#they’d be the couple to post every cute action they do on Instagram

[sketchydetails17]

I also drew a couple of Sloanes and Luthers ☺️

[jaeminscoffee]

Cordolium

Cordolium- Heartfelt sorrow, heartache (n.)

Pairing- Lee Jeno x reader

Genre- Fluff for starters, angst for main course.

Word count- 1.78k

Warnings- Y/n’s led on by Jeno. Or she just misinterpreted his actions, also horribly written ✌

Summary- Who’d known one picture was all it would take to break your heart.

Having gotten into your dream university called for leaving your comfort house and moving into a completely foreign environment, where everyone would be strangers unlike your town where everyone knew each other. 

You were already cranky about the fact that you had to shift, added to that came the news that you’d have a roommate since the last room available was allotted to the student who enrolled in just minutes before you. 

It was a bittersweet feeling. Bitter because you have to live with a total stranger having to share common spaces, personality could be who knows how. Sweet because you’d have a familiar face to look around in the University for. 

“Y/n did you see my blue hoodie?” your roommate screamed from his room, to you who was seated on the couch by the living room. “Hmm?” you hum back, knowing full well the hoodie he’s implying to is the one you’d adorned right now. 

“Come on doll, is there any hoodie of mine that you haven’t worn yet?”

Jeno is the perfect roommate. You’d been shocked the first day you punched in the password to your apartment, opening the door only to be greeted with a guy who had nothing but a towel around his torso. Half shocked at the fact that your roommate for the rest of your semester would be a guy. Half shocked that an extremely good looking guy was your roommate. 

Jeno made the unknown neighborhood seem as though you’d been there all your life. He shooed away all your homesickness, never giving you time to even miss your street by bringing up new things to keep the pair of you occupied. 

“Uh? The one that you bought yesterday? I haven’t worn that yet.” you flash him a smile as Jeno passed you a look of boredom. “It was a rhetorical question, Y/n” he shook his head, making his way towards you with nothing but his sweats on. 

Not the first time you’ve seen him half naked, you’d seen him like that almost every other day, Jeno had clearly grown ridiculously close to you. But the sight of his toned abs and chiseled chest never fails to fluster you. “look at the picture you have of me half naked, you’re basically burning holes into my abs, babe” he retorted after plopping down on the seat beside yours and you immediately shift position to lay down on the couch with your head on his lap. 

“Bold of you to assume i still have that image, Jen” you say, handing him the remote to select what you two would be watching that evening as you tug on his free hand, bringing it up to your hair and placing it there, shaking your head slightly as a signal for him to run his fingers through your hair. 

This is how it’d been since you two grew close. You had a very, very touchy friendship. You had no objections to that, absolutely loving the cuddles and names he’d given you.

All fears of being alone had gone with the wind after the news of you being THE Lee Jeno’s roommate spread throughout the campus. The undivided attention you’d receive didn’t faze you though, knowing full well it was all just a way to somehow get Jeno to pay attention to them. 

That didn’t matter though since you’d found a perfect friend circle for yourself. That friend circle being Jeno’s friend circle. They were all extremely bubbly and accepting of your joining in the group. One particularly was extremely close to you. Jaemin. Having shared the same energy level and brain cells, you got close to each other really quick. 

Jeno chuckles at your antics before complying to your silent request, “Whatever. Though, I’d actually say nothing if you do end up being the first one to wear my new hoodie” you look up at him, confused. “you look cute in my clothes” he sends a wink in your way, leaning down to press a small peck on your forehead before diverting his attention to the shows he constantly switched back and forth to. 

“Oh? Then maybe i should change into that right now-” you attempt to get up fast to hide your blushing self, only to be pulled back with a strong grip on the material of your (his) hoodie which resulted in you falling right back onto Jeno’s lap. “Maybe you shouldn’t” he gave you a playful warning look, breaking out into a smile seeing you huff out giggles. 

“But you just said you don’t mind!” you try standing up again, “doesn’t matter” he pulls you back with more force, now locking you in a tight embrace as your head gets flushed into the nape of his neck, arms holding his bare shoulder for support.

Married couple. A title your friends had given you due to the pair of yours dynamic. It’s kind of like an inside joke at this point. Each time they’d point out you having something more than a platonic friendship, Jeno would always be the first one to dismiss it, clearing all misunderstandings whereas you’d make little to no effort to do so. Your love for the lad basically oozed out of you. 

It’s a little hard to not have feelings for a guy with the personality of an angel, behavior intact and looks as a plus one. You are sure he had at least a little something for you seeing his actions, lingering kisses, touches. You are so sure he’s got at least something for you.

Pressing one last kiss to the side of your head, he moves you gently off of him and onto the fluffy couch as you stare at him in confusion, clearly not liking the warmth being taken away from you. “what happened?” you ask him, about to pull him back down, “I promised a friend I’d go over, we’ll cuddle once i return home, is that alright with you doll?” he inquires, leaning down to smoothen down the hair that was sticking out here and there from his previous actions. 

“Why wouldn’t i be alright with that? As long as you give me all the cuddles we’re missing out on right now” you feign anger to which he gave you his signature eye smile. “Of course.” With that he left the room, probably to change into something else. 

You really wanted to spill out your feelings for the lad to him, you weren’t scared of being rejected. Jaemin, Jeno’s known better half, had assured you multiple times of how you’d definitely be the only one to catch Jeno’s attention. 

What you were really scared of was if you’d lose what you had right now. Feelings are stuff that comes and goes in a rapid and you can lose everything you have if your feelings for the other deteriorates somehow. But your friendship was way more important to you than your feelings and you wouldn’t, in a million years, want to lose what you’ve established with Jeno. 

You spend the rest of your evening watching shows, painting your nails, and even reminding yourself to make one of Jeno’s favourite dishes for dinner once he gets home, mentally thanking Jaemin for reminding you to not forget that little confession plan you had plotted. 

You’d make it subtle that you’re in love with your roommate through your actions rather than words, though, he’d be an idiot if he hadn’t already noticed at least a bit of affection for him through your clinginess. 

You make your way to your room after turning the flame down to low upon hearing your phone ring. You wipe your hands on your hoodie before pressing the red button and picking it up, Jaemin’s contact taking up its place on your screen.

“Jaem?” you inquire stupidly as though his caller ID didn’t make it obvious enough that it was, in fact your best friend calling you.

“I would have barged into your house if you’d taken any longer to pick up the call but congratulations for finally gathering some balls to do it Y/n!!” Jaemin screams into the speaker, obvious that he’s excited. “Congrats?” you ask back.

“Yes! Finally! You guys look so cute in that image, I almost threw it at Haechan!” he replied with the same energy. Confusion clouds your mind as you try making sense of his words. 

“Picture? Congratulations? Jaem, what are you talking about?" 

"You know! The picture he just posted of the two of you being all lovey-dovey! I never took Jeno to be a romanticist! Like, the caption??-” you immediately open your laptop to log into your social to see what imagine Jaemin was talking about, “I have a slight doubt that you’re the one who posted it from his-” finally in on instagram, you scroll down to see any new posts of your roommate,

“-phone, but like. I’m so glad that you asked him out, knowing Jeno, he’d never do it unless you double dog dare him-” running impatient hearing Jaemin ramble on about the said image, you finally search up Jeno’s name, feeling your stomach churn with an unknown feeling. 

“Also, did you dye your hair? You look really cute in that image though it isn’t all that clear! I told you from day one you’re a match made in heaven-”

You click on the recent post, the image of Jeno, leaning in, pressing a kiss on the lip of a girl unknown to you fills up your screen, ‘my one and only for eternity’ as the caption. “How was the kiss?-” you pause for a second, refreshing the page to see if it’s really an image of Jeno, kissing a girl, “Jaem.." 

"I mean, if you’re gonna act all shy with me now then don’t tell me, but tell me how did you confess to him?” you can physically feel your heart drop down to your stomach

“Jaemin..” “you finally get to call him your boyfriend, Y/n! No space between the two words! I can’t believe he decided to make your relationship public the day of confession! But seriously-”

“Jaemin listen-" 

"I’m still not over the caption, where did the confession take place?? You should’ve called me man! I would’ve recorded it-”

“Jaemin!” you finally scream, losing it at all the words coming out of his mouth, feeling enraged at yourself for ever thinking you stood a chance. Hearing the line go silent, you feel something wet travel down your cheeks the more you stare at your crush kissing a girl that’s not you. You choke out a silent sob. How are you supposed to face him after today, knowing everything you felt for him was unrequited?

“That girl in the image is not me.”

[xsamuu]

HEYYYYY!! I saw your ask box was open and I was wondering if I could request a headcanon? Where the reader is in a massive fight with a friend they haven't seen for like 3 years and the friend takes it too far by saying something like "That's your boyfriend? How gross" "Ew why does he look like that? Couldn't grab someone better? Ugly ho" or whatever you come with? Tendou, Bokuto, Kenma, Kags, Nishinoya please, if you will?

I screeched when I saw this omg thank you I hope this is up to your standards bebs 😼👍🏾 but uh I should say some did come out a little bit like scenarios but I tried to stick to headcanons sorry for that still hope you enjoy 🎃😼

~Admin Rizzo

Tendou Satori

-you was minding your own business walking through a park your hands intertwined with your lover when a ✨m u s t y✨ old friend you knew had decided to share there unwanted opinions

-Tendou could see how uncomfortable you was and wanted to remove you from the situation but as he went to walk around the obstacle you stopped dead in your tracks

-“That’s who your with oh my god that’s fucking gross, I guess you’ll hook up with anyone you thot”

-It’s safe to say that tendou had come up with thousands of insults by the time the slur left there mouth

-Who even was this person?— WAIT WHO THEY CALLING A THOT?!

-you wasn’t a very confrontational person but nevertheless you wasn’t about to let this person who wasn’t even in your day to day life anymore talk smack about your man

-you went to retaliate when a big arm swooped around your shoulder catching you off guard

-“Babe lets go I wanted to bring you to the park today not a circus” 🤡

-Needless to say your ‘friend’ was shocked and maybe a little intimidated

-You on the other hand had to summon all the strength in your body not to laugh in there face

-With his arm still wrapped around he moved you away from the situation the both of you quickly changing the subject to something more important

Bokuto Kōtarō

-Bokuto loves spoiling you

-your the love of his life and he will make sure you know this not only through his words but also his actions

-this however works both ways there isn’t something you wouldn’t do to show him how much you support and love him

-You was sitting in the crowd at one of his games it was a very important one winning this match would definitely get him recognized by some powerhouse teams

-every time he would score a point for his team he would look up at you and every time you would be there imitating his celebration “HEY HEY HEY THATS MY ACE” You felt only pride and absolute infatuation with this man

-you was cheering your heart out when you suddenly felt someone bump your shoulder (a little too hard to be an accident—)

-You swung your head around only to come face to face with an old friend from middle school they looked bitter asf and your conscience was telling you to just ignore them

-“Oh you have nothing to say to me now Huh? I see your at another one of these boring ass games I thought you didn’t have time for people?”

-It’s true at one point you did say that but you didn’t think you’d loose one of your closest friends because of it even so you continue to ignore them hoping they’d get the message and leave

-they didn’t.

-“So you and number 4 are together I’m assuming. I guess ugly attracts ugly”

-immediately you saw red but you couldn’t ruin this for bokuto important people were here. As if he could sense your distress he shot his eyes up to where you were in the stand

-He called a time out, and started running out the gym everyone was confused but when he reappeared in the stands you knew all to well that he had caught on

-“Babe I just noticed your supposed to be closer to the match your an important guest” he smiled you mouthed him a thank you and gathered your things walking a few rows closer to the front

-Thankfully Akaashi was there looking up at you distracting you. The owllike man glared at your old friend “I don’t know what you did to Y/N but you better leave before you have another problem”

-When you looked back your ex friend was nowhere to be seen you giggled as bokuto gave you a big kiss before returning to the court

Kozume Kenma

-Kenma isn’t a contentious person in fact he would much rather settle an issue in the most inconspicuous way possible

-Even so if he feels that him or his partner was disrespected in anyway he will not hesitate

-You and Kenma was at a gaming convention you had been planning since the beginning of February (it’s now late April)

-You had sat through the entrance ceremony and was walking around admiring all the stalls and you were both having so much fun

-Kenma had left you for a split second to get someone’s autograph it was the animator from a game he played religiously you didn’t mind you stayed put and was scrolling through your phone

-“Long time no see y/n” you lifted your head to the sound of your name being called and made perfect eye contact with an old ‘friend’

-If you were being completely honest you hated them all they did was make you feel like an inferior insect whenever you two were together you hummed a ‘yo’ before going back to your phone

-“Still a quiet freak eh LuLu I guess you here on your own or something”

-Lulu was the name of a magical girl from a cartoon you used to love but upon finding out people would use it to mock and degrade you

-you was gonna walk away the ridiculous nickname when you heard a familiar voice

-“no y/n is with me and you are?” It was a genuine question but anyone who didn’t know Kenma would take his pack of expression as bored or sarcastic

-The person scoffed and pointed accusingly at Kenma “That’s who your with LuLu you couldn't do any better HE’S JUST AS LIFELESS AS YOU ARE”

-You tugged on Kenma sleeve motioning to just leave as you felt uncomfortable but Kenma wasn’t having it you had been so excited to be here and with him and this nobody came out of nowhere and started harassing you

-“Listen um going to say this in a way you could understand— he smirked at you and then opened his mouth again

-What escaped his mouth next left you shocked, scared, a little embarrassed for him even but mostly touched

-he cleared his throat

-“lifeless. I’m not lifeless in fact I have a burning hatred for you right now. And that why I feel no guilt in what I’m about to do.”

