#'oh the producers are probably stopping him from speaking up'
Text
Moon Dominance & Manipulation pt 3
I just keep finding more examples and I couldn't not share. They will vary in terms of the severity of abuse and manipulation. Some are quite silly but some are pretty fcked up. Salty Moon dominants who cannot stand being criticized, stay mad boo 😘you will never stop me from speaking my truth<3
One thing I have noticed about Moon dominant individuals is that they completely seem to believe the lies they tell others. They don't think they're being manipulative at the slightest because they fully believe everything they say, no matter how absurd or outlandish it is. This means that Moon dominants are easily influenced and can be manipulated easily even if they are also capable of blatantly manipulating and deceiving others. I see Moon dominants stuck in unhealthy relationships simply because they'll just play mind games with their partner until the day they die instead of just choosing peace.
Katrina Kaif, Hasta Moon
Katrina has lied about being half-Indian and half-white her entire career to be more "relatable" to Indians. no one knows who her father is or how exactly she grew up and how a British woman like her ended up modelling and acting in India at the age of 17. She's now one of the biggest stars in the country and to this day no one knows much about her background.
She is one of 8 siblings, all of whom are extremely white looking
it is possible that Katrina is mixed while her siblings are not but it's also possible that she just inherited a more olive complexion compared to her siblings??
this is a picture of Kat and some of her siblings as kids, this man vaguely looks like he could be POC but there are plenty of spicy white men who have darker features/hair & eye color?
if this is the father in question, his name is Ronald Turcotte (Katrina's birth name is Kate Turcotte, she "Indianized" her name to be Katrina Kaif when she made her debut 20+yrs ago) and this is a pic of him with his current wife:
He literally just looks like a regular white guy with some Italian ancestry or something.
Katrina has not only lied about being "half-Indian" but also said her father's name is Mohammad Kaif and that he was a Kashmiri businessman lmao
The producer of her first film who introduced her to Bollywood said:
"We created an identity for her. She was this pretty young English girl, and we gave her the Kashmiri father and thought of calling her Katrina Kazi. We thought we'd give her some kind of Indian ancestry, to connect with the audience ... But then we thought that Kazi sounded too ... religious? ... Mohammad Kaif was at the top, and so we said, Katrina Kaif sounds really great" (for context, Mohammad Kaif is the name of a well known cricketer)
She once said:
“Probably it may sound very stupid. You know you must have seen enough and your friends, how you have dark children who grew up to be fair. I was a very dark child so there was no way that you would look at me and say this is a Caucasian child. I was always viewed upon as oh how exotic or how ethnic."
Even Emily Ratajkowski is very non-white looking for a white woman, imagine if she started claiming that she "feels" ethnic as she "looks" ethnic.
Here are some excerpts from a 2011 interview:
The complicated politics of a tan skin white woman feeling validated by being comparatively light skinned in a deeply colorist country like India and lying about being half-Indian is just ..... 🤢🤮🤢
Bella Hadid- Hasta Sun
Bella, her brother and mother all suffer from a condition called "chronic Lyme disease". Gigi, the only person who does not have Lyme, has Hashimoto's disease.
Lets get a few things out of the way. Lyme disease is a real, entirely treatable and completely curable illness. All you have to do is take antibiotics and you'll make a full recovery in about 2 weeks.
Chronic Lyme disease is a different condition and widely debunked by the medical community for not being a real condition.
Wikipedia defines Chronic Lyme as:
"Chronic Lyme disease is the name used by some people with non-specific symptoms, such as fatigue, muscle pain, and cognitive dysfunction to refer to their condition, even if there is no evidence that they had Lyme disease."
That said, Bella and her mom have been talking about their struggles with Lyme disease for over a decade now. Medical professionals all deny the existence of this condition and both Bella and Yolanda (her mom) are treated by various quack, pseudoscientific "alternative" medicine practitioners who are more or less ill qualified and not real doctors.
When Bella was 16yrs old, she was arrested for driving under the influence and this was literally addressed on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, the show that her mother starred in. Yolanda used to write a blog for Bravo in which she expressed her thoughts about this incident and she also mentioned writing a long letter to Bella.
