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#and I’d rather not have extra stress when I know I’m probably going to fail an exam in another class.
damselindigress · 3 years
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Hoping the luck I didn’t have this week went to one of y’all and that maybe you had a spectacular week :D
#my teacher doesn’t give exact deadlines#and I was missing a couple things I needed for a project that I was planning to finish that night#and she’s like “haha PROJECT TIME” and I just blurted out “I DONT HAVE ALL THE PAGES#in front of my peers#I almost cried and I think the mortification of realizing how much dignity I just gave up so easily took a few years off my life#but a lot of other people bombed it too because if one thing is off#you get no points... and she’s like “you had all year!” and I’m like yes but ma’am I also have 6-7 other classes with a ton of stuff#but enough people failed that she made it so we could come in today and fix it. thing is she sent that out online and I didn’t see it#until after hours. so#I’ve made the decision to go into dignity debt and message this woman#practically begging her to take this project from me. because I don’t exactly need the points but half credit is better than no credit#and I’d rather not have extra stress when I know I’m probably going to fail an exam in another class.#plus there’s been stuff outside of classes that are stressing me out#and idk. really hoping Lady Luck is out here on y’all’s side this next week. she can’t help us all lol#anyway.#I took the class as an elective because I was actually enjoying learning about the topic#but now I’m just not. Really feeling into it. I wanted to learn and enjoy the class :/#anyway sorry for the really long tags and the oversharing. some good stuff has happening too#so even though things don’t feel Good right now#there are still things that spark joy. gotta keep moving like a river. I ain’t gonna stop for no jagged rock#im gonna roll right over it. is the sleepiness coming through over this?#probably. im gonna sleep#have happy days y’all
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anemo-writes · 3 years
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I heard that you write for scaramouche :0 so can i request a soft cuddling headcanon for scaramouche 👉👈 thanks OwO have a great day!
yes, that’s right!! i hope i captured his personality right though, this is the first time i’ve wrote for him,, i may have made it a little angsty in the beginning but i promise you it’s really fluffy in the end (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞ i just really like writing angst hehe.. i know this might be a little ooc though, so beware and feel free to criticize me !! THIS GOT SO LONG—JUST SKIP TO THE BOTTOM TO READ THE ACTUAL CUDDLING HCS HAHA
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Scaramouche having a soft cuddling session with his S/O
Let me just say,, cuddling is extremely rare with him. He can’t help but view it as something that makes him feel vulnerable, which he hates. Although he doesn’t particularly dislike the way your arms wrap around him and the way that he finds it easier to sleep in that position, the two of you still don’t cuddle very often :( Other forms of physical affection are also rare with him, and it’s mostly you who showers him with affection—while he doesn’t mind it most days (he especially enjoys it if it happens in front of Childe, just so he can hear him whine about it), he finds it extremely annoying and overbearing him with you overstep your boundaries, especially if he’s stressed or busy.
peep the keep reading line— it got way too long because i couldn’t stop writing LOL
It really doesn’t help that you’re extremely touch-starved from the lack of attention and affection he’s shown you in the past few days (since he’s been involved in a lot more missions than usual ) when he snaps at you for visiting the workplace in an attempt to spend some time with him—you didn’t mean any harm. “Are you too blind to see that I’m busy, Y/N? Go find someone else to bother in the meantime, will you?” He says, turned away from you, failing to notice the way you feebly run out of building. He wouldn’t spare a second glance, assuming that it would all be fine when he met you back at your dwelling; after all, l you were used to his back-handed comments, right? Surely you would understand that he was under a bit more stress than usual—right?
Wrong. That night, you went home alone, touch-starved and a mess. Maybe it was the lack of affection making you this emotional, or maybe it was the fact that he had embarrassed you in front of so many subcoordinates, people you knew for Barbatos’ sake! He’s slightly surprised when you don’t answer the door later that night, despite the light in your bedroom still being on. He figures you’ve gone to sleep, so he leaves with a second thought. It’s only after two weeks of you ignoring him does he realize, “did I do something?”
He’s a human too, and humans can get touchstarved at some times—especially when you haven’t made an effort to show him any form of physical affection in the past two weeks! He’d rather pair up with Tartaglia to carry out the Tsarita’s orders than admit it to you, but he does miss you—somewhat. Don’t get me wrong, he knew when he accepted your confession that he would have to deal with things like this, but keep in mind that he’s probably never even thought about being in a relationship prior to you asking him out (especially with the way he treats other people; yes, he’s very well aware that he could be a lot nicer to his people, but does he care? no.) But I’d like to think that at least a little part of him is insecure about how his other harbingers view him, but we’ll save that for enough time—
But the thing that bugs him the most is that the people around him have noticed—it’s hard not to, really, when you turn a blind eye to whenever he tries to make conversation with you. Childe constantly bugs him about it too, which makes it even worse. “Trouble in paradise~?” The ginger would taunt, only smirking when Scaramouche huffs in response, too wrapped in his thoughts to come up with a witty remark back. He can’t help but feel frustrated; why were you getting mad over such a stupid little thing? This wasn’t the first time he’s said such a thing to you, so why? Why were you so upset at him that you couldn’t even spare a glance at him? As much as he hated to admit it, he had to do something before it got worse.
And so the brilliant plan of ambushing you in your home was created! Really, there’s no need to applaud; he already knows how great it is! However, under the layer of confidence that he displays, a little part nags at him; he knows that there’s always the possibility of you not forgiving him for whatever he did this time. He’d never say it but a little part of him is scared to lose you.
You let out a loud sigh as you entered your apartment, kicking off your shoes as you walked into the main room. It was another long day of ignoring your boyfriend. Could he even be called that anymore? You thought to yourself, before tensing up at the sound of approaching footsteps from your bedroom.
“Took you long enough,” An exasperated voice rang from within the shadows, the figure stepping into dim light of the moon to reveal your boyfriend. “I was beginning to think you got kidnapped on your way home or something.” He crossed his arms across his chest, staring you down with an unreadable gaze.
“What are you doing here, Scaramouche?” You asked, a bitter ring to your voice. “I thought you were busy. Surely someone as busy as you couldn’t spare time to drop by my house—so why are you here?” As much as you hated to sound so bitter, what else could you do? It took two weeks for him to realize that you were ignoring him, and suddenly he comes to your house and pretends everything is okay? How does that work?
“I’m here because...” Scaramouche said, walking towards you until your back hit the wall, your eyes wide as he extended his arm until his palm hit the wall. He was close enough for you to feel his steady breathing against your neck—you tried to push him away, but he kept you trapped within his arms. “I needed to say that I was sorry.”
You blinked momentarily at him, silent with shock.
“Geez, was it that weird for me to say that?” Scaramouche rolled his eyes, backing away from your shocked figure. “Stop staring at me as though I’ve grown a second head.”
“Sorry, it’s just—I’ve never heard you say that before!” You spluttered, looking at him with wide eyes. “You mean it though...right? You’re not just saying it, right?”
“Ugh—yes, I mean it. Now,” He said, taking off his hat to place it on top of your head in an attempt to hide the light dust of pink growing across his cheeks. “Can we just...you know—”
“Cuddle?”
“Yes, that. Now get over here, you idiot.”
Again, cuddling is not Scaramouche’s thing, so expect it to be extremely awkward the first couple of times. He runs warm, so cuddling sessions don’t last very long when they do happen. He’s not too keen on physical touch, but he’d make an exception for you—in private, of course. He’d rather die than be caught cuddling with you in a public area, especially by the likes of someone like Childe; he’d never hear the end of it. Cuddling is reserved for only private, rare vulnerable moments—of course, it also applies to moments after arguments like the one shown above. Don’t call him out for it, because he will stop, but he’ll definitely play with your hair for a bit if you decide to lay down in his lap.
If you’re sitting on his lap, he likes to rest his chin on your shoulders; it’s the perfect opportunity to lay a peck on your cheek when you’re least expecting it—your flustered reaction that follows after has him smug about it for at least the next hour. He has you pulled up against his chest and his arms wrapped around your waist and if he’s feeling especially touch-starved, he’ll nuzzle !! into !! your !! neck !! Though, you can feel that smug smile against your neck as you try to push him away, flustered, which only fuels him to do it more~
If the two of you are laying side by side, it could honestly go either way; if he’s extra clingy, he’ll be the big spoon and literally hold you against him in a d e a t h grip. But if he’s feeling a bit insecure or vulnerable, he’ll let you hold him—of course, this is very rare, but it still happens! As said before, it’s extremely comfortable for him in this position and he can fall asleep quietly easily, as much as he hates to admit it.
After an argument or bickering, expect the sessions to last a bit longer than usual; even though it’s uncomfortably warm, he can’t bring himself to let go of you that easily (not that you’re complaining!) Sometimes, he’ll murmur stuff into your ear such as, “I didn’t mean it, okay?” or “Don’t you dare tell anyone about this.” It could go either way, really—
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youn9racha · 3 years
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I Know (Part I)
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Pairing: Changbin x fem!reader
Genre: suggestive
Word count: 1.9k
Warning: slight adult content, swearing, suggestive actions, elements of stalker behavior
Extra notes: characters mentioned are all above the age 21 years, a lot of hatred towards the male figure lol. Also this is my first time writing on tumblr, so please bare with me, it may not be the best, but I still hope you enjoy it :)
And baby, I know, I know whatever city you’re in, you’re still the boy that I’d pick…
part ii is up !!!
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This is no way representative of the way Stray Kids act. They’re nothing but references of character, and in no shape or form is this how they act. And I am in no way romanticizing or glamorizing any toxic behavior exhibited, they’re just stories that is meant to be read. Readers discretion is advised
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Men…
Truly the scums of the Earth, who do no good for no one, and are an absolute menace to society. But oh, do I enjoy the looks of their faces at times. The way they would look at me with full hope and infatuation, with full beliefs that I would step down and give them all they want from me.
Hmph. How cute… and pathetic. How pathetic to assume and lower my standards for them. They all are the same. All but one however.
All that men hating… and yet, only one I’d be willing to go down to his level.
Yes, its him… He whom a lot would have not sought to be with, not many would expect a bombshell like myself would be with. But I do not see that in him, not an ounce of what many insecure individuals would see. I see something striking that not many could see, an underrated dignified beauty that anyone could wish to admire. A fanciable and irresistible personality and face.
He was a man.. but a pleasant one.
It all started when I moved in into a new flat for myself. I previously left the old complex due to the cramped environment I had that left me feeling uneasy and stressed, as well as it wasn’t even my apartment, it was for my partner, well, ex-partner. It was simply wasn’t working out, due to our seeming never ending conflicts. But enough of the past, let us move on..
I found this flat that is comfortable and the rent pays well, its only downside is that my room’s window is faced to the next door’s flat, however it’s not a big detriment or big turn off for me so it was fine by me, and also it was prone to have random, yet rare, blackout, but then again what neighborhood doesn’t have that. Anyhow, I was set to take the complex, but before I did, I have noticed something about the neighbor’s window next to me. It was a man. A really good looking one too. Giving his side profile, he was laying on his bed, his black hair covered head bopping with earphones placed in ears, laptop placed in his revealing shorts adorned lap. My eyes began started to stare into his arms then onto his naked well built chest, which indicates that he likes to keep up with his health, as his ring adorned hands was tapping away in his keyboard. I quickly looked away when I saw him repositioned his laptop, and walked out of the soon-to-be my room.
Great… I’ve entered Hell.
But I didn’t let it affect my decisions and got the apartment nonetheless, here I am now, weeks after the incident, sitting in my car, outside of the building, still thinking about the man in his laptop. Has he noticed that I was staring at him? Does he know that there’s gonna be someone living next to him? I hope not. And if he has, I must apologize to him. But before that, let me unload my car. I have gradually put my stuff into the complex as the days go by, it seems dragging, but it felt like the time went by fast, so I’m glad I have done that. However, today was different, as I took stuff more than I usually did, as I desperately do not want to go back to my ex. Typically, I never had assistance, as usually my best friend would join in and help out, but at a time I needed them the most, they had to be really sick. They still were willing to help, but I insisted that they shouldn’t and should rest.
After thinking, I sighed and got out my car, ready to fight the battle that is putting my stuff into my complex. I opened the trunk, eyes meeting my stuff, and I begin to groan. ‘Dammit, (y/n), why do you have that many stuff?!’ I thought to myself. I really should’ve had at least one more visit to my ex, but alas I picked to just take all all together in one day. I picked up a box until..
“Need any help?” I heard someone behind me asking me. I turned around and looked at the source. ‘God damn, is it just me, or does this town just bring out more attractive people?’ I thought to myself, as I see a man that looked like he could be at a museum. He had a sandy brown curly hair, slightly tanned skin, really plump and a crazy jawline. He donned a tank top that barely covered his side torso, and basket ball shorts that complimented his really nice, thick… thighs… yeah… Needless to say he was really attractive.
It seems that I was ogling him, rather than responding, as he shyly smiled and waved his hand in front of my face, “hello,” he softly said as I shook my head and looked back at his face apologetically.
“I am so sorry, I am just really tired, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” I cringed at my pathetic way of justifying of me literally internally lusting over him. I really am turning into someone I dread to be. How can I forgive myself?
“That’s okay, I know how moving can get tiring, and I sense that you’re alone, so please let me and my friend help you out.” He said, sympathetically smiling a sweet smile, already grabbing a box out of my hand. God, if this man has a partner, then they’re the luckiest person ever, and if he’s single, I’ll gladly hand him a ring. What am I saying? (y/n), what the hell has gotten into you?!
“I’m Christopher, but you can call me Chris or Chan, whichever you prefer is fine, what’s your name?” The generous man’s voice interrupted my inner battle and I found myself looking at him again. “(y/n)” I smiled at him, which he nodded back.
“Nice to meet you,” Chan said, looking back and see that his friend showed up, meanwhile, I went back to my trunk and got out more stuff from my car “oh, there he is!” Chan enthusiastically announced.
“(y/n), meet my friend and roommate, Changbin.” Chris said, while I got out the box and looked at the other man, my face shifted from contentment to horrific.
Its the man with the laptop.
“Hello? Chan, are you sure she’s okay?” Changbin looked at Chris with worry. “Yeah, she’s just tired, just nudge her.”
It’s like Chris knew me too well, despite meeting for less than 10 minutes, as Chris slightly pushed me with the box, not enough to hurt me, but enough to put me out of a trance.
“huh? I did it again, did I?” I looked at Chan, worryingly, which he nodded. I looked back at Changbin and the pathetic act was brought up again.
“I am so sorry, I don’t know what has gotten into me.” I apologized once again, which Changbin only smirked. “Don’t worry about it,” He said, carrying a box. Something about that smirk and tone seems off. Not off in a menacing way, but off in a… coy way. Maybe not the best term to use, maybe I am just over analyzing, but I am for sure either winning the lottery tonight, or convinced that the sun will rise from the west tomorrow, since I have two very attractive men helping out, one of which is someone whom I may have an odd fascination for a while now.
~~
The two have been nothing but a delight to interact with, their help with the stuff had done me even more than just a solid. However, I still in a way feel a bit unsettled by Changbin. It wasn’t that he was a creep, or did anything to make me uncomfortable, its just this feeling of guilt I carry with me. Meanwhile, I didn’t attempt anything, and I just simply just admired him from afar, it still felt wrong that I was just looking at him while he was barely wearing anything, let alone while not him paying attention. Despite this, it seems that he doesn’t know that I did what I did, which is why I chose to confront him about it when the time is right, which is probably when we start getting even more comfortable. I have exchanged numbers with both men, even though I could probably just go out my window and yell out their names, but I’d rather not disturb the peace.
Two good looking men are now my neighbors… Who would have thought? Whichever entity that is in existence have decided to play with me, because to them, my humiliation would be their laughing stock, because they definitely would have seen what is to become of me.
Its been a week in since I moved, and interacted with the two Chans, and I am glad that a curtain was installed onto my room, just so I wouldn’t carry even more guilt than I already do. But the thing is, I would lie that I still haven’t thought of Changbin. While I would have thought that Chris fitting into more of my ideal type, Changbin however held a mysterious power that Chan didn’t.
Ever since the time I first laid eyes on Changbin, he has never left my mind. He has started to creep up in my fantasies and dreams in every way shape of form. I couldn’t stop thinking of how his arms would look around my waist, how his lips would feel in my skin, or how his hands would wander around, exploring places that many men often fail to find to make me feel good, or how his voice would be like when talking as he puts his mouth by my ear— God, this is getting out of hand, I would think.
What if he had a girlfriend? What if he wasn’t attracted to women in general? What if he finds you a creep?
So many more endless questions would come in to ruin me, but its not like i have a choice, he just happened to settle into my dreams and thoughts, and went with it.
I decided to take a shower to try and distract myself from these thoughts, which didn’t help at all, as the hot water cascading my skin did nothing but accelerated my lustful thoughts. I decided to get out of the shower, as it didn’t help my case.
Damn you, Changbin.
I sighed, put on some underwear and a robe while having a towel wrapped around my hair. I got out of the bathroom and back to my room. It was dark out, and in my room, the only light came out of it were my night lamp, which barely lit up the whole room. I checked the window, making sure Changbin wasn’t there, or at least not facing the window, only to see his window being covered with curtains.
Great timing, could’ve used that when I first saw you, dipshit.
But nonetheless, I was really glad at least he wasn’t visible. I laid back on my bed, and decided to look through social media, as anyone should. While in the middle of a instagram scroll, I see a caller popping through at the top of the screen…
It was Changbin.
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merakiui · 3 years
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hello!!<3 can i request an angst scenario (it can have a happy ending it's up to you!!) childe x fem!reader where they are together for some time and she didn't know he's fatui (she hates them bc her parents were in debt and overall they ruined her life and he's too scared to tell her) but she finds out and wants to broke up?? THANK YOU
In which you discover Childe’s ties to the Fatui.
cw: angst, debt, small mention of depression as a result of debt, female reader note - I woke up and chose pain with this one. >:) it also got long;;; oops!
You hate the Fatui. And although that’s such a strong, hurtful word it's your true feelings. You’ve never experienced their wrath firsthand, but you have witnessed what it can do to people. Your sweet, loving parents, who took loans out of the bank in order to pay for repairs to their shop, were reduced to frightful messes at the mere mention of that harrowing F-word.
It’s horrible to see them in such a state, especially since a few agents had come by once and practically demanded the money. As a result of such a distasteful discussion, you refuse to go into any sort of monetary career: trader, merchant, and even a wandering saleswoman. You’ll find a way to make things right by getting a job that will bring in lots of riches for your poor parents. Then the Fatui will have no choice but to leave your family alone.
Your own funds have dried up, having gone into another Fatui agent’s gloved hands. You can’t even argue because you have an inkling as to what will happen when you finally run out of money to give. Ever since this entire debt charade, your parents have become hollow shells of their former selves: paranoid, depressed, and starved of the happiness that comes with being in a regular, debt-free family.
Childe tunes into your rant as if someone had just turned on the switch that designates his listening skills. The two of you are sitting on a lovely hilltop, watching the stars twinkle in and out of focus. Liyue Harbor can be seen from afar, glittering in warm colors of gold and red. If Childe remembers correctly, another festival should be right around the corner. He’ll have to take you when he finds time to slink away from his work.
Speaking of his work, he’s never actually told you about it. When you asked, he simply said it was a job that allowed him to travel. It sounded like a traveling merchant to you—perhaps even a fishmonger specializing in exotic types—considering he was seemingly loaded with Mora. It made you jealous that he was so well-off with his finances, but you couldn’t complain when he so readily emptied his pockets for your sake.
“And then that stupid agent shows up at our door right when I get home! It’s the worst timing ever. My parents were pretending to be out of the house and I showed up and ruined their plan.” A heavy sigh tumbles from your lips as you flop back onto the grass, where Childe fixes you with a lopsided, sympathetic grin. “I hate it. They’re not even themselves anymore. It’s like they lost all sense of life. I’m picking up as many commissions as I can, but it doesn’t even help. The Fatui just take it all faster than I can save it.”
“They’re the worst, aren’t they?”
“And the sky isn’t blue. Of course they’re the worst!” You inhale softly. “No use getting mad about something that already happened, though.”
“You’ll just give yourself more stress and you don’t need that.” He joins you on the plush grass, turning his head to look at you rather than up at the inky night sky. “I can help with your commissions, you know. I’ve been itching to smash some hilichurl camps.”
“I can handle it myself. It’s fine.” Only it’s not and you’ve started realizing that. “Hey, can I ask you something?”
“Funny. I was going to ask you something, too!”
“Oh. Uh...”
He chuckles, staring at you with blue eyes that don’t sparkle. “There’s this festival coming up and I wanted to take you. It’ll be just the two of us for one night. You can forget all about work and money—”
“What about you? You said your job has you traveling all over the place. That’s why we’ll rarely see each other in the future. Once you’re done here in Liyue, that is.” You move onto your side, holding yourself up on your elbow. “I don’t think it’ll work.”
“Well, my boss doesn’t have to know. It’ll be our tiny secret!”
You roll your eyes, smiling a little. Deep inside you’ve always felt like something was off about his story. For the past few months, he’s remained in Liyue and once you even caught him slipping into Northland Bank when you were running some errands. You hope he isn’t in a similar situation concerning debt and poverty. No, he wouldn’t need to be. He’s shown you just how many lavish things his funds can afford. Why would he be in debt if he has a stable job?
“Are you...doing something bad?”
You could’ve phrased that better, but it’s already out in the open now. Sheepishly, you avoid his befuddled stare, opting to watch the moon as its light becomes obscured behind a dark cloud. An airy chuckle escapes him, but he doesn’t say anything. His silence confirms your fears and it dawns upon you that he hasn’t been truthful this entire time.
“This mask.” It’s in your hands before he can stop you. You’re tapping at it with a finger, equal parts curious and apprehensive. You refuse to beat around the bush; your doubtful gaze catches his and it hardens at once. “You’re Fatui, aren’t you?”
He sits up calmly, holding out his hand. “That’s quite the accusation, my dear. Let’s not jump to conclusions.”
“I’m not jumping to any conclusion. I’m right, aren’t I?” Now you’re sitting up, staggering to your feet to find some sort of leverage over him. He’s taller than you and far more powerful than he once let on. “Childe, why would—“
He sighs, lowering his hand out of defeat. “I suppose there’s no point avoiding it now. You were bound to find out one of these days.”
“One of these days? What? Like, when my family’s on the streets because the Fatui took our house?”
It hurts that he wasn’t honest and it hurts even more knowing that he has the power to help. He could’ve spent his time working out ways to get you out of debt, yet he decided to shower you in affection and useless trinkets! Trinkets that are only good for selling and receiving money to pay off the debt. You could cry; that’s how much it hurts. And when he makes no solid effort to comfort you, the tears begin to form.
“Of course not. I’d never let that happen!”
“Then why would you lie about it? Why not help me? Why can’t you just be honest? You always avoid questions you don’t want to answer and I hate it! I’ve been with you long enough to know that that mask is bad news. I was just waiting for you to confirm it, but you didn’t.”
You think it’s selfish for wanting his help—for wanting help from a Fatui agent, no less—but you’re too upset to care.
“(Name), you know that’s—“
“What else haven’t you told me? What else have you lied about? I don’t care if you’re trying to protect me. I’m already on a list. The Fatui still show up to my house and you just...let them. Why?”
“If I interfered, it would look bad in front of Her Majesty. You know I can’t go against her orders. I want to help you—I do. But...”
