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junnieverse · 8 months

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TRACK STAR ➳ ENHYPEN

➙ how enhypen react to seeing you win first place at your cross country race

pairing: enhypen x gn!reader

genre: fluff, slight crack under riki's lol

request: " req for bf!enha when u finish 1st place at cross-country pls -rizzki anon"

warnings: lowercase intended, not proofread

a/n: hi angel, you know how much I love hearing from you so thank you for this request! hope you found it cute <33

🖇️ — 양정원 ; JUNGWON !

best believe he has his camera out to record the entire thing

jungwon makes sure to get footage of you winning your race just to watch it a whole bunch of times

he's like a proud mom that just saw his baby graduate from first grade

super supportive with helping you prepare for your races

he'll help you with stretches and even run/train with you whenever he can

brought maeumi to the race to support you as well

"Maeumi look, they won!" he says to his dog as she barked excitedly noticing you from the distance

rewards you with cuddles for the entire evening and gives you all the kisses in the world

doesn't miss praising you for how well you did and that he's very proud of you :((

🖇️ — 이희승 ; HEESEUNG !

your boyfriend is going to show off

you're always proud to tell everyone about his achievements and he in turn does the same with yours

his friends are tired of him talking about you (you're great but heeseung needs to put a sock in it)

he's usually pretty 'humble' or subtle when it comes to showing off but he couldn't hold back

starts doing this little victory dance in the crowd and tells everyone around him that he's your boyfriend

sweaty and all, heeseung still ran over to you after your race and hugged you spinning you around

smothered you in kisses and told you how well you did

makes sure to suprise you with a cute dinner and a muscle relaxing bubble bath afterwards as his treat to you

"My baby's a track star~" he says in a sing song tone whilst you both cuddled in bed

🖇️ — 박종성 ; JAY !

it didn't show but trust he was more anxious about how this race would go more than you were even though you were the one running

felt like a weight lifted off his shoulders seeing you crossing the finish line first

he knows how worried you were about the race so he was so proud of you for coming this far

jay is literally standing in the bleachers with a bouquet of flowers to gift you, even if you had came out last you'd still be a winner to him

calls you 'champ' from that day on

"How's my champ this morning?" he greets leaving a short peck on your temple

you missed hearing him calling you other endearing nicknames but oddly enough champ motivated you to do better in your other races

he also knows how straining the long distance run probably was so he makes sure to give you a massage to relax you and get the tension out your body

🖇️ — 심재윤 ; JAKE !

I've mentioned this multiple times and I'll keep saying it

jake will never beat the proud/super supportive boyfriend agenda

he will always be your biggest fan in any of your pursuits, win or lose he'll always be there to stand by you

your boyfriend was literally in the stands holding a banner saying ' my partner is a track star '

probably has a picture of you with your trophy/medal framed and hung somewhere in his room

he makes sure to treat you to an ice cream date after your race because in his words, his super star deserves their reward

he makes sure to post it on his social media too even if it isn't much of a 'big deal' to you

jake takes your wins to heart more than you do

you'd swear he was the one that just ran and came in first

"That's my baby over there!" he yells as you cross the finish line coming in first

🖇️ — 박성훈 ; SUNGHOON !

show off no.2, yep, this boy is telling everyone

the people next to him in the stands saw it first hand but he's loudly cheering about how his partner just won their race

hell he's telling the waiter at the diner you were both at that you won too

"Did you know they actually won their cross country race? Yep, I'm dating a star athlete." he says as you hid behind your hands

to say the least you also felt kinda embarrassed by your boyfriend and his boastful actions

but you were also happy to see how proud hoon was of your achievements and that he wanted to show you off

"You can stop now Hoon, the whole city knows at this point." you tell him covering his mouth during his phone call

yep, he called his mom to tell her too

she probably went around telling everyone excitedly too, it seemingly runs in the genes

🖇️ — 김선우 ; SUNOO !

he is that sort of 'sports mom' that comes with all the snacks and drinks for you

also asks you alot of questions to make sure you're not too anxious and you're energized and ready to run beforehand

"Do you need some water before running baby? can I help you with anything else? Make sure you stretch so you don't pull anything."

he just wants to make sure you don't get any injuries during your race

starts jumping around excitedly when he sees you've won your race

he knows you're all sweaty so he holds off hugging you until you're clean

going out to karaoke or for korean bbq to celebrate your win with friends

he's all smiles because he's happy to see how all your hard work paid off

🖇️ — 西村力 ; NI-KI !

he knew you were a good runner but not this good

he was expecting you to place somewhere in the top ten but not first

was still really happy for you but mostly in shock

meets you after your race to give you a congratulatory hug and kiss (as one good boyfriend does in his words)

"Damn I owe Sunghoon hyung 30 bucks now-" he whispers which you caught on

you soon learnt your loving dear boyfriend made a bet with hoon that you wouldn't come out first and he ofcourse lost that bet

"Haha what, babe I always knew you could do it, I knew from the very beginning you were a cross country champion." he says following after you like a lost puppy trying to get your attention

he made it up to you by printing a shirt with your face on it and the words ' they won their track race and my heart '

it was cringe but you forgave him because he wore it in public embarrassing himself for you

riki made sure to never bet on you ever again but he was always going to be your number one fan

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angel-wings-and-tattoos · 1 year

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i am, in fact, in a steddie mood today. however, if you look at my account for more than 2 seconds then you're aware that i'm incapable of writing anything without stonathan in some way, shape, or form so today! we will be looking at platonicbff!stonathan. i love stonathan with my entire heart and its to the point where i like literally any dynamic you can put them in. like i think i'm into platonic!stonathan equally as much as platonic!stobin. which is saying something bc i am actively head over heels in love with robin.

what i want to look at today is protective jonathan when it comes to steve. in a perfect world (correction-in a somewhat plausible perfect world bc, let's be honest, in my perfect world we actively get footage of jonathan and steve fucking but that's neither here nor there) season 5 develops steve & jonathan's relationship, him and nancy break up amicably, and steve and jonathan become best friends.

but back to the steddie i promised earlier.

----

eddie doesn't know how it happened. one day he's accused of murder, alone, and stuck in a boathouse and less than a month later here he is. staring at steve fucking harrington sleeping less than five feet away from him.

the very same steve harrington that apparently is the sole reason he's even awake in the first place. when the trio had stumbled onto dustin and eddie, steve had gone into full action hero mode. using his lifeguard cpr training he had managed to get eddie breathing long enough to haul his ass back top side, breaking one of eddie's ribs in the process.

eddie doesn't remember any of it.

that isn't for lack of trying on his part. eddie is approximately two seconds away from breaking into the hospital's security footage because, if robin's story is true, he wants to keep the video for the rest of his life.

according to her, it was awesome, munson, you should have seen it! he had you in a bridal carry like a godamn rag doll. he burst in the front entrance and started yelling at them like i've never seen him yell before, ever! even that one time dustin fucked up the paint on his car. the nurses recognized you and for sure didn't want to help but apparently there's only so much you can do in the face of steve harrington throwing the mother of all shitfits. the second he started threatening to call his dad they all kicked into gear. it would have been funny if i didn't actively think you were dead at the time. sorry! but you really were super still and you weren't groping steve, like at all, so i assumed that we'd lost you forever.

(eddie pretends to be offended by that last bit, but he also concedes that if steve picked him up right now he can't promise he would keep his hands to himself)

after eddie was taken away on a stretcher, steve had nodded, mostly to himself, and promptly passed out. onto the cold, hard, tiled floor of the hospital entryway. they hauled him on a stretcher as well and he was put up in a room somewhere down the hallway.

that lasted for about four hours.

or, more accurately, that lasted until steve woke up again. after throwing what robin called less a shitfit, more a temper tantrum this time, he managed, even in a pain-induced haze, to convince the hospital staff to put him in eddie's room.

that fiasco was 3 days ago.

currently, steve wasn't unconscious anymore but his injuries were pretty badly infected. turns out nancy's shredded t-shirt wasn't exactly the most sterile thing on the planet. they had him on a steady stream of antibiotics and pain meds. eddie himself hadn't been awake for more than 15 minutes or so at a time (each of those times, robin had excitedly looked up from her vigil at steve's side and recounted new things she decided he had to know at that exact second).

until now.

as eddie blinks awake, he is aware of three things.

he's never been this thirsty in his entire life. it feels like he decided to dive mouth first into a container of sand.

if he didn't know any better, he would say that jim hopper is standing by a chair near steve's bed. but he does know better, jim hopper is dead. so. great. now he can add hallucinations to potential side effects of evil upside down bat bites.

directly next to the mirage of a police chief, sits jonathan byers.

that last thing wouldn't be as weird if said byers wasn't holding one of steve's hands and sitting far closer to the bed than the nonentity behind him.

(eddie isn't sure why the hand holding is more distracting at the moment than the fact that robin is actively laying in steve's bed with him, burrowing herself into his side like she's attempting to meld them into one person.)

he blearily watches as jonathan softly tucks a stray piece of steve's hair behind his ear on the side of his head that's not currently resting on the top of robin's.

eddie decides that he is on far too much pain medication to be thinking this hard.

groaning, he attempts to sit up enough to reach the water pitcher next to his bed.

"whoa, munson. take it easy," the ghost of legal trouble's past shuffles over to help eddie by pouring some water into a small paper cup. eddie watches him, wearily taking the cup from him. the water was cold to the point that it almost hurt, but it still beat the hell out of having a dry throat.

"ar'n't you 'posed t'be dead?" eddie slurs. his tongue feels like it weighs about ten pounds. the (poltergeist? revenant? wraith? eddie's mushy brain can't think of a better word for a dead person that can pour him water) figure before him scoffs.

"nice to see that you're still charming as ever. it's a long story, kid, i'm sure someone else will fill you in later. besides i'm guessing you have maybe 5 minutes of peace before one of those kids finds out you're awake and, inevitably, starts screaming about it loud enough to break glass," hopper sighs, hands coming to his hips in a remarkably similar echo of steve. eddie has absolutely zero thoughts about that, thank you. the chief moves towards the door, placing a hand on the handle.

"however, buckley hasn't left harrington's side for the last 4 days. if anyone scares her awake now, i don't think she'll ever go back to sleep. i'll hold them off for the night, but the second the sun comes up, you're on your own."

hopper looks from eddie to jonathan, who nods in acknowledgement without looking away from steve for more than a second or two. eddie watches as he closes the door behind him and disappears from view, leaving jonathan and eddie sitting in silence.

eddie coughs.

fidgets.

looks at byers.

coughs again.

okay, let it be said that eddie isn't great with awkward silence. but, in his defense, what the fuck is he supposed to say to jonathan byers? he didn't even know that him and steve were friends, much less holding-hands-in-a-hospital-bed-friends.

"so," eddie starts, regretting opening his mouth the second jonathan looks at him.

"so," jonathan repeats quietly, looking like he's holding back a smile as he does, "you're eddie munson."

eddie doesn't like the way jonathan is saying his name. it has an odd tilt to it, like he's mimicking what someone else has said to him. eddie admits that it's not the worst way his name has ever been said, but it makes him swallow uncomfortably.

"gu'lty 's charged, man." eddie's voice comes out considerably clearer than before, shifting from sounding completely shitfaced to minorly tipsy.

there is an extremely awkward moment where eddie has no idea where this conversation is going. jonathan is back to staring at steve, still practically cradling one of his hands between the two of his.

"he talks about you a lot, you know," eddie doesn't know, but he also doesn't interrupt, "it's always 'eddie said this', 'this is eddie's favorite song', 'eddie rented that movie'. he talks about you almost as much as he talks about robin."

jonathan takes a breath, drumming his fingers on the back of steve's hand. his gaze stays on steve as he talks, still quiet enough to not wake up either of the teenagers sleeping next to him.

"he's a good guy, you know. underneath the whole asshole jock façade. i don't know if you remember, but he almost killed himself trying to save you. i'm not sure how he was even able to stand when you guys came in, much less march in here like he did carrying you in his arms."

still idly toying with steve's hand, jonathan's gaze moves back to eddie. his fond expression dims into more serious territory as he visibly contemplates the second part of his impromptu speech.

"i'm not the greatest at talking about my own feelings, i'm more than aware of that, but i won't hesitate in saying that steve is important to me. no idea how, why, or when it happened, but he just is. somewhere along the line he decided that your opinion is important to him and i need you to understand the weight of that. steve has been independent his entire life, sometimes to the point where it's detrimental to his own health. i don't know if he realizes it completely, but he's basically imprinted on you like a baby duck."

eddie swallows nervously as jonathan maintains steady eye contact. the two men are quiet for a moment before jonathan seems to mentally switch tracks, "you seem like a good guy. steve obviously adores you and it sounds like the kids do as well. from what i've heard, you almost died to save dustin's life. i appreciate all of it, i really do. that being said, if you do anything to hurt steve then none of that matters anymore. i think i'm speaking on robin's behalf as well when i say that we really do like you as a person, but steve's wellbeing comes first."

as stated earlier, eddie is on far too much pain medication to be thinking this hard. if his head wasn't so foggy, eddie would think he's getting a shovel talk.

by jonathan byers.

about steve harrington.

who apparently "obviously adores him".

yeah, it's definitely the pain killers.

eddie clears his throat again as he heavily sinks back against his pillows. "i'm not entirely convinced that 'm not hallucinating this entire conversation, byers. but yeah, i understand. kinda owe him my life now, i guess, so it'd be pretty shitty of me to hurt the guy's feelings or whatever ya think i'mma do," his speech was improving the more he talked, but it was getting harder to keep his eyes open.

jonathan seems content with that statement for the time being, if his attention switching back to steve and off eddie is any indication.

eddie falls back asleep shortly thereafter, leaving jonathan as the only person awake in the small hospital room.

________

i think i'm going to add more from jonathan's pov but for now just be aware that jonathan and steve both know that steve is practically in love with eddie. jonathan is very protective of the people he loves and steve is in that circle. as far as this little snippet goes, i don't think stonathan was ever a romantic thing, and there was never any hard pining involved but they do care about each other deeply. i like to think they kept in contact when the byers moved to california. it started with jonathan and nancy getting into a fight and the only other adult person he could call to check on things was steve. he wasn't sure if steve would even respond, but he ended up not only answering all of jon's questions but seemed to genuinely want to know how the rest of the byers' clan was doing.

this turned into weekly phone calls, which turned to twice a week, which eventually turned to calls at all times of day all week. they're basically besties who gossip and talk shit on the phone all the time. when the byers get back to hawkins it shocks everyone but robin when jonathan parks his ass next to steve's bed and refuses to move.

i just love stonathan ok!!!! i will die on this hill. steve deserves people who love him and care about him!!

Edit: now on ao3!! <3

#jonathan byers #steve harrington #stonathan #platonic stonathan #steve harrington & jonathan byers #stranger things #stranger things 5 #eddie munson #steve harrington/eddie munson #kinda #steddie #pre-relationship #robin buckley #jim hopper #hospital #stranger things au #platonic stobin #ali's ficlets

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saltydumplings · 2 years

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Can you continue snippet 7 😭

Snippet #7.3

Part 3

Oh my god, this is oldest ask in my inbox - I am so sorry it took this long!!

Cw: suggestive

It had been bothering the villain for weeks. They spent half their time going back over a minute's worth of footage searching the tiniest of hints - the smallest of movements that would give them the answer they wanted. If only the hero had let them take that picture... It had to be the camera angle - the video was giving them nothing: they'd limited it down to two areas but the footage wasn't giving them anything else and their memory was hardly reliable enough to draw any real conclusions from.

No, they couldn't contemplate this discreetly anymore. If they wanted answers they were going to have to take a more...hands-on approach.

"Hero?" they called, quickly switching off all the monitors so as not to give anything away whilst they waited.

And waited.

"Hero!" they called out again, and again they received no response.

Brat, they thought, standing up from their seat and peering their head out of the doorway, staring down the corridor and making out the sound of the TV playing in the lounge. The villain knew their lair could be a bit of a labyrinth sometimes but seriously? The hero was clearly just down the hall - there was no doubt in the villain's mind that the other had heard them - and still they refused to come.

The villain huffed irritably, walking the short distance down the corridor and into the room at the end of it, spying the hero quickly as they came to a halt in the doorway, arms crossed over their chest.

"Hero," they said.

"Yes?"

The hero in question didn't even turn their head - gaze remaining fixed on the screen in front of them whilst they remained sprawled out on the couch.

"I called for you," the villain said.

"Did you?" the hero asked. "Huh, didn't hear it."

"Well then, perhaps you should get your hearing checked."

"Oh no, my hearing's fine. Your eyesight, however, is far more questionable." They held something up then and the villain squinted, soon making out that it was a letter, the ripped envelope tossed onto the floor along with several others. "You know they called you in for an appointment five months ago, right? You should probably get that sorted--"

"EXCUSE ME, THAT'S MY MAIL," the villain snapped, stepping forwards and snatching the paper straight from the hero's hand. "What have I told you about about touching my things?"

"Eh, something-something bad, something-something punishment..." the hero tilted their head back, finally directing their gaze towards the villain - lips turned upwards in a teasing grin. "Sounded like fun to me."

The villain huffed, throwing the paper off to the side and coming to lean over the other, hands resting either side of the hero's head. "You're misbehaving on purpose," they accused.

The hero gasped, feigning shock. "Me? Misbehave? It's impossible - I'm a hero after all. Being good is in my nature."

"And being bad is in mine, yet out of the two of us I'm the only one with good manners."

"Are you calling me rude?"

"No, I'm calling you a brat that needs to learn their place."

A beat. A faint blush appeared on the hero's cheeks but they smiled, reaching a hand up to catch the villain by the collar of their shirt and pull them closer.

"You like that though," they said, voice barely above a whisper - their grin growing wider when the villain flushed red in turn. "Cute."

The villain's blush increased but they were quick to retaliate, wrapping one hand around the hero's neck whilst the other grasped at their hair and tilted their head back further - the hero's breath hitching slightly at the sudden movement.

