LL UPDATE LATER WITH HIS

Yoosung

LOLOL had launched a special campaign, only available for a limited time

Seeing as how the reward for completing it was rumoured to be a brand new skin for one of Yoosung’s favourite characters,

of course he was going to spend three sleepless nights in front of the computer to be the first one to get it

Normally, you wouldn’t let him stay up for so long playing- but finals were over and you figured he deserved to blow off some steam

You were relaxing on the couch one day when you heard a loud commotion from Yoosung

You went over to his desk to check on him-

“Yes! Yes! I got it- oh my god, I got it! MC come over here and check it out-!”

Before you could even respond to tell him you were already right beside him

He threw his hands up in the air while he was celebrating, one connecting directly with your nose

When his shocked face whipped around to see you cradling your now bloody nose he almost screamed

Apologizing incessantly- and god forbid you shed some tears at the pain because he will reciprocate the tears tenfold

He tries to get you some tissues but he’s panicking so much that he just- grabs a fistful and shoves it in your face

Just wants to stop the bleeding as soon as possible

Will want you to hit him back as revenge

If you take him up on the offer, he will cry again

Jumin

You two were relaxing at the end of the day, just enjoying a glass of wine together

But Elizabeth was feeling especially needy that day

She was cuddling up to you, walking across your laps, etc..

She refused to sit still, wanting you to play with her

Jumin’s just watching you suffer with amusement, you trying to drink from your glass but can’t since Elizabeth keeps pawing at it

Thinks your frustrated face is adorable

In fact, so adorable he wants to keep a permanent record of it

So he pulls out his phone to capture the moment- fully intending on sending it straight to the messenger

But my man forgot his flash was on

Mind you, this is in the late evening and you two are outside on the patio- so this flash is bright

Scares the everloving shit out of Elizabeth too and she jumps ten feet into the air out of your lap, knocking your glass out of your hand

On reflex, you reach out to catch the glass but it shatters on the ground before you can fully reach it

You can’t quite see what’s happened but damn can your hand feel it

Feeling the sharp pain, you quickly pull back your hand and put it to the light- bitch is bleeding

You’re a little in shock but he’s already called five paramedics, 12 different ambulances, a neurosurgeon- Jumin stop why would I need a neurosurgeon for my hand

Even after he confirms with all the doctors that you’re fine, he will be paranoid for a long time

Invests in shatter-proof everything

Jaehee

It was a busy busy busy day in the cafe

Both of you were rushing around trying to take all the orders and seat everyone in time

Neither of you were expecting today of all days to be so busy- and some of the other workers had called in so you were already running short on people

You were at the front, taking orders and providing extra chairs for everyone filtering in

Jaehee called you from the back for help getting all the extra batches she had just made out to the front

Ngl she was really rushing you along- urging you to hurry up before you missed anyone new coming in

You were feeling so rushed, in fact, that you weren’t really paying attention to what Jaehee was handing you- more focused on just getting it out as fast as possible

Without warning, she finished handing you the muffins that had been cooling for the past few minutes and had swapped to the cookies fresh out the oven

You were not wearing your oven mitts

As soon as the pan made contact with your skin you screamed, dropping it on the floor

She was on you right away,, pulling your red hands under the cool tap water

Doesn’t stop apologizing;

Her actions are swift and confident- bandaging your hands with incredible proficiency

But her words are something else completely lol— she’s stammering out “I’m sorry”s and asking if you’re okay like fifty times in a row

Insists you stay in the front and that she does the kitchen work on her own- even if you refuse

At the end of the day she’ll still be apologizing and offers to bring you to the hospital to make sure hands are okay

You have to calm her down by kissing her

But yes please take me to the hospital I still hurt

Saeyoung

You and Saeyoung were playing hide and go seek tag like a bunch of CHILDREN

Jk it’s adorable

Saeyoung was it this round which is honestly an unfair advantage in all regards

You, like the hide and go seek pro you are, we’re strategically moving your hiding spot every few seconds- never staying in one spot for too long

You’re a lot harder to track down than he first anticipated

Resorts to using his cameras to find you

“It’s not cheating, MC- it’s using your tools to your advantage.”

Finds you creeping down the halls and hatches a plan to take you by surprise

The hall you’re in happens to connect back to the kitchen

When you finally make it into the kitchen, he takes the chance to pop out right behind you screaming like a banshee

Your heart drops

You scream and try to run away but socks on slippery tiled floor don’t offer too much traction

You make it half a step before you are launched backwards and crash onto the ground head first

His screaming turns into half screaming half laughing as he rushes to your side on the floor

Recites some dramatic made up poetry about his fallen love- ala Romeo and Juliet

You’re fighting back tears while you’re holding your head

“Saeyoung stop making me laugh it’s making my head hurt even more”

When he hears you saying your head hurt he calms down

Legitimately worried now that your injury might be serious

Rushes you to a doctor right away who concludes that you probably just have a mild concussion

Permanent bed rest and cuddles until he decides you’re better

Expect him to don the maid costume while he’s taking care of you and “forget” to close the door letting Saeran walk in and see everything

poor Saeran

Zen

He had just gotten casted for what was essentially his dream role

This boy was Romeo fucking Montague

So psyched he wanted you to help him practice lines- obviously for the balcony scene as you read for Juliet

But he was

really into this role

He had you climb up on top of this ladder as he supported you from the bottom to act as the ‘balcony’

You just went along with it despite how ridiculous you felt because you didn’t want to be the one to rain on his parade;;

Besides you thought it was cute seeing how invested he was getting into the character as you peered over him from your position on the ladder

Well- it was cute until his focus gradually shifted from keeping you stable on the ladder to reciting his monologue

“Uhh, Zen? Are you sure this is stable enough?..”

You doubt he even heard you over his reading, not taking his eyes off of the script

Before you could try and catch his attention again you unceremoniously toppled down as the ladder suddenly fell away from under you

He heard the crashing and reached out, script being thrown away and forgotten, to catch you before you landed

Technically he succeeded but it didn’t stop your leg being caught in the mess of the ladder falling

Leading to your very sprained ankle

Doesn’t even stop to ask if you’re okay,, all but throws the ladder away and carries you all the way to the hospital

After you guys get back, you’re pouting and he’s basically begging for your forgiveness

Will ask you to push him from a real balcony so he can understand and experience your pain

Obviously not Zen wtf

Will “kiss your ankle better” and curse the gods that his beast-like healing abilities was not given to you also

Saeran

You’ve probably been hanging out with Saeyoung a little too much tbh

He gives you the idea to prank Saeran

For SOME reason you think it’s a good idea

He was sleeping in this morning and you think it would be hilarious if you hid behind the door before he woke up and scare him as he came out

You’ve definitely been spending too much time with Saeyoung

When he wakes up and doesn’t feel you in the bed with him he lowkey freaks out

He thinks you’ve probably just left to go to the bathroom or something so he calls your name

Obviously you don’t respond

Cue actual panic for marshmallow boy

Starts thinking of all the worst case scenarios that could have happened to you

He basically leaps out of the bed, calling for Saeyoung

You hear him coming to the door and get ready to scare him

But before you can even jump out of your hiding spot behind the door- it swings open full force getting you right in the nose

“Owwww...Saeran...”

He hears your whining and pulls back the door to see you holding your bloody nose

“What the hell are you doing back there? Why didn’t you respond when I called you?”

“I was trying to prank you...”

A moment of silence for Saeran’s patience

“Bye.”

Steps back into your room and closes the door

Honestly really relieved you were okay, just embarrassed about how worried he was

Will come back out when he hears you in the bathroom taking care of your nose

“You’re not allowed to talk to my idiot brother again.”

“But Saerannnn”

Surprisingly very gentle when patching you up

#mysme #mystic messenger scenario #mystic messenger #mystic messenger headcanon #mystic messenger imagine #mysme imagine #mysme headcanon #mysme scenario #mysme saeyoung #mysme jaehee #mysme saeran #mysme jumin #mysme zen

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mightylauren · 5 years

Text

Avengers Endgame SPOILER FILLED Thoughtstream

Pretty much a blow by blow reaction stream straight from my mind in list form of the entire movie from beginning to end. Clearly full of spoilers so it’s below the cut and tagged to death. There’s some all caps screaming. A few keyboard smashes. A fair amount of cussing. Probably a fair amount of typos as I typed this while totally not rewatching it in the comfort of my home.

Totally not.

I don’t really expect anyone to read all of this but it was all festering in my mind and now it’s out.

SERIOUSLY I SPOIL LIKE EVERYTHING BELOW THE CUT DON’T CLICK IT UNLESS YOU’RE SURE YOU WANT TO SEE IT.

Who put’s mayo on a hotdog?

Oh man hawks didn’t even see it happen nooo. I knew we were opening with Barton family dusting but ouch.

Tony calling Nebula the blue meanie!

Nebula refusing the last of the food and making Tony eat it makes me love her even more.

Tony somehow keeps his sense of humor even in the face of death. God I love him. I know he’s gonna make it off this ship.

HA, that Internet joke about Carol showing up right after the trailer scene is true. That’s hilarious.

They never explain how Carol knew to look for them, but I’m going to guess she came to earth ala the scene after Captain Marvel and then went back out to see if she could find him.

Or she got REALLY lucky

I’m unclear does Nebula need oxygen and food? Or just significantly less than a full on human? She seems much better off than him.

Steve shaving did we miss seeing the beard one last time by like seconds? rude.

OMG Rocket sitting down and taking Nebula’s hand. The last of their family. Everyone else gone. My heart is aching.

23 days so we’re less than a month past Vanishing Day

Ha Tony calling Rocket Build a Bear is my first genuine laugh this movie.

I honestly was dying on the inside the whole time Tony is losing his shit on Cap. I mean he needed to say it all but seeing how sick he is and falling apart. He rips off his reactor and hands it over then collapses.

My heart.

Rhodey man. “That’s cute, Thanos has a retirement plan.”

Man this is the least planning they’ve ever done before a mission. They’re just gonna pack up, hop in a space ship and go kill Thanos? Cool. Coolcoolcool.

Okay it’s pretty good to see a lot of that trailer stuff is from very early on in the movie.

“Who here hasn’t been to space? You better not throw up on my ship.” XD

How does this big ass planet that can clearly sustain life have no life on it? Just Thanos some birds and some Meiloorun fruit?

That’s a Star Wars reference for those of you who don’t cross fandom lines.

So his snapping arm looks completely borked.

OH SHIT THEY CAME IN SWINGING

FUCK THOR CHOPPED OFF HIS ARM DAMN

ASDFKSAJDOFIUA THE STONES ARE GONE

Wait why is Banner still not Hulking out? How is that suit still running?

Damn he destroyed the stones. He knew they’d come.

DAMN THOR WENT IN HARD.

We are like twenty minutes in and Thanos is dead? I… what?

*crumples up and throws away all predictions she had before going into the movie

FIVE YEARS LATER?!?

FIVE

FIVE YEARS

I should have brought a paper bag to breath into.

Okay there’s the support group. Yup a lot of the footage from trailers and stuff is front loaded at the beginning of this. Which is good, because no clue where this is genuinely going.

Did… did a rat just bring Ant-Man back? A rat?

Shit how long has it been for him?

Oh wait, he’s looking for his people maybe not that long.

P-professor Chang?

