#surprisingly often they are both ten dollars | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

jaceyneedsabetterusername · 4 years

Text

Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

Pairings: Arvin Russel x Fem!Christian!Reader

Summary: Arvin knew he shouldn’t have left you alone with that new preacher...

Warnings: Sexual assault, physical assault, cursing, Teagarden being a perv, really nothing out of the ordinary for this movie.

Word Count: 5250

_________________________

“Arvin! Stop!” You giggled, pushing your boyfriend off of you as he nibbled up and down your neck. There wasn’t anything sexual about it, he just loved to hear you laugh and he knew how much the action tickled your skin. “You’re so annoyin’!” You laughed, cheeks flushed red as you gently pressed on his head to try and move it.

He pressed himself up, looking down at you like you were the most beautiful thing he’d ever lay his eyes on. Arvin was straddling you, his knees trapping your hips beneath him. A hand was placed on either side of your head and he looked down at you, “But you’re so pretty when you laugh.”

“Oh? And I’m ugly all the rest of the time?” You asked jokingly, hands reaching up stroke up and down his arms.

Arvin leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to your lips before pulling away ever so slightly, hovering just above your lips. Both of your guys’ eyes were still closed as if it were a romantic moment until he whispered, “Ugly as a mule.”

You both busted up laughing and you shoved him, his body rolling onto the blanket beside you, “I’m breaking up with you.” You teasingly told him.

“Ah, c’mon. You know you love me.” He looked over at you, loving how the autumn sun lit up your features.

“I tolerate you. Don’t get it mixed up.” You rolled your head over to see him already admiring you. Your smile got bigger when you locked eyes with him.

“Well I love you.” Arvin admitted sweetly, bringing a gentle hand to your cheek and kissing you one more time.

Arvin made you feel beautiful and special and safe, all those things that no boy had ever made you feel. He always had. Even when you were children back in middle school and neither of you really talked to each other, when you saw him around the halls, a peace just settled over you that made you feel like you were on top of the world. When the two of you began dating ten months ago, that never changed.

“I love you too.”

The two of you laid back against the yellow blanket with little orange flowers on it, the one that you’d taken from the linen closet back home. This was yours and Arvin’s favorite place, a little clearing in the woods. The grass was tall enough to be soft but not so tall that it hid critters. Flowers lined the edge of the woods in the spring. It wasn’t springtime now but that only meant that instead of a display of white and yellow flower buds, the pair of you had a beautiful show of brilliant reds and oranges from the falling leaves.

Everyone in town knew you were together. Word spread fast around Coal Creek and it was nearly impossible to hide anything. Your families were both supportive of the relationship. Emma loved that you were involved with the church and put effort into the community when you could, often participating in bake sales around town. She liked to tease that you won Arvin over with your “man catching apple cobbler” as she now called it, since he officially asked you to be his girlfriend over a slice of the delicious dessert after a Sunday service.

Your parents liked Arvin as well. Even after Fred Dinwoodie had told your dad about what Arvin had done to Gene, it surprisingly made him like Arvin more. “You got yourself a good man who knows right from wrong and ain’t afraid to stand up for the people he loves.” Was what he’d said, which had surprised you. You knew that Arvin had beaten all the boys right after he’d done it, since he came to you to help him calm down and ice his knuckles. You were terrified for your parents to find out, though, sure that they’d tell you to break up with him for fear of violent tendencies. Thankfully, that day never came.

It was nice out there, bundled up in a warm brown coat, laying on Arvin’s chest, and watching the leaves fly across the crisp sky in the breeze.

“We should probably get headin’ back.” You said reluctantly, pushing yourself up to sitting.

“Why’s that?” Arvin perched on his elbow to watch you tighten the jacket around your frame, a cool breeze hitting just right.

“The new preacher asked me to come by this afternoon. Said he needed help planning a fundraiser to raise money for the less fortunate families in town.” You traced a finger over his knuckles gingerly, small pink marks littering his knuckles from his attack on Dinwoodie and his boys still healing over.

“Ain’t you one o’ them less fortunate families in town?” He asked, trying to find a way to talk you out of this. Ever since Preston Teagarden had humiliated Emma on his first day, Arvin had it out for the man.

You scoffed with a chuckle, “Yeah, but you are too and your grandma is still always bringin’ stuff to church. Just cause I’m broke as shit doesn’t mean I can’t try to help other people who are broke as shit.”

Arvin stood up with you and helped you fold up the blanket, “I just don’t like that new preacher. Somethin’s off about ‘im.”

“I agree that he was totally out of line callin’ your grandma out like that two weeks ago but I’d like to think that maybe I can talk to him about it.” The two of you began to walk back to Arvin’s car, grass swishing under your steps.

Arvin’s face twisted, “I just don’t trust the man. He’s always up there on that damn stage actin’ all high ‘n mighty every Sunday like he ain’t done nothin’ wrong.” He reached forward and opened your door for you, closing it after you slid onto the seat. He walked around the car and got into the driver’s seat.

“He’s a sinner like the rest of us. It’s just about doing what you can to make yourself better.” You responded, looking over at Arvin sweetly. He gave you a skeptic look and sighed deeply as he turned his attention back to look towards the road. With one hand on the steering wheel, he slid his free hand over to hold yours gently. The rest of the drive was in comfortable silence, with the exception of the radio quietly playing in the background.

Arvin loved you. He really really loved you. You generally had your wits about you, a heck of a lot more than most of the girls in Coal Creek, not allowing your religion to totally cloud your vision. You were a good girl, good enough to make his grandma happy and not cause too much trouble around town, always helping those in need, but not so pious that you made everyone else around you feel like a sinner. You were still fun, you still made mistakes. Arvin felt like you were something between ethereal and real, somehow elevating him as a person but also showing him just how good life could be.

Nevertheless, he couldn’t help but feel like you were making a mistake with this preacher. Of course, with your caring nature, you would help him, especially knowing it was for the poor folks in town. But something about Teagarden just made Arvin’s skin crawl. He just couldn’t put his finger on it…

The tires rolled to a crunching halt on the gravel outside of the church. The graveyard to the side looked dark and gloomy as always, the cloud of loss looming over almost everyone in this town in one way or another. The church, though, stood small and humble in the field, white paint chipping after years of weathering.

“Thank you for the ride.” You leaned over and pecked Arvin on the cheek.

He let out a heavy sigh, “You really sure you don’t just want me to take you home?”

You rolled your eyes at him with a sweet smile on your face, “Yes, I’m sure. It’ll be fine, Arv, but thank you for the concern.” Opening the door, you climbed out, “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“What? No. I’m givin’ you a ride home.” Arvin looked offended that you even suggested such blasphemy.

“I don’t want you to have to drive all the way back here for me and I don’t know how long this’ll take. Besides, I don’t live too far from here.” You shook your head, leaning against the open door.

Arvin raised his eyebrows, “What kind of man would I be if I let you walk home alone at night? I’m givin’ you a ride home ‘n that’s final. I have to run to the market anyways to get some stuff for my grandma so I’ll just do that ‘n come back here for ya.”

With loving warmth welling up in your chest, you leaned into the car, holding onto the roof for balance, while you kissed him on the lips, “I’ll see you in a few then.”

Pulling yourself back out of the car, you closed the door and waved before spinning to walk towards the church. Looking behind you, you gave Arvin one final wave before disappearing through the door.

The church was empty, though you expected nothing less on a Saturday afternoon. The pews were empty so you wandered into the building curiously. You closed the door behind you as you walked further in. “Hello? Reverend?”

Preston Teagarden approached from the door off to the side of the main stage, where his office had been located, “Y/N! Forgive me, I expected you to be a little bit later.”

You stopped in your tracks, “Oh, I’m sorry! You didn’t say an exact time. Just afternoon…” You chuckled awkwardly, suddenly feeling bad for arriving early.

“No, no, it’s no problem at all,” He waved his hand dismissively. Teagarden made his way down the aisle a few rows before stopping, “So from what I’ve heard, you are the one to talk to about fundraising”

Flattered, your cheeks turned a light shade of pink, “Oh, well I don’t know about that… I’ve done a few fundraisers but I wouldn’t say I’m the one to go to.”

“Nonsense, girl! I’m sure you’ll help plan something amazing. Now, why don’t you come over here and we can start talking about it.” He gestured towards the pew he was leaning on and waited for you to sit down before sliding in next to you.

Your legs crossed when you sat down, “So, I was thinking about this for a few days and the high school has a harvest festival every November. If we set up a bake sale, we could easily raise a few hundred dollars, at least. Everybody loves Mrs. Lyle’s lemon bars and I’m sure those alone could rake in a small fortune.” You giggled a little at your small joke and the preacher did as well.

As he did so, his arm slid behind your shoulder so smoothly, you almost didn’t notice at first. Almost. Though the action took you off guard, you chose to write it off. People had done this before to you platonically so this probably didn’t mean anything. Just a show of interest in what you had to say.

“Mmm, you’re makin’ me crave some sweets,” Teagarden chuckled, looking over his shoulder and then back around the room.

“Well I can guarantee that you won’t be disappointed. Coal Creek ain’t got much but if we got one thing, it’s some mighty good bakers.” You dug around in your bag that you’d brought, searching for the journal that you’d been planning this event out on, “I actually did some math and I was thinking… we could charge a dime per cookie or a dollar a dozen, yeah? And then maybe a quarter for a slice of pie and then a dollar twenty five for-”

The preacher stopped you, placing his hand on the notebook, “You really thought this out, huh? You sure are one smart girl there, Y/N. You go to the high school?”

The older man had scooched closer to you sometime during your ramblings and suddenly, you began to feel suffocated by his presence. His body was nearly flush against yours and his arm around your shoulders were trapping.

He’s a preacher, he wouldn’t do nothin’, you tried to convince yourself but Arvin’s voice came ringing in your ears: I just don’t like that new preacher. Somethin’s off about ‘im. Trying not to be obvious, just in case you were misreading things, you slid away from him just slightly to put some distance between your bodies. As you did so, however, Teagarden’s hand closed around your left shoulder, rubbing it firmly but gently.

Your eyes widened when you looked over at his grip and your heart began to pick up pace. “Yeah.” Your voice was shakier than you thought it would be.

“What are ya? Junior, senior? You look young… but definitely not a little girl.” His eyes raked tactically over your body. Your legs were shaped out well in your cuffed denim jeans and your white and pink striped boat neck long sleeve shirt was far from revealing but Preston was well aware of the way the stripes curved out of place over your breasts.

“Senior. I’ll be graduating this June.” Now your voice was solid and low, just teetering on threatening.

The preacher smiled, “Ah, ain’t that exciting. Such a smart pretty little thing going out into the real world. It’s good to see a nice Christian girl going out there but y’know, the real world is real bad. Believe you me. You gotta be real careful out there. Temptation and sin ‘round every corner. The devil hides himself, y’know? Wraps up all his evil and disguises it as everythin’ you ever wanted.”

“A wolf in sheep’s clothing.” You stated quietly but firmly, looking up to lock eyes with him. Arvin was right. Something was certainly off about this man and you were becoming more and more uncomfortable by the second.

Preston smiled proudly, “That’s right. Now, you gotta make sure you ain’t fallin’ into any o’ his traps.”

Your jaw clenched and your eyes darted around the room before landing in your lap, “I’d like to think I got a good ‘nough head on my shoulders to see Satan working in disguise.”

He tsked, “That’s a good start but you can’t go relyin’ on your own knowledge of the world. You need to let God tell you what’s right ‘n wrong. Trust in Him.” His hand on your shoulder shook you slightly for emphasis while his other pointed upwards towards Heaven.

There was a brief moment of silence in which you could have heard a pin drop before he spoke again, “How is your walk with God?”

You looked over at him with narrowed eyes, “It’s alright. Could be better but everyone’s could, I s’pose.”

“I agree,” Preston’s leg started bouncing and he looked towards the front of the church, where he typically stood preaching, “E’ryone could walk a little closer. Myself included.” He gestured to the front of the church, “Why don’t we pray? C’mon over here.”

He stood up and walked up to the head of the room, just below the cross. Cautiously, you followed him. “I like to think as a man of God, I can do some of His work. Or rather put the good word out there and try to save as many souls as possible. Why don’t you get on your knees? Lemme pray for ya.”

A shiver ran through your spine as you knelt down on shaky knees, eyes going up to the large black cross that hung on the wall. Please, Lord, get me out of this. You prayed silently.

Preston stood behind you, his hands coming to your shoulders as he began, “Lord, today we pray for Y/N and her excursions into the world as a young woman. Help her see through the devil’s delusions and guide her through this world. Lord, I pray that you see Y/N in everything that she is as she dedicates her whole self to you. Give her strength, amen.”

“Amen.” When your eyes slid open, your whole body was shaking.

“So you say you got some good judgement?” Preston asked as you stood up, “Say you walk in the light?”

“I try to but we all have our slip ups.” You answered humbly and honestly, avoiding his eye contact.

Preston hummed, “I seen you with that Russell boy. Y’all going steady?” Silently, you nodded in response. “There’s a lot of temptation in relationships like that.”

It was clear what he was insinuating and it actually made you mad. What right did he have to be poking around in your romantic and sexual life? “Has he ever touched you?”

The bluntness of his question hit you like a rock, “With all do respect, Reverend, that ain’t really none of your business.”

He put his hands up in surrender, “I don’t mean to pry. I’m just concerned ‘bout that boy dragging you down into temptation. Sullying your position with the good Lord, ‘n all.”

“Arvin is a perfectly respectful man. He ain’t draggin’ nothin’ or nobody down.” Your voice was getting more aggressive.

“So he hasn’t touched you? He hasn’t seen you…”

Your eyebrows furrowed, “Like I said, that ain’t none of your business. Thank you for your concern for my soul but what Arvin and I do is between us and the Lord. I don’t need no middle man reverend to redeem me.”

He shrugged, “But you know, one of the best ways to get right with the Lord is to surrender yourself. Fully.” He took a few steps towards you and your breathing hitched. There was a sexual tension in the air that made your skin crawl.

“I’ve already given my life to the Lord.”

You weren’t giving in quite as easily as Preston had expected. Those other girls, Lenora and Jeanette Reaster, had been easily manipulated into giving Preston what he wanted. Just tell them they were unclean and needed to get right with the Lord and right into his trap they fell but you… you were different. Smart in the worldy kind of way. You were the first girl to give him a hard time but Preston would be lying if he said he didn’t like the chase.

You were staring daggers at him, your jaw clenched, and your body standing tall and strong. It was almost as if you were trying to prove a point. You could have run, could have darted out screaming about what had happened, but you didn’t. There was no proof and Preston knew it. This was how he got away with it all. No proof, all words and small touches that were just innocent enough to be misread. It wasn’t until he got them in the backseat of his car or in the office in the back of the church that he actually touched them but by then, it was consensual. Sure, for Lenora and Jeanette there was the issue that they were minors but that was the fun of these little towns like Coal Creek, The girl always took the fall. It was always her fault. Preston could get off scotch free and he knew it. He loved it.

Almost like something out of a movie, he reached down and gently settled one hand on your hip and the other on your cheek, pressing his lips against yours without giving you a chance to object. You yelled indignantly against lips but when he pulled away, the hand on your cheek moved to cover your mouth. Preston leaned in close to your ear and whispered, “I am an extension of the Lord’s work. Surrender yourself to me fully to surrender yourself to Him.”

Arvin watched as you walked into the church with a distrusting pang in his gut. There was just something about that reverend that didn’t sit right. It killed him to watch you leave, knowing that you were alone in there with him.

But he also knew you were a big girl. The logical part of his brain kept screaming at him that he was being irrational. The reverend was probably an okay enough guy. He’d never be number one or even number twenty on Arvin’s list of favorite people but that didn’t necessarily mean that the preacher would kill your something. Besides, Arvin really did need to run to the market. Lenora had requested some pecans for a pie she wanted to bake and his grandma needed more milk. It would be a quick trip as town was just a short drive down the street.

Reluctantly, Arvin backed out the driveway and sped off down the street.