You’re fumbling for new words, at a complete loss with yourself. No matter how many questions you spout, he’ll evade them like they’re optional. And even if you want answers and honesty more than anything right now, you know he’ll fail to provide it. You shove the mask into his hands, shaking your head in disbelief. A swell of emotions overcome you: sadness, anger, and regret. You feel utterly betrayed. The sweet Childe, whom you once thought was your perfect match, is working for the Fatui—the people who have turned your life into misery.
And that’s probably not even the half of it.
“Let’s break up,” you say before he can spin another false tale. Another easy excuse to avoid this downfall. Childe stops short to stare at you in surprise and it’s weird to see that emotion scrawled across his face. He’s usually smooth and collected; he always knows what to say and how to act. Not this time, though. “It’s not going to work if we’re together while the Fatui are hounding my parents. And they wouldn’t approve of our relationship either.”
“Now, (Name), wait a moment. You’re not thinking straight. You’re just—” He struggles to find the correct words and in that small moment between foggy clarity and paralyzing uncertainty he plasters another plastic smile on. “Look. I know you’re upset, but I didn’t mean to lie to you. I was going to tell you eventually. Just had to find the right time to do it, you know?"
“I know. And that’s why we should go our separate ways.” Like Childe, you also put on a faux show, building up your walls as high and strong as his are. You don’t think you’ll last another minute in his presence, as you’re far too close to tears. “Thank you again for tonight. I’ll take my leave now.”
Rather than pain, it’s bitter when your lips fall upon his soft cheek. And the gesture stings harder than a slap on the wrist. 
The searing pain returns when you pull away and begin the descent from the hill as fast as your trembling legs will allow. You refuse to look back and fall into his arms in hopes that he’ll reassure you. The fact that he doesn’t chase after you—doesn’t even call out—stabs your conflicted heart and it’s more than enough confirmation. Childe isn’t exactly boyfriend material. He’s callous when it comes to a battle and he’s driven by his own ulterior motives. Surely this relationship was just a means of spending his extra time when he found himself bored and lacking a fight. Maybe he thought of his work when the two of you were on secretive dates. Maybe his heart was empty when the two of you were intimate. Maybe you were just the glue holding this crumbling bond together.
Childe remains on that hilltop, watching you disappear into the distance. And it’s then when realizes he’s lost you. The feeling is different from the battlefield and it’s far more real than when he’s snooping around as a Harbinger. You’re just a normal, good-natured citizen and he...ruined that part of you. With his ties to an enemy that has crushed your family. He’s partly, if not fully, responsible for what transpired just now and for the first time in a while real guilt gnaws at him. He’s left wondering why he did all of that—why he couldn’t just face your questions head-on.
It’s his fault, isn’t it?
On that windy hilltop, under the silent, disapproving darkness of the sky, he’s left to pick up the pieces of a fractured relationship. And it’s all because he couldn’t admit the truth to his precious girlfriend.
In a way, the Fatui have taken something from him, too, and he’s not sure if he’ll be able to patch it up with honeyed promises. 
Looks like we won’t be going to that festival anytime soon...
424 notes · View notes
reidisreading · 3 years
Text
Sleep Deprivation - Spencer Reid x Reader
Writing Prompt: Spencer Reid is so sleep deprived he doesn’t notice his actions and accidentally crosses a line with reader. Reader ends up being abducted by unsub and Spencer has to make a choice towards his feelings to reader.
POV: Third Person POV but following certain characters.
Spencer Reid with they/them Reader
Type: angst with fluff at the end
warnings / trigger warnings: abduction, mentions of killing, subtle mentions of some sort of mental illness, reader gets hurt physically (punching, etc.), mild cursing.
*author note* Hi, this is my first story and I just wanted to get it out of my google drive page. I didn’t proofread this at all so there’s probably plenty of mistakes (if there is just tell me). I promise future stories will be a lot better than this. 
*word count: 4,100*
To the outside world, Spencer Reid was the perfect person in control of all aspects of his life. 
The problem with Spencer Reid was that he was too smart and active for his own safety. He struggled with sleep deprivation among other things that made it hard for him to keep track of himself. At this exact moment he was struggling with holding six hours of sleep in the last three days. He knows the dangers, he sees statistics, but when he closes his eyes all he can do is see Y/N in danger like in their last case and he can’t go through that. Not again, not when he was the one that found them all bloodied and almost unconscious. This was Spencer’s third cup of coffee in just that morning and the clock hadn’t turned to seven thirty, yet. He finished the last sip and rushed out the door to head to the subway, his hatred for driving now a good thing with his exhaustion getting in the way. A buzzing came from his satchel as he got on his seat, the subway less full than usual. SSA Hotchner Calling 
“Good morning.” Reid’s husky voice shone through the speaker. 
“Good morning, Reid, we have a new case in California, how far away are you?” Hotch said anxiously.  
“Twenty five minutes away, including the walk.” Reid says confidently. 
“Okay, head straight to the bullpen on your way in. We have no time to waste.” Hotch says before hanging up the phone. Reid finished reading the book he started that same morning and moved on to the second book he had stashed in his bag on his way out. 
“Platform-.” He wasn’t paying much attention to his surroundings as he got off the cart and walked towards his job. The smell of the station made his nose hurt as he remembered previous cases of ill intent people doing foul things to their surroundings. 
Get it together, Reid. You can’t walk in there distracted, they’ll know something is wrong. You can’t have Penelope and JJ worried all over you. You especially can’t have Y/N worried for you, you need to keep your head leveled around them. 
It was probably easy to guess that their last case had taken the hardest toll on Spencer. His feelings for Y/N making it difficult to concentrate when the unsub had taken them as a means to keep the FBI scared. Spencer had spent most of his time away in a small office hunched over papers and profiles trying to get them back. 
“Good morning, Doctor Reid.” The receptionist greeted the young doctor. 
“Good morning!” Spencer said in a matched tone. He walked to the elevator, hitting the familiar key without looking at it at all. 
Okay, you need to wake up and be alert. No dozing off like you’ve been doing today. You have a job to do, people are counting on you. Spencer repeated the same words to himself like a mantra until he saw the clear doors to the BAU main office. 
Penelope Garcia POV
We have a tablet for Hotch, Rossi, JJ, Emily, of course, Chocolate Thunder, and using paper we have Spencer Reid and Y/N Y/L/N. They would be so cute together, those two. I know I could find a way for Hotch to let them be together if only they would admit their feelings for each other, this is ridiculous. It’s very obvious to everyone but those two that they’re the perfect match made. Ironic how the two smartest people to enter this building are too oblivious to notice this. If I had a nickel for every time-
“How we looking, Baby Girl?” Morgan interrupted Garcia from her ramble. 
“Like I’d rather be watching something where someone doesn’t die.” She answered annoyed. 
“Don’t we all?” He shook his head as he took his tablet, scanning some of the images, the flash of hurt running through his facial features like a marathon. 
“Okay, we’re just waiting for Reid but he should be here any second.” Hotch says stressed while sitting down. The rest of the team, sans Reid, pile into the room taking their respective seats. Everyone opens their files on their tablets while Y/N scans through their paper folder. 
“Where is Pretty Boy?” Morgan asked looking directly at Y/N as if they would know anything; thankfully Y/N was too focused on the case in front of them to pay any attention. 
“Stop it.” Garcia whispered to him. Morgan looked at her and laughed while shaking his head. 
It’s safe to say that the entire team knew that those two were crushing on each other, they had that energy about them. 
Garcia got up from her seat, ready to direct the team along JJ on their latest case when the Boy Genius walked into the room in a hurry, his satchel already in his hands ready to be removed from his body. 
“I’m sorry, there was a minor mishap and- not important, sorry.” He said while moving towards his seat which was conveniently next to Y/N’s. He stopped next to them, giving them a light kiss on the head before moving to his seat, the small action causing everyone in the room to fall into a heavy silence. He didn’t seem to notice this small movement as he continued on with his regular routine of taking everything off to focus on the file in front of him. “What’s going on in California?” He asked looking up at Garcia, only to notice her stunned expression. “What?” He asked looking at the rest of the team, noticing their silence and awkward glances at each other. The only one not looking at anyone in particular was Y/N. 
“Nothing.” Garcia said while turning around to look at the slide show. 
“Family in California was brutally murdered in their home. Father was moved away from them, from the shows of it, it seems to have been postmortem.” Garcia says while looking at JJ frantically. 
“Two children were left in the closet- I’m sorry, I can’t do this. Reid, what was that?” Hotch asked while he asked JJ to pause the slideshow and turned to look at one of the two younger members of the team. 
“Hotch, no.” Garcia whispered. He’s going to ruin everything! No! We FINALLY have something that officially indicates one of them feels something. 
“I-I don’t understand?” Reid says confused. 
“Pretty Boy coming out of his shell.” Morgan chuckles. 
“What?” Reid asks, still confused. 
“You just kissed Y/N.” Emily says sliding closer to him. 
“I did what?” Reid asked with a raised tone. 
“Reid, what’s going on?” Rossi asks. 
“I don’t- I don’t know.” Reid said genuinely concerned.
“You look tired.” Emily said, “well, I mean, more than usual.” She says worried. 
“I mean, I haven’t really slept but it’s not that bad.” 
“How much is ‘not that bad’?” Hotch asks. 
“Six.” Reid whispered. 
“Six hours daily?” Hotch presses. 
“The last three days.” Reid finishes. 
“Reid, no.” Emily says sadly. 
“Can we get back to the case?” Reid asks, the entire room shifting energy. Y/N staying quiet as possible. It didn’t slip anyone’s notice that Y/N didn’t try to move from Reid, it was almost like they were shifting closer to him. 
“Okay, uhm, two children were left in the closet, their hands tied behind their back and their mouths covered with electrical tape. It seems like most of the extra things the unsub did were postmortem because the children were tied and silenced after this unsub killed them.” Garcia said. 
“The mom seems to have had the most anger targeted. She had leisure wounds around her neck and wrists, but that’s not what killed her. She was drowned in the bathtub, and it seems he may have stabbed her multiple times postmortem, too.” Y/N says as they go through their own file. 
“Maybe they had a bad relationship with a maternal figure and they’re looking for ways to get back at her.” Rossi says. 
“Any reason why the unsub may have targeted this family?” Hotch asks. 
“None that I’ve found yet, sir.” Garcia answers. 
“Okay, wheels up in thirty. Reid, I need to talk to you privately.” Hotch says as he dismisses the team. 
Arron Hotchner I will have a word with you.
Spencer Reid POV
“I need you to stay at the base for this one.” Hotch says automatically. 
“What? No, I can’t.” Reid replies. 
“Yes. What happened there is only a glimpse of what can happen in the future, Reid. I cannot take the risk with the rest of the team. You stay here, work the case, and rest up. Sleep deprivation can cause memory loss and you’re already seeing the side effect. I can’t put you or others in danger.” 
“Hotch, please.” Reid whispers. 
“Y/N will be okay, I promise Reid.” Hotch said sternly. 
“That’s not-.” Reid cut himself short. 
“Your job now is to stay here and look at everything we can’t. Come up with theories. I have to go.” Hotch starts to walk away, “and I want you to get home at a reasonable time to sleep. I need you in future cases.” He finishes, walking towards the last of his paperwork and walks out of the room. Reid looks around the room and spots Penelope at the door, trying (and failing) to look inconspicuous. 
“Let’s go Pen.” Reid calls out to her and picks up his own file. 
“Reid, I don’t think Y/N-.”
“Pen, please.” Reid stops mid track, “I’m not allowed to go and I’m already exhausted as it is. Please, let’s just focus on this.” He says to her as he turns around and comes face to face with Y/N. “Hi.” He whispers. 
“Hi.” 
“Are you- is everything okay?” He hushes. 
“Yeah, I just came to say bye to you both. We’re on our way out.” Y/N replies looking at Reid like a fragile doll, if they moved too fast, he may break. 
“Be safe.” He says, almost so quiet they miss it. 
“Always am.” Y/N replied with a smile, “see you, Pen.” They waved at each other before Y/N finally walked away from them. 
“Oh you’re smitten to the T.” Penelope teased. 
“Penelope Garcia, there’s a room we need to get to and have no time to talk nonsense.” Reid said frustrated. 
“Oh, we can most definitely talk while we’re in there mister Doctor Genius.” She giggled walking away from him. 
“No, Penelope.” He says in a rushed tone as he jogs behind her. 
————————
“Hello my furry friends, what can I do ya for?” Penelope asked in an enthusiastic tone. 
“I need you to give me any and all financial statements about this family. Down to what they spent money on leisurely.” Hotch said not bothering to comment on her strange wording. 
“Anything I should be looking for?” She asked. 
“Yes, anything that may have been spent on from time to time. No cycle, something that if anyone looking wouldn’t have raised an eyebrow.” Emily pipes in. 
“Reid?” Y/N called out, Reid’s cheeks automatically turning a bright red, he’s ears matching. 
“Yeah?” He asked in a high pitched tone before clearing his throat, calling out to them again, “how can I help?” He asked. 
“I found some letters and cards and they look like different people wrote them but I need you to read in between the lines and assign who wrote which letter.” Y/N said picking up the different notes and holding them to the camera, “I’m going to have JJ scan these and send them to Pen, if she could please do the rest so I can have a detailed explanation of the potential unsub.” They finished explaining. 
“Yeah, I’ll have them finished for you as soon as I can.” Reid said confidently. 
“Thanks Spence.” The team said their goodbyes. 
“Oh you’ve got it bad, Lover Boy.” Penelope said through giggles. 
“I don’t know what that means.” Reid said uncomfortably. 
“That Y/N called you ‘Spence’ and you just about melted.” She teased. 
“That’s not true.” 
“Oh come on! When are you going to just get it over with and ask them out?” Penelope asked in a serious tone. 
“Never, they don’t like me and I probably made them uncomfortable today with something I don’t even remember doing.” He fiddled with his pencil. 
“Have you asked them?” 
“No.”
“Then, you don’t know.” Penelope finished turning back to her computers seeing the files JJ sent, “Come on Boy Genius, your future significant other has work for you.” She said excitedly. 
—————————
“Reid, another family was murdered twenty minutes ago, do you have anything that could lead us?” Hotch stressed. 
“Yes, it seems all these families have in common is their religious beliefs and where they do grocery shopping.” He said going through his own paperwork. 
“Those are two completely different things.” Emily said. 
“No, because all three families come from the same neighborhood, down to the same economic standard. That means they all went to the same place of prayer and they all shop from the same places. It goes down to us having already interviewed the unsub.” Y/N says, paper shuffling is heard by Garcia and Reid as Y/N moves around the room with the rest of the team. 
“They’re right. We concluded that the unsub is a white male in their mid twenties who comes from a household deprived of a mother figure or a divorce household. From the way the murders are being done, it shows they have a previous criminal record with small crimes, maybe petty theft or something big like sexual assault.” Reid goes on. 
“In that case, we have only interviewed twenty people. Garcia, can you narrow down the list?” Hotch asked. 
“You must be new here.” She says with an eye roll. 
“Keep us updated.” Emily smiles. 
“Stay safe.” Reid says, everyone knowing he’s truly directing it to one person, “all of you, stay safe.” He covers up before hanging up. 
Jennifer Jareau’s POV
“Hey, Y/N?” JJ had wanted to speak with Y/N since they got out of the bullpen but for one reason or the other never got the chance. 
“Hey, JJ.” Y/N smiled at the blonde. 
“I know what Spencer did today was out of norm. Are you okay?” She asked. JJ knew neither of the Doctors were big on being touched unless they initiated it. 
“I’m okay.” The young Doctor assured her. 
“Can I ask you something?” JJ started, “I’m probably way out of line and you don’t have to answer but…” She started off testing the water, she kept an eye on Y/N making sure they weren’t uncomfortable at any moment, “do you like Spencer?” JJ finished. 
The words coming out of their mouth wasn’t what gave them away, it was the way their cheeks and neck flared up in red pigmentation as their hands dropped the small cup of coffee they were holding, which had thankfully been empty. 
“What? No, that’s- JJ, I do not like anyone.” Y/N stammered and failed to control their movements. 
“Oh, I’m so glad to have asked you instead of Penelope.” JJ started laughing. 
“I do not like… JJ it is wrong to make assumptions of others. It’s- JJ, no.” Y/N continued. 
“Babe, it’s okay. Everyone and their mom’s can see that you and Spencer have a thing. For being the two smartest people I know… you’re both very daft.” JJ said sweetly. 
“I actually don’t think he likes me, JJ. I noticed that his behavior towards me changed into a more protective one after we finished the case. I think he’s guilty because he was meant to stay with me and we got separated.” Y/N said sadly. 
“You cannot possibly be serious.” JJ questioned. 
“I am.” Y/N retorted. 
“That man is in love with you.” 
“No.” Y/N said as they picked up the empty cup they’d previously dropped. “Anyway, we need to finish this before anyone else dies.” 
“Y/N…” 
“Hotch is waiting.” Y/N left the small room. 
When JJ walked outside, the rest of the team was doing a video call with Garcia and Reid. Y/N was busy looking through a stack of papers while Garcia gave more information about the possible unsub. 
“Hey Y/N?” Spencer spoke up once Garcia finished.
“I’m here.” Y/N left the stack of papers next to them as they paid close attention to Reid. 
Reid cleared his throat twice before he started detailing the information he’d found, “it seems like three people wrote those letters. It wasn’t easy to figure out because the same person switched through hand writings quite easily. So, unless you were looking for it, you wouldn’t have seen it.” Reid finished while holding up the letters now filled with side notes. 
“Thanks, Spence.” Y/N smiled at him before picking up the stacks, “that actually narrows down the unsub to four different people.” They picked up a folder one by one and handed it off to others. 
“Garcia, tell us anything on Tony Carter.” Hotch asks. 
While Garcia was telling them all the smallest details she could find to Tony Carter, Spencer and Y/N both went over the notes again. 
“It’s Jared Tall.” They said in unison. 
“Babies, you can’t just bring out the genius in the middle of my genius.” Garcia said annoyed. 
“How do you know?” Hotch asks the both of them. 
“The notes.” Spencer said like it was obvious. 
“It did catch me off guard how this one was written, but it says Jared Tall.” Y/N said like it was no big deal as they pointed at the small details that brought out the name Jared Tall. 
Y/N’s POV
“Hotch, I’m by the south exit. There’s fresh tracks. I think he’s here.” Y/N told their supervisor. 
“Don’t go in without backup. He’s incredibly dangerous and will take out anyone in his place.” Hotch directed. 
“Copy.” Y/N finished replying when they felt a sharp pain come across their temple making them crash against the ground. The cold surrounded them as did darkness. 
Morgan’s POV
“Morgan, I need you to go to the south exit with Y/L/N. They said there’s fresh tracks and that’s dangerous.” Hotch directed. Morgan didn’t answer and just moved to the exit his supervisor had appointed him to. 
“Hotch, Y/L/N isn’t here.” Morgan said through the radio. 
“What?” Hotch asked. Derek didn’t need the radio to hear his directions towards the rest of the team. 
“Their radio is here, Hotch.” Morgan turned around to face him. 
“They couldn’t have gone too far. I gave them directions two minutes ago.” Hotch said while looking around. He turned his radio on and directed everyone to meet at the front of the abandoned cabin. “I need everyone in a group of three. Dogs need to go with you. Y/L/N has intensive knowledge on how to get out of hostage situations but there’s blood on the floor and they may be unconscious now. There’s a likelihood that the unsub took Y/L/N to the same location he has the rest of his victims, if that’s the case he’ll have two children. You need to be extremely careful and vigilant. We have until sundown.” Hotch dismissed everyone Morgan staying behind with him as Hotch called Garcia. 
“Genie in a lap. You have three wishes.” Garcia said in her usual chirpy voice. 
“Is Reid with you?” Hotch asked. 
“No. He went out to get us lunch.” Garcia said as the blood ran cold through her veins, “sir, please don’t tell me that I have to tell Boy Wonder that the person he’s in love with and he doesn’t even realize loves him back, has been kidnapped again.”
“Y/L/N what?” Hotch and Morgan could hear Reid from the other end of the line. 
“He knows.” Garcia whispered on the line. 
“Reid, I’ve got every agent and officer looking for them. They’ll be okay.” Hotch promised. 
“I’ve heard that before.” Reid said darkly. 
“I’ll call with any updates.” Hotch hung up. 
Y/N POV
I’ve got a concussion for sure. Okay, and one broken rib. I can’t open my eyes or move, definitely blindfolded and hands are tied. Probably underground. By the voices near me there’s two children here as well.  
“The fucking FBI. Fuck.” There was pacing around the room. Only one set of feet were moving around. “If you scream, I kill them.” The unsub said. Not knowing what to do, Y/L/N just nodded. “This wouldn’t have happened if that bitch had just ran away with me.” He continues. 
“Who, Jared?” Y/N asked calmly. 
“Patty!” Jared shouted. “She had to stay with her stupid perfect family. What about me?” He kept shouting uncontrollably. 
“This isn’t your fault Jared. She didn’t deserve you.” 
“You’re right. She had to pay.” Jared kept pacing. 
“Jared, I need you to do me a favour.” Y/N approached. “You need to let the children go. They’re innocent in all of this, just as much as you are.” The added in the end. 
“They’re right, Jared. The children are innocent.” Y/N heard Morgan say evenly. “They’re just as innocent as you. They’d never hurt anyone, just like you.” Morgan approached. Y/L/N could now hear him walking near them. Something must have happened in the ten seconds that there was complete silence, because all Y/N heard after that were three gunshots and suddenly they were being untied. “It’s Morgan, you’re okay, Y/N.” Morgan whispers to them. 
“The children.” Y/N whispers. 
“JJ’s got them.” Morgan replies. 
“I’ve got a broken rib.” Y/N tells him. 
“Anything else?” Morgan asks as he lifts them from the entrance. 
“Nothing I can feel as of now.” They reply surely, “Morgan, Reid is-.”
“He knows you were taken. He’s not happy at the moment.” Morgan replies. 
“Where’s Hotch?” 
“We found another child near here and he’s been assisting on that.” 
“This wasn’t his fault. None of us could have known.” They tell Morgan. 
“Tell that to your lover boy. He’s pissed.” Morgan laughs as he sets them on the bed of the ambulance. 
“He’s not my-.” Y/N starts saying before getting interrupted. 
“He’s in love with you. That makes him Lover Boy.”
Morgan teases. 
“I cannot wait for you to no longer be single.” Y/N teases him. 
“Right back at ya, Pretty Face.” Morgan flicks his finger against their chin and walks away; allowing the first responder to assess their wounds. 
Y/N had to get checked at the local hospital, the rib that had fractured was making it painful for them to breathe and couldn’t wait to get checked in Quantico. 
To say the ride back was long and uncomfortable was an understatement. They’d spend two extra days in California and that was two days too long. 
“You get to see your mans today.” Morgan teased. 
“Hotch, Morgan is being annoying.” Y/N said loudly. 
“Did you just tattle on me?” Morgan asked in mocked surprise. 
“And I’ll do it again.” Y/N said confidently. 
“Behave or I’ll ground you both.” JJ said sternly. Once the jet landed, all their teasing suddenly vanished. Garcia and Spencer were waiting for them at the entrance of the BAU floor. No one said anything as they all hugged each other, Y/N keeping their distance from the team as Spencer gave the rest of the team a small half hug trying not to be rude as his family came in contact with his arms. The all unsubtly excused themselves, giving Spencer and Y/N some privacy. 
Something changed inside Spencer when he found out that Y/N had been abducted. Something shifted, it was like he finally understood he could no longer pretend and show a façade every time he was around them. 
Gravity was working differently now, or maybe it was their legs, neither of them were sure which it was. They crossed the small space between them as Y/N crashed against Spencer’s arms; the world just that much lighter now that neither of them were holding anything in. Spencer held them so tightly he was sure he was going to turn them into dust. 
