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allysunny · 7 months

Note

If you said your requests are open… I know this is silly but JEALOUS MIGUEL

Dude gets annoyed if Y/N talks abt someone else (Ben Reilly, Peter B, some other spider people orsome of her friends back in her world) fondly and even LYLA called him out on that

Then one time when Y/N was doing that thing where she talks abt someone else in a fond way and Miguel accidentally said smth that reveals his feelings for you 🤭🤭🤭

A Jab of Jealousy | Miguel O'Hara x Spider Fem!Reader

Words: 3.4k

Warnings: Jealous behaviour from Miguel - seriously, he's kind of a stalker in here. He's down bad and whipped and acts like a sulking baby. Mentions of violence, but it's for comedical effect. Peter B. is a menace. Perhaps OOC Miguel? If there's anything I missed, please let me know!

A/N: Hey guys!! Hello!! It's me again! Gosh, it's been kinda long since the last update. I'm very sorry, but as I mentioned, I'm super busy with university, and am trying to juggle everything without going absolutely crazy. I hope you guys haven't forgotten about me! Please be patient <3

Anyways, I had a blast writing this! I'd never really written for jealous characters before, so I'm not really sure if this is any good. BUT it was very fun to write a sulking Miguel. He's just so funny, picture a big grumpy cat, upset his owner won't give him any attention, hahaha!

Anyway sweet Anon, I hope this is to your liking! It's a bit shorter than my usual works, so I apologize for that, though. But I hope it meets your expectations!!

Miguel was fuming. So much, that he could probably fry an egg on his head. In fact, Lyla had expressed a desire to do so. If only she had a physical form, she thought.

But since frying eggs on top of her boss’s head wasn’t an option, she simply chose to watch as he dug his own grave over and over again, acting like a complete moron.

It’s not like she wasn’t amused – but there is only so much she could say when Miguel sulked because you’d given someone else your attention without making him upset and causing a “I am not jealous” rant to happen.

Lyla did not want that.

Lyla knew better than to prompt that conversation.

More people should be like Lyla – namely Peter B., who’d caught onto Miguel’s little act rather early on. But the brunet couldn’t help it – pissing off Miguel was a hilarious past time, and he loved to push his buttons. He wondered how long it would take for him to finally admit his feelings for you.

Thing was, Miguel had a soft spot for you.

A very soft spot for you.

A “I can’t listen to any of these idiots talk, but as soon as you start a conversation, he’ll tell everyone to shut up so he’ll listen” soft spot for you.

A “I do not want to see anyone, leave me alone you insufferable brats, but if you walk into his office, he’ll pull up a chair and let you keep him company” soft spot for you.

A “I can’t believe you guys disgraced your mission and were unable to contain the anomaly, it is unacceptable, unless it’s you because then it’s only a ‘common mistake’” soft spot for you.

A “I’m Mr. Grumpy and Annoyed and spend my whole days sulking, but if you walk through that door, I’ll light up like a Christmas tree” soft spot for you.

A “this is the last empanada in the cafeteria, and I really want to eat, but you seem to be starving, so please have it, I don’t want you passing out on me” soft spot for you.

A “I’m not jealous, how dare you, but if I see you talking to someone else, I will most likely punch a wall (and destroy it in consequence)” soft spot for you.

Yeah.

Miguel was down bad.

But he’d never admit it to anyone – let alone himself.

He’d simply sulk in a corner, muttering about how “Ben isn’t really that interesting, and he doesn’t really need help, he’s just dramatic and needs to grow up”. Or something of the sort.

Right now, he was watching as you casually conversed with Peter B. The two of you were sitting next to each other, munching on some spider themed burgers for lunch and catching up. Mayday was contentedly eating her own burger, cheddar sauce smeared all over her face and coating her hands.

Peter must’ve made the greatest fucking joke ever, because you bent over the table, laughing like a maniac. Miguel loved your laughter - so carefree, so unapologetically you. You wiped some tears from your eyes, still giggling. You reached out and touched his arm, which made Peter smile, and Miguel frown.

Why’d you be touching his arm? Were you two that close? Sure, you were friendly with everyone, but were you this touchy? You’d never touched him. Did you only do that to your close friends? Did you perhaps want something more with Peter? Well, Peter was a married man. And a loyal one at that - he wouldn’t leave Mary Jane. Why would you go for a married man?

Miguel was single. Why not go for someone single?

“Oh Peter - never change!” you exclaimed with a bright smile that could’ve lit up the whole Spider Society. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go take care of some reports for the big guy.”

The Big Guy? Who the hell is the big guy?

“Ah, yes. Don’t want him to throw a table at you, do we?” Peter joked.

A table?

Miguel had only done that once.

And it was deserved.

Were you talking about him?

“Don’t be like that -” your voice quickly interrupted Peter’s. “He threw a table at you because you’d been slacking off. You let that Doc Ock anomaly escape. He’s not normally like that.”

Precisely.

Oh.

You were defending him.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m sure he’s not. Off you go, you busy bee!”

“Give MJ my love - I can’t wait to try her casserole. Tell her I’ll bring the pizza rolls, I promised I’d give her my recipe.” You placed a delicate kiss on top of Mayday’s red mane (to which she giggled and reached out her arms towards you - Miguel wondered if you were this naturally good with kids, or if it was just the younger B. Parker that made everyone act like this) and walked away.

Peter smiled to himself, ruffled his kid’s hair, and then looked straight at Miguel, giving him a knowing look from across the cafeteria. He nudged his head towards your figure, and wiggled his eyebrows, mouthing “Jealous?”

Miguel sulked even more, finishing his burger in one whole bite.

Jealous. As if he was jealous.

The next time something like this happened, Miguel had been doing some research on the Spider Library. It was a fascinating place, really - Spiders from every earth would donate books from their homeland. There were books on just about everything, from Victorian etiquette to small Lego blocks Lego Spiderman would swear to be books (a claim Miguel has never once doubted, for the little guy was one of his most trusted allies).

He’d been looking through a few cookbooks (Because even Spider People deserve to learn how to cook), looking for casserole recipes. He convinced himself it was simply a way for him to eat a more balanced meal, for him not to eat at the cafeteria every single day - not that there was anything wrong with it, but he sometimes longed for the warmth of a homemade meal.

“Noir!” your voice cut through the silence, and Miguel caught a glimpse of you chastising yourself for speaking so loudly in a space meant to be relaxing and quiet. “Sorry,” you whispered with a small giggle, before turning to the black and white character.

You conversed happily, feet tugged under your body as you relaxed on one of the library’s comfiest chairs. The cookbook long forgotten; Miguel was now busy watching you. The way the corners of your lips titled up whenever Spider Noir said something that pleased you, how your hands fidgeted with your hair, twirling it around your fingers or tugging it behind your ear, how your eyes would widen in recognition whenever you deemed the topic good.

“Stalker much?” Lyla whispered on his ear, making him jump.

“Mierda! Coño - Lyla - pendeja de una…” He mumbled under his breath, looking around to make sure no one had heard him - unfortunately for him, you had. You looked over in his direction in confusion and gave him a soft smile once your gazes met, as well as a small wave. He retributed, far too stunned to speak, before returning his attention to Lyla.

“What the hell do you want?” He asked, keeping his voice low and gruff. He hated being interrupted, especially when someone interrupted him while he was looking at you.

“You do know this whole ‘Watching her from the shadows’ thing is getting sort of old, right? And it’s real creepy Miguel, real creepy!” Lyla chimed in, looking at him over the rim of her heart-shaped glasses. She was way too done with him. And with good reason. While it was amusing to watch jealousy eat him up from the inside and watch how smitten he was whenever you walked in, it was also draining, because it meant she was stuck with a big grumpy cat whenever you weren’t near, or whenever you were near someone else.

“Why don’t you just ask her on a date?” she asked, voice way too exasperated. It wasn’t the first time she suggested this. Nor the second, nor the third. It surely wouldn’t be the last. “Grow a pair of cojones and ask her out. You’re a decent cook - why not cook up something for dinner? She’d like that, I’m sure.”

“Why would I ask her out?” Miguel grumbled, trying to focus on his book once more. “And why would she say yes? She’s got plenty of friends, of companions. I’m sure she doesn’t lack dinner invitations.”

Lyla scoffed and rolled her eyes, wishing her boss wasn’t so stubborn.

“Well, you should ask her about because you’re whipped! Damn it Miguel, it’s becoming really disturbing to have you sulk and pout all day because she didn’t look your way, or smiled too much at someone else. It’s annoying. And you are becoming a stalker. Look at you! You followed her into the library and were watching her!”

“I was reading!” replied Miguel, trying to keep his voice down but failing - which earned him a few “Shhhhh”s from other dedicated spiders. “Sorry…” he grumbled. “But I was reading. It’s got nothing to do with her.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure, big guy.” If Lyla were to roll her eyes again, they’d probably roll into the back of her head. “Anyway, you have some new reports to catch up on. The new recruits have done a brilliant job, actually. You might want to give those a look.” Miguel sighed and swiftly exited the library, but not before catching your gaze again, and receiving a smile from you.

Miguel was halfway into reviewing one of the reports Jessica had sent him when he heard a knock on his office’s door.

“Who is it?” he asked, not particularly thrilled to talk to anyone.

“Oh, it’s me! [Y/N]!” You. [Y/N].

Well, his door would always be open for you.

“Come in,” he said, turning away from his multitude of screens.

Just be cool.

It’s not like Lyla was right.

Or Peter.

They love to tease him - they’re both insufferable and love to annoy him.

He’s not jealous.

He’s not possessive or anything.

“Miguel?” You asked, breaking him out of his trance. “You okay?”

He looked up to meet your kind eyes, and immediately relaxed before them.

“Yeah,” he nodded, “I’m fine. Sorry, I’m just distracted. Jessica sent me some new reports, and I need to revise all of these before I store them.” It’s funny. Miguel would never admit he was tired. Not to Lyla or anyone else. He wouldn’t even admit it to himself - but you were different. You made him feel safe. He felt like he could confide in you and tell you all that troubles his mind.

“I could help you out, if you wanted to?” You leaned against a desk, shrugging your shoulders. “I mean, I don’t have much on my plate right now. If you want, I could look at them?”

Miguel couldn’t do that.

He couldn’t give someone else his workload, couldn’t trust someone else with such an important task. Should you overlook something, the consequences could be disastrous. Even the tiniest detail could lead up to catastrophic events. That’s why he always took it upon himself to review everything himself, to make sure there were no mistakes.

“I might just take you up on that offer.”

Huh.

That’s not what he meant to say.

No, what he meant to say was,

“It would be great to have a helping hand.”

No.

No, actually, abort mission. Abort mission.

Miguel didn’t need help. He was doing fine on his own. He was the only one qualified for such important jobs, and that was why he had to set the record straight and tell you,

“Thank you, [Y/N].”

You smiled brightly at him, one of those smiles reserved for your closest friends alone (at least that’s what he thought, because Miguel had not been stalking you, and most certainly wasn’t aware of the types of smiles you gave people).

But did this mean he was one of your closest friends?

Miguel shook his head at the thought, and you giggled – a cheerful, melodious sound that Miguel didn’t mind hearing more often.

“You know, everyone around HQ keeps saying you’re like this big bad wolf,” you begin, gesturing with your hands, as if painting a picture. “It’s funny because you’re not like that at all! It seems like I’m the only one who sees that, though. Oh, and Peter B.” You chuckled, rolling your eyes. “You see, the other day, we were joking about what kind of animals each one of us would be, and – “ Miguel’s ears blocked out the rest of the line.

Peter B. this, Peter B. that.

How close were you two anyway? And why are you always talking about him?

“ – And then I was like, no, Miguel would totally be a cat, and then Ben just completely faints on the floor in front of us, and we burst out laughing!” You’re doubling over yourself, even going as far as wiping tears from your eyes. “Oh, he may be dramatic, but boy is he funny. You should listen to his impression of Victorian Spider; he’s got it down to a tee! And oh – he can mimic Peter Parkedcar so well, he does this thing with his voice, in which he goes – “

He's not even that funny.

“Huh?” You questioned, looking up from your little rant.

Huh? What “huh”?

Oh. Mierda.

Had he said that out loud?

“I’m just saying, he’s not even that funny. Ben Reilly.” He grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest, and looking away. “I don’t even know why you hang out with him. He steals everyone’s jokes and makes everything about himself. Also, he’s annoying.”

Way to go Miguel. You do not sound a day over four years old. Not at all.

“Well, I find him charming.” You reply sympathetically. “We all have our flaws.”

“Charming. Tch. Sure, if you find crying over his ‘traumatising day’ which probably consists of a spilled Sepsi charming, then sure, he’s the spitting image of a charming gentleman.” Miguel scoffed, still not finding it within himself to look you in the eye.

“That’s just who he is. I mean, you can’t really blame him, that’s probably how his whole Earth is. Oh goodness – could you imagine? A whole earth full of Ben Reillys?” Your eyes widened and you grinned once again, covering your mouth with your hands. “Peter’s always saying –“

“Peter should probably get some adult friends. And doesn’t he have a baby to take care of? I mean, he can’t possibly be bothering everyone around HQ when he’s a father – you must have things to do other than listen to him ramble on and on and on about whatever topic. Dios, he desperately needs a hobby. Doesn’t he have a wife to return to?”

Perhaps Peter B. could arrange some playdates for Miguel and Mayday. Who knows, the two children might get along.

You’re looking at him, mouth agape in a grin. You supress a chuckle and clear your throat, amusement rather obvious in your eyes.

Could Miguel O’Hara, the big bad wolf leader of the Spider Society, be jealous?

“Someone seems to be a bit jealous.” Your remark was accompanied by some sort of smile that was also a smirk. Almost like you were too amused by the situation but were also flattered. Which you were.

There was that word again.

Jealous.

Miguel ran the word repeatedly in his mind. Could it be he was actually jealous? Was he, perhaps, too possessive of you? You weren’t his. There was no reason for him to feel so protective.

“They’re just friends, you know.” You shrugged, tilting your head. A few strands of hair fell in front of your face, but you made no effort to move them. It gave you a slightly ragged look, and Miguel felt his heart leap in his chest at the sight. “You could hang out with us sometime. I’m sure they’d appreciate it. You’re the boss, I’m sure fraternising’s not against Spider Society rules.”

It was Miguel’s turn to roll his eyes.

“Yeah – right. I’m afraid any conversation I might have with them will reduce my brain capacity. Thank you, but no.” He waved his hand dismissively. It was true. Ben was a focused superhero, that was true, but he could get caught up in his own drama far too quickly. And Peter B… Peter B. was Peter B.

This was getting quite ridiculous.

Here he was, nearly stalking someone, attacking all her friends, and acting like a possessive jerk, all because he was sad said someone wouldn’t look at him, or hang out with him as much. Miguel was a grown ass man, but lately, he’d been acting like a confused teen going through puberty. You deserved quite better. Much better.

He’d dated women before, surely, he could do it again. He’d had nice dates and formulated interesting conversations. He could do all of that again. Without stalking you and following you around like a lost puppy. He could take you out and grant you a night of fun. Treat you nicely. Cook you some dinner, perhaps.

Something ran through Miguel’s mind – a thought he never expected to have – Lyla was right. Maybe it was time to do things like a proper adult instead of pouting and throwing tantrums whenever you looked somewhere else. It wasn’t fair of him to keep acting this way, and especially towards you, who’d done nothing to warrant such a weird treatment. All he hoped for was that you hadn’t noticed his strange demeanour these past few weeks.

“But, well,” he started, trying not to sound like a sulking child, “I surely don’t lose any of my faculties whenever I’m with you. Perhaps you would like to get some coffee sometimes?”

There it was.

An invitation.

(Even if slightly half-assed)

An opportunity to stop being some creepy loser (Peter’s words), and maybe get closer to you.

(It should be noted that Lyla was observing the whole thing, and although she was merely AI, the joy she was feeling was far too big to be considered “synthetic”. She was simply happy her oblivious moron of a boss had finally manned up. She was so proud. It was like watching a baby take his first steps – only in this case, the baby was a 6’9 superhero who could crush a car with his bare hands. She was proud, nevertheless. He was all grown up now.)

Your smiled softened, and you nodded.

“I’d like that. I really would.”

Miguel looked up.

Huh. That’d been surprisingly easy.

And you’d said yes.

“Really?” Were you messing with him? Was Peter going to kick his door down, shove a camera up his face and proclaim he’d been pranked?

“Yeah!” You shrugged, linking your hands behind your back. “I think it’d be fun. I’d really like to go on a date with you.” Your eyes widened. “Unless – I mean, is it a date? It doesn’t have to – I’m sorry, I just assumed – but it really doesn’t have to, and I’d love to get coffee either way!”

You scrambled for words, face heating up by the second, which made Miguel smile. He didn’t do it often, but in your presence? All was possible in your presence. You brought out the best in him.

“Would you like it to be a date?” Okay, now the ball was on your court. While Miguel had been the one to ask you out, you were the one in charge. If you told him you’d rather meet up as friends, he’d respect your decision. (Maybe stalk you some more with heartbreak in his eyes, but he wasn’t about to say that.)

“I… I’d like that. If it were to be a date, that is – I’d really like that.” You tried to hide the way your fingers fidgeted with each other, but it was far too obvious. And completely okay. Miguel too was nervous.

“Me too.”

You smiled at his words, and Miguel’s smile mirrored your own.

“That’s settled then. It’s a date.”

In the background, Lyla did cartwheels in the air, mentally congratulating her boss.

Miguel’s smile softened and reached his eyes.

Maybe he was jealous.

But he was sure it would work out in the end.

A/N: And that's it! Again, I hope you guys liked it! I'll be working on more requests, and stuff of my own hehe, I can't wait for you guys to see what else is up my sleeve. Thank you and have a wonderful day!!

#miguel o'hara x reader #miguel o'hara x y/n #miguel o'hara scenarios #miguel o'hara x you #miguel o'hara #miguel o'hara fanfiction #spiderman 2099 #spiderman 2099 x you #spiderman 2099 x reader #miguel ohara #atsv x reader #atsv x you #spiderverse x reader #spiderverse x you #spiderverse fanfiction #miguel ohara x reader #miguel spiderman #across the spiderverse #miguel atsv

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shares-a-vest · 4 months

Text

@steddielovemonth Day 10: Love is... Missing each other (Prompt by @lihhelsing)

wc: 723 | Rated: T for suggestive language & flirtacious banter | cw: None

Tags: Phone Calls, Rockstar!Eddie, Homesick, Eddie Misses Steve

Stevie, what are you wearing?

Eddie flips onto his stomach once he finally hears a dial tone. He didn’t think it would take this long, calling the concierge to transfer him to an international call, confirming his credit card and then waiting eons for a connection.

But fuck it, he misses his not-legally-binding husband.

It’s only been a week and the band has been killing it so far but…

Call him selfish, but Eddie misses the hell out of Steve, he is desperately resiting the urge to flee back to the airport and fly home. And he feels like a pathetic sap about it.

Maybe next time he should force the boys, their management and basically everyone around Corroded Coffin to set their touring to fit in with Steve’s school schedule. Yes, that could work – certainly much better than admitting how much he wants to be snuggled up in his comfy bed with Steve, drifting off to sleep together, hopefully without their cats bothering them too much.

The ringing continues and he worries that it is going to run out entirely. He bites at his thumb nail in anticipation – it’s not like he pre-organised this phone call and god knows what time it is in Hawkins.

“Hello?” Steve grumbles on the other end.

He sounds groggy with sleep, his voice a little far away as he likely fumbles for his glasses. Eddie grins and crosses his ankles, giddy like a goddamn schoolgirl calling her crush.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he beams, earning a whine at his equitable lack of volume control.

“S’early,” Steve mumbles, “Miss you.”

“I miss you more,” Eddie coos down the line.

Steve huffs a laugh and echoes, “Miss you so much…”

There’s a rustling sound that follows and Steve hums.

“What are you doing?” Eddie wonders aloud.

“Getting comfy again,” Steve replies, “Closin’ my eyes and pretending you are next to me.”

“That so?”

Steve hums in the affirmative.

“Stevie…” Eddie purrs as he flips onto his back, “What are you wearing?”

“Sweatpants,” Steve replies, a smile evident in his voice.

“Nothing else...” he wonders.

“Nope!” Steve sounds a little more awake now.

“The barest chest,” Eddie continues, squirming around, feeling a teasing tingle at the thought –

– Until the phone cord almost cuts off his air supply.

He palms around (though if anyone were to see him, it would probably be better described as a full-bodied flail) and tugs at the cord enough that something topples off the nightstand.

Whatever. As long as he can still hear Steve’s quiet and even breathing on the other end.

“What about you, Elvis?” Steve soon teases.

Eddie grimaces but responds nonetheless.

“I’m in my jeans,” he supplies, trying to remain at least a little coy, “And a t-shirt.”