-You gulped and held on tighter to kenma’s sleeve mentally preparing yourself for what he was about to do

-“YoU HaTe LuLu’S tRanSforMatiOn sOng?!” He practically shouted. Instantly a horde or gamers, writers, weebs and more bombarded the area shouting and screaming and causing a scene

- From all the commotion it’s sounded like your ‘friend’ was ok but some of the words leaving the mouths of the mob were kinda cruel

-you smirked and Kenma led you away

-You know he doesn’t like being the center of attention but he still protected you and for that you’d be sure to thank him for that

Kageyama Tobio

-Kags never really liked leaving you behind when he had to go to different countries

-without you it made him anxious and you would reassure him that you’d be fine and eagerly awaiting his return

-Including the return of his big, fat juicy—

Ahem heart 🙂

-You had been sitting in a café Face Timing him

-You’d often have dates like this and you both enjoyed them you was talking to him when someone took up a seat next to you

-“Hey Y/n funny running into you here” a familiar voice echoed

-A w k w a r d you hadn’t seen or heard from this person since a fight you had a couple years ago why now?

-You had nearly forgotten about your boyfriend on the other side of your iPad screen until “Oh you bought a friend y/n”

-you was at a loss for words but before you could answer the unwanted annoyance to your left answered for you

-‘We’re not friends y/n cut me off because she’s toxic” it took kageyama a solid 10 seconds to realize that this wasn’t a real friend and that you were silently asking for help

-You rested your head in hand obscuring the person from kags field of vision therefore blocking there vision of your face and boyfriend

-hoping they’d get the message without you having to vocalize it

-they stood up and you let out a breath you didn’t know you was holding

-“I wasn’t checking out your friend don’t worry he isn’t my type I prefer cute boys” they spat

-Before you could even assess the fact that they pretty much called your boyfriend ugly you was already pissed at the fact that they referred to kags as your friend

-you stood up abruptly and it’s like they were waiting for you to loose your cool all hope was lost when you heard him clear his throat

-“[there Instagram name] Damn you was easy to find. I liked you post”

-You felt a tinge of confusion race through you but watching all the blood in there body rush to your friends face made you curious

-“DELETE THAT RIGHT NOW” people were definitely looking in your direction

-“Leave then I will” Now you was curious what the help did he do?

-seconds, literal seconds. The annoyance was nowhere to be seen

-“Kags..wha—”

“I shared there IP address in the comments :p”

- “PFFT kAgS!”

Nishinoya Yū

-Noya made sure that you felt like the only person in the world before he asked you out, so when you started dating you didn’t think he could get any more protective over you

-You was sitting in the cinema with him both smiling and listening on to the movie

-He fidgets a lot in his seat but you dont mind you know he cant help it besides you find it cute he is just so full of energy

-“Babe imma go to the toilet be right back” he kissed your cheek and left

-you continue to watch the movie until you feel someone slither into the seat next to you and hearing the voice your your temples irks and your expression one of annoyance

-One of your ex friends for how many years ago had to be in the same theatre at the same time on the SAME FUCKING DAY

-they didn't seem like they were moving so you just spoke first

- “can i help you.?” 

-No response :/

-You were even more irritated than before

-Noya came back a few minutes later and noticed another person had sat right next to you 

-Noya is dense VERY VERY DENSE he assumed you ran into one of your friends so he didn't question it

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-After the movie finished you grabbed your things and rushed to get out of that situation

-The same person had finally said something after a whole hour

- “That’s who you came with.. You really know how to pick em an annoying toddler really Y/n your honestly pathetic--”

-It didn’t bother Noya he has been called short all his life this isn’t any different but this rando was obviously upsetting you and he would NOT have that

-Noya would step infront of you and confront the person they get a warning 

-one fucking warning 

-If they don’t take it i shit you not noya is going for the ankles periodt

- “I DONT KNOW WHO THE FUCK YOU ARE BUT YOUR UPSETTING MY PARTNER THE FUCKING DOOR IS BEHIND YOU SO TURN AROUND”

-Noya looked like the aggressor and its safe to say he may have caused a scene but he would be a fool not to step in and protect you with all you got

[iridescent-hallucinations]

A Picture’s Worth a Thousand Words

Fluffy Jemily Oneshot. 

Summary:  Based on a prompt about couple's posting photos on social media, aka: JJ and Emily spend a lovely day with the kids.

Pairing: Jennifer “JJ” Jareau / Emily Prentiss 

Word Count: 2108

Read it on AO3

Emily Prentiss is not very good with social media. That’s not to say she doesn’t have accounts, she does, she just doesn’t use them all that often. Reasons for this will vary depending on who’s being asked. Rossi is likely to explain this with a conversation they once had about Emily preferring hand written letters from her friends to a DM. Penelope believes the aversion is because she won’t take the time to actually learn how to use the platforms, despite her offering tech support. Derek thinks it’s because she likes her privacy and isn’t particularly interested in sharing every aspect of her life on the internet. Spencer’s explanation involves too many statistics.

JJ, however, loves Instagram. She isn’t too bothered with Facebook or Twitter, but Insta? That’s the social media platform for her. Not only does she have so much to capture on camera; her family, her friends, the beautiful scenery she stumbles upon on her jogs, she likes the simplicity of sharing these images online like a digital scrap book.

She began private Instagram accounts for both Henry and Michael when they were born, cataloguing their childhoods in a unique way that meant by the time they were old enough, they would be able to take over the accounts. It was novel, she realised, but it seemed like a really cool and contemporary way to document their childhoods.

While she isn’t particularly interested in posting photos online, Emily adores taking photos. She’s usually the one suggesting a photo opportunity, often snapping selfies of her and the team when they’re at Rossi’s, or asking one of them to take a cute photo of her and JJ, because they dressed up and look too good to not immortalise on camera. She’ll often whip out her phone to take pictures of Henry and Michael playing together, or JJ snoozing on the sofa. Her favourite type of photo is a candid shot, so she takes them of the people she loves as often as she can, always carefully and tactfully walking the line between being in the moment, and wanting to capture the moment.

One day, the had decided to take the kids out on an activity trail, one of those ones where you go on a hike and the children have a treasure hunt to do along the way. It seemed like a fun way to spend some much needed quality time together whilst also getting the boys to burn off some of their near endless energy. JJ had prepared a packed lunch for them all so that they could sit in the picnic area and eat lunch halfway through the trail. Thankfully the weather looked like it would stay dry, a couple of clouds scattered across the sky but nothing that seemed too drastic.

Packing the car with all the essentials, the little family set off on their adventure for the day. It didn’t take long to drive to their destination, and once they’d parked up, JJ and Emily grabbed a bag and a child each. Collecting a treasure map from the kiosk at the beginning of the trail, they let the boys run ahead to try and find the first activity.

They walked in comfortable silence behind Henry and Michael, who weren’t too far ahead, hand in hand, just enjoying the fresh air and each other’s company.

Spotting the first challenge, Emily watched as Henry read the instructions to Michael, stopping to spell out the words he didn’t know until he could work out what it said.

JJ smiled down at her children, so proud of Henry for being such a good big brother. Turning to her wife, her heart swelled, her life was so full of love, she couldn’t believe it sometimes.

Noticing that JJ was looking at her, Emily turned her attention to the blonde, meeting her smile with her own.

“How long do you think it’ll take them?” Emily asked, nodding her head over to the two boys who were searching around the trees for their next clue.

“The longer the better, I’m enjoying this.” JJ replied, taking the opportunity to pull out a bottle of water from one of the bags and take a long drink. She casually offered it to Emily, who took a sip before handing it back, and watching as she screwed the lid back on.

Pulling her phone out, Emily began to snap some photos of the boys who had finally found the clue they were looking for. Unable to resist the opportunity, the brunette took a couple of steps back, raising the camera so that JJ was in the shot. The result was a lovely photo of JJ, facing the boys, framed with the beautiful trees and shrubbery of the forest. The light was catching on the blonde’s hair, causing it to almost sparkle, JJ was honestly breathtaking. Why she chose to share her life with Emily remained a mystery to the older woman, but whatever the reason was, Emily knew she would never question how she managed to get so lucky, or what she did to deserve this family.

A little while later, with the boys successfully finding the next three clues, it was finally time to eat. Coming across the clearing, they took a seat on one of the wooden benches, unpacking their rucksacks and digging in. Emily couldn’t help herself, taking more action shots of the boys as they happily chomped on their sandwiches and sipped from their juice cartons.

There was an ice-cream stand at the edge of the clearing, and as the kids had eaten all of their lunches, JJ had gone to treat them all to a cone. Returning with the goods, she handed one each to the boys, laughing as then enthusiastically thanked her and took no time in devouring the sweet treat.

“I didn’t really fancy a whole one, so I hope you don’t mind sharing.” JJ said, carefully licking along the side of the chocolate ice-cream before reaching it out for Emily to grab.

“Sounds good to me!” Emily replied, leaning down to take some of the cool cream from the cone, not bothering to take it from her wife’s hand, humming as it slipped into her mouth and down her throat.

Once the ice-creams were all but gone, the boys stood up to play a quick game of tag. Intently watching them run around, squealing with excitement, JJ didn’t notice she had ice cream on her chin. Emily knew exactly what to do when she saw the streaks underneath JJ’s mouth, once more pulling her phone out and capturing the blonde on camera.

JJ spun to face Emily, who was laughing at how adorable the photo she’d taken had turned out.

“What’s so funny?” JJ questioned, still blissfully unaware of the marks on her face.

“You uh, you missed your mouth a bit there Jayje.” Emily puffed out between giggles.

Gasping JJ threw a fake glare at the brunette, grabbing for the phone to see for herself. Gasping again, she threw a hand up to her chin using her sleeve to wipe at the mess she had seen resting on her chin in the photo.

Continuing to laugh, Emily took her phone back from JJ before she had chance to delete the photo. Making a mental note to post it in the BAU group chat later, Emily placed her phone down on the table and reached out to still the blonde’s arm, pulling it down and replacing it with her own.

“I got you,” Emily said, wiping away the remaining ice cream from her wife’s chin, still unable to contain her giggles.

“There, I got almost all of it.” She stated, matter of factly.

“What do you mean, almost all of it?” JJ exclaimed, her eyes shooting up to meet the older woman’s, challenging her with screwed up eyebrows.

Rather than replying, Emily leaned forwards, poking her tongue out for a quick taste before sucking on the final bit of ice-cream that was stubbornly stuck to the corner of JJ’s mouth. Tasting the chocolatey goodness on her lovers mouth, she couldn’t help herself, claiming JJ’s lips with her own, slowly enjoying the way the chocolate was complementing the taste of the other woman’s lips.

So engrossed in the sensation of kissing JJ clean, Emily hadn’t noticed that the younger woman had sneaked her own phone off the table. Before she could object, JJ took a cute photo of the two of them kissing. The sound of the pretend shutter brought Emily to her senses, forcing her to break away from the blonde to see what was happening.

JJ sat there with a grin from ear to ear at the questioning look on Emily’s face.

“What? You’re not the only one who gets to take photos,” JJ offered, turning the phone so Emily could see the picture of them kissing.

“I guess it’s kinda cute?” Emily stated, still unsure as to why on earth JJ had decided to take the photo, but secretly thrilled that it had happened.

Before they could discuss anymore, they heard their sons shouting for their mommies, encouraging them to hurry up so they could finish the trail. With no objection from the women, they quickly cleaned up, forgetting about the photo that had just been taken.

Arriving home that evening after a long day of running around, climbing on things, chasing each other, and a lot of laughter, it wasn’t long before the boys were in bed, each clutching at their prizes from the treasure hunt.

Pouring a glass of red wine for them both, Emily waited in the lounge for the return of her wife, making herself comfortable on their sofa, swiftly pulling her phone out to pass the time. Deciding to have a rare scroll through Instagram, she found herself smiling fondly at a selfie of Penelope, Luke, and Roxie, double tapping to express her approval. The next photo was one Derek had posted of Hank with a football in his arms, he was getting so big now, Emily could hardly believe it, she liked it and scrolled again. She was greeted with a photo of Henry with his arm around Michael’s shoulder, both boys boasting with their medals from the treasure hunt. Her smile reached her eyes as she just admired the photo of their sons.

Realising there was more than one picture posted, Emily scrolled to the left, enjoying the next picture of the boys both crouching to look at a clue intently. Taking a sip from her glass, she scrolled once more and almost choked on her wine as she saw the photo of her and JJ kissing on her phone screen.

It was at this moment JJ made her presence known, clearing her throat to grab Emily’s attention.

“Whatcha doing?” She asked with a mocking tone to her voice, knowing full well what Emily was doing, she’d been stood in the room for a good minute, watching her wife scroll through the photos of their sons.

“Uhh, Jayje, did you... did you mean to post this?” Emily reached the phone out to show JJ the picture in question.

Taking the phone and the wine glass from her wife, JJ gently sat down beside her, placing the glass on the coffee table and pulling her legs up so she could sit facing her.

“Yeah, why?” JJ asked, looking at the photo and smiling to herself.

Surprised that JJ wasn’t embarrassed by the photo being shared publicly, and by how calmly she’d responded, Emily wasn’t really sure where to go from there. Clearly it wasn’t a big deal to the blonde, and knowing that it was intentionally posted, Emily relaxed a little bit.

“Huh, I don’t know... I just thought that it was an accident.” Emily looked into her wife’s eyes, smiling as she saw the unfiltered love swimming in them.

“Baby, I want the world to know you’re mine.” The blonde replied.

And with that, JJ slipped into Emily’s lap, leaving the phone where she had been sat. Placing her knees either side of Emily’s thighs, she locked her hands behind her wife’s neck and brought her forehead to rest against the other woman’s.

Emily’s hands instinctively clutched at JJ’s hips, pulling her closer. She slipped her thumbs under the edge of her lover’s top and began tracing slow circles against the silky skin there.