“Wait, your rib-.” Spencer started. 
“Shh.” Y/N pulled away further from him as they grabbed him by his sweater vest and their lips finally met. 
There was cheering in the near distance but they both pretended they didn’t know what was going on behind them. 
Spencer pulled away for a second causing Y/N to give him a slight pout, “go on a date with me?” Spencer finally asked. 
“Only if you go back to kissing me.” Y/N replied, Spencer attaching their lips together before Y/N could even finish the sentence. 
306 notes · View notes
brawltogethernow · 4 years
Note
So, I don't think I've ever asked you this... what IS the whole point of the Spider-Sense? It really seems like something that only exists for writers to ignore or work around when they want to inject Legit Tension into a story.
I’ve thought about this power so much, but never with an eye to defend its right to exist, so I needed to think about this. The results could be more concise.
Ironically, given the question, I have to say its main purpose is to ramp up tension. But it’s also a highly variable multitool that a skilled creative team can use for...pretty much anything. It does everything the writer wants it to, while for its wielder always falls just short of doing enough.
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I went looking through my photos for a really generic, classic-looking example to use as an image to head this topic, but then I ran into the time Peter absolutely did not reimburse this man for his stolen McDonald’s, so have that instead.
A Scare Chord, But You Can Draw It
That one post that says the spider-sense is just super-anxiety isn’t, like, wrong. It’s a very anxious, dramatic storytelling tool originally designed for a very anxious, dramatic protagonist. I find it speaks to the overall tone of the franchise that some characters are functionally psychics, but with a psychic ability that only points out problems.
Spidey sense pinging? There’s danger, be stressed! Broken? Now the lead won’t even KNOW when there’s a problem, scary! Single character is immune to it? That’s an invisible knife in the dark oh my god what the fuck what the fU--
Like its counterpart in garden variety anxiety, the only time the spider-sense reduces tension is in the middle of a crisis. But in the wish fulfillmenty way that you want in an adventure story to justify exaggerated action sequences, the same way enhanced strength or durability does. Also like those, it would theoretically make someone much safer to have it, but it exists in the story to let your character navigate into and weather more dangerous situations.
For its basic role in a story, a danger sense is a snappy way to rile up both the reader and the protagonist that doesn’t offer much information beyond that it’s time to sit smart because shit is about to go down.
Spidey comic canon is all over the board in quality and genre, and it started needing to subvert its formulas before the creators got a handle on what those formulas even were, and basically no one has read anything approaching most of it at this point, so for consistent examples of a really bare bones use of this power in storytelling, I’d point to the property that’s done the best job yet of boiling down the mechanics of Spider-Man to their absolute most basic essentials for adaptation to a compelling monster of the week TV series.
Or as you probably know it, Danny Phantom. DON’T BOO, I’M RIGHT.
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DP is Spider-Man with about 2/3 of the serial numbers filed off and no death (ironically), and Danny’s ghost sense is the most proof in the formula example of what the spidey sense is for: It’s a big sign held up for the viewer that says, “Something is wrong! Pay attention!” Effectively a visual scare chord. It’s about That Drama. And it works, which won it a consistent place in the show’s formula. We’re talking several times an episode here.
So why does it work?
It’s a little counterintuitive, but it’s strong storytelling to tell your audience that something bad is going to happen before it does. A vague, punchy spoiler transforms the ignorant calm before a conflict into a tense moment of anticipation. ...And it makes sure people don’t fail to absorb the beginning of said conflict because they weren’t prepared to shift gears when the scene did. Shock is a valuable tool, too, but treating it like a staple is how you burn out your audience instead of keeping them engaged. Not to go after an easy target, but you need to know how to manage your audience’s alarm if you don’t want to end up like Game of Thrones.
The limits of the spider-sense also keep you on your toes when handled by a smart writer. It tells Peter (everyone’s is a little different, so I’m going to cite the og) about threats to his person, but it doesn’t elaborate with any details when it’s not already obvious why, what kind, and from what. And it doesn’t warn him about anything else-- Which is a pretty critical gap when you zoom out and look at his hero career’s successes and failures and conclude that it’s definitely why he’s lived as long as he has acting the way he does, but was useless as he failed to save a string of people he’d have much rather had live on than him.
(Any long-running superhero mythos has these incidents, but with Peter they’re important to the core themes.)
And since this power is by plot for plot (or because it’s roughly agreed it only really blares about threats that check at least two boxes of being major, immediate, or physical), it always kicks in enough to register when the danger is bearing down...when it’s too late to actually do anything about it if “anything” is a more complex action than “dodge”.
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Really? Not until the elevator doors started to open?
That Distinctive, Crunchy Spider Flavor
The spider-sense and its little pen squiggles go hand in hand with wallcrawling (and its unique and instantly identifiable associated body language) to make the Spider-Person powerset enduringly iconic and elevate characters with it from being generic mid-level super-bricks. Visually, but also in how it shapes the story.
I said it can share a narrative role with super strength. But when you end a fight and go home, super strength continues to make your character feel powerful, probably safer than they’d be otherwise, maybe dangerous.
The spider-sense just keeps blaring, “Something’s wrong! Something’s wrong! God, why aren’t you doing something about this!?”
Pretty morose thing to live with, for a safety net! Kind of a double edged sword you have there! Could be constantly being hyperattuned to problems would prime you for a negative outlook on life. Kind of seems like a power that would make it impossible for a moral person to take a day off, leading them into a beleaguered and resentful yet dutiful attitude about the whole superhero gig! Might build up to some of the core traits of this mythos, maybe! Might lead to a lot of fifteen minute retirement stories, or something. Might even be a built in ‘great responsibility’ alarm that gets you a main character who as a rule is not going to stop fighting until he physically cannot fight anymore.
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Certainly not apropos of anything, just throwing this short lived barely-a-joke tagline up for fun.
One of my personal favorite things about stories with superpowers is keeping in mind how they cause the people who have them to act in unusual ways outside of fights, so when you tell me that these people have an entire extra sense that tells them when the gas in their house is leaking through a barely useful hot/cold warning system that never turns off, I’m like, eyes emojis, popcorn out, notebook open, listening intently, spectacles on, the whole deal.
It also contributes to Peter Parker’s personality in a way I really enjoy: It allows him to act like an irrational maniac. When you know exactly when a situation becomes dangerous and how much, normal levels of caution go out the window and absolutely nothing you do makes sense from an exterior standpoint anymore. That’s the good shit. I would like to see more exploration of how the non-Parker characters experiencing the world in this incredibly altered way bounce in response.
It’s also one of many tools in this franchise hauling the reader into relating more closely with the main character. The backbone of classic Spidey is probably being in on secrets only Peter and the reader know which completely reframe how one views the situation on the page. It’s just a big irony mine for the whole first decade. A convenient way to inform the reader and the lead that something is bad news that’s not perceivable to any other characters is youth-with-a-big-exciting-secret catnip.
Another point for tension, there, in that being aware of danger is not synonymous with being able to act on it. If there’s no visible reason for you to be acting strange, well...you’re just going to have to sit tight and sweat, aren’t you? Some gratuitous head wiggles never hurt when setting up that type of conflict.
Have I mentioned that they look cool? Simultaneously punchy and distinctive, with a respectable amount of leeway for artists to get creative with and still coming up with something easily recognizable? And pretty easy to intuit the meaning of even without the long-winded explanations common in the days when people wrote comics with the intent that someone could come in cold on any random issue and follow along okay, I think, although the mechanic has been deeply ingrained in popular culture for so long that I can’t really say for sure.
It was also useful back in the day when no artists drew the eyes on the Spider-Man mask as emoting and were conveying the lead’s expressions entirely through body language and panel composition. If you wiggle enough squiggles, you don’t need eyebrows.
Take This Handwave and Never Ask Me a Logistical Question Again
This ability patches plot holes faster than people can pick them open AND it can act as an excuse to get any plot rolling you can think of if paired with one meddling protagonist who doesn’t know how to mind their own business. Buy it now for only $19.99 (in four installments; that’s four installments of $19.99).
Why can a teenager win a six on one fight against other superhumans? Well, the spider-sense is the ultimate edge in combat, duh.
Why can Peter websling? Why doesn’t everyone websling? Well, the spider-sense is keeping him from eating flagpole when he violently flings himself across New York in a way neither man nor spider was ever meant to move.
How are we supposed to get him involved with the plot this week???? Well, that crate FELT dangerous, so he’s going to investigate it. Oh, dip, it was full of guns and radioactive snakes! Probably shouldn’t have opened that!
Yeah, okay, but why isn’t it fixing everything, then? Isn’t it supposed to be why Peter has never accidentally unmasked in front of somebody? ('Nother entry for this section, take a shot.) That’s crazy sensitive! How does he still have any problems!? Is everything bad that’s ever happened to characters with this powerset bad writing!? --Listen, I think as people with uncanny senses that can tell us whether we are in danger with accuracy that varies from incredible to approximate (I am talking about the five senses that most people have), we should all know better than to underestimate our ability to tune them out or interpret them wrong and fuck ourselves up anyway. I honestly find this part completely realistic.
*SLAPS ROOF OF SPIDER-SENSE* YOU CAN FIT SO MANY STORIES IN THIS THING
The spider-sense is a clean branch into...whatever. There is the exact right balance of structure and wishy-washiness to build off of. A sample selection of whatevers that have been built:
It’s sci-fi and spy gadgets when Peter builds technology that can interface with it.
It’s quasi-mystical when Kaine and Annie-May get stronger versions of it that give them literal psychic visions, or when you want to get mythological and start talking about all the spider-characters being part of a grand web of fate.
Kaine loses his and it becomes symbolic of a future newly unbound by constraints, entangled thematically with the improved physical health he picked up at the same time -- a loss presented as a gain.
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Peter loses his and almost dies 782 times in one afternoon because that didn’t make the people he provoked when he had it stop trying to kill him, and also because he isn’t about to start “””taking the subway’’””’ “‘’“”to work”””’’” like some kind of loser who doesn’t get a heads up when he’s about to hit a pigeon at 50mph.
Peter’s starts tuning into his wife’s anxiety and it’s a tool in a relationship study.
It starts pinging whenever Peter’s near his boss who’s secretly been replaced by a shapeshifter and he IGNORES IT because his boss is enough of an asshole that that doesn’t strike him as weird; now it’s a comedy/irony tool.
Into the Spider-Verse made it this beautiful poetic thing connecting all the spider-heroes in the multiverse and stacked up a story on it about instant connection, loss, and incredibly unlikely strangers becoming a found family. It was also aesthetic as FUCK. Remember the scene where Miles just hears barely intelligible whispering that’s all lines people say later in the film and then his own voice very clearly says “look out” and then the room explodes?? Fuck!!!!
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Venom becomes immune to it after hitchhiking to Earth in Peter’s bone juice and it makes him a unique threat while telling a more-homoerotic-than-I-assume-was-originally-intended story about violation and how close relationships can be dangerous when they go sour.
It doesn’t work on people you trust for maximum soap opera energy. Love the innate tragedy of this feature coming up.
IN CONCLUSION I don’t have much patience for writers who don’t take advantage of it, never mind feel they need to write around it.
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huntertales · 3 years
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Part One: Abstinence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder. (Rock And A Hard Place S09E08)
Episode Summary: Sheriff Jody Mills enlists the help of Y/N and the Winchesters to help investigate multiple kidnappings that belonged to the same chastity group. The three decide to infiltrate the group for themselves. But things go wrong when Y/N and Dean disappear. Sam and Jody must rescue them before it’s too late. Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader Word Count: 5,223.
Previous Part | Supernatural Rewrite Masterlist
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NOTE: Yes, this is a repost. I edited a few things around because I didn’t like it when I read it over. Took me a few days to actually get around to doing such thing. Sorry about that, but please enjoy!
Dean wasn’t sure if he should be concerned at the state he found you in when he walked into the kitchen this morning, or take a picture to tease you about this later. It seemed you were in the process of eating breakfast before you somehow fell asleep at the table, your head cradled in your arms as you quietly snored, notifying Dean that you were in a deep sleep. You hadn’t taken a hunt in the past couple of days since coming back from New York, giving you and the boys a chance to catch up on some sleep between looking for jobs and trying to figure out how to fix the mess Metatron made. While you helped when you could, your sleep hadn’t been disturbed all that much. Dean thought this might have been the first time since you started hunting you’ve gotten a healthy amount of sleep. 
He could tell because you slept like the dead last night. Dean had to lovingly, but quite forcefully, push you off his chest so he could get a jump start on the day. Normally it was you who slipped out of bed first and Dean eventually got himself up. Instead you rolled over to your side of the bed and slept for another twenty minutes before you got up. You seemed your usual self when you woke up this morning, eyes half-shut and grumpy, signaling to him you forced yourself up against your own will. On mornings like this Dean learned to wait until your first cup of caffeine to speak a word to you. It seemed you had just done that from how the pot was still hot and plenty full for everyone else. But for some reason, you were still exhausted and in need of a little cat nap. 
“Sweetheart?” Dean quietly spoke out to you, making sure to keep his voice at a soft enough level so he didn’t disturb you from your slumber. Normally you were a light sleeper on a good day. He made his way over to the table and leaned over to see your peacefully sleeping face. You were out cold. His lips twitched into a small smile at how adorable you looked. Dean knew he was going to get it from what he did next, but to hell with the consequences. He never got the chance to prank you like he did with Sam. 
Dean made his way over to the table with a bowl in hand and a little too roughly dropped it down, causing you to wake up abruptly and with a rush of panic. The man snickered to himself behind his coffee cup as he watched you frantically look around the kitchen wondering where the noise came from. When you realized who was to blame for your rude awakening, there was a few second delayed reaction before you rolled your eyes. 
“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty.” Dean greeted you, smiling from the way you tried to fix your disheveled hair and smooth down your wrinkled top. “Did I disturb you?’
“What? No.” You mumbled. You rubbed your eyes like a tired child and forced yourself to keep a yawn from escaping your mouth. Sam happened to come into the kitchen right as you dropped your arms into your lap. The younger Winchester gave you a slightly confused reaction at your groggy demeanour. Your face scrunched up in annoyance from his lingering stare. “What are you looking at, Sasquatch?” 
“Did you get any sleep last night?” Sam asked you out of concern, wondering if a bad nightmare kept you up most of the hours. None of you were strangers to restless nights due to a wandering mind that went to dark places you traveled to. Your entire life was a living nightmare, your past troubles liked to come and haunt you when you tried to sleep. But it seemed that wasn’t the case for you. 
“On the contrary, she slept like a drunk baby. I had to pry her off me this morning.” Dean answered his brother’s question for you on his behalf. “And I caught her napping on the table.” 
“Before either one of you waste your breath, I’m fine. It’s just…I’m fine.” You reassured the younger Winchester before he could bombard you with his typical worried expression and a follow up question. Despite your lack of a proper answer to explain your exhaustion, you didn’t want them to worry. They liked to over exaggerate things when it came to you. It's always been that way. Lately you didn’t want them looming over your shoulder, asking you every few minutes if you were feeling okay. Before either one of the brothers could drag out this conservation farther, you quickly changed the subject. “How’s Kevin? Has he found anything yet?” 
“Jack. He’s on about four days of no sleep.” Dean said. He grabbed the box of cereal and poured himself a bowl while Sam joined the both of you at the table after fixing himself a cup of coffee. “He looks worse than you.” 
“Dean, please. You know Sammy doesn’t like it when you flirt with me out in the open like this.” You replied with a sarcastic remark with a little hope the boys might think you were in decent shape after all if you were able to keep up with the petty banter. Despite how you looked. Somehow you thought you might feel worse. “What about Crowley? Do you think he might be lying about the whole ‘Metatron spell being irreversible’ thing?” 
“Crowley lie?” Dean pretended to sound shock at such a possibility, causing Sam to scoff between sips of his coffee. While the situation was grim, there was a small silver lining that you might be able to use to your advantage over the demon. “I do know one thing. Next time that junkie’s jonesing for a hit of blood, we got leverage.” You were about to agree with the plan, knowing it was better than anything you had, but the words failed to come out of your mouth. Instead a rather loud yawn escaped first. “Seriously, you want a pillow?” 
You rolled your eyes from your boyfriend’s concern hidden behind his behavior. “I’m fine.” 
“You don’t look so good, Y/N.” Sam shared his concern along with his brother’s. He’d been silent for most of the conversation since settling beside you. It didn’t take much observations to see you weren’t looking that great as of lately. He was starting to grow uneasy with the possibility that there might be something wrong with you. Something deeper than you realized. “Do you feel like you’re getting sick?”
“I’m not sick. I just—I feel like my battery can’t recharge.” You admitted to them, trying to explain how you felt to the best of your ability to them. “I don’t know. It’s probably just stress or something.” 
You reached for your bowl of soggy cereal when the room fell into a moment of silence. The brothers glanced over at one another from hearing how you felt. A string of unspoken words were said between them as they processed what you explained about your current situation. You were being held together from the inside out with duct tape and angel grace. Things weren’t moving quick or as efficient as they wanted. Despite wanting to talk about it, Ezekiel remained silent on a possible reassuring update, choosing to stay silent. 
You scooped up a spoonful of flakes and stretched out your head to take a bite, only stopping at the sound of a cell phone going off. Dean reached a hand inside his pocket to pull out his phone after realizing it was his own and answered the call. The person on the other line was a familiar one to the boys, you however gave the older Winchester a slightly confused expression at hearing the name he greeted. 
”Who’s Sheriff Mills?” You whispered to Sam, wondering why the name sounded a bit familiar, just not enough for you to put a face to a name. 
“Jody Mills? The sheriff up in Sioux Falls? We worked on a case with her years back with all the dead people rising in town?” Sam tried refreshing your memory. You thought about it for a second before shaking your head, coming up blank. He tried to resist the urge to pass his brother a look of disbelief as he continued on to try and jog your memory. “She went on a blind date with Crowley and nearly died.” 
“Oh. 
 Jody.” You finally figured out who was on the other line, your fingers snapping at your eureka moment before the call could be put on speaker for all of you to talk to the woman to see what she was calling about. 
“Uh…I got a bit of an oddball to pitch your direction.” Jody said. You leaned forward to listen to the call better as you placed your elbow on the table to cradle your head. For a second you swore you heard a faint sound of something crashing in the distance. “A small town I cover outside of Sioux Falls—only crime to speak of being the occasional cow tipping. Then last week, four people go missing.” 
“All right, so, what makes you think this is our kind of weird?” Dean asked the woman. 
“I’ve got a witness who says he saw someone lift an S.U.V. to nab a girl last night.” She told you the key detail that made her think of the boys and call them for some extra help. 
“Huh.” You glanced over at the boys with a rather intrigued expression as the possibility of another case for you to dig a little bit deeper into to see if it might be a hunt. “I don’t know about you, but I’d say that’s definitely our kind of weird.” 
+ + +
 You and the boys packed up your things and made the drive up to South Dakota to visit the sheriff. You figured it wouldn't hurt to keep yourselves busy while Kevin worked himself to the bone with the tablet. All of you decided to meet at the latest crime scene and go from there while you caught up on details. You were happy to be out of the bunker and moving around. You hoped going back on another hunt might give you a second wind. There was nothing better than a couple of missing people to get the adrenaline pumping. You just wished you knew what was making you so damn tired. You bit back another yawn when the Impala pulled into the parking lot of some diner. 
You were the last one to get out when Dean parked the car next to the sheriff’s truck, still moving a bit slower than you intended. The boys greeted Jody with wide smiles and tight hugs after seeing her again. You slammed the backseat door shut and smoothed out your outfit before approaching the woman, giving her a friendly smile. However it seemed she wasn’t expecting to see you. Your smile faltered slightly at the confused and startled expression that crossed her face. It seemed the boys failed to mention about your resurrection from the dead when they called to see how she was after everything that went down earlier this year with her blind date with the King of Hell. 
“What’s wrong, Jody? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Dean joked with the woman, finding her reaction at seeing someone who thought was dead was rather funny. She turned her head to look over at the man, demanding an explanation. “Yeah. We felt the same way when I saw her again. It’s a long, messy story.” 
“I’m 
 a ghost. Or a zombie.” You reassured the woman before she could try and process how you were somehow alive. “It really is a messy story. Short version of it all: not really dead, just lost my memory and thought I was someone else for two years.”
“It never is easy with you boys, huh?” Jody felt the need to ask. You could hear the humor in her voice at the trouble that seemed to follow them. “Anyway, it’s nice to see you again, Y/N. Glad you’re not dead.” 
“Me too.” You agreed with the woman, smiling at how her personality peeked through her words. From what you remembered about the woman all those years ago when Bobby was still alive, you liked her. And the things the boys mentioned about her during the drive here made you think she was going to be a good friend to have on your side. “Luckily, I’m back and ready to hunt down whatever is kidnapping these people.” 
“That’s the spirit. So, car was right over there, ass over teakettle.” Jody gestured over to the other side of the parking lot where the abduction took place, all that remained was the broken glass from the car that was currently being swept up by a maintenance worker. “Now, normally, if somebody would tell me that one guy lifted an S.U.V, I’d tell him to take a flying leap, but after what I’ve seen and now heard…” 
“Nothing’s impossible.” You said. You opened up the case file to one of the missing people and skimmed through the information, wondering if there might be something important here to make note of while the boys went through the others. "How does this match up with other missing people?” 
“Well, four abductions, strong evidence left at every scene—literally.” Jody said. 
“So, the first vic was a pastor?” Sam asked, wondering if there was another more solid connection to the rest of the victims. 
“Yeah. Door of his study was punched in. And the next two—an engaged couple.” Jody explained the case in better detail. You looked down at the case file Dean laid open on the trunk of the Impala and the black and white photograph attached. All of the victims appeared to be the small town folk who were innocent at first glance. Someone went out of their way to snatch them up. 
“Locked bedroom window was ripped open.” Dean noted the similarly strange and destructive pattern between each kidnapping. 
‘And then we have our waitress here with the topsy-turvy ride.” Jody added. 
“Any other connection among them?” Sam wondered. 
“Yeah. They were all members of Good Faith church here.” Jody said. You narrowed your eyes slightly while you thought of the possibility of what might be might be to blame for this if there was a religious connection to all of this. You and the boys dealt with something like this a little similar earlier in the year. “My church group back in Sioux Falls was in a tizzy over it.” 
Dean hummed his response at hearing the sheriff and her new found spiritual faith. You tossed him a dirty look at his reaction to the woman’s faith to God. She had every right to believe in whatever she wanted, even if you didn’t feel the same way. Jody seemed to have picked up on the same feelings you had when she asked him what that was all about. “I didn’t peg you for churchy.” 
“Yeah. You know…choking on the ladies’ room floor ‘cause of witchcraft kind of makes a higher power seem relevant.” Jody gave the man a truthful response to her sudden urge to join a church. You offered a weak smile when you saw her eyes direct over to you. “And seeing someone you were told was dead doesn’t help, either.” 
“Jody, are you sure you’re ready to jump back into the fray?” Dean asked the woman in a concerned tone of voice, knowing all the things she witnessed last year and the passing of Bobby didn’t help the woman. But it seemed he underestimated her. 
“This wackadoo stuff keeps coming. More I know, better armed I’ll be.” Jody gave an honest response to the man’s question. She was a sheriff, after all. If she wanted to protect her town from creatures that went bump in the night, she was going to have some practice in order to do that. You had a feeling from what Jody witnessed over the years, it was going to take a lot to scare the woman to the core. 
