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greatooglymooglyyy · 2 months

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The Last Ride Chapter One (AU Cowboy!C.Sturniolo)

summary: when spoiled and sheltered city girl Y/N finds herself in running in the wrong crowd, her dad gives her an ultimatum. it's either spend the summer of her gap year on her uncle's ranch or face being cut off and finding a job. just when she thinks it can't get any worse, she meets Chris, the brooding farmhand who thinks he knows her type. but as the summer goes on, they both realize there may be more to the other than meets the eye.

requested and advised by @rootbeerworshiper

contains: cussing, family issues, arguing, bickering, emotional manipulation, 2.3k words

a/n: so fucking nervous and excited for this series guys. love ya so much. this is crazyyyy

series masterlist (reading the prologue is v rec'd)

******************

“Irresponsible-”

“Dad-”

“Wreckless-”

“Dad. I’m-”

“Inconsiderate!”

I sigh and close my eyes, letting my body slouch down in his office chair. I thought the fact that he sent me upstairs last night without a word meant he was going to be calm and collected this morning, but nope. I’ve been sitting here for twenty minutes while he’s been ranting and raving at me, not even giving me the chance to defend myself.

“Dad,” I say when he pauses again and stares at me. “I get it okay. I fu-” I clear my throat, wincing at the look he gives me. “I messed up. I’m sorry.”

He walks around his desk, takes his seat in front of me, and studies me for a second. When he speaks again, his voice is free of anger and instead just full of sadness. “I don’t think you are. Do you understand that you and your friends set production back three weeks on the warehouse? Construction was supposed to start Monday but now I have to tell the crew it’s been delayed. Do you care at all about that?”

I scrunch my nose up in annoyance and confusion. “Okay? It’s just a few weeks, Dad. I’m sure they’ll be fine. Look, can I go now? I broke my nail last night and I really need to-” He slams a hand down on the desk, startling me into silence.

“Y/N! Be quiet!” He pinches the bridge of his nose, attempting to regain composure. “Three weeks can be everything to someone who needs a job. But it’s my fault you don’t understand that. I’ve spent your life trying to make sure you had everything you ever wanted but I should have been teaching you what it means to work for it.” He takes a deep breath and then stands, crossing his arms and nodding as if deciding on something. “But that’s about to change.”

I stare back at him, my mouth slightly ajar still from the shock of his tone. He’s never been this angry with me before and I don’t know how to handle it.

“What do you mean?” I ask cautiously.

“I’m going to pay my crew for the time that they’re missing. And you,” he gestures at me theatrically “are going to pay me back every cent. I’m sending you to your Uncle Buck’s ranch to work off your debt.”

I stare at him blankly and tilt my head, thinking I must have heard him wrong. “What?”

“You heard me.”

“Dad!” I laugh with incredulity. “You want to send me to work in Nowhere, Louisiana? That is so not fair.”

He rolls his eyes at me. “That town is where I was raised. It has a way of teaching you lessons that you clearly need right now.”

I square my shoulders at him, a defiant twinkle in my eye before I give him a strong “No.”

“Wasn’t a question, darling.”

“No!” I say, standing now. “You can’t make me.”

He narrows his eyes at me and then takes a step back. “You’re right about that. You are eighteen now so I can’t make you. But that means I can cut you off completely. No car. No money. Nada. And that’s exactly what I'll do if you don’t go.”

My eyes widen and I blink profusely at him gauging his seriousness but he’s as earnest as I’ve ever seen him. Tears threaten to spill from my eyes but instead of standing here crying, I just storm out of his office and run up the stairs.

“Good idea.” He calls behind me. “You should pack. Your flight leaves in 22 hours.”

*************

My dad puts the car in park and looks over at me but I refuse to meet his eye.

"I cannot believe you are doing this to me.”

He sighs, placing a hand on my shoulder. “This isn’t something I’m doing to you, honey. This is something I’m doing for you. I love you but I don’t know if I like this person you’re becoming and I don’t think you do either.” My eyes start burning at this and I snatch away from him, hopping out of the car to grab my luggage. Dad meets me at the trunk, silently pulling out my suitcase and placing it on the ground.

I finally lock eyes with him and give him a hard look. “I am never going to forgive you for this.”

He winces slightly but sets his jaw stubbornly. “That’s a chance I’ll just have to take. I’ll see you at the end of the summer.”

I don’t respond, just grabbing my luggage and heading into the airport.

When I get through security, I have a seat in my section and pull out my phone to check the time on my boarding pass. I get a new message and sigh, finally filtering through the bullshit my friends have sent me.

Jace 🥵

hey baby are you okay? my bad about the party. you know i get on that shit. but never again, ok?

u up? i’m so fucking horny

Lydia 👯‍♀️

OMFG GIRL! Thank you so much for not telling your dad I was there. My mom would have literally canceled my Dubai trip. I love you FOREVER. Call me so I can tell you what Dylan said last night!

Brielle 💋

Hey. I’m so fucking sorry for leaving you. It was so shitty of us. Please let me know you’re ok?

I scoff at my phone and block them all one by one before turning my phone off. Maybe a couple of months away won’t be such a bad thing after all.

*************

On second thought? No. It absolutely is. I look around in horror at what must be the smallest airport in the United States. There’s not even a baggage claim. I literally have just to wait while some guy brings out the luggage one by one.

When I’m finally outside, I look around for the car my Uncle was supposed to be sending but all I see is pickup trucks and dirt. I pull out my phone to call Dad when someone speaks up.

“Y/N?”

I look up to see a boy around my age looking a bit impatient. He has the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen, crystal blue like the early morning sky. He’s wearing a simple flannel shirt, some well-worn Wranglers, and a trucker hat. When I bring my eyes back up to his face, he gives me a look that says I’ve been quiet for too long and I snap out of it.

“Yes! Thank god. I thought they forgot about me.”

“Nah. Your uncle sent me. I’m Chris.” He says around the toothpick hanging out his mouth. Chris reaches for my suitcase and I let him take it, following him to the car. He moves quickly and I rush to keep up. Kind of rude for a driver.

“Don’t you guys usually have a sign or something?” I look him up and down before adding, “And dress a little less… dingy?”

He stops looking over his shoulder at me and I stop in my tracks before I can slam into him.

“Excuse me?” He says, clearly offended.

“I just mean, in LA at least, chauffeurs are usually-”

“Chauffeur?” He cuts me off with an abrupt laugh. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

I look around the parking lot for emphasis. “Well, what else am I supposed to think? You’re picking me up from the airport!”

“Damn girl, you really are out of touch. I’m doing your uncle a favor. You’ve never picked a friend up from the airport before?” He tosses my suitcase in the bed of his Ford F150 and heads around the truck as I feel myself reddening. I open the passenger door and pause, noticing how grimy the interior is and not wanting to get my skirt dirty.

Chris watches me with unconcealed amusement. “You can walk if you’d like. It’s only a cool 25 miles. I’m sure it’ll be a breeze in those shoes.”

I roll my eyes and hop in, mentally adding ruining a Coach skirt to my dad’s list of sins. Chris cracks up the car and to my surprise, instead of country music, a rap song starts up. I look over at him impressed. “You know LUCKI?”

He rolls his eyes and takes off his hat, scratching his head. “We have the same internet you do.”

“Not with that shirt you don’t,” I mutter under my breath, turning to look out the window. There’s nothing to see but fields, dead grass, and the occasional horse grazing so I turn back to Chris.

“Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot.” I start, but he interrupts me.

“Nah. You’re exactly what I expected.”

I narrow my eyes at him, sitting back in the seat. “Oh yeah? And what’s that?”

He counts them off, tapping the steering wheel as he does. “Entitled. Bratty. Unprepared.” He says the last one with a pointed look at my outfit.

I laugh without humor and clap. “Wow. All of that in ten minutes, huh? Okay, let me try." I tap my finger on my chin pretending to think. "You’re a backwater hillbilly whose idea of a vacation is driving out to Texas. You had big dreams of leaving this piece of shit town, but whoops! You’re still here.” I glance in the backseat, spotting a booster seat, and go for the kill shot. “What was it, hm? Babymama drama?”

Chris scowls at me, his eyes full of distaste. “You shouldn’t speak on shit you have no idea about. That seat’s for my sister. But thank you for proving my point. Why don’t we add judgy to that list?”

I snap my mouth shut and avert my eyes mutter a quiet, "Whatever." before reaching for my purse to popping in my AirPods. From my peripheral, I see Chris smirk and turn up the radio. When I’m sure he’s not looking, I chance a glance at him. He’s rapping the words of the song softly, bopping his head to the beat. I trail my eyes over his jaw, noticing the stubble lining it. Chris flicks his gaze over at me and I immediately look away, chastising myself.

He might be cute… Who am I kidding? He’s gorgeous. But he’s not worth a minute of the trouble. I sigh deeply and let my head fall against the headrest, closing my eyes and letting the music take over.

*************

I sigh in relief when we come to a stop in front of my Uncle’s house. It’s been years since we’ve been back here, I was only eight the last time, but hardly anything has changed.

The land still seems huge to me, stretching out several hundred acres; which is beyond impossible in LA. The house is beautiful, even though it’s clearly old, a rustic-style home with red shutters and a wraparound porch. My dad told me once that my grandpa built it all by himself as a wedding gift to my granny. My heart tugs a bit at the reminder of them and I push it away and hop out of the truck.

Chris is already pulling my luggage out of the bed when I come around and I go to take it, muttering a quiet thank you, before I hear my name being called.

“As I live and breathe, if it isn’t my bunny!” My Aunt Birdie calls from the screen door before stepping out onto the porch. I grin at the old nickname and drop the suitcase, running up the few stairs to hug her. She nuzzles me into her arms and I can’t believe how much I’ve missed these hugs without knowing it.

“My my. Aren’t you as pretty as a magnolia in May?” She coos when she pulls back, pressing a palm to my cheek. I beam at her and she calls over her shoulder for my uncle.

She lets me go, moving past me to speak to Chris.

“And thank you, darlin', for getting her for us. You know how that truck of ours likes to kick up a fuss somethin’ fierce.” She says, placing a hand on his shoulder as he walks past her carrying the luggage.

“You know it’s no trouble.” He says politely and I scoff, causing both of them to look at me. I cover it up with a cough and shrug, finally stepping into the house. Uncle Buck comes around the corner, grinning from ear to ear.

“Y/N!” He’s freshly up from a nap, sleepiness evident in his face, but comes over to wrap me in a hug. “How was the trip? Hope you and Chris hit it off.” He says, throwing a smile his way.

“Oh, yes sir. She’s…” Chris hesitates. “somethin’. That’s for sure.”

I glare at him and he shrugs, turning back to my aunt and uncle. Uncle Buck takes a seat in his rocking chair and gestures for me to sit on the couch.

“Okay, honey. I’m gonna give it to you straight. I know you don’t want to be here.” He raises a hand when I try to interject. “Now, let me finish. I know you don’t want to be here but you are. Now what we do here is honest work. This is work you can take pride in. And that’s what I expect from you. Good honest work. Are we clear?” He says, his voice as stern as he can manage but I see the cracks in his facade. I nod anyway, not wanting to give him any trouble.

“Good!” He says, his good-natured smile returning. “Cus’ Chris, here’s a tough cookie. He’ll keep you on your toes.”

My eyes widen at this and I look between my aunt and uncle’s faces in horror. “What?”

“Oh, he didn’t tell you?” My uncle asks. “Chris here is our lead farmhand. You’ll be reporting to him this summer.”

There’s just no way this is happening. I drag my eyes to Chris reluctantly and find him giving me the most shit-eating grin I’ve ever seen.

He tips the brim of his hat sarcastically and chuckles.

“Welcome to the crew, city girl.”

Oh. I’m so fucked.

taglist: @sturniolho @sttzee @tillies33ssss @miloisdone1 @sstvrnioloo @junnniiieee07 @sturnioloslurps @mrsmiagreer @asturniolos

@teapartyprincess4two @whicked-hazlatwhore @sukiipjs @accio326 @sturniolosmind

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tenjikyu · 6 days

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𝘋𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 - 𝘔𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘬𝘪 - 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘝

౨ৎ ⋆｡˚ Finally, the finale! After wayyyyy too long , fluff, the ending idk how to feel about but you’re getting what you’re getting and I wanna be done with this series already + I need modivation to get back into writing , it gets pretty romantic with Freminet but nowhere near NSFW.

PART IV • GENSHIN M.LIST

Tag list - @fisbred @gimmealamp @lucianidealz @sleepdeprivedpotato @unemiart @camryn-ciel67 @aruaruru @danika-redgrave124 @bunbunboysworld @kaoyamamegami @aphxdea @red1sg0ne @sleepndacloud @squishyboo @ally674 @hoo-hoo @probablynoposts @junevtv @og-winnie @exrellian @f0th3rr @cb97s-laptop @moonjellyfishie

The familiar green bard before you took off his hat with a bow, sending a friendly wave towards the other three in the room, whom were sharing knowing glances. In the many times you recounted your story to them, the green bard remained consistent with each retelling. You spoke of him with the fondest eyes, and the siblings could almost feel the pure love the bard had for you even before meeting him themselves.

In a count of shock, you quietly excused the both of you to the fontainian siblings, before closing the door behind yourself.

The two of you went on an emotional and very much sentimental walk, reminding you of the days you would talk to Venti about your problems and your struggles. About how Diluc’s 180 change in personality once he came back from Snezhnaya was a scary turn of events. About how Kaeya’s icy attitude rivalled his vision, and how much it upset you. About how the knights and maids couldn’t seem to get off your ass, despite your best efforts at politely telling them to fuck off.

You reminisced about your time in Fontaine to the archon, and Venti only nod his head and gave you a smile as he walked alongside you, pretending that he hadn’t snuck into the nation countless times to check in on you. You spoke of your growing relationship with the Fatui member, and how the Hearth children had taken you in as one of their own. How Navia had taken you under her wing and you didn’t spend a cent whenever she was around. How you and the former Hydro Archon were each others comfort buddies whenever bad thoughts came to mind, and how you aided eachother into adapting to the new world around yourselves.

As you recited your amazing time spent in Fontaine, the more and more you realised to yourself that you really didn’t want to go home. In the moment, you wouldn’t have noticed it, but looking back on it, it was clear that was Venti’s intention the entire time. He knew you better than you knew yourself, and he could see the internal debate you had been having with yourself since the incident. And so, giving you the chance to clear your mind if the bad, you had come to the conclusion that you didn’t want to return to Mondstadt anytime soon.

“Mondstadt will always be the home of your birth, however it’s also the nation of Freedom. Freedom to fly wherever you want to go, and wherever you want to build your nest and settle down. No matter how long you stray from Mondstadt, it will always have a home waiting for you.”

Venti’s little speech had you in tears, and he opened up his arms just like all those years ago.

In a world full of uncertainty and the unknown, the arms of an angel would always be there to embrace you.

“At last, we’ve made it back to Fontaine!” Lyney practically combusts. Everyone around could see how dearly he was missing Fontaine, especially his twin sister who heard ALL about it.

“Hey (Y/N), wanna go for a dive later?” Freminet questions out of the blue, and you nod your head. You knew whenever he went into the ocean unexpectedly, in this case the second you got back from a LONG trip, that he had something private he wanted to discuss with you, and so you made sure to never decline.

As the day came to an end, you prepared your diving gear that freminet had ever so graciously bought you for your birthday (yk him being rich and all, fatui money goes hard) and met freminet at the rendezvous.

As he took your hand in his own, he guided into the water as he’d done dozens of times before. The oceans of Fontaine never seized to amaze you. Its gentle touch soothed your skin to the core, and as you descended into the depths of the ocean, Freminet never once let go of the grasp on his fingers.

The two of you enjoyed what the ocean had to offer you. Freminet tended to stick closer to the top of the water when you accompanied him, too paranoid to take you deeper as you weren’t as experienced as he was. Regardless, you continued admiring natures aquatic gifts. You found pearls, danced with domestic blubber beasts, picked flowers and located lost treasures. All the whole, Freminet was yet to let go of your hand, not because he was afraid of you running off, but because he simply refused to let go.

Freminet never wanted to let go of your hand.

Freminet never wanted to let go of you.

The skies soon turned dark, and signs of a storm were appearing, so Freminet was quick to escort you out of the water. What was originally subtle signs of a storm was now a full blown storm, and running back to the gates & all the way back to your home, all the while laughing your asses off, was having you fall further and further in love with every step you ran.

