#in ten years when someone is a fan of both of these and I’m long gone come talk to me anyways

[lustfulslxt]

where reader gf is a shy bookworm and is dating chris. you can take this in any direction if you want to, but the boys are on live and being their normal chaotic selves so reader sits in their living room reading her book in his clothes & he ends up staring at her in awe thinking about how adorable his gf is and matt and nick point the camera at him and show what he’s staring at when fans ask (they already love her) & start making fun of him but chris just rolls his eyes at them but he never stops smiling

Admiration - Chris Sturniolo

warnings : no summary, read request. just fluff and chris being utterly in love

—

Chris’ POV

“Chris! Get in here already.” Nick complains, waving me over to the phone propped in front of him and Matt.

“The fans want to see you.” Matt adds.

I look down at my phone, reading the text from Y/N, stating that she should be here in around twenty minutes. Sighing, I put my phone in my pocket and make my way over to them. It’s not that I don’t want to talk to our fans, I really just want to spend some quality time with Y/N.

“Hey guys.” I smile, nodding to them. I can see the chat blowing up with an insane amount of people attempting to greet me, it’s actually mind blowing sometimes. “How’s everyone doing tonight?”

“So, we were thinking about just doing a little Q&A because we haven’t been live in a long time, but we also didn’t want to just sit here and stare at each other.” Nick says, chuckling a bit.

Immediately, comments come flying in with an intense amount of questions, Matt having to scroll a bit just to read one.

“Where do you see yourselves in ten years?” He reads aloud.

I instantly grin, replying, “Living life with my brothers, my beautiful wife, and our two kids.”

“Hopefully, I’ll also be with my wife and dog, in a nice cabin in the woods.” Matt answers, then looking to Nick, awaiting his response.

“I don’t know, honestly. Probably exactly where I’m at.”

Matt and I both give him a bored look, “That’s lame.”

“What am I supposed to say? With my husband and our eight kids? Newsflash, I don’t like children and I don’t plan on getting married at this point.” Nick counters.

I give a look to the live, saying ‘not again’, before letting my thoughts roam. I miss Y/N. I know she’ll be here soon, but I just can’t get enough of her. I want to live in her skin. As if on cue, headlights shine through the living room window, indicating someone just pulled up.

“I’ll be right back.” I say, quickly heading down to the front door, eager to see my beautiful girlfriend.

Upon opening it, I see Y/N mid reach for the doorknob, gasping in surprise at my presence. Her shock turns into happiness, a smile taking over her face as she pulls me into a hug. I can feel my heart swell with love, enjoying every single moment we share.

“I missed you, mama.” I say to her, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.

“I missed you more, baby.” She smiles, gently kissing my lips.

I grab her bag from her, and step aside, letting her come inside, before following her up the stairs. Once we round the corner, Matt and Nick take notice in her presence.

“Oh, hey Y/N!” Nick greets, happily.

Then Matt, “Hey, I didn’t know you were coming. How’s it going?”

“Hey guys, it’s pretty chill. How bout y’all?” She walks over, giving both of them hugs, and a silent wave to the phone once she notices the live.

“We’re good. Just live, doing a Q&A.” Nick replies.

She nods and makes her way back over to me, attempting to grab her bag as she says, “Okay, well I’ll just leave you to it. I need a shower.”

I pull the bag away from her and place my hand on her back, ushering her towards the stairs leading down to my room. Upon entering, I place her bag on my bed and pull her into my arms once more. I can feel her melting into me, causing my heart to flutter. I truly love this girl with everything in me. I pull away and grab her face, bringing her lips to mine in a passionate kiss. After a moment, we part and I place my forehead on hers as we stare into each other’s eyes.

“I love you. Come upstairs when you’re done.” I state, placing another sweet kiss to her lips.

She nods, “I love you too.”

With that, I leave her to it and head back upstairs. Matt and Nick are now in the kitchen, live on one phone, making TikTok’s on another. I stroll over, immediately joining in on their silly dancing.

“Yeaahhh!” Nick hypes me up, waving his hand up and down.

I can’t help but laugh, walking over to the live to read the chat.

u guys are so cuteee

can we be friends pls?

follow me!!!

where’s y/n

play rage!!!!

I shake my head with a grin, participating in my brothers goofy behavior. We continue dancing and joking around, entertaining ourselves and our fans. Being so caught up in them, I only just now realize that Y/N is sitting in the living room, reading her book.

I can’t help the smile that pulls to my lips, my eyes taking her in. She’s so beautiful, especially wearing my clothes that are too big for her, but she still insists on doing so. I know it’s her way of feeling close to me, plus she likes the way they smell. I love the way she furrows her eyebrows when she reads, focusing all of her attention on the words that lay out across the pages. I love the way she sticks her tongue out in concentration, she looks so silly and so cute. I love the way she’s so shy, but when she’s around me, she’s comfortable enough to, unapologetically, be herself. I love the way she brushes her hair back when it falls in her face. I love the way she sits with her knee up and her face lying on it. I love the way she moves her lips around when she’s bored. I love everything about her, and just thinking about it all whilst I admire her, I cannot wipe the ginormous smile off of my face.

“Awww. Chrissy pooh.” I hear Matt coo from behind me.

I turn my head in his direction and I’m met with him and Nick staring at me as they point the phone in our direction. Looking at the screen, I realize they’re showing the fans Y/N in the background, and it didn’t take long for me to put two and two together. They want to know what I’m staring at.

“The fans are eating this up right now!” Nick cheers, “Kid is such a simp.”

I roll my eyes, but the smile never leaves my lips as I shrug, completely agreeing with him. I am a simp. I love the fuck out of my girl, there was no shame in it. Getting up, I walk over to her, joining her on the couch. Instantly, she’s leaning into me, placing her head on my shoulder as my arm goes around her. I press a couple of sweet kisses to her cheek, then lay my head atop hers.

She smells like heaven and it makes me want to become one with her. Pulling her impossibly closer, I place my nose into her skin, inhaling deeply, causing giggles to erupt from her mouth. The sound brings another smile to my lips, enjoying the melodic noise. My hand intertwines with her, squeezing ever so gently.

“You’re the best.” I whisper into her ear.

She turns to me with a bashful smile, “What did I do?”

“Nothing at all. You’re just you.” I shrug, staring at her with so much love. “And I love the fuck out of you.”

Another laugh leaves her mouth, before she’s placing a kiss to my lips. “I love you more, Christopher.”

She can say that over and over and over again, but it will never be true. I need this girl like I need air, because I physically cannot breathe without her.

—

a/n : heyy, i hope you liked this!! sorry it’s super short, and not proofread. ikik i suck :( i’ve recently learned i am terrible at writing fluff lmfaooo

[putellasawfc]

exposed !

jen beattie x arsenal!reader

( a/n: omgggg this has been in the works FOREVER, before jen announced leaving arsenal which i am still not over tbh. but it’s finally here! especially dedicated to @mccabeswife since she requested it ! i hope you enjoy ! )

-

another media day at the arsenal training grounds meant a lot of bored footballers sat around waiting for their turn in front of the camera, the current youtube video being filmed was for three pairs only, another one of those ‘guess what the person is saying whilst you wear sound cancelling headphones’ videos that people went crazy over. the lucky girls who had been paired together for said video had been chosen at random, and you had ended up with leah with frida, manu with katie and viv with lotte which meant the rest of you were trying to entertain yourselves elsewhere.

which wasn’t really an issue when you were all shoved into a recreational room with an assortment of snacks, gossip and phones in hand. beth, the self proclaimed quidnunc of the group had been sat in between you and alessia for the last ten minutes, and had yet to stop telling you about the ongoing drama in the west ham team that she had found out about at an event over the weekend. you paid attention for as long as you could, sharing looks with alessia as you both struggled to keep up with the fast paced ramblings coming from the yorkshire woman but beth was none the wiser.

you felt a dip in the sofa to the left of you, the last bit of space being occupied by someone who threw an arm around your shoulder and when you got a whiff of the familiar perfume she sprayed on every morning, you knew exactly who it was.

you turned your head and smiled at the culprit, jen sat sporting her usual messy bun on top of her head and cheeky smile on her face. she pulled you further into her side and gently squeezed your upper arm, “she still talking your ear off?”

you huffed a laugh at that, looking to see if beth had heard but she was still too busy ranting and raving, now focusing her attention on alessia since you were now occupied elsewhere, poor girl.

“something like that.” you hummed, snuggling up to your taller girlfriend who was happy to let you lean on her. “you finished your influencer activities?” you teased, referring to the number of tiktok’s she had forced some of the girls to take part in since they all arrived.

“aye, i get a lot of love and appreciation from the fans for providing them with five star, behind the scenes content i’ll have you know.” she told you, “but yeah. letting steph take over for now, think she’s really getting into those football murder mystery filters.”

you glanced over to where she nodded towards, indeed seeing steph with her phone in her hand obviously recording herself, with kyra and vic sat either side of her laughing at the story that was unfolding on the filter.

“what happens when she steals your tiktok crown?” you asked with a sly smirk, knowing the older woman would have a meltdown if steph’s content starting getting more love than hers.

“don’t jinx it.” she shoved you lightly, “i’d have to post something outrageous to get me my title back. know i have some mugshots of you deep in my camera roll, i’m sure they’d come in handy.”

“you wouldn’t!” you gasped, sitting up slightly in your seat and the scottish woman laughed at your reaction.

you knew she had accumulated a hefty amount of embarrassing pictures of you over the year that you’d been together, ranging from you asleep with your mouth open to you pulling the ugliest faces whilst you awaited the impact of the ball to hit you during games.

“then you better hope steph gets bored quickly.” she shrugged.

you playfully rolled your eyes at that, finally relaxing back down beside her, grabbing ahold of her hand that was hanging over your shoulder, interlocking your fingers as you did.

“you’re so mean to me, sometimes i don’t know why i agreed to be your girlfriend.” you shook your head as if you were disappointed with yourself, trying your best to hold back the smile that was itching to come out.

that didn’t last long though, as only a moment later the defender jumped up from her spot on the sofa and leaned most of her body weight on you, her hands flew to grab either side of your face so she could get a good view of it as she began to lather every inch of your skin in kisses, her lips not leaving one patch of your face untouched. your squealed and thrashed wildly beneath her, your shoulder knocking into beth’s who finally halted in her gossiping at the interruption.

she kept going, stopping for a second to grin at your flushed state. “you fancied me too much to say no to being my girlfriend you goon.” and with that she continued her loving attack on you.

you wriggled around, laughing as you fought for breath and attempted to push her from you but she wasn’t budging.

“jen! stop, i can’t breathe.” you shrieked between giggles, hands gripping at her red jumper, “you’re right! you’re right, please let me go!”

finally deciding you’d had enough, jen let go of you and you caught your breath as you sagged against beth with a hand on your chest. “you could’ve killed me then, i hope you know.”

“so dramatic you are.” she tutted, pulling gently on your arm so that you were sat upright once again. “now gimme a proper one.”

you grinned, and gladly leaned in towards your girlfriend, giving her exactly what she wanted as your lips met halfway and you sunk into the display of affection almost immediately, your lips moving together in unison before you felt a harsh nudge in your side.

you yelped and pulled back, glaring at beth who only looked proud of what she’d done.

“not in front of the children please.”

-

the next day you arrived back at the training grounds, this time with a full day of practice ahead of you rather than a day in front of the cameras which you were very much looking forward to. media day was always fun, especially when you were partnered up with the right person and yesterday you were lucky enough to have gotten cloe as your pal for the day, so you had no complaints.

but you were excited to get back to doing what you loved, especially with an important match ahead of you. you wanted to get your head in the game and make sure you were one hundred percent ready to face the opposing team on sunday.

everything was normal for all of five minutes, you walked in and greeted some of the staff lingering near the entrance before you headed off to the changing rooms so you could change into your training kit, but before you even had chance to push the door open, a body came barrelling into yours, making you stumble on your feet and your arm fly out to steady yourself against the wall.

you looked to the person with furrowed brows, your jaw dropped in shock at the scare you’d just gotten. “christ steph, what’s up with you?”

she looked worried, as her hands gripped onto both of your arms and the aussie looked behind her where leah and lia were approaching, with much calmer demeanours. “i have to tell you something before you find out from someone else, but you have to promise you won’t be mad at me.”

you eyed her warily, your head cocking to the side before you looked over to the two other girls with narrowed eyes. “what is it?”

“no! you have to promise first.”

you rolled your eyes at that, beginning to panic a little as your mind ran wild with possibilities of what information steph could be withholding from you.

“fine, i promise. now tell me.” you told her, not really meaning it, you just needed her to spill the beans before you tired yourself out from overthinking.

“i kind of, may have, accidentally posted a tiktok that had you and jen kissing in the background of it.” she winced, waiting a beat to carry on. “but i promise it was a genuine mistake! if i had known it was in there i would’ve never, ever posted it i know you guys didn’t want your relationship to be public yet, and i am so sorry please don’t be mad at me.”

“what?”

a stupid question, most definitely but it was the only thing that you could manage to say at this moment in time. you didn’t know how to feel or what to say as you processed the information just given to you by steph who was still watching you carefully, as if she was awaiting some kind of wild outburst.

an array of different emotions passed through you simultaneously, you were annoyed at steph for outing your relationship on a platform that spread content like wildfire. no doubt screenshots and recordings of the tiktok had already been shared to the likes of twitter and instagram, posts made that couldn’t be taken back now. how could steph have let that happen? why did she not spot it before she pressed post?

you were also panicking. did jen know? would she be annoyed? would this change things between you? you’d both agreed when you first began dating, after months of mutual pining, that when you got together you would keep your relationship as private as you could, for as long as you could.

something that was unfortunately common amongst women’s football, was how invasive some fans could be in the players lives. you had seen how they could overstep boundaries and pry too deep into stuff they didn’t need to know about many times, which would then jump to them spreading their opinions without a care about who was on the other side of their sometimes vicious comments. you’d been witness to it ruining some of your friends relationships, and you didn’t want that to happen to you and jen. jen who you loved, who loved you back, jen who you could see yourself marrying one day in the future. so you had come to the smart, unanimous decision to keep it hush for as long as you could. but now, it was out there.

“does jen know?” you asked next, deciding that was the priority for you right now.

steph shook her head, “no. i was gonna tell her but she’s been talking to jonas since she got in.”

jen had set off an hour prior to you, with fans sometimes lingering outside the training grounds in hopes of getting a photo with some of you before you came in, you didn’t want to risk them seeing you and jen showing up together a few times too many and start to put two and two together, so more often than not you took separate cars and showed up at different times.

you nodded at that, and took in a deep breathe as you tried to think of what to do next. seeing as it was already out, there was no way you’d be able to backtrack or deny that you were in a relationship with jen, so the only real option you had left was to come clean to the fans about it all. you just weren’t sure how to.