Can you imagine how disorienting this all is for Scott? Pops out five years after a tragedy like the snap with no idea what the hell is happening.

My sister literally turned to me and said “no trash service but they built a monument?”

Valid question. Very valid.

OMG CASSIE IS ALL GROWN UP I CAN’T.

I don’t think he fully realized how much time had passed until he saw his daughter.

“You’re so big” just made me tear up a little.

I just had a baby daughter four months ago. So I’m trying not to imagine what it would be like to vanish along with a bunch of other people and then turn back up five years later.

CAROL’S HAIR.

I’m sorry some of this is probably going to be completely incomprehensible unless you’ve seen the movie it just needs venting.

I am liking that they’re all reporting to Nat. That Rocket and Nebula are clearly teamed up.

OMG rocket made a joke about the haircut and Carol called him Fur Face

In case you didn’t know I have a ridiculous love for Rocket so I’m just glad he’s got a support system right now with almost the entirety of his found family dusted.

Capt. Marvel is basically saying she’s out for most of this movie isn’t she? I guess that makes sense she’s OP as hell.

Rhodey is tracking Clint but reluctantly. Clint’s clearly gone off the deepens a bit. Vigilante. Nat isn’t taking it well. Oh no she’s crying.

This movie is gonna kill me.

I’m trying to imagine seeing a pod of whales in the Hudson River and I can’t imagine it.

Okay so I’m guessing Scott’s about to turn up covering another major point from the early trailers. Yes yes yes. This is good.

Nat explaining that the Avengers gave her a family and a life and made her feel like she was a better person. Oh girl. You’ve done enough. It’s okay.

HA THE LOOKS ON THEIR FACES ARE PRICELESS

Scott doesn’t know science. He’s trying so hard. We need the Science Bros. Where are they?

FIVE HOURS

FIVE FUCKING HOURS?

HE WAS IN FOR FIVE HOURS AND LOST FIVE YEARS????

“Scott, I get e-mails from a raccoon so nothing seems crazy anymore.” LFAO

Tony has a daughter I’m dying. It had to be a little girl.

Wait is he serious about eating crickets on lettuce? He might be this is semi post-apocalyptic.

Tony does not look happy to see them.

YES LET’S PULL A TIME HEIST. Tony isn’t feeling this but I am.

Oh, Scott, honey. Back to the Future?

Though Tony your protege Peter used movies to make plans all the time. Maybe it’s not that laughable.

Okay I would die for his daughter. “Mommy sent me out here to save you.” Don’t think you were supposed to just say that outloud kiddo but props on a successful mission.

I know Tony too well for this. He’s saying no, because he loves his family. He needs his family. He’s scared to lose his family.

But now this idea is going to itch at the back of his brain aching to be solved.

Come on Tony lets go back to the future and pull off a time heist.

Hulk in glasses and a sweater is was not even on my theory bingo card what is happening. Is this his diner? They had to find him so he’s clearly not working for Nat right now. I have so many questions.

This whole thing with the kids is awkward.

Come to think of it I have questions about how the infrastructure that is supporting things like cell phone networks is still functioning after the vanishing. Maybe because it’s been five years.

Is Nat flirting with Banner to get him to help?

Tony looking at a picture of Peter he’s got to try.

OH MY GOD HE GOT IT IN ONE EVENING.

EVEN HE LOOKS SURPRISED.

SHIT!

I’m glad there is laughter in this movie and it’s not entirely heavy. I mean it’s Marvel I should have known.

He calls his daughter Little Miss. And she just extorted a juice pop out of him. I love Dad Tony.

This is gonna hurt later I just know it. I can feel it in my gut.

“I love you 3000” My heart.

I’m glad that Tony is just going to have a straight up honest conversation with his wife about this.

He’s grown so much.

Oh Pepper, she’s telling him to do it. There’s some unsaid deep communication happening in this conversation. Bless this pair so much. She’s going to let him go and he’s going to go even though his gut his telling him that the road is not going to end well for him.

That’s why he wants to put it in a lock box and drop it to the bottom of a lake.

This is just so damn good so far. No complaints yet.

I kind of love this Hulk. He has no idea what he’s doing here but I love him. He’s like only half taking this seriously.

BAHAHAHA THIS TEST. HE comes back as a baby and Hulk is like “He’ll grow” I mean he’s not wrong but not the right answer buddy.

Another genuinely funny scene.

“TIME TRAVEL!” With his hulk arms held wide.

Tony is literally speeding in his car there. Cap doesn’t even look that surprised.

Oh this is the Tony and Steve getting back on the same page moment I’ve been waiting for. I love it. I really love it.

HE BROUGHT THE SHIELD.

I love that it was in the trunk buried under kids stuff.

Tony is back and I love it even if I’m scared it’s gonna mean his end.

“Rhodey, careful on reentry theres an idiot in the landing zone.” As if I couldn’t love Nebula more in this movie.

Wait “New Asgard Please Drive Slowly” just threw me for a total loop. Good to know all the Asgardians didn’t actually die in that ship.

VALKYRIE!!!!

She’s like not acknowledging the Raccoon LMFAO

Holy hell what is happening here. Oh man Thor what have you done to yourself.

Actually, I get it.

Are they playing Fortnite?

This whole scene is super surreal right now.

I actually kinda dig it but I did NOT see it coming. This movie has gone places I never would have predicted.

Thor kept strong for so long. He lost so much. He got all the way to the point where he’d done all he could think. He killed Thanos and there was no way to undo all that could be done so he just settled and existed. He drank and played video games with his buddies.

I get it.

Rocket just lured him onto the ship with beer.

Was good to see Korg and Miek are alive. And there for them in their own ways.

RONIN ALERT.

Oh dude he’s just fucking people up does he even have a bow with him?

Nat waited until there was some way to undo the snap before reaching out to him. She’s just been silently tracking him waiting for a good reason to bring him in.

In a matter of seconds Tony calls Thor “Lebowski” and Rocket “Ratchet” and I have always lived for his dumbass nicknames.

Lebowski Thor is officially what I’m referring to this iteration of Thor.

Oh look a classic time travel trope a limit in the number of trips they can make. Makes sense though, Hank Pym was always very protective of how to make the particles so they only have what was made before the Vanishing.

I love the team debating how time travel really works. Listing all the time travel movies. Bill and Ted even snuck into the list.

Not sure sending Clint back for the test was the best choice this is gonna be rough.

Okay he started to lose it at the end but he made it.

YES brainstorming session this’ll be fun.

Tony’s gentle handling of Thor says a lot. Tony’s been to rock bottom and recognizes the symptoms. At the same time I laughed when he offered breakfast and Thor said no he wanted a Bloody Mary.

ROCKET CALLING SCOTT AN EXCITED PUPPY BAHAHAHA

Nebula is so dramatic I’m here for it.

Laying all over the desk brainstorming for Nat to finally figure out that there are three stones in one place at one time. This is the content I came for.

TIME HEIST LETS GO.

And just like that its 2012 this is surreal.

LMFAO HULK DOESN’T WANT TO SMASH.

Interesting seeing what the Ancient One was doing during the battle of New York. On a roof defending the sanctum from Chitauri.

OH SHIT SHE JUST PUSHED BANNER’S SOUL OUTA HIS HULK BODY

I didn’t see that coming.

Just a glimpse of Loki. :-(

It was almost cruel to send Thor to Asgard to do this. I mean someone had to go with Rocket, but damn this is tough to watch.

DAMN Rocket smacked him. And also just called Mantis “the chick with the antenna”. Pep talk’s not bad but Thor is crying I don’t think he can do this.

I don’t know why they want to do it that way anyway, Jane would have taken one look at him and known it was the wrong Thor.

Wait… they’re sending Nat and Clint to Vormir… oh God… oh no…

Okay so that’s going to suck in a few minutes lets just put a pin in that.

Nebula you waited a bit to tell Rhodey that there’s another you out there looking for the same infinity stone you’re there to fetch.

Oh look its like just barely pre-Guardians Gamora, Nebula, and unfortunately Thanos.

I have a bad feeling about this.

OH SHIT I HAVE A VERY BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS.

Turns out two Nebula’s in one place is bad voodoo. She’s seeing video from the other Nebula which means THANOS can see video from the other….

Yeah this is all gonna go bad.

HAHAHA Tony just checked out Steve’s ass.

AMERICA’S ASS!!!

It’s hard to remember that this shit is going to fall apart when I’m laughing.

Tony just flicked Ant-Man to his target and all I can think about is Gimli an “toss me” from LOTR.

Is Cap about to fuck up a bunch of people in the elevator again?

STEVE YOU SNEAKY BASTARD YOU JUST HAIL HYDRA’D AND STOLE THE SCEPTER.

2012 Time heist is about to hit a hiccup isn’t it. OH MAN they just gave Tony a heart attack.

LOKI NO

I mean yes but no. Loki just nicked the Tesseract and dipped with it. 2012 Loki is just gone.

There’s like timeline repercussions there. Not entirely sure what they are but there will be repercussions.

Cap fighting himself! CAP CHECKING OUT HIS OWN ASS!

Man the Time Heist is so rapid fire there’s too much to absorb.

“I’m totally from the future.” - Lebowski Thor breaking a law of time travel

Thor’s heart to heart with his mom is giving me feels. He needed this.

YES MJOLNIR IS COMING WITH HIM!

Ok it’s never occurred to me how ridiculous Quill would look dancing around without the music. That’s hilarious.

AH SHIT THANOS KNOWS AND HE’S THERE AND THIS IS WHERE IT GOES TO SHIT.

NEBULA </3

It’s so good seeing Steve and Tony back on the same page trusting each other. And clearly completely throwing Scott “Piss-Ant” Lang for a loop.

I didn’t expect a detour to the 70’s. AAAND that’s his Dad. Tony’s just run into his own father.

This movie is a roller coaster I’ll tell ya.

This is all mush if you’ve read this far you deserve an award. Or a sticker. One of those.

What a weird decision to have Tony have this whole meet up with his father here. And now Steve is taking refuge in Peggy’s office. Like this is almost mean to do this to these two.

Why is it the Russo’s never could decide if Steve had gotten over Peggy or not gotten over Peggy. Back and forth and back again. I take it we aren’t going to see the niece at all in this one?

Alright boys lets get the hell out of the 70s this felt like a weird trip without the drugs.

Damn Nebula why is past you such a bitch when I love present you so much. I know I know that’s because you grew and what not but shit I don’t know what you and Thanos are about to do but it’s about to suck.

FUCK I FORGOT ABOUT VORMIR BECAUSE THERE WAS SO MUCH GOING ON

I’m not ready for this. I’m not ready for this. I don’t want either of them to die. This sucks. No No no no onoanfnaondaksldfj;lasdkja;

God we’re going to have to literally watch them fight over which one is going to sacrifice themself.

Here it is, I’m crying now. Me and Barton are just going to cry here in this puddle if you need us.

They’re all back, except Nat. Which means that’s the wrong damn Nebula and no one notices because NO NAT. Shit. Shit shit.

This movie is going to give me a heart attack.

“Did she have any family?” “Yeah. Us.” :’-(

Okay Thanos like fucked up a whole mining community and shut down a star afterwards to forge a gauntlet to put the stones in and here’s Tony Stark plopping them into like an Iron Man armor piece like its nothing.