Yolanda's dad died in a car accident when she was 7 and she was very frightened by Bella's accident but also relieved that neither she nor anybody else was injured.
That letter she wrote was somehow leaked and is available on the internet. Here it goes:
Interestingly enough, Bella was diagnosed with "chronic lyme" 👀in the same year. Bella once mentioned that she started smoking cigarettes at 14yrs old and clearly by 16 she was drunk driving with a cocktail of substances stashed in her car. Bella's old tumblr blog that has been widely circulated also reveals that she struggled with an eating disorder at this time and perhaps depression as well.
I mention all this because I have always suspected Bella of using "chronic lyme" as a cover up for her struggles with substance abuse and her eating disorder. Even all the symptoms for chronic lyme are so vague that pretty much anybody could experience them, but their occurrence is greatly exacerbated if one suffers from stress/anxiety/is abusing drugs etc (more on this in a minute).
In an interview, Bell said of her DUI:
"I stopped driving because I kept crashing, because my brain just stopped working.’ She had an accident — ‘It was when I first got sick. It was a dark time’ — which was reported in the press as a DUI. ‘I was exhausted all the time. It affected my memory so I suddenly wouldn’t remember how to drive to Santa Monica from Malibu where I lived. I couldn’t ride. I was just too sick. And I had to sell my horse because I couldn’t take care of it.’ It was an emotional blow on top of the physical."
Now the thing is, Yolanda mentioned in her own blog post that Bella went to AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) meetings as mandated by the court:
"I decided to take her phone away, make her pay for her own lawyer bills from her savings, and we sold her car. The court suspended her license for one year, she received six months probation, and was required to conduct 25 hours of community service and 20 hours of AA meetings."
She likely stopped driving because Yolanda got on her ass and sold her car lol?? As Yolanda herself said??? Yolanda never said one word about Lyme and she's pretty much the self-appointed spokesperson for Lyme so the fact that in her own blog post literally right after the accident, she addresses the issue for what it is makes Bella's later remarks of her being tOo siCk tO drIvE sound like a lie 🤥
This is an easy example of how Moon dominants manipulate the truth to suit their narrative and make themselves look better. Bella made her debut later that year and it would look bad if everyone saw Bella as a spoilt bratty nepo baby who was also a teenage alcoholic riding her sister's coattails into modelling. Also you have to remember, Bella was the less popular sister back then and she only became an icon and it girl by like 2019ish.
It suited Bella and later Yolanda to keep pushing the chronic lyme agenda to win sympathy.
Also just btw, I think Yolanda is super fucked up and this letter offers an interesting look into her mind. She is Uttarashada Sun and Jyeshta Moon and I think its sooo bizarre how her daughter almost died in a car crash and all she can talk about is how dirty and messy the car is??? Why isn't she talking about Bella being drunk out of her mind or about her alcohol habit in general??? Why is she not pointing out her actual concerning lifestyle instead of "oh my god youre soooo messy and im soooo sad" ??? anywayyys
Ever since then, chronic lyme has been Bella's go to to describe everything about herself. Symptoms that could easily be from stress, anxiety, depression, addiction, starving herself etc are all blamed on a non-existent condition. When actual doctors say the condition does not exist and you and your mom claim it does, I think it says something 😬
Also, Yolanda was sick during the filming of her reality show and it was found out that her breast implants had ruptured and the silicon was leaking into her bloodstream and making her sick. She later said it was Chronic Lyme instead lmfaooo. So there is plenty of proof that both mom and daughter are just making this shit up.
one thing I cannot stand about Moon dominants is how they constantly seek validation for everything they do and love to win sympathy. Meghan Markle, Hasta Moon is another example. Sympathy capitalist, Selena Gomez (Cancer stellium) is another example.
What exactly was Bella trying to prove by posting pictures of her looking very out of it?? To prove to people that she is indeed sick?? There are many celebs out there who struggle with chronic illnesses, are they posting pics from their treatment??? Overall, it feels very "🥺🥺poor me, im so grateful despite everything, im so strong, look at how much i suffer and struggle!!!" as if she's trying to downplay any privilege bashing she may get by counteracting it with a "im extremely sick" narrative bc no one can hate on someone who is ill even if that is a fictional illness.