“are you still my friend?” you were brought back into the present by steph’s quiet voice, her eyes were still scanning you warily and you probably would’ve laughed at how silly she sounded if you weren’t the person on the other end.

“course i’m still your mate steph.” you told her, and the blonde visibly deflated in front of you. “just wish you had the common sense to check what’s going on in your tiktok’s before you posted them.”

you were half joking, half serious. but when steph tutted and shoved you playfully, you didn’t have the heart to be upset with her anymore. it’s not as if she had posted it on purpose, and with how she reacted when she approached you, you were sure she’d been beating herself up over it since she’d realised what she’d done.

“see! told you she wouldn’t be mad, got yourself all worked up over nothing.” leah spoke up, and then you remembered her and lia were still lingering in the back.

“yeah well, i wouldn’t have blamed her if she was.” steph said, and you pulled the aussie in for a side hug.

“it’s okay steph, just gotta find jen now and spill the beans.”

-

it was only twenty minutes later when jen joined you all in the changing rooms, already clad in her arsenal training kit and with her water bottle in hand, she spotted you almost instantly and her face brightened when she realised you had arrived whilst she’d been busy.

“when did you get here?” she asked, pulling you into a hug which you gladly reciprocated.

“not too long ago.” you told her, rubbing your hands up and down her back. “got something i need to tell you though.”

she pulled back a little at that, looking down at you with a raised brow. “should i be worried?”

you shrugged, “i mean, it’s not anything to panic about but … i don’t know if you’re going to like it.”

you nodded your head towards the door, gesturing to the empty hallway on the other side where you could both have the conversation privately with nobody there to eavesdrop. jen nodded in agreement, retracting from your embrace and pulling on your hand to tug you in the direction you had just motioned towards.

now standing in the vacant corridor, you leaned your back against the grey wall and watched jen as she stood in front of you with her hands on her hips as she waited for you to speak, which you did after a sigh.

“steph practically ambushed me this morning, she um, did something stupid.” you began, scratching your head as you thought about how to put what happened into words. “you know all those tiktoks she was messing around with yesterday?”

you waited for jen to nod, which she did a second later so then you continued. “well she posted some of them and in one of them, it has you and i kissing in it, in the background. and it’s definitely too late for us to do anything about it.”

you stood with baited breath, similar to how steph had been when she was breaking the news to you, all of a sudden wishing you had the power to read minds as jen’s poker face came out in full force, the brunette not hinting to how she was feeling at all. at least she wasn’t tugging at her loose strands of hair, or biting at her nails, two big tell tale signs that she was stressing which you’d picked up over the months you’d spent together, which was a small win you were willing to take.

“well i guess the secrets out then.” jen shrugged, her hands remaining on her hips as you looked at her slightly puzzled.

“you’re not bothered?” you asked, half expecting a bigger reaction from the woman who was always so careful with how you interacted in public.

“i mean, it’s not great is it?” she asked, “but honestly, a part of me is kind of glad its out there now. i love our little bubble, not having to deal with people we don’t even know deciding whether we’re a good fit or not and all that stuff. but at least now, we don’t have to stress over the littlest things everytime we go out together.”

you listened to the points she made, nodding along with pursed lips in agreement with what she was saying. one of the most annoying things about have a relationship that wasn’t public, was having to be on guard everytime you both wanted to spend time with eachother out of the house, leading to the two of you just ending up having most of your date nights at home instead, not having the energy to make sure there were no prying eyes wherever you went.

“and we don’t have to watch what we post on social media. no more making sure our stories don’t give away that we’re at the same place, or triple checking that none of our stuff’s in the background.” she added on, and your lips quirked up in amusement at the amount of times you’d had to quickly delete a story or instagram post when you realised there was a beattie shirt in the background, or anything else that gave away who you were with.

“so this is kind of like a blessing in disguise?”

she grinned, “yeah something like that. but don’t tell steph i said anything, she’ll be gloating for weeks.”

you laughed at that, finally being able to relax properly for the first time since steph had practically jumped you whilst you were on your way to get changed. jen approached you, clearing the few steps that kept her away from you and pulling you into her warm embrace, pressing a kiss to your forehead as she did. “at least now we don’t have to do any big, relationship reveal post. you know how much i’ve been dreading that.”

you hummed, “think we should get steph to do a big post for us? i’m sure her drafts are stacked with videos of us.”

“we can ask. but not yet, wanna pretend i’m really mad at her for a bit so i can bribe her into pampering me for a bit.”

you scoffed at that, giving the scottish woman a faux disgusted look. “you’re evil beattie.”

“you love me.”

[maxybabyy]

It’s barely noon.

Daniel has only been back in Monaco for a handful of hours, burnt out from flying commercial and dressed obnoxiously in bright orange, and still, he’s here.

He pulls up Max’s text one more time and stares sceptically at the building in front of him. But he’s in the right spot, the tiny guy on the map right on top of the address Max had sent.

The lady behind the reception desk looks up when he enters, a polite smile on her lips as she comes forward to greet him, “Bonjour monsieur, comment ca va?”

Daniel’s been here for too long for his French to be as bad as it is, stutters out a, “Ca va bien,” before he switches to English. “Uh, I’m here for my cats?”

“Certainly,” she says, her accent even less pronounced than Charles’. She goes back behind the desk, points out the small bevvy station on her way there. Daniel’s been in formula one for over ten years, has lived in Monaco for most of that, but this fucking cat hotel may still be the fanciest shit he’s been to. “May I ask what cats you are here for?”

Daniel jiggles the handle of the coffeemaker, watches what he hopes is coffee drip into the branded to-go cup. “Uh, Jimmy and Sassy? They’re like, Bengals, with the stripes and shit? If you have two cats that look the same, I reckon it’s probably them,” he says, searches and fails to locate a lid.

The lady coughs, and Daniel decisively doesn’t look at her, cannot – knows she has to be laughing at him. Fucking, disaster step-cat dad that he is; Max would already have them loaded up in the car and be on his way.

“The cats are registered with internal ID numbers, monsieur. I cannot tell you if we have your cats otherwise, my apologies,” she tells him, not unkind.

“Right, yeah. Let me get those for you then,” he says, chuckles. He scrolls back to the cursed message that had started it all, rattles off the IDs for both cats to the lady’s mild surprise.

‘you of course don’t have to, but always the cats like it better when they can be at home.’ He reads back now, wishes he had never ventured into the world of cat sitting and long-term pet boarding.

“I will have someone come out with your cats right away, monsieur Verstappen,” she says, taps away at the computer for a moment before the printer starts to spit out a stack of papers. “If I can just have you sign here, you will be all set.”

Daniel swallows down half of the coffee, scrapes his teeth over his tongue to mask the burn. “’course, I’m not Max, though. Just for filing purposes, I guess.” He says, scribbles his signature on the dotted line. It’s the same fucking signature that he would do on a hat or whatever the fans put in front of him, and it shouldn’t make him feel embarrassed, but it does. “My name’s Daniel. Ricciardo, I should be on the list though.”

The lady smiles, licks her finger to flick a page. “Certainly, monsieur Ricciardo.”

A man in his early twenties comes out, a cat carrier in each arm. He puts the cats on the desk and rattles off a report of their stay these past weeks, the meals they had, how they behaved, their moods.

Daniel tries to listen, makes himself remember enough that Max will be satisfied even if they didn’t also send out an update by mail every three days. The guy doesn’t stop talking, so Daniel nods along, pokes his finger through the grid and watches Sassy swat at it; Jimmy who gives him a polite lick.

Even if their names weren’t printed on the carrier, this would give them away. That at least he knows.

“Great, yeah. Thanks mate,” Daniel says and moves them down to rest by his feet. “Do I need to pay something, or will we get an invoice, or like?”

“Monsieur Verstappen has an account with us, so there is no need for that. He will be notified by mail. But I can offer you a receipt?” She says, and even she sounds unsure about the offer.

“Yeah, that would be good, cheers.”

The printer makes another noise, and one of the cats meows in response, the other quick to echo. She hands it over with a smile, and Daniel stuffs it into his pocket with a quick ‘thanks’ and picks up his cats to leave.

He’s lying on the couch later, Jimmy on his chest and Max’s latest voice message playing over the phone when he finally pulls out the receipt.

“You’re such a fucking spoilt cat, Jims.” He says, kisses his head.

Jimmy meows softly, bumps his chin with his head, so Daniel kisses him again, watches his tail flick in the air.

Yeah, alright, he thinks, maybe they do deserve it.  

[saintsenara]

You mentioned fanon turning barty crouch jr. into an uninteresting character. I don't know much about what the new fanon characterisation has really done with him, but I'm curious for your thoughts on why he's a canonically interesting character. I agree that he is, but it sounds like you might have some interesting thoughts on it that are already fleshed out.

thank you for the ask, @jamesunderwater, and i'm sorry for taking so long to drag myself around to answering this.

as you may have gathered if you’ve read my views on jegulus or wolfstar, the common fanon interpretation of marauders-era characters and i don’t really get on.

this is not a new development - me and goofy fanon sirius have been beefing for over a decade at this point, i fear - but our enmity has taken on a new form since (roughly) 2020, when the emergence of what we might call the modern marauders subfandom brought with it a whole series of expectations about characters, ships, personalities, and appearances in first war stories which, let me state my position immediately, have absolutely nothing to do with the characters as they are in canon.

i could talk about sirius or regulus or james or snape or lupin until the cows come home - as, i’m sure, could many of us - but i also dislike the expectations the marauders subfandom has around its supporting cast. these characters - who largely fall under the categories of women, slytherins, or both - have names that we might recognise from canon, but they are - to all intents and purposes - original characters.

to do some marauders fan defending, i do understand the rationale behind this. hogwarts is a school, and it needs to be filled with the sort of incidental characters that lightning-era writers can pull from the canon text (shoutout to ernie macmillan, the mvp). if you’re writing about lily, then she needs friends - why not have them be alice, marlene, dorcas, emmeline, pandora etc.?

[well, because dumbledore isn’t running a child army. it makes no sense for the entire order of the phoenix to be in the same school year - and the idea that alice is probably around ten years older than lily, that pandora is around the same age as narcissa malfoy and isn’t a pureblood, and that marlene, dorcas, and emmeline are hard-nosed ministry bitches in their fifties who can have mad-eye moody quaking with just a look is something which can be prised from my cold, dead hands.]

and if you’re writing about the epic highs and lows of high-school football going to school during a sectarian conflict, then you need some antagonists. which is to say, you need some slytherins.

the issue i have is that the three key slytherins who seem to have been elevated to principal cast in the marauders pantheon - regulus black, barty crouch jr., and evan rosier - get what can only be called the smol bean treatment. that is, that three teenagers who all canonically join a terror organisation are turned into soft and tiny babies who thought lord voldemort was just feeling silly when he said, ‘my aim is the eradication of the muggleborn population through violent means.’

and even fics which do acknowledge that the three willingly become terrorists often go out of their way to provide justifications for this which don’t contextualise their decision (something which is important - you can’t write about snape becoming a death eater without acknowledging the way that poverty, loneliness, and a sense of hopelessness make someone an easy target of radicalisation) but which minimise it. sometimes, their violence is turned into romantic vengeance - i’ve seen a fair amount of suggestions that barty goes to torture the longbottoms because frank was the auror who killed evan. sometimes, authors imply - or even outright state - that there’s no need to see these boys as aspiring villains: voldemort is right; the class system is good and should be maintained; and purebloods (usually james, sirius, regulus, barty, evan and maybe a token woman or two) should stick together while the half-breeds and the mudbloods go hang.

this - like all aristocracy wank in this fandom - annoys me enough with regulus and evan. but it’s particularly grating when it comes to barty crouch jr. because - unlike evan, who is literally just a name in the text, and regulus, who isn’t much more - he actually has a canon personality.

and it’s fascinating. indeed, i would even go so far as to say that barty crouch jr. is the greatest villain in the harry potter series.

[my apologies to lord voldemort.]

after all, even though he’s been imprisoned under the imperius curse for over a decade, barty is still so lucid and powerful that he is able to:

produce magic capable of tricking the goblet of fire, which is treated by all the adult characters involved as unprecedented.

pull off a year-long impersonation of a man whom dumbledore evidently knows extremely well without being clocked until his mission has been successful, even though his opportunities to observe the real moody can have been virtually non-existent. he is in character within seconds of his ambush on moody’s home - after the intruder-alert dustbins are set off - and is able to persuade ministry personnel who can be presumed to have met moody personally (including both amos diggory and arthur weasley, who appear to know him not only personally, but well) that he is the real deal. he maintains his performance even under close scrutiny from the teaching colleagues he has to interact with daily at hogwarts, despite the fact that he presumably can’t get a great deal out of the real moody, since he’s having to be kept deliberately weak and docile under the imperius curse.

manipulate multiple people into become accessories to his crimes, without ever being suspected of doing so. with the hindsight of knowing who he is, the first defence against the dark arts lesson in goblet of fire, in which ‘moody’ deliberately distresses neville by using the cruciatus curse directly in front of him, before swooping in to be the person to cheer him up so that he can plant information which will help harry win the triwizard tournament and deliver him to voldemort, is chilling. he just gets unlucky that harry has the biggest martyr complex in human history.

commit murder on hogwarts’ grounds without ever being suspected of wrongdoing.

execute lord voldemort’s plan to kidnap harry and use him in his resurrection ritual flawlessly. the plan itself may be convoluted - but dark lords are allowed to have a flair for the dramatic, as a treat - but, crucially, it works, and barty succeeds in every respect.

but, i concede, we’re talking about the adult barty here. perhaps he was once a sweetheart who went unfortunately off the rails after his father sent him to prison and then - in effect - drugged him for years. that wouldn’t be a ridiculous suggestion.

except for the fact that - canonically - the teen barty was just as clever, sly, manipulative, and - above all - ardent in his support for voldemort as his adult self.

at his trial in the early 1980s, young barty gives the performance of a lifetime. he screams, he shakes, he looks terrified of the dementors, he is pale and weak and harmless-looking, he begs his mother to help him, he pleads with his father for mercy, he maintains his innocence as he is dragged off to his cell. he gives off the impression of simply having been in the wrong place at the wrong time so well that harry potter is almost certain that his conviction is illegitimate. so too, it is implied, is albus dumbledore.

indeed, barty plays the part of the wrongfully imprisoned so well that - as canon tells us - he not only influences public opinion to be broadly in favour of his probable innocence (or, at least, his diminished culpability - sirius suggests that the widespread view was that he was probably there, but that he only ended up involved in what was clearly bellatrix’s idea because of his father’s failure to relate to him properly), but also changes public opinion against the government’s anti-death-eater strategy entirely. following his imprisonment, his father - a man who never met an extrajudicial punishment he didn’t like, and whose ruthless approach to dealing with the death eaters in the first war (such as his use of internment for suspected terrorists, his order to aurors to shoot to kill) was, we are told, enormously popular with the wizarding public - is forced to resign in disgrace from his role as head of the department of magical law enforcement. crouch sr. is quietly shuffled off into a boring bureaucratic position, his ambitions to be minister in tatters, and his only way forward to free his son from the prison cell where he is languishing for the crime he very literally did.