By the time you made it inside, the lighting was begging to strike & you immediately went to lighting a fire in order to help the both of you warm up. Freminet removed his cost he chucked over himself when collecting your left-behind gear, and it suddenly dawns on you how beautiful Freminet was on the outside. You always admired Freminet’s inner beauty, his charming and reserved nature, yet sticking up for himself and his own if needed, but you never really took the time to admire how gorgous he truly was. His hourglsss waist, his long golden hair, his long eyelashes, his slender thighs. His form captured your attention, and it didn’t take long for Freminet to catch your gaze.

“(Y/N), is there something on my face?” Freminet questions,

“Nah, come sit down by the fire, you just be freezing” you murmur out, patting the ground next to you.

The both of you sit in comforting silence, a common occurrence between the two of you. But for the first time, a bubbling urge rose from your stomach.

You wanted his lips.

You knew how he felt, and you had for awhile. Freminet kinda… sucked, at hiding his feelings for you, especially his ruined confession. And so, you decided to take the lead for once.

You slowly grabbed his chin, and his eyes widened in surprise. You slowly took his face in your hand, and tilted your head as you neared his face.

He didn’t take his eyes off you the entire ordeal, and as he closed his eyes, you took it as a sign to finally seal the deal.

You gently pecked his lips. It was somewhat quick and gentle, however when he leaned in and kissed you again, you couldn’t hold back any longer.

Freminet slowly moved into your lap, kissing you not with lust, but with passion. You grasped his slim waist and continued the assault of kisses on his face. The both of you continued your passionate yet loving make out session until you were both out of breath.

As you parted away from eachother, Freminet took your cheeks in his frigid hands and pecked your cheeks, before cuddling into your lap. Leaning against the couch, the both of you held eachother closley, absorbing eachother’s warmth.

“You have no idea how long I’ve waited to do that” Freminet giggles, before cuddling closer into your neck. You sighed gently to yourself, before shaking your head lightly.

The both of you fell asleep embracing eachother that night, and suffered the consequences of not properly washing up after being in the rain. (Lyney fussed over the both of you, cooing at how cute the both of you looked with bright red cheeks and blocked noses. Lynette, ever your saviour, made herbal tea to quench your aching throats.)

A knock was heard at the door of the Winery, and Diluc’s curiosity heightened. First, Kaeya had received a letter in scribbled handwriting to meet at the Dawn Winiry (with a cheeky drawing of a certain musician at the bottom of it), leading Diluc into letting him in. Then, the charming melody of a lyre enveloped the air, which seemingly had no bard tuning it.

Now, a knock at the door?

Kaeya and Diluc looked at eachother, and decided to open the door. After all, the person knocking is either someone else who received a letter or is the mastermind behind this little scandal.

And so, on the count of three, the opened the door.

Three…

Two…

One..

“Hey Diluc, Kaeya. Long time no see, huh?”

Thank you to my OG DWH series followers, I can’t thank you enough for the patience with me and this series. Hope this didn’t disappoint.

#genshin impact #genshin #genshin x reader #genshin x male reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact x male reader #ragbros #diluc #kaeya #freminet #freminet x reader #freminet x male reader #lyney #lynette #lyney and lynette

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ukrfeminism · 2 years

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Rebecca Whitehurst never wants to set foot in a school again.

She also wants all teachers, especially female ones, to wear bodycams, to have CCTV in every classroom and for teachers to operate in pairs. “I think teachers should never be alone with children, there should always be someone else there. I know it is dramatic but I don’t want what happened to me to ever happen to anyone else,” she said.

The views of Whitehurst, who is married with two children and has been a modern languages teacher for more than ten years, have been shaped by what she describes as a “modern horror story”.

Last week the 46-year-old wept as a jury at Manchester’s Minshull Street crown court cleared her of two charges of sexual activity with a child and one of sexual communications. She had been accused of a sexual act with a 15-year-old pupil in the back of her Volvo and of sending him explicit texts, including a photograph of her breasts.

The court heard that the teenager, who had declared he was in love with Whitehurst, became obsessed with her and lied about or faked the messages. The boy, who watched pornography involving older women, assaulted her in her classroom and sent an abusive message to her daughter, the court was told.

The family spent £43,000 fighting the case, which dragged on for three years. If convicted she would have faced up to 14 years’ in jail.

Speaking from her home in Cheshire where her husband, Billy, an accountant, has “been unbelievably supportive”, she said her experience at times felt like a television drama.

It unfolded against the backdrop of a rising number of schoolboys watching online pornography, and pupils’ mental health becoming a frontline problem for many schools.

Last year, an Ofsted report found 90 per cent of girls and 50 per cent of boys polled by the schools inspectorate said they had been sent explicit pictures and messages they did not wish to see. A survey for the British Board of Film Classification last year found that almost half of 16 and 17-year-olds had recently seen pornography. Figures from NHS Digital found that one in six children in England had a probable mental health disorder last year, up from one in nine in 2017.

Whitehurst’s ordeal started in April 2019. The boys’ school where she taught French, German and Spanish had paid for her to attend a three-day course on mindfulness. She was asked to teach the subject — not to lower the stress of high-achieving children in the run-up to exams, which she had suggested, but to children on the inclusion register, who have special educational needs and disabilities. “I said yes because I am that sort of person,” the Sheffield University graduate said, but admitted to being nervous about teaching a “wishy washy” subject to children who may have experienced significant trauma.

In an early session with the group of ten boys the 15-year-old who would go on to accuse her said he was hearing voices in his head telling him to kill someone. “I thought OMG,” she said. “As soon as I could I reported it on our safeguarding system . . . I reported it on there and thought someone would talk to me about it, but no one did.”

As the sessions continued the teenager “latched” onto Whitehurst, who tried to give him “sensible advice” via the school’s email system.

He talked about being in a gang and, in an area of the city linked to the Manchester bomber, Whitehurst also feared he was at risk of getting involved in terrorism. When he started to talk about how he had “this big secret” and she was the only person he could tell it to, she made, she admits, a critical mistake.

“He had said he wants to kill people and is in a gang,” she said. “He was talking about going to the mosque. All these things were adding up in my head. I thought there was a bigger picture and I would find out about it and report it.

“I tried to get him to talk to staff who were better trained in such matters but he said no. He said he did not trust the school email which we were already communicating on. In one email thread he emailed me a ghost emoji and I realised he meant he wanted to tell me the secret on Snapchat. I downloaded Snapchat on purpose because I thought he was going to give me this big secret.”

Whitehurst said the secret was nothing to do with terrorism: “The secret was he was in love with me. I realised I had made an idiot of myself. I told him nothing like that was ever going to happen and there had been a misunderstanding. I told him I had to tell the school. He would say ‘they are not going to believe you’ and that I had made a mistake in giving him my Snapchat username. I should have reported it but I did not and I know now that that was an error.”

A few weeks later the teenager came into Whitehurst’s classroom when she was alone. He tried to force his tongue into her mouth, touched her intimately, slapped her face and spat at her. She tried to push him away, which he told the court he thought was encouragement.

“I do not think he knew how bad it was what he did; I know porn was available to him, he sent me lots of links which I never opened but I have an idea of what he watched,” she said. “I think he thought slapping me and spitting at me was sexy in some way.” Again, she did not report the assault. Whitehurst admits she was scared and also “again I thought I would be held responsible as I am the adult and he is the child”, but from then on things got steadily worse.

Over the coming weeks he gave her a necklace and sent naked images of himself which she deleted. He “begged” her to meet him outside school. Still worried about his state of mind, she met him several times in public places, including at a charity run she was doing in a Manchester park where she thought there was no risk of him “launching himself at her”.

At school Whitehurst volunteered for extra duties to ensure she was not alone. She applied for jobs in other schools.

In September 2019 she broke down in the playground when a colleague asked her if she was OK: “I said no and blurted it all out. She said she would have to take this to the head teacher.”

Whitehurst agreed with the head teacher that the matter would be reported to the police and the local authority safeguarding officer and that she would be suspended pending an inquiry. “My logic was, they will understand,” she said. “They will know he is difficult and that I wanted to help but mismanaged things.”

Whitehurst was shocked in her first police interview, two months later, when she heard that the boy had accused her of having sexual activity with him and sending him photos of her breasts.

The pandemic meant that the investigation dragged on. She did not hear anything until last year when police said they had downloaded data from both the phones, including a screenshot of a fake text conversation in whch she appeared to be suggesting sexual acts with the teenager outdoors.

“I thought, ‘I never sent those’. They did not look right. They were obviously fake. The language did not add up. I did not need a professor of linguistics to say that was not me,” she said.

“It was extraordinary that what he said was believed and I was not. He said it was consensual. And we were in love.

“I kept thinking the police will look at all this properly, tell me this will be dropped and say, ‘You poor woman’.”

As it became clear that the case would go to court Whitehurst switched lawyers. Her new team instructed an expert witness to look at the downloaded data from both phones. His report — which cost the family £8,000 — made clear there was no evidence that a photo of her breasts or a text suggesting outdoor sex acts had been sent by her or received by the teenager. Still the case was not dropped.

A week before court, Whitehurst says “calm descended”. She decided not to wear a face mask or hide her face and be “as brave as I could be”.

By video link the teenager gave contradictory evidence and admitted the assault on Whitehurst. The jury took less than three hours to acquit her.

Whitehurst’s case may be extreme but it is not isolated. There is a website on which teachers share dozens of accounts of false allegations. Teaching unions called last year for pupils who make them to be excluded and for fully funded mental health programmes aimed at boys.

Christian Harbinson of the law firm Thompsons solicitors, which represented Whitehurst, said: “An underfunded criminal justice system is unable to cope and that stretches out the agony for innocent people like Rebecca. It’s taken almost three years, since the allegations were first made, for her to clear her name, during which time Rebecca’s life has been on hold and her family have had to deal with an unimaginable level of stress and worry.”

Asked whether the teenager, now 18, would face an inquiry for possible criminal offences, Greater Manchester police said it had no intention to investigate “the child victim in this case”.

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denimini · 8 months

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What is going on with Jimin, Jungkook and Jikook?

Warning: long post

I've been a BTS fan since early 2017. Back in the day, I ran this blog here, analyzing a lot of Jikook moments, but life sort of took over, and I stopped having the time for it. However, I never stopped being a fan and observing BTS and Jikook through the years. There's a lot said and written already about the supposed video of JK, but here are my two cents.

To me, the most logical explanation for that video is that this really is Jungkook. The layout of the apartment matches (yes, even the position of the security system, if you have ever watched JKs lives, you'd know that it actually is at his shoulder height, just like in the video), the dog looks like Bam, the couch is the same and this definitely looks like JK. There's also another video of the man in this apartment, alone, shirtless, and having a whole tattoo sleeve on his right arm just like JK. Obviously, we don't know for sure, but it looks like it's him. People say it was filmed in late Feb, early March, and I agree. JK had the same hair then, the outfits look warm, like winter clothes and not to forget, that when JK was stalked in his gym (late of February) there were a lot of fuss about a girl being there with him, so it all checks out in my book.

Now, what the video shows isn't that scandalous. A boy hugging a girl from behind and them playfighting/tickling each other or whatever. It isn't overly explicit. It could mean a lot of things, but it's clear the people are at the very least physically comfortable with each other. It's a short video. We don't know if they're even alone, but it looks like it. There are a number of possibilities for whom this person is to JK: a long-time girlfriend, a casual hook-up, a one night stand, or just a friend.

We'll probably never know for sure. What we do know is that this is an unacceptable invasion of privacy, and the person who took those videos should be sued for all they are worth. I hope we all agree on that, yes?

Now, if this girl is someone JK is dating/has dated/has slept with, where does that leave his and JM's relationship?

In my eyes, as someone who's observed them for literal years now, there's no way JM and JK have always had a strictly platonic relationship. Too much just doesn't add up. Sure, technically, they could be bestest friends with great chemistry, but as someone who is now 30 years old, I don't think I've seen this type of chemistry between people ever be just platonic. At times, it looked too much like sexual tension for it to easily be dubbed as "friendly".

My theory is this (keep in mind these are still just assumptions):

In 2017-2020, pre-Covid era, JM and JK spent A LOT of time together, basically all of it. BTS were super active, they didn't have any breaks. They were always working. Always on tour and doing smth else. JM and JK were pretty young back then (20-24) and this is typically the time when someone discovers their sexuality and starts experimenting, and I believe that at some point they did this together. They were best friends but also had this weird tension and air around them and I think they could've started a physical relationship back then. The members teasing them hear and there about being a couple, also kind of supports this, though of course, it doesn't prove anything.

Contrary to other people, I don't belive they only just fucked. It's very hard to have sex with someone who you are very close to otherwise, who you love and admire as a person, and not catch romantic feelings for them, so I think they did more than fucking. Whether they had a serious relationship or decided not to label it much, due to MS coming up, the group being in jeopardy or other reasons, I tend to think that other than sex, they also had feelings.

Side note: In any case, they were figuring thinks out about themselves as individuals, as well as a pair. I think maybe this is the time JM realized he is definitely bisexual (which he proudly expressed in his photobook of last year in my opinion). Idk what Jk figured out for himself, if anything.

Anyhow, by 2020‐2021 it seemed they had some sort of agreement about what/who they were to each other. At times they could have been on and off. There might have been other people/partners in-between, but I think they were mainly together by this point. It even looked like they lived together for some time. The fact they always took the same car and they were together on JKs birthday night when they first had number 1 on hot 100 sort of proves it. JM's birthday live in 2021 was also sus af (the way he was blushing while mentioning JK and their whole convos, very sus).

I think before Covid they had smth somewhat stable but then Covid hit. Their schedules changed, it was a tough period overall. Suddenly, they were not working and traveling so much, they were staying in SK. I think this was the time things started getting much more real and different. MS was also in the near horizon. Maybe one of them wanted a more committed relationship, and the other wasn't ready. Maybe they were both afraid. Maybe they tried and it didn't really work out. Maybe one finally realized his sexuality and the other had doubs. Whatever it was, the feelings of affection were still there. Chemistry as well. Proof: JM bday live in 2021 was just crazy, the way he blushed when JK was mentioned and the way the spoke to each other... man. Also, the way the were at PTD L.A. The way JK answered questions about JM etc.

So , all that connected them as people was still there, but I think their relationship come late 2021-early 2022 was definitely more unstable. Who knows what happened then. Personally, I don't believe in the theory that they opened their relationship, rather I believe by the second half of 2022, due to whatever reasons, things were simple mostly off between them. I believe they stayed this way all through the second half of the year and at least the first 4 months of 2023. They were friends, their families still loved and supported each other (JK's mom made seaweed soup for JM's bday, which one does for family) but that's about it. They weren't living together anymore, as well.

The beginning of 2023 we saw a very busy JM and a very not busy JK. Sure, they still commented on their welives but it seemed they didn't meet each other that often. Jm was working, JK was at home and occasionally with Tae. Yeah, JK watched a lot of JM content and often invited him over, but he also didn't know when his promotions will be over and it seemed they haven't seen each other for some time and JK was missing JM. I think if they truly were a serious couple back then, they would still have found the time to meet each other no matter how busy one or the other was, especially considering they live in the same city, and it wasnt the case. I don't think JK would have to resort to watching hours of JM's content just to satisfy his need-for-JM thirst, if they were a couple back then.

So, yeah, I think they were not more than friends by this point, for sure, which also ties up pretty well with the timing of the recent leaked video (February-March). To me it seems that JK and JM probably saw other people in that period, at least JK, JM was pretty damn busy then. Maybe they had some serious partners even, maybe just hook-ups here and there. Maybe this was JK's time to explore more of his heterosexual side, who knows. I don't think he stopped caring for JM in some capacity. In fact it kind of looked like he longed for his company but for one reason or another, they were simply not that much in each other's lives in the first quarter of 2023.

But then something weird happened around June-July. First JM is all scratched up from something (presumably Bam) indicating he saw JK and spent time with him. Then Seven came out and JM flew to NY. There they spend a long, fun weekend amid promotions. It wasn't a secret but they seemed to want to keep private and didn't really want to talk about it , judging by the way JK answered the question about JM being in NY as well. JM was practically silent. Then they returned and that welive happened. The one where they openly flirted, JM said he could handle JK naked, JK blushed like a school girl and tried everything in his power to get to JM but JM said "I'm not that easy". That welive. Idk about you, but that welive didn't seem platonic to me at all and if I had been JK's partner at the time, I would definitely be very angry with his behaviour. I don't think JK is disrespectful and a cheater, and neither is JM for that matter, so I believe there's no way any of them had a partner when that welive happened. I simply refuse to belive they are that type of people.

