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cowgirlcherrie · 9 months

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𓏲 APPLE OF MY EYE ᵎᵎ secret admirer! abby anderson

synopsis: love is a free spirit; crushing is even harder. It all started with a special delivery of anonymous treats at your door. While you were yearning that it would be your best friend sending them to you.

song(s): apple cider by beabadoobee

*LYRICS ARE BOLDED

content: takes place in game universe. follows the events leading up to seattle day 1. violence. death. repetitive mentions of apples; eating them, imagery etc. mutual pinning. implied character death by end. blood. right person, wrong time. missed connection. kinda implied fem! reader. Joel death mention. death foreshadowing. intuitive knowledge of death. Closely follows the song.

WE BOTH LIKE APPLE CIDER

Crush and Crunch.

Crunching with your crush.

It all sounded the same to you, the cracking of your vocal cords at the back of your throat pushing at enunciating every syllable in crush sounding like crunch; which were your teeth poking into an apple every Tuesday. Shiny Granny Smiths, on Tuesdays, Honeycrisps on Wednesdays, and Fuji on Fridays.

You weren’t sure when the kitchen started getting apple deliveries; perhaps the never-ending garden of trees grown them with the perfect analytics to make sure they weren’t poisonous or synthetic apples but you weren’t complaining. The first time you tried an apple sounded ridiculous to say. Your first ever. You took the finely cut slice; detached from its core to your mouth, groaning in satisfaction as the flavors mixed together in your mouth like a rollercoaster. Juicy and bitter with a tinge of sweetness. Just how you liked it.

Abby said they were even better with cinnamon. Rambling on about how sugar and spice equate to everything nice and the best finger-licking of your dreams. On apple days, during breakfast you found yourself sitting at a secluded table with Abby in front of you slicing the apples so they were easier to consume. Shared amongst the two of you as your hands reached for the same slices; Abby pulled her hand away to let you have the last.

BUT YOUR HAIR BE SMELLING LIKE FRUIT PUNCH

You enjoyed these bittersweet moments; like the apples of course. The sun beamed on Abby’s face in marigold and marmalade, as her blonde locks blew in the air slightly disheveled from when she went on patrol that day. Her fresh scent of pine, and fruit blend from her hair which was refreshing and comforting you. She took a final bite before flipping the knife down to take it back to the utensil bin for washing. Where then the two of you would part ways. It was never awkward. Eating apples in silence; you mean — because Abby had a schedule more vigorous and deathly than yours and you had other businesses to attend to. But she never would miss out on an Apple time with you.

AND I DON’T EVEN LIKE YOU THAT MUCH

You’ve grown suspicious in recent meters. You weren’t one to talk about love either but it somehow found some way to bite back at you like the juices of the apple splattering on your lips when you would eat them.

WAIT, I DO, FUCK.

It started with suspicious packages revealing themselves outside of your door, wrapped in a delicate ribbon, with a brown paper box tied off with the most absurd cursive handwriting that you could hardly read. But somehow making out, the delicate notion of

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Xoxo, eyes from afar.

CALL ME, AT MIDNIGHT.

So as anyone else would, at midnight, you stomped your way to Abby’s door pounding your fist into the wood until she slammed it open looking at you in bewilderment. Toothbrush in between her lips scratching her teeth; scrubbing away at any build-up as she watched you. Notioning with her hands for you to speak. She looked carefree, laidback her hair was down and she looked as though she freshly showered.

“Thanks for the gift” you smirk, holding up the box with randomized love and self-care books with an intact nail polish set that was on top. It was a variety pack, swishes of different shades of pink and white, and even nudes to go for a clear coat; like a puff of cotton candy.

You were flattered, naturally, it was a sweet gift like a candy cane in the sweet summer breeze you wanted to just rip it out of the packaging and have a go. You also never had someone be so considerate of you. Thinking to bring you back something so pure and valuable that surely wouldn’t collect dust but you would bring out every month. You would make sure it wasn’t forgotten.

Abby furrowed her eyebrows, holding up her pointer finger motioning – one minute, running to the sink and spitting out the toothpaste rinsing her mouth off.

“I didn’t give you that.” Abby specified, taking a washcloth to wipe at her hands and around her mouth as she let you inside.

“C’mon Abs, even if you did that’s—”

“I didn’t give that to you.” Abby’s voice was more serious this time, stern and strict with some urgency. Not that she was being rude about it, but she was trying to get you off her case. After a long day of patrolling where she did find goodies you would like along with some ribbons from a craft store along the way, Abby got to work making you a sweet delivery. After all, you deserved it.

“But who else would know I like apples besides you!”

“Manny, Mel, Nora, Ow–”

“Okay I didn’t ask for names.” You hushed, fiddling with the box in your hand as you looked at the treats inside. Biting at your lips, it was like being given a hug but the person who gave it to you disappeared before you can offer one better, or even fully wrap your arms around them to give one back.

“This was really sweet I just wish I could give something back.” You mumbled, tilting your head down to look at the books yearningly. Amidst the violence, the blood, and the chaos, you still loved and that was what pushed you forward. That was what erupted a fire in you; triggering your passion and jumpstarting your heart like cables to a car.

“I think you shouldn’t worry about it,” Abby suggested, not looking at you but folding her laundry to put away for safekeeping.

“What?”

“What.” Abby shot back, acting as if she didn’t say anything prior, but you heard her well. Your friend, heart, and soul were being shifty with you; acting as if she didn’t care about your treats or that you were being admired from afar by someone with a sweet gentle heart.

“Nevermind I’m being silly” You confessed, taking your words back and turning on your heels to leave her room.

Abby wasn’t going to let you leave. Lips parted as she watched your feet get closer and closer to the exit of the door.

LETS GIVE, THIS, THING A TRY.

“Show me.”

You stopped walking, turning around slowly on your heels. Part of you wished it was Abby, though she would never really know. You watched the way she looked at Owen with appreciation but also disgust. How her love turned to hatred and pain. Abby wasn’t focused on you, you would think.

Abby wasn’t focused on you.

“What?”

“I said show me,” Abby confessed, her voice as clear as day, “C’mere…” Abby patted the side of her bed where she sat comfortably.

“G‘head tell me about it. I wanna see it too” Abby gave a smile. Truth is, behind her push n’ pull — rigid love and aggression she still hoped for you. Amidst her passive-aggressiveness, she was giving the love she felt as though she would never feel again. The permanent hole in her heart that you kept on refiling and you didn’t even know.

She didn’t want you to slip through the cracks of her fingers just yet. Hiding behind a mask, cowardly shying herself away from you. Owen wasn’t on her mind but having you think that especially as she set off on a spree for the man who killed Jerry, would fix that. You were a liability, she wouldn’t let you go.

You made your way down the steps, to her bed tucked in the corner nook, sitting down as you opened the package. With that you started rambling, tossing the paper apart like a kid on Christmas, showing Abby the hardcover copies with a dopey smiley on your face. Abby couldn’t contain her own smile either. Watching as you went through each nail polish shade.

“Can I try these on you?” You held up a baby pink, it was in a ballet slipper shade, which would make a good neutral against her bright skin.

Abby wasn’t going to resist, shrugging up her shoulders against her black long-sleeve shirt, pushing the shirt up on her arms, “Sure”

So you proceeded further with painting her nails that evening, toxic paint brushing on her fingers like a canvas — while the two of you whisked away in laughter. It was like a red string wrapped around the two of your fingers, webbing you together and pulling you closer and closer until there was no gaps or lack of air.

It was pure and for the moment you really valued it. What you didn’t know you had until it was gone. You wished you could have hugged her a little bit longer, and learned more about her besides what she was showing you at a service level. You wanted to know Abigail, not Abby. Before it was snatched away from you with the snap of the fingers. Get the gunpowder dust off the sea salt it was time for war.

.𖥔 ݁ ˖

YOU SAID YOU LIKED MY HAIR, SO GO AHEAD AND TOUCH IT.

I like your hair today, and your necklace xoxo, eyes from afar

Maybe it was the validation or the comments but you loved receiving the little notes wrapped in different color ribbons. Maybe you were looking forward to catching your second set of eyes. Lingering outside your door to see if they would show but it was always as if they knew your schedule. Catering to the perfect moments that you were gone to slip the delight at your door.

The note of this week – bringing joyous to your being made you wear the delicate jewelry even more. At first, when you wore it, it was just a careless decision that you did for fun. Spontaneous and last minute as you untangled it in between your fingertips pulling out the birthstone necklace that was gifted to you from no other than Abby herself; weeks before the arrival of your secret admirer. But the moment you remembered, clasping it on around your neck was the moment you truly valued it even more. You were certainly never going to take it off.

YOU SAID YOU LIKED THE JUMPER I WORE, SO I ALWAYS WORE IT.

But your bright radiating aura, evidently in hues of pink and purple; signs of love and wisdom was shortly dimmed by the chatter during your afternoon meal. You were set to follow Jordan to the Serevena, patrolling being the last thing you wanted to do of the evening. Endless pit in your stomach nothing felt right. The snap before everything fell apart.

Out for blood, out for vengeance was Abigail Anderson who returned with blood on her hands. Murderer!Murderer! Red-handed girl with fury in her eyes and a golf club sharp at the end splattering everything into two.

Wrecking havoc; causing destruction.

That was all you heard from Jordan as you chewed through the same-old burrito that evening. That was enough to make your eardrums bleed. You could feel your heart in your ears jumping out of your chest at the whispers of Abby’s name, eyes darting from table to table to hear if anyone had caught wind of such a subject:

I heard she…

Can’t imagine that…

That’s terrifying…

No Abby mention.

Coincidentally amongst Abby’s absence; the snarky girl was gone with the wind, and so was your secret admirer. The deliveries stopped coming, you were alone, with a set of eyes ‘watching you’ and apples to now peel on your own. . . you found it odd, but one thing for sure was that Abby would hear from you later, where you would gush about this admirer of yours and what you imagined them to be.

IT’S REALLY NICE TO TALK TO YOU, IT’S REALLY NICE TO HOLD YOUR HAND

“Abs on a scale of 1-10 how attractive do you think my admirer is” You pondered, hands entangled in the pages of a fashion magazine. Fingers dusting away at the thin layer of grime and grey from the dust and dirt; signs of age.

“Probably like a 3” Abby confessed bluntly as she walked around her room moving vastly to pack away her belongings.

Abby’s side of her room was neater in comparison to Manny’s, her laundry was folded, memories stored away for safekeeping, and everything was where it needed to be. Including your ribbon and the scissors she used — the bad duct tape she stole for security.

“Really?”

“Okay, maybe a 5, it could well off be a creep,” Abby muttered as she continued to push different survival items into her bag, jacket first, followed by flashlights and extra batteries.

“I don’t think it is though,” Abby froze, panicking instilling in her, it was like a vicious game of hot and cold, you creeping closer and closer to her and it was time for Abby to fall back and bring on the passiveness.

“What?”

“I mean imagine this, they send me a final letter asking me to meet by the gardens where they reveal their identity to be no other than —”

“Save that for a fantasy, I’m leaving” Abby spat, cutting the happiness in the air with a thick knife which was her voice that evening. It felt like a safety net for her to drop off bad news right after you gave the good ones, almost debunking it creating a hostile environment, and shattering the rose-tinted glasses off. Then you remembered who you were talking to, what you were doing. A flower in the middle of an apocalypse, Abby being covered in thorns.

“Is it because you killed that man”

“What makes you think it’s…who told you?” Abby furrowed her eyebrows stopping her movement to let you get a good look at her face. Abby was looking you up and down like you ripped the bandaid off her arm like you were digging your fingers into a cut infecting it with your fingertips and any active bacteria.

“Word travels around here pretty fast, this isn’t knew information”

A beat. And then another.