[as an aside, i do think that we are supposed to read that bellatrix is the ringleader of the torture of the longbottoms. but, all too often, that gets reduced to her doing everything while rodolphus, rabastan, and barty just stand there gormlessly. they were clearly performing the curses too!]

now, barty’s unusual cunning can - of course - be explained by narrative reasons. the text needs to conceal that he’s the villain (since, as with philosopher’s stone, it wants to imply that the dark lord’s faithful servant at hogwarts is severus snape) until the very end - and this naturally requires dumbledore to not think too hard about whether his good judy alastor is behaving even more strangely than usual.

the text also needs to suggest that he is innocent in order to properly stick the landing on the narrative role of his father - barty crouch sr. as with dolores umbridge in order of the phoenix, crouch sr. exists to show harry (and the reader) that the rot in the wizarding world was not caused by - and will not stop with the defeat of - voldemort. his ruthlessness and inflexibility, his lack of respect for due process, his astonishingly cruel treatment of winky (brutal beyond even the standard way in which wizards abuse their enslaved elves) all serve to teach harry that the anti-voldemort cause can become just as easily corrupted as the disillusioned young men in voldemort’s orbit. the suggestion that crouch sent his own son to azkaban without good reason, simply because he would not deviate from his beliefs, is an important lesson to harry about what ‘justice’ actually means.

but, despite this, barty is also able to pull off his deception because he’s spectacularly talented. it’s not all just narrative.

and his talents are caused by characteristics which aren’t good or bad in and of themselves. he’s clearly very intelligent (he got twelve owls, the series’ benchmark for genius). he’s hyper-observant, creative, adaptable, good under pressure, and possessed of nerves of steel. he shares these traits with other villains in the series - voldemort above all - but he also shares them with plenty of the heroes. harry, for one.

which is to say that all of his personality traits could be put to non-criminal uses. but - as with harry, who is capable of being quite sinister when he wants to be (for example, when he manipulates slughorn into giving up the horcrux memory) - they would give a non-criminal barty an edge. and this doesn’t seem to be present in his standard fanon persona - as sweet and goofy as all marauders-era men - to any great extent.

finally, there is another aspect of barty’s character which is absent from his fanon version - that he clearly has some sort of childhood trauma, but that this does not excuse any of what he does.

even though crouch sr. is right to send him to azkaban, he was clearly also a cold and distant father, who had absolutely no idea how to relate to his son.

[as another aside, this emotional negligence is bad enough without it needing to be written as having been accompanied by extreme physical and/or sexual abuse. there seems to be a real tendency in fan-fiction - not only in marauders-era stuff, although the exaggeration of orion and walburga black into despotic villains is one example of this - to make childhood misery ‘worse’, in order to justify a character’s later actions.]

voldemort demonstrably uses barty’s terrible relationship with crouch sr. (and his absolutely flagrant daddy kink) to groom him into taking the dark mark (not least because there’s otherwise no explanation for why he cheerfully informs him that he too is named after his dad), which he may very well end up taking when he’s still at school. my reading is that he’s recruited to inform on his father - since voldemort would undoubtedly wish to keep the head of the department of magical law enforcement under constant surveillance - and that this is why the dark lord pays him the attention he is so obviously lacking.

but, as with snape and regulus and draco malfoy and all the other young death eaters, barty also colludes in his own radicalisation. voldemort is a master at ensnaring recruits, sure, but he’s also a busy man. he only bothers to make the effort because the clever, creative, cunning, manipulative young man - who wishes to avenge himself on the father who never paid him attention (sound familiar?) - he finds before him is very much determined to become a spectacular part of his terrorist organisation. and stories which feature him owe it to him to give him that dark complexity of character

show the series’ best villain some respect.

[babydollmarauders]

KARMA— JACK HUGHES

jack hughes x fem!reader

part of the Midnights Fic List

summary: in which y/n’s ex-best friend has been gossiping behind y/n’s back saying that Jack should be with her instead, so y/n shows that karma goes both ways.

specific lyrics: “you’re talking shit, for the hell of it. addicted to betrayal.” and “ask me what i learned from all those years. ask me what i earned from all those tears.” and “karma is my boyfriend, karma is a god, karma is the breeze in my hair on the weekend, karma’s a relaxing thought”

warnings: toxic friendship mentions, light profanity

notes: this is pretty short, i didn’t feel like this one should be too long, i wanted it to be pretty simple just like the song

“did you hear about what Carley said last week?” i hear as soon as i sit down in my seat at brunch.

“no.” i shake my head. “what did she say now?”

“she was out with her friends, and Nicole and Jesper were sat by her at the restaurant; overheard her saying that Jack should be with her instead of you. apparently she’s convinced that he’s only pitying you and she deserves him because she’s ‘richer, prettier, and has more followers’.” Ryleigh says. “what a bitch! i can’t believe you were ever friends with her.“

“karma is a bitch, it’ll get to her one day.” i shrug. “she wasn’t much different when we were friends. claimed i ‘stole’ Jack from her because ‘she saw him first’, but he and i had already been dating by the time she saw him. we just hadn’t been public yet.”

“but, you’re literally the sweetest person i’ve ever met. i’m just saying, i don’t understand how you could’ve been friends with her for so long.” Darya chimes in, setting her mimosa down in front of her.

“i was friends with her since we were ten, she’s always been this way. a lot of my tears were from her hand. she insisted she would do things in the name of friendship and ‘bettering me’, but eventually, i learned that she was just a horrible person and i should stop excusing her actions. as i said, karma will get to her eventually.” i explain as i scan the menu in front of me. i know how Carley is. it doesn’t exactly surprise me that she’s talking bad about me, she used to do it even while we were friends.

“well, karma isn’t coming fast enough. that girl needs to be humbled soon.” Ryleigh exclaims and Darya nods in agreement. before i can respond, the waiter comes to take our orders and the subject changes.

**

i’m sat in glass seats at a Devils home game, waiting for them to come out for warmups. i switch between glass seats and the WAGS box every few games. i like hanging out with the girls but, i love to see the smile on Jack’s face when the Devils score. especially when he scores and he gets to look over at me and see that i watched and that i’m cheering for him. it’s not too long before warmups start that someone sits at the end of my row, and i look over to see Carley and one of her friends. i choose to ignore her and the looks i know she’s giving me. i have a right to be here, and she’s allowed to come to a game if she wants, i don’t control that. it’s when the warmups start that i have a problem with her. i’m looking down at my phone, texting Ryleigh when Jack skates by, banging a hand on the glass in front of me to get my attention. i startle, jumping in my seat and dropping my phone, and he laughs.

“hi baby!” i immediately recognize the voice yelling down the row. i look over to see Carley staring straight at Jack as he skates past her. he turns around, skating backwards and giving her a weird look before looking at me with a ‘what the fuck?’ face. i shrug my shoulders. what possessed her to make her think that calling my boyfriend ‘baby’ is okay?

i let the comment roll off my back, it’s whatever. i know that Jack has tons of fans, he’s talented, he’s hot, he’s sweet, he’s a total package, i get it.

“score a goal for me tonight, babe!” i hear her call out. that’s when my problem starts. and my anger only increases after warmups, when i overhear her talking to her friend. “eventually, he’s gonna realize how much better he can do than y/n. and i’ll be there with open arms when he does.”

i remind myself to stay in my seat. i’ve turned a blind eye to her glares, i’ve let her gossiping fall on deaf ears instead of making a scene or causing drama, and i know it’ll be worth it in the end. i was raised to remember that karma is a powerful thing, and that it goes both ways. you do bad things, something will knock you down a peg. you do good things, you’ll have good luck. it’s common sense. but apparently she didn’t get the message.

**

“babe, come look at this!” Jack calls to me from our bed. it’s officially the off season and Jack and i have been at the Hughes lake house for the past couple days. it’s been nice being surrounded by his family and even a few of our friends.

“what’s up, love?” i ask, walking out of the closet where i was picking out a cover up to wear out on the boat. i slip the sundress i chose over my head and pull it down over my bikini.

“come see what Bratter just sent me.” i flop myself down on the bed next to him, laying on my side and cuddling into him, an arm wrapping around his torso. he tilts his phone screen towards me and i read the text that Jesper sent him.

—

From: Jesper Bratt

took Nicole out to lunch and she pointed out a girl that she said is obsessed with you. said her name was Carley. heard her talking to someone, saying you guys were destined to be together 😂 even heard her say that y/n isn’t good enough for you? does this girl have nothing better to do?

—

“she really just won’t stop, will she?” my question is rhetorical but Jack answers anyways.

“she’ll get the message soon enough. i don’t want her.” his words make me furrow my brows but i nod anyways. “you ready to head out?”

“yeah, let’s go.” we stand from the bed, making our way out of the bedroom and down the stairs, meeting the others in the living room before heading down to the dock and onto the boat. i sit and watch as all the guys take turns wakesurfing, choosing not to participate and instead enjoying the summer evening air.

“babe! babe, c’mere!” Jack calls from the back of the boat, where he’s currently wakesurfing. i stand, walking over and bending over the back of the boat so i can hear him.

“look at you, superstar!” i chime, grinning at him. he laughs and shakes his head.

“no, i wanted to say that i wanna take you on a walk around the lake when we get back.” i admire his smile for a few moments, just nodding in response and watching his face all lit up with joy. this man makes me so happy.

i keep myself rooted in that spot until he decides he’s done and gets back on the boat, letting Luke take his place. he looks at me with a wicked grin and i know exactly what he’s planning to do, but the boat is only so big and he catches me quite easily. pulling me to him, getting me wet with the cold water dripping from his hair and body. i shiver and let out a squeal; halfheartedly attempting to push him away. i feel my feet lift off the ground as Jack moves over to the bench seats, sitting down and pulling me onto his lap.

“now my cover up is all wet!” i feign a pout, but all he does is laugh, placing a gentle kiss on the tip of my nose.

“i’ll make it up to you. promise.” he squeezes me tighter to his chest and i shuffle down in order to lay my head on his chest, getting the side of my face wet in the process, but i don’t care. “i love you.”

“i love you too.” i smile, turning my head slightly to lay a kiss on his chest.

*

when we park back at the dock, Jack lets the guys know we’ll be back up to the house soon and pulls his hoodie over his head. he slings one arm around my shoulders, holding me to his side, and sticks his free hand in his hoodie pocket. we continue to walk along the lakeside in silence, just enjoying the last moments of sunset and the sounds of nature. i stop Jack a few times in order to point out pretty birds or various other beautiful nature moments. i let go of him once more, stepping closer to the water and letting him fall behind me.

“Jack, look at the way the sunset is reflecting off the lake! it’s gorgeous.” i turn to look back at him, checking to see i have his attention, but when i catch sight of him, one knee on the ground with a ring box opened in his hands and a watery smile on his face, my hands fly up to my mouth.

“y/n, i texted Quinn right after i met you, telling him i just met the love of my life. at the time, i thought maybe i was over exaggerating, but then i got to know you, and i knew i wasn’t. these past two and a half years with you have been the best of my life, and i was hoping you’ll choose to continue that. y/f/n, will you marry me?” his voice wavers, laced with emotion, and tears spring to my eyes.

“yes. god, yes! a million times yes!” i exclaim and he takes my hand, slipping the ring in my finger as he stands and i pull him into a kiss. my hands hold his face to mine and he grips my hips. pulling away, i wipe the tears from his cheeks and then mine. “i love you so much.”

“i love you so much more, pretty girl.”

—

@itsmey/n just posted

Liked by @_quinnhughes and 26,372 others

@itsmey/n summer nights 🤍

karma is so good to me

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@user1 THEY’RE ENGAGED?! THIS IS SO EXCITING

@_quinnhughes congrats guys! welcome to the family y/n

@itsmey/n thank you huggy!

@user2 OMG!

@jackhughes my forever girl ❤️💍

@itsmey/n so grateful for you

@trevorzegras congrats you two! happy for you guys!

@itsmey/n thank you, z! better clear some time from your summer golfing schedule next year!

[rubyreduji]

a producer's studio — ljh

summary: when you meet jihoon at age 15 he fills your stomach with butterflies. now at age 25 you find that sometimes things never change.

tags: smut (minors dni!), chilhood friends to lovers, fluff, minor angst, producer!au, idol!au warnings: jealous!jihoon, fingering, oral (f. receiving), reader has nipple pericings, soft sex, first times, reader is a virgin wc: 5.4k an: i wanted to post a short jihoon fic because i love him so much but then it turned into having an actual plot whoops (it actually didn't turn out how i wanted it but i wasn't gonna scrap a fic that was already 3k words in so…)

“I’m Lee Jihoon.” The boy in front of you has black hair that falls over his forehead and soft round cheeks. “I’m a new trainee too! Maybe you and I can be friends.” He flashes a smile at you and you feel your face heat up.

You don’t know why you’re even flustered to begin with, it doesn’t happen often, but this boy makes your stomach flutter and your heart clench. Maybe it’s because he’s just like you, or maybe it’s because he’s the first person who seems genuinely interested in becoming your friend. You're not sure, but you are sure that you hope that he's right and you guys can become friends.

After that day you don’t see Jihoon too much, considering he trains with the boys and you train with the girls, but you do see him enough to build the semblance of a friendship between you two. You guys sometimes talk in the evenings after training and you trade stories of your groups.

You’re still quite shy around him, but he doesn’t seem to mind. (Maybe you wouldn’t be so shy if your heartbeat didn’t speed up everytime he looked at you.) You wouldn’t call Jihoon shy, but it’s obvious he’s a little reserved when talking to you, but he seems to be like that around everyone. Maybe he’s just cautious before getting to know someone. You don't mind either, as long as he stays talking to you.

It’s not exactly a crush, but you do have a bit of an interest? fascination? in Jihoon. You like how passionate and hard working he is. You've both taken an interest in the producing aspect of the K-Pop industry and you like to talk about that together. Outside of producing and being trainees you guys share plenty of other interests as well like the shows you watch and the foods you like. You enjoy his friendship and he obviously enjoys being around you as well.