So, my conclusion is they were both single then and something definitely happend in July and NY. They returned somewhat different and they still kind of are. Jk posted pics of NY to Twitter for the first time. Jm shared a pic from then for JKs bday (shirtless, as we all know) and then recently another pic from a boat that could have been from back then, as well. The whole way they're acting offline and online strangely reminds me a lot of the time after their trip to Tokyo, actually. The way JM has been posting about JK very much give me nostalgia about the way he used to post Jikook often in 2017-2018 before he withdrew from social media. But maybe that's just me 🤷‍♀️

Anyway, to finish this long post I will say this. I don't know what Jikook were and are to each other and unless, it is explicitly denied the person in the video is JK, I will believe that it's him. But also, unless it is confirmed he currently has a girlfriend, I will have my doubts. The video is old and in any case, it doesn't prove much other than the fact JK is maybe into women (solely or also into them). This video though doesn't automatically negate everything I've seen between Jikook through the years. In some ways, it confirms what I've been thinking for a long time now. Unless JM and JK personally shut down any rumors about them and deny any romantic connection or confirm a relationship with someone else , I still believe that at some point in their lived their relationship crossed the platonic line.

Whether that was in the past or is currently true, I only can guess, but to me there's no way these two were always, all these years, just only friends.

For now, I will observe how JK, JM and Hybe are acting after the leaked videos and go from there. It will also be indicative.

Peace.

#jikook #jungkook #jimin #bts

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bridgerton-bard · 3 months

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Polin Angst Thoughts

Warning: Spoilers (Romancing Mister Bridgerton, Netflix Season 2)

I have been seeing the online discourse about how much angst people think should be included in the Polin storyline of season three, and I thought I would add my two cents.

Personally, I am a little excited to see the power dynamic in the relationship shift in Penelope's favor. She has spent years pining after this man who has never seriously entertained the idea that she would make a good partner. Maybe she should have moved on when it was clear that Colin didn't reciprocate her romantic feelings, but then we'd never have the Polin story.

I'm not saying I want Colin to suffer for the sake of suffering, but I do think some angst from him is going to be required, because he so thoroughly dismissed the idea of courting Penelope in season two. In real life, if someone dismissed Penelope (or anyone else) in this way, they would need to earn their way back into her heart, to prove that their affections were not part of a cruel joke. It would be unrealistic for Colin to dismiss Penelope as a prospect for courting in such a resounding, public fashion at the end of season two, and then win her back by simply saying "I missed you" at the start of the next social season less than a year later.

Even considering the social mores of the regency time period, I think Penelope unequivocally accepting Colin's "I missed you" as an apology and beginning to court Colin would be unrealistic. Julia Quinn stresses in several of the Bridgerton books that women in the regency period generally had little power in the courting process. Women had to wait for gentlemen to be introduced to them (never introducing themselves to gentlemen they were interested in), women had to accept offers from any man to dance unless their dance card was already full or they were betrothed, etc. In most of the courting process, regency women had to be passive and wait for their desired suitor to approach and court them. Accepting or not accepting offers to court and marriage proposals were the two significant points in the courting process where regency women actually held the upper hand in the dynamics. Penelope making it clear to Colin that she will not court him is simply her exercising what little power she does have in the social mores of the time.

I think one thing that gets glossed over about Colin's behavior towards Penelope in seasons one and two is that it is also the behavior of a rake, but in a different way than Anthony or Benedict's rake behavior. Anthony and Benedict's bachelor periods tend to show them both as rakes because they kept mistresses, visited brothels, or had a parade of women engaged in some sort of fling. Colin's behavior in seasons one and two is rake behavior because it should be clear to everyone, including Colin, that he is leading Penelope on. Without any intention to court her, Colin is impeding Penelope from moving on and finding a suitor who requites her feelings. This does get a little complicated because in the books, it is Violet Bridgerton who is encouraging Colin to dance with Penelope, and Penelope is aware of this or at least suspects it. However, I still argue that just because Colin is not in possession of a parade of flings, it doesn't counteract that some of his behavior towards Penelope is befitting of a rake.

So yes, I do think it's important that we see Colin fight a little for Penelope's affections. It's important for him to realize what he had once she's gone, and that she's worthy of more than always being the backup on call for when he's lonely or feeling misunderstood. I would like to see Colin realize his feelings for Penelope before another suitor proposes to Penelope. Otherwise, I think we get into territory where it just feels like he wants her because he can't have her.

#polin #polin angst #bridgerton season 3 #bridgerton s3 #bridgerton season three #bridgerton series #romancing mister bridgerton #romancing mr. bridgerton #penelope featherington #colin bridgerton #a theory #ramblings #don't fight me

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sserpente · 1 year

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A/N: Requests from four anons and some of my own ideas. I thought in honour of Tom’s Jonathan Pine look making a comeback and the prospect of a Season 2, now is the perfect time for some spicy spy action! Enjoy, everyone!

Words: 2881 Warnings: smut

After Roper’s death, a lot in our own life changed. You moved away from Spain and back to the UK with a fresh start in your suitcase. Your new job in the publishing industry enabled you to meet the authors of the books you were passionate about and you could help discover new talents whose stories would enrich countless readers’ bookshelves.

It was peaceful now. Safer—for at no fault of your own, it hadn’t always been like that. You were young when you fled to sunny Spain to discover yourself, learned Spanish to the point of fluency and started a job at the local library that regularly held readings for both adults and children.

It all went well, for a while. Right until little Danny Roper stepped foot in the library for the first time, accompanied by two brooding bodyguards and a charming British gentleman you, for some reason, instantly mistrusted.

Richard Roper, a wealthy businessman with a mansion all to himself. Perhaps it was unfair to assume he had blood on his hands because of how heavy his wallet was but your instinct had never betrayed you before. Soon, little Danny Roper regularly came to visit the little library, took part in the readings and had you recommend new stories to him, always under the scrutinising eye of his bodyguards or his father.

On the night of Halloween, everything changed. The kids loved the spooky holiday. They were allowed to wear costumes for the themed reading that night and you spent the entire evening before long after the library had closed decorating for the occasion. The sweets you had bought for the kids to eat had come out of your budget but seeing their wide eyes upon entering the small library on the 31st had been worth every single penny—or cent, in this case—spent.

Danny Roper came too. Dressed in a mummy costume with a face full of paper-white make-up and armed with an orange pumpkin basket for his sweets, he was one of the first kids to make himself comfortable in the reading corner in the front row. But there was someone else with them that night. Someone you had never seen around before. He didn’t look like a new bodyguard but he was handsome. Blue eyes, a sharp jawline, high cheekbones, a five o’clock shadow, and dark-blond hair you instantly felt the urge to ruffle. Your heart skipped a beat when he locked eyes with you for the first time. You could practically feel his intrigued gaze burning through your skin when you read some child-friendly Halloween stories to the kids and from then on… he kept on coming back. Sometimes in the company of Danny and his bodyguards, sometimes alone. And each and every single time he asked you for recommendations for a new horror book, borrowed one, and returned the old one giving you detailed and positive feedback that he usually delivered with a charming, British smile.

You realised soon enough that his regular visits were but an excuse to see you again—but he remained distant, never made a move to ask for your number or a date. Perhaps it was for the best, you thought at the time. If he was with Roper then he was not to be messed with, a dangerous man to be around, and not the type of guy you should wish to be affiliated with.

“I’m glad Danny asked me to join him on Halloween. You have made this place truly special,” he had said one day. “Have you known them long? The Ropers?”

Alarm bells. Alarm bells loud and clear had rang in your head and almost drowned out the sound of your book scanner when he’d slid yet another horror novel towards you on the counter.

“Only for about a year. Danny has picked up so many children’s books I will need to restock to find new novels for him at this point. Richard Roper donated ten thousand euros to the library back in January.”

“Are you the owner of this library then?”

“Oh no, I only work here. But I am in charge of all the boring accounting paperwork.” Whatever had lit up in Jonathan’s blue eyes, was gone again before you’d had a chance to analyse it. But it had been suspicious enough for you to gather all of your courage, and look around briefly to ensure you were alone.

“I… can I give you some advice? Leave. As long as you still can. Something’s not right about this man. I don’t know what that poor kid is caught up in but my hands are tied,” you had told him with a lowered voice.

Jonathan had frowned at you, pressed his lips together to a thin line. Then, without another word, he had picked up his novel and left the store.

The following night, he’d appeared seemingly out of nowhere after you’d closed the library for the day and asked you out for dinner. One dirty martini afterward led to two and that very same night, you fell asleep in Jonathan Pine’s bed in a luxurious hotel room he was staying in for reasons he had not elaborated on much.

A couple of evenings and more passionate sex—the best sex you’d ever had—later, you had shown him the donation certification, complete with all the relevant bank details. Confidential data which could have gotten you into big trouble, both with the library and Richard Roper himself. A few more nights after that… Jonathan disappeared for a while and you realised that he had only used you—and your body—for information.

It had baffled you back then, when, almost a month after, he showed up on the doorstep of the library, beaten, bruised, and half-dead. No police, no hospital, he had murmured over and over and you, having fallen in love with the man unconditionally, had hidden him and nursed him back to health. For weeks on end, Jonathan Pine lay low in the cellar that acted as an inventory for the library, living off of takeaway food you smuggled down to him day after day. He told you everything. How he had been sneaked into Roper’s family as a spy to put an end to his schemes at long last, how Roper sold deadly weapons that killed hundreds of people, and how incredibly sorry he was for putting you in all this danger.

One night, while he was still recovering from his injuries and you stayed in the library with him to make sure he didn’t develop a fever, he whispered your name in his sleep, hands blindly attempting to reach you, touch you, explore you, and pull you close.

He confessed he was in love with you the morning after and a few weeks later, after Roper had finally been arrested, you moved back to the UK with him. Here you were now, climbing up the career ladder in the publishing industry.

Jonathan had left his spy days behind for now and accepted a job as the night manager in a lovely hotel in the heart of Switzerland over the winter. You’d be apart for a few months and it had broken your heart to hear of it even though you were more than happy for him and the opportunity he had been offered.

Two weeks after his departure, your boss had asked you to join her on a business trip to that very same hotel to meet with an internationally best-selling author whose next book series was going to be translated into thirteen languages.

Jonathan didn’t know you had just landed in Switzerland. He didn’t know you were coming to stay at his hotel. The name the rooms were booked under was your boss’ assistant who Jonathan had never met before. Needless to say, when you entered the lobby and the warm air enveloped you welcomingly, scaring away the Swiss winter air, his stunning blue eyes widened. You failed to suppress your smirk, knowing very well how much he was struggling with remaining polite and professional—after all, you were with your boss and her assistant.

“Good evening! Sorry, our flight was delayed a little. I’ve got three rooms booked under the name Elsa Higgins?” the latter greeted him.

“Ah, yes, Ms. Higgins! Good evening, ladies. Please, allow me to welcome you to the Meisters. My name is Jonathan Pine and I’m the night manager. May I offer you any refreshments?”

Your boss shook the snow off of her beret and began taking off her winter coat. Jonathan was by her side instantly, helping each and every one of you out of your winter gear—even though with you, his touch lingered for just a second too long, his fingertips brushing against the back of your neck. You shivered. Fuck, you had missed him so much.

“Thank you, Mr. Pine,” you mused, watching him struggle a bit with how you addressed him before he poured you all a glass of champagne. Then, he moved behind the counter to sort out your rooms and hand you your keys while the concierges busied themselves with your suitcases and disappeared out of sight quickly.

“Our concierges will be taking up your luggage at once, as you can see. Is there anything else I can do for you in the meantime? Have you had dinner yet?”

“We have, thank you. We’re just very tired from the flight. Could you show us to our rooms? This hotel is so big, I feel like I’m gonna get lost!”

“Of course, dar-, Miss. Please, follow me.” He caught himself before the word “darling” could escape his lips. Chuckling to yourself, you stared at his sexy back and entered the lift right after him.

“He is so hot!” your boss whispered to you. Heavens, he was. He looked so handsome in that navy blue suit and the white shirt… and that tie! You had to remember to get rid of those damp panties of yours later and sneak them into his pockets somehow—because the mere thought of him taking off that tie and using it to bind your wrists together got you so wet you had to clench your legs on the way up. If only your boss and her equally yearning assistant knew you regularly had the pleasure to fuck this man…

Jonathan was reluctant to leave you behind after letting you know about the breakfast times, the pool opening times, and that he was at your service for anything at all, at all times during the night. And oh, you might just take him up on that offer…

“Thank you, Mr. Pine. I’ll be sure to call if I need anything.” You excused yourself to the bathroom and when you came back, yours and the door of your boss were still wide open, denying you the privacy you craved. Besides, Mr. Jonathan Pine had to remain professional at work. You chuckled once more, making quick work of stuffing your spoiled panties into his suit jacket. He pretended not to be fazed by it but for a spy, he was pretty bad at hiding how much he was struggling with keeping his composure.

But that was only the beginning. You were feeling adventurous tonight. And so, after wishing your boss and her assistant a good night, you got ready for bed, making yourself comfortable on the soft mattress and the lavender-scented bed sheets completely naked, and then used the phone on the nightstand to call the reception. It was shortly past two am by now. Surely, the lobby was deserted.

You hummed contently when he picked up and purred your last name with a seductive ‘Miss’ in front of it into the speaker. “What can I do for you?”

“Oh, you see… I’m so lonely in this big suite, Mr. Pine. So very lonely. Is there a way you could keep me company? I am so tense from the journey,” you mused, dragging out your last “so” to the point you could hear him breathe heavily on the other end of the line.

Jonathan cleared his throat. There was absolutely no way he hadn’t discovered yet just what exactly you had shoved into his pocket. He was probably clutching at it with his free hand right now.

“Ah, well, I am afraid our masseuses don’t start their shift until seven am, Miss, but perhaps I can arrange some other… form of… relief for you.” His voice became raspier and darker the more words escaped his lips.

“Really? That would be quite wonderful. You see, Mr. Pine, the sheets are so soft and comfortable, I figured I don’t even need any sleepwear.”

Jonathan took a deep breath. A short moment of pregnant silence followed and then, “I’ll be right up, Miss.” With that, he hung up.

You giggled to yourself, counting the seconds. He must have taken the steps, for only forty-three strikes of the second hand on the clock above the massive sofa in the suite later, you heard a gentle knock on your door.

Rushing over on bare feet, you hid behind it as you opened it for him to conceal your nakedness from the bright lights in the hallway, the both of you drowning in comfortable darkness and only the pale moon shining through the massive windows illuminating both your features as soon as he’d closed the door again behind him.

“I have ten minutes,” he murmured out of breath before his lips came crashing down on yours. You laughed against his mouth, his feverish urgency instantly infecting you. Jonathan’s touch was like a fire ignited inside of you by the single stroke of a match. Step after step, he guided you back towards your bed without ever breaking the battle of tongues you fought out, his hands exploring your naked curves and kneading your butt cheeks thoroughly before pushing you down on the mattress.

Jonathan was above you within a fraction of a second, one of his knees keeping your legs apart, his hand snatching your wrists and pinning them down above your head. Finally, he released your lips to let you catch your breath for a moment.

“Naughty girl, slipping your used underwear into my pockets… you little tease…”

“Aw, I thought you’d appreciate my little gift,” you mocked—your chuckle soon turned into a moan, however, when he gently bit the underside of your left breast, followed by his tongue tasting your nipple.

Jonathan’s dark growl was unlike anything you had ever heard from him when his one free hand struggled to undo his belt and the buttons of his suit trousers. You were pretty certain he hadn’t even taken his shoes off but by the time he finally managed to push the fabric down to his upper thighs, he was as hard as a rock, his red tip leaking precum teasing your entrance.

There was no need for him to prepare you. You had been soaked and ready for him ever since your arrival at the hotel. Jonathan wasted no time. He positioned himself swiftly, pulling your legs apart even further, and then, sheathed himself inside of you with but one fluid movement.

The both of you moaned in unison, his forehead resting against yours. Jonathan kissed you again when he pulled out to thrust up into you, your hips bucking to meet him. His free hand remained where it was—right between your legs where your bodies were joined.

As he fucked you hungrily, his fingers quickly found a little toy to play with—and knowing Jonathan, he was a skilled lover. He had you on the brink of orgasm in no time, his rhythm relentless and his strokes hard.

You arched your back the closer you crept to the edge, breaking his kiss to gasp for air and throw your head back which he instantly took as an invitation to taste your neck and assault it with gentle licks, bites, and kisses.

It was the moment he released your wrists and placed one of your legs on his shoulder to rut into you even deeper, his tip brushing against all the right spots, that made you come undone underneath him. Clenching around his length, he fucked you through your climax until he too found release, only fuelling your arousal when you felt ropes of his seed coating your walls, his member jerking inside of you until eventually, he stilled and embraced you without ever pulling out of you.