“So, you aren’t ready for bed?” Steve teases, giggling out a little tee-hee that makes Eddie’s heart flutter – god he loves this silly man.

“Not until after I speak to you, precious,” he deadpans.

There’s another sound – like Steve is moving around amongst the bedsheets again. Eddie wiggles his brows and hastily hooks a finger under his waistband. But he soon scrunches his nose. He probably should have removed his belt and unzipped his fly during the never-ending dial tone.

“Shit,” Steve curses before groaning in a very unfun manner, “Oh no, buddy, c’mon!”

“What is it?” Eddie asks, propping himself up on his elbow.

“Go on, scram!” Steve commands, ignoring the question before whining again – one that sounds like whatever he is doing is an exercise in futility, “The cat won’t get off the bed.”

Eddie sinks back down.

Goddamn it.

“Which menace is bothering you, my darling?” he sighs, scrubbing his free hand over his face.

“Freddy.”

Eddie stifles a whimper as his heart swells. Of course, it’s the most adorable, scruffiest, wide-eyed and mischievous cat that’s annoying the heck out of Steve. A cat Steve himself only barely tolerates. Eddie can only imagine what Freddy must get up to when he touring.

“Fredrick?” he can’t help but beam, “Put him on the phone!”

“Eddie!”

“Please?” he begs, “I want to talk to him.”

“But what about…” Steve says, “Well, y’know?”

Eddie waves Steve’s worry away (even if he can’t see him).

“Keep it in your pants, Big Boy. We’ll get to that. Now put my son on the phone this instant!”

#this is only a suggestive little ficlet but it's under a 'read more' just in case #steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie ficlet #rockstar!eddie munson #steddielovemonth

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to-thelakes · 2 months

Text

wet cat vibe

pairing; emily prentiss x fem!reader

summary; you get rained on on the way to emily's apartment.

warnings; fluff, pure fluff, slightly suggestive towards the end, reader in a summer dress

notes; okay, so this was a little one-shot that i wrote a few weeks ago after i saw a prompt and my friend suggested that emily would be perfect for it! i've never actually published anything like wlw but i thought i might as well bite the bullet and show emily some gay love because her being straight-ified by the show is a crime to me and me personally. she is my bisexual queen. thank u. so, please enjoy this little fluff

masterlist

When you agreed to go over to Emily’s after you were finished with work, it hadn’t been raining. In fact, it had been a beautiful sunny day and you were walking around in your flowy summer dress. It had been warm, idyllic and you hadn’t even realised that anything had changed. That was until you stepped out of work and it was raining. And not just normal rain, it was a fucking torrential downpour. You didn’t know what to do.

You had assumed that it would stay nice all day but no, of course not. You internally cursed yourself as you stared out at the rain. Why did you never check the goddamn weather app? Were you really that stupid?

Everyone had already left the office which left you alone to try and get to Emily’s without looking completely ridiculous. You crossed your arms over your chest, staring across the street as the rain bounced off the pavements.

Her apartment was only a few streets over and so you scouted out the area in front of you. There were quite a few buildings that overhung which meant that you could at least get some shelter. It would be fine. You just had to be strategic.

So, you waited for the traffic to clear up before you ran across the road. You looked like a madwoman, in a flowy dress while it poured with rain around you but you had definitely looked more insane before so this was nothing.

By the time you reached Emily’s apartment and despite your best attempts, you were still drenched right through. Your dress was becoming transparent thanks to the rain which Emily would love but currently, anyone could see which wasn’t exactly what you intended.

When you pressed the buzzer, Emily let you in with no question and you rode the elevator up. She was waiting for you at the apartment door, hip rested against the door frame as she looked you up and day. You tried not to laugh, a smile spreading across your face.

“Have you not heard of an umbrella? Jesus,” Emily said and you looked down at yourself. You were literally dripping water across the carpet, your hair (that was down over your shoulders) was dripping droplets of water across the fabric of your dress. You looked a mess.

“I’m going for the wet cat vibe. How do I look?” You asked as you reached her apartment door. Emily chuckled softly at you and you did a little twirl for her before facing her again. Emily shook her head in disbelief.

“Pathetic. Come on, you’re dripping everywhere,” Emily said as she urged you inside. You followed her and she closed the door. Her back rested against it as she took you in. She could very clearly see the lingerie that you had picked out just for her. Though, you had completely forgotten how see-through your dress was so you wandered over to the kitchen for a tea towel to wipe your face without a care in the world.

“You know, I think this is a good look,” You stated as you turned around to face Emily. She was leaning against the counter now, obviously checking you out.

“I think what’s underneath is better,” She responded and you chuckled softly, remembering exactly what she was looking at. You wiped off your face and your neck with the towel. Your hair was probably a lost cause for now so instead, you dropped it down and reached out for her hands and tugged her a little closer.

“I wore it just for you,” You teased. Emily hummed out in response, moving her hand to rest against your cheek, “Thought you’d like it but the whole building saw it before you did,” You muttered. Emily tilted your chin up a little.

“I don’t mind,” She responded, her lips inches away from yours, “As long as they know who you’re coming home to.” You couldn’t help the bashful smile that spread across your lips, the wetness between your legs. Emily had this subtle possessiveness to her that made you completely weak at the knees. It was ridiculous.

“Why don’t we show them?” You suggested. Emily grinned and tugged you towards the bedroom. It was going to be a long night.

#reader-insert #emily prentiss x reader #emily prentiss x fem!reader #criminal minds #emily prentiss x reader fluff #emily prentiss fluff #criminal minds fluff #fluff

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duchess-kyuupid · 1 year

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So I had an idea, what if reader was the magicless student and didn't feel like going home because they knew they were dead in their old world?

So one day a friend asks, "What do you think you'd do if you got back home?"

And reader just replies nonchalantly with a straight face with, "Probably lie in a coffin six feet under."

The friend thinks they are joking but little do they know...

Could it be with Ace and whoever else you'd think best fit the scenario? Thanks! <3

Hello anon! Sorry this literally took forever (-ω-、) At first I had a hard time trying to figure out how to put it all together and who to do lmao I think I ended up doing pretty good, if I do say so myself (maybe a little bit overboard as it went on, though? Like the request looks like it's supposed to at least be a little bit funny but my brain says 'haha sad reader go brrr') Either way, I hope that you enjoy, darling <333

~ "I'm probably never going back." With Ace, Kalim, and Grim ~

[Angst to fluff, Platonic Grim, Gn! reader]

Ace

"So," Ace started, munching on his sandwich, "What d'ya go to the Headmaster for this time? You get stuck with another random job again?" he asks with a sinister innocent smile on his face as he eyes your own lunch.

"Actually, we were discussing the prospects of me going home," you stated nonchalantly, casually sliding your plate of food closer to yourself, knowing full well that Ace really only started this conversation to get you distracted so that he could get at your cherry pie (which the chefs had made specifically for you, as a thanks for helping keep the fireplaces warm over winter break).

Now, while you had certainly noticed that Ace was after your food (you were used to it already, after dealing with Grim after all of this time), you had failed to notice the way that Ace's smile fell off of his face for the faintest moment after he heard the words 'home' leaving your mouth, but he was quick to regain his notorious smile before you could see his disappointment. And in an act to tease you a bit (and to rid himself of the unknown feelings bubbling in the pit of his stomach), he brazenly chuckles and states without thinking,

"Ha, I bet that old man probably told you to give it up. Like, what would you even do if you got back home?" Without a second beat you tell him with a straight face,

"I'd probably just be six-feet under."

"Right?" Ace agrees with a hearty chuckle. And he sees that you still for a second, lowering your head and taking a deep breath for a moment. In that quick moment of you losing concentration, Ace swipes the last remaining bite of your cherry pie with a cheeky smirk.

"So that's why I'm probably never going back," you clear your throat and look at Ace with a sad smile, tears brimming your eyes. And suddenly, Ace feels really, really guilty. He was just trying to lighten the mood by joking with you...about going home...

Ugh, how could he have messed this up, worse? It's impossible, I tell you! Ace knows that you've just been suddenly thrust into a world that you know nothing about, forced to attend a school where you barely even meet the minimum for the curriculum, and, to make matters even better for you, you're basically forced into doing whatever that Headmaster of the school tells you to, simply because he was just kind enough to let you stay at the school since you hadn't even a penny to your name nor your nonexistent family in this world.

Not only that, but you're also the prefect of this new dorm without any magic at all, and you're supposed to keep an eye on this random cat that nearly ruined the Orientation ceremony. And! You've also got to handle both him and Deuce, also known as the chaos duo to everyone who knows them. And he just stole the last piece of your cherry pie, which was honestly something that you more than deserve after all the shit that you've gone through. We all know that you weren't crying because of him stealing your pie, but this fact really was just the cherry on top of his sundae of regret.

So yeah, just label him as Dumbass #1 in your book, if he isn't already.

And he's not sure why he was surprised to see those tears in your eyes, but he was, and he's ashamed at the fact that he's never noticed how you've felt before. So in a frantic motion to fix things, Ace stands up quickly, saying a quick excuse to you about accidentally leaving something in his last class or something, and excusing himself from the lunch table before you could even react.

You honestly didn't know where he went after he left you at lunch, because he wasn't in any of his classes for the remainder of the day. It was only after classes, as you were walking back to Ramshackle with Grim, that you saw him next. He was standing in front of your front door with a nervous look on his face, but he was dressed quite nicely. Not quite formal attire, but it looked like he was expecting to go somewhere, at the very least. Once he saw you approaching, his face brightened for a moment, with a slight blush cropping up on his cheeks as you ask him what he's been doing all day.

"Well," he starts with a chuckle and his infamous smile, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "I got permission from the Headmaster for us to leave campus for a while, so why don't we go check out some stores at the village nearby? I thought that maybe I'd show you around, since you'd probably beg me to keep you from getting lost anyway... Oh, and don't worry about paying for anything, I have it allll covered." He says that last part with extra emphasis and a more confident smile than before, hoping that that would be the ticket to getting you to agree. Little did he know, you were going to agree even if he wasn't going to buy you anything. And little did you know that one of the biggest reasons why he's decided to do all of this can be explained through one simple sentence: 'I want you to start liking this world more than your own.'

In truth, he'd struck a deal with Azul again in exchange for enough cash to buy whatever you wanted from any store (he's got a lot of work cut out for him in the upcoming future), but shh, you didn't need to know that. It would be all worth it if it means that you can get a chance at starting a normal life here...

And perhaps, maybe one day you might want to start living your new life with him by your side.

Kalim

Oh, Kalim. This epitome of sunshine was sharing everything about his family, his childhood, and his homeland to you with so much enthusiasm that you felt yourself feeling the twang of homesickness starting to erupt in your heart. But of course, this always happens with Kalim, doesn't it? First, he hurt the one who he's always adored as a brother- Jamil, and now, he's hurting you too, all without realizing it. You could never blame him for it, though. His genuine happiness and warmth was something that you looked forward to every day, and most of the time just being around him felt like you were basking in the sun on a cold day.

But, sometimes the warmth that he radiates so fervently starts to feel like too much, as if you were being scorched alive under the unbearable heat of the sun.

"So," Kalim says, taking a moment to catch his breath, "I think that's all of my brothers and sisters, plus all of my extended family too! We're a big family, so I know it's a lot, haha! Say, what's your family like?" he innocently asks with bright, expectant eyes.

And you know that he doesn't mean to do this to you, but you can't deny that right now you felt like his beautiful red eyes were burning themselves into your soul like a branding iron. You don't want to make it sound like you blame him for your predicament or his enthusiasm about his family, so you give him the best smile you can muster and divert the subject to the best of your ability.

"Well, they're really not as important as yours is. Can you tell me more about how the Asim family started out? Your family must have a lot of really interesting history."

"Oh, sure!" Kalim nods happily to your request, forgetting his own question shortly after as he continues in his own rant about his gigantic family and some of the more interesting parts of its history.

At this point, Jamil really couldn't bear to listen to this anymore. He's been quietly watching and listening in on your conversation with Kalim from his seat in the corner of the room, where he was supposed to be 'studying'. Jamil sees that Kalim's doing the same thing to you as what happened to him, and decides to step into your conversation. 'Might as well go ahead and rip the band-aid off before it gets to the point of no return,' Jamil thinks.

"Hey," he begins, cutting Kalim off mid-sentence, "Do you have any sort of plans for when you get to go home? If you can go home?"

And Kalim looks at you with a surprised look on his face at Jamil's question for you because of course you'd want to stay here in Twisted Wonderland with him and everyone else! He'd never thought of the idea that you'd ever want to go back home to your original world, Kalim felt like it was just a given that you'd want to stay even if you had the choice to leave. But now that he thinks about it a little more, he doesn't understand where he even got that idea from to begin with. After all, as someone who cares for his family and his homeland a great deal, he can kindof understand how you might feel after being torn away from all of that without any way of returning.

"Haha, well," you chuckle heartlessly, "I'm probably never going back anyway. I think if I went back home now I'd just be six-feet under or something." Your attempt to lighten the mood with your 'joke' fails when you hear the sound of your own voice saying it. You would be lying to yourself if you tried to claim that, no, your voice wasn't shaky, and that yes, you were completely fine with never seeing your family ever again. Jamil makes a comment that he was going to grab something to drink from the kitchen, leaving you in a moment of silence with Kalim following your rather dark 'joke.'

"Well, what's the harm in trying anyway?" Kalim asks softly, "You never know unless you try! Plus, even if it doesn't work out, at least you can say that you've given it your all, right?"

"That's the FUCKING problem," you snap, "I've BEEN trying to go back home, and nothing's ever working! And there's no way in hell I'm just going to give up and go ~'Well at least I tried'~ when it's my goddamn LIFE on the line here!"

Oh no, you didn't mean to start yelling at Kalim like that... But after hearing his flippant "at least you've given you're all" comment, all of the pent-up emotions just felt like they were going to explode if they were kept inside any longer. You feel bad for suddenly yelling at him, but at the same time, it felt like the water gates have finally opened, and before you knew it, more kept spilling from your mouth.

"I had a normal life back in my world, you know! I had people who cared for me, I had plans for the future that I painstakingly paved the road for for my entire fucking life. Everything that I've done in my life up to this point, it's all become utterly useless now that I've come here," you wailed, tears escaping your eyes as you spoke without constraint, "Can you imagine how it feels to have everything stolen away from you, Kalim? All of the people that I've created my childhood memories with, they're all gone! My scholarships, my college applications, my work experience- nonexistent! Hell, if you want to get into the legalities of it, I technically have never gone to school in my life before attending NRC because I never existed in this world before then." You take a breath to help calm yourself down, but after still feeling the flames of rage bubbling in your lungs, you continue to vent out your feelings.

"Do you know how it feels, Kalim, to have no idea whether the people you love know if you're dead or alive? To have to think about how they would react to my 'death' when I'm still kicking and screaming inside another world?! To have to think about everything that you've been forced to leave behind all of a sudden?" You're basically screaming out your frustrations to the sky now, as you couldn't bear to stare at Kalim as you cried out your miseries, "To have to think about the life you could be leading right now if you weren't dragged to some random world with no knowledge about it's countries, it's history, or even it's most fundamental principles like magic?"

Kalim's staring at you intensely, taking every single word you speak into account. Even as you got to the point where you couldn't speak clearly anymore, when you pushed yourself to where all you could do was sob, snivel, and blubber out your words of woe, Kalim sat there listening to you the whole way through.

At some point during your crying, Kalim pulled you gently into his arms in a tight embrace as he let you continue to let your feelings out. He was going to wait until it was all out before he even tried to say anything (reason one being, because it would be rather rude to interrupt you, and two is because he's been rather notorious for crying when he sees other people cry and he didn't want to make the crying spotlight on him)

When you were finally done, Kalim patted your head soothingly and spoke quietly. His own voice was shaky too, and he was also on the verge of tears just from watching and listening to you.

"I never knew you felt like that, I'm sorry for not realizing it earlier," he says, and just the sound of him trying to keep in his tears breaks your heart to pieces.

Your pain is his pain, your tears are his tears, and your smile is his smile because, even if he doesn't realize it yet, he truly loves you dearly. Kalim knows he can be really, really dense most of the time, which is why he never noticed these pent-up frustrations of yours when they were so obvious to Jamil, but he hopes that you'll forgive him for making you feel even worse.

"It's not your fault, Kalim. I'm not angry at you or anything- I'm sorry for yelling like that," you inhale, "It's just-... It just hurts, you know? Thinking about all of the what-ifs and the could-be's... But the truth is, I've had more fun in the short time that I've been here than in my entire life back home. And most of that's because of you, actually."

"Really?" he asks, a spark of his normal cheer returning to his voice.

"Yes, really. I might not be able to use magic, but it's been something that I've loved learning about since coming here. You know, the very first time you took me on a ride with the magic carpet, and I got to see this whole new world from way high up in the sky, I knew that nothing from my home could beat that experience. I'm going to miss my home, but it's not so bad when I know that you're here."

Oh, look at you- you were the one who just had an emotional breakdown right in front of Kalim, and yet you're the one consoling him! Your sweet words struck through his heart like cupid's arrow, and he internally vows that he will always be someone who brings a smile to your face- that he will do everything that he can to make sure that you're happy.

"Then," he perks up, wiping his face from any stray tears that might have escaped from earlier, "Let's go on another carpet ride together, outside of campus!" He exclaims excitedly, all hints of previous sadness gone from his eyes and voice.

"There's so many places I want to show you, but I think we should look for spots that look like your home! This world is a pretty big place, so I'm sure there must be somewhere that looks similar to yours. Tell me everything about your homeland- If we can't find something like it, then we'll just have to make it ourselves!"

Grim

It was in the midst of winter break that you started to feel more lonely. All of your other friends were gone and spending the holidays with their families, while you were still here at the school with your only company being Grim and the Ramshackle ghosts, who would come and go as they pleased. Everything was just so,, quiet, without the chaos duo Deuce and Ace around. Of course, Grim was almost always up to his own little shenanigans too, but most of the time they were harmless and it was just him entertaining himself with catching mice and such.

The silence of the winter break and the bleakness of the white snow was staring to take a toll on you, and it wasn't helping the fact that you're still experiencing nightmares beyond what you see in the mirror at night (this is not a jab at you, I swear).

For reference, you just had a dream that woke you up in the middle of the night, sweating and gasping for air as you tried to recollect yourself. Of course, you couldn't fall back asleep after what you've just seen, and Grim was still sound asleep in his corner of the bed. Quietly, you move to get up to go get some fresh air outside- not forgetting to bring your jacket with you to the freezing cold weather out there.

And you spent a bit of time in the silence of the night, sitting on the stairs of the front porch of the Ramshackle dorm with a heavy jacket tied to your shoulders, just staring up into the sky. This isn't the first time that this has happened, so you know that looking at the stars would usually help you out in times like these.

'I can see the stars so clearly from here. Back home, the stars would be so dim that most nights you could hardly see them because of all of the lights around.'

'Huh, I wonder what kind of constellations this world has thought up of. That kinda looks almost like a horse, if you look at it sideways.'

'I wonder what kind of galaxy this world is in. The Milky Way was nice and all, but something different could be nice, too.'

Those would be the kind of thoughts that would help calm you down after your nightmares and you'd start feeling sleepy again. You'd go back inside, maybe drink a little bit of water, and then delve underneath the covers of your bed and go to back to sleep.

But this time, though, you could hardly focus on anything else except for the contents of your dream. No matter how intently you stared into the night sky, there was nothing else that you could think of other than, 'It was just so realistic.'

"Hey, hench-human! There you are! 'Was wonderin' where ya went so late at night. Come back in already, you let the fireplace in the room die out and now the whole room's gone cold again," you hear Grim calling out to you from the now open door of the Ramshackle dorm.

"Sorry Grim, I'll be back inside in just a bit, just gimmie a minute, alright?"

"What? You're just gonna sit outside in this cold?" Grim exclaims, "What are ya even doing out here anyway?" And you hear Grim's paws tapping on the old wooden flooring as he scampers his way to you.

"Couldn't sleep, so I went out for some fresh air, that's all."

"Oh yeah? Had another dream about the Great Seven? Or was it that Mickey dude in the mirror again?" He pushes your arms away from your legs and jumps into your lap without another thought. If he was going to wait for you to get up and relight the fireplace, he was at least going to wait somewhere that's nice and warm- your lap.

"Actually," you clear your throat, "not this time, no."

"Then what's up?" And he just said it so casually, like either he knew that something was bothering you and he wanted to make the conversation comfortable enough to talk about it- that or he's just completely unable to read a room (which was honestly the more likely option). Either way, it made you pause for a moment, to think about whether you wanted to answer his question honestly or make up some sort of lie about it.

"I'm thinking about whether I should just go ahead and tell Crowley to give up on looking for my way back home," you admit, deciding on telling him half-truths for now. But your comment caught him off guard, and he looks back at you with surprise. "Huh, why would ya do that?" he asks.