“Are you satisfied” You perk up, not breaking eye contact with the blonde in front of you. The fresh azul orbs dilating under the words that left your mouth. She looked at you with such admiration, but the mention of Jerry was enough to make Abby swing hard as she was back in the room holding her weapon of choice. Who was she to play god? Be the bearer of death? Call of evil? Abby thought back to what she was fighting for: was she satisfied? It wouldn’t bring her father back but there was a price on her head. Preferably until her life was obliterated and gone with her head.

“Hmm”

“Because you don’t look satisfied” Your voice cracked, you were cutting into her skin and Abby was growing steadily uncomfortable, shifting her weight. Cracking her knuckles and rolling her head as she looked at you. Like a pretty Jem stone in a dimly lit room; all eyes on you she didn’t want to talk about this with you. Someone she was so emotionally connected with, god — anybody else but you.

“I…I need to go.” Abby stood up, swinging her backpack in her arms as you followed suit in the silence.

You stood up mimicking her actions taking your magazine in between your fingers and holding it close to your chest.

“When will you be back?” you whispered, picking at the skin surrounding your nails as you rubbed your lips against each other as you rocked your body forward and backward. Abby’s eyes softened, looking at you up and down as she stuck her tongue in her cheek, clenching her jaw tightly. It almost pained her to say.

AND EVEN IF WE’RE JUST FRIENDS, WE CAN BE, MORE THAN THAT.

“Soon…I hope, I’ll be back soon” Abby asserted. Abby bowed her head, cusping your cheeks in between her hands as she gave a chaste kiss to your cheek. Calloused fingers rubbing at your soft skin, It was a friendly thing, right? Nothing more?

She didn’t even like you that much.

But you on the other hand weren’t sure of your own feelings.

Like a tough game of tug-of-war, you wanted her, then you didn’t, then you couldn’t shake yourself out of it. You liked her and you wanted her. You wished and hoped that the admirer of yours would be her. The person you had sleepovers where you would laugh about your events and enjoy the delicacies delivered by your admirer you would have it no other way.

When she pulled away you struggled to find the words, hands jittery somewhere between reaching to grab your cheek or to wipe off her kiss with your hand. You weren’t sure how to feel. It was as if someone held a gun to your head telling you the right pill or blue.

“May your survival be long” you reminded, holding a hand at your arm scratching at your sleeves.

“May your death be swift”

.𖥔 ݁ ˖

CALL ME AT MIDNIGHT, LETS GIVE THIS THING A TRY.

If you could do it all again you would.

ASK YOU IF ITS OKAY,

You were alone, deep into your ocean of thoughts as your happy moments were coming to an end? Did you take it for granted?

TO HAVE A SLEEPOVER,

The burrito you ate that evening wanting to come up, mouth sticky with bile. You suddenly didn’t want to patrol the Serevena and help Nora move supplies. It felt wrong – almost impractical like you were in the wrong place. Foot cemented into the floor as you stood at your bed. Shoving supplies into your backpack, tying a strand of the ribbon from your admirer's box around the handle of your bag. You wanted to be back at the base with Abby where the two of you would have your sleepovers, cut your apples, and have competitive matches in the shooting range where you would tell Abby she missed a shot and she would tell you, you held the gun wrong.

Preparing to leave, doing one final spin at your place of comfort. Freshly made bed and sorrowful grey sheets, you wished for a happier time and a great release. Opening your door, you were met with one box before you would go. Picking up the lightweight box it almost felt impractical to even be wrapped.

TO DRINK SOME APPLE CIDER, OR MAYBE SOME FRUIT PUNCH

Parting gift for the one I stole these for… don’t forget me Xoxo, A. Anderson Your eyes always

You smiled to yourself, it was all you ever wanted. Your best friend really was your admirer and you just hoped you could reach her before she was gone and it truly could have been your last time seeing her. Unwrapping the terribly wrapped paper object revealed a shiny sharpened knife with a brown handle. It was Abby’s knife, the one she savored and used only for your apples that she would cut during your lunch breaks. Tears brimmed your eyes moving the object around as if it were malleable, smiling gently to yourself at the irony of it all. Quickly locking the door and throwing the paper that was used to wrap the gift away in the hall trash you ran to try to catch Abby who was already on the truck, across from Mel as she set off on her journey. As the sun was getting low, so were you who had to travel adjacent from your new fount lover.

What were you gonna say?

Besides: I knew it, of course, you wanted her to know that you felt the same; in fact even more.

AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT HOW WE DON’T LIKE EACH OTHER THAT MUCH.

.𖥔 ݁ ˖

“There’s no real you are real right now”

“Shh– baby, I’m real” Abby hushed bringing up her hand to your mouth to silence you. “I’m real.”

You were currently carrying a tray of med supplies but soon it all crashed to the ground; metal tin hitting the floor as Abby backed away into a corner. She looked disheveled different than you had last seen her; whispies around her face. Like she cared a little bit more, but maybe it was because she was with you.

You couldn’t help but bring Abby into a tight hug head against her shoulder, resting your eyes in full solitude. You were home amidst the violence and her going AWOL that had made Isaac angry with all of you. You lied thickly through your teeth when Isaac dragged you in asking questions about the location and conspiration Abby had going on.

All you could say was you didn’t know.

And it wasn’t a lie but in fact the truth there was not much you really did know.

Abby held onto you as if you were going to be snatched out of her hands as the both of you cried. Sobbs shaking the both of you. Abby couldn’t stop herself from applying gentle kisses to the side of your head and holding at the nape of your neck during the hug.

“You look like shit!” you acknowledged pulling at the sleeve of her jacket to which Abby rolled her eyes and pulled your hand away.

“Ahh could be worse”

A beat. And another; comfortable silence filling the air between the two of you. You didn’t wanna ask but for your newfound knowledge, you had no other choice but to. You wanted her to know, hell you haven’t seen her for very long and this well could have been the last time you would ever.

“So it was you? All along” you sputtered, snickering under your breath as you brought your hands across your chest, licking the base of your lips as your eyes wandered off.

“It was – hey! You opened the letters” Abby gave you a look of disbelief, half of it was due to her being scared shitless, others it was the fact that Abby could feel her own hands getting clammy as she rubbed them against the base of her jeans to get it to stop.

“It said 2 —”

“Weeks I know” “I was desperate”

There was silence again.

“I could just kiss you right now I can’t believe you are alive” You blurted out, giving Abby the most gentle smile. Abby for a second felt her world move in slow motion as she stared with such unconditional love.

“Then do it”

So you did, rushing forward, throwing your body against Abby’s as the two of you leaned in for a swift kiss. Her lips were chapped, slightly rugged but you didn’t mind applying your smooth ones to her as the movements of your body synched together in eternal sunshine. Nothing in this moment mattered, besides her lips on yours and her hands against your body. Abby’s fingers stroked at your cheeks eventually moving down between your jaw and your neck as she continued. No breaks; no air, until the sound of boots stomping closer to the room rang your ears, forcing you to pull away.

“Okay, I need supplies miserably Nora brought me to you, I have to go, I don’t know if this will be my last time seeing you: I hope it’s not, I’m not exactly in Isaac’s good graces – I think we both know that” Abby spoke with urgency, distrust but also sadness. Abby wasn’t sure but recently she’s been feeling as though things were slipping in between her fingers. She wasn’t sure how long this ecstasy and rapture would last, or the longevity of her contentment. Abby was certain the girl from the room; with the golf club and joel would show her face again.

“It’s okay” you assured, hands now at Abby’s biceps, lips rubbing against each other as you turned your head away from her face, shaking it slightly.

“But don’t forget. . .” “I’m so incredibly infatuated by you” Abby whispered as she moved in closer to give a swift kiss to your forehead.

Now wasn’t the time for formalities or titles, but you wished with your fingers crossed and your eyes closed shut, that she would return for the conversation worth having. Full honesty and confessional where your girl that smelled of pine would tell you all her rushes of thoughts that nagged at her as she closed her eyes.

“Knife to the chest sweetheart, swing with your right not your left…it’s your better arm” Abby cautioned, pretending to bring her arm up to swing, giving a final squeeze to your cheek as she was headed for the door preparing for ground zero.

“Bye Abby”

That was the difference, it was as if your body knew. Saying Bye instead of a see you later or, playfully threatening her to come back to you in one piece. Your eyebrows furrowed; your face scrunched as you cringed at your words, as mediocre as they sounded. You caught yourself doing that a lot and you weren’t sure why. Going from present tense to past tense. “I am” to “I did” to “I was” , this happened after you started dreaming. Dreaming that your body was against a cold tile, scrunching into a ball as you let out your last breath alone.

You knew.

“This is not goodbye — don’t say that, it’s see you later!” Abby snapped, giving you a hand motion as she swung the door open, crouching down as she moved steadily through the room as it closed behind her with a loud CLICK! From the lock.

“I’ll see you later” Your hand went from waving to at your side as your smile dropped and abruptly the warm room felt cold. Very cold.

But you weren’t going to see her later. Body paralyzed to the floor as the bullet wound in your stomach bled crimson all over the floor. As red as the Honeycrisp apples you ate on Wednesdays. An auburn-haired girl rushes past you following the footsteps of Nora. You were crashing and your body was failing you. Whimpers of pain escaped your lips as you held onto your stomach like you had a bad stomach ache, rolling onto your side as your vision became a nuisance and blurry mess. During your last few moments, you thought of Abby and her bright smile, all the plans she had for the two of you, and how you were finally happy that you got your happy ending,

But at what cost?

You weren’t going to get to drink apple cider with her or hug her again, and that’s what destroyed you the most as a salted tear fell from your eye. Apple was placed on the table rotting from the inside out, With Abby’s knife poked into its core. Death has met its match.

You were the apple of her eye, and you were destroyed and eaten whole indefinitely.

taglist

@beforeimdeceased @starologist @destielcore @rarestdoll @luvrgalore @ellsss @zahraaziza @emluvselandabs @abbyily @elliestrwbrry @mossc0vered @spacewlf @as2rid @ariianelle @spaceshipellie @lottiematthewsceo @emonopolyman @imamybubbles @mikasbby @trulygnomed

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mariacallous · 3 months

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Imitation caviar invented in the 1930s could provide the solution to plastic pollution, claims Pierre Paslier, CEO of London-based packaging company Notpla. He discovered the cheap food alternative, invented by Unilever and made using seaweed, after quitting his job as a packaging engineer at L’Oréal.

With cofounder and co-CEO Rodrigo García González, Paslier and Notpla have extended the idea, taking a protein made from seaweed and creating packaging for soft drinks, fast food, laundry detergent, and cosmetics, among other things. They’re also branching out into cutlery and paper.

“Seaweed grows quickly and needs no fresh water, land, or fertilizer,” Paslier explains. “It captures carbon and makes the surrounding waters less acidic. Some species of seaweed can grow up to a meter a day.” Best of all, he says, packaging made from seaweed is completely biodegradable because it’s entirely nature-based.

Paslier noted an amazing coincidence—Alexander Parkes invented the first plastic in Hackney Wick, the same part of East London that, 100 years later, Notpla calls home. Since Parkes’ first invention, waste plastic—especially tiny particles known as microplastics, which take hundreds or thousands of years to break down into harmless molecules—has been wreaking havoc in ecosystems across the world.

Plastic pollution is proving especially damaging in the marine environment, where tiny beads of plastic are deadly to the vital microorganisms that make up plankton and which sequester 30 percent of our carbon emissions, “without us having to build any new fancy technologies,” Paslier says.

Notpla’s plans to replace plastic began with a drink container for marathons. This is, in effect, a very large piece of fake caviar—a small pouch that contains juice or water that athletes can pop in their mouths and swallow when they need rehydration. “We wanted to create something that would feel more like fruit; packaging that you could feel comes more from picking something from a tree than off a production line,” he says.