“How are you even here?” he finally asked. “I’m so happy to see you, darling.”

“That I could tell.” You grinned, grinding against him and eliciting a little whimper from him in the process. “My boss is meeting a client here. She asked me to come with her, it was quite last minute. I could have called you but I wanted to make it a surprise.”

“You most certainly did surprise me, darling. You know… I think I quite enjoy you calling me ‘Mr. Pine’.”

Your grin grew even wider. “Lucky for you, we’ll be staying the whole weekend, Mr. Pine.”

Jonathan growled once more. He was on you again to stifle your laugh and had you cumming for him again long before his ten minutes were over.

A/N: Well that was fun to write! ;-)

#jonathan pine #jonathan pine imagine #jonathan pine x you #jonathan pine x reader #jonathan pine smut #the night manager #the night manager imagine #tom hiddleston

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sunshinebarbie · 10 months

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a dish best served cold

pairing: Hyunjin x reader warnings: language, angry Hyunjin, toxic revenge mentality words: 3,367 parts: (one and done) VIP taglist: @axel-skz-main, about: you and Hyunjin have been dating for three years, one day while getting ready for date night you come across an article exposing Hyunjin for being unfaithful. You take matters into your own hands serving his least favorite dish. REVENGE.

a/n: here we go again with that angst. haha. honestly could you imagine doing this in real life?! i do not condone the actions mentioned...but also...if your soon to be ex is a POS then have at it. haha (but Hyunjin would never.)

*also side note... if you want to be part of the VIP taglist aka the permanent taglist just feel free to ask, that just means you will be tagged in all things i post that are Stray Kids related. or if you want i can tag you in reblog games and what not but just clarify what you want me to tag you in haha.

“Hyunjin getting cozy with mystery girl” the headlines read on the article that you pulled up on your phone. You could feel your device shaking in your palm as the cashier finished ringing up the last of your items. It wasn’t the headline that put you in a daze, but rather the picture. The clear proof in high definition.

There hidden behind some rose bushes at what looked like the same place you went on your first date, was your boyfriend of 3 years Hyunjin, and his lips were pressing a very sensual kiss to the neck of a girl who wasn’t you.

“that will be $218 and 38 cents” the cashier pressed a few buttons and looked at you. You put your phone on the small platform and opened your wallet to grab out your card.

As your fingers sorted through the various plastic cards you pulled out the first card you seen, and frowned looking at the thin plastic. It was Hyunjin’s card, he gave it to you for emergency purposes or if he wanted something and you had nothing to do, you would be able to get it for him without digging into your own funds.

“sorry, wrong card.” you sighed and were about to put the card back into your wallet when your brain hatched the most devious idea you could think of. “actually” you handed it the cashier. “it’s the right one”

The cashier swiped the card and handed it back to you “Approved” flashed across the screen as you put the card back into your wallet.

“have a good one” the cashier gave you your receipt.

Your phone buzzed it was Hyunjin. “$218?!” the text read followed by some laughing emojis. “can’t wait to see what you make” You didn’t reply. You put your items into the back of the ride and started your commute back to your apartment. Hyunjin was supposed to come by tonight for date night which is why you bought all of the ingredients to make his favorite dish.

You took a left down the fashion outlet street, the signs greeted you like old friends, each store begging you to come inside and look. The little angel and devil on your shoulders argued about your next move, but eventually one side won. The side that convinced you to pull off and walk into Louis Vuitton. You walked among the store displays and touched everything. Then you spotted it, the perfect purse that could make a statement. Being the statement said “this is what you get for cheating on me.” You flagged down a sales clerk and asked them to ring up the purse.

At the register the clerk totaled up your new purse to $2, 870. “uhm, I think I would like to see any matching wallets.” you smiled deviously. At the end of your Louis Vuitton splurge you spent almost $10,000 in one store.

You could feel your phone vibrate against your pocket, you looked at the screen it was Hyunjin. You ignored his call and walked to the next store. “GUCCI” the sign read proudly. You walked inside and did the same thing, picking out expensive but tasteful items.

Store after store you walked out with bags of new items, and you couldn’t wait to show Hyunjin all of them. Your phone was being filled with texts and calls from Hyunjin, all asking you to call him back and asking why his card was being charged for these items. Each call and text were ignored.

You were at your next stop, finding a bracelet to match the new purse you just purchased, that could look nice with the new dress you bought yourself. Your phone was ringing uncontrollably as the cashier smiled handing you your $800 yellow gold diamond Cartier bracelet.

“you have a good day.” she smiled “oh I am” you smirked and walked looking at the newest message from Hyunjin.

“you spent over $20,000 dollars!! WTF?!” you scoffed at his message and dropped your phone into your new Louis Vuitton purse.

You were buying a new pair of Versace sunglasses when your phone buzzed, it was Changbin. You tapped the green answer button and put your phone by your ear. “Hey Binnie” you put your sunglasses on and waved the cashier goodbye.

“you get your ass over to the practice room RIGHT NOW!” Hyunjin was shouting in the background. “uhm-” Changbin cleared his throat. “i don’t know what is going on, but I think you need to come over.” he mumbled.

“fine.” you smirked against the phone. “i’ll be there in 20 minutes” You hung up after hearing enough obscenities from Hyunjin.

You arrived to the JYP building where the boys were practicing, you could feel the anger in your stomach overpower your nervousness as you walked into the room.

Hyunjin looked up immediately and his eyes were full of anger. “Hyunjin” Chan tried to calm him down. “What the actual FUCK y/n!?!” he huffed and trudged towards you. Changbin and Chan stepped in front of him putting a wall between the both of you.

“what’s the problem?” you pulled your new sunglasses off and put the earpiece against your lips. “You’re joking right?! Or are you really this fucking stupid?!” he shouted trying to break through the wall that was Changbin and Chan.

You laughed and shook your head. “oh I'm fucking stupid huh?” you pointed to yourself. “that’s actually funny, at least I wasn’t trying to hide that I was screwing you over.” you mocked him.

“what?!” Hyunjin fumed “THAT WASN’T YOUR MONEY TO SPEND!” he shouted loudly, as Chan held him back. “and that restaurant wasn’t yours to take your little groupie to.” you argued back calmly.

“what? What are you talking about?!” Hyunjin shoved Chan off. You pulled out your phone and quickly opened the last tab on your internet browser. You shoved your phone into Hyunjin’s chest and turned to leave.

Hyunjin looked at the screen and his stomach dropped. “y/n” he sighed, changing his entire attitude. “no.” you sternly replied over your shoulder. Chan looked at the phone as Hyunjin handed it to him, the rest of the boys gathered to see. Felix and Han’s mouths dropped upon seeing the article, Changbin scoffed in disappointment in his friend, I.N stood silently, Lee Know and Seungmin shook their heads and looked at each other in disbelief.

“that was our-no that was MY place.” you turned back to Hyunjin. “I showed you that place! I suggested it to be our first date spot, and our anniversary spot every year.” you shook your head. “it was a mistake.” Hyunjin pleaded. “it was a mistake” you mocked his tone. “a mistake is going there on your own without me, a mistake is forgetting to tip the waiter, taking another girl there and kissing her is NOT a mistake, so keep that bullshit of an excuse and shove it.” you replied and threw his plastic card on the floor before storming out the door.

“Hyunjin” Chan looked at his brother and shook his head. Hyunjin looked at his members as they all shared an equal disappointed look on their faces.

Instead of arguing with them, he grabbed his bag and left out the door slamming it closed behind him. “well, I guess we’ll call it an early day.” Chan announced. “i’m going to get this back to y/n” Chan flashed the phone to the members. They all said their byes and left for the day as a dark tension lingered over the practice room.

Back at home you were shuffling through the various luxurious items that you purchased on Hyunjin’s dime. Sure it was petty, and if you were being honest, you really didn’t want or need any of this stuff. You just wanted a way to get even with him.

There was a knock on your door, you were hesitant to open it at first until you heard Chan call your name. You pressed yourself against the door and sighed. “are you alone?” you asked through the door. “of course, after that show, you really think I'm about to bring anyone else?” he chuckled.

You opened the door and let him in. Chan closed the door behind him, his jaw dropped in disbelief at the pile of luxury store bags all over the living room. “now, I'm not judging but-” he put a Gucci bag on the floor and sat down.

“i would be mad too.” he chuckled nervously. “yeah.” you picked at your nails trying to remain strong. “oh, here.” he handed you your phone back. “thanks” you smiled and put it down on the table. “do you want to talk about it?” he cleared his throat.

“not really” you replied and looked at him. “okay, but y/n, come on.” he gestured to the mountains of bags. “i’m not siding with anyone here, but Hyunjin is right, that wasn’t your money to spend.” he frowned. “I know” you scoffed. “i just-” you took a deep breath to keep from crying. “i just wanted to get some kind of revenge.” you added truthfully.

“Hyunjin worked hard for that money y/n” Chan added. “I know.” you sighed. “you think I enjoyed spending that money?” you stood up. “I felt sick every time the register said “approved”.” you held your tummy.

“but I kept spending because-I wanted him to feel what I was feeling” you added. “and did it help you?” Chan asked as he looked into the Louis Vuitton bag. “no.” you admitted. “it’s going to take him years to make back what you spent y/n” Chan sighed. “if you’re here to make me feel worse, you can leave” you turned to him.

“i’m just saying” Chan stood up. “yes, what Hyunjin did was wrong, it’s downright disgusting.” Chan sighed. “I suggest you do the thing you both should have done before either of you did what you did.” he headed towards the door. “which is?” You asked “talk to each other about it.” Chan shrugged.

Chan left out the door and closed it behind him. You waited for a moment to process Chan’s suggestion. And you hated to admit it, but he was right. You picked up your phone and scrolled finding Hyunjin’s number. You tapped his name and pressed your phone to your ear, the other line hummed as you waited and finally he picked up.

“what?” he scoffed in a cold tone. “uhm-I know I really fucked up.” you sighed. “but can you come over tomorrow?” you bit your lip “who is that?” a girl’s voice asked quietly on the other line, making your blood boil a little. “it’s just-no one.” Hyunjin replied. You could hear as she pressed her lips to his in a soft but loud kiss against the speaker of the phone. “we have practice all day tomorrow” Hyunjin finally replied. “maybe Friday.” he added. “sounds good, see you then” you quickly replied and hung up.

Your heart cracked loudly, it almost felt like you could hear it echo in the quiet living room. You looked around, it was just you, and all your items that Hyunjin “bought” for you. You sat down on the couch, and cradled your legs as close to your body as you felt comfortable. For the first time since you saw the article you let out a sob. Which lead to a waterfall of tears running down your cheeks.

The entire room was quiet aside from the sobs that fell from your mouth feeling the mixture of anger, resentment and heartbreak.

The next few days without Hyunjin felt too real, in the morning you still instinctively pulled out two mugs for coffee but when reality set in you put the second one back. You were still cooking enough to feed two people and had to toss any leftovers. Adjusting to the life of one was proving to be difficult. Your only distraction was playing some kind of online game with Felix and the never-ending memes Han would send to your phone.

Eventually Friday was here, you were vacuuming the carpet when the dreaded knocks against your door finally arrived. You inhaled a deep breath to calm your nerves and opened the door. Hyunjin looked at you and waited for you to invite him in. You gestured with you hand for him to enter and closed the door behind him.

“you want a drink or anything?” you asked while Hyunjin found a spot on the couch. “i’m good.” he replied with a nod.

“okay.” you twisted the ring on your finger and sat down across from him on the recliner. “so, I wanted to be civilized and talk to you about-” “-did I buy this carpet?” Hyunjin interrupted bitterly as he noticed a new carpet in the living room. “uhm, no.” you replied feeling a little annoyed.

“like I was saying, I wanted to be civilized and talk with you about this whole situation” you finally announced. “i think we passed the point of civilized when you spent over $25,000 of my money.” Hyunjin replied.

“okay, if you want to start it like this, then, I think we passed civilized when you decided to start fucking around behind my back.” you replied bluntly.

Hyunjin rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest. “oh my god.” you scoffed feeling the hurt in your chest. “you-” you shook your head. “you really have no regrets?”

Hyunjin could sense the mood change, and could hear the hurt in your tone. “I can admit and will say I was wrong.” you looked at him as he slowly lowered his arms and unlinked them. “i shouldn’t have been irrational, and I shouldn’t have spent your money...I'm sorry.” you swallowed your pride. “i just-I just wanted you to feel what I was feeling when I seen that article” you looked down at your fingers.

“do you know how stupid I felt? Seeing you with another woman? My first thoughts were “what will my family say?”.” you sniffled “The only thing I kept replaying in my head was you meeting my family, and how much they loved your presence, how they kept asking if we are going to spend the holidays with them this year?” you swallowed any form of tears that were trying to escape. The last thing you wanted was for Hyunjin to see that he had that power over you.

“I haven’t talked to any of them since then because I am so embarrassed.” “i’m going to forever be the one who wasn’t good enough for Hwang Hyunjin” you added and looked down at the floor. “no,” Hyunjin finally spoke up. “no, y/n you-you're enough.” he assured you. “Obviously not.” you replied and looked him in the eyes.

“you are.” his voice cracked. “no.” you shook your head. “because if I was-we wouldn’t be having this conversation. We would be-” you chuckled to keep yourself from crying “i don’t know, cuddling on the couch right now waiting for our food to arrive, or eating lunch somewhere and talking about your crazy schedule to promote your comeback.” you swallowed another dry lump in your throat.

“i’m sorry y/n” Hyunjin’s lower lip trembled. “please, Hyunjin” you looked away. “don’t cry, don’t complicate this.” you requested.

“what the fuck is that supposed to mean?” he snapped back. “you weren’t crying when you were on your dates with your girl, and you weren’t crying when you went to her house, so don’t do it now.” you replied bluntly

“that’s a shitty thing to say, just because it doesn’t seem to be bothering you and you show no emotions, that doesn’t mean I'll feel the same way” he raised his voice a little bit. “because I am not showing emotions doesn’t mean I am not bothered” you replied. “you don’t know how hard it is, to wake up every morning and break the habit of taking out two coffee mugs, or how it hurts my heart so much to lay down on the bed and just wait for your body to lay down behind me, knowing that it is never going to happen ever again.” You could feel the stinging in your eyes daring you to cry. “i already told myself, I will not cry over this, because I didn’t do anything wrong.” you closed your eyes to compose yourself.

“you didn’t.” Hyunjin mumbled, you opened your eyes and looked at him as he shifted in his seat. “I-” his voice cracked. “I-I just feel like-like I fell out of love with you.” Hyunjin admitted through tear filled eyes. “but I was scared to tell you because we have been together for such a long time, that I couldn’t just be laying with you in bed and say “by the way, I don’t love you anymore”.” he wiped his tears away.

“that wouldn’t have been ideal” you replied. “but that would have been better than finding out through an internet gossip site.” you added.

Hyunjin nodded in agreement, “i’m really sorry y/n” he sniffled “please, don’t cry.” you looked away. “like I said it’s just going to make this drag out longer than it should.” you stood up and went to the dresser. “here” you pulled out an envelope and handed it over to him.

“what is this?” he furrowed his eyebrows. “i returned some of the stuff I bought with your money, well some of the stores were less than amused and didn’t refund a full price, and some had a no returns policy so you can just take the items” you turned to grab the rest of the stuff.

“no, you can keep them.” Hyunjin assured you and gently pushed the items back towards you. “Hyunjin.” you held the stuff out to him. He looked at you, his eyes filled with tears trying to break free. He grabbed the items from your hands and put them beside him on the couch.

“well, I better get back to the dorms” he stood up and wiped his nose with the sleeve of his shirt. He gathered the items and envelope of money. You walked with him to the door and pulled it open for him. “I know it’s not enough but, whatever the difference is I'll pay you back whenever I can” you promised. Hyunjin stepped out and started down the hall, you watched as he sulked down towards the elevator. You looked down at your feet and looked back up at him instantly.

“Hyunjin” you called after him and hurried to catch up to him as he turned to face you. He looked at you, like he wanted you to tell him you needed him still. Instead, you wrapped your fingers around your left-hand ring finger and pulled off the silver ring that Hyunjin gave you on your first anniversary. It was engraved with Hyunjin’s birthday, and he had one with yours that he wore on his ring finger too.

“here” you dropped it into his open hand. He looked at it and shook his head. “no, seriously this one...this one you should keep” he tried to hand it back to you. “i want to move on Hyunjin.” you finally felt the tears roll down your cheeks after being strong for too long. “i can’t have any piece of you to bring me back.”