The entire time that Arvin was at the market, there was an unsettling tingle all around his body. It got harder to ignore as more time passed. The longer he left you with Teagarden, the worse he felt.

“Just these.” Arvin threw a bag of pecans and a gallon of milk on the counter and paid for it quickly, rushing back to his car. He wouldn’t be having these feelings for no reason. Best case scenario, you were absolutely fine and Arvin was just being paranoid. Worst case scenario… Arvin couldn’t think about it because every time he thought of one, another worse one popped into his brain.

It had only been about twenty minutes since Arvin left you alone with the preacher. Honestly, he wasn’t sure how long planning a fundraiser would take. Church activities had never been his thing but he supported you as long as it made you happy.

He sat in the car in the church parking lot, lighting up a cigarette to calm his nerves. Arvin’s leg bounced anxiously as he watched yet another late autumn storm roll in. The clouds cast a dark gloominess, turning the minimal light left from the mostly set sun a shade of grey.. There Arvin sat for another five minutes, awaiting your exit from the building but it never came.

Fuck it. Arvin twisted his hat on straight and threw the door open, nearly stomping out. He couldn’t put his finger on it but something was wrong. He could feel it.

Sure enough, when he threw the door open, he was horrified. Preston Teagarden had you locked in a tight embrace, his hands running over your breasts. The two of you were standing in the middle of the aisle, right in the center of church. You had a furious look on your face, “I swear to God you touch me like that again and I’ll cut your damn dick off!” You gripped desperately at his hand that was groping you, trying to pry it away but to no avail.

The sound of the door swinging open was enough to draw both yours and Teagarden’s attention. “Get your fuckin’ hands off her!” Arvin wasted no time running into the conflict. Teagarden dropped you and your knees buckled from the unexpected action, landing you on the ground.

He put his hands up in surrender, “Hey, now, let’s talk about this like real men.”

Arvin threw one solid swing to his chin, sending his head flying sideways, “You ain’t no real man. Real men don’t gotta go around gropin’ girls to get off, you sick fuck!” Another punch landed on his opposite cheek and it sent Teagarden to the ground.

You scurried away from him and stood up just ahead of Arvin. Preston cowered, hiding his face, “Please, please, have mercy.” His pleading eyes went from Arvin to you and he lingered on your gaze, knowing that he had a better chance with the mercy approach with you.

He found none. Even with his blood smeared face, his teeth stained crimson, and the way his body shook, you just scowled down at him, “I’m gonna tell e’ryone in this town what a disgustin’ man you are. You think you can get away with this, you’re dead wrong.” You sent a swift kick straight to his stomach, making him curl into the fetal position with a loud groan of pain.

But then he laughed. He actually laughed.

“What’s so damn funny?” You and Arvin both spat in unison, blood boiling.

Preston laid his head back and closed his eyes, an almost serene look of confidence contrasting the blood that covered him and the swelling of his lip, “Ain’t nothin’ gonna happen to me. You came to visit the church after hours under the guise of helping me with a fundraiser. But then you used your womanly charms to try and seduce me, a married man of God.”

“That ain’t what happened!” Arvin yelled angrily, fists clenched by his side.

When the words left the preacher’s mouth though, your heart dropped. You knew the truth, Arvin knew the truth, the reverend knew the truth. But none of that mattered if the Reverend told everyone his concocted story because he was a man of God. Why would he lie?

A sadistic smile spread across his face, “It is if I say it is. Ain’t nobody gonna believe two teenagers over a preacher.”

“He’s right.” Your voice faltered as you spoke, nearly coming out as a shattered whisper. When Arvin looked over at you, your face had paled and you looked utterly broken.

It wasn’t so much that the assault itself was enough to break you, though, of course, it had definitely left you with the lingering ghosts of his filthy hands on your body. It was the fact that you knew he’d get away with it, that no matter what you or Arvin said, the town would believe Teagarden.

Arvin swallowed hard, trying to see through the blinding rage. As a boy, he never truly understood the bias that women faced when they were victims of sexual assault- how it was perceived as their faults in towns like this. It had never happened to anyone he knew so he never had much reason to think about it. Now, you were forced to live with knowing that you assailant was going to keep his position as a fucking preacher in town and that you couldn’t do anything about it.

Arvin wouldn’t let it stand.

He stomped forward yet again and knelt over Teagarden, sending blow after blow into his face. Bone crunched bone with a disgusting crack with every hit and you flinched every time.

Your eyes were wide with terror. Arvin’s violent past with Gene Dinwoodie and his boys was not unknown to you. You were the first person he’d gone to after the attack, in fact, and you’d actually supported him for the most part, only wishing that maybe he didn’t send them all to the hospital and only roughed them up a bit. Actually watching him beat someone to the brink of death though was something else entirely.

“Stop!” The word left your mouth before you even knew you’d thought it.

Arvin stopped and looked over his shoulder at you in surprise. He was doing this for you after all.

“Don’t kill ‘im. Please.” You begged, your voice heavy.

“What?” Arvin wasn’t actually sure what he’d intended on doing to the preacher. Sure, he wanted to kill him. That horrified, angry look in your eye as he touched you made a fire burn in him so bright, he didn’t know if it could be put out. But Arvin had never wanted to be a killer. He only wanted to prove a point and make sure that the message stuck. Now that he thought about it, though, he would have to finish the job or the preacher would tell him he’d attacked him.

Your eyes were almost brimming with tears, though none fell. This whole evening had been too much. First the assault and now watching the love of your life throw his good conscience away for you. You wanted the preacher to pay as much as he did but this just didn’t feel right.

“P-please… I don’t want you takin’ the fall for none o’ this. He don’t deserve to die but I think a good beatin’ will give him some time to reevaluate ‘imself.” You’d walked towards Arvin and placed a warm hand on his shoulder.

Arvin couldn’t fathom why you’d be protecting this monster. The question was clear all over his face. Why?

“I’m not asking you to stop for him. I’m asking you to stop for you. I don’t want you to have blood on your hands for me. Not for this.” His heart broke seeing you look the way you did, your eyes shining with tears, and your hand a little shaky. The last thing he wanted was to hurt you more.

Arvin grabbed the preacher off the ground by the collar and pulled him up almost a foot, leaning down to get in his disfigured face, “If I ever hear that you went near Y/N or any other girl again, I will find you and kill you. If you so much as look at her again, I will kill you. And if you tell anyone what happened here tonight, I will fucking kill you. You understand? Consider it that mercy you kept beggin’ for.”

He dropped the preacher gracelessly with a thud and wrapped an arm comfortingly around you. For a moment, he was scared that you’d flinch away. You’d never seen him when he let his anger get the best of him and he preferred to keep it that way. He didn’t want you to think that he was a violent man because he really wasn’t. Arvin just cared for a special few so much that he’d do anything for them. He’d never hurt someone he loved though and needed you to know that.

Thankfully, you leaned into his touch, resting your head on his shoulder as he walked you back to his car, leaving the preacher an unconscious mess in the middle of the church. When you exited the building, night had fallen upon Coal Creek, casting a fitting darkness over the town.

“Thank you.” You said simply and quietly, looking over at Arvin sincerely on the drive home.

“For what?”

“For everything. Just bein’ who you are.” You paused with a heavy sigh, “But promise me something?”

Arvin looked over at you, taking his eyes off the road for just a second to show you he was listening.

“Promise me you won’t go gettin’ yourself in trouble for me.”

He shook his head, “He deserved-”

“I know what he deserved,” You interrupted, “And I am so grateful that you stepped in to help. But I don’t want you gettin’ yourself thrown in jail or killed for me.”

There was short silence before Arvin looked over with the most sincere look you think he’d ever given you, “I can’t promise that. ‘M sorry, Y/N, but if I ever see you in danger, I’m gonna do what I need to do.”

It wasn’t the response you’d been hoping for but this boy had the ability to make you feel more loved than anyone else you knew. You only wished he understood that you only wanted what was best for him, just like he did for you. “I love you, Arvin.” You admitted, sliding across the seat to lay your head against his shoulder while he drove.

“I love you too.”

#arvin #Arvin Russell #arvin rus #arvin russel imagines #arvin russel x reader #arvin russel x you #arvin russel x y/n #arvin russel imagine #tom holland #tom holland one shot #tom holland imagine #tom holland x reader #tdatt #tdatt fics #tdatt imagine

1K notes · View notes

pynkhues · 3 years

Note

Please recommend some of your fav Rio fics!

Of course, anon! Since you asked for Rio fics, I'm going to guess you meant Rio POV fics? If not, I'm sorry, haha, because that's what I've collated, but I hope you give these a shot regardless! They're all fics I think are pretty great. ;-)

Below a cut, because this got long.

But when he does reappear at the store—she still doesn't hear him coming, she needs to work on that—she's wearing a fuckin' dress, and he's glad she hasn't seen him yet because he can't stop himself from grinning.

Maybe it ain't for him, but given the fact that he doesn't think he's seen her legs since he came back—aside from that one night at the bar when she was definitely feeling herself—it seems like this is an intentional break in the pattern. Either way, he fuckin' loves the idea that she's been dressing up all week, not sure if he's coming but wanting to be ready if he does.

Now Use Both Hands by ms_scarlet / @mego42 6k words. Explicit. Beth x Rio. S3 canon divergence.

Ooooof, this fic causes me physical pain, but I love it a whole lot. Meg really captures Beth and Rio at their most acidic, their most sharp edged, while also managing to balance that with the feelings they desperately don’t want to have. It’s a bit magic, and the fact that she follows this up with another fave, Listening Through the Air Shaft is *chef’s kiss*.

- - - -

When he wakes, he's in a hospital bed, mouth dry as bone and he can taste blood, stale and metallic, on his tongue. The pain in his chest has been dulled by the drugs, but it still lingers, a persistent ache that spikes with every breath.

By all rights, he's a dead man walking.

Ten hours, they had him in surgery. From the look of his chart, he'd flatlined twice, and he can feel the consequences of that, see it in the bruises on his chest, the exhaustion lining the faces of his family. He'd woken to a little hand in his, Pop's cheeks damp with tears, and shit, it'd been close. Too close.

Bury a Friend by @ejunkiet >1k words. Mature. Beth x Rio S3 canon divergence.

Pivoting from 3.01, this fic is a wonderful, quiet character study that looks at Rio in the aftermath of the shooting before he explodes back into Beth’s life. It pulses with emotion and with the promise of catharsis, and it’s just a really special little fic. The Rio voice is terrific too.

- - - -

He finally gets what he needs one day when Elizabeth’s wearing this tight black sweater with a keyhole that shows off just enough to make Rio’s jaw rock. It’s so out of the ordinary, so unlike her ugly li’l sweaters or her surburban mama button-ups, he does a double take, head whippin’ around so fast that she catches it immediately. Then she catches where his gaze lands, where it keeps landin’ through their whole stilted, irritated conversation, and he sees her chest pinken til he can count her freckles. He sucks his lower lip into his mouth, and her lips fall open just the smallest bit, and then she looks up at him.

Eyes locked on each other, Rio takes a step closer. Elizabeth doesn’t back away.

I Will Collect You and Capture You by @foxmagpie 17k words. Explicit. Beth x Rio S3 canon divergence.

I feel like I've recced this fic 1,200 times at this point, haha, but it really is one of my favourite fics in the fandom. It has this sort of grip on you as a reader that almost embodies Beth's grip on Rio in the story, and the way it builds and builds and releases only to build and build again is really delicious, affecting writing.

- - - -

“Com’n her and her lady friends were shakin’”

“Shakin’ about the lemon on the fuckin’ granite, sure.”

They chuckled as the car rolled on, the suburbs slipping away with the sun.

“Think they’ll pay up?”

There was a groan as Rio shifted in his seat, flexing his fingers along the dash.

“Neighborhood like this? Everybody knows someone who knows someone with a trust fund.”

Mick’s lighter flickered, followed by long, rasping inhale. “And a boat.”

Smoke swirled lazily through the open window up into the purple sky.

“And a boat.” Echoed Rio.

Drivin' through the Suburbs by gangfriend / @00gangfriend00 5k words. Teen+. Mick + Rio friendship, Beth x Rio. Canon compliant.

It takes a lot to make me laugh out loud in a fic, but this one does multiple times. It's just insanely fun, and captures Rio and Mick at their most boyish in a way I find utterly charming. It's really, really delightful.

- - - -

She’s got her crimes wrapped up and categorized in folders with labels and post-its. Wrapped up in gift paper with a big blue bow on it. And she’ll probably ask Turner do you want freshly baked cookies or some shit when they go raiding her kitchen.

Rio should really get it under control. Her, get her under control.

She opens the door and slumps onto the front seat, her eyes set angrily on him. Nineteen voicemails and she’s still got things to say: he sees it in the twitch of her hand, the restless, frustrated pattern. Any minute now she’s going to settle on new words to voice her complaints like he’s here to listen. Like he’s got the time— like he cares. Like he’d better.

It’s a Work Thing by isoldewas >1k words. Mature. Beth x Rio. 2.12 canon divergent.

I'm a bit of a sucker for a good canon divergent fic, and this one pivots the car break up in 2.12 in a smutty way that just works unfairly well. It's such a great little fic that really settles well into Rio's headspace during the messiness of s2, and I love it.

- - - -

They settle in their respective places and Rio takes the opportunity to give Elizabeth the same once over that asshole did. Her ass really does look great in those pants and she could fill out any shirt. Her eyes linger over him too, tracing his skin, the bar tattoos peeking out from under his t-shirt that she’s seen a million times but she devours at every opportunity. Then her eyes meet his and she gives him that small, crooked lil’ smile.

He’s not one for religion, but every so often he takes his mom to Spanish mass. All the viejitos and pious Catholic types think he’s a banger but his ma’s still excited to show him off. He sits with her in the pew and when the priest asks for the congregation to give thanks to God, he says a prayer for the riches that have come to him, the health and brilliance of his son, the vitality of the other little ones in his life now, and Elizabeth. And when he thinks of her in those moments, he sees her in his mind’s eye with this exact look on her face.

A Bit of a Stretch by @septiembrre 5k words. Teen+. Beth x Rio. Established relationship.

Beth and Rio do a yoga class together! There’s such a lived-in feel to this fic that it feels impossible not to fall a bit in love with it – their relationship is explored in a way that feels true to who the characters are, while sanding down the edges to create something that feels sweet in the way they usually aren’t in canon. It's a great fic, but more than that, it really just works in a way that's a lot more complicated than it looks, and it’s all the more charming for it.

- - - -

He’s happy to keep kissing her like this. To savour it. Realises she’s undone the last few buttons of his shirt at some point as she shoves it down his shoulders. Doesn’t have a second to think about his ugly scars pressed to her skin. Can just feel her little hot palms snaking up his back and grippin’ him tight. Refusing to let any light between them as they kiss for what feels like hours.

He realises these are the lips he’s been tasting. Searching for in other women when his night’s got too unbearably quiet, hunting for an echo of the thing he really wanted. Comin’ up short every damn time. Sweet and soft and lethal. Unique to her.

It’s longing in a way he’s never felt. This is the taste of it.

As Good as This by @riosnecktattoo 5k words. Explicit. Beth x Rio. 4.05 canon divergence.

Okay, I know I just said how much I loved canon divergence fics, but it bears repeating – I love canon divergence fics, haha. This is such a great alternate take on how the wire scene in 4.05 goes down, and it simmers with tension from the opening line. The way it escalates as Rio navigates this newest betrayal works really well too, and it results in a pretty sexy and surprisingly emotional sequence. Magic!

- - - -

“Do we have a deal?” She asks.

When he turns to look at her she’s smiling, and that’s when he realizes he’s absolutely fucked. He’d just fucked himself out of almost a quarter of a million dollars. He lets his eyes drop down her body, licks his lips and nods.

“I choose the place,” he says and turns on his side to face her. “You owe me half - with interest,” he says and slides a hand into her hair. She’s damp, the sweat slowly cooling.

“That’s not what - “ she opens her mouth to protest and he takes that opportunity to slide his mouth across hers and lick into her mouth.