Over the years you guys warm up to each other more and more until Jihoon is one of the people you are closest with. You see him less and less though as his debut date gets closer. He doesn’t seem to have much free time on his hands anymore but it still warms your heart when he's able to slip away to come see you. Jihoon even sends you some of the tracks he’s working on for you to help out with. When you guys are able to talk, your conversations always drift to your careers, dreaming of your futures climbing up the ranks of the K-Pop world.

That was a decade ago. You and Jihoon both are now international K-Pop sensations with stable careers and multiple awards under your belts. It’s not uncommon for you guys to have each other’s names on your tracks due to the amount of collaboration you guys do. Your groups are close and all of your fans love to see the interactions between each other.

You and Jihoon have grown a lot since the first day you met, both growing in your bodies and personalities, and even though you guys have been friends for ten years, it doesn’t stop you from sometimes still slipping into that shy persona you once always held.

Due to the nature of your job you’ve never had a boyfriend or even had sex with anyone. You do occasionally find yourself daydreaming of Jihoon in both situations though. You know it will never happen for a multitude of reasons, and you kind of hate yourself for even thinking about him in that way, but sometimes you can’t help but think about it.

Jihoon has always been there for you since day one. He’s one of your best friends and someone you can always rely on. You’re not sure when your little infatuation with Jihoon turned into a full blown crush but it’s been going on for far too long. It doesn’t help that you and Jihoon are always around each other and that your fans ship you guys an aggressive amount. You two ignore it but sometimes you wish that Jihoon would show some kind of emotion to it, even if it was disgust, just so you can gauge his reaction.

It wasn’t uncommon for your members to tease you guys whenever you would be at the same event or even if they caught you guys together working on a song. You would always blush a bit and tell them to shut up while Jihoon would grumble at them and get defensive, but he did that whenever his friends teased him about anything so it wasn’t enough to know if he was putting up an act or was actually upset about it.

Even if Jihoon liked you back a fraction of the amount you like him, you could never be with him, at least not for a long time. Seventeen just renewed their contract for another seven years and when your contract is up you know that your group will be doing the same. You guys are idols first, this is your whole career. You belong to the people, to the fans, and dating makes things messy and it would be even worse if you guys did date and it didn’t work out. There are too many factors, too many risks.

Nobody actually knows about your crush on Jihoon, though you’re sure everyone has their suspicions. You’re just glad the fans haven’t caught on yet or that would be embarrassing for you, having to see even more edits of you staring lovingly at your friend. The edits and posts you’ve seen so far are already bad enough. The fans have even started speculating that some of your love songs are about Jihoon and they’re not wrong but it’s a fact that you don’t want anybody to know.

“Y/N!”

You look up from your computer and pull the ear cover off of your right ear. Jihoon is standing behind you with a notebook in one hand and a bag in the other. You slide your headphones off your head and down around your neck at the sight of him.

Your guys’ new studios are right next to each other inside of the HYBE building, after you guys got moved out of the Pledis building. You spend equal amounts of time in both of the studios though.

“Hey! Thought you could use a break,” Jihoon tells you as he takes a seat on your couch and opens up the bag to pull out two servings of fried chicken. You put your headphones down on your desk and move your chair over to where he is beforing grabbing your food.

“My trainer is going to kill you,” you tell him but still dig right in.

“Are you still working on that song from yesterday?”

You sigh. You can’t seem to get this one song perfect and you don’t know why. It’s not working out how you want and you and Jihoon messed around with it all day yesterday and it still didn’t sound right. “Yes. I honestly might just set it aside for now. It’s just a solo song so it’s not super pressing, at least not as much as some of the group songs are.”

Jihoon frowns at this. “If that’s what you think, but don’t give up, I know it will come together eventually.”

“Thanks Jihoonie.” You shoot a grin at him.

“Hey since I’m here, want to help me with these lyrics?”

You watch from the side as Jihoon, Seungcheol, and Soonyoung shake their asses. You already know that the move is going to be a fan favorite. You love watching Jihoon dance and you smile as his voice cuts through the rest as he sings his part. When the boys are done filming, Jihoon runs up to you.

“Hey! I didn’t know you were going to be here today.”

“I thought I’d get out of the studio and drop by. I like your pants.” You grin at him and Jihoon chuckles as well at the two pairs of pants that sit around his hips.

“What are you doing after this?” Jihoon asks you. You respond with nothing and Jihoon smiles at you. “Want to get take out and watch a movie with the boys at the dorm?”

When the filming wraps up you join Jihoon and Soonyoung as they pick up food and go back to their dorm. Seungkwan and Jeonghan have already set up most of the things for the movie night and they look thrilled to see the food has arrived.

“Y/N-noona!” Seungkwan runs up to you and throws his arms around you and you hug him back.

“Hey Kwannie!”

“Are you staying for the movie?”

“Yep!”

Seungkwan cheers a bit more and pulls you onto the couch to cuddle. You hear a scoff and look over to see Jihoon rolling his eyes.

“Let her breathe Seungkwan.” He’s setting one of the bags of take out on the counter.

“Don’t worry Jihoon, it’s okay,” you laugh as Seungkwan pouts. You bury yourself deeper into his arms to show that it’s okay.

Soon Jihoon is walking over to you with two plates of food and he sits down on the other side of you before handing you a plate.

“Where’s mine?” Seungkwan asks.

“Get it yourself,” Jihoon grunts and you giggle. Seungkwan whines but still lets go of you to go get his food. You shift over so your arm brushes up against Jihoon’s. You two eat silently as the other three settle down and start the movie.

When you and Jihoon are both finished with your food, Jihoon takes your plates to the seat before taking his spot next to you again, this time pulling you into his arms. You know Jihoon isn’t big on skinship but he never seems to hesitate to touch you. You hope he can’t feel your heart beating out of your chest as he wraps his arms around your waist, his head resting on your shoulder. If you guys were any closer you’d be sitting on Jihoon’s lap.

“Why do I never get to cuddle Y/N?” Soonyoung’s voice interrupts the movie as he stares up at you and Jihoon on the couch from where he’s sitting on the floor. “A little selfish of you Jihoonie.”

“Shut up.” You can’t see him but you know if you were looking at Jihoon he would be rolling his eyes. “Get your own friend.”

“Y/N is my friend! I want my Y/N time!” Before anyone can stop him Soonyoung is standing up and wedging himself in between you and Seungkwan on the couch so he can be pressed into your other side. You laugh as he does but Jihoon is huffing at his actions and Seungkwan is yelling and hitting at Soonyoung. Jeonghan snickers as the three boys start to fight even more. While they’re distracted you pull yourself away from Jihoon and move over to Jeonghan who happily wraps you up in his arms.

“How long do you think it will take them to notice?” Jeonghan whispers.

“At least three more minutes.”

Your guess is right and it isn’t until Seungkwan and Soonyoung are full on wrestling while Jihoon yells at them do any of them notice.

“Y/N! You traitor, how dare you go over to the devil!” Soonyoung says, fake scandalized.

“Hey! I’m an angel,” Jeonghan says and you giggle even more.

“You guys ruin everything,” Jihoon mutters. You pull yourself from Jeonghan to walk up to Jihoon and pull him into a hug.

“Don’t pout Ji it’s okay!” Jihoon seems to melt into your arms and he smirks smugly at the other members.

“See, fighting is useless when she likes me best.” Jihoon then sits down, pulling you onto his lap as he does. You squeal a bit before you fully settle. The other boys seem to pout a bit but don’t say anything more as you continue on with the movie.

“Can you go higher on that part? Come, come into my world,” you sing the last word higher. Vernon nods and tries again.

“That sounds great, thanks Vernon,” Jihoon tells him.

Just then Seokmin walks into the studio. His eyes light up at the sight of you and he pulls you into a hug. “Y/N! I didn’t know you were going to be here today. Aren’t you guys rehearsing today?”

“Ah, I thought I’d drop by to help with the recording. The Hip Hop Unit is doing dance practice but that doesn’t entail me, and I’m not far if they do need me.”

You love helping Seventeen record. You love your girls as well, of course, but the group of rowdy boys always brings up your mood. There are just so many of them and they’re all so talented. It's never boring being around them.

When recording wraps up you and Jihoon go back to his studio so he can piece together the whole song. Even though your guys’ studios are nearly identical, you love being in Jihoon’s more. Maybe it’s because there’s always a handful of boys hanging around or because his couches are a bit more broken in than yours. Not to mention he always had better food than you in his studio because the boys constantly bring their own snacks in. Deep down you know it’s because you love being able to watch Jihoon work, his face concentrated as he plays with the pitch of the song, but you won't admit that outloud.

“Jihoon-hyung!” The studio door is opening and Mingyu bounds in. All previous thoughts are forgotten though when his eyes land on you. “Y/N!” He moves over to the couch and wraps you up in his arms. He practically smothers you as his large body lays on top of you on the couch. You giggle though and wrap your arms around him as his large head buries itself into your neck. His body rests in between your legs and he hums contently at the warmth of your body.

“What do you want, Mingyu?” Jihoon’s annoyed voice interrupts the sweet moment between you and the large puppy boy. 

“Oh right! Uh…”

A sigh from Jihoon. “Did you forget?”

“...Yes,” Mingyu admits shyly. “I’m sorry! Y/N is just so comfy and it distracted me,” he whines and hugs you tighter.

“If you don’t have a reason to be here then, get out.” Jihoon’s voice is demanding. “I need to work on this song and you’re distracting.”

“But Y/N can be in here!”

“Since when are you Y/N? Exactly.” Jihoon’s glare burns into Mingyu which has the younger boy quickly pulling away from you and scuttling out the door. You miss the weight of his body on top of yours and frown towards Jihoon.

“You didn’t have to kick him out like that, or at least you could have done it in another way.”

“He was being a nuisance. I need to focus on this song.”

You sit up at this. You don’t know what has the boy in a bad mood and you hope you don’t make it worse. “Do you uh, do you want me to leave as well?”

“No,” Jihoon answers firmly. “It’s…different for you. You’re a producer as well, you understand and you aren’t annoying. I like you here. This is our space, you know.”

You know he most likely means ‘our’ in a loose way, saying that generally about studio spaces belonging to producers, but it doesn’t stop your heart from fluttering when you hear him say it. Our space. A place for just you and Jihoon.

Idol and Producer Woozi from K-Pop Group Seventeen Seen On Date with Mystery Girl

You stare down at the headline. You were casually scrolling on Twitter, waiting for Jihoon to get back to his studio, when it came up. There were pictures attached and sure enough there was Jihoon, with a woman. You recognize her, not enough to know her name, but enough to know her face. You’ve seen her around K-Pop events, you think she’s some kind of manager or coordinator. In the photo the two are sitting in a cafe while Jihoon holds her hand on the table. He’s in ‘disguise’ but you can still tell it’s him through his mask and hat. In another photo it shows him leaning in, whispering in her ear. The final photo shows them standing, most likely saying goodbye, the two in an embrace.

A pain clenches at your heart and you don’t even realize you’re not breathing until you let out a small sob. Tears are quickly welling up in your eyes and you want them to stop so badly, but they don’t and they start to pour down your cheeks. They collect on your chin before falling down onto your phone screen. You shut the screen off so you don’t have to look at the photos anymore and you drop your phone to the floor as you yourself drop onto the couch. You dig the heels of your hands into your eyes as your shoulders shake with tears.

It’s stupid, crying over someone you’re not even dating, but you still do it. You didn’t even know Jihoon was looking into dating.

You’re startled out of your crying when the door to Jihoon’s studio slams open and Jihoon himself is standing there, a bit out of breath.

“It’s false!” He tells you before he walks up to you and sinks onto the ground. He grabs at your hands and clasps them tightly. “I promise I wasn’t- it’s not- we weren’t on a date! Those photos they, th-they make it look bad. It was a business meeting, of sorts. I wouldn’t, I’m not, it’s all…no, it’s just all no.” He’s babbling and you’ve never seen him so uncomposed but his eyes are wild yet sincere as he talks to you. “D-don’t cry, okay? I wouldn’t do that to you.” He reaches up and wipes at your tears. His hands cup your face and the warmth of his touch starts to calm you down. It seems that the touch also helps Jihoon himself calm down.

You two sit there in silence, both of your chests heaving as you try to catch your breaths. Slowly you slide off the couch and onto the floor yourself. You lean forward into Jihoon and he takes you in his arms as you bury your face into his neck, breathing in his scent. This seems to help ground you even more as you take a shaky breath.

“I don’t even know why I’m crying,” your voice is soft and a bit hoarse. “It’s just…stupid rumors. I’m just being dumb.”

“You’re not dumb,” Jihoon tells you, his firm in the way it always is when you talk bad about yourself. “It’s okay to cry. Are you okay now?”

You pull away from his embrace to look him in his eyes. They’re filled with worry and before you even know it you’re spilling your guts out to him. “No, I’m not okay, because I’ve been in love with you since I was fifteen and I think about you all the time, everyday, and every song I write is about you, and I can’t imagine you being with anybody else, and it broke my heart to even hear rumors about it because a part of me has been hoping and praying and wishing that you want me back and-”

Before you can end your rambling Jihoon is grabbing your face again, only this time it’s to pull you into a kiss. Your lips smash together and you instantly sink into the kiss. Your fingers find purchase on Jihoon’s shirt as you grip him tightly. Then, too soon for your liking, Jihoon is pulling away.

“I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember. The guys won't stop making fun of me for it but I can’t help it. I want you all of the time, and nobody else. It kills me when the guys have their hands all over your and flirt with you. I never want to see you cry again because it breaks my heart and I hate when you call yourself dumb because you are the smartest, most beautiful, talented person I know.”

You want to cry again. Not because you’re sad, but because Lee Jihoon loves you back. You can’t find your words. You’re too overwhelmed. You feel so relieved and loved and happy and you want to tell Jihoon all of this but you can’t so instead you just pull him back into another kiss. This time it’s a bit needier as you try to take in all of Jihoon before you’re deprived of him again. He cradles your head in his hands and kisses you back with just as much want.

Your lips move against each other’s as you pull Jihoon into you by his neck. Your kissing is frantic and your teeth clash together as you desperately try to taste each other. Jihoon is then pulling away again so he can whisper to you, “I need you.” His voice is breathy and filled with lust. “I’ve needed you for so long now.”

“Please,” you whimper as his fingers start to trail up your shirt.

“Wanna show you how much I love you.” Jihoon’s mouth is kissing at your neck, his words muffled by your skin. His fingers are squeezing at you over your bra and you careen into his touch. “My pretty, pretty girl.”