Paslier showed pictures of two postrace streets—one where refueling came in plastic containers and one where it came in edible Notpla. The first was littered with plastic bottles; the second completely waste-free.

The next step was takeout food containers. Even containers we think are cardboard contain plastic, he says, as grease from food would make plain cardboard too soggy. Working with delivery company Just Eat, Notpla has pioneered a replacement for the per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS), the so-called “forever chemical” plastics that currently line cardboard takeout containers. It has even found a way to retrofit its solution into the old PFAS plant, so there was no need to build new factories.

The company is developing soluble sachets for detergent pods, ice-cream scoops, and even paper packing for cosmetics. And there’s plenty of seaweed to experiment with, Paslier points out. “You don’t realize it’s already available massively at scale,” he says. “It’s in our toothpaste, it’s in our beer, it’s in our reduced-fat products—so there’s an existing infrastructure that we can work with without having to build any additional processes.”

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khaire-traveler · 19 days

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🗡️ Subtle Talos Worship 🪨

Collect rocks/crystals you like

Bask in the sunlight (Cretan)

Take a walk/hike on a sunny day (Cretan)

Light a bonfire; sit in front of it; focus on the warmth and life it provides

Collect bronze colored items; wear bronze colored jewelry

Assert your personal boundaries; make it clear when someone has done something that made you uncomfortable

Get a candle that reminds you of him (no altar needed)

Keep a picture of him in your wallet

Wear jewelry that reminds you of him

Make something with your hands; work hard on a project or item you're creating (Cretan)

Stand up for yourself and others; stand up for those you love

Assert your boundaries; make others aware when they upset you or make you uncomfy

Set boundaries for yourself; I'll only give this much support to that person, I won't stay on my phone for hours before bed, I won't engage with this media that always upsets me, etc.

Have a stuffed animal of a creature that you associate with protection, defense, strength, or the sun (sun = Cretan)

Have imagery of bronze robots/automatons, swords, shields, large rocks/boulders, the island of Krete (Crete), the sun (Cretan), Volcanoes (Cretan), or light (Cretan) around

Learn self-defense; carry weapons on you (pepper spray, pocket knife, etc.)

Learn how to properly use a weapon of your choice; sword, bow and arrow, short sword, spear, pocket knife, etc.

Listen to yourself, especially regarding situations/people that your gut tells you are unsafe; your GUT, not your ANXIETY

Get to know yourself better; know that you know yourself better than others

Disregard unconstructive criticism; work on not taking hate personally (easier said than done, I know)

Fall asleep/meditate to the sound of island ocean waves

Try to eat healthy; fruits, veggies, protein, etc.; take care of your physical body

Grow your own produce or herbs (Cretan)

Support local farms; buy their produce (Cretan)

Support farming/food (Cretan) or humanitarian organizations; support homeless shelters

Volunteer at a food bank, soup kitchen, or farm (Cretan)

Take regular breaks from screens; make sure to go outside for some fresh air (Cretan)

Make sure to wear sunscreen on sunny day (Cretan)

Go cloud-watching (Cretan)

Exercise; get movement throughout your day, even just stretching

Visit the beach or nearby body of water; stick your feet into the shallows; try to ground yourself there

Ground yourself regularly; check in with yourself and your body frequently

Own a sword - it'd be so cool if you did

Play a fighting-based video game; choose a supportive/defensive character

On a tough day, be gentle with yourself; eat/drink something comforting, take a shower, get cozy under a blanket, watch a comfort movie, etc.

Stick affirmational/encouraging notes in places you'll see them throughout the day

Make a list of your personal strengths and weaknesses; try to healthily reflect on ways you can better yourself

Drink fruit or vegetable juices (Cretan)

Paint or draw an island; purchase art of an island from an artist

Support local businesses

Get involved with local communities; support groups, gamer groups, neighborhoods, etc.

Leave good tips for those working in the service industry; delivery drivers, waiters, hospitality workers, etc.

Treat service workers with compassion and empathy; they've got it rough

Build a sand castle; give it some cool defenses

Support the less fortunate in your community

Volunteer at a homeless shelter; volunteer within your community

Donate supplies to homeless shelters; hygiene kits are always needed

This is my list of discreet ways to worship Talos. There are two versions of him most commonly worshipped - that of mainland Greece and that of the island of Krete itself. Both vary vastly; Krete saw him as a bronze automaton Sun god that fathered Hephaestus, while mainland Greece saw him as a giant bronze automaton assigned to protect Krete by Zeus. I gave suggestions for both versions. I hope y'all find this helpful, and take care! 💚

Link to Subtle Worship Master list

#helpol #hellenic polytheism #hellenic pagan #paganblr #pagan tips #deity worship #talos #talos worship #talos deity

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daebakinc · 2 years

Text

Sea Creature

Pairing: Christian Yu x Reader (G) Prompt: Creature from the Black Lagoon Word Count: 2.9K

~Admin V

At first you were afraid of visiting your cousin in Australia. You’d seen too many memes and videos of the frightening wildlife there. You personally couldn’t think of anything more terrifying than putting your foot in your shoe to meet a large spider, or a snake coming up from the toilet.

She’d finally convinced you though. She’d opened up her own juice café and wanted you stay with her and help her out. You could explore the country on days off, enjoy local foods, and according to her, meet some of the cute boys who worked with her.

You arrived at Sydney Airport the night before. The jetlag was unreal. But you did need to eat, so you agreed to go into the café that morning and see everything.

Everyone greeted your cousin as you both walked in. She promptly introduced you to them and you couldn’t help but admit to yourself, all the workers were really really cute, just as she said.

You looked around the café and were surprised at its size. It looked just like a coffee house, only it had tropical colors and served juice in place of coffee. It was also by the pier leading right into the ocean, so it had an incredible view.

“Honestly,” you looked at your cousin. “When you told me you were opening a juice café, I thought it would be kinda lame, like a small room with a juice bar in it. But this. Just wow.”

Your cousin scoffed then smirked. “Since when would I do anything lame?”

A sheepish smile appeared on your face.

“Alright, now to try our product.” She led you to the counter. “Christian!”

It took you everything in your power to keep your mouth from falling open. Beautifully tanned, muscled, and tattooed was the man your cousin summoned.

“This is Christian,” she started. “He’s kind of a renaissance man around here. He does heavy lifting, stock, even catches fresh seafood for us to serve. But I think his specialty is making juice.”

He chuckled and shook his head as your cousin introduced you to him. “I’ve heard a lot about you.” His accent made your legs wobbly. “Glad you finally decided to come out.”

A delivery man called out to your cousin. She looked to you both. “Duty calls. Christian, I think the plane ride was long and electrolytes are definitely needed.”

He nodded. “Got it, boss.”

Your cousin left you alone with arguably the most beautiful man you’ve ever seen.

“So, before I forget, I got you a welcoming present.”

“You did? Really?”

He laughed again. “Don’t get too excited. It’s nothing special.” He handed you an unwrapped box.

“A pocket knife?”

“Trust me, you don’t wanna be caught around these parts without one.”

“Oh, well thank you.” You took it from the box and put it in your bag.

“Alright, so, I promised to make you a juice. What do you like?”

Your sheepish smile returned. “I actually don’t really like juice. I’m not really a fruit person.”

He stared at you for a long minute then laughter burst from him. Your cheeks burned red as you waited for him to calm down. “You’re telling me, you came all this way to Australia to work at a juice bar, and you don’t even like juice? Oh, that’s rich.”

“I came all this way to Australia for my cousin to help her with her new business venture. And besides, at least we know I won’t be drinking all the inventory.”

He smiled at you. Your heart palpitations had you wondering if you’d survive working a shift with him.

“Plus,” you added. “She told me she’d allow music performances at nights, so it gives me a chance to show off my talents.”

Christian’s eyebrow quirked. “So you’re a singer?”

“Sometimes. Sometimes I’m a writer, too.”

“Me too. She lets me and my crew perform as well.”

Your stomach fluttered. “You sing?”

“And play guitar.”

You felt utterly attacked that your cousin didn’t warn you a god among men worked for her. She said cute, not devastating.

“Alright, so you don’t like any fruit then?”

“I like some. Melon, strawberries, bananas . . . maybe mango and kiwi. That’s about it.”

He nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”

You watched as he reached to the undercounter cooler and grabbed containers of sliced fruits.

“Smoothie okay?”

You bobbed your head.

He worked quickly, tossing orange, red, and green colored fruit chunks into a blender. A blob of yogurt found its way into the concoction. Soon he was pushing a cup in your direction. Finally, he poked a straw into the liquid. “Go ahead, tell me what you think.”

You peered into the cup. It didn’t look pretty, but it smelled nice at least. You put the straw in your mouth and took a small sip. Then a big sip. Your cousin wasn’t kidding. He was a juice expert.

The big smirk on his face told you he knew it as well. “Come on. I’ll show you the pier.”

You grabbed your drink and followed Christian outside as he walked straight to a railing and looked over at the ocean view.

“Wow.”

He smiled next to you but kept his eyes ahead. “I live on that island there,” he pointed out.

You stared out at it. You could see what looked like a small house. It looked pretty. Then you looked around the pier for a boat. “How do you get to work every day?”

“I swim.”

“What?” He swims? Then you looked at his arms and shoulders. Actually, that checked out. “You must really love to be in the water.

“Can’t get enough of it.”

You sipped at your drink. “I was so wrong about Australia.”

He quirked an eyebrow and glanced in your direction. “Yeah?”

“I thought it would be just hot, desert, creatures from hell. I didn’t think I would like it this much so far.”

“You can’t have seen much. Didn’t you just get off the plane?”

You giggled in embarrassment. “Well, yeah. But it hasn’t been anything I’ve expected.”

“Hang on.” He took your cup from you, walked back into the café and yelled something to your cousin. Then he came back out and nodded toward the road. “Let’s go.”

You ran to catch up to him. “Where are we going?”

He stopped in front of a motorcycle. “I’m showing you Australia. At least these parts.”

You eyed the bike then looked back to him. “On that?”

“Ever been on one before?”

You shook your head.

Christian grabbed both your shoulders and looked deep into your eyes.

In a trance, you had no control over yourself and could do nothing but stare back into his deep chocolate orbs.

“Trust me. You’ll be perfectly safe.”

You felt yourself nod.

The smirk was back on his face. He released you and turned back to his motorcycle. He grabbed the only helmet and handed it to you. He straddled the bike and waited patiently for you to regain your composure while you strapped on the helmet.

Once it was on you couldn’t make yourself move. You stared at him sitting on the bike.

“Don’t be scared.” His hand stretched out for you to take.

When you held his hand, he pulled it to his waist. You climbed onto the bike. There was some space between the two of you until he reached behind for your legs and pulled you forward so you were right up against him. He then took your arms and wrapped them around his torso. “I thought I told you not to be scared,” he spoke over his shoulder.

You were thankful that he was in front and couldn’t see the deep shade of red your cheeks were.

The engine of the motorcycle came to life. It startled you it was so loud. Sensing your movement, Christian reached down to your hands around him and stroked up and down your arms. When he felt you ease against him, he lifted the kickstand and the bike sped onto the road.

Your face buried into his back for the first minute or so, but as you got used to it, you turned and looked at the landscape.

At first it was mostly beach. Then the road led inland. The buildings were a mixture of modern and old fashioned. The street lights had a vintage look. There were a lot more trees than you would’ve thought.

When he reached a stoplight you loosened your grip around him, which urged him to speed away when the light was green so you’d grab him tight again. He slowed down when you reached the opera house. He stopped the bike and helped you off. He chuckled when he took in your face. “You feelin’ okay?”