Long Nights by zetuslapetus / @querenaxx 2k words. Explicit. Beth x Rio. S3 canon divergence.

Rio and Beth bone while negotiating a deal! What's not to love, haha. This has such a fun checks and balances feel to it which just makes me want to peel my skin off, it's so good. It's exactly the way I like my Beth and Rio - hot and snarky and constantly trying to get a leg over the other, literally and figuratively. It's the best.

- - - -

He should go out and find someone to fuck. Maybe text one of his hookups. See if Jen’s working. He has options.

He knows what he should do.

But it turns out fucking other people is a worse hell than the one they create when they’re together.

And now that he’s yielded to this wicked ecstasy, he knows he’ll do anything to keep sitting in the fire with her.

To Sit in Hell with You by @daydreamstew 2k words. Beth x Rio. Explicit. s4 canon divergence.

Canon-divergent from 4.06 – Beth and Rio keep hooking up after the time at his grandma’s place. It’s fun and sexy while also keeping the complicated push-pull and lack of communication at the heart of them. Deeelightful.

- - - -

“Does it make it easier?” Maddie asks him once they’re spent, maybe emboldened because he has already brought her into their bed. Which may be unfair, because Lee had been in their bed from the beginning.

“What?” He seems lost in his thoughts, his arm behind his head. In a few minutes he’ll get up and get ready to get back to the factory. Like always, she’ll be looking for her keys so she won’t be late for work.

“Getting it out of your system before you see her.”

Rio glances at her. “I don’t always see you when I see her.”

It’s so rare for him to explicitly mention this woman, however tenuously, and Maddie waits for more. Rio’s gotten like this about a few women in his life but it doesn’t happen often.

Sure am Using You by aniara 2k words. Explicit. Rio x OC, Rio x Beth.

It's not for everyone, but I absolutely love fics that feature characters with other people in ways that tell you something about the characters' feelings about somebody else. In this fic, Rio's fucking one of his childhood friends, but it's all about Beth really, and the way both Rio and the OC negotiate that is really compelling writing, and feels so in character for Rio. I really love it.

- - - -

Rio dreams of her that night, again. It’s irritatingly pedestrian – Elizabeth’s kissing him deep and then, ah, suddenly his gun’s in her hand and she shoots him, with a double encore. It’s always variations on the same futile theme. When he wakes it’s not that he’s freaked, unaware of reality or his whereabouts. But he’s been soaked in anger for so long. He can’t think straight, not on her. It’s honestly terrifying. Cos stubbornly keeping his head on right is – that’s him. Maybe her entire raison d’etre is destroying every single one of his attributes though.

He ain’t sure if his subconscious is desperately screaming that he’s made the wrong move, letting her live. Or if it’s the total opposite. Could be fucking neither. It’s not – it’s not getting any easier. And that main reason for not biting the bullet, that he’d be mad as hell for being mad as hell at himself over killing her, it's not smelling any less idiotic.

Climbing up the Walls by s_t_c_s / @sothischickshe 8k words. Explicit. Beth x Rio. S3 canon divergence.

Another canon divergence from 2.13 and an interpretation of how s3 could've gone, and another one I really love. There's a throughline of chaotic frustration to this fic that rings true to Rio's character for me, and the way that that reverberates through his moments not just with Beth, but alone and with other women, feels really textured and interesting and real. It's pretty great.

#this was fun to put together #so many good fiicccss #truly a blessed fandom #beth x rio #beth boland #rio #nbc good girls #gg fic #fic recs #welcome to my ama

91 notes · View notes

calpalirwin · 3 years

Text

Tranquil Waters

Summary: Bucky finds peace at the aquarium.

A/N: A gift for @jessalyn-jpeg, that was also beta read by her.

Word Count: 1.9k

And away, and away we go!

Even with a plain, battered ball cap covering up hair that brushed along the tops of his shoulders, as if he was hoping it would somehow make him inconspicuous, you took notice of him. After all, how many men came alone to an aquarium? How many still could be transfixed by the shark exhibit for hours, sitting on a bench looking up at the tunnel, or leaned against the railing as he peered into the lagoon below? And how many of those men would return day after day, no matter how long he had watched the sharks the day before?

“You know we have a membership,” you told him on his eighth consecutive visit. “Probably cheaper at this point.”

He didn’t say a word, just tilted his head slightly to the side in confusion.

“I mean, if you’re here every day. Might as well. Save yourself a few bucks.”

“Oh,” he said, clearly startled that anyone had picked up on his habit. “Uh…”

“It’s a hundred for the year. Unlimited visits. Come as little as five times a year, and it pays for itself. Come more often than that, and it’s a steal.”

“Is there a payment plan option? I’m uh… it’s weird to explain. I have the money. It’s just a…”

“Budget thing?” you guessed. “Totally get it. Yeah, we have payment options. I can have today’s ticket count towards the pass if you like. Then the bill is monthly, but you can pay it off sooner if you like.”

“Uh, yeah, that’d be great,” he said, giving you a small smile, and laying a twenty dollar bill down.

You pulled open the little drawer that held the passes, selecting one that specifically had sharks on it for him, before scanning it into working order. “Here you are,” you said, handing it over along with his receipt.

“Thanks,” he nodded, turning the card over his hand, the smile still rooted in place. “Sharks, cool. Thanks again…” his eyes flickered down to read your name tag, “Y/N.”

“Enjoy your visit.”

It came as no surprise to you that, after he nodded politely at you again, he headed straight to the shark exhibit. It also came as no surprise to you that he was still there when you made your rounds to clear the aquarium of visitors for the night.

“Sir, we’re closing in ten minutes. So if you wouldn’t mind making your way towards the exit.”

“Oh, is it that time already?” he asked, rising slowly from the bench. You took notice as he stretched out his right arm, but didn’t feel the need to do so with his left.

“Unfortunate, I know. See you tomorrow, sir.”

“Bucky,” he said.

“I’m sorry?”

“My name. It’s Bucky.”

“See you tomorrow, Bucky.”

“See ya tomorrow, Y/N.”

~~~

Four more days of visits, each started with Bucky handing you a twenty dollar bill to put towards his pass, and ending with the two of you bidding each other farewell until the morning.

On the fifth day, out of habit, he walked up to your window, the twenty dollar bill already in hand. “Oh, you’re all paid off, Bucky.”

“Oh… Right… Sorry, force of habit.” His cheeks flushed a soft color of pink. “See you later I guess.”

“Send the sharks my love.”

“Will do.”

As you watched him walk off, you caught sight of the stack of flyers beside you. “Wait!” you called out to him, grabbing one of the flyers.

“Hmm?” he asked, coming back to your window.

“Here,” you said, sliding him the flyer. “We’re hosting a lecture on shark migrating habits.”

“Oh, that’s cool. Is it soon? I haven’t seen anything put up about it.”

“No, it’s happening next month. We just got the flyers this morning. Figured you’d want to know though.”

“Well, thanks for the heads up.”

“Yeah, of course.”

Bucky turned to go visit the sharks, but at the last second he turned back around, a shy look on his face. “You wouldn’t happen to be going to this would you?”

“I am, yeah. I got lucky in that they scheduled it after aquarium hours.”

“Cool… Would you maybe want to go together?”

“As a date?” you asked suggestively.

“Or as two people who share an appreciation for sharks? Whichever reason gets you to say yes.”

You gave a small laugh. “Yeah, I’d love to.”

~~~

Even though you’d seen Bucky daily for nearly two months, you still felt shy flutters in your stomach as you raced to change out of your work polo and khakis, and into something that felt more “first date” appropriate.

When you got back to the aquarium, you spotted Bucky outside waiting, sporting a long-sleeved red henley shirt, and surprisingly no baseball cap. “Hey, Bucky,” you greeted, walking up to him.

“Hey,” he said softly, a hand digging into the pocket of his jeans. “I was going to bring you flowers, but I thought that’d be awkward for you to carry around all night. So, I hope this is an okay replacement.” He took his hand out of his pocket, unfurling his hand to reveal a shark pin resting in his palm, no doubt something he picked out in the gift shop.

“It’s perfect,” you laughed, stretching up on tiptoe to press a kiss to his cheek, feeling the warmth that flooded his face. “Thank you.”

“Course,” he mumbled, trying to undo the pin with only his right hand. But undoing the pin without using his left hand proved to be difficult.

“Um, it might be easier without the gloves?” you suggested. “Or maybe if you used both hands?”

“Oh, to hell with it,” Bucky grumbled, taking the fingers of his left glove into his mouth, tugging it off to reveal a metal hand. Swiftly, he also took off his right glove, and got the pin undone.

“Wh-what happened?” you questioned as he attached the pin to your blouse, paying special care not to knick you with it.

“War accident,” he answered shortly, quickly putting his gloves back on.

“I’m sorry,” was all you could think to say.

“It was years ago,” he offered as a way of explanation, before jerking his chin in the direction of the aquarium doors. “Shall we?”

You linked your arm through his right arm when he offered it to you, walking into the aquarium and following the small crowd to the theater where the lecture was being held.

Quietly, you and Bucky sat side by side, his hand resting on your thigh as you both listened to the lecture. It was easy to tell when the lecturer said something that Bucky found particularly interesting because his fingers would squeeze into your leg. And anytime you stole a glance, his eyes were shining brightly, a soft smile on his lips. And anytime he caught you staring at him, he’d give you a small wink.

“The aquarium is so different after hours,” Bucky commented, making conversation as you walked out, hand-in-hand after the lecture. “More peaceful somehow.”

“Is that why you like the shark exhibit? It’s usually our quietest area. Certainly less crowded.”

“Nah, I like sharks because they’re misunderstood. Everyone thinks they’re killers. But, they’re just doing what they need to do to survive.”

“Something you can relate to?”

“More than I’d like to, that’s for sure.”

You looked around at all the guests flocking for the exits, an idea forming in your head. “You wanna see something really cool?”

“What’s this really cool thing?” he asked as he let you pull him away from the crowd of people and deeper into the aquarium. His excitement however died down significantly when you pulled him into the security office. “This was the really cool thing?” he asked skeptically.

“Shh,” you said, fixing your focus on the cameras, watching the aquarium empty. “Just wait.”

With a sigh, Bucky watched the monitors with you.

“Annnnd, tada!” you announced as there was a loud sound of the lights shutting off in the building with the exclusion of the security room.

“We’re alone in the aquarium?” he questioned with the same note of skepticism as earlier.

You grinned up at him, nodding. “We’re alone in the aquarium.”

“Can’t we get in trouble for trespassing?”

You pulled your work badge out of your purse, along with a set of keys. “Nope!”

Bucky gave a soft chuckle. “You’re a little troublemaker, aren’t you?”

“You wanna go see the sharks or not?”