Lifting her chin so their lips were almost touching, Emily couldn’t help but gulp at the intensity of JJ’s stare.

Just before their lips connected, Emily breathed in.

“Jennifer Jareau, a picture's worth a thousand words, but here are four: I am forever yours.”

[buckybarnesbingo]

What the Pic?

Participants: @ariasfandom, @rebelmeg, @wolfnprey, @ladydarkphoenix-blog, @bookdragon13, @liquidlightz, @jeminamoonnight, @caiti-creative-corner, @ribbonsflyingoutthewindow, @ibelieveinturtles

@ariasfandom - Bucky started watching Oobi and wanted to make an OC of it

@rebelmeg - all sam wanted to do was sleep in.  that was it, that was all he wanted out of a saturday.  which, of course, was the first thing his annoying houseguest decided to ruin, with a fist in his face at the crack of dawn.  a fist wearing googly eyes.  "bucky, what the hell?"

@wolfnprey - This is the default picture Clint sends out when he's judging. Bucky retaliates by posting his own in the vents and hides Clint's arrows.

@ladydarkphoenix-blog - Bucky gets caught watching kids(Sam's nephews, Clint's kids, insert kids here} unaware but has no idea how to entertain them so somehow ends up telling stories with his hands playing characters that are surprisingly effective

@bookdragon13 - Bucky gets drunk on Asgardian mead and thinks it’d be hilarious to put googly eyes on his metal hand and make it talk for him the rest of the night

@liquidlightz - Being an Eldritch deity apparently wasn't as awe inspiring as he'd always assumed himself to be, given that his host was entirely un-phased and thought it was funny to make puppet hands out of him and make up silly stories.  The fact that he found this insult highly entertaining was even worse for his ego.

Keep reading for more!

@bookdragon13 - Bucky buys that for Clint after staying with him for a couple days. Clint absolutely loves it Of course

@rebelmeg - "likl.  likl?!  who approved that?  how did that make it to store shelves!  this is a disgrace!" "bucky, you really need to calm down." "i'll calm down when that travesty is removed from my sight!" going shopping with bucky is never boring.

@ladydarkphoenix-blog - Bought as a gift for himself because Bucky found the misspelling hilarious and it would bug the most important of his guests by making them guess if he didn't notice that little detail or what was happening in his head. Watching them try to deal with it gives Bucky much joy

@wolfnprey - The group stares, unimpressed, as people in the gallery move around them. Nat and Tony insist that the artist is just fucking with people, while Sam and Clint argue over how deep the meaning is. Bucky takes one look at Steve and knows his friend is dying a bit inside at how low art has stooped in the modern age. Bucky's nice enough not to comment that it's made out of a damn shower rug.

@ariasfandom - "Bucky, we live together. I know for a fact you didn't "wake up like this"

@liquidlightz - In the morning, his boyfriend told him how beautiful he looked, and how amazing his hair was, despite having mussed it all up during their passionate evening before.  Apparently Bucky didn't suffer from bed hair but from magically self-smoothing hair.  Ok, so maybe he used his magiks a little to keep it looking so good, what was the harm in that.  So when Bucky saw this in a store he just had to get it and put it by the foot of his bed.

@ladydarkphoenix-blog - Bucky never thought he'd be turned into a dog. He also never thought he'd be staying with Clint and his dog or that the kids in the building would try to disguise him like this

@rebelmeg - bucky wasn't sure to think when he opened his door one morning to find a dog on the step wearing graucho glasses.  he also wasn't sure if he should trust the note tied to the dog's collar that said, "pet me, i'm yours."  but either way, the spaniel was pretty cute, and it turned out to be a snuggler.  worst things could happen.

@ribbonsflyingoutthewindow - If you're going to name your dog Professor Diggory and you're going to ask Bucky to dogsit him, you should be prepared for the fact that Bucky’s going to accidentally make him an internet celebrity. Groucho glasses and the ability to pose very still for a picture while Bucky holds a pretzel between his lips is the easiest way to have a booming Instagram account in under a week. Bucky and Professor Diggory are practically professionals now. Don't be jealous.

@rebelmeg - it has happened every time.  every single time he goes to the mcdonald's closest to his house, they manage to mess up his order somehow.  actually, he's starting to suspect it's on purpose.  there had definitely been a smirk on the guy's face when he handed bucky his order through the window.  that might explain why his request for a cheeseburger with just ketchup had nothing but ketchup between the buns.  hmm.  this might mean war.

@ibelieveinturtles - Sick of working long hours at minimum wage, dealing with shitty customers amd an even shittier manager, Bucky decides its time to try that malicious compliance thing.

@ladydarkphoenix-blog - What's happened to customer service?!?! Back in his day if you made a simple request for a burger with only ketchup the kitchen was smart enough to know what you meant. Were they messing with him? Can they not figure out what a simple order meant? Bucky sighed and shook his head. He'd had worse dinners

@ribbonsflyingoutthewindow - So Steve's got a fuckton of allergies and quite frankly, Bucky doesn't even know what they all are, so telling the person at the drive thru that Steve wanted "a McDouble with just ketchup" was a precautionary action. He thought because he knew Steve was allergic to onions and dairy and mustard that it was safer to ask for only ketchup (probably Steve's only known safe-listed condiment) and potentially not be the one to accidentally murder a man he cared deeply about. But seeing Steve later open the hamburger bun to reveal a bun with a single squirt of ketchup inside made Bucky literally faceplant into his car horn. That was not what he fucking meant.

@rebelmeg - swaying gently in the tropical breeze that smelled like ocean and flowers, bucky smiled to himself.  he was staring up at the clouds and palm trees overhead, his hammock creaking just slightly.  off to his right, his favorite person in the world was sprawled on a towel on the sand, soaking in the sun and drinking some kind of fancy umbrella drink with a silly straw.  best vacation ever.

@ladydarkphoenix-blog​ - Steve made jumping out of planes seem so easy. He never needed a parachute, never seemed to have the aches and pains after. With a sigh, Bucky stared up at the sky. At least he had a good view.

@ribbonsflyingoutthewindow​ - Pic Summary:When Bucky, Sam, and Natasha agreed to share an AirBnB for their Hollywood vacation, they'd only planned to see some famous sights and maybe try to pose with someone as famous as the monkey from the Pirates of the Caribbean films. Then they'd discovered that arguably the two hottest actors in the entire film industry, Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, were sharing the house next door! Overnight it became a bet and then a high stakes fight to the (okay, not actual) death to see which of them could meet one of the two actors first. Bucky hadn't exactly been spying while he was standing hidden behind an open gate on their temporary neighbor's property, but he must have been well hidden anyway because the moment he went to run and hide, a sleek convertible pulled out of the drive and directly into a fleeing Bucky. He kind of hates that his first thought upon opening his eyes and looking up to see only trees and a cloudy blue sky above him was that at least he'd probably won the bet.

[writinginstardust]

Say Yes

Pairing: Alex Claremont-Diaz x Henry Fox-Montchristen-Windsor

Prompt:  “I thought we weren’t doing gifts!”

Warnings: It’s a little smutty towards the beginning but not explicit

A/N: No one actually requested this prompt but I was looking through them and inspiration hit and I just had to write this.

Word Count: 1727

*

Christmas morning started the same as every other. Henry woke with Alex in his arms, face buried in his chest, snoring softly. That moment never lasted long, Alex seemingly sensing Henry waking up and rousing soon after, but Henry was determined to savour every second of it today. After today, things would be different. A bit, at least.

He'd thought a lot about how he wanted to do this over the last year. Nothing too dramatic or public would do he'd decided, but he wasn't sure quite how to do it for the longest time. It was cliched doing it on Christmas but since they'd agreed not to do presents this year - why, Henry couldn't remember - Henry had been inspired and come up with an idea to give them both a gift on the anniversary of when he'd made the decision. Alex couldn't be mad at him for breaking their pact for this.

Alex stirred in his arms, mumbling sleepily and nuzzling into Henry's neck. His heart stuttered at the action as always and he brought a hand up to run through Alex’s messy hair, tilting his head down to press a light kiss to his forehead as he slowly woke up. Eyelashes fluttered but refused to open as Alex shifted and pressed a kiss to Henry’s jaw, quickly following it with another, and another, and another as he blindly searched for Henry’s lips, smiling when he finally got there and kissed Henry properly.

His kisses were softer in the morning, sleep clinging to him and slowing his movements, connecting lightly and lingering wherever they landed. Henry loved it. He’d never thought he’d get to have anything like this, be allowed to feel this deeply and freely and have someone return it. He’d certainly never imagined he’d get to have this with Alex of all people and he wanted it forever. Hence Alex’s Christmas present.

“Mornin’ baby,” Alex mumbled sleepily against his lips.

“Good morning.”

“Wha’ time ‘s it?” Henry blindly reached for his phone on the nightstand to check.

“Half seven.”

“What time do we have to get up?” Alex asked, becoming a bit more coherent as his brain kicked into gear, though clearly not enough since he hadn’t twigged what day it was.

“Whenever you want, love. It’s Christmas. We don’t have to do anything.” Alex blinked up at him, the words taking a second to process, before realisation dawned. It was equal parts funny and adorable and Henry let out a little huff of laughter before kissing Alex quickly again.

“Well, merry Christmas then, I guess.” Alex was smiling now, his eyes bright and alert at last.

“Merry Chri-” Alex cut him off with a kiss, one with more purpose than all his previous ones, and Henry melted into it, hands gravitating towards his waist to hold him tight against his body.

“I know...we said...no gifts,” Alex murmured between the kisses he’d started leaving down Henry’s throat, his hand sliding lightly down the length of his body and making Henry’s breathing become more ragged every second. “But I’ve got you a little something. Would you like it now?” Alex’s hand paused at Henry’s pelvis, his knuckles brushing back and forth over soft pale skin as he waited for Henry’s answer.

“Is it really a present if you enjoy it as much as I do?” He asked with a teasing smirk that dropped from his face quickly as he let out a shuddering breath when Alex moved his hand closer to where he wanted it.

“It’s a loophole in our agreement. Do you want it or not?” He scowled up at the pedantic prince. He knew the answer of course, but now he wanted Henry to say it.

“Yes. Thank you.” Alex grinned and finally wrapped a hand around him, watching as Henry’s eyes fluttered shut and his lips parted on a near silent gasp.

He took his time unravelling Henry with his hands and mouth and Henry happily returned the favour afterwards, both of them left warm, contented, and sleepy when it was over. Henry would have given anything to stay wrapped up with Alex like this forever, but he couldn’t. Not now at least. Maybe later. If all went well anyway.

He wasn’t really worried about it, he tried to tell himself. He knew Alex loved him, had admitted to ‘feeling forever’ about him early on in their relationship, and would almost definitely say yes. But there was a slither of doubt and anxiety he just couldn’t shake. After a lifetime of never feeling worthy, it was hard to believe.

*

Watching Alex opening his presents with a fond smile, having already finished with his own, Henry fiddled with the little box in the pocket of his bathrobe. The waiting was killing him but he was going to stick to his plan. A few minutes longer with Alex as his boyfriend rather than his fiance wasn’t the end of the world. Finally, Alex was finished.

June shot a glance his way and he nodded subtly. She slid off the sofa and retrieved the final present from where it was hidden around the back of the tree.

“There’s another one for you Alex,” she said, pretending to read the label. “It’s from Henry.”

Alex took the box from his sister, not noticing as she pulled out her phone and started to sneakily record the whole thing. She was sure they’d want to remember this.

“I thought we said no gifts!” He said incredulously as he turned to his boyfriend. “Now I feel bad.” Henry smiled softly and rolled his eyes.

“Just open it.”

Alex tore the paper off and pulled the lid off the box inside, frowning at the folded piece of paper he was greeted with. He looked at Henry, question held in his eyes, but Henry just gestured for him to read the note he’d written. Hesitantly, Alex unfolded the paper and began to read.

Henry watched his face carefully, seeing his reactions play out freely as he focused on the love letter, not noticing Henry slip off his armchair and kneel in front of him. He pulled the the box from his pocket and opened it, not saying a word, just waiting patiently for Alex to finish reading. There were tears forming in the corners of his eyes now and Henry watched him trying to keep them at bay, failing completely by the time he got to the end. He put the paper down, finally laying eyes on Henry and the ring in his hands. He stared for a long moment in silence before whispering a single word.

“Yes.” 

Henry’s lips twitched and a little huff of laughter escaped.

“I haven’t even asked you yet.”

“Well then hurry up and ask me!” Alex slid off the couch to kneel in front of him, linking his fingers with Henry’s free hand and staring into his eyes.

“Alexander Gabriel Claremont-Diaz, pain in my ass, love of my life, ...will you marry me?” He barely finished the question before Alex was throwing himself into his arms and crying yes repeatedly, only stopping to kiss him senseless. The unexpected force knocked Henry onto his ass but Alex didn’t stop kissing him for a second, climbing into his lap and threading his fingers through soft blond hair.

Henry slid his hands to Alex’s waist and pulled him closer as he kissed back with the same passion Alex was using, neither of them caring that the whole family was there, and June stopped recording. With their permission, she’d share the video later and the world didn’t need to see all that. Finally, with flushed cheeks and elated smiles, they broke apart and Henry slid the ring onto Alex’s finger, a quick snap telling them June had captured the moment.

More snaps followed as Alex cupped Henry’s jaw and kissed him again, gentler, slower, but just as loving as before. He’d never felt so happy. He’d said before that Henry was his forever but now there was no question about it. He was Henry’s forever as well.

Later, when they were both out of their pyjamas and media appropriate, June took cheesy but classic couple engagement announcement pictures for them to post on Instagram, sending the ones she’d taken in the morning alongside them. Alex spent a long time looking at the picture of them kissing in their pyjamas when he and Henry snuggled into bed that night. The ring was clearly visible where he was holding Henry’s face and the love and joy seemed to radiate out of the photo, touching his heart and making him relive the moment in vivid detail. There was no way the royal or white house PR teams would be happy about him sharing such a messy, private, candid moment on social media but that was the real them. 