Looks sleek too. I dig it.

And they’re all too busy with the glove to notice fucking Nebula. SHIT.

Man it’s hurting Hulk just to WEAR the damn thing. Thanos was just strolling around wearing it, which doesn’t bode well considering I see Nebula is bringing Thanos here.

Cool. That’s cool. This is fine.

How long of a moment of joy are they going to get. Clint’s wife is calling. Birds are singing. Shit is inches from a fan.

THERE’S THE SHIT. HOLY SHIT HE’S BLOWING AVENGERS HQ COMPLETELY OFF THE MAP NOOOOOOO

There’s like a whole hour left. Tell me they all survived that. I was not ready. I WAS NOT READY.

Oh here’s that shot of Hawkeye in the tunnel. Much later in the movie than a lot of those trailer shots. Fascinating.

So 2014 Thanos is here with his whole crew and there’s a complete gauntlet here. Shit.

Well, they’re all alive. They’re not together entirely but they’re all alive.

Double wielding dad bod Thor just braided his beard with lightning and I’m here for it.

The stakes are at maximum. Now Thanos wants to destroy it all not just half. So failure here can never be undone there won’t be anyone to Avenge anything if he gets the gauntlet this time. That’s not terrifying at all.

Fuck that’s the wrong Nebula. BUT THERE’S THE RIGHT NEBULA WITH GAMORA.

Clint is like in the middle of this stand off like “wtf is happening I should have kept my hands on the glove”

Nebula just killed her own past self. And she didn’t vanish so no Back to the Future rules here for sure.

Damn Thanos is giving the boys a run for their money even without a single stone.

Shit is Thor gonna die?

HOLY SHIT CAP HAS THE HAMMER AND THE THEATER JUST MIGHT EXPLODE FROM THE SOUNDS OF THE AUDIENCE SCREAMING ABOUT THIS.

Damnit Thanos is calling in the whole army. Cap is like the last one standing on the front line and he’s not backing down because he’s Captain “America’s Ass” America. Thor is down Iron Man is down. The others are trying not to drown. Shit.

OMG ON YOUR LEFT I JUST MIGHT CRY.

HOLY SHIT ITS EVERYONE I’M CRYING.

PEPPER FUCKING POTTS IS HERE AS RESCUE HOLY SHIT.

TALK ABOUT THE CALVARY RIDING IN AT THE LAST POSSIBLE SECOND HOLY HELL.

HE’S GONNA FUCKING SAY IT

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!

It’s a good thing they sound proof these theaters now or you’d hear this across town the audience is going fucking nuts.

There’s too much to touch on all this chaos I’ll hit the highlights because it’s so much.

Pepper and Tony fighting back to back.

Thor and Steve switching weapons, Thor telling him to keep “the little one” aka Mjolnir.

Tony and Peter reuniting and the hug.

Quill seeing Gamora and it’s the wrong Gamora and actually that broke my heart a little bit because his Gamora is gone forever.

Playing hot potato with the gauntlet.

Scarlet Witch fucking Thanos up to the point he panics and starts firing on his own troops to get her off of him.

Spider getting the gauntlet and for the first time ever activating instant kill on purpose.

Peter becoming the hot potato along with the Gauntlet.

OMG ROCKET FOUND GROOT AND HE’S BODILY BLOCKING HIM FROM FIRE MY HEART.

When the ships started firing up my sister elbowed me and legit was like “She’s here.”

All the women assembling around Captain Marvel!! Even Gamora is with them holy shit!

Damn it the glove is back within his reach and I can’t with this.

GET HIM CAROL DON’T LET HIM DO IT AGAIN.

She took a headbutt to the face like it was nothing and he panicked like a bitch pulled the power stone and punched her with it.

OH MY GOD TONY

My sister silently handed me a tissue and I fell the fuck apart.

I never thought in a million years they would have it go this way. Tony snapping. Dusting Thanos and his army.

I can’t even comment more on this scene I’m too sad. Everything after is too sad. The funeral.

There are infinity stone colored stones in the “proof that Tony Stark has a heart” setting.

I love you 3000 Tony Stark.

Thor leaving Valkyrie in charge and heading off with the Guardians.

Quill clearly looking for new old Gamora. I doubt she was dusted so she must have just faded away after the battle to do her own thing.

Glad that Nebula is with them though.

I feel a loose beginning set up for the actual Asgardians of the Galaxy.

Bucky said goodbye to Cap like he knew Cap wasn’t going to be back with them in five seconds. He knew.

We’re lucky he didn’t come back as a baby though. ;-)

I mean I’m surprised they went this route with Cap but I’m happy for him.

I’m happy for Sam too. We knew at the end of this the mantel had to get passed and here it is, old man Steve passing the shield to Sam.

I bet that show about “Falcon” and Bucky is really about the new Captain America and Bucky. Just saying.

Steggy shippers rejoice and the cries of a million Stony and Stucky shippers can be heard round the world.

Is that a sentence I just wrote? I never got into MCU shipping stuff personally.

And then all there is at the end is the distant sound of Tony forging that first armor.

A reminder that Tony Stark built all this in a cave.

From a box of scraps.

TONY….

I’ll be mourning Tony for a long while. I was always team Tony.

They did him right tough. His arc was satisfying and RDJ performed beautifully in this one.

My heart aches. They had to give him a daughter. I’m watching my daughter sleep totally not thinking what it would be like for her to lose her father.

I’m gonna go hug my partner when I’m done with this.

Over all I am happy with Endgame. I mean with time travel they obviously left loose ends all over.

They say they can’t change time and the whole present becoming your past when you go back while the past is your future blah blah blah

But like clearly things are changed. 2012 Loki got the tesseract and escaped

2014 Thanos is no longer in 2014. So the Guardians movies happened but also couldn’t have happened? I dunno it’s confusing.

So basically the MCU has finally caught up with it’s comic book roots of being a confusing jumble timelines. How poetic.

Anyway if you read this you are amazing and feel free to private message me if you want to scream about Avengers Endgame and have no one else to do it with.

I feel better having vented this all out.

#spoilers #endgame spoilers #avengers endgame spoilers #mcu spoilers #mcu #marvel #avengers #avengers endgame #endgame #marvel cinematic universe #it took me all day to rewatch a 3 hour movie because I have a 4 month old child

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anthropwashere · 6 years

Text

@proserpine-in-phases tagged me in a thing about writing, so naturally I’m going to do this instead of write!

1) is there a story you’re holding off on writing for some reason?

A lot of my deadfics end up stalling out over research roadblocks. I’ll flub my way through one scene with the intent to come back after I’ve done my Google-fu, and then another, and another, aaaaand that’s now too much work.

2) what work of yours, if any, are you the most embarrassed about existing?

A JTHM fic I wrote in high school that ended up deadfic because I ran off to BMT. It was well-received at the time but looking at it now? It’s just so ow, the edge. I’ve low-key considered tearing it down and rewriting it, but it’s been ten years and I can’t even recall where I was going with it.

3) what order do you write in? front of book to back? chronological? favorite scenes first? something else?

90% chronological with a lot of snippets for later scenes piled haphazardly at the end of every Gdoc. of all the things that might have been was the big exception. There’s 28k posted and another 50k trapped behind a heap of writer’s block. :C

4) favorite character you’ve written?

Gee, I wonder!

5) character you were most surprised to end up writing?

Winry Rockbell. Not my usual character type to write by far, but she was just as surprisingly fun to write.

6) something you would go back and change in your writing that it’s too late/complicated to change now?

A ton of older fic on AO3 has a lot of weird formatting and grammatical errors. I think it’d be easy to get hung up over changes I’d want to make to various giftfics I’ve written over the years as well.

7) when asked, are you embarrassed or enthusiastic to tell people that you write?

I can count on one hand the number of real life people who know I write and have fingers left over. I hate talking about my writing face-to-face.

8) favorite genre to write?

Mmm, suspense/horror? Whatever you call ‘presenting a problem to a character that gets insurmountably worse, and also it would be justified if the character just huddled screaming under a blanket instead of confronting it.’

9) what, if anything, do you do for inspiration?

Read other fics that handle similar topics/ideas. Look through the literal GBs of refs I’ve got saved. Get out of the house and do something even a little bit out of my norm. Get lost on Wikipedia.

10) write in silence or with background noise? with people or alone?

Music always, rarely near people.

11) what aspect of your writing do you think has most improved since you started writing?

Man, I’ve been writing and posting fics for 15 years now. I have to hope every aspect has improved since I was friggin’ 12 years old writing garbo Mary Sues.

12) your weaknesses as an author?

I can’t concentrate on anything long enough to finish it. More fic ideas than I’ll ever have the energy to commit too. Run-on sentences. I don’t write women almost at all. COMMAS.

13) your strengths as an author?

I feeeeel like I do a good job of getting the reader into the character’s headspace? I adore limited narrative so when I write a fic I try to commit to that character’s style and personality. I also think I do horror/suspense decently.

15) why did you start writing?

11 year old Lorelei found ffn and went, “Oh shit, this is a thing? Sign me up.”

16) are there any characters who haunt you?

...I’m not sure what this means?

17) if you could give your fledgling author self any advice, what would it be?

It’s okay to write positive endings, edgelord. Sometimes less is more. Sometimes more is good too, but damn girl, tread carefully.

18) were there any works you read that affected you so much that it influenced your writing style? what were they?

These seems like a dangerous rabbit hole to fall down, so I’ll just link the most recent fic whose style and impact left me speechless the first time I read it (and envious, and determined, and more than happy to read it three more times).

Divine Right of Kings by Oedipus Tex

19) when it comes to more complicated narratives, how do you keep track of outlines, characters, development, timeline, ect.?

Badly! Which is why I’ve never successfully finished a longfic! But I do try and make outlines or at least a tidy splash of notes at the bottom of the Gdoc. One fic I’m working on right now requires spreadsheets.

20) do you write in long sit-down sessions or in little spurts?

Little spurts. NaNo’s been excellent in the past at making me do more than a couple hundred words on a good day. Alas, the last Camp NaNo I signed up for I dipped out of because of my migraines, and I didn’t even bother signing up for July.

21) what do you think when you read over your older work?

For the most part I consider it all passable, as far back as AO3 goes at least. Anything earlier than that I pretend doesn’t exist.

22) are there any subjects that make you uncomfortable to write?

Intimacy, be it porn or fluff. Anything technical I can’t gloss over with some hastily gathered Wikipedian knowledge. Comedy.

23) any obscure life experiences that you feel have helped your writing?

I don’t think so? Not much of my personal experience has been applicable to what I’ve written. A bit of geography, maybe?

24) have you ever become an expert on something you previously knew nothing about, in order to better a scene or a story?

I’d never claim to be an expert on anything, but I do try and do my research for fic. Learning new things is my favorite part of writing.

25) copy/paste a few sentences or a short paragraph that you’re particularly proud of

You may have a snippet from my four biggest FMA wips (all of which are over 15k words and nowhere near done, send help).

- We Are Sisyphus (03 fic where alternate Ed lives.)

Other Ed and Alfons are unpacking groceries, picked up on their way back to the tiny flat above not-Gracia’s flower shop that seems all the smaller with a fourth person inside. Gratia’s come up as well, bearing fresh vases of flowers too damaged to sell but still smell just as sweet. It helps to mask Hohenheim’s reek, something he can’t really help with how advanced his decay’s gotten in their time apart.