Your fingers shake as they grip onto Jihoon, desperate to ground yourself to something. His hands are warm and skilled as they run across your skin. Want for Jihoon pumps through your blood as you push your body more into his. He grabs you and yanks you onto his lap as his lips find yours again. You kiss him passionately, his plump lips sliding against yours. The feeling of his warm tongue slipping into your mouth has you moaning and you feel your panties dampen.

Without breaking the kiss Jihoon picks you up and places you on the couch. Jihoon has barely sat down next to you before you’re reaching down to palm at him. The feeling of his hard-on is foreign but not unpleasant. You rub at him through his pants and his hips buck up to meet your hand. You squeeze lightly and can fully feel just how large Jihoon is under his sweatpants. Under your hand you can feel his dick twitch a bit and it has the man next to you whining.

“Shit, baby, don’t do that. Gonna make me cum in my pants,” Jihoon mumbles. “Lemme take care of you first at least.” He reaches down and removes your hand gently, placing it on his thick chest. His hand then moves to your hip, his palm and fingers digging into your hip.

Just from his touch alone you’re all worked up. Pleasure sparks through you as his lips suck gently on the skin behind your ear. His free hand moves up your thigh. The warmth from his palm trails up your leg and you unconsciously close your legs, but Jihoon gently nudges them back open. His fingers flit across your waistband before they plunge down the front of your pants and into your panties.

His touch burns your skin and you scream out before quickly biting down on your lip as the tips of his fingers connect to the bundle of nerves between your legs. He quietly shushes you as he starts to rub soft, slow circles into the bud. You whine and bury your face in his neck as he continues to work at your clit. He holds the back of your head with his hand to comfort you but doesn’t let up his ministrations.

“So pretty like this, all shy and needy for me. You’re getting so wet for me baby.” His fingers move further into your panties as he slips on into you. You clench down around the digit and grind against his hand which has Jihoon chuckling.

He pumps the finger in and out of you as you try your best not to come undone too quickly. He slowly inserts a second finger into you and you already feel so full, you’re not sure how you’re going to take him. His other hand comes down to paw at your pants and you help him yank them down your legs so he can have full access to you. You lay back and spread your legs a bit more so he can get a full view of your dripping cunt.

He groans at the sight of it and has to will himself not to bust right there. He starts to pick up speed in his thrusting, your arousal spreading all over his hand. His fingers are skilled from playing instruments and he easily curls his fingers into you, projecting pleasure throughout your whole body. You whimper as he slides a third finger into you. It’s a tight fit and you can feel the way he stretches you out on his fingers. He tells you how good you’re doing before leaning down to suck at your plush, smooth thighs.

The pleasure gets to be too much for you as you start to shake. Your pussy is fluttering as you clench down on Jihoon’s fingers, signaling to him that you’re close. He starts to pick up speed, thrusting in and out of you at a quick and steady pace. You’re a moaning mess as he does and it doesn’t take long for you to cum all over his fingers. Your eyes squeeze shut as you mewl out. Jihoon removes his fingers from you and you’re about to whine at the loss of the stimulation but you don’t even get the chance before Jihoon is leaning down and licking at your slit. He cleans you up with his tongue, sucking at your clit as you ride out your high.

When he pulls back his face is sticky with your arousal but he has a small smile on his face. “Taste so good, just like I knew you would.”

“Need you so bad Hoonie,” you whine and open your legs a big more. Jihoon’s dick stirs at the sight of your slick cunt, waiting for him to fill you up.

“Of course baby, I’m gonna show you all my love.” He’s pulling his shirt over his head and pulling down his own sweats. He gets up to grab a condom and you decide to strip yourself of your shirt and bra.

When Jihoon walks back over to his couch he stops in his tracks at the sight of your bare chest. He nearly creams his boxers right there when his eyes land on the small metal barbells that sit adorning your perky pink nipples.

“Shit baby, when did you get these?” Jihoon sits down on the edge of the couch and reaches down to pinch one of the piercings between his fingers. “Didn’t feel them earlier over your bra. God that’s so sexy.” You cant up into his touch, moaning as he teases your nipples.

You’ve actually had your piercings for a while. You were twenty when you got them and it was on a stupid dare that you and your members had made. The only people who know about them are your members and your stylist who is sworn to secrecy.

“God I need you so bad,” Jihoon tells you. His voice is low and dripping with lust. You can see how badly his cock is straining through his boxers, begging for release. You reach forward and gently reach into his boxers before pulling his dick free.

When his member pops free from its restraint you gasp a bit. It seems even bigger now that you can see it. You’ve never seen a dick in real life before but the sight of Jihoon’s makes your mouth water. You pump at it a bit but Jihoon is pulling your hand away before you can really get going.

“Don’t wanna cum too soon,” he explains as he pulls his boxers all the way down. He tears the condom open and rolls it down his throbbing dick. He crawls over your body, taking your mouth against his once more. You love the taste of Jihoon, all sweet from the Coca-Cola he guzzles down on the regular.

You can feel him rubbing up against your slit and you pull away from him, gasping a bit. “Jihoon, I’ve never uh…I’m a virgin.”

“I’ll take good care of you okay? But only if you want me to.” His voice is kind and caring as he caresses your cheek. “It’s all up to you baby.”

“N-no, I want you! I’m just afraid you won’t fit,” you admit in a shy voice.

When you look at Jihoon, his face is a tomato. “O-oh.”

Jihoon has hooked up with people before, nothing serious, but it’s happened. You on the other hand haven’t. Maybe it’s because your virtue is seen as more valuable than his, or maybe it’s because you’ve never wanted any guy other than Jihoon. You’re not sure, but know you’re a bit nervous as you’re just so inexperienced.

“Just uh, go slow okay?”

Jihoon gulps thickly and nods. He reaches down and lines himself up to your entrance before he slowly pushes his hips towards yours. The stretch of his dick is even tighter than his fingers and you can’t help but whimper as he fills you up.

Once he’s fully in you he waits as you adjust to his thick girth. You already feel overwhelmed just by him putting it in you. When it finally starts to feel less uncomfortable and more pleasurable you signal for him to start moving.

At a gentle pace Jihoon starts to slide out of you before he thrusts his hips back into yours. You moan at the feeling of his cock dragging against your walls. You grab at his broad shoulders and dig your nails into his skin. Jihoon groans at the feeling and he buries his face in your neck. The intimate action makes your stomach flutter and you feel giddy knowing that your long-time crush loves you back, and right now he’s showing you just how much he loves you.

His lips press soft kisses into your bare skin. The feeling of his plush lips against your warm skin sends shudders through your whole body as your pleasure starts to spike higher and higher as his hips rut deeper into you. His pace has quickened but he still keeps his soft demeanor. You let out a slew of mantras as you start to feel the tension in your body build up to an overwhelming amount.

Jihoon senses your impending orgasm and starts to suck at the sweet spot on your neck a bit harder as his hips start to snap into yours more deftly. With a final moan you’re releasing all of your pleasure, your orgasm washing over you for a second time today. Your body shakes as you grip onto Jihoon tightly, pulling his body into yours as you mewled. Jihoon’s hips stutter inside of you as he finds his own release.

When you finally calm down you slowly release your grip from Jihoon and let your body melt into the couch cushions. You stare up at Jihoon with droopy eyes and give him a soft, fucked out smile. You grab at his face and pull him down to kiss you and he complies. This kiss is softer than any of the others, and just from the soft touch of his lips you feel completely loved.

After a couple moments you pull back and Jihoon is pushing your hair out of your face. “I love you so much. Never think anything else.”

You only nod, your eyes starting to flutter shut. Jihoon is then pulling out of you and removing the condom before tying it off and throwing it away. You’re in and out of sleep as Jihoon cleans you up and gives you one of his sweatshirts and a bottle of water. After he’s finished he gathers you into his arms, whispering sweet nothings to you, as you drift off to sleep in his arms. You can worry about everything else later, right now you just want to feel safe in the arms of the man you love, in the studio you love so much.

[sgiandubh]

I actually am a shipper so I wasn’t trying to make the rounds to stir shit. I haven’t been around for too long only about 2 years or less. I just got upset when I saw the Getty pictures of Sam’s hand on Eleanor’s hip and hand on her back and then the fan pictures and video too of his hand on her back and giving her hug made me start to question everything since he does that with Cait too. I’m sorry for giving the wrong impression.

But I took a little time to reflect and remembered videos and images we got of Sam and Cait from Outlander promo this year. Between the moments at 92Y where Sam gave Cait a kiss on her temple and rubbed her back as well as the end when posing with Sophie in Rik. To the looks and knowing glances he gave her during interviews and even giving her a pat on the leg I believe in one interview. I overreacted initially and now that I put things into perspective, I can see the difference. There’s an intimacy and connection between Sam and Cait that comes across in promo that isn’t there with Eleanor.

Sorry again for coming across the wrong way. I truly was just looking for some reassurance initially

Dear (returning) Weary and Distraught Anon,

That would be very strange, because it really (REALLY) looks very similar to an Anon @bat-cat-reader showed me perhaps ten minutes before you chimed in.

However, since this is a plausible deniability situation, please accept my apologies, even if I still am not 100% sure about you.

I was just writing a post about body language at tonight's BAFTA preview of TCND, but since you've made reasonable amends, I am including it here for you, Anon:

S&C at OL's S7 Premiere in New York, June 9, 2023:

S & Tomlinson tonight:

Please note the following:

Tomlinson is completely disengaged, watches confidently the press people in front of her. She does not smile. Translation: I am a woman who just showed the press, the PR people and potential employers my latest project. I am a pro. I am very married and I know this hunk belongs to someone else. I am only playing PR games in *urv's mind.

S does the same. He uses his left hand as a completely non-committal blocking shield. Colgate smile is somewhat too calibrated to be spontaneous, the result is pleasant (which is to say 'decent bordering on meh'). Translation: we are all buddies and I (S) hope you liked our wee series. I really, seriously enjoyed working with these people and I am relieved we were allowed to promote this series in the middle of the strike turmoil. My well-rehearsed Optimistic Gaze Nr. 4 hides very well my real thoughts, that even @sgiandubh can't telegraph to her readers. And these thoughts have nothing to do with being here (note to readers: above thoughts probably involve a living-room near GLA).

Alfred Enoch: he is the only relaxed person in this picture and the only one whose smile perfectly aligns with his eyes (both sincere, open and enthusiastic). His arms' position is completely natural. Translation: I am over the moon to be here, I managed to work during a really rough patch and I really hope someone has noticed me tonight. Maybe I'll get another gig soon. These people are my friends, but tonight, it's all about myself: it is me I am showing off, selling and promoting here. Hire me: I am the funny one.

Bonus (dotted arrow shows where S's gaze is directed):

I think that needs no further comments. I rest my case, Anon.

Thank you for clarifying, I think you were brave to come back. Don't be a stranger, if I managed to not scare the bejesus out of you, yet.

PS: who knew my Business Intelligence uni credits would come in so handy, in the most unlikely of situations?

[prienova]

I showed my friend, who knows almost nothing about f1 and has absolutely no filter, photos of each driver on the 2022 grid and made her name and give me her first impressions on them and 😭. She just said whatever came into her head at the time, none of this was really thought over :). Everything is under the cut since this is such a long post!

Max Verstappen: William Osbourne

italian or spanish vibes

slightly dark and broody vibes

takes racing very seriously

“He is either super nice or an absolute asshole, or maybe he’s both who knows.”

Sergio Perez: Kristopher

A little lost but everyone loves it

100% has compilations on youtube that are like “kristopher being kristopher for 8 minutes and 23 seconds”

Has spent so long in f1 that everyone is telling him to quit

Very enthusiastic and his fans are very loyal

Charles Leclerc: Alexio 

“Damn he’s fine as hell!”

Hot, sexy, and hardworking

Has so many smutty fanfics written about him but he doesn’t know that they exist

Famous for his dimples and general smolder

Carlos Sainz: Akaash

“Oh my god, is he indian? YES DESI REP!” (She was so exited, I felt bad telling her he is spanish)

Could act in a movie as a fuckboy

Nice enough but might break your heart

Hard to approach but well liked by others

Lewis Hamilton: Joseph (but goes by Joe)

“Why are these guys so hot?”

Very wholesome and doing his best

“He looks like a good driver, I’d let him grip my steering wheel” ;)

Probably posts thirst traps after workouts

George Russell: George (she got one!)

Smiles and laughs but is secretly sad inside

“Is he gay? He feels gay. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, I am too and my senses are tingling.”

Solid driver

After seeing him in his williams era: “Awww, look at his hair, what a gem :)”

Fernando Alonso: Alec La Chance

Old man, people are begging him to retire but he stays out of spite

Has a questionable hairstyle

Can come off as rude and scary but he is just blunt

Has probably hazed the new drivers each year

Esteban Ocon: David

Sweet guy, seems very bubbly and fun to be around, has a cute face

Would hype you up if you were feeling down

“He's that one cousin who you see at family gatherings every 4 years that you get along with super well but never talk to outside of those gatherings as neither of you can seem to make the effort to reach out.” (yes, this is her exact wording 😭)

“Is his hair wet or is that just an unholy amout of hair gel?”

Daniel Ricciardo: Arnesto

Very popular among the guys and gals ;)

Very chill and well liked

“He’s so smiley, I love his teeth!”

Looks like he belongs in FIFA

Lando Norris: Theodore

“How old is this guy? I thought you said they had to be 18 to drive or something.”

Has an “I’m not like other boys” mentality

Probably reads those romance webnovels that all have the exact same plot and cries when he finishes them because he wants to be loved

Says “pog” and “sus” unironically

Valterri Bottas: Scott

“He’s giving me australian vibes.”

Has a nice smile, seems chill and relaxed, very reliable

Not a fan of publicity but deals with it only because he has to

Comes off as tough and intense but is actually a total sweetheart, gives off major dad energy

Zhou Guanyu: Andrew

“Ooooh, I like him. He would bump into me on the way to work, spill my drink, and buy me coffee as an apology.”

A solid dude and a good friend

Seems like a good sport

She spent almost ten minutes drooling over his modeling pictures 💀

Kevin Magnussen: Gordon Ramsay

Has strong father vibes but is unhinged

Head empty, only cars

Has questionable morals but everyone loves him

Stoner energy

“He looks like if someone tried to copy Gordon Ramsay but changed it up a bit so it wasn’t obvious.”

Mick Schumacher: Brad

Very charismatic

“What happened to his hair? Why would he cut it like that?” (I showed her before and after photos of that one haircut)

Very sweet but is also a menace to society

Looks like he would enjoy cherry flavored cough medicine

Pierre Gasly: Chadwick

Very cool and suave, flirts a lot, secretly sad inside

Throws parties often

Would have went into finance if f1 didn’t work out

Has a small but devoted fanbase, extremely underrated driver

“I can’t tell if I would trust him or not.”