"Well, I mean I'd probably just be lying six feet under if I do manage to go back, so what's the point in having Crowley waste his time on this? Besides, he's been using it as an excuse to make me us do all of his dirty work for him, and I don't want to be indebted to him anymore than I already am."

"Well, I guess that does make sense, but still, haven't you been wantin' to go home this whole time? What's with you givin' up now?" he grumbles.

"Awe, I had no idea that you hated me this much," you joke, "To think, that even my closest friend even wants me gone from this world! Oh, woe is me!"

"Hey, you know it ain't like that, henchman!" Grim pushes you playfully, "I'll have you know that, unlike SOME people, I care about my minions. If ya wanna go home, then you should keep tryin' to find a way back, especially if there's someone else doin' all the work for you."

"That's sweet of you to say, but I'm probably never going back."

"What makes you so sure?" And you don't say anything to his question, not for a while. Grim notices your silence and concludes his statement, "Well, if that's what you want, then alright. It just means that you'll be here to see me become the greatest mage in the world!"

"Mhm," you nod sluggishly, and the conversation goes quiet from there. Now, the heavy silence of the winter night fell upon the both of you, the only sounds being the creaking of the old wooden planks of the Ramshackle dorm, the frostbitten wind blowing through the air, and the soft shuffling of you petting through Grim's fur as he sits idly in your lap. The silence didn't bother either of you much, as Grim was nearly falling back to sleep with the soft movements of your hands brushing him and the warmth from your lap keeping the cold at bay. But as time continued to pass, your anxious thoughts started clouding the deep recesses of your mind once again and you felt compelled to speak upon them.

"Grim, I know that you're a monster and everything, but do you know anything about reading a human's pulse?" you speak suddenly, and he flinches awake at your question, rubbing his eyes tiredly as you continue without letting him answer, "You can find your heart rate just by pressing on your wrist, or placing these fingers against your neck, like this." And you demonstrated both actions to him.

"Grim,, I," your voice chokes up, "I can't feel my pulse... Earlier I had another nightmare, and I saw myself dying. In my world... It was so realistic, I..." Tears start erupting from your eyes as you recall the vivid memory, and Grim stares at you with wide eyes as you continue, "When I woke up, I felt like I could still feel the pain. It was so excruciating, I felt like I was going to throw up, so I came out here."

Your body was shivering uncontrollably with how you were trying to keep your tears in as you spoke, and you pull Grim closer to you in a hug close to your chest, "Grim, please tell me. Do you hear anything? Anything at all? Even if you lie to me, please just tell me that you can hear my heartbeat."

Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

"I can hear it," Grim states seriously (I mean, after seeing the state you're in, it would be more than a little rude if he wasn't serious), "And I'm not lyin' to ya. It's super cold out here, which is probably why ya can't feel it, but you do have a heartbeat. I promise you, you're alive, right here, with me." He wasn't expecting this, but he tries his best to comfort you, though really he has no idea about what to do or what to say. But as awkward as his words come out as, it still works to help you calm down after a while. He waits until your breathing starts to slow down and your tears have stopped spilling.

"Henchman, I'm startin' to feel hungry for a midnight snack," he states, "I know you're hungry too, so let's go sneak into the cafeteria and see what they've got!" And he leaps off of your lap and looks at you with his bright blue eyes, "We can warm up by its fireplace while we're there too."

As he starts dragging you towards the school, he turns to look at you and he says, "The way I see it, the way you still get hungry or thirsty is how we know that you're still alive. You wouldn't need to eat or sleep if you were dead, like the ghosts, now would'ya? You really need to stop overthinking things like this, givin' me a heart attack when you start cryin' outta nowhere like that..."

~~~~~~

I accidentally wrote a whole mini-story for them, no wonder this request took so long </33 I really hope that you enjoyed reading this, anon! While I did have trouble at the beginning, things started falling into place as I kept writing 👏👏

1K notes · View notes

little-pondhead · 1 year

Note

Some fic because I love your au, Fenton is gender brainrot, and little baby dan cracks me up. Full disclosure, my only familiarity with DC is DP crossover fanfic, and a Batman movie I fell asleep during. (If I had a better grasp on the characters I would totally write more :(( i love interactions) also sorry for the weird spacing. Idk why tumblr did that

~~~~~~~~

There was an empty cardboard box on the table of the Justice League’s main conference room. Taped on the top flap, next to a doodle of Fenton’s logo, was a jump drive.

Heaving a sigh, Batman plugged it in and pulled up his screen on the projector. The drive, which was named “little baby dan’s evil playtime”, contained two files; WATCH_ME_FIRST.mp4 and its-a-secreeeet.pdf. He clicked on the video file, and immediately the projector filled with a blurry close-up of Fenton’s goggles.

After a moment of fiddling with the camera, Fenton stepped back, giving a cheery wave. His lab coat and goggles were a pastel pink, which was new. “Heeeeya, Bats! Whoever else is there! If you’re watching this, you probably weren’t there when I dropped the box off, aaand it’s probably empty.”

He clapped his hands together gleefully. “And Connie, if you’re there, this is payback for cussing around my daughter.” Batman was instantly relieved that Constantine wasn’t on base. Hopefully the situation wouldn’t require Constantine’s expertise. (Or any of the Justice League Dark. Fenton seemed determined to drive them all to an early grave with his casual refusal to acknowledge the supernatural air around him.)

“Now, as you’re all heroes, I’m sure you’re all familiar with the whole,” Fenton paused for a moment, as if searching for the proper words. “”You ate a burger on a Tuesday or something equally inane, and it kickstarted a series of events that led to you going insane and evil and murdering 95% of the Earth’s population and now you must fight your evil alternate self, because your time-controlling cryptid Peepaw said so,” shtick, so I’ll skip the backstory. Say hi to Dan!” Fenton grabbed the camera, and Batman quickly jotted down several notes about the concerning number of things the boy had just said.

The camera swiveled around to show Nightingale, holding a strange beast in a manner that reminded Batman of an “elongated cat meme” Nightwing had shown him when he was still a Robin. The creature bared a maw full of razor sharp fangs at the camera. Nightingale adjusted her grip to hold the creature’s paw and make it wave, which evoked a deep growl.

“Haha, he’d kill me if I did that. Dan likes Nightingale much more than he likes me.”

“Because the worst she has ever done is attempt to shoot me.”

The camera had moved, so Batman couldn’t visually confirm that the deep voice had come from the creature, but the voice didn’t match any of Fenton’s previously revealed companions. “Yeah yeah, her aim sucked back then.” Fenton gave the camera a toothy grin that was only slightly less unnerving than the creature’s. “Dan’s not technically me, he’s much more like Dani, actually, but the world would probably end again if we left him with his other... What did you call him?” Fenton glanced offscreen.

“Bane of my accursed existence.”

Fenton chucked. “The other half responsible for his existence.” Batman added more notes to his file. “So, yeah, Clocky left him with us for a bit to help along his rehab. But a certain psychologist-in-training I know says that repressing rage isn’t healthy, and even without a lot of his powers, he can wipe out most of a city in- what, an hour? We tested it. It was around an hour.”

Everyone present shared a look of deep concern. As if able to see their reaction, Fenton quickly held up his hands in surrender. “Don’t worry! Clocky reset it. Approximately zero people have died from Dan in this timeline.”

“Yet.” Came a furious rumble from off-screen.

“Yes, you’re very scary.” They heard Nightingale coo.

Fenton laughed. “Yeah, we need him- and all of you, -out of our hair for a bit while we concoct more evil plans, and you’re all the least likely to die to him, so you get to babysit! Thanks!”

He reached to shut off the camera before pausing and turning away. “Foley! Which of the furries is the one who really likes animals?”

“Man, do you realize how that sounds out of context?” Foley laughed. “I think Tim said it’s the little one. Damian?”

Fenton nodded and turned back to the camera. “Don’t let Damian try to adopt Dan. Or anyone. Dan will bite their hands off. I mean it!” To emphasize his point, he removed one of his hands.

Batman sighed and added “ability to remove limbs” to a list of Fenton’s powers.

“I’ll include a list of “tasks”” Fenton’s disembodied hand made finger quotes, “we gave Dan to keep him occupied. There’s some at the bottom for you guys. They’re mostly just blatant abuse of his powers for the sake of fun and science. I’d appreciate it if you’d let him mark things off the list and add notes on how it goes. Or you can do it. Or I can steal your cameras. Your choice.”

He thought for a second. “I think you’re supposed to leave, like, pizza money or something, but I don’t think you can get pizza delivered to space. Anyway, thanks for letting me blab your ears off while Dan’s probably committing war crimes for twelve minutes. For your sake, I hope he inherited my interest in space. Good luck! Thanks for babysitting!”

Waving with his still detached hand, Fenton ended the video. Batman closed it and opened the PDF as the few other members present murmured amongst themselves. Most of the pages were filled with a curling script Batman didn’t recognize. The fourth page had a huge, bolded header, reading JP TASKS.

The door opened and shut in half a second as the Flash burst in. “Superman!” The speedster wailed. “I can’t get this thing off of me!”

The Flash waved his arm around, sending small droplets of blood flying as he tried to dislodge the creature sinking his teeth into the speedster’s arm. Batman raised an eyebrow beneath his cowl as Superman quickly lent his super strength in attempt to pry the creature’s jaw open. Dan didn’t budge.

Well, he could certainly see the family resemblance been Fenton, Dani, and Dan. Shaking his head, he turned back to the list.

Task 1: Find Dan. He’s probably attacking someone.

He highlighted the text and crossed it out. This was going to be a long shift.

[Anon, this is me crying over the wonderful gift you have given me. You bastard.]

---

"Do you think Fenton's regeneration powers extend to his..." Green Lantern frowned, trying to remember the word the kid had used but coming up blank. "I dunno. But do you think if we cut off little Dan here, he'll heal back up with no problem?" He gestured helplessly to the scene in front of him. Flash was still screeching about the beast on his arm, and now Superman and Wonder Woman were trying to pry him off. Batman was standing to the side, silently bemoaning the lack of quiet. He just wanted one peaceful shift. Just one. Please.

"I'd like to see you try, hero. And I'm not little." Dan spoke, startling all of them. His grip on Flash's arm tightened, making the speedster squeal before releasing the man and spitting out a mouthful of his blood. Batman noticed that his mouth didn't move despite the clearly spoken words. In fact, when Dan closed his mouth, it was like he didn't have one at all.

"So you do speak!" Superman marveled.

"Of course I do. I am not unintelligent, unlike you lot."

Despite his pain, Flash still made sounds of protest that everyone promptly ignored.

Superman flushed. "I just wasn't sure. It was hard to tell in the video."

"Ah, yes. The video that the Fenton menace sent you. Was there a note for me in the flash drive?"

"Uh, no." In one of his less finer moments, Green Lantern stuttered over his words and moved in front of Batman, obviously lying. Dan merely growled and flew through both men, heading straight for the giant monitor. Batman barely suppressed a shiver. Density shifting? Might as well add it to the list. He could see Martian Manhunter, who was in the back of the room, tilt his head at the display.

Dan ignored the room as he used his entire body to manipulate the computer mouse and scrolled back up to the top of the page. Staring intently at the scribbles no one could make out, the heroes could do nothing but shoot each other nervous and confused glances. More than a few of them jumped when Dan chuckled deeply. Honestly, his tiny body was at complete odds with his baritone voice.

"Maybe rehab will be fun if he's letting me do this." Dan sneered, flashing their reflections a sharp fang. No one wanted to ask what exactly he was in rehab for. The little beast turned his gaze to Batman. "You are the one called Batman, who rules the cursed city, correct?" The dark hero nodded, not trusting himself to say anything. "Excellent. You will be my chaperone for now, just as Fenton decreed it. Good luck, mortal man. Pray, I do not destroy your home a second time."

Without any time to unpack that conversation, Dan promptly disappeared from view. Some blinking text caught his attention, and Batman scrolled back down to the English text, glancing at the next few items on the list.

Task 2: Do not let Dan read his portion of this letter until you have a way to track him. There is no containing him.

Task 3: Keep him with a chaperone at all times. (If you can)

Task 4: Do not let Dan back into Gotham unless you're fine with a sudden decrease in the clown population.

Task 5: Take him for a walk in Death Valley. He likes hunting lizards.

Task 6: Make sure he goes down for his 2pm nap every day.

Task 7: He'll ask for it, but do not give him any burgers for mealtime. It upsets his stomach.

Task 8: Dan gets ONE(1) sweet after dinner before brushing his teeth. Those green pop rocks Batman always carries will do fine; he likes those. :)

A sudden alarm blared from his wristwatch, making Batman tear his eyes away from the screen, indicating an emergency at Arkham. This time, Batman actually sighed out loud. There was more to the list, but right now, he really needed to find their new charge before he killed the Joker, from the sound of it.

#pondhead replies #anon let me kiss you on the mouth (platonically)#danny phantom #little baby man danny #except he's dan #supervillain danny au #god i can't get the elongated cat meme image out of my head #you are a genius #if you didn't catch it gotham was the city he destroyed #what did fenton tell him to do you ask?#well dan is very good at hunting #causing chaos and bringing certain peoples to justice all over the world #like a reverse santa #he also gave dan permission to go buck wild on the joker if batman brought him to gotham #if batman didn't STOP his escape to gotham #that counts right?#long post #dpxdc

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cillyscribbles · 3 months

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munkuposting (metastrap?) for the jellinclined (i am so sorry)

you tell me i'm insane but i know my truth and my truth is that munkustrap wants to help her. he wants to reach out and help her up like he just helped jennyanydots during her song. he leans down and it's not just so he can look at her better. it's not just cause there's no point to his defensive stance here except for her to see, for him to communicate she's unwanted, and he knows it. shit dude the guy can't look her in the eyes for longer than 5 seconds.

like come on. munkustrap's running after old deuteronomy and the rest of the older/less agile cats so much in this goddamn film he might as well be Munkustrap the Mobility Aid Cat. man knows what he wants in life and that's going on as many walks with senior citizens hanging off his arm as physically possible and neither god nor the heaviside layer will stand in his way.

his responsibility's a whole different thing, though. look at the lad puffing up when grizabella shows up. that's a guard he uses against perceived threats like macavity and it's well and warranted then, but what in the name of ye olde cat gods is the old lady gonna do? garbage stink them all to death? it's performative as hell on purpose. both of them know she's not gonna jump him and he doesn't need to protect himself or his fellow cats from her physically.

in the macavity scares, odd as it might look on a person, The MunkuStance™ is a genuine threat. he's up above everyone else or he's one of the few cats on the stage, he's spreading himself out to look bigger, he HISSES lmao.

look at the lad. hissssss lmao i love him.

not only is he saying i won't hesitate bitch he's also establishing himself as The Guy You Fight. if you're an outsider looking in, you're probably not gonna notice Mr Mistoffelees Scampering Through The Pipes Again, but you sure as hell are gonna see the Snarling Tabby Fresh From Hell hopping around in the middle of the stage with his legs 16 kilometers apart at all times. and okay, doing that for the entire musical sure is a Choice, but it's a Character Choice, and mr michael gruber the man you are. the star that you are. i want to send him flowers and chocolate and a card. i would greatly like to do that.

with grizabella though? jesus christ she's about as threatening as a patchy sock. it's not even his first instinct to go Tall Big Puffy when he's trailing after her because there's genuinely nothing to defend against there.

he just sort of slowly stands into it as though he's forgotten he was supposed to be Protecting for a second. the stance, the threat, all that's only there to set a dynamic. it's there to say you're not one of us, we don't like you, please go away, but he's half-assing it so much it loses all its i won't hesitate bitch and turns into i have never hesitated so hard in my entire life. he still establishes himself as The Guy You Fight, but it's obvious grizabella isn't about to fight anyone, so now he's just The Guy She's Staring In Incredulous Longing At, and he can't even hold her gaze for long enough to pretend it's not getting to him because at his core he's not a bad person and he knows that all this is kind of a Dick Move.

this is what makes munkustrap so dummy god tier as a character to me. he may wish he could help grizabella. hell he may even want her back, if not as openly as old deuteronomy does. when all the cats scuttle away and turn their backs to grizabella before memory reprise, munkustrap never even fucking bothers ?? like he's straight up just watching her, and then later watching old deuteronomy watch her like with the most somber wee eyebrows up so can we finally do something about this expression i've ever seen on a performer lmao.

but that means nothing without the approval of the entire tribe! absolutely nothing! because munkustrap, in that regard, is exactly like old deuteronomy: what he wants comes second to what the jellicles want. it's harder to see in him because old deuteronomy is mostly up on the tire being cat jesus and munkustrap mingles with the rest of the ensemble way more, but it's really obvious when you look. they defer to his leadership, but he defers to their collective decisions.

he moves mistoffelees away from grizabella (just like the rest of the older cats) because mistoffelees doesn't know any better and grizabella is untouchable, but then he stalls and waits when demeter reaches out to her. like, i'm pretty sure he would've just let her touch grizabella right then and there. had demeter been a little less aware of the fact that this was the first 30 minutes of the musical, i'm pretty sure she would've just taken grizabella back in right then and there and memory wouldn't have even been necessary. munkustrap sure wasn't about to do shit about it.

he's actively leaning back to give her space!! (i know logistically that it's mr michael giving an opening for ms aeva to execute her Conflicted Scuttle Away but munkustrap is still leaning back however you put it so i'm right automatically. haw yee)

i'm fascinated by it specifically because this way it's almost as though munkustrap is an extension of the jellicle collective, if that makes sense. obviously he's the narrator so we can't give him a complex emotional storyline if we want to keep the aryas in single digits, but in turn this means that now he's a character who chooses to forgo his own feelings in favour of those of his community, and that's just, man, that's just. man. ca(s)t of all time for real. a guardian and a weapon and a storyteller and a teacher and not one of those for his own sake. Man.

tl;dr, old deuteronomy can be hella proud of his kid, and i can eventually stop crying. also here are the gifs of him finally getting to comfort grizabella a little. experience emotions with me.

unfortunately i have similar (if slightly less rambling) thoughts on tugger and why he's constantly being such a massive cunt to grizabella lmao. if you guys are unfortunate enough i may subject myself to the giffing and writing of that post too. toodlepip ✌️

#jellicle cats #cats 1998 #cats the musical #munkustrap #grizabella #cilly.txt #because lets be honest this isnt much in terms of art or writing lmao #woe. long post be upon ye #but tumblr usually shortens these one these days anyway

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cherrypikkins · 10 months

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FE3H OC: Kitt Burgess - Support Conversations and Artwork

From an earlier poll, I wrote support conversations for the top three characters with my FE3H OC, Kitt (they/them). I also did some semi-related artwork. :3

More reading below the cut!

Hapi – Support Level C

Scene: Forest

Kitt: That was a close call. Way too close for my liking. You're not hurt anywhere, are you?

Hapi: I'm fine. Also, I could have handled it on my own without you butting in.

Kitt: I...suppose? Though with a Demonic Beast this huge, I'd rather not take any chances. What happened, by the way?

Hapi: What do you think happened? I was in a bad mood and sighed before I could stop myself. I do that, okay? Sometimes I can't help myself, so spare me your judgment.

Kitt: Right. Okay. That's what I suspected, but I thought I'd ask you first before jumping to any conclusions. No judgment here, I promise.

Kitt: Anyway. Since it doesn't look like you're hurt, I'll just run along and leave you be.

Hapi: Um, hello? Monastery is that way.

Kitt: I... know that? I still have a patrol to finish. But I'll head back once I'm done.

Hapi: Don't you have a report to write up? On what just happened?

Kitt: You want me to report you? That would be giving the Church free ammunition against you. Is that what you want?

Hapi: No, but that's what the Knights of Seiros do, isn't it? Keep an eye on troublesome kids like me and tattle to the Church when stuff like this goes down?

Kitt: Ha. Do I look like one of the Knights to you? That's a little worrisome.

Kitt: I'll just tell Seteth that I took care of a stray Demonic Beast and leave it at that. I'm the only one who knows you were ever here, and I'm happy to keep it that way.

Kitt: Or do you care that much about the rules?

Hapi: Heh. Not if you don't.

Kitt: I thought not.

Kitt: Although, if one of the Knights gets nosy and finds you here, nothing I say will stop them from jumping to their own conclusions. So, better run along now.

Hapi: Wait. Kitty-Cat. I'm sorry I barked at you just now. You probably figured, but I haven't had the best experience with the Knights or the Church.

Hapi: I guess I thought you were just another one of their lackeys.

Kitt: Ha. That's what I get for answering their every beck and call. I'm just trying to put out my best behavior, but Goddess knows they probably have a massive report written up on me somewhere.

Hapi: Huh. So they're keeping an eye on you too, then? They really are the worst. What sort of dirt do they have on you, anyway?

Kitt: I'm not going to tell you.

Hapi: Oh, don't worry. I wasn't expecting you to come out with it. Just thought I'd try my luck.