“Surprised you even recognized him,” Ed says under his breath, under pretense of showing him some of the notes he’d brought back. He gives Hohenheim a long, quelling glare out of the corner of his eye. “I mean, considering you left when Al was still practically a toddler.”

“There were more recent pictures at Pinako’s house,” Hohenheim replies, apparently uninterested in taking the hint to back off. “But it’s the way you look at Herr Heiderich that made me realize just who he reminded me so sorely of.”

“Oh yeah? And how’s that?”

“Like you’re grieving.”

- your head will lie in dust (Father wins, makes the five sacrifices immortal. AKA, the Hohenheim fic with the group chat that can’t stop, won’t stop.)

“There was a cut on your cheek,” Hohenheim says.

Edward brings shaking fingers to his face. He digs his nails in as if he’ll tear his skin open just to spite Hohenheim on principle. Then he stops. Shuts his eyes. Lets Mrs. Curtis slide from his lap. “I,” he says. “You’re wrong. You have to be.”

“I’m sorry,” he says. He has said this so often now, to so many people over so many years, that the words have lost all meaning. He tongues at the space where regret should be and finds only an empty hole. “Do you hear them?”

Edward flinches in slow-motion, an exercise in arranging the muscles of his face into a tense knot to display his anger, his fear, his grief. Little words for emotions greater than any person should have to bear. Edward flinches and struggles to breathe. He presses his hands over his ears and tilts rigidly to the floor.

- our hands were first to forgive (The Mustang remains blind and gets automail AU nobody asked for.)

It’s unsettling, how easy clapping alchemy has turned out to be.

He’d expected it to be difficult, to be something he’d have to learn through trial and error. He doesn’t know why he thought that. Edward’s never shown any hesitation in the use of it—though when has Edward shown hesitation in anything? Bad example. Not that there are a lot of examples to choose from, and of those he’s only been able to see Alphonse transmute without a circle. That’s a somewhat recent development, isn’t it? Before the boys went up to Briggs. He never thought to ask what had happened to allow Alphonse to abandon circles. It hadn’t occurred to him to think that anything needed to have happened to allow it at all. Knowing the source of clapping alchemy, he doubts it was anything pleasant. One more thing to ask after, once he can see again.

This ability, this… gift? He hesitates to call it that. Unwanted, unasked for, received all the same. Fine. This gift wasn’t learned. It feels grafted into him, weird and rough at its edges, like the scars on his torso his shirts still catch on months after burning Lust to ash. Unnaturally a part of him, but a part of him still. For all the knowledge that was poured into his mind in the Gate, he doesn’t feel like he learned anything.

He feels burned.

- Pour Out Like Light (9 years post-series, Ed finds out Trisha’s illness is hereditary. This absolute bastard of a wip is currently stalled out at over 46k words and nowhere near done.)

He peels a potato, sets it down. A broken, twisted hand reaches over his shoulder to pick it up.

He sets down the vegetable peeler. “Mom?”

“Yes?”

“Why didn’t you tell Granny?”

“Tell Granny what?”

“You knew it wasn’t the epidemic, didn’t you?” He cups the potato in both hands, in the hand he’s always had and the hand he’d traded away and Al had given back. “If you knew, why didn’t you warn her I’d get sick too? Why didn’t you warn me?”

She doesn’t answer. Instead there’s the heavy, loose-limbed thud of a body collapsing to the floor. It has a wet sound to it, a splattering sound. Her death rattle sucks the sunlight out of the kitchen, strangled and thick with fluid. There is almost, almost the sound of his name.

This post is huge now, wow. Um. Never sure who’s cool with being tagged in these kinds of posts. @ladyyatexel @leda-x @haikujitsu I don’t really talk writing much w/ any of you but you’re all fantastic and it’d be cool to hear some of the thought process behind the fics? No obligation, of course.

#writing #my writing #ty for tagging i love doing this stuff #i never think about the process of writing so much as just daydream all the stuff i want to write oops

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ontheoffroad · 7 years

Text

Crumb Coat | Jikook

Summary: One thing Park Jimin knew he had always loved doing was making people happy. It’s the reason why he started baking in the first place. He just wanted to spread the sunshine in his life that he had come to find. So when his bakery starts to get popular and he needs to hire, what happens when he starts to fall for his cute new employee? AO3

Prologue-Jimin A/N: -Tw: Panic Attack If you don’t feel comfortable reading this part, please skip to the second line break. You can go right ahead and read from when they’re at lunch on.- Hi friends! So this is an idea that I had during work one morning. But I hope that you guys enjoy this!

One thing Park Jimin knew he had always loved doing was making people happy. It didn’t matter if it was through him making a fool of himself in front of his friends if they needed a quick laugh, if it was listening to someone that he barely knew rant until they couldn’t speak anymore, or even if someone just seemed like they needed a simple hug and a smile to make their day a little brighter. Jimin very quickly became the sunshine that people needed in their lives.

It helped him cope. Making other people happy filled what was lacking in his own life. He figured that if he could fake his sunshine long enough for everyone, that it’ll finally shine through for himself as well. He believed it until dark clouds started coming around and wouldn’t leave.

Gone was the Jimin who put himself out there, who everyone knew and who everyone loved. He withdrew from everyone and started to keep to himself. He stopped hanging out with people unless is was necessary. He didn’t talk to anyone unless they started the conversation, and even then he kept everything short. He kept like this until the dark clouds got to be too heavy and one day, he broke.

Jimin was in class taking down the notes that his teacher had written down on the board when it all hit him.

The walls were starting to inch closer and closer to him, pushing their way in. He lost focus. His eyes kept shifting to the walls around him, then to his fellow classmates. Could they see what was happening? They were in trouble. He was in trouble. Jimin needed to get out of there before started suffocating.

He excused himself to the bathroom, hoping to catch a break in the hall. When he looked out towards the door at the other end, he needed to look away. Everything looked endless and it was making him dizzy. Breathe , he willed himself, his chest getting heavier with each passing second. Just breathe and start walking. We’ll get there.

With each exhausting step, Jimin finds himself getting closer and closer to the wall. He’s lost track of how long he’s been walking for, his mind fuzzy and only able to focus on two commands going. Breathe. Walk. The halls were empty, everyone in their own classrooms, but he didn’t want to risk anyone seeing him in this state. He didn’t want to break in front of them, he didn’t want them to see into the clouds that had been blocking his sunshine. He needed to keep some composure.

It wasn’t until he finally stepped foot into the bathroom that he finally crumbled. His vision blurred with tears threatening to fall, throat tightening as he gasped for air. His body trembled as he stumbled over his own feet towards the sinks. Jimin ran his hands under the faucet, trying to get it to register his hands to get the water flowing. “Come on, come on, come on,” he muttered, swinging his hands slightly at the sensor. “Why aren’t you working ?” At that the tears finally fell.

Jimin slid to the floor, folding in on himself. Work, work, work, work, work. His hands snaked their way into his hair, fingers tugging at the roots. Work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work .

░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░

Kim Taehyung has always loved to look at Jimin. Not in a weird way, but he’s always loved to watch the other boy shine. He loved the way his smile could brighten up any room, how his laugh could fill your body up with warmth that stayed with you all day. He watched as Jimin would be everyone’s sun, but when it came to himself, there was no one else there.

Taehyung saw past all the smiles and the laughs. He saw the tired eyes and the sighs, the loose hugs and the quick touches. He saw the clouds looming above. He wanted to talk with Jimin, but he wasn’t close enough with the other boy to try to get him to confide in him.

He was in the middle of taking down notes when he heard Jimin mutter out an excuse to leave the classroom. Taehyung watched him leave, steps a little wobbly. Not good, ran through his mind as he tried to focus again. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t get the look on Jimin’s face out of his mind. He looked so scared, so alone. Taehyung stood up, everyone staring at him. “I-I I,” he starts to stutter out, his teacher raising his eyebrow in question. “I’ll be right back,” he blurted out, not even caring to make up an excuse. He can faintly hear his teacher’s sigh behind him before going on with the lesson, annoyed with the interruption. On a normal day, Taehyung would have rolled his eyes at the man, but today he really doesn’t have the time to actually care. His mind is focused on the other boy who had fled from the classroom.

Taehyung’s mind started to list where Jimin could have gone. Water fountain? Nurse’s office? Stairwell? Bathroom? He let out a breath. The bathroom. He made his way through the halls as fast as his feet could bring him, a sinking feeling growing in his stomach. Taehyung pushed the door open slowly, doing his best not to make too much noise. “Jimin-ssi?” He called softly past the door. “Are you in here?”

The last thing that Taehyung had expected to see when he had walked into the bathroom was Jimin curled into himself, rocking on the dingy floor. Taehyung’s first instinct was to run over to him, to make sure that he was okay, but he knew better. He slowly approached the other boy and sat down in front of him.

“Jimin-ssi?” He reached out, hand hovering over the other boy’s knee as he quietly tried to get the other boy’s attention. Jimin lifted his head slightly, eyes wide and glazed over as they shifted across Taehyung’s face. His breathing was ragged, air trying to flow into lungs. “Jimin-ssi, is it okay if I touch you?” It took the boy across from him a moment to process the words spoken to him before giving a weak nod in response before dropping his head down again.

Once Taehyung was granted permission, he shifts his body to be at Jimin’s side. He took a calming breath before gently taking the other’s hand in his own. Taehyung slowly moved Jimin’s arm away from his body, bringing it closer to his own body at a slow pace. He softly places Jimin’s hand over his heart, his own covering it to keep it in place. “Jimin?” Taehyung tried again to get his attention. “Are you fine with this?” When he didn’t pull away, Taehyung got his answer. “Okay,” he said just above a whisper. “Okay, good. I know that you’re having trouble, but I’m going to need you to breathe with me. Can you try that for me?”

Without waiting for a response this time, Taehyung began to inhale deeply through his nose, closing his eyes. After a few moments, he heard Jimin’s harsh breathing start to join in with him. It took a long while for Jimin’s breathing to begin to even out, but once it did, Taehyung started to talk again with a tender voice. “I saw this really cute dog this week. Oh if only you could’ve seen it, Jimin-ssi. It was so large but it was so kind to all the people that it walked passed. I want like, five or maybe eight dogs like that. Oh, I also went to this art exhibit for this local photographer. They did all of their work on film and it was just stunning. There was this one picture though that stood out to me from all of the rest. It’s really hard to get anyone doing an action shot, but this photographer worked with this one dancer and just was able to get their emotion captured still. I wish I could have bought it, but alas I am not rich enough for that.

“Have you seen what was on the menu for lunch today? Did they really think that we wouldn’t notice that they put the same thing on there two days in a row? Like, we’re in high school but we aren’t dumb. Oh, speaking of dumb! Someone tagged the side of the school again. I mean, it was kind of funny to see the teachers scramble around to hide it and try to find out who could’ve done it. Honestly, I think it’s someone who doesn’t even go here or at least did in the past. Probably just acting out.” Taehyung let out a soft chuckle as he rolled his eyes at the thought.