“Why?”

“You look a little pale.”

“Maybe because you’re a speed demon.” You took off the helmet and tossed it at him. He caught it easily.

He walked with you around the opera house and explained little trivias about it and the area you drove around previously. He casually mentioned taking you to a concert there sometime which again made your knees weak. After an hour he took you back on the bike, but went a different route to the café, giving you more of Australia to take in.

Once back at the café he offered to make you food and another juice. While you ate, he had to get back to work and your cousin sat with you.

“So . . . whatchya think?”

“That you’re a jerk. You didn’t tell me Adonis worked for you!”

She snickered. “Yeah, he’s something.”

“Do you know he swims here?” You bit into your prawn sandwich.

Your cousin nodded. “Just wait til you see him come into work shirtless in his swim trunks.”

You choked on your food. Your cousin patted you on the back, but still laughed at you.

After you were finished eating, she took you back home so you could sleep off some jetlag.

Once you were adjusted to the time difference, you spent the next several weeks training. Your cousin and the other workers were all really supportive and helped show you the ropes. But Christian held your heart and was your favorite to work with. He always joked easily with you and pushed you to do more and try more than you thought you’d be ready for. On days off he took you to the beach and showed you more of his favorite places, like a nearby lagoon and the best steakhouse on the coast. He showed you how to use the pocket knife for simple things and where to keep it handy. You got to hear him and his friends play music and everyone heard you perform as well. You were falling in love with your life here.

You and your cousin were the first in the café for the day. That seemed a little odd. Christian was usually in with some kind of sea life he’d caught on his way in.

“Maybe it was bigger than he could handle,” your cousin suggested.

You simply nodded and decided to get started on prepping for the morning shift.

Two hours went by. The other workers on shift came in, but still no Christian. You knew it was silly, but you were worried about him. In the few weeks you’d gotten to know him, you knew he was nothing but punctual. He was the first one in and last one out.

You looked out front of the café. His bike was there. You made your way to the pier and stared at the small home on the island he claimed as his. You wondered if maybe one of the other coworkers had a jet ski or small boat you could borrow.

You scanned down the pier towards the jetty. That’s when you noticed a small fishing boat with a net hanging over the side. A large something was thrashing around in the net. A dolphin?

You desperately looked for someone to alert, but there was no one to be seen.

Running down to the boat, you searched to find crewmen, but still no one. You looked over at the side with the net.

It wasn’t a dolphin. If not for the scaly skin and fishy looking head, you might’ve thought it was human.

The non-dolphin stopped moving and was staring right at you. Dark chocolate eyes held yours. You knew those eyes.

Without thinking you jumped into the water. The creature watched you, its eyes never leaving yours. A webbed hand lifted and held the net.

You reached in your back pocket for the knife Christian gave you that first day. You opened it slowly, worried the creature might think you were going to hurt it, but it remained calm.

With the net in one hand, you sawed at the rope with the knife. It wasn’t easy. The water made the knife slippery in your hand and the rope was thicker than you expected.

You had cut through five pieces when you heard yelling. A man was cursing at you. He was the crewman of the boat. You hadn’t cut enough when he jumped into the water.

“Piss off, dronger! That’s my mermaid, you slag!”

The panic made it harder to cut since you were trying to move quickly. He was getting closer. You tried to hand the knife to the creature, but it slipped from your fingers.

“No,” you cried.

The man was almost to you, still cursing at you. You and the creature both tried ripping the net where you’d made a hole so far. You were able to stretch it a bit so the creature could squeeze out. Then the man flung his hand across your face.

“How dare you take what’s mine! I’ll kill you!”

There was no time to react. You were suddenly pulled under water. Water rushed past you as you were being dragged by something. The creature! It was good that you were out of danger from the man, but a new problem was arising. You never took a breath before going under the water. You very badly needed to breathe. You tried to veer up, but the creature’s hold was strong and it was moving too quickly. You tried to reach for it, touch it to give it some kind of signal. It was no use. With the pressure of water moving against it and you, it was hard to feel anything else.

You tried not to panic, because then you’d need air sooner. Unfortunately, you were already quite panicked. If you didn’t breathe soon, you’d pass out, and then your body would naturally try to breathe in air. And if you did breathe, the burn of salt water would hit your lungs.

Thinking about it, you involuntarily inhaled. Instant regret as the water went down your lungs. It stung worse than you imagined. You tried coughing, but that only caused more water to be sucked in. The pain felt like it lasted for hours, but at the same time, it seemed to dissipate. Blackness took over your vision and you passed out.

There was compression on your chest. It hurt. When it stopped, wind blew into your mouth. You wanted to react, but you were in a kind of paralysis. The pressure was back on your chest. You could make out a male voice. It sounded worried. Stressed. Air was going back into your mouth. And you remembered water. You remembered the burn of salt water going into your lungs, and now felt the same bite as it was moving out. You coughed and water flowed out of your mouth. Your body was being turned as you continued choking out the water, allowing it to come out more easily. The paralysis eased and you could move your hands to hold yourself off the ground. When it felt like there was nothing else to cough you gasped for air.

“Oh thank fucking Christ.” You recognized Christian’s voice. His hand was moving in big circles on your back as you regained a normal breathing pattern. You sat down and only glanced at the man beside you, acutely aware that he was completely naked next to you. “I’m so sorry. I was only thinking about getting out of there, not that you would need to breathe.”

You were confused. You couldn’t remember what happened. You looked into his eyes and tears started welling in yours. “Christian?”

He quickly wrapped his arms around you and pulled you into his warm embrace. “It’s okay. You’re okay. We’re okay.”

You didn’t want to, but you couldn’t help yourself from sobbing. “What’s going on? I – I can’t – I don’t remember.” You continued crying.

He gave you a big squeeze of a hug and held you until you calmed. Once your sobs stopped, he pulled back and used his thumbs to wipe the tears from your cheeks.

You couldn’t help but look into his eyes, eyes that felt so familiar to you but now so strange.

“I can explain.”

#31 days of halloween #christian yu #dpr #christian yu fics #christian yu scenarios #dpr fics #dpr scenarios #kpop fics #kpop scenarios #dpr ian #dpr ian fics #dpr ian scenarios

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anika-ann · 2 years

Text

Love on the Brain - part 6.1

Ch6: Floriography (1/2)

Type: MCU x Criminal Minds crossover series

Pairing: Steve Rogers x reader Word Count: 5000

Summary: After the long night, you come back to the case with fresh eyes… and a new piece of evidence. You wished more evidence was good news. It’s not.

Series masterlist

Warnings: series includes criminal behaviour such as stalking or kidnapping; graphic violence, gun violence; (mentions of) death; allusions to dub-con; possible PTSD and flashbacks; sexual innuendos and foul language. Loads of fluff and teasing. I’m covering my bases here to make sure - probably sounds worse than it is. If you’re interested in specific warnings for individual chapters, let me know.

A/N: divider by @firefly-graphics; I didn’t want to split this one, but it was getting really really long and no one wants like a 11k chapter. Enjoy 🥰

"If I had a flower for every time I thought of you...I could walk through my garden forever." — Alfred Tennyson

When you slipped out of Steve’s room, you were met with the smug face of Natasha, the bodyguard ready to walk Steve to the conference room; she assessed your appearance with a smirk on her face, but at least she didn’t dare to say a word beside a good morning.

You questioned whether it was a good one. You strode to your own room to take the world’s quickest shower, jeans and the A.I. t-shirt and hoodie on in a record time, bursting into the room not later than seven minutes after Jarvis alerted you.

Everyone was already in there indeed and they all snapped their gaze to you as you took long quick steps, examining the tables and the white board for new notes. There weren’t many.

“Morning,” you greeted them swiftly, noting that some of them were nursing a small breakfast consisting of fruit, yogurt or granola and fresh juice or a cup of the black coffee, the half-empty pot sitting in the middle of the central table. “What’s the word?”

“Good morning to you too. The word is eat at least a granola bar or a piece of fruit before you ask about work,” Emily hummed good-naturedly, earning an unimpressed look.

Who thought about food when there was clearly some news even if you hadn’t seen any traces of it? They all knew what it was already, you could tell.

But instead of sharing, Emily told to eat.

That could only mean it was not good news, you realized; and you’d be terrified of what it was, but Steve was here, so whatever happened couldn’t be worse than your worst fears.

“She’s right. Sit down and eat something. Drink, Bean,” Spencer supported her, a brief tense smile on his lips.

Grunting, you obeyed, blindly reaching into the bowl of snacks and grabbing a small bottle of water. You took a seat between Steve and Spencer, closer to the latter. Even with the hum of a case in progress, you could sense awkwardness in the air, the unfortunate but expected outcome of the stupid maybe you had told Steve.

Because that was just what you needed now, on top of everything.

Once seated, you moved onto staring Spence down, hoping at least he might spill the beans; the idea that anyone else would was frankly laughable. Natasha wouldn’t budge, neither would Hotch, Tony probably got off of knowing something you didn’t and Emily apparently wouldn’t say a word until you finished chewing.

To his credit, Reid drummed his fingers against his chin, eyeing the board to avoid your gaze. Traitor.

“You didn’t miss anything. As of now, the security team of the Tower is on the highest alert, because of a delivery. We just found out and Tony was about to call Mr. Hogan to give us more information once you’d arrive,” Hotch explained as you took two quick bites and chunked half a small bottle of water.

You nearly choked on it, eyes widening in shock.

Now the semi-ominous faces they all had when you arrived made perfect sense.

This was not good. That meant the unsub was escalating, making contact for the second time in two days and you had a feeling that this time, she wasn’t sending photos.

This was so so not good. It had to have something do with the women in the pictures. God, if it was a body part-

“What kind of a delivery-“

“We don’t know,” Natasha said, not even letting Steve finish the question you would have asked hadn’t you been trying to clear your airways. “Tony?”

“Jarvis, put me through to Happy,” Tony hummed, not even bothering to look up, knowing the artificial intelligence would catch it. “Put it on speaker.”

“Yes, boss.”

You and Reid laid your elbows on the table, leaning forward; he nudged you lightly to finish your excuse of a meal, making you roll your eyes.

You weren’t about to chew when you needed to hear the slightly goofy but most loyal head of the Tower security, one Happy Hogan.

“Hey Tony.”

“And company. Hey,” Tony greeted the voice, the rest of the team following his example. “Talk to us, Happy. What’s up?”

“8 o’clock sharp, there was a flower delivery at the reception desk,” Happy announced matter-of-factly, having you glance at your phone – it was 8:08. This really was relatively fresh news.

Flowers though?

That could mean a myriad of things; and it depended on many factors, starting from the number of flowers, the kind, the price, the type of shop chosen and the area it was stationed at… and most of all, the note if there was one to begin with.

“Okay…? It’s for Steve, I assume?”

“Yeah, unfortunately, that’s all we can do right now. Assume,” Happy replied with a sigh. “There’s no name – no addressee, no signature besides ‘Yours truly’.”

Your eyebrows shot up, heart skipping a beat. It was natural everyone was being cautious – and thank god for that, your mind was already racing, analysing what the signature could mean, the choice of words yours truly rather than more common and less formal secret admirer – but… this could actually be a false alarm.

You prayed it was.

“Oh-kay…?” Tony mumbled, looking just a fraction unsure as he glanced at Hotch and then you.

You exchanged a look with your former boss; a barely visible nod told you he was giving you a green light to take lead on this since Tony seemed a little lost at best.

Steve noted your silent exchange, his foot gently nudging yours in support; even two chairs away, his toes were long enough to reach your insole. Glancing at him with your face as straight as you could muster, you were rewarded with an encouraging smile, causing you to gulp.