Hapi: Anyway, thanks for saving my skin. At least I know you'll be somewhere in the neighborhood in case something like this ever happens again. Which, I'm sure it will.

Kitt: Of course. Just come running to me and I'll take care of it.

Felix – Support Level C

Scene: Training Grounds

Felix: Hey, you.

Kitt: Me?

Felix: You skipped out on training today. Again.

Kitt: Huh. So you spotted me. I was hoping to be extra careful that time.

Felix: If you're not here to train, why are you even here? All you do is waste everyone's time, mine included.

Kitt: I was just stopping by to fetch my things. I'll be out of your hair in a second.

Felix: You're looking for your knife, right? I have it here, you know. You left it behind while sneaking off earlier.

Kitt: ...So I did. May I please have it back?

Felix: They say you can dispatch a Demonic Beast with ease, sometimes even a whole nest of them, without anyone helping you. Is that the truth?

Kitt: A whole nest of Demonic Beasts? That's a bit of an exaggeration, don't you think?

Felix: That's what I thought at first. But I've seen you fight before. Why does it seem like you're always holding back.

Kitt: Not sure I understand what you're talking about.

Felix: There you go, with that act of yours. It's like you're afraid of something.

Felix: What's wrong? Is it beneath a slayer of beasts to fight against ordinary people? Or are you trying to endear yourself to others by pretending to be weak?

Kitt: If I was trying to endear myself to you, Felix, I would have gone for a different approach.

Felix: I'll say. Your attitude is really getting on my nerves, and you're not doing anyone any favors here. This is a military academy. Not a playground.

Felix: So instead of trying to fool me, and failing miserably, why don't you show me some of that incredible power I've heard people talk about?

Kitt: ...

Kitt: Because you're not ready.

Felix: Excuse me? What is that supposed to mean?

Kitt: I'm not certain you want to know.

Kitt: May I have my knife back, Felix?

Felix: Hmph. Take it and go, already. I've wasted enough time with you.

Kitt: Thank you. Maybe one day I'll let you see what fighting a monster is like.

Kitt exits.

Felix: ... And here I thought the Boar was terrifying.

Claude – Support Level C

Scene: Library

Claude: Hey, Kitt! Perfect timing. There's something I've been wanting to ask you. If you don't mind me prying a little, that is.

Kitt: -sigh- Let me guess. This is the part where you bombard me with personal and invasive questions about my life history, correct?

Claude: Well, I wouldn't have put it quite like that...

Kitt: No need to dance around it, Claude, I've seen that look of yours. So do your worst and let's get this over with.

Claude: Cutting right to the chase, are we? Fine by me. Let's start with the basics.

Claude: You were born in a remote village in the southern part of the Oghma mountains, correct? Does that... make you Imperial by birth?

Kitt: Geographically speaking, yes. But there are a handful of remote communities scattered across Fodlan that neither the Empire, the Kingdom, nor the Alliance bother to keep tabs on.

Kitt: Mainly because we aren't important from an economic or militaristic standpoint.

Kitt: My village is - was - one such settlement. We didn't have ties to any of the ruling powers, and we rarely ever dealt with the outside world, unless it was with the Church. With some exceptions.

Claude: Okay. That I can understand, except for one small detail. I'm pretty sure I've asked everyone up and down the monastery. Why does it seem like no one has ever heard of your village?

Kitt: If you're caught up on recent history, you should know that my village doesn't exist anymore. It was wiped out by Demonic Beasts. Things like that happen all the time. Surely you and the others must have heard.

Claude: Well...yeah. But that's what makes the whole thing so bizarre.

Claude: If it was wiped out a few years ago, there has to be a record somewhere. As you say, things like that happen every so often, and it's not exactly secret knowledge when they do.

Claude: But I've searched just about everywhere in this library, and I haven't found anything written in the past decade about a village in the Oghma Mountains that was destroyed by monsters. Let alone one with a sole survivor.

Kitt: I'm not sure I'd call myself a 'sole survivor'. ...I mean, there could have been others, but the Knights never bothered to confirm it.

Claude: Is that so? For a disaster like that, you'd think they'd keep some kind of documentation. ...Unless the documents are missing, somehow. Do you think they were confiscated by the Church for some reason?

Kitt: I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised. Books disappear from this library all the time at the behest of the Church.

Claude: But these aren't just books written by some random dissident. These are recent historical records. Without them, it's like your village never existed in the first place! Doesn't that bother you?

Kitt: It's clearly bothering you, though I can't understand why. Exactly how far are you willing to go just to satisfy that curiosity of yours?

Claude: Well for starters, I could ask you the name of your village. It's just a name, but you'd be giving me a lead, at the very least.

Kitt: Perhaps. But that's dangerous knowledge you're chasing after. I'd rather not.

Claude: Hey, hold on a second. You said I was allowed to ask you 'personal and invasive' questions about your life history.

Kitt: True. But I never promised that I would answer them fully, honestly, or at all. The Church prefers that I keep my mouth shut, and ... it's better that I play by their rules.

Kitt: I'm sorry, Claude.

Claude: Right, well. It's not like I've done much to earn your trust. So, I don't blame you for playing it safe, especially when the Church is involved.

Claude: I guess that means you don't know the whole truth of what happened either.

Kitt: No. But I don't let it bother me. Everything about my village ... well, it's all ancient history now.

Kitt: ...Good luck with your research, though. Do let me know if you find out anything new.

Kitt leaves

Claude: Huh? I mean... For sure. I'll keep you updated.

Claude: Ancient history, huh...? Not bad for a lead.

#fe3h #fire emblem three houses #fe3h oc #felix hugo fraldarius #claude von riegan #fe3h hapi #fe3h art #cw body horror

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moni-logues · 9 months

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Kintsugi 8

Pairing: Yoongi x reader

Genre: strangers-to-friends-to-lovers, non-idol!au, angst, smut, eventual fluff

Summary: In a fit of spiteful, post-break-up self-improvement, you sign up to a baking class. Yoongi, in a bid to appease his demanding girlfriend, signs up, too. Determined to make him your friend, you end up with more than you ever imagined.

Word count: 9.4k

Content: Yoongi POV!!, death (Yoongi's granddad), yet more talk about suicide

A/N: un-beta'd!! honestly wanted to call this 'Nostalgia' (based entirely on the Greek, nostos, return, algia, pain) but like, nostalgia is an actual English word now that doesn't really mean that so I couldn't, but them's the vibes!!!

Chapter Seven | Masterlist | Chapter Nine

Chapter Eight – Nostos

You liked Friday nights at Yoongi’s. For one thing, he was, by far and away, a better cook than you were and food always tasted better when you didn’t have to cook it. There was also the cat (though she did spend most of her time curled up on his bed, ignoring everyone and everything). Somewhere around third was Yoongi himself.

He cleared his throat and put his spoon down.

“I think I have to cancel dinners, by the way.”

“Oh-” you clutched your invisible pearls with a fake gasp and a mouth full of rice, “are you friend-breaking up with me?”

It was a joke as you said it, but as soon as you heard the words and paired them with Yoongi’s quietness—different from his usual kind—and the way he was fidgeting, you felt a prick of anxiety.

“I’m going back to Daegu.”

“Like, moving?”

You quickly swallowed your mouthful before all the food turned to ash. Yoongi couldn’t leave Seoul; he wouldn’t. Couldn’t. No-

He shook his head.

“My grandfather had a fall. My dad called. Said I should go back there.”

“Oh shit.”

He shrugged. You reached out and placed your hand over his; he looked at them, your hand and his, for a moment, then he shrugged again and shook his head.

“It’s alright. I haven’t been back for a while so it’s probably overdue anyway.”

“How long will you be there for?”

Yet another shrug.

“Not sure yet. Depends what happens to my grandfather, I suppose. My dad didn’t say much – never does – so I’m not entirely sure what I’ll be greeted with when I get down there but I’ll stay until he’s back on his feet. No idea how long that will be.”

You said nothing. You said nothing because you were not going to actually say any of the things that you were thinking; things like ‘do you have to go?’, ‘can’t you just stay?’, and ‘please don’t leave’. You knew he had to go; you knew that you wouldn’t really have wanted him to stay because who stays when their father calls and tells them that his father is in hospital and they need your help? No one good. You knew, also, that you could survive without him, that you didn’t need him to keep you afloat or anything like that. You just wanted him around. And that wasn’t enough to make you ask him to stay when he had to go.

“Well, I hope he’s ok,” you offered instead. “Do you have to take time off work?”

“No, I can work from home. For a while at least. I don’t know if they’ll put a time limit on it or just let me keep going.”

You didn’t like this. All this uncertainty, the indefiniteness of his absence. Some things take a long time to recover from; he could be gone for months. You shivered, even in the warmth of Yoongi’s apartment, with a stomach full of hot stew.

“What about Cherry?”

Yoongi was already eating again, the disquiet that had hung over him dispelled now that he’d spat it out, said the thing he had obviously been harbouring uncomfortably all evening.

“Oh, Namjoon’s going to look after her,” he answered. “She has an automatic feeder and water bowl, so she’ll mostly be taken care of anyway but he said he’ll come over and hang out with her.”

“Can I?”

“Can you what?”

“Can I come and hang out with Cherry, too?”

Yoongi looked surprised, then amused, and then he got that smile on his face that said he was going to indulge you in whatever stupid thing you were talking about now.

“Yeah, if you want. I can hardly stop you; you know the codes.”

“How many times do I have to tell you that you can change them?”

He rolled his eyes with a grin.

“Yeah but then I’d have to tell everyone else the new ones... It’s too much bother.”

“Hear that, Cherry?” you called to the bedroom. “You and I are going to be best fucking friends! Just you wait!”

“Are you threatening my cat?”

You threw a napkin at him.

You stared at your phone. Your still, silent phone.

“You know a watched pot never boils, princess. Your boyfriend isn’t going to call if you just stare at it.”

“He’s not my fucking boyfriend,” you snapped back, more viciously than you’d intended. “I thought you’d stopped making those jokes.”

Taehyung just shrugged.

“You seem very het up about not hearing from him, that’s all. You certainly never miss my contact that much.”

“As if I would ever go that long without your contact. I can barely get away from you.”

“As if you would have it any other way.”

You were crabby. Out of sorts. Yoongi wasn’t great at keeping in touch over the phone—not even at the best of times and this was certainly not that. You had exercised what you thought was extreme restraint, waiting until he had replied before texting him again (most of the time...), not wanting to bug him while he was with his family, going through something.

You weren’t one hundred percent sure what exactly it was they were going through because Yoongi’s updates were sparse on detail (like father, like son, apparently), but it was looking likely that you wouldn’t be seeing him again before the end of the year so it couldn’t have been good. It made you sad, that you wouldn’t see him over Christmas, that he had disappeared as the winter had arrived. Did the cold suit Yoongi? Did his cheeks get flushed and his nose turn pink? Did he like the cold weather? The dark and cosy nights?

You supposed that that was it. That was what was making you miss him all the more: the cosiness of winter is a lot less cosy when you are spending it by yourself. Taehyung was there, sure, but it wasn’t the same. Yoongi was yours. You and he had your own little club; you were dark and twisty. Now you had to be dark and twisty all on your own. And so did he, miles and miles away. You hoped he wasn’t getting too dark and twisty, that things weren’t getting capital-B Bad down there, that his family were supporting him.

You still didn’t know much about them, about his relationship with them. Yoongi played all his cards close to his chest, but these were on lockdown. You hadn’t known his grandparents were still alive. You weren’t sure exactly how many of them were. You hadn’t pushed him on it. It hadn't seemed to matter much before, though it certainly did now and you wished you had asked when you’d had the chance.

It was less than 200 miles—not far, not really. You could easily get there and back in a day. But it stretched out long in front of you, this distance. Maybe it was healthy. Or rather, maybe it was unhealthy, your attachment to him. Maybe this would do you good, do your friendship good. It was just a break. Not even really a break—he was still at the other end of a phone. You’d spent so much time and effort getting to a place where you felt self-sufficient, independent, capable; if you couldn’t be those things without holding Yoongi’s hand, were you those things at all?

You sighed and put your phone in your bag; it was easier not to think about it if it were out of sight. If only the same could be said of people.

It was weeks before you made your first visit to Yoongi’s almost empty apartment. Regardless of what you had said, it didn’t feel right to go there without him, to be in his space unsupervised. The thought of it made you miss him more, at first, but then he was away for longer and longer and you could no longer remember what his apartment smelt like. So you went.

You opened the door and shucked off your shoes and jumped half a mile in the air when you looked up to see a tall, dark, and handsome stranger, looking at you with confusion writ large across his face.

You laughed nervously, a relieved, breathy chuckle and you knew who it was immediately. You pointed at him.

“Namjoon?”

“Uh, yeah?” More confused than before. “You... are?”

“Oh!”

You introduced yourself, surprised that Yoongi hadn’t let him know you might be coming over (or maybe he just hadn’t believed that you would go). Namjoon responded to your name with a long, knowing ‘ah’.

“What is ‘ahhh’? What does ‘ahhh’ mean?”

Namjoon’s dimples made craters in his cheeks as he grinned widely.

“Nothing! Honestly, nothing; Yoongi has told me about you, obviously. Wasn’t expecting to see you.”

You didn’t believe him, but you did believe he meant well. He had a kind face, you thought, and he was looking after Yoongi’s cat on a potentially indefinite basis, so that gained him marks, too.

At the sound of voices, Cherry had skittered, yowling, towards you, stopping with a skid in front of you and meowing plaintively. You crouched down and held out a hand to you, but she merely continued meowing.

“Wow, she must like you; for me, she usually just disappears,” Namjoon said. “I think she hears people and thinks it might be Yoongi and she’s disappointed when it’s not. I think she misses him.”

You looked up at Namjoon, aghast.

“How can you just say that?! You’re going to break my whole, entire heart! Oh god, I’m going to cry!”

You really almost were. You turned back to Cherry, who was sitting looking sadly at you, and scratched her head lightly. Namjoon chuckled.

“Sorry.”

There was a pregnant pause.

“I guess you miss him, too, huh?”

“Well, yeah, of course. But I do accept that Cherry has the greater claim to grief.”

You stood and smoothed your trousers out with lightly sweaty palms. You didn’t usually feel this awkward around new people, but this was Yoongi’s person and you were in Yoongi’s place and he wasn’t there. You followed after Namjoon as he padded back into the living room, Cherry slinking softly behind. He offered you a drink and you hadn’t really intended to stay that long but it felt rude refusing. You made polite small talk and drank your drink quickly.

“Well,” you began, putting your empty glass on the coffee table. “I came to hang out with Cherry and she has spent the whole time lying on Yoongi’s bed, so I guess I might as well go.”

Namjoon chuckled and moved to stand in view of Yoongi’s bedroom.

“Yeah,” he replied. “Yoongi left some laundry and I’ve been switching it out for her, so she always has something that smells like him, but I’m a little worried I’ll run out at this rate.”

You stopped in your tracks.

“Namjoon! What did I say about making me cry?!”

You carried on until you, too, could see into his bedroom and there she was, curled up on a black T-shirt. Coming here was supposed to be comforting, a Yoongi booster, something to tide you over until he could come back, but now you missed him more than ever.

Namjoon flung an arm around your shoulder and pulled you off-balance.

“He’ll be back!”

You couldn’t help falling into his side, letting your head drop.

“Yeah, not soon enough.”

[09:27] You: Merry christmas, bambino!!!

[09:27] You: I hope you are able to have a nice day

[09:28] You: Remember to eat, drink, and BE MERRY!!!

[09:28] You: I miss you!!!

[10:48] Yoongi: Merry Christmas :) I hope you have a good day, too.

[21:20] Yoongi: I miss you, too

You were in the supermarket with your mum and sister; they had sent you to find potato starch but instead, you found yourself staring blindly at a wall of breakfast cereals. Your mind was elsewhere and when you first heard your name being called, you assumed it was your family, about to chastise you for not being able to get even one thing right. Upon turning around, however, you saw a different familiar face. Chanmi, whom you met in your cooking classes, who also took the baking classes just like you did. She was newly married and wanted to stop her mother-in-law despairing over her lack of skill in the kitchen. If that hadn’t worked, you thought, the promise of a grandchild certainly would.

“Hi!” she cried, stopping her trolley nexct to you. “How have you been?! It’s been so long!”

“Yeah, it really has! Nine months, by the looks of it?”

You laughed; she had barely been showing at the end of the classes and now, there was absolutely no hiding that she was very great with child.

“Ugh, I know, I’m huge! She was due on Christmas day, actually; thank god that didn’t happen. I would not have wanted to spend all of Christmas in labour.”

“Well, sure, but I’m not sure I’d want to spend all of any day in labour, to be honest. I don’t envy you.”

“I’m in denial,” she said with a wave of her hand. “I know it has to happen but I’m just not thinking about it. I’m hoping she will hold out until New Year’s Eve, that way, when all the fireworks go off, I can scream as much as I like and no one will hear me.”

You laughed again; you hadn’t kept in touch with anyone from the classes (except Yoongi) but it was nice to see her and nice to see that her life was working out, that she was happy, that things were going just as they were planned.

“Well, you look amazing,” you told her. “Pregnancy suits you.”

“That’s so sweet of you. But how are you? How are you and, I’m so sorry, I’ve forgotten his name, your boyfriend?”

“Uh, I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Oh no, you broke up? I’m so sorry!”

You were confused. You didn’t know who she could be talking about. It wasn’t San. Might she have meant Sungbin? Had you told her about that? You were frowning, trying to puzzle it out in your head and Chanmi spoke again.

“I’m sorry; have I put my foot in it? I meant the guy in the baking classes with you? Is t-”

“Yoongi?!” you exclaimed with more volume than was entirely necessary.

“Yes! Yoongi, that was his name!-”

“Oh my god, no, he is not my boyfriend!”

“No?”

“No! We met in the baking class!”

It was Chanmi’s turn to lose control of her volume.

“WHAT?” Her mouth gaped in disbelief. “You must be joking.”

You shook your head.

“You met in the baking classes? We all thought you were a couple!”

“‘We all’? All of you thought we were together? Why?”

“I don’t know, you just seemed so close. You had chemistry. Then there were the couple of times he didn’t show up and you seemed so upset, we assumed you must have had a fight or something. I don’t know; you just... looked like a couple. Sorry.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” you replied, distracted now. “I just had no idea we looked like that.”

She had blown your mind. You were sure you had told people when you started the classes that you had just been broken up with – you couldn’t shut up about it! You told anyone who would listen and some people who wouldn’t. She must have known. So how did Yoongi fit into that? Did she just forget?

You and Yoongi? Taehyung had been making the same comments, albeit as jokes, for as long as you had known Yoongi and you hadn’t taken a single one of them seriously. And yeah, ok, you did sleep together, but that was a one-time thing, an aberration. Did you really look like a couple? Seem like a couple? Behave like a couple?

The thought plagued you for the rest of the day and into the next day, too. Your friendship with Yoongi was special, yes. It was different from your friendship with Taehyung, or any of the friendships you’d had before, yes. But it was still a friendship, wasn’t it? Just a friendship. You played films in your head, imagining the two of you in baking class, what you might have looked like to others. You played them again and again, from different angles, trying to see through different eyes.

All of Taehyung’s jokes rattled around in your brain; he had just been being stupid and annoying. He wasn’t making a point. You didn’t think he was making a point anyway. He hadn’t been serious, at least. He didn’t actually think Yoongi should be your boyfriend. You were sure. You opened your phone and thought about texting him. Then you thought twice. You thought about texting Yoongi, almost as a test to prove that you were just friends. Then you thought twice because he had bigger issues to deal with. You scrolled your short list of contacts and found one that might help.

[13:45] You: Hey Taem! You remember Yoongi who I brought to Teddy’s Halloween party?

[13:49] Taem: sure, what about him?

[13:50] You: Did you think we were a couple?

[13:51] Taem: when I first saw you and you introduced me, yeah, I thought you might be. Why?

[13:51] You: do you think we COULD be a couple?

[13:53] Taem: why not? if that’s what you want

[13:57] You: no, I mean... did we seem like a couple? Like, do you think we like each other? If I’d said he was my boyfriend, would you have believed me?

[13:58] Taem: I don’t know, I mean.. Sure? I’d have believed you if you said he was your boyfriend, why wouldn’t I? What’s going on?

[14:02] You: nothing, sorry, it’s nothing.

[14:02] You: thank you

[14:09] You: I’m just confused I think

With Yoongi away, you decided the best thing for it was to just shove all of that into a bag and shove that bag to the very back of your mind. You were friends. That’s all. If that ever changed, well, then you could get the bag back out and have a look at it and see what you thought. If.

[00:00] You: HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[00:00] You: STILL MISS YOU!!!! I HOPE YOU ARE HAING FUN!!

[00:01] You: HavE A DRINK OR LOTS N MEEE1!