Normally he didn’t want the world glimpsing too much of their private life, happy to play the role he’d perfected over the years, the more media friendly version of himself. But there was something about this moment and this photo. This was them. This was something that meant the world to him and he wanted memorialised in some small way, shared so everyone would know how happy Henry made him. 

Forgoing the rules and the perfectly cute and acceptable options at his disposal, Alex uploaded the photo, only writing the shortest of captions before posting and putting his phone aside. It needed no explanation after all. 

Henry was looking at him fondly when Alex rolled onto his side to face him. He linked their fingers together, gaze catching on the ring once more before Henry tilted his face back towards his own and brought their lips together. They both ignored the incessant buzzing of their phones as they blew up, losing themselves in each other for a while instead. 

“I love you,” Alex whispered when they stopped.

“I love you too.” Alex looked down at the ring again, smiling softly and running his thumb over the smooth gold.

“That was the best Christmas present I’ve ever gotten. I don’t know how I’m meant to top that.”

“You already have.” Alex flicked his eyes back to Henry’s, a hint of confusion in them. Henry moved his face close to Alex’s again, pausing a breath away. “You said yes,” he whispered and kissed him.

*

Tag Lists: (send an ask if you want to be added!)

Everything: @wonderfilledness @writingbychelle @ad-astraaaa @moderngenius94

Firstprince: @alex-g-claremont-diaz

[softbiker]

Born to Run - Chapter 3

Warnings: some language, descriptions of injury and blood

Word count: 2.4k

A/N: Next chapter!! Things are going to start picking up from here - Bucky (and the rest of the gang) will be getting more involved, and making more of a mess. Thank you so much for your support of this series! As always, let me know what you think! <3

Three weeks. Three whole weeks.

It had been 23 days since Y/N moved out to the middle of nowhere, and 20 days since she had taken over her tiny clinic. She had seen tick bites and viral infections and strep throat and cysts. She had passed out prescriptions and signed insurance papers and given flu shots. She had unpacked all of her clothes into the tidy wardrobe and closet, once the mothball smell finally dissipated. And she had spent every single night alone in her house.

Y/N had thought that having roommates all through college and medical school was a necessary evil - though she always got along with them, the real dream was having a place all to yourself, right? No one coming in or leaving at odd hours, no one stealing your leftover takeout. No one to talk to. Ever.

If she had to spend one more night scrolling through Netflix by herself, she was going to jump in front of a semi.

Which was why she was standing in front of a now-full closet, flipping through dresses and shirts to wear, discarding and debating her options. When Charlotte had informed her of Back to School fair this weekend, Y/N had practically wept with joy. Charlotte was planning to take her two boys, Ethan and Caleb, and welcomed Y/N to join them for the evening - she jumped at the chance to do something, go somewhere. To wear something other than scrubs. That was probably why she had been in front of her closet for 20 minutes now - there were so many options when she hadn’t been able to wear her fun clothes in nearly a month.

She settled on a sundress and sneakers and made it out the door on the tail of an “On my way!” text to Charlotte.

The fairground normally doubled as a public park and playground on the outskirts of town. As she pulled into the vacant field across the street and parked her car, Y/N marvelled at the sheer volume of activity they were able to fit into such a small park. There was a ferris wheel, a swing ride, and one of those spinning g-force rides with a blinking sign that read ‘Gravitron’. The overwhelming smell of popcorn and fried foods drifted on the afternoon air, promising the most nostalgic foods imaginable. Carnival games and craft booths filled the park, boasting prizes and homemade goods.

Charlotte was waiting next to a white gazebo at the front of the park, a young boy with curly dark hair standing next to her. She caught sight of Y/N approaching from across the street and waved, her smile big and bright. Y/N waved back, jogging across the street to get out of the way of an oncoming truck.

“Hi,” she greeted, slightly out of breath. “I hope I’m not late?”

“Oh no! We just got here,” Charlotte smiled her easy smile, squeezing the boy’s shoulder. “This is my younger son, Caleb. He’s 10.” Caleb lifted his hand and quirked his mouth shyly.

“Hello, Caleb, nice to meet you,” Y/N gave him her warmest smile. “Don’t you have an older brother somewhere?”

“Yeah,” Caleb nodded, frowning a little. “But mom let him go with his friends.”

“Well, sorry baby, but 10 is just not old enough for boys to go off unsupervised,” Charlotte rolled her eyes fondly. “When you’re 13 you can run around with your buddies like Ethan. Until then, you’re stuck hanging out with your very cool mom.”

Y/N stifled her laughter as Caleb sighed a long suffering sigh. Charlotte just winked.

“Now, come on, I’m dying for some lemonade.”

The three of them had a blast exploring the fair; in spite of having only two adult females for company, Caleb certainly enjoyed himself, indulging in fried oreos and corndogs and sodas, and somehow still managing to hold it down when they rode the swings. Y/N won a small pocket knife in a ring toss game, which she talked the carnie into trading back for a superhero action figure that Caleb could play with. They sipped lemonade and listened to the live music from a country singer they had never heard of.

“Mom, can we go on the ferris wheel now?” Caleb asked, urgently tugging on her sleeve. “Look, the line is really short!”

“Honey, I think the cars only take two riders…” Charlotte trailed off, her meaning understood. She didn’t want to leave Y/N sitting out, or sitting with a stranger.

“No, no - don’t worry about me! I can stay right here and watch your things anyway,” Y/N insisted. “Really, I don’t mind. I’m not a big fan of heights anyway.”

Charlotte seemed unsure, but after a bit more coaxing she let Caleb drag her away to the ferris wheel before the lines got long again. Y/N smiled watching them go, licking the powdered sugar off her fingers from her funnel cake. They had had a fun afternoon, but she felt she should let them spend some time together with just the two of them.

Wringing an overused napkin in one hand, she scrolled through the photos on her phone. Between the late afternoon sun and the fairground backdrop, she had taken some nice pictures. She should post one on Instagram, probably. Just to let everyone know she was still alive. Her thumb swiped through her phone and tapped on the app, pulling up a timeline full of bright smiles and baby photos.

“WE GOT A DOCTOR HERE?!”

Y/N’s head whipped around so fast her neck popped. Who said that?

“MY FRIEND NEEDS HELP! ARE THERE ANY DOCTORS HERE?”

A dark-skinned man in a blue t-shirt was running in between picnic tables and shouting, turning back and forth in his search.

“I am! I’m a doctor!” Y/N shot up from the bench, maneuvering around her purse and Caleb’s prizes. She waved a hand at the man. “Over here!”

His face briefly softened in relief, then intensified again as he jogged between tables towards her and grabbed her wrist.

“This way, doc, he’s really bleeding a lot,” he said over his shoulder, weaving between couples and children and cotton candy vendors. Y/N’s heart pounded, adrenaline sharpening her focus.

“Have you called an ambulance already? If it’s more than I can handle, they’d better be on their way - the hospital is too far.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he gave a sharp nod. “But somebody told me we had a new doctor in town - figured it was worth a shot to see if you were out here tonight.”

They rounded a shooting gallery game and she saw him, sprawled out on the grass and face covered in blood. That would be the patient, she assumed. Blood flowed from a gash on his forehead, slicking his face and neck like something out of a slasher flick. He was conscious, sputtering and spitting blood from his mouth as he tried to talk to the man that was holding his head and shoulders in his lap. Y/N was at his side in a second.

“How did this happen?” she questioned, all business.

“Uh, he fell, hit his head on one of the stakes holding up the tents,” the man holding her patient’s head spoke up.

Lie. A very obvious one, but fine. Without sparing the other man a glance, Y/N leaned forward over the bleeding man’s face.

“Sir, can you hear me? I’m a doctor, I’m going to have a look at this cut, alright?”

“ ‘kay,” he mumbled, nodding. The blood around his lips was starting to dry and crack.

Y/N glanced around, looking for something to stop the bleeding. With no other options, she unwrapped the denim shirt from her waist and pressed it to the man’s forehead, using both hands to increase the pressure. She turned to the man who had come to find her, hovering nearby and chewing his lip.

“I’ll need something to clean this with. Just warm water is fine if you can find it. Once I clean the blood off we’ll see if he needs stitches.” Nodding once, he disappeared into the crowd once again. Y/N turned back to her patient, lifting the shirt lightly to examine the bleeding.

“Sure bleeds like a bitch, don’t it?”

She actually jumped when the other man spoke - she had paid no attention to him, other than noting that he was holding his friend's head. She looked up. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me-

“We keep meeting in weird ways,” Bucky smiled ruefully at her from under his baseball cap. She blinked. Turned back to the matter at hand.

“I’d say this is a little different than shopping for brownie mix,” Y/N muttered. Who did he think he was, acting like this was some kind of meet-cute? And after the way he acted in the grocery store?

“You’re telling me,” he chuckled. His laugh jostled his friend’s head and shoulders a bit and the man groaned.

“Buck, stop flirtin’,” he said, exasperated. “You’re distracting the doctor.”

“Believe me, I’m the furthest thing from distracted.” Y/N rolled her eyes.

Bucky looked like he was about to say more, but then their other friend returned with water, towels, and a small first aid kit. They were helpful and followed her instructions while she cleaned the wound and wiped the rest of the man’s face - he was nearly as handsome as Bucky under all that blood, with a straight nose and sharp square jaw. She used a little disinfectant around the area and chewed her lip as she examined the edges of the cut.

“It looks like you’ll need stitches, Mr…?”

“Rogers. Steve Rogers.” His voice sounded a bit better after they had given him a sip of water.

“Alright, Steve. Let me unpack the kit here and see if we have a needle,” she nodded, reaching back and flipping the first aid kit open in her lap. Whoever packed the kit must have been a nurse or paramedic of some kind, because they had thankfully included a suture needle and surgical thread. She snapped on a pair of gloves and opened the sterile plastic packet containing the needle. “Sorry, I don’t think I have an anesthetic.”

“It’s alright, doc,” he sighed. “I think the Army might be ashamed of me if I can’t handle a few stitches.”

“He’s had plenty of stitches before - hell, he’s had more than anybody I know,” Bucky piped up. “He can handle it.”

“Thanks a lot, jerk,” Steve scoffed.

“You’re welcome, asshole.”

“Y’all wanna shut up and let the doctor do her job or what?” the other man, Sam, she had learned, glared at them both.

“Alright,” Y/N took a breath and threaded her needle. “If you need to bite something or squeeze something do it, just stay still.”

Steve was a model patient, he didn’t even flinch as the needle tugged the tear in his skin closed, though he hissed through his teeth and clenched his fist down on Bucky’s hand. Sam crouched down next to them and watched intently, but stayed quiet. They watched her work, hands steady and efficient. Y/N enjoyed the focus that came with her work - she blocked out the fair rides and the screaming children and country music. Her vision closed in on the needle and the skin, carefully weaving and tying the wound closed.

When she finished and cut the thread, she sat back on her heels and sighed, shoulders slumping. “Okay, Mr. Rogers. I think you’ll live.”

Steve smiled a crooked, all-American grin. “You’re a miracle worker, doc.”

“Hardly,” she scoffed. “Just faster than an ambulance. And actually, if you really did hit your head on a metal stake, I think I ought to check for a concussion.”

Bucky and Sam helped tug him to his feet so she could check his coordination and shine her phone flashlight at his pupils. He insisted his head didn’t hurt or feel dizzy, so she cleared him, though they did let the paramedics have a look when they finally arrived.

A few minutes later she was standing to the side, arms crossed, as she watched the ambulance pull away. She felt more than heard his heavy-booted steps come up beside her, but she didn’t turn to look.

“You did a great job, doc,” Bucky offered, trying to catch her eye.

“Thank you.”

“Lucky you were here.”

“It wasn’t a deep wound, he would’ve been fine waiting for the ambulance.”

“Still.” He took a half step forward, into her eye line and she turned to face him fully. His expression was full of something she couldn’t quite make out - hope? Admiration? Gratitude? Bucky’s eyes roamed her face, unwilling or unable to move away. The longer she held his gaze, the more she felt that something unspoken was passing between them, something she couldn’t articulate. But it was too much, whatever it was.

Y/N took a step backward, breaking eye contact as she glanced towards Steve and Sam, sitting at a picnic table 20 feet away.

“Keep an eye out for your friends. Wouldn’t want them to keep falling on sharp objects,” she said, continuing to back away from Bucky. He shifted his feet as if he wanted to follow, but decided against it. Without giving him a chance to speak, she turned on her heel and left.

Caleb spotted her first when she was back in sight of their table. He tugged on his mother’s arm and pointed; Charlotte visibly melted in relief when Y/N met her eyes and waved.

“We were worried you’d been kidnapped or something!” Charlotte half-joked as she approached. Y/N grimaced, realizing she had left their things out in the open - thank god it looked like nothing was stolen.

“I’m so sorry, there was an emergency, a man had fallen and cut his head,” Y/N rushed to explain, noticing Charlotte’s eyes dart down to her dress. Y/N’s eyes followed. “...and clearly, there was a lot of blood.”

“Jesus. It’s a good thing they found you, huh?”

“I guess so,” Y/N shrugged lamely.

“Who was it? Did you catch a name?”

“He said Steve Rogers?” She didn’t quite catch Charlotte’s eyes widening as she continued. “His friend was there, Bucky Barnes. He’s my neighbor across the street.”

Charlotte’s face looked pinched and she had a white-knuckled grip on Caleb’s shoulder, but she managed a pained smile.

“Oh. Well I guess you’ll be wanting to head home and get into some clean clothes?” Her words were strained. “We had a great time tonight, see you Monday!” And then she was practically dragging Caleb away at a clipped pace, just slow enough to seem sane.

