#they are not even expensive but I still sometimes feel guilty about wanting to buy such things - not sure why

[lightineventide]

"Am I to burn?"

With these masterpieces in my CD player, surely! 🤪

[bonny-kookoo]

Does someone older JK spoil the OC sometimes? Like surprise her with something which he considerd to be nothing it would mean so much to her?

Oh he does, ALL the time! Warnings for a bit of angst, beginnings of a panic attack but Kook handles it well

"...we can go there again, maybe before new year's if I can get a table on short notice." He simply says as he drives you both back to his place, radio playing quietly in the background.

You're still a little overwhelmed.

He does things like this a lot- expensive dinner dates in restaurants he either knows or wants to try out, randomly buying you clothes or jewelry he finds online and deems pretty, or he just changes things in his house to adjust it more towards you and your preferences. Like the pillows in his bedroom, the by now multiple pairs of thick socks for your cold feet, or the baking supplies he bought for you now stacking up in his kitchen.

It's things like that you're not used to. In the past, it has always been you who needed to adjust and do things for your partner- not the other way around. So now, you feel almost guilty whenever he does something- like a bank account draining, slowly going further and further into the negatives, red numbers piling up and making you anxious as to when he'll want it all payed back.

"Did you not like it?" He wonders, taking your silence as a sign of discomfort as he pulls up on the expressway. "You don't have to lie." He chuckles, reaching out to hold your hand.

"No, it's not that." You deny, letting him warm up your cold fingers. "It's just.. it was a little expensive, no?" You wonder, and he shrugs.

"Was it? To be honest, I don't think it was considering what we ate." He just brushes off. "I've been to steak restaurants that were a lot more expensive and half the quality. And the service was great too, so I didn't mind." Jungkook explains, and it's now that you realize once again that you and him live in quite different worlds. Or at least, used to.

For him, money isn't an issue. He's made and is making enough of it to live comfortably, he doesn't have to really worry about running out of it anytime soon, even if his company was to go bankrupt next week. And he's also got enough saved up, has invested with good tactics in mind, so it's really no wonder he doesn't see a problem in spending the amount that he does.

But you aren't used to that. You have been living paycheck to paycheck with barely anything left over at the end of the month, needing your bonus desperately as to not fall behind on any payments you have to make regularly. You've lost your apartment before, had to sleep at friend's places to get by, and even ate only at the company cafeteria to save money usually spent on groceries. All of this feels almost excessive, and you also worry.

What if Jungkook starts spending too much on you? He shouldn't fall into a habit of mindlessly throwing money out.

"What's on your mind, darling?" He wonders, lifting your hand to kiss the back of it, before he changes lanes.

"I just.." you fidget a little. Jungkook isn't a bad guy. He won't get mad. He won't scold you. You won't have to endure being lectured for the rest of the ride- you know all this, and yet again, the past haunts you and makes your breathing pick up as you begin to chew on your lip.

Suddenly, you realize he's pulling up to a gas station, parking on the side. He gets out to get something from the backseat, before he walks around the car to open the passenger door where you sit, unbuckling your seatbelt. "Here." he offers the bottle of water, having opened the cap for you. "Put your legs out like that- there we go. Breathe baby." He gently tells you, squatting down a bit to make himself look smaller. "Take your time."

You feel embarrassed. How do you explain to him that you were feeling like a kid about to confess a bad grade just now?

"We can keep it a one-in-a-month thing, maybe, if that makes you more comfortable." He proposes. "I didn't take into account that it might be overwhelming to you- I'm sorry." He apologizes, but you shake your head, looking down at your knees.

"I just.." You mumble, unsure how to really explain. "I feel.. back then, you know.." You sigh, having trouble finding the proper words. "Talking in the car makes me.. anxious." You admit. "Because you know, when you get mad.. I can't escape.." You say. "I can't get away from it."

Jungkook kindly takes the bottle away from you to put it on the backseat again, before he's back in front of you.

"Thanks for telling me. I had an idea it might be that, but I wasn't sure." Jungkook says, hands on your knees. "I promise you I'm not mad. And I'm in no position to be mad at you for having opinions or personal taste that might differs from mine. We're two different people-" He chuckles. "-of course we'll have different views on things."

"But I really liked the dinner too." You say. "I just.. I don't want you to start.. spending so much money on me to the point of, I don't know, losing sight of it." You confess. "And maybe, we should keep stuff like this a bit rare? So it doesn't become routine. I want to keep it special.." You say. "I'm not.. I don't really know much about this stuff, because I never had enough money to go to these fancy places, and get designer clothes, or plan vacations in different countries and all that. I feel.. stupid sometimes?" You spill, making him lean his head a bit to the side. "Like, what if you one day take me to a company gathering or something, and someone asks me something and I can't answer or I say something dumb-" You rant. "-or maybe you won't ever take me because I'm too young? Maybe Eve is right and I'm not really the kind of-"

"Baby, darling, stop-" He chuckles, pushing your shoulders back a bit to look at him. "-take a good breath. You're panicking." He worries a little, but tries hard to stay composed as to not make you spiral any further. "Eve is wrong. If you're okay with this, of course I'll take you to company events. Why wouldn't I show off such a beautiful women at my side? I'd never pass up a chance to make those stuck up geezers jealous." He jokes, making your crack up a little. "Let's keep the dinners to special occasions. Keep it special, like you said." He offers, holding your hands now. "And I'm also.. the fact that you worry about me makes me feel.. very special." he chuckles. "I appreciate you looking out for me."

"I always look out for you.." You mumble. "..I just don't want to overstep any lines. You know. Since you're older than me-"

"Just because I'm older doesn't automatically mean that I know everything better." He reassures you. "Our age gap has nothing to do with any sort of power balance. Please don't think you can't speak your mind just because I was born earlier than you."

"..okay." You nod, and he leans forward to peck your lips, before he closes the door for you after you pull your legs back in and buckle your seatbelt, him getting back into the driver's seat to do the same.

"You know.." he starts, as he pulls out of the gas station to continue the drive back home. "..I'm really falling in love with you." He chuckles, dimples of his cheeks showing with how hard he smiles.

"Huh?" You wonder, taken aback by the sudden confession.

"I mean it." He nods. "I really am."

"I'm glad then." You admit. "..cause I am too." You admit, making him grin before he reaches over to hold your hand again.

Knowing that he really won't ever let you go again.

[pupyuj]

i NEED domestic yujin, just pure floof :(((

hehe 😼 my first post after a while and it's sfw?? something shifted...

everybody that sees you two always gets so jealous bcs you are both such eye candies and you're so sweet to each other?? just pure couple goals 🥺 yujin is of course the type to always be touching you—arm around your shoulder or waist, holding your hand ofc, and she always melts under your touch 🥺 like she just can't help but lean into you when you gently put your hand on her back or on her arm whenever you're talking to someone :(( she feels so warm knowing that even though your full attention isn't on her at the moment, you're still thinking about her!!

this is probably self-indulgent cuz yujin's my baby daddy but she does that boyfriend thing where she offers to carry all of your shopping bags for you while you waltz around and treat yourself to a well-earned session of money-splurging 😭 literally watching you with a loving smile every time you try on an outfit, tells you to not worry about the price if you happen to come across a particularly expensive piece of clothing bcs she'll buy it for you 🥺🥺 makes sure to save a surprise at the end of your shopping spree where she suddenly pulls out a small box with the prettiest piece of jewelry you've ever seen?!?! 😩💕 also looks at you with a shy smile AS IF SHE AIN'T BEEN DOING THIS FOR YEARS and is always so nervous as to whether you'll like it or not??? BUT SHE COULD LITERALLY GIVE YOU THE SHITTIEST NECKLACE OR SOMETHING AND YOU'D STILL WEAR IT PROUDLY.

(not that yujin will ever want to give you something that was less than perfect. only the best for her baby! 😤)

yujin loves dating silly little strolls in a park! 🥺 she'd drive you both to one of the prettiest and biggest parks in the city and just take your hand and go for a relaxing walk! she's so in love with you :(( she'd just stare at you while you tell her about a few funny things that happened throughout the week so far,, smiles so brightly when you laugh, she just loves your voice so much she could listen to you talk about anything forever 😣 she'll sit the two of you down by a tree and cuddle up to you, sometimes kissing you and laughing at the way you would blush and look away,, and she's just a sucker for the way you would absentmindedly play with her hands while you're sitting there 💕 and best believe she'll capture every moment of you during your time there! her gallery is literally just you and it's so sweet ☹️☹️

yujin definitely waits up for you if you happen to get held up at work, even if you come home after midnight :(( you'd find her sitting up on the bed with a book on her lap wearing her stupid nerdy glasses, barely awake and so tired 💔 you pepper her face with kisses and she would only pout and blink sleepily at you, the cutieeeee 🥺 she'd whine and pretend to be upset that you're home way too late but really, all that 'anger' is towards your boss for always giving you so much work 😣😣 and omg even when she's tired from staying up, she will NAWT leave you alone 😭 she's forcing herself out of bed and tailing you very closely while you make and sip on your tea, doesn't even let herself finally sleep while you're in the shower and chooses to be awake for another half hour bcs she really can't sleep without you 🥺 she is all over you when you finally join her in bed—leg over your body, arms wrapped tightly around you, nose buried in your hair, and whispering sleepy nonsense against your skin before she finally succumbs to sleep.. she's so silly.

yujin wakes up on top of you in the mornings 😭😭 but she's not like, suffocating you she actually serves as an extra warm and soft blanket!! like, you'd always find her sleeping peacefully on your chest and you can't help but kiss her forehead and thread your fingers through her hair :(( more often than not, she'd stir awake and you'd feel a bit guilty for cutting her rest short but her bright smile and lame ass "hey, beautiful~" makes it all not a big deal 🥺💖 neither of you will ever stop falling in love with each other.. STAND UP!!!!

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for getting upset about my mom's food waste?

so food waste is an ongoing problem we've been having for probably our whole lives. recently, i've started to realize the extent to it (i wouldn't say it's absolutely horrendous, it just feel guilty about how much we trash) and try to minimize how much we throw out.

for context, i (16m) have my chores constrained to the kitchen. i am fine with this and have volunteered for it since i have a love for cooking and own it as my responsibility. i meal plan, cook dinner, breakfast, desserts, etc., keep the fridge clean, do the dishes, and clean the counters. again, this is all to my own volition.

i have set up a system that i've discussed with my whole family (mom and two sisters) that every week my mom and i will do a shopping trip to get ingredients for the meals for that week and only that. they have all agreed and the plan works pretty well from there.

this is where i'm wondering if i'm the asshole.

my mom has this weird habit of not being able to say no to herself. i've repeatedly told her she's not allowed to buy things not on my list since it usually doesn't get used. every time i've brought it up, she agrees. and the she'll do it again.

i've gotten really frustrated with her behavior and have started to get snappy about it. the sister i am very close to has said she understands my frustrations but ultimately i cannot control my mom and she can get things she wants.

the other night my mom and i had an argument over this. i had gone through the freezer and pulled out a few things that had their expiration date either 1 or 2 years back, so i threw them out. i think it's gross to eat them since they've most likely been in there for 4-5 years (freezer items usually last 2-3 years right at purchase). my mom saw them in the trash and asked why i threw them out. i told her they were expired and she got annoyed, saying that even if they were a bit past the expiration date, they were still good. i do understand that that's sometimes the case, but this was mostly meat. i have a weird relationship with meat where if it is even slightly off (being in the freezer too long, looking weird even if it's good, having any cartilage, etc), i won't it eat because it makes me want to throw up.

i took it to my own judgement to throw it out since it hadn't been touched since we bought it anyway. she got mad and said it cost her money so we should use it anyway. i retorted that if it was so expensive, why had she forgotten about it for so long? i also thought about bringing up all the stuff she buys and throws out later, but decided to keep it to myself.

the argument ended with her washing the items off and putting them back in the freezer. i'm still mad about all the food she buys that hasn't been asked for. i do feel weird about it since she can eat whatever she wants, i'm not controlling her on that, i'm just trying to reduce food waste. so, aita?