Yuki Tsunoda: Benjamin

Very nice, another solid guy

“He has the same hair my brother did when he was 12.”

Can drive an f1 car well but gets too nervous to drive on regular streets because he doesn’t trust himself to not start speeding

“He’s cute, I’d date him.”

Sebastian Vettel: Gandalf

Very nice and wise, pleasant to talk to

Wins a lot, has many fans that thirst over him and his scruffy hair

Could have been a footballer but chose to go into f1 instead

“He has fun uncle energy, I want to smoke a joint with him.”

Lance Stroll: Jacob from Twilight

“THIS GUY’S HAIRCUT IS EVEN WORSE THAN BRAD’S!”

When he got rid of his old hair, his passion for the sport left with it

Sometimes gets intimidated by some of the intense racers

“Someone please tell him to grow his hair back out, it looked so good.”

Alex Albon: Jughead from Archie

Has a good portion of haters for no reason

A bit awkward but very sweet

Pulls off the red hair VERY well

“I want to be his bottle of hairdye.”

Nicholas Latifi: Santander

Is either the best driver currently or very bad

Looks very intuitive and thoughtful

Seems handy and domestically skilled

“I like his hands, do you think he moisturizes?”

I honestly can’t tell which one is my favorite 😭

[devine-fem]

TWITTER LURKERS DNI!!

Whew, It’s late as fuck and I’m tired as hell but I’m still gonna write this Jon and Damian shipping post because I’m tired of people not getting it like at all.

Firstly, I’m mentioning all of this as in before the age up because before the age up is where they had a dynamic. Right now, they are just friends who know each other.

Before the age up - Jon was established as ten in Super Sons and Damian was thirteen.

Let’s talk about that first; Jon was just created - Jon did not exist for that long since he was conceived in Thomas Wayne’s Batcave. He has barely any writing under his belt.

Their dynamic is not “Oh, Damian is the mature one who knows everything and Jon is stupid and is to be taught everything-“ No. Damian is NOT as mature as everyone makes him out to be and people only take his maturity away to make him an “Uwu adorkable cat boy-“ which is frankly annoying.

Any of these fan depictions are fine in purely fanon contexts where for fan reasons they want to mold the characters in different ways because that’s the fun of it but I’m talking entirely in a canon sense.

Anyway, Damian is someone who’s established himself as a hero, he’s come into himself and he has associates and a path he’s paving for himself. He’s supposedly to be someone that teaches Jon how to do that, he’s supposed to be someone that grows alongside Damian and with Damian and in turn Jon is supposed to be someone who teaches Damian how to be a kid.

Damian teaches Jon to be a hero - Jon teaches Damian how to be a kid.

Jon is not an idiot, he has the obvious limitations due to his age but besides that, he’s not the immature one, he’s not the sunshine one, he’s not the devoted one, he’s none of these things.

I’m so tired of these characters being watered down like this.

Jon is emotional, he’s headstrong, he’s articulate and has a level head.

If Damian is as mature as people make him out to be THEY WOULDN’T HAVE BUMPED HEADS IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Jon and Damian didn’t meet and were like oh, friends at first glance. NO, THEY HATED EACH OTHER.

More so because Jon wanted to be Damian’s friend and Damian didn’t understand how friends were supposed to work till Jon coupled with the fact that they are both kids and extremely immature.

Adventures of Super Sons

Super Sons

I have never in any fandom seen people put so much emphasis on an age gap before this one. I’ve seen fandoms enjoy age gaps - if you read any sort of romantic material then you’d know that an age gap will supply a certain dynamic between two characters, it can be an extra set of maturity but that isn’t really the case here.

Their age gap is just barely big enough.

Their AGE GAP IS ENTIRELY NESSACERY to their relationship with each other. It doesn’t supply much besides an opening opportunity later in the comics to make Jon feel like he needs to chase after Damian when it comes to being a hero which we will never get to see.

Jon doesn’t have friends outside of Damian besides Kathy, no because he just was established as a character.

I would also like to add that Jon doesn’t have an established birthday, I still don’t recall that he does to this day. It could be a lot smaller than we think it is and it probably is. Although, I’ve seen people call two-year age gaps weird as well which I really don’t understand because I personally have never heard that in my entire life.

Rather or not an age gap is inappropriate really differs from person to person - if you ask one person what is wrong will differ entirely from what another person thinks. It will also span from culture to culture and region to region. It’s never really been a tangible thing - I mean, ask your parents it's likely they are much more than three or four years older than the other.

Anyway, whether or not someone is being taken advantage of in a romantic relationship doesn’t hinge entirely on the age gap between them anyway but that’s another conversation.

My next point is, that no one, I mean no one should critically consider these two characters engaging in a romantic relationship while they are young - with the way that they are I sincerely doubt that they would be able to hold a romantic relationship to the other.

They would have to find each other again when they are older, and that is what literally every shipper I’ve interacted with ever has told me.

Jon and Damian may get drawn in shippy art while they are young now but it’s entirely innocent (depending on what you think is innocent again) I do indeed indulge in reblogging this art because I think it’s cute personally and harmless but it’s just art. It’s also where their relationship peaked and where Jon was actually interesting so obviously people would rather draw that instead.

Shipping these two does not inherently mean that you don’t read comics and aging up characters is not inherently problematic - which I’ve heard as well…

If I didn’t read comics then how would I know that these characters have always been aged up repeatedly through depictions?

Dceased - which they share no age gap. Here they are the same age.

Wonder Woman - where they are in their 20s and up.

And Super Sons in the first place where they are literally in their 80s.

Or the movie where they’re the same age.

Mind you, Jon is sometimes written to be eleven when Damian is either thirteen or fourteen but double mind you, Damian and Jon have not known each other for a full 365 days before the age up. They are best friends but by default because neither of them has a lot of other friends.

We are not getting into how wonky ages are for Robins since Tim Drake and how writers sometimes refuse to allow characters to age…

Ugh, none of this even matters anyway because most people don’t and shouldn’t ship under the ideation that two characters should be canon anyway, I don’t personally because DC can’t even handle Damian and Jon being friends - their is no WAY they could handle a romantic relationship.

I get that we may have bad experiences with people who ship this ship like people who demonize Flatline and are idiots in general… like twitter damijon stans as well as antis are literally the most heinous people I’ve seen interact.

For example, RedeemedRobin is a psycho that doesn’t care about anyone or anything that isn’t Damijon…

But Damijon isn’t like comprised of adults who want to prey on young characters, no, I actually struggle to have a genuine conversation with someone who likes Damijon because they are mostly kids who don’t UNDERSTAND HOW THE SHIP WORKS and are super cringe which is literally the reason I’m making this post anyway. It’s so, so annoying not being able to have a genuine conversation about these characters with other shippers. I don’t know why people like to throw around ideas of how shipping spaces are WHEN THEY ARE NOT IN THOSE SPACES THEMSELVES?

Besides, comics are old and if you are an adult who enjoys damijon then it’s probably because you grew up with the characters if that’s not obvious enough I mean these comics are like almost seven years old?

Anyway, in conclusion, stop watering down these characters, stop demonizing the ship and shippers, and just stop being an idiot on the internet in general like it really shouldn’t be that hard to use your brain.

If you opened your brain half as much as you opened your mouth than we could both be much happier…

If you feel the same way as I do then please be mutuals with me, I need to free myself from this curse…

[justalittlesolarpunk]

This is my last post before I head off on my ten-day minimal-internet tidalpunk adventure (expect pics when I return!) so I thought I’d make a nice long list-type thing for all you solarpunks before I go.

Now, this might not seem very cheerful compared to my other topics - certainly all the people I’ve brought this up with irl have acted like I’m being alarmist and depressing, but I don’t see it that way. I view it as being prepared and maximising your ability to keep yourself and your community safe, which is after all what solarpunk is all about!

So without further ado, here is my *extremely idealised* suggestion for an emergency kit list to help you cope with increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather events. The goal is that with the supplies in this bag you could either shelter safely in place or get up and go, and be well supplied in either case to care for yourself and share with those in need. In fact, in both scenarios you would hopefully be able to temporarily ‘start from scratch’ in terms of infrastructure should the frameworks of society around you no longer be reliable. I based mine off suggestions by climate scientist Kendra Pierre-Louis (you can check out her advice on the ‘Unnatural Disasters’ episode of the How To Save A Planet Podcast), but yours might look subtly different depending on who you are, what you can afford/carry, and where you live.

Emergency kit list:

-Big hiking rucksack, to keep everything in

-Sleeping bag

-A small portable tent and camping stove

-A penknife or multi tool

-Matches or a lighter

-Kindling or firestarters - I use wood wool balls held together with wax

-Torch (with up to date batteries!)

-Towels

-Non-perishable or long-life foods, such as protein bars, rice cakes/breadsticks/crackers, dried fruit, bagged nuts/seeds, crisps, tinned soup, pot noodles

-A seedbomb of edible plants (you can get some for slightly excessive prices here in the UK, otherwise they can be made fairly easily by combining clay, straw, paper or flour with the desired seeds)

-Two large water bottles (600-650ml) and a water bladder

-A water purifier (preferably one capable of filtering out both natural pathogens like bacteria and viruses and synthetic pollutants like heavy metals and PFAS)

-A collapsible bucket

-A first aid kit, including plasters, bandages, sterile wipes, hand sanitiser, latex gloves, antiseptic/disinfectant, (K)N95 masks to filter out particulates (whether ash or pathogens), painkillers, antihistamines, rehydration sachets, anti-emetics and anti-diarrhoeals, steroid creams, aloe vera gel, iodine tablets in case of radiation, and any medication you regularly take (including epipens and inhalers if needed)

-A pair of goggles to protect your eyes from air pollution such as smog, wildfire smoke, etc

-Toothpaste tablets and a spare toothbrush

-Period supplies (pack these even if you don’t get periods - someone you run into might need them)

-A solar charger

-A satellite phone

-A mechanical handheld fan, with working batteries, to keep you cool in extreme heat

-A magnetic heat belt for extra warmth

-A change of clothes, including a sun hat, a scarf, woolly hat and gloves for extreme cold, and waterproofs (plus an umbrella!) for wet conditions

-Pliers or secateurs for cutting through dense debris or vegetation

-Some strong, climbing-grade rope

-A trowel (for planting and digging up but also for burying…waste 😅 - a long-term wild camping scenario isn’t infeasible here)

-Your passport and any other documents (marriage certificate, adoption papers, savings bonds if you’re like a hundred years old) that you might need if fleeing your country becomes a necessity

-As much cash as you are comfortable withdrawing/leaving lying around your house/carrying with you in an emergency

-A personal locator beacon is a radio-transmitter that signals your location to emergency services via satellite. These tend to have a 24-hour battery life, so if you foresee being in any way ‘stranded’ for longer then a useful trick is to switch it on for one hour each day, and then turn it off again. This not only saves power but shows emergency services that there is conscious intention involved, proving you’re still alive and lucid

-Some things to keep your spirits up, like a chocolate bar and your favourite/funniest book

-It’s worth having a sturdy pair of hiking boots for if you have to pick up the bag and go

Obviously this list is super extra, a bunch of these things are prohibitively expensive, and some items would need periodic replacement if a long time passed without the necessity of using the emergency kit. You could also likely build a fairly functional emergency kit with only a fraction of these supplies, I’m just trying to anticipate every eventuality here.

It’s up to you whether you think the investment is worth it - it’s a big outlay for a possible zero return. Personally I think it’s at least somewhat worth it as extreme weather is only going to happen more often and have more serious consequences, and preparedness turns what could be a disaster into an inconvenience, often saving money in the long run. But it will depend on the relative likelihood of severe weather events in your local area. It’s also worth saying that these work for ostensibly non-climate related problems, from a power cut in your town to an authoritarian coup in your government to your house falling down! It isn’t just for wildfires or tornadoes.

Over the next few months I’m hoping to slowly build up the aspects of the kit that are affordable and accessible to me, with the aim of being able to keep myself safe and aid my neighbours should disaster strike.

[miracles-and-butterflies]

How did fractured Luisa react when she find out that Pedro abused Mirabel?

*fan girl screaming* You don’t know how long I’ve waited for this question.

Very, very sickened.