What the fuck is going on in this town?

[cakesunflower]

Quiet Hours [College!Luke AU] Ch. 7

Previous Chapters: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6

Chapter 7

INSTEAD OF FINISHING up her homework like she was meant to, Ophelia was leaning back in her wooden chair, scrolling through every social media she was a part of instead of writing her paper for her women and gender studies class. It wasn’t due until Friday night, and it being only six o’clock on a Wednesday gave her enough of an excuse to procrastinate. She had posted a selfie on her Snapchat, complaining about being bored despite having homework to do before busying herself by scrolling through Twitter.

It wasn’t long until she got a notification from Snapchat, telling her she had a message from Calum. They all had exchanged numbers, Snapchats, and Instagrams after going to the movies together the week before, though this is the one time there’s been any sort of communication between either group through them other than just liking pictures and viewing their Snapchat stories. Ophelia’s brows rose when she read Calum’s message of the guys and I are gonna be chilling later tonight with some wine and food and video games. You girls wanna come?

She blinked at the message before smiling fondly and looking at her friends. “Calum’s inviting us to hang out with him and the boys later. You guys down?”

The three other girls looked up at her before exchanging looks, shrugging and nodding as Laurel grinned, “wine Wednesday with cute boys? Hell yes.”

Ophelia snorted at her friend’s words, responding to Calum that they’d be there and bring a bottle as well. As she put her phone down, she felt a buzz of excitement at the prospect of spending time with Luke once again. Ophelia told herself to relax, reminding herself of the kind of guy Luke was—he wasn’t a bad person, not at all. It was just his continuous, suggestive comments that made Ophelia’s heart jump in her throat and thrilling tingles to arise in her skin. Truthfully, Ophelia couldn’t tell if he was joking or what whenever he made comments about the two of them, and as embarrassed and flustered as she got every time he brought it up, she found herself yearning for something to actually happen. Yet, she wasn’t sure if she actually liked the boy, or if she was merely attracted to him.

College boys were an enigma all on their own.

By the time the girls were done with their homework, it was seven-thirty, so on their way back to their dorm they stopped by the campus deli to eat dinner before going to their apartment to drop off their stuff. Ophelia swiped the unopened bottle of Pink Moscato from their kitchen before knocking on the door to the right of their apartment, being happily greeted by a smiling Ashton.

“Come on in,” he greeted, stepping aside to let the four girls inside. Seated on the couch in the living room opposite of the door were Crystal, Michael and Calum, controllers in both of the boys’ hands as they played a soccer video game on the TV and Xbox that was just a few feet away from the door. Crystal greeted the girls with a smile, but when neither boys’ attention strayed from the TV, Ashton shut the door and called, “hey, dickheads, we’ve got guests. Be social.”

The girls laughed lightly as Michael and Calum finally looked up, pausing the game to greet the girls by standing up and giving each of them a hug. Crystal got the boys to scoot over so at least one of the girls could sit with them, and once Tanya settled on the end, Isabelle and Laurel sat on the two chairs on either side of the couch facing the wooden coffee table.

Ophelia, who was still standing, looked at Ashton and held up the bottle as she quirked a brow, “we drinking?”

The hazel eyed boy grinned, dimples in view as he nodded his head towards the kitchen. “Cups are in the kitchen.”

She followed him into the joint kitchen, catching sight of the other Pinot Noir and Merlot bottles on the counter, as well as the couple of bottles and cans of beer. As Ashton pulled out the red solo cups and Ophelia uncapped her bottle, she saw Luke emerge from the hallway, dressed in grey sweatpants and a black hoodie that read FUCK OFF in an intricate font. The blonde stopped at the end of the hall as he took notice of how the room doubled in people the last time he was in there, brows raising in both confusion and mild surprise.

“Hey, bro,” Ashton greeted as he came to stand next to Ophelia, with plastic cups in either hand. Luke looked over at his friend, giving him that typical sup nod that guys do, before doing a slight double take at the girl standing next to him, eyes ever so slightly widening. “You want wine or beer?”

Luke wandered over, standing on the other side of the counter opposite of Ophelia with his hands splayed out on top of the marble top. He kept his blue eyed gaze on the brunette, answering his friend’s question with, “beer.”

Ashton reached over and handed his friend the can of Corona, which Luke took without straying his stare from Ophelia. The girl, however, dropped her gaze as she got the bottle open and took a cup, pouring some of the pink liquid into it. Requests from the others in the living room sounded as Crystal came by to help, the two girls and Ashton getting the drinks for the other lazy bums.

As Crystal and Ashton walked into the living room to hand Michael, Calum, Laurel and Tanya their drinks, Ophelia stayed back to pour Isabelle’s wine. Unfortunately, Luke stayed put on the other side while lifting the can and chin tilting back as he sipped his beer, gaze still on Ophelia which only caused the girl’s hand to shake as she poured the wine.

He was making her nervous and Luke knew it, smirking into the small rim of the can as he watched the way Ophelia bit her lower lip as she willed her hand to stop shaking like she was having a seizure. Please stop looking at me, she silently begged, her gaze on the liquid she was pouring while swallowing inaudibly.

Luke found it endearingly amusing, and the knowledge of him seemingly having such an effect on Ophelia only served to swell his ego and make his heart do stupid leaps in his chest. When Ophelia finished pouring, she mentally thanked God for the finished act as she picked up the two cups and walked around the counter, ignoring the heat of Luke’s gaze as she handed Isabelle one of the cups before taking a sip of her own. The sweet taste danced on her tongue nicely as she took a big gulp, despite knowing that unlike vodka, she got drunk off of wine surprisingly fast.

Calum had been nice enough to bring out two floor pillows he apparently had in his room, and Ophelia sat down on one in front the coffee table and felt her back go slightly rigid as Luke sat down right to her left. Ophelia silently sipped her wine as Michael and Calum’s game ended as there was a unanimous agreement to find something to watch on Netflix, and from the corner of her eye saw Luke lean against the table with his right knee brought up and left leg folded, arm propped up on his knee as he took sips from his can.

Truthfully, they were all having a nice time; they had decided to watch Stranger Things since Laurel and Isabelle hadn’t seen it it, prompting Michael to choke on his wine before quickly playing the show. The bottles were brought to put on the coffee table for refills, and Ophelia was on her third glass while Luke had changed from beer to his own cup of wine. He was on his second cup, while the warm and fuzzy feeling Ophelia got from drinking wine took its effect rather quickly.

She sank down slightly where she sat on the floor, the nearly empty cup in her hand as the light feeling overcame her. Honestly, Ophelia loved being wine-drunk; it made her feel calm and want to cuddle with anyone willing, whereas any other alcohol got her dizzy and nauseated. After she finished off the drink, she twisted around to put her cup on the coffee table before almost forcefully leaning back with her head lolling to rest on the wooden table instead of keeping her gaze on the television right in front of her. She felt goosebumps rising on her skin, the apartment colder than what the girls keep their own.

“You tired?” came Luke’s quiet, deep voice that startled Ophelia to straighten her head. She turned her head to look at Luke at her left, who was comfortably leaning back on the table with his gaze on her. Even when he sat he was taller, his eyes lowered to lock with hers.

Ophelia smiled a grin that Luke found utterly adorable, peering up at him with green eyes that were ever so slightly glazed over. She was a bit drunk off the wine, both of them knew, so all of her previously existing shyness around Luke was out of the window for the night. “No, just cold,” she answered, legs splayed out in front of her and arms crossed. She was only wearing black leggings and a simple purple V-neck.

“Yeah?” Luke quirked a brow, mindful to keep his voice low since everyone was watching the show. He then sat up slightly, right hand reaching to his upper back to grab his sweatshirt from behind before proceeding to lift it off his head. His blonde curls became even more tousled then they already were as the material came off and he held his sweatshirt out to her with a small smile. “Here.”

She felt her heart thud in her chest at his sweet offer, her smile widening and cheekbones rising at the action. Luke, a bit inhibited as well from the beers and wine he consumed, was extremely tempted to just lightly pinch her cheeks between his pointer finger and thumb. Ophelia took the clothing piece and pulled it on, oblivious to the others sitting behind them and probably watching them as she pulled her hair out from under the sweatshirt and was suddenly intoxicated by the familiar scent of Luke, as well as some nice laundry detergent.

Luke ran both of his hands through his hair to push it back, taking in a breath at the sight of the brunette practically swimming in his sweatshirt. He leaned back against the table and tried to focus his gaze back on the show, but he kept glancing at the girl to his right in his sweatshirt, looking so fucking adorable yet, somehow, unmistakably desirable. The fact that she could appear like both of those things simultaneously was driving Luke’s already tipsy mind slightly more crazy.

It didn’t help that at one point, while they were halfway through the first season of the show, Ophelia’s head began resting against Luke’s upper right arm since his height didn’t make it easy for her to reach his shoulder. As she did so, Luke tensed up at the unexpected contact as the familiar strawberry scent became stronger with Ophelia’s head right there, yet he found himself relaxing almost immediately after. Glancing down at the girl, he saw her watching the show, a content expression on her face, while his eyes then flickered to her lips; pink, pouty lips that he always found himself looking at whenever she came into view.

By the time the group of them finished the first season, it was nearly two in the morning and everyone decided to call it a night. It was Wednesday, after all, and they all had classes in the morning—although, the boys’ had afternoon classes. The girls began standing up, Tanya slightly stumbling because of the alcohol coursing through her system, while Crystal bid them goodnight and followed Michael into his bedroom.

Everyone was getting up to either go into their rooms or apartment, yet Luke and Ophelia remained on the floor. She was still leaning her head against Luke’s arm, swimming in Luke’s sweatshirt and, God, the position was so comfortable, she didn’t want to get up. Conveniently, the rest of the boys had gone back into their rooms after cleaning up the living room and bidding goodbye to the girls, most of whom had left. Isabelle stood in the doorway, quirking a brow down at the still seated people.

“Lia? You coming?” she asked, light amusement dancing in her tone as she kept the door open.

The green eyed girl, for the first time since she laid her head against Luke’s arm, finally lifted it to look at her friend. Luke’s eyebrows furrowed lightly at the loss of contact, his gaze going to Ophelia as she hummed. “Yeah, I guess so,” she said lightly, the warmth still in the pit of her belly from the wine. It felt so nice.

“Or you could stay,” Luke blurted, clamping his mouth shut right as the words slipped past his mouth. Ophelia’s gaze snapped over to him as their eyes locked, with him ignoring the knowing quirk in Isabelle’s eyebrow. Fucking hell, did I just say that? Luke took in the surprised expression Ophelia wore, clearly displaying what he was feeling. Had he really just asked her to stay?

Ophelia didn’t know what that meant. Did he want her to stay just to stay, or did he want to do something? Either way, the airy feeling in her chest and the lack of shyness had her smiling that lazy smile she did whenever wine was involved. “Okay,” she agreed, her tone soft yet loud enough for both Isabelle and Luke to hear.

The black haired girl then took it as her cue to leave, bidding them goodnight that she doubted they heard as the door shut behind her. Now it was just Luke and Ophelia in the living room, on the couch as they stared at each other in silence and wondered where the hell did they go from here, after Luke told her to stay. Truthfully, he didn’t think she would say yes; the words had just slipped past his mouth without the normal filter in his brain, taken down by the alcohol he had consumed. It was the same reason why Ophelia had agreed so easily.

Luke’s Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat, Ophelia’s gaze flickering to it as she thought what it would be like to kiss him there. “D’you. . . You wanna head to bed?”

Her heart lurched in her throat excitedly before she nodded, watching as Luke got to his feet and offered his hand to her. Rolling her lower lip into her mouth, Ophelia took his left hand in her right, feeling the cool metal of his rings against her warm skin as he effortlessly pulled her to her feet, before leading her down the hall to his bedroom after shutting off the living room lights, yet never letting go of her hand. All the while, Ophelia was trying her best to stop the smile on her lips from growing, stemming from both the wine and the fact that she was about to go into Luke’s room for the second time.

Luke asked if she wanted to use the bathroom before going to bed, and she nodded before quickly walking into it across his room, shutting the door behind her and quickly emptying her alcohol heavy bladder. As she washed her hands, Ophelia looked at herself in the mirror, letting out a slow breath. Luke’s sweatshirt was taking up her entire frame, ending a little past her mid-thigh, but it smelled just like him that she was reveling in the scent and the feel of the soft material.

Before leaving the bathroom, she caught sight of the bottle of the mint flavored Listerine, pouting her lips in thought as she wondered if she should use it. Going to bed with wine breath, no matter how good it tasted, wasn’t something she wanted to do. And going to her apartment where her toothbrush is isn’t something she was up for, either, because it meant leaving Luke’s apartment. It’d be awkward if she just came back after brushing her teeth, wouldn’t it?

So with a huff, she poured some of the liquid into her mouth without touching the rim, gargling and rinsing her mouth before drying her face and going back to Luke’s room. The very thought of entering his room thrilled her because even though she doubted anything would happen except them going to sleep, merely sleeping in the same bed as Luke was exciting. Briefly, Ophelia hoped he wouldn’t end up sleeping on the couch—it would just defeat the whole purpose of this.

Entering the familiar bedroom, she offered Luke an easy smile, something she wouldn’t have been able to do if it weren’t for the alcohol still mixed in with her bloodstream, and shut the door behind her. Luke had replaced his sweatpants with a pair of red and blue plaid pajama bottoms, his fingers ringless yet looking just as enticing. Pulling the covers back of his bed, he nodded towards it with a quirked brow and light smirk, “bed time?”

She ignored the pleasant tightness in her stomach as she heard his thick accent, nodding as she toed off her socks since her shoes were somewhere in the living room. Ophelia didn’t mind sleeping in her leggings, though as she neared the bed, she pulled her arms from out of the sleeves of the sweatshirt before pulling the material off altogether.