[00:53] Yoongi: my grandfather died

[00:54] You: FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCckkkkkkkk

[04:51] You: are you ok? Shit, babe, I’m so sorry

[04:51] You: what a fucking terrible way to start the year

[04:53] Yoongi: yeah

[04:53] Yoongi: not exactly unexpected but not the best timing

[04:53] Yoongi: I guess it never is though

[04:54] You: 🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂

[04:55] You: let me know if I can do anything

[04:56] Yoongi: actually I would really like a hug

[04:56] You: 🏃🏃🏃 on my way

Your mother had always taught you not to make decisions after 9pm or on an empty stomach. You hadn’t eaten since 8pm the previous night, nor had you slept, so 5am technically counted as after 9pm. Nevertheless, you were making a decision.

You rolled into a taxi and stumbled into your apartment. You grabbed an overnight bag and threw in all the necessary items and then a random selection of clothing (whatever was closest and whatever was clean). The you taxi’d to the intercity bus station and got on the first bus to Daegu.

It was a three-hour ride and you slept through the whole thing, which was just as well because, if you’d been conscious, you might have had time to second-guess this decision, to think better of it, to think it through at all. The driver politely nudged you awake at the Daegu bus terminal and you blinked, bleary-eyed and hungover, dry-mouthed and dry-eyed. You shuffled off the bus with your bag over your shoulder and headed straight to A Twosome Place where you downed one coffee and then another and ate three pastries.

It didn’t feel right to just show up at Yoongi’s parents’ house in your present state (not to mention that you also had no idea where it was). You brushed your hair and your teeth in the terminal bathroom and washed your face, changed out of your New Year’s party outfit. There was then nothing else to do without getting in touch with Yoongi; you stood in the concourse, feeling a little foolish.

Yoongi sat heavily in the chair at his parents’ dining table and sighed. It was littered with documents: letters, insurance paperwork, hospital paperwork, bank statements, pension statements, certificates for home ownership, car ownership, some appliance manuals for god knew what reason. Somehow, it had become his job to sort through them. To sort through everything. To organise a funeral, as if he had even the faintest idea how to do that. He couldn’t blame his father- he wasn’t blaming anyone; he just didn’t know how it ended up at his door.

He rubbed his eyes and picked up a piece of paper; he didn’t expect any government offices to be open on new year’s day so he wasn’t entirely sure what he was supposed to be achieving, but he could try.

He dropped his head into his hands. It wasn’t as if he didn’t ever think about death, but it was different when it wasn’t his own, when it wasn’t hypothetical, when it was his own family falling apart around him because of it. He looked down at the bank statements in front of him, the pension claimed, the savings dwindling. It made him feel sick. It churned in his guts, this feeling like tar in his blood. He knew he hadn’t slept; he was overtired; he was emotional; it was a difficult time; but he also looked at all this paperwork and thought about how much better off his family would be if he were dead.

He could sort all this out beforehand, get everything in order. Then he could die and everything would come to his parents. They would be set. No need to wait on him sending money each month; no need to work; they’d be taken care of. His sister, too, of course he’d provide for her. But then that would be it. There would be no obligation, no guilt, no awkwardness between him and his family.

He took a deep breath. He had to take a break, but how, when he was the only person who would get this stuff done?

His phone vibrated on the table next to him and he almost ignored it, but then he saw your name on the notification and it was in his hand in an instant.

[11:02] You: I'm here

Yoongi rubbed his eyes. He looked back at previous messages and still didn’t understand what you were saying. He couldn’t believe you were here, as in, in Daegu. You were joking when you’d said you were on your way. He knew that, even though he hadn’t been joking when he said he wanted a hug. You must have meant that message for someone else.

He put his phone back on the table, content to leave your message unanswered, but then he thought that you might not notice you sent it to the wrong person. He should reply. He looked at the blinking cursor and his mind was blank. He should ask something like, ‘did you mean to send that to me?’ or tell you that ‘I think you meant to send this to someone else’, but he didn’t have it in him. He didn’t want to know what you were doing, who you were meeting. His cup already overflowed with misery, loneliness, a dash of despair; he couldn’t miss you. Rather, he couldn’t engage with the fact that he did.

There was guilt there, too. He knew he’d been a little quiet, a little distant with you. It was only half intentional. He didn’t want to know what he was missing, didn’t want to acknowledge his life back in Seoul; it made it so much harder to be here, amongst this, being thrown back in time only to find you no longer belonged—though part of him felt like he never did.

His absence was all around him: in this house he bought but had never visited, in this neighbourhood he had never lived in, these streets he had never driven down. Daegu was a different place now; his family home wasn’t his family home anymore because it had been falling down around them until he bought them a new one, this one, new and bigger with all the mod-cons they could have asked for. He was sleeping in the spare bedroom – a spare bedroom. When he had last lived in this city, there weren’t enough bedrooms to go around and now they had extras.

All Yoongi could see was the places where he should have fit in but didn’t. The world was so much bigger now than it had been but there still wasn’t a place for him here.

He kept you, the thought of you, like a secret, and then he let it eat at him at night, when he lay in the spare bed and couldn’t sleep. He looked at his phone, the screen lighting up his face in the dark, and waited for you to message. Occasionally you did. Mostly you didn’t. He knew that was his fault, too; he hadn’t replied so why would you? But he looked all the same; he felt sad and pathetic when he checked your instagram again, unable to decide if he wanted you to have posted or if he wanted you not to have; the twist in his guts was sharp and long-lasting.

Right at that moment, he knew you’d be better off without him, too. But first he at least had to text you back.

[11:14] Yoongi: what?

[11:14] You:

Yoongi couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He knew that view; he knew that building; he knew where that was but you weren’t serious. This was a weird joke; it had to be.

[11:17] Yoongi: you’re in Daegu?

[11:17] You: new year’s day special: one hug, same day delivery for the low price of Nothing, It’s Absolutely Free

With his phone in both hands, he knocked his forehead against it, his eyes squeezed shut against the sting of tears, his jaw clenched. His heart was hiccuping in his chest. So you had come. You had come to Daegu. Because he had said he wanted a hug. You had come almost 200 miles. To see him.

He took in a deep breath, the biggest lungful he could manage, and then he blew it sharply out again.

[11:25] Yoongi: I’ll come and pick you up. Give me twenty minutes or so

[11:25] You: no need!

[11:25] You: I can get a taxi!

[11:25] You: I just need your address

Yoongi didn’t reply. He didn’t read your messages because he was already putting his phone in his pocket and walking towards the door.

He took a moment, once he was sitting in his car, to take another deep breath. This felt complicated and confusing and he was overwhelmed. He wanted to sit in a dark, quiet room. He wanted to get in his car, pick you up, and just keep driving. All the way to the coast maybe.

Then he thought about the beach and that day and he changed his mind. To the north-east perhaps. The forested hills of the Taebaek mountains could hide you both for a while. That might be nice. Everything here felt like too much but the trees and the hills and the coastline, that he thought he could manage.

He sighed and turned on the ignition, pulling smoothly into the road on his way to you.

You tapped your phone nervously. Yoongi hadn’t responded at all. You couldn’t go anywhere without some kind of confirmation from him: that he was coming or that he wasn’t. Your messages were unread. There was nothing you could do but wait. Wait and feel a little bit sicker with every minute that passed; your nerves were starting to get the better of you. Your stomach sank lower and your heart fell with it. You should not have come, you saw that now. What Yoongi didn’t need right now was a house guest. What Yoongi didn’t need was someone else to consider, to take into account; what Yoongi didn’t need was you, once again, inserting yourself into his (someone else’s) business. Like you always did.

It wasn’t about you. It shouldn’t have been about you, but there you were, hungover and probably still stinking of booze, making Yoongi leave his grieving family to come and pick you up. Making it about you. You groaned and put your head in your hands, in half a mind to just get on the next bus back to Seoul.

And all that was not to mention the bag of feelings you had shoved to the back of your mind. You didn’t know what to expect when you saw Yoongi again. It felt mad to expect that anything would be different just because someone had confused the two of you for a couple; you didn’t know how that could have changed anything but you were scared that it had. Scared that this was a mistake and that you were going to make more, that you were going to ruin this, even without knowing how.

Your phone buzzed.

[11:57] Yoongi: I’m here. There’s a pick-up zone; I’m parked there.

The relief almost made you cry.

You jogged to the car park and spotted him immediately. You knocked on his window and made him get out of the car so you could hug him properly. Your chest felt tight and you closed your eyes, praying you wouldn’t cry, holding on to him as tightly as you possibly could. He held you just the same. Your heart swelled and broke at the same time. It was so good to be back with him and so bad for it to be in these circumstances.

“Are you ok?” you asked, your voice muffled in his scarf.

You felt him nod.

It was you who eventually pulled back and then an awkward silence fell between you.

“One hug!” you said. “Delivered as promised.”

“Yeah.” Yoongi attempted a chuckle and rubbed his neck. “I guess you can go back to Seoul now.”

“Oh, I- yeah, I mean, I can go back, if you want me to go back-”

“No. I mean, you don’t have to stay, if you don’t want.”

“Well I can stay, but I don’t want to be a nuisance-”

“You’re not.”

“Ok... Uh, so... I’ll stay then?”

Yoongi nodded and ducked back into the car.

You looked at him as he drove; he looked pale and tired and skinnier than he had been. He hadn’t been taking care of himself and you knew it was because he was too busy trying to take care of everyone else; that was who he was. But you were there now. You could be a care-taker, too. You might not have had the experience, but you wanted it. You were capable now. You didn’t have to be taken care of anymore, not like before, so it was time to pass it forward properly. That was your task here, that was all. This wasn’t about you, you repeated to yourself. Everything else can go back to the corner you shoved it in for now. It was so not the time.

Yoongi pulled up to a large house and parked on the road. There were three cars in the driveway. He took your bag and led you up to the door. He opened it silently and slipped off his shoes, not announcing his return or your arrival, but his mother called from somewhere else in the house.

“Yoongi! Where have you been?” Her voice was getting closer and she soon appeared in the hallway from a room to the left. “Oh, who’s this? Is this your girlfriend?”

Yoongi took a steeling breath.

“No, I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“You don’t? I thought she was a model?”

“No, we broke up months ago. I told you.”

“Oh, well who’s this?”

Yoongi introduced you and you put your best foot forward.

“It’s nice to meet you; I’m so sorry it’s under such circumstances. I’m sorry for your loss. I’m here to help in any way I can—put me to work!”

His mother was already distracted, looking to her right; you weren’t sure if she was listening.

“Could you put some tea on?” she asked, turning sharply to you.

Yoongi frowned and you could see him open his mouth, so you jumped in.

“Yeah of course! I’m sure Yoongi can help me find everything, right?”

You grabbed hold of his sleeve and gave it a light tug. He moved forward and led you to the kitchen.

It was expansive, with chrome fittings and granite worktops and a double-sink the size of your coffee table. It was bright and modern and so different from what you had expected. You realised that your expectations had been coloured by Yoongi’s childhood, that you were expecting them to still be poor, but of course, they weren’t. Yoongi had seen to that.

This was a beautiful house, with a large entry way and tiled floors and both a breakfast bar and a dining table. It was the sort of house you fantasised about growing up in as a kid. You wondered how Yoongi felt about it. All this comfort and convenience that he had bought his family. You hoped it made him proud, made him happy that he could do things like this for his family. He should be proud; this house was nothing short of a show-home. Nothing looked out of place, even now, with everything going on. There were no dishes in the sink, no plates or cups left on the sides, nothing lying around waiting to be put away.

Yoongi indicated which cupboards held what you needed and he filled the kettle. There wasn’t awkwardness between you anymore but there was something. He felt far away. You didn’t know how people dealt with grief, or even death—is it grief when it’s still so close?—and were lucky that you had never had to, but you felt ill-equipped now. Ill-equipped and self-conscious. Of course he wasn’t going to be alone; it wasn’t going to just be the two of you. That was obvious, but you had managed to forget it and you felt inhibited by the presence of his family, everywhere in this house, despite the almost clinical neatness of it. There was no Yoongi there. It wasn’t like his apartment at all.

You busied yourself with the tea and pushed him out of the way as he tried to do it for you.

“You don’t have to make tea, you know,” he said, quietly.

“I said I was here to help and if making tea helps, then I’ll make tea. It’s ok.”

The next few days were confusing and draining. You had put your foot down and insisted you would stay in a hotel, so as not to put them out; Yoongi had retaliated by putting his foot down and paying for a room in a far fancier hotel than any you would have picked. You tried to be of use, and if not of use, then at least out of the way. This meant you spent most of your time entertaining Yoongi’s niece and nephew; this was easier on the third day, when it snowed, and you made snow animals in the garden and pushed them on taboggans down the hill.

You didn’t see all that much of Yoongi; the only times you were alone was when he picked you up in the morning and dropped you back at night. You didn’t talk much—he didn’t. You, on the other hand, found that you couldn’t stop.

“Sorry, I can’t stop talking,” you said on Tuesday as he stopped at a traffic light. “I know I’m being annoying. I just can’t shut up; I feel like I haven’t spoken to you forever.”

“No, it's ok. I’m sorry I’m not talking more; I’m just tired.”

“As long as I’m not bothering you.”

“No. I like listening to you talk.”

“Ok, then. Good.”

The funeral took place on Friday; Yoongi explained that it might be more traditional than you were used to. You had never been to any funerals so you had no expectations anyway. You had been tasked with making all the food, for an undetermined number of guests that Yoongi couldn’t guess at and no one else would tell you. You cobbled together an outfit with things borrowed from his sister. You felt out of place. You didn’t feel like you had any right to be there when you went with them to his grandparents’ house, when you watched him and his dad and his uncles carry his grandfather’s coffin out of the grounds, when his father trod on the earth above his father, when his uncle spoke eloquently about what his life had been and meant.

You hadn’t expected to be moved. You had rather hoped that you wouldn’t be. You were there to be a pillar of strength and support but there was weeping all around you and sadness and grey skies full of snow and you sniffled quietly to yourself, letting your tears fall as gently as you could. A hand snuck into yours, ice-cold fingers pressing into your palm. You turned to look at Yoongi as he continued to stare straight ahead. You squeezed back.

When he cut the engine outside your hotel that night, he slumped in his seat with his head tipped back. He sighed.

“Why don’t you come up for a drink or something?” you offered.

You were exhausted, so you had no idea how he was hanging on. He was already shaking his head but you cut him off.

“Come on, just a quick one. You look done in, my love. You look like you could use one.”

He gave in with no further fight and drove around the back of the building to the car park.

You kicked off your shoes and Yoongi followed you in, sitting heavily down on the bed, staring at his shoes.

“Come on,” you said, pushing his jacket off his shoulders and loosening his tie. He let you do it, let you lift his arms to get them out of the sleeves, let you slip the tie from under the shirt collar. He watched you, thoughtless, as you knelt down in front of the mini bar and picked a little bottle of whiskey. You dumped it into a glass and handed it to him.

“Do you want ice? I can get ice,” you offered.

He shook his head and then tipped it back, downing the drink in one. He didn’t need ice. He needed at least six more of these so he could pass the fuck out. That scraped-out feeling rang in him, hollow, resounding, all his surfaces scratched and sticky with guilt and misery.

He leant his whole body backwards, flopping onto his back.

“You know I haven’t been back here since I left?”

“What, Daegu?”

“Mm.”

“Since you left at 18?”

“Yep.”

“Wow.”

“I know.”

“Not to see your sister’s kids?”

He closed his eyes. It brought a sour taste to his mouth, acidic and stringent and metallic.

“No,” he admitted. “I know. That makes me a horrible person.”

“No, it doesn’t. That’s a long time to be away, though.”

“Yeah.”

“Do you wish you’d come back earlier?”

“No.”

“I guess this isn’t the best time to come back, is it? Not a happy time. If you come back again later, it’ll be better.”

You joined him on the bed. You lay next to him and took his hand. It was warm. He could smell your perfume.

The sigh he heaved next could’ve rumbled the very earth. He knew you were giving him space, to breathe, to think, to gather his thoughts. You were a motor-mouth; that was the very first thing he had learnt about you. You talked all the time, but you always gave him time to think. You didn’t rush him or push him or even comment on his quietness, his hesitation.

He shook his head because he couldn’t think about you at this moment. He had just about managed to keep that door shut while you had been here because there was so much to do and so much to busy himself with, but now it was just the two of you and you were holding his hand and giving him space and he needed to fill it. With something.

With another sigh of resignation and an inhale to steel himself, he decided to say the other things he didn’t want to talk about.

“Coming back has reminded me why I left. I think the money was just an excuse; it gave me a legitimate reason to leave but I think I would have found a way out somehow. Any way. No matter what. Even in a body bag.”

“Babe...”

“We really had nothing, y’know? When I was growing up. We had nothing and I was so angry. I hated my parents so much because they couldn’t provide; they couldn’t be what parents were supposed to be. They didn’t do what parents were supposed to do. I was responsible for myself almost as soon as I started school. I was cooking dinner for the whole family every night before I was in high school. That’s not a kid’s role. Kids shouldn’t have to do that.

“On my drive down here, I felt it all again. The anger. The resentment. I had to pull over and stop for a while to calm down or else I’d have turned the car into oncoming traffic.”

He’d started so he had to finish but he needed another second. He wasn’t used to saying these things out loud. It made it easier that it was you. It made it harder that it was you.

“I suppose I'm a black sheep,” he said eventually. “I thought they would never forgive me for leaving, for doing what I wanted to do when they had no choices. I don’t know if they have. I’m not... I’m not really a part of it anymore and that’s my fault; I understand that I removed myself. I got away. I got out. I did what I wanted. Coming back here and facing that, facing them... I’ve been a coward. All this time I stayed away, it’s because I was scared to come back and see what they thought of me.”

“They love you.”

“No. I’m not sure they do.”

“Yoongi.”

You very rarely took that tone with him, the one that said you weren’t playing and he shouldn’t be either. He couldn’t even think of arguing with you at that moment. He changed the subject.

“Can I have another drink?” he asked.

You stood wordlessly and retrieved another little bottle, poured it again into his glass. He drank it in one as he had the first and you returned to his side. There was one thing he still really wanted to say, that was weighing heavily on his chest at that moment, but he knew you wouldn’t want to hear it, knew you would say he was wrong.

As he felt his eyelids droop and sleep begin to tug at him, he realised he had to get it out, before this moment passed and he wouldn’t be able to step into this territory again.

“I just really want to kill myself today.”

You turned on your side, curling into him, and pressed a kiss to his temple.

“I’m not going to let you,” you whispered.

“I know.”

Yoongi fell asleep quickly after that and you did not. You watched him sleep for a while, making sure he was still breathing, as if there were a chance he might just will himself dead. You, admittedly, didn’t know anything about his family but you couldn’t understand how he could suggest that they didn’t love him, that he was a black sheep, that he didn’t belong here. Their house, their cars, the things they had, the three jobs they didn’t have anymore... He hadn’t just given them things; he had given them freedom; he had given them security and stability. Not all people are good at showing gratitude or expressing themselves, but he had to know they were grateful. They had to be grateful, right?

The minutes ticked by and you were still watching him sleep. You resisted the urge to brush a strand of hair out of his face. You resisted the urge to trace his lips with your finger. You hadn’t had a chance to interrogate yourself, to notice what you were feeling until now. Now that he was asleep, his mouth just slightly ajar, his eyebrows pressed together, you could really look at him. You could really look inwards at yourself.

You didn’t want to ask yourself if you had overlooked him. You didn’t want to wonder what you might have been missing, not seeing, not noticing. It had been a tumultuous year and you were so proud of yourself for getting to where you were now; you didn’t want to find out you had still been getting something wrong.

Had you? Was it really wrong to think that you and Yoongi were just friends? What did he think?

It came back to you again, that thought. That thing that you had been trying to remind yourself of but also occasionally using as a weapon to beat yourself with: it’s not about you. All this time, it had been about you. You were recovering from a break-up, you were seeing someone, you were being broken-up with again, you you you you you. Where had Yoongi been in all this? Right by your side, of course, but where had he been in your consideration? He was recovering from a break-up, too. He had problems, too. He understood you and you had clung to that, sometimes for your very life. You felt your neediness begin to leak out your pores like oil, slick and staining and all over you. You could almost see it spill towards him, a contaminant, making you his problem, too, all your problems his, all your neediness his to carry.

You got off the bed and changed into your pyjamas; you washed your make-up off and brushed your teeth. You took your time so that you could be distracted and then you ran out of things to do. You looked at Yoongi, still passed out halfway down the bed, his shoes still on. You took them off for him; you undid his belt and pulled it through the loops; you considered him and wondered if you could pull him up the bed without waking him.

“What are you doing?” he mumbled, voice low and slurred with sleep as you grabbed him by the armpits and tried to pull him towards the head of the bed.

“Sorry! Sorry, I’m just trying to make you comfortable?”