Warning: sensitive topics below.

~~~~~~

And Yet He Shot the Fawn

Luisa almost forgot what she was meant to be doing. A hug is the furthest thing in her mind. She is too busy staring at Mirabel’s back, neck and upper arms through the tears in her blouse, now that she’s closer… it looks awful. She can see the inside of Mirabel’s neck in one of the cuts.

Some of them are deep, like slices. Some are barely there. Some raised on her skin. Some are bloody and leaking profusely. Some are pink and angry. Some are white and fading.

There isn’t a patch of skin that isn’t marked.

All this time Luisa and Camilo have mocked Mirabel’s perfect posture and stiff back and shoulders…

No wonder. She looks like she would shatter.

But how did she get these injuries?

They look too precise to be an accident or an animal. Mirabel wouldn’t get into a fight. And it’s not like she could have done it herself, the angle is wrong.

It has to be someone else. Nobody spends time alone with her…

“Abuelo did it.”

Mirabel’s coldness broke a little at the name. She paled and took a small step back.

“You are tired and stressed, Luisa. You should get some rest—”

“He did. Didn’t he?”

Mirabel shifted from one foot to the other. “He and my tutors.”

There’s been so many tutors over the years. Is that why they were replaced so quickly? Coming and going from nowhere to prevent gossip?

All those adults… adults who were trusted by their family.

“When?” Luisa asked.

“I-I lost count; I don’t know the dates… it started when I was six. It hasn’t stopped.”

Is that why her blouse is all bloody and ripped now? Is that why Abuelo had been in her room just now? Is that why he has a riding crop - even though he has never owned a horse?

Has he been using a weapon on her this whole time?

“Why?”

“You have to understand that he isn’t doing it to hurt me.” Mirabel insists. “I was making mistakes and getting emotional. He is doing it to help me. I failed. I was being a burden to our family, I had to be taught a lesson.”

She doesn’t actually believe this… does she?

“I should find our parents, or someone else in the family. They can help—”

“Nobody will care.”

“What?”

“I call them Señor and Señora. I can’t feel, Luisa. Everyone is scared of me. Or thinks I’m a heartless monster. Or both. I haven’t had a relationship with anyone since I was Antonio’s age.” Mirabel’s eyes and voice are wracked with distress; the rest of her is oddly calm. “I don’t know what it feels like to love and be loved anymore. Abuelo does not love me. He loves my gift - if it were to disappear tomorrow, he’d want nothing to do with me.”

A tear slips from her eye then.

Luisa hates herself.

She (and Camilo) have teased and mocked and bullied this girl senseless. Abuelo Pedro’s little favourite. Señorita sin corazón.

She remembers Mirabel before her ceremony, a very different girl, begging Luisa to protect her.

“I don’t want a gift,” she’d weeped under their beds, ten years ago. “I want to stay here with you in the nursery. It’s safe here.”

And fuck. She was right.

That whole thing with Isabela? All those years ago was true… Isabela wasn’t just being bossy and annoying when she’d hiss at them to stop. She knew it happened once. Does she know it’s still going on?

And their parents? How could they not know? Even if they didn’t believe Isabela back then, wouldn’t they have checked with Mirabel?

What about Tía Pepa? She heals people. She heals everyone. Didn’t she ever think it was strange how she’s never treated Mirabel in the past nine years?

“I heard the cracks that night.” Luisa gasps dramatically before she can stop herself. “I wasn’t sure with all the commotion at first. I told him when we went back into Antonio’s room. He said, ‘If you can’t use your gift correctly, I will bash your head into the wall until you do. Like a soft arepa.”

Luisa just put a hand over her mouth.

At least she’d just been made to look like she was drunk.

“He didn't say the arepa bit.” Mirabel said, flat. “I thought it would be funny. I thought if I could cry, I could smile too. I suppose not.”

Luisa felt bile in her throat.

[kikisfuneralservice]

LEE TAEMIN BF HEADCANONS

always wanted to know what lee taemin is like as a boyfriend? your questions have been answered…

includes nsfw content‼️

*ALL CONTENT IS PURELY FICTIONAL AND NON-ASSOCIATIVE WITH ANY OF SHINEE OR SM ENTERTAINMENT- PURELY FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES!*

FLUFF:

likes waking you up early

for no reason too he's just your alarm clock cuz he’s loud as hell in the morning

clashing shit around n bein loud

he takes longer than you to get ready

you are ready to leave in sweatpants and he’s got a full outfit on and you’re like come the fuck on

wants to buy you expensive things so you two can be the stylish couple instead of the trashman and the hot guy

you like being the trashman tho so it’s ok

swings your hand that he’s holding while u two are walking n starts skipping n shit cuz he thinks it’s cute while you’re like :| what

ties your shoes, buttons up your coat, puts on your scarf, etc. loves taking care of you

loves laying his head on yours when yall are on the bus or train

he also likes sharing earbuds with u!! he just does it to be physically closer to u tho lol

writes gross poems out in the notes app in his phone for you and they physically make you ill because of how cheesy they are

*some odd interpretative dance in the middle of the street* “this represents my love for you”

you: 🧍 “take it back pls”

u both are just very chaotic

copies people that he sees on the street bc life imitates art

tries to say profound things but they end up coming out sounding like tongue twister

sends up just telling a story from ten years ago that you’ve already heard before

but you’d never tell him that

likes to take the scenic route even though it’s far longer because he loves taking photos

speaking of which, he has more than 10k photos in his camera roll, half of them being of the sky and the other half being memes from twitter

is a big fan of trashy reality tv—sometimes more than you

i hc him as a huge love island fan

he likes ordering you both large coffees from starbucks and sitting down on the couch and gossip about the love island contestants

always somehow roots for the couple that gets eliminated the fastest

is very passionate about voting on reality television shows

tries to imitate their accents (he is convinced he could be Australian)

also is someone who yells at the tv, but also stops it every five seconds to talk about what’s going on in depth bc no one else would understand

loves doing karaoke so u guys have karaoke nights

he buys the goddamn microphones too

he just loves doing the things he loves the most with you

as long as he’s with you :)

SMUT:

loves touching u more than anything else 

loves getting on his knees to look up at you while you run ur fingers through his hair

loves loves loves praising u but only if u reciprocate it back

just very very sensual and does everything slow just to take it in

french kissing/??!?!?!?!?

yeah

puts your hands everywhere on him

rlly likes handjobs???

he just wants ur hands on him

he loves getting off on the thought of u

loves when u sit on him facing each other just bc he wants to see ur pretty face as u get off on him

mutual masturbation!!!!!

does that thing and pulls u closer to him by ur legs

likes when ur on top of him just cuzzzz

it’s the best seat in the house

he likes seeing u in control thats all it makes him feel loved and wanted

loves putting ur foreheads together so he can feel ur breathing against his lips as u slowly fuk him👀

his eyes are way too much to handle

slightly hooded and pupils dilated so much it’s like he just got back from the eye doctor

“lemme show u what i've always wanted to do to u”

wants to know he’s making you feel good

---

how do we feel about these taemin hcs that have been sitting in my wips folder for actually about a year?? i’m sorry ;-; i wanted to upload a little something before i go ia this weekend, and i thought i’d upload the taemin hcs! if you are interested in more content, please make sure to see my pinned post!

please make sure to rest well this weekend and heal: i will be here or on my twitter for anyone who would like to reach out.

TAGLIST FOR THE SPECIAL PEEPS (lmk if you’d like to be a part of this to get notifs on my new posts!): @keyloml​, @jjongolese​, @taeminscheesetouch​, @dayskz​, @jonghyuns-husband​, @taeminscult1​

[choicesficwriterscreations]

CFWC Writer of the Month - June 2023: peonyblossom

Each month CFWC highlights one of our talented fanfic writers, and this month’s writer of the month is @peonyblossom We hope you will enjoy learning more about them and their work below! The writer is selected at random. More info can be found on the navigation page.

Quick Links:

Tumblr Blog: peonyblossom Blog Masterlist AO3

How do you want to be known on Tumblr? Peony, Jay, or Ethan

1- When did you start playing Choices? What was the first book you played? 

I started playing Choices when it was first introduced after I saw the promos on HSS and HWU. Ofc the first book I played was High School Story!! 

2- When and why did you join Choices fandom?

I joined the Choices fandom because of Thomas Hunt LMAO. After playing the Thomas dates in HWU, I looked him up on Tumblr to see if there was any fan content, and there was (HUGE shoutout to @lovealexhunt and @gutsfics because their works were the first ones I saw). Through following a few Thomas Hunt fan accounts, I found some other stuff in the fandom, like CFWC, and decided to read some other really popular stories, and it just snowballed lol.

3- How did you pick your blog name? 

I wanted something that wasn’t fandom-specific so I could post content for any of the many fandoms I’m in. And peonies are my favorite flower! 

4- Pull up the first post in your archive, and tell us about it!  

The first first post in my archive is a reblog of a One Direction fanfic. My first original post was about the show Miraculous Ladybug. 

5- How long have you been writing fanfiction?

Ooh. A long time. Sixth or seventh grade, so nine or ten years? 

6- What is your favorite Choices book, and what is your favorite Choices book to write about?

My favorite Choices book is America’s Most Eligible, but my favorite book to write about is Red Carpet Diaries/Hollywood U. I think I just like reading and writing about stories in the film industry since that’s what I do, lol. 

7- Share the first fanfic you wrote with us. Do you still like it, or would you change it if you were writing it today?

Waiting Game / peonyblossom / AO3

I still like it! But, if I were writing it today, I would probably make it third person instead of first. It’s still cute, though!

8- What is your favorite fic that you’ve written?

Okay, probably a tie between What If It’s Now? and Love Lost.

9- Do you have a fic that you didn’t expect to be well received, but it was? What about one you expected to be but found could use a little more love?

I think there are a few I thought would’ve gotten a little more attention when I first posted them, but by now, I don’t really think that anymore. 

10- If you could write only angst, fluff, or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why? 

FLUFF. I mean, I pretty much only write fluff right now; I just love it so much! 

11- Do you ever recognize yourself in any of your MCs or in your writing?

Oh yeah. I think I see myself the most in my RCD/HWU MC, Jackie. In the HWU Universe, she’s a film student, like me, and in both universes, she’s an actor, like me! 

12- What element of writing do you struggle with most?

Finding the time to do it 🥲 Other than that, probably just get started. I tend to psych myself out, especially with bigger projects. 

13- Do you have any neglected work you really want to finish?

So. Many.

14- If someone you know in real life (who isn’t involved in fandoms) asked to read your work, would you let them? If yes, what would you recommend they read first? 

It depends on who it is, but I’d probably let them. As for what I’d recommend, it also depends on the person. Honestly, might just send them my AO3 and let them decide ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

15 - Are there any writers (published authors and/or fanfic writers) who influenced your writing? 

Probably more than I know! I’m sure there are plenty of authors who influence me subconsciously. But, I would say I tend to be influenced by classic novels like The Great Gatsby and The Picture of Dorian Gray.

16- Which one of your stories would you most like to see as a movie/series? 

Forever Sounds Perfect! I would love to just watch Ethan propose to Sydney 🥺

17- Do you write original fiction? 

Yeah! I mostly do screenwriting, but I also do fiction and poetry writing. 

18 -  What other hobbies do you have?

Hiking, reading, and yoga!

19 - What’s your favorite emoji? 

🥰 or 🫶

[be-the-glenn-to-my-maggie]

I can’t BELIEVE for the nights and days of life is over, I was starting to think that novel would last forever.

I hope you all are ready for the fact that it’s not over here on my blog, as my 5-5 ass is not done with it yet. In that respect, here are the chapter ten notes. No spoilers in the comments for me and any people who haven’t read yet, or are for some godforsaken reason, reading along with me.

And @mochalottie u are a queen and my favorite, I’m so sorry for taking so so long to read your work and being so bad at responding to your dms, I’m at the stage in adulting where every text from anyone seems like a monumental task lol. I’m trying to manage time better and respond better. It doesn’t help that I work in a high school so it blocks tumblr!!

Onto the for the nights and days of life chapter 10 notes! Happy Halloween all!

-The way I feel like my own children are growing up too fast when I hear that Spider and Neteyam aren’t sitting with Mo’at in the infirmary much anymore. 

-Ur fighting my Jake and Mo’at spend an insane amount of time gossiping headcanon. Ur simply spitting on it. Just think about it, just pICTURE it. Mo’at’s grinding up a paste and Jake sneaks in like “…Have your heard about what happened with Moe and Ninat?” and Mo’at goes “JAKE SULI I would never talk behind someone’s back. Tell me everything.”

-Hey, Neytiri being like unable to acknowledge Paz as Spider’s mom? Banger. It really gets to me. She’s like well fuck off that’s my kid all while doubting herself. But Mo’at's right baby Spider was Neytiri’s number one fan from day one, he was literally always a momma’s boy.

-Also because you mentioned the kids taking an afternoon nap, I wanted to take a moment to just highlight how hellish that year or so where Neteyam, Kiri, and Spider were done with naps and Lo’ak still needed them was. You know his ass threw the bIGGEST tantrum every time it was time for a nap and everyone else was still playing. He was enRAGED because no one has fomo like Lo’ak. The kid was feral, crying overtired tears simply insisting that he is absolutely not tired and does nOT NEED A NAP.

-Spider being in the sleeping pile is one of the things that makes my heart grow three sizes every time I read about it. But you made it 20 times worse by adding in that by himself he spreads out for safety but he feels safe in the pile, like I’ll kill myself.

-I literally can prove Spider always asks for banana fruit and I’m starting to become convinced it’s the only fruit he knows.

-Lol Norm and Max sitting on Earth absolutley fIGHTING over who has to tell Jake things are going BadTM. 

-Lol I just literally kNEW that Neteyam wanted to make Spider a present, and yet instead his gift to him was even more of a complex. 

-YOU CANNOT TEASE TARSEM LOVE STORY TO ME. ALSO I’M NOW ASSUMING HE’S GAY THAT SCENE READ GAY. 

-This is what both Jake and I thought of when Neytiri told him to keep his secrets:

SHE QUOTED THAT MOVIE ALMOST BAR FOR BAR MAN, IF I WAS JAKE THAT WOULD’VE SENT MEEEE. When I was younger I used to have to share a bed with my cousin on family vacations, and I’m telling you bitch is possessed. She sleep walks and sleep talks, and sleep assaults me in my sleep. But one time she fucking quoted The Princess Bride and the next morning when I told her I loved that movie, she told me she’s never seen it. I have never felt more fear for my life. Picture Jake struggling to explain the plot of Lord of the Rings, his ass has seen it, his twin was a nerd. 

-Jake as soon as his child needs comfort: Oh fuck, I’M the only one here!

-Spider, like 7: I won’t be able to mate dad. Jake: I have to go. I’m not ready for this.

-HUMANS ARE BACK, time for things to get a little fucking sad. I know I’m ALMOST twenty chapters behind and you guys are already in it, but I’m just getting started baybeeee.

-Also I love Spider calling his parents Ma and Da, your Irishness has crept in.

[legolasghosty]

I Belong in Your Arms

Happy JATP Feb Fan Fest day!!!! This is my gift for @interestinglittlerelationship! Hope you enjoy! (Also sorry I'm a bit late!)

--------

Relationship - Willex Rating - Teen Additional Tags - Foster Care AU, Friends to lovers (mainly friends at this point), hurt/comfort, heavy on the comfort!

Summary -

Alex takes a right at the prompting of his phone and spots the hanging sign for Bohemia Roast. A grin spreads across his face when he spots a familiar figure lounging on a table just outside the cafe. He debates trying to sneak up on them for a second, but decides against it. The accidental elbow he got to the ribs last time he tried makes a solid case against it. “Willie!” he calls out instead, tucking his phone into his pocket. Willie looks up and Alex can see the exact moment he spots him, because his whole face lights up. Alex is still a good ten feet away when Willie rushes him, nearly bowling them both over onto the sidewalk with the force of his hug. Alex squeezes them back just as tightly. It’s been way too long since they’ve actually seen each other in person. 