What are these acronyms?

[cavillsbitch]

May I please request Hotch x Fem!Reader where the reader has low self-esteem and self-worth, hiding herself away from society and thinking she is unworthy of sex or love?

Worth It

You watched Aaron in the mirror as he set two different ties against his suit to see which he would rather wear, asking you again what you thought.

“You always look good, Aaron, but I think the red.”

He nodded, setting the other tie down and getting to work with the fabric around his neck. He was getting ready for a fancy work function, a gala or dinner of come kind. You didn’t remember exactly what, you just remember the horrifying feeling your chest became overwhelmed with when he asked if you’d go with him.

You felt guilty for declining his offer, thinking about it too much, wondering if he would prefer having a more secure partner to do all of these things with. The thought of buying (or god forbid, Aaron buying you) a fancy dress that you would only wear this one time, knowing you would feel completely ridiculous, feeling everyone’s eyes on you as you sauntered in on Aaron’s arm, sticking out like a sore and sad thumb was an absolutely nightmare. You knew you’d be following him around like a lost puppy, or sitting alone as he mingled with his very important colleagues. You were so proud of him and still so awestruck that a man like him wanted to be with you, but you felt completely undeserving of being seen with him at such an event.

He turned around to you as he finished tying his tie, gesturing to you to adjust it if needed. You smiled at him, god he was so handsome. You shook away the thought of his eye wandering to the other beautiful women he would see tonight, wishing that he had someone beautiful to bring. You stood and softly flattened out his lapels and collar, straightening his tie.

“Sometimes I feel like you leave it crooked so I can fix it,” you say, smoothing the shoulders of his jacket, trying to avoid looking him in the eye, “I’m sorry you’ll be going alone tonight.”

He stopped you for a moment, grabbing your hand at his shoulder and giving it a light squeeze as he brought it to his chest. “Of course I wish you were coming with me, but I’m not upset with you, you know that, right?”

You tried to make your nod convincing, but most of your gestures like this were hopeless in the eye of your experienced profiler boyfriend. He spoke up again, “Honey, I mean it.”

You sighed, looking down at your socked feet and his very expensive dress shoes, “I know, Aaron. I just… I know you deserve to have someone to go with.”

Aaron stopped for a second, thinking about your choice of words. He is well aware of your past few relationships being on the toxic side, and he was aware that your insecurities ran deep. He felt sadness every time you denied him spending money on you or taking you out for dinner because it was unnecessary because he knew you didn’t feel that you deserved it.

The two of you haven’t been together long, only just over three months, and The L Word hadn’t been exchanged yet. You actually hadn’t even slept together yet, which was something Aaron was willing to wait for until you were ready. You felt guilty, knowing he was stressed from work and that he deserved someone who could ease that stress for him in the bedroom, he deserved to have someone to come home to who could love him the way he deserved. There were a lot of things that you wanted for Aaron that you didn’t think you could fulfill due to your insecurities. You tried, most of the time, to look past it and to put on a brave face but it didn’t always work.

He took your other hand in his, “I wanted to go with you, not just anyone. I want my friends and colleagues to see me happy with the woman I… the woman I love.”

This made you look at him with wide eyes, “What?”

He smiled, “I’m sorry, I know that was a less than romantic way of saying it, but I couldn’t help it. I love you, and I want you to know. I need you to know.”

Your eyes welled up with tears, feeling a mix of happiness and guilt. Of course you loved Aaron, he was so easy to fall for, but you would never dare admit that to him before he did to you. You felt guilty because you didn’t feel that you deserved the place in his life where he now put you. You weren’t saying anything, too many thoughts bouncing back and forth in your head, so he spoke again, “Honey, why are you crying?” His thumbs came up to gently wipe the tears coming down your face.

You sighed, shaking your head, “I don’t know. I love you too, Aaron, I really do. It’s impossible not to, it’s just… it’s hard for me. I don’t feel like I deserve those words from you.”

Aaron brought his hands gently to the sides of your head, tilting it up to meet your eyes with his. The look on his face was so genuine it made your chest tingle, “Y/N, you deserve every word. You are one of the most beautiful and supportive women I have ever met. You welcomed my son into your life, you stick around despite my insane work schedule, you are funny and so smart. You are worthy of love, and worthy of my love. I will spend every day proving that to you.”

The tears continued, and you felt yourself wanting to believe him. Before you could respond, he kissed you. This kiss was different, it was firm and passionate. You couldn’t help but melt into him as his arms came around your waist. Your hands caressed the sides of his neck as you kissed him back. For a moment, Aaron pulled away to speak in a hushed tone, “Let me show you how much I love you.”

You shook your head, “You have to go. That can wait for later or another time, it’s okay.”

You felt his hands wander lightly under the hem of your shirt. He tilted his head down to kiss your neck right beneath your ear before talking lowly “I can be late.”

“Aaron…” You were nervous about your first time with Aaron, worried that you were going to disappoint him. You also trusted him, and loved him, and knew that if you felt nervous that he would be there to guide you through it. You took a deep breath, “…I don’t know if I’m ready.”

Your eyes were closed, not able to look him in the eye as his forehead rested against yours. He rubbed a hand up and down your side, “If that’s the case, Y/N, then we don’t have to. I just need you to understand how much love you deserve, even if you don’t believe me.”

You opened your eyes, and met his. He was so ready to give himself to you fully, and you were standing in his way, literally. Another deep breath and a collection of your thoughts was what you needed, plus, he spoke again.

“You have no idea how badly I want to make you feel good, how good I can make you feel…”

For some reason, this made your skin hot and your breath hitch. Men you’d dated before hadn’t been like Aaron. You’d slept with other men before, men who’d wanted to use you to get off, men who didn’t care about your pleasure, forcing you to believe you didn’t deserve it. However, you couldn’t help but be so painfully attracted to him. You fantasized about your own boyfriend more than you dared to admit, and this was the moment for you to take what you wanted if you ever had it.

“I… I want you, Aaron, I do… I’m just n-nervous.”

Aaron shook his head and kissed your forehead, “You have nothing to be nervous about. If you want to stop, just tell me and I will stop,” he kissed you, lifting your shirt over your head and kissing you again. As he was shrugging off his suit jacket, you broke the kiss.

“What about your thing? You’re going to be so late…” You could barely make the end of the sentence as his hands trailed up your bare back to unhook your bra, which he did very adeptly.

“You’re worth it.”

[lonesome-witching]

Marry Me

Another Rich Robin x Poor Nancy one. Last one for a while (mostly judging by the amount of prompts I currently have.) If you want to read the previous parts, you can find : Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here and the last part here .

Do you have any prompts yourself? Or do you want to dive into what I wrote before? You can read my previous prompts or send me some new ones.

Robin’s fingers tapped against the surface of the kitchen table. She was nervous. Like, very, very nervous. She wasn’t sure she was prepared for this.

“Here you go, darling.” Karen placed a glass of water in front of Robin. “Nancy isn’t here right now. I’m afraid she’s at work.”

“I know that, ma’am. I’m not here for Nancy.”

“Oh, alright. What can I help you with?” Karen sat down.

“I wanted to ask you a question.”

“Go ahead.”

“I know you are aware of my relationship with your daughter,” Robin started.

“Yes, she told me. I might not fully understand it, but you make my daughter happy and that is all that matters to me.”

“So, what I wanted to ask you was, I want your blessing to ask Nancy to marry me. And I know that might be a little weird with you getting a divorce. Shit, I shouldn’t say that. This might have been an awful idea.”

“Robin, breathe.” Karen placed her hand on Robin’s arm. “You have my blessing. And I don’t think this is an awful idea. Nancy loves you. You might have to be gentle with her when you ask but I think she’ll say yes.”

-

“What’s the occasion?” Nancy asked when she got out of Robin’s car.

“What do you mean?”

“We’re at the mall. So, unless this is some form of emotional torture where you’ll show me all the things I can’t have, you’re going to buy me stuff. And we discussed this. You’re already helping with the bills and that’s already too much.” Nancy had a smile on her face.

“I just wanted to go out with my girl.”

“Robin.”

“Fine, I occasionally want to spoil you and I know you’ve been working hard. And there is a reason.”

“What is the reason?”

“You got into college, full scholarship and all.”

Nancy poked Robin’s chest, a dopey smile on her face. “Alright, I’ll allow it.”

Robin laughed. “You should be proud, babe.”

Nancy shook her head and pulled her girlfriend towards the building. She noticed Robin’s sweaty palms, but she didn’t comment on it. If something was going on, Robin would tell her. She told her everything.

They didn’t go to the mall often. Nancy had never liked the mall much with its big, neon lit reminders of what she couldn’t afford. But today was different. Today she’d indulge in all it had to offer. Within reason of course. She still felt guilty taking Robin’s money.

“Where would you like to go first?” Robin asked.

“I don’t even know where to start.”

They ended up passing through every single store in the mall. Book stores and clothing stores and a quick stop at the ice cream shop.

“You look great in that, Nance.”

Nancy twirled around in the flowy beach dress. “It feels nice. It makes me want to travel to California or… or Italy or something.”

Robin chuckled. “Say the word and we’ll go.”

Nancy turned towards her. “I think it could never live up to my imagination.”

“Italy is pretty incredible. I’ll take you sometime.”

“I’ll get out of this dress now. Thanks for being patient with me.”

“Alright, I’ll go pay then?”

Nancy halted. “Robin, this is way too expensive.”

“You haven’t picked anything yet, Nance. And you like the dress.”

“Are you sure?” Nancy bit her bottom lip. She wanted to take this. She wanted this damn dress.

“Yes! It would be perfect for the date I have planned for us.”

“What date? You haven’t told me about a date.”

“It’s for when we get to Massachusetts.”

“Oh, is it?”

-

“Where are you taking me?” Nancy laughed. She felt like she had been walking for hours. It probably hadn’t been that long.

“Just a little bit further, we’re almost there.” Robin’s hand was holding hers. It was comforting.

“Have you been here before?”

“Yeah, I just to come here as a child. It was my favorite place growing up. One time, I ran away from my parents and just stayed on the beach. It took them 37 hours to notice I was gone.”

“That’s awful.”

“It was quite alright, I had a blast. And I vowed to take the love of my life to that exact spot that night.”  

“You’re flirting again.”

“Am I not allowed to flirt with my own girlfriend?” Robin asked, stopping as her feet stepped on the sand.

“You can, in fact, it’s encouraged.”