“Lead the way.”

~~~

“So,” you started, your voice quiet as you both leaned against the railing, watching the sharks swim in the lagoon below. “Is you liking sharks because you can relate to being misunderstood related to your hand at all?”

“A little. And it’s not my hand. It’s my entire arm.”

“Your entire arm?!” you screeched, turning sideways to look at him fully.

He sighed, turning towards you. He pushed the sleeve of his shirt up to his elbow, and pulled at the collar of his shirt to show you how the metal went all the way from fingertips to shoulder. “Yup.”

“Bucky,” you said to yourself. “As in?”

“As in the former Winter Soldier. Yup. Or as in James Buchanan Barnes, but people nowadays tend to not remember that part.”

“Holy shit… Wait. So you’re a fuckin’ Avenger, and you tell me that you spend your free time coming to watch sharks all day?”

“Well, sharks were originally the reason. Now, they’re just an additional perk.”

“I’m not following…”

“Well, I like sharks. Always have even before I could relate to them. But then I got a crush on one of the workers. And as much as I like to think I’m still here for the sharks, I’m also here for her.”

“Oh, you mean me?!”

“I mean I did ask you out on a date.”

“So you admit it.”

“Admit what?”

“That this is a date.”

“What else would you call it?”

“Oh, I dunno. Maybe two people who share an appreciation for sharks?” you teased.

Bucky laughed. “Alright. In my defense, I said that to make you not feel bad if you told me no.”

“What made you think I was gonna say no?”

“I’m me. The 100 year old with an extremely complicated past.”

“Mmm, then maybe I should let you in on a secret.”

“Oh yeah? And what’s that Miss Troublemaker?”

“I have a soft spot for the misunderstood.”

His tongue darted out to wet his lips. “Saying things like that are gonna make me want to kiss you.”

“Saying things like what? Things that suggest I’m just as interested in you as you are in me?”

“Yes.”

“And what if that’s what I wanted? For you to kiss me?”

“Then I’d have to do this.” He stepped forward, his hands gently cradling your face as his head ducked down. You stretched upwards on the tips of your toes, meeting his lips halfway. Underlying the softness of the kiss was a strength you wanted more of. Somehow sensing that want, Bucky deepened the kiss, one hand moving to cup the back of your neck, the other dropping down to rest on the small of your back, pulling you in closer to him.

“That was one hell of a first date kiss,” you gasped when you broke apart, each of you breathless.

“You’re one hell of a girl,” he said, nudging your nose with his and drawing you back in for another kiss.

Tag List

@cxddlyash @stanofalotofthings @philthepegacorn @youngblood199456 @binxiboo @creator-appreciator @frontmanash @iknowyouthinkimbulletproof @jessalyn-jpeg @lilyoflower @mychemicalimagines @rougese7en @milea

#tranquil waters #bucky barnes #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes x reader #marvel #avengers #calpal irwin

81 notes · View notes

css1992 · 3 years

Text

Guilty Pleasure

Summary: Peter and Beck used to be a power couple in the porn industry, but after Beck dumps him, Peter is forced to start over. With no money, no family and nowhere to go, he doesn’t have much choice other than to keep doing porn, so he joins Just4Fans to get back on his feet and then one day he gets a very generous tip from someone under the username of YKWIM. All the warnings listed on Part I apply.

Read on AO3

Part I / Part II / Part III / Part IV / Part V / Part VI / Part VII / Part VIII / Part IX / Part X / Part XI / Epilogue

-x-

Living with Ned and MJ was both a dream come true and a bit of a nightmare.

A dream, because when they were kids, they always talked about how they would all go the same college and live together one day, and Peter would finally have a real home – and a real family, he used to think to himself, in secret.

A nightmare, because he couldn’t help but feel a little jealous of his friends, and that was the worst kind of feeling to have for the people who opened their arms and their home for him when he needed the most. Still, he couldn’t avoid it and he felt awful for that. They were both attending NYU; Ned was majoring in Computer Science and MJ in Journalism. All according to the plans they made in high school.

When Peter was younger, he made plans, too. He wanted to study Biochemistry, his teachers used to say he could probably get a scholarship to a good college, he was smart enough. Mr. Harrington, his science teacher, even offered to write letters of recommendation for him. Instead, Peter’s life choices led him to his current predicament: a 20 year-old porn actor, selling dirty pictures for a living, crashing on his friends’ couch, not a single dollar in his wallet.

He was definitely not getting any awards for good decision making, that was for sure.

He had been staying with Ned and MJ for a week when he was finally able to set up his Just4Fans account. He knew that had to be a temporary thing, it couldn’t last, even if he wanted it to. He wouldn’t be young forever, let alone a “pretty twink”, as his subscribers loved to call him. He had maybe three or four years left of that hype, at most, then he would be too old for that, and/or people would start getting bored of him. So he had to be smart, the plan was to save up as much as he could while he thought about what he was going to do once the fountain of youth dried up, and the clock was ticking fast.

But for the time being, porn.

Good thing he had his own Instagram account with a few thousand followers. All the other social media accounts were under Beck’s name, and those had hundreds of thousands of followers, but Peter no longer had access to them – he checked. He also checked and noticed that Beck hadn’t announced that they had split up yet, his last post dated from five days earlier, when he released their last video together – two days after kicking him out of the house, the asshole.

So Peter posted a few Instagram stories explaining to his followers that he and Beck weren’t a thing anymore – he didn’t give many details, he didn’t want any drama, specially not with Beck – and that he had set up a Just4Fans account for the time being. In minutes, his Instagram blew up. Apparently, people were either heartbroken over their breakup; relieved he “got rid of that perv!”; or devastated they wouldn’t get to see them doing porn together anymore.

He got a hundred subscribers in just a few hours, which was incredible. The subscription fee was ten dollars a month, so even after the website’s cut plus tax deduction, it still was a good start. He wondered what kind of money Beck made with their videos, because they had thousands of subscribers on their channel.

Once he got the hang of the site, he tried to post at least two sets of pictures a day – which was challenging at that moment, because the apartment was tiny and he didn’t have any outfits or toys with him, they were all at Beck’s. He made plans that as soon as he got the subscription money in around fifteen days, he would try to buy a few things and take tons of pictures to last a few weeks.

He also made sure to answer people’s messages every single day, which often earned him a little more money in tips. It was shocking how many people were willing to tip him just because he answered them. Some other people asked for extra content, like specific pictures, videos or even voice notes, which he sent via “pay-per-view messages”.

In the end, he felt like he was prostituting himself. Again.

He would never judge a person for earning their living in any way necessary, as long as it didn’t hurt anyone, he just never thought that would be him. Never ever. As a kid, he thought he’d be an astronaut. Growing up, he wanted to be a physicist. As a teen, he made plans to study Biochemistry. And somehow he ended up selling his body online, one way or another.

He didn’t dwell on that for long, he focused on the fact that it was temporary. If he managed to retain at least some of the people that had subscribed to his account for two or three years, then he would be able to start a small business of some kind in the future. Maybe he could go back to school. Twenty-three wasn’t too old for college, right?

Right.

It was two weeks later when he got a weird message. Not a weird message, actually, a weird tip. Someone under the username of YKWIM had sent him ten thousand dollars for no reason, there was no prior conversation, nor did the person ask for anything in return. Peter was sure there must have been a mistake, maybe they had typed in some extra zeros or maybe they had sent it to the wrong person, so he decided to reach out.

“Hey. I think there must’ve been some sort of mistake with your last tip. Lol.”

He left his phone on the counter and got started on dinner. He was a terrible cook, but to be fair, they all were, so it was fine. Ned and MJ were both at work, but they would be home soon and they were having a quiet night in. Those few weeks at their place had been good for Peter, it felt nice not to be alone after what happened, but at the same time, he was starting to feel like he really needed his own space. He was already looking for an apartment to move into as soon as he got the money. He was hoping to get one in the same building or at least close by, so that they could still see each other often.

His cell phone beeped as he sliced some onions and he stopped to check.

“Hey, gorgeous. There’s been no mistake, it’s correct.” Peter was taken aback by the answer, so he checked again to see how much the person had tipped him, and sure enough, there it was. Ten thousand dollars. Ten thousand. American dollars.

“Oh. Wow, that was very, very generous of you. Is there any particular content that you’d like to see from me as a thank you? I could send you exclusive pics and videos, whatever you want.” Inwardly, he was thinking that no amount of pictures or videos from him would ever be worth ten thousand dollars. Ten thousand dollars, holy fuck.

“That would be excellent.”

“Great. What would you like to see?”

Please don’t be weird, please don’t be weird, please don’t be weird… Usually, Peter’s subscribers liked to see him in cute outfits or with cute toys, but some people liked very messed up stuff. He usually said no, but that person had just sent him ten thousand dollars. Fuck, that was so much money, it would cover rent for at least a few months.

“I’ve enjoyed everything you’ve put out so far, baby, so surprise me. I’m sure I’m gonna like whatever you send.”

God, generous and reasonable? Had Peter died and gone to porn heaven?

“You flatter me.” He typed in quickly, leaving the sauce unattended for a few seconds. “Give me a few hours to work on it, I don’t want to disappoint you.”

“Take your time, but I don’t think you could disappoint me if you tried.”

Peter felt so stupid when he blushed and giggled to himself, because that was exactly how Beck lured him in when he was seventeen, with charming, easy words. He was an adult now, for Christ’s sake, and he didn’t even know who he was talking to. To be fair, it was probably a woman. For some weird reason, according to his Just4Fans statistics, a surprisingly large percentage of his subscribers were middle-aged, cisgender, heterosexual women. Peter supposed those were the ones who used to follow his “love story” with Beck – most of them hadn’t got over them yet, apparently they were “the perfect couple! So cute!”.

He couldn’t blame them, they sold them the perfect love story. And for a time, it was true. Peter really thought Beck was it for him, the love of his life, his soulmate. He didn’t know at which point it all became an act to Beck – or if maybe it had always been an act.

He sighed, shaking his head, he couldn’t afford to waste time thinking about him, so he focused on what he should send YKWIM.

As he finished making dinner, he tried to come up with ideas. They said they loved everything Peter had posted so far – he had posted thirty pictures and five short clips over the past two weeks. The pictures were all in MJ’s bedroom – she offered –, most of them in her bed. There were only a few pictures in which he was completely naked, in the others he had some sort of underwear on – lingerie or tight briefs.

So, he decided he should do something similar, but different enough that YKWIM would feel somewhat special. He had a few good ideas, but they would have to wait for the next morning, he would need good lighting and privacy.

“Hey, nerd, what’s up,” He almost burned his fingers when he heard MJ’s voice, and realized he had spaced out for a minute there. He shook his head quickly and smiled at her.

“Nothing, how was you day?”

The next morning, once Ned went to visit his family and MJ left for work, Peter started working on the pictures. For some reason, he didn’t want to tell his friends about YKWIM, just like he didn’t want to tell them about Beck when they first met, three years earlier. And if he really was as smart as his teachers used to say, he would have seen the pattern. But as it was, he just focused on the fact that YKWIM was probably a woman living on the other side of the world, who just liked to get off to pictures of pretty boys in lingerie.

But.

For the sake of getting in the mood for the pictures, he imagined YKWIM was a guy. Not too tall, but taller than him. He imagined he had a beard, but not a full one, like Beck’s, no, perfectly trimmed, scratchy, in a good way. He’d have dark, warm eyes, not blue and cold. He’d be older, older than Beck, more mature than him. A real man. Maybe he’d have a few streaks of gray amidst his otherwise dark hair.

He’d be gentle, despite Peter’s past. He’d treat him like he was the first one to ever touch him, even if he knew that was far from the truth. He would be careful, mindful of his pleasure. He’d start off slowly, kissing along his collarbones, fingers brushing the sensitive skin on the inside of his thighs, just shy of where Peter wanted him to touch, as his mouth traveled down his chest; hot, moist breath leaving a trail of kisses down his stomach.

He sighed. Yeah, that would do to put him in the mood.

He put on a white t-shirt that was just long enough to graze the tops of his thighs, and a simple, plain black thong. He decided to take the pictures in the shower – the classic wet, white t-shirt, he couldn’t really go wrong with that. He positioned the camera on top of the bathroom sink, set the timer, and started posing.

First, he rested his back against the wall, one hand pulling the t-shirt down to cover the front his underwear, eyes staring directly at the camera lens as water ran down his face, neck and chest, making his nipples stiffen, becoming visible under the wet shirt.

Next, he pressed his chest to the wall, looking at the camera from over his shoulder, lips parted, just a peek of his exposed ass cheeks showing where the t-shirt ended, but by then it was so wet it was mostly see-through.

Then he turned so his side was facing the camera and stuck his head directly under the stream of water, running his hands through his hair, back arched obscenely, eyes closed. He let his hands travel all the way down his neck, chest, and stomach, hearing the familiar “click” as the camera took several pictures.

He turned around again, placed his hands on the wall and lifted his t-shirt just over his lower back, sticking his ass out, showing off his provocative underwear.

He got out of the shower and turned the camera into filming mode, then got back under the water and also shot a short clip of he sensually and slowly taking the thong off, but in a way that the viewer couldn’t really see the skin that was revealed. He pulled the wet t-shirt down so it covered everything, but by then it was so see-through that it left nothing to the imagination. Peter twirled a little, then threw an innocent, shy smile at the camera.

That should do it.

He finished his shower, put the wet clothes in the washer, then went to edit the pictures. He didn’t do much, just adjusted the light and contrast, then cut them into squares, because he though it looked classier or whatever. He chuckled to himself at the absurdity of that thought, as he attached the photos and the video to a direct message to YKWIM.

“Hey, gorgeous! Hopefully these won’t disappoint. Let me know if you’d like something different.”

He cringed re-reading the message, he thought he sounded desperate and insecure about himself and he supposed that wasn’t very attractive, so he decided to change it just a little.

“Hey, gorgeous! Hopefully these won’t disappoint.” And he finished off with a hot face emoji, because why not.

He sent the message and went on with his day. Ned and MJ were both back for lunch and since none of them felt like cooking – and they all sucked at it anyway –, they ordered something to eat in front of the TV, as they binge-watched the first seasons of The Office.

“Oh, hey, Pete, I almost forgot, I talked to our landlord earlier and he said there’s an apartment on the fifth floor that should be vacated by the end of the month, if you’re interested,” Ned told him around a mouthful of pizza and Peter’s head snapped up.

“I’m definitely interested!”

“Cool, I’ll talk to him for you, I’m sure I can get you a good deal on rent.” He winked, and Peter smiled, feeling hopeful.

Things were getting better. Slowly, yes, but they were. He was spending time with his friends – who he had neglected for the past two years–; he had a good amount of money to withdraw in the next few days, that could get him going for a while; he was still doing porn, yes, but at least he was in control of the whole thing, including his own body, which was nice; and he only cried for Beck every other night instead of every single night, so he had that going for him.

All in all, things were looking up.

Ned and MJ convinced him to go out for a bit in the afternoon, they said he had been cooped up in the apartment for three weeks and should breathe in some fresh air, and since it was the first somewhat warm day of March, they decided to go jog at Central Park in the afternoon. They didn’t really jog, but they walked around some and Peter must admit that it felt good to stretch his legs and feel the sun on his skin for a change.

They were lying on the grass, resting for a bit, when they saw a blur of red and gold fly overhead. People started cheering and clapping and Peter smiled when MJ groaned, because he knew exactly what she was going to say.

“How can people cheer for that guy, he’s an egocentric, misogynistic, elitist, disgusting asshole.” He laughed to himself, because he knew what came next.

“He’s a genius, he changed the world multiple times and he even saved it at least twice. I think he’s pretty cool,” Ned argued without any heat and Peter could hear MJ rolling her eyes.

Peter didn’t love or hate Tony Stark or Iron Man, like most people, he just – didn’t pay him any mind. Sure, when he was a kid, he was obsessed with him, he was New York’s first superhero after Captain America, who was still in the ice when Stark announced he was Iron Man. But as he grew older, he had other concerns in mind other than who was the coolest Avenger, so he kind of forgot they existed, except for when there was some crazy alien threat looming over New York City – which was, like, a biannual thing since they found out aliens existed back in 2012.

The fact that Iron Man was flying over Central Park on a Saturday afternoon was a little alarming though. From what Peter knew, Stark was mostly retired since around 2016, he only ever “avenged” when there was a big threat, like the near-end-of-the-world they had back in 2018.

“Do you think we’re under attack?” Peter asked and Ned shook his head calmly.

“Nah, I think he must be late for something. I read an interview recently and he said he uses the suit sometimes when he needs to get some place fast.”

Seemed like overkill, but who was Peter to judge, he would probably do the same if had a suit like that.

They spent the rest of the afternoon in the park and then headed home for the night. MJ turned in early, she said she was beat from a busy week, and Peter and Ned stayed up until a little later, re-watching Star Wars movies. It was close to 2AM when Ned said his goodnight and Peter went to check his Just4Fans, because he hadn’t answered any messages all day long.