You were standing over him, crouched on the pillow on his side of the bed, doing your best to let your weight do all the moving for you. Yoongi sat up and turned around to frown at you, his eyes narrow and the hair at the back of his head mussed. You moved out of the way and he shuffled himself backwards, lying back down with his head properly on the pillow. You settled next to him and he was still frowning at you.

“Sorry,” you repeated, an embarrassed giggle let slip.

Yoongi shrugged and turned on his side to face you.

“Is it ok if I stay here?” he asked, already closing his eyes again and getting comfortable.

“Duh.”

You woke earlier than usual and were unable to get back to sleep. What you did not want was more time alone with your thoughts. Definitely not time alone with your thoughts in bed next to Yoongi who was sleeping with a sweet pout on his face and giving you all kinds of confused feelings.

You picked up your phone and started looking at bus times back to Seoul. You didn’t know if Yoongi would be returning now, or soon, but it felt like the right time for you to leave. ‘Family emergenices’ only get you so much time off work and yours was running out. And you felt like you had to be in Seoul to think things through; that was where you life was; that was where your friendship with Yoongi was; you couldn’t make any conclusions away from home. It didn’t make sense.

Yoongi slept for a long time. You let him, because he had looked so tired and clearly needed the rest, but you were starting to feel claustrophobic in the room, claustrophobic in your determination to not think about things. You hated the thought of him waking up and thinking you’d left him, but you had to get out.

You scribbled a note, left it on your pillow and got the fuck out of there. The air was cold and fresh; even the wind, bitter and stinging, felt good. You took deep breaths and tried to follow the map on your phone to a café.

You reached it but it wasn’t open for another twenty minutes, which meant twenty more minutes in which you had nothing to do but think your thoughts. Desperate to get them out of you somehow, you did something you were almost certain you would regret.

[10:38] You: Teddy

[10:38] You: what if I have feelings for Yoongi?

[10:39] You: Do NOT call me

[10:39] You: I CANNOT talk about this

[10:39] You: I just,..

[10:39] You: I don’t know

[10:39] You: what if I do?

[10:45] Teddy 🐻: I don’t know what I can say if you don’t want to talk about it

[10:45] Teddy 🐻: but babygirl you are a catch and he’d be lucky to have you

[10:45] Teddy 🐻: don’t have a crisis rn. Come home and then you can have one, ok?

[10:45] Teddy 🐻: 😚😚😚

You sighed. You didn’t know what you were expecting him to say, or wanted him to say, but somehow, it wasn’t that.

You trudged back to the hotel with coffees in hand (one iced for Yoongi; one hot, but rapidly cooling, for you). Yoongi was half-pushed-up when you walked in, having been woken by the sound of the door. It made your stomach flip how small and cute he looked: still pouty, his face a little smushed from the pillow, his hair messy and on-end. He looked at you, trying to place himself, and then you saw his eyes flick to the coffee in your hand and alight there.

“Yes, I got one for you.”

He flipped onto his back with a satisfied groan and a long stretch.

“Thank you.”

You placed the cup onto the bedside table next to him and he took it immediately, pushing himself into a sitting position and leaning against the headboard. He took a long drink.

“This is good. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Um, do you need to let your family know where you are? Will they be worried?”

He shook his head, the quiet satisfaction slipping from it, a tight mask taking its place.

“No, they won’t. It’ll be fine.”

You didn’t want to argue with him. You changed the subject.

“How did you sleep?”

He nodded as he took another long draw of coffee through the straw.

“Good, actually.” Then he looked at his phone and grimaced. “Oh, late, too, haha.”

“I thought it would be better to let you sleep in, catch up a little. Should I have woken you?”

“No, no, it’s ok. The urgent work is done, I suppose.” He paused, still looking at his phone. “I guess this means I can leave?”

“I was planning to go back today, actually. I figured I’d get out of everyone’s hair-”

“You’re not in anyone’s hair.”

“Well, you know what I mean. I don’t want to overstay my welcome or make a nuisance of myself. I know I’m very good at inserting myself into other people’s business but even I have some sense of manners and propriety.”

There was a small pause as Yoongi continued to drink his coffee and stare straight ahead. Then he looked straight at you.

“I want you in my business. I like having you in my business.”

The nervous laugh that tried to bubble up from your throat got trapped there, and you choked, your cheeks flushing. You were the one who had to look away.

“Don’t encourage me, babe. You know I don’t need much!”

You forced your laugh, then, had to make it a joke. Yoongi’s sincerity was unpredictable and disarming at all times, but it was affecting you particularly strongly now.

“If you want to go, just let me know when and I’ll take you to the bus.”

You had opened your mouth to respond but he beat you to it.

“No, wait, you can come back with me. I’ll be driving anyway.”

“Today?”

He nodded.

“Are you sure? You don’t need to stay longer?”

He was resolute as he shook his head and drained the last of the coffee from his cup.

“That was quick.”

He grinned.

“Yeah, want to get another one? I have to go back to the house and clean up anyway, so we can stop on the way.”

“You go,” you answered. “I’ll pack and get sorted here. I’m sure you have stuff to sort out and want time to say your goodbyes and stuff.”

Yoongi shrugged and got out of bed.

He came back to pick you up later that afternoon. You were anxious at the prospect of three hours in the car with him; you were not skilled at keeping your thoughts and feelings to yourself, but he was the one person you really didn’t feel like you could talk to about this.

‘Hey, Yoongi, it’s possible that I’m discovering I have romantic feelings for you; what do you think about that?’

‘Hey, Yoongi, y’know how I said ages ago that I just wanted to be friends? What if I was wrong and I've actually changed my mind?’

‘Hey, Yoongi, quick question: do you think we should be together?’

Impossible.

“Are you ok?” he asked, somewhere around Chungju.

“Yeah, I’m fine! Are you ok?”

“Yeah. You’re just... quiet, that’s all.”

“Oh, no, uh, no I’m fine.”

“Sorry. I know it’s annoying to be told you’re being ‘quiet’; I get it all the time. Yeah, I am quiet sometimes, y’know? Leave me alone. But... You’re not quiet. Not usually.”

The weight of his words hit you because you knew what he meant, what he was referring to; you knew that you were at your quietest when you were at your worst. Or maybe that wasn’t what he was referring to, but it leapt into your mind all the same.

“I’m ok.”

You toyed with the idea of saying something, not the thing, but circling it, making the smallest inroads into that conversation. You thought about probing him about his family a little more, pushing him to say a bit more about it, to explain why he seemed to feel so bad about them. You wanted to know because you wanted to tell him he was wrong; you didn’t want him to feel excluded from his family, or unloved, or devalued, or unforgiven—even if it might possible be true. You would love, value, and forgive him enough for the lot of them.

“Do you think Cherry will be happy to see you?” you asked instead.

He smiled, a genuine, happy smile.

“She had better be.”

Chapter Seven | Masterlist | Chapter Nine tags: @chimmisbae, @idkjustlovingbts @miriamxsworld, @quarter-life-crisis2, @tarahardcore, @simp47koreancrackheads, @xyahrinx, @olyd, @diorh0seokie, @thelilbutifulthings

#yoongi x reader #yoongi angst #yoongi fic #bts x reader #bts angst #bts fic

133 notes · View notes

cookieswithay · 7 months

Text

🤖"Reign of Donnie 0!"💜 Part dos, the conclusion!

🔨Donnie x female reader🧪

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Hey peoples. Thank you all for waiting so long. Please enjoy this big conclusion. And once again, because everyone's adulting, there is a smidge of suggestive talk. Only a smidge, though! Pt 1

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• Day 25

• "Donnie, c'mon!"

• "Mr. Murakami gonna make us pizza themed ramen!"

• Raph called from outside. Donnie sighed. He couldn't think about pizza delicacies right now. Why do you want him to snuff out smaller threats!? Of course, it's a good idea but... He thought you wanted him home. He wants to be back at home with you.

• "D?"

• The oldest walked into his part of the tank. (A perfect replica of his lab)

• "Why the long face? We're going home in a few days."

• Donnie sighed dramatically and slammed his face on his desk.

• "Oh-ho, I know that sound of anguish."

• Leo's in on the convo now.

• "Someone's having trouble with the future missis."

• His twin grumbled. He's...right. Donnie lifted up his phone to show the voicemail.

• "She...thinks we should stay longer to squash anymore threats."

• The brothers looked at each other.

• "That's it?"

• They said. The softshell gasped.

• "That's it!?"

• He shot up from his rolly chair.

• "She is my peanut butter and I am her jelly, existing without each other isn't something we enjoy."

• "So her throwing away the golden opportunity to reunite, is hurting my feelings!"

• Quietness. Now supes embarrassed, he sighs and melts back into his seat. (Y'know like Spinel did.) Raph looked around and put his hand on younger brother's head.

• "Okay...good job on spilling your guts, buddy."

• Donnie tucked into his knees.

• "Aww, cheer up. It'll only be a few more days."

• "We can catch the other baddies then."

• Raph said, attempting to lighten the mood. But, all it was doing was giving D a headache. Literally, Raph's hand is heavy. Leo scoffed.

• "Uh, how? It took us months just to pinpoint these guys."

• "They're probably PLENTY more evil organizations in this country."

• Leo got shoved into a nearby shelf.

• "Leo, we're trying to make him feel better."

• The oldest snapped. The blue twin muttered 'I'm just being saying.' as he got up. That gave Raph a lightbulb.

• "I got it!"

• "Let's take over Japan!"

• The twins looked at each other.

• "Huh?"

• Day 27

• You laid on the couch, staring at your phone. Meanwhile, Donnie 0 was vacuuming the floor with said couch over his shoulder. (Super strength was one of his many abilities.) You sighed. Why hasn't Donnie called you back yet? He always does, even if he's getting his arms twisted back. He hasn't responded to any of the memes you sent either. Is he over cats stuffed in shoes now?

• "Y/N."

• You looked down at your bot.

• "This task is complete."

• You gave him a little nod and looked back at your phone. You sent your live Donnie another message.

• Thinking about you 🥺

• You sighed. Is he hurt or something? Captured!? If he is, your taking the FIRST plane to Japan-

• Suddenly, the couch fell down. Making you shriek.

• "Apologies, my sweet,"

• Donnie 0 said, while looking over his limbs.

• "My arm joint got stuck."

• You laughed weakly.

• "No prob, Bob."

• He bent down and poked your nose.

• "I'm Donnie, you."

• He snickered. You smiled a little and looked down.

• "Something bothering you, Y/N?"

• You poked your lip out.

• "Uh-huh, my man's not answering me."

• The mention of the og Donnie, made the robot frown. But, he quickly wiped it off his face.

• "I think my is phone broken."

• You mumbled. That gave him an idea. A bad idea. He cleared his throat and imitated his creator's "triumphant" laugh.

• "Never fear, Y/N,"

• He stood up.

• "Your world's greatest robot is here."

• "I'll fix your phone."

• You blinked and stood up.

• "That's okay, I can just go to the Ephone store-."

• Before you could finish your sentence, you were dipped down. A robotic yet fleshy arm, secured your waist.

• "Please,"

• His hand clasped over your phoned one.

• "I insist."

• Your face nearly lit on fire. Laughing nervously, you squirmed away from the pose. (Falling on the floor.)

• "Okay, okay. Do whatever you need to do."

• You said, letting your device go. Mission successful, the robotic doppelganger thought. Teasing you has gotten significantly easier.

• "Well gtg, Donnie 0. I got a new anime with my name on it."

• "Bye, wifey."

• He replied smoothly. You smiled and walked into your room. But not before you said something that made his wires burn.

• "You're just like my Donatello."

• He wish that didn't URK him so badly. He is his own turtle! And he wishes you'd see him as such ! But, BUT, that's fine for now. Your falling in love thee update is still downloading. All he has to do is keep pushing and that beautiful, beating heart of yours will be his...

• Day 31 (Day before the departure)

• Your fiancee sighed as he put on his jacket. (Dark purple with a black dog on the back. It's part of a suit combo) You're still not answering. He even asked Donnie 0 to check your devices and he said they were working fine. Maybe you got a new phone? But, then why didn't you give him your new number-?

• "Donnie, Donnie!"

• D woke up from his trance. Mikey was shaking his shoulder.

• "Huh, what?"

• All his brothers were looking at 'im, their faces contorted with worry.

• "Turn off your blowtorch, Donnie."

• Raph said, with a 'calm down' motion (Also sporting a flashy dog suit🐶 His is red, of course.)

• "We're heading home tomorrow,."

• Donnie tugged his tie, anxiously.

• "And if this plan doesn't work!?"

• "Um..."

• (It's getting harder and harder to reassure this dude.)

• "We pack up and go home!"

• Leo said while swinging his sword over his shoulder. His twin looked astonished. Raph frowned.

• "No."

• He turned back to his brother in purple.

• "Don't even worry, D. This mission will go well, so stop thinking about losing so much."

• The scientist sighed and nodded. Everything's gonna be a-okay. Namaste.

• "Sheldon, turn on some of Donnie's calm jams."

• Mikey said with a smile. Suddenly, something rung in his brain. Sheldon...Shell...

• "Shelly!"

• Donnie shouted. 'Huh?' His brothers said in unison. He didn't have time to explain anything to them, he finally has a way to contact you! He grabbed Sheldon.

• (Who looked distraught and miffed about it.)

• "Sheldon, contact Shelly."

• The little robot perked up.

• "Shelly? You got it bro!"

• The softshell sighed of relief. Shelly (Sheldon's girlfriend) is your back up device that is made for emergency contacts. ANYTHING can get through to them. Though Donnie doesn't has time to have a long, wonderful chat with you, he can still leave a heartfelt message. He cleared his throat. The signal connects. He's on air.

• "Greetings my darling, I'm SO glad I finally got through. Miss me? Of course you did. Hope you it wasn't too much and..."

• He paused. Feelings rushed into his mouth.

• "I really love you and I can't wait to see you tomorrow. We gotta overthrow the Fujioka clan now, but...let's have a sleepover tomorrow, okay? We'll do whatever you want, anything...Bye, Y/N."

• Right before he signed off he remembered something he had to say. He smiled, showing off his very pearly whites.

• "Like my suit?

• Day 32 (The showdown.)

• "So you finally got in contact with him, huh?"

• April said, biting into a cookie. Right now, you and April ooo'neil are having a sleepover. Since you were feeling MAD lonely, you asked if she could spend some time with you. (April's usually busy trying to seal a business deal with her husband.) But, you finally got a message from your soon to be hubby! From your Shelly.

• "Yeah, apparently his phone was tripping out too."

• You replied, snagging a cookie yourself. She raised an eyebrow.

• "Donnie's phone was messing up?"

• You nodded. That's...weird. Like, really weird. She pointed to your closed door.

• "Did Donnie 0 fix your phone?"

• You laid back on your bed.

• "I dunno, he hasn't returned it yet."

• "Y/N, can you go to the store and grab some more sodas. We're all out."

• You answered while rubbing the head of the girl Sheldon. April frowns. That's it. Something's wrong. She thought quietly as you continued to talk about the message you got. Something just doesn't feel right. Donnie 0 is usually pleasant to her but he always looked at you kinda strangely...

• Omg.

• You frowned.

• "Why do I have to get 'em?"

• She scoffed.

• "You're the host."

• She retorted with crossed arms. You grumbled and hopped up and opened the door.

• "If you need anything, just ask my Donnie bot."

• She gave you a thumbs up and watched as you left. The moment you shut the door, she grabbed her phone. She has to call Donnie. She knows why you guys couldn't get in contact. And...there was no reception.

• "Dangit."

• She groaned. Wait a minute, Shelly! April picked up the robot and tapped away. Hopefully, the turtles are already on their way home.

• "Donnie, I know why you couldn't contact Y/N. Donnie 0 is in lo-"

• "Ahem."

• She froze. There he was, in the doorway

• "Donnie 0 is what?"

• He said with a his trademark smile. April said nothing, only narrowing her eyes. She has to play her cards right. This is a powerful Ai and it has feelings for her best friend. This could get ugly very fast. He took a step closer.

• "April,"

• He said calmly.

• "Put the robot the down and you can continue to have a peaceful evening, okay."

• She gripped it tightly. What should she do? She doesn't know if the boys are on there way or what Donnie 0's capable off. She could escape through the window but...she can't just leave you with this thing.

• "April, give me Shelly."

• The robot repeated, extending his hand. His purple pupils are starting glow. She's running out of time.

• "If you want her,"

• April said slowly.

• "Go get her!"

• She chucked the priceless invention out the window. Not able to resist the Donnie-ness flowing through him, he lunged for it.

• "Shelly!"

• April took that chance and dashed towards the front door. She'll pick you up and take you the airport and the boys will handle this crazy bucket of bolts-

• "Get back here!"

• A loud, distorted voice shouted. A long, metal claw wrapped around her, dragging her back to Donnie 0. He chuckled lowly.

• (Doing the tsk tsk tsk.)

• "It's such a shame I have to delete you April,"

• He said, tightening the grip.

• "I liked being your friend."

• She groans. Her bones...are gonna break!!! Suddenly, a orange ball crashed through the window. It hit Donnie 0 right in the jaw, nearly denting him. He yelped and dropped April. He looked around, ready to tear apart source.

• "Hey!"

• They both looked over at the front door.

• "Back away from our best girl, Robot Donnie."

• It was Mikey! And the rest of them. (Thank goodness) Donnie stepped up.

• "So,"

• He crossed his arms.

• "My greatest creation has gone insane."

• "WHY am I getting deja vu?"

• (Sheldon raised his wing to say something, but Mikey stopped him.)

• Donnie 0 laughed. Finally, he gonna let his true feelings free.

• "Oh poor, deluded, DUMB, Donatello."

• He chuckled. (Unintentionally crossing his arms like his creator.)

• "I'm not the insane one here."

• "You are."

• The softshell's eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything.

• "Do you really think Y/N is always gonna wait around for you?"

• "You don't, do you? That's why I'm here. A remnant of you so she doesn't look elsewhere."

• His pupils burned a piercing purple.

• "But, your plan backfired. I imprinted. And now, I wanna take your place."

• "So be a good ex fiancee and make yourself scarce."

• All the brothers (and April) looked at D. Was he just gonna take that? The actual Donatello chuckled.

• (Not Haha, funny. Haha, you're dead.)

• "Phew, um, I have alot of choice words for you but,"

• He pressed a button on his Techbo, turning it into a double sided, light saber. (One of its many upgrades.)

• "Unlike you, I'll spare you the chit chat. And skip to the robot breaking."

• Everyone readied their weapons. And from lack of her mystic bat, April grabbed a rolling pin!

• "Haha! What now, Robo?"

• Mikey asked/laughed.

• "You got 4 angry, car lagged turtles AND a businesswoman on your back."

• "You're toast!"

• Donnie 0 chuckled, his shoulders bouncing. That's not a good sign.

• "Am I?"

• He snapped. The room began to shake. 3 more artificial intelligences came, each damaging your apartment in some way. And...surprise, surprise, it was the other mutated siblings. The robot in purple laughed, his voice switching from demonic to Donnie.

• "Did you really think I wasn't prepared for this!?"

• "Well, we were kinda hoping you weren't."

• Leo chimed in.

• "Brethren, take them down."

• "I'll handle master Donatello."

• And the fight begins! The Raphs clash fist, Mikey gets tackled by his bot, and Leo's is oddly super tactical. And of course, the main crazed robot is after Donnie's head.

• "Head ups, Raph!"

• Mikey shouted, swinging his robot his older brother's way. Despite, still blocking punches, the snap turtle ducked. Resulting in Mik-E slamming through the wall.

• "Bleh, I hate how much that thing looks like you."

• Raph mumbled. Mikey hopped on his back and pointed.

• "Ah! My look alike is still kicking!"

• The robot has indeed, got up. He cracked his head the right way and frowned. They screamed and ran off into the kitchen. Mik-E hot on their heels. Meanwhile, Leo and April were actually struggling with Le-O. He was in perfect sync with his original, yet he had quick enough reaction time to block their friend.

• "What do we do!? It's like fighting a computer in chess!"

• April shouted, trying to get one hit on the bot. Leo thought hard for a second. Then, he got it!

• "How do you beat computers?"

• He clashed swords with Le-O.

• "With cheat codes!"

• The robot scoffed at the lame pun and easily pushed him back into the coffee table.

• "Geez, D-0 wasn't kidding. You're super annoying."

• The slider smirked.

• "I get that alot."

• Suddenly, crackling was heard. The Ai turned around. There April was! Popping out of the classic blue portal and winding the pitch. She swung. And...!

• "Homerun!"

• Le-O was slammed in the cheek with the rolling pin, and crashed out your window. The condescending copycat was out for the count. (Maybe, nobody checked) The two high fived.

• "Another win for April and Leo!"

• Leo laughed.

• "Now let's go cream Raph's bot!"

• Donnie sighed as they scampered into the rowdy kitchen. Thank goodness, his brothers weren't struggling...much. Still looking at other commotion, the scientist caught the incoming staff.