Damn him and his stupidly beautiful face and stupidly kind heart.

“Hello Mr.Hogan, Happy, this is Jones. Is there anything else you can tell us about the flowers? Was there something that tipped you off? It’s weird timing for sure, but could it be that the flowers are just for the girl working the reception desk today?” you asked, slipping into the investigation mode and trying your best not to get your hopes up – or to show them.

You fooled no one.

“Not much I can tell. Two dozen of white roses. They’re sweeping them for bugs and prints right now. As for Jody having a secret admirer, well, I doubt that because of the note. It says, and I’m reading word-for-word, ‘I’m sorry I scared you into hiding. I could hurt people who are not worthy of you, if necessary, but I would never hurt you’,” he recited.

The words were like a punch straight to your solar plexus, knocking the wind out of you. You pressed your lips together, hands curling into fists automatically, as if to strike back – but there was nothing you could punch, nothing you could fight off.

Well, except for a stupid bouquet for Steve, no doubt from the unsub himself.

Fuck.

“…fair enough,” Tony said into the stunned silence of the room, causing your eyes to slip shut as you pressed your lips into a thin line. Fair? Nothing was fair about this. “Thanks, Happy, we’ll be in touch.”

You heard the call disconnect, the frozen room coming back to life judging by the shuffling. You looked to your right when you felt Steve’s large hand gently curling around your fist.

So you summoned a smile for him – albeit a lame one.

He needed your head in the game; he needed a supportive friend who’d have his back. Not a weepy shaking weakling. He needed this crazy-ass delusional stalker gone so he could go back to his normal life as soon as possible. He needed a professional BAU agent.

And you were going to give him exactly what he deserved; even if his deep blue eyes told you he would accept anything less than that too.

Loosening your fist, you squeezed his hand shortly before dropping it and rising to your feet.

“Let’s get moving. Spence-“ you turned to him, only to see him already making his way to the board to take notes of what you just learned. “Thanks.”

“What’s the game plan?” Emily asked no one in particular, but automatically turned to Hotch, the team leader. “This is a clear escalation. Two contacts in two days. Less personal touch, but more defined threat of violence towards the women and somehow… more protective of Steve too.”

“I agree. We need to get the NYPD on this, or your agents,” Hotch beckoned to Tony and Natasha, naturally leaving out Steve – the subject of the case – out of the action. Even if the subject appeared much less shell-shocked than you felt; and he probably was, because you were in love with a reckless idiot. “The women for questioning shouldn’t arrive alone.”

“On it,” Natasha confirmed, exchanging a look with Tony, ready to help him choose from the most trustworthy – hopefully trustworthy – agents.

Your heart hammered against your ribcage at the thought: hopefully trustworthy. The circle of truly trusted people became absurdly short after yesterday – in fact, the most trusted people were in this room.

And they needed to stay here.

You knew it made you the biggest asshole in the world but you were just fine with the Avengers and the BAU being exclusively around Steve. You wished no harm to anyone, but if it came down to Steve or some random woman… as much as you’d give everything to protect all, you had your priorities straight.

The person you cared about the most was here, safe, and it had to stay that way.

Momentarily lost in thought, you barely registered the dialling tone from the phone in Hotch’s hand. However, you certainly heard the voice on the other end.

“You called the hot line. Would you like to talk to someone special?”

For the second time that morning, all noise and movement in the room stopped, only the startled faces of the Avengers snapping to the source of the peculiar greeting that could only be a misdial.

Your gaze flickered between all of them – your former colleagues clearly stiffening a laugh, Hotch closing his eyes as he realized his mistake of putting the phone on speaker right away – and despite everything, you burst out laughing. It was incredibly liberating.

It did sound like a misdial; or the BAU’s technical analyst, queen of all things awesome, speaking.

“Garcia, you’re on spea-“ Hotch broke through your laughter, only to be interrupted by her astonished voice.

“Oh my god, is it my time to go to heaven already? It must be, because I’m hearing angels! Was I called by someone special?”

Chuckling still, cheeks hurting from smiling even wider when you saw Steve’s baffled expression, you greeted your favourite IT magician.

“I’m here, Penelope, it’s good to hear your voice. And please, never ever change,” you pleaded heartily, your companions gradually relaxing and returning to their previous tasks.

“Oh honey, I could never,” she promised. “It would break Derek’s heart if I as much as tried to dim my amazing sparkling self. What can I do you for?”

Your smile slipped despite the innuendo, words caught in your throat as your saw movement in your peripheral vision. Bruce was making his way to the conference room, the glass automatic door revealing the huge white bouquet in his hands; and the ominous expression on his face. Your stomach twisted, throat tightening.

“Well, the local tech genius is a little busy, so we wondered if you could track a flower delivery for us?” Emily stepped in, causing your attention to snap back to the call, stubbornly ignoring Bruce as he walked in and set the flowers on the table. “The order would be within the last 24 hours, over two dozen of white roses, and was delivered to the Avengers Tower… exactly 16 minutes ago.”

A rapid staccato of Garcia’s fingers against the keyboard could be heard as the words spilled from her mouth just as fast.

“Who-oou, if I didn’t know we’re talking a stalker case I would have swooned. And they say chivalry is dead...” she contemplated. “Hello to the Avengers if there any, by the way. Is the Captain there? And Black Widow? Iron Man? It’s so cool that you got to work with them! And Thor, the actual god of thunder, not just my chocolate thunder? I’m so jealous…”

“Garcia, the flowers...?” Hotch reprimanded her, half-serious, half-resigned.

And secretly amused all as you all were.

Despite the horror Garcia tended to see on her screens, she was the literal bottle of sunshine that made all of your lives brighter, a force of nature and a ray of hope shining between the grim world of serial killers, stalkers and child abductors.

By right, she was thoroughly adored. By everyone.

“Please, sir Hotch, you know I can multitask,” she sassed him, sounding offended as the clicking in the background never ceased.

Even with your heart in your throat, you couldn’t but smile a fraction at her antics, giving her what she asked for – gladly.

“Steve, Natasha and Tony are here, now doctor Banner too. Clint’s around, but no Thor. And believe me, I know for a fact they should be excited as much as you are, working with a team as cool as the BAU.”

You caught Spencer smiling over his shoulder at you, still ready to write down any information Garcia was about to give you.

“Aww, honey! You just say that because it’s true!” Garcia cooed, causing the corners of your lips to twitch. You wished you had her cheerfulness – and her confidence, at least as a mask. “Alright, the delivery was executed by Bella Flora, pretty on the nose to be honest, a local shop owned by Julian Peters for eight years now. He’s clean besides doing dirty to his wife, aka cheating on her with his shop assistant, they divorced three years ago. Good for her if you ask me. The roses were paid from a credit card registered to… one Howard Fleming. I’m searching for—- oh.”

“What is it, Garcia?” Hotch questioned as everyone grew serious again.

You held your breath in anticipation; but you had a feeling that this was not a good kind of oh, even if you might be a little rusty on reading Garcia’s exclamations.

“Well, Mr. Fleming is 88 years old and lives in Idaho with his lovely wife and three adult children and way too many grandchildren. So I guess he’s probably not our unsub. Sorry, guys. I’m gonna dive into his kids’ background, but I’m afraid it’s more likely his card was stolen and not blocked properly. I’ll keep an eye on the activity on the card, keep digging and call you back.”

“We’ll be looking forward to it,” Spence assured her, not letting his disappointment show. “Thanks, Garcia.”

“Anything for you, Boy Genius. Hug Jones for me. Peace out.”

“He already did!” Tony called out, but the line was already dead. “I like her. Can I steal her for the A.I.?”

The response he got was overwhelming: Hotch, Reid, Emily, Natasha, Bruce, Steve and you managed to all to reply in unisono.

“No!”

“But-“

“Tony…” Steve warned him lowly, causing the man to lift his chin defiantly, a pout on his lips.

You rolled your eyes, refusing to deal with his child-like sulking.

“Let’s find each of the women an agent to bring her in, come on,” Natasha prompted him, her index finger poking Tony’s shoulder when he stared blankly ahead, still acting offended. “Your ego wouldn’t handle such competition in the house anyway.”

Considering everything you knew, you couldn’t argue; nor had the time for it anyway.

You had more important things at hand; to add to the profile since despite the new evidence surfacing, you had no names to add to the board.

“Okay. What do we know now?”

It could be barely an hour after the call and you were ready to scream in frustration: because you knew nothing anymore.

As nicely as you had wrapped it up yesterday, with a conclusion and a true sense of progress, the delivery made cracks in the very foundation of your investigation: the profile itself. You had planned to add to the profile after you regrouped in the morning, not to have it fall apart completely.

Too bad, it seemed.

And to add insult to the injury, you had nothing else either.

No useable fingerprints on the flowers or on the card.

No writing to analyse from the graphological point of view, because the card was typed and printed.

There was no residue of a chemical weapon to disguise an attack as a flower delivery.

There were no bugs.

Garcia had texted Hotch that the Flemings were coming off clean so far.

All you had was the photos and plain flowers with a crazy note, with a lot of questions attached to it rather than answers.

You were so fucked; back to square one if not on square zero or square minus one.

“There’s something off about all this… I feel like we’re missing an important variable,” Reid muttered as he watched the board, arms crossed over his chest.

“There’s something off from the start if you ask me,” Natasha said dryly, eyeing him, Emily, Hotch and you. “Thoughts for us with less profiling experience, please?”

You glared at all the notes, refusing to answer. To say you were thoroughly displeased with the development would be an understatement. You were pissed. Because nothing was making sense anymore, which was saying something, since it didn’t seem to make any sense from the very start. You were one step from becoming a nihilist.

Luckily, Emily took initiative, sharing her thoughts.

“Well, at first, we profiled the unsub as narcistic. The not worthy meaning why don’t you notice me, I’m right here, I’m much better than them… but then these flowers, white roses of all things – not passion. White signifies purity or grief, roses are timeless classics, expensive. Even the I could hurt those who are not worthy of you. It’s like she’s saying I would hurt people for you if they hurt you. It’s… it’s almost protective.”

Protective my ass. You did agree with Emily wholeheartedly, but her words only fed your frustration.

The most puzzling thing for you now was the bullets; what kind of an unsub could think of stealing a means of ending the object of her affections in case he’d disappoint her or rejected her so long in advance? More so if she was the protective type? It didn’t make sense – most people would care about this after their target betrayed them, usually using a weapon of opportunity.

Or were the bullets only something to ensure Steve’s obedience? You, my beloved, will do as I say, or I’ll shoot you dead? How was that being protective?

You were no fan of using violence at any cost but you swore you could put one of those modified bullets straight between the unsub’s eyes at the moment. If you only got the change or had any clue about who she was to begin with.

“It’s true that if you look at the note linguistically, she chose different modal verbs,” Reid jumped in, gesturing wildly as he pointed at the note he rewrote on the board, red marker in hand. “I would never hurt you suggests an incredibly low probability, leaning towards epistemic modality. In contrast, I could hurt those who are not worthy of you suggests not only determination, but also the ability, leaning towards deontic modality. She says she is able to hurt, she has the means. I would think she’s talking about the bullets, but those are not any more harmless than a normal bullets to anyone except for Steve…”

You shuddered as you watched him from the other side of the table, hating the invested expression on his face. You adored your friend, truly, but it would be great if he could come down from his genius plane of existence and think about the fact this was not a puzzle to solve for fun, but to save a life.

What was he even talking about? What did it matter?

“What are the chances she didn’t know what she was taking?” Reid asked, turning to Tony, who only replied with a silent confused frown.

“What do you mean?” you scoffed, irritation rising by the minute.

Everything you had put together was falling apart. You weren’t sure of anything anymore; something just wasn’t adding up, the unsub brimming with contradictions.