Robin smiled brightly. “We’re here.”

Nancy looked around, noticing the sandy beach and the bright blue ocean. At one point she had compared Robin’s blue eyes to the ocean not knowing she’d be so right. “This is incredible.”

“I used to sit right there and watch the boats go by.” Robin pointed towards the ocean, walking towards it. Nancy followed.

They sat down, side by side on the sand. “Thanks for sharing this with me.”

“I’m only just getting started. If my calculations are right, there should be a boat approaching right now.”

Nancy watched as a guy in a paddle boat came closer and closer. “You’ve got something planned, don’t you?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Robin said with a smirk on her face. But she got up, pulling Nancy up with her, and walked towards the water.

They got into the boat. For once, Robin was silent. Just grinning like a little kid. It was infectious.

Slowly they approached a much larger boat. “What’s that?”

Robin turned around. “That is my parents’ boat. The Mona Lisa. They named it that because in their words it’s such a work of art.”

“Of course, your parents have a boat.”

“We’re borrowing it for the night.”

The Mona Lisa was a nice boat. That much was sure. Even with Nancy’s limited knowledge of boats. She’d never been on one before now. There was a table set up on the deck with a nice white tablecloth and a candle.

“So, Nancy, I know you don’t like these extravagant dates or expensive gifts. But you gave me an exception for special occasions. And today is a special occasion, to me at least. I hope it will be to you too.” Robin poured some wine in Nancy’s glass.

“Thank you,” Nancy said automatically as she grabbed for the glass. She was confused, very confused.

“I also know that this is not the most opportune moment for me to do this. But I had been planning this for a few months and it does take a lot of planning. I had to get a guy with a paddle boat and a chef to prepare a meal. I just wanted it to be perfect, for you, and then Ted goes and screws it up.” Robin sighed, falling down on her chair.

“What? Robin, I don’t understand.”

“Nancy, I love you. You know I love you. For the longest time you’ve meant everything to me, and you still do, for the record. I just­— I’ve planned this speech, I promise. You just make a nervous.” Robin took a deep breath. “I know life sucks sometimes. Your parents’ divorce has been heavy on you. But sometimes life is amazing. I’m hoping this moment is amazing for you. But God, Nance, to me every moment with you is incredible. Whether we’re on a fancy boat together or I’m helping you and your mom clean your house. I just want to be with you all the time. I’ve never felt like this before. And I don’t want to this to ever stop.”

“Neither do I,” Nancy agreed, placing her hand on top of Robin’s on the table.

But Robin pulled her hand back. A flash of fear crossed Nancy’s mind. And then Robin fell of her chair, on one knee, and retrieved a small box out of her jacket pocket.

“Will you marry me, Nance?” Robin asked, opening the box. “You can say no, I’ll be okay if you say no. I get that now really isn’t the time. Of course. I’m an idiot for even asking, just as your parents are going through a divorce.”

“Yes,” Nancy mumbled.

“I know, it’s ludicrous.”

“No, Robin,” Nancy laughed. “I meant, yes, I will marry you. I want to marry you.” Nancy dropped down in front of Robin, in her brand new beach dress and grabbed Robin’s face to kiss her.

“You do?” Robin asked when Nancy pulled away.

Nancy nodded. “I do.” She pulled the ring from the box and slid it on her left ring finger. “I love you, Robin.”

Robin leaped forward to kiss Nancy again. And again. And again.

[fawnfictions]

are you still receiving requests? if yes, can i ask for the monkey boys (separately) with a tsundere s/o?

like, their love language is acts of service and gifts so they often cleans the boys’ things and buy them things that they heard they would like to have? and they just look away and shrugs like telling they had nothing better to do or ‘whatever’... also touch starved! they get hyper flustered and cute when receiving touch or affection in general but secretly wants more.

uh, whatever...

— macaque & wukong x gn!reader

wasn't sure if 'monkey boys' included MK or not—if it does!! feel free to send in another ask and i'll do another for him, too :))

;; romantic, fluff, no warnings? tsundere behaviour.

MACAQUE

- he would find this behaviour very cute.

- likes to tease you a lot for it, revelling in your flustered state and whines, trying and failing to deny his flirtatious words.

- he's lowkey glad that you struggle with handling physical affection, because it distracts you from the fact that he can't handle it, either.

- people around you two, staring with deadpan expressions as you whine and fluster at Macaque placing an arm over you shoulder, pulling you close to himself as a bright red blush covers his face, unable to make eye contact with anyone.

- you'll both be awkwardly reaching for each others touches and attention, touch-starved but struggling to handle the feeling.

- eventually, you both work it out, though—he gets a lot more confident and cockier with his advances and flirts, and you get a little more used to it, while still flustering.

- honestly, Macaque is quite lazy in nature, and with the occasional depressive episode he puts himself through because of his past, his places tend to get a little... messy, to put it lightly.

- although he may not show it, you cleaning up after him REALLY helps his mental health, and he appreciates it more than he can possibly admit.

- genuinely, though, if he comes home after a long day to find that you've cleaned his belongings and furniture, he won't be able to stop himself from falling in love even more.

- depending on his mood, he'll either kiss you on the spot and force you to relax on the couch with him, or he'll discreetly show his gratitude through an expensive gift somehow turning up amongst your things, or that one restaurant you've been craving arriving at your front door.

- but, if you get him a gift in return, he'll feel bad.

- Macaque isn't used to people buying stuff for him, especially as often as you do, so he's constantly trying to convince you to not waste your money/time on him, or is getting you a gift of similar expenses in return.

- keep it up and keep insisting that he deserves it, he'll eventually get used to it and won't feel as bad or undeserving of it all.

- he honestly adores your stubborn nature.

- Macaque loves that you usually have a response to his witty comebacks, or that you at least try to fight him on it.

- he likes the fire inside you, and is constantly adding to it with the intention to purposefully rile you up.

- sometimes, he may take it too far, though.

- once he realises he upset you, he'll feel really bad about it and will do just about anything to gain your forgiveness.

- in all honesty, he fucking sucks at apologies.

- but he'll try his best, stuttering over his words and giving you a peace offering in the form of a cute plushie or a sugar snack that he knows you like.

- "a-ah, i'm... sugarplum, i'm sorry—i didn't mean it. could you, uh, can you forgive me?"

- just tell him you do and give him a big ol' smooch and his tail will be wagging happily.

- he'll still tease you, though, just for the fun of it; but, he learns your limits and boundaries, and makes sure not to cross them again.

WUKONG

- this man is also guilty of teasing you a lot.

- it's practically his love language, other than physical touch.

- he can't get enough of the look on your face when he flusters you, making himself blush in the process due to the extent of his love for you.

- it's not too difficult to fluster him back, though.

- he'll take any of your physical affections in stride, but isn't as used to someone flirting back at him, or pulling any... 'spicy' gestures on him.

- be warned, though, if you even TRY to do this, whether you succeed or not, he'll reverse it back onto you later, when you least expect it, to get his revenge.

- he's really good at seeing past your exterior personality, and understanding the true way you genuinely feel about things.

- he's thanking you for something, and you say, "whatever... i didn't do it for you, anyways."

- in reality, he knows the micro-expressions you make show that you're happy he appreciates your work, and the blush on your face solidifies this for him :))

- when he first met you, your reaction to his physical touches and affection made him back off a bit, assuming you genuinely didn't like it.

- but, later on, he realises that you lean closer to him whenever he's nearby, and that your hand trails after his when passing an object to each other.

- it makes his heart flutter to recognise that you do want his affections, you're just stand-offish and reserved in your own way.

- he's a lot more physical with you after that, cherishing his moments with you and finding your nervous reactions fun.

- he appreciates your acts of service and gifts, but he'd much rather spend time with you and enjoy the smaller things.

- he's Sun Wukong! the man already has plenty of objects and presents, its a problem, if anything.

- although, he won't leave your gifts in his hoarding piles, no, no—they've got their own place, where he won't lose them and the monkeys won't find them and destroy anything.

- as a compromise, though, he'll simply do these things with you!

- if you're getting him a gift, he'll go shopping with you! or will keep you company/offer help if its something that you make yourself.

- if you're cleaning around the mountain (good luck getting through the hoarding piles), he'll do it with you! helping sort things into piles, or taking out the trash—he just wants to spend time with you :(

- you'll probably yell at him for it... if he can help you clean, why can't he clean it HIMSELF???

- this is lowkey hypocritical of him, though, he likes buying you gifts a lot, especially if its Monkey King themed; he'll buy anything that reminds him of you (which is a lot, considering you're almost constantly on his mind).

[mrsoftthoughts]

Nico di Angelo headcanons

- He was very confused the firts time that someone called him "Emo"

he doesn't have a clue of what the fuck is that, he just bought up the clothes and accessories that he looks at and thinks "cool"

It was a karen who say that btw, the fact that she only was saying nonsense prob was guilty of Nico confusion too

- both Acts of service and Gifs are his way to show affection to others

He often helps his close friends and Hazel with anything they need, he also would get whatever thing that they expressed to want or need even in the slightest way possible, it doesn't matter if it's expensive af or hard to obtain for any reason, he's getting that thing for later wrap it in pretty paper .

He also buys whatever that he sees and reminds him to someone he loves, New rome postal service is tired of getting packages of the pluto ambassador for the praetor Levesque atleats 3 times at week ( that's not all the things that he gets for hazel, it's just the ones that he doesn't give her face to face)

- He's a polyglot ( i kinda talk about it here)

It was a part of his education back in the 1930s so he doesn't remember a lot of how he learned most of the languages he spokes, or even remembers that he actually spoke that especific language until he is in a situation were is needed

Something funny it's that one of the languages he taked longer to realize that he spoke it, it was greek, like, modern greek, he doesn't know how to feel about that

He also has a inherent understanding of dead languages so he's really good at read ol text of any kind

He also it's kinda a nerd about etymology

- He has a lot of beauty marks

Like, a lot of them, the most noticeable ones ofc are the in his face ( one at the bottom/side of his left eye and above the right eyebrow and two at the left side of his nose and bottom of his lips) but those things are everywhere in his body

- A lot of people feels that his appearance seems out of place, like, something ood to look at without an apparent reason

The things starts to make sense when you put his hair back with a bit of gel and give him a suit, then you realize that he looks like one of those pictures of grandpas when they were young

It can be a bit eerily because, in fact , he is actually from the same generation of those grandpas, that's why he looks like them but due the Lotus he's a teenager instead of an old man

the fact that his appearance it's the definition of a haunting beauty contributes to all that, he's beautiful, there's no a sigle appice of doubt about that, but you can compare the feeling that he evokes to the feeling of looking at a gothic church or the one of being at one of those old and Rich graveyards full of angel's scultures but cover in moss after years of abandonment , beautiful and stunning but also imponent and bone freezing

But hey!! It's also cool, and you can say that he's the antitesis of an iphone face

- Kinda related to the previous one, but his eyes are always changing colours.