There were quite a few, but he did notice there was one missing. YKWIM hadn’t answered him yet and Peter immediately felt like a failure. They probably hated the pictures, they must have thought “ugh, ten thousand dollars for that?”. Peter should have photoshopped them. He could have made himself look at least a little bit better, if only–

Before he could hate on himself too much, YKWIM messaged him, like they could read minds. Peter quickly opened their chat, still a little worried about their reaction to the pictures.

“Damn, baby! You have no fucking idea what those did to me. Fuck! Can I show you? Please?”

Peter was oddly relieved to read that, and was endeared by the fact that they actually asked before sending a dick pic. Or a clit pic? Was that a thing?

“Of course, gorgeous, I’d love to see it.”

Within seconds, they sent a video in the chat. Peter was a little surprised by that, but pressed play anyway, and almost fell off the couch when he did.

It was a thirteen seconds video. He could see the man’s midriff, all the way down to the tops of his thighs. His belly was toned and spattered with dark hair that led down to perfectly trimmed pubes that framed the most beautiful cock Peter had ever seen. There was no other way to put it.

It was long and thick, but not so much so that it would hurt – Peter knew better –, it stood proudly between his thighs, attached to a heavy set of balls that made his mouth water. He was jacking it mercilessly, Peter could only hear him grunting quietly before his balls recoiled and he came, covering his stomach in thick, pearly white come. Peter whimpered, pressing down on his hard-on, and almost cried when the video was over.

“Fuck, daddy, that was so fucking hot.” It was probably the first time ever that he actually meant that answering a DM from a subscriber.

“That was the third time today, baby, I have been thinking about those pics from the minute you sent them. Spent the whole day with blue balls, even after coming twice.”

Fuck.

“Wish I could have helped you with that.”

“Who knows, honey, maybe someday.”

Yeah, Peter thought, biting his pillow on the couch so he wouldn’t be heard when he came embarrassingly hard in his pajamas pants, face burning with shame. Maybe someday.

#starker #peter parker x tony stark

68 notes · View notes

ggensblog · 2 years

Note

Hello lovely! Could I get a male stranger things and marvel match up please? Thank you so much!

APPEARANCE: I am 20 year old female, she/her pronouns, I’m 5’1” with somewhat long dirty blonde/brown hair, I’m curvy and I should be wearing glasses but alas I do not. I like having my nails painted either black or red or both. My style is a mix of girly and gothic, I wear lots of skirts and dresses and frilly socks but also fishnets and dark colors and jackets or flannels.

PERSONALITY: I think I’m infp and enfp? I’m mature when I need to be and quiet, but once you get to know me I’m bubbly and weird. I have pretty bad anxiety so I will get nervous over everything and anything, I’m paranoid as well at times. I love making others laugh and happy, I can be awkward at times also but I cope with humor. I try to help everyone around me, I shove my feelings to the side most of the time if someone needs help- often times putting others before myself. I guess in certain aspects I’m kinda nerdy?? ( I am also a hufflepuff )

INTERESTS/HOBBIES: I love animals, gardening, reading and writing, painting, musical theatre which I’ve done for ten years. I love to sing dance and act, help others, I enjoy raising caterpillars into butterflies. music ( Lana del rey, imagine dragons, mother mother, show tunes, poor man’s poison, fall out boy, etc ) I like collecting things like pins or random nicnacs.

hey hey hey! thanks so much for the request, i hope you enjoy !

from stranger things i match you with;

eddie munson !

i love this guy a lot he’s in my dreams

- always dragging you to his sets, finds absolute joy in making eye contact with you in the audience (as dwindling as it may be), and at the end of every set you go to he gives you the guitar pick he used since “they’re only like a dollar fifty a piece” anyway

- forces you to care for yourself. sees you putting others before you? nope not in his book. literally sits you down and makes you talk about your week and how you felt about things just so you don’t have to push it down

- loves both sides of your style, the darker and frillier side alike. thinks you always look badass and is constantly showing you off to the hellfire club members and his band mates

from marvel i match you with;

bruce banner !

i know what you’re thinking ‘what the heck? gray these guys are nothing alike!’ but hear me out- they’re kind of similar in opposite ways

- he’s a busy guy but when it comes down to it, he’s so glad to be able to come home to you, it’s where he finds his ultimate peace. never needing to push down the anger around you because- well- there isn’t any

- tries desperately to explain the most complicated parts of quantum mechanics to you even if you’re not understanding any of it. gets excited about making new things and finding out about different universes or chemical combinations

- i would have to say that his love language is surprisingly touch. whenever he’s feeling down or you’re feeling down he is here to hug you for as long as either of you need. and is such a good listener when you need it <3

#gray-skiess #gray's blog #stranger things #eddie munson #headcanons #x reader #matchup request #matchup #marvel #bruce banner #hulk #joseph quinn #moodboards #aesthetic #imagines #mcu

6 notes · View notes

evolutionsvoid · 3 years

Photo

It is just as much as an enigma now as it was when it first appeared. There were no warnings, no signs of its coming. Just one day it drops out of the sky and right atop a bustling metropolitan area. It was so abrupt and bizarre that it actually caused delays in getting the military deployed. No one really believes you when you say a hundred foot dinosaur thing just showed up in the middle of the city and no one knows how. Every person contacted argued that it should have shown up on satellite, or that someone would have seen it coming. Nope to both, it just appeared. It stomped around the city, crushing traffic underfoot and punting small buildings left and right. It roared almost the entire time, just non-stop. There is no real good way to describe the sound, it was just the same short bark but it often had different inflections or emotions to it depending on the situation. Its movements were even weirder, very stiff and awkward, yet it was surprisingly fast and agile. It could jump hundreds of feet into the air, without hardly trying, yet it fell at different speeds, sometimes even floating like a falling leaf. As its rampage went on, the military finally appeared. Jets and helicopters rushed to the scene, the opening wave of attack as tanks and ground troops moved it. The first barrage of missiles did nothing, they burst across its flanks but its hide was pristine once the smoke cleared. Bullets almost bounced off of it, the only damage they caused was to its pride. It grew angry at the attacks, roaring and stomping defiantly towards the attackers. It became even more furious when the tanks unloaded on it. This was the breaking point, and it at last lashed out. It lurched forward with its mouth agape (well, more than usual) and let out a deafening "BWAAAAAH!" At first, everyone thought it was just another tantrum. The loud shout sure shook the landscape, but nothing immediately happened. A few seconds later, the reason for this scream appeared. A wave of force struck the streets before it, sweeping cars, tanks and troops off their feet and sending them flying through the air. It was like an explosion, but no one saw any fire, light or source for this power. The same thing happened again when it let out another "BWAAAH," though this time the effect happened a little faster. One second there is a line of heavily armored tanks, then the next has them tumbling down the street like scattered toys. It's explosive roar was unleashed upon the army, obliterating the ground troops and knocking the air force out of the sky. Officers wondered if it was some kind of sound-based weapon, but it worked so erratically and slowly that it made no sense. No one could get close to it, and none of our weapons left a scratch. It was then that talks of nuking it began. It was an insane decision, as it was dancing in the middle of a populated city, but the brass thought we could lure it to a more isolated place. Calls were made, higher ups were notified. Everyone was nervous and terrified, both of the seemingly indestructible beast and of the country-changing decision that was about to be made. The screens of televisions across the nation lit up, and the leader of it all stepped up to say some somber words. The speech began, and we all knew what the end result would be. Or, what it would have been, if the beast didn't suddenly let out a startled noise and vanish into the sky. Just as mysteriously as it came, it disappeared, leaving quite a lot of confusion in its place. No one really knew what to make of it, some even claimed it was a hoax. The carnage and destruction left behind, though, was clear evidence that this strange event did indeed occur. Every video of its appearance, attack and disappearance was thoroughly looked over, but no one could come up with any real answer. It dropped from the sky and then returned to it, despite it having no wings or any apparent source of propulsion. Its screaming weapon still could not be solved, so we had no way to counter it if it returned. Its bizarre movements and behavior appeared otherworldly, which led to the idea that this was some interdimensional creature. Perhaps it appeared and disappeared through portals, and used abilities beyond our understanding. A possible idea, but one that was in no way comforting. We were dealing with a menace beyond everything we knew, so how could we fight it? Things grew even more dire when it appeared again. And again. All we know is that it loves to drop into cities and cause havoc. No one has seen it eat, drink or do any other biological function except "destroy." It descends from the heavens, smashes the landscape and fights the military, then vanishes without a trace. Researchers around the world have been trying to deduce anything they can from its brief rampages, but there is very little to understand. There is, however, one interesting observation that may prove useful. The scientists are thinking that the beast may be fueled by solar power. All of its attacks have been during the day, which at first wasn't all that telling. When the darkness of night begins to creep in, the beast will leave shortly after. This would just suggest it was a diurnal creature, heading back to its cosmic den for a good night's sleep. Then the night attack came. Long after dark had fallen, the beast dropped down again but things were very different. Though it smashed and crashed as usual, its roars were much quieter and muffled. At times it seemed to suddenly stop and look about, as if worried of some kind of predator. It would go silent during these brief lookouts, then hesitantly return to stomping. The real bizarre change, though, was the beam of light that fell upon it. As if god was looking down upon it, a shaft of light fell from the heavens and illuminated the beast as it rampaged. No one could find the source, and it appeared to move with the creature as it strolled though the city. When it would suddenly stop for a quick look around, the light would snap off for the briefest of moments, then return as it resumed its destruction. Could this light, and the light from our sun, be powering it? Why else would it require such an energy source during its nighttime attacks? Is that why it retreats when night falls? But if it has the ability to summon this light, why not just turn it on when the sun goes down and continue with its mission? Why vanish at around 6pm, but then show back up later at around ten? There are many mysteries around this creature for sure, but humanity must solve them if we are to survive. Cities have been totaled, hundreds of lives have been lost and the sense of safety in our world has been shattered forever. The stakes in this fight are too high for us to give up. There is no time for playing around. This is a game we must win. --------------------------------------------------- Kaijune needs some weird kaiju, so here we go! Pick one up today from your local dollar store!

#kaiju #kaijune #monster #creature #alien #art #drawing

39 notes · View notes

celestialices · 4 years

Text

QUEST!

Greek Mythology x Haikyuu

Haikyuu!Ensemble x Reader

Summary: You were just a perfectly normal student at The University of Tokyo, when suddenly a bunch of 'normal boys', as they call themselves, appeared in your life and started to squeeze themselves into your life. Always saying something like "You're a goddess, we need to take you back to Olympus" (you brushed it off, saying that it was just a silly compliment) and even absurd sentences such as "You got Medusa's eyes" and "You're really Medusa's daughter!"

You really want a peaceful school year, but the universe beg to differ.

004: THE END OF A NEW BEGINNING

previous | next

masterlist

To say that you were surprised by this outcome would be an understatement. Being childhood friends with Hirugami Sachiro, the university’s so-called “hottie”, is a pain in the ass. Though Hirugami’s a dependable best friend and dotes on you like an older brother, he’s a little shit. He teases you every time he has the chance to, but knows his boundaries. He never leaves your side too; always knows what’s on your mind since he is very “observant.” The biggest disadvantage of being his best friend, is his fans. Students flocking over you to ask questions about him was tiring. The only one that ruins your day.

It was bearing, at first, because you thought it’d be cute when you’re one of the reason why Hirugami has a lover. But you didn’t expect it to be.. like this. You had to hide often just to stop them. Ambushing you, preventing you from leaving the university’s premises, it was all too much. That’s where Hoshiumi Korai comes in. Your friendship with Hoshiumi is... mystifying. You didn’t even know how you tolerated being friends with him in the first place, but it surprisingly lasted up until now. Seeing that you and your childhood friend are indivisible, Hirugami arranged plans for you and Hoshiumi to meet after they became friends through volleyball. “Korai-kun, this is my childhood friend I was talking to you about. From now on, we’ll all be friends, so please get along!” Ever since that day, Hirugami pushed everything and made sure to schedule a hang out for the three of you, thrice a week. There isn’t a day during your high school years that you didn’t see Hoshiumi’s face, that’s all because of Hirugami. And yeah, that’s how the two of you got along somehow. Basically, what Hirugami has, you have to have it too. And vice-versa. But having Hoshiumi as your friend set out a vast of benefits for you. Not only he’s reliable and gives great advices (to your surprise), he’s quick to get irritated. And that managed to save yourself from the crowd plenty of times. His impatient self terrify a bunch of people, so you tend to stick by his side as long as you can.

The bond you three shared is as tough as old boots. People say that a friendship between three people would never work, saying that one is always left out. That doesn’t mean that you never had misunderstandings, hence you always manage it before it gets out of hand.

So where are they when you need them? Your legs are about to give up from squatting, hiding yourself in the bushes in order to escape Hirugami’s aggressive followers. You know you look stupid, but it’s better than to be chased by people, right? You checked your phone, seeing no reply from your friends made you want to cry. The text was an hour ago, meaning you’ve been hiding for an hour now. Just what on Earth are they so busy for that they can’t even check their messages?

You just wanted to go home, your mother and little brother, Yuki, are probably waiting for you. Classes ended two hours ago, so they’re probably concerned about your well-being already. It’s been quiet for too long, so you decided to look up. No fans sighted. Contemplating on whether to just run towards the gate, or stay for a few more minutes until hopefully, a good friend finds you. You let out a deep sigh, about to risk it all when all of a sudden someone shouted your name. Letting out a yelp before looking up from your hiding place, you desperately prayed for your life. Only to see Yahaba Shigeru waving at you. Well, at least he’s close to what you’ve asked for? Yahaba Shigeru, also a student at your university. A friend of a family friend. Oh, did I mention, an admirer of yours?

He is handsome, not going to lie. But he’s not really your type. Yahaba is a calm and carefree guy, but also a show-off. If you’re given a dollar every time he pried your attention, you’ll probably become the richest in Japan. “Hello, Yahaba-san.” You awkwardly greeted with a smile. Maybe after a few exchange of words, you’ll ask him to walk you to the gates. He probably wouldn’t mind, in fact, he’ll probably die of excitement. “Are you hiding from Hirugami’s fans again?” He chuckled, making you flustered on how he caught up so fast. It’s no secret that you’re the university’s source of information regarding Hirugami. It was embarrassing. “I’ll walk you home, if that’s okay with you.” Not wanting to turn down his offer, you instantly answered. “Oh, that’s kind of you. Sure.” You cringed a little for your fast response, he won’t think you’re eager to walk with him, no? You don’t really bat an eye at Yahaba, nor answer his advances. False interpretations of a friendly action would hurt a lot. This won’t take long, I can do this. Standing up, you grabbed your things and walked towards him. He offered to take your bag but you politely declined, thus the fiddly walk begins.