Hyunjin closed the ring into his fist and nodded. “i love you y/n” he looked at you, his lips trembling. You shook your head and forced a smile, “no. You don’t” you touched his face softly and brushed your thumb against his cheek. “but, you once did, and we thrived because of that love. And it’s that love that is helping me respect your choice to move on to find another.” Hyunjin stood silently, his brain not being able to figure out what he wanted to say.

The elevator door opened, you smiled halfheartedly and caressed his cheek one last time. You turned away and walked back to your apartment door stopping at the entrance. You turned around and looked over at the elevator as Hyunjin pressed the button, he didn’t look up back at you signaling to you that it was truly over.

#hyunjin imagine #hyunjin imagines #hyunjin angst #hyunjin x reader #hyunjin fanfiction #hyunjin fanfic #stray kids imagines #stray kids imagine #stray kids fanfic #stray kids fanfiction

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carpehistoryandthepens · 2 months

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Union! Geno is saving up for one night with Sid. Escort! Sid wishes for one night with someone who truly could love him.

yall want a not!fic based on @yabagofmilfs's prompt from like several months ago?

Prompt: Enough billionaire or CEO AUs; let's start romanticizing blue-collar workers. Give me a union man who has earned every cent he's ever made with his body, and tonight he's spending money that actually means something to him on a guy who's gonna treat him right.

Union! Geno is saving up for one night with Sid. Escort! Sid wishes for one night with someone who truly could love him.

Amorphous 1910’s – 1920’sish time frame. Don’t come at me with the historical correctness – this is not what I am here for, and it will not happen. Vibes ONLY. (My history degree is being used elsewhere at the moment.)

words: 1915

They met on the same riverboat that took them to Pittsburgh. Both teenagers, young and scared, were heading to a place for work that was far from the lives they knew. They meet on the deck of the riverboat. It's two to a room – they end up sharing; neither of them has money. Not yet. Geno clearly says that he is coming to Pittsburgh to work in the steel industry. Sid is very clear right back that he's going to one of the high-priced brothels in the city for work.

Geno is still Zhenya at the time. Sid only kind of had an idea of what he was getting into, but both knew they would be using their bodies for work and had more or less made their peace with that. Both are very taken with each other. They never go far on that trip—not even sharing a kiss before they have to separate at the docks. They both want it.

The kiss that never happened is their biggest regret for years.

But their thoughts stay with each other for YEARS. Just before they part, they exchange where they will be working. Geno makes a joke about buying a night. Sid laughs it off, knowing the average pay of that steel factory is far below where he was going. Both know it can be only one night, but it's not that night. Neither expects to see each other again.

What they didn't know then is that over the years, their lives will intertwine.

They could never stop running into each other. But it was always so causal.

Sometimes, it's at a bookstore – where Geno gets some Russian books sent to him or at parks where Sid likes to take people from the brothel for some fresh air. Sometimes, it's them running into each other as Sid goes to or from a party on the street. Once, memorably for both of them, it was at a party the Steel Union hosts happened to be in the same hotel that Sid was at a dinner.

Eventually (sometime in their mid-twenties), Geno puts two and two together and realizes what he wants.

They had just run into each other at a fancy bar that Geno would have never been in normally, but he got directly invited by the head of the Union. Sid looked so Radiant and Happy, and their conversation flowed so easily – it was so wonderful. Sid stopped looking so stressed as the night went on.

Until Sid’s date for the evening came by to pick him up so they could ‘go home.’ Then it was as if a mask came over Sid’s face, and all of the open happiness went away.

All Geno could feel was the frustrated rage that had nowhere to go, and he knew what that meant. One night with Sid would matter more than every night Geno had spent trying to get over him. It was worth more than every night Geno had spent lying to himself that he could be fine, never knowing how Sid felt or if he still laughed the same.

Because now he did. Sid still could laugh the same way he did on the boat trip to Pittsburgh.

Geno starts saving that night. Geno keeps tabs on the place Sid goes to and has a fair idea of what a night with Sid costs. It's more than six months of solid pay and can, and probably will, go higher. Geno figures saving at least a year's worth of pay will cover him if Sid gets even more expensive. And if not, Geno could get a good suit for the night. He doesn't hold much hope that he will get a second night.

While Geno gets teased by his coworkers and friends for always being willing to talk to the girls (and guys) of the night, it's always in good nature. They never judge him after Sid comes by as arm candy of one of the steel mill bigwigs on a tour of the mill and sees Geno's longing following the well-built escort. They would actually tease him if not for the fact that when Sid saw Geno - it's like Geno's longing is reflected in Sid's eyes. (because it is).

So Geno works and works and works and saves up for a little at a time.

Meanwhile, Sid never forgot Geno.

Even as he took high-paying clients and learned from the best at the brothel. While he enjoyed his work, none of the people he took to his bed ever loved him. Never gave him hope the same way that Geno did for the one night they had on the riverboat to Pittsburgh. Never treated him with the same kindness Geno did when he confessed he was going into this business so his sister would never have to. While his coworkers and friends knew his past, it was a common story enough – so it garnered little sympathy.

Sid was popular and well-liked. He was excellent at his job—because in what AU would Sidney Crosby not be the best at his chosen profession? He got bigger and more famous clients. He gained a foothold in Pittsburgh politics and culture by accident.

Sid, wielding his influence, has been trying to improve the working conditions and lives of the steel mill workers (in hopes that Geno—whom he remembers as Zhenya—would get the better life he wished for). Seeing Geno sporadically in the years since arriving in Pittsburgh, seeing how hard labor had changed Geno from a gangly teen to a strong man but had also put weary lines on his face only pushed Sid further.

Sid might have a career in politics nearly ready once he's no longer useful to the brothel, which is starting to get uncomfortably close as he ages.

But he doesn’t know for sure what his future holds—at all. All he’s known since he was eighteen is this life, taken by so many different people but no one who really cared for him as a person. Sid thought a few times that maybe this client would be different, but no. It was never meant to be; they always cared more for the status and the pride that came with being able to see Sid himself.

But something in Geno's eyes says he has to know at least once before he dies. What would it be to be with someone who would take care of him? Who could truly love him?

Then Geno saves up enough. He's in his mid-thirties. He's risen up in the ranks in the steel mill. He's not quite a manager, but he's one of the most trusted there. Most of his friends and coworkers have started families.

The night Geno walks into Sid’s rooms, as the man of the night, is one that Sid didn’t know he needed or truly wanted. He’s determined to make it the best night of Geno’s life. (he tries not to think how it’s the best night of his life either.)

The morning comes, and both of them know deep down that they won’t be able to go on with one night alone.

Then, the hard part begins.

Geno would be convinced that one night would be all he could get because he couldn't give Sid the life he's used to living. Meanwhile, Sid is like, "I can't rip away Zhenya’s independence!" (Sid has more than enough money – not a millionaire, but comfortable). Geno had been very clear when they first meant that he was proud he could make his own way in life – even if it meant working with his body differently than Sid would. Sid respected that and didn’t want to take that away.

They keep in touch with letters at first and the occasional phone call. (Geno works on making enough to have a phone in his apartment like Sid does. It takes time.) But they move on from being each other's teenage obsessions and then to each other's dreams to being actual friends.

They don’t sleep together again (Sid’s job keeps him very busy), but they do manage to spend a lot of time together.

Geno gets a promotion to work directly with the union to ensure proper pay and rights, which comes with a pay raise and new responsibilities that he has no idea what to do with. But the rights he can get for the workers matter to him, so he tries his best and makes some enemies. Geno’s Steel Mill owner hates him. (I've just decided this is Madden from that one radio network – he hates Geno for some reason and fuck that guy.)

Sid, meanwhile, finds his talent with people and accidental cultural pull starting to show as some of his clients start directly asking for opinions. When Geno’s Steel mill’s owner (the one who has always paid the most to have Sid come with them on dates, parties, and basically to show off) comes to Sid for advice on how to ‘deal with the annoying Russian that works for the union,’ Sid nearly throws the guy out of the window.

Sid runs to see Geno in the middle of the night because this makes him fear for Geno’s life. And it's all dramatic and takes place in Geno’s dingy apartment in a not-so-good area of Pittsburgh. For Geno, seeing Sid in this element – away from the glitz and the glam of his escort life – really takes it home that Geno is in love and…. It might be reciprocated.

Sid stays the night. And for the first time since he was eighteen, no money was exchanged.

This causes a lot of problems for Sid because Geno is not well-liked among his clientele, but he's Sid and kind of beloved in Pittsburgh. So, they choose to get rid of Geno rather than punish Sid. But that doesn’t go too well because it turns out Geno is well-liked as well. A few dates in public and the newspapers are on their sides (listen, Sid and Geno going anywhere in Pittsburgh is good for selling newspapers) (and Whoops! Tanger owns the newspaper, EK is a reporter, POJ is the lead photographer, and Rusty is the editor. They always have been on Sid’s side.)

The steel mill guy doesn’t do too well after that. EK goes to town on him. Jarry, Ned, and a few others take over the business and are much more willing to work with the union. Geno secures all sorts of rights with the steel mills (all of them) and doesn’t have to strike. Sid ends up in politics, but more like being engaged with the city, and pulling sports teams to the city. Things like that.

He and Sid never marry officially, but they know their vows were said the night Sid stayed.

#i write?#sidgeno #8771 #evgeni malkin #sidney crosby

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boundinparchment · 8 months

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Dream a Little Dream of Me - XLVI

Celestia had a cruel sense of humor. He knew this, even before his days as a student. But to be given a soulmate? Now, when he openly blasphemed against the cursed island in the sky? He would outlive you and the dreadful fated bond that haunted your shared dreams. There was little point in this. He could at least put a Vision to good use. People were nothing but disappointments. He had no use for you. Until you pulled the bow across your instrument and awoke a part of him long buried by self-hatred and arrogance. Soulmate AU; Il Dottore/Female reader w/ established personality and backstory. Slow burn. Lore and world speculation and interpretation within; follows canon story where possible. Rated Mature. Rating subject to change. Mind the tags. On AO3 here.

A week was a generous window of time; in fact, it was an overestimation for a zealous designer hired to do interior work for a Fatui Harbinger. They arrived within a few days, during which you played before bed and Zandik taught you the difference between coffee brewed in Sumeru and Fontaine. He much preferred the later; your nation's palette ran far too sweet, even for him.

Zandik's obscured gaze lingered during the initial introductions in much the same way it had on you back in the House of Daena. Luckily, or unluckily, the designer's nerves were made of stronger stuff, and it was clear they spent their time dealing with precise and demanding clients. They were unbothered, both by Zandik's stare and about the fact they were speaking to a Fatui Harbinger and their presumed life-partner.

A certain level of discretion was respectable. However, you knew precisely what being in their position meant. The right things to say, not revealing too much on one’s face, timing everything just so. No one was ever certain of your true personage and everyone was happier for the work done. Information that spread from both parties as a result was a given.

The hair on the back of your neck stood up a little at the designer's passing remark about Lord Pantalone's generosity on their retainer.

"Pantalone knows who is worth the time and mora. I trust you’ll find a way to meet the needs outlined,” Zandik remarked. “Lest you disappoint him.”

The designer’s smile was stiffer but otherwise professional, even when Zandik parted and left you in the sudden silence of your shared apartments.

The space you slept in reminded you of the tiny graveyards dotting the Fontaine countryside. Pretty, in only the way a romantic notion of death allowed, time and effort and money spent on a space never seen by those who occupied it. In another life, you might have been offended that Zandik cared so little for where he slept. It was evident he valued your comfort though and what better expertise was there when Zandik held no opinion on the matter?

You led the designer through the biggest changes, namely the bedroom, right down to the thread count on the sheets and the arrangement of the furniture. New textures, patterns, wallpaper. Such a practice was common in Fontaine, especially in second or even third marriages. You didn’t care if the designer thought your initial focus on the most intimate space was strange; even if they said nothing to allude to such thoughts, their stiffness did not melt. Perhaps they held the idea that the Second Harbinger was more machine than man, a rumor that circulated less now that you were seen with him.

If your memories were fixed, changing the bedroom wouldn't matter anyway, but you would always carry the contrary knowledge, as would the walls. Spaces held memories, too.

The sitting area was next. You needed a workspace, at least a private one, and a spot by the windows afforded not only the best light but the best view of the mountains and beyond. The peaks here were nothing like the peaks in Fontaine. These were eternally snow-capped and jagged, like the teeth of a dragon, it's maw wide open with the Palace and surrounding town in the center, waiting to be swallowed.

A tale for children, Zandik had said without explanation when you first came to the land; now you knew how true that statement really was.

As you spoke, the designer suggested, and with a few quick sketches, you understood immediately why Lord Pantalone chose them specifically. From their sketch, you could only surmise that they intended to re-arrange the sitting area in the center of the room. Even back in the dreamscape, that space always seemed so insular. You could imagine Zandik with multiple Segments sitting, all being able to face one another and look over plans, never letting anyone else into the fold.

Cold and off-putting.

Exactly what you didn't want for either of you.

"A sofa this way, across from the fireplace and a table in front of it, creates a cozy space that separates itself without being too closed off. Right now, it's more of a conversation pit but there's no warmth. Might be able to flank the coffee table with armchairs if that's a must…but what to do with…"

You were shown swatches of fabric and examples of wood finishes but visualizing space was not your forte, you admitted.

Apparently, that was the best thing to say because they were immediate in rearranging the pre-existing furniture with gusto. Soon enough, you found yourself sitting on one of the sofas, maintained but worn, the low table in front of you, staring at the grate in front of the vacant fireplace.

The idea was tempting. You could imagine Zandik sprawled out in front of the fire, his head in your lap, as it had been once upon a time. That had felt so real back then. You could only wonder how such an arrangement might feel now, tangible and warm. The familiar yearning ache flared in your chest, radiating outward into your arms and down to your feet.

Somehow, parts of this were worse now that you were near one another, and yet your mind was all the clearer for it.

You turned your head towards the awaiting designer as you said, "It's perfect."

Through sheer proximity and time together, small intimate details showed themselves to both of you, as natural as breathing.

That was not to say that everything was perfect.

You overheard the way he spoke harshly to subordinates and threw daggers (proverbial and otherwise) at anyone who wasted his time. It set you on edge and scratched at the parts of your mind you wished Omega had touched. You withdrew just as Zandik caught himself, the damage done, your body present but your mind back in Fontaine. You set your mind free again with the familiar weight of your cello bow in your hands and the notes reverberated through your very being until you felt grounded again.

As of late, you had yet to hear him do more than sigh harshly through his nose. Instead, he asked about a particular detail in your composition from a previous night to distract himself from others' failures.

And Zandik, despite the freedom from his hivemind, thought himself into circles to the point where he wound himself so tight, he couldn't even sit. You caught him on occasion checking his pulse at his wrist and frowning, annoyed at the lack of control. Despite all of his own work, he couldn't discern whether he enjoyed the way you smiled because he was meant to or because you were, in fact, such a fascinating spark in his life.

It only took a few strokes of his hair to melt the unease away just long enough to get him to bed. He didn't have to sleep, you told him, but it wouldn't kill him to rest.

Enough common ground existed that you always came back into orbit of one another.

It would never be perfect.

Soulmates were never intended to be. Some had it easier than others but even then, every relationship needed work.

And neither of you were strangers to dedicating yourself to work.

You trekked down in the depths of the Palace some days after the designer's first meeting, intent on using some of the space to practice your claymore techniques using the baton with little fear of damaging anything irreplaceable. The large and open chamber that housed a half-assembled Ruin machine would do just fine; the high ceiling and open space allowed you to test the range of your motions.

Soon enough, not even the laboratories would be a sanctuary for you, not without additional precautions. Zandik's other assistants, the ones that worked beneath the Segments, had not yet returned to their assignments; that would change within the next few days. Progress had halted long enough. Plans were in motion and the remaining parts needed to be ready.

You were reminded of it as soon as you stepped foot into the workspace. Prototypes mid-construction were spread out, their blueprints on a nearby board with various notes to pinned to the main schematic. These were projects in a pipeline, years in the making and finally being brought out of theory and into trial. It was impossible to misconstrue their purpose.

And Natlan was as unstable as ever.

Retreating to a workspace far away from any current project, you called the baton and your claymore with ease, both appearing like loyal hounds at a whistle while the Meks shuddered to life at your presence. A touch of home that Zandik programmed for you. You could feel the Arkhe energy pulsing faintly, not unlike the way air tasted before a thunderstorm.

With enough practice, the weighty and unwieldy sensation was gone and you learned to control the force with minute changes in both the speed and distance you waved the receiver. Now it was a matter of hand-eye coordination to hit your targets continuously when you were no longer up close and personal in combat.

To your surprise, the diamond blades created by your Vision appeared without much prompting other than a call on your Geo resonance. They worked with the motion of the baton, crashing down like the sword dangling over a courier in an old fable who traded places with his king for a single day.