It's not like piper tough, her eyes are literally a multicolor spectrum, Meanwhile, Nico's are more like his eyes being shallowed by the deep and dark waters full of misery of the styx, deep ebony black but in constant movement and little forms that looks like ice sublimation

Still, sometimes in moment of pure joy or when hes relaxed his natural color is visible, being a mostly brown iris with little details of grey and deep green like the bark or the fruit of olives

- Has a large collection of silly bands ( you know , the 2000s elastic bands with form of anything you can imagine?) think about any collection of those things and he has it

He also knows how to do those bracelets of bands btw, he uses his fingers for it and as a result he always has the strangulation marks or bruces

- He and Drew ended up being friends

He had that little hunch Drew's attitude having more behind that she just being a Bitch without reason, he was totally right

They aren't attached to the hip or something, there's a lot of things about each other that they don't know or they didn't bothered to ask, but they thrusts each other and are close enough to talk about their life and things they feel can't talk with anyone else every once in a while

Nico's is also drew personal manikin/ken doll for her fashion design projects, he isn't complaining tough, all the clothes are stunning

- Other of his friends is Clovis from hypnos cabin

A lot of people doesn't understand how they have a lot of anecdotes about things they did together, because Clovis is always half sleep or straight up in another world or something during the day

The last part is they key, they literally are in other world, or something like that, dream magic has potential to take the phrase "live your dreams" to another level

- Full grown up , He isn't tall or short, he's just (technically )average

He's 5'9... It taked a time for him to grow up to that point though, he was stuck in 5'5 for a while until he was around 17/18yo

Still, he looks a bit short at the side of most people around him, it's not his fault 90% of the people he knows are fucking giraffes

The fact that a lot of the boys he falls for are... Well, pretty tall ( Solace, Torrington, Grace, yk that you're the ones im talking about) isn't helping neither.

- He has a transatlantic accent ( alongside with a slight Italian accent)

Is a result of learning English as a second language and having both american and British people like reference and not something made on purpose

Is almost vanished after being living in America at the XXI century for the past few years, but you can still hear it in the way he say some words and the fact that his idiolect mix indiscriminately British and American words

Btw, something funny of that is that if you let his guy at the Uk for enough he would totally turn into the other side of the coin and now he picked up the accent of the region were he is at the moment

- He has a wii and a DS ( he later got a 3DS when it was released), nobody knows how the fuck is that he isn't chased by monster 24/7 using that thing

He also end up with a insane amount of amibos once they were released in 2014

- For some reason his collections of anything are in those vitrines that the grandmas uses for the pretty dishes

- He got the standar lobe piercing

usually he just have a pair of black diamons studs ( kinda looks like the diamons by the yard earring of Tiffanys) but sometimes he uses a bajoran or a pair of drops

- Even whe he is older his job is basically being his father second had and ambassador, but a general concense is that he is also a really god tourist guide

Probably he would be turned into a god after he passes away for just be doing exactly what he already was doing as a demigod, just with immortality.

-Despite being Italian and the stereotypes, he was a disaster in the kitchen, the kind of person that you say them to boil 2 glasses of water for the rice and the next thing you now is that 2 cristals glases are straight up in the stove

in his defense, he at best can remember see his Nanny doing something or being with her sister and mother doing some kind of dessert ( his only contribution to that was eating the chocolate)

Now he may not be a five stars chef but he can do pretty good stuff sometimes, he's trying

- He can make pretty concerning "old fashioned" coments sometimes

Alright, he is not an asshole ( at least non on purpose) or something like that, but sometimes while talking he would say things that are the daily reminder of the fact that this guy over there is a white ass boy raised in the 30's decade with the addition of being Born in a pretty much wealthy and probably Noble family and who's whole social interaction with other people that aren't hundred of years old beings has been limited,and that leads to his perspective of society being a bubble of privilege and old high society ethics.

Like, the most of the time if he say something really... Questionable, is because he really never has stopped to think about it and he is just saying what they teach him ,was normal at the time, or is just a comment made of pure ignorance mouth-is-fasther-that-the-brain-tipe.

Sadly for him ( and luckily for the rest of the people that have to hear him) 90% of the times hazel is close when he say that kind of stuff and two of Three times he ends up being hit by the closest thing that was at her hand or for one of her shoes if nothing else is available, the other time its a 50/50, he realizes that he just said something that isn't right or hazel just look at him in full deception mode.

[rogerswifesblog-updates]

Hi Vera❤️😌

A small question about "it's all about the..."

What if Steve went to a dinner party with Reader and since a lot of people know Reader, Steve was considered a pretty face/gold digger and was approached by someone else who is an actual gold digger? Maybe the other person would taught him what he should do to have reader buy things for him? Give him money? Would Steve be angry and sad when he feels like he doesn't fit in and he wanted nothing to do with these people?👀 Maybe the other gold digger will even make fun of Steve and approached reader to recommend himself?

Love what you've written for Stripper!Steve😘😘❤️❤️❤️ he's such a cute boi😋

Omg yes i love this question/idea

Thank you sm

I think he’d be a bit annoyed but at the same time feeling guilty? Feeling like he’s actually a good digger even though he really isn’t. Well, he likes the gifts but he doesn’t make her buy him things. She does it whenever she wants to (which Is still often, so he’d feel even worse.) After the gala (or wherever they’d be) he’d talk to her about it a bit more.

And I think it’d be something like this;

Warnings: none?

Steve smiled at you when you detached yourself from his arm, needing to talk to one investor who’s apparently a big client or something. He didn’t really know, you didn’t say much. Just that you needed to go and that he should enjoy the party, eat something, have a drink, meet new people…all that stuff.

But he didn’t want to.

He’d rather spend his time with you.

Even though he knew that’s how your relationship was supposed to work he didn’t enjoy watching you talk to other people, other men. Men that could provide you with..probably everything you wanted, they could buy you any- “So you’re with L/N here, huh?”, interrupts a stranger his thinking, leaning on the bar next to Steve, ordering two drinks.

Oh dear, Steve could already feel he wouldn’t like this conversation.

“Yes, i’m Steve Rogers, I’m her plus one, but she needs to talk to someone first and told me to wait a bit. And who are you?”, he could feel he wouldn’t enjoy this conversation, but he’d still try not to be rude.

So he also took the glass that the person offered. “Friends call me Grant and my Sugar Mommy is somewhere in the crowd, I don’t care as long as I get the new shoes and phone she promised me for coming here”, he chuckled, making Steve nearly choke on the whisky.

It’s the first time someone else’s had used this term besides himself, his friends or even you. But a total stranger?

“What has she promised you for this?”, asked Grant, looking at Steve from the side, making the blond blush a bit. He didn’t like where this conversation was going. “I…I don’t know. A gift? I guess? We don’t-I didn’t ask for anything”, he didn’t even whine to explain it.

Steve knew he didn’t need anything promised because you’d buy him anything he’d need-and sometimes more than that. But he could tell Grant didn’t see it that way.

“Dude, you should tell her what you want. Just be straight forward, the more expensive the better for you. These women will buy anything to have handsome young men by their side. They’re just lonely and can get a man to be interested in them without having to pay for-” “shut your mouth”, Steve blurted out, downing the last bit of whisky before putting the glass away.

Grant snorted quietly. “Come on, don’t be like that. That’s the whole reason you’re with her-you want some easy and quick money. There’s no easier way to make money than spending time with lonely women, sometimes with some more affection or sex if something more expensive is needed, I mean I get it-“ “I guess you do not. We don’t have sex and I’m not asking for the presents-I’m just grateful for the help and-“ “oh boho don’t be so-“ “I’m out of here”, Steve grumbled, already walking away from Grant.

He could hear the man shout something after him, but he ignored it, instead walking over to you when you finished talking to someone. You were holding a martini in your hand, a big smile forming on your lips when you saw Steve approach you.

Yet you noticed his frown quickly. “Hey, what’s wrong sweetheart?”, you asked quietly, letting him pull you into a hug, his face buried in the crock of your neck, making you blush at the public affection. “I just talked to some total douche”, he sighed, making you chuckle. “Oh Sweetie, it’s okay, we can-“ “Hello, Ma’am, I’d like to introduce myself if you’re not busy-“

Grant just walked over to you two.

What the hell?

Steve frowned at him when you detached yourself from him to shake grants hand. “I just wanted to say, you look beautiful tonight, the dress is stunning-“ “Thank you, Steve here choose it.”

Steve hadn’t chosen it. You lied to Grant, while wrapping your arm around Steve’s bicep. His chest felt tingling and warm as he smiled brightly at you.

“Sure, sure. I wanted to ask, maybe you’d be interested in spending some time with me, I’m-“ “no. I’m not interested and now please leave us alone, we have something important to discuss”, you turned your back to Grant, pulling Steve with you out of the room.

The party was boring anyway.

[truedairship]

Tell me more about your horse, please?

Ooohh boy never ask someone about their horse or they won’t shut up. Okay. I have no idea how much you know about horses, so I’ll try to keep the horse terms to a minimum.

Getting her is a bit of a funny story really. And kind of relevant. But background info: Us mere mortals can’t afford horses competing at the higher levels. Your only chance is basically to buy a promising youngster, train them yourself and hope that the stars align and that in a few years you can compete at the level you wanted. But most of those horses are quite expensive as well. Everybody wants those with good blood for a reason (blood = lineage, breed, how reactive yada yada).

I wasn’t even gonna buy a horse back then because I knew I would be moving abroad a year later, and I already had my pony. (Whom I had considered selling to afford a horse but whatever). Anyways, I helped my trainer break in her youngsters, they got an extended summer break after, and come winter she called me and asked if I wanted C. Because they didn’t get along. She had been a… special cookie… to break in, but an incredibly fun one. So yeah. I got a good horse real cheap because she’s crazy.

She’s… well, she’s a brat. A stubborn, explosive bitch that’s too damn smart for her own good and the biggest goddamn drama queen the world has ever seen. She’s also one of the most hardworking, powerful and talented horses I’ve ever ridden. Her teenage years were eventful to say the least, and it has been a lot of work to teach her some proper manners. I could probably fill a book with all the stupid stunts she’s pulled over the years. But at the same time, that’s kind of the charm. You never have a boring day with her.

Despite her attitude and the drama, she’s genuinely very kind. She just doesn’t show it if she doesn’t have to😅 But she never wants to drop her rider, I’ve only fallen off because we stumbled over an xc-jump and she almost did a somersault. And while she usually is too impatient to stand still, whenever there’s small kids around she won’t move a leg, but you can see her literally twitching because that is tiny human. Must not move. Tiny human fragile, stepping on will injure. She was also the one who accompanied youngsters on their first forest hacks at my old job, because, while hacking out usually is a rollercoaster ride of jumping away from invisible monsters hiding behind stones (thoroughbreds in my heart<3), when the kiddos came with, she was super cool and they could even run into her and she didn’t even bat an eye. Because they are her adopted siblings now and Ohana means family.

So yeah. She has quite the personality but this is already getting long. And when it comes to riding, well, attempting to avoid using technical terms, you can teach just about any horse to move fancy, but riding a horse that does it naturally is just something else. She does everything with such ease and such power. And she loves to learn new stuff, which to me is the most important part. I’d rather ride an eager horse with zero talent than an unmotivated one. Because having to force them to work… nope.