“Jimin-ssi did you watch the sunset yesterday? Ah it was beautiful, don’t you agree? I love that time of day y’know? Everything is so peaceful, watching how in minutes the sky just changes. It’s the promise of a new day.” With those words, Jimin looked at the boy next to him. “Tomorrow is a new day. Things have been hard for you lately, you don’t have to talk to me about it. But Jimin-ssi, if you need anyone to talk with you can talk with me. I know that we aren’t close or anything but, uh...how do I put this?” Taehyung paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. “It’s easier with a friend with you at your side than trying to hold everything up by yourself.”

Jimin let Taehyung’s words settle. He nodded his head and kept nodding as the tears fell from his eyes once again. Taehyung pulled the other into a hug, letting his shirt dampen with tears and sobs shake him to his core. Because all this time while Jimin was being everyone’s sun, he hadn’t one of his own and was left in the dark to be it himself.

Taehyung wished that he had spoken up sooner, could have brought back this boy’s smile and shine back. But he also knows that’s not how it all works. He only hoped that now his words could have any meaning to them and that he could help the boy next to him. Once Jimin’s sobs ceased, Taehyung pulled back to look at him. His face was tea stained, eyes puffy and tired, face tinted red. “Let’s get you cleaned up, yeah?” Taehyung suggested as he stood up, holding his hand out towards Jimin. “Then we’ll go to the nurse’s office and you can sleep for a bit.”

“But ‘m not tired,” Jimin finally spoke up, yawning slightly around his words. He attempted to glare at the boy at his side, eyes too sore to even try. Taehyung rolled his eyes at the notion, moving them both closer to the sinks.

“C’mon,” Taehyung said, placing his hand over the sensor. “I would do this for you, but I really don’t think that you would appreciate me poking your eyes multiple times accidentally.”

“‘Accidentally,’” Jimin repeated, his hands shaky as they from air quotes. After Taehyung’s unamused look, he finally gave in. “Alright, alright. We’re wasting water here.” Jimin splashed the running water on his face a couple of times, scrubbing away what just happened. Or at least trying to. He inhaled, bracing himself for questions. Instead he was met with paper towels softly blotting at the dampness once he lifted his head.

“I would give you a towel,” Taehyung joked, “but this sandpaper will have to do.” Taehyung’s eyes met with Jimin’s questioning gaze. “I’m not going to ask you anything that I know you would be uncomfortable answering,” he shrugged, answering a question that was left unasked. “I figured if you want to tell me, you will. I’m not going to force it out of you and I never would. We never have been close either, so trust isn’t a huge factor either.”

Jimin hesitated before he spoke. “I trust you.” Taehyung paused his movements and gave a disbelieving look to Jimin. He started up again after a shake of his head.

“You don’t mean that.”

“No, I do,” Jimin argued with a frown. “No one else would have helped me like you did. If I didn’t trust you I would have left the moment I calmed down. I probably wouldn’t have let you did what you did either.” There’s a beat of silence before Jimin spoke up again. “Ah, let’s go. I need to go lie down.”

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A couple of days later, Jimin approached Taehyung at lunch. “Can I sit here?” He asked, head nodding at the empty seat to the other boy’s left. Since the incident in the bathroom, the two boys hadn’t talked much. Jimin wasn’t entirely avoiding Taehyung, it’s just that he didn’t fully say his thanks to the other male and he’s felt kind of awkward about it. Please don’t turn me away, please don’t turn me away, plea-

“Jimin-ssi!” Taehyung beamed at him. “Of course, of course,” he replied, dragging the chair out from under the table. “Sit right down, we just got here.”

“Oh, uhm, thanks,” Jimin blushed as he maneuvered his way around. Taehyung luckily was eating lunch with a crowd that Jimin was sort of familiar with, so he didn’t feel so out of place while they began eating. It was about halfway through finishing that Jimin finally built up the courage to speak. “Taehyung-ah,” he pulled on the hem of the boy’s sleeve, surprising him. “I uh, I have something to give to you.”

Taehyung tilted his head, taking another bite of his lunch. “What do you mean?”

“It’s a thank you. For the other day, I mean,” Jimin answered as he dug into his backpack. He pulls out a white pastry box, a baby blue ribbon keeping it closed. “For being a friend.”

Taehyung’s eyed shifted between the box and Jimin until the other boy rolled his eyes and pushed it out towards him. “I can’t take that.”

“And why not?”

“I don’t need a thank you. I just did what anyone else would’ve done.”

“Like I said the other day,” Jimin’s voice grew quieter, “no one else would have.” He took a calming breath before placing the box on the table. “Just, at least have one?”

“What’s even in here?” Taehyung asked, eyeing the box with a curious look.

“Open it and find out?”

“Jimin-ah,” Taehyung pouted, his hand reached up to his chin so he could rest on it, “just tell me.”

“It’s a gift! Gifts are supposed to be surprises, aren’t they?” Jimin huffed. “Just open it and eat the damn thing,” he muttered to himself.

“Someone’s grumpy.”

“Because you aren’t accepting my thanks!”

Taehyung chuckled at Jimin’s little outburst, their seatmates all giving them odd looks. “Okay, okay. What did Jiminie get for me?” He sung out as he unwrapped the bow. Inside the boxed was four separate mini cakes. Taehyung couldn’t help but marvel at them. They were all decorated differently, simple but elegantly. One with purple roses and a simple scalloped border in the white buttercream that matched the rest of the cake. A second one that looked almost tie-dyed or had watercolors, but on closer inspection was just colored buttercream. The third cake was covered from top to bottom in different colored rosettes, creating a simple ombré effect on the cake. And the last cake, with a shell border and everything just simply said the words, “Thank you.”

“They’re, uh, they’re chocolate and vanilla cakes,” Jimin started to inform him, looking downing at his hands. “There’s just plain vanilla buttercream in between each layer, I mean besides what I frosted it with.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Taehyung interrupted Jimin, picking up on a certain part of his explanation. “ You made these?”

“Yeah,” Jimin grimaced. “Do they look that bad? I promise they probably taste a lot better than how they look. I was just trying something out whe-”

“Jimin, these are gorgeous .”

“You’re just saying that.”

“Jimin, I swear these were store bought until you said that you decorated them.” Jimin gave him a look that told Taehyung that he really didn’t believe him. “Okay, I’ll just have to prove it then.” Taehyung stood up from the table and looked around the cafeteria until his eyes landed on who he looking for. “Come with me,” he commanded as he took the box with him.

They end up on the other side of the room before Taehyung hands the box back over to Jimin. “Hold this real quick?” He asked before turning back on his heel. Jimin knew that Taehyung was a ball of energy, but he honestly didn’t expect him to practically jump onto some guy’s back while he was in the middle of eating. “Hoseokie-hyung,” Taehyung sang as the other boy coughed, trying not to choke on his food.

“Stop doing that!” The other yelled after his coughing calm down to a minimum. “You’re actually going to kill me one of these days, Tae.”

“And then you’ll just visit me in the afterlife,” Taehyung retorted with a large smile. “Okay but I have an actual reasoning as to why I’m over here.” He turned to Jimin and coaxed him over. “I wanted to eat some cake with my favorite hyung.”

“But I don’t have any cake?”

“Well you’re just in luck because I have some,” Taehyung smiled as he pulled Jimin over to sit down. “Hoseokie-hyung, this is Jiminie.”

“We already kno-”

“Look at these cakes!” Taehyung interrupted him, causing the older boy to look at Jimin. Just go with it, he mouths over Taehyung’s shoulder with a simple shrug. It took the other boy a moment to realize that they didn’t have the correct utensils to eat the cakes with. “I’ll be right back!”

In the few minutes that Taehyung was gone, Jimin and Hoseok took the time to catch up. “I’m sorry that I haven’t been going to practice lately, hyung,” Jimin apologized. “I’ve just been kinda...busy lately.”

“It’s okay, Jimin-ah,” Hoseok reassured the younger male. “We’ve just been kinda fooling around in all honesty. But you have been missed by everyone. So once you’re ready, just let me know and I’ll let you know when we’re meeting next.”

Jimin couldn’t help the smile that took over his features. “Thanks, hyung.”

Before Hoseok could respond with anything else, Taehyung plopped himself back down into his seat, three forks in hand. “I figured we could just eat them like this?”

“Let’s dig in,” Hoseok smirked as he grabbed a fork out of the younger’s hand.

“Rude,” Taehyung muttered before turning and handing Jimin a fork with a smile. “And for you.”

“Thank you.”

The three boys agreed on the dyed cake, each stabbing their forks into the dessert and taking a piece with it. Taehyung and Hoseok each moaned around their utensils, their mouths filling with flavor. The cakes had the right amount of density to them, the right amount of moisture. The buttercream was a perfect balance of the sweetness from the vanilla and the sugar, and the saltiness of the butter. Everything in it had heart. “Where did you get these?” Hoseok asked, fork diving in to have another taste.

“Jimin made them,” Taehyung replied casually which earned him a slap on his arm from the third party mentioned. “Ow. I was just telling him where they came from.”

Hoseok made sure to swallow the piece he was chewing before directing his attention to Jimin, fork pointed right at him. “ You made these?” He questioned.

“Ye-yeah?”

“What can I do to get like fifty of these? Like just to eat by myself because there is no way in hell I would share these.”

“Yeah, so stop eating mine !” Taehyung complained, pushing Hoseok’s fork away from the cakes.

Jimin couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the other two boys. “You know I do have more at home?” He informed them. The bickering between the two next to him stopped. “I could always just bring them in and this way you don’t have to share.”

Taehyung wrapped his arm around the smaller’s shoulder and brought him in closer. “And this is why you’re my best friend.”

“Who said anything about that?!”

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After that lunch, Jimin ended up spoiling Taehyung and Hoseok with treats. “You’re just my guinea pigs,” he would claim each time he handed them a new dessert. Éclairs and cream puffs. Fruit filled and marbled cheesecake. He even started taking requests at one point from the boys when he got bored of looking up his own recipes.

“Y’know,” Taehyung spoke up one day while the three were hanging out in Jimin’s kitchen waiting for a second batch of cookies to bake, “you could make some serious money selling these.”

Jimin just gave him a look in response before turning back to the oven, opening it a little to look in. “I’m not going to just take people’s money, Tae,” Jimin refused.

“I don’t mean now,” Taehyung explained. “I mean in the future. Like, a shop.”

“Oh that’s a good idea!” Hoseok agreed, eyes lighting up with the thought. “I would go there everyday. ”

“Yeah for the pastries, but not for me,” Jimin joked. He took the cookies out of the oven and stopped the timer before responding. “I’ve actually thought about it before.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Taehyung exclaimed. “These are things you tell your best friend!”

“When did I ever agree to that?” Jimin asked, turning to Hoseok.

“Besides the point,” Taehyung continued. “So you’re actually going to pursue this, yeah?”

Jimin blushed under both sets of eyes. “I, uh, already talked with my parents about it. They’re completely fine with me going into it and everything. They’re going to help me find a job soon so I get more experience than just what I’m doing at home. And this way I can start saving up so I can go over to The States and-“

“Wait,” Hoseok interrupted him this time, “backtrack there for a hot second.” Him and Taehyung share a glance before they both look at Jimin. “You’re deciding to go to America?”