"Not as cute as you," the villain mused. They leaned in a little more and watched as the hero shut their eyes, clearly expecting a kiss...but the villain didn't give it to them. "Lie on your back: I want to try something."

They spoke the command lowly, lips brushing slightly against the hero's ear before they pulled away completely, waiting for the other to comply. As they expected it took a moment, a small pout crossing the hero's face as they came to blink up at the villain in disappointment - spending a few seconds trying their luck with the villain's sympathy before finally giving in and laying down with a huff.

"Now what?" they asked.

A spark of excitement lit up within the villain's eyes. They brought out their phone and tapped upon the screen a few times before placing it down on the floor and reaching for the TV remote, muting the sound.

"Now..." the villain said, swiftly moving to straddle the other and placing their hands down upon their chest - the hero squirming slightly as the villain's touch began to roam up and down. "Now, you just be good and stay still whilst I try and find what I've been looking for. Think you can manage that?"

The hero's head cocked to the side, ignoring the villain's question in favour of asking one of their own. "It depends. What exactly are you looking for?"

"Well, obviously I can't tell you that," the villain said. "It's an experiment, Hero, and the one variable requires you to be surprised."

"Ah, yes, because clearly I'm not expecting anything to happen here at all," the hero said sarcastically.

The villain frowned and suddenly pinched their side, the hero's reaction being a small, high-pitched yelp.

"Not there then..." the villain muttered, pretending not to see the hero's glare as they moved to do the same on the other side - batting the hero's hands away when the other tried to intervene.

"V-Villain, no! It t-tickles," the hero whined.

The villain sighed, their touch now venturing down lower, hands hooking beneath the hero's thighs and squeezing slightly. The hero fidgetted and blushed but not much else happened so the villain brought their touch lower again only to get the same result. Their next attempt had their hold moving to the hero's inner thighs - touch travelling up and down teasingly, waiting until the hero seemed somewhat used to the motion before suddenly hitching their grip up higher and pinching lightly--

There.

There it was - the sound they were searching for: the hero letting out that beautiful little half-moan; that strange concoction of a yelp and a whine that had the villain blushing almost as much as the hero. It was perfect. They wanted to hear the hero making that sound again and again but for now they'd just have to be content to have found the spot that caused it. Their element of surprise was now lost and they'd have to wait for the hero to settle once more before trying it again. Idly, the villain leaned down and picked their phone back up from the floor, a satisfied grin lining their lips as they stopped the audio recording.

"Wait, w-was that it? Just that - that was all?" the hero asked.

The villain didn't respond, simply boosted the volume on their phone and played the last few seconds of the recording back, smile widening when the hero's blush increased tenfold upon hearing themself make such a noise - immediately reaching forward to try and snatch the phone from the villain's hands.

"YOU ARE NOT KEEPING THAT!"

"And why not?"

"B-Because!"

"It's just a little science Hero, surely you'd let me--

The villain stopped, cut short by the hero suddenly pushing them backwards and switching their positions - snatching the phone from the surprised villain's hands easily. The other could only gape at the change in situation, struggling to get the phone back from the hero's grasp.

"No, no - don't you dare delete that," the villain pleaded.

The hero held the phone up high in one hand, the other pressing down firmly upon the villain's chest. They smiled. "And why not? It's just a little science, right?"

The villain flushed as their own words were used against them. Another minute of fighting and they stopped, relenting with an annoyed huff. "What do you want?" they asked.

A pause.

"What makes you think I want anything?" the hero said innocently.

The villain barely managed to suppress a laugh. "Oh please, you're always after something. Come on, what is it?"

The hero's gaze flickered between the villain and the phone in their hands - absently biting down on their lower lip as they thought. "Takeaway, your treat. A-And no more using me for trap testing for the next two weeks, th-though..." The hero stopped to clear their throat, cheeks turning a bright red. "I mean, i-if you wanted to continue developing the, um, one we did last Tuesday I-I guess I wouldn't mind."

Oh?

The villain's frown quickly became a smirk, hands coming to settle upon the hero's waist as their interest was peaked. "Tuesday?" they asked, rolling the word off their tongue slowly like they couldn't quite recall it. "Which one was that again?"

The hero's blush deepened. "Y-You know, the...the one with the- the thingies."

"The thingies?" the villain reiterated, watching in amusement as the hero turned away slightly - clearly too embarrassed to say. "A lot of my traps include 'thingies', Hero, you'll have to be a little more specific than that."

"But I-- Y-You know which one I mean, I know you do," the hero complained.

"And if I don't? Surely you want to state the rules of the negotiation clearly now, don't you?"

"But you know--"

"Of course I know," the villain said with a grin. "I just want to hear you say it."

Another moment of silence fell between them. The hero opened their mouth and then closed it, a stubborn pout forming on their lips as they stared down at the villain beneath them, squirming as the other's touch ran up and down their sides.

"The...The one with the..." The hero's voice dropped, barely above a whisper as they finally stated exactly what it was they wanted - holding out the villain's phone once they were done. "Deal?"

The villain took the phone smugly: their recording was safe, their research was successful, and the week ahead looked very interesting.

"Deal."

#writing snippet #heroxvillain snippet #heroxvillain #hero x villain #hero #villain

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beekeeperspicnic · 1 year

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What adaptations/pastiche/etc. (if any) have influenced or inspired your writing and development of the game?

Whoops sorry this got long.

Weirdly enough when I think about initial inspirations for the game my mind doesn't immediately go to Sherlock Holmes but to...

...Star Trek: Picard

[IMG, Screenshot from Star Trek Picard. Captain Picard standing in a beautiful vinyard with a stick and a doggie]

Not what Star Trek: Picard actually IS, but what I desperately wanted it to be. See, I really love utopian sci-fi where poverty and hunger and inequality are problems that have been solved, but characters still have to deal with problems of personal purpose and personhood. I love Becky Chambers and Ursula K Le Guin and Ada Palmer.

When Star Trek: Picard was announced I immediately longed to see Captain Picard on Earth in his vineyard, dealing with getting older in a solarpunk utopia. On the Enterprise he had a definite set role in his community - he was the captain. Now he's just a regular member of a post-scarcity agricultural community, being confronted with his own legacy, tackling philosophical conundrums, befriending former enemies, healing from trauma. And y'know... perhaps solving mysteries.

But of course Star Trek Picard wasn't ACTUALLY that.

But I think the desire for that lodged itself in my brain and when I had the idea to do a Sherlock Holmes game, it popped back up like "Hey Picard isn't public domain, but y'know who IS?"

The Granada Lost Beekeeping Footage

In terms of actual Sherlock Holmes media, the INFAMOUS Granada Holmes 'Lost Beekeeping Footage' gets a mention.

This post explains more details, but long story short for the 'Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' series starring Jeremy Brett, footage and photos of a retired Holmes and Watson were taken but never used.

Sadly Jeremy Brett's health declined and the series didn't get to end with that particular Holmes and Watson waltzing off to Sussex together, but it's nice imagining what might have been, and I hope this game can be a little tribute to him and both his Watsons.

I definitely partially pinched Watson's outfit and Holmes' colour scheme from these photos! But my Holmes is wearing his comfy jumper rather than simply... wrapping it around his shoulders?

[IMG Two photos of Jeremy Brett as Holmes and Edward Hardwicke as Watson, standing by a beehive. Holmes is in a cream suit and has a beekeeping hat and gloves, Watson wears a blue scarf and trenchcoat.

The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes

Last but not least, The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes, written in part by Arthur Conan Doyle's son Adrian. In the official canon we leave Holmes and Watson on a bit of a sad note - they've drifted apart, both drawn along different paths and war looms on the horizon.

But I never think there's any reason to imagine they didn't both make it out the other side of that - and why shouldn't they get their happy ending?

I guess Adrian agreed because he ends his own dabble in his father's creations with Watson living with Holmes, and describes the Sussex home in more detail than is found in the original canon:

My task is done. My notebooks have been replaced in the black tin deedbox where they have been kept in recent years and, for the last time, I have dipped my pen in the inkwell.

Through the window that overlooks the modest lawn of our farmhouse, I can see Sherlock Holmes strolling among his beehives. His hair is quite white, but his long, thin form is as wiry and energetic as ever, and there is a touch of healthy color in his cheeks, placed there by Mother Nature and her clover-laden breezes that carry the scent of the sea amid these gentle Sussex Downs.

Our lives are drawing towards eventide and old faces and old scenes are gone forever. And yet, as I lean back in my chair and close my eyes, for a while the past rises up to obscure the present and I see before me the yellow fogs of Baker Street and I hear once more the voice of the best and wisest man whom I have ever known.

“Come, Watson, the game’s afoot!”

Extract from ‘Exploits of Sherlock Holmes’ by Adrian Conan Doyle, John Dickson Carr

That's the world I'm wanting to bring to life!

I think that's probably the main influences :D

#faqs #inspiration #the beekeeper's picnic #jeremy brett #edward hardwicke #star trek picard #the exploits of sherlock holmes #acd canon

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bcbdrums · 6 months

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The Voice - ch. 4

First Chapter | Previous Chapter AO3 | FFn

A Drakgo story.

Suspense/angst, injury, hurt/comfort multi-chap. Spoilers ahead if you've not read the first parts.

-------------

"I, um...would you like to hear another story?"

Of course she didn't respond, and Drakken felt the sick feeling return to his stomach. He frowned and looked away to where the red of the sunset had all but vanished. He wondered if he should turn the flashlight on when it got dark... He could still hear the rain through the hole in the cave's ceiling.

"The hover-car really won't take long to fix, as soon as the rain stops. I know you've been telling me to put a dome on it for years... Eddie would call it 'tricked out.' But it does have some utility... As long as I'm adding things, do you think it needs more seats? I know the last model had three in the front... It would be useful if we ever capture Kim Possible...although I suppose we could just stuff her in the trunk... Yes, I know that's what you would prefer... But I'd like her to hear my gloating before we imprison her for life in the dungeon... Oh! That...that was supposed to be a surprise..."

Drakken felt his chest constrict in pain again.

"I built a dungeon, under the new lair..."

Tears came to his eyes again. They would never capture Kim Possible together. Shego would never see the dungeon he had built. But...he could tell her about it.

"You...you might not like it. It's entirely cliche... I even put a fake skeleton in there, hanging from a wall with shackles... But I had it built it out of the natural cave, so lava is running through..."

Drakken realized just then that even though his clothes were dry, he was still very damp. The cave was hot and humid, and his hair hadn't dried at all in the time they had been inside. He tugged at his collar uncomfortably.

"It has those...old medieval cages that are only big enough for a person to stand in...hanging from caves over the lava flow... And it has a drawbridge over the lava, with the controls only on one side. Oh! You'll like this. I calculated the length of Kim Possible's grapple gun from various security footage and made sure the ceilings are higher. Even if she escapes the cages or shackles, she wouldn't be able to use that thing to get out. And I want to find something that she's afraid of to put inside, too... Maybe—"

He had been about to say 'spiders' but stopped short. The last thing Shego needed reminding of was spiders.

"Maybe I can build a projector...or a Pepper's ghost stage... What do you think the odds are that Kim Possible knows about Pepper's ghost? I'm sure her computer kid knows about them, but there wouldn't be anything digital for him to scan. That's what I'll do..."

He tugged at his collar again and suddenly felt itchy all over. He gently placed Shego's hand on her leg and noted how cold she seemed to be despite the heat in the cave.

"I'm just...going to take my shirt off. It's too hot," he explained as he moved off of the wall.

He stayed within her line of sight as he undid the buttons and then yanked the sweat-soaked garment off of his back, the sleeves sticking to his arms slightly. He tossed the shirt away in the direction of the unopened chip bags. He untucked the t-shirt he was wearing from his waistband and pulled at the front of the shirt a few times to air out his chest.

He looked at Shego's still-damp hair and the sheen of sweat over her face. He reached his hands cautiously toward the zipper of her suit.

"Do you want me to... Ah...n-never-mind," he said with a blush, changing his mind. She definitely would not want him undressing her, even if she was hot. And...it wouldn't matter anyway.

He leaned back against the wall and found the stone cool and a slight relief, though his back was still sweaty inside his t-shirt.

"Actually, that...that reminds me of another story. Do you want to hear it...? You probably don't... But my first year in college, I'm sure my dorm room was haunted."

He shifted to put his shoulder against hers, and when he picked up her hand to hold he noticed again how cold she was even through her suit. It wasn't a good sign. Or...maybe it was? Would a quick death be better?

He fought the urge to cry, and leaned his head against hers.

"It's a scary story... You can tell me later if you think so or not..." He paused to gather his emotions as he recalled the memory and decided where to start. "The dorm room I was assigned was on the top floor and in a corner. Oh, I should explain... This was the old building, that had been part of the old campus before MIST was founded. I...can't remember what the old college was called. But my dorm had been part of the original buildings that were built in the 1920's. So it had all the original plumbing, the walls were thicker...the windows had no screens and were single-plate glass... Some rooms, like mine, didn't have a shower and only an old claw-foot tub. And the water was fed from a natural hot spring. It would have been interesting, if not for the haunting...

"When I moved in I also had a freshman roommate. His name was Jonah... He was from Kenya. But that's not relevant... The room was very nice and we both liked it, but all of the upperclassmen told us we had the haunted room. They told us that back in the twenties...a man and woman had been shot and killed in our room, because the woman was the young wife of one of the professors...and the man was a student apprentice to that professor. It was the professor of course who murdered them, after catching them together.

"The story we were told was that the ghosts of the two victims haunted the room, and if anyone ever did anything at all dishonest...horrible things began happening to them. Freak accidents and injuries... Things going missing..."

The light from the sunset had vanished entirely, and Drakken found himself feeling afraid. He turned on the flashlight and set it facing up on the floor right between his and Shego's legs.

"I know what you're thinking. I'm being a baby... But it was really haunted, Shego! After the first couple of months...first, our laundry was destroyed. Down in the washroom... In the same machines we always used. Both mine and Jonah's, but no one else's was ruined. You could say that was just a coincidence... But later that week when I tried to take a bath... I filled the tub as usual while I shaved, but then when I went to get in...the cold water hadn't worked. The tub was only full of hot water. I could have been scalded! And...and before you say it's just coincidence or the old plumbing...that same night the window fell closed while Jonah was studying and the pane shattered. He had so many cuts on his arms and face.

"After that, Jonah admitted he had stolen the answers to the first chemistry test. I was livid. I couldn't believe he had done it, knowing our dorm was haunted! And I know you'll just say...it's still only coincidence. But that night... It was the night before the test... I was asleep, and I woke up when I heard Jonah shout. I saw...I saw two people standing over his bed. It was a man and a woman, and they were wearing clothes from the 1920's. And they both turned and looked at me and...then they vanished."

Drakken turned and looked at Shego's half-lidded eyes. Nothing about her expression had changed.

"I know you don't believe me... Or you think I dreamt it, because of the upperclassmen trying to tease us... But Jonah saw them too! We moved out of the dorm that weekend..."

Drakken's skin was crawling for the horrid memory, and he moved the flashlight closer. But it was casting ominous shadows on the ceiling of the cave and on Shego's face. He noticed how she was much paler than usual, and thought again of how cold her skin was to the touch. He checked her pulse and found it perhaps slightly slower...and her skin was definitely cold.

He realized that in the dark he wouldn't be able to work on the hover-car, even if the rain stopped, which it hadn't.

"I think...maybe we should sleep now," he said as his chest constricted in pain. Was she dying quickly? Would he wake up in the morning to find her gone? "It's too dark to work on the hover-car...and...and you're right, I probably should have just done it in the rain. But...there is no anti-venom for tarantula bites. Because they're..." He swallowed shakily. "They're not fatal."

He let go of her hand as his emotions got the better of him, and he picked up the flashlight.

"I'm turning this out now...um... I'll close your eyes for you, so you can sleep better..." He very gently closed her eyes one at a time with his index finger, and then he took her hand again before turning the flashlight off. He set the light down next to him and then moved closer to her, pressing his hot and sweaty side to her cold one. He leaned his head gently against hers.

"I know it hurts... But that's what it does," he said, trying to reassure her. He hated to lie to her...but he couldn't tell the truth. "And I know it seems like it's not getting better. But the venom just has to...run its course."

He stared into the darkness for a minute and listened to the rain above. He wondered what he would do in the morning... Whether it was raining or not...if she was still alive, he would fix the hover-car. But if she wasn't...

"When I was a child...I would use my glasses to burn bugs and spiders... You know, by focusing the sun's light through the lenses..."

Drakken yawned and let tears fill his eyes as he closed them.

"Don't worry Shego... Try to sleep... Don't worry."

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felinecryptid · 1 year

Text

Chasing Pasts in Shadows

part 3 | part 4 | part 5

"Great, fantastic." Will massaged his eyebrows. "We can't do anything more today, anyway. We just execute protocol and leave, because we are already an hour late for debrief."

"And my date after that."

"I don't think your boyfriend minds you being late, Max, he worships the ground you walk on." Mike sniffed.

"Who said I'm talking about Lucas?" Max smirked.

"No, no, Max, you stay away from my sister, or Dad and Jonathan will chase you away with guns. She doesn't need another rebellious influence in her life, Mike is enough as is."

"Will!" Mike protested. Will ignored him.

"You say that like Hop doesn't scream '3 inches!' whenever I come over."

"When did that happen? I thought you were still in the 'silent glare' stage?" Will hefted the heavy bag, handing it to Max, so she didn't have to come in.

"A few months ago, Byers. Wheeler watch out, he is coming for your title," Max took the bag easily, walking away.

"What title?" Mike called back.

"'The Most Oblivious'!"

"Fuck off!"

"Can't, we work together!" Mike glared at her till she turned the corner.

"Mike, hold these tripods and these cables." Will handed them, their fingers brushing.

"Thanks."

His own duffle slung over his shoulder, they returned to the place of interest.