As she draped it on the chair by Luke’s desk, he questioned, “you’re not gonna get cold?”

Ophelia bit her lower lip, the action lighting a fire in the pit of Luke’s stomach as she walked over with a playful grin. “Why need a sweatshirt to keep me warm when I’ve got you?” she rebuked easily, the words flowing from her mouth so effortlessly that she didn’t have a moment to think about them. Not that she would—inhibited-Ophelia meant shy-Ophelia was nowhere to be seen.  

Luke’s mouth dried at her words, inhaling a sharp breath as her grin widened and she crawled onto his bed, getting onto the side against the wall as the boy who was older than her by a mere year stared down at her in mild disbelief. He wasn’t sure if he was stunned that Ophelia had just said that, or because of the fact that she sitting on her bed, ready to go to sleep with him. And by sleep, it was meant to be the most innocent of things, no matter how badly Luke’s own inhibited self wanted to climb right on top of her.

Running his fingers through his curly hair, Luke turned off the light, enveloping the room in darkness save for the light streaming from the window. The streetlamp down below was quite bright, thin streams of light filtering through the blinds since Luke hadn’t gotten around to getting a curtain. Luke got under the covers, however, he didn’t lay down just yet. Ophelia was still sitting up, legs crossed and back against the cold wall as Luke leaned against the frame of the bed, curious as to why she wasn’t laying down.

The streams of the light from outside were laying across her face, green eyes glinting against them and pouty lips standing out. Luke found himself swallowing a newly formed lump in his throat, silently wondering to himself why in the world this girl had such an effect on him. She was just sitting there in pure silence, absolutely no sounds coming from anyone or anything, until Ophelia’s hand reached out and grasped one of the chains around Luke’s neck. He stayed still as her light fingers twirled the pendant between her fingers, the metal cool against her skin, as she leaned forward slightly to examine it.

It was a key, she noticed, and with a giggly smile she inquired, “what does the key unlock?” Before Luke could answer, she let out an excited gasp, eyes widening against the now one stream of light across her eye since she leaned forward. “Oh, my God—is it the key to your heart?”

Luke had to press his lips together to prevent the laugh from bubbling past, which was difficult because all he wanted to do was giggle right alongside the pretty girl. Her question was so sincere and innocent, making Luke’s heart do all kinds of weird shit before he murmured thickly, “yeah, sweetheart, it is.”

His answer brought the smile back on Ophelia’s face and Luke, feeling just as fuzzy in the stomach and chest and maybe head as Ophelia, wanted nothing more than to see her keep smiling forever. He watched as she kept her leaned forward position, left hand in her lap as her fingers of the other played with the key pendant. Ophelia tilted her head to the side, gaze still on the necklace as she mused thoughtfully, “I had a journal once, and I had to use a key to unlock it so I could write. It had all my secrets and thoughts and feelings.”

Luke realized that when Ophelia spoke with any type or amount of alcohol running through her system, she had the tendency of rambling ever so slightly, speaking without pause. He thought it was real fucking adorable. Luke’s head tilted back just a little, hooded-eyed gaze on the brunette as he inquired quietly, “yeah? What kind of thoughts and feelings would you write?”

Ophelia paused in her playing of the pendant ever so slightly, before the alluring smile grew on her pouty lips as she bit her lower one. Luke let out a soft breath at the sight because, holy shit, it was a sight. “Thoughts like. . .” she trailed off, her smile widening as she pressed the tip of her tongue to the roof of her mouth. God knows Ophelia knew how risky her next few words were about to be, but the rational and logical part of her wasn’t really present in the moment, so she couldn’t give a shit. Besides, if she embarrassed herself then, well, she could blame the alcohol. Her hazel eyes flickered up to meet Luke’s blue, the two of them taking that moment to realize how close they were. She was leaning forward and so was Luke, their actions slight yet enough to gradually close their distance. “How stupidly handsome you are,” Ophelia finished, her heart stuttering as she said this despite the somewhat nervous laugh that fell along with her words.

Luke’s own was at the risk of short circuiting as his mind registered her words, full lips parting as Ophelia’s gaze dropped to them. Her skin was warming because of how he was suddenly looking at her, gaze focused on her and only her as Luke shifted ever so slightly where he sat. Both of their hearts had picked up their paces, while both Luke and Ophelia wondered if the other could hear the way their hearts threatened to burst out of their chests. Both of them also knew what could potentially be coming next, which only enlivened them all the more. Luke found himself being unable to breathe; was it getting hot in here?

Honestly, the way his mind and body reacted to Ophelia was unfamiliar. He couldn’t remember the last time a girl made him feel the way Ophelia did.

She opened her mouth and Luke desperately realized she wasn’t done, practically twitching to hear what else she had to say as the anticipation and eagerness built up in him heavily. “And. . .” she began once more, her tongue briefly rolling over her lower lip and Luke practically choked as he suppressed the groan from sounding through his throat. Seriously. The power she had over him was ridiculous. Ophelia’s eyes were on him once more, her head tilting to the side before she finished effortlessly suggestively, “feelings of how badly I want you to kiss me.”

It was like he was finally being given permission for something he’d been craving for, for so long.

Because Ophelia was sitting on top of the covers, Luke’s hands grabbed her thighs and forced her legs to spread to bring her onto his lap, causing her to straddle him in one swift motion. She didn’t even have the chance to gasp at the sudden action when her lips were claimed by Luke’s, eyes immediately shutting at the feel of the soft skin against her own. Ophelia’s stomach was lurching excitedly and Luke’s mind was racing, but both of them found themselves melting into the feel of the other’s lips.

Luke’s fingers dug into the material of her leggings on her thighs, their bodies pressed up against each other’s as Ophelia’s hands reached up to cup his jaw, loving the way his facial hair tickled her palms. Luke’s tongue swiped across her lower lip, causing her to part her lips almost immediately for their tongues to meet in the middle. The kiss wasn’t too fast or too slow, paced just right as Ophelia tasted the wine on his lips and he tasted the minty mouthwash on hers, yet both of them reveling in them.

Her lips were just as soft as Luke had imagined, moving against his own in a way that easily hardened his dick right under Ophelia. She, on the other hand, could feel exactly what was going on, her skin lighting up with a rousing fire as her hands went from Luke’s face to his hair, threading her fingers through the curly locks the way she had wanted to for so long. She pressed herself into him, her chest pressing against his own as Luke’s hands went from her thighs to around her butt, tightening his grip to pull her even closer.

Neither could get enough, wanting to feel as close as they could as Luke softly bit at her lower lip, pulling it towards him as both watched the arousing sight through hooded eyes and heavy breaths. Luke felt his stomach clenching as he released Ophelia’s lip and the way her lips were parted so she could take some breaths, but he wasn’t done. Leaning forward one more, Luke’s lips attached to her jaw, trailing kisses down to where it met her neck before leaving even more down the length of it.

He left a fire in their wake on Ophelia’s skin, both from the kisses and the way his beard scratched at her skin, left hand at the back of his head and hands threading through his curls while her other hand lightly pressed against chest. Ophelia tilted her head back, eyes closed in utmost pleasure as her heart beat wildly in her chest to accompany Luke’s mouth working wonders. She felt him bite lightly at her sweet spot, the area just above where her neck and shoulder met, and her eyes squeezed shut as a shuddering breath expelled from her lungs.

Her body felt hot in the most glorious of ways as Luke bit a little more harshly, eliciting a quiet moan from Ophelia as his tongue soothed the spot he just marked, prompting the Australian to smirk against her skin. It felt just as soft as it looked, just like Luke had imagined.

His welcomed assault on her neck continued, biting and sucking down her neck and the column of her throat, even across her exposed collarbones as a whimper passed her lips when Luke bit down once again. The way he was working his mouth and the sensation left behind by his beard was enough for Ophelia’s grip on his hair to tighten, only making Luke smirk smugly against her skin.

He was aware things couldn’t go further than this, seeing as both of them were kind of drunk, and Luke honestly didn’t want to do anything other than this unless Ophelia was sure without the alcohol in their system. So he reveled in the way her ass felt through her leggings and the softness of her skin as he left her a countless amount of hickeys, coloring her flushed skin all the more. Ophelia tugged on his hair as he bit into her skin for the last time, eliciting a throaty groan from the blonde against her skin.

After that one last mark, Luke lifted his head to reconnect their lips, both of them easily melting into the softness and taste of the other while their erratic hearts ran wild inside of them. But neither of them could focus on anything but the fact that they were finally kissing after weeks of flirty looks and suggestive comments, and that it felt so fucking good.

--

tags: @crownedbyluke @irwinkitten @glitterprincelu @softforcal @mgcvocals @hotmessmichael @meetashthere @astroashtonio @hereforlukescruff @c-sainthood @captain-what-is-going-on @angelbbycal @babygirlcashton @calntynes @invisiblexcth @soulmatecashton @calumsmermaid @kchillout @thewackywriter @akacalciumhood @calumculture @ohhmuke @empathycth @flannelpunkcalum @poppedpins @novacanecalum @walkedhomealone @calistheloml @gettingjillywithit @hearts-to-the-sky @old-zeppelin-shirt @5sos-stan4lyfe @all-i-want-is2b-loved-by-you @calumthoodsyonce @xhaileyreneex @rosecoloredash @asht0ns-world @cxddlyash @mysteriouslycali @lmao5sosimagines @monsteramongmikey @calteahood @5secondssofssummer @sublimehood @biwriting @findingliam-o @isabella-mae13  

[larriefails]

Why being a Larrie is never "harmless"

A few months ago, I was having a conversation with a friend of mine who was a Larrie. She considered himself a "chill one" the type that would only reblog cute gifs and occasionally the "innocent" kind of theories, nothing more and nothing less. She had a very small blog with barely any followers, and Larry was just another thing about 1D for her. She didn't feel that strongly about it, she just believed it matter-of-factly. I told her what she was doing still wasn't harmless, she was defensive and didn't understand why I said that

So I did my best to explain to her why I believed that by using her own life as an example. She listened to me and when I was finished explaining, actually went livid and admitted that I was right. She wasn't harmless. None of the Larrie behavior was, no one with a blog or a tw or IG account propagating Larrie theories was without blame. They weren't just "innocently believing two boys were in love"

I'm copying, pasting, and editing exactly what I told her. This is specific to her life and her experience, so it'll have a few aspects that might not be relatable to everyone, but I think it can still have an effect on anyone that thinks their participation in Larry is harmless. My friend is Muslim and a lesbian, her family isn't aware of her sexuality at all, she's going to college in America. I wasn't trying to reason with her that Larry wasn't real (that would come later, and she would change her mind on that as well). I was trying to show her why it didn't matter whether it was or not, the speculation was still harmful, whether big, small, or anything in between

Imagine one of your college classmates believing you were a lesbian based on how you acted and other stuff. If he just talked about it with a friend over whatsapp or coffee then it'd be whatever, right? But now imagine that college classmate writing posts on tumblr or a thread on twitter explaining in detail why he thought that. Imagine if he used pictures of you (maybe that you posted yourself, or that your friends posted), if he analyzed how you captioned stuff, the words you used in class that one time, the company you kept, the clothes you wore. How would you feel?

I mean, he's right, you are a lesbian, but does that change anything? You can't have people that you don't trust knowing it, can you? And even if it wasn't true, you still wouldn't want random people to read that sort of thing about you, would you? Wouldn't it make you self-conscious of everything you do or say and how you do it or say it?

Let's add another layer to it. For some reason the posts your college classmate made about you get attention. He gets a ton of followers and one or two of them then start commenting "omg, you ARE a lesbian" on your instagram, bringing up what your college classmate said as proof. How would you feel then? I mean, it's not technically your college classmate's fault that these people are doing that, he can't control them. He didn't @ you or anyone involved with you. But he's the one that put it out there for public consumption when it was none of his business, so he's partially responsible for these people having access to laid out theories that wouldn't have been there if it wasn't for him

Now your sister replies to the comment "lmao no she's not" and then more people start reading your college classmate, who by now isn't the only person theorizing you're a lesbian. These people all agree that you must be closeted to your family, so they just tell your sister "well, of course you think she's not, but that's because she's not out to you, but there's all this proof, just look." And some other people might think that she knows but you haven't told your parents, so she's covering for you. So her denial would just be added to the pile of proof. Any action that you took against it would be added to the conspiracy on your sexuality. If you got close to a male friend, they would call him a beard. Your clothes would suddenly become either lesbian proof ("look how butch she is!") or proof that you're covering it up ("she's doing the femme thing on purpose"). They'd do the same with your hair, your makeup. They'd analyze your likes and dislikes, what tv shows you watch, what movies you enjoy, your speech and lingo, what classes you're taking and what classes you're not taking. Literally everything in your life would become fodder for this conspiracy. Every single one of your friends and family members that are publicly available would be pulled into it. They'd start to get harassed with questions about it. They'd be called liars if they denied it. Imagine people thinking that somehow you're coding your clothing to show that their beliefs are real, and that you're giving them a wink that, though you can't publicly admit to it, you appreciate their support because you don't get it from your family. You tell them "no, you're crazy, I'm just living my life" and people then analyze your body language and say that you're lying, or uncomfortable with what you're saying, or clearly showing signs that you're actually being covertly sarcastic. You liked one of Jack Falahee's ig photos, he plays a gay character in HTGAWM, that means you're subtly hinting that you're gay... People would get mad at your parents for forcing you to stay closeted, they'd start believing that they're doing you a favor because they're showing you that they support you for who you are

Wouldn't that be incredibly harming for you, with how your family is conformed and what their beliefs are? And aside from that, wouldn't it get incredibly exhausting to be scrutinized to that extreme? How would you feel if that happened to you? Wouldn't you be mad at anyone that shared any part of those theories, no matter how small their part on it was?