Protectiveness and care were more likely to point at a female unsub, than again the emphasis on violence was considered typically male.

An apology – I’m sorry I scared you into hiding – was extremely untypical for a narcissist at best.

And now Reid was questioning the intelligence of the unsub and the level of organization she possessed by wondering whether she knew what she had taken? Get the fuck out of here.

“Could she have thought she was simply taking some special reinforced bullets, not knowing they were designed to hurt Steve specifically?” Reid pressed, causing you to grit your teeth.

You believed the chances of that were zero.

But what did you know? What did any of you know anymore? All you had was a bunch of agents and profilers going around in circles.

“I don’t know, G-man,” Tony hummed sceptically, shaking his head. “There are a lot of devices that could do much more damage to anyone. And some of them just as easy to carry. And you said she was… what do you call it, organized? She had to know what she was after, right?”

It was a testimony to how fucking messed up the situation was that for once, you agreed with Tony Stark, even if only on one thing. You could still smother him though, with your bare damn hands.

More damage? Bullshit.

This was bullshit. More damage? How was it possible that something more dangerous than a weapon to murder his friend wasn’t guarded better?

Tony really had the audacity to say that the unsub could have taken something that—that was insane.

How was the theft still an issue with no real suspects in the first place?

Why were you still dealing with this, questioning motivations, the level of how organized the unsub was?

This should have already been done. These were the Avengers and the BAU and an artificial intelligence joining forces for god’s sake!

And yet, you were a mile behind the unsub.

You weren’t working fast enough. You weren’t doing your damn job and someone was going to get hurt. And that someone was going to be the person you cared about the most and that was just so fucking maddening and downright impossible, because this was Steve. Steve had to be okay, he was always okay, even when he wasn’t, because he was Steve---- god-dammnit he was not going to end up like Meyers, he had to be okay and it was your damn responsibility to make sure he would and you WERE going to do exactly that.

‘She knew what she was after?’ Fuck that.

“Who, you mean,” you muttered darkly, unable to hold your irritation at bay anymore.

Six heads turned to you, some swift, others with reluctance. Only Tony voiced his confusion, as eloquent as ever.

“Huh?”

“You meant who she was after,” you corrected him again, realization dawning on his face as you looked him dead in the eye.

The sudden thickness of air was nearly palpable. Good, you thought. The same air felt just as heavy in your lungs for a while now. Your heart was speeding up gradually, blood boiling

No one moved. No one spoke. No one dared to as much as suck in a breath, feeling a storm brewing. You purposely avoided looking at Steve; your voice would break, the indignation would give into self-pity – and you did not want that.

“How the fuck do we still not have a suspect? How the fuck did we just get a flower delivery with a note that screams stalker and the shop just went with it, no fuss, no calling the police? Or you,” you hissed, nodded to Natasha and Tony’s direction. “They were sending an absurdly sketchy stalkerish note to the Avengers Tower and they what, they just didn’t care?”

Were people really so stupid these days or maybe desensitized? Or simply indifferent? Not giving shit about anything anymore?

Natasha took a breath, ready to react, but before she could, Emily stepped in.

“Well… they do care about business. You worked with the BAU, you studied human behaviour… you know what kind of kinky stuff people are into, this is probably far from the creepiest note that went through their hands,” she reasoned, her matter-of-fact tone only feeding your anger.

“I don’t give a damn about people’s kinks or their damn business! They should have known better-“

“Sparkles,” Steve interjected gently, your head whipping his direction on instinct.

You didn’t linger with your gaze long enough to have him shake you, extending your index finger in his direction to stop whatever excuse he had for the damn shop owner – or your poor ensemble of a team.

No, you were done with this shit.

“Don’t- we should all know better. We’re profilers, you’re the Avengers for god’s sake!” you exploded, hands flying in wild gesture to each and every one of them. “We have an artificial intelligence on our side! With so many clues and assets, we should have already made an arrest. Instead, we are comparing modality as if she didn’t choose it completely randomly-“

“That’s not very likely, she is highly organized-“ Reid argued, voice perfectly levelled in contrast to the rising volume of yours.

You almost laughed, the sound tasting sardonic and fake.

For real? Who the fuck was Reid kidding?

“Do we really know that, Reid? Or are we just playing psychic, spit-balling as we go? What if she is so organized that she chose the modality to throw us off? What if she knows everything about damn floriography and she’s playing with us? Huh? Not even with Steve anymore, us, because she knows he came here, she probably figured we have profilers involved because she clearly did her homework on me and Natasha-“

“Sparkles-“

You promptly ignored Steve’s attempt to speak, only raising your voice further to drown him out.

“WHAT do we actually know? We had a profile and now it’s fallen apart! We have more evidence, but instead of suspects, we have fucking ziltch! Some profilers we are, if we’re completely hopeless until a dead body drops, which is not a fucking option here! What are we even-”

“Jones.”

The new voice had your mind come to a screeching halt, an old instinct kicking in, breath hitching.

A fresh flood of emotion – guilt and shame above all – cut off the burst of outrage. It was like flipping a switch on you, your brain in particular.

That was how powerful Hotch’s authority was: a single uttered word, not menacing, but a kind warning; strict, but gentle. Fatherly.

You did not fall silent out of fear; but out of deeply ingrained respect.

“That’s enough,” Hotch added for a good measure, his calmness washing over you like a wave.

You took a deep breath, feeling tears burning in your eyes as you looked at every member of each team, purposely only skimming over Steve again, unable to face him.

It was obvious to anyone who bothered to look: everyone in the room was tired and frustrated too, but also determined. Concerned, because they all cared – about you, about Steve, and about the case.

They were all good people and they were here to help. The last thing they needed was your salty attitude and your inability to deal with stress and past trauma.

You knew that all along; but you needed to realize it again. Just as you had needed to voice your irritation – even if your friends deserved better.

And so did Steve. If you looked at him for longer than a second, you were sure you’d cry.

“Sorry. I’m sorry, everyone. I didn’t mean to yell and—I’m sorry,” you stumbled over your words, taking another calming breath. Jesus, you needed to get the hell out of here. Now. “Uhm. I need fresh air. And some actual non-healthy sugar and coffee. What can I get you, guys? Macchiato with one sugar for Steve, mocha with a double shot of espresso and four sugars for Spence, you guys…?”

The rest of the room obediently told you their preference, not even blinking, tuning down the obvious concern in their expressions for you.

No one protested against your plan. No one pointed out that Tony’s coffee machine was a thing from caffeine addicts’ dreams and could prepare virtually anything. No one offered to help you with the large number of cups and sweet treats you had mentioned, understanding that needing air meant needing some alone time too.

It seemed they could all be pretty smart cookies after all – you would crack this case before it was too late, right? There were no other options anyway.

You motioned an awkward ‘gotcha’ on Emily and Hotch, nodding to yourself.

“Should have remembered those orders – some things never change,” you said wistfully, grabbing your phone with a credit care in its case. “Coming right up, guys. It’s on me.”

“Thanks, Bean.”

You smiled tightly at Spence, all but escaping the room as you felt more and more embarrassed at your emotional outburst – something coffee could hardly make up for, especially since it wasn’t your first scene in the past 24 hours.

You were all over the place ever since this mess started and you really did need to get your head straight.

And since getting a good night sleep in Steve’s room – bless him – didn’t help, your morning slip-up only making for more nerves, it seemed that you needed to do it alone.

→ Next part

Series masterlist // Steve Rogers masterlist // Misc masterlist

Thank you for reading 🥰 We’re entering the second half of the series... and things are happening 👀

#fanfiction #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x you #criminal minds #captain america #mcu x criminal minds #criminal minds x mcu #steve rogers imagine #former bau agent reader #bau agent reader #captain america x reader #captain america x you #captain america imagine #steve rogers #love on the brain #anika ann

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jellogram · 2 months

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Because of my Situation I rely on instacart deliveries for food and boy let me tell you. You think pizza delivery is a high? Imagine getting bags of snacks and fresh fruit and juice and cooking supplies delivered to you by the grocery angel

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stardustandtwilight · 5 months

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Dec 14 - Tell us about an OC you like, either your own or someone else's. Include a drawing, moodboard, or playlist if you'd like to!

🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲

This is based off this Rosamund Pike video and features my OC Sarah. This is an AU where the canon book events don't happen and I'm modifying how pregnancy with a vampire-human hybrid works.

...

Summer 2005

Sarah was convinced that God was making fun of her. That really was the only explanation for the way her life had turned out. Her little sister Sami had gotten leukemia as a kid and she had been a perfect match for a bone marrow transplant, which had led her down a path to studying the pathology of blood disorders as an adult. Then she became infatuated with a man who turned out to be a vampire – which should have scared her more than it did in the beginning, really what the hell was wrong with her – and now she was carrying his half-vampire baby. And if that wasn’t enough, a big side effect of vampire pregnancy was violent dreams about drinking blood, courtesy of intense blood cravings.

Yes. God was definitely making fun of her.

But at least for now, the blood cravings were in check. What she craved now was something decidedly more normal – pineapple. Fresh pineapple from the whole fruit, not the canned variety. Esme had gone to the grocery store to get some for her and she was currently distracting herself from the craving by playing Pokémon on Emmett’s old Game Boy Color. She’d gone from being very busy with her fellowship to having a lot of time on her hands. She’d tried various hobbies and the Cullens weren’t lacking in options, but Pokémon and other video games ended up being the one that absorbed her the most and kept the anxiety at bay.

There was no shortage of things to be anxious about – the fact that she couldn’t go out in public on the off chance someone recognized her as a missing person, whether Mark would eventually find her, what her family was doing, whether she’d even live through the delivery…

Everything was proceeding as normally as possible for twenty-four weeks and Carlisle was hopeful about the plan when the time came, but Sarah could not stop the intrusive thought.

Before she could ruminate further on it, Esme returned carrying grocery bags. Sarah hastily saved her game and turned it off. Her eyes zeroed in on the bag that had the distinctive pineapple leaves sticking out. “You are a lifesaver, Esme.”

In the kitchen, Esme got out a knife and cutting board, but Sarah shook her head. “My brother Shawn had a way to open a pineapple without using a knife and I want to try it.”

Esme raised her eyebrows. “Oh, well, this I have to see.”

Sarah sat on a stool at the island and held up the pineapple. “He could get out the base here and then he’d pull off the segments.” She pressed her thumb to start digging out the base and found there was barely any give and it made her thumbnail hurt.

Esme watched her struggle for a moment. “Do you need help?”

“No, no, I got this,” Sarah said. “I think.” Finally, she felt some give and she saw yellow. “Okay, now we’re getting somewhere.”

“Where did Shawn learn this trick?” Esme asked.

“College.”

“That explains a lot.”

Sarah continued working on loosening the base and remembered what Shawn called it. “I’m trying very hard not to call this a butt plug.” At Esme’s incredulous face, she added, “That’s what Shawn called it. It made my mom smack him on the back of his head. But in his defense, it’s at the base of the fruit and it’s basically like a plug.”

“I have a feeling that Shawn and Emmett would get along well,” Esme said.

“Honestly, yeah, they would.” She almost had the whole thing separated and juice was dripping down her wrist. That was not helping with not making more dirty jokes. “Although if Shawn were here, he’d probably just be one more person to irritate Edward.”

“Why is that?”

“Besides his mind living in the gutter, he also has a know-it-all tendency that would clash with Edward’s.”

“Ah.”

With a last crack, the pineapple base came loose. “Yes!” Sarah tossed it on the counter. “Now to break off these segments into chunks.” It was considerably easier to break them off than digging out the base. She held one up in triumph. “Look at that!”

Esme just laughed.