Max had assembled some of the components right outside the door, waiting for Will to take them in. He and Mike quickly got to work, Will putting some of the cameras on their stands, connecting with the EVP mics and putting a piece of bread in specific spots, while Mike pointed out areas of high activity to focus on, like the knife block, and the island counter, while Reyes kept watch from a corner, finishing up sometime before evening.

"-and turn on the system at 11:30 pm by pressing the black button on the camera nearest to the door. That's for today, we'll be back tomorrow to get the footage, and put more up after investigating more rooms," Will explained, putting his layered flannel back on. They stood at the gate, while Mike and Max put the rest of their special equipment back into the trunk. "I hope you understand why. It's just we were short-staffed today-"

"Oh no, no, it's okay, totally my fault," Reyes smiled as he reached for his wallet, pulling out a bill.

Will's eyes widened as he saw the '100' on it. "Sorry, I don't have enough change-"

"Keep it, boy. You kids have more use for it than I do." Reyes gave a nod and started back in.

Will shuffled back to the car, a hundred dollars in hand. Max and Mike were done with the packing and pulling the car around to leave. Will got in the passenger side, his regular seat when Mike drove.

“Reyes tip you?” Max asked him from the backseat, tapping away at her phone,

“Thirty-three percent.”

“Damn, he was seriously that impressed with our half assed job?”

“I don't know, at least he wasn't a Karen about us upping the pay for the rest of the investigation.”

“Do you think Dustin would know what to do?” Mike asked, pulling onto an asphalt road. Finally the dust road was behind them, Will’s asthma could rest now.

“I think we all need to come up with a plan now. All of us have never had to be on-field at the same time, so first of all we need to divide tasks, and assign partners.”

“I don't want to hear strategy while returning home,” Max hit the back of Will’s head lightly. “If we have to talk about work, at least read the info Dustin sent about the Reyes so we don't have to hear his rant about being ‘the only one smart and well prepared, about clients, locations and hauntings’, because he will chew us out for leaving the cameras unattended and the battery thing, as if we should be able to tell the future.”

Will rubbed his head, “Alright, alright. If you interrupt with your stupid quips, I'll push you out of the car.” Will pulled up the google docs Dustin had shared with him, scrolling down to get an idea of how long it was. “What the fuck, why is this thing more links than text?”

“Just read. I mean, how should I even know? I just don't want to get another rant about ‘not following protocol’.”

“Half of these links are for different profiles on Facebook.” Will muttered, scrolling down. “There’s a floor plan here, now definitely Dustin will be pissed.”

“Is there anything about Emily?” Mike peeked at his screen.

“Keep your eyes on the road, don't look down,” He scolded. “I'll try to find somethi- Oh here, a page for someone named Emily Grimrose. It says she was 48 and married to Javier Reyes. She was apparently a stay at home wife and made a lot of knitted things to sell. There’s an alarming amount of Etsy stuff here. The usual selfies with weird angles that make her have a triple chin, some family photos with people who look like her extended family, a trip to some exotic place with lots of water, baking charity sales- wait wait wait, here's something weird, she posts stuff with fun, cute captions underneath, but this photo has a link with it. And that link looks like it leads to some weird occult website. Lots of crystals, incense, herbs and the like.”

“What?” Max leant from the back to get a better look at the picture. “She looks like she's in a dentist's office.”

“Is there anyone tagged in the photo?” Mike asked, thankfully not looking down at Will's phone this time.

Will checked. “A doctor named Amanda Maguire.”

“Maybe it’s her dentist’s name?” Max ducked back to flop sideways on the backseat.

“No, no, the dentist’s office belongs to Robbie Matthews, who has posters all over the city. Very popular dentist, no doubt expensive.”

“How did you know?” Mike asked, driving around a slow car. “Keep up with the speed limit, dick!” He said through the window.

“Just reverse image searched it.” Will was confused. “Amanda Maguire is a gynaecologist. I've never heard of her, or seen her. Why would someone who has a lot of money go to a gynaecologist who isn't well known?” Will scrolled further. “Oh shit.”

“Cut the dramatics, Byers, just spit it out.”

“Emily was pregnant when she died,” Will said, holding out the photo where the caption proclaimed “It’s time for the second trimester!” and showed a smiling Emily with another older woman, Dr. Amanda.

___

why do i keep ending at weird reveals? also lmao will really hates facebook for some reason

i have the entire thing planned out but i do not know how many chapters this will be sorry ;-;

aight disclaimer: i dont know shit about the service charge in america for anything, much less ghost hunting, so i tried my best to calculate it by using the minimum wage and product usage and wear and tear, the same way id do it here. if its too less or too high, lemme know

as always, this was betad by free version of grammarly and hemingway editor, so point out any errors you find

i cant seem to post in time but i do post around 1800 ist (i swear im trying to be more regular)

let me know if you like or disliked something :)

#byler #stranger things #mike wheeler #will byers #max mayfield #byler fic #ghost hunting au #paranormal investigators au #madcleradin paranormal investigators au #platonic madwheeler #platonic madcleric #stranger things fanfic #stranger things fanfiction #byler fanfic #this is a relatively lighter post but things will get darker next time on #featuring elmax #and protective brother will byers #sorry this had less mike action in it #he will be back with some other members of our crew!!

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keefwho · 30 days

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April 23 - 2024 Tuesday

11:08pm

6.5/10

This morning I gave Sporticus a bath. There was a big spider in the shower the whole time I couldn't seem to wash down the drain but it didn't bother me too much. She shed a TON of hair this time around. I also found out later that she peed in the corner of my room, likely after her bath while I was taking a shower. For breakfast I made a jimmy dean sandwich with rice and a pear cup. I intended on doing my workout today and this was a good breakfast for it calorie-wise. I watch an episode of Moral Orel about Doughy being neglected.

For work I warmed up with sketches of wolves. They didn't turn out as good as others and I found out that their front legs aren't easily simplified. Also that they are very similar to horses at certain joints. Then I spent another hour on the Venus commission coloring the characters. And then I finished preparing my next NSFW YCH.

After work I did my dishes and started my workout. I watched a video of Dan Schneider while I did a few sets of lunges and a couple miles on the treadmill. I found out my knee still hurts, I MAY have to schedule a doctor's appointment for it. Although I haven't given it an opportunity for some good rest so I should probably try to take it mega easy for a couple weeks before asking a doctor. For lunch I made chicken stew. I was aiming to make it rich and spicy but ended up making it too salty somehow, I think too much lemon pepper. It was edible but not that great for the effort. While cooling/eating, TK was messaging me about issues with her boyfriend and how he has a pattern of problematic jealousy. I took her side completely with what she had to say, it sounded to me like he not only had unrealistic expectations but also that he was not communicating the problem very well. It got me thinking a lot in general about jealousy and how the dynamic can change between two people that work well together when they elevate from friends to a relationship. I think nothing SHOULD change if both parties know how to talk and don't develop unrealistic needs.

I did my afternoon work late on account of how long the stew took. I did a request for FY that I think turned out okay and then I got into VRchat to paint from "life". I went to that old world DS and I found with all the hobkin avatars and picked a place to stand that I'm going to copy from. I think it's a great idea because it's basically just a color study and results in a sort of unique result, that being what looks like an uninteresting in-game screenshot but it's actually been hand painted. After that I worked on my avatar for about 15 minutes which was enough time to prepare and bake the AO for the textures. This whole time I was using my good headphones to listen to loud rain with some music and a stream at a lower volume.

When I was done I hopped on the Roblox horse game to catch some horses and check out the training island. DS was free so we called and watched a furry species ranking video while I horse trained and she practiced airbrushing. We also finally watched the fabled balut sausage video which was horrifying, I actually thought I might throw up and had to look away. Then it was more of the usual furry con content and we went on a sidetrack trying to see if any of the footage had her in it. We found about 10 pixels of her at the waterfront in 2022, still an exciting find.