That's exactly what happened with Larry. Sure, they don't have religious families that will oust them, so in a sense, they would have less to lose than you in this potential scenario, but you'd have to multiply the potential attention a simple college girl could have by times a million. And even in the most timid Larrie theories, Harry and Louis are either not ready to be out as a couple, or could face huge backlash if it got out. The mantra of "we can't out them because we're just fans" could easily be applied to your college classmate and his followers, couldn't it? What's the difference?

The only difference is that Harry and Louis are in the public eye and, therefore, people are more interested in their sexualities and personal lives than they'd be of their regular college classmate. There's also a dehumanizing part of this because I think most people would feel weird making posts about how this college classmate of theirs is a lesbian, right? Even if human nature of gossip would maybe make it interesting for them and other people to want to know. Most people would never make posts like that, and even if some would, they'd called out immediately by others because "omg that's none of your business!" But somehow we don't give celebrities that same treatment. Just like you'd feel ?????????? if someone followed you around to get your picture or filmed you without your permission while you're at the gym. But these last two things, though they're still done to celebrities, are universally considered wrong and condemned. I just don't understand how the same can't apply to theories and speculation, and I don't just mean Larry, of course, it's just that Larry is so big and universal in this fandom that it gets to be an actual problem

Do what you'd do with your college classmates or neighbors and gossip with your friends on private chats or while having dinner together. I'm not saying "don't gossip at all" because that's unrealistic, I'm saying that people, especially if they consider themselves fans, should have some boundaries and not theorize over someone's personal life in a public platform where anyone can see and it can never be totally erased

I just think that when you take the "celebrity" aspect out of the actions, you can see them for what they really are. You wouldn't do that with your college classmate. The situation I just described is ludicrous and unfathomable, right? Like, just the thought of anything like that happening to you is ridiculous (and scary, I'm sure). Why is it okay when it comes to celebrities? I understand that speculating on that sort of stuff is kind of normalized by the media, but everyone should be responsible for their own actions and I can't excuse Larrie behavior under any circumstances. As small as those actions can be, and as small as their reach can be, it's still wrong. I would judge anyone that shared a thread of "proof [name of my friend] is a lesbian!" on twitter. I would think they're gross even if they have one follower. Even if they just liked one tweet out of a large thread. I don't see any difference whatsoever when it comes to Larry

[loeyparker]

have you ever been in love? - reggie mantle

word count: 2.328 (oops)

warnings: swearing, i mention death like once

plot: a quiz about love makes reggie think about you

a/n: plot was inspired by this . i wanted to write something short and cute and now it’s 3am and i wrote this long ass thing

part 2

“Alright, class,” The teacher spoke up, grabbing everyone’s attention. “Hence today is Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d give you all a short, small quiz!”

The announcement was met with a collective groan.

“It’s not that kind of quiz.” The teacher began handing out papers, a smile on their face. “It’s about love and even though it won’t get graded, try to answer the question seriously, don’t joke around.”

The jocks were all sitting at the back of the class.

Reggie sat next to Moose in the very last seats on the middle row, so they were amongst the last ones to receive their quiz. Upon scanning over the questions, they all snickered.

“Isn’t this too cheesy?” one of them asked, causing the others to laugh.

“There’s no way I’m taking this crap seriously, what the hell?”

“It says we have five minutes to complete this. Teacher, do I get extra points if I solve this in five seconds?”

The jocks all fooled around. They all found love quizzes stupid, a thing girls took online or in teen magazines. No way they’d actually sit there and do it.

You grew tired of their constant snickers so you turned around with a glare. Reggie immediately noticed your stare and hit his friends, making them fall into silence. When he looked back at you, you had already turned around, back to your paper. You seemed to be writing so, out of curiosity, Reggie looked at the quiz too.

“Have you ever been in love?” read the heading written in large, cursive black letters.

Reggie’s face went blank, all emotion draining from it. His friends were snickering, making jokes about the questions.

Reggie clicked his pen.

“Answer all questions. You have five minutes.”

Right underneath the big question and the instructions was a questionnaire.

Mark your answer: YES [x] or NO [x]

     1. You can still smell her/his shampoo on your pillow. YES [ ] NO [ ]

The question acted like a trigger because Reggie immediately found himself in this mental room of projected memories of you lying on his pillow.

He saw the first time you slept over at his house, when you borrowed one of his shirts and slept in it and it was cold and your legs were freezing and he could feel the sting in his legs when your skin brushed against his underneath the covers. And he remembered how he pulled you close and tangled your legs together, feeling his warmth embracing you.

He saw the countless other times you fell asleep in his bed, he saw your (h/c) hair sprawled on his white pillow when you fell with him on top of you, he saw the mornings when he woke up with you by his side.

And all he could smell was your herbal shampoo, the one you made him buy a couple of times. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

YES [X]

     2. You can still taste her/his toothpaste in your mouth. YES [ ] NO [ ]

His fingers instinctively touched his lips. Upon becoming aware of the touch, he tried to hide the action by faking a yawn.

The flashbacks in his mind changed to countless snippets of your face inching closer to his and he could even feel your breath, your lips against his, your hands on the back of his neck or on the sides of his face.

YES [X]

Define LOVE:

     1.The way the sun hits her/his hair at six in the morning [ ]

Yes, there were a few weekend mornings he spent looking at your sleeping figure but, for some reason, upon reading the sentence, his mind went to a school trip you had taken to a cabin in the mountains last December.

He couldn’t sleep at all one night so he decided to get out of bed and watch the sunrise. Reggie went downstairs and found you on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket with a cup of coffee in your hands, looking out the window.

The sun was already rising and its light embraced your face and he just sat there, on the wooden stairs, looking at you.

Your hair seemed lighter and shiny and even though it looked messy from not having brushed it after waking up, it looked perfect.

     2. Beauty [ ]

He remembered you walking down the stairs of your house on the night of the Winter Dance. Your hair was curled to perfection, your dress hugged your body as if it was made especially for you by all the Gods. Your heels clicked against the steps as you made your way down to Reggie, who was waiting right at the bottom for you.

God, he was so nervous that night.

Each step you took, every move you made, caused Reggie’s heart to skip a beat.

You were absolutely, incredibly beautiful.

     3.The moment of silence after your heart shatters [ ]

“My friends were right about you.” You told him that night, outside of his house as music blasted from the inside, dozens of cars were parked on the sidewalks and people were constantly walking in and out of the place. “You really are just a jock who doesn’t give a fuck about anyone but himself.”

All the background noise faded and all Reggie could do was shake his head, unable to speak or move, or apologize.

You had walked into the room right as he was telling his team-mates how he’ll definitely hit that in a few hours because you were so desperate, you couldn’t keep your hands off “the Mantle”. Right as the words left his mouth, he felt like shit. And he felt even worse when his friends began laughing.

He felt like dying when he noticed you behind him.

“I regret ever bothering to defend you.” You were so angry that night. Reggie could see your hands shaking and the tears rolling down your face and he wanted to scream and break things because he was so fucking stupid.

     4. All of the above [X]

“Alright guys, you have two minutes left. If anyone has already finished, please raise your hand and I’ll collect the papers from you.” The teacher spoke up.

Reggie looked up and saw your hand rising in the air, along with most of the students.

He turned back to his quiz, wanting to finish quickly before the teacher got to the back and collected his friend’s quizzes. The last thing Reggie wanted was the guys knowing he put effort into the thing.

TRUE or FALSE:

     i. You love her/him. TRUE [ ] FALSE [ ]

It was in freshman year when he knew.

You were in his car.

It was after a football game, one that he had lost.

The time was after midnight, it was dark and the car was stopped outside of town, close to the forest.

A song was playing quietly in the background.

Your left hand was tightly wrapped with his right one. Your palms were sweaty and your hearts were pounding. He was looking at you, taking in every feature, every freckle, every detail. He memorized the way your eyebrows arched and how your cherry lips curved, forming small dimples.

You were telling him that he doesn’t have to worry about the lost game because he was the most talented guy on the team and colleges were going to fight over him in a year or two.

“I love you.” He whispered, taking you off guard.

Your lips parted in shock, your breath became more rapid. “You do?”

He nodded, gulping. “Undoubtedly.”

That was the moment he first said those three words, the moment he truly knew he loved you. And he’s loved you ever since.

TRUE [X]

     ii. It was her/his fault. TRUE [ ] FALSE [ ]

“I only said all of that because the guys were there.” Reggie caught up with you on the hallways at school, the night after his party. “Come on, (Y/N) I was drunk and stupid and I never talk about you like that. I don’t objectify you.” He hadn’t slept that entire night. He just paced around thinking about how to apologize.

“Reggie, you’re two completely different people.” You spat. “You’re sweet and caring and incredible when we’re alone but you’re a complete dick when the guys are around!” Your words were gradually becoming louder.

“That’s not true.”

“Yeah, it is. It’s not just last night, Reggie. It’s every time! You think you have to prove yourself to them, you think you have to act like a machine with no feelings just so they keep viewing you as their Alpha.”

“You’re wrong.”

“I truly am not. You’re an ass around your posse and-”

“That’s just who I fucking am!” Reggie yelled all of a sudden and slammed your locker, causing the entire student body to grow quiet and look at you both. “Take it or leave it, fuck!” He shouted, not even aware of the audience.

FALSE [X]

     iii. If you were given a second chance, you’d kiss her in the rain the Sunday before it ended. TRUE [ ] FALSE [ ]

You two were on a date.

It was a spontaneous one. Reggie showed up outside your door on a Sunday afternoon and dragged you out of bed, made you get dressed and join him for a milkshake at Pop’s.

Reggie loved that day.

You got a booth and he sat next to you. He took about fifty photos of you that day and posted one on each social media platform he was on.  He posted a snap of you laughing, a boomerang on Instagram of you sticking your tongue out and he tweeted about three pictures –a selfie and two other photos of you (one of which he still keeps as his lockscreen).

It began raining about three hours into the date and none of you had even noticed. His arm was around you, your head was on his shoulder and you were just talking about nothing and everything. You breathed in unison, your hearts beat in unison.

You were in complete harmony with each other.

That was until his friends showed up and joined you and Reggie’s personality shifted.

“It’s really late, I should get going.” You got up at one point.

“I’ll drive you back.” Reggie followed your moves.

“There’s no need, I’ll ride with Kevin.” You assured him, pointing to your friend who was paying for his food, about to leave.

Reggie ended up walking you out though and it was pouring and you were both laughing because his hair was now in his face lying flat and your makeup was running.

Kevin was waiting in his car for you to get in and yet, you were just standing in the rain with Reggie, the tall, handsome jock. His hands were in his pockets because he knew that if he didn’t keep them there they’d immediately cup your face and he’d kiss you.

He wanted to kiss you so bad and so did you. However, Reggie’s jock friends were glued to the window staring at you both and you knew he wouldn’t act sappy in front of them.

So you just waved goodbye and got in the car, awkwardly.

Reggie has regretted not kissing you back then ever since. Especially since that was the last Sunday you two spent together.

TRUE [X]

     iv. If you were given a second chance, you’d turn right and never meet her/him. TRUE [ ] FALSE [ ]

Reggie went into the school’s library looking for a certain book he needed to borrow for English class, since he had forgotten to bring his own copy.

There were two main rows of books, one on the left and one on the right. In the middle of the room there were desks and computers.

Walking in, Reggie turned left without even thinking about it. That’s where he met you. In the left side of the library, in the fantasy section. You were on the floor, reading your favorite book. He had almost stepped on you.

Reggie ended up skipping English that day and he just hung out with you for an hour, on the carpeted floor of Riverdale High’s Library.

And ever since that day, he never once stopped thinking about you.

FALSE [X]

     v. You can’t regret a single moment that you had her. TRUE [ ] FALSE [ ]

Reggie sat there frowning, clicking his pen on and off as even more memories washed over him. Your first kiss, your second, third, 100th. Every night you spent together, every time he held your hands into his. Every game of his where he looked into the crowd and saw your face, cheering him on. Every time he touched your face, every time you touched his.  

TRUE [X]

     vi. It ended long before either of you said anything. TRUE [ ] FALSE [X]

It ended when he opened his mouth to impress his friends, and he was aware of that. He hated himself for it.

Reggie put his hand up, signaling the teacher that he was done.

“You took your time, Reginald. Good for you.” The teacher spoke as they collected his paper and Reggie just huffed and leaned back, trying to ignore the looks his friends were giving him.

He didn’t really pay attention to the teacher as they began reading the quizzes and telling students their “results”. His ears only perked up when he heard your name and he found himself growing anxious.

“Well, (Y/N), it seems like love really struck you at one point in your life.”

The jocks turned to Reggie once again, whose gaze was locked only on you. The rest of the guys shared a look.

“Same thing can be said about Reginald, you two are about the only ones here who truly know what it means to be in love.”

Reggie just clenched his jaw and looked down.