Sarah ate the chunk and it was like she’d never had a better pineapple. She broke off another, a deep sense of satisfaction kicking in. “Is this what it feels like to hunt down your food?”

“Something like that, yes.”

“I went to a lot of effort for this, so I better not be puking pineapple later. Do you hear me, peanut?” Sarah said, poking her baby bump. She got a light kick in response which she took as agreement. “Good girl.” Another side effect was a nasty case of hyperemesis gravidarum and she had joked to Carlisle that it made her feel like the patron saint of emesis. At least that had calmed down since she began to drink blood, but it still flared up. But as Sarah kept eating her fill, there was no sign of impending nausea.

“That sounded like a mom voice,” Esme said.

Sarah sighed. “Gotta practice it, right?”

The front door opened then and Carlisle’s voice called out a greeting.

“We’re in here!” Esme called. Carlisle appeared a second later, still dressed in his lab coat. Sarah waved at him with the pineapple as Esme asked him how work was.

“About the usual.” He eyed pineapple. “It looks like you two have been busy.”

“Yep. Here.” Esme handed Carlisle the pineapple base and Sarah could barely hold back a laugh.

Carlisle shot Sarah a wary look. “Er…thanks?”

“It’s a pineapple butt plug,” Esme said and she and Sarah dissolved further into a laughing fit.

Carlisle blinked. “Clearly I missed a lot.”

#twilightadvent23 #twilight #my fanfic #oc: sarah

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mickey-gomez · 1 year

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Rita Calhoun couples headcanons 2/?

Who reaches out to new neighbours?

You, but only if you run into them in the halls or the elevator. Does anyone ever really know their neighbours in Manhattan?

Who remembers to buy healthy food?

Rita. Despite hardly ever cooking she gets a weekly delivery of groceries and meals, she’ll make green juices and smoothies so you both get something into your system before leaving the house for the day. On the weekends if you both have the time you’ll stroll through the farmers market in Washington Market Park, buying fresh fruit and flowers.

Who remembers to buy junk food?

You, but you sneak it in the shopping when you don’t think she’s looking, and hide it where you don’t think she’ll find it in the house. She knows, she just lets you think she doesn’t. Also if you’re having a particularly bad day, she’ll drop by your office with pastries or cookies to cheer you up.

Who fixes the oven when it’s broken?

Neither of you. Rita calls someone to fix it.

Who waters the plants/feeds the pets?

Both of you. It depends on your schedules and who is home first. But you typically have indoor plants that don’t require a great deal of care, and the plants on the terrace have an in-built sprinkler system, or are taken care of by someone else.

Who wakes up earlier?

It depends. During the work week you both tend to wake up at the same time and share an alarm, on the weekends she’s more likely to wake before you. She’ll leave you to sleep in while she runs a couple of errands, and makes coffee to wake you up with.

Who makes the bed?

Whoever is last out of bed, but Rita will make her side if you’re still asleep.

Who makes the coffee?

Rita, and she’s very particular about it. She has a benchtop professional espresso machine, a french press, a moka pot, a pour-over, and an ibrik. She uses the espresso most mornings, but it’s all dependent on her mood, the beans, and her time. On Sundays she’ll use the pour-over or french press for the two of you while you read the paper, if it’s just her she’ll use the ibrik for herself.

Who burns the breakfast?

Rita. She can’t cook very well, but will try her hardest to make something more impressive than toast for you, and will end up getting distracted.

How do they let each other know they’re leaving the house?

You find one another out and let the other know, sharing a quick kiss. If you’re asleep, Rita will leave a note on your bedside table. If Rita is in the office you’ll scratch her shoulder lightly to gain her attention and let her know.

How do they greet each other when one of them gets home?

A quick kiss, and a conversation about how your days were. If one of you needs to vent you’ll pour out two glasses of wine, or scotch if the day calls for it, and relax into the couch as you listen to one another.

Who brings home little gifts like flowers/chocolates more often?

Rita. But you normally have fresh flowers in the house anyway, normally on the kitchen island or in the living room. She’ll buy you jewellery after a bonus from work, but she’s more likely to surprise you with hard to come by dinner reservations or gallery tickets.

Who picks the movie on movie night?

Both of you. If one of you has to work through a file, the other will pick. Or if there’s two different movies you both want to watch, you’ll play rock paper scissors to choose who gets to pick the movie. Rita normally lets you win though, able to read what move you’re going to use. She wraps you in her arms on the lounge and falls asleep behind you.

Their favourite kind of movie to watch?

She loves the classics, and would probably say either 12 Angry Men or To Kill a Mockingbird is her favourite film, but it’s actually My Cousin Vinny. Her go to pick would probably be a Humphrey Bogart or Katharine Hepburn film, or more likely a documentary, but if she wanted to switch off for a while it’d be a classic comedy.

Who first suggests a pillow fort?

You, but rarely if ever. Only maybe once or twice for a movie night, and only with the spare sheets and pillows, not the ones from your bed or the lounge, Rita would probably have an aneurysm if you did.

Who tries to distract the other during the movie?

Probably you, but unintentionally. You might remember something you wanted or had to tell her, and talk through the opening scenes. She’ll stop and pause the movie until you finish, then right after she hits play again you’ll remember something else, and she’ll give up on being able to pay attention to the screen.

Who falls asleep first

It depends on your days and your frames of mind. Normally you fall asleep around the same time because you’re wrapped up in one another’s arms. If you’re upset, Rita will wait until you fall asleep to close her eyes.

Who is the big spoon/little spoon?

Rita is almost always the big spoon. But every once in a while she’s the little spoon, when she’s had a tough day and wants to be held as she falls asleep.

Taglist: @storiesofsvu @alexusonfire @drduckthief @wannabe-fic-reader @imlike-so-gay-dude @fanfictionfangirl04 @annegilletteslostwhor3 @momlifebehard @holycrapraewth @giftedchildturns40 @ladysc @itwasrealtome @plccarter @when-wolves-howl @upsidedowndanvers @amarria_svufan @red1culous @summergeezburr

#rita calhoun #rita calhoun x reader #headcanon

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fruitsexpressdelivery · 11 months

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Fruits Express Delivery is a popular party fruit platter delivery service in Singapore that offers a wide range of fresh and high-quality fruits delivered right to your doorstep. With a user-friendly online platform, customers can easily browse through the extensive selection of fruits available and place their orders with just a few clicks.

#Fresh Berries Delivery Online #Fresh Apple Delivery #Party Fruit Platter Delivery Singapore #Fresh Fruit Juice Delivery #Fresh Citrus Fruit Delivery #Fresh Cut Fruits Online #Fresh Durian Delivery #Whole Fresh Fruits Online #Shop Fruits Online #Fruits Delivery #Fresh Fruit Delivery #Singapore Fruit #Fruits Store

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beenjen · 1 year

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Call me ‘may’be day 8 of Jen caring about Jen

- I stayed up until 1 am because Lilith’s pediatrician has a website you can self schedule but it has to be after midnight…. Then she was up at 5. Double ear infection - this happened, because SOMEONE didn’t give her her allergy medicine/decongestant, she has to have a little bit of a when she has heavy allergies and this last several weeks has been really bad.

So we were at the pediatrician early. Glad it’s not the flu/Covid/strep, but it pisses me off when people don’t listen to me about medical shit. I’M MEDICAL. What’s done is done, she has not felt great, we snuggled a lot. I bribed her with watered down OJ, started ABX, C will stay home with her tomorrow and work out of his home office and I feel better about us having her and noodling her than her being at daycare and not feeling well.

- my final retainer came in at the orthodontist. I’ll wear it for 6 months and then I guess keep it as a whitening tray? I’ll have a night one that I wear here on out, or most nights anyways after than and I’m done.

- Lilith took a nap in her stroller while I ran/walked 3 miles on my fav trail. It started getting muggy as it’s been raining then got into the 80s then I felt that with her having poor allergies it was prob a dick move to have her out like that and called it a short one.

- ordered delivery groceries of some yogurt, apple sauce, mac n’ cheese, little things I know she will maybe be enticed to eat. Plenty of fresh fruit and she loves cucumbers and carrots so stocked up.

Came home and worked on laundry; kept her out of ballet because she just didn’t feel up for it. Then when C came home he tagged me out so I could go to a yoga class.

It was incredible. It’s been a really long time since I’ve been able to really be with a teacher so focused on breath/movement - that’s the whole goal of yoga and when you can get that rhythm, it’s magic. So glad that worked out and I’ll be looking for more classes by this teacher for sure.

- our older dog Luna, has been having incontinence issues. She has a rather large lipoma on her side and I’m wondering if now that it’s gotten bigger, the recommendation to remove it may have changed, and it could be causing pressure for her… so instead of the nice, relaxing day I planned for myself on Thursday, I’ll be taking my old girl to the vet. Glad it worked out they could get us in then, I really hope our sweet girl has more time with us. Losing my damn dog is absolutely opposite of what I need at the moment.

- Drank my water, actually ate light today and juiced some veg for my gut. I always feel so good when I do a cleanse like that and it really does something for me mentally. Carrots for the win.

Happy week guys xx

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battleangel · 7 months

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Heal Yourself

✨️Eat fresh fruits & vegetables (homemade smoothies, homemade salads & salad dressing, quinoa with avocado + hot sauce, tofu scramble with salsa) 80% of the time.

✨️Incorporate flaxseed, steel cut oats, apple cider vinegar, grated ginger, mint, herbal tea (no sugar or honey) into your regular diet.

✨️Drink 32 to 64 ounces of water a day.

✨️Drink minimal amounts of soda, coffee, juice and caffeine.

✨️Eat minimal amounts of processed and prepackaged snacks (chips, cookies, crackers, popcorn, pop tarts, candy).

✨️Eat delivery, takeout, fast food, fast casual and at sit down restaurants on a rare basis.

✨️Eliminate or minimize alcohol.

✨️Eat vegetarian 80% of the time.

✨️Move your body (walking, jogging, exercising, swimming, hiking, etc.) for 30 to 60 minutes 3 to 5 times a week.

✨️Be outside in nature soaking up natural sunlight and breathing in fresh air as much as possible.

✨️Creatively express yourself daily (poetry, vlogging, comedy, makeup, journalling, artwork, hula hooping, headstands, pole dancing, twerking, puzzles, etc.).

✨️Regulate your nervous & PSNS (parasympthetic nervous) systems.

✨️Learn to regulate your emotions.

✨️Explore and express your sensual, erotic & sexual self.

✨️Do things that surprise, scare and challenge you on a regular basis.

✨️Eliminate mindless consumerism, overconsumption, materialism, shallow & superficial mindset, ego & clout chasing.

✨️Be mindful & present in the moment.

✨️Kill your own ego and experience your ego death.

✨️Spiritually ascend by self-actualizing, awakening to your self and realizing that you are a limitless 10D energetic being temporarily manifested physically as a limited 3D human being.

✨️Align your mind, heart, body, soul and spirit connection.

✨️Eliminate any and all all toxic energy vampires from your life, orbit, aura and environment (immediate family, older relatives, family patriarch & matriarch, best friends, friends, spouses, significant others, co-workers, supervisors, spiritual "leaders", church elders, mentors, sponsors, etc.)

✨️Align & activate all seven chakras and open your pineal gland (third eye -- kundalini awakening).

✨️See our 3D reality for the upside down funhouse mirror surreality it actually is.

✨️Realize that death is nothing to fear and that the "afterlife" is simply you exiting this temporary 3D virtual reality simulation and ending your temporary manifestation as a physical human being and you returning back to the dreamscape, actual reality, from which you originated from as a 10D limitless energetic eternal being prior to your cosmically temporary physical manifestation as a human being known as "real life" which in fact was nothing but a virtual reality simulation.