Jimin’s hand reached up and ran its way through his hairㄧa nervous habit he’s picked up on lately. “I want to, yeah. There’s excellent baking programs all over the country and I’m starting to look more into them. I mean, if I don’t get into them, my backup is just to stay here but, my parents are encouraging me to follow what I want.” He finished rambling with a small smile, scared of how his friends might react.

“Look at our Jiminie,” Hoseok sighed, “planning his life out. You’re younger than me, how do you have everything figured out already?” Jimin shrugged as an answer, honestly not knowing how everything had just fit into place. “Damn, I really need to get my life together.”

“Yeah considering you’re graduating, you fool,” Jimin teased. “You’re rather quiet,” he addressed Taehyung, turning his attention to him.

A large pout had taken over the youngest’s face. “You’re gonna be leaving us.”

“Tae,” Jimin started to reason, “we still have another year of high school together. We’ll still pretty much always be Hobi after he graduates, let’s be real about that. Plus, I’m not actually sure if I’m actually going or not. It’s just a dream.”

“That you’ll make into a reality,” Taehyung reassured him. “Which means, you’ll be leaving your best friend.”

“Again, when did I ever agree to that?”

“JUST LET IT BE A THING, JIMIN!”

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“I can’t believe we’re sending you off,” Taehyung cried, hugging Jimin to himself.

“I’ll be back in a few months, Tae,” Jimin laughed as he hugged his friend back. “Plus we’ll be talking everyday and I already promised you two weekly Skype sessions. It’ll be like I never left this country.”

“Lies,” Hoseok joked, letting out a little sniffle. “You’ll be through a screen. It’s completely different.”

“Awe, Hobi,” Jimin pulled the eldest into the hug, “don’t cry. You’ll make me start.”

“What about me?”

“Tae, you’ve been crying since I told you guys that I for sure was going to The States. Your tears mean nothing.”

“Rude.”

“Only to my best friend,” Jimin teased before letting go of his two friends. He wiped at the tears that threatened to fall as an announcement rang through the airport. “I’ll let you guys know when I land and once I’m all settled in we’ll video chat so I can show you guys my room and everything. You both better keep me up to date on everything and visit my family.”

“Okay, okay,” Hoseok pushed Jimin away. “Now go before we keep you here with us.” Jimin was pulled in for one last hug, “We love you,” whispered to him before being let go.

As Jimin went over to his family to say his final goodbyes, Taehyung turned to Hoseok with tears falling from his eyes. “He finally admitted that we’re best friends,” he sobbed.

Hoseok teared up, tugging the younger boy under under his arm. “C’mere you big sap.”

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“I’m thinking of calling it ‘Rainy Day,’” Jimin admitted to the two trailing behind him as he showed them the empty store.

“Why?” Hoseok questioned.

Jimin turned to his best friends with a large smile on his face, the kind that reminded them of when they were in high school. “Because,” Jimin explained, “even on the cloudiest days, the sun is still there shining. It may be in a few minutes or hours, it may even be days. But, it’s still there. Reminding people that everything will be alright, that everything is okay.” He looked at Taehyung as he repeated the words that his friend spoke to him in the bathroom that day. “That it’s a promise of a new day.”

“Welcome to The Rainy Day Bakery and Café,” Taehyung recited. “We hope you have a sunshine day.”

#jikook au #kookmin au #jikook fic #kookmin fic #jikook #kookmin #bts fanfic #bts au #m: bakeryau

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canyousevmyheavydirtysoul · 7 years

Text

Shot Through The Heart, And You’re To Blame. (Brendon Urie x Reader)

Being Fall Out Boy’s tour manager was stressful enough as is, what with all the pranks, troublemaking, and just utter disregard for any rules whatsoever. But combine the members of Fall Out Boy, Twenty One Pilots and Panic! At The Disco, send them all on the Save Rock and Roll tour, and maintaining your sanity while on the road became borderline impossible.

Sure, Tyler and Josh were absolute sweethearts and tried their best to stay out of trouble to make things a little easier for you, and you could more or less handle the members of Fall Out Boy since you’ve been with them for most of their career, but there would be times (once a week, at least) where they’d do something so stupid, reckless or irritating that you’d majorly consider hopping on a plane and getting as far away from all of them as humanly possible, leaving the rest of the management team to deal with the idiocy. More often than not, these shenanigans could be traced back to a single source: Brendon.

Due to the bond between Brendon and the guys, you’d met him and the rest of Panic! a while back. Your first impression of them was that they were fantastic people - extremely talented, funny, all-around great guys. And you were right.

Mostly.

To say that you and Brendon didn’t like each other wouldn’t be an entirely true statement. It wasn’t that you didn’t like Brendon, it was simply that the two of you were nearly polar opposites, - he was boisterous and wildly outgoing, while you were orderly and much more toned-down - meaning you didn’t agree on most things. Then there was the fact that he was the mastermind behind all of the foolishness that was slowly driving you mad.

Like right now, for instance. It was one of the rare off days the boys had the pleasure of having during the current leg of the tour, and what other way would they possibly choose to spend it other than by harassing you? Having spent virtually the entirety of your morning cleaning up after their shaving cream and toothpaste battle, you decided to retire to the tour bus, praying that they would leave you alone long enough for you to finally get some admin done. But alas, Lady Luck was clearly not on your side (and obviously hasn’t been on your side for a very long time) since they decided to pile into the temporary living space soon after.

You decided to block them out and pretend that there weren’t currently nine super hyper man-children surrounding you. You were doing a pretty good job at it too, before someone’s shoe flew across the cramped space and whacked you against the back of your head.

Having finally had enough of the childish, nonsensical antics going on around you, you swivelled your chair around so that you were facing the boys, immediately silencing them with the look of utter aggravation you wore on your face.

“You know, most musicians would use what little free time they have to relax to actually relax,” you stated simply, hoping they would get the hint and settle down or at least take their ‘game’ elsewhere, preferably far away from you.

Nine pairs of eyes stared at you momentarily; their owners ignoring your comment and going back to yelling and being idiots almost directly after.

“Hey, (Y/N), catch!” Brendon called before tossing a football your way.

Ducking, you managed to dodge the air-borne object, causing it to hit the wall behind you instead, knocking down a framed picture of the boys.

“Are you clinically insane or just incredibly annoying?” you snapped.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “Probably both.”

Shutting your eyes and trying to regain whatever miniscule amount of patience you had left, you rose from your seat and calmly walked towards the door of the bus, opening it and extending a finger towards the parking lot.

“Get out,” you muttered, maintaining your relaxed composure. When no one moved a muscle after the first ten seconds of your command, your patience started to falter once again. “1…,” you started warningly.

“Uh, oh,” Joe gulped, scrambling to his feet.

“2…,” you continued.

“Get outta here, guys! She’s gonna blow!” Patrick warned, already halfway out the door; the rest of Fall Out Boy following not far behind, being all too familiar with your current state of anger.

A few worried and slightly scared glances were shared between the remaining five before they too sprinted towards somewhere they would be safe from your wrath.

“Dumbasses,” you mumbled to yourself, grabbing a beer from the mini-fridge before getting back to work.

Patrick shushed his friends as they made their way towards the tour bus you were still holed up in. Pizza, an assortment of snacks and the Star Wars trilogy in their hands, they stopped dead in their tracks outside the door. Patrick brought one of his hands up and knocked tentatively, not wanting to knock loudly or barge in just in case you were still upset about their earlier behaviour.

“Come in,” your muffled voice could be heard from inside.

Filing inside one by one, the boys stood awkwardly in front of you causing you to raise your eyebrows in confusion as well as amusement at the sight.

“Hi, (Y/N/N),” Patrick said meekly, prompting a chorus of ‘Hey, (Y/N)’s from the others.

“Boys,” you nodded, a small smile playing at the corners of your mouth as you crossed your legs and leaned back in your seat, thoroughly enjoying the awkwardness the males were suffering through.

“We, uh, we’re really sorry about earlier. We know we really annoyed you, and we wanna make it up to you, so…” Patrick continued, holding up the pizza boxes he held in his pale hands, “we come bearing peace offerings.” The rest of the boys held up whatever they were holding as proof of Patrick’s statement.

“Mm, did you bring chocolate?”

“Your favourite,” Josh smiled widely, holding out the slab of heavenliness towards you.

“Forgiven,” you beamed, snatching the chocolate.

Looks of relief flooded everyone’s faces and you couldn't supress the chuckle that came as a response.

“Okay, well, which episode are we starting with?” Dallon questioned, rubbing his hands together as he surveyed the DVDs.

“I say The Empire Strikes Back. By far the best one,” Brendon stated as he grabbed a slice of pizza from the box.

“Definitely,” you concurred through a mouth full of chocolate.

Brendon stopped mid-bite and snapped his head towards you, making you frown in confusion.

“Did you just… agree with me?” he asked in disbelief, the rest of the guys turning to face the both of you, looking just as shocked as Brendon.

“Oh, I wish I could take-“

“Nope! You said it! No take-backs!” he laughed triumphantly, pointing at you.

“You’re such a child,” you retorted, returning your focus to the chocolate.

“So, will you come with?”

“I would rather be violently stabbed to death.”

“But it’ll be fuuuunnn,” Pete whined, stamping his feet and pouting like an oversized toddler.

“I can hardly handle you guys in a secluded venue with security all around. How do you expect me to deal with all nine of you in public? In the dark. With guns.”

“I don’t see what the problem is. It’s not like it’s real guns,” he scoffed.

“Yeah, because that’s the part I have an issue with,” you remarked sarcastically, “Maybe if it was real guns I would’ve gone with. That way I could solve my problems once and for all.”

“Haha, so funny,” Pete mocked in a high-pitched voice. “Soooooooo,” he jumped next to you on the couch and began poking your shoulder repeatedly. “Will you come with? Will you come with? Will you come with? Will you c-“

“Oh my God!”

“But will you?”

“If it’ll shut you the fuck up, then yes. Damn.”

“Yeah! I’ll go tell the others!”

He jumped up from the couch and ran into the next room to inform the guys of your decision to join them in laser tag, resulting in cheers of happiness and excitement from the band members which, admittedly, warmed your heart yet also made you instantly regret your decision.

Sighing deeply, you shook your head as you made your way to change into something a bit more laser tag-appropriate, brainstorming ways to make sure the boys didn’t get another off day for the rest of the tour.

Two hours and five rounds in, you and Pete were the sole remaining members of your team while Brendon and Josh were the only members left on theirs.

Moving slowly and carefully so as not to make too much noise and give away your location, you rounded corner after corner, keeping a sharp eye out for any sign of brightly coloured blue hair or an obnoxiously tall quiff.

Hearing a noise behind you, you turned around hastily, only to be pushed roughly into a dark corner. You recognised the assailant as Brendon.

“What are you doing, you idio-“

You were cut off by the sudden sensation of his lips on yours, moving slowly yet with an intensity that took your breath away - literally and figuratively.

You weren’t sure how long you’d been kissing for, and when the two of you finally pulled apart you felt dazed and slightly euphoric.

Opening your mouth with the intention of asking Brendon what the hell just happened, you were silenced before you even spoke by his finger on your lips. Thinking he was about to explain himself to you, you stood still and looked expectantly at him, but he never spoke.

Instead, he shot you in the heart with his laser gun.

“Ha!” he exclaimed before running off to hunt down Pete, leaving you confused and alone in the dark, your vest beeping and flashing to indicate your ‘death’.