The stroll on your way home is noiseless, you were utterly astonished that Yahaba didn’t say a word while walking side by side. For far as you know, he isn’t like this; he always has something to say. You want to ask him how he’s doing, but too shy to do so. Your conversations are always one-sided, making you feel a bit bad. Nevertheless, you’re thankful. Relieved that your house wasn’t faraway from the university, you reached home in a span of minutes. You glanced at Yahaba after the both of you stopped walking, noticing that he’s already looking at you expectantly. Uh oh. You were afraid to ask him to enter with you out of respect, but he’ll agree no matter what. You just wanted to rest for now, unable to handle a guest in your current state. “Onee-san!” Thank God for Shibayama Yuki. Your eyes went from Yahaba to Yuki in a flash, looking at him with wide eyes. Begging to save you from this situation. “We have a visitor. Hurry up, Mom’s waiting for you.” He said, bowing apologetically to Yahaba. It took a lot of self-control to refrain yourself from smiling. Instead, you also bowed to Yahaba. “Thank you for walking me home. I’ll see you tomorrow.” You grinned and happily marched towards your house. The house you live in was a basic Japanese one, its build is similar to the other houses, considering that you live in a private subdivision. It’s also big enough for the three of you, and enough for family friends to stay in. And it a nice house won’t compare to the family you’ve got. Your mother is a strong woman, she raised the two of you alone. Worked hard to give you and Yuki a lovely home, three meals a day, and all the basic necessities a mother should provide. Anything you ask for would be given in less than a day, sometimes you think she’s spoiling you too much. But in reality, you know she just wants the best for the two of you. She’s amazing. As for your brother, Shibayama Yuki, he’s a bit shy and gentle. He often likes to keep it to himself, but managed to have a friend. Yes, he has only one. It worries you but he assured that one true friend is enough. He’s also into volleyball, a very hard-working and determined “libero” of his team. Shibayama helps you in anyway he can, always acting as the older one by protecting you from the world. Conclusion, it was perfect. You consider this all as a blessing, you’re grateful for the life you have. Every once in a while, you question yourself on what you did on your past life to have a life like this. Placing your shoes on the shoe rack, “I’m home.” You say out of habit and glided to the living room. You were greeted with a frowning mother and the visitor Shibayama told you about, having a serious conversation. “You’re here!” “Yahoo!” Oikawa entered the chamber, immediately smacked by Iwaizumi for breaking the silence and made everyone flinch by his sudden appearance. “Iwa!” Oikawa whined, he doesn’t understand why Iwaizumi consistently hit him, and why he doesn’t ask him to stop either. “Shut up, Oikawa!” Iwaizumi hissed. How can he be so slow-witted at times when he’s the son of Athena? “I just wanted to up the atmosphere!” Oikawa whisper-shouted. Iwaizumi only sighed, already used to his attitude. Currently, the chosen deities for Zeus’ quest (minus Sakusa) are gathered together. They’ll be promptly briefed on what to expect, what to do, and their responsibilities to solve this problem before it grows. This is the first time the deities encountered a major problem that needed the superior gods’ inclusion. Of course everyone will be terrified! Is Medusa’s daughter really dangerous? They don’t know anything about her, it’s safe to assume that she is. And what’s more terrifying is that no one in the Twelve Olympians noticed a powerful aura in Earth. They’re watching humans from time to time, how is that possible? Is Medusa’s daughter more powerful than Zeus? That’s not possible. But then again, they live in a strange world with thousands of possibilities. Oikawa counted the amount of deities present in the room. Ten. He frowned, did someone refuse to participate in this quest? It should’ve been thirteen as far as he knows, and Sakusa is already in Earth. “Who didn’t chose one?” Eyes were landed to him. There he goes again. Iwaizumi exhaled, Oikawa is rather weird. One moment he's bubbly and often tell cheerful remarks, next he's saying or asking confusing and alarming words. “What do you mean?” Akaashi Keiji, son of Ares and Aphrodite, sent by war-god Ares, asked. He’s flustered by Oikawa’s sudden question, totally not understanding it at all. Akaashi is a soothing and composed god. He’s also blunt, calling out the deities on the foolish acts they do. He analyzes everyone and got a hold of their personality, but could never seem to know what’s going on in Oikawa’s head. “Kuroo is visiting Asami at the moment.” Kita Shinsuke, chosen by Demeter, answered. “As for the thirteenth representative, I don’t know either.” He added, also confused on why there’s only twelve of them. Kita doesn’t sugar-coat his words, making a lot of deities afraid to hear his comments. He is straightforward, giving precise answers only. He also does what needs to be done, no one can sidetrack him. His mature way of thinking resulted to him becoming one of Mt. Olympus’ pillars, everything he worked hard for will eventually lead to a something extraordinary, just like Demeter always says. “I heard Hephaestus didn’t send one.” Ojiro Aran, representative of Zeus, replied. Aran is also one of Mt. Olympus’ pillars, an intelligent and a fully-fledged god, that’s what he is. He often solve everyday problems in Olympus along with Kuroo, especially the twins’ mess. Aran is a very reliable god, he’s one of those superior gods everyone looks up to. People often compare him to Zeus, saying that he should ascend the throne as he is the best candidate for it. “Isn’t that.. illegal?” Suna Rintarou, sent by Hades as a form of punishment from sneaking earlier, questioned. He’s a bit lazy sometimes, but also rebellious. Only he can do that. He appears to be a quiet and nonchalant god, but Suna is expressive to his thoughts; saying what he wants to say that often gets him in trouble. If only this wasn’t a serious situation, they would’ve laughed at Suna’s question. His comments are humorous. “I asked Ennoshita about it, since he’s the son, you know? But he said Hephaestus didn’t say anything.” Sugarawa Koushi, son of Hebe and Hercules, chosen by Hestia, shared. Under his calm and gentle personality, he’s actually a mischievous god. Overall, he’s one of the helpful and kind gods, and one of Hestia’s trusted servants of Eophertia. The representatives chosen are mostly the ones who’ve passed a year or more after getting their blessing. The only ones that came from this year’s batch were Kageyama Tobio, son of Aphrodite and Himeros, dispatched by Aphrodite due to his formidable dedication, and Kunimi Akira, sent by Hermes and will act as the messenger between two worlds.

Not too long after Oikawa entered, the doors of the chamber opened again, revealing Kuroo Tetsuro in his glory. He walked with confidence, sitting in the center as he is “the son of Zeus and Hera.”

“Finally, you’re here.” Komori Motoya, a descendant of Apollo but lives with Artemis, spoke. He was sent because he’s the only one who Sakusa talks to, and everyone likes him. A friendly and outgoing god who encourages a lot of deities. Who wouldn’t like him? “Sorry.” Kuroo apologized. Short and straight-forward. “Asami’s doing well, if you’re wondering.” Kuroo is serious when it comes to conflicts in Mt. Olympus, but he’s usually a laid-back god who likes to provoke others. It’s like the amount of tension lessened after what Kuroo said. They’re all dying to visit Asami too, if only she was placed in Eophertia, things would’ve been easier. “Anyways!” Oikawa interrupted. “Do we even know where to search? There’s a thousand places on Earth! How would they expect us to finish this quickly?” He complained. Obviously pressured on the amount of expectations given to them. “Agreed,” Kunimi spoke, pretending like his father doesn’t have anything to do with this. He could ask him, but he’s certain Hermes will just mess with him. “If the Twelve Olympians weren’t aware of a deity wandering on Earth for the past 18 years, what can we even do?” “I think Sakusa already encountered one.” Komori announced. Glances were thrown on him. And a chorus of “what” and other incoherent words were followed. “I think! I’m not sure!” He shrieked, distressed at the stares he’s getting. “Quiet down.” Athena suddenly engaged in the conversation. Everyone looked at her, confused at how she suddenly appeared in the chamber without anyone noticing. The power of a goddess. “Yes, we were informed that Sakusa Kiyoomi run into one, but he wasn’t sure. Still, we’ll start from there.” She declared. “How..” Akaashi mumbled. But didn’t mind to continue it, at least they’ve got a good start. “Where is it, Mother?” Oikawa asked. Cliffhangers are undoubtedly not his thing. “Tokyo, Japan.”

THE TWELVE REPRESENTATIVES

Ojiro Aran - son of Zeus and Mnemosyne.

Kuroo Tetsuro - son of Zeus and Hera.

Iwaizumi Hajime - son of Poseidon and Amphitrite.

Suna Rintarou - son of Hades and Persephone.

Sugawara Koushi - son of Heracles and Hebe.

Kita Shinsuke - son of Demeter.

Kageyama Tobio - son of Himeros and Aphrodite.

Komori Motoya - son of Aceso.

Sakusa Kiyoomi - son of Hygieia.

Oikawa Tooru - son of Athena.

Akaashi Keiji - son of Ares and Aphrodite.

Kunimi Akira - son of Hermes.

A/N: Hello! I wrote this instead of studying for my exams later, it’s a bit short but longer chapters will come :)) Forgive me if there are a lot of typographical errors, I was suffering from a writer’s block while writing this, I don’t know why. Notes, reblogs and comments are really appreciated! It motivates me whenever I read some reviews :D I’ll probably update again two days from now unless my brain acts up again. Please look forward for it. If you have some questions or wanting to be added to the taglist (or chat with me!) please send an ask <3 Thank you for reading!

120 notes · View notes

nctharu · 3 years

Text

wayv

haru’s relationship with wayv ｡ﾟ･

kun

her other dad/mom in nct, the cool one though

there is never a day that passes where they don’t at least message each other

sadly, they don’t spend too much time together due to their different schedules but they are always supporting each other

he low key wishes that he could adopted her into wayv just to spend more time together

haru loves to watch him do magic and she still doesn't know how he does it

gets upset when she isn't smiling :(

always on her toes since he found out that she misses a few meals

gives her the best forehead kisses ever

ten

another pair of dance buddies

they often practice together for comebacks or they just learn new dances with each other

haru admires him a lot, his dancing is perfection

and in his eyes, shes absolutely perfect

has a bunch of hoodies of his and he steels from her collection of beanies

hugs and kisses 24/7

very protective of her, especially since she’s so naive and nice to everyone she meets

a very wholesome relationship

winwin

she holds a special place in his heart

one of the only people he allows to hug/cuddle him

he’s trying to teach her chinese at the moment and he has so much patience with her

she wishes he would get more attention from sm!

he has so much to show and whenever he does promote she is so supportive

they are very soft for each other and are always thinking of each other

he knows when she gets anxious or when her anxiety has risen up so he lets her draw on his hand and she is so thankful for him

there are a few clips of them saying things like “awe haru/winwin would love this.”

also to mention, he is quite protective of her

lucas

he picks her up and literally throws her around

especially at the most randomest times

have no brain cells at all

it has gotten to the point where the members don’t allow them to hang out

but seriously speaking, they are best friends, besties even

he spoilers her so much

she hates how much he buys for her so she once slid a hundred dollar bill into his wallet

lucas is on another level of protection when it comes to her

he hates when stylist put her in revealing clothing, she barely 18!!

they are just so proud of each other and really care for one another

xiaojun

she randomly compliments him and he still blushes till this day

he still hasnt gotten used to it and haru finds it so cute

since they are both introverts, they rather stay at home

they really like to watch movies and eat

she never lets him cook though

she literally can’t take him seriously, especially when he made the oreo cake

hendery

so so so so close

they are so close that that can literally tease each other all they want and they put up with it

surprisingly he isn't very protective of her and she appreciates that

they’re another pair of besties

when they are together, they usually steal each others phones and see what new games they've downloaded

they often stay up late and watch movies or play video games

there is always a joke being told within the two

yangyang

kun cant leave these two alone, ever

they always end up doing random things that arent the best lol

ten has adopted them both

but little does he know they tease him behind his back

when they are together they are just evil

purely tho

they were once playfully arguing and she threw her water bottle at him

she has learned many cuss words in german and they random curse now

#nctharu #nct female addition #nct female member #wayv #wayvfemalemember #nct female oc #kpop oc #nctreactions #nctdreammember #nct au #nct 24th member #24th nct member

36 notes · View notes

clonewarslover55 · 4 years

Note

*slides you ten dollars in monopoly money* Y'all have any Fives headcanons in stock?

*Discreetly takes the monopoly money and slides it into my pocket* I believe I have some in stock.......

Notes: I didn’t know if you wanted relationship headcanons or just general headcanons, so I kinda did both! Also one of my best friends helped me come up with most of these headcanons! Find them at @peacelandbread @cptn-suede and @aepes-saga Please go check out their blogs! they’re amazing!

Fives relationship headcanons and general headcanons

SFW

Fives is an amazing soldier, and can be very serious when needed.

He’s a big goofball when he doesn’t have to be serious though

His goatee is very important to him, if even a hair is out of line he has to fix it immediately

Like his goatee is his pride in joy, if someone even mentions shaving it they will have to suffer the wrath of Fives

He loves to embarrass his brothers as often as possible

Fives is a badass soldier but he is a shit head

He plays with his food all the time with Hardcase, just to embarrass the others

Always causes chaos in one way or another

Prank King

Fives loves kids! He matches their energy perfectly

He would be an amazing father! But he’d never say no, and he’d absolutely spoil his children

Fives is a major flirt! He shameless flirts as much as he can

Fives either ends up being slapped or in some civilians' bed. There is no in between

When he flirts he is always flexing

“Yeah I’m an ARC Trooper, we’re a little more built.” Shows off biceps

“You can totally feel the difference.” More flexing

He is absolutely shameless

If you’re in a relationship with Fives he will still show off constantly

Fives is one romantic son of a bitch

He isn’t the best though, but he tries!

He will always surprise you with cute romantic and sweet gestures

Beware if you date this chaotic boy he will constantly show you off

Fives will constantly be like, “Look at my S/O everyone!!!!” Towards his brothers

He just loves you so much! He feels he has to prove that constantly

Fives is a big sweetheart and well grounded man

He can be chaotic but he has his head on straight

Fives is a big softie when he wants, but on the battlefield he is to be feared

He is Scary intelligent! Like you knew he was intelligent but wow!

Fives loves going on dates! No matter where the date is at

He just likes to be with you

Fives is kind of clingy, but he is touch starved. Plus he is busy often

He cherishes his time with you

Fives can talk for hours with you! He loves telling you about his brothers!

He is one loyal man! Fives is there for you, through thick and thin!

NSFW

Fives is amazing in bed and knows it

He has quite a bit of experience

This makes him cocky

Expect him to show off his skills to you many times

Fives is amazing with his mouth and tongue. He’ll have you writhing under him quickly

Fives is an amazing kisser! He has big soft lips that are great for kissing!

He is surprisingly great at dirty talk. He can be nasty when he wants

He loves giving and receiving massages! He thinks they’re so intimate

Plus he just loves feeling you! He is very touch starved

Fives loves rubbing his facial hair against your skin. It tickles you but it also feels nice

His neck is very sensitive! If you kiss it a lot he’ll giggle

Fives is ticklish! Kiss his neck and tickle his sides with your nails and he’ll be a giggling mess

It’s adorable

Fives is secretly kinky! He’d be down to do really anything, but he’s too shy/embarrassed to ask.

Like he’s secretly into anal, but won’t ask. If you ask though, he’d be on board immediately

Fives is big into public sex! The idea of getting caught is thrilling to him

Fives is a dirty bastard lol! So expect him to tease you in public

He is constantly whispering dirty words into your ears. You can’t take him anywhere without him being a major tease

Loves it when you leave love marks and such on him! He loves showing them off

If you’re shy or ashamed about your body Fives will make sure to worship you as often as possible

He’ll give you many many examples of why you’re absolutely amazing!

#clone trooper fives #arc trooper fives #fives #ARC trooper #ARC Troopers #fives x you #fives x reader

220 notes · View notes

voiceless-terror · 4 years

Text

The Breaking Down of Walls (The Magnus Archives)

Whumptober 2020 Day Seven: Carrying

Fandom: The Magnus Archives

Characters: Jonathan Sims, Tim Stoker, Martin Blackwood

CW: Sickfic

Summary: For all his grumbling, he doesn’t think Jon actually minded it that much.

He squeaked and protested when Tim threw him over a shoulder, but he went soft and pliant after about a minute of being carted around. He’s almost gotten used to being picked up and bodily moved out of the way by Tim instead of getting a simple ‘excuse me.’ Tim once caught him smiling after he’d been perched on the break room counter while Tim cleaned up a glass he shattered. It quickly morphed into a scowl on eye contact, though.

Jon was small. Portable. Travel-sized for convenience. Jon did not like this pointed out to him.

So Tim made it his job to point it out as often as possible.

“Hey there lil’ guy!” was his favorite greeting back in research and Jon would always return it with a furious glare and a grumbling, futile protest. See, Tim’s a tall guy. Of course everyone would seem small to him. But Jon was genuinely small. Like, he has to jog to keep up if you have a brisk pace. Watching those little legs work overtime to catch up to him in the hallway was one of Tim’s greatest joys. The man was five foot and change, if the change was pennies on the dollar. Tim particularly liked to rest his elbow on his head; the afternoon silent-treatment it got him was well worth it.

For all his grumbling, he doesn’t think Jon actually minded it that much.

Tim believed he protested too much. Jon liked friends and company despite his prickly exterior. No one leaned into a touch like that if they didn’t want it. So Tim took the complaints with a grain of salt.

The dynamic changed when they moved down to the archives. Jon had distanced himself, locking his office door and trying to seem like a far more serious man than he was. Tim understood- with Elias breathing down their necks, anyone would be worried about professionalism. But it was wearing on Jon both physically and mentally. He was not very pleased with Tim’s moniker of ‘lil boss’ so he cut that out right quick. He looked tired and harried every day and was prone to snapping at the slightest of inconveniences- these days the inconvenience was more often than not Martin.

Poor Martin. He was the odd man out, the only one not to come out of research. Elias assigned him to the archives which put Jon immediately on guard. But Martin was a nice kid, just trying to scrape by like the rest of him. It wasn’t his fault his Latin was terrible and Jon was exacting. Well, maybe he could work on the Latin. But he brought them tea and asked about their day which was more kindness than anyone here had experienced in quite some time. He was working very, very hard at trying to break down Jon walls. He brought him tea on the hour and tried to coax him out for lunch. He took every insult and rejection with a mask of politeness that Tim knows must have taken him some time to perfect. He let Martin do the mothering; Tim doesn’t know how to express his concern in a non-tactile fashion.

Jon hadn’t been out of his office all morning. This was not unusual, not these days. Martin expressed his concern more than once and Tim decided to check up on him at the end of the day if he hadn’t come out- he’s knee deep in research and on a roll. Sasha’s out investigating a case and it’s only the three of them in the office. The clock neared three and Tim yawned; he really needed this weekend to come quick.

“Tim!” he heard a strangled voice call. Martin. “Tim, can you come here please?” This couldn’t be anything good. He hurried out of his chair and made his way down the hallway to- you guessed it- Jon’s office.

“H-He won’t wake up!” Martin stuttered, hands hovering uselessly over Jon, who was currently collapsed in his office chair either snoozing or deeply unconscious. Damn. “I-I know he looked bad today but he told me to leave him alone so I did and now look at him!”

Jon indeed didn’t look or sound well. His hair was out of its bun and in a tangled mess that hid most of his face, but what he could see was flushed a bright red. His breathing was labored, a slow and uneven wheeze. Tim immediately started making his way over. “Does he have a fever?”