Generally with horses, if you have a bad day, it’s 50/50 whether you’ll have one of the nicest rides of your life because the horse notices that you’re not at your best, or you’ll have what feels like the worst one ever because nothing works and the horse decides that if you’re not gonna try your best, they won’t either. 9/10 times, she’s the first type (and considering that we sometimes can spend the entire warmup discussing whether the chair in the corner will eat us or not, that’s saying something)

That’s also kind of why I’m selling her. I don’t have the time to ride her everyday. So when I do, she’s super duper happy and energetic and it makes me feel all guilty that I can’t ride her more. And it breaks my heart every time she comes running towards me in the field all eager, only for me to give her a pat and a carrot then leave (makes me feel like a parent that doesn’t have time for their kid so they spoil them with toys instead😅). I usually give her a kiss on the nose as a goodbye, but lately she refuses to let me do it unless I have ridden her first. And no, that’s not an exaggeration.

Tl;dr: She’s a bitch, she’s amazing, she drives me crazy and she’s my best friend. Being allowed to ride her is an honour. (and unfortunately she’s aware of that😆)

[mrsfrecklesmarauders]

Sirius found Effie in the garden. He was nervous. He didn't know how to do this. But he felt it was the right thing to do. Sirius had to do this now before James came back from the Rugby match his father had taken him. James would probably bother him for the rest of their days in he found out. That wanker.

"Effie..." Sirius murmured. But it was enough. Effie turned with a bright smile on her face. Full of love. Full of kindness. The kind mothers should have. But Walburga never wore.

"Hey darling..."

"What are you up to?"

Sirius' hands were behind. Holding the little box.

"Fixing this garden..." Effie answered "What do you think? A bit more color? I want to fill it with roses"

Effie was a wonderful woman. A ray of sunshine like James. But sweeter. Everything she did was beautiful. Because it was filled with love. Besides, The Potters had servitude but they did everything by themselves anyway. Sirius was still getting used to that. So different from Grimmauld Place.

"I don't know" Sirius shrugged "This isn't my house"

Effie put her hands on her hips.

"This is your house from the second you stepped foot in here for the first time. Is that clear?" she said indignated. But then she immediately smiled "So what's your opinion?"

Sirius smiled as well.

"OK... I like it then"

"Great!" Effie clapped excited and continued with her chores.

Sirius sighed nervously.

"Effie..."

"Yes?"

"I bought something for you"

Sirius wished his cheeks weren't burning at the moment.

Effie turned again and raised an eyebrow. Sirius showed her the red box. It was a small leather red box. Ideal for a jewel.

"Sirius..." Effie gasped.

"I wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me. For listening.... Giving me advice... and taking me into your home..." Sirius spoke all the time looking at the floor. Embarrassed "You and Monty had been angels with me even though I am just your son's friend..."

"No, darling" Effie tutted "You're so much more than that" she said that with such tender but with truthfulness.

"Open it" Sirius said, swallowing his tears. "You're gonna like it".

Effie smiled as she took the little box and opened it.

"You didn't have to get me anything"

"Don't worry..." Sirius rubbed his neck "I received my Uncle's money. I wanted to buy you something and I bought something for Monty as well... And James"

Effie gasped as she grabbed the bracelet from the box. It was a silver bracelet. With pendants and shinny stones. The lady in the store had thought Sirius was buying something for a girlfriend. But no. Actually, this was the first time Sirius got for something like this for a woman. It wasn't much or very expensive. Not like the one's Walburga owned in great number. And maybe Effie had better jewelry than this as well. But she deserved the effort. She deserved so much more than Walburga.

"Sirius, it is beautiful"

Effie's eyes filled with tears. Sirius was glad she loved it. He smiled pleased.

"May I?"

"Oh, please"

Sirius carefully put the bracelet around Effie's wrist. It suited her perfectly. He had to ask the girls for assessment, for God's sake. How embarrassing. But it had been worth it. The girls had good taste.

"Thank you, love" Effie touched Sirius' cheek. He wished his eyes weren't getting watery as well. But it was contagious.

"I love you" Effie added, leaving Sirius speechless "I've loved you like a son ever since I met you..." Effie cried "And I might not be your biological mother. But this is your family. And I am going to be there anytime you need me. Okay?"

Sirius had always been comfortable with Effie. His feelings of love and respect for Effie were bigger than anything Sirius had felt for his own mother. Sirius felt guilty. He wished Effie was his mother. Even if that sounded awful. His real mother. If that came true, Sirius was sure he would treasure her and behave nicely. James sometimes complained about her, complained about his parents. But he didn't know how lucky he was. Sirius would give anything to be in his place.

It was to Effie that Sirius confessed what really happened at that house the night he left. It was to Effie that Sirius dared to confess his feelings and his traumas. It was in front of Effie that Sirius wasn't ashamed to cry. It was Effie's advice that Sirius followed like religion. It was Effie's hugs that made him feel better. It was Effie who understood him because she as well had escaped from her toxic family to be herself. Of course Sirius liked her. Loved her even.

So when Effie pulled Sirius for a hug, he let her. And he melt into her arms. Feeling her warmth and flower smell. He felt tears in his cheeks. But he held her tight. This was the only time perhaps that Sirius would feel what is like having a mother. A real mother. So he let himself go. Just this once.

"I love you too, Effie" he whispered.

[sequinsmile-x]

HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY MY LOVE

here are some prompts for youuuuu

“This reminded me of you”

“Make a wish!”

"I can't believe you remembered that" "I remember everything about you"

it’s emily’s birthday !!!

i love you very much

OH HEY LOVE.

This...really got away from me. I know that won't surprise anyone.

-x-

The Greatest Gift

Words: 3.7k

Warnings: None, just super fluffy

Read over on Ao3, or below the cut

Emily had never enjoyed her birthday. As a child, she’d always be somewhere new by the time it rolled around, never anywhere long enough to have good enough friends to get gifts. Even on the odd occasion, she did have someone her mother had never been the type to throw parties. The day was always marked with a gift she knew one of her mother’s assistants had purchased, or when she was older access to her credit card to buy herself something, followed up by a ridiculously expensive meal somewhere. 

She enjoyed other people's birthdays. Loved the delight on their face as they opened the carefully selected gift from her, a receipt always in the box just in case she somehow got it wrong. She rarely did, a mix of her profiling skills along with how well she knew those close to her meant she often got it right, the most recent example being Jack’s 6th birthday. 

His birthday was only a few days before hers, something he had been delighted to learn himself, inviting her along to his birthday party with such enthusiasm she wouldn’t have been able to say no if she’d wanted to. 

She and Aaron had been close friends for a while, edging towards something more in the days and weeks before Ian Doyle had torn through her life. She had hazy memories of Aaron visiting her in hospital, still in the suit he’d worn to her funeral, a tension in his expression she still felt guilty for putting there. He’d kissed her cheek and squeezed her hand, a promise of someday against her skin before he left, her chest feeling empty as if he had taken her heart right along with him. 

Since her return from Paris he’d been somewhat of a lifeline for her, the only person who could come close to understanding what she’d been through, his own life left broken around him by a man who did so just because he could. She spent most of her free weekends with the Hotchners, both Aaron and Jack helping her make her new apartment feel like home, despite the fact most of the belongings from before had been sold. Aaron helped practically, putting together furniture and painting walls, rolling his eyes at her and Jack as they sat together and played games. Jack helped in a different way, his laughter filling the space she now called home with something new, something innocent. 

She loved them. Loved them more than she thought she should. Maternal feelings for Jack that she wondered if she deserved to feel, a sense of something close to pride in her chest when he did well at a soccer game. Pain and protectiveness if she happened to be at their apartment when he woke from a nightmare, running out to the living room where she and Aaron shared a bottle of wine, seeking out her comfort over his father's. 

She was in love with Aaron. Loved him in a way she was once sure didn’t exist until she realised that’s how she felt about him. The moment it hit her she realised she’d loved him for a long time, the feelings trailing all the way back to when he was attacked by Foyet, what she’d convinced herself was friendship somehow so much deeper. In Paris, she had come to terms with the fact that somewhere along the way she had fallen in love with her boss, her best friend.

She was in love with him but wasn’t sure she would ever do anything about it. Their friendship was so precious to her that she didn’t know if she wanted to risk it, even if she would sometimes catch him looking at her in the same way she knew she looked at him. 

So, when she shows up at Jack’s birthday party, one of the only adults to stay the entire time apart from Aaron himself and JJ who had brought Henry along, she ignores how the way Aaron smiles at her makes her stomach flip. Ignores how Jack’s excitement at her gift of an annual family pass to the aquarium, his latest obsession of sharks something he often talked to her at length about, makes her fall even further in love with the boy. 

She has to fight her instinct to kiss Aaron to shut him up when he says the gift is too much, that he’d pay her back for part of it. Instead, she just rolls her eyes at him and jokes she’d come along with them every time if it would make him feel better. Even she can’t ignore the relief she feels when he immediately agrees. 

Aaron pulls her aside the day after Jack’s birthday and asks her if she has any plans for her own. She immediately says no, because she didn’t. She’d politely declined Penelope and JJ’s request to go out for drinks, not particularly feeling up to it. When he asks her if she wants to spend the evening with him and Jack, she says yes without really thinking about it, unable to deny them anything, which is how she finds herself standing outside his door on her birthday, a bottle of wine in hand and nervous energy she can’t shift. 

She’s about to turn around, get back in her car and tell him she wasn’t feeling up to it, when he opens the door, her hand still hovering to knock, a smile on his face. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a black polo shirt, the sight of him in casual clothes still making her heart race even though it was becoming a more common occurrence for her.

“Happy birthday!” Aaron says, pulling her into a brief hug before he beckons her into the apartment, his hand on her lower back, the ever-present spark of love for him threatening to go off at the slightest touch. 

“Thank you,” she replies, smiling curiously at him, “how did you know I was here?” 

“You’ve been standing out here for 5 minutes,” he says, one of his dimples on show, “I thought if I gave you any longer to knock of your own accord you might leave.” 

She laughs, unable to deny it, and hands over the bottle of wine. “Here you go.” 

“It’s your birthday, Em,” he rolls his eyes as he takes it from her, heading towards the kitchen. “You didn’t have to bring anything.”

“Mother always said to never go anywhere empty handed,” she replies, smiling as she follows him. 

“Did you speak to her today?” He asks, getting out a glass of wine for each of them, opening the bottle she had handed him. 

“Depends if you call the text she sent me first thing this morning speaking.” She quips as he pours the wine.

He opens his mouth to respond, a slight crease to his brow, but is cut off by the sound of Jack running through the apartment.

“Emily!” The young boy exclaims, barrelling into her at a rate she was now used to, just about able to brace herself before impact. He wraps his arms around her tightly, and she automatically hugs him back just as tightly. “Happy birthday!” 

“Thanks, honey,” she replies, her hand running through his hair. 

“Can we give Emily her presents now?” Jack asks, turning to his father without attempting to remove himself from Emily’s embrace, his head resting against her. 

“After dinner, Jack,” Aaron replies, chuckling at his son’s impatience when he rolls his eyes. 

“Presents?” Emily asks, uncurling one arm from around Jack to take the glass of wine Aaron was offering her. “You didn’t have to get me anything.” 

“It’s your birthday, why wouldn’t we get you something?” Jack asks, looking up at her, his eyebrows furrowing. 

Emily looks at Aaron who shrugs his shoulders, “He’s got a point,” he says, winking at her when she rolls her eyes at him, “I’ve made your favourite for dinner, why don’t you two go sit down until it’s ready.” 