In bed we did our puzzles. The crossword was really hard for some reason and took us a whole 12 minutes. The last 2 only took a little over 1 minute each. Then it was 2 Monster High chapters and I played through the Beast's Castle level in KH2 until I got to the boss. We did a little smash or pass session with the enemies and a few actually got me thinkin a little.

~~~

Today was strange in that for most of it, I really had the desire to be alone but not to be myself. Usually when I wanna do something alone, I'm still trying to express myself. But I didn't want that today, I wanted the influence of others. The happy medium was a little bit of texting. Also since today was about "self", I combined that with my Costar prompt which was "cry over someone else's problems". So during the afternoon I was thinking a lot about TK and DS, putting myself in their shoes thinking about the woes they both expressed today. It felt good, like a helpful empathy exercise.

#journal #diary

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kn1fprty · 5 months

Text

Scene Recreation

After a long discussion, we decided on the scene on the 25th of November. At the same meeting, we agreed on the roles for this production. The scene was chosen out of my and Louie’s love for Twin Peaks and because it posed a creative challenge: it looked simple enough in terms of camera work, but it had a very distinctive look to it.

On the 27th of November, we met up again to make a prop/costume and kit lists. Probably the biggest challenge was the fact that the essential kit had already been booked out, so we had to ask for help and look for alternatives.

On the same day, I made a visual breakdown of the scene. I decided to use GIF format for the shots, as it helped me see how the camera moved in each setup. That was one of the most rewarding things I did this semester, as it gave me an insight into how the scene was executed.

On the 30th of November, we started building the set. We set out to do quite an ambitious task of faking a wall and wooden textures, which we accomplished with cardboard, copious amounts of tape and vinyl wrap on the walls.

On the 1st of December, we got all the kit in and started setting up and figuring out the lighting. The Liliput 300 watts lights were very bright for the space even with an ND gel, so we had to sacrifice the dimmer switch that we wanted to use for practical lights(which made them overexposed); to redeem how sharp the fill was, we used a sheet as a diffuser.

Even though we tried our best to do as much during the pre-production period as possible, most of the issues arose during filming and editing.

Early into choosing the date, we agreed that one of the members of our group had to leave earlier since he had work that day, and it felt fair, as he did an amazing job during pre-production: looking for costume, props and set-building. However, about 1/3 through filming, the director left as well, which wasn’t arranged previously and left only two of us on set. Thankfully, there was another person on location who agreed to help out with booming. The lack of free hands posed additional challenges and limits: for example, we couldn’t use a poly board to reflect light (as was planned before), because there was no one to hold it and a c-stand didn’t fit into the space. I also had to take over all the communication with actors and look out for continuity.

After we got the rushes, we realised that it was underexposed. That was a big learning moment since we heavily relied on the monitor, which was too bright. I asked Matthew Kondratiuk for help since he is a very talented editor. We sat down together, and he showed me around DaVinci Pro Resolve and we managed to save the footage as much as we could. This experience convinced me to finally move to this program as my main editing tool, and Matthew was extremely helpful since he took his time to explain how everything works so I could do it myself in the future.

I sent the colour-graded footage to Leo, but when he got the edit back we realised that the sound wasn’t synced properly and some cuts were in awkward places. Since we didn't have much time to spare, I spent the night resyncing the sound and polishing the final product.

In hindsight, there are a lot of moments that could have been executed better. It was my first time actually being hands-on with a camera and my biggest takeaway was to rely more on technical numbers than on the actual image on the monitor since it’s not always true to life. There was also a setup where I completely lost the focus and that makes me think of how much attention you have to pay to playback to avoid situations like this. I also feel like lighting, in general, is still a major weakness for us because the light setup we ended up using was a major compromise and not completely true to the scene.

I believe that the most problematic area for us at this point in our studies is the actual organisational process. I was the one to organise all the pre-production meetings, and it was extremely difficult to manage people’s different schedules and availability. Another big realisation is how much work actually goes into making a film, as even a small oversight can result in big problems that are difficult to work around (like the underexposed footage from relying on a bright monitor).

Contribution: pre-production meetings, visual breakdown, camera, makeup, kit list, set design, taking over directing, editing.

vimeo

The production documents and the original scene can be found through this link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xV016mlIpf0UGO3ddKfe2PCZcbGQ4WgY?usp=sharing

#Vimeo

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coreytravelogue · 2 years

Text

Calgary, AB/Salmon Arm, BC/Vancouver, BC - August 2005

This week's look back marks another anniversary one I have spoken about before but I would like to think not the way I am going to talk about it today. The next few days from now I would like to think it was August 28th but I could be wrong in regards to the dates exactly but in 3 days time I will have lived in Vancouver, BC for 17 years. I know I have talked about my time living in Vancouver in great length though I think a lot has happened since the last time I talked about it I want to talk about the trip to Vancouver. I know I have spoken a bit about it but I don't think I did to great detail. I do not know and I don't have the time or the energy to flip through this travelogue to see what I said and how I said it and when I am sure I did say it I am not exactly the same Corey I was back then anyway. Plus its my travelogue.

I really don't want to go into my life in Vancouver again or at least yet, I am saving that for before I leave or if I end up getting past the 20.7 year mark of living in Vancouver which I imagine would be after April of 2026 so I got a long ways to go. Suffice to say for as long as I have lived in Vancouver, BC and 17 years is a long time I have still lived in Fort McMurray, AB for longer. From not long after birth in mid November of 1984 till late August of 2005. That is a long time to spend in one place. Why did I want to leave it and why Vancouver?

My trip to Vancouver 17 years ago I would say is the most important trip ever in my life, second only to my first trip to Europe which funny enough tomorrow would make it the 8 year anniversary since I did that.......time flies people. Time goes faster the older you get.

My trip or more appropriate move to Vancouver was more important for the most obvious reason it was the first and only real move I have made in my life. Everything in my life changed after that point on and has never been the same since so again, why did I do it.

To find the answer to that question we have to go 20 years into the past in 2002 when I graduated high school. I am currently working on this year in my playlist project so it is appropriate but around this time the plan was that I was still going to try and be a wrestling entertainer......maybe I will talk about that some day but that is another long story in of itself. That said that dream was slowly fading. I was coming to realize I didn't have the body for it, I mean I could have if I had the right coach or person around me to guide me but I had no one but I also was starting to not care about wrestling entertainment. Lastly I had way to much respect for wrestlers to want to do it and just make an ass out of myself.

By around this time I was heavily into anime and I was starting to grow an appreciation for cinema beyond the typical Hollywood fare. One year prior Bringing Out The Dead opened my eyes to what cinema could be beyond the big budget bullshit I was used to watching at that time and got me into really thinking about filmmaking. Movies had been an integral part of my life up to this point and continues to though to a lesser extent. I made anime music videos which for me was visual story telling using others footage and music but telling my own story with it. In my own mind I felt I was good at it, I felt I had a knack for doing it. I can't remember when I decided but I know it was not long after graduation that I would study filmmaking.

youtube

The plan was never Vancouver really in fact that was the last resort to tell you the truth. I wanted to stay in Alberta, close to family close to friends. BC seemed almost like a completely different world to me at this point. Only experience I had with BC was when I was a little child going to Vernon or Kelowna. Beyond that I may have passed through YVR once or twice but that is about it. The original plan was to apply to both SAIT & NAIT which stand for Southern Alberta or Norther Alberta Institute of Technology. For those who live in BC think BCIT same thing really. Both have a film production course and the tuition seemed affordable, the problem was that you needed a particular grade average in English to even be considered, I think it was 71%. English as you can tell from my diction over the years is not very strong, let me tell you I have actually gotten better with my English over the years so if you think my English is not great now just imagine how bad it was when I was 17 years old. I applied to both and got rejected because my grade average was below 71%. So I went back to High School to upgrade my English which felt embarrassing because here I was just graduated and everyone knew I did but I was still doing courses. Nobody bothered me I already had most of the school scared of me by this point but the thing was I only took two courses; English and Physics. I think I needed another science as well but I cannot confirm.

I spent the school year of 2003 trying to upgrade my English and I got it to 72%. So I re applied to SAIT and NAIT. I originally wanted SAIT because I was still flirting with the thought of studying film but also trying my hand at wrestling on the side if it was at all possible but NAIT seemed like the cheaper and more possible option as SAIT was even more strict with their academic requirements. Suffice to say I applied again with my 72% average to find out they increased the average to 73%. So I spent 2004 taking distance learning course trying to increase my English again and I got it to 73% and applied to NAIT again only for them to reject me because they increased the average to 74%. So I gave up on NAIT/SAIT. Looking back I should have looked into other schools but at that time again I wanted to stay in Alberta. Going anywhere else was not even an option to me, it had to be a major city. Going to Winnipeg or Saskatchewan felt like going from one rural remote area to another remote area.

During this time my plan was simple; stay with my parents rent free working three jobs to save for school and to live while doing it. From 2003 till I left in August of 2005 it was common for me to be working well over 40 hours a week. Work from 6am to 2pm at the Safeway Gas Bar then walk over to McMurray TV and work till 6pm or more. I won't say every day but I worked nearly every day. Not counting Friday to Saturday evenings babysitting which didn't pay much but was the easiest job there was because I would look after my cousins, get them to bed and spend 2 hours watching anime or playing SNES. Put this on top of taking English courses I have no idea how I was able to manage it but I did. I saved up a lot of coin, I was saving for a long while even before that. That saving really helped me out for years to come. Babysitting gave me pocket money where the two jobs essentially went straight to my savings account.

With that said my mental health was negatively affected. Most of my friends either moved away or moved on, the rest I burned bridges with due to my over inflated ego and my need to win or be right that I would do whatever it takes to be either or. An issue I still have to this day.

With few friends I felt extremely lonely. I had no one to turn to, no one to talk to.....nobody period. Further more the longer I lived with my parents the more of a failure I felt like I was. I was brought up to think that as soon as you turn 18 you should be moving out and living on your own. By 2005 I was 20 years old and still living in my parents basement.

I hated living in Fort McMurray with every fibre of my being. In those 20 years I had watched the city deteriorate into a boiling pot of angry Alberta males looking to blame everyone else but themselves for their own problems. Maybe it was always there and I was sheltered from it till I got older but by this point it was front and centre. Working at the gas bar I took the brunt of it from every oil worker that came in to fill out. I was their verbal punching bag for how high gas prices were then (just under a dollar....yeah). I knew long before graduation I never wanted to work in the oil sands but this only put icing on the cake. I had a utter disgust for most of the people who came into the gas station. Only ones I didn't were the taxi drivers funny enough. I think because most of them only came in for smokes, they came in so often that I started to remember and sometimes set aside packs of smokes for them knowing they were coming for them. One guy in particular I called the Dunhill guy because he was the only guy who came in to buy Dunhill smokes so we always kept a packs for him. Whenever I saw him coming I always set aside two for him. Outside of guys like him the others I could give two shits.

I was lonely and growingly angry that even then I could not find a love in my life. There were few women I was interested in but they were either taken or I was too scared to even try with them. The only outlets for my pain were watching anime/movies or my AMVs. My AMVs were the only real outlet I had.

I remember January 2005 not like it was yesterday but as if it was only a few years ago. I was hitting a mental breaking point, I had nearly quit my job a few months before. I couldn't take dealing with Alberta anger being put on me on top of being lonely and frustrated I knew I was not going to last long and was going to pop. I was already having shouting matched with customers by this point. I really didn't give a flying fuck, I was tired of being pushed around and made sure they knew they were not going to intimidate me, it wasn't my proudest time. If I wasn't over 200 lbs of muscle and mass I am pretty sure many of these guys would have tried to fight me.

Anyways by January 2005 (trust me I am getting to the move) crying myself sleep was a regular occurrence. I didn't and still don't believe in god but I was so desperate that I would still pray anyway for something......anything to change....I needed to have someone around someone to hang out with or be around.....I needed my friend RJ.

Looking back I wish I spent more time with our two dogs Prince and Kelly but I wasn't really into hanging with dogs the way I do now. Don't get me wrong I love and will always love both of them. Whenever I think of either I immediately get teary eyed because if I could do that time over I would have spent more of my lonely and empty nights being with both of them. I can only imagine how lonely Kelly was. She spent her entire life in our back yard barking and wailing for attention and nobody ever gave it to her. Sometimes I would go outside and cry hugging her when I just needing someone even if it was a dog and even then Kelly was always there ALWAYS. The moment you were out there you had her undivided attention and any affection you wanted she would give it to you. She was like me, desperate for anyone to even acknowledge she existed. I did but nowhere close to what she deserved. At time I feel like my life of loneliness is a penance for playing a part in subjecting Kelly to complete and utter neglect. Prince was as close to a brother as I had and even with him I have a lot of deep seeded regrets but even still like Kelly he always had my back and was almost always there at my side regardless of how low or high I was at that time. They say pets are a reflection of their owners, Prince was easily a reflection of me, minus the hate. He was extremely shy and timid but fiercely protective of those close to him. Just writing this paragraph makes me want to cry because I miss them so much.

RJ by that point was my best friend and the one I cared for the most as a friend, the one I was tightest with and that continued to be that way till 2014. One night I was crying myself to sleep wishing I had a friend like RJ still around when I got a call fairly late at night. It was RJ, apparently he got kicked out of his current living arrangement and needed somewhere to stay. I was more than happy to let him stay. I never even bothered asking my parents that night, we did wind up bringing it up with my parents and my parents let him stay rent free.

I don't know why they did that but I would like to think they did that for me because I think they knew how lonely and miserable I was by this point. My parents have always known about my mental health issues but often stayed away from it I think because they never knew how to address it with me plus they didn't know how to help me. They were and still are ill equip to address mental health, better now but at the end of the day if I was as depressed then around them now they would not know how to deal with it.....period so I think they were fine with RJ staying because they knew with RJ around I would get better. And I did

From February to May of 2005 were some of the happiest months of my young teenage/adult life. Wake up, work through the day and hang out with RJ from evening to night. I took less shifts at McMurray TV so I could hang with RJ whenever he was not working to save up for himself. Played D&D for the first time during that time. We played countless video games. It was just so nice to have someone there. With that said its only now that I am starting to realize that RJ probably hated living with me. Not because of me but because of the situation he was in. By this point his parents didn't want him around, neither did his grandparents or his other extended family, kicked out of every home available to him to where the only option he had left was with me living in a city he disliked just as much as me. It was very common to find him coming home late and absolutely shit faced to where the moment he hit the sofa bed in my basement living room he was out, one time he even missed the bed completely and hit the floor. There were nights when I had to pick him up from the bar because he was too smashed to find his way back. At this time in my life I rarely if ever drank (shocking I know), I looked down on it the same way I did with smoking. RJ did both but I didn't judge him as long as he didn't push it on me and he didn't. I mean I drank sometimes but if I did it would be the occasional rum and coke or Smirnoff Ice, drinks that were sweet enough to mask the bitter taste of alcohol.

I think that is why he and the only other friend I had that I had not burned a bridge with by the name of Adam both moved away in May 2005. Neither had any intention of working in the oil sands and if you don't want to work in the oil sands or serve those who work in the oil sand you really don't have a reason to be there. Rj was probably sick of sleeping on a sofa bed with no privacy though I would have probably given him my room in the basement if he asked or I would like to think I would have. He probably just wanted to start his own life and out of Fort Mac. I remember the day he left in May 2005 again as if it was only a few years ago. They came by the gas bar to fill up. RJ said goodbye but Adam didn't and they drove off. I walked back home feeling depressed again but it hit me the hardest the moment I sat down on my computer chair and looked to my right. For 5 months whenever I sat in my chair and looked right RJ was either somewhere in my line of sight or his stuff was around so I knew he was coming back. When I looked right this time it was as if he never was there. Sofa bed folded up, clean, floor vacuumed it was like it never happened. It was right then and there I decided I had to get out of Fort McMurray now or I will kill myself eventually.

I looked for any school that one could study film in. Simon Fraser University or UBC was a was a no go because of academics and I didn't even bother with Saskatchewan or Manitoba. Then I discovered Vancouver Film School. Their website was very well done and very well detailed. They had just recently had Bryan Singer (before we found out how much of a piece of shit he was) there off the heels of X2 talking about film making. I thought this place much be really legit. I watched a lot of short films they shown on there and it looked like it was a pretty good place to study. Plus they didn't really care at all for your grades, if you had the money which I did. Me and my dad went to a show thing they were doing in Edmonton. They were there basically trying to sell VFS to prospective students in other places. What they shown us sold us on VFS immediately the wheels started going into motion. I put in my 2 months notice with the Safe Way Gas Bar and McMurray TV that I was leaving. McMurray TV gave me a going away steak dinner given I was there for 4 years but Safe Way it was give us your keys and good bye. One of the girls I had a crush on who I think knew I had a crush on her waved me goodbye when my parents filled up the Jimmy there and we went on our way. I still remember that.

Well it took awhile for me to get to August 2005 eh? Well again you need to know the context but to be honest the trip to Vancouver was very short and outside of one very traumatic even which I am sure I touched on it was un eventful.

The plan was to drive from Fort Mac to Calgary, spend a night there then drive all the way to Salmon Arm where my cousin Pam was getting married. So yes I have spent time in Calgary but again it has always been passing through be it to Calaway Park twice or in this case sleeping in a hotel for the night. Nothing happened and we made our way into BC by road for the first time since before Superman died.

Not even an hour into crossing the boarder we get a call rom my Uncle Ralph saying my dog Prince ran away. Kelly ran away lots over the years but never went too far, she just wanted to see more of what was around her and by this point she was too old to really mount a escape anyway but Prince was still a little over middle age and still had the spunk to do it. Prince rarely if ever left the house so I could only imagine how he felt left with nearly complete strangers in a place he never known. He must have felt abandoned and driven to find us, ran away never to be seen again. I knew he may as well have been dead to me.

I know I spoke of this before so I don't want to really dig it up again but that hurt me deeply. I cried all the way from just outside of the BC board to around Salmon Arm. I blamed my dad because he, like my parents and like most people in general to this day don't listen to me or take my advice. They will ask for it but never really use it. I told my dad don't leave Prince with Ralph. My dad thought we had no choice and maybe he was right but I wanted him to consider any other option but of course he never did and this happened. I carried a serious amount of hate for my dad for many years after that I made sure he knew it too that I hated him with every fibre of my being and meant it ten fold. From that point on he would never trust his brother Ralph with anything after that and did try his best to mend the bridge with me but I mean it got so bad that I would often tell him to go fuck himself. During the second to last Christmas we spent in Fort Mac together anytime I needed to pee I went into his greenhouse and pissed all over his frozen over plants. That is the kind of hate I had for him over losing Prince. I think my hatred for him dissipated by the time Kelly died because and I know I spoke of this before but when Kelly had to be put down and know that hurt him too because as close as I was to Prince he was to Kelly even more than me. It is unfortunate that the loss of one pet nearly destroyed my already strenuous relationship with my dad that it took the passing of another to mend the bridge that was a few sparks away from being ash.