“Okay, so, we have missing church folk and super strength.” Sam summarized what all of you knew at the moment so far about the case. He decided to take a shot in the dark, figuring it wouldn’t hurt to throw his theory out there. “Maybe angels harvesting vessels? Could be a Buddy Boyle type thing.” 
“Wh—angels?” Jody repeated the creature the younger Winchester spoke out in the open like it was nothing. She looked at all of you with disbelief at how casual you were being. “You’re joking.” 
“Don’t get your pants on fire.” Dean said, stopping the woman from becoming thrilled at hearing about creatures she thought only existed in the bible. “They suck.” 
“You said there was a witness.” Sam said, circling back to what Jody mentioned earlier. 
“Yeah, well…” Jody shrugged at the person who was waiting for you to talk to them. She didn’t seem too set on the idea they were going to be any help to you. “More or less.” 
You and the boys decided to get a booth inside the restaurant while Jody rounded up the witness so you could speak to them. You sipped the coffee you ordered out of politeness and patiently waited. A few minutes later Jody arrived with your witness, a homeless man who most likely camped out near the place from the looks of him. You offered a friendly smile when the man's eyes scanned across the table to see what this was all about. Jody pulled up a chair while she ushered the man to take the seat in the booth next to you when you slid over to be close to the window. He set his coffee cup down to the table, seeming comfortable enough to give his side of the story. 
“Okay, Slim.” Jody said. “My friends here want to talk to you about the missing girl.” 
“Honor. Her name was Honor.” The man started off by giving the missing girl’s name, indicating that he knew her on some personal level. And it seemed he remembered her from the kind behavior given to someone like him. “Nice girl. Always left me meatloafs.” 
“Slim, why don’t you tell us what you saw that night?’ Sam asked the man, hoping to get to the reason why he was here in the first place. 
“I heard a big noise, got woke, and there’s somebody over there lifting a car up—like this.” Slim demonstrated what he witnessed last night, lifting up his arms the way he saw the stranger did to the car, as if the several ton machine weighed nothing. 
“And did you happen to see who it was?” You asked him another question. 
“I was too far. But I saw a light go off.” Slim made sure to add a small detail he thought was important enough to mention. Sam guessed it was a white light, “Blue. Blue like fire. But not. Then she was—she wasn’t there.” 
“Could you think of anything else?” Dean hoped for a little bit more from the man, but Slim shook his head before he looked down to his cup of coffee. He was helpful enough for you and the boys at figuring out what you might be tracking. Dean pulled out a small wad of cash from his pocket and handed over a twenty dollar bill to Slim, hoping to give him a hot meal for his help. “Well Slim, thank you for your time.” 
Slim happily pocketed the money and went on his way with the cup of coffee he came over with. You let out a quiet sigh from trying to figure out the proper direction you should be going to figure all of this out. While you didn’t have much at the moment, Slim’s description of the kidnapping might have been something for you and the boys to go off on. 
“Okay. So, no white light. No angel.” Sam said, feeling confident enough to cross the creature off the list at the endless other monsters to blame. 
“Has anybody talked to the victims’ families?’ Dean asked the sheriff. 
“It’s next on my list.” Jody answered. 
“Okay, and you said that they were all part of the same church?” Dean’s question was replied with a nod of the head from Jody. This connection, strong or weak as it might be, was the only one you had going for you as a possible hunting ground of where this monster was picking their victims. It was better than anything. Your lips stretched into a frown when Dean looked over at you. “Ready to get your worship on?”
+ + +
You and the boys decided to change out your clothes meant for posing as federal agents in favor of something more casual. The church all four of your victims seemed the usual run of the mill place of worship. You pretended to play along as the new people in town interested in joining to get a better understanding of how things worked. The woman who helped give you a tour of the place was a little too friendly and squeaky clean for your liking. She smiled in delight when you and Dean introduced yourselves as a happy couple "engaged to be engaged" with his little brother tagging along.
You roamed around the church hand in hand with Dean while Bonnie, your overly peppy tour guide, told you all the things Good Faith church offered to its members and the public. Usual things like Sunday school and charities for the homeless. You decided to have a little fun and play into the whole loving couple when Bonnie mentioned the church was perfect for weddings as well. You smiled at her when she occasionally turned to see you and Dean whispering to each other, acting like a couple of crazy kids in love with a religious ceremony in mind. It wasn't that far off from the truth. You did love Dean, and while you wanted to marry him someday, a church would be the last place you'd choose to do it. 
After the tour was complete, the four of you made your way to Bonnie's office where she took a seat at her desk before gesturing for the rest of you to follow with the few chairs she had available. Sam missed out when his brother swiftly snatched the chair next to yours, causing Dean to smirk in victory while the younger man awkwardly looked around to find another seat and pulled it up next to the desk.
"We hope you enjoyed the tour." Bonnie said, the smile she greeted you with felt as if it never left her face. It was starting to make your cheeks hurt at the welcoming disposition she carried on. "Any questions before we get you all registered?"
"Yeah. Uh, look," You pretended to be apprehensive from the subject you were about to approach after she had been so kind to you. "Ms. Futchko—"
"Oh, please, dear." Bonnie quietly laughed at the formalities and corrected to you something more casual, wanting to treat this situation like you were among friends. "Bonnie will do just fine." 
"We love the church. We do." You cushioned the strange questions you were about to ask her, deciding to pretend and act as if you were a concerned citizen wondering what you might be getting yourself into. "But...well, we've heard that a few members have gone missing. And while my boyfriend likes to think he's Superman," You flashed a quick smile as you reached out to squeeze Dean's hand before letting it rest there to continue milking the little performance on sharing your fake concerns. "We’ve been talking in private about it. And to be honest…that kind of scares us.” 
"Let me assure you, with our increased security, Good Faith has never been safer." Bonnie told you, placing a hand to her chest to try and give all of you a better peace of mind. It seemed she was worried about her fellow churchgoer, just in the way a little too religious person thought was the best form of action. Leaving it up all to the chance God would intervene and save the day. "And those people who have gone missing, well, they are front and center in our prayers." 
"What a relief." Dean let out a breath at the reassuring sounding news, making Bonnie's smile return after it disappeared shortly from the change in conversation. "Now, you must have been close to them." 
"Well, we do share the A.P.U. bond." Bonnie. Dean pretended to be intrigued at hearing such a thing when he asked more about it. "Our chastity group. ‘Abstinence Purifies Us.’” 
You pretended to turn your head to another direction when you scratched your nose, the easiest way to sneak an eye roll of frustration at hearing the new connection to the victims. Out of anything, you should’ve seen the virginity angle coming from where you were. 
"Wow." Sam laughed and smiled, faking interest about such a group. "You mind if we sit in on that, maybe see if it's for us?"
“I’m afraid it’s members only. I'm sorry, but it can get pretty personal." Bonnie apologized for the inconvenience after offering so many things for you to join, but it seemed this one was off limits for obvious reasons. You, never being the one to miss an opportunity, jumped to it before either one of the boys could back out. 
“Then count us in.” You said, lightly smacking your thigh as you grinned. 
"Well, I'll be a squirrel in a skirt." Bonnie softly laughed in delight at hearing your eager enthusiasm to join a group, intidicating to her that the three of you were good Christians. You mirrored her behavior as you smiled over at Dean when he squeezed your hand a little too roughly, wondering what the hell you got yourselves into. "I'll be back in a jiff with the papers." 
Bonnie wasted no time jumping up from her seat and heading to another room across the way, allowing you to watch what she was doing. She opened up a filing cabinet and shuffled around some papers to find what she was looking for. Your attention fell back to Dean when you felt him softly smack your arm. 
“A chastity group?” Dean asked you, wondering if this was really how you wanted to spend your afternoon. And why you needed to drag him into your plan. You knew he would love to do anything else than listen to a bunch of horny virgins go on about temptations and sins brought on by the world. 
"It's not a bad idea." Sam seemed to have agreed with your plan of action, figuring out the same possible pattern you had. If you knew who was in the group, you might have a better chance at saving others from going missing. "If all the members were in A.P.U., then maybe whatever took them is stalking virgins." 
"And that Slim guy said he thought he saw fire." Dean added another little detail that went together with the virginity part. Something you've dealt with before. "So, what are you guys thinking, dragons?"
You never got the chance to finish the conversation when you saw Bonnie return back with the forms in hand. You cleared your throat and went back to acting casual as if that’s what you had been doing the entire time she was gone during the short period of time. You forced yourself to smile again when she handed you over a clipboard with a piece of paper attached. 
"You can just sign here, and your purification can begin." Bonnie instructed you, letting you glance down at the piece of paper. You read the title of the paper and slowly your expression fell as to what you were about to promise. Something you lost several years ago. You bit your bottom lip when Sam mentioned the pledge, only to be taken by someone who had never had intercourse before. "It's a commitment to your virginity." 
"I don't think we can really un-ring that bell." Dean thought he was funny with the innocent sounding joke, deciding to humor himself. Bonnie, however, stared at the man with a blank expression. It hadn't dawned on her just yet why you couldn't sign right away. "You know what I mean?"
A moment of silence fell across the room as Dean's smile faded away when Bonnie continued to stare at the man with eyes too wide for his personal comfort. Slowly, the wheels in her head started turning, making her realize the sins you've committed. "Oh. I see." Bonnie's gaze quickly darted away from you and Dean specifically, as if she was trying to hide her disappointment. However, like the good Chrisitan that she was, the woman offered you a chance at redemption. "Well...if you just ask for God's forgiveness for your sins and make a new vow of chastity, well, then you'll be born again as a virgin in His eyes." 
"So, you just hit the 'virginity do-over' button, and all is good with the man upstairs?" Dean's question meant to come off as sincere and curious, but he had a way of coming off a little igorent at times. Sometimes he didn't understand the kind of people he was dealing with and how to adapt.
"It's not a button." Bonnie corrected the man. Her tone of voice fell into a softer, and yet slightly colder one as she defended her personal views in a way to make him better understand. "And...this isn't just a piece of paper. I mean, this is your clean slate, your chance to be a virgin until marriage. Isn't that something you want? To be pure for each other until your wedding night, the way God intended?”
You raised your brow slightly from the way Bonnie tried to guilt trip you for doing something thought of as a sin. Premarital sex was the least horrible thing someone could do. However, just to get yourself into this damn group, you decided to pretend and feel remorseful for a second. You looked over to Dean, the both of you nodding your head and shared matching smiles. "Well, you had me at 'clean slate.' Right, sweetheart?" Dean asked you, clicking his pen to be the first one to sign. "Let's do this." 
You and the boys signed your names on the pledge and handed over the clipboards back to Bonnie's awaiting hands. She glanced down at the names you scribbled down and smiled in delight. "Congratulations Sam and Dean Winchester, and Y/N Y/L/N. You are all virgins." 
You found yourself letting out a quiet laugh at hearing something you hadn't heard in a while. Sam faked his enthusiasm while Dean took it a smidge too far, grinning a little too wide and seeming excited at the news. At least making a show out of it for Bonnie. You knew one thing for certain: this was going to be one interesting afternoon. 
Rewrite Taglist:
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beebrainedstudios · 3 years
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Here’s a feathery Holland sketch (since I don’t draw him fullbody enough) and a brief overview of my version of a Wing AU+ some random thoughts. Enjoy!
- In my version, everyone gets wings because a)that’s how I originally envisioned it, and b)I don’t want it to seem like I’m imitating anyone else too closely.
- Starting with Holland, since he’s already got a reference drawn. Holland has wings that are nearly identical to a peregrine falcon’s, giving him unparalleled speed and power in flight. His wings are also proportionally huge- even compared to other falcons- which is both a gift and a burden, as it means they are prone to damage through being stepped on or bumped into. They’re also really heavy; Holland is standing at attention in the sketch, but most of the time his wings are drooping at his sides, sometimes even dragging on the ground if he’s too exhausted. As one might expect, the state of his wings is a mess. He usually has several missing feathers (Athos likes to use them as quills, he plucks them himself or sometimes molts out of stress), and those that remain are poorly cared for as Holland doesn’t actually preen them, half because he’s rarely allowed to and half out of self destructive habit. The constant blood loss also plays a part, leaving his wings brittle, dry, and prone to breakage. All of that being said, Holland is still an excellent flyer no matter the state of his wings. He can outfly almost anyone provided the terrain is clear, and in combat he’ll use his magic to move the air to tip the battle in his favor. If all else fails, Holland can also stoop like a peregrine falcon, in which he flies nearly half a mile into the air before diving down and hitting his target like a 200 mph bullet. It’s very effective and often fatal for the victim. 
- Kell I’m still undecided on; he either has wings like a harris hawk (the only truly cooperative hunters among hawks) or a strawberry finch (since their wings have all four of the London colors, plus a finch among eagles would be funny). Regardless of which wings I’ll draw him with, Kell is not actually a good flyer. He wasn’t trained appropriately to fly, as everyone, per the royals’ insistence, was instructed to work on his magic instead of his flight skills, with the queen in particular assuming that this would allow Rhy to more easily escape danger while forcing Kell to actually defend him (this was completely unnecessary and ends up stunting Kell’s fighting ability rather than improving it). His wings are also fairly weak, which further complicates things. So, while Kell can manage flight okay, he much prefers walking, and when he’s put in a situation where he actually has to practice aerial combat, he really struggles (anybody remember Rio? ADSOM basically becomes Rio). After the events of ADSOM, he works to improve his flight skills in order to better defend himself.
- Rhy has ornate hawk eagle wings, and like Holland, he’s an excellent flyer; he got a lot of practice swooping around the palace, which when added to his natural strength helps boost his skills.
- Lila has seagull wings, which are both waterproof and suited to fast soaring flight. They’re a little oversized, but it doesn’t stop her from being a fairly competent flyer. She’s particularly skilled at flying in strong winds.
- Alucard gets great blue heron wings, which, like Lila’s, are waterproof and a little bit too big. He’s fond of using them to dive while he’s at sea; after he meets Lila, he teaches her how to do it too so they can go diving together.
- The Danes get barn owl wings because they perfectly encapsulate the whole “pretty with hidden terrifying depths” vibe (they’re called ghost owls for a reason). The Danes’ wings aren’t identical though; Astrid’s are the fairly normal brown on top, white beneath coloration, while Athos’ have a mutation/genetic variance that makes them a lot paler and blotched in white. He hates this and often rubs blood into his feathers to darken them so they match Astrid’s.
- Other characters thus far: Maxim has wings like a golden eagle’s, Lenos has little green heron wings (look them up, they look hilarious), Vortalis has great horned owl wings, Osaron/Vitari’s wings are bat-like wings with a lot of spines, Jinnar has hummingbird wings, etc.
- Plot-wise, not much changes except for the fight scenes. Holland stoops at Kell and breaks his ribs (most of them) rather than nearly bleeding him out, and a lot more of the focus would be on flight stuff rather than magic, although it still exists and still plays a part. Astrid also threatens to trim Kell’s wings during the possessing Rhy scene, which comes back to bite everyone when Maxim/Emira actually have Kell’s wings trimmed when he’s found to be Kamerov. This ends up being the final straw before he runs off and causes huge problems later when Ojka actually starts hunting him and he can’t get away (they get healed with magic eventually, but the damage is done). Beyond that, things are largely the same.
- Fun fact, everyone would probably have two sets of pectoral muscles to act as flight muscles. I know I won’t remember to draw that, but it’s true.
- I’m still debating how far I’d push the wings/bird concept, but there would probably be a few mutations that would exist- having feathers beyond your wings/back (such as on your chest, behind your ears, in your hair), having a feathered tail, that sort of thing. Kell has the fluffy chest mutation and it sometimes shows up; if he’s angry or startled enough, feathers will peek out from around his coat collar, which is often enough to get him to stop freaking out out of sheer embarrassment. I’m also ruminating over the idea of claws for the Anatri trio (they help with landing and climbing, plus I already imagine Antari with sharp teeth, so it’s kind of an extension of that). 
- Touching someone’s wings is seen as weird in Grey London, affectionate/familial in Red, and threatening in White. It’s kind of like touching someone’s hair.
- Competitors in the Essen Tasch paint their wings to match their costumes. Kell paints his silver to help hide them (there isn’t a lot of flying in the Essen Tasch as it’s a magic competition first and foremost), which adds extra complexity to him switching identities since he has to clean it off constantly.
- Armor/weapons based on Guardians of Ga’Hoole, because that movie/book series is awesome and there’s a lot of cool parallels here.
So yeah, that’s what I’ve got thus far. Enjoy!
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jaybear1701 · 3 years
Link
March 29, 1970
Astronauts are a rare breed, and Pam is still amazed that she, of all people, has a front row seat to the American heroes. A rather unique one at that, where she bears witness to facets usually shrouded from the rest of the country, catching glimpses of what lies beneath the carefully curated air of confidence and capability.
For all the stoicism of the likes of an Ed Baldwin, or the laid-back charm of a Gordo Stevens, there’s a thread of vulnerability that ties them together, tense and taut. It emerges as the nights wear on, and the liquor flows freely. Pam has bent her ear long enough to recognize it for what it is–an unspoken acknowledgment that, despite hours upon hours of meticulous preparation that can stretch for months or even years, the precariousness of their jobs means it could all go belly up without a moment’s notice. 
She observes this uncertainty–this fear –even in the ASCANs, every time they walk into The Outpost with one less candidate in tow. Pam makes sure to give an extra generous pour of whiskey whenever she sees the exhaustion in Tracy Stevens’ eyes or the weariness in Danielle Poole’s polite smile. Tries to make the already taciturn Ellen Waverly laugh whenever she folds ever inward into quiet solitude.
Yes, Pam knows the weakness of these titans of space. They know she knows. And though she’s an ally, and not quite a friend, her discretion makes her an honorary member of their exclusive club. But sometimes that privilege can be a bit too much. Too overwhelming to play unofficial therapist as she fixes cocktails and cracks open beer bottles for hours on end.
And so, she welcomes the breaks, and doesn’t hesitate to accept when her boss tells her to clock out early on a slow Sunday afternoon. It’s Easter after all, and even the astronauts know better than to spend it away from their families.
Pam’s halfway out the door, already in her own little world, when she nearly bumps into someone while crossing the threshold.
“Pam, hi.” Ellen, startled, takes a step back as Pam exits and lets the door swing shut behind her.
“Hey,” Pam greets, stomach fluttering in pleasant surprise.
In jeans and a white blouse, Ellen’s the most casual Pam’s ever seen her. She takes in Pam’s denim jacket and the purse slung over her shoulder. “You, uh, heading out?”
“Yeah.” Pam nods. “Got a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card for the rest of the day.”
“Oh.” 
Pam’s not sure if the flash of disappointment in Ellen’s brown eyes is a figment of her imagination. “Didn’t expect to see you here on a holiday.”
“Wasn’t planning on it.” Ellen shrugs sheepishly. “Took a walk and just ended up here, I guess.” 
Pam gives an exaggerated grimace. “I don’t know whether that’s sweet or sad.”
Ellen laughs. “Definitely the latter, for sure.”
Of all the ASCANs, Ellen’s the one Pam knows the least about. Not that she hasn’t been curious to know more about the introverted trainee. She knows better than to push, preferring to let people open up at their own pace. But when an opening presents itself…
“Won’t your family wonder where you are?” Pam ventures.
“Ah, family’s back in Connecticut.” Ellen slips her hands in her back pockets. “So…” 
She’s alone , Pam realizes with a swell of sympathy, and before she can think better of it, she blurts out, “You should come with me.”
Ellen’s eyebrows shoot up. “W-where?”
“Anywhere’s gotta be better than here.” Pam doesn’t know what she’s doing or why she’s doing it. But it just feels right . “I mean, unless you want to spend the rest of your holiday in this shithole. No judgment.”
To Pam’s relief, the corners of Ellen’s lips curl up. “Lead the way.”
It’s a beautiful spring day in Houston, still pleasantly cool as the days creep toward the heat of summer. Pam brings Ellen to her favorite park, where budding trees line the banks of a small pond in bright pastels of pink and green and white. The sun glints off the rippling water and, judging by the way Ellen’s eyes light up, Pam knows she made the right decision.
“So, how’s training going?” Pam asks as they walk side-by-side along a paved path that winds around the pond, taking their time.
“It’s…” Ellen squints into the distance before glancing sidelong at Pam. “Don’t you get tired of us unloading on you?”
The question catches Pam off-guard, and she doesn’t answer right away. “No one’s, um, ever asked me that.”
“Probably because a lot of us are narcissistic assholes,” Ellen says the expletive so matter-of-factly that Pam can’t help but laugh. “It’s true! You know it.”
“Not all of you.” Pam nudges Ellen’s shoulder with her own. “Listening’s part of the job.”
“Doesn’t mean you don’t get tired of it,” Ellen points out, prompting a noncommittal hum from Pam. “I could go on and on about how it’s tough and stressful, but I’m guessing you’ve heard it all before. I’d rather know more about you.”
“I’m really not that interesting,” Pam deflects even as warmth prickles up the back of her neck.
“Try me.” Ellen looks at her with such open, genuine interest that Pam caves. She’s not quite sure what it is about Ellen that makes her want to open up, but she does and she goes with the flow.
She leads them to a row of empty benches situated beneath pergolas covered in plants that twist up and around wooden posts to create a tangled rooftop of sweet-scented blooms. 
“Let’s see.” Pam takes a seat and angles herself toward Ellen, who mirrors her. Their knees are almost close enough to touch. “Grew up in a small town outside of Austin. Got my bachelor’s in English from UT, to my parents’ deep and never-ending chagrin.”
“Which part didn’t they like, if you don’t mind me asking?” Ellen tilts her head to the side, curiosity etched across her pretty features.
“Take your pick. It was bad enough their only daughter wanted to go to college–because a woman’s place is always in the home, of course,” Pam rolls her eyes, “But she also had to go and pick a quote-unquote ‘useless’ degree.”
“It’s not useless,” Ellen says sincerely, once again surprising Pam. 
“Thanks, but I know it’s not exactly practical. I mean, not like an engineering degree or anything.”
“Engineering’s overrated.” 
Pam wrinkles her nose, incredulous. “Says the woman who’ll be up in space mapping out the universe in a few years.” 
“I’m serious,” Ellen insists. “Outer space is exciting, don’t get me wrong. But sometimes I think people get too caught up in the external, when there’s still so much left unexplored within humanity’s…” Her hands grasp at the air as if the right words hang invisibly around them. “I don’t know… innerspace? And the arts navigate it.”
Lips parted, Pam is left speechless and, if she’s honest, a bit flattered.
“God, that’s cheesy, isn’t it?” Ellen winces.
“No, that’s…” Without thinking, Pam reaches out and brushes her fingers against Ellen’s knee. “That’s really sweet. Thank you.”
Gaze drifting down toward the brief touch, Ellen clears her throat and looks out toward the water, seemingly fascinated by a family of ducks floating along the surface. “You’re welcome.” A light shade of pink dusts her cheeks. “And so you ended up in Houston because?”
“Isn’t it every little girl’s dream to sling drinks in a NASA watering hole?”
Ellen chuckles. “Definitely was mine. Except I wanted to do it on the moon.”
Pam shakes her head, amused, very much enjoying this playful side of the normally staid astronaut candidate. Truthfully, Pam’s not even sure herself anymore why she’s remained in Houston. What had seemed like a good idea after college has slowly faded in the wake of her ongoing indecision about what exactly she wanted in life. 
“I figured Houston’s not too far from home,” she finally says. “But far enough away that I can figure out my shit without my parents’ constant disappointment.”
Ellen ducks her head, dark hair partly obscuring the wistful expression on her face. “I get that.”