She can’t help the smile that spreads all over her face, her chest bursting with affection for him that she has to swallow back down. 

“You heard your dad, Jack,” She says, looking down at him as she leads him towards the living room, “why don’t we watch some tv until dinner.” 

Jack’s eyes light up immediately, “There’s a new episode of Transformers!” 

She walks with him, idly listening as he catches her up on what she has missed since she last watched it with him, pretending the whole time that she cannot feel Aaron’s gaze burning into their backs. 

___

“You have to keep your eyes closed.” 

Emily sighs playfully at Jack’s request, but does as she’s told, a smile on her face as she does so. 

“Ok, my eyes are closed,” she says, staying in her seat at the dining table, despite the fact she was now alone. She hears whispering between Aaron and Jack, not quite able to pick up on what they were saying, and it makes her smile. 

“You can open them now.” 

She does so and is met with the sight of both of them standing in front of her, a small cake with a lit candle it in Aaron’s hands. As soon as her eyes are open they start singing happy birthday, as out of tune as she’d ever heard it, but it’s immediately her favourite birthday memory ever, her smile threatening to give way to tears as Aaron places the cake on the table in front of her. He takes his seat next to her again, and Jack climbs into her lap, her arms wrapping around him automatically. 

“This is so sweet,” she says, her voice tight, something she knows Aaron has picked up on when he puts his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it slightly as their eyes meet. 

“The cake is small,” Jack says, his eyebrows furrowed as if it was a bad thing, as if the mere existence of the cake in front of her, the singular candle lit in it, wasn’t making her skin tingle with so much affection for them both she could burst, “but Dad said we could only get a small one because there are only three of us, and that we’d need a huge cake to fit on all the candles we’d need if we counted them out.”

Aaron makes a slight choking noise, drawing her attention to him as he coughs around a sip of his wine, his hand on his chest as he puts the glass down. She bites her bottom lip to stop herself from laughing, the panic in his eyes set fire to that spark of love she’d felt when she arrived, an inferno burning in her belly.

“That isn’t exactly what I said Jack.” 

Emily smirks at him before turning back to Jack, “It’s your dad’s birthday in a few weeks, right?” Her smile widens as he nods enthusiastically at her, “imagine how big the cake will need to be to get enough candles for that!”

Jack laughs along with her, and she looks at Aaron. He’s watching them both, his fondness clear as he jokingly rolls his eyes at them. 

“Ok, very funny you two,” he says, “blow out your candle.”

She smiles at him and leans down to blow out the candle, but Jack stops her, his hand on her arm.

“Remember to make a wish,” he says seriously, an expression on his face that he inherited from his father. She nods in response, closing her eyes briefly as she thinks of something, unable to stop the smile she knows flashes across her face as she lands on what she wants more than anything. She blows out the candle and settles back properly in her seat. “What did you wish for?” 

She reaches out and tickles the young boy, laughing along with him when he tries to squirm away from her.

“I can’t tell you that, can I?” She says, her eyes flashing to meet Aaron’s, a flush on her cheeks as his eyes meet hers. She looks back at Jack, smiling at his slight pout. “Otherwise it won’t come true.”

Unaware of the moment that had passed between the two adults in the room, Jack scrambles out of her lap.

“Present time,” he declares, briefly running out of view before he’s back, a crudely wrapped box that he had clearly wrapped himself put in front of her as he sits on her lap again, “this reminded me of you,” he says proudly, and she immediately knows no matter what it is it’s her new favourite thing. 

“Thank you, Jack,” she says, kissing the side of his head as she unwraps the box, pulling it open to reveal a mug inside. It was white, decorated with cartoon black cats, each looking more mischievous than the last.

“It’s just like Sergio!” He explains, his smile as wide as she had ever seen it, his pride at his choice of gift clear. 

“I love it,” she exclaims, holding him closer to her as she puts the mug down, “I’ll take it to work, this way Uncle Derek won’t be able to take my mug and claim it’s his anymore.” 

“Daddy got you a gift too,” Jack says, looking over at Aaron, who didn’t even try to hide how he was looking at them both. 

“I’ll give that to her later, buddy,” he says casually, standing back up and picking up the cake, “we’ll eat this first, then it’s your bedtime.” 

___

She’s alone on the couch, Aaron putting a reluctant, but clearly tired Jack to bed, her mind unable to focus on anything except the fact she felt more at home here than she did at her own place. 

“Sorry that took so long,” Aaron says, joining her out of seemingly nowhere, a glass of wine in one hand and a wrapped gift in the other, “he kept coming up with excuses to come back out here,” he adds as he sits down, his glass of wine set on the table, their knees brushing as he does so, “he loves you.”

She smiles at that, taking another sip of her wine before she places the glass down on the coffee table. 

“The feeling is definitely mutual,” she replies, turning so she was facing him a little better, her knees brushing his again as she brings her legs up under her, “you’ve raised one hell of a kid, Aaron.” 

He blushes, clearing his throat as he always does whenever anyone complimented him on his parenting.

“Well, I try my best.” He says diplomatically, smiling tightly at her. Usually, she lets it go, and doesn’t push further when the subject matter clearly makes him feel uncomfortable. But something about tonight, the way he’d been with her, the glimpse of a family that he so often gifted ever, pushes her to say something. 

“Aaron,” she says, putting her hand on his knee, “you’re an excellent father. After everything he’s been through he’s still the kindest, sweetest little boy. And that’s because of you.” She squeezes his knee, hoping she can get her point across, that one day, if she keeps chipping away at his insecurities, at his guilt, he’ll believe her. “I’ll tell you that every day if I have to.” 

He places his hand over hers briefly, squeezing it in silent thanks. “I don’t know what we’d do without you.” He grimaces as he says it, the fact they had lived without her for seven months briefly making the air thick, a tension she hates briefly settling over them. He clears his throat and hands her the package in his hand. “This is for you.” 

She shakes her head at him as she takes it, removing her hand from his knee.

“You really didn’t have to get me anything,” she says, gesturing around the apartment, “tonight was enough.” 

“Emily, open the damn gift.” He replies, his voice as stern as it got when he was out of the office, a tiny bit of Hotch peeking through. 

“Yes, sir,” she says jokingly, winking at him when he glowers at her. She’s still laughing as she rips the paper open, the sound dying in her throat as she unwraps the gift. 

It’s a copy of her favourite book, Slaughter-House Five by Kurt Vonnegut, one of her many belongings that she’d lost since her death, her books all sold on. 

“Aaron…” She breathes out, holding the book in both of her hands. 

“Open it.” He says, and she briefly looks up at him before she does so, flipping the cover open to see the publishing date - 1969 - and a signature she knew was Vonnegut’s. “I remember you saying you usually read it once a year, and that you keep meaning to buy a copy.” 

She’d said it to him exactly once. When he was building her a bookcase and she was ‘helping’ by handing him parts as he requested them. The love she’d been pushing down, happy to store it in a box in her head forever so she could keep his friendship, threatens to burst free.

“Aaron,” she says, covering her mouth with a slightly shaky hand, never able to cover how she truly felt in front of him “this is a first edition it must have cost…I can’t-”

He cuts her off, his hand on her knee this time. “It’s a gift, Emily.” 

She stares at him, unsure what to say as she closes the book, settling it into her lap as she wipes a stray tear from her lash line, hoping he would somehow miss it.

"I can't believe you remembered that,” she says, her voice thick. She looks up at him from the book and he’s suddenly closer, and her breath catches in her throat. 

"I remember everything about you," he all but whispers, their eyes locking as they fall into silence, time seemingly stopping around them. 

Later, they’d argue about who leant in first. Who took the final step towards something they’d been walking towards for years. In the end, it doesn’t matter, the moment his lips touch hers all the doubt, all the fears she’d been feeling melt away. She cups the back of his head, holding him closer as her tongue swipes at his bottom lip. He swallows her moan as her mouth opens, his hand on her cheek. 

When they pull back, she rests her forehead against his, both of them catching their breath as they figure out what to say next.

“Emily-”

“Aaron-”

They speak at the same time, both chuckling as they do so. They separate far enough to look at each other properly, and he takes her hand in his, linking their fingers together. 

“Ladies first.” He says, ever the gentleman, and she smiles at him.

“I…I want this,” she says carefully, “I want you,” she chuckles at herself, her sound coming out more like a sob, “I have done for longer than I probably should,” she admits, looking down at their joint hands, “but I’m not the person I was before Doyle, before Paris. I’m different and…I don’t know if I’m the person you want me to be anymore.” 

The silence that she knows only lasts a few seconds feels like a lifetime, but he hooks his finger under her chin, making her look up at him, the smile on his face reassuring. 

“Emily,” he says gently as he wipes a tear from her cheek, the softest she’d ever heard his voice when he wasn’t speaking to Jack, “I love you.” 

She gasps, not because she hadn’t felt it before, she knew he loved her, but because she never expected this, never thought they’d make it this far. 

“Aaron-”

“I love you as you are, no matter what,” he says, shuffling a little closer, his arm looping around her waist, encouraging her forward into his lap, the book he had given her falling onto the couch, “everything else we can figure out,” he tucks her hair behind her ear, his thumb delicate at her cheek. “When you were…when you were gone I told myself that when I saw you again I’d tell you, that I wouldn’t waste any more time, and then you came back and we fell back into the same pattern as before. I love you, Emily Prentiss,” he says, and she chokes out a noise somewhere between a sob and a laugh, “and the rest doesn’t matter as long as you love me too.”

She knows it’s not that simple, not really, that in the morning they’d have other things to consider. The team, their tenuous footing back on even ground sure to be rocked by this. The wider FBI and any rules that might get in their way. Jack. Although, she was sure he would be delighted by this. 

She knows it’s not that simple, but maybe, just this once, it could be.

“I love you too,” she replies, leaning forward to press her lips to his, their kiss tasting like her tears. She wraps her arms around his neck, holding him close. “I have for a long time.”

When she pulls back she smiles at him, her fingers playing with the short hair on the back of his head. They fall into a comfortable silence, so many things not needing to be said, and she settles into his arms as she hugs him back, lets herself find the comfort there, the safety, she had craved for so long. She didn’t want to leave, didn’t want to break the bubble they had found themselves in

“Can I stay tonight?” She asks, cringing slightly when she realises how it sounds as she says it. 

“Wow, Em, at least buy a guy dinner first.” He jokes, and she pinches at his ribs, something that makes him laugh even more. 

“Not like that you asshole.” 

“Two minutes into a relationship and you’re already calling me names,” he deadpans, and she pulls away to glare at him. 

“Aaron.”

“Of course, you can sweetheart,” he says, smiling at her, “I wouldn’t let you go home if you wanted to.” 

She beams at his use of sweetheart, leaning back into his embrace. “Thank you for tonight, for the book. It’s been the best birthday I’ve ever had.” 

“You’re welcome,” he replies, kissing the side of her head, “if I’d known all it would take for you to kiss me was a first edition Vonnegut, I would have bought one years ago.” 

She sits up, and her chastisement of him is lost when he kisses her properly, something she welcomes without complaint. 

Emily had never enjoyed her birthday. Until now. 