Read Here on AO3, or read the whole fic below the cut!

-------

Alex hurries to the front of the bus, shooting a quick smile and a “Thank you” to the driver before stepping off onto the sidewalk. He’s 99% sure this is the right stop. Well. Okay, more like 64% sure, but that’s just the anxiety talking. His phone buzzes in his hand, telling him to go left. If Google can be trusted, his destination is only a five-minute walk away.

He turns and starts down the sidewalk. The sun is bright above him, even though it’s the middle of October. He ducks around a young couple taking pictures with some celebrity impersonator with a flashy white wig. Seriously? He hadn’t realized that was still a thing that happened outside of theme parks. Though maybe Hollywood is a bit like a theme park. It would explain a thing or two.

Alex takes a right at the prompting of his phone and spots the hanging sign for Bohemia Roast. A grin spreads across his face when he spots a familiar figure lounging on a table just outside the cafe. He debates trying to sneak up on them for a second, but decides against it. The accidental elbow he got to the ribs last time he tried makes a solid case against it. 

“Willie!” he calls out instead, tucking his phone into his pocket.

Willie looks up and Alex can see the exact moment he spots him, because his whole face lights up. Alex is still a good ten feet away when Willie rushes him, nearly bowling them both over onto the sidewalk with the force of his hug. Alex squeezes them back just as tightly. It’s been way too long since they’ve actually seen each other in person. 

“Your hair’s longer,” Alex mumbles without letting go, those same strands tickling his nose.

“You still have this hoodie,” Willie responds, his fingers tugging on the pink fabric.

“Someone told me pink was my color,” Alex snarks.

“That person must be a genius,” Willie says, chuckling. “I missed you,” he adds a moment later.

“I missed you too.”

Alex doesn’t bother saying more than that, not yet. Right now, he can just soak up Willie’s warmth and familiar presence. Sure, Willie’s hair is a bit longer, and Alex is taller than him now, but they’re still the same people they were a few years ago when they met. And even though they haven’t seen each other all that often since Alex got moved out of the group home after a couple of weeks, they’ve still been in each others’ corners ever since that first night.

Eventually, Willie relaxes a bit and Alex pulls back. “So,” Willie starts with a smirk, “what brings you to Hollywood?”

“Oh, all the famous people,” Alex jokes. “I think I even saw Marilyn Monroe back there.”

“Wow, de-aging technology has gotten so fancy,” Willie retorts with a laugh. “Hasn’t she been dead for like… a while?”

Alex shrugs, faining innocence. “I’m just telling you what I saw.”

Willie stares at him for a second before they both burst into giggles. It feels good, laughing with Willie again. In person, not over the phone.

“Come on, you have got to try this place’s iced teas,” Willie declares.

Alex just grins as Willie grabs his hand and pulls him into the little cafe. The interior is warm and cozy, lit largely by the sunlight that streams in through the front windows. Shelves along one wall hold a mix of plants and in-house coffee blends. The rest of the space is taken up by stools and tables, along with a couple of couches. The place is just the right level of loud, enough that Alex can feel the life flowing around him but not enough that he feels the need to shout. 

“Okay I know I said tea,” Willie says as they approach the counter, “but no pressure there. What do you want?”

Alex inhales the scent of fresh coffee. It smells great… for another time. “No I think I’m with you in the tea club today,” he responds. “Dan and Judy are nice and all, but I swear coffee is the only thing they drink. Period. I haven’t had a decent iced tea in like six months.”

Willie nods. “Makes sense, they sound like coffee people.” They glance up at the menu board. “I was going to try the passion fruit one this time, but the strawberry citrus I had last time was sick.”

“I’ll trust your judgment,” Alex agrees, swinging their still joined hands back and forth a bit. “Hasn’t steered me wrong yet.” He pauses, thinking. “Well, okay, except for that sushi thing. And Thor whatever number the last one was. And that dog that-”

“Hey, that last one is Google’s doing,” Willie protests, cutting him off. “I just gave you what the top search result was.”

“Yeah and then I got bit by a freaking lapdog,” Alex retorts, a laugh bubbling up behind his words.

“Wow, ‘freaking’?” Willie teases back. “Someone’s working on their language.”

Alex groans and drops his forehead down on their shoulder. “Dan and Judy blow a gasket whenever I say anything even remotely connected to a swear word,” he explains. “Like, come on, if you’re gonna be foster parents, you’ve got to be able to manage kids that come from homes where swearing is a thing.”

Willie winces sympathetically. “That’s rough, dude. You should leave them a nasty review on Rate My Foster Parent.”

“That’s not a real site,” Alex mumbles, but a smile is starting to pull at his lips again.

“But it could be,” Willie counters.

Alex rolls his eyes, then smirks. “Oh but how would lovely individuals like Ms. Hannigan ever stay in business then?” he retorts.

Willie shudders. “All the more reason for it to be a thing,” they decide. “I had to watch the 2014 Annie way too many times with Lydia while I was with the Bennets.”

“You have a point,” Alex concedes as the person in front of them finishes ordering and steps away.

“What can I get for y’all?” the woman behind the counter asks with a friendly smile.

“I think we’re in the market for iced tea,” Willie responds. 

He mirrors the barista’s grin, but it’s not the same as the easy one he’d been wearing a moment ago. It’s a bit tighter around the edges, lips closer together and fewer crinkles around his eyes. Alex is familiar with having different smiles for different situations of course, he probably has half a dozen himself. And Willie’s “I’m being polite” smile isn’t nearly as distinctive as it was three years ago when they met, which is a good sign. But still, Alex wishes he could lift some of the weight that pulls at their face when they’re pretending to be happy, but not sure if they’re allowed to exist. 

“And you said the strawberry citrus, right?”

Alex starts, realizing he zoned out for a second. “Yeah, that one,” he tells Willie. He gets a glimpse of the real smile again at that. It makes him feel all light inside, just like it always has.

Willie finishes ordering and reaches for his wallet.

“No it’s cool, I got it,” Alex says, hand slipping into his own pocket.

“Nah, Caleb gave me an allowance for this kind of stuff,” Willie responds, pulling out a $10 bill. “I think he’s trying to teach me financial responsibility or something.”

Alex shoots him a questioning glance. Willie’s eyes say, talk about it later. So Alex lets it go and just drops a $1 in the tip jar. The woman tells them it will be right out, so they head over to the other end of the counter. Alex leans back against one of the tall tables to wait. 

He’s a bit startled a moment later by a warm arm pressing against his own. He glances over to see Willie almost leaning on him, arms folded protectively and eyes fixed on the people behind the counter. Alex can’t help but remember all the times Willie grabbed his hand or pressed their feet together under the table or wrapped him in a hug back when they were in the same foster home. It had been nice back then, but 13-year-old Alex hadn’t considered why that was Willie’s first instinct for helping him. Heck, he hadn’t even heard of love languages till around a year ago.

Alex hesitates, then wraps his arm loosely around Willie’s shoulders. They don’t pull away, to Alex’s relief. Instead, Willie edges a bit closer, shoulders relaxing a little. Alex fights the urge to brush his lips against their cheek, just to see if that would make the real smile come back faster.

Neither of them stirs for a few minutes. The cafe continues to move around them but it doesn’t touch them. They just stay in their little bubble as they wait for their teas. They could be talking, but it’s nice to be quiet every once in a while with someone you love.

Eventually someone calls Willie’s name and slides their drinks across the counter. Willie darts forward, grabs the cups, and is back in front of Alex within moments. “Inside or outside?” he asks, grinning.

Alex glances out the window. “It’s still warm enough for outside,” he decides, taking his cup and grabbing Willie’s now-free hand.

“I don’t know, you might catch a chill, white boy,” Willie teases, following him out to the table where he’d been waiting earlier. 

“Eh maybe I won’t get yelled at for not going to church on Sunday then,” Alex jokes.

Willie frowns and Alex regrets his words. “They shouldn’t be yelling at you,” Willie points out softly. “Especially not for that.”

Alex shrugs. “Yeah, they shouldn’t,” he agrees. “But there’s not much I can do about it.”

Willie nods and squeezes his hand. They have to let go of each other as they sit down on either side of a small, wooden table, but Alex brushes his toes against Willie’s, just to keep the contact he knows is nice for them both.

“So, tell me all about-” Alex sets down his cup to throw up some jazz hands, “-Caleb Covington?”

Willie giggles. “Yep I guess that is how I text about him, isn’t it,” they remark.

“There are sparkles around his name like every other time,” Alex confirms, laughing.

“And I stand by it,” Willie states. “This guy is very extra. But… not in a bad way? I don’t think?”

Alex leans forward, resting his elbows on the table to listen. “I mean he did give you coffee money,” he points out. “Isn’t that stuff supposed to stunt your growth or something?”

“If I didn’t already know that was a myth, I’d believe it now,” Willie responds. “I swear Caleb drinks like half a pot of the stuff with breakfast and he’s like six-three or something.”

Alex laughs. “So what you’re saying is that you need something else to blame for being shorter than me now?”

“Guess so,” Willie says, nodding. They don’t say anything else for a moment and Alex waits, knowing by now that sometimes they just need a minute to collect their thoughts. “He’s cool so far,” Willie says finally, a bit softer than before. “And he’s gay, which is nice. I haven’t met his boyfriend yet, but he sounds chill from what Caleb says.”

“That’s great, Wills,” Alex remarks, offering an encouraging smile. 

“Yeah, he’s like the chillest foster parent I’ve ever had with all that,” Willie agrees. “He even… um… he mentioned we might even be able to get the legal stuff squared away so I can start HRT if everything goes okay with the GP next month.”

Alex can’t help the surprised laugh that escapes him. “Willie, that’s awesome!” he declares, grabbing Willie’s hand again. “You’ve been wanting that for like… ever.”

Willie nods and offers a hopeful smile. “Well cross your fingers for me,” they answer. “I mean… I don’t know if I’ll last long enough for that to actually happen.”

Alex immediately reaches across the table and latches onto their other hand as well, making Willie look up at him. “Hey, no,” Alex says quietly. “No blaming yourself for any of that. It’s not on you to make yourself this perfect kid that fits with all the random expectations of stupid white people. They knew they weren’t going to get perfect kids when they registered to be foster parents. Heck, they signed up for not-perfect kids when they decided they wanted to have any kids at all. Other peoples’ bad choices and reactions aren’t your fault.”

Willie bites his lip but nods again. “Yeah. I know that,” he says. Alex isn’t fully convinced, but he doesn’t push it. “It just sucks that I’m the one who gets screwed up after.”

“Yeah, it does.” Alex squeezes Willie’s hands, then lets go of one to take a sip of his tea. “Oh dang, this is awesome,” he remarks.

Willie grins, not all the way but close enough to make Alex feel fluttery. “Right? I don’t know what kind of crack they put in these, but it’s seriously addictive.”

“Yes,” Alex responds, pointing at him before taking another swallow. “How’s yours?”

“Sick,” Willie says. He sips at his drink again, then adds, “Caleb apparently comes here a lot. It’s not that far from where he works so he’ll come here on lunch breaks or something sometimes?”

“I probably would too if I was close enough,” Alex admits.

“Same. But he brought me here like the day after I moved in, something about serious conversations requiring caffeine. But said ‘serious conversations’ were all like… what kind of breakfast food do I like? And favorite movies? And allergies, even though I’m pretty sure that’s already in my file or whatever?”

“Sounds like my level of serious conversation,” Alex says, chuckling. “But I think I’m starting to see what you meant before about him being extra…”

Willie laughs. “Yeah, he’s just like that I guess. I mean he runs this fancy club place on Sunset Boulevard, so I guess it checks out. The place kinda sounds like an old speak-easy sometimes from how he talks about it.”

“Good think alcohol isn’t illegal anymore then,” Alex jokes.

“Man, I don’t think he’d get caught even if it was,” Willie responds. “He’s like scarily good at talking people into things. These couple of missionary dudes showed up at our door last week and I’m pretty sure Caleb had them questioning their own fancy book by the time they left.”

Alex smirks. “Serves them right.” He falls silent for a moment, sipping his drink. “So you like it there?” he asks.

Willie bites his lip again and nods. “Yeah, I do. And I’m scared I’m gonna mess it up. That I’ll drive him away.”

Alex laces their fingers together a little more securely. “Well whatever happens, I’ll still follow you,” he promises, just like he has dozens of times over the last few years.

Willie smiles, a bit shaky but so real and honest that it makes Alex’s face warm in its glow. “You too,” they reply easily. “We’ll figure it out.”

“One day at a time,” Alex finishes.

[ghostwise]

Zevran is once again struck by the way people change when you leave them alone for a while.

Three times now, the Maker has seen fit to place them in each other's paths. This time, however, rather than feeling regret at all he has missed in his friend's life, he feels only awe at the ways she has grown and the ways she has stayed the same. Isabela listens with a patience he's seldom associated with her, and for that he is grateful.

Still, he's almost afraid to tell her all that has happened.

"It is a very long tale, my dear," he says when she asks. "And I'm afraid it does not portray me in a very positive light."

"Oh, please. Like you're the only one with a past," she teases. "Have you forgotten already how we met?"

"Never," he replies, and she's coaxed a smile out of him despite his worry. It's easy to remember why he loved her--loves her--and trusts her, too. So, having surpassed that slightest bit of resistance with her support, he lets it all pour out in a flood of words.

Everything from Rinnala's betrayal to his contract in Ferelden, to his time during the Blight and Taliesen's death. Everything from the fight against the Crows, to his year spent at Quinta de Talpa, and his travels throughout all of Antiva and beyond. He tells her everything, good and bad, without omission.

It must be some surprise to her; he’s become so honest and vulnerable. But it’s deliberate, and he barrels into it with a certain recklessness because it has been hard-won.

Most of all, he talks about the Warden, like a thread weaving through every single piece of his life. Making his story coherent. Stitching the broken bits whole.

"I must admit, I didn't think him your type then, and I certainly don't now," Isabela says when he's done.

They're lounging on the bed together, barely dressed. Her hair is fanned out across her pillow and she makes a face, features pulling into a delicate pout.

"Please tell me he's not as grim and somber as he seems. Frankly, I’m still surprised he was alright with you and I meeting. Unless..." She sits up, and peers at him, blouse falling over her shoulders. "Unless he doesn't know?"

"He knows," Zevran murmurs against her knee. “He knew who I was when he married me.”

“Good.” Content to hear it, Isabela leans back with a smile. "What a waste it’d be otherwise. I mean, for you as well. Don't change for anyone, Zevran. I mean it. There are far too many miserable marriages in the world. I should know."

For a moment both of them reflect on those words. But they speak to a life long past, and not worth revisiting. After a moment Zevran just sighs with the most lovestruck look she's ever seen him sport.

"Ah, I'd love for you to get to know him as I do..." He strokes her leg gently, hanging onto her, though it is clear his mind is drifting. "He would never ask me to change. He doesn't want to impede me in any way. He sees the depths of me, good and bad, and asks for nothing. I never imagined... Isabela, he makes it so easy, so simple and calm. So you see, because of that, I can give him everything. Because he-"

"Oh, enough!"

Yanking her legs back she tucks them beneath herself and tackles him with a hug, affectionate but very much exasperated.

"You talk about your husband too much, Zevran! No one will ever want to sleep with you!"

Zevran draws in a sharp breath, then he collapses into laughter.

As they laugh and cling to one another, he’s infinitely glad he saved her all those years ago. He’s glad she’s here now. He's glad for every note in his story, from the highest to the lowest.

"Seriously, Zev," Isabela says, as she extricates herself from his embrace and walks to her dresser--truly a vision, as beautiful as she'd been ten years ago. "I'm glad you've found someone to make you happy. You deserve no less. As for the rest, all that matters is that you've kept on living and doing your best. That's all any of us can do."