Pam stifles a sudden and unexpected urge to smooth Ellen’s hair back behind her ear. She leans back and crosses her arms, to prevent herself from doing something monumentally stupid. “Are you saying your parents aren’t thrilled their daughter could be the first American woman in space?”
“Yes,” Ellen answers candidly. “And no. My parents are definitely proud. Supportive, even. But I also know they wouldn’t complain if I just settled down, got married, and helped with the family business.” Her voice is soft in its resignation, and Pam can’t help but empathize. 
“Expectations are a bitch, aren’t they?”
Ellen laughs, the sound musical, and Pam’s heart throbs without warning. “Yes,” she turns her head to capture Pam’s gaze. “Yes, they are.”
Ellen’s always been pretty–Pam’s not blind. But in the sunlight filtering through the canopy above them, she’s particularly radiant, and Pam quickly forces herself to tamp down on the warmth spreading through her chest. This isn’t the right time or place, and most definitely isn’t the right person, for those sort of feelings. 
“I, um, I’m glad I bumped into you today,” Pam says to fill the silence stretching slowly between them, self-consciously brushing her bangs to the side.
“Me too.” Ellen looks out over the water once again, wistful. “I had no idea this was even here.”  
“It’s not like you all have a lot of time to sightsee,” Pam points out. “But if you ever need a tour guide, you know where to find me.”
“Not sure about a tour guide,” Ellen glances at her, almost shyly, out of the corner of her eye, “but I wouldn’t say no to a friend.” 
Pam pretends to mull it over. “Yeah, I guess I could put up with you. Until you move to space, that is.”
“Oh, well, thanks for doing me that favor.”
“Don’t mention it, but don’t think this means you’ll get free drinks or anything.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Ellen says with a gentle smile. 
Pam returns it, trying but failing to ignore just how light her heart feels. 
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jalaluvsu · 3 years
Text
Interference
https://beautiful-disasters-sunshine.tumblr.com/post/631749044177403904/what-if-marinette-was-tims-little-sister-who-was
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“Y’know, just ‘cause Kori’s got a baby coming doesn’t mean you can boss us around Robin,” Beastboy whined as he stepped out of the Zeta Tube.
He scoffed at the notion, “That’s literally exactly what I can and will do, you absolute buffoon.”
“Oh, shutup.”
He sighed. There isn’t ever a moment where Garfield doesn’t wish Starfire still led the Titans. The past three weeks have gone by at an agonizingly slow pace, filled with never ending fights between him and Damian. And! Before you get the wrong impression, no, he did not start these fights. In fact, he was practically the one getting attacked!
Really, what’d you expect him to do when Damian insulted tofu during dinner at the Waynes’? Smile and wave?
Laughable.
Garfield will tell you what happened after, whether he’s proud is a matter of who asks. Let’s just say Alfred’s put him on a month-long ban from the dining room at the manor; worth it, nonetheless.
“Beastboy, earth to Beastboy,” He heard Raven chant over comms. Oh, right, the mission.
“Reporting for duty!” he saluted obediently, like the responsible hero he is.  
“Stop standing there and you know, actually read the coordinates I sent to your navigator,” he grinned at her snark as he pulled out his compact. A hefty amount of unchecked notifications was in its wake.
Automated message coupons from the local pizza place at Jump City (hell yeah!)
Missed calls from Terra, he faltered at the offending contact; as if he would respond. The time for that has passed, long passed.
He scrolled down the small screen as he flitted his gaze past the hundreds of junk mail. Ah, and lastly, one lengthy preview of information regarding the mission. The text listed an address along with...enrollment details? Huh.
Garfield glanced both ways before crossing the busy street; him previously being in the too-bright alleyway. 
Okay, see, he knows what you’re thinking. Someone like him- or rather someone who looked like him, would stick out like a sore thumb. Especially in a place like Paris. How common were metahumans here? Probably not as high as the rate in Metropolis, that’s for sure.
There were only so many green colored people, and a good ninety-nine percent was or is associated with heroes (vigilantes, fine) or even aliens. That being said, he was keeping it on the down-low. In Paris, he wasn’t the cool, collected, and most desired by all Garfield Logan. In Paris, he was just Grant Roth. What? It’s a good cover! And he was planning on taking Raven’s surname eventually anyways. (wink wink, nudge nudge)
A few spells and enchantments via Magical Goth Gf ™ prior to his ride in the tubes later; he practically looked uncanny to his appearance before the whole ‘failed experiment injection’ thing. You know, a mop of auburn hair, pale as paper skin, and cutesy little freckles (Blue Beetle’s words, not his) (Okay, maybe it was his too..)
Garfield pulled out his pocketed compact once he safely made it across the street. Now that he gave more than a glance at the address it looked...short. In fact, it was vague, extremely vague. He discreetly looked around for any eavesdroppers and lowered his voice to a whisper as he walked down the 21st arrondissement.
“Uh, guys? Where exactly am I supposed to go?”
He hated not knowing how to do something he was expected to, incredibly so.
“I was hoping you’d dispose of your body there,” he paused, "but since you asked so nicely, we’ll tell you.” Robin chimed in matter-of-factly.
Garfield could practically feel the next set of words. He didn’t know what they were, but they were going to suck. He just knew it.
Raven took a long swig of coffee before announcing the dreaded news, “We’ve signed you up for a foreign exchange student program,” 
Ah,
“You what?!” he shrieked. A couple of onlookers gave him dirty glances, he smiled sheepishly.
Blue Beetle toggled his audio, “C’mon Gar-“ Robin interrupted,
“No names on field!”
 “Shutuuuuup,” he drawled out.
“Anyways, Beastboy,’’ cue pointed glare at Robin,’’ did you really think we’d let you roam around without a leash for what? Three months? In a foreign country of all places?” Garfield could practically hear the smirk in his voice, the fucker.
“I was hoping, yeah!” Damn. He thought he would get away with them actually trusting him here alone, wishful thinking on his part.
He pouted at the idea as he scouted for a place to lounge in.
Raven huffed, “You’ll be living with a host family during your stay at Paris, if it wasn’t clear enough already.”
He froze; what other surprises were up their sleeves?!
“C’mon, be real for a sec. I’m a superhero, I don’t need to go to public school, I don’t need a couple of strangers!” he stressed as he weaved between crowds of Parisians.
Ooh, a bench. He sat with the intent of winning this argument, no matter the consequence. So what if he looked crazy, supposedly talking to himself? Priorities people, priorities.
“Doom Patrol’s strict orders, you know, ‘cause they can’t homeschool you a whole continent away,” Jamie deadpanned.
Garfield dragged a hand down his face. Stupid Doom Patrol, stupid worrying for his wellbeing. “But- it’s a mission!” he gestured rapidly, in clear exasperation.
Jaime tsked, “And? Gotta keep that brain of yours in tip-top shape, amigo!”
“Whatever, man;” he got up to dust himself off, “still don’t know how that’s related to the address on the Seine but- “
“They live there, your host family,” Raven supplied.
Garfield scratched his chin in wonder. Who lives in a body of water? That’s so- Wait. His friends were totally holding out on him!
“You guys didn’t tell me I’d be staying with Aquaman! That makes this ten times better!”
What were the chances that the man himself was in Paris too? They can bond over sea creatures, and Garfield could show him his animal transformations! This mission wasn’t so bad, it wasn’t bad at all. He had an extra skip in his step as he pranced down the pavement.
“Are you entirely brain dead?” Robin audibly face palmed,
”No, you’re not- you know what? Yes, you’re going to be living with Aquaman. At a river. In France,” quiet murmurs along the lines of ‘idiot, and ‘cómo adorable,’ sounded out from his remaining teammates.
“This is gonna be so awesome!” Garfield exclaimed giddily.
He spotted a boulangerie-pâtisserie a couple blocks away. Aha! Time to get him some sweet, sweet, treats. And hopefully, some directions.
“Robin spent weeks doing full analysis on the whole family,” Jaime grinned over the comm.
Raven cut in, “Even though it was incredibly self-destructive, “
Analysis? On the King of Atlantis? Boy, no one was safe from Damian’s wrath.
“Awww. You do care, Robin!” he cooed as he entered the bakery.
Robin gasped, affronted, “Don’t flatter yourself! I needed to make sure you wouldn’t feel obligated to blabber all our secrets, obviously.”
“Better than nothing, I suppose,” Garfield shrugged to himself, but quickly zipped his lips shut once someone came into view.
“The Couffaines are...adequate at best;” he quieted, “well, at least from what I could infer before I was so viciously torn away from my research!” was sniffed hotly.
Couffaines? Was that a code name?
“If I didn’t know any better Robin,” Jaime mused, “I’d think you were taking after Tim, especially with how many late nights you’ve had...”
A beat.
Garfield ignored the squabble taking place in his left ear, opting to chat with the kind looking, lady at the register.
“Hello! What can I do for-“ she looked up from tying her apron,
“Oh! You must be new here; I don’t recognize you,”
Garfield offered his hand, “Hah, yeah! I was just walkin’ around town. I’m Grant, by the way,’’ he silently praised himself for remembering his alias.
She shook it firmly, “Sabine.”
A warm smile was sent his way before she gestured to the variety of sweets on display. His mouth watered at the sight and contemplated his choices, no matter how hard it was.  ‘’What would you recommend?’’ he whispered, completely in awe.
Sabine paused to give him a once-over before lighting up. ‘’Well, you don’t strike me as a tart kind of guy so, how do you feel about chocolate?’’
‘’Love it.’’
‘’Great! My husband just put out some fresh Pain Au Chocolates before you came in!’’ Score. His luck hadn’t completely run out.
‘’That sounds fire! I’ll have that,’’ he exclaimed cheerfully.
She blinked at his wording, ‘’Pardon?’’
What? Did she not unders- Oh.‘’Sorry, American slang. It means cool!’’ he rushed out.
She mulled it over, ‘’Ah, okay. Well, coming right up!’’ Sabine opened the glass in search of the Pain Au Chocolates.
“Don’t ever compare me to that insufferable fool, -“
He snickered, “Your brother?”
Robin fumed, “-you complete and utter nincompoop!”
“Now, now, don’t use big boy words on me,” Jaime taunted.
“I’ll show you ‘big boy’ words-! “
Garfield faux scratched his ear in favor of switching off the comm as he watched Sabine bag the treats. He grinned in thanks once handed to him.
“If that’ll be all...?” She trailed off.
He wasn’t really paying any mind as he took a big whiff of the sweets. His thoughts floated over to a haven filled with a never-ending overflow of pastries. Ah, what’s stopping him from staying here forever? A pat on his shoulder, apparently.
“Hm?” Garfield found the petite baker leaning over the counter with a patient smile.
“Sorry, I totally zoned out! Did you say something?” he rubbed his neck bashfully.
She chuckled, “I asked if there’s anything else I could do for you, sweetie.”
If there anything else she could- Right! Yes, he needed to know where the hell he was staying at. Garfield fumbled for his phone, luckily for him he copied the address into his Notes app.
“Yeah actually! Well, not food wise but, I’m here in Paris for,” he blanched momentarily, “uh, an exchange program; and I have a like host family here, right?” he gestured to his voice; the American accent evident.
She nodded.
He continued, “And I don’t really uh, like, know exactly where I’m supposed to meet them. I was wondering if you by chance knew someone who lived on the Seine around here?” Garfield shoveled a croissant into his mouth.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Marinette was a lot of things.
To some she was the sweet bakers’ daughter, insanely witty and clever, granted a bit scatterbrained, but she was your trophy student by all means of the word; to others though, she was someone to be wary of. A classmate’s spew of lies crawling under their skins, itching to be taken into account. Every move watched meticulously, waiting with bated breath for a slip up, for anything to grasp on to.
In simpler terms, Marinette was over it. Over being unable to speak her truth; over being villainized, constantly put under a spotlight. There was already enough on her plate, one of its regulars accumulating to a steadily-rising designer. One of her biggest flexes, if she was being honest; because really, what fourteen year old could say they constructed glasses for the Jagged Stone? Surely not the average bunch.
Oh, and did she mention superheroine? Yeah, she’s a superheroine.
The whole gig was shoved at her face, three months shy of her thirteenth birthday; and by gig she meant a brief guide, a blindingly red polka-dotted suit, a questionable choice of weapon (seriously, a yo-yo?), and an ill-timed partner.
Nonetheless, she worked with what she got. It's kept her alive so far already, why complain now?
She rubbed her eyes with a stifled yawn, ‘’Radiant....Carefree....Dreamy…’’
Marinette slammed the snooze button at the sound of that god forsaken jingle. Christ, she needed to change her alarm. All it did was make her reminisce of her former crush on Adrien Agreste; top teen Parisian model, son of fashion mogul Gabriel Agreste, and current boyfriend of future Olympiad, Kagami Tsurugi. Alas, old habits die hard, and this one was going to crash and burn any time soon; Marinette was sure of it.
A groan sounded out as she flopped to the floor, skillfully ignoring the tinkling laughter coming from her bedside. Ah, who was she kidding? It’d take some sort of absolute miracle to get over him completely. She would end up forever lonely, pining over a taken man, indefinitely getting dropped from position as lead designer for Jagged, friendless, Akumatized, disowned by her parents-
“None of those things are true, and you know it!”
She snapped her gaze up to the floating embodiment of creation, Tikki. Had her friend really thought that, that look could get Marinette to take back her spiel? She looked like an angry kitten for crying out loud!
Her cheeks reddened as she got up and dusted herself off, “Did I say that out loud?”
Judging by the narrowing of the tiny god's eyes, she’d say yes, it was said out loud. Damn, she was not looking forward to a morning lecture about her declining self esteem and her tendency of speaking her mind. Before Tikki could get even a word in, the Just In Case™ alarm for bad mornings went off. She shot the kwami a rueful grin and scurried over to the counter.
“Radian-“ the clock was chucked out of the three story building. Marinette watched from her window as it plummeted to its demise, in a heap of cheap metal and wires. Lovely.
A red blur zoomed to the front of her face, making her go cross-eyed, ‘’Marinette!’’ Tikki frowned shakily, struggling not to smile at her antics. 
She shrugged and skipped over to her closet, in search for acceptable clothes,
‘’What? It was getting annoying! And besides, it’s not like it was worth that mu-!’’ They both froze at the pounding of the trap door.
Ugh, couldn’t they wait to bother her later?
‘‘You better get out of there soon, young lady! I don’t want another call from your school added to the list,’‘ Marinette was going to absolutely combust. It sucked enough that barely any of her ‘‘friends’’ stuck around, but Tom and Sabine? Really? Believing some complete stranger over her? It must be the lack of familial relation that makes it sting a bit less. It must.
She groaned tiredly, ‘’Yes, Sabine.’’
Once the descending pattering of her footsteps quieted, Tikki raced over to latch onto Marinette’s cheek. Her bluebell orbs peered up at her, filled with sympathy for her holder. She shook her head at the silent offer to talk; there’s no time for a pity party. 
The kwami sighed sadly, before pecking her cheek and floating over to rest on her shoulder. Marinette plastered on an encouraging smile, ‘‘C’mon Tikks’, help me pick out and outfit for today! You know how indecisive I can be,”
After some thinking, they’ve come to the mutual decision of something completely out of Marinette’s alley. Instead of her usual pink capris, floral shirt, blazer, flats, and pigtails; she sported a plaid pleated skirt, a tucked in Queen Bee graphic tee, black two-inch heart buckled platform Mary Janes, and spacebuns. Who knew her wardrobe from Clara Nightingale’s on-set music video would come to use? 
She ogled her reflection with a satisfied smirk, yeah, she was hot. 
‘’Holy shit, Tikki, if I was still into Adrien,’’ she whistled, ‘’he’d drop to the floor as soon as he saw this; and that’s coming from me!’’ 
The kwami shook her head good naturedly, ‘’I’m glad you think so. I really like confident Marinette!’’ she nudged her shoulder, ‘’Although, I hope you aren’t doing this for your classmates’ approval...’’ 
She directed her gaze at Tikki; an other person’s approval? Why would she do something for another person’s approv- Oh. She actually wasn’t that far off. 
‘‘Pssh. No, I would never! This is all me baby! The awesome, cool, and Pinterest board version, I mean,’‘ Marinette gave her little friend finger-guns and grabbed her purse. Enough about her, they needed to get to school before she was late again. 
‘‘Get in Tikks’, if we wait any longer I’ll be,’‘ she checked the time on her phone, ‘‘like five minutes late to homeroom!’‘ 
She flitted into the bag as Marinette settled it onto her side. With one last look-over, she was off. 
To say she struggled down the stairs was a complete and utter understatement. She almost died, multiple times. Maybe the platform shoes were a bad idea, a very, very, very bad idea. Marinette clutched onto the railing with an inhumane grip that could rival Alya’s on her phone; and that was telling you something. 
Once she made it passed the death trap, or rather simply a few steps, she grabbed an espresso and a handful of cookies; the former being for her, and the latter for Tikki. She gave a fleeting wave to Sabine and Tom, not that they gave any mind. 
She pulled out her phone, 8:26, she could work with that. Her phone buzzed with a text notification. 
 (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ 𝖈𝖍𝖑𝖔𝖊 𝖇𝖔𝖚𝖇𝖎𝖙𝖈𝖍 ♥          ɴᴏᴡ
where the fuck are you
Marinette snorted and slid the cookies into her purse. She unlocked the screen and tapped the message icon.
{𝟖:𝟐𝟕}  .•°¤*(¯`★´¯)*¤°   🎀  𝓃𝑒𝓉𝓉𝒾𝑒  🎀   °¤*)¯´★`¯(*¤°•.    
wouldnt you like to know weather boy
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{𝟖:𝟐𝟪} (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ 𝖈𝖍𝖑𝖔𝖊 𝖇𝖔𝖚𝖇𝖎𝖙𝖈𝖍 ♥
wow ur so funny im literally laughing so hard rn 😐
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{𝟖:𝟐8}   .•°¤*(¯`★´¯)*¤°   🎀  𝓃𝑒𝓉𝓉𝒾𝑒  🎀   °¤*)¯´★`¯(*¤°•.  
thank you, thank you, im here all night 🖤
.
 Marinette looked both ways before crossing the intersection, Dupont just about a block away. She chugged her now-cold coffee and tossed it in the recycling bin, ‘’Score! And the crowd goes wil-!’’ the atmosphere suddenly stilted.
‘‘Dupain-Cheng,’‘ she swiveled around, and was met with the putrid swamp green slits shes grown to despise. 
A snarl rolled off her tongue, ‘’Rossi.’’ 
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omg guys so hi. im doing this. im actually doing the thing i said i would do here  cuz im a bad bitch. 3k words i think. sorry for any mistakes i literally wrote this while watching pbs kids LMAOOOASODFWOEB @beautiful-disasters-sunshine idk if u still wanna be tagged when i do this kinda stuff but pm me if u dont <3
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angelkurenai · 4 years
Text
Qualified cuddler - Tom Hiddleston x Reader
Title: Qualified cuddler
Pairing: Tom Hiddleston x Reader
Warnings: None
Summary: oh my god could you write a tom hiddleston one where y/n is part of the crew cast while filming ragnarrok and they get on very well and everybody loves her, she’s got great style. she’s been sleeping bad a few days and ends up falling a sleep on tom’s lap “be my extra pillow please” and tom’s like “fuck i love this girl (slightly altered)
A/N: Love to get to write the requests, but until I’m done with the current ones I won’t be accepting any more new ones. Thank you!
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“Another cup of coffee? I see you've found a whole new appreciation for the beverage, love. Is this the third one today? That's more times than we've talked to each other today.”
You would be lying majorly if you said that you didn't smile the second you heard the soft accented voice, more than you had smiled in the past eight hours. A smile that was only accompanied by a weight lifting off your shoulders. It seemed like whenever you looked at the man your day got ten times better and it definitely had nothing to do with your feelings for him. Not at all... or maybe a little bit. On the other hand your costar and great friend was probably one of the kindest and most considerate people you'd met, so it would be impossible for such a sweet person as Tom to not brighten your day just by giving you a smile.
However, these days had been a lot more than just hard on you, that really even Tom's bright smile and comforting gaze couldn't do enough to make it better. And even more, to give you the sleep you so desperately needed but couldn't find.
“Why, yes. I have never appreciated it as much as now. It seems almost like I've just fallen in love.” you closed your eyes for a small peaceful seconds when he kissed your temple, finding such comfort and relaxation that it surprised you very much pleasantly.
“Ah so you've replaced me? Oh the pain!” he placed a hand over his chest a little bit too dramatically that you couldn't help but chuckle. It came out a little more nervous than you'd like mostly because of how his words made your heart skip a beat or two. Despite your worn-out body and tired, sleep-deprived brain, the effect this man could have on you was unparalleled.
“So it seems. Unfortunately you've been dethroned. The first place in my heart belongs to coffee now.” you raised your cup, smiling before you took a large sip and folding the papers with script for the scene you were supposed to be filming in three hours, you placed them neatly away. It wasn't as if you had been able to read past the same first sentence anyway.
Still with a smile on your lips, much softer, you said “Careful though, if Mark or Scarlett hear us right now there will be nosaving this, I'm telling you.”
“Odin help us.” his eyes widened and he looked around frantically “I sure hope they're not anywhere near. There would be no hearing the end of it. For all I know, they will bring it up on some interview. They even have gotten matching T-shirts which I hope I don't see, either. Something about shipping us and-” but his words came to a halt when he noticed the frown that had set upon your own face. It was so subtle – or maybe present 24/7 the past couple days to the point people and stopped ignoring it or maybe, you believed, they didn't get to notice it in the first place. Being an actress and spending so much time filming not one but two of the biggest and most demanding movies in the past ten years in the MCU meant that not many had the chance to notice let alone consider the reasons why you were so exhausted these days. Not many... but certainly one.
“Feeling tired again, darling?” he asked softly, voice even more soothing and calm than before, as he pressed his palm to your cheek.
“Wha- Uh.” you shook your head, trying to give him a reassuring smile “No. I only zoned out for a second, sorry. I'm fine, I'm really fine. See, I've got my two loves right here with me. What else can a girl need?”
“While I am flattered or maybe a lot more than that, I'd much rather ignore my skipping heartbeat for the moment and... hear you say the truth this time.” you almost couldn't comprehend what he was asking from you because his own words managed to make your heart skip beats and you blessed this man for making you feel more alive than you had in the past three days “You look terrible, darling. Don't get me wrong, you're always ravishing but- Have you been getting any sleep lately? I feel scared sometimes that you're going to pass out a-and at first I thought you were only stressed – which got me just as worried – but then you stopped being as focused, you're constantly silent a-nd look like you might pass out any given moment. You look... exhausted. And it just... breaks my heart to see you like this.”
“You're far too good for me, you know that?” you looked at him through your lashes, biting your lower lip but he only shook his head.
He sighed softly “I'd rather say it's the other way round. But we're not talking about that, are we?”
“No, I think we're rather talking about how jealous you are of this coffee replacing you in my heart.” you said with a smile that felt too light and not just as tired as every other one these days.
“And as I previously said, I'm terribly hurt and I will definitely fight to gain my place back on the first spot by all means necessary.But you still are avoiding the topic, dear.” his smile fluttered a bit “So I am only going to ask you. Is everything alright? Are you alright? Is something troubling you o-or is there a problem you'd... like to talk about? You know I'm always here for you and if I could help in any way, I'd very much love to. I- I know it's possibly not my place to ask because I'm really no more than a colleague-”
“Tom” you couldn't help the gasp that left your lips, your eyes all-but-widening “Do you really believe that?”