-x-

Tag list:

@ssa-sparks, @lukeclvez, @lyds102, @glockleveledatyourcrotch, @hotchnissenthusiast, @danadeservesadrink, @ssamorganhotchner, @emilyprentissisgod, @notagentprentiss, @freesiasandfics, @emilyshotchniss, @thecharmingart, @paulitalblond, @hancydrewfan, @camille093, @whitecrossgirl, @moonlight-2-6, @rawr-jess, @florenceremingtonthethird, @jareauswife @ms-black-a, @sneetchestoo @aubreyprc @zipzapboingg , @psychopath-at-heart, @criminalmindsgonewrong, @fionaloover, @kinqslcys, @prentissinred, @ccmattis22      

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[bus-stop-to-kpop]

Price of Love (Ravn x Reader)

Pairing: Ravn (Kim Youngjo) x gn!Reader (Reader wears a dress as disguise and gets called miss once but like it’s a disguise so... could still be gn)

Requested?: Yes

Genre: Mafia!au, slight angst ig

Trigger Warning!!: mentions of death, mentions of wounds (but no actual injuries in the story), fire

Summary: You’re on a heist to steal precious artwork together with your boss turned boyfriend, but he suddenly changes the plan and leaves you worrying for his safety.

Word Count: 1,528

A/N: Once again I am apologizing that it took mw so long to write this T.T

But like writing is a creative task and sometimes I’m just not creative enough... Anyway I finally made it yayy. Enjoy it :)

Also about the title idk how to name it so yeah they’re at an auction and in love so that was the best I could come up with, sorry -Admin J

As you walked through the entrance of the auction house, you instantly felt as if all eyes were on you.

The clothes you were using as a disguise made you feel uneasy. Usually, people in your line of work didn’t care for what you wore, it was more important if you were holding a loaded gun to their head or a knife to their throat.

But right now, the flowy black dress you were wearing to hide your silhouette, the blonde wig that was tightly secured with a scarf draped over your head and the pearls around your neck, made you feel incredibly uncomfortable. Yet that was still better than exposing who you were to those rich snobs all around you.

“You’re looking pretty. Maybe we should have you wear a dress more often.” The teasing voice of your boss turned boyfriend rang through the earpiece that was hidden under your wig as soon as you sat down at one of the chairs of the auction hall.

As much as you wanted to talk back, you refrained from doing so, to not blow your cover. Looking around you found Ravn dressed up as one of the guards at the side of the stage that would soon present the items for the auction. You ignored the sly smirk on his lips as he watched you.

It wasn’t hard to remember the first time you had seen him smirk like that. You had been found guilty of stealing from a club that belonged to him. Begging on your knees, to stop him from killing you, you advertised yourself to him as best as possible. Saying that whatever dirty work he needed to have done, you’d do it without asking any questions.

And in these past years you did not only manage to earn his respect but also his love.

Which brought you to the current situation, an auction with the finest and most expensive art pieces from all over the world. To top it all off they would be presenting the most expensive diamond ring known to man, but Ravn had made it clear you were only here for the art.

He’s always had this fable for arts, which you couldn’t really understand, many of those drawings looked like the were made by kindergarteners, why would they be that expensive? But if you could make your boyfriend happy by stealing him an ugly but crazily expensive artwork, you’d do it anytime.

As the auction began with the first piece, you were having fun by bidding together with the rich people in the room. Of course, you had no intentions of actually buying any of the items, but it was fun to compete with the rich and push the price to unbelievable numbers.

Once in a while you could feel Ravn sneaking glances at you, to make sure you were doing fine. He was happy to see that you were enjoying toying with other bidders as he knew you weren’t very interested in art, he had feared you would get bored.

When they finally rolled in the last item of the auction after what felt like eternity, you couldn’t take your eyes off the diamond ring. It had been one of your biggest dreams to one day possess a ring like that. The way it made the whole room sparkle as the bright lights of the auction room illuminated it enchanted you.

So when the fire alarm started blaring through the building it ripped you out of your trance and you jumped a little, even if you knew about this plan all along. As the smell of fire and dark smoke spread panic arose, people were trying to storm out of the building as fast as possible the guards guided everyone out of the room to safety until only you were left in the room.

“Miss, you need to leave there’s a fire!” A guard came up behind you. “Oh, shut up!” You declared, knowing fully well it was Xion under that disguise. He laughed and nudged your shoulder as he walked by you to get the artwork from backstage. The auction house was trusting the guards to lock away the art pieces safely in the case of a fire, but there was one thing they weren’t aware of, they all had been replaced by Ravn’s workers.

“The van is at the back entrance; Ravn is getting the fake paintings right now. Put the real ones in this bag and bring them to the car. Tell Leedo to drive right away, Ravn and I will make sure this whole place is burning to the ground. We’ll meet you guys back at headquarters afterwards.” Xion explained as he handed you a bag.

You felt uneasy, this wasn’t the original plan, what happened to taking the paintings, replacing them with fake ones to make everyone think they burned and getting out of there as fast as possible? Why would the two of them stay here any longer than they must? But it wasn’t the right time to question their plan, if Ravn wanted it that way there was nothing you could do.

As you were walking to the bag door, clutching the bag of paintings tightly you actually met Ravn on your way. “Be careful!” You warned him, he was probably fully aware that you didn’t like his decision to stay here instead of coming back to HQ with you. “Don’t worry babe, I’ll see you in my office later. I have a surprise for you then.”

Before you could even question what he was talking about he was pressing his lips to yours. For a second the blaring fire alarm and the smell of smoke were completely forgotten as you melted into the kiss, after all there was a possibility, it would be your last. But as the heat in the building was rising, you became aware that you were actually in an actively burning building and it was best to leave, with that the two of you parted and went your ways.

Leedo was already waiting at the back entrance, just as Xion had said. The sliding door of the van open for you to jump right in. He seemed to be aware of the plan as he stepped on the gas before the door was even fully closed.

“Why are they staying there?” You asked Leedo as you climbed to the passenger seat of the van. His eyes were focused on the street as he shrugged. He didn’t know either, he was just following the orders Ravn had given.

~*~

Back at the headquarters people were cheering upon seeing you return with the bag full of paintings, usually you would be celebrating with them, but right now you didn’t feel like celebrating anything if Ravn wasn’t by your side. You walked straight to his office. Something in you was wishing that if you opened the door, he would be there waiting for you, but how was that possible. He couldn’t have gotten here quicker than you did. Especially since Leedo was Oneus’ fastest getaway driver.

Just like you thought, his office was empty. You put the bag of paintings down at his neatly organized desk before you let yourself fall back into his black leather chair. A sigh escaped your lips as you were on the verge of crying, you were trying to calm down by telling yourself he had survived so many dangerous situations. Every time he had escaped sometimes with gun wounds, stab wounds even broken bones, he said they were like scratches to him. But Fire? That was something completely different, he couldn’t control that or fight that.

You started pacing around the small office, letting your hand wander over the metal surfaces of his shelves to check for dust, just to distract yourself. Of course, there was no dust, his office was the place he treasured the most, so it had to be spotless.

You were standing with your back to the door as you heard it open, your whole body froze. It scared you, what if you turned around and it wasn’t Ravn standing there, but one of his men telling you he wouldn’t return.

“Y/N.” A breath escaped you that you didn’t even know you were holding. You couldn’t hold your tears anymore, they just started flowing. That was his voice! Turning around you rushed into your boyfriends’ arms and hugged him tightly. Your fist hit his chest, “Why did you have to do that? Why couldn’t you just stick to the plan?”

He didn’t answer at first, tightening the hug and stroking your hair. When he was sure you had calmed down, he wiped your tears with his thumb before speaking, “Well the plan didn’t involve getting you this.” He pulled something out of his pocket, it took you a second to realize what it was. The diamond ring!

“Will you spend the rest of your life with me?” This question alone had you crying again and your arms wrapped around his neck as you pulled him into a kiss. “Is that a yes?” Ravn chuckled when you parted.

“Of course it is!”

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for using my moms money to buy games?

The title sounds bad, but I'm not sure how else to word it. This is also going to be a weird one as, in advance, I know the other party isn't an asshole, however I think it's a similar situation im tone and I really need some feedback on this.

I'm 22 and live with my mom and cat. I've lived with her my whole life, and continue to due to disability. My mom has 2 jobs that she mainly works on weekends, and I'm unemployed. Ever since covid it's been incredibly difficult for me to find work because it is still very much a thing despite what people want to believe, and I can't be in contact with random people physically due to immune issues and the chance of getting sick. Online jobs are apparently very hard to find (my mom has tried) and many ask for a payment beforehand. I do however get social security income that pays most of our bills/utilities, and we're also on foodstamps for groceries.

My family has never been well off. I wouldn't call us dirt poor, we've never had to go hungry, and I always had toys to play with/clothes as a kid. But my mom has had to manage funds well and we've never had a lot of money for leisure or frivolous purchases. My mom will buy herself things like some new clothes, a phone charger, roku set, etc smaller things like that when she gets her paycheck but extra expenses such as furniture have to be planned out probably weeks/months ahead of time. We also moved recently and ever since then our budget has been more difficult, the down payment really screwed with my moms expenses.

Because of our situation, I never really had games growing up. I remember we had maybe 3 big family consoles during me and my sisters whole childhood (with like 3-6 games on them each, most of which were guitar hero which my mom and sister loved to play), and I would get a new handheld for myself every few years. I never got to play the new exciting games people were always talking about, and my gaming experience has really been limited to like. Animal crossing, the sims, and cooking mama.

I played a bunch of roms as a kid so that helped, but I was always kinda sad and felt left out that I never got to experience gaming the way other people did. I really wanted to try the "classics" people talked about but didn't have any way to. People (especially as I got into my 20s and started following streamers + nintendo direct for example) would always talk about the New Thing coming out and playing it the day it dropped, all the excitement and community people had around that, but if I really wanted that kind of game, I'd have to wait a few years before getting it and trying it out, and by then no one was playing it anymore anyways.

As time went on things got a little better. Especially because of my moms new jobs, both of which she genuinely loves doing, though it's still work, we have been a bit better off. It's only been recently we started struggling more again.

Recently I've been kind of asking for things from my mom. Mostly it's steam games. I found I've gotten much more into gaming as a hobby as I've gotten older, and I have a long wishlist of games that I really want to get into, but of course have no money to myself. I should also clarify that NONE of these are those big triple A $60 titles, as I still can't ever justify paying something so expensive for one game. So sometimes lately I've been asking my mom "hey, can I get this/these games?" And use her money/card to purchase them. I don't do it constantly, or even super often, but I feel like it's becoming more often and it makes me feel really guilty.

I have done this before, around high school I started asking my mom for certain things I wanted around the house, and usually she had no problem buying them for me. This also wasn't large stuff, nothing ever over $30 and usually only up to $20. But when I'd find something I *really* wanted, especially if it was a time limited thing like merch drops from a favorite content creator, often yarn for my knitting or art supplies I wanted to try, I would ask her.

I've pretty much always felt guilty about this. I would ask for something despite my better judgement, and for the most part my mom would say yes, and that it was okay, whereas I was the one apologizing and asking if it was "really alright". She has told me she has no issues buying things for me as long as I ask her. She says the social security I get is "technichally my money", and that she wants me to be able to use it. (Obviously we don't use the actual ssi to buy random shit, but her giving me spending money is the next best thing).