• "It would be wise for you to keep your eyes on your opponent, Donatello."

• Donnie 0 hissed.(Although he couldn't pull his techbo back) The flesh and blood scientist scoffed and threw the staff away.

• "Bring it."

• Right before the fight you all have been waiting for began...!

• The doorknob turns. Everyone froze.

• You're home!

• "Hide!"

• Donnie whisper/shouted. The fam and the robots ducked behind the counter.

• "And you!"

• He pointed at the Ai next to 'im.

• "It's time for you to log off."

• He yanked on Mecha D's hoodie and reached Emergency shutdown button, (it's on the back of his neck) but the robot was ready.

• "Like hell it is."

• Donnie 0 snapped back. The scientist gasped and they began to tussle. Fabric was getting torn.

• "I did NOT give you foul language!"

• "Get your hands off me!"

• "Donnie?"

• Both of them froze and looked up at you. There you were. Standing in the doorway. Looking very confused (and a tad intrigued) by your turtle and robot tussling. The two of them stood up quickly and straightened themselves out. You looked around, slowly taking in your now destroyed home.

• "What the honk happened in here!?"

• You asked, while mourning over your broken, expensive coffee table.

• "It was him!"

• Both Donnies said like twins. You frowned. That's not a clear answer.

• "Seriously, Y/N, he did it!"

• They said together again.

• "Stop it!"

• "I'm serious!"

• "This copycatery is immature-!"

• You snapped your fingers. Both of them flinched and looked at you. You sighed and pinched the bridge of your nose.

• "Donnie 0, speak first."

• "But-"

• You put your hand up, silently shushing him. Your fiancee grumbled and crossed his arms. Donnie 0 smiled smugly at him and returned to his "chill butler" vibe.

• "Dearest,"

• "You're fiancee is jealous of me."

• You raised an eyebrow, no opinion showing in your eyes.

• "He came home early and told me to leave."

• "When I refused, because it's not the time we agreed upon, he got hostile."

• The squad behind the counter was getting ticked. He's just gonna openly lie like that? You looked at the real Donnie. It's his turn. Before the softshell could say anything, the robot popped back in.

• "Y/N,"

• He pulled you close.

• "I'm in love with you."

• Donnie inhaled sharply. Right in his face, huh? This robot has ZERO tact. You looked shocked.

• "Whenever I'm with you or when you talk to me,"

• He put one of his hands on his steel plastron.

• "My heart drive sparks like crazy and maybe it's just a malfunction but..."

• "I like it, okay! And I like you!"

• Your head was spinning. Your apartment was near annihilated. Your fiancee's home earlier. And now, your Ai is confessing his LOVE to you.

• "Uhh..."

• Noticing your spiraling, he sighed and yanked Donnie next to him. (He would've grabbed you back, but the grip on your arm might be tight)

• "Y/N...choose."

• You and your fiancee looked at Donnie 0, very distraught.

• "Organic life or Artificial life?"

• The room hushed. The boys AND the bots peeked from the counter. April readied her rolling pin. And Donnie bit his lip. They all had the same thought.

• She's gonna choose the real Donnie...

• Right?

• You looked at the robot and then back at the original. Slowly, you walked towards...

• Donnie 0.

• Donatello's heart shattered while the other's sparked. Everyone was shocked, especially Donnie. It only took one month to...to lose you? Donnie 0 hugged you tightly and your arms curled around his neck.

• "Oh, Y/N."

• Finally! It's happening! It's really happening! You're finally his-

• Suddenly, the robots eyes turned grey.

• And he slumped forward...

• Unconscious.

• The other brothers walked from behind the counter.

• "Did you sleep him with your love!?"

• Mikey asked. You shook your head.

• "Nope."

• "Just used the emergency shutdown button."

• Donnie shoved the knocked out robot off you and picked you up. You nearly touched the roof. He looked up at you with wet eyes.

• "Don't scare me like that!"

• You chuckled and kissed him on the head.

• "I'm sorry, I wanted to give him a false sense of security."

• He smushed his face into your shoulder and just whimpered. You sighed. This past month must've been rough. As you rubbed his shell, you got bombarded with questions.

• "How'd you know the bot was phony?"

• "We don't have to pay damages...right?"

• "Did you miss us!?"

• "You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"

• You frowned as they talked. You're gonna get overwhelmed at this rate. You snapped and everyone hushed again.

• "Raph,"

• You chose his question.

• "I kinda always had my guard around him."

• "He's an Artificial intelligence, those are practically doomed to fail."

• Donnie mumbled "not always" in the background. You answered the other "questions" as well. No damages need to be paid, but they are gonna fix it. You did miss them and your a-okay.

• "So what do we do with them?"

• Leo said, nodding to the robo bros. They were looking over their fallen brother, talking amongst themselves. Raph shrugged.

• "I don't really know?"

• "They only got crazy when Donnie's robot told them to."

• That's true. They do seem alot more peaceful now, but also lost.

• "As much as I hate to say this,"

• D said, finally done wetting the inside of your neck.

• "We gotta scrap 'em."

• "What!?"

• Mikey shouted.

• "Yes, Mikey."

• "Despite being the greatest artificial intelligence ever known to the planet,"

• "They're dangerous."

• "We already have enough problems as is."

• That was a good point. Everybody did get pretty roughed up and you still don't know the status of Japan. But...

• "I got it!"

• You suddenly said. Everyone looked at you and once again...

• "Huh?"

• 2 updating days later...

• "Remember, turn him on when you guys get on the plane, okay?"

• You told Raph 3.

• (Yeah, no super catchy name for him.)

• He nodded and adjusted his beanie.

• "Don't lose your brothers either."

• Right now you guys are setting the bots free...to do the international missions. Yes, it's sounds harsh, but they'll be happier there. They won't feel odd or oppressed by their originals and they can have their own adventures. Save people in their own way. (And with the new update, they'll be no more dangerous rebelling.)

• "I'll miss you, Mikey!"

• Mik‐E shouted hugging up his live action. Mikey choked.

• "Oh! You're gonna make me cry!"

• Yeah, everyone got tight with their robots in the little time. Not your fiancee though. He had to make a BIG change to his. Namely, the memory card. It was better if Donnie 0 started with a clean slate. Otherwise, he might try to get revenge on you or something. And nobody wants that. After alot of goodbyes and steel hugs, it was time for their flight.

• "Well, looks like it's time for our final bow."

• Le-O said. Everyone got quiet. Donnie cleared his throat and open his arms wide.

• "Robot brethren."

• They looked at each other and awkwardly embraced him.

• "Enjoy the world,"

• "And Donnie 1."

• He looked up at them.

• "Can you do that for me?"

• They all smiled and started talking at once.

• "You got it, Fleshy Donnie!"

• "We'll send you a postcard!"

• "Wait, why does Donnie get the 1?"

• After some more last minute chatter, they had to go. They all waved one last time and Raph 0 slung his unconscious purple brother back over his shoulder. You and the brothers watched in silence as the robots ran to catch their plane.

• "Welp, I had my fill on life sized robots for a bunch of years."

• "Mine was the best though."

• The slider said with a stretch. (It's like, 5 in the morning right now.)

• "Who wants to loiter at that shooting star bucks with me?"

• He said pointing at the airport one. Mikey hopped on his back.

• "I want some of that action!"

• Raph was down to join as well.

• "Let's eat all the pastries!"

• He shouted. Now that they're going to harass poor shooting star bucks employees, it's just you and your fiancee. You looked over at him.

• "Man, I missed you so much."

• He snickered and pulled you close.

• "I know."

• "Not hearing from you was basically torture."

• You laid your face on his shoulder. (He happened to not be wearing his battle shell today.)

• "What do think set Donnie 0 off?"

• You finally asked the question that's been nagging for the past two days. Did you accidentally break him or something?

• "I honestly have know idea."

• "But, I knew he was always special."

• Your brows furrowed.

• "I only downloaded our childhood and recent memories into him and he was just like me. Must've been some something special about the metal I used."

• You sighed and nuzzled into his neck. Maybe that was the case...or something different. Maybe even mystic. You didn't know. And you were kinda too scared to find out. (Leo and Raph gave you the rundown of what happened before you came home. Terrifying stuff.)

• You snorted.

• "And that wasn't a big red flag, dear?"

• Donnie huffed and looked back at you.

• "I thought my engineering was just that good."

• He poked your side.

• "If you must know, my intrusive darling."

• You chuckled, sounding like chipmunk. You finally came out of his shoulder. You wrapped your arms around his waist.

• (...The turtles do have waist, right?)

• "So, wanna get a coffee?"

• You asked while fluttering your eyelashes. He put on his thinking face.

• "Nah,"

• He smiled.

• "I hoping me and you can spend some time together...alone."

• You gasped dramatically, pretending to be shocked by such a vulgar request. Then laughed. Of course, D wanted to "hang out". It's has been awhile. You linked your arm with his.

• "Then by all means..."

• "Lead the way."

• (Tricked you guys! You two are just playing Luigi cart in the Tank!)

°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°

Whew! That was alot, but I'd happily do it again. Unfortunately, though, I'm burned out on Rise series. So, only turtle headcanons this holiday season. But, I will be showing designs of Donnie 0 and deleted scenes. And heck, maybe even a Q&A if anyone wants that. Stay cool!😎

°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•○°

#rottmnt #rottmnt raph #rottmnt mikey #rottmnt leo #rottmnt donnie #robotics #conclusion #donnie x reader #finally got this done #a lot #thanks for tuning in #thanks for the support #stay cool #see you soon #Maybe the robots will return...

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gx-gameon · 15 days

Note

I feel like I'm always spamming you with messages so apologies for that but I just adore your au 🥹👉👈

Rereading some of you posts about Jesse and adore Seto being an overprotective father it's so good and I can absolutely see the rest the squad just messing with him once they've accepted Jesse. Like I can absolutely imagine Joey making an off handed remark that he wouldn't be surprised if Jaden and Jesse got married straight out of high school and Seto just short circuits while Yugi is just "Seto, Seto he was joking HE WAS JOKING PUT THE DUEL DISK DOWN!"

Don’t apologize. I’m having a great time. I’m so glad you guys love my little goblin brain child. And I love that you guys are interacting so much. It makes writing a lot more fun when I know people are enjoying it.

So don’t feel bad. Honestly you’re helping me organize my thoughts.

Oh Seto is so overprotective. Just look at how he is with Mokuba.

He finds out that Jaden has a potential boyfriend (they’re just friends right now) that sleeps over in Jaden’s dorm all the time (probably sharing a bed with Jaden) and he’s ready to overhaul the Slifer dorm. He knows Jaden likes it the way it is. But he’s about the put in “one student per room” policies and “no sleep overs” rules. Yugi and Mokuba look at him in exasperation because these are teens. They would break that rule so fast.

Joey thinks this is hilarious.

After all the dark world nonsense calms down and Jaden is safe. Things calm down.

Yes season 4 still happens and Jaden isn’t okay. But after he handles Darkness he calls home and tells them everything. Including that he got to meet up with Jesse again. He talks more about Jesse than he does about his actual enemy/adventure.

Everyone knows the two of them are back on track.

Joey makes a joke about Jaden following Yugi and Seto’s footsteps and marrying young. “He might even beat you and get hitched right after high school.”

Seto breaks something. Yugi has to talk him down. Joey, Tristan, and Duke think it’s hilarious.

The real problem comes when Jaden starts traveling.

It’s nerve racking enough having there deeply traumatized baby traveling the world ‘alone.’ Yes he has Yubel fused to his soul, his duel spirits, a cat, and his professors soul. But he’s still physically alone. Seto and Yugi were both nervous about this. The whole DM cast was.

Then Jesse reaches out asking where Jaden is. Yugi is honest and tells him Jaden’s plan to travel the world and help people and spirits. (Jesse has to fall more in love, Jaden is living his dream) Yugi just thinks it’s a concerned friend/crush asking questions but Jesse surprises him by saying he’s going to meet up with Jaden and travel with him.

It takes a bit of time but Jesse does catch up with Jaden.

Yugi and the others are relieved that Jaden has a traveling companion. And they couldn’t ask for a better one than Jesse.

Seto is in hell. He hates this. His precious baby boy is traveling with the Scandinavian boy all around the world. There is no supervision, no adults.

He can’t even be mad because he didn’t want Jaden traveling alone. But did it have to be Jesse? He doesn’t even have a valid reason to not like the kid. He’s an incredible duelist. Has a strong deck. Is loyal to Jaden. Has proven he will sacrifice himself for Jaden’s safety. On paper the kid is perfect. Seto doesn’t like him.

Yugi is constantly telling him it’s okay.

Joey, Tristian, and Duke are menaces

They are constantly saying things to set Seto off because they think it’s funny. Teasing him about wedding bells. Maybe Jaden will decide he likes living in Europe better. Just anything to push his buttons.

Duke takes it to far one day. “How do you know they haven’t eloped without you knowing.”

Seto can take a lot of things. He knows that they are trying to set him off. But just the idea that Jaden could get married without them even there. Horrifying. (And Jaden is impulsive enough he might just do it. Not because he doesn’t want his family at the wedding. No that’s probably the only thought that would stop him. But just that he and Jesse might find a place that does marriage ceremonies and just think, we’re already here, might as well.) (note this does not happen this is Seto’s imagination running wild)

He calls Jaden immediately. It’s the middle of the night/early morning where he is. He tries to get to his phone but he’s so sleepy and it’s on the other side of the room. It’s Jesse who gets up and answers. At this point neither are sure whose phone it is and just want the noise to stop. He sleepily answers with “hello?”

Seto hears Jesse’s sleep filled voice answer the phone and almost breaks it. “Where are you!” It’s not a question it’s a demand.

Jesse is wide awake now. “Paris. Is something wrong.” He’s trying not to panic. He doesn’t want to wake Jaden up more than he already is and he knows how important Jaden’s family is to him.

Sent does break his phone as soon as he hears the word Paris. He looks at the clock. It’s 10 in Japan (they were having brunch) making it 3 in the morning in Paris. It’s a 13 hour flight. Assuming the two boys stay in Paris he can be there by 4 pm their time. He’s about to take off. When Yugi comes and gets him. (Seto left the table to make the call)

Yugi is standing there looking very unimpressed with his husband. “No Jess everything’s alright. Some of our friends were making jokes and Duke made one about the two of you. Nothing bad. It just freaked Seto out… no we’re okay… I appreciate that you’re willing to wake Jay up to talk to us but it’s fine. You two get some sleep. I’m sorry we disturbed you. Good night.” He hangs up looking at Seto with a dry look “No. we’re not going to Paris”

Meanwhile

Jesse woke up out of a dead sleep by a phone ringing. Answers it without looking expecting one of their friends with no idea where they are or no concept of time zones to be on the other end “hello?”

“Where are you!” His best friend (boyfriend? I Don’t know yet) Oto-san’s demanding voice is on the other end. (Imagine waking up from a dead sleep to Batman yelling at you same vibe)

He’s instantly awake. “Paris.” He hears a crunch sound “is everything okay?” The line starts ringing. It’s dead.

Jesse is in a panic. What if Jaden’s family is in danger? He can see Jaden in bed. He’s curled back up blissfully unaware of any of this.

Jesse rushes to call Yugi. If he doesn’t answer or tells him something is wrong he will wake up Jaden and they will handle it.

Yugi is blessedly calm in the face of Jesse’s stressed out panicked whispers. He explains what really happened (baring the joke being that the two teens eloped) Jesse offered to wake Jaden if his dads were worried about him. He knows how Jaden gets sometimes after a nightmare and all he wants is Jesse or his dads. (He knows how he feels after a nightmare and all he wants is to be surrounded by his deck spirits and Jaden.)

Yugi appreciates the offer but declines and tells Jesse to get some sleep.

He doesn’t know how he’s going to get back to sleep after that. But he climbs back into bed anyways. Jaden instantly rolls over and curls around him. Oh that’s how he’s going back to sleep. He thinks as he gets comfortable curling around Jaden as well.

#jaden yuki #judai yuki #yugioh gx #dad yugi #yugi moto #yugi mutou #seto kaiba #rivalshipping #spiritshipping #jesse anderson #johan andersen

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tangerinesgf · 1 year

Text

Waiting Out The Storm

Tangerine x gn!reader

Summary: Tangerine just got home from a long job and you wanna go see him, but it's storming outside.

Tags/warnings: nothing really, just a bit hurt/comfort (mostly comfort not so much hurt actually), fluff, language (it's still Tangerine after all)

A/N: Here's a fluffy fic for ya'll before I come back with my angsty one, cause I already have a great (some might say horrible) idea for one. Also I spend a weird amount of time researching various British terms for weather for this fic.

"I know, love, I wanna see you too, but you don't 'ave a car and mine's total loss."

'I can just walk over, it's not that far.' you proposed, knowing full well it's at least a 15 minute walk.

Tangerine walked over to the window by the kitchen that looked out on the dim-lit street. It had been tipping down all day, but since Lemon had dropped him off at home it really started raining cats and dogs. London weather, everyone.

He should've just asked Lemon to drop him off at your place, but he had wanted to clean himself up a bit first. Yes, he had shown up at your doorstep covered in blood more than once, but he liked to avoid it if possible. Unfortunately that meant that the both of you were now stuck at home, talking over the phone instead of wrapped around each other.

"Use your eyes, darlin', it's raining sideways, there's no way I'm letting you set even one foot outside in that shitstorm."

'I have an umbrella.'

"Nice try, I'll come by in the morning, don't think it's goin' to let up tonight." He could hear you groan from over the phone at this.

There was nothing Tangerine wanted more than to hold you in his arms right now, tell you how much he missed you while placing little kisses all over your face. Unfortunately he was limping because some bastard had hit him on the leg with metal pipe and he wouldn't risk you getting sick only to see him.

"Go get some sleep, love, it's late."

'Fine.' you mumbled, clearly not happy about this, but it's not like you had a lot of other options at the moment.

"I love ya, sweet dreams and all that." He could hear you chuckle at that and he wished he was with you to see that smile on your face, however small it may be at this moment.

'Love you too, Tan.' And with that he heard you hang up the phone, finding himself alone once again.

After staring outside for a couple more minutes he decided that he should probably go to bed as well, after all he hadn't gotten a lot of sleep while in Madrid either.

About an hour later Tangerine was still awake, not used to sleeping alone. Just when he decided to pick up the book you had recommended to him, he heard what he thought was a faint knock on his frontdoor.

He climbed out of bed, put his joggers back on and strolled towards the door. When the knocking on his door became louder, seemingly more urgent he made a grab at the gun he kept in his drawer.

Pointing it in front of him, he slowly crept to the front door. Unlike your small apartment, Tangerine's house didn't have a peephole in the door. He made a mental note to go get one sometime this week. So for the lack of better options he threw the door open and pointed the barrel of the gun towards the figure on his doorstep. Their hands flew up in the air at the sight of the gun.

"Jesus Christ, Tan. Paranoid much?"

Wait what?

Slowly the person lowered their hands and pulled the hood covering their face down. "It's just me."

You were standing on his porch, completely soaked without your previously mentioned umbrella. Luckily you did wear a raincoat, although that didn’t stop your pants from getting wet. He could clearly see the the difference between your light blue jeans that had turned darker because of the rain.

"Fuckin' hell, what the fuck are ya doin' 'ere?"

"Couldn't sleep, I needed to see you." Your voice was barely audible above the rain, but neither made a move to get inside yet.

The rain will still pouring down, completely soaking your previously covered hair. Your face was red from the cold and Tangerine could hear you repeatedly sniffing your nose. That would probably turn into a cold later.

"So ya decided to walk to walk almost a kilometer in the storm?! Are you nuts?!"

"Look I'd love to continue this conversation, but can we please move it inside, I'm fucking freezing."

It only really hit him in that moment that you just walked almost 20 minutes in the rain and were currently still standing in it, practically shaking from the cold.

"Fuck, yea ofcours, come in."

Tangerine stepped aside, making room for you to set foot inside, and placed the gun back in the cabinet.

"You can put your coat on the heater, I'll get ya some towels and dry clothes."

"Thanks."

He quickly walked upstairs and grabbed the pajama pants you'd forgotten last time you were here and one of his dress shirts for you to put on.

When he came back you were still standing by the front door, rain dripping onto his welcome mat. Tangerine handed you the clothes and you made your way to his bathroom, leaving wet foot prints all over his house.

Once you were cleaned up you walked back into the living room. Tangerine loved it when you wore his clothes. His dress shirt was way too big for you, it basically swallowed you, but he absolutely adored it.

Once you were sitting on his couch, wrapped in his softest blanket Tangerine offered you a cuppa and sat next to you.

"What were you thinkin', love?"

"I-"

Tangerine cut you off before you could finish your answer. "I told ya to stay home."