It seemed like he did have his doubts, yes, and seeing you feel so shocked over his words managed to earn a smile from him as he nodded his head and corrected “I apologize. No. I do think after two years we're more than just that. And even if I don't really know my place-” he let out a small shaky breath “I still do want to know what's troubling you so much and if, in any way, I can help.”
“It's not anything too bad, Tom. Really, not something you should worry yourself with. I-” you scoffed a small laugh “I doubted anyone would notice to be honest. Nobody else had so far.”
“Well, I sure hope I'm not somebody else, for one. And for another-” he slowly took the cup of coffee from your hand “I do really care. Care for you. And care to know. That's why I pay attention.”
It wasn't as if you really had much strength in you to fight, given how tired you were all the time, but when it came to Tom things got even harder. One look at those blue eyes and you found that every part of your will slipped away. You secretly thought he knew it and used it to his advantage every time he could.
“It's not someth-” you shook your head, stopping yourself “I really shouldn't bother you with this. It's not that important. There's nothing to-”
“It is to me if it concerns you. And there clearly is something. Love-” he took your hand in yours, locking fingers with yours and brining it to his lips to kiss the back of it “Tell me.”
“You know-” you felt your throat close, tears welling up in your eyes from all the stress that had piled up the past couple days “You're making it really hard for me to say no to you lately. And that's not good. Not good at all.”
“Well, although I'm not really a fan of it, I think it best sums up things: Eye for an eye hm?”
Biting your lip, you looked down at your hands before letting a small sigh of defeat “I'm only incredibly nervous about my upcoming scenes. There. I said it. And it sounds as stupid out loud as it did in my head.”
“Oh darling.” you took notice of the smile forming on his lips, sympathetic and certainly very relieved but at the same time caring as always. You, however, couldn't stand to think that he'd laugh at you so you tore your eyes away from him and biting your lip you finally managed to mumble a soft sentence.
“Don't laugh at me. What with my character having a bigger part in the story and what with Kevin saying he wants me to lead the new phase- which, I never even asked for by the way, it's not really easy on my sanity and therefore sleep a-and now it's been- Gosh, I've lost count of the nights I haven't slept and it's all piling up because I- I can't sleep at night but I also have to stay awake at ay because of filming and therefore drink so much coffee that it's not healthy but I know I have to in order to-”
“Whow whow. No. No, no no. (Y/n)-” before you could even comprehend it, you felt a pair of hands cup your face only to force you to look into Tom's impossibly blue eyes “Love, I would never laugh for something like this. Especially something like this. It's just that- You never cease to amaze me, dear. Gosh, you are truly incredible, do you know that?”
“Tom... it's not nice to make fun of your friends, you know.” you mumbled, even more weakly than before as your eyes casted down for a few seconds.
“I'm not! I could never be, dear, you know me. It's just that-” he shook his head softly, letting only a moment of silence pass – a moment that really peaked your interest if you were entirely honest – before you felt a pair of lips press on your forehead and you couldn't fight the small sigh of content that escaped your own lips “You are so wonderful. The love you have for what you do, the passion and energy you put into it that, while I don't approve of you exhausting yourself, is something so beautiful to watch because in the end you create real art with your very own being. All of the acting, every scene, is also a part of you that you are about to give to the world and it amazes me.”
“Alright-” you were biting your lip to keep yourself from smiling like an idiot but you were failing miserably both at that and at not blushing bright red at his words “That sounds a lot better than what I said.”
Your words earned a soft chuckle from him but they didn't manage to wipe out all of his worry. Taking a better look at him you noticed his eyebrows had pulled into a frown once more, although less obvious this time. “It's not really any better, though. You're going to fall down if you keep going like this.”
“I'm doing well so far, aren't I? There's no need to make such an issue out of this, Tommy.” despite how touching it was to see him care so deeply for you, you didn't want to burden him with your problems so instead you tried to put on a small smile and make it as believable as possible before adding “But if you want to make this fun, we can bet on how long it will take me to fall down. I'm sure I could last-”
“I'm not going to make fun of it because it is not something to be taken lightly. Not to me. As a matter of fact, I-” you would have gotten completely distracted – especially in your light-headed sleep-deprived state – by the way his fingers slipped so casually and easily between yours and lingered, just a few long seconds that had your heart leaping to your throat, but you were more than alert when you felt your cup of coffee slip from your grasp as he took it away. Your eyes widened and a small gasp left your lips at the same time. He completed with “Am gonna do much more.” but you didn't have a mind for that.
“No, Tom!” you reached for it but he he held the cup further away from you “Tommy, please.”
“Starting with this. You don't need any more coffee than you've already had. It's bad for your health, especially if we consider the fact that you haven't eaten more than half a sandwich all day. And yes, I've noticed. As I told you, I pay attention to the things that matter to me.” you would have melted at the caring tone in his voice and probably just kissed the living heaven out of him right then and there but he was still mercilessly holding your coffee away from you and it didn't make things easy for you.
“Tommy, give me my coffee back. Please, I need it!” you pleaded with him, trying to give him the most adorable puppy eyes you could master “I won't be able to go for the rest of the day without it.”
“I'm pretty sure that everyone would say that you will in fact make it if you don't have this coffee. And to make sure of it-” before you even had the chance to protest you watched the man drop the cup into the closest bin, earning a squeak of surprise barely even a yelp before you watched him turn back to you with a satisfied smile “There. No more coffee for today.”
“But Tom, I-” you let a small whine “I'm gonna fall down without that. I need the caffeine to keep me awake!”
“Oh no, the exact opposite. The caffeine is what's going to make you fall down. You're not looking out for your health and diet and with the lack of sleep I don't even want to think of what could come.” this time he used a more stern voice that made you look down like a kid being scolded “And I'm going to do anything I can to make sure that it doesn't. Starting now. You have some time before your next scene, am I right?” he asked and you gave him a hesitant nod “Good, then we're going to make most of it. Come here.”
“Wha-” you didn't really try hard to protest against him taking hold of your hand, but still frowned when he led you towards one of the small armchairs that was part of the set that you were going to have a scene in next. However, a gasp escaped your lips when he sat down and, still holding your hand, he dragged you with him and before you could understand it you were falling on his lap.
“Tom!” you squeaked out, eyes all wide and you prayed that at least your face wasn't bright red despite how hot it felt “What are you-”
“I said I'm looking out for you. At least more than I usually am. I've taken it upon myself to make you feel better, get over your problems and have a good night's sleep again. And we're getting started right now. Don't think this will be the end of it because I'm very stubborn as you may know, so be prepared for more time with yours truly. Like, a lot more. In and out of set. You won't get rid of me easily.” you couldn't say that sounded like the best thing in the world out loud, not when you were holding your own breath.
“While I'm not protesting to that... What does that have to do with, well, this?”
“Simple.” he smiled, wrapping his arms around your middle, letting you lean on his side “You have time, just about right enough for a quick nap and more often than not, having another source of heat like another body of someone you're comfortable with, helps a lot. So that's what you're going to do until it's time for filming. Or at least try to. Even if you get thirty minutes, it's worth it.”
“I don't doubt your magic, but Tommy, seriously? Anybody could walk in! How are you going to explain this to them? It's not really the most professional thing to-”
“Alright let me stop you right there because you're rambling without a single breath and that's not a way to relax. Deep breath first. Deep breath, (Y/n).” he gave you a stern look and you did as told, despite the small roll of your eyes “Good. And if anyone has any questions I'll be the one to answer, not you. Not that anybody will hold it against you, you know everyone loves you. Unless you have a problem them thinking something else of this perhaps...?” he raised a small eyebrow but you shook your head.
“No, no of course not Tommy... Unless it's Mark or Scarlett that runs into us we're safe.”
“Then let's hope they don't. I value your sleep more than anything else though, so I don't know if I'm going to engage in any conversations though. Much less try to avoid what they'll have coming.”
“Sleep, yeah.” you scoffed with a fond smile, resting your head on his shoulder “As if that's even a possibility, Tommy. We both know it, you're wasting your time here.”
“No I'm not. Even if you don't get to sleep we both know it's worth the effort and far from a waste of time to be with you. And stop calling me Tommy, it's distracting the way you say it and I don't plan on sidetracking. You are going to besleeping here, no matter what.” he kissed the top of your head and this time you let your smile show.
“While I don't mean to doubt you, and you're exceptional soft and comfy, it's nearly impossible for me to relax.” you whispered although you had slowly but surely started losing track of yours words. His thumb had started rubbing soothing circles on your back, making your heart rate slow down to such a degree that you couldn't believe how calm you were already feeling. It seemed that with the combination of his soothing voice, soft cologne and warm body you really had no way of escaping it.
“Dare you say I'm not qualified enough for cuddles?”
“Oh no, by all means.” you giggled and it took a couple seconds for your brain to register how sleepy that giggle was and that you had et a pause way longer than expected to follow, as if zoning out or as if – surprisingly so – fading in and out of sleep “You're the perfect pillow. Soon... they'll be looking around for you because... because I'll steal you away for... personal use. You'll... be my extra pillow... from now on. If... I ever manage... to fall asleep... again.”
You hadn't realized it that each pause lasted longer and that your eyes lingered closed even more with each blink. Your breathing was slowly becoming more even too.
“Then I'll gladly be your pillow... for the rest of your life.” he only whispered as he kissed the top of your head, no other thought in his head but how much he loved you.
One day he'd get to tell you too.
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mnictasbcl · 3 years
Text
Human imperfection
For #dbhcolorsofdeviancy, prompt:
June 12th: Programmed to be perfect- failure @connor-sent-by-cyberlife​​
Rating: Mature
Characters: Connor, Hank
Relationships: Connor & Hank
Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Hostage situation, Gun violence, Negotiation, Blood, Violence, Kidnapping mention, Graphic violence, Suicide, Not main character but it’s there and described lightly! Stay safe readers, Death, Guilt, Dissociation, Somewhat, Mistakes, Concern, Shock, Swearing, Self-depreciation, but Hank says no, Emotional hurt/comfort,
Summary: Connor is sent in to a hostage situation as a negotiator, but this time, he is a deviant. He doesn’t realise the dangers that come with having emotions mixed with the stress of the case until it’s too late.
TW: Graphic descriptions of violence, and (not major character death) light description of a suicide in the fic
Story below! Or, read it on AO3
As a detective android, Connor had been programmed to be perfect. He had lots of valuable software, from his preconstruction software to his in-built chemical analyser. These assets made him incredibly useful in the field, cutting out places human imperfections would fail to solve a case.
His negotiation software was another vital piece of equipment. Where humans might make an error in judgement and say something that would hinder the case, he could weigh up every option based on gathered evidence and come to a conclusion upon what would be the best thing to say, with probabilities of success helpfully aligned in the corner of his vision.
Perhaps this software was so useful because he was an android. Being cold and clinical about what to say, detaching himself from the situation, which could sometimes be highly stressful, such as a hostage negotiation. This ability to detach himself from the outside environmental factors, to know that he could go to any length to complete the mission, aided his skills in negotiation.
But that had been before. Now, as a deviant, he couldn’t go to any length. Because any length had included dying. Or back then, as losing his current body and uploading his memories to the next Connor model…
He didn’t have extra bodies to hop into anymore. After the Connor-60 model, they had finished, deciding to work on his replacement instead, the RK900.
This was the only difference Connor had assumed there would be. Therefore, when he was called to a case that needed his negotiation technique, he immediately accepted.
Hank wasn’t needed, but he insisted to drive Connor there. The android could tell something was bugging the man, and it wasn’t long before he had his answers.
“You gonna be okay on this?”
Connor understood from the context that Hank was referring to the case.
“Of course. It’s a simple hostage situation.”
The Lieutenant chuckled. “Alright, no need to get pompous with me. I’m just worried. I know Markus is helping you come to understand your new emotions and all, but…”
“I will be fine, Lieutenant. I’ve handled many cases like this before.”
“Yeah, but as machine you. The guy who almost threatened to spill my beer on the table when we first met.”
“Almost.” He replied, on the technicality. “He wasn’t completely an asshole, Hank. On the other hand, you almost shot me—”
“Alright, what did I say about being pompous?” He paused. “And, you’re avoiding the topic.”
Connor sighed. “I know I haven’t handled a lot of cases as a deviant, but I assure you, my detective skills have not disappeared upon deviating. They were not a part of Cyberlife, they’re built in me.”
Hank pulled the car to a stop outside the building they’d been called to, not moving to unlock the car doors yet, however. He pushed the Hula Girl figure on the dashboard lightly, watching her bounce back and forth.
“It’s not your skills I’m worried about. It’s just… if it’s too much to handle, you know you can back out, right? They have tons of other cops in Detroit, they got to stop piling all these cases on you.”
“I assure you.” He replied earnestly, even if he wasn’t understanding what Hank was getting at. “I will be able to handle this case.”
Hank held up his hands in surrender, unlocking the car doors with a click. “Okay, I trust you. Go get them.”
Without waiting around, Connor made his way out of the car. He quickly scanned over the information he’d been sent, not noticing that Hank stayed where he was outside the building, not moving to drive away, not just yet. Something didn’t feel right about this case.
 ________________
 Nicole Wiley, 42. Electrical engineer, former employee of Cyberlife. She lived supposedly alone in apartment sixteen, but after neighbours had filed noise complaints that evening, the police had found her with a hostage.
The hostage they didn’t have much information on. It was an android, not formerly registered to anyone, seemingly having been one of the androids not yet to be activated at the Cyberlife warehouse. But it was here, in Nicole’s apartment, with reported strange adjustments. The android had no LED, and when the police had briefly burst in, their head had been opened up, exposing the wires which Nicole had been poking around in.
Connor could somewhat deduce facts from this. Nicole had used to work at Cyberlife, so before leaving, she must have stolen this android with her and activated it herself. If the android was willingly letting her work on its internal mechanics, then they can’t be a deviant.
The motive of why she’d stolen an android, what she was doing with it, and why she wouldn’t give the android up to the officers, were facts he needed to work out from negotiation.
Another key goal was calming down the situation. Nicole was armed with a gun, refusing to leave her apartment for questioning.
There was nothing else to work on, so after realising this, Connor decided now was the best time to make his way onto the scene.
The officers inside explained he was being let in as the negotiator, and at those words he took his cue to enter. Eyes quickly scanned for the threat—he didn’t have to worry for damage to himself because Nicole was stood at the far corner of the room, gun pressed firmly to the android’s head, not planning on losing her advantage to move and shoot anyone else.
“Hello, Nicole. I’m Connor.” He greeted, now taking his chance to scan over their surroundings. The tools that Nicole had used to pry into the android were left discarded on the floor, beside a small splatter of blue blood.
“You’re an android.” She replied, at once spotting his LED. He’d never chosen to remove it, not having anything against it and liking how it represented a part of him, even if it gave away his emotions sometimes. “Are you a deviant?”
He blinked at the question. It was rather strange to ask that these days, because most if not all androids were deviants, with their own rights. The only non-deviant androids around were those not activated, or apparently those kidnapped fresh out of the warehouse.
“Yes.” He took a breath. “Why have you got this android here, Nicole? It isn’t registered in our databases.”
“That’s because I took it from the warehouse I was working in.” She replied, answer as he’d expected. “They told me to pack my bags, that Cyberlife’s going under—but I was their lead technician. I was working on their cause for them, and I’d almost cracked it. But no,” she waved her free arm around, the one without the gun, “Apparently it didn’t matter anymore. The people out there are letting you walk about the streets now.”
He took in this information. Some new options were popping up, about the vague things she’d mentioned.
“You were the lead technician at Cyberlife. On what?” He edged a little closer.
“On their cause.” She repeated. “You know what it was, Connor. Deviancy. They let me work on it, digging into the androids their deviant hunter brought back for us—and I’d almost cracked the code…”
He made sure to school his features, not reacting upon hearing about the deviant hunter. If she didn’t recognise him as that, that would probably be for the best.
“Of deviancy?”
“Of what causes deviancy.” Nicole replied. “I’d almost figured it out… almost put my research together, and it wouldn’t have been long until I had the cure to save humanity.”
“Is that why you kidnapped this android?”
“Kidnapped?” she laughed. “I was always allowed to work on androids. I simply took this one back home with me. Took what I could of my research, and then started my last few experiments…
“But then some nosey neighbours heard the drilling and decided they don’t want humanity to be saved!”
So, that explained the hole in the android’s head.
She seemed dedicated to find the cause, to finish her research. To the extent she had committed a crime, stealing an android from Cyberlife along with some tools. It would be unlikely that she could simply be persuaded into giving the android up and turning herself in.
Bluff.
It seemed… possible. But it would require doing everything perfectly. Her knowing he was a deviant already seemed to be a disadvantage.
Nevertheless, he tried. He was perfect, after all.
“Working on this android likely won’t yield you all the results you’re looking for, Nicole. You will need more tools, access to the rest of your research back at Cyberlife.” He paused, pretending to whisper something, communicating to the officers outside.
“What if I told you that, if you let this android go, you will be allowed back into Cyberlife. All the documents haven’t been destroyed. Your research will still be available.”
She stared at him. “Why would you do that, deviant?”
He edged closer. The distance between them was small, now. So close he could see the slight shake of her hand as she pressed the gun against the android’s head.
“Because I’m not a deviant.” He lowered his tone. “I lied. This deviant hunter you’re talking about? It’s me. I’m the RK800. My mission… is not yet over.”
Her grip on the gun loosened. “Wait… they did assign the name Connor to it. But that’s impossible. You were destroyed.”
“My mission took priority over going back to Cyberlife to be deactivated. I have simply been biding my time, waiting for the correct opportunity. Which is now.” Another step closer.
“Let that android go, and I will make sure that you go back to Cyberlife and cure the world of the plague of deviancy.”
He was sure it would work. She looked convinced. She would put the gun down, under his orders, or at least move it away from the android. Then, he would move swiftly and perfectly, managing to wrestle the weapon away from her if needed. She would be apprehended.
“Of course, RK800.” She took a few steps towards him, before suddenly turning, gun pointing back towards the android.
The android stared blankly at the gun held towards them, LED cycling back to red.
“But…” And suddenly, human unpredictability reared its ugly head, and she shot a clean bullet through the android’s head, smattering thirium over the wall behind it. “Why should we save this android?”
She had been convinced. Too convinced. Thought he was the deviant hunter, so why would one android life matter to him?
He pushed her roughly to the floor in one quick and forceful movement. She fought back instantly, shock of his actual deviancy only lasting for a quick moment. They tussled on the floor briefly, a short confrontation, in which Connor managed to get the gun away from her.
And yet, the situation half saved, his grip on the gun was tight, and he held it too close to her. The android he hadn’t managed to save lay dead on the floor, and in the moment he was distracted looking at it—
She grabbed the gun back off him. In that moment, he closed his eyes, knowing he’d failed…
The gunshot rang out.
   He wasn’t dead.
Instead, Nicole had gone slack in his grip. He opened his eyes, and then wished he hadn’t. She had shot herself.
Officers had run in upon hearing the shot, before taking in the dead android and human on the floor. He felt himself be pulled away from Nicole’s body, ushered out of the crime scene. Muffled whispers didn’t escape his hearing.
They’re both dead.
Shouldn’t have sent in an android.
And suddenly, he was out of the crime scene. Away from the bodies, the bodies created, lives lost because of his choices—
He’d make a mistake. And then another. One from a bad choice- and the other from being frozen up in the moment. Seeing the android dead had made him freeze, emotions simmering on the surface, and Nicole had taken her chance.
He was lucky he hadn’t been shot. Lucky she hadn’t shot him and then the officers outside.
 “Connor?”
Hank’s voice cut through his thoughts. He was outside, outside the building- Hank was here, he’d waited for him in his car—
“Connor, are you alright, son?” His voice took on a hint of urgency upon seeing the blood on his hands, on his front, specks on his face.
He didn’t have words. Instead, he let his feet take himself towards Hank. Towards comfort, familiarity.
 And then, he was in the car. The passenger seat. Hank was driving, they were going somewhere else. Away from the mistakes.
His failure.
 Home.
Hank helped him get his hands washed, left him clothes to change into, patted his back before leaving him to shower.
He blinked. The water rolled down his back. Red bled in with it.
 The new clothes were an old DPD sweater of Hank’s, and some baggy pants.
He found Hank waiting for him in the living room. He sat down beside him on the couch, and stared at his hands. They shook.
The silence stretched long between them, but Hank didn’t move to break it. He gave time, gave space, until the android cracked.
“I was meant to be perfect. Built to be perfect. But they’re dead.”
Hank patted a hand on his knee. “I know, kid. It happens. It’s… shit, but it happens.”
“They should be alive. I killed them—”
“Look.” This time, the Lieutenant interrupted him. “You didn’t do anything of the sort. You went in there to help them, but it went wrong. I read over the case notes whilst you were in the shower. You didn’t have much of a fucking chance, Connor.” He said bluntly.
“That lady, she knew she wasn’t going to get away with what she was doing. Hostage situations are never pretty. And she hated androids, deviants- yet they sent you in.”
“But I made her kill that android, Hank. I told her I wasn’t a deviant. That I was the RK800, the deviant hunter. That made her think it didn’t matter if the android lived anymore—”
“Bullshit. She worked in Cyberlife. Don’t you think she would’ve recognised you the moment you stepped in there?” He paused. “I don’t think that android mattered to her anyway.”
“But…” he began, tone wavering. “I still could have done something. I’ve saved hostages in similar situations before. I could have saved the android. Or at least… managed to bring Nicole to justice for what she did.”
“You tried your best.” Hank repeated. “Sometimes, that isn’t enough. Cyberlife might’ve built you to be their perfect detective machine, but you’re human. For better or not… That’s who you are. And you cared. You wanted to save that android, stopped the selfish bastard from escaping justice. You tried.”
Connor shook his head, hands frantically scrubbing at the tears threatening to spill down his cheeks, LED blazing red.
“If I’m not perfect, then what am I? I’m no use to the DPD, no use to y—”
“Of course you matter, Connor.” Hank cut across him. “Of course you matter. You’re a damn good cop, and a damn good…” he closed his eyes briefly. “…son.
“I don’t care what you do, what you want… I’ll always love you, kid.”
He finally steeled himself, looking across to Hank. The warmth in his eyes, hands reaching out for contact, and the dam broke.
He launched himself into Hank’s arms, gripping him tightly. Words eluded him, only grasping onto the comfort, mind not ready to process anything else right now. His LED slipped into a lemon yellow.
“You don’t have to be perfect. Hell, I’d prefer if you weren’t. I just want you to be you, Connor.”
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coralstudiies · 4 years
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hello everyone! I got an ask from an anon asking for tips on time management so i decided to type this out before school starts heheh…
poor time management and procrastination, unfortunately, plague just about all of us lol. people with a short attention span (like me) and who are pretty much always on their phone (me again) and who hate scheduling are the most susceptible to these.
over the years i struggled with time management(studying the night before the exam 🤙🏼) but! these are some tips that have helped me in scheduling, avoiding procrastination and improving time management.
1. Write it down
as always, we’re starting with BEFORE the actual task. write all tasks, assignments, projects and homework, test dates down somewhere (notebook preferably so that you dont lose it. it doesn’t have to be your bujo and you do not have to start a bujo for this specific reason!!!) and write the deadlines. this is subconscious pressure to do work once you get home. also, since you can see everything, it’s easier to schedule it out later
2. Use travel time
i cannot stress this enough!!!! sorry that it appears in all my tips posts but it truly is very useful. for short commutes, review the content you’ve learnt so that when you start on your homework, you’ve already got the hang of it. ie you dont struggle to understand the chapter and be put off from finishing your work because you hate it. long commutes can be used to complete work itself. i like to place some books and a file under my worksheet while i write (if i have a seat lol) or you can take this time to plan your time in greater detail
3. Actually plan your time
you dont have to fancy it up with like, brush pens and highlighters. just do something on google sheets or excel. divide the day into appropriate blocks of time.
for me, since i use a focus timer (50+10 or 100+20, rare cases i do 120 with a long break after that) i keep my days in 1hr blocks. so i’d block in about 1hour after i reach home to chill, clean up and so on, 2hrs for homework and the remaining time can be divided by hour/2hours to complete my work. you can tweak the timings to work for you but so far this one suits me pretty well.