Every time I've asked my mom for something like this, I've told myself that it would be the last time, that I would get my own job and own money and not mooch on my mom anymore, but both with the stress of chronic illness and depression I never seem to get around to it. I try to do dishes and keep my room clean, take care of the cat etc as ways I can help without working, but for some reason the money really weighs on me. I know that it's really my fault, I haven't even been looking for jobs and I could always take art commissions again, but somehow a mental block always stops me.

I feel like I have a bit of an impulsivity problem when it comes to spending. The money I got from my one summer job and commissions would never last long, and honestly I couldn't even tell you what I spent it on for the weeks I had it. I have issues taking money from people, but when I realized that I may not have had the stuff I wanted as a kid simply because I never asked for/communicated that I wanted it, it made me more bold to actually ask my mom for things.

I never pester my mother about this. I'll ask once and if she says no I'll be dissapointed but won't continue. Sometimes she says that we don't have the money for it then, or that I'll have to wait until xyz thing is paid for, which is always fine. I also have *never* bought anything with her money without asking first. I get pretty much all the steam games I buy on sale (usually that's what prompts me to ask about them, actually) as personally I can't justify getting games for their asking price for the experience I'm going to get.

I feel bad as I feel like I'm wasting our money, mooching off my mom and not putting in the work to have spending money myself. I also worry that sometimes when she says it's fine, it's untrue and she's really just trying to make me feel better. I also sometimes don't play the games as soon as I get them, I have a sizeable backlog of games I have gotten but haven't "got around" to playing as I was excited to get them at a low price at the time, but then haven't felt like I'm in the right mood. This also makes me feel worse because I feel like I'm not being appreciative enough of her buying for me.

So am I the asshole?

What are these acronyms?

[auroragothcs]

TWs and CWs: Mentions of violence, injury, cannibalism, human experimentation, disordered eating, recreational herbs and detachment to a sense of self.

| Il Dottore Headcanons (pt.4).

76. Really accepting of people, just in a "It's okay, I want to study people like you too" way which is not ideal, but could be worse considering everything.

77. Snaps his teeth at Pantalone when he calls him "Dottie" and tries to touch him affectionately.

78. He grinds his teeth when he's becoming overwhelmed by work and it led to a tiny piece of his tongue missing.

79. The closes are one of his most useful and welcomed creations in his life since they understand him and each other in ways no one else could and often push him to take a break while they take care of things.

80. Gets dragged out of his lab and office by his collar at least once a week, no one bats an eye at it anymore.

81. He probably doesn't even have a bed that he considers his anymore, throwing hinself over his desk and crashing when he's too tired to keep on working.

82. Got banned from a small teashop he enjoyed going to and eating baked goods at because he offered to buy the owner's recently deceased daughter, never harmed him since he genuinely kinda liked the place and workers but is still very grumpy about it.

83. Invests his free time into finding cures and better treatments to illnesses and sells the recipes, the chosen "volunteers" to these experiments are rude subordinates.

84. One of his clones has a broken tooth that he refused to fix because he bit into one of his delusions to "eat it back" after hearing that it consumed vitality.

85. People staring at him face makes him feel insecure and the old mask did very little to soothe that so he enjoyed the change quite a lot.

86. Rubs his hands red if he feels dirty or guilty.

87. Has a birthmark on his waist/belly, it looks like a wobbly little heart and he pokes at it every time he sees it.

88. Freckled king, they're very light and not many people see him from close enough to notice, but grow in number and intensity on his shoulder blades.

89. Jokingly asked the Tsaritsa for permission to boil and eat her gnosis once he got comfortable enough to talk more freely around her, she found it funny enough that she offered to let him do that to someone else's.

90. Asks questions at dizzying speed and gets mad when no one can keep up enough to answer them all.

91. He takes boiling hot showers/baths to soothe chronic pain and help him relax but needs to have a clone around beceuse he faints every damn time and they're the only ones he's comfortable being naked around.

92. Prime has night terrors when he actually sleeps instead of his usual crashing, not even the clones know what of.

93. Dottore enjoys the power his position brings and how it affects his dynamic in nearly any social situation, taking advantage of how no one would dare to say a single bad thing to/about someone who earned the Tsaritsa's approval, at least not in front of him, of course.

94. He carries a handkerchief embroidered with traditional designs from his homeland and is unwilling to leave it all in the past no matter how much he pretends not to be.

95. Cats like him a lot and he's confused but overjoyed.

96. Sways his hips a little while performing surgeries and experiments since humming repetitively helps him keep pace and track of time.

97. Fears that a clone could take over his identity and that no one would notice, they all have a similar fear.

98. Would not-so-secretly DROOL over Lady Gaga's music.

99. Knows Lisa and Baizhu in passing because they studied at the same library table sometimes but were all far too focused to talk, probably remembers them well enough to recognize with some prompting.

100. Pantalone refuses to give him more funds for his lab but will give him expensive gifts like bath oils and coats if he notices that Dottore looks stressed.

[blu-joons]

BEST FRIEND NCT A⇴Z HEADCANON ⇴ Kim Dongyoung

A ⇴ ATTENTION

Whilst he’s not one to pay a massive amount of attention to you, Dongyoung always make sure to pay enough attention so that if anything happens to you he can be right there with you in a matter of moments.

B ⇴ BICKER

When you get snappy, it usually starts as a bicker between the two of you as you start making your points and trying to shut the other person up. Most of the time it stays as just a bit of a bicker between you both, but at times your bickering can end up going a little bit further and building into more.

C ⇴ COMFORT

Whenever you’re down, Dongyoung is there for you, he never lets you get upset or irritated by yourself. Even if he’s super busy, he’ll still make the time for you as he knows from his own experience that being all alone when you’re feeling down is anything but good to try and cheer you up.

D ⇴ DISAGREEMENTS

Like most friendships the two of you definitely had your moments when you’d disagree and an argument would take place, with both of you guilty of being a little bit snappy from time to time with one another. You could tell straight away whenever the other person was snapping because they were angry rather than trying to be funny, and when they did, then you usually snapped in reply too.

E ⇴ EARLY YEARS

From the start Dongyoung loved to tease you and mess around with you which quickly meant the two of you got along. He was much better than you were at breaking the ice and did funny thing after funny thing in an attempt to get you to like him. Luckily for Dongyoung, it paid off as you soon laughed at the funny things that he did when he was around you and start talking to him and opening up more too.

F ⇴ FAMILY

Dongyoung’s family loved to ask about you, even sometimes asking Dongyoung about you before they asked him about himself when they hadn’t heard much about you for a while from him. Most of the time he was glad his family took such an interest in you, but other times he couldn’t help but feel offended that they prioritised you over him, especially when he had good news to share with them too.

G ⇴ GETTING TOGETHER

Either the dorm or your apartment was usually where you hung out, somewhere cosy, but most importantly somewhere that was safe and pretty private. You didn’t need to do much to enjoy yourselves, most of the time just some food and a film were all that you needed to have a good time together.

H ⇴ HABITS

The two of you had a habit of winding each other up without even meaning to, you just happened to say the wrong thing at the wrong time and get a bit of a reaction. It was something that you’d laugh about once you’d both gotten over it, but there were plenty of times when arguments were near misses for you.

I ⇴ INSIDE JOKES

As the two of you loved to mess around together, it meant that you had plenty of inside jokes at the same time too. Your inside jokes were usually funny things that you had done together, things like saying or doing the wrong thing, usually making a situation funnier, were the most common inside jokes that you had.

J ⇴ JEALOUSY

There was definitely a part of Dongyoung who was very wary of your other friends, whenever he met anyone knew, he always liked to make a bit of a point that he was your best friend and make sure they knew early on that they could only ever just be your friend.

He was very observant when it came to your other friends, if it felt like one of them was trying to overshadow Jeonghan as your best friend then he wouldn’t be afraid to stand up for himself. If someone made you laugh, then Jeonghan would do something to make you laugh more, or if someone brought you dinner, Jeonghan would buy when you hung out next time, and make it more expensive too.

K ⇴ KICKS

Dongyoung got a kick out of making you laugh, especially when you wanted to try and be stubborn and not give him a reaction. He knew exactly how to get to you and push your buttons, so even when you insisted that Dongyoung wouldn’t be able to make you laugh, nine times out of ten he’d prove you wrong.

L ⇴ LOVE

He loved how you were always by his side, not once could Dongyoung ever think of a time when you had let him down. He knew that if he ever needed the help of someone, he could turn to you, and you’d be right there for him. Whether it was something good or something bad, you stepped up every single time for Dongyoung and that was something that you did that he was particularly fond of.

M ⇴ MEETING

The two of you first met when you were cast on the same show, meeting on the day of shooting for the first episode. There were plenty of other idols with you too, but for some reason you were just drawn to Dongyoung, and so when you were paired with him it was even more of a bonus to help you introduce yourself.

N ⇴ NONSENSE

Although he liked to be silly around most people anyway, there was a little bit extra in Dongyoung that would come out when he was around you. He completely came out of his shell when he got to be with you.

O ⇴ OBSESSION

Dongyoung was obsessed with your personality, you were the exact sort of person he hoped that he would be able to call a best friend one day, finding the perfect qualities that he wanted in you as a friend.

P ⇴ PRECIOUS MOMENTS

The times that meant the most to Dongyoung were the moments when he spent time with you and the other members too. Seeing how well you got along with the boys meant a lot to Dongyoung as it usually meant that he got to have all of his favourite people in one room with him, and all smiling at the same time too.

Q ⇴ QUESTIONS

Conversation with you was something that Dongyoung loved, and so when it felt like you were going quiet Dongyoung would try his best just to ask you about something and keep you both talking together.

R ⇴ RANDOM FACTS

He was a massive hoarder when it came to your friendship, Dongyoung loved to hold onto the things that reminded him of you and the things that you’d done together. He always tried to buy something when you went somewhere that sold souvenirs so that he could keep them safe and remember your day.

S ⇴ SUPPORT

Your support was something that Dongyoung tried to seem unbothered by, but deep down it always meant a lot to see you there. You could tell too when he was acting as if it was no big deal, although his words said one thing, the expression that was on his face would usually tell you something completely different.

T ⇴ TRIPS

There were a few occasions when you were both lucky enough to be going to the same place for work, deciding to spend your free time together as you headed out to explore a new part of the world.

U ⇴ ULTIMATE

He could never even picture someone else being his best friend, the only person that Dongyoung wanted to fill that role was you.

V ⇴ VISITS

Whenever he was able to, Dongyoung invited you to visit him at work. Whether it was with the group, variety work, or something completely different, you were the first person that he’d give an invite to.

W ⇴ WISDOM

Whilst he knew he wasn’t the best with advice, Dongyoung still tried his best to offer you some advice that you could work with.

X ⇴ XXXX

The two of you are the type of friends that are affectionate privately with one another, you don’t stand too close when you’re around others, but when you’re alone you’re much more likely to be affectionate.

Y ⇴ YOU

You were his inspiration, Dongyoung was always proud of you and what you were doing.

Z ⇴ ZZZ

He quite liked to stay at your place whenever the two of you hung out in the evenings. Dongyoung would often pretend to fall asleep to guilt you into letting him stay when you suggested he head back to the dorm.

---

Masterlist