There were rumours all of last year that she took a break from modelling to go to rehab and she had also broken up with her then bf.
look at those symptoms and tell me you haven't experienced those at some point lmao. I used to struggle with severe anxiety many years ago and an eating disorder several years ago and I experienced pretty much all of those symptoms. I say this because those symptoms by itself are really vague and not specific to any one illness.
another really sus issue is why Bella felt the need to post pics of her medical history??? like she's a model not running for President lmao,,,, its obvious that she really wants to be perceived as struggling with chronic lyme. Most people with a health issue stay quiet about it (their issues are also actual illnesses but oh well)
This is a screenshot of a lab test she posted:
A clinical lab scientist who performs tests on infectious diseases (like Lyme) said:
First off, having this amount and varied pathogens within your body at once is not impossible but is highly unusual. Even one of these pathogens would make a patient extraordinarily ill. If I were performing PCR and got that many positives, I would 100% not release results until a consult with an infectious disease MD.
In that list, there are bloodborne bacteria and viruses, intestinal parasites, many of which have nothing to do with Lyme disease.
That last page is important. The source states "urine". There are virtually no PCR tests performed on urine currently because pathogens are not usually shed through urine and often urine is contaminated by urogenital flora. This is the ARUP tickborne PCR panel which details out which pathogens would be tested for and the type of sample they would need (blood). ARUP is a large reference lab in the US and performs some rare tests. Again, it's extremely unlikely to see that many pathogens positive in one sample.
All of this is to say, Miss ma'am Bella Hadid faked her hospital records by paying some quack guy for it and put it on IG for sympathy 😬💀💀
I have nothing against Bella, I think she's iconic but her spreading literal medical misinformation to millions of impressionable people who eat up her every word is absolutely dangerous, unprofessional and awful and I sincerely hope she's called out/exposed for it.
first of all, none of these words mean absolutely anything.
"energy is in proper balance" ??? "alkaline tissue pH"? ?? just say you dont have a medical degree and goooo
On this document it says the test was conducted by 'Manhattan Advanced Medicine'.
Here is an excerpt from Manhattan Advanced Medicine's LinkedIn page:
Do they sound like legitimate doctors to you?? They're just one of those scammy New Age-y alternate medicine places that rich people with money to blow, go to, so they feel better about themselves.
I sincerely hope Bella gets actual treatment for her real struggles with mental health/ED/potential substance issues etc and I hope she has the strength to admit to herself that she's using a fictional narrative to gain sympathy from others and as a coping mechanism to avoid dealing with her real problems. Bella grew up as the middle child and felt neglected by Yolanda pretty much, some say that the whole "chronic Lyme" has probably become the only bonding activity for the two of them and the only time Bella felt like she was loved by her mom (which is so sad) which is why she's been going on with it for 10yrs now. Whatever it may be, I hope they all get better.
Elizabeth Holmes- Shravana Sun
Many of you are probably already familiar with scammer Liz Holmes
She was founder and CEO of Theranos, a blood-testing company.
Prosecutors accused Holmes of intentionally misleading investors and patients. Out of the more than 200 blood tests advertised, the in-house “Edison” machines could perform a very small number themselves and could not provide accurate results. Holmes is also alleged to have lied about the scale of the company's profits.
Two of the most striking examples of the Theranos machines’ faulty test results were two female patients. One of the women was diagnosed as HIV positive but the finding was refuted by further blood tests. A second woman who had suffered several miscarriages received test results from Theranos during her pregnancy which indicated that she had lost her baby once again. The test was faulty and she later gave birth to a healthy baby. Internal emails, however, revealed that the start-up concealed the erroneous results from investors and business partners by using a modified demo device or by partially hiding test results from them.
The prosecution also presented a 55-page report in which Theranos officials added the logos of pharmaceutical companies GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and Schering-Plough to give the impression that they had approved the technology. However, a scientist employed by Pfizer testified that he found the start-up’s claims to be implausible and advised Pfizer not to collaborate. The prosecutors were able to show that Theranos had nevertheless sent the report with the subsequently inserted logos to investors and business partners.