✨️Your "dreams" are actually you, as a temporarily manifested physical human being, shifting your consciousness via REM sleep to shift temporarily back from our 3D virtual current reality back to the 10D dreamscape which we all originated from. There are no limits in the dreamscape as it is our limitless minds and literally our imaginations. Anything we can imagine in our minds instantaneously manifests and exists in the dreamscape -- climbing walls, walking on water, falling endlessly through the sky without dying, surreal lush lucid hyper real colors, vistas, landscapes, psychedlic bursts of light, energy, fire, sun, moon, stars, constellations, explosions, supernovas and more. We visit the dreamscape temporarily each night when we dream -- whether we remember it the next day or not -- then we "wake up" and we shift back to our temporary 3D human virtual reality.

🦋Death is nothing more than permanently putting your temporary physically manifested human self to sleep in the current virtual 3D reality and permanently waking yourself up in the 10D real reality dreamscape, shedding your temporary human skin, and eternally metamorphosizing as a limitless energetic butterfly.

🌱Avoid synthetic, man made, lab made and artificial chemicals, substances, stimulants, toxins, additives and preservatives as much as possible in OTC medications, prescriptions, opioids, laxatives, antidepressants, benzodiazepines, mood stabilizers, NSAIDs, antibiotics, food, makeup, hair products, relaxers, toothpaste, laundry detergent, lotions, deodorants, dishwasher liquid, household cleaning products, sanitary pads, tampons, etc.

🌱Instead treat maladies and diseases holistically with psychedelics (ayahuasca, etc.), herbal medicines and plants, Ayurvedic medicine, TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) and traditional herbal remedies and rituals utilized by indigenous peoples the world over for thousands of years.

✨️Practice breathwork, guided meditation, yoga, mindfulness, trances, hoodoo, healing springs & rivers, shamanic practices, spells, magick, divinations, tarot, crystals, gems & reiki.

✨️Embody the concept of duality (yin & yang) -- two polar opposities existing together at once balancing and perfectly complementing one another vs the Western mindset of opposites cancelling one another out, negating each other, clashing, fighting, being disharmonious, false dichotomies, us vs them, either in or out, with us or against us. Embrace and embody the existing dualities within yourself and realize that the West endlessly conditions and sets you up to have a limited, simplistic, all or nothing, black and white mindset.

✨️Decolonize & reindigenize your mind. Embrace and embody ease and reject rigidity. Embrace flow, reject demands for conformity and structure. Embrace expansiveness, reject contrived limitations. Embrace flexibility, reject single mindedness. Embrace going with the flow, your feelings your heart and your intuition and reject forcing things, making things happen, pushing things.

✨️Reject the Western capitalist mindset of force, violence, might makes right, my way or the highway, I got mine, get a job, they want to be homeless, they dont want to work, meritocracy bullshit, profits over people, more more more, bigger faster stronger, nothing is ever enough, be tough be a man, dont cry, hold your emotions in, "professionalism" and performing whiteness, worshipping capitalist excess, the "American dream" of obesity, opioid addiction, homelessness, childhood poverty, rapes, child trafficking, dark side of family life, abuse, unrestrained power, my dick is bigger than yours, you have to have that baby whether you want it or not, money buys happiness, my job is my identity, my career is all I am, my job title defines me, drudgery, mental slavery, prison of the mind, reality TV, endless social media scrolling, flexing for the gram, commodifying yourself for capitalist consumption, being a machine, working ever harder, no days off, sleep is for pussies, ill sleep when im dead, dog eat dog, baptism by fire, put the firehose in their mouth and turn it up all the way, the American way, American life, zionism, white supremacy, patriarchy, paternalism, eroticized sexual violence, fetishization, mainstreaming of hebephila, sexualizing childhood innocence, making everything cheap and dirty, everythings for sale in capitalism, nothing js sacred, everything is plastic.

✨️Open, endlessly expand and discover your unlimited mind, reject societal conditioning, kill your ego, ascend and awaken to the spiritual energetic being you are, open your third eye, see this virtual reality as the video game simulation it is, bills rent mortgage jobs work 9 to 5s emails Slack Teams meetings agendas promotions performance reviews succession planning unpaid overtime salaried benefits 401k "job security" executive golden handcuffs misery drudgery HR new hire orientation employee slave working to live working to die corporate induced death corporate zombie slave to the machine chained to your desk work from home work from anywhere but your mind shut off closed off shut down work through lunch never get up i dont have time to go to the bathroom no time to think no worries ill get that done for you right away i need this done like yesterday please advise reply all cc bcc blind copy do you copy she dropped dead at her desk yesterday and they filled her role today working in the corporate america plantation modern day slavery everybodys working for the weekend we didnt start the fire subliminal suicides corporate deicides CEO as god as the father as your priest as the principal as the ultimate male authority figure and symbol brazzers gonzo girls gone wild thats gross i like it onlyfans im your only fan how much for anal degradation desecration dessication problematize the sacred kill your parents god is a woman god is dead radiohead hail to the thief i used to rule the world i hear terrorists and the bells are ringing for some reason i cant explain i know st peter will call my name northrop grumman and raytheon stock is way up just a couple of dead babies in israel and raped grandmas in palestine stocks are up war is good war is slavery strength is peace oceania big brother aldous huxley brave new world brave new girl i live for the applause pornify my pussy shake yo dreads sexyy red usher will be performing at the superbowl halftime show man as machine im talking to the man in the mirror stranger in moscow kgb was stalking me how does it feel when youre alone and its cold inside marcus garvey murdered prophets my angel warned me that i would be the black sheep in my family more than my brother memorial day 2021 and i told my father on my parents deck my angel warned me that i would stand alone life is a mystery everyone must stand alone i hear you call my name and it feels like home its a beautiful life but im not concerned its a beautiful dream but a dream is earned people tell me to shut my mouth that i must conform i will not renounce the things that i have said i was meant to fight the english i am not afraid to die dont you know to doubt him is a sin i wont give in you can cut my hair and say that im a witch and burn me at the stake its all a big mistake...

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fireintheflames · 9 months

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Some General Low Energy Cooking Ideas Pt 1

As we head towards fall here in Michigan, I'm gonna start losing my summer energy, so I thought I'd put together a list of relatively low energy meals/snacks now so when the big annual winter depression hits I don't have to think about it and I eat less delivery! I've also labeled which ones don't need a fridge, because my fridge is like a weird cursed location where if it goes in, it doesn't come out. This is a multi-part series, since I will probably run out of space!

Pt 1: No Cooking/No Dishes/Minimal Clean-up These meals require the bare minimum of effort. No heating, no dishes, most only have a wrapper as trash. Downside is a lot of these can be expensive for what you get. Breakfast: -High Cost:Cliff/Granola/Protein Bars. I keep a box around at all times for breakfast, I really like the caffeinated ones because I hate making coffee in the morning! A nice, easy treat! Can be expensive, but you pay for convenience I guess. (No fridge required) -Gummi vitamins! No calories, but a little treat to start the day! I do a multivitamin, vitamin D, and fiber chews. (No fridge required) -No prep fruits, like grapes. I keep a bowl full of whatever was on sale (apples, plums, ect.) on my counter to eat, and always have bananas (more on those later). (No fridge if you buy small amounts and eat it consistently, fridge is necessary for bulk storage of most fresh fruits) -Pre-cut fruits, like the kind fruit trays have. Same concept, more refrigeration, more likely to contain watermelon (I suck at hydrating, watermelon is my friend) (Fridge absolutely required, these will get nasty fast if left out). -Dried fruits, especially craisins/raisins. Just bare fist those straight out of the container. (No fridge required) Can be combined with the below: -Cereal out of the bag! Works best with cereal with big chunks and no powders, think like Kix or captain crunch. Avoid cinnamon toast crunch and similar beasts, your hands get coated and sticky. (No fridge required) -Small yogurt drinks, like yakult or kafir. Single serve milk or juice cartons can also fill this niche, but I've only got one fridge and I am more likely to drink the yogurt. (Please keep yogurt and milk in the fridge. Juice boxes are usually shelf stable, but always check!) -Trail mix. Kars is the best, pick your flavor. Or you can make your own in advance and live off that! (No fridge required) -UCC canned coffee. This stuff is the bomb if you can find it. It's like the only non-sweet coffee drink out there. (No fridge required, but definitely best when cold. Can in theory be heated in a mug, but that's cooking adjacent for me) -High Cost: Soylent drink/meal replacement shakes/drinks. An absolute last resort, usually expensive and bad tasting, but damn if they don't replace a meal. This is specifically referring to the pre-made ones, not the powder. The coffee mocha Soylent is tolerable, otherwise pick your poison between weirdly powdery chocolate milks. (Don't get the ones that need refrigeration unless you like them. I don't, this is my desperation food and does not deserve a place in my fridge).

Lunch/Dinner: -Snack pack tuna kits. My go to for lunch, usually comes with crackers, a tuna salad can, the big ones have cookies and fruit! Run usually between $1.00 and $3.00, depending on size and brand! I like the Rosemary and Garlic ones from bumblebee. You can also make your own with tuna pouches/cans and crackers, but that does require a spoon. (No fridge required) -Lunchables. Pizza lunchables. Get the kind with the juice box when they are on sale, off brand works just as well! (Should be kept in a fridge, but probably fine for a day or two if you forget) -Baby carrots/snap peas/tiny tomatos. Get some veggies in ya! Best when fresh picked, but this is winter in MI, so more likely bought from meijer.(Fridge recommended if you don't want them to dry out, or if you don't eat the whole bag at once. Fresh picked during summer should be eaten straight off the plant, as nature intended (or rinsed for safety)) -Cheese sticks and meat, I usually go with pepperoni or beef jerky, but in theory any pre-cooked non-heated meat works. (Fridge highly recommended) -Pita bread and pre-made tabbouleh. This shit is the bomb. No need for a plate, that's what the pita's for! (Refrigerate the tabbouleh, if any survives. I will eat a container of tabbouleh in one go. It's so good! You can sub hummus, I just don't like the texture) -Chips and salsa. I just dip straight into the jar, but I understand that is both bad form and not always feasible. Tostitos scoops work best for this maneuver. Can also be done with cheese dips and pretzels, queso in jars, and any other sort of pre-made dip. (Some dips require a fridge, some don't. Chips and pretzels do not). -High cost: Shrimp cocktail platter. Remember to thaw, then eat. Best when paired with veggies. (Freezer/Fridge Required)

Deserts/Snacks (obviously there are whole aisles dedicated to this at most American grocery stores. I'm just gonna list my favorites that have some form of built in portions. You will note that I like crunchy textures.): -Strawberry wafer cookies. Even the low sugar ones are good! Nice and crunchy. Pirouettes and similar also fall in this category(No fridge required) -Fig newtons! Apple newtons! Most neutigrain bars! Date bars Give me some fruit filling!(No fridge required) -Cherry poptarts, frosted. Pretty much any "breakfast pastry" works better as a desert for me. Many granola bars fall in this category as well (looking at you, peanut butter chewy dippers). If it's marketed to kids, it's a dessert for me! (No fridge required, but General Mills Chewy Dipeprs are best cold.) -Fruit snacks, especially the fruit veggie snacks. Individual packs are good for me, because these things are the bomb!(No fridge required) -Any of the Kalbee baked snacks. Pea pods, shrimp chips, weird crab flavored things my beloved. They stab you when you eat them, thus preventing me from eating them all!(No fridge required) -Salt and vinegar chips. They prevent you from eating too many by being physically painful. Kettle chipped increases both the damage and delight.(No fridge required) -High Cost:Ice cream novelties~ Popsicles! Orangesicles! Klondike bars! I really like Coconut Outshine bars, they are expensive but so good!! (Freezer required)

#actually blogging for once #long post

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