[slimegalaxies]

So one day I received a message on Instagram asking about the prices of my slime. Now I’m already going to stop right here and say that there were two red flags here I probably shouldn’t have ignored. One, the person wasn’t even following me. Now usually I’d be fine with that, but it was also coupled with the fact that my etsy link is IN MY BIO. If you want to know my prices, you can literally design your own slime and see how much it’ll be. Now, I made the biggest mistake that I urge you all not to do. In fact, just about every action was a huge mistake and I insist that if any of you are ever in this situation, you don’t deal with it the way I did. I gave what I THOUGHT the price was. Didn’t look it up, in part because this brat would spam me with whiny messages if I was gone for more than 10 seconds. I WAY underpriced my slime, and I couldn’t just go back on what I said the price was. Plus, it was 1.5 ounces more than usual. So not only was it at LEAST a dollar under my normal price for a 4 oz container of that slime, it was waaaaay underpriced for the size it actually turned out being. And here’s where I should’ve stopped altogether and not sold them anything. (Again, desperate for money.) I decided to be nice and just accept that I had screwed myself out of money, and I made them a custom etsy listing. Well they sent me messages and tried to scam me in the most ridiculous and unintelligent way possible; telling me they had already paid for it and asking when it’d be shipped. (In two different messages.) Like man, you know I can SEE when you order something, right????? I pointed out in a quite overly sweet and borderline passive aggressive way that I hadn’t gotten anything saying the order was paid for, and that it wouldn’t be shipped until I did. At that point they backtracked and insisted they had meant to send that first message to their cousin. (Yeah, sure. At this point I very highly doubt that cousin even exists.) They supposedly then went to go ask for money, and then came back saying they couldn’t buy it because they’re poor and asking if I could send it for free. Bitch I’m poor too that’s why I don’t just give slime away. I said at the most I could possibly send a very small slime (mistake 2). They then ended up saying their “cousin” wanted to buy the slime they’d asked for in the first place. Which I’d already made, so that’s fi- … but in white. So I ended up having to make more. Plus buy more clay to make it with since I didn’t have white. Now another thing to note. They asked for a picture CONSTANTLY. Every slime I made, they wanted a picture of- in the container, out of the container, even pictures of all my containers themselves. They kept asking if I had certain containers in different sizes- like man I just sent you pictures of all my containers obviously not. Plus you don’t get to be choosey when it comes to containers. (Especially when I don’t have them???) My slime, I package it the way I want. It’s a 5.5 oz thing of slime for like 2/3 of the price it should be, why the hell are you complaining. Anyway, they also CONSTANTLY asked about EVERYTHING. Like if you have questions that’s fine, but they were already on my nerves and just infuriating me. Every 5 seconds: Hey, what do you use to make sure the slime doesn’t arrive sticky? (Nothing??? That’s literally impossible it’s hot as heck out it’s gonna get sticky no matter what you do. Unless you overactivate it at first but that’s a risk I am not willing to take.) Where do you get your containers? What do you include in your orders? (They asked that at least twice, possibly three times) What does your note say? What candy do you include? (Like man it’s supposed to be a cute surprise stop) How do you make butter slime? It stressed me out more than anything else id ever encountered. Oh, and like I mentioned, if I was gone for more than like 10 seconds I’d get bombarded with messages. “Are you done with the slime yet?” “?” “Slimegalaxies” “??” LIKE NO I’M NOT AND I’M NOT RESPONDING BECSUSE MY HANDS ARE COVERED IN GLUE

I included an extra slime out of the goodness of my heart (mistake 3) They then asked if I could include two free slimes Oh but wait! Actually can you just send samples of every slime you have? I’m poor and I’ve never had slime before

Quit it with the “I’m poor” bullshit. So am i. That’s why I’m selling slime. SELLING. IT. NOT GIVING IT AWAY.

I said no to that one and they decided to be a picky little shit and make me change the type of extra slime to send. I did it (mistake 4)

When I was finally done, they asked about the candy, then literally asked if I could send a bag of cheetos. Kid I’m not your damn parent go ask them.

Obviously I said no. So I finally got it all together, they asked for pictures of the package and even asked if I could include something else that I don’t remember rn because I’m sleepy

Finally sent it, thought my hell was over with. Well apparently once they received it, they added too much activator at once to the fishbowl slime. And some of you probably know what happens then. It falls apart. Honestly, good lmao

They also told me it’s expensive for a “lil slime” Bitch???? That’s literally 2/3 of what the price should be???? I need to actually make money here???? Plus 5.5 oz is not “lil”

So I finally thought that was done. Then just a few days ago I get a message that they somehow broke the 5.5 oz container. Just straight up told them to go get Tupperware or a sandwich bag, which they conveniently didn’t have because “I’m pooooooor!!!!!!!!” I think they just wanted a free container. Also I trusted them even less because it was now obvious the cousin didn’t exist because they had the slime.

And there’s the story of the word thing ever

[healthandfitnessrecipes-blog]

How Screen Time Sets You Up For Disaster

https://healthandfitnessrecipes.com/?p=1103

By Dr. Mercola

Technology didn’t come about by accident, it’s a reflection of human will, or so claims the intriguing documentary, “Stare Into the Lights My Pretties.” Yet, with the rate of technological development continuing to grow exponentially, it’s unclear if anyone envisioned how society would become obsessed with staring at screens, such that our waking hours are dominated by them in one form or another.

In the beginning, there were only a few ways to get new technology funded, known as the ABCs. “A,” for armed forces, included ARPA, the Advanced Research Projects Agency, which commissioned the work that started the internet. “B,” for bureaucracy, refers to innovations such as government sites intended to deliver information and services, including online tax returns. “C,” or corporate power, made up the third arm, which drove the development of new products to draw in new markets.

According to Lelia Green, a professor and senior lecturer at the school of communications at Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia, who is featured in the film, “Google would offer many examples of corporate power driving development.”1 Yet, social engagement is the new driver of technology that has taken off more so in recent years. Green notes that distributed collaborators and everyday innovators are now an important driver of technology.

“The acknowledgement of distributed networks of collaborators allows recognition of the creative power of ‘harnessing the hive;’ the community of people engaged in a shared activity,” she says. “We see these alliances of enthusiasts working creatively and productively in gaming contexts, in wikis and on fan fiction sites — to name but a few,” but what does all of this mean, and what will happen if this technological culture is left to continue unchecked?

Are Machines Running Our Lives?

At the foundation of the documentary is the unsettling question of who’s really in control: the machines or us? The film gives some unsettling statistics of how integrated technology has become in our 21st century lives:

Over 3.8 billion people have access to the internet

There are 2 billion active Facebook users every month

The average adult spends more than eight hours a day with screens (more time than sleep)

Within the first 15 minutes of waking up, 4 out of 5 smartphone users check their phones

By the time the average person reaches 70, they will have spent the equivalent of 10 to 15 years of their life watching television, more than four years of which was just for the ads

What does this mean for your brain? “As a neuroscientist, I know that the human brain is changing. I know that it’s highly plastic … it’s very dynamic, it will adapt to the environment,” says Susan Greenfield in the film. But the environmental stimuli that come through screens may be keeping us permanently distracted. You read an article online, then see an instant message pop up or go to check an email.

Then you click on an advertisement, and suddenly are watching a video about an entirely unrelated topic. It’s easy to get swept away into the internet bubble, which can have both benefits and risks. Greenfield explained:

“I’ve often spoken about the benefits of screen culture being one of agile processing, but how that mustn’t be confused with content … it could be linked to high IQ, because the skills that you rehearsed when you play video games are similar to the skills required to do well on an IQ test.

You don’t need a lot of facts or infrastructure … but you have to be very agile at looking at patterns and connections and getting to an answer in a very fast time frame … just because, as many claim, we’re seeing an increase in IQ scores in many societies, we’re not seeing an increase in empathy and understanding.”

In a meta-analysis of 116 studies published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience,2 for example, which set out to determine what effects gaming has on your brain, the evidence suggests that video games may benefit attention, and video game players show improvements in selective attention, divided attention and sustained attention, as well as areas of cognitive control and visuospatial skills.

The downside may be their effects on reward processing areas of your brain. Many such areas have been shown to be affected in people with video game addiction, “an impulse-control disorder with psychological consequences, not unlike other addictive disorders, especially nonsubstance addictions such as pathological gambling,” the study noted.3 “On the one hand, yes it’s very good for mental processing, fluid intelligence,” Greenfield said, “ … but that’s not the same as understanding. Information is not knowledge.”

Are Screens Leaving Us Incapable of Deep Thinking, Addicted to Constant Scrolling?

Nicholas Carr, author of the books, “The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains” and “Utopia Is Creepy,” has found that with rising use of digital devices, millennials are experiencing even greater problems with forgetfulness than seniors.4 This is the “dark side” of neurological plasticity that allows your brain to adapt to changes in your environment.

This type of plasticity is one way your brain recovers after a stroke has permanently damaged one area. However, the consequences to children growing up in the digital era could be devastating. Carr said in the film:

“The human brain is particularly malleable when you’re young. If a person is brought up looking at screens … and being bombarded by information, then the question is will the brain circuitry necessary to do things like deep reading and deep thinking, will they ever come into being … or will they be wired for internet type of thinking?

I think the big fear is that we will end up with a generation of people who are very good at using the net and finding information very quickly but don’t really have a capacity for contemplativeness, concentration or deep engagement with information.”

There are concerns about addiction as well, with 40 percent of the participants in one study admitting they had some level of an internet-related problem and acknowledging they spent too much time online.5 Participants reportedly spent an average of five hours each day on the internet and 20 percent spent over six hours a day. By far the most common reasons for engaging online were social media and shopping.

Yet, overall social media use, and especially nighttime use, has been associated with poorer sleep quality, lower self-esteem and higher levels of anxiety and depression among 12- to 18-year-olds, according to research presented at a British Psychological Society conference.6 Greater social media use among young adults (those aged 19 to 32 years) was also significantly associated with disturbed sleep in a Preventive Medicine study.7

Further, a study of more than 1,000 people in Denmark further revealed causal evidence that “Facebook affects our well-being negatively.”8 Facebook users who took a one-week break from the site reported significantly higher levels of life satisfaction and a significantly improved emotional life, the study revealed.

Is Technology Amplifying the Voice of Corporate Control?

While the internet is viewed as a way to bring the world to our fingertips, there are those who say it’s actually a tool for amplifying the voice of corporate control. We tend to think about the internet as this medium where we can connect to everything and anyone, but in actuality most of the information is flowing through a couple of major gatekeepers, such as Google.

You can customize and filter what you see, but how these things are architected actually may keep you in a carefully constructed bubble. By customizing and individualizing your feed, you won’t even know what’s being kept out. But what happens to our communities, our relationships and our culture if we’re all existing in this “filter bubble,” this world of screens, designed primarily to get people to click more and view more pages?

It’s important to understand that, online, you are the product and corporations are seeking to gain more views of their content. Facebook, for instance, isn’t content to have the average user spend “just” 50 minutes a day. They’d rather it become a platform that’s on all day to become basically a background for your life. As The New York Times reported:9

“Facebook, naturally, is busy cooking up ways to get us to spend even more time on the platform. A crucial initiative is improving its News Feed, tailoring it more precisely to the needs and interests of its users, based on how long people spend reading particular posts

For people who demonstrate a preference for video, more video will appear near the top of their news feed. The more time people spend on Facebook, the more data they will generate about themselves, and the better the company will get at the task.”

Facebook actually uses a sophisticated algorithm to track your interests, who you talk with and what you say, and includes information about your age, gender, income level and a phenomenal number of other specifics that allow advertisers to target exactly who they believe will click on their ads.10 In the case of smartphone devices, these companies are contributing to programing your actions, and how you think and feel.

This is how companies satisfy their advertisers, who are paying for the privilege of your eyes on their ads. Some programmers call this process “brain hacking,” as they incorporate more information from neuropsychology into the development of digital interfaces that increase your interaction with the program.

For instance, getting likes on Facebook and Instagram, the “streaks” on Snapchat or cute emojis on text messaging, are all designed to increase your engagement and desire to return. Technology companies are in the business of manipulating your behavior, and there are privacy concerns as well.

Rebecca MacKinnon of Global Voices Citizen Media Network said in the film, “Surveillance is much more present in our online than our offline lives, and I think most people in the United States … are not aware of that because when police officers come into your house … and go through your cabinets and desk, it’s obvious. If they do the equivalent in your email, your online storage systems or your Facebook … you don’t even know. So you’re not going to raise a fuss about it.”

The fact remains that people are putting intimate details of their lives online without regard for those who could be using that information negatively. The film also points out that personal details you share online — from religious affiliations to sexual preferences to information about your family — could one day be used against you or in a way that could bring you harm.

Screens Expose You to Blue Light

Another little talked about variable when it comes to exposure to screens is blue light. Exposure to LED-backlit computer screens or TVs at night significantly suppresses melatonin production and feelings of sleepiness. When your brain “sees” blue light at night, the mixed message can add up to serious health issues.

In 2011, for instance, researchers found that evening exposure to LED-backlit computer screens affect circadian physiology. Among 13 young men, exposure to five hours of an LED-lit screen at night significantly suppressed melatonin production along with sleepiness.11

The issue extends far beyond sleep, however. LEDs have virtually no beneficial infrared light and an excess of blue light that generates reactive oxygen species (ROS), harming your vision and possibly leading to age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is the leading cause of blindness among the elderly in the U.S. LED lights may also exacerbate mitochondrial dysfunction leading to chronic conditions ranging from metabolic disorders to cancer.

If you view screens at night, it’s therefore essential to block your exposure to blue light while doing so. In the case of your computer, you can install a program to automatically lower the color temperature of your screen. Many use f.lux to do this, but I prefer Iris software for this purpose. In addition, when watching TV or other screens, be sure to wear blue-blocking glasses after sundown.

Are Machines More Important Than the Real World?

Ultimately, the documentary forces you to take a step back and think about the way technology has inevitably invaded your life. On the upside, it also offers the chance to make changes in how much it influences your daily activities. For some, taking a social media break may be the eye-opening change that’s needed, particularly if you find you feel worse after a browsing session.

You may also want to keep track of how much time you lose while getting distracted online — and devote that time to offline endeavors instead. If you find your life has become more focused on technology than relationships, now’s the time to make changes for the better, before it’s too late. As stated in the film, the risks can be steep:

“Do you touch plastic or human flesh more often? How many machines do you have daily relationships with, compared to how many wild animals do you have relationships with? If you have relationships with machines, you can come to think that they’re more important than the real world.”

Credits: Original Content Source