Anyways we made it to Salmon Arm. I barely remember my 2 days in Salmon Arm. I rarely seen Pam over the years and I don't think I even seen her during the wedding ceremony, maybe I did and I was too shy or grief stricken to even care. What I remember most was as soon as we checked into our hotel on the side of the road I spent an evening walking around Salmon Arm, grieving the loss of who I felt was the last friend I had left all while marvelling at how beautiful of a place Salmon Arm was. After the wedding we got on the road and finally got to Vancouver where I have been ever since.

So yeah I guess the story is less of a story about a trip but more of life events and culminated in a trip/move that set my life in a completely different direction from that point on.

Leaving Vancouver is not going to be as easy as leaving Fort McMurray. I mean it could, I could easily put in my 2 weeks notice where I work, put my months notice with my apartment and figure out where I want to go but the thing is I don't know where. Newfoundland makes the most sense but only for my parents. Because I don't want to make the same mistake I have made with almost everyone I ever cared for that I have lost .....I want to cherish every moment I can with the very very very very few people I have left in my life. Quite honestly I am more or less in the same position as I was in 2005; lonely, frustrated, trapped and with very few to really turn to. I mean like then I do have those I can turn to but I don't want to burden them with my demons. If I had it my way it would be Victoria where I could find a apartment near downtown where I can go to John's Place and have French Toast or eggs Benny whenever I want and cap the night having a corned beef sandwich now and then at the Drake with a beer. Not a beer every night and not more than 3 but 1-3 just to take the edge off the day to relax. Anything more is just chasing a dragon called stupidity. However I would need to win the lottery or find someone who makes as much money as I do right now to make a serious chance of it. However that won't happen anytime soon. I don't even play the lottery anyway and I have already slowed down my online dating usage.

All things considered I feel I am actually turning a corner now. In the past 2 months I have made a considerable effort to cut down drinking to where while I have had a 1-4 nights where I did fall off the wagon they are still only 1-4 nights in a span of 56 days. Compared to 14 years of where I rarely left a weekend without being shit faced I would say that is a win and given where I was even in May or June this month I will take any win I can get.

I am sorry that this is less of a travel story and more of a emotional self check in disguised as a small but monumental trip in my life. Hopefully next week I can talk about another trip I have made in my life. There are many to go over and I want to talk about them. Every year I find myself forgetting my past more and more which stresses why this travelogue and my playlist project is very important to me to do. All things considered I have led a boring if not nearly wasted life, its a story comparable between Remains of The Day which always makes me cry and Blade Runner 2049 minus the action. Despite all that it is important to me to tell me story for myself and myself alone. If others read it and get something out of it great. If anything maybe those who ever read will maybe paint a clearer picture of me than before.

I am growing to realize that the roll them bones attitude I was pushing for was less of a take a chance and travel but take a chance and try to be a better person. Love may happen again, probably not but I am trying to be fine with that. Trying to just live my life, be a better Corey every day and leave the door open for when someone or something happens. Besides Victoria and NFLD this year I won't be traveling this year but unless the world goes to shit even more I will be traveling next year or hope so if not 2023 unless I die or something crippling happens I promise you I will be traveling in 2024 for the 10 year anniversary of my Euro trip. The difference between me in 2005, 2014 or even 2021 to now is I wasn't mentally equip to handle my demons in 2005, in 2014 I left my life behind to find new tools to handle it, in 2021 I had to relearn how to handle them again to now in 2022 I think I finally can. Maybe not both hands on the wheel at all times. That will never happen, I will fall down again but any day I can wake up and be able to keep my head up is a win I will take and continue to try and get. That is the only way I know how to live. Maybe by 2030 I will have a winning record.

Shazbot nanu nanu

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#Youtube

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whosscruffylooking · 3 years

Text

The Purest Things-A New Home

Aaron Hotchner x Fem!Reader

a/n: this is a repost considering it didn’t show up in any of the tags yesterday. have i mentioned how much i despise tumblr sometimes :) again, i want to give a special shoutout to @avengersbau for giving me a second set of eyes on this one.

word count: 2k

warnings: canon-typical violence and descriptions of injury.

The Purest Things Masterlist

gif is not mine! credit goes to @hqtchner

au! october 2007

Bookend: “It’s never too late to become who you want to be. I hope you live a life that you’re proud of, and if you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start over.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald

++++

"I am SSA Hotchner. Welcome to the team Agent Y/L/N," his voice reminds you of the transatlantic accents of Hollywood stars of old. The kind you used to hear in the old black and white movies you would watch as a child.

"It's an honor to be here sir," you stare directly into his brown, soulfully deep eyes.

"J.J., get us started, please," SSA Hotchner suggests.

Sitting down, you look to the screen that displays the frightful footage of bombs detonating in various locations.

"Yesterday, an 81-year-old woman was severely injured when a bomb exploded in the toilet of a women's restroom," J.J. informs.

"Interesting spot to hide a bomb," Agent Prentiss sneers.

Jennifer flips through the slides and shows another bombsight located in a subway station, "Last year a similar bomb that had been attached to a phone box detonated. No outstanding injuries were reported. However, the bombs' similar makeup alerted detectives to dig into other bombings throughout the years. They have positively identified attacks over the past twelve years as perpetrated by the same bomber."

Spencer adds, "His M.O. is similar to George Peter Metesky, better known as the Mad Bomber. He terrorized New York City over a period of 16 years. He planted bombs in theaters, subway stations, libraries, and offices. They were left in phone booths, storage lockers and restrooms."

"Do you think we are looking at a copycat?" Derek questions.

"If we are, we need to stop him soon," declared David.

"He's escalating-becoming bolder and more vicious," you say, scanning the report.

"Tell Boston we can be there by 9:30," Hotch notifies J.J...

++++

"It seems like he's a textbook paranoid schizophrenic. People suffering from this disorder may think that other people are regulating them or plotting against them. They tend to be reclusive, antisocial, and obsessed Hwith hatred for their presumed enemies," you twist a loose string from your shirt around your finger, unwind it, then repeat the process.

It's a nervous tick you developed over the years that has worn down numerous tops before achieving their intended lifespan. You glance at Agent Hotchner, seeking a sign of approval. His eyes meet yours, and he poignantly nods.

Did I say too much? No. Don’t overthink this. They can probably smell fear.

"In his letters left at the bombsights, he uses words like 'broad' and 'chick' to signify women," Dr. Reid chimes in.

"Do you think the unsub is motivated by hostility towards women? "

"It's possible," he continues, "These speech patterns age him significantly, however. Phrases such as these were mainly used in the 30's, 40's, and 50's."

Agent Hotchner begins to delegate tasks before the jet lands, "Morgan and Reid, I want you to head to the bombsights and see if you can't work out the motive. J.J. and Prentiss talk to the victim's families, determine our victimology. Y/L/N, Rossi, and I will head to the precinct and familiarize ourselves with the lay of the land and see if we can't formulate a geographical profile."

++++

At the precinct, you observe Agent Hotchner's ability to singlehandedly transition an entire police force's obligation to under his jurisdiction.

"Captain Moreno, this is SSA David Rossi and SSA Y/F/N Y/L/N," the Unit Chief introduces you.

The captain tilts his head at you, "Aren't you a little young to be in the FBI? How old are you anyway?"

You nail him with a you're-full-of-crap look.

Everyone gets to be young once; your turn is over, old man.

Choosing to take the high road, you say, "I'd like to get my hands on the bombers handwritten notes. There has to be something in those letters that can give us a clue into the who, what, when, and where of this case."

Skeptical of your request, he narrows his eyes and looks to David and Agent Hotchner.

"You hear her," Dave exclaims, "Lead the way!"

Your enigmatic smirk no doubt gives away the great pleasure Dave's gibe brings you.

++++

"Agent Hotchner," you hand him your preliminary geographical profile. With his arms crossed, he intimidatingly peers into your research.

Don't burn a hole in my paperwork; I worked hard on that.

He is impressed by your work, taking in your comprehensive outline of proof that details the unsubs point of origin. For someone so young, your attention to detail puts even his most observant profilers to shame. "How did you come to this conclusion?"

"My family is from Chicago. When I was little, I used to read through my grandfather's old newspapers that he collected throughout the 1950's. On the jet, I knew some of the phrasings that Dr. Reid was using sounded familiar, so I cross-referenced it with some of the particular articles I remember from my childhood and found his wording to be exact iterations of the Chicago Crier."

Without taking his eyes off of the paperwork, he commends you, "Impressive use of your prior knowledge. Often, the information drilled into us through education is lackluster compared to that of real-world experience."

You turn to walk back to your makeshift desk when he calls out to you, "And Y/L/N, call me Hotch."

Your shoulders relax from the tension you hadn't even realized you'd been clinging onto, "Alright. Hotch."

++++

You immediately regretted your decision. In pursuit of the unsub, you had wandered off down an abandoned subway tunnel and cornered him.

"Harold Watts, FBI. Gently place the remote detonator on the ground," You shout. Grappling to keep your gun from slipping between your clammy palms, you grip the weapon tighter.

Ordinary people's first days of work are uneventful; they're given a series of mundane tasks at most. Me? Of course, my first day involves being secluded in a subway tunnel facing down a man decked from head to toe in explosives and wires.

"D-don't come any closer. I have my finger on the trigger! I'm not afraid to die, and I will not hesitate to take you up in flames with me," he stammers.

The stampede of footsteps, no doubt from your colleagues and half of the Boston police force, resonate through the echo chamber you're standing in. Watts spooks and loses his balance. You begin shouting for the people behind you to stand down.

"The tracks are live, one wrong step, and we all blow up. I repeat, stand down!"

Turning your attention back to Watts, you attempt to soothe his irrationality. You slowly return your gun to its holster, raising your hands up in surrender. Hotch yells something unintelligible from behind you, but your focus is on the unsub and trying to prevent any more casualties.

"Harold, let's just talk this through for a couple of minutes. My men behind me will leave us alone. It's you and me now. Before this, you never wanted to hurt yourself. You wanted to be heard. All of your life you felt like you were forced into the shadows, and you began to fester there in your pain and rage."

He tenses up; you have his attention now.

"Those girls who teased you and ripped your masculinity from you needed to be taught a lesson. But you didn't just stop there; you decided to do all women a favor and demonstrate to them the kind of pain they could cause, hoping to prevent them from making the same mistakes. In fact, you helped me to see what I can do better. I never want to make someone feel the way you did."

"Y-you learned that...f-from me?" Harold quietly sobs.

You nod, "Yes! Yes, Harold. And you can still be heard, but not if you die today. I could be your greatest advocate. If we walk out of here right now, think of how famous you could be. Harold, you will never be stuck in the shadows again."

It is crucial to your survival and your teams that you are brave just long enough to analyze the situation and keep your self-control. Panic won't do anyone any good right now.

Your mouth dries as you await Harold's next move. Suddenly, he hunches over, extending the hand gripping the detonator. Pausing for a moment to be sure he isn't making any drastic moves, you promptly hurry to his side and gently pull it from his clutch.

As the police officers and your colleagues rush to your aid, Harold looks up at you with hopeful eyes.

"Make me famous," he murmurs with a grin that churns your stomach.

Hotch ushers you away from the unsub, backing you up against the wall of the tunnel, "You actively defied my orders."

Searching every inch of his face for an accurate reading of his emotions, you are unsure of how to respond.

"I'd like to think it won't happen again," his eyes studying you just as intently.

You swallow hard, aware of the lump in your throat and take a deep breath, "You have my word, Agent Hotchner."

"Good," he affirms, eventually freeing his hold on your arm.

You let out a shaky sigh of relief and relax your spinning head against the wall.

Opening your eyes, you observe your new team tieing up all loose ends. They're safe. You are safe. Despite this first day not being as mundane as others, you wouldn't have it any other way. This feeling is what you signed up for, and it's already fulfilling you in ways you couldn't fathom before stepping inside the BAU office this morning.

++++

Aboard the jet, you tuck your legs underneath you and open up a book to read.

A cup of steaming hot coffee appears on the table in front of you.

Hotch sits across from you with a similar cup and offers you a subtle smile, "Impressive work out there today. I'm sorry your first day of work couldn't be more eventful."

A joke? I didn't take him as the joking kind.

Rolling your eyes, you put on a disappointed tone, "God...if you guys drag your feet like this every day, I might have to consider a transfer."

In a more serious nature, he asks, "How are you feeling?"

"Alright, I guess. You were right, you know, no amount of studying or lectures can truly prepare you for what it's like when you're staring into the eyes of a killer. I've learned the negotiation techniques and memorized the textbook 'put the gun down' speech, but all of that flies out the window when you're in the moment."

"You will find that improvisation at times is the key to success in this job. Just know that this team is a family. You will never face this alone or be at a loss for anything. Your career is in its infancy, but I can tell you have a long and triumphant journey ahead of you. We will do whatever we can to ensure that you are at home here and can use this team as an opportunity to refine your abilities. All I ask in return is that you work with us, not against us. You have nothing to prove. They see your resourcefulness. So do I. You are one of us now."

Some gazes are the promise of protection; his is all that and more. The words "at home" resonate in your mind. You've spent your whole life searching for a home, and here it is, its doors being opened to you. After a lifetime of running from place to place, perhaps this is where you can finally settle down.

"Get some rest," Hotch whispers to you. And with that, you lean your head against the chilled window and shut your eyes.

++++

Tag List 🏷

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charliedawn · 3 years

Text

How they would react if you got into a fight that you started? (men)

Bucky Barnes :

He would firstly check for any serious injuries and give the death stare to whoever was the one you were fighting with. He would then wait until you both get home and ask you why you had instigated the fight in the first place ?

" Why would you do something like this, sweetheart ? It doesn't sound like you.."

He would then proceed to wrap his arms around you and try to calm you down by gently petting the top of your head until you either calm down or fall asleep.

Steve Rogers :

He would give you the "I'm so disappointed" look and would spend his night trying to get you to open up and explain why you did it. If the answer is satisfying enough, he would take you in his arms and ask with a playful tone.

" So, did you win ?"

He would then wait until you fall asleep before calling the bar to excuse your behavior and ask if the other girl/guy is okay.

Clint Barton :

He would firstly check if you are okay, then tug you to bed and kiss your forehead before leaving the room, knowing that you probably don't want to talk about it. He would then go seek some answers from Natasha that would explain to him what had happened. He would then wait until morning to ask from your perspective and give you comfort if you need it.

" Hey, sweetie..Just your loving husband checking if you are alright.."

Thor :

" MY LADY ! YOU DARED FIGHT WITHOUT ME BY YOUR SIDE ?!"

He would be more upset about you not inviting him to the fight than starting it. However, he would still be worried and glance at you when you're not looking to make sure you are alright. He would tend to your wounds and care for you as well as..you guessed it..BEAR HUGS !!! Be prepared to be unintentionally crushed by very large muscles..

" YOU ARE A MIGHTY WARRIOR!"

Loki :

Fight..what fight ? No fight here. Nope. You wouldn't want Loki to go on a killing spree just because you got hurt. We all love the little psychopath, but let's be real. He has a little tendency to go overboard when it comes to emotions. The person you were fighting with wouldn't last the night if you told him..So, you tend to your own wounds and try to avoid him. However..if he were to find out..Oh boy.

" Okay, darling..Now, who shall I kill tonight ?"

Tony :

" Where ? When ? Who ? And How ? Who do I have to pay ?"

He would be there to insure that you have no serious injury and that nothing remains of that night..besides a small footage that he would actually keep for himself. He would love to tease you with it for days on end.

" Do you remember that part when you fell on your face because you were too drunk to even see the stairs ? Ah ! Hilarious !"

Yup. He's not letting you go with this.

Scott Lang :

" Honey ! Honey, it's me..!"

As the loyal and very understanding man that he is, Scott would rather let you punch him than anyone else..Long story short : he wanted to stop you and got a punch in the nose for it. He would later tell you that he didn't mind, but you would still care for him. As soon as he would be awake, you would follow him around, asking him if he is alright and he would try to reassure you by taking your hands and telling you over and over.

" Hey ! It's okay..You've done nothing wrong.."

Vision :

At first, he wouldn't understand as he can't exactly get drunk..But, when he would see you starting to beat the hell out of someone at the bar, he would stand between you two and take your hands in his to calm you down. He would then try to talk to your drunk self with kind words and constant eye contact.

" Hey. It's me, Y/N. It's me.."

When you would finally recognize him, he would smile in relief before carrying you home.

Sam Wilson :

" Wait..So, let me get this straight..You fought a chick/guy because..he/she looked at your boyfriend funny ? Doll, you know I'm your boyfriend, right ? And that I wasn't even there ?"

That would just make his day, his girlfriend/boyfriend fighting with another person for something that hadn't even happened..You would blush and try to find some excuse, the first one being alcool while he would look at you for several seconds before bursting out laughing. You would then turn around to leave, embarrassed, but he would wrap his arms around your waist and chuckle lightly.

" I'm joking ! Don't worry, I'm sure you were very drunk and we all make mistakes..Just, next time, make sure your actual boyfriend is here, hmm ?"

#loki laufeyson #clint barton #sam wilson #natasha romanoff #thor #tony stark #captain america #steve rogers #the avengers #the hulk #doctor banner #doctor strange #vision #scott lang #bucky barnes #avengers x y/n

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mammonprotectionsquad · 3 years

Text

This is kind of a recap of Seven's route and the SE's from Vanderwood's perspective, I guess?

Topped with some happy end for that boi ✌🏻

And yes I'm a sucker for Vandy calling reader "baby girl", don't @ me xD

Words: 4002

Falling for you

Vanderwood x Reader

It all started when that damn brat of a hacker made him watch over some random chick over CCTV. To say that Vanderwood was annoyed over it was a big understatement. Being forced to basically be a nanny for yet another person, when he'd already had his hands full with 707? Not exactly how he wanted to spend his time. What was so important about you anyway? Why did you need someone to look out for you?

But he figured that if him keeping an eye on that damn screen made the redhead focus more on his actual work, he'd just suck it up and do it.

At least it was a no-brainer, so watching the camera footage was his new equivalent to taking a break, which was okay. Though at the same time it also gave him way too much time to think and sooner or later, all his thoughts always came back to you. Like, how did you even get involved with them? Why the hell did it seem like you hadn't even minded staying at a stranger's place for the time being? And how the hell were you still able to stay so cheery all the damn time?

The first time it happened, he got caught off guard, but then reminded himself that you probably thought only Seven was watching over you. So the bright smile and wave were most definitely directed at the guy sitting next to him.

Some time later, Seven actually told him that you knew about both of them keeping an eye on the CCTV. At first he didn't think it would change anything for him. After all, you two hadn't known each other, so all your friendly gestures were probably still not meant for him and he was fine with that.

With every time you left the apartment, or returned, you looked up at the camera, flashed a bright smile and waved shortly. Vanderwood hated to admit it to himself, but it became quite the nice routine. At least all that let him know you were alive and apparently also doing well.

But then something changed. 707 was actually focused on work (whether it be the one for the agency or for the RFA, he didn't know. But at least he was doing something), when you stepped out of the apartment again. And as expected, you smiled, as usual. Though what followed then was new and threw him off a little.

He watched as you made an effort to get as far up on your tiptoes as you could and held a piece of paper towards the camera, which read "I know Seven is busy and I'll have to run some errands. Will be back in about two hours, so don't be alarmed. See you later, Vanderwood!". You made sure to stand there long enough so he could read your message, before you took a step back, waved goodbye and made your way over to the elevator.

For a moment all he could do was stare at the screen in front of him. With everything he'd had expected to happen, you addressing him directly like that wasn't one of those things.

It gave him a strange feeling, warm and a little fuzzy. Something he was absolutely not used to. Why did something so little and stupid make him feel like that in the first place? He knew barely anything about you and you knew nothing about him.

Although he had to admit that whenever you returned from whatever store you went to, he tried to see what you came home with, attempting to piece together what kind of person you were with that alone. But of course that method left a lot of room for speculation.

Ugh, you were affecting him way too much for his liking...

Whenever he thought he finally got through to him, Vanderwood noticed that it had done jack shit, as it seemed.