The interesting thing about Moon dominants and their manipulation is that unlike Saturn which is direct and in your face with how awful it is, Moon natives deceive and pretend. You will never realise the truth until you learn to look for it. With a Saturnian, you can always tell because they dont know how to hide it.
Moon does not have any light of its own. Moon also does not have a fixed form. Its waxing one day, waning the next. So it makes sense as to why these natives "manipulate" or "distort" the truth, since its kind of in their nature, to do so?
This brought me to an interesting observation of how Moon dominants seem to completely fall for pseudoscientific stuff. Bella, whom I already mentioned is one example but there are many more.
So, in Hinduism, the Moon God is named 'Soma' but the word 'Soma' is also used to refer to an intoxicating drink.
In the Vedas, the word Soma was actually primarily used for an intoxicating and energizing/healing plant drink and the deity could have received his name from the drink potentially?👀
The Hindu texts state that the Moon is lit and nourished by the Sun, and that it is Moon where the divine nectar of immortality resides.
In some Indian texts, Soma is the name of an apsara; alternatively it is the name of any medicinal concoction, or rice-water gruel, or heaven and sky, as well as the name of certain places of pilgrimage.
Whilst this connotation can explain their dizzying relationship with presenting the truth and how absolutely convinced they are of their own lies (Moon dominants manipulate others but are also easily manipulated tbh, they are both predator and prey). I think mythological backdrop also explains why so many Moon dominants are always kind of on the hunt for the elixir of life by adopting all kinds of New Age-y, holistic, spiritual 'alternative' medicine/lifestyle/treatment etc.
The thing is, there is truth to herbal remedies and holistic living but Moon dominants seldom pursue the truth of these practices, they always pick the weirdest, strangest stuff that absolutely helps no one and is most definitely a scam.
Gwyneth Paltrow- Hasta Sun & Mercury, Rohini Moon, Venus in Ashlesha atmakaraka
Lady Goop is a classic example of how Moon dominants can be very deluded with their "alternate" therapies/lifestyle. Moon dominants are easily confused and the path of wellness and spirituality is paved with many distractions to weed out the unworthy. Many get lost in this completely and mistake this Maya for the truth. Miss Gwyneth is one of them.
I have beef with this bc some of Goop's stuff is stupid but harmless (vagina candles, anyone?) but other times, she literally spreads dangerous medical advice to a very large audience (just like Bella).
On her website, she has an article about how to treat 'Candida' (a real condition which she has approached in a very pseudoscientific way). The symptoms, like Bella's, are vague, and include bloating, dandruff, sugar cravings, a bad memory and fatigue. Diagnosis includes something called a urine organix dysbiosis test (Bella's diagnosis also included a liver dysbiosis lmao) , while treatment involves limiting yourself to one piece of fruit a day and “overpowering the yeast” with anti-fungal supplements.
In 2017, Paltrow suggested women should insert a $66 egg shaped jade or rose quartz stone into their vagina to help “increase vaginal muscle tone, hormonal balance, and feminine energy in general.” Users were encouraged to thread dental floss through a purpose-built hole to help with releasing the egg. After facing backlash from gynaecologists over its dubious health claims and potential harmful results including toxic shock syndrome, Goop settled a $145,000 lawsuit for “unsubstantiated” marketing claims.
In Daoist sexual teachings, this is actually a legit practice but a white woman appropriating it and then selling it does not sit right with me :// and also its to be used along with a strict spiritual practice and has to be performed according to proper techniques. Obviously eastern spirituality is suuuper commercialized in the west and its reduced to sticking jade eggs up inside you and misses the very important context and tradition its rooted in and also sticking factory produced and probably chemically treated anything INSIDE U, is not a good idea??
A 2018 detox guide recommended an at-home coffee enema kit to stimulate users’ intestines from the comfort of their own home. A couple of years later, while hooked up to a vitamin drip on The Art of Being Well podcast, Paltrow revealed she had also “used ozone therapy, rectally,” a procedure which involves pumping oxygen via catheter into the colon. Scientists immediately dismissed Paltrow’s health claims.