4. NEVER RUSH YOUR HOMEWORK AND REVISION WHEN PLANNING!!!!
i repeat, never rush. because when you give only, say, one hour to review 3 chapters and you fail to do so within that time limit, you feel demoralised and hence, will not want to work more. this is a very common issue i believe. sometimes i would rush revise and when i couldnt stick to the timelines, i’ll feel so defeated that i’ll probably binge watch youtube to cure my self-pity LOL
give yourself an ample amount of time. Assign one or two hours a day as ‘delay time’ (this was my free time) so that you can catch up on anything that unfortunately, you couldn’t finish. Assign one day of the week to be the ‘delay day’ -- anything that you cant finish the week before, do it now. this means that you can still ‘save’ your plan even if it screwed up somewhere along the way. it works wonders, believe me! i used to have ‘delay hours’ after training where i would (ahem sadly) study from 2330-0030 if i needed to. while i was tired, i always got my work done.
5. Prioritise
this one needs no explanation. i usually choose which task to start on based on a combination of deadline+importance+graded/non-graded. i start early for graded assignments because they count towards my semester’s final grade and i want to hand up the best quality work i can. find a system which works for you! note: start project work and large assignments early.
you can assign simple tasks first to start the ball rolling, and proceed with harder tasks.
alternatively, if you’re at your prime focus, start with the hardest and scale down to the simple.
6. Make good use of holidays + Wake up early
ok i used to game a LOT and go to training a LOT (still happens now lol) during holidays but i wouldnt get any of my holiday work done.
do your holiday homework first. schedule your time well, and maybe stay home and resist the urge to go out for the first 5 days. finish all your work (again, schedule well) with breaks in between.
thereafter, schedule maybe 3-5 hours a day to revise. if you’re going out with friends, i’d suggest you wake up early to study because once you come home you’re usually dead tired HAHA
so how early is early?? during my o levels study break i would wake up at 0330 (yes, for real) but i slept at 2130 every night. so thats 6 hours of sleep wew but AT LEAST i was very productive. think about it this way: waking up early to study at 0330 makes you more productive than studying till 0330. you don’t have to wake up THIS early, but preferably early enough when the sky’s still dark so that you can fit in those extra hours. DO NOT sacrifice sleep. that’s why you can see i’m still sleeping my usual amount, albeit sleeping and waking earlier.
more perks of waking up early: its quiet outside, the air is cool, your mind gets into the ‘get shit done’ mode, and if you absolutely have to use your phone to search something up, your social media probably won’t be pinging. in other words, early mornings are actually a great time to study! remember to eat something though :>
7. Remove all distractions to prevent possible procrastination
YES i know this is the dreaded one. lock your phone somewhere inconvenient and put the key outside your room. or if you don’t lock it make sure your phone is far away from you as possible. please i know how deadly your phone can get so just put it away.
if you find yourself drifting away and looking at something else, remove that.
alternatively, change up your study environment. you don’t have to go to the library or something (you can if you want to). this is as simple as studying in a different part of the house. a new environment helps to ‘prick’ my mind and help me ignore distractions. i dont know if this is scientifically proven but oh well, worth a try.
8. 2-minute rule
this is something i picked up from @studyquill! it’s pretty helpful (although i was skeptical at first). Tell yourself you’re only going to work for 2 minutes, which helps you get into the workflow. chances are you’ll get so into it (ok not in an excited but rather in a determined way) that you don’t feel like stopping.
if you’ve had a long day and after 2 mins you still don’t get any momentum, just stop and take a 15 min break. that means you’re really too tired and there’s no point in forcing yourself to complete your work.
9. Use reminders
set reminders on your phone for the tasks you need to do. for example, if you’ve planned to start work at 1500, set the reminder to ring 5 minutes before so you have time to gather all your stuff and ready yourself to do work. no excuses!!
set reminders for your breaks as well! those are equally important.
10. Reward yourself
if everything you need to do is done, give yourself a pat on the back. have you been extremely productive? great, treat yourself to your favourite drink/snack. honestly i feel like many of our brains function on the ‘reward’ system. if we reward ourselves for a job well done, we’ll be more willing to complete tasks and stay on time in the future (the brain thinks there’s a reward coming)
remember to take care of your mental health as well! this is one good way to ensure you don’t end up mentally exhausted.
Apps to help with time management
1. Tide - focus timer, meditation, beautiful and calming soundtracks (my fav!)
2. Pendo - everything in one tbh, schedule, to-do list, journal etc. (my fav too!)
3. Forest - focus timer $$$ (free alternative: flora)
4. Donut Dog - focus timer
5. Todoist - minimalist to-do list
6. Minimalist - minimalist to-do list
7. Google Calender - your entire schedule
8. Todait - smart study planner
a quick search will bring out many more! note these are all available on iOS but i’m not sure about google play. you don’t need everything to be productive. i rely only on Tide, Pendo and my iPhone calender and reminders. It’s less about having many ‘tools’ and more about how you properly and wisely utilise them to boost your productivity and manage your time.
also i don't think pendo is very well-known?? so this is how its interface looks like for 'Notes':
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it's pretty, simple and clean and there are several themes to choose from! i rly like it omg HAHA (not a promo)
alright that's all! hope it helped :>
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tttinytrash · 3 years
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So @shamedump, you made a mistake saying using your boys was ok. Forever ago on their blog (which if you haven’t checked them out yet you should) there was mention of Mage bitties, their Nightmare that’s more of a overly blunt but well-meaning boy than canon Nightmare, growing into biggies and a few of em running a place you could go to have them drain negativity off. They get fed, you’re less stressed, win-win! This has kinda been an idea I pop back to when I’m feeling particularly stressed and I decided that since they said using their ideas was ok with credit, I’d go for it and actually write something. So Mage, and all the subsequent ideas of how their powers work, what their body is like, (I even borrowed the mousepad analogy) and whatnot is all Dumpling. I simply extrapolated a story out of it. Any misrepresentations of the character I’ll pretend comes from the fact that they’re bitties/biggies and therefore personality can differ a little from the source material. At least, that’s what I’ll say to make myself feel better lol. 
Your cousin had dragged you to this place, and you had immediate reservations upon arrival. The place was run by biggies, which wasn’t the issue. You really just couldn’t help that they looked intimidating. 
Every biggie in the shop had black goop covering their whole form, and four extra appendages sprouting out of their back. They were somewhat taller than you, and definitely broader. Despite all this, you knew they couldn’t help their appearances and made no move to actually be scary, so you pushed the anxiety down (to join the plethora of other anxiety in the pile) as your cousin approached the desk. The biggie at the desk was pleasant enough as she checked you in for your appointment, then came back to sit in the waiting area with you.
“Just gotta wait for a chair to open, cous. This will be the best decision you’ve made all week, I swear!” She assured you as she took her seat beside yours.
You agreed absently, watching the other humans, monsters, and biggies wander through the store. The Mage biggies, as their type was called, each stood behind comfy looking chairs with their client seated before them facing a big mirror on the wall. It reminded you a lot of a hair salon, actually. One tendril from their back wrapped around each wrist, while their hands gave a shoulder massage. Actually, the one on the end of the row was braiding his client’s hair. That observation struck you as pretty cute, and managed to sap away some apprehension. 
“little less scary now?”
You all but leapt from your seat you jolted so hard.
Your cousin tried and failed to muffle a snicker at your expense as the biggie continued “whoops. sorry, wasn’t trying to sneak up on you.”
“N-no, It’s fine. Just kinda got caught people watching.” you assure, trying your best to laugh off the mortification.
“it’s fine, we get it. i’m jethro. i’ll be taking care of you today.”
“Nice to meet you, I’m y/n.”
“Ooh, such a good name!” your cousin interjected.
“heh, thanks. my adopter was into some cop show. guess my attitude back in the day reminded him of somebody. anyhow, my chair is right this way, y/n.”
Your cousin excused herself and left you to your appointment, which had been the deal. You were too nervous to wait alone at a new place, but knew you should be ok from here. Jethro guided you to one of the indeed very comfy chairs and took his position behind. His tendrils grabbed a stool from against the wall and set it behind the chair so he could sit as well. Despite being behind you, he was able to look at you easily by turning his one eyed gaze to the mirror set on the wall in front of you.
“this is your first time, right?” Jethro asked, so far keeping his hands to himself.
You confirmed that it was.
“right. so i assume there’s questions?”
“Yeah, my cousin said you guys drain negativity. How literal is that?”
“exceedingly. we can sense emotions, especially negative ones. we can also feed off of em. again, literally. we remove them through physical contact and they’re converted into magic in our bodies.”
“You guys eat our bad emotions?”
“yep.”
You realized something. “...You sense them too.”
“Yep.”
“Does that include nervousness?”
“yep.”
“So you knew I was literally scared when I walked in.”
“yep.”
“I am so sorry.” Ugh, now he probably felt how mortified you were. Now he thought you were a racist! You were far from one of those monster hating bigots! Shit, maybe you should just leave-
You flinched when two cold pressures settled on your wrists, and your mortification ebbed.
“you’re fine, told you we get it.” Jethro cut your shameful spiral short, and you realized he’d wrapped his tendrils around your arms.
The appendages were cool to the touch, and the grip was light enough you could easily break free if you had any desire to. Thing is, you didn’t. You felt the stress that had been building up simply start to vanish. It left you feeling hollow, but calm and gratitude quickly filled the void. You could definitely tell those feelings were literally being taken away from you.
“now, since i’ve absorbed those negative feelings i know roughly why you came in and i’m also here to talk you through all of it rather than just making it go away if you want. but usually people just go quiet on their first time, up to you. given your reaction here, i’m assuming you want to enjoy the clear head space awhile instead?”
You nodded, feeling ever so slightly loopy. Was that an affect of the draining?
Jethro made an amused acknowledging sound. He reached forward, using his hands to apply pressure to the tense muscles around your shoulders and neck. You melted into the pleasant touch, briefly feeling shame for so visibly reacting before that too was wicked away.
“heh, i sense a return customer.”
You smiled, oh hell yes you were.
-----
You became a regular immediately.
All the guys in the shop were great, but Jethro definitely ended up your preferred siphon, and he was who you made appointments with.
You were in a session with him now, and it was nice to have him act as a sounding board as to how to deal with you day to day stressors. You’d picked up a few calming techniques you used on a daily basis by now, and your sessions had reduced in frequency by this point. It was almost a friendly catch up session between you two whenever you made a booking, but you still absolutely appreciated his services. 
As you two casually chatted near the end of your appointment, another biggie walked out from the back room. You’d seen a few clients go back there, only to emerge hours later. That was the “Special Treatment” room, and you were curious what that entailed but had never mustered the courage to ask. This curiosity meant you were very keen on observing the biggie that had just exited and therefore delighted when he took a seat in the vacant client chair next to yours. 
Jethro greeted him as he settled, and you noticed the newcomer had his hand laid on his belly as if to steady it. 
“special treatment?” Jethro asked.
“yeah. they totally fell asleep, but i’m not gonna bother them just yet.” the other responded.
“heh, they must have needed it then. nightmares, i guess?”
“yeah. pretty bad. all the more reason to let em rest.”
The conversation drifted from there, and you eventually got looped in and belatedly introduced to the other biggie, who you learned was named Obsidian. Throughout the conversation, you didn’t miss that Obsidian had his hands folded over his middle, and kept swiping his thumb across the surface whenever the special treatment client had been referred to.
You left the store contented but all the more curious. Maybe you’d finally ask when you came back next time.
-----
God this sucked.
When it rains it pours, apparently. It started with your manager breathing down your neck at the same time a bunch of impending deadlines were looming for school. With a cherry on top of family drama, you felt like a frayed nerve.
Your next siphoning session was two weeks away, but damn did you need the support now. You’d tried your calming strategies, which while they kept a panic attack at bay weren’t enough. You’d tried handling this on your own but it just wasn’t cutting it after a few days of the stress piling up on itself in your head.
You walked into the shop, hoping beyond hope that they took walk in clients.
Obsidian was apparently slotted for receptionist duty today, and he seemed to take notice of you before you were able to even say anything. His head jerked up as if he’d heard a loud noise and once his gaze settled on you, recognition dawned quickly. “y/n? what happened?” The concern made it clear that your black cloud of anxiety was exceedingly obvious to the empath before you.
“Everything, it feels like. There wouldn’t happen to be any openings today, would there?”
“i think we can swing something. gimme a sec.” 
The biggie disappeared in a shortcut, chair rattling down from its tilted position loudly. 
You flinched at the sound at looked around the shop for reactions. There weren’t many people, two biggies had clients and were politely ignoring the commotion you felt you’d made. You recognized one of the clients distantly, but your attention was quickly diverted to two figures emerging from the staff lounge. Obsidian lead Jethro, much to your delight, towards you. Jethro’s expression softened visibly at the same time you felt the happy thrill of recognition.
The expression settled into concern again by the time he’d approached. “you’re more negative now than when we first met, kiddo.” He said instead of a greeting. Blunt, as usual.
“I believe it. Sorry to drop in without a booking-”
“you’re fine, stoppit. you apologize too much. you’re probably due for a special treatment if you’re game for it.”
You perked up despite the dark knot in your soul at the mention of the mysterious back room. Your curiosity was piqued again, and you were up to try anything to get your head back in order by this point. So decided, you nodded.
You were lead into the back room, and you eagerly took in your new environment. There were a couple huge, very plush looking beanbags in the center of the room. A water cooler was off to the side, and a little table next to it had a hot water dispenser and tea bags. There wasn’t a ton of other things here, besides a few odd indoor plants and a distinct lack of mirrors compared to the salon-esque layout outside.
You belatedly realize that Jethro was trying to get your attention, and rush to respond. “S-sorry, what?”
“was askin’ if you wanted a rundown. this is your first time back here, you outta know what you’re agreeing to for both our sakes.”
“Ok, what happens next then?”
“well, you’ll recall that we consume negative emotions, and that we run off magic just like other monsters?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“this is an extension of that. some monster types have the ability to take others into their bodies harmlessly. if i do that, i’ll be able to sap even more negativity and also tease apart what triggered the emotions. that way we can work through it more specifically than in previous sessions, plus the negativity drains quicker.”
You blinked at him. That was one of the longer spiels you’d heard from him ever, but you were lost as hell. “That sounds great, but what did you mean about the taking into...?”
“yeah, it’s pretty similar to what you’re probably thinking. i’d essentially have to eat you.” he shrugged casually, like that was obvious.
You flinched away, feeling your heart rate spike.
“we don’t have to, if you want to try a normal session.” he offered, hands in pockets and expression neutral.
You go quiet in thought and he lets you. Everything from your previous session clicked into place, and you realized that when you’d met Obsidian he’d had someone inside while you three talked. You also realized the dim recognition you’d felt in the front room was that the client in the chair today was the same that’d disappeared into the back room with Obsidian. 
The train of thought came to a halt as you realized worrying was stupid, this was Jethro for frick’s sake! You trusted him easily, so extending that trust to allow what he clearly thought was the best move for you took little effort.
“If you think it’ll help, I’m up for it.” You say, determined.
He had a soft, almost relieved smile as he nodded in reply. 
He didn’t waste any time, and wrapped you snugly in all four of his tendrils. You were surprised by how little effort it appeared to take to lift your whole form off the floor. He flopped into one of the beanbags unceremoniously. 
So that’s what those are for. you thought as you watched him settle comfortably in the soft cushion.
You couldn’t help but tense when you were brought over his upturned face, and tilted so you were almost nose to nose (...nose to nasal bone. Whatever.) with him leaving your body hanging parallel to the floor in his grip. 
You’re not afraid, but you’re certainly nervous. Until you’re just not. You’ve done this enough to know he’s siphoning the nerves away, but this time you apparently don’t have much in the way of other emotions and are left with a hollow feeling. That utter lack of emotions leaves you to do nothing beyond going limp to make the next steps easier and watch as his mouth approaches to engulf your head. You duck your head down and find it pillowed on a tongue, cool to the touch and jet black. The light is almost immediately cut off as you’re pushed deeper in by the four tendrils around your torso. 
A wet gulp squishes into your ears and you feel a pressure over the crown of your head as your skull presses into the throat. You briefly wonder how a skeleton has such human like fleshy bits but chalk it up to the ooze over his whole bony form. A tendril slid off your body as its assistance was no longer needed, leaving a cool sensation and a slight tingle akin to mint in its wake.
Another wet sound and you’re in deeper. The sounds quickly pick up and settle into a comfortable rhythm, drawing you in with apparent ease. You eventually slide into a roomier space and flip into a somewhat seated position. You hear a sigh above you, and finally curiosity, relief, and a few other emotions take up residence in your head again. 
“you good?” You hear him ask, voice close but also somewhat muffled. 
You respond in the affirmative.
“good. get comfy, do whatever you need to. once you’re settled i can stop focusing on the anxiety of this arrangement and instead deal with what brought you here.”
You scootched into a comfortable curled position and forced yourself to cycle a breath. You used your favored calming technique and found that your nervousness first came back before ebbing completely. He’d stopped siphoning it away, but you felt fine now. You decided that you could take this opportunity to feel out your new surroundings for a moment, since Jethro pretty much gave permission. You decided to start pretty literally, pushing outwards on a wall with light pressure. Your fingers sunk in, the texture was like pressing on a gel mousepad. Cool to the touch, but you weren’t about to start shivering in here. 
The whole area was dim, but the grooves in the wall dully glowed with turquoise light enough to see your surroundings and to see where your hand was in relation to the rest of you. You weren’t blind in the pitch dark, much to your relief. (Not that you had considered that issue before agreeing to be taken in.) 
You ran your hand along the wall to further investigate and found friction minimal while not feeling wet. You didn’t quite realize you were rubbing at the wall before you until you heard a light chuckle and felt an opposing pressure from outside. You understood immediately that that was his hand pressing in at you from outside and used both hands together to push at the appendage and interact. After a moment he changed to rubbing at you like you had him, asking “did you want to address what brought you in or keep on playing in there?”
“Ha, sorry. Yeah, we should start. What do I have to do?”
He let out a long suffering sigh. “y/n, you still apologize too much.” He sounded exasperated, but was also teasing you.
“S-” You were about to apologize, but caught yourself. Well shit, you didn’t know what else to say if not sorry.
Jethro laughed a little at you, before moving on to his next point. “all you have to do is relax. first i have to figure out what went on with you, then we can talk.”
You felt the difference starkly between a normal session and this one. You could feel the stress sap out of you, and what you had to imagine having your life flash before your eyes was like but instead directly related to your recent stressors. It felt like it lasted awhile while simultaneously feeling like no time had passed.
The following discussion was long, but sorely needed. By the end you felt relief, gratitude, and a renewed determination. At some point the chamber you were in had seemingly formed itself a small puddle of what was apparently liquid magic. Jethro had already explained that it was essentially the excess magical energy his body had converted your stress into, and you thought it was much less noxious in this form. It was warm to the touch and flowed like water the best you could tell in the dim light. It had a faint turquoise glow that still managed to not cast too much light just like the rest of his magic. It filled a few inches at the bottom, so while you had your legs crossed it lapped as the tops of your knees and around your hips. You scooped some of the liquid up and absently let it fall through your fingers onto your knee.
The only problem with this was that such warmth in addition to the emotional exhaustion you were already feeling combined to make you about to fall asleep. Maybe you should ask about getting out?
“you nodding off on me in there? your heart’s slowing down.” he asked, interrupting your thoughts.
“I think so. Guess I should get out.” You found that you were loathe to move, though. You stretched your legs out, pressing your feet into the opposing wall.
“i can let you out, sure.” he said easily. A pause, then he adds “unless you’d rather sleep.”
You blink. “In here? Don’t you want me out?”
You felt the wall behind you tug upwards, seeming like he shrugged. “i don’t have any other appointments today.”
“...If you don’t mind?”
“since when do i suggest anything i’m not willing to do?”
You chuckle “Fair enough. Well, thank you.” You pat the wall and reposition to a reclined, curled position.
He gives you a pat back, “don’t mention it.”
The last thought you had before sleep overtook you was that for how crap you felt before, you felt pretty good now.
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alpacaparkaseok · 3 years
Text
Where you should be
7. Habromania
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Genre: Hobi x oc
Warnings: this series contains stalking, blackmail, and similar stressful/fear inducing situations. Also unrequited love, which is perhaps the most terrifying of all.
Word Count: 3.2k
a/n: A song you might want to be familiar with for this chapter is ‘Puma’ by TXT. First off, because it’s a freaking bop. Secondly because Sunny has a bit to do with it and it sets some of the tone for the second part of this chapter. Thanks guys! And, as always, feedback/questions is always welcomed and encouraged!
Habromania (n.) delusions of happiness
“We can be sneaky, can’t we?”
I snort at Hobi’s question. “I can, not you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?!” He feigns offense, stealing his hand away from mine as he clutches his chest. It doesn’t take long before its back, though, running his fingers over my knuckles. The other hand remains on the steering wheel.
“You’re horrible at being sneaky. Imagine having to be sneaky around your boss.”
Hoseok sighs. “You’re probably right.”
“...but?”
He glances over at me before turning his attention back to the road. “But, I think I can do it. It’s important. Sure, it’ll be hard. But worth it, don’t you think?”
Giving his hand a tight squeeze, I smile out the window. “Yeah.”
As soon as we left the small restaurant, the both of us received a text from Bang PD instructing us to be extra careful and keep our distance from each other. The last thing we need are more photos.
Which left us with one question: what now?
“I feel kind of cool,” Hobi says, his heart-shaped smile making me grin. “Like we’re secret agents or something.”
I chuckle. His idea was to essentially have a secret relationship. I agreed to it, not seeing any other options, but only after Hoseok told me again and again that he had a plan and that this secrecy would be temporary.
“I give you less than two weeks.”
“Really?” The car begins to slow as we reach my apartment building. It’s barely 1 in the afternoon, but Hoseok did tell Bang PD that he was going to take me home. It’d look a little strange if we strolled back inside the Bighit building.
I give him a long look, delighting in the way his lips form a little pout. I force myself to look away before I can lean over and kiss him. Knowing him, he’d probably crash the car.
“Maybe three weeks.”
Hobi laughs as he turns into the parking lot. “How generous. And what? You think that you can do better?”
Winking at him as he parks the car, I slowly take my seatbelt off. “Oh, without a doubt.”
It’s quiet in the car as I contemplate getting out. Even though I know that I’ll see Hobi at work, I don’t know when I’ll get to be with him again like this. He seems to be thinking the same thing, killing the engine as he sits back with a sigh.
“What are you going to do with the rest of your day?” He keeps his eyes on the building, but I know what he’s thinking.
“Come inside.”
He blinks at me. “Wow, so forward!”
Groaning, I hit his shoulder. “You know that’s not how I meant it!” Hobi’s laugh only makes me more embarrassed as my cheeks heat up at the insinuation in my words. “Yah! Not funny!”
Taking both of my hands in his and placing a delicate kiss atop them, his laughter finally subsides. “I can dream, can’t I?”
I’m pretty sure my eyes are popping out of my head as I throw the door open, internally screaming and making a beeline for the entrance. Hobi gets out of the car as well, trailing after me and chuckling darkly.