“I think so,” Martin replied. “But I didn’t check. Didn’t know if he wanted me...touching him.”

Tim rolled his eyes. “I think this is an exception.” Martin clearly wasn’t comfortable enough with the man to bully him just yet (Jon seemed to do most of the bullying nowadays). He needed a firmer hand when it came to taking care of himself and Tim and Sasha were usually the ones to give it. One hand to Jon’s forehead and he knew the man had worked himself sick, again. It’d been a while since this last occurred- it used to happen with some frequency back in research, at least until Tim and Sasha convinced him to take it easy. But they had been distant and it’s clear that Jon’s fallen back into old habits. Tim sighed, brushing a lock of Jon’s hair behind his ear. “What are we gonna do with you, hm?” he murmured softly, well-aware of Martin’s eyes on his back.

“I-I can set up the cot in the back!” Martin suggested, moving over to the door as if to do it immediately. “I can sleep on the break room couch, it’s surprisingly comfy.” Tim had forgotten that Martin had been living in the archives- Christ, what has this place come to- but it was a Friday night and he didn’t want Jon here all weekend; he would likely just work himself into exhaustion yet again. So Tim made a decision.

“I’ll take him home. He’ll recover better if he’s out of here,” He looked at Martin critically. He wasn’t in the best of shape either. There were dark circles under his eyes and he couldn’t be getting great sleep cooped up in the basement like this. ‘Why don’t you come too?” Martin's eyes widened in surprise. “You could do with a good night’s sleep and my living room couch is legendary.”

“I couldn’t-”

“Nope, I’ve already decided for you,” Tim gave him an easy grin, hoping to seal the deal. “Go get us a cab, will you? I didn’t drive and we aren’t taking the tube.”

“O-Okay! If you’re s-sure.”

“I’m always sure.” He threw in a wink for good measure and Martin was out the door. Works every time.

Getting Jon out of the chair turned out to be tougher than expected. He was contorted around his desk; he’d clearly been in this position for quite some time. As gently as possible, he wound an arm around his knees and titled Jon back until he fell against his chest and against his other arm. “There we go,” he mumbled even though he knew the man couldn’t hear. “Let’s get you home.” Jon felt incredibly warm in his arms and Tim’s worry increased; he hoped he had medicine back at his flat that hadn't expired. The man was even lighter than expected and Tim almost stumbled backward with how he overcompensated for his weight. Another thing I’ll have to talk to him about.

Martin came back downstairs, his footsteps quick and loud on the tile. “Cab’s here- oh.” He paused, staring down at Jon and blushing for some reason. Tim looked at him quizzically before gazing down to his arms- at some point Jon had nuzzled himself into his shoulder, one hand gripping his shirt in a tight little fist. He had to admit it was an adorable picture, but they didn’t have time for Martin’s crush right now. “I’ll just go and uh, grab my things then.”

They end up in the back of a cab, all three of them. It’s not particularly comfortable but they manage to sprawl Jon across the both of them, head still tucked into Tim’s shoulder and legs stretched out into Martin’s lap. Tim is only a little amused with Martin's awkward placement of his hands in an attempt to avoid touching Jon, though he ends up grabbing onto his legs to keep him in place about two minutes into the ride. They fell into a silence on the way, the only noise was Jon’s breathing which sounded more labored by the second.

“Is he- was he always like this?” Martin asked quietly, allowing himself one more glance at Jon. Martin’s face was still red, much to Tim’s amusement. “Working himself to death?”

“Never this bad,” Tim replied, running a hand through Jon’s hair. He remembered doing this back in research, back when it was okay to touch him. Was he taking advantage? Perhaps a little, but Jon looked like he needed it. “New job’s wearing him down, I think.”

“W-What was he like before?”

Tim paused. Frankly, he’s a bit unsure of what Martin’s looking for here. Jon’s always been Jon, but the promotion seems to have dialed up all of his worst habits past ten. Habits that Tim thought they’d put behind them. It’s not like Jon’s particularly changed- perhaps regressed was a better word. He’s rebuilding the walls that took him years to deconstruct. He’s scared, Tim realized. Don’t know why it took me this long to see it.

“He’s actually quite soft,” Tim stuck to the present tense. Jon’s not lost, after all. Just a little in his head. “Once you get to know him. We were- we are friends. He’ll get used to you,” Martin deserved a little reassurance. “Just gotta invest some time. Like you’re already doing.”

Martin went quiet. He didn’t seem convinced.

“One time he sprained his ankle on the way into work,” Tim smiled, remembering the day from about a year ago. “Idiot thought it would be fine to walk around the library like nothing happened. You should’ve seen Sasha when she found out. Full of fury, that one. Never get on her bad side.” Sasha’s mother-hen instincts were even worse than Martin’s, though hers were much more intense and full of scolding. “Made a deal that if he was going to work he’d have to sit the fuck down. ‘Course Jon’s not going to do that- he may seem like he sits in his office all day, but I’m sure he’s actually pacing up a storm in there.” A fond smile down at the man in his arms. “So whenever he got up I hauled him on my back. Sasha has a picture somewhere. He was horribly embarrassed, of course, but I think he came around to the idea.” He nudged Martin in the side. “He secretly likes all of that fussing, I promise you.”

“He hides it well, then,” Martin rolled his eyes though he was smiling.

They got to Tim’s flat in a thankfully short period of time. “Make yourself at home,” he said to Martin as he opened the door with just a small adjustment of Jon. “I’m going to get this one settled in my room.”

“Alright,” Martin ducked his head shyly, standing awkwardly in the middle of Tim’s living room. He’ll warm up to it, Tim thought as he made his way to the bedroom. He’s glad he decided to clean the place a couple of nights ago- Jon deserved some freshly-laundered sheets and clean air. Better than that stuffy basement.

Jon blinked his eyes open as Tim gently laid him down on the bed. They were watery and fever-bright, his brow furrowed in confusion.”T-Tim?” he croaked. Yikes, that sounds bad. “S’at you?”

“There you are, lil’ guy,” Tim murmured, wondering if Jon could even hear him. He propped a pillow up beside him and sat on the other side of the bed, tucking Jon against his side. “Took you back to my place. You’ve done a number on yourself, y’know.” Jon groaned and leaned into his shoulder, clearly looking for comfort in his vulnerable state. Tim would give it to him. “When you’re better we're going to have a talk, young man.”

“Hate talks,” Jon whined, rubbing his face into Tim’s shoulder. Ah, so we’ve reached the brat stage of illness. Right on time. “Just gonna sleep. Gotta...got work to do.”

“No you don’t,” Tim replied and squeezed Jon’s shoulders. “You’re going to take some medicine and eat. Have a nap. And maybe if you’re good, I’ll let you watch me play video games. But only if you’re good.” He paused, remembering Martin in his living room. “Also, Martin’s here. Just so you know.”

Jon didn’t seem to have any complaints about that. Huh. Maybe he doesn’t mind him as much as I thought. “S’he gonna make tea? Want tea.” Tim couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up in his throat.

“Yeah,” he promised. “He’ll make us some tea. Maybe cook us breakfast in the morning. The whole sha-bang. Gotta earn his keep.”

“I think Martin can make good eggs.” Yeah, Jon’s not going to remember this conversation.

“How can you tell?” He humored him anyway.

“It’s his face,” Jon’s tone left no room for argument. “I can jus’ tell from his face.” Alright then, Jon.

The man was starting to doze off and Tim took this as his cue to grab some medicine while he still had the chance. He carefully maneuvered around Jon, making sure he was properly tucked in the bed and not in danger of falling off. “Be right back, okay?” No answer, but Tim hadn’t really expected one.

He took a second to look down at his friend, soft and familiar in his bed. This weekend will be good, Tim decided. For all of us. It took him years to break down Jon’s walls and he was willing to do it again. Because Jon was his friend.

And Tim couldn’t lose anyone else.

ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26876779

#whumptober2020 #no.7 #carrying #fic #the magnus archives #sickfic cw #but nothing graphic #my writing #tma #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #jonmartin #tim stoker

83 notes · View notes

heavencollins · 4 years

Text

Top 10 Films of 2020: Part One

2020 was a rough year for a lot of reasons, but even more rough due to the lack of an existent film industry for over half of the year. Sure, there are small productions happening and movies being released on VOD, as well as some in theatres, but so many great films were pushed back this year—movies I was excited to possibly have on my top ten. Minari, Promising Young Woman, Zola, The Green Knight, Saint Maud. Okay most of those are A24 releases but A24 literally released next to none of their slate for this year and it’s one of the most disappointing things to happen in the entertainment industry in my opinion.

Alas, I still found cinema through streaming, paying $20 for a VOD rental, and those amazing $1.80 rentals from Redbox (remember when they were only a dollar? because I do). And honestly? It was probably the hardest time curating a top ten that I’ve had in a long time; with so much just available through the internet and owning every single popular streaming service, it was both impossible to watch everything I wanted but also since I watched a lot of what i wanted, I ended up loving most of it. For a year that was so dismal in every other way possible, the films that were released ended up being a shining light more often than not. Of course, like every other year, a lot of hot garbage came out too, but that isn’t the focus of this—the great, amazing, can’t believe these are real films.

So let’s start from number ten. This was my first and only $20 rental this year, starring a man who I personally admire: Pete Davidson.

10. The King Of Staten Island, directed by Judd Apatow and written by Judd Apatow, Pete Davidson, and Dave Sirus.

Judd Apatow is one of the first directors who I watched religiously, and hearing that he was doing a film with Pete Davidson that was essentially based on Davidson’s life meant that I knew I’d have to watch it. Scott, played by Davidson, is a twenty-something with no direct path in life; he lives with his mother, his sister is going off to college—something he never attempted—and he has no real career. His father died in a large building structure fire, much like Davidson’s actual father, a firefighter who passed away while responding to the twin towers during 9/11. Scott is emotionally a wreck, plagued with depression and anxiety, a chronic weed smoker, and dreams of being a tattoo artist that he practices by tattooing his group of rag-tag friends, but none of the tattoos are very great.

The thing about an Apatow film is they border the line between comedy and drama very well, kind of a complicated little dance. But, King of Staten Island is very much a drama more than a comedy. Bill Burr plays Ray, the father of a kid that Scott tattoos earlier on in the film. Ray comes stomping up to Scott’s mother’s house, and Margie, played by Marissa Tomei, opens the door. It’s essentially love at first sight. She hasn’t dated since Scott’s father passed, and to make matters worse, Ray is also a firefighter. This complicates emotions for Scott, as he loves his mother but also doesn’t know how to deal with the feeling that his mother is finally moving on and may face heartbreak again.

Davidson puts it all on the table in this film. It’s poignant and realistic; at the start, Scott is driving down the highway and closes his eyes, way longer than you should. It sets the tone from the start that this man isn’t okay, but also he’s scared of dying because as soon as he opens his eyes again and sees he may be about to crash, he quickly panics and readjusts his wheel. This struck a chord with me as most people know that Davidson has struggled with suicidal thoughts in the past. It’s a beautiful film that memorializes both how much Davidson’s father meant to him, but also the cycles of grief and trauma that last throughout your life.

9: Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), directed by Cathy Yan and written by Christina Hodson.

Suicide Squad is one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen period, fact. Birds of Prey is one of the best movies I’ve ever seen period, fact. I never, ever, ever thought I’d see a day where a DC movie was in my top ten, but this year anything is possible. Birds of Prey is a display of feminism, badassery, and all around perfection. You jump right into the story, hearing Margot Robbie’s classic Harley Quinn voice laid over an animation showing what we missed in her life so far, which means you don’t have to have any previous knowledge of the other films. Birds of Prey is meant to stand alone from any other movie preceding this one, and that’s just part of why it’s so great.

This film knows not to take itself too seriously. Margot Robbie is a dream as Harley Quinn, using just the right amount of playfulness to put a little edge on her, while also maintaining the manic-panic-pixie-dream-girl effect. Perhaps the best scene is when Harley goes and purchases the perfect egg breakfast sandwich, and then she drops it, causing a dramatic slow motion effect that proves she really does love that sandwich more than anything in the world. Or her realistic apartment, nothing truly fancy, just a little hole in the wall above a rundown Chinese restaurant. But then she has an amazing ensemble of other women actors around her, which are what really uplift her performance.

The funhouse fight scene at the end may be the best in superhero movie history. I mean, I guess, is Harley Quinn really a superhero? She’s kind of the anti-hero, which is what makes her so great. She’s somebody who isn’t even close to perfect but she still succeeds and tries to help and uplift the other women on her team. There’s just something special about this movie that made me smile and laugh the entire time. It’s a reminder that it’s okay to have fun every once in a while.

8: The Assistant, directed and written by Kitty Green.

For those who don’t know, I work as an assistant during the day for a small business here in Vermont. The work is mundane but it’s a job that’s giving me experience for the future. In The Assistant, Jane, played by Julia Garner, is an assistant to a “powerful entertainment mogul.” She gets lunch, answers phones, is the first one into the office, the last one out of the office, finds herself overshadowed by her male counterparts and getting the majority of the “grunt” work, and becomes more and more aware of what’s really going on at this office throughout a day in her life.

What’s interesting about this film is nothing is ever seen; everything Jane starts to feel is just based on intuition. Her boss is tricky, finding ways to keep his abuse of women out of the public eye, out of the eye of any female employees. This is obviously in response to #MeToo, Times Up, and the Harvey Weinstein news from the last few years, and it works surprisingly well as a film that just unnerves you and gets under your skin.

The reality of assault in the film industry is that until it’s widely public and known, nobody is going to know about it. You can report it to your company, to other women, to other men, to anybody, and nobody will take you seriously until they either experience it themselves or know somebody else who has. The Assistant hits the ball out of the park with the ending, even if it doesn’t give a vindictive satisfaction to viewers, because it’s simply the truth of the matter.

7: Tenet, directed and written by Christopher Nolan.

I really don’t know what to say about this one. It’s really controversial to like it but I absolutely LOVED this movie, it’s pure fucking vibes. A lot of people are cinema purists, which I am not, and will never claim to be, which was a huge deal with this film. Personally, this works way better at home than it ever would in a theater. It’s slightly long, the sound mixing makes it so it can be hard to hear dialogue over loud noises and the score, and it’s the type of movie you may have to rewind a few times.

My partner and I watched this in 4K Ultra HD with subtitles on, and let me tell you, it was amazing. Everything about the acting, the diversity in the film, the fact that Nolan literally has a character say “Don’t try to understand it, just experience it”???? VIBES. That’s all I can say about it. Plus, Elizabeth Debicki plays an actual badass who stands against her abuser and that enough is five stars. A tall queen standing up against her short joker—absolute feminism.

Sure, no character gets any development, but is that seriously necessary for every film? It’s an action flick about time and space and none of it makes sense and you can’t force it to. Why does everything need to make sense in a time where we are literally living through a pandemic? Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the experience of Tenet. It’s more fun when you don’t take it seriously.

6: The Devil All The Time, directed by Antonio Campos and written by Antonio Campos, Donald Ray Pollock, and Paulo Campos.

I never read the book this was based on, but this film made me want to. I love a film where multiple plot lines converge into one central story and this one did it so well, all with the same theme surrounding every single character: the guilt of sin and how no matter how much you think you can save yourself, you can’t truly save yourself. I’m not a huge fan of Tom Holland, but he shines as Arvin from beginning to end. Pattinson brings a creepy southern preacher to life with an accent that he will never be able to match again. Keough gives a performance you can only sympathize with as you know she’s being manipulated the entire time. Every character in this is corrupt in their own way but some in worse ways than others.

I don’t know how much to say about this one without spoiling it, either, because the core of this film is on the characters and what leads to their untimely ends, because pretty much everybody ends up dead. It’s grim and dark but it’s so beautiful and tells the story in a way that keeps you interested throughout the entire run time. It surprised me but there’s never truly been a Robert Pattinson starring movie that I’ve hated, so am I really surprised? I’m a TwiHard at heart even at age 22.

25 notes · View notes

ellewritesathing · 4 years

Text

Ten Things II

Summary: If there’s one thing you have to know about Harvey Kinkle, it’s that he rarely thinks things through. So when he meets (and falls for) Sabrina Spellman on his first day of Baxter High and finds out that she can’t date anyone until her tempestuous sister does, it seems like the obvious solution is to get someone to date her so he can go out with Sabrina. A not so obvious choice for the challenge is Caliban, but, hey, it’s not like Harvey thought that far.

Masterlist Prev. | Part 2

Word-count: 1.8k+

A/N: this part is a little short but i hope you guys like it!!

Though Sabrina didn’t know very much about him, one thing was very clear: Harvey Kinkle was determined. It had taken him only a few days to figure out that she tutored people during study hall for extra money, and then he’d been letting her teach him chemistry every day since then.