In 2017, Goop suggested that anyone who wanted to “rebalance the energy frequency in our bodies” should try placing Body Vibes stickers on their arms or near their heart. The site claimed the stickers ($120 for a pack of 24) were “made with the same conductive carbon material Nasa uses to line space suits so they can monitor an astronaut’s vitals”. A fact that was quickly debunked when Nasa confirmed that they “do not have any conductive carbon material lining the spacesuits.”
There's a lot more but I'll stop here for now. Gwyneth is convinced of the validity of her claims and does not see anything wrong with it. This is how Moon dominants are and thats what makes their manipulation so damaging.
Andrew Huberman- Rohini Moon
He is a neuroscientist and wellness podcaster called "Goop for bros".
His protocols for good living involve things like taking enormous amounts of expensive supplements, ensuring you view early morning sunlight for 10-30 minutes after waking, carefully timing when you drink coffee and plunging yourself in ice baths. (probiotics and supplements are a complete scam, there are studies proving they do absolutely nothing for u)
He has covered everything from creativity to hair loss and despite having no professional expertise on all the things he covers, he acts like he does lmao
Huberman was exposed for taking steroids to achieve his body while he was promoting "wellness" and telling people to take cold showers and work out and eat clean etc lmao. He also reportedly earned millions from running adverts for dietary products and wellness supplements.
He went from science expert to guru. He used to have discussions of how the brain and body respond to certain stimuli but later extended that to broad prescriptions for lifestyle and dietary modification which he is not qualified to do??
Last month he was exposed for having 5 different girlfriends who all thought they were in an exclusive relationship with him.
Sarah, says she was in a relationship with Huberman for around three years, and had been undergoing IVF treatment to have a child with him when she found he had been having unprotected sex with at least five other women at the same time.
Her suspicions were aroused when she contracted a high-risk form of HPV, a sexually transmitted infection linked to cervical cancer, despite having been tested for ten years.
Along with Sarah, others known only as Eve, Mary, Alex, and an unknown fifth and potentially sixth, were all romantically associated with him - some having been led to believe they were exclusive for years. All believed that other exes in Huberman’s life had been “stalkers, alcoholics, and compulsive liars” according to the report. (Moon dominants manipulating the truth to suit them)
“I’m at the stage of life where I truly want to build a family,” he told Eve while he was reportedly involved with several others. “That’s a resounding theme for me.”
Yet, despite the reassuring words he appeared to be chronically unreliable disappearing for extended periods of time with no indication of his whereabouts.
For a man interested in promoting personal growth, he also appeared to be unapologetic about deceiving his therapists, of which he has had several over the years.
“We were at dinner once and he told me something personal, and I suggested he talk to his therapist,” shared Eve. “He laughed it off like that wasn’t ever going to happen, so I asked him if he lied to his therapist. He told me he did all the time.”
Despite his dismissal of therapy, the podcaster appears to have maximised the use of “therapy-speak” to familiarise himself with the internal experiences of many women.
“I hear you are saying you are angry and hurt,” he texted Sarah as she discovered journal entries about his infidelity. “I will hear you as much and as long as needed for us.”
“Your feelings matter,” he told Eve on a day when he had injected his girlfriend Sarah with hCG as part of their IVF treatment. “I’m actually very much a caretaker.”
Discussing sex addiction with another woman, Huberman denied he was a sex addict instead referring to himself as a “love addict”.
On one day in March, the women realised that Huberman had flown Mary thousands of miles from Texas to LA to stay with him in Topanga, California, some six-hour drive from where Sarah stayed in Berkeley. On that same day, he left Mary at home with his dog as he drove to a coffee shop to meet Eve to have a serious conversation about their relationship.
Anywayyys, thats enough about him. He's a cheating, conniving, manipulative asshole.
Oprah Winfrey- Shravana Sun
Oprah has used her platform to air dangerous pseudoscience for decades.
In 2007, The Oprah Winfrey Show, the no. 1 talk show for 23 consecutive seasons, welcomed former Playboy model and MTV host Jenny McCarthy.
The program gave McCarthy carte blanche to share a theory: that her son’s autism resulted from vaccines laced with hazardous chemicals. Despite a lack of concrete scientific evidence, McCarthy was lauded for her “warrior spirit” to speak up for other concerned moms. The lasting damage this has done to the country is concerning bc now it seems there are more antivaxxers than ever before.