“That son of a bitch.”

_______________________________

Thank you for reading x

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salemspoint-blog · 7 years

Photo

Congratulations, Yas! Please send in your account within the next 24 hours, track these tags, and follow everyone on the blogroll. We look forward to roleplaying with you!

“There’s nothing more satisfying than the sound of hitting someone solid in the jaw.”

Hey, is that RYAN GUZMAN? Oh, no, it’s AXEL LUTHER. I hear he is TWENTY-EIGHT and he can be INDEPENDENT, CONFIDENT and LOGICAL, though it should be noted that they’re known to be RUTHLESS, VENGEFUL and STUBBORN. We’ve heard some strange things about town, but we’re pretty sure that they’re HUNTER.

Headcanons

Axel Luther has always been a man with a questionable moral compass. Granted, he did his best to come across as the doting son and the willing participant in a war his country got themselves involved in. But before all of which, he was just the son of a lowly couple whom raised him with their best hand, him and his younger sister Anna, of course he didn’t think to question their integrity or their trust, they were his parents after all. However, it all came to blows when a few old friends of theirs popped round for a little ‘safe haven’ so to speak, not entirely expecting to be greeted with the appearance of their now-son. In fact, these people hardly expected the white picket fence lifestyle from his parents at all, and it was all down to the fact they were hunters once upon a time. Until his mother got herself pregnant, that is, and she did not wish to put her son in harms way. Though looking back, a whole lot of good that did him considering the somewhat profession he has found himself in. Nonetheless, the cat was out of the bag as the eleven year old listened in on conversation after conversation about their past while they believed him to be tucked away in the safety of his own bed, ears away from the memories of things that went bump in the night. Once the friends had left, that was when Axel decided to question his parents on what exactly he had heard. At first, they brushed it under the rug as if he was imagining things or had dreamt of the conversations he had sworn he had heard. However, after a year of not letting the topic go, his father eventually sat him down and confessed what he was raised to do before he settled down with the family he now cherished. He was a hunter. His mother less so, but she did train and go along a few occasions once she was with her husband. But in reality, it was his father that was the one who was out there protecting those who could not protect themselves. Killing people. Killing things. And it was in this instant that his father began to let him in on the world he had hidden for so long; the world he then began to share with those like them. It was about time, wasn’t it?

Unfortunately though, the man who had begun to train him had apparently forgotten enough about the career he was thrusted into before fatherhood; as it wasn’t long before he and his wife had found themselves in a difficult position; in turn ending in their death. Apparently they made their fair share of enemies, which was hardly surprising considering Axel had been made aware that the Luther name was one that had been feared for generations, and he sure as hell was going to make sure it continued. Left caring for his younger sister, it was just them from the age of fourteen until another trauma had hit them. This time? — Anna was murdered. At first the supernatural aspect of it was not entirely obvious, but alas, his sister was all he had at this point, and now she too had left. Was he the one to bring this life back onto them? After all, he continued to push their family back into a world of things that went bump in the night to satisfy his own curiosity. He was young, he should not have had the kind of responsibility on his hands that he did. They were left in the care of their father’s brother, and fellow hunter, and apparently they thought they could take care of themselves. This was surely why they kept pulling runners, and in turn, his sister took off and ran off to god knows where, all until her body showed up in a dumpster a couple of states over. It didn’t help that during this time, Axel felt as though he was capable of training himself to become a hunter, using his uncle’s weapons, and even ran off at the ripe age of 16-18 doing all he could to learn to track supernatural creature’s and learn how to kill them. Though, once his sister was gone, this seemed to be a pivotal moment that kicked his life into gear. It was at this point that he shut himself down emotionally and he became the loyal foot soldier to his ruthless and uncaring uncle. In return for him teaching Axel how to become a hunter, he had to agree to kill the vampire that killed his late wife; as he was at an age where he felt he was not capable of doing what needed to be done without dying in the crossfire. Of course he agreed, it was done in a matter of milliseconds.

It only took a year for Axel to surpass his uncle, and at the age of 19 he felt as though he was ready to take on the world around him, which he very much did; but not before he enrolled himself into the army for five years. It was where he learned a lot about himself as an individual, and more about death and training to be the soldier he as already being raised to be. Finally, at this point in time, he felt he was ready to take on a selfish task of his own before returning home. As soon as he was done with his service, he immediately found himself at a point in life where revenge for his sister was a necessity. It was safe to say that he killed the son of a bitch who laid a hand on her, and spat on the corpse as it laid equally as exposed as his sister did in a dumpster. Still, despite this one deed of serving his country, Axel has made plenty of mistakes in his life, so much to the fact that he’s even been on the run from the CIA in relation to his service in the army and the fact that wherever he is, dead bodies turn up thereafter. Is it something he regrets? No. In fact, a part of him even enjoys the release, which says a lot about the kind of damage done and the way he has lost himself over the years; more so than maybe the way he lost his family. And with that, he’s never been one to get close to people. One person. He let one in, and it was perhaps the person who he has hurt the most; but again, this is something he considers collateral damage in the wake of the storm that is his life. He’s positive it’d work out better for her this way, despite the fact that he did love her once upon a time. Hell, if he’s still capable of such an emotion, there’s a strong possibility that he very much still could. Alas, he is a cliche in itself in the way that he buries anything remotely vulnerable. In this life, you need to, right? You need to be cold to get the job done, and to protect those who cannot protect themselves. It’s why the next stop on his list was Salems Point after hearing the rumours circling that it’s more or less a hot spot for supernatural activity. Not to mention that hunters from his past have also somehow rocked up into the small town, that looks seemingly innocent from the outside; but this is something he is no longer naive enough to believe is the case. He’s seen and done too much to believe in such innocence.

#salemspointaccepted #axel luther #ryan guzman fc

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daleisgreat · 5 years

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Fast & Furious 6

Thanks for joining me once again as I march through the Fast and Furious films in anticipation of the next release in the franchise, Hobbes & Shaw. We are not here to talk about that film coming August 9th of this year, instead we are here to revisit 2013’s Fast & Furious 6 (trailer. I vividly remember seeing this in the theater with friends and taking in yet another ridiculously over-the-top action installment of the series that Fast Five steered the direction of the brand in. I will never forget friends instantly dismissing the outrageous nature of the stunts in disbelief coming out of the theater, but upon re-watching it this week I only learned to embrace its style of unbelievable. FF6 kicks off a few months after Fast Five where Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) gets back home in Spain just in time for Mia (Jordana Brewster) to deliver their first child. Not all is sunshine and rainbows however as they soon receive a visit from Dom (Vin Diesel) who informs them of the news he just got from special forces agent Hobbes (The Rock) that Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) is still alive and now running with the equivalent of a doppelganger car heist crew that left a tornado of chaos in their dust in Russia. Hobbes wants Dom to reassemble their team to take them down. Why not bring in the feds one may ask? Because Hobbes wants ‘the best’ to take down this new car gang heist and the feds simply do not stack up to the Dom’s crew! Dom is more than willing to reunite his team in the spirit of FF clichés such as ‘family’ and ‘ride or die.’ A great scene then transpires where the rest of the crew is tracked down and brought back together with Roman (Tyrese), Gisele (Gal Gadot), Han (Sung Kan) and Tej (Ludacris) all more just as eager to suit up again with Dom & Brian.

Oh yeah, since Han is still riding with the crew, that means FF6 is set before the events of 2006’s Tokyo Drift. I will give director Justin Lin credit for doing his best to avoid all shots of smartphones since they were not around in 2006. I cannot vouch for any of the luxurious cars in the film not matching with the timeline since I am not a gearhead by any means. Although the villain car gang does make use of a car hacking device that seems several years ahead of its time and more fitting in a futuristic Watchdogs-esque setting, but who am I to know. Speaking of the villain gang, FF6 does a worthy job of establishing them as formidable foes for Dom’s crew. Other than each of the lesser goons getting a quick standout action scene or two (with an awesome one being Joe Taslim showing off his The Raid chops in a killer fight with Roman & Han), there is not a lot of time devoted to establish the entire antagonist gang. The exception to this is their leader Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) who FF6 clearly gets across is constantly one step ahead of Dom’s gang. One of my favorite scenes is when Dom & Owen have a calm before the storm face-to-face ala Heat before the final act of nonstop action gets underway and after their war of words I could not wait for them to tear each other’s gang apart in a way only this franchise is capable of. As mentioned in the previous entry, by this point in the franchise it is all about a big heist and explosive action and no longer focusing on street races. There is one nice little street race between Dom & Letty that culminates in the two having their own Lethal Weapon 3 moment, but the final hour’s worth of action is what I will mostly remember FF6 for. The final hour has two huge action scenes with a brief breather in-between them. The first scene is Dom’s gang trying their best to prevent Shaw’s crew in heisting a military convoy that leads to YEAH RIGHT RIDICULOUS STUNTS transpiring on a civilian highway with countless cars getting taken out amidst the glorious mayhem the dueling crews unleash on each other. Re-watching them again six years later still lit me up and if you are on board with the craziness of the Fast and Furious brand at this point you will likely have a similar ‘hell yeah, keep it coming’ reaction, or if you are opposed to their over-the-top style brand of stunts you will shake your head in disbelief like some friends of mine at the theater did. I completely understand both sides of the fence on this one, but as you can tell I am in the former camp and absolutely love this. The second half features the infamous ‘infinite airline runway of doom’ where the two camps wage war on a mammoth Russian Fuselage with even more ridiculous stunts and fights. On the fuselage everyone makes their last stand including a surprisingly capable pasty goon and a four person brawl between the four biggest meatheads of the series that culminates in the best headbutt in cinematic history since The Garbage Picking, Field Goal Kicking, Philadelphia Phenomenon!

If you have been keeping up with the rest of my Fast and Furious entries so far, you will know I watched this with the commentary track from the staff of giantbomb.com. Like their previous commentaries, their staff consists of a FF newbie seeing the films for the first time, a diehard fan of the franchise, and an inbetween casual fan. They all combine for memorable reactions to the outrageous stunts, surprise cameos, the aforementioned four person meathead brawl that only enhanced my re-watch of the film. The commentary highlight is one Alex Navarro’s real time mile countdown of how long the runway is in the film. After I finished my Giant Bomb commentary track viewing, I re-watched the second half of FF6 with the BluRay’s commentary from director Justin Lin. Aside from a hair too many noticeable lulls, Lin provides his usual keen insight with some key takeaways for me being Lin addressing his ambitious stunts and fearing how they ‘jumped the shark’ with Dom’s leap stunt but having validation for it in test screenings and Lin breaking down the direction they went with the eye-opening post-credits scene. Aside from the commentary there is additionally an hour and a half of bonus features. Most of them are well done and worth taking the time for. If I had to single out a few of the many features, Take Control is a nice over-arching 20 minute look on the film from most of the primary cast and crew. The Making of FF6 is a little more thorough near half hour take diving into the plot more and how they reunited the cast again. If you are into the stunts I highly recommend checking out the quick six minute Highway Heist feature where they reveal how the crew got exclusive first dibs to a newly finished highway in the Canary Islands before it was open to the public to film the highway action scene. Finally, Hand-to-Hand Fury is an in-depth nine minute take on the excellent fight choreography featured throughout.