Harvey was sweet, and a good listener. He had a slight problem staying focused but his distractions always left her with little drawings on her study notes. For all intents and purposes, Harvey was the perfect boy next door. He would make the perfect boyfriend, too, if she didn’t still have feelings for Nick.

But Sabrina couldn’t date Nick or anyone else until you did. So, for now, the fact that Harvey could make her laugh would have to be enough.

“Hey, what are you thinking about?” Harvey asked quietly, bumping his elbow into hers lightly.

Sabrina smiled and started closing her books, noticing a drawing of a flower in the margins that hadn't been there before. “Oh, nothing. How long was I out?”

“About a minute. And you say I’m the one with concentration issues.” Sabrina laughed but when she didn’t say anything else, he added, “Hey, can I ask you something?”

Sabrina looked up from packing away her things long enough to see how nervous Harvey was. He was twisting his pencil in his hand when she looked at him. “Sure, what’s wrong?”

“Oh, uh, nothing’s wrong,” Harvey stammered. He leaned back ever so slightly and started fiddling with his pencil with a new intensity. “I was just wondering if you ... If you’d like to go out sometime. With me.”

“Harvey, I…”

“Oh no.” Harvey groaned and put his head in his hands. “You don’t like me like that and I just made things super awkward, right? Ugh, I’ll show myself out. Don’t worry about-”

Sabrina couldn’t help but laugh as she reached out and tried to pull his hands away from his face. She held his hands in hers as she tried to calm him down. “Harvey, no. It’s not like that.” She took a breath and adjusted, putting her hands on the table. “My aunts have this rule where I can’t date anyone until my sister does.”

“Oh,” Harvey said softly. He looked down at where her hands used to be holding his and Sabrina felt a pang of guilt in her chest.

“Yeah, and she’s not really …” Sabrina looked away. “There’s no one here that would- that she would …”

Harvey was quiet for a few minutes before he looked back up at her. “What if I know a guy?” he asked.

---

Ever since that day outside the principal’s office, Harvey had mostly stayed away from Caliban. He was a senior so they didn’t have any of the same classes, and it’s not like he was exactly a team player so Harvey never saw him at basketball practice. Harvey was also a little scared of him, if he was being honest; there were a ton of rumors going around about him that weren’t exactly family-friendly. Staying away was easier.

Finding him was surprisingly easy. Speaking to him was not easy.

“So, uh, what do you think?” Harvey asked after he explained the whole story. Caliban continued to sprawl out on the bench and flick his lighter on and off so Harvey repeated himself.

“You want to get together with blondie-” Caliban pointed to where Sabrina stood on the field, getting ready for cheer practice. “But you can’t because her sister is a devout nun, who you want me to corrupt. Is that about it?”

Harvey shifted uncomfortably under Caliban’s gaze. When he put it like that, it sounded awful. “Yeah, that’s about it.”

“Why me?” Caliban asked.

“I hear her sister’s, uh, kind of …”

“Tempestuous?”

“A raging bitch is what comes up more often, but, uh, let’s go with that,” Harvey said. “So will you do it? I can’t pay you, but if you’re good with this then I’m pretty sure I can get Nick Scratch to.”

Caliban hummed slightly, making Harvey more nervous than he wanted to admit. “Nicholas Scratch. How’d you manage that one?”

Before Harvey had the chance to answer, a soccer ball came flying at them and he jumped away to avoid being hit. Caliban narrowly avoided setting himself on fire with his lighter.

“What the bloody hell was that?” Caliban hissed as he got to his feet, capping his lighter angrily.

“That-” Harvey took a breath as he put an arm around Caliban’s shoulders and pointed you out on the field “-Was your new girlfriend. Say hi.”

Caliban had this weird look on his face when Harvey looked over at him. His mouth turned up and he waved at you. You flipped him off. He smiled a bit wider.

“I’ll do it,” Caliban said.

---

Believe it or not, Caliban actually liked Greendale. The people stopped all their ‘being friendly’ crap pretty soon and started leaving him alone, he’d found a place that made decent coffee, and there was a stray cat behind the bleachers that purred whenever he came close. But now he was being harassed by a guy who used more hair gel a day than they sold in the bottle, and Caliban’s patience was starting to slip.

Nicholas Scratch. Nick. They’d had a few classes together so far, but he made it clear he had no interest in Caliban and Caliban had no interest in him so they rarely talked. Now dear Nicholas had no problem talking.

“So what’s it gonna take, man?” Nicholas asked for the third time. “Someone to do your homework? Money?”

It’s not that Caliban disliked talking - he had no issues when Harvey was doing the talking - it’s that he disliked Nicholas.

“Twenty bucks is as high as I’ll go.”

“Well, let’s see-” Caliban let out a breath as he stood up and started walking around Nicholas “-I take her to the movies, and I pay for both of us because I'm a gentleman. That’s $20. Since she’s a lady, I also buy her popcorn and those little sour candies. That’s $40. Then there’s the gas it takes to get there, the probable dinner she’s going to want … Let’s round up at $100, shall we?”

Caliban would ask you out for free. Not for Harvey or this asshole, but because you had a lovely little habit of rolling your eyes at everything he said and then, very badly, trying to hide the smile that tried to spread across your face.

Nicholas tightened his jaw as he thought about the offer.

“Fine. Here’s the money,” he said as he dug out his wallet. Of course, he was the kind of person to keep one hundred dollars in cash on him. “Make sure she goes to the party next Friday. If you can get her to prom, I’ll double it.”

“Triple it. I don’t own a tux.”

Again, Nicholas clenched his jaw and looked away for a second. “It’s a deal. Don’t screw it up.”

---

Caliban had been bugging you all week. He put notes in your locker that featured either lame pickup lines or little tidbits about people who’d done something dumb that day (begrudgingly, you had a favorite: when Billy walked face-first into an open locker), watched your practices but was long gone by the time you changed out of your uniform, and left his smoker smell on your stuff. It was a wonder you hadn’t punched him yet, but the day was young.

You were ready to track him down after school but found him waiting for you by your locker with his usual annoying smile on his face.

“What is your problem?” you asked when you’d stomped close enough for him to hear you.

“Hello to you, too, princess,” Caliban said sweetly.

“Don’t say hello to me and don’t call me princess.” You poked his chest on the second ‘don’t.’ “Why are you stalking me?”

“Stalking is a bit of a leap, isn’t it?” Caliban asked. His eyes sparkled with an infuriating sort of amusement, but he stepped aside so you could get to your locker.

“No, it isn’t. You leave me gifts, watch me, and never actually speak to me,” you said, punching in your combination. The lock popped open as you continued, “It’s creepy.”

“I’ll admit, it’s not my best attempt at getting your attention, but you walk away whenever I try to speak to you in person,” Caliban said.

“Gee, I wonder if there’s a reason for that,” you said as you lifted a hand to your chin to feign thinking about it. “Have you ever thought it’s because I don’t like you?”

“How could you not like me? I’ve been flirting with you for almost a week,” Caliban said.

“Well, stop flirting with me! First of all, you’re bad at it.” You shoved a book into your locker when it refused to cooperate with a huff. “And second of all, I don’t date smokers.”

“Good thing I don’t smoke.”

You snorted and turned to look at him. He was a liar with the smile of an angel. He also had a lighter in the front pocket of his dumb leather jacket. You reached over and pulled the old, silver zippo lighter from his jacket. “You sure about that, Sparky?”

Caliban smiled and took the lighter out of your hand. Though it only touched yours for a second, it was far warmer and softer than you’d expected. “Have you ever thought I just like to set things on fire?” he asked.

“An arsonist and a stalker. Are you sure you’re single?” you asked as you tried to steady your heart again.

Caliban laughed under his breath and looked down at the ground for a second before giving you a surprisingly unguarded smile. “So, if I stop smoking, you’ll date me?”

You rolled your eyes and closed your locker. You adjusted your bag before turning back to Caliban and giving him a smile of your own. For a second, all of Caliban’s cockiness faded as you grabbed a handful of his shirt to pull him closer to you. In a low voice, you said, “I don’t think you’re ready to date someone like me, Sparky.”

You let go of his shirt, patted his chest, and took a few steps backward before turning on your heel and walking towards the parking lot.

---

You left without turning around to see Caliban with the most dumbstruck look on his face. Caliban was never ‘dumbstruck.’ He was the one that left people looking like this, he was the one doing the striking. But you’d struck him first.

And if you kept striking him, Caliban was bound to do something dumb like fall in love with you.

Tagged: @t-a-i-l-o-r-m-a-d-e @miss--moose @marrypuffsstuff @harryscarolinaa @igorsbby @foji2000 @hxlalokidottir @artaxerxesthegreat @thxmagic @strawberriesandknives @xealia @hotmessindisguise @acciomaximoff @reheated-coffee @shelby-x @perseny-blog @millie-753 @luneerius @shizzybarnaclee @lettherebelovex @throughparisallthroughrome @ietss @thebookwormlife @mechanicalanimalz @mariamermaid @nqbmf @caliban-is-my-girl @shephard17895 @music-movies @luquincy @olivia-west-allen @drrramaaaqweeen @roxytheimmortal (struck through wouldn’t tag)

#Caliban #ten things #caos #Chilling Adventures of Sabrina #caliban imagine #caliban x reader

101 notes · View notes

heavyarethecrowns · 3 years

Text

Kate Middleton: Prince William’s Decade-Long Mistake - Oct 2010

Who is Kate Middleton? After nearly 10 years of seeing Kate’s recorded behavior, this is my impression: Kate Middleton doesn’t care about any causes, charities or anything outside of living for pleasure. I doubt her ability to handle royal responsibilities – beyond dealing with privileges and paparazzi – because in the ten years the world has watched her, she hasn’t demonstrated she can take on anything but a royal c*ck and a jolly good time. While true, she isn’t married to William and isn’t in fact a royal (and may never be, for all we know), her perseverance implies she’s in it for the long haul and plans to become the Princess of Wales. As such, she should have taken these years to demonstrate to the world that, although she’s a common-bred, middle-class girl, she’s an exceptional lady who rises above the rest. But Kate has failed profoundly in that respect. The last thing the women of the public should be thinking when they see William’s marital choice is, “What on earth makes her so special? I could have done that/been in her place – and done it better! -Maybe I should have gone to St. Andrews!” But that’s what women, including myself, are lead to think of her. Coming from her background, as a common, everyday girl, it shows her complete lack of humility, and is borderline arrogant, for her to assume she can live like a spoiled brat who doesn’t need to prove herself. She enjoys a privileged life that she wasn’t born into – and for the life of many, we can’t understand why. Why was she chosen? Why not someone else? Why not a woman the vast majority can respect and admire? Let’s be honest here: William can have nearly anyone he wants – and he’s settling for this average circus monkey?

At first glance, Kate seemed like a well kept, nicely mannered woman – and well-suited for a royal position. In the first few years of her royal relationship, she shone as an attractive, educated, beautifully fashioned, friendly, and conservatively-behaved young lady. But that was then. Now, upon looking back at Kate’s near-decade as an unofficial princess-in-waiting, her behavior reveals her as a underwhelming choice for the monarchy. She’s demonstrated that she’s far from exceptional, and that aside from her pursuit of a crown, she’s a disappointing, arrogant underachiever of little substance.

Ambitious In All The Wrong Ways:

Those who know Kate often describe her as ambitious; and in the beginning, that’s the side of her the public got to see. Kate worked hard on her academics so she could attend the prestigious St. Andrews University, where William was also set to attend. While there, she met William and completed the same degree as him, in Art History. Following their graduations, William began the demanding military career he still pursues today. However, surprisingly, the once ambitious-seeming Kate did nothing: She remained jobless for nearly two years, living off of her parents (and William, I’m sure). Kate finally got a part-time job as an accessories buyer at the fashion chain, Jigsaw, but quit after only 11 months. Notably, rumors suggest Kate only got the job to passify Her Majesty, The Queen, who took notice that her grandson’s significant-other was a lazy freeloader. After that, she worked for her parent’s internet business, Party Pieces (which to many read like an unemployment cover-up). Apparently, Kate made updates to their website and took photos for it. That sounds pathetic and hardly full-time. Not to mention, Kate’s monthly getaways to exotic locations with William attest that her parents gave her an overwhelming amount of time off whenever she wanted it. That’s hardly a real job. And if that’s not disappointing enough, Kate quit the job all together in October of 2009 and has officially been doing nothing but shacking up with William while he pursues his career ever since. I’m sorry Katie dear, but for any 28 year old – especially a potential Queen of England – that’s absolutely not good enough.

There are several obvious problems with the reality of Kate’s ambitions (or lack thereof). She was ambitious about her education, but clearly didn’t want or need it for a career – So, what was she even at St. Andrews for, and why was she ambitious about getting there? She graduated from a top notch university, only to settle for unemployment and a job her parents provided? Logically, it’s mismatching for someone to aggressively pursue a top-tier education only to fall flat as a lazy, career-underachiever immediately and permanently thereafter. The fact that Kate did just that leads me, and countless others to believe she was only academically driven so she could put herself in William’s way and try to form a relationship with him. Also telling are the numerous reports by those close to Kate’s mother that Mrs. Middleton pushed her daughter’s attendance to St. Andrews in hopes of her becoming royalty.

Kate: The Attention-Loving Wild Child

When Kate’s not working – and that’s most of the time – she goes shopping, attends leisurely sporting and social events, and parties ’till her heart’s content in Britain’s most luxurious night spots (Paris Hilton style – ick). The photos of her nightlife are less than flattering – actually, they’re flat out embarrassing – especially for the potential next Princess and Queen of Wales. She often looks extremely intoxicated, and her attire and car-exiting-techniques have granted the paparazzi dozens of “crotch shots”.

[picapp align=”none” wrap=”false” link=”term=kate+middleton&iid=756945″ src=”http://view3.picapp.com/pictures.photo/image/756945/kate-middleton-birthday/kate-middleton-birthday.jpg?size=500&imageId=756945″ width=”234″ height=”151″ /] Kate characteristically grinning as she’s hounded by the paparazzi

Any other 28 year old woman would be focused on a career or starting a family – or both; But Kate just parties like she’s some rich 19 year old without any responsibilities. In fact, she’s only too happy to show that side of herself to the paparazzi – and the world. Her parents and William (taxpayer dollars) have financially supported her throughout her twenties – extravagant vacations included – and Kate’s habitual ear-to-ear smile indicates she’s loved every minute of it. As long as she’s attached to William, she doesn’t have a care in the world that other (common) women like her have – aside from her image, and she’s let that fall to the wayside. From the bright red coat she wore to William’s military graduation to the never-failing smile she wears for the paparazzi, Kate’s self-presentation says she loves being a celebrity and all eyes being on her. Unfortunately, Britain needs a princess who naturally exudes a respectable image when she provokes the world to look.

William’s Mistake – William’s Responsibility

I understand William’s need to pick a lady who’ll roll with the punches, deal well with the crazy, public lifestyle (privacy invasion, etc.), and conform to suit the monarchy’s needs. Nevertheless, it’s his mistake in assuming those are the only criteria a future princess must meet. If there was a checklist for the “Qualities of the Most Ideal Future Princess of Wales”, Kate would scantily fulfill 20% of them:

Intelligence and Wit

Humility

Career ambition/self sufficiency

Physical beauty – (C’mon, princesses are supposed to be pretty! -Especially when the prince is popular enough to take his pick. Kate’s…just…okay…)

Noble/Aristocratic blood (if not this, then a woman who stands far above the crowd of other commoners)

Grace and Conservative femininity (that goes out the window when you’ve been banging the prince for a decade without a commitment – Oh, and the rumored accidental pregnancies (abortion fanatic if they’re true! *cough* TMI *cough*))

Charity and service for those in need (I volunteered like crazy in college, and I’m not anywhere near royal… Why didn’t Kate?! – And why hasn’t she since??)

Respectable and responsible image (yeah, umm, no)

Takes on royal responsibilities to earn royal privileges (Kate’s only got the acceptance of privileges part down…)

Aaaand the list goes on…

Of course, there’s the possibility that Kate’s the girl who’s a match for William’s heart. But I doubt it. Kate’s the girl with everything to lose if the relationship fails, and everything to gain if it succeeds – her greatest skill is that she’s willing/desperate enough to jump through all and any hoops, including waiting 10+ years for a proposal – and William knows it.

It may have been 10 years, but it’s not too late for William to turn around and make a better decision. Kate hasn’t been cheated – contrary to some’s beliefs. She’s lived a decade of fantasy and wonder beyond her wildest dreams, and has continually been treated to luxuries she doesn’t deserve. William owes it to himself, and his country to make a responsible choice about the future Princess of Wales. Yes, he needs to choose a woman he loves, but his privileges require sacrifices on his part, and that means choosing a bride that will be an honorable partner for the people’s sake too. If William was going to wait ’till his late 20s/early 30s to wed, he could have waited to meet a woman who’s getting a PhD, or who runs a charitable non-profit organization, for example. But no : Instead, he’s burdening his country with wishy-washy, Waity Katie.

It’s not about choosing a girl who loves being photographed or relishes living her fantasy of being a fashion icon – or even a real, live princess. It’s about choosing a self-sufficient woman who has something amazing to offer the country and the world: A role model, a charitable, caring person who views joining the monarchy as a responsibility, and an opportunity to serve the people – not just an entitlement to luxurious privileges. Right now, the latter is Kate Middleton; And I don’t foresee her entire irresponsible, pleasure-loving personality changing just because wedding vows are exchanged. What we’ve seen is what we’re going to get as Lady Di’s shoe-filler – if William decides to go through with it. One can only hope that won’t be the case.

#duke of cambridge #duchess of cambridge #prince william #kate middleton #proof #article

5 notes · View notes