By the time the hacker became all fidgety and couldn't really focus on what he was supposed to do, he was very well aware that it had to do with you. Apparently you had a similar effect on both agents... And he tried, okay? He tried to remind Seven, and himself, to keep a distance to other people. That getting involved with anyone would be too dangerous, especially with feelings involved.

Yes, he was used to the younger one not listening, but things were getting more and more dangerous like that. Especially with him slacking off way too much. There was only so much the brunette was able to do, only so much more time he could try and buy both of them, until their boss and the client eventually had enough.

Those situations always meant that he'd had to take the route that would ensure they wouldn't end up dead in a ditch, at some point.

And when the redhead actually made a run for it? He knew it was because of you. Otherwise his partner wouldn't have up and left like that, not in such a hurry and trying to keep him off his heels. A part of himself was hoping you were alright, that it wasn't anything too serious. But the other part was more focused on trying to come up with a plan where everyone could come out of that situation relatively unharmed. The agency was no joke, after all...

So the next days were filled with tracking Seven's car, observing it, while also finishing the hacker's work as good as possible, so the clients wouldn't come for their asses.

Then, eventually, there was movement. The car was no longer in the parking lot it had been at the past days, and he was quick to follow, trying his best to stay as close as possible. But then again, Seven was a madman, when it came to driving, The fact the kid was still alive was kind of a miracle...

Though as much as he tried to stay focused, Vanderwood's thoughts always drifted towards you, at some point. And the most prominent one was him hoping you hadn't let yourself get further involved in all that mess.

Things got a little out of hand with him kind of accidentally kidnapping Seven's twin. Could anyone really blame him, though? The redhead was known to dress up constantly and then again; they were twins!

It was a mess, really. With the boss insisting that they'd use the other kid as leverage and the fact he played along so willingly was downright confusing. Just what the hell was going on?!

Not to mention how everything got even worse when he was standing face to face with you. Of course you'd let yourself get dragged into it... From what he'd seen of you, you were way too nice for your own good.

And when the four of you, him not doing it all too voluntarily at first, basically fled from the agency, he felt lost.

Everything had spiraled out of control in a matter of days. With Seven taking you along to look for his apparently long lost twin. Said twin hating his guts, the agency now not only being after the redhead, but also after Vanderwood for turning his back on them... Then Seven also managed to get injured and in the middle of it all? You were way too calm. At least in his opinion.

While he was trying to patch his partner up as good as possible in that small cabin they stayed at for the time being, his thoughts began to wander again. Was it the adrenaline that made you keep your cool like that? Why were you even helping all those people out in the first place? The entire RFA was basically just a bunch of strangers to you, you owed them nothing.

In fact, they actually owed you a shit ton.

And not even when those freakish cult members brought you all back to their mansion in the mountains did you lose it. He knew that every other person, every normal person, would've freaked out, panicked and maybe even tried to beg their way out of that situation.

The only thing he noticed on you was that you were tense, still always focused on making sure the people around you were as safe as possible in that moment.

You were a true mystery. Relatively calm when you got thrown into some cell, and seemingly ready to jump into harms way when that mint haired guy begged the crazy woman to just take him and let everyone else go.

Vanderwood was already prepared to hold you back, in case you should only as much as twitch. Because from what he'd seen? He couldn't say that you seemed to have any self-preservation instinct whatsoever.

He grabbed your arm when Seven fainted, knowing that in a tense situation like that even smaller movements could get you killed.

And when there was actually a gunshot, with the leader of the RFA being on the receiving end of the bullet, there was no hesitation at all. He swiftly pulled you into his arms, a hand buried in your hair to guide your face towards his chest, so you would be shielded from the gruesome scene in front of you.

After a couple seconds, he noticed how your entire body was trembling, letting him know that realization of what had just happened washed over you. Instinctively, he held you closer, not even letting go when Jumin's security stormed into the room, not when Seven, Saeran and the hysteric, blonde woman got taken care of and he still held you when they led you to a helicopter to get you out of that place.

Even when he was told that you'd be taken care of, all he really did was glare. Especially when he felt how you were clinging to him and refused to let go.

It was a strange sensation, something he hadn't felt in forever, but he had that urge to make sure you were alright and that no one would even get a chance to lay their hands on you.

He knew that even though some things were resolved, there was still a lot that needed to be taken care of. Like getting out of the agency for good, making sure the younger twin wouldn't eventually try to suffocate Seven in his sleep, after he got brought to the bunker...

And as much as he always liked to complain about the kid, to some degree he felt responsible for Seven. Which was one of the main reasons he'd decided to stay at the Choi house for the time being.

That way he was able to make sure none of the twins would eventually end up dead, for whatever reason.

Seven and him even agreed on one thing, which was a very rare occasion, and decided that it was for the better to not let you in, until Saeran was at least somewhat more stable. No matter how often you said you wanted to help if possible, it was always brushed off for your own safety.

Yes, Saeran's anger was more aimed towards his brother, but there was never a way to tell how someone would react, when they lashed out.

And in his opinion, you were the last one to deserve being on the receiving end of any form of violence.

It took a couple weeks until the point was reached where the twins decided that it was a possibility to invite someone over, so Saeran could get slowly used to interacting with other people. And with everyone available, you were the one that made most sense.

There was something calm and soothing about you...

When the day came and you showed up for the planned visit, Saeran was a little tense. But you greeted him in your typical friendly way, before giving him all the space he needed.

Vanderwood caught himself thinking about how it seemed like you always sensed what people around you needed. Whether it be an ear to listen, a shoulder to lean on or just... space.

While that was admirable, he also wondered about while you seemed to help everyone around you all the time, who was there for you? Had someone ever offered you to listen to whatever was on your mind? You never painted him as someone who would put themselves first, when you absolutely should.

So, when it became a habit for you to visit every other day, to him it seemed like you were spending more time at the bunker than you were at your own place, he made the decision to casually ask you help him in the kitchen and then coaxed you into talking to him.

He really didn't care what it was about. Whether it be things you did the past couple days, what happened at work... And eventually, after a couple days of silent encouragement, you even talked to him about your feelings during the entire RFA and Mint Eye fiasco.

Even if he would probably never admit it, he was relieved to hear you talk honestly about it, not trying to make him think that things hadn't affected you, because then he would've had to call bullshit.

At the same time it filled him with some kind of pride. Because you seemed to trust him enough to be vulnerable around him. And for whatever reason, one he slowly came to terms with, but was still too scared to say out loud just yet, he was hoping you'd come to him, whenever you needed someone to lean on and be there for you.

With every passing day, you two grew closer and Vanderwood was even able to slowly but surely open up to you as well. Of course openly showing his feelings was nothing he was used to, so it was also kind of difficult, but he was trying. And you, being the angel that you were, were always patient with him.

It had become normal and kind of a routine for you to prepare dinner together, whenever you were at the bunker. It was also agreed to keep Saeyoung out of the kitchen at all costs. None of you wanted to deal with the chaos he caused in a matter of minutes, time and time again.

One of those days was also when realization hit him like a brick to the head. At first he had only thought he was fond of you, like you were fond of a friend. Since he had forced himself to keep his distance to others for so long, could he really be blamed for being so absolutely oblivious?

But it was one of those evenings with you in the kitchen where things started to click. It all felt so... domestic? You worked well together, there were little touches here and there and whenever he managed to make you laugh with something he said or did? It made his heart skip and the sound of your voice filled him with warmth.

When he thought that he would never tire of hearing your laughter and your voice in general, with his expression shifting to something soft and fond, it hit him.

Everything he felt was definitely not platonic. How could he have ever thought so in the first place? Sure, he figured you could have the urge to keep your friends safe like that as well.

But there were feelings and thoughts that were far more sappy, way more romantic, feelings that ran far deeper and that's definitely nothing you feel for a friend. Even someone like him knew that.

He couldn't even pinpoint the exact moment he fell for you. But judging by how things had progressed, it happened slowly and you nearly sneaked your way into his heart. As always, like seemingly everything you did, you had done it with ease...

And while that revelation was scary to some extend, especially since he wasn't at all sure how you actually felt about him, he was also well aware that he'd never find out, if he wouldn't tell you.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he even stopped in his tracks of cutting some veggies and was pretty much just staring at you. Only when he felt your small, warm hand on his arm did he snap out of it and shook his head ever so slightly. Afterwards he was met with your worried expression.

"Hey, you still with me? You suddenly zoned out...", you murmured and moved a bit closer. Whether or not you realized that you did it, he didn't know.

"Yeah, sorry. Got lost in my thoughts for a moment", he quickly waved it off and gave you a little nudge.

Judging by your look though, he knew he wasn't off the hook, yet.

You never pushed anyone to talk about anything immediately, but you had a way of tickling it out of people eventually.

Maybe it was time to just bite the bullet and be upfront with you. After all, there were only two outcomes to the situation, right? Either you'd reject him or, which was the thing he was hoping for, you felt the same way towards him.

"Penny for you thoughts?", you piped up again and at that point you had abandoned your own task in favor of directing your entire attention to him.

"It's just-", he cut himself off, frowning as he pondered over how he should say it. Should he test the waters? Give himself a loophole to weasel his way out of it without actually confessing, in case everything was only one-sided?

Ah, screw it... It was all or nothing.

Letting out a quiet sigh, the former agent leaned against the kitchen counter, though he avoided to look at you, his eyes darting aimlessly around the room.

"I was just thinking about... How it was never part of my life plan to fall for you." His voice was quiet, nearly a whisper and finally, his gaze landed on you. The first thing he noticed was how your eyes were big and round as you pretty much stared at him. But what made him continue and not backpedal was that little blush tinting your cheeks. He was only a little hesitant, as he reached out to brush a strand of hair behind your ear. "But I don't regret it one bit..."

There were a lot of possible reactions coming from you floating around in his brain. What he hadn't expected you to do, though, was how you grabbed the front of his shirt and nearly yanked him down to your height, until your lips pressed against his.

At first, he froze, his his mind coming to a rattling halt for a couple seconds. But as soon as he caught up to what just happened, he more than happily returned the kiss, his arms snaking around your waist to drag you closer and make sure you wouldn't pull away too soon.

When you eventually did have to break apart for air, he was met by that brilliant smile of your, the one that made the corners of your eyes crinkle and left his heart beating so fast, it felt like it was ready to jump right out of his chest.

"I love you, too... And to be honest, if you wouldn't have confessed soon, I would've done it myself", you giggled.

As much as he wanted to be annoyed by that little jab of yours, you were just too adorable and he was too happy about the fact that you obviously felt the same way.

So all he did instead was mumble a "Shut up...", before he dove right in for another kiss.

Going on dates was something he hadn't done since his teenage years, which was why he let you take the lead in picking where you wanted to go or what you wanted to do. You wanted to go to a museum? Fine with him. You wanted to just stay home and curl up, hiding from the world? Something he absolutely would never say no to.

It was one of those days, where you were in his room, the TV turned on but not really more than background noise.

Your head rested on his chest and he continuously ran his fingers up and down your spine, the occasional shivers it elicited from you making him smile. Those quiet moments with you, your weight and warmth grounding and making him feel at home, with nothing to worry about, would probably always be some of his favorites.

Eventually you began to chuckle and Vanderwood glanced curiously down at you, his brows slightly furrowed.

"What's so funny?"

"I just... I remembered something and I feel like you won't be happy about it at all."

Now that was absolutely not helping to ease any of his confusion. In fact, it was only getting worse.

"Then why would it make you chuckle?", he questioned and pulled you a little closer into his side.

"Because it's just funny to imagine how the usual madness would take over this entire house in a matter of seconds."

Still not really helping him and the fact that he hadn't gotten further in figuring out what was on your mind made him groan. As much as he had gotten to know you over the past months, sometimes you were still partially a mystery.

"Why don't you just enlighten me, baby girl?"

The way your cheeks flushed at the pet name made him smile and he just couldn't resist pressing a kiss to your lips.

"Fine...", you muttered into the kiss. "But you have to promise not to do anything impulsive."

"I promise."

While he sat up against the headboard, he pulled you with him and you shifted a bit, to be able to straddle his lap, his hands instinctively falling to your hips.

"Okay, so... Remember when Saeyoung ran off to get to the apartment I was staying at?" He nodded, so you continued, at the same time playing a little with a strand of his hair. "Thing is... Well, first of all Saeran broke into the apartment and wanted to kidnap me. But uh... He actually came there because of the "security measurement." Which was a bomb."

All he did for a moment was blink slowly at you a couple times, his expression not really giving anything away. But then his jaw hardened and he realized that you climbing into his lap was a tactic, to make sure he wouldn't run off and hunt the former hacker down immediately for putting you in that kind of danger.

"That motherf-"

"Rika made him install it there! And he thought it would be safe with his algorithm. No one knew back then that Saeran would manage to hack it. Besides, nothing happened to me. I'm here with you and in one piece", you were quick to add and cupped his cheeks in your hands, so he would look at you.

"He still shouldn't have put you into that kind of danger...", Vanderwood muttered and, since you had him kind of trapped, opted for resting his forehead against your collarbone, as he forced himself to calm down again.

After all, you were right. You were safe and in his arms and he'd never let anyone get only close enough to attempt to hurt you.

Still, he decided that it wouldn't be the worst to give Saeyoung an earful for his recklessness.

But for now he was content to be in your arms, and slowly but surely the feeling of your fingers carding through his hair and the way your nails scratched his scalp at times helped him relax again and every now and then he pressed some soft kisses to your skin.

Falling in love with you had happened slowly, gradually, but there wasn't a second where he regretted any of it and he would never let go of you again. Not if he could help it.

Masterlist

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#mysme #mystic messenger #vanderwood #mystic messenger vanderwood #mysme vanderwood #mary vanderwood 3rd #mystic messenger mc #mysme mc #vanderwood x mc #vanderwood x reader #mystic messenger reader insert #mystic messenger oneshot #707 route #mystic messenger secret endings #mysme secret endings #my writing

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doubleshotofsomething · 3 years

Text

To Hell & Back

Part Four: “My wings are frayed and what’s left of my halo’s black”

Summary: Your exit strategy involves your neighbour... Well, it is your neighbour.

Prompt: "I don't want to live on this planet anymore."

Warnings: swearing. (Typos that will be fixed). That's it??

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x Reader

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Series Masterlist

-----

You weren't always this...angry.

You weren't always this spiteful and short tempered, and malicious enough to deliberately poison muffins.

At one point in life, you were everything you'd ever wanted in a friend. Kind and compassionate. Even patience was a virtue you had an abundance of.

Then, one day, some guy from Asgard came with an army of aliens and ripped a hole through your father's finances. Apparently damaging a bunch of buildings, including the one your father worked at, was bad for business and so it closed down.

Just as your mother's job had barely managed to get your family out of the red, her boss gets murdered at some important meeting that blew up – along with some world leaders. In her boss's place, the son took over and ran the company into the ground.

Luckily, your sister had a bakery that made just enough to cover your parents' costs and your summer jobs had saved you enough to get you through college. Then, some other guy came with another alien army, and decided to take half the world with him – or whatever he did

The wrong half of the world, in your opinion. You could have lived without watching your sister's husband run her business into the ground. And life would have been a little easier if you didn't have to stretch yourself thin, to make sure your mother saw the next day.

"Then half the world came back," you continue, eyes focused on the cat. "And some random family showed up in my apartment. I'm pretty sure the husband had a heart attack when he saw me–"

Bucky places another beer in front of you. You hate the taste, but coffee on an empty stomach has never worked well for you.

"–so I moved," you take a final sip of your second beer, before placing it down and reaching for the one he just placed in front of you. "Now, I'm here. Stuck with a nosy neighbour and his cat."

"You can keep her." Bucky sighs, leaning against the wall next to you. Your shoulders brush. "I don't know the first thing about cats."

You frown and look up at him. "Barnes... You are cat. And I already have you, why would I want another one?"

He scoffs, blue eyes meeting yours. "I am not that kind of lady."

"Oh god," you roll your eyes.

"Gotta buy me dinner first, doll–"

"Not a doll."

"Maybe take me dancing," he continues, lips twitching at the sight of your scowl. "If you're lucky, I might invite you in for tea."

You glance at the coffee machine, still boxed, sitting on his counter but don't comment. You know what it means, you know why he bought it, and the thought alone makes you queasy.

So you look back at the cat, curled on your bare lap, and sigh. "Sorry I came in without pants."

You don't say anything else and he chuckles. He found you in nothing but an old shirt and socks that night, so he's not really surprised.

"Sorry I helped you without a shirt." He replies. He would've answered you immediately, the second you said his name, but he had to find pants first.

Silence falls between the both of you, and it takes actual effort for Bucky to look away from you. Tempering down the disappointment that has the audacity to knaw at you, at your stubbornness, you turn back to the screen of his laptop.

He was reviewing CCTV footage of your building's basement garage. Two hours into the viewing and he heard you calling him from the balcony, so he had to pause.

Now, four hours, three beers on your side and a weird trip down memory lane later – you're helping him sift through footage at a faster rate.

"So," you begin, eyes glued to the screen. "I have a question, about that whole serum thing."

"Hmm?" It's the first question you've ever asked about that part of him, that part of his history.

"How does it work when it comes to diseases?"

Blinking, Bucky has to pause the video to look at you. "Diseases?"

You nod. "Like flu, chicken pox, tonsillitis. You know, that stuff."

"I'm confused–"

"Do you not get it or does it run through you like water?"

"What?"

"Or does your immune system just basically butcher it within the hour?" You blink at him, eyes wide with curiosity. "'Cause like, I had this friend with one helluva immune system. He never got sick, so does it work like that?"

He pauses, lips pursing as he considers you. "Do you wanna know if my blood cells can cure AIDS?"

"If that were the case, you'd be in a CDC off-site lab right now–" you put down the beer you've been cradling. "–so, no. I wanna know what kind of illness can knock a super soldier out long enough for me to use it as an excuse."

He blinks. Once. Twice. "Huh?!"

"Saturday is in a few days."

Oh.

"What does that have to do with me?" His face scrunches up into the most confused expression you've ever seen.

"As we both know," you narrow your eyes at him. "Ever since you saved my life, like the asshole you are, my parents have taken a liking to you. And since I poisoned their favourite couple last week, I'm in deep shit this week unless I can find a good reason to not show up."

"I'm not gonna apologise for saving you."

You raise an eyebrow. "Of course not. That would mean admitting it was very selfish of you."

This is not how he expected this conversation to go. Or how he wanted it to go. So, he decides to turn back to the screen and continue watching the footage.

You know you struck a nerve, and it would be easier for you to blame it on the beer, but you can't. You want answers, just as much as he does.

You want to know what gave him the right to knock down your door, or the audacity to have his friend fly you to the hospital. He won't straight up tell you, you tried when you woke up in the ICU and found him there, and it pisses you off that he might not ever tell you.

Bucky frowns at the screen. "The camera's get switched off right after I leave–" he glances at you. "Did you bribe security to switch them off?"

"We have security?"

"The guys at the front desk?"

You frown at him. You know those guys, you bring them baked goodies from work three times a week.

"Hang on," you place the cat on the couch next to you, cross your legs and turn to move closer to him. "Let me get this straight."

Your knees gently press into his thigh and he forced to look at you.

"You're telling me that Laurence with sinuses, down in the lobby, and Percy with the three-legged rabbit. Those guys–" of course you'd know that. "–they're security? For this apartment building? We have security?"

"You can't be serious–"

"We have a biometric system at the door and like cameras, and a patrol car that frequents this neighbourhood–" you're pressing a little to hard on your fingers and he's worried you just might snap one off. "–what the hell do we need security guards for?"