The release of Geo energy did wonders for your mood and your mind as much as playing did as of late. You still could not dream but you were far from being as disconnected as you once felt.

That counted for something.

You slammed your claymore down with a flourish, crushing the last of the Meks, Pneuma and Ousia energy cores sputtering and failing.

With the weapon in your hands, such a fight would have left you winded and struggling to retain your grip on the weapon, muscles and tendons screaming. You still exerted yourself but without the weight and momentum of the claymore to contend with, it was easier to focus on finding patterns to exploit.

"Better," Zandik called from behind you. "Much better control. How do your hands feel?"

You turned and vanished the baton with a flick of your wrist, smiling and wiggling your fingers in response.

"Nothing's locked up so far. We'll see after a longer rehearsal, though."

A slight frown tugged at his lips, gone before you could inquire further. He was, for a rare change of pace, dressed in gray slacks, with a white shirt open at the collar with a gray waistcoat to match. If you were attending a spring wedding in the hills of your homeland, he wouldn't look too out of place. Without the metallic bird on his shoulder, he seemed to hold himself even taller, if such a thing were possible.

"I might have to increase their aggression if you're going to wipe them out so quickly," Zandik teased with a smirk. "Considering you couldn't even summon your weapon not that long ago. If you're finished, I wish to discuss something with you concerning your memories. I believe I have a solution."

A solution? As you walked with him back to the office you once wandered through, you wracked your brain, your heart still pounding and breathing heavy from the fight. The last you spoke of such a thing was the first night in Snezhnaya. Reversing the tangles that Omega created was an eventual goal, you assumed, based on that conversation. One that might be obtainable when Zandik found his feet again as a single consciousness and returned to his station properly.

Part of you hoped you never had to undergo such an experience again.

Safely in the confines of the office, your eyes fell on a jar of an organ, its label illegible, before you looked at Zandik through your face covering. His mask remained in place, his hands occupying themselves with the various piles of notes and trinkets on the desk. He paused, finding what he was looking for and tucked it into his pocket before rounding the furniture to lean against it, facing you, hands on either side of him for a moment.

"I thought we agreed to give it time," you said, tone mild. "That everything might sort itself out."

Zandik dipped his head in a gesture you knew as slight agreement before he turned a point on its head and spun it like a top for a new angle. He tucked his hands into his pockets and continued.

"Time was allotted with minimal results. Your nightmares are indicative that, to some degree, your mind understands the falsehoods but cannot repress them entirely nor bring itself to let them go so the proper ones can surface."

"It's not as if we've tried to actively stimulate my real memories, Zandik. Not truly."

It came out a little harsher than you intended and carried the weight of the last couple of months since the discussion on the terraces of the Divine Tree. You watched as Zandik's lips grew into a thin line and the muscle in his jaw twitched as he clenched his teeth.

Arms crossed, you pulled your gaze away from him and took in the way the pyro lamps burned and danced to a pattern of their own making. They were bright enough to work by but never contained the true brightness of the sun.

That you weren't able to rearrange the webs and put everything back together naturally, without interference, wasn't your fault but it wasn't his, either. Going back to Fontaine wasn’t an option, or at least not one that didn’t come with more problems than it was worth.

Tackling this earlier was an impossibility when he was still processing his own death, metaphorical though it was.

"Of all people, I know how difficult it is to let go when you don't have the means nor the bandwidth."

If you were anyone else, he would have spat the sentiment with venom; instead, he sounded tired, bored even, as if the words were a given you should know by now.

"That wasn't fair, I'm sorry," you conceded, setting aside your mask and opening your arms again. "The time we've had needed to be used on more pressing issues and who's to say if we did try to provoke my memories that it would have worked?"

"Music is a powerful catalyst in driving unconscious memories forward, after all." He shook his head and then waved his hand causally. "You cannot tell me you've been able to bring anything to your waking mind from playing as of late. You do not likely have a proper reference point to try to match and so you cannot know what to play to try and awaken those memories. All you have are whatever untruths Omega painted like an artist reusing canvas, and if I offer alternatives to what you could have been doing, I am imposing a bias."

You inhaled slowly and took one hand in another, rubbing your usual sore spots to soothe your own frustrations. It was all you could do. Anything else required too much attention and you wanted to know what he had to say.

Instead of speaking, Zandik unclipped his face cover, set it on the desk behind him, and pulled what appeared to be a red star from his pocket.

A Segment's Ruin core, permanently marred with the data and memories of its owner.

He destroyed all them though, hadn't he?

Your heart sank slightly as you schooled your expression. He had reasoning, he always did. Even if it didn't necessarily aligned with your view.

His demeanor fell when recognition crossed your face but he held out his hand anyway, the core resting in his palm. You crossed the room and took it. Turning it over in your hand, you immediately noticed the symbol that marked the Segment. How could he possibly have kept…

"Omega was the only one in the entire network who held extensive knowledge of the memory grafting. I reviewed what's left on the Core—long before you shook me from my stupor—and I believe there's a way to reverse engineer the process," Zandik began.

Hands cupped yours and traced your returning callouses the way one traced a pen mark they admired or a soothing fabric.

"Your memories are the last remnant of my Segments. You carry your own version of events, ones that didn't happen, that Omega saw fit to weave. I spent many, many years using any and all means to get to desirable results; I won't bore you with such details. Regret doesn't come into the equation but as I said back in Sumeru, and as I reminded you, I needed the knowledge first. Now I have it."

"Reverse engineering would require me to undergo the same process, would it not?" you asked, flicking your gaze up to meet his eyes. "Attach me to an Akasha network, push me into my own mind?"

"More than likely. Omega was thorough in his notes on the Samsara Cycle and it was easy enough to navigate the machines and network when I found you the first time. I believe this course of action is for the best. For both of us. You should be able to dream again and the remnants of my past will cease to haunt."

After a beat, you asked "Worst case scenario?"

If you went into this idea know how bad it could possibly get, you could at least be prepared. Before, such a thought never would have crossed your mind; it certainly didn't when you were asked if you wanted to seek private patronage nor when you walked with Omega under the impression the Segment was Zandik. Foolish, really, considering what you learned about those in power in need of more.

"Omega couldn't sever our connection, although he tried," he said at last. "He wasn't your proper soulmate. It is unclear if…pruning the memories and their branches will affect more than just those memories. If removing part of myself will remove the whole. He simply laid himself on top of pre-existing memories…this may have far more ramifications."

Zandik was quiet but his hands never left yours. For a moment, you were back to damp grass and bright stars, investigative touches trying to understand what instrument you played.

"If I am to be done with my past selves, I must remove these lies from your mind," Zandik said evenly. "I believe the risk is worth it."

Risk. Such a tiny word for the gravity with which it pulled on your heart. The very thing Omega set up to complete was still a possibility despite the Segment being nothing more than ash (or mostly ash). He just never took the next step, a step that was simply pulling at a loose thread to unravel the whole.

You were about to pull your hands away and return the Core to him when Zandik's fingers tightened around yours, silently begging you to stay. He looked down at your joined hands as he sighed, squeezed yours lightly, and then looked at you again.

His eyes almost burned as he looked at you, expressive in ways that only the finest minute movements allowed; before you, he stood resolute, determined, and you could understand how even the most desperate souls clinging to their last moments of life might believe he had the answer. It was easy to mistake it for charisma, for arrogance, and easier still for it to have twisted into such things.

"I do not promise anything when it comes to my work; they're nothing more than lies wrapped up with a bow and I deal only in truths," Zandik whispered. "Should that happen, it changes nothing."

It changed everything, you wanted to scream. He would finally be able to get what he wanted, free himself from one Celestial shackle, done with the circular logic of trying to make predestination make sense amid all his own work.

Omega would win.

And you would be left hollow. Again. Left with nothing but memories of what used to be possible, of the connections ripped from you, choice truly taken from you. Either way, you lost and you didn't work for close to two decades only to…

"How would it not—" you started, the words stuck in your throat like thick porridge.

"Nothing, rooh 'albi. And no one will take that choice from me. No one."

Even from across the frozen training ground, weeks later that now marked your stay in Snezhnaya at two months, you could still feel the adamant resolution in subtle waves. Your foe this time was no Mek but a suit of corroded armor brought back from the depths of a rift in the ice further north, beyond the Cryo Dragon's resting ground. The bitter cold bit through your lined pants and warm coat, your cloak held in the crook of Zandik's arm as you pressed the soldier harder.

Sunlight reflected off the snow and made everything brighter; you were thankful your mask cut down on the glare.

You pinned the joints of the armor down with two diamond blades, Geo energy pulsing in waves as you sent a third through the seam between the body and the helmet. With a gesture for releasing a note, you waved the baton in a small circle while pinching your forefinger and thumb of your other hand together, following the motion in perfect sync. Your claymore gave a final whistling note as it cut through the air and stabbed through metal and corroded flesh.

It protested still, determined to get back on its feet despite your attempts to subdue.

Over your shoulder, you heard a familiar high-pitched whine before a glowing Cryo needle whizzed past your ear and hit its target. The soldier in starlight armor fell still, finally, its weapon turning dark as the remnants of life faded.

"One day, I'll be good enough to face you properly," you said with a smile when you approached Zandik as he finished up his notes.

Before you could retrieve your cloak, Zandik draped the thick fabric around your shoulders with practiced ease. He was either uncaring or oblivious regarding onlookers and that suited you just fine. People would talk; avoiding it would only cause more suspicion and both of you were growing tired of hiding like schoolchildren.

He opened his mouth as he smoothed out your cloak's lining and you nearly jumped when you heard another voice in his stead.

"Be careful, maestra. Our Doctor never turns down a challenge and he seldom loses."

Both of you turned your heads to find Lord Pantalone standing just at the bottom of the footpath, an accompanying Agent several steps behind, bowing low at the waist. Zandik's hand grazed your jaw as he pulled away and warm air puffed out in a cloud from his nose at the interruption. You were, for once, thankful for the cold and the fight; both burned your cheeks and hid any flush across your skin.

At least it was Pantalone, you tried to rationalize, but even the most well-behaved dogs still had teeth.

"What brings you down from your lofty office, Regrator?" Zandik drawled, tilting his head slightly.

"I take it then the Tsaritsa's couriers had as much trouble finding you as I did." Pantalone replied, his tone light.

The other Harbinger's cloak was open just enough to allow him the freedom to use his hands. He steepled his fingers together but pointed them in Zandik's general direction as he smiled, golden eyes hidden, his expression congenial.

"The Knave and Marionette returned successful from Fontaine; the Jester sends his orders for an audience with the Tsaritsa."

Zandik pulled his shoulders back, his back already straight.

"And he sent you to fetch me?"

"I thought it prudent to save him the trouble."

"You think it prudent to save the Tsaritsa an entire vault of mora but he has yet to determine if you're worthy of a higher seat. Perhaps it's time to change your strategy, Regrator."

Zandik pushed a breath through his nose, another puff of warm air escaping him the way smoke lingered in taverns in the lower reaches of the Court of Fontaine. He pulled in his arms into his cloak and made to walk ahead of the other Harbinger, his strides murderous as his cloak's hem whispered against the snow.

Pantalone turned and then stopped as you stepped to follow, at least up to the Palace. You watched as his smile grew wider and you caught a hint of gold as he looked at you. Mora was never an apt comparison you realized; his gaze was as threatening as the glimpse of a bullet in a chamber, a Duelist's final weapon ready to be drawn.

"No. Not you, maestra," Pantalone's tone was sickeningly sweet, patronizing, and your stomach burned.

He nodded to the Agent, who stepped forward and bowed to you, standing only when his Harbinger gestured to do so. The distinct unspoken air of disdain you were keenly familiar reared its head as you debated, for a moment, playing into it. You hadn't missed this nonsense, toeing the line and watching both tone and words, wondering just what step led to the path of least resistance.

"I wish to have a word with my colleague. You can take the scenic route back to the Palace. Anatoly here is quite competent in providing additional security in the Doctor's absence."

You turned your gaze up to Zandik, who had since stopped and turned back, mouth set into a frown. Other than the initial meeting in his lab, you hadn't told him about Pantalone's visit while he was disassembling the Segments. That was your battle to fight first; after all, you couldn't always rely on him.

But here, he was the one with the most authority. And the Ninth knew that, too.

"Whatever you have to say can be said openly, Pantalone."

The Ninth never looked back at Zandik, his sharp gaze trained on you. "No, I don't believe it can. Do you think me such a poor friend that I would discuss private matters as one discusses the weather?"

You smiled politely and even deigned to cross one leg behind another and give the closest gesture to a curtsy you could in a heavy cloak and pants.

"I do not wish to come between you. And your work is imperative; the Tsaritsa's Will must come first." You turned your obscured gaze to Zandik and said, "Send word if you will be further delayed but otherwise you know where I'll be, my Lord Harbinger."

Not like you went anywhere else other than the Tsaritsa's music room or your quarters anyway. The latter was probably a safer option, stifling though the notion felt.

Zandik inclined his head slightly but said nothing, instead turning around and continuing up the hill. Pantalone's smile faltered for a split second, an expression between disgust and admiration dancing across his face before he, too, turned and made his way back to the Palace.

You sought another path back up to the Palace, the Agent's footsteps never far behind as a bud of dread bloomed in your chest, invading all it could.

#dottore #il dottore #il dottore x reader #dottore x reader #dottore/female reader #il dottore/female reader #dottore x female reader #il dottore x female reader #genshin impact reader insert #soulmate au

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aspoonofsugar · 9 months

Note

This is me trying to avoid the slaughterhouse for what I'm about to suggest (there's a good chance I'll get cooked alive anyway).

I'm not sure where you stand with Penny and Ruby's relationship, but I wanted to get your opinion on my interpretation (sorry to put you on the spot).

I interpreted Penny as the little sister Ruby never had. I think that CRWBY wanted to put Ruby in Yang's shoes during the Atlas Arc, since that was the main internal conflict within team RWBY.

Yang spent her childhood trying to protect and raise Ruby. She tried so hard to be the best big sister she could be so Ruby wouldn't ever have to suffer the same pain she felt... the pain she felt twice, with Summer disappearing and learning that Raven abandoned her. She gave up everything for her.

I saw Ruby as stepping into that role for Penny. There was that parallel, about friends. Ruby asking if Penny made any other friends, compared to when Yang asked Ruby to make some friends at Beacon.

Ruby always trying to comfort and protect Penny, even at the cost of her own safety (yes, any friend would do this, too).

I don't know, that's just how I saw it. The Atlas Arc very much was about changing perspectives, with them also being put into Oz's shoes after he left, needing to make the hard choices, prioritizing what to tell and what not to tell.

I thought since Yang and Ruby's rift was most prominent during that arc, that she was also being put into Yang's shoes with Penny. Just like Yang was put into Ruby's shoes and taking charge of her own team.

(That being said, I do see the appeal of a romantic relationship, but I was much more interested in the Potential of it, the symbolism and parallels, rather than it actually being canon.

Another statement that might get me slaughtered is that I wouldn't have liked if it became canon while Penny was alive because it felt like Penny contributed to the weight on Ruby's shoulders. She was extremely codependent on others (TOTALLY UNDERSTANDABLE and just like Ruby was with Yang at the start at Beacon) and if I was to like the ship in canon, then Penny would have had to stay alive and go to Vacuo while RWBY fell (guess Jaune wouldn't have a reason to fall anymore), and learn how to be independent.

Even then, I'd feel horrible for Penny because she hated being the Winter Maiden, and if she survived, she would no longer just be protecting Mantle and Atlas, she'd be protecting the entire world. Though... she wouldn't be doing it alone anymore. She'd have the rest of the world to back her up.

I dunno, sorry for the ramble, and sorry if you are offended (I get it, homophobes like to use the "they're just sisters argument with a lot of wlw ships, but I promise there's no malicious intent behind my interpretation. Plus, I just recently discovered and am exploring my own sapphic identity).

But yeah. I hope they don't come for me for this. I decided I'd rather talk with someone about it rather than post it as a statement. It feels like it'll come off differently as a civil conversation.

(it's greentea)

Hi!

Don't worry, it is fine for me to discuss anything, as long as people are polite!

So, this is a very interesting take and I agree on many things, while I interpret others differently. If you are interested, you find my 2 cents below.

PREMISE

So, let's make it clear where I stand on ships. I am not a multi-shipper, so I am really not that passionate about ships unless they are canon or I think they are becoming canon by the end (obviously I may always be wrong in this second case). When it comes to Ruby, I think Rosegarden is gonna be endgame, so I am mostly focused on this ship.