He wasn't really upset with you. In fact Tangerine was ecstatic to see you again after 3 weeks, but he didn't understand why you couldn't just wait until morning. Why you would risk your health just to see him. In his opinion he really wasn't worth all this trouble.

"I know." You simply said.

"Then why'd ya come?" His voice was soft, truly just wanting to understand you.

"I had to see you, see that you're okay." You mumbled just loud enough for him to hear.

Oh.

Tangerine followed your eyes, but you avoided him. He knew that you worried about him, how could you not with his particular job. However you had never really voiced that to him, not like this.

"I'm sorry." you murmured.

With your apology all the remaining tension instantly left his body. All you had wanted to do was see for yourself that he made it home safe. Tangerine had told you that he had only gotten beat up a bit, but it was only now that he realized that every time he returned from a job he went straight to you. This was the first time where he hadn't been able to. He had never realized how much you apparently needed that physical confirmation.

Tangerine moved closer to you, gently took the mug from your hands and placed it on the coffee table. "C'mere."

He pulled you closer to him, wrapping his arm around your waist. As you buried your face in the crook of his neck, Tangerine placed a gentle kiss on your crown.

"You could 'ave told me. Don't want you worrying about me." He tried to make it sound teasing, almost like a joke to lighten the mood, but it didn't really work.

"I'm always going to worry about you, Tan."

Tangerine wished he could just take all your worry away, promise you that he was always gonna make it back home to you, but he knows he can't.

He can't promise that he won't accidently catch a bullet to the neck and bleed out in some god forsaken country with you on the other side of the world. The thought of leaving you behind has him sleepless at night. Tangerine knows you felt the same way, tonight was only a confirmation of that.

"I know, love." He pulled you impossibly closer to him.

There wasn't much else to say at the moment. Tangerine knew the two of you should probably talk about your feelings, but that could wait 'till morning.

He could feel your warm breath on his neck as it slowly evened out. When he looked at you, your eyes were closed, fast alseep. Tangerine leaned his head on yours, finally able to catch some much needed sleep.

Taglist: @waiting4ff @venusthepirate @megumisbabymomma @bratdoll666 @assmaster37 @wrendermeuseless @kpopgirlbtssvt @dontknownameauthor @earth-elemental18 @thirstyfortangerine @ilovetangerinewithallmyheart (lemme know if you wanna be added or removed)

#tangerine x reader #tangerine bullet train #bullet train fanfic #tangerine x you #aaron johnson x reader #bullet train x reader #aaron taylor johnson #aaron taylor johnson x reader

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girlfriendsofthegalaxy · 3 months

Text

tuesday again 3/5/2024

really fucking around in Breath of the Wild and not defeating Ganon, even though i think i am fairly well prepared, which is probably indicative of something or a metaphor for some larger issue. oh well! guess we'll never know!

listening

Rock the Jungle by The Daniel Pemberton TV Orchestra, off an album of music from and inspired by LittleBigPlanet, a video game i have never played. Daniel Pemberton is a remarkably prolific british composer who mostly does film these days but also does a lot of BBC stuff.

youtube

this is the kind of scrubby pad to the brain electronica i need sometimes. i think these are heavily filtered and processed kookaburra sounds? at about the minute fifteen mark it adds a rolling, rollicking bassline that is, as im sure we all know by now, fucking catnip to me. at about 2:20 it adds alarm blares that fade in and out of a sort of disco-y organ? it uses its five minute runtime pretty well imo. i think this was off the spotify discover weekly.

reading

T Kingfisher's The Clockwork Boys, recced by @rae-being-naughty lo these many months ago, and my library hold finally came in. the goodreads blurb is a remarkably accurate sales pitch so let's yoink that

A paladin, an assassin, a forger, and a scholar ride out of town. It’s not the start of a joke, but rather an espionage mission with deadly serious stakes. T. Kingfisher’s new novel begins the tale of a murderous band of criminals (and a scholar), thrown together in an attempt to unravel the secret of the Clockwork Boys, mechanical soldiers from a neighboring kingdom that promise ruin to the Dowager’s city. If they succeed, rewards and pardons await, but that requires a long journey through enemy territory, directly into the capital. It also requires them to refrain from killing each other along the way! At turns darkly comic and touching, Clockwork Boys puts together a broken group of people trying to make the most of the rest of their lives as they drive forward on their suicide mission.

i had a lot of fun with this! very pratchett-esque in its imperial critique through bureaucratic loopholes thereof, which is catnip to me, but i do think Kingfisher is simply better at writing women. the forger is an only child and it fucking shows.

i think if it were 5% more devoted to Humorous Bits and didn't have some nice character work between the forging accountant and the big sad blond paladin man, i would have gotten frustrated with it. i think it is simply more of a comedy than any of its blurbs suggest, and it can be difficult to ride that line between comedy and character growth through desperate acts without getting a little bit of whiplash. this is me being very depressed and a bit nitpicky though. the line "Time passed, like a kidney stone" is going to stick in my brain for a while. i already have the sequel on hold

watching

if you do nothing else today could you please watch this car chase for me? ok thanks

youtube

Gunsmith Cats is a three-episode OVA that's a fancam of the american city of chicago and the cool girls that live and shoot and drive there, but let's just yank the MyAnimeList description

In the dangerous suburbs of Chicago, skilled bounty hunters Irene "Rally" Vincent and "Minnie" May Hopkins run Gunsmith Cats, a firearms store of questionable legality. One day, Bill Collins, an agent for the Chicago branch of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, blackmails Rally and May into working with him on a case. The stakes are high, but Rally’s gunmanship and May’s knowledge of explosives are unmatched. As Rally and May unravel the secrets of the case, the two will need to use guns and grenades while being faster, stronger, and better than everyone else in order to stay alive.

youtube

all three episodes are free (in really nice quality) on youtube. i pitched this to wendy as "rally is jigen lupinthethird's little sister" and her driving skills and marksmanship... i'm not sure who would win between them but i wouldn't like to live on the difference.

animators, historically, hate animating guns and cars, except for the masochistic ones who use it to flex. there are at least three shots in each episode where i want to stand up and hold my cat above my head and hoot like a fuckin tusken raider. in the first episode, there's a raid on a smuggling warehouse (you know, a warehouse) where the BATF agent and Rally throw each other their guns and have a really cool FALLING OFF A CATWALK back to back shootout. it's hard to describe. watch the episode. i wish there were more than three episodes.

this is an OVA that, aside from the requisite panty shot and WHOOPS my whole shirt tore (one of each per episode per girl) is fairly normal about women? rally and minnie are...roommates. that bicker and eat pizza. they have a cool network of other slightly shady women they interact with a lot, and the big bad for most of the episodes is also a woman. this isn't like a bastion of feminism or anything it's just neat. sort of middling on the ass portion of the Weeb Ass Shit scale. low on the weeb and shit parts too. again this is a fancam of chicago with cool girls

i watched this bc i was trying to use up kanopy credits and came across the precursor to this, Riding Bean, which i did not love for several reasons (the big one being the legitimately pedophilic lesbian relationship) but the creator took the concept of Rally out of that forty minute...experiment? and that led me to Gunsmith Cats. thank u ppl who put free anime on youtube

playing

still futzing about in breath of the wild. fucking around with sidequests and a sudden need to at least discover all the shrines.

for example, i did all the labyrinth shrines. underneath the akkala labyrinth is the scariest room in the world, bc six of those fuckers are alive and they will all target you the instant you open that chest.

cannot be bothered with the eventide island shrine yet (the roguelike) bc it frustrates the hell out of me. did the thyplo forest one, which was extremely annoying bc it dimmed my whole TV screen (including the UI) instead of just dimming the game itself. im sure someone thought that would be such a cool detail but instead i found it extremely annoying and vey difficult to swap weapons or start campfires.

and then i trundled through a list of shrine quests, bc i apparently had TWELVE missing?? three were korok trials, one was eventide (apparently it only shows up as a quest if you are on the island or have finished it, bc if u die on the island it kicks you back to a pre-island save lmao) so for the others: three i just had to talk to people to officially start and then immediately complete the quest. remember when i was anxious about softlocking myself out of the jungle dragon shrine quest bc i went right there instead of talking to Kass? never fear, nintendo's got my back

"kay how did you possibly miss reading the giant stone tablet to start this quest--" i am not a clever woman. i go "oh i know what to do!!!" when i see the Orb and hare off without looking around further.

A Brother's Roast i missed bc i forgot to talk to everyone in Goron City after defeating rudania, didn't run across Test of Will (the Goron challenge in the Gerudo highlands) bc i forgot to look off that side of the tower and was very focused on gliding into the labyrinth at the right spot, and didn't run across Guardian Slideshow on the far south beaches bc i hadn't explored there yet.

A Stolen Heirloom was deeply annoying. i had four out of five quests complete to unlock this, but there is an unmarked side quest where you have to go into this lady's house at night to figure out she wants fireflies. maybe she has some ambient daytime barks about this? i have never heard them. this was a little obtuse. also i don't love the stealth in this game. this game's stealth really works when you are well out of detection range bc u have a sniper bow, and i find it works less well for me when i have to follow a target. no i haven't finished the korok stealth trial either.

non-shrine nonsense:

ive been using Stasis as a sort of VATS equivalent. in fallout, i like to hit VATS every once in a while just to see who's out there. how many radroaches are nearby. this also highlights most interactable things which i think is nice of the game

gerudo town stuff: i missed this sand seal racing challenge by SO little the first time which annoyed me so much, it took me six more tries to beat the damn thing. i am very charmed that they actually put in a garden for the kid who was trying to grow a garden!

some beach vegetation mysteries: im really baffled by this singular hearty radish growing in full sun in what is essentially sand with a dusting of palm bark. all the other hearty radishes i have seen are in deep forests with partial sun and lots of leaf litter. what the hell is this then. plus a neat little unique sea wrack? korok circle instead of the usual lilypads.

i didn't know this game knew how to do rainbows at all, let alone double ones!

i will leave you with my many attempts to make stamina potions.

making

making things requires both the perfect levels of anxiety (too little anxiety and im out doing normal people things, too much anxiety and i shut down, a medium level means im frantically making things to distract myself. we are at the high end of medium) and some level of income bc i inevitably need one or two things to finish projects. eg we are at the level of anxiety where i am only able to do simple things like repainting a whole bunch of big frames for my maps (procured when i had money) but i need more matboard. so they are sitting, 90% finished, in my office closet.

garden update: more than half my bush beans came up with no leaves and promptly died, which could be due to any number of things but im choosing to believe it's bc my bestie's five year old planted them a little too deeply. so it goes. all the sweet peas are fine, all my normal peas and most of my regular climbing beans came up. a little annoyed bc only a third of my nasturtiums came up even after soaking them for 24h as recommended. the shit i Bought (tomatoes, marigolds, mint, rosemary) is doing fine. the spinach and dill i planted are doing fine too, although the spinach also had about a 50% germination rate. this does mean i don't need to thin them but. Hm. yanno?

#tuesday again #tuesday again no problem

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callsignspark · 1 year

Text

Mar[r]y Me | part one

pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x Mariella “M&M” Vertucci (fem!OC)

summary: A love story told through friendship, laughter, and food.

series warnings: 18+ minors DNI, discussion of insecurities, difficult family relationships, discussions of food and alcohol use, eventual smut, warnings to be added as needed

word count: 2.0k

main masterlist

note: happy Friday! I'm so excited to share the first part of Bradley and Mary's story! a very special thanks to @gretagerwigsmuse for yelling in the DMs with me over this. Jordan without you the Bradley brain rot would not have taken over, and we wouldn't be here. after you read this, everyone go read about her version of Bradley and Smart Aleck; they are everything.

part one - indecision cookies

“C’mon, M&M! You’re not deciding on purpose! Just to be annoying!”

She knows he’s teasing; they’ve been friends for over a decade. That doesn’t stop the hurt from bubbling in her stomach or keep her from snapping at him. “Yeah, Reuben! That’s exactly what I’m doing! I’m purposefully going down to the wire on a decision that will change everything in my life just so I can piss you off!”

Guilt settles in her chest the second she finishes. It’s not his fault she can’t make a choice. “I’m sor-”

“No. Don’t apologize. I shouldn’t have made the joke. I know this is stressing you out.” She can hear him pacing through his house. As long as she’d known him, he had walked at the same volume as an elephant. “I know it’s a big change, and there’s a lot of things to consider, but what’s going on?”

“Nothing. I made indecision cookies. So you know… I’m basically there.”

“Wow, okay, never once have you been close to making a choice and made those. So, that literally does nothing except give you delicious cookies to eat. Which is great, but it’s already been a month, and I can’t even tell which way you’re leaning.”

It’s only been twenty-one days. Her brain interjects, but she doesn’t voice the thought, knowing her best friend won’t appreciate the correction.

It’s been twenty-five days since she flew from Pensacola to San Diego. Twenty-four days since she spent the evening with Danielle, Reuben, and his teammates. Twenty-three days since she interviewed for a new position. Twenty-two since she was offered the job, one that came with a big salary increase, better benefits, a higher security clearance requirement, and a thirty-day decision deadline. Twenty-one days since she returned home, a serious case of imposter syndrome setting in, mixing with her anxiety.

“I haven’t decided because I can’t figure out the right answer. It’s a great opportunity, and I know I’d enjoy the work, but it’s such a huge change, and frankly, I don’t know if it’s worth moving across the country. I like what I do now, I’m settled here, and I’m finally starting to make real friends instead of just having acquaintances from work. It’s taken-” A crash interrupts her. “Reuben! What was that?! Are you okay?”

“I tripped over Boo-Boo and almost took out the side table. Stupid ass cat.” She can hear him fighting with the fat, orange tabby under his breath. “I’m fine. Keep going; we’re listening.”

“You were probably in his way!”

“Stop defending the cat! He can’t hear you, and he was in the wrong! And stop deflecting. You were saying it’s taken…”

“It’s taken me four years to get comfortable, to this point where I’m not spending all my free time alone in my apartment. I move, and I have to start all over again. With everything. The search for where to live. Getting comfortable with the job. Making friends.”

“You have plenty of friends out here already!”

“You and Danielle don’t count; we’ve known each other since freshman year.” Her voice is flat, already knowing where his argument is going.

“Okay, fine! You’re friends with Mickey. And you liked Natasha and Bob! Plus, there’s Rooster and the rest of the Dagger Squad!”

“Reuben, knowing your team’s callsigns and spending a few hours drinking with them when I was out there doesn’t mean I actually know them or that we’re friends.”

“Yeah, true, but they’re good people, and you’ll get along with all of them. And you’ll make friends of your own! What I’m saying is that you’re not starting over with friends; you’ve got a foundation to build on, so that’s one less thing to worry about.”

“Okay, well, I’m also thirty-three and not getting any younger. I’d like to have a family one day; I want a husband, a few kids, and maybe a dog. That dream gets harder to achieve if I have to start over again.”

“Is this because of your parents?” Danielle’s voice is a surprise.

“Damn it, Fitch! Have you had me on speakerphone this whole time?!”

“I told you we were listening!”

“I thought you meant the damn cat!”

“Why would I mean the cat?”

“Because you’re an idiot-”

“As fun as it is to listen to the two of you argue.” Danielle’s scolding cuts them off before it can devolve into a repeat of The Incident of 2013. “Let’s get back to my question. Is this indecision because of your parents?”

“No! Why would you even think that?”

“For starters, you’ve never mentioned kids before!”

Danielle smooths over her husband’s indignant statement. “We know it’s something your parents harp on you about.”

The understatement of the decade.

Mary’s family is a large group of stereotypical Italian immigrant Catholics from New York. Thirty-one people on her father’s side came from Sicily through Ellis Island in the late nineteenth century and settled in East Harlem. The men worked municipal projects, performing back-breaking labor to build bridges and dig subway tunnels, while the women suffered through the dangerous working conditions of the Manhattan garment factories. The family worked hard, the entire brood saving money to open a bakery just like they had back home. Vertucci’s Bakery – named for the family – opened in 1925 and was an instant success; people waited in lines that went out the door to get a taste of the old country. As the family grew, so did the bakery; everyone working to churn out bread, cakes, and pastries as fast as possible. Eventually, they outgrew the first shop, moving to a bigger location in Brooklyn the same year Mary’s father was born.

The other side of her family, the Romanos, immigrated just before World War II. Settling in Carroll Gardens, Mary’s great-grandfather was a dock worker at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, while her great-grandmother took care of the children and worked as a seamstress out of their apartment. Through the generations and the gentrification, the family stayed in Brooklyn, enjoying the strong Italian community.

Carlo and Lisa met on a busy Saturday morning when he was working Vertucci’s front counter. They fell in love quickly and were married just over a year later. Four boys in the four years after they were married, with Mariella “Mary” Vertucci following several years after the twins. She was a happy mistake. Wording that never failed to make her feel like she was two inches tall.

Despite being the youngest by ten years, as the only daughter Mary was subject to the most guilt trips and punishments growing up, her brothers seemingly unable to do no wrong in the eyes of the rest of the family.

When she was little, she didn’t eat enough food, and the women of her family criticized her for being too skinny. Then with puberty, she gained weight, and suddenly she was eating too much food. The yelling she had to endure when she went away to school - the first one in her family to do so - practically shattered the windows in her parent’s living room. Her mother was exceptionally upset because she had found a nice Italian boy for Mary to date, one who didn’t care that she was chubby. Constant complaints about distance when she moved to Missouri after graduation to work for Boeing, where she learned the ins and outs of all the mechanical systems of the Navy’s top fighter jets and worked on maintenance procedures to keep them running. The knock-down-drag-out screaming matches when she announced that she was being transferred to Florida to act as a senior engineering liaison between the company and the Navy, not once receiving any congratulations for her impressively quick advancement.

Not to mention all the subtle implications that she was a bad daughter for not producing grandchildren yet. Despite all of her brothers being married and having provided numerous grandchildren.

“I love kids, I’ve always wanted them, but given my luck with relationships, they’ve always kinda been a pipe dream. And I barely talk to my family anymore, my parents, least of all, no one knows I’m up for a new job. Only a few people here even know I went to California, and they all think I just went for a long weekend to visit some old friends.”

“If you take the job, when are you gonna tell them you’re moving to California?”

She snorts, “I’ll just call Danny’s wife as I’m about to get on the plane, and she’ll do all the work. By the time I touch down in San Diego, the entire Vertucci network will be informed of the address change.”

“You’d do that to your favorite brother?”

Danny is her favorite by default. Being the oldest meant he usually could be counted on to stop the other three from being too brutal in their taunts, but he also joined the teasing as much as he stopped it.

“He left my name off the Mother’s Day bouquet last year; this’ll make us even.”

“You didn’t chip in for flowers?” Reuben sounds shocked, knowing the importance of Mother’s Day flowers in the Vertucci family.

“No, I did. I covered Michael’s portion, too; that’s when Mia was going through treatment. He forgot to put my name on the card.”

“Wow…”

“Yeah, surprised me too. Especially when I got a call at the ass crack of dawn the next day, asking why I was ignoring the woman who gave me life on the most important day of the year.”

“Not to interrupt this venting session, but we still haven’t gotten to why you’re holding back on making a decision.” Danielle interrupts.

Mary hesitates, embarrassed to tell her closest friends about the problem. “I just keep thinking about the worst things that could happen. Which I know is stupid, and it’s just making my anxiety act up even more, but I can’t stop thinking about what could go wrong.”

“Well, that’s obviously not working, so what about the best things that could happen? I can kick Reuben out if you want. He doesn’t need to know everything.”

“Hey! She’s my best friend, too! And I’ve known her longer than you!”

“Only by six months! And you wouldn’t have become friends if she hadn’t taken pity on you and forced you to be her lab partner.”

“Let's see, good things… good things.” She interrupts the argument over who is her bestest friend. “Well, I could live near both my best friends for the first time since college. I could live in the same town as my goddaughter for the first time in her life. I could end up loving the job - not just tolerating it - and work there until I retire. The time difference could be good. I might be able to have a better relationship with my family if there’s extra distance between us. I could…”

She trails off, simultaneously feeling silly about what her next sentence would be and also afraid saying it out loud would jinx it.

“You could?” Danielle gently prods.

I could fall in love. I could be happy.

Her answer is just above a whisper, “I could be happy.”

Reuben gently breaks the silence that follows her vulnerable wish. “Are you not happy now?”

“I’m content. Which is good, but it’s not the same as being happy.”

“What do you think it would take for you to be happy?”

“I really don’t know… Force myself to make some changes? Shake things up?”

“Shit, I hear Annabeth waking up from her nap, but - and I’m sure you’ve already had this thought - but if you think shaking things up could help, I think you have the answer about the job.” Crying crackles over the baby monitor. “Okay, I’m gone. Love you - text me later!”

“Love you too, Dani!”

“So… what are you thinking?”

“How would you feel about turning the office into an official guest room while I find a place to live?”

“As long as you join the diaper-changing rotation, I think we could swing that.”

“Deal.”

fic tag | credit for dividers here

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