You continue rattling off all the safety measures the building has, which means your fingers have to suffer throughout the list, unless he does something about it.

Which he does. Almost as if instinct, his hands are clasping yours before he can make the decision to reach for them. They're warm and cold against yours, but the right kind of warm and cold that makes you frown at them.

His hands swallow yours, which isn't something that surprises you. It's the way you're not pulling away, the way you're not fighting it, the way you can't blame the alcohol because it almost feels...normal.

You haven't felt normal in such a long time.

"You gonna stop tryna break your fingers?" Bucky starts. "Or do I have to stay like this 'til you knock out?"

You blink. "Does a concussion knock you out long enough to warrant an excuse?"

"You're relentless."

"Says the guy watching CCTV footage because of a cat."

"It's... For a good cause."

"Me missing Saturday dinner is a good cause, Barnes."

He sighs. "Doll–"

"–I'll owe you one."

Bucky is about to argue, his mouth was halfway open before your words registered. That's really what happened.

It's not like he was looking for an opening or anything. A way of asking you, that wouldn't resort in an argument or anything.

It's not like those were the words he's been waiting for, for quite some time now.

Not at all.

Of course not.

But, who is he to argue with the mysterious workings of a universe.

The room you're in is dimly lit, the only light originating from the kitchen and the streetlights. But you can still see that dangerous glint in his eyes.

He grins. "Is that right?"

You swear you heard yourself gulp.

-----

"Okay–" you're fidgety and anxious, and can't seem to stand still as the elevator doors close. "–now, let's go through this again. What's our exit strategy?"

Bucky turns to fully face you. He's been trying to keep you calm ever since the parking lot, but even he can admit that he was far too distracted to be helpful.

It wasn't even his fault he was distracted, it was completely yours. When he invited you to Sarah's party , the party celebrating the expansion of the success revamp of the boat business, he had said to dress comfortably.

Not dress like you were put on this Earth to be the end of him.

He was waiting in the parking lot, the same one that had the camera's switched off right after he left, when you came barrelling towards him.

You had narrowly escaped your sister. She was getting off the elevator just as you were nearing it, so you quickly opted for the staircase beside it. You were a flurry of floral black and white and pink in a summer dress, your hair barely in place – you tried using pins and thought about ribbons, but then forgot about them when you couldn't find your other shoe – as you basically pushed him inside the car.

You used the passenger window to try and fix your hair, as best as you could. And he spent the drive trying to reassure you that you looked fine.

You looked more than fine, but he couldn't seem to muster up the words.

"Doll–"

"Not a doll." Is your automated response.

"You look fine, " sweet as sugar, is what he wants to say. "And, well, there is no exit strategy."

You gape up at the mammoth of a man in front of you. His words, a ballad of heathens in your book, echoes in your head.

"No exit strategy?" You whine, fisting his shirt as you desperately meet his eyes. "Bucky, no. Please. You can't do this."

The elevator doors open before he can respond to you. Sam is waiting on the other side of the doors, champagne glasses in both hands.

Hands still gripping into Bucky's shirt, hair almost presentable, Bucky's face flushing from hearing you say his name, and your expression portraying pure fluster. You and Bucky both turn to find Sam staring at the scene in front of him.

His eyebrows shoot up, golden brown eyes lighting up at the sight. "Okay. This definitely makes up for you being late."

Bucky blinks, seeming to snap out of his stupor. "Wait, wha–"

"No–" Sam cuts in. "–I know how you 40s guys are about kissin' and telling. I won't pry."

"Hang on, Sam–"

"Bathroom's on the next floor," he has the audacity to grin. "Just be quick about it. The speech's in twenty minutes."

With that, he steps away from the elevator, gives a curt nod and – with a Cheshire grin – walks away.

You slowly peel your hands away from Bucky and take a few steps back.

Bucky clears his throat. "So, about the exit strategy..."

---

TAGS :D : @sunflowerxbarnes , @ginger-swag-rapunzel , @arctic-duchess , @sltwins , @thewayilookatbacon , @buckyisperfect , @paryl

#bex's 1.5k meme challenge #bucky barnes #reader insert #sam wilson #x reader #bucky x reader #bucky fanfic #bucky fluff #mcu x reader #bucky x you #marvel fic #neighbour!bucky #neighbours au #enemiestolovers au #bucky barnes x reader #marvel masterlist #to hell and back #part 4 #bucky x y/n

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dtrhwithalex · 3 years

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TV | Leverage (Season 1, Rewatch)

Rewatch of the first season of TNT's LEVERAGE (2008-2012), created by John Rogers and Chris Downey together with Dean Devlin and his production company Electric Entertainment.

In anticipation of the show's reboot / revival / sequel LEVERAGE: REDEMPTION coming to IMDbTV on 09 July this year, I am rewatching the original 77 episodes and writing about my favourite moments and things from each episode, season by season.

(Just a note, this first season was aired out of order, so the dates won't actually form a chronology, since I'm going with the intended order rather than the one they were aired in.)

101: THE NIGERIAN JOB

D: DEAN DEVLIN. W: JOHN ROGERS & CHRIS DOWNEY. Original Air Date: 07 December 2008.

I have lost count of how many times I have seen this episode (or any episodes of this show to be completely honest), but it holds up every single time. It is one of my favourite, if not the favourite TV pilot episode I have ever seen.

The way this pilot sets up who the main characters are and what the core of this show is, is simply perfect. The introduction of Nate at the bar being approached by Dubenich, then the intercut between him convincing Nate to do the job and the actual job happening -- just wonderful. The same goes for the individual introductions of the other players. Nate's comment about Parker ("no, but Parker is insane") which plants a thread for the rest of the show already, the flashbacks of each character to exemplify who they and what their talents are, combined with the episode then showing you those talents and what Nate can do with them -- which is, of course, his talent -- sets up this whole show so well.

So many seeds that come to fruition throughout the show are already planted right here. Nate's mentoring of Parker to become his eventual successor as Mastermind ("Haircuts, Parker, count the haircuts" -- "I would've missed that"), Eliot's role as protector, the iconic overhead shots and the gloating, the alternate revenue streams, "Hardison dies in Plan M" -- it's all already right here in this episode. A brilliant piece of writing. Hats off to Rogers and Downey, no questions asked.

Rewatching this episode made me think of what this show is about, in its essence. Yes, it is about standing up for those who can't do so themselves, taking on the bigger bad, showing how corrupt and terrible the world can be, but also how much good there is to still find in the world. But also, this show is about a lonely man being actively bullied into the family he didn't know he needed or wanted, but will eventually come to realise is the one thing, the only thing that is keeping him alive. LEVERAGE is the story of a man and his crusade to avenge the death of his child, but is is very much also the story of a man who finds a reason to keep getting up every morning in the four people who are on this crusade with him. And this pilot episode already holds the seed and the potential of all of that. And that is why this show is to this day still my favourite show of all time, because it is utterly perfect in every way.

102: THE HOMECOMING JOB

D: DEAN DEVLIN. W: JOHN ROGERS. Original Air Date: 09 December 2008.

I absolutely love how John Rogers was like okay first episode, some greedy asshole who does whatever he wants for his own gain, we'll take him down a notch. Episode two? Hmm, oh yeah, the government is completely corrupt, filled with rich greedy assholes who do whatever they want for their own gain and always get away with it. Not on my watch (I love him very much, thank you).

This episode, once again, so good. The re-introduction of every character in this new reality of Nate's crusade is just as brilliantly done as the original introduction of them all. Sophie at an audition (love the John Rogers cameo here) completely butchering it once again, Eliot beating up some thug, Parker stealing valuable art, and Hardison doing what he does best: creating a beautiful office-slash-home space for the team, putting his all into their backstories, the equipment, the behind-the-scenes workings of what they need to get the job done. My man.

The message of this particular episode is also just something I am very fond of. The rehab facility doctor's words in the beginning, and then in the end again -- "people don't just show up to help. that's not the way the world works" -- as well as Nate's ultimate answer to her, "so change the world." That right here is the message of this show. It's already right here, all up in your face, episode two.

I completely adore what this episode does for the character dynamics already. The detail Hardison puts into the other's backstories, the interactions around the conference table, Eliot sharing his knowledge, Nate explaining the money laundering scam, the whole thing about laws being in a wooden box, Sophie elaborating why she knew Congressman Jenkins was lying to her -- they don't just work together, they already start giving the others insight into their talents and their knowledge and share that. It's beautiful. I especially adore the shot of them at the end, everyone leaning against the car while watching Corporal Perry and the other veterans debating what to do with the money. They are already so comfortable and at ease with each other, leaning into each other's spaces. They're family. You can see it here already.

Absolutely fantastic episode. For a long time, whenever I thought about The Homecoming Job, I somehow associated a more negative emotion with it than with other episodes, but I don't quite know why, because this is a brilliant episode and I love watching it.

103: THE WEDDING JOB

D: JONATHAN FRAKES. W: CHRIS DOWNEY. Original Air Date: 13 January 2009.

We love Jonathan Frakes in this house and every single time his name shows up with the director tag on this show, I know that I will enjoy every last second of the episode I am about to watch. Frakes directed the hell outta this thing. The Wedding Job is an absolutely excellent episode. Dan Lauria as our main baddie Nicky Moscone is perfect casting and there are so many great comedic beats in the scenes with him and Nate. Everyone, generally, is so weirded out by Priest!Nate, but Moscone just takes the weirdness in stride. This episode holds a very special place in my heart because it contains the introduction of my favourite FBI duo -- McSweeten (McSweetheart, as we call him) and Taggert. I adore these two bumbling fools so much, and I am so glad they kept being brought back, because they are both just so lovely. McSweetheart especially is very dear to me because of the D.B. Cooper Job from the last season (where, I ask, do I start my McSweetheart for Leverage: Redemption campaign?). Overall just such an excellent episode, really. So many great moments between our main characters--Sophie and Nate and their little "relationship" problem, Hardison and Eliot talking about marriage, Parker pretending she was waiting in the screening room to have sex with Hardison, Hardison appreciating Eliot's cooking. I also absolutely adore the beginning, the four of them convincing Nate that Teresa is definitely the type of client they take on. And Nate's resigned "Yeah, okay, yeah. Let's go rob Nicky Moscone. A guy who kills people and lives in our city. Yeah, let's go do that" as if they weren't going to go above and beyond any of that in the five years they will spend together on this crusade of his. You're so precious, Nathan. Of course, the ending of this episode is beyond brilliant, and lives both in my heart and my head rent free. It is such a magnificent found family moment. Getting Teresa the restaurant back, the news footage regarding Ray's appeal, and of course, Eliot cooking for them all, and them celebrating together, all of them. It is such a beautiful moment.

104: THE SNOW JOB

D: TONY BILL. W: ALBERT KIM. Original Air Date: 27 January 2009.

I adore what the client says to Nate in the beginning of the episode: "You work hard, you play by the rules, but when you need help, you really need help? They let you hang. They let you hang and it's your kid who pays the price." This show hammers home its message so many times in such great character moments and it makes watching these brilliant people take on these greedy bastards and robbing them for all they've got that much sweeter. It is such a satisfying thing to watch. Especially because they're all so damn good at this.

This is a great episode but it is infinitely funnier if you know and speak German, because it makes the scenes between Sophie and Eliot absolutely hysterical. And the delivery of the line that Ute Ausgartner says when she discovers they replaced her with Sophie is just wrong enough to crack you up.

Again some wonderfully brilliant comedic beats -- the Frakes cameo in the hospital waiting room, Parker casually hanging off the ski lift, Hardison and Eliot arguing over who puts dye in the dead body, Eliot carrying off a pissed of Parker, and so many more.

This episode also, for the first time, really gives insight into Nate's drinking problem. We had the one moment in The Homecoming Job, but this episode starts to explore it more in depths. And something that I've always appreciated about this show is that it never glorifies the drinking, but Nate is also never vilified for it. It is a fact of Nate's life and they explore different aspects of it, and everything is done with such care (which does not surprise me one bit since this is John Rogers' show).

The ending of this episode is also, once again, so beautiful and nicely done. It is just so incredibly satisfying to watch these greedy bastards get what's coming to them, and to see the clients be compensated beyond anything they'd ask for.

105: THE MILE HIGH JOB

D: ROB MINKOFF. W: AMY BERG. Original Air Date: 20 January 2009.

Another fantastic episode (you will realise that I will say this about every single of the 77 episodes this show has)! Amy Berg wrote some excellent stuff for this show, and this episode is one of them. Always a lot of great character relationship moments, and absolutely brilliant comedic beats.

I am very fond of the fact that here, in the early days, we have the whole team present around the table during the client meeting. We see all their reactions and inputs here already, and not later when Nate or Hardison (usually) relays the information of their next job to the rest of the gang. It's a very lovely moment.

I am also very fond of the entire recon bit at the GenoGrow office. Sophie's French rave-girl act, the others having to climb stairs, Hardison's absence, the cut from Parker's bomb to the microwave at the HQ, Nate, Eliot and Parker yelling "Oh it's right behind us, it's chasing us!" and grabbing Sophie on the way out, meanwhile the security guys completely buying it. Absolutely brilliant, all the way through.

Both Hardison's adventure at GenoGrow as well as the others on the plane contain so many great comedic moments. Hardison's Spanish maintenance guy act, his interactions with both Cheryl and Steve (talking into the cupboard? His fake meeting and getting Steve to take a dive? The whole birthday thing? A+ all around. Amy Berg, everyone) and of course the reaction he has to the plane safely landing on the highway ("lord I was so scared, I wanna cry and call my momma" I love him so much, y'all). I also have big feelings about Nate's pep talk to Hardison, "you can do this, I trust you ... the only guy I can count on in a situation like this." Sir, I am experiencing an emotion alright.

The sequences on the plane are of course also absolutely fantastic. Nate and Sophie's domestic, Parker's day job and her interactions with Marissa, Eliot being a big softie who holds Marissa's hand all the way up to the in-flight bar and hugs the woman he sat down next to when they safely land (womaniser, big softie. tomayto, tomahto). Also big shoutout to the fake names Nate and Sophie have. We love our DOCTOR WHO references in this show. I love these nerds very much, thank you.

106: THE TWO HORSE JOB

D: CRAIG R. BAXLEY. W: MELISSA GLENN & JESSICA RIEDER (GRASL). Original Air Date: 16 December 2008.

This episode also holds a very special place in my heart because it contains the introduction of our dearly beloved antagonist, Mr Jim Sterling, the absolutely amazing Mark Sheppard. We love Sterling in this house, yessir (again, where do I have to address my Jim Sterling For Leverage: Redemption campaign to?). Every moment he is in is fantastic, but I especially adore the conversation he has with Nate at the race track (especially the "Nathan Ford is a common criminal" -- "Common. That's just hurtful" bit of it).

This, of course, is an episode by our wonder twins, Glenn and Rieder (now Grasl), which they ended up naming the in-universe safe company after. Always fantastic work when the two of them are involved. Some amazing character moments again here.

We get to see some of Eliot's backstory with Aimee which in turn gives us two fantastic moments with him and the women of the team. I love his interaction with Sophie at the racetrack: "I like Aimee, I do. I mean it, I like you both, Eliot. I just, I don't know what comes of chasing the past, you know." -- "Well Sophie, sweetie, I don't think you and Nate get to serve me that particular meal." Just fantastic moment between these two, who I like to call The Conference of Mom Friends whenever they are in scenes together. The other interaction is with Parker in the car: "We need you to do this. I need you to do this." I adore Eliot and Parker's relationship and this already is a very early glimpse at the dynamic they develop which will eventually lead to beautiful moments like that in the ice cave in The Long Way Down Job in season four.

I also love how it is Hardison and Parker's discussion about horses that ultimately reminds Nate of the Lost Heir con. Aldis' delivery of "Wilbur loved Mr Ed! He loved him like a second cousin twice removed" is absolutely brilliant. Unsurprisingly, however, my favourite interaction of this episode is the one Eliot has with Aimee at the end: "You're never gonna be the kind to settle down, but I'm glad you found a family." -- "Th-those guys?" Yes, Eliot, those guys. You might not know it just yet, but that is absolutely your family, and the fact that an outsider already comments on it this early is simply perfect. My deepest gratitude to you, wonder twins.

107: THE BANK SHOT JOB

D: DEAN DEVLIN. W: AMY BERG. Original Air Date: 30 December 2008.

Amy Berg on the typewriter once again (typewriter? Alex what are you talking about this was 2008...)! I really like this episode a whole lot. An excellent one for Nate/Sophie, as well as Hardison/Parker. I have a huge soft spot for my crime children pretending to be law enforcement. Any combination of them is good, but Parker and Hardison as FBI agents especially is just exquisite.

This episode is also just fantastic for illustrating some of the small town criminal activity that happens from the top down. Judge Roy's entire bit about how "these little people" will do and say whatever he tells them to do and that, because he is the law in the town, he gets to decide what is actually true and what is not. To then have Hardison fake security footage and them turning the story against Judge Roy is of course poetic justice. I adore the moment when the bank manager Frank decides that sticking with the false facts these random people have come up with is the better choice than having the judge remain in charge.

I also really love the interaction Derrick has with Sophie and then later with Parker, as well as the moment of uncertainty in-between. His "I don't know what to do with that" when Sophie tells him she's a thief is so funny and so good. The turn of "but they're criminals....then again" when he looks out of the window on the way to Parker is also just a nice moment to illustrate exactly what Parker then later says, "sometimes bad guys are the only good guys you get." Ethics and justice are such muddy concepts and especially in situations like Derrick is currently in, there is no way of knowing who is actually good, who is bad, and who is just trying their best. It is a lovely moment and once again, one of those great instances of "important message within character moment" that this show does so well.

Of course, I am also very fond of Hardison's mention of DOCTOR WHO, his "Geek power baby, stay strong" line, Eliot's fight scene with the crack dealers ("stay in the car!"), Hardison's bullshitting the demands at the bank (Hall & Oates!) and, of course, last but not least, the return of my favourite FBI fools, McSweetheart and Taggert, getting yet another win laid in their lap by the Leverage crew. This episode is filled to the brim with greatness.

108: THE MIRACLE JOB

D: ARVIN BROWN. W: CHRISTINE BOYLAN. Original Air Date: 23 December 2008.

An absolutely excellent Nate-centric episode! We finally get a bit more of a view into Nate's past, aside from the ever-present flashback to Sam's death at the hospital. I really like the relationship of Nate and Father Paul, which I think is very interesting and so well done. Through Paul we get another side of Nate, which may have stayed hidden otherwise. I am also very fond of how Maggie is introduced here. She doesn't get a voice yet, but we learn about her through Nate, Sophie and also Paul, and I quite like that. It sets up expectations for her appearance in the finale, which is really intriguing.

This episode has so many great comedic beats as well, and I barely even know where to begin. From the team's inability to deal with Sophie's acting talents (or lack thereof) to the whole "It's not Santa" gag, the amazing faces Sophie pulls when the mark tells her about Bibletopia, Hardison's "God will smite us" thing -- there is just too much good stuff in this episode.

One of my favourite interactions in this episode was on the construction site, after Grant takes what he thinks are his meds.

Sophie: What is that you just took? Grant: Xanax. For my nerves. Parker: Actually caffeine. With a dash of dextroamphetamine. Eliot: You have him speed? Hardison, shrugging: He beat up a priest!

The look Eliot gives them then with a half-shrug, an expression which cannot be described as anything but "aight, fair enough" -- just absolutely excellent.

What I also really loved about this episode, is that we get to see more of the HQ than just the conference room. We have the team meeting in Nate's office, we see Sophie picking through her mail, Hardison making space so he can build fake Saint Nick statues. Added to that, the team is setting into such a nice familiarity with each other. Eliot brings Sophie a cup of coffee to the meeting in Nate's office. The fact that they all do get mail at the office. This is their space. I love it so much.

What this episode also gives us, is a first instance of the con possibly going side-ways because of how convincing it is. I adore that their possible downfall will never be incompetence, but rather over-competence. They are so good at what they do that sometimes their talent comes to bite them in the ass. We see this again, a bit different, in The Juror #6 Job.

The ending of this episode is very dear to me. It is a very lovely moment between Nate and Paul, but also Nate and the team. It creates such a beautiful moment of intimacy between these characters, which I think is done with extreme care, and it shows. This episode also very nicely sets up a nice sort of grounded-ness for the next episode, which I think the subject matter really deserves and needs.

109: THE STORK JOB

D: MARC ROSKIN. W: ALBERT KIM. Original Air Date: 06 January 2009.

This one and the next episode are excellent Parker-centric plots and this one in particular also has some wonderful Parker/Hardison content. Nate, also, is just very good in this episode as well. Keeping the tone the last episode established especially toward the end, this episode has such a nice grounded-ness to it. Nate's first meeting with the client is so careful in a way, and we don't always see that. Generally, Nate is careful and considerate in this episode, I think. Even when Parker goes rogue, he is so good with Parker (I attribute the brashness entirely to his director role here). It meant so much that he doesn't shoot down the idea of coming back for the other orphans, he knows how important this is to Parker (and Hardison).