That said, I think that so far Ruby has shown no romantic interest in anybody:

Ozpin: Not enjoying yourself? Ruby: Oh, no, everything's fine! I'm just not much of a fancy pantsy… dancey girl. Ozpin: Well, you can't spend your whole life on the battlefield, even if you may want to. Ruby: Yeah, that lesson's been floating around a lot lately. Ozpin: If you think about it, fighting and dancing aren't so different. Two partners interlocked, although one wrong move on the ballroom merely leads to a swollen foot. Ruby: Or a twisted ankle.

In Atlas, she is uninterested in Renora's romantic conflict. In volume 9, she is the only one who doesn't get Weiss's crush on the Rusted Knight and Bumbleby's developing attraction. Basically, Ruby's focus is really not on romance and that is (imo) for 2 reasons:

She is focused on the mission and the macrochosm, rather than on her personal life

She is in a different development stage when compared to the others. In short, she is younger

Obviously, younger people fall in love too (I mean, puppy love is a thing) and everyone develops romantic feelings (if they even do) at different ages. However, RWBY is a story which makes use of metaphors and archetypes to describe the characters' inner journeys. This happens with Ruby, as well.

In particular, volume 9 has Ruby going from childhood:

To adolescence:

Little becomes Somewhat. Ruby becomes Someone. Neither Somewhat nor Ruby have figured themselves out. Still, they have grown and stepped into a new phase of their lives.

Well, I think that after this inner transformation Ruby will be more open to romantic relationships. In short, I think the Vacuo arc will focus on Ruby and Oscar's bond, which will grow to be romantic on both sides.

So, where does it leave Penny? I think Ruby and Penny's dynamic can be read in 2 ways:

A platonic friendship (my preference)

A bond, which could have developed into a romantic relationship with time once both Penny and Ruby grow

Ironically, I think the platonic interpretation is deeper and is better to explore Ruby and Penny's dynamic in canon. That said, there is nothing wrong about headcanoning a romantic attraction in a what if scenario.

In any case, it doesn't really matter because Penny is dead and personally I don't think she is coming back. Of course, there are people who feel differently and that is alright. I simply want to make clear the frame I am using.

That said, I don't think it is coincidental that so many people ship Penny and Ruby together. As a matter of fact Penny and Ruby's bond is very important and will be important for Ruby and Oscar's story, as well. After all, Penny and Oscar have been set up as foils since the very beginning:

Ruby: But at this pace, you'll be combat ready in no time! Suddenly, Ruby frowns upon mentioning her last phrase. Oscar notices this and tries to ask a question before Ruby interrupts him. Oscar: Uh…

In the dojo scene, Ruby unconsciously compares Oscar and Penny. This is also the first time Ruby indirectly brings up her friend before meeting her again in Atlas. In short, Oscar and Penny are linked when it comes to their arcs and what they mean to Ruby. So, Ruby's feelings over Penny's death are gonna be important for her dynamic with Oscar (and many other things, of course). Let's now focus on what Penny represents for Ruby.

PENNY AS RUBY'S INNER CHILD

I interpreted Penny as the little sister Ruby never had. I think that CRWBY wanted to put Ruby in Yang's shoes during the Atlas Arc, since that was the main internal conflict within team RWBY.

I like this take. I think it is interesting how you parallel Ruby and Yang's journeys in Atlas. Ruby becoming a big sister to Penny and Yang acting as a leader of her own faction.

That said, I think Penny's role in Ruby's arc is wider and it doesn't start in Atlas. Since the beginning, Penny represents Ruby's inner child:

A person's supposed original or true self and the part of the personality that still reacts and feels like a child.

Penny arrives at Beacon and is immediately presented as a Ruby up to eleven:

Penny: Sen-sational! We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys! Ruby: Oh, is this what it was like when you met me?

Just like Ruby, her initial objective is to make friends. Just like Ruby, she is sweet, innocent, hopeful and can wield lethal weapons:

Ruby grows close to Penny because of these similarities. At the same time, Ruby is immediately not only supportive of Penny:

Ruby: You're not like those things we saw back there. You've got a heart, and a soul; I can feel it!

But also protective in a way, which is uncharacteristically strong:

Penny: Ruby, are these people your friends? Ruby: Penny, get back! AAAAAH! Ruby: Penny, wait! Stop! Penny: Don't worry, Ruby. I'm combat ready!

Finally, Penny's death is what breaks the peace and happiness of Ruby's school days:

The fall of Beacon starts with Penny's dismemberment. That is the moment Ruby's world breaks and she crashes down in shock. However, she is fast to get back on her feet and immediately uses Penny's sword to fight a Nevermore:

The metaphor is clear. The Nevermore embodies grief (see Poe's The Raven) and Ruby deals with it with her inner faith, which is represented by Penny's sword.

Atlas is just the repetition of this story. Penny arrives like a ray of hope in the grim situation the heroes are. They have just discovered Salem can't be killed and Ozpin has left them. Still, a lost friend appears out of nowhere and brings new happiness to the characters:

Penny: It'll be just like Beacon again!

Thanks to Penny, Ruby is able to go back to her happy place. She is back at Beacon with her friends all working hard to become extraordinary Huntresses and Huntsmen. Sure, some things have changed, but Ruby can find solace in the things that haven't. This is why Ruby's line to Pietro is so telling:

Ruby: Even if the worst does happen, you can always reactivate her again, so maybe try not to worry so much.

Pietro is worried about Penny's well being and Ruby tells him not to because if push comes to shove Pietro can just revive Penny again. Ruby clearly sees Penny as an ideal existence that can defeat death. However, Pietro is quick to shoot down this belief. This is foreshadowing for Penny's eventual death and how Ruby will have to accept it. Penny's second death brings out all the negative feelings Ruby has been repressing:

The scenario is the same of the one at Beacon, but this time Ruby can't stand up and struggles to find Penny's sword again:

Jinxy: Enough hope to fill this jar.

She has not enough hope to wield her inner blade anymore.

It is deep down still there:

Ruby: I… I thought this was lost forever. How’d you have it? Blacksmith: Nothing. No one is ever truly lost.

However, Ruby can't see it.

In other words, Penny is symbolically linked to Ruby's hope. She is the embodyment of the inner child that shines within Ruby and brings light to others. Still, Ruby is growing up. The coping mechanisms that worked as a child are starting to lose their grip on her.

It is not by chance that in Atlas Ruby struggles to use her silver eyes. She finds an inner equilibrium in volume 6, but Salem's words in volume 7 are all it takes to throw Ruby off:

After that, Ruby manages to sucessfully use her eyes only when Penny is in danger:

So, symbolically Penny is the one keeping Ruby together. This is why she is undone the moment Penny dies. Penny's death marks the end of Ruby's childhood.

Volume 9 is really Ruby grieving her child self in Penny. This is made clear by Little, who is Ruby's innocent self and shares many similarities with Penny. They love hugs and friends and Ruby. They are hopeful and want to grow up and help others. They are both Ruby and Penny in a nutshell.

So, Ruby's final goodbye to Somewhat is really Ruby saying goodbye both to her child self and to Penny:

Ruby: Well, uh… To me, you seem like a friend. Blake: A guide. Weiss: A protector. Yang: A…dorable. Ruby: Do any of those sound close? Somewhat: Hmmm. Somewhat. Yeah. Somewhat. I’m not any one thing, I’m somewhat of a lot of things! Ruby: It is a true pleasure to meet you, Somewhat. Somewhat: It will be my honor to serve you. Ruby: You’ve already done more for us than you know. Somewhat: You do feel… familiar. Like a happy dream I can’t remember.

She is moving on towards adulthood and self-actualization. She is working through her grief for her friend's loss.

Of course, this process has just begun:

What survives After all the dust has gone? Were you there till the end (the end)? Were you at least called a friend?

My wish came true That day that you appeared And called me friend

Penny is absent from Ruby's final confrontation with the Blacksmith (my main complaint about volume 9 ending). Still, this is clearly because Ruby is going to symbolically face her later on.

It is the same with Jaune and Pyrrha:

No more Sudden movements Please So tired, I'm sleepless And haunted by you Falling Forever Was I always just A man out of time

Both fallen maidens indirectly appear in the climax of the volume, but neither is properly addressed. They will be in Vacuo. They must be because both Jaune and Ruby are still hung up on them.

RUBY IDEALIZES PENNY

Neo-Penny: Just like you were too late to save me at the Vytal Festival… I died in Atlas too, didn’t I? Can you imagine what that's like? To be completely and utterly failed… time and again… by someone who meant the world to you…

This is the Penny Ruby sees in her head. This is in no way the real Penny. In her final moments, Penny is not looking for someone to save her, but rather she is searching for ways to save others.

In short, Ruby idealizes Penny to an extent. She sees her as someone innocent and pure to protect, but Penny is much more. Penny is her own person and her arc is about reaching self-actualization. She isn't the Pinocchio who is created by the Blue Fairy. Rather, she is the Pinocchio who creates the Blue Fairy:

All of this to say, I disagree with this take:

She was extremely codependent on others (TOTALLY UNDERSTANDABLE and just like Ruby was with Yang at the start at Beacon) and if I was to like the ship in canon, then Penny would have had to stay alive and go to Vacuo while RWBY fell (guess Jaune wouldn't have a reason to fall anymore), and learn how to be independent.

Or to better say, I see things a little bit differently. It is true that Ruby and Penny's dynamic is one where Ruby is mostly the one supporting and Penny is the one supported. It is also true that Penny is unsure about herself because of how her life has been controlled by others. Still, the way this dynamic works is also because Ruby keeps on projecting on Penny a very frail and vulnerable part of herself.

I actually think your parallelism with Yang and Ruby's dynamic is pretty poignant. Yes, Ruby is initially dependent on Yang. Still, Yang too is clearly projecting on Ruby her guilt and belief that love is conditional. This is why Yang should let go of Ruby:

This doesn't mean for Yang to stop caring for Ruby. However, it is not Yang's fault Ruby drinks the tree tea. Similarly, it is not Yang the one who can save Ruby or decide who Ruby is gonna be. Only Ruby can do that. That is because Ruby is her own person outside of Yang.

The same goes for Ruby and Penny. Ruby is a wonderful friend to Penny. Still, it is not her fault Penny dies at Beacon and at Atlas. Finally, Penny has in herself the strength to grow up and become her own person. Something she does before dying.

If Nuts And Dolts were written to become canon, Penny should grow more self-assured, so that she could be there for Ruby. At the same time, Ruby should stop projecting her inner child on Penny.

THE CONFLICT THAT WASN'T THERE

I would like to highlight that volume 7 offers the perfect chance to change Ruby and Penny's dynamic.

As we know, Ruby's main internal conflict there is if to tell or not Ironwood about Salem's immortality. Well, if Penny were to have an arc intertwined with Ruby, so that they could grow together and end up as a couple, this conflict needed to be addressed between them.

After all, Ruby doesn't tell Penny about Salem. At least, we have no reason to think otherwise. Penny is close to Ironwood and Winter and trusts easily. So, it is to be expected that if she knew, she would insist to tell the Atlas higher ups. So, not only is Ruby hiding info from Ironwood, but also from her friend. She obviously does so not to put Penny in a thight spot.

However, if Penny were written to grow into Ruby's partner, I think she should have entered a minor conflict with Ruby over this. In volume 8, Ruby not telling her should have been mentioned and Penny should have called Ruby out. She should have demanded Ruby to trust her more.

So, why doesn't this happen? Simply because imo Penny and Ruby are not written to be endgame. Moreover, the ones who enter a conflict with Ruby over this are Yang and Oscar. In particular, Oscar gets the part of the conflict, which could have easily been Penny's. He is the one who grows the closest to Ironwood. He is the one General objectifies. He is the one who eventually reveals the truth. He is the one who faces Ironwood in a last desperate attempt to get through to him.

Obviously, there could have been many other ways to write Penny and Ruby as a ship. Still, Penny is right now dead and her arc is done. In general, Penny and Ruby's arcs are not even that intertwined structurally:

Penny's arc is about reaching personhood through making difficult and tragic choices. She explores the theme of humanity, duty vs want and faith. Finally, her destiny in the sense of final goal is linked to "friendship". Her final choice is to say goodbye to Winter and to solve their conflict. She also chooses her friends over her duties as a Maiden. The character at the centre of her arc is Winter and not Ruby.

Ruby's arc is about overcoming Summer's death. She is a wide-eyed child, who is confronted with the darkness of the world and has to resist it. She must keep her idealism in the face of the worst happening. The characters at the centre of her arc are honestly Summer and Cinder so far. Still, I think Oscar will be key, as well. I mean:

Foreshadowing is foreshadowing.

That said, Penny and Ruby are incredibly important for each other. They are linked to each other's best parts. Ruby is the first to recognize Penny's humanity. She is Penny's guide and inspiration to grow up. Penny reminds Ruby of her most innocent and hopeful side. She is an even more simple soul than Ruby herself.

So, I personally don't ship them, but I can understand why people are passionate about their relationship. As for me, I am more interested in their individual arcs and what they have to say. Thank you for the ask!

#rwby #ruby rose #penny polendina #rwby meta #my meta #greenteaandtattoos #tw: penny's death

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twst-drabbles · 1 year

Text

Azul 20

Summary: There's a horrid scent filling his restaurant. It's coming from this new friend of yours.

(Eldritch AU time! Been a while! Be sure to send me your thoughts and gushes when you can. I love reading them.)

There was a specific smell in the air. One that brings forth a memory of that overflowing trash right next to that seedy shop Azul trusted to hold all his magical needs, whether it be books or tools. For as dedicated as the shop owner was for their products, they never cared to clean the outside to make it more appealing.

It was the scent of half eaten meals, of tortoise shells with their insides picked out but left with only the unsavory organs. That thick, almost sweet-like smell that would clog Azul’s noise every time he would come by it. No shred of manners for public cleanliness.

Memory aside, this smell was threatening to permeate into his Mostro Lounge that he spent so much time perfecting. Who ever brought it here, he will not hesitate to throw out. It’s driving away all his customers and to lose even a single cent meant having to push back and rearrange his steady rhythm of renovations.

The scent was coming from that booth in the farthest corner. Right where you’re sitting at with someone else. All Azul could make of that person was their long strands of hair, both damaged by the sun and the salt of the sea.

“Excuse me,” Azul walked with as much authority as he could, but he couldn’t keep from covering his mouth to keep a gag at bay, “I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you two to—”

“Azul,” the unsaid command was present in your voice. Azul had to stop mid-step. “I’m talking with an old friend. It’s best you don’t come closer.”

You had your chin resting on your hands. The smile on your face was clear, with your eyes shining a sparkle that can only come with facing with the familiar. Are you really ignoring this disgusting scent? Friend or no friend, Azul does not care.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, dear customer,” Business comes first, coins come next, friendships comes afterwards, “You and your friend are disturbing this peaceful atmosphere with that horrid scent of your—”

“How…rude.” Your friend’s voice was slow, sluggish, as though their tongue was swollen and clogged their throat. “I don’t…smell a…thing…”

“Well, what you say doesn’t matter when nobody wishes to come in. So, as the owner, you will have to leave or I will have you thrown out.”

Often you give little to no signals of what goes on in your head. Any secrets he would wish to pry from just your gestures was an exercise in futility.

However, your disappointment was made clear to him when your face fell blank. You tilted your head to the side, and the sigh that you made had his stomach sinking through a pitfall.

The head of your friend snapped. They faced right at him, shoulders still in place, the skin of their neck, bloated and blue, threatened to rip right open. Where there should be eyes, there were millions and millions of tiny black tendrils writhing, caressing their swollen skin. Where there should be a nose was simply one big hole. Where there should be a mouth was a long slit cut vertically from nose all the way down their throat.

“Liars…should be…punished…” it pushed past its flap.

“Wha—!”

This creature leaped over the seat. Azul fumbled at grabbing his pen. Big hands, with fingers too long to really be called fingers, made to grasp his face.

The seams of your clothes fell apart at the chest. They didn’t rip so much as they just, fell open cleanly. All sound, the swishing of the sea, the gentle music playing, and even Azul’s own heartbeat, all of it was silenced.

The colors swirled, Azul unable to pinpoint the color of your clothes, your skin, your eyes. They were all lost to him. Something slipped out of your skin. Burst through. Like bone. Like muscle. Like warped light escaping a blackhole.

The lights flicked, but the ones nearest you burst in shards of dying light. You were lost to the dark.

“We’re not done talking.” You breathed out.

Light returned not a moment later after Azul fell. The silence faded, though the speakers were damaged with an underlying current of static and its disorientating skipping.

The creature was on the floor, its head crushed and split open, tissues soft like an old jellyfish. A complete and utter mess.