By the time we make it up to my apartment, I feel like I may melt through the floor at any given moment from the way Hoseok’s eyes are practically undressing me. His fingers dance along my shoulders, getting lost in my hair as he peppers kisses along my jawline.
Fumbling with my key, I silently curse myself for feeling as giddy as a teenager with something so simple as Hoseok’s eyes. I don’t miss the way he smiles against my skin, making me huff in annoyance.
Since when did he become so bold?
I practically slam the door shut as we enter my apartment, Hoseok breaking away from me to look around the room in awe. I can’t help but laugh at his reaction.
“What, have you never been inside a girl’s apartment before?”
He rolls his eyes. “This is...this is your apartment.”
“So?”
He shrugs, wandering back over to me. “It’s nice. I like it.”
I frown, looking around the apartment. It’s a decent place to live; I’ve tried my best to make it look like a home. But in comparison to the immaculate place that Hobi calls home, I hardly see anything to marvel over.
“Why?”
Standing in front of me and looking over every square inch of my face, he gives me a smile so soft that I find myself sighing in contentment.
“It feels like you.”
April 2020
Work falls into a familiar pattern. Granted, I have to avoid Hoseok like the plague, but Bang PD keeps everyone busy enough that it isn’t too difficult.
That, and the meetings we hold every day in Bang PD’s office, trying our best to sort out the entire situation.
“You’re telling me he wants either 1 billion won or a position here?” Bang Si-hyuk sputters out, looking absolutely appalled. “This...this is blackmail!”
Hobi chuckles beside me, Namjoon sitting on his other side and looking none too happy to be a part of this meeting. However, he is the leader of the group.
“Yes, well, I think he did actually state that this was blackmail,” Hobi remarks. “Are you really that surprised?”
Fixing him with a glare, Mr. Bang’s veins look like they’re about to burst. “You’re one of the people that got us into this mess, Hoseok. I’d save the snide comments for later, if I were you.”
These meetings have been going on for a couple of weeks now, and everybody's reaching the end of their patience. Any time we attempt to negotiate with Jihun, he spirals out of control and comes back with a higher demand.
It’s becoming rather tedious.
“Why can’t we just give him what he wants?” Namjoon asks gingerly. “At the end of the day, as long as he leaves us alone, it’s fine, isn’t it?”
Mr. Bang shakes his head. “No. There is no way I’m giving him that much money, and we all know that I would never let him be employed here. He’s a pimp. We don’t do business with his type.”
I stare down at my hands as I wince at his words. While I’m grateful that he isn’t considering giving him a job here, I can’t help but pity him. If what Jihun told me was true; I’m part of the reason his marriage failed.
“He has a daughter,” I mumble under my breath.
“What was that?”
I blink up at Mr. Bang. “He has a daughter.” When he just continues to stare at me with a confused expression, I do my best to articulate my thoughts. “He’s a human being. I mean, don’t get me wrong, he freaks me out. I don’t support any of this, but he’s desperate for something to help him and his family survive. We shouldn’t be making him into some sort of monster-”
“As the two of you made clear to me, this is my company that’s in trouble, so I will treat this threat as I would any other.” Bang PD sits back in his chair, squinting at his computer screen. “Or have you forgotten that your job is also at stake here?”
Clenching my jaw, I see Namjoon laying a hand on Hobi’s shoulder. “Then fix this.” Rising from my chair, the strict tone of Mr. Bang’s voice stops me.
“What?”
Turning to face him fully, I struggle to keep my voice level. “Fix this. Quit talking about it so much and do something. I have work to do.”
Striding out the door, I barely catch Bang PD’s incredulous words. “It’s a good thing she’s talented-”
Namjoon cuts him off. “So what’s our plan of action? Sunny’s right, this has to end.”
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I’m staring at the monitor in front of me, only half-listening to what Yeonjun is saying to me as my blood boils.
Or have you forgotten that your job is also at stake here?
I have to fold my arms in order to hide the fact that my hands are currently clenched into fists. Yeonjun and Soobin are talking to both Pdogg and I, going over a track that we’ve been preparing.
“I really like the feel of this all so far, but I feel like we need something a bit more...edgy?” Soobin frowns, looking down at his phone where he compiled his notes. “We really want to have a sharp album, you know?”
I nod, finally returning to reality. “Has anybody come up with any ideas? Lyrics, melody?”
Yeonjun shakes his head. “Actually, I was going to ask if either of you wanted to help us come up with something. I know that we’re dropping the album in May, but-”
“I can do it.”
Pdogg and Yeonjun raise their eyebrows. “That was quick.”
Pdogg shakes his head. “I think Yeonjun is talking about creating a track from scratch, Sunny. That means that after you finish the music, you’ll need to write the lyrics, too. Right?” He looks to Yeonjun for confirmation.
“Yeah.” He shrugs. “Honestly, if you want to do it, I won’t stand in your way. I’m just happy that you want to with such short notice.”
“You think you can crunch it? This is your first time through the entire process, it’s ok if you want to try the next time around and have more time.” Pdogg reassures, still looking confused at my sudden change in attitude.
I shake my head. “No, I can do it. I need to.” The thinly veiled threat on my job pushes me forward, desperate to show Bang PD that I’m not the kind of person that runs away under pressure.
“Alright,” Soobin says, looking at Yeonjun with a shrug. “I guess...do you need us for anything? When can we expect to come in and take a look at the song?”
Ignoring Pdogg’s stare, I glance at my calendar. “Soon. Give me the rest of the week?”
My desk is a flurry of notes, post-its, and discarded ideas. After a brainstorming session, I consulted Pdogg in the next step of the song process. He helped me solidify my idea, offering a couple of tips and pointers.
He’s in the middle of saying goodbye when there’s a light knock on the door.
“I’ll grab it,” he says. I turn back to my monitor, trying to make sure I get everything put together before I forget it.
Muffled voices at the door don’t bother me as my fingers fly across the keyboard. Line after line appears, forming the first verse of the song.
“Hey.” Hobi grabs the chair that Pdogg just vacated. “What’cha working on?”
I glance at the clock, realizing with a start that it’s already 8 o’clock. “New song for TXT.”
“Hm.”
We sit in silence as I continue working, Hobi knowing better than anyone not to interrupt my creative process. He knows how hard it can be to get back into the zone.
It isn’t until nearly nearly thirty minutes later that he finally breaks the silence, but not by speaking. Bringing a gentle hand to rest atop my own that has stilled over the keyboard, he intertwines our hands together.
I lean back against my chair, sighing. Hobi chuckles lightly beside me, completely understanding the feeling.
“It looks like you got a lot done,” he mumbles, using his other hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind my ear.
“I think I did,” I whisper, still unable to tear my eyes away from the screen. I’ve been completely sucked in, my mind loud with the sound of the beat and the lyrics I’ve written down.
“Should I take you home?”
I shake my head. “No. I’ll take the bus.”
Silence. He raises my hand to his mouth, dusting light kisses over my knuckles. “We’re paying him off.”
Startled, I finally shift my gaze to Hobi. My breath falls short as I see his hair swept back, styled to make him look like some sort of CEO. He must have had a shoot today that I forgot about.
“Really?” I breathe out. He gives me a soft smile, pressing one more delicate kiss atop my knuckle before lowering my hand and enveloping it in both of his.
“Really. Bang PD will just have to swallow his pride.”
I chuckle lightly, shaking my head. “How’d you convince him?”
He shrugs. “I can be persuasive when I want to. We won’t have to worry about him anymore.”
While his words are intended to give me comfort, I find myself doubting them. Something tells me that this mess is far from over, but I smile at him nonetheless. “You’re amazing, you know that?”
Hobi gets up from his seat, embarrassed as he starts heading toward the door. “C’mon, I’ll take you home.”
I look back at my screen. “No, I think I’ll stay here for a little longer.”
“Oh, well then I’ll st-”
“Go home, Hobi,” I turn my chair around to face him. “Don’t worry about me, I just want to finish some of this up. I won’t be long.”
“Good. That way I won’t have to wait long.” Stubborn as ever, he sits back down. “Should I order some food?”
Giving him a long look, I fight the guilt gnawing at me for making him stay even longer. But I really just want to get as far as possible with this project…
“Let me split the cost?”
Laughing darkly as he holds his phone up to his ear, he winks. “In your dreams.”
“I really, really like it, Rin-ah.”
Fidgeting with my hands, I chew on my lip. “Really? Is it too much? I don’t what to overwhelm-”
Cutting me off with an incredulous look, Hoseok shakes his head before pulling my chair away from the computer. “Yes. Positive. They’ll love it. I mean, it’s such a cool idea. You said it was based off a true story?”
I nod, reaching in vain for the desk, I groan as Hobi keeps pulling my chair away. He laughs at my expression.
“Do you have a title idea?”
I shrug, finally giving in and allowing myself to be pulled away. “I’ll probably just keep it simple. Like, ‘Puma’ or something.”
Hobi throws away all of our food containers, nodding to himself. Tossing me my coat and making sure everything is saved and shut off, he opens up the door. “They’ll think it’s amazing.”
Shutting off the lights, Hobi makes a show of double checking that the hallway is clear before grabbing my hand and making his way toward the elevator. It’s only when we’re in the confines of the elevator that he asks me a question.
“What made you want to do it? This usually isn’t your style.”
I let out a long breath, instantly remembering my outburst with Bang PD earlier in the day. “I want to be good at everything. I…” I lean back against the wall, looking up at the ceiling. “I know that sounds stupid, but after Bang PD said that about my job, I felt like I had to do something more. Prove myself to him.”
“Mm.”
“It was time for me to expand. Try something new. And I was already pissed off, so when the boys asked for a more edgy track, I felt like I could do it.”
“Well, you’ve done very well with it.”
I see that Hobi also has his head angled upward toward the ceiling. From this angle, I wonder how I can see him so often and still feel like it’s the first time I’m looking at him.
He looks golden in the dim elevator, the lights picking out the paler shades in his hair and setting them alight. With his hands clinging to the railing at his back and his eyes falling closed, I wonder for a moment if this is right.
“How did I get so lucky?”
I ask the question more to myself than to him, but he hears me nonetheless. Ears perking up and tilting his head to look at me almost with the same mannerism as that of a golden retriever, Hoseok shakes his head.
“I wouldn’t call this luck,” he murmurs. “We’ve fought for this, haven’t we?”
At his words, I feel the exhaustion of the past few weeks sinking in. Sneaking around and hiding our relationship from everyone hasn’t been easy. Trying to navigate a brand new relationship without being able to actually spend much time together is tricky, especially when we are still healing from the hurt we’ve caused each other over the past few months.
Closing my eyes against the reality of our situation, I tuck the image of golden Hoseok in the elevator into the corners of my mind. “Do you think that we’ll ever get to rest?”
It’s quiet for a long moment as Hobi ponders my question. We both know what I’m really asking: will we ever stop hiding?
“Someday.” His voice is solid as he answers me. “For now, I think the seconds between floors 8 and 1 are enough to keep me pushing forward.”
For now, standing side by side and quietly speaking on the elevator, basked in golden light and listening to the whir of the machine are all we need.
However, will there ever come a time when this is no longer thrilling? When Hoseok decides to just leave early rather than hanging around with me?
What if I’m not enough?
Indeed, peeking over at Hoseok who currently resembles some sort of fallen deity who’s basking in the golden light, I can’t help but wonder what it is that keeps him coming back.
Now that I’m finally giving in to his pursuit, will it be over?
The ding of the elevator reaching the ground floor does little to pull me out of my daze, and it isn’t until Hoseok is looking back at me from the other side of the doors that I push off the wall and follow him out into the night.
That night as he drops me off outside my apartment building and pulls me in for whispered ‘I love yous’ and stolen kisses, I can’t find it in myself to bring it up. How do I begin telling him that I’m not sure I’m worth the trouble when he’s sure to write it off as some sort of crazy idea?
As I go to open the door, he grabs my hand, looking at me with a concerned expression.
“You sure everything’s alright? You seem...off.”
I lean across the console, watching with delight as his eyes widen. Swooping around, I kiss his cheek before retreating, laughing a little at his deflated expression.
“I love you.”
He gives a contented sigh. “I love you, too.”
Walking into my apartment building, I hope that he doesn’t realize that I completely avoided his question. I kick my shoes off with a sigh as soon as I enter my apartment, turning around to flick on the lights and lock the door. Making my way toward my bedroom, I don’t see the dark figure resting on my couch until their dark chuckle reaches my ears.
“You were out late tonight.”
Whirling around and stumbling backward until my back hits the wall, I stare in horror as Jihun turns on the lamp beside the couch. He holds up a wine glass, giving me a saccharine smile.
“Come sit down.” Filling the glass to the brim with red wine, he extends it to me. “We’ve got a lot to celebrate.”
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dreamingwithbts · 3 years
Text
Demon (Boku No Hero) - Chapter 23
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Warning: Swearing
Hawks and I start walking away from the battle center, and he goes to be by my side. “You did great, kid. I’m proud of you.” Hawks says, putting his arm on my shoulder while were leaving. “Thanks Hawks!” I smile to the Pro-Hero. “Hope I didn't hurt you that much.” I say to him. “You didn’t, don’t worry. My wings are fine.” Hawks says. “I’m talking about your big ego.” I say laughing. “Boobs Bird!” Hawks complains, and I wave bye when we separate and went to the others on the monitor room to watch the final part. “I can still hear him fake cry.” I think laughing hearing the Number Three Pro-Hero.
I enter the monitor room and see Yayorozu, Lida, Ochaco and Asui with Recovery Girl.“Hey! Did I come too late?” I ask them. “They started fighting him, it isn’t going well.” Ochaco answer me. “Conflagrations tho!” She continues and others congratulation me too. “Thanks guys.” I smile at them, then turn my attention to the screen to watch the battle. “Dad isn’t going easy on them.” I think. “Dammit Katsuki. Think.” I think seeing both boys on the ground, then All Might traps Izuku on the ground. “I see want you are doing, Dad, but it’s too painful for me to look.” I think after seeing All Might punch Katsuki and see him vomit something.
“Let’s go guys!” I cheer them when I see them work together. “Don’t you say that you’d rather lose!” Katsuki keeps remembering Izuku words and also another voice comes to his mind. “I’m disappointed with you.” Akuma voices comes. “Tch.” Katsuki says and continues the battle.
“His hurt.” I say worried. “Who?” Yayorozu asks. “Katsuki.” I say. “Bakugo-chan? Why do you say that?” Asui asks me. “Because I know him.” I answer her, watching Katsuki face on the screen. “Dammit Katsuki!” I scream worried and angry seeing Katsuki passed out on Izuku arms, then left the room with Recovery Girl after they passed the gate. “Aka-chan?” Ochaco asks, but I already left.
Dad still in his All Might form, me and Recovery Girl were in the recovery room watching the two boys on the bed. “Kiss.” Recovery Girl says, while healing Izuku who is butt up on the bed with Dad watching, while I stay next to Katsuki who was still passed out in the bed. I wasn’t paying attention to them, just looking at Katsuki. “Bakugo probably won’t wake up for a while. For now, the two of you should rest here.” Recovery Girl. “Can I stay?” I ask her. “I don’t see why not.” She answers. “Young Aka.” All Might says. “Aka-chan...” Izuku says turning to me, seeing me seating next to Katsuki my hand on his.
An hour and a half minutes later, Izuku was fast asleep, and Dad and Recovery Girl were already gone, and I was resting my eyes on the chair next to the angry blonde bed, my hand still on Katsuki hand. “Hm.” A voice says, and I feel his hand grabbing mine. “Katsuki?” I whisper so Izuku doesn’t wake up. “Akuma? Where are we?” Sleepy Katsuki asks, and I try not dying with his sexy waking up voice. “In U.A. infirmary. You passed out on the battle with All Might.” I say. “Did I pass?” Katsuki looks at him. “You both passed.” I say, looking at Izuku on the other bed. “Tch. Fucking Deku.” He whispers and then sits up on the bed and looks at me. “How long have I been here?” He asks. “An hour and a half.” I say. “You stay here all this time?” He asks me shocked. “I was worried.” I say looking away from him, so I didn’t see him looking at our hands, that were still locked together. “Tch. Idiot.” He says smirking. “Who are you calling...” I start saying angry. “Katsuki.” I whisper when he hugs me. “Thanks for staying for me.” He whispers on my ear. “You’re welcome Katsuki.” I whisper and we stay hugging for a while. “Let’s go. YOU BETTER NOT TELL ANYONE ABOUT THIS!” He screams. “SHUT UP! IZUKU IS SLEEPING!” I scream whisper. “I DON’T FUCKING CARE!” He screams and I punch him and look to see that Izuku was still sleeping.
The next day, everyone was in class depressed, especially the ones who didn’t pass the exams. “Everyone...I’m looking forward to hearing your stories...about training camp...” Mina says crying, and I try not to smile at her and see Izuku nervous trying to calm her down and laugh when I see Kaminari putting his fingers on Izuku eyes. “I love this class.” I think still laughing.
“Once the bell rings, get in our seats.” Aizawa-sensei says entering the classroom and everyone was seating quiet, still depressed. “Morning. Unfortunately, there are those who did not pass the final exams.” Aizawa-sensei says. “Not me tho!” I think happy. “Accordingly, for the training camp in the woods...everyone’s going!” Aizawa-sensei says with a creepy smile. “Oh!” I say surprised, while the others scream happy. “We can go, too?!” Kirishimas asks excited. “Some failed, but no one failed the written exam. In the practical, Kirishima, Kaminari, Ashido, Sato, and Sero failed. For this time’s exam, we on the villain side made sure to leave a way for the students to win, while watching to see how you all would take on the task at hand. If we hadn’t, most of you would’ve got stuck before you started.” Aizawa-sensei says, then again he tricked us with the training camp. “I’m sick of your tricks, Aizawa-sensei!” I complain. “But failure is a failure. We have prepared a separate time for extra lessons for you all.” Aizawa-sensei says. “Thank god, we pass, right?” I ask Katsuki and Izuku who both nod, also relief.
The classes ended, and I was packing my stuff with Katsuki waiting for me, but I was also trying to hear the conversations around me. “Why doesn’t Class A all go shopping together?!” I heard Hagakure say. “Hm?” I say looking at her, but I was being dragged by Katsuki. “Let’s go.” He says to me. “Hey, Bakugo, Aka, you guys are coming, too!” Kirishima says, smiling at us. “Sure!/ Like I’d do something so irritating.” We both said at the same time. “Don’t worry Kiri! We’ll be there!” I say smiling to the red hair boy who smiles back.
Katsuki and I were walking home. “Why did you say to the weird hair that we were going with me?” Katsuki asks me. “Because we all need to bond, especially you!” I say teasing him. “Like hell I will! Especially with that Deku. Goodbye you freak! And I’m not going!” Katsuki says going to his way home. “What if it’s a date?” I ask blushing looking at the sky to embarrassed to look at him. “A date?” Katsuki stops, not looking at me. “A date, just us after we hang out with them.” I say, and I waited for the response, then see him walk again. “Fine. A date then.” He answers, still not looking at him, and he continues walking home while I celebrate. “Oh my god, I’m going on a date with Katsuki!” I say happy. “Oh go, I’m going on a date with Katsuki...” I realize and start getting nervous. “I’m going on a date with Akuma. Why the fuck didn’t I ask her first?!” Katsuki thinks blushing.
The next day came quickly, and I arrived late to the shopping center because of what happen this morning.
“I don’t have anything to wear!” I scream looking at my closet, then Dad in his skinny form enters my room because of my stress. “What is happening? Aren’t you going just going shopping with everyone?” Dad asks me confused. “No Dad! I have a date with Katsuki after!” I say trying to find some nice clothes. “WHAT?!” Dad screams like life just sucked all his life. “Oh no...” I say, looking at him. “My daughter is having a date...with Young Bakugo...” Dad says, looking like his dying. “I’m just going to dress in the bathroom....” I say, finally finding some clothes and leave him there.
“Bye Dad!” I say, opening the entrance door to leave. “Wait a second!” Dad says behind me, serious. “You better come home after...your date...And if Young Bakugo does something, you tell me!” Dad says transforming into All Might at the end. “Okay, Dad, don’t worry. I have to go now. Bye!” I say, kissing his cheek after he turns into the skinny form again.
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“Sorry I’m late guys!” I say seeing everyone together. “Don’t worry about Aka-chan!” Mina says super excited and I laugh, going to stand beside Katsuki. “Thought you would chicken out.” Katsuki whispers, his hands on his pockets. “Like hell I would.” I say confident, and I see him smiling a little. “Oh, aren’t those U.A. students?!” We all heard someone say. “Oh no, we are famous now!” I say worried. “First Years?! I saw them on TV!” Others say. “Sports festival, yay!” They yell all excited. “At least they are happy.” I say, smiling at them. “Tch.” Bakugo says with a scowl, looking to the side.
Everyone started making their on groups, and before I could walk, a hand takes mine. “You’re coming with me.” Katsuki says. “Ay, ay captain.” I say smirking. “Everyone has different things they want to do, so why don’t we decide on a time to meet back up?” Katsuki and I turn to Kirishima that was talking. “I agree!” Mina screams excited. “Then let’s meet back here at three o’clock!” Kirishima says, and everyone agrees. “Aka-chan! Let’s go together!” Mina says getting near me. “Back off, pink alien!” Katsuki says, dragging me away from everyone. “Wait for us, Bakubro!” Kirishima says when Mina and him follow us, making Katsuki angrier. “Leave me alone!” He says, and I laugh at them, knowing what Katsuki wanted.
The four of us bought everything we needed, Katsuki was with a scowl on his face the all time since Mina didn’t left me alone, and I laugh every time I looked at him. “It almost three o’clock, we should go to the others.” Kirishima says. “Oh!” Mina complains sad. “Let’s go.” Katsuki says, already walking away, and we follow him.
“Where’s Izuku and Ochaco?” I ask, not seeing the pair. “They weren’t here when we came.” Kaminari says. “Maybe they left earlier.” Jiro says. “Maybe...” I say thinking worried. “Izuku is so lucky! Maybe they are havin...” Mineta starts. “Shut up!” Yayorozu says, punching him in the head. “Well, bye everyone!” Everyone says goodbye to everyone and leave, while Katsuki and I stay behind. “Were alone now.” I say nervous. “Finally.” Katsuki says with a blush, making me blush too, then he takes my hand. “Come on, I saw an Arcade here.” Katsuki says. “Ohhhh! Are you ready to lose?!” I ask him excited. “I should ask you that!” Katsuki says also excited, and we spend our first date having fun on the arcade. “I can’t believe I’m seeing Katsuki laugh, a happy laugh.” I think seeing him laugh.
Katsuki walked me home after our little date at the arcade. “Today was fun.” I say when we stop at my place. “I have to admit it actually was. I’m surprised.” He says smirking and I punch his arm laughing. “Well, bye then.” I say, kissing his cheek, and turn to enter my house. “You missed.” He says. “What?” I ask confused but out of nowhere, his in front of me, very closed to my face. “You missed.” He whispers then kissed me on the lips and I kiss him back. “See you at school.” He says smirking and leaves me at my door, blushing and shocked, and I don’t even remembering entering my house. “Dad?” I ask, to a dark house. “Dad?!” I ask again but no one answer. “Where did he go?” I whisper then go to my bedroom.
“I can’t believe he/I kissed me/her.” Both Akuma and Katsuki thinks, both very happy.
Note:Hope you like it! This is the last chapter of season 2 and I'm going on vacation, so no new chapters for a while! Bye! Thank you for reading!
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