I recall in the weeks succeeding the release of Fast and Furious 6 that a fair amount of fans and critics proclaimed the cast and crew somehow achieved the impossible and topped their efforts in the beloved Fast Five. For the longest time I would not hear it, as I still love Fast Five a ton (as you can tell by my entry right here), but upon revisiting Fast & Furious 6 all these years later I think I have to do a 180 and give the ever-so-tiny of a nudge in favor of the sixth film as my favorite in the series. It has more exhilarating stunts and action, the best overall cast, and higher-highs with some exclamation points that feel a smidge more punctuated than the fifth film. It all comes together as a terrific ending for director Justin Lin’s fourth and final film in the series as he ties it all together with a touching callback ending to the original film’s closing. I will close with if you have not seen FF6 yet, make sure to stay past the credits for the tag as it features a bonus scene that finally brings the franchise back to the present timeline with a killer surprise twist. Other Random Backlog Movie Blogs 3 12 Angry Men (1957) 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown 21 Jump Street The Accountant Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie Atari: Game Over The Avengers: Age of Ultron The Avengers: Infinity War Batman: The Killing Joke Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Bounty Hunters Cabin in the Woods Captain America: Civil War Captain America: The First Avenger Captain America: The Winter Soldier Christmas Eve Clash of the Titans (1981) Clint Eastwood 11-pack Special The Condemned 2 Countdown Creed Deck the Halls Die Hard Dredd The Eliminators The Equalizer Dirty Work Faster Fast and Furious I-VIII Field of Dreams Fight Club The Fighter For Love of the Game Good Will Hunting Gravity Guardians of the Galaxy Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 Hercules: Reborn Hitman Indiana Jones 1-4 Ink The Interrogation Interstellar Jobs Joy Ride 1-3 Man of Steel Man on the Moon Marine 3-6 Metallica: Some Kind of Monster Mortal Kombat National Treasure National Treasure: Book of Secrets The Replacements Reservoir Dogs Rocky I-VII Running Films Part 1 Running Films Part 2 San Andreas ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Shoot em Up Skyscraper Small Town Santa Steve Jobs Source Code Star Trek I-XIII Take Me Home Tonight TMNT The Tooth Fairy 1 & 2 UHF Veronica Mars Vision Quest The War Wild Wonder Woman The Wrestler (2008) X-Men: Apocalypse X-Men: Days of Future Past

#Fast and Furious #fast & furious 6 #random movie #vin diesel #Paul Walker #Justin Lin #michelle rodriguez #tyrese #ludacris #Gal Gadot #Sung Kang #lucas evans #jordana brewster #the rock

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k1reynolds · 6 years

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It was with eager anticipation that we set off on our journey to the first annual Experience Alexander Valley. We’d been invited as guests of Alexander Valley Winegrowers*, and based on all we’d heard about this new event, we knew we were in for something special. We wrote a couple of preview pieces, which if you missed them and want to catch up, you can read here, and here. But the previews don’t come close to capturing the magic and adventure that Experience Alexander Valley delivered.

* As guests, our event admission was complimentary. We received no other compensation or incentive. All descriptions, opinions, and reviews are our own.

Like many wine country events, this was a two-day adventure. Unlike many wine country events, rather than racing from winery to winery, guests got to choose two Experiences per day. Since we were invited as bloggers, to cover and promote the event, Robyn and I wanted to participate in as many Experiences as possible…to a point – we do enjoy each other’s company! So we decided “divide and conquer”, at least for a couple of Experiences. We each selected one Experience per day to fly solo, and one to attend together.

Saturday dawned clear and bright. And warm. Weather forecasters predicted highs near 103F, and they weren’t far off. This meant that many outdoor Experiences had to be canceled or at least modified. Nevertheless, we were undaunted and headed from our hotel to Robyn’s first destination, deLorimier Winery. I’ll let Robyn tell the story of her Experience herself. Watch for her blog post in a few days.

I had a bit of a drive to get to my first Experience, at the Medlock Ames Winery. Though they have a tasting room on the valley floor, they wanted to treat guests to a Sustainable Winemaking Experience at their vineyards and production facility. The drive was beautiful, along the east side of the valley, then up Chalk Hill Road. The thing that struck me most: No Traffic! I was virtually alone on a Saturday morning in Wine Country.

Turning onto a single lane road, I started to get a little nervous that my trusty Google Maps might have failed me. It was a paved, single lane road, so that was hopeful. Alas, my trust in Google ran out two hilly ridges in. I turned around, beginning what would be a 30 minute detour that ended up taking me right back where I was. Around a curve about 100 yards beyond where I’d turned around was the entrance to Medlock Ames. Sigh. I’d done it to myself, and was almost 45 minutes late!

Fortunately, friendly Isabella saw my plight and left her post in the tasting room to rescue me. She came out into the already 90+ degree day, and caught me up with the small group on the outdoor tour. Isabella handed me off to Chelsea, who was leading the two other guests, Jimmy and Maryanne, on a tour of the grounds.

Medlock Ames is a sustainable, organic winery, and includes a one-acre vegetable garden, and a one-acre fruit garden. Due to the heat, we were not able to walk to those gardens, but still got a brief overview of the property and history. Chelsea led us to the shade of a large tree at the edge of a vineyard. There she told us that the two acres of vines were looking at were nearly ripped out when owners Chris Medlock James and Ames Morison purchased the property in 1998. The vineyard had been planted by the previous owner, a sheep rancher, and nobody knew what variety they were. Ames, the head winemaker, was hesitant, however, and decided to walk the vines before excavation. He found a tag on a vine, from a nursery in New York. After a call to the nursery and some research, and they found the answer: Merlot. But not just any Merlot. These vines are Jefferson clones; descendants of vines that Founding Father Thomas Jefferson brought from France to his Virginia estate! With that kind of pedigree, the former Tulane University roommates decided to leave the vines in.

Jefferson Clone Merlot

Grow, Merlot. Grow!

All Medlock Ames are made from 100% organic, estate grown fruit. The winery is fully solar powered. Of the 338 acres on the estate, only about 55 acres are farmed, leaving the rest of the land to its native flora and fauna. There are more than 800 olive trees, five retention ponds for irrigation, and at least 50 barn owl boxes on the property. To help conserve energy, the barrel room is underground, below the production facility.

Speaking of the barrel room, where better to continue the tour on such a hot day? After a brief visit among the fermentation tanks upstairs, we ventured down into the 55 degree cellar to meet Ames, and enjoy some barrel tasting.

The beauty of the Experience Alexander Valley event is that the three of us had about 30-45 minutes of interrupted time with the head winemaker. (I was enjoying myself too much to keep track of time.) We could ask whatever questions we wanted, and he took the time to answer in a way we could all understand. You don’t get that on a party bus tour!

Ames is clearly passionate about what he does, and is very knowledgeable. He thieved us samples of their 2017 Lower Slope Chardonnay, the 2017 50 Tons Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2017 Kate’s & B’s Cabernet Sauvignon, and the 2017 Secret Ingredient Malbec. Each of the wines has a nick-name, and a story. The Kate’s and B’s is named after Chris and Ames’ wives; Kate is Ames’ wife, and B (stands for Bradley) is Chris’ wife. They chose the very best grapes from the very best vineyards to make the wine with their wives’ names on it. Smart men!

From the cellar, we walked back up to the tasting room where Chelsea hosted us in a wine and cheese pairing. The cheeses are all local, Sonoma County artisan cheeses, and paired each of the wine amazingly! I’ll let the pictures tell the story here.

As we were finishing up, I got Robyn’s text letting me know her Experience was over, and she was ready for me to come get her. So I didn’t have time to explore the preserves, marmalades, and olive oils they make with estate fruit. No worries though; that gives me something to look forward to when I bring Robyn on our next visit!

After a quick lunch break, we headed to our next Experience, this time together. Turning up the tree-lined drive to Stonestreet Estate Vineyards, we were taken with the beauty of the property. Here, we were to enjoy a chocolate and Cabernet Sauvignon tasting. Originally scheduled outdoors on their beautiful patio overlooking the valley and nearby Mayacamas Mountain range, they thankfully relocated the tasting indoors, in their air conditioned tasting room.

We were greeted by DTC (Direct to Consumer) Manager, Michelle, and our host and guide for the day, Tasting Room Manager, Samantha. Having never heard of Stonestreet before, we were in for a bit of a surprise.

Video credit: Stonestreet Estate Vineyards

Stonestreet Estate Vineyards owns a large chunk of the Mayacamas Mountains we had admired as we entered the property. 5500 acres, to be more specific. Yet of those 5500 acres, only 800 acres are planted to vines. Committed to sustainable and environmentally friendly winemaking, when the owners purchased the land in 1995, they conducted wildlife studies; migration patterns, breeding grounds, etc. and planted around those areas so as to not disturb the native wildlife. This also helps to keep the critters out of the vineyards. But that wasn’t the biggest surprise. Stonestreet Estate Vineyards is part of Stonestreet Farms, located in Kentucky. Stonestreet Farms breeds thoroughbred race horses, very successfully, including such standouts as Rachel Alexandra (depicted in the beautiful statue on the grounds.) The founder of Stonestreet Farms was Jess Stonestreet Jackson. Jess Jackson. Yes, the Kendall-Jackson Jess Jackson! Surprise! Who knew?

Now on to the chocolate and Cabernet pairing. Some might think that it is difficult to pair chocolate with Cabernet Sauvignon, and it can be. The wine is often too tannic to work well with the creaminess of the chocolate. But Stonestreet sent samples of the wines for the pairing to the local pastry chef they’d commissioned for the event. She, in turn, created the chocolate confections to match each of the wines. It was exquisite! While it was hard to select a favorite, if forced, I’d say mine was third from the left, the Chocolate Budino with huckleberry compote. Robyn fell in love with the Opera Cake (second from left) made with dark chocolate genoise, espresso cream, and topped with a sprig of lemon thyme. Each of the single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons paired perfectly with the chocolates.

Running a little ahead of schedule allowed Samantha to give us a brief tour of the barrel room, and some photo ops. We also had a chance to sample their Meritage, Bordeaux-style red blend. Made from all five of the noble grapes, it was amazing!

And that’s it. Just two Experiences per day. I’ve prattled on long enough for now, and we’ll cover Sunday later. Robyn will write about her solo Experiences in separate post, too. Oh sure, there was the fantastic blues concert at deLorimier Saturday evening, but Robyn will write about that in her first Experience post.

The biggest takeaways for us on Saturday were these: One, Alexander Valley is a hidden gem; a peaceful wine oasis mere minutes from the crowds and bustle of Napa. There was virtually no traffic all weekend, and no crowds, either. Sure, the heat may have kept some away, but Sunday was much cooler and yet no more crowded.

The other takeaway was this: though the lack of crowds was nice, Experience Alexander Valley was noticeably under-attended. Experiences had capacity for up to 24 guests. Of the four I attended, two had only three guests, one had four, and one had seven. Intimate to be sure, but really, folks, come out next year and let’s make this an event, an Experience, worth repeating! You’ll remember your Experiences forever.

Cheers!

By Kent Reynolds, with Robyn Raphael

Photos by Kent Reynolds and Robyn Raphael, unless otherwise noted.

Experience Alexander Valley, Day 1 – Medlock Ames and Stonestreet It was with eager anticipation that we set off on our journey to the first annual…

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