With this episode we learn that both Parker and Hardison have grown up in the foster system. I really adore the conversation they have at the van after they find out about the orphanage -- Hardison telling Parker about his Nana, Parker's fear that foster system will be cruel to those children, Hardison's "I like how you turned out" -- it is such a lovely and meaningful moment. This and the "we're a team" / "a little more than a team" moments are such great instances that highlight the importance of these characters and their relationships in this show. It isn't just some crime procedural where every characters is replaceable at any given moment -- this show is about people, and about these specific people.

On a lighter note, I also really adore Nate and Sophie's dynamic in this. How they coach Parker and Eliot individually but at the same time, while also arguing about Sophie conning Nate back in the day, is just brilliant. Their "delightful banter" as Hardison calls it, is so good, and I absolutely love that Nate figures out the way to con Irina is the same way he would have to con Sophie. It's just too good.

David S. Lee as Nicholas is also incredibly good, although since watching THE LIBRARIANS I always expect him to swoon over a blonde and call her Duchess any minute.

110: THE JUROR #6 JOB

D: JONATHAN FRAKES. W: REBECCA KIRSCH. Original Air Date: 10 February 2009.

The lighter of the two Parker-centric episodes, but a brilliant one nonetheless. This episode also brings us the introduction of Peggy played by the lovely Lisa Schurga. We love Peggy in this house and, once again, I ask: where do I address my Peggy For Leverage: Redemption campaign to?

This episode is great for many different reasons, one of course being that Hardison is so good at what he does, that Parker's alias has to go to jury duty. What a talent, we absolutely have no choice but to stan. I love him so much. Other fantastic things that make this episode absolutely excellent are

- Nate's "there is not some evil conspiracy lurking behind the curtain of every routine civic activity" speech which he then has to retract,

- Sophie teaching Parker about persuasion with the help of Eliot who is absolutely precious in this interaction,

- Eliot's friend Donnie, who poses as another employee from the company Sophie pretends to be from, who then turns out to be Scottish,

- Nate and Sophie sending the kids off to work at the door, with a briefcase and handshake for Hardison and a snack and high-five for Parker,

and Hardison's entire act as a lawyer. He is so good. Of course his stalling is brilliant, but the turn-around once he has to actually try and win the trial? A masterpiece. I love how he tears the doctor apart for his drunken airplane misconducts, but what takes the cake by miles is of course his closing statement. He is just, so good, and such a goodhearted, wonderful person. I love how he directly addressed Parker. Hardison is full of sunshine and I love. him. so. much.

And I would be remiss not to mention how incredibly fond I am of the rest of the team watching the feed of the jury room from the HQ with such proud looks on their faces as Parker leads the other jury members and they vote in favour of the plaintiff. This is their girl and she's done so well. What a brilliant episode. My love to Becky Kirsch, honestly.

111: THE 12-STEP JOB

D: ROD HARDY. W: AMY BERG & CHRIS DOWNEY. Original Air Date: 03 February 2009.

Another episode, another instance of me asking the question: Where do I address my Hurley for Leverage: Redemption campaign to? We love Hurley! Drew Powell is absolutely fantastic, I adore him. Also huge shoutout to Joseph LoDuca for that absolute banger of a song that plays during the intro and the credits.

This episode has some fantastic Eliot/Hardison moments that are very dear to me. The two of them looking for Hurley and fighting over Hardison's slushy spill is just lovely. The whole car bomb sequence is also just completely brilliant. It's such a step in their relationship and I love it so much. The moment of "D'you want me to kick it?" / "God, I'm gon' die" is a wonderful comedic beat in this tense situation, but it is the bit after that I really adore. Hardison figuring out how to trick the bomb and then,

Eliot: What's our margin of error here? Hardison: 'bout half a second. Eliot: Run the ba-bag of bricks by me again? Hardison: Are you ready? Eliot: No.

I am just, so fond of these two. Also the fact that Eliot's hand shakes when he reaches for the cables and waits for Hardison's signal always puts me all up in my feelings about him. I also of course adore the scene at the rehab facility with Hardison's "I'm with him. No, I am with him. See, he thinks the flirting makes me jealous, but it doesn't. But if you was like Brad Pitt or Denzel or somebody, oh girl it would be on." It love it so much.

Nate, of course, is also just great in this episode. His entire experience in rehab is another wonderful insight into his character, his issues, how he sees himself and so on. The hallucination of Sterling says so much about him. I think this also very nicely sets up how Nate behaves in the finale double episode.

I also really want to mention Parker here, because Parker in rehab is also something I am very fond of. I love the moment where she pickpockets the Koreans searching for Hurley and then so innocently comes to Nate to confess what she's done and tells him in this tiny voice "I didn't meant to, it was just instinct." I love her so much. And her, at the end of the episode, skipping along and then running toward her people, jumping on Eliot while tossing her stuff at Nate, and then going to hug Hardison, is such a lovely moment. I love how the three of them then walk toward the car arm in arm, too. I love these kids.

112: THE FIRST DAVID JOB

D: DEAN DEVLIN. W: JOHN ROGERS. Original Air Date: 17 February 2009.

First half of the first finale! I gotta say I really love the David Jobs very much. It is such a fantastic first finale. I really adore how the opening of this episode is mirrored in the opening of the second half.

Given the set-up of the previous episode, I really like how for a first time watcher, this opening sequence very much looks like Nate is completely off the rails doing his own thing getting revenge on the man who, basically, killed his son. It isn't until Blackpoole introduces Nate to 'Portia' and we see Sophie turn around that it becomes clear that we're on the con, which I think is done very nicely. Only then giving the viewer the "how we got here" part is just great.

This episode of course also brings us, finally, Maggie (yes, I'll ask again: where do I address my Maggie For Leverage: Redemption campaign to?). I absolutely love how she is introduced here as Eliot's date. I also love how absolutely terrified Eliot looks once he realises that she isn't just anyone, but Nate's ex-wife. Maggie is such an excellent character, and I adore her. I also am very appreciative that this episode holds the singular moment of jealousy Sophie has toward Maggie. After her momentary outburst as Maggie tells Nate she hasn't stopped caring about him, we never see it again. Even better, once Maggie learns about Nate's crew, Sophie and her even become friends. And it is lovely.

We also have some great Parker/Hardison moments in this episode as well. I adore Parker and her enthusiasm for their "little naked man" and Hardison being weirded out about it (and turning the little David around so Parker can change in private). I, of course, absolutely love the kiss (and Eliot's grinning question at Sophie who of the two of them Parker had kissed) and then the theft of the First David. Hardison is so in awe of Parker and it is a sight to behold.

I also quite enjoy the "downfall" in this episode. Sterling showing up (we love the bastard), the fight between Eliot and Mr Quinn, the conversation about Sophie conning them on the roof, and then of course the final confrontations on that same roof as well as the HQ. This whole thing of "and then I asked myself, what would Parker do?" / "but then I thought, what would Hardison do?" is just brilliant and lovely. It shows how far they have all come throughout this first season and how much they have learned from each other already. I am very fond of it.

I am sad about the offices being blown up, though. As much as I love both McRory's pub and Nate's apartment in Boston, as well as the Brewpub in Portland, I've always really liked the LA offices as well. It was their first home and it was lovely. I am however very happy that Old Nate made it out unscathed.

113: THE SECOND DAVID JOB

D: DEAN DEVLIN. W: JOHN ROGERS & CHRIS DOWNEY. Original Air Date: 24 February 2009.

And the last episode! As I've said above, I adore how this opening sequence mirrors that of The First David Job. Similarly, I also love how until Sophie notices Parker's laser pointer and Eliot sees Hardison, as a viewer you assume they are on the job together, which is again the reversal of the first half of the finale. Just lovely storytelling, I adore it. Speaking of mirrors, the scene in the MC Hammer mansion where Nate inconspicuously manages to get them all thinking about the con together and putting their differences aside once more, also mirrors one of my favourite scenes from the first episode of season two, where the team does the same to Nate.

This episode on the whole I also just marvellous. Eliot's awkward date with Maggie, Nate finally telling Maggie about Blackpoole's involvement (or lack thereof) in Sam's death, the team involving Maggie in the planning of the con and her, precious as she is, questioning Nate's ability to just get people to do what he wants -- it is all just so good. I love Maggie on the con, too. Sophie coaching her, how good Maggie is at it immediately. Just lovely.

Then, of course, the entirety of the con from the moment Nate shows up at the museum. Sterling hurrying all over the place trying to figure out what Nate's plan is, finding out about the mummy, the release of the gas, the evacuation, the David statue replicas, them finally getting in and finding Nate alone in the exhibit room. I adore that shot of him leaning against the display case with the two Davids still inside, only highlighted from the open hatch in the roof. It is such a beautiful shot. I really enjoy Nate and Sterling's dynamic here, too. And I am very happy that Maggie gets to punch Blackpoole just like Nate got to in the episode before. They both deserve to give this man hell.

The ending of this episode and therefore this season always has me in all of my emotions. If I didn't know there would be more after this, I would just go lie down and weep for a while after watching it. The trademark overhead walkaway shot is of course a must, but the fact that they stop, that all of them hesitate, thinking about turning around, thinking about changing their minds. And then it cuts to black, and if this had been it, we would've never known! Ah, what a show, what a first season. I am completely in love with this show, as pretty much everyone knows, but I just -- this show is so damn good. It gets me every single time. Every time.

[image taken from the electricnow website]

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jd-loves-everyone · 4 years

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UNO

➤ Recording your newest youtube video and talking back to your boyfriend, Chan, ends up getting you into a lot more trouble than you expected.

➤ genre: smut

➤ wc: 2.3K (well this got long)

➤ warnings: dom!chan, sub!reader, minor preparation (be very careful or you could get hurt), use of the color system, dirty talk, power imbalance, finger sucking, explicit language, strength/size kink(?), mentioned aftercare.

➤ a/n: Yes I have a youtube channel. No, I am not self-projecting (maybe just a little bit :)) Also, please tell me what you thought about this because I haven’t written smut in nearly a year so I’m not sure if I like this, plus english isn’t my first language so let me know if anything doesn’t make sense :)

Perhaps pushing your boyfriend, Chan, wasn't the best idea. No matter the situation. But, in your defense Felix had taken you telling him to "suck my nonexistent dick" quite well, so what you told Chan wasn't THAT bad. At least in comparison. But perhaps it had been the seemingly endless build up to it that made him blow a fuse.

You had recently found out that videos of playing Uno with friends were not only fun, but also extremely popular. So it seemed like a great way to spend your Friday afternoon with Chan, Felix and Jisung, while also recording a video that would no doubt be entertaining.

It was no secret to anyone that all the boys were quite competitive (in various degrees, but all very competitive nonetheless), and to anyone that watched you play any sort of game it was also no secret that you were very competitive as well.

So, everyone you had invited to participate were people who could: speak English, were competitive and got frustrated quickly, which would all hopefully make for a pretty funny video. What you didn't account for was your own (unexpectedly) short temper and unfiltered vocabulary, all probably due to the presence of a microphone.

And so, with Chan in the next room in your house, you in your office and Felix and Jisung in their own houses, the game began. It started pretty slow, with everyone getting used to the setting and the game, but all eventually loosened up after the first "f bomb" was dropped. From there followed many minutes of frustrated yelling that rapidly grew in volume every time someone screwed someone else over. It seemed most prevalent between you and Chan though. And with every card he played to make you lose, your playfulness dissipated. Chan had tolerated your bratty behavior for most of the game, but that statement was the last straw.

“That’s it. You’re sleeping on the couch tonight.” You deadpanned amidst Felix and Jisung’s booming laughter, after your boyfriend made you pick up 4 more cards just as you were about to win. The silence that followed from his side should have made it clear to you that a line had been crossed. But you barely noticed as Chan seemed to go back to his normal self not long after.

The game continued normally and you ended it after getting enough footage for a video, ending the recording and saying goodbye to your friends and moving to Chan’s office.

Upon seeing him sitting in his chair, facing his computer, you decided to move towards him quietly to surprise him, given your current good mood. As you reached him you wrapped your arms around his shoulders, burying your face in the side of his neck and filing it with loud kisses.

The last thing you expected was for him to grasp your wrist tight enough to make a point: that he wasn’t pleased. With something you had done, most likely. Most definitely, otherwise he’d be telling you about his frustrations and not keeping vice-like grip on your hand.

“Chan?” You asked, oh-so innocently. It almost made him snicker. Instead he turned his chair around, tugging you forward to stand in between his spread legs, staring at you with fire in his eyes. Meanwhile you wracked your brain for the reason as to what you had done to make him mad.

“I’m a little disappointed with my baby girl today. You know why?” His voice was dangerously low, and suspiciously devious. You were almost sure he was doing this just to toy with you because he knew you loved it.

You furrowed your brows in concentration. What could it have been? None of what you had said or done seemed unusual or out of line. Maybe his patience was running low today? Perhaps there were simply so many little things that could be considered “mistakes” on your part, for you to figure out what the catalyst was.

"You don't know, do you?" He chuckles mockingly, his hold on your wrist loosening, lulling you into a false sense of security.

“I’m disappointed with my baby girl, because she was being a brat all game. Talking back to me with that attitude, trying to convince everyone you were in control. But we both know you’re not. I even let most of it slip since it was for the video, but I feel like perhaps you forgot who’s in control here. I also think that you were enjoying being on top for once, too much.” Chan spoke huskily, rising from the chair and looking down at your form.

“Maybe I need to show you who’s in charge.” He said absentmindedly, placing his hand on your cheek and stroking your bottom lip with his thumb, smiling softly when your lips parted to let his finger through. You licked it softly, hoping to please him. He saw right through you immediately, smirking as he pressed his thumb down on your tongue, making your mouth open wider. Saliva pooled at the bottom due to the dominant presence he exuded and the darkness in his gaze which promised an eventful night.

"Go to the bedroom, take your clothes off and maybe I'll think about going easy on you." He whispered, stepping back to give you space. Strangely enough, without his scent surrounding you, you felt dazed and somewhat cold.

But you hurried to carry out his order. Part of you wanted to push him just a little more, just to test him. But another, bigger part, just wanted to be his good girl.

You felt exposed and vulnerable as you stood in front of the bed, naked and waiting for Chan to step through the bedroom door. As he did, you felt goosebumps appear all over your skin as he looked you up and down appreciatively. You tried covering yourself as he made his way to you. He had seen you naked before (and in much more compromising positions) but the way his predatory gaze traced every one of curves, taking you in as if it was the first time, every time, just set fire to the blood in your veins and cheeks.

“Why are you hiding, baby? You seemed so confident just a few minutes ago. Where has all that attitude gone?” Chan taunted, taking his clothes off painfully slowly before sitting against the headboard, watching you with those keen eyes. Even if you were both naked, you felt nowhere near out of his grasp. All the muscles now exposed to you made your mouth water, just at the sight of his statuesque body that he worked so hard for, covered by marble-like skin.

“Come closer baby. Don’t get all shy now.”

You moved forward meekly, crawling until you were knelt in front of him, trying so hard to not let your eyes drop down to follow his v-line down to his cock. It was so enticing every time that it took all your willpower to keep his lustful gaze. He smirked, as if noticing your struggle.

"You're in the wrong spot, baby. I want to sit right here." He said as he patted both his thighs. "Since you like being on top so much, I want you to ride me. You do all the work this time. Because you're only coming tonight if you work for it."

The cockiness in his voice made you shiver in anticipation.

You crawled forward once more, straddling his lap and squirming at the feeling of him rubbing against your already dripping folds. Even though this persona of his never failed to get you wet enough for him to slide himself in smoothly, you knew the stretch would still be a bit painful, which perhaps was his intention.

He cupped your cheek in his hand gently, looking at you with unveiled concern despite his lust-blown pupils.

“Color?” He asked carefully, stroking your flesh soothingly as you leaned into the touch, making him smile fondly.

“Green. But, please go slow.” You replied once the fog in your mind cleared, looking your loving boyfriend in the eyes, deeply appreciative of his carefulness. He patted you cheek softly, nodding, before the switch flipped and he was back to his darker self, no more gentleness left in his gaze, hands grabbing you hips tightly and jerking you against him slightly. You jumped in surprise, letting out a whimper at the feeling of his hard member against you. He sent you a look as if to say: 'get to it'.

You slowly trailed your hand down your body as Chan stared unabashedly, before he grabbed your hand.

"No no. You seemed so eager to finish during the game. So why don't you just get to it?" He said lowly, scratching his nails on your thighs before groping the flesh harshly.

Not wanting to contradict him anymore, you grabbed his cock in your hand, spreading your essence on him, before positioning him at your entrance.

As you slowly sat on him, his breathing became harsh and labored, and you winced and whimpered at the stretch. It burned slightly but it wasn’t nearly as painful as the first time had been since you were going slow enough to adjust to his size. But it seemed as if Chan was struggling quite a bit,

He leaned his head back, neck on full display as his jaw clenched, trying his best to hold himself back from thrusting up into you. You realized that this was not only a punishment for you but also for him. Perhaps his plan backfired? Or perhaps he had planned this but realized he actually wouldn’t be able to hold himself back in a few minutes. Only time could tell.

Your eyes locked onto the prominent veins just under his fair skin, looking so inviting that you just couldn’t resist the urge to suck a blot of red onto his neck making him groan as he moved inside you as you leaned towards him. His grip on your hips tightened.

“Fuck! You’re so tight!” He said breathlessly, easing the grip he had on you to let you move.

And as you felt as if the pain had passed, you held onto his shoulders tightly and started moving up and down. The feel of him rubbing against your walls was almost too much as you could feel every bump and vein of his cock as you clenched experimentally. It made Chan let out a startled moan, probably louder than he intended as his cheeks reddened for more than exertion, eyes rolling back at the feeling.

Upon seeing the effect you had on him you got a sudden boost in confidence, riding him with fervor, determined to do your best and get more of those delicious reactions out of him.

The room filled with the sound of skin slapping as you bounced on his lap making more euphoric noises spill from Chan’s throat. You were in a similar state, the position allowing him to hit every sweet spot inside you, making you emit countless moans and whimpers.

You felt your orgasm build, tears gathering in your eyes at the overwhelming feeling of being so close but so far from the finish line, but being unable to reach it as your thighs became sore from smacking against Chan and fatigue started to weaken your limbs. You let out frustrated whimpers as you held onto his shoulders tight enough for your fingers to go white from pressure, which made Chan groan.

“Chan please! I can’t… anymore…” You begged breathlessly as your movements slowed down.

“Ah, fuck it.” He said, taking hold of your hips before flipping you onto your back without separating your bodies. He settled between your widely spread legs, pushing his hips forward with all the strength he had been holding back, grunting with effort.

“Poor baby. Can’t even make yourself cum without my help, huh? Not strong enough to handle it, are you?” He spoke smugly as your moans became louder and louder at his words.

Your breasts moved in tandem with his movements, attracting his attention which made him lean forward to take one of your enticing nipples into his warm and wet mouth. With the way your voice kept rising in volume, you knew your neighbors couldn’t be too happy.

“Are you close baby? Are you gonna cum for me?” He said as he took his mouth off of your chest, revealing the erotic sight of his saliva covering your nipple sloppily.

“Y-Yes! So close, Chan please.” You didn’t know what you were pleading for but Chan seemed pleased with your response as he pressed his lips against yours, trying but not fully succeeding in muffling your noises, as his hand trailed towards your center to rub your clit harshly which gave you that extra push.

As you tipped over the edge, barreling towards an overwhelming orgasm that made a few tears spill from your eyes, you clenched impossibly tight around Chan’s cock making him break the kiss, moaning and groaning openly into your mouth as you did the same.

Your breathing slowly returned to normal as you felt Chan’s sticky essence drip out of your hole as he pulled out, an image wished seemed to have captured his attention as he openly gazed at you red and spent pussy. Despite all that you had already done, and with the haze of lust no longer present, you blushed at his laser focused eyes set on your dripping core.

“I’ll never get tired of this.” He whispered almost to himself, smirking at your flushed and pouty face.

“Let’s get cleaned up, alright baby?” He said as he kissed your forehead gently.

“Just one thing Chan.” He tilted his head cutely, to show that he was listening. “Next time, try to not be such an asshole and maybe I’ll be nice in return.”

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