You, however, were clean. Your clothes were not out of place. No rips to be seen. You took a sip of your drink, as though there wasn’t a corpse on the ground near his feet. There was a smattering of black ooze stuck to his shoe.

“No need to worry,” you said, tilting your head towards the mess, “I’ll be sure to clean up as soon as I finish my drink. Be sure to look away while I do so. It’s embarrassing.”

#twst #twisted wonderland #twst-drabbles #twst-drabbles exclusive #drabble #octavinelle #azul #azul ashengrotto #eldritch au #reader insert

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dark-elf-writes · 1 year

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“Naruto would also do so much for the red light district once he was in charge.”

Just absolutely love the thought of Granny Rin teaching Naruto how to use what little money he has and him taking it to heart as hokage. Him taking to heart all the love and care such a large part of Konoha (forgotten and ignored as it may be) gave him even when they had so little.

Him completely overhauling every financial system in place for the better. Correcting the money funneling for Root Danzo was probably doing, negotiating better trade deals with other villages, finding new trade routes, requiring careful documentation of how every dime is spent (suddenly undocumented spies are very rare), etc.

They don’t have to go with the cheapest “quality” goods anymore when Naruto can go straight to the source of the best and make negotiations himself. Shinobi get better gear, better pay, more benefits, better health care (therapy!!!), etc.

And when all that’s done with, turns out there’s actually hell of a lot of money left over without a Danzo shaped leach screwing with things. The academy gets more specialized teachers and more funding, the orphanage becomes habitable, and workers go through intensive screening before they’re allowed around the kids.

The red light district gets better housing options, the removal of dilapidated buildings that are more hazard than not, medical options, education options for the kids that don’t want to become shinobi, and the workers get full legal protections.

———

Maybe once it becomes clear that the changes to the academy lead to better/ more well rounded graduates, each one being better than or equal to past rookies of the year, they raise the graduation age. Give them time to learn more than the basics and put less stress on the Jonin taken away from their duties to train them in basically everything. Assign teams before they graduate to give them time to work with each other outside life or death situations and complete d ranks in the village for a year.

Fatality reports come in. Less genin dead than ever. They raise the graduation age again, diversify the lessons, call in experienced chunin to work with the older students, and incorporate specialization training with special Jonin. Again they’re better trained, more well rounded, more experienced. Every graduate comes out at least on mid chunin level. The majority makes special Jonin, Jonin, or ANBU within a few years.

The other villages take notice as they always do. They mimic Konoha’s success until there really are no kids on the battlefield. It’s a dream realized and finally made true. Even if it does take several hokage’s to get to Naruto.

I mean when you think about it ROOT would have been a massive suck on resources. Like even just keeping his little homegrown terrorist organization fed alone would have taken some serious cash much less training and outfitting each and every one of them. And for all the good Kakashi could do as Hokage, he has never had to think about money the way Naruto has.

How to make it stretch. How to barter for survival. How to ensure every last cent is accounted for because that could mean the difference between a meal and going hungry.

The finance department was shocked and a little horrified to see the Hokage himself, hat and formal robes abandoned for a messy bun and silken kimono, chewing on a senbon as he pours over every expense report in the last few decades and reworks the budget by hand.

It’s the most strict budget they have ever had.

It’s the best budget they’ve ever had.

He scribbles down a message on the back of a scrap paper they’re pretty sure is a receipt for his lunch and sends it off with a bird before anyone can stop him and gets a scrap of a puppet schematic with his answer written back. soon enough a trade contract is hammered out on scraps of paper and their relationship with sand has never been better.

He demands every teacher gets more stringent background checks and training for how to recognize abuse. In turn they see an upswing of kids who were thought To be sure washouts starting to thrive as they were taken out of bad environments. There is even a stretch where Naruto himself taught at the academy until more teachers could be found and trained. The kids why had him as a teacher end up as one of the best Shinobi Konoha has ever seen (if a bit unhinged in the same way he is)

He directs the budget into he poorest places in the village, starting with his home (because the red light district would always be his home) giving them the better world he promised them with a fanged smile.

Naruto fixing Konoha by learning the lessons the ‘lowest’ of the village taught him and through his skill of making alliances fixing the world and leading them all into a golden age.

#the elf talks #naruto #red lights and fox fire au

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fabbyf1 · 1 year

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💥

💥 How do you feel about criticism?

bruhhhhhhh. This is a heavy one.

First and foremost, I'd like to make it very clear that I don't expect everyone to like my fics, or my writing style, or my sense of humor... or anything about the content I create.

I understand everyone has their preferences and what they look for/want out of a fic.

That being said... criticism on fics, especially in comments or through anon messages, seems a bit unnecessary. Like... you could just, idk, NOT read the fic.

You could hit the back button. You could go somewhere else. You could sit down. You could learn to bake bread. You could look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself, "How would I feel if someone said this to me?"

If you're just commenting to be rude, hurtful, or anything that's not 100% kind... you're an asshole. Plain and simple. All you're doing is hurting someone who spent many hours working on something (FOR FREE) when you could just... not be a dick.

I'm also very iffy when it comes to constructive criticism as a whole.

Did the author ask for it? Is your "constructive criticism" necessary? Is the story a WIP? Because if it's completed and published... babe, please just don't bother. (There are exceptions to this rule. I think we all know what they are. If something could be seen as hurtful, problematic, hateful to a group of people... you could gently bring that up to the author. but that's not what we're discussing here, so let's move on.)

If you really feel you have to bring up your "constructive criticism" to the author, I'd suggest you dm them (NOT on anon. If you're criticizing on anon, you're a pussy. Don't be a pussy. The author doesn't get to be anon, you shouldn't get to hate on anon. Say what you want to say with your username attached if you actually think it's 100% necessary the author sees it.)

I don't think criticism of any kind, constructive or just plain douchebaggery, belongs in the public comment section. And that goes for any fic I read, not just mine. I fucking HATE when I come across somebody being a dick in Ao3 comments, and I will usually go full 32yo Angry Mom/Karen Mode and insert myself in their thread like "HELLO, DICKHEAD. I'M KATE. NICE TO MEET YOU. LET ME SAY WHAT THE AUTHOR WON'T."

Now, if the author ASKED for criticism... that is different. (Also fucking brave of them.) If they asked for it, I'd still advise you to 1. make sure it's actually necessary they hear it, and 2. say it fucking nicely.

Tell them everything you loved about their fic. Tell them how it made you feel. Tell them the lines that made you sob or laugh or smile. Then (and only then) VERY NICELY AND GENTLY, offer them your advice. And know that it's 100% not up to the author to acknowledge your criticism and/or respond to it.

Because again, babes, we do this for free.

Also? I'm fucking soft. I cry over literally everything. I put my whole kateussy into my fanfics, and if someone says something rude about them, I will cry actual tears. I'd really rather you just NOT read my fics, you know?

I've been reading and writing fanfics since I was 12 years old (that was 2002, children). I have read hundreds of fanfics I didn't think were great. I've read hundreds of fanfics that sucked. Not ONCE have I ever told the author that. And I never would. It's not my place in the world.

At the end of the day, anon, I think it's important to ask yourself: "Does this person need to hear what I'm about to say?" the answer is usually no. This can apply to so many situations in life.

Please be nice to each other. The world is a shitty, terrible place. Our little safe corner of the world (AO3/Tumblr) doesn't have to be terrible or shitty.

Let's just... be fucking nice to each other, please.

Just my two cents 🙂

Anyway, back to the PWP.................

#ask #anon #this was heavy shit im sorry for the rambles #(im not sorry. its important)#fic #ao3 #f1 rpf #f1 fanfic

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thefuseoftemptation · 2 years

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Hi! Can I request a Poly! Lost Boys x gn! Reader where the reader has never really had a good Christmas and is usually left alone by family and the boys like remake a Christmas in June for them so that they can experience something happy with them? (I know it’s really out of season) Thanks :))

Thanks for the request!!!

NOT FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR ||

THE LOST BOYS X READER

(GENDER AND RACE NOT SPECIFIED OR MENTIONED)

WARNING(S): cussing, just some sadness here and there, the reader feeling left out and then lots of sweetness! Let me know if I missed something!!

The heat of California was proving to be a real killer. With summer here, it was bound to be like so but hell, you didn’t expect it to be this fuckin lethal. It wasn’t too much in the morning or even at night, but during the day- the sun was at its highest.

It didn’t help that instead of cooling off at the beach and enjoying school being out, you were stuck clearing out the garage. Your parents had told you to help, only to leave halfway for work. Typical.

Here’s to the summer of 89’ you mumbled.

You stopped when you heard the sound of bikes approaching, checking the time to see it was well past the time you were supposed to meet them. The boys. Fuck. You had been in here all fuckin day. Sighing, you get up to let them in.

“HONEYBUN!”

You didn’t have a chance to really greet them before you were brought in a tight embrace by the tallest blonde. Paul. Holding you ever so much until David told him to let go.

“We missed you hun! I missed you more though.” Paul expressed giving you a wet kiss. “Paul, we saw each other yesterday. It’s only been a day.” you told him chuckling

“That’s too long.” He whined

“When you didn’t show up we got worried. Had to come make sure you were alright.” Dwayne said lowly, kissing your forehead.

You sighed and smiled, “sorry, got caught up in something.” You said and went to greet the other two.

“Caught up in what?” David questioned holding your hand as you guys walked through the door.

“My parents needed the garage cleared out, and told me to help. They left not long after for work and asked if I could finish, and I’m nowhere near done.” You explained, rubbing your head.

“That sucks. It’s summer!” Marko countered as Paul nodded beside him.

“Well obviously, but I can’t just leave.” You huffed, throwing yourself back on the couch.

“We can help you sweetheart,” Dwayne offered.

Marko and Paul were about to reject it until David gave them a look.

“Yeah we can help babe…” they grumbled.

You spent most of the night in the garage, not exactly how you hoped to spend time with your boys especially with it being summer but here you are. You shouldn’t really complain though, because they were there. With you.

You and Dwayne were sorting through some of the boxes, while David stood to the side, smoke in hand and telling you both where to put them and how they should go. Why doesn’t he just help instead of putting his two cents in.

“I heard that.” He stated not even looking your way. You made a face, mumbling under your breath. “You have something to say darling?” David questioned, turning to you with a smug grin. “No.” you quickly replied. He chuckles and puts the cigarette out.

“Hey babe, what's up with all these?” Marko asks, pointing to the nearest shelf filled with holiday boxes.

“What about them?” you shrug.

“Why are there so many? I mean, who knew someone would need so many-” he stops and looks at the labeling on the box “Christmas decorations.”

Again, you shrug. “I don’t know, we just do. I don’t see why though…” you said, voice getting quieter as you trailed off, which didn’t go unnoticed by them.

“You alright hun?” Paul asked, bumping your shoulder. You sighed.

“I-It’s just, we have so much. So much to decorate with, so much cheer and lights stored and yet none of it goes up when it comes to that time of year. Or when it does get put up, it never goes how I hope it would. Christmas just isn’t for me you know…” you told.

Honestly, it had been like that since you could remember. Ever since you were young. Christmas was never really it for you. It never went how you hoped. It was never what you would see in films or hear people speak so joyously about it. It got worse as the years went by and you got older. There was constantly something happening, something more urgent and important coming up, somewhere better to be. Like seriously, what’s more important than spending the holiday with the ones you're close with? When you were a child, you remember the excitement you felt when the month hit, only for that feeling to leave quickly when you knew that it’d be just you—again.

“So, you’re telling us that you’ve never experienced a real Christmas?” Dwayne asked

“Never.” You confirmed

“But-but it’s Christmas!” Paul exclaimed, not really having it with the confession you just made.

You could only offer him a small smile, muttering out a ‘yeah’ before going back to clearing the garage.

“Come on, we’re almost done.” You spoke, getting up with a box in hand and putting it on the shelf.

The boys weren’t pleased with what they heard. They weren't pleased with how you were so used to it. It shouldn’t be like that. Especially for you. You deserved to experience that time of year like everybody else. Hell, even they had Christmas. Sure, it wasn’t your typical traditional setting, but it was something to remember each year. They went all out, never shying from the season and its greetings. They were the type—well mostly Paul and Marko—that the second mid November occurred they would already be putting lights up with Christmas tunes on in the back and looking to steal the biggest fuckin tree there was.

It irked the hell out of David much to Dwayne's amusement.

With your back to them, they shared a look. To hell with summer! They were going to give you the Christmas you deserve.

It had been a week. A week of getting everything together and making sure it was all there. It had also been a week of you hounding them with repetitive questions and expressing inner thoughts. They had tried to keep you occupied, but that was deemed as not possible when you tested their excuses for why you couldn’t go back to the cave for the night. Why were you so persistent?? So stubborn??

Finally, the time had come. David went to pick you up while the other three were left to wait and put in the finishing touches and details. Pulling up to the curb, and taking out a smoke, he waited for you to come out. Grinning when he sees you run up to him out of breath. “You couldn’t have parked closer,” you panted, holding your side and wincing.

“Wouldn’t like your folks seeing me would you,” he commented with a tilt of the head.

Alright, that's fair.

“Where are the boys?” You observed, taking his hand as he helped you on the bike.

“At the cave. C’mon let’s go. We have something to show you,” and with that you took off.

Arriving, you questioned the boy on what there was to show, only to receive short responses. Though he still assured you it was nothing to worry about. As you went to ask again, you stopped when you heard music. But it wasn’t just any music, it was…Christmas music? Looking to the cave, then to David who nodded his head forward, gesturing you to go. Your eyes widened when you entered.

It was Christmas themed.

There wasn’t a part of the cave that wasn’t covered. From the lights that hung from the ceilings, the tinsel that wrapped around the fountain, to the smell of spices that lingered, and—is that a tree? Where the hell did they get a Christmas tree in June??

“MERRY CHRISTMAS!” Paul and Marko shouted simultaneously.

Huh?

“Merry Christmas Darling,” David whispered from behind

“But-but it’s June…Christmas isn’t for months.” you stated

“Well it came early this year.” Marko declared

“When you told us you never got to experience it, we decided to give you one to remember.” Dwayne explained, coming up to hug you.

You felt tears forming, gripping the brunette's jacket, and pulling him closer.

“Thank you,” you choked, letting go to wipe the tears that began to run down your cheeks.

“Don’t cry babe! You're gonna make me cry!” You looked at Paul and sure enough the boy's eyes were glossy, lips trembling. No.

“Paul, don’t. Don’t make that face—stop!” You pleaded, going over and taking him into your arms.

“They’re happy tears, only happy tears, alright? Nothing to get upset over. I swear I’m just a little overwhelmed babe.” You held his face in your hands and kissed his cheeks.

“Thank you guys. Really. It means so much” you expressed

“Enough with that, it’s supposed to be a joyous occasion darling. Let the night commence!” David announced, the boys hooping and hollering.

Paul went to raise the volume on the rock box, as Marko went to grab a Santa hat and set it on your head.

“I like the look,” you commented with a chuckle, looking at the elf ears that he had on his head. “Thanks babe, you should see David’s.” You both turned to look at the bleach blonde, who was sitting in his chair, feet propped up, smoke in between his fingers, and a Scrooge hat on. You snorted.

You were suddenly pulled into a firm chest, knowing very well who it belonged to. You smiled at Dwayne.

“Hi sweetheart.” “Hi.”

Holding him close, as his arms settled on your waist, swaying back and forth to the music.

“You like it?” he asked

“I love it.” you said

“Just between me and you, don’t drink the eggnog.” He whispered. “Why?” you asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Well because we made it. That should be enough of a warning in itself.” He chuckled lowly

You giggled, resting your head against him and closing your eyes in contentment.

You all spent the night in each other's company. Laughing, dancing, drinking anything but the eggnog, and pigging out on the many plates the boys had gotten from the store. You couldn’t help but let your eyes run through the walls of the cave. Smiling at how they really went all out for tonight.

How they managed to get this much Christmas decorations in June, you’ll never know.

It was still early morning but the sun would be rising soon, not really liking the thought of the night ending. You got up from the couch, releasing yourself from the grips of your boys much to their dismay, and making your way to David. You perched yourself on the armrest of the chair next to him, leaning forward to plant a kiss to his cheek. He smiled and brought his hand to your face, gently rubbing his thumb under your eye.

“Merry Christmas Darling….”

Reminder that REQUESTS are OPEN until I say otherwise :))) so send some in if you’d like. If you’d like me to tag you in something, please let me know.

#the lost boys x reader #the lost boys #the lost boys david #the lost boys paul #the lost boys marko #the lost boys dwayne #the lost boys fic #the lost boys imagine #the lost boys fanfiction

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