The longest-reigning queen of daytime television promoted New Age scams, pushed unsustainable fad diets, and anointed problematic faith healers like John of God (now imprisoned) or pseudoscientific doctors like Dr. Oz. She sold us on magical thinking.
Indeed, before the “Goop-ification of wellness,” there was the “Oprah-fication of medicine.”
In the ‘80s, Oprah helped fuel the satanic ritual abuse / repressed memories panic by interviewing folks like the author of the later-debunked memoir Michelle Remembers. In the ‘90s, she had “women’s health expert” Christiane Northrup—a quack physician who spewed nonsense like thyroid dysfunction stems from women not speaking up enough (an “energy blockage”), that love can heal AIDS, and mammograms aren’t safe—on her show 12 times. In the early aughts, she promoted the feel-good gibberish that is The Secret, insinuating positive thoughts were all that separated you from success, riches, and yes, even medical recoveries.
And remember when Oprah notoriously hosted Suzanne Somers in 2009? The actress touted injecting hormones directly into one’s vagina to stave off aging and menopausal hot flashes, along with downing 40 supplements daily.
Like Gwyneth and Huberman, Oprah sold pseudoscience to millions of people who didnt know any better to make hugeeee profits. I am pretty sure Bella will follow suit and also set up a vitamin supplement business in the near future and it will probably also be her downfall.
Song JiA- Shravana Moon
She became extremely popular after her appearance on the show Single's Inferno and there are hundreds of videos trying to analyse why all the men on that show went ape for her lol
But she was exposed for wearing fake designer stuff lmao?? Koreans be wilding
Her career came to a standstill after that and she hasn't done much since.
Agatha Christie, Hasta Moon & Mercury, Jupiter in Shravana in 1h
aside from the fact that she wrote murder mystery books that were known for misleading the reader (a more fun manifestation of Moon's tendency to manipulate?) she also had some other tendencies:
On the evening of Friday 3 December 1926, Agatha Christie left her home in Sunningdale, Berkshire, got into her car and disappeared into the night. Her disappearance sparked a manhunt involving the police, members of the public and famous figures and was lapped up by the tabloid press.
In the aftermath of Agatha’s disappearance both Archie Christie (her husband) and his mistress Nancy Neale were under suspicion and a huge manhunt was undertaken by thousands of policemen and eager volunteers. A local lake known as the Silent Pool was also dredged in case life had imitated art and Agatha had met the same fate of one of her unfortunate characters. Famous faces also waded in to the mystery with the then Home Secretary William Joynson-Hicks putting pressure on police to find the writer, and fellow mystery writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle seeking the help of a clairvoyant to find Agatha using one of her gloves as a guide.
She was found living at a hotel under the name Theresa Neale (yeah she used the mistresses' last name). She apparently did not recognise her husband when he went to see her at the hotel and they divorced not long after?
The nature of the Moon is ever shifting, watery , always projecting and I think its interesting how Agatha, who found out about the affair pulled that stunt to cope perhaps. I have noticed this with many Moon dominants, if they learn of something depressing, they will immediately distract themselves with something else and pretend that issue is more concerning??? Or they will pull a stunt and redirect everybody's attention there. They are veryyy image conscious, so this could be bc of that. After all, being remembered for her strange disappearance is better than being perceived as the woman he cheated on and left, I guess.
St Vincent- Hasta Sun & Mercury, Shravana Moon
This is kinda innocuous but she lied about being a Kate Bush fan lol??
What I mean by this is that she said two different things on Kate Bush and on how she was introduced. In 2007 she was interviewed with Pitchfork and said "this may sound really silly-- but I just discovered Kate Bush, probably six months ago, and I think she's so great. I know I'm very late to the party here [ laughs ], I know this is old news, but I got a Kate Bush record, and I forget-- I think "The Dreaming" is on it, though I'm spacing on the name of the record. [The Dreaming --Ed.] It has Kate Bush in this totally miraculous ascot, too, on the back [ laughs ]. She just went for it. It's so great. She totally went for it." (http://pitchfork.com/features/guest-lists/6680-st-vincent/)
Now that doesn't sound so bad on it's own, but in 2014 during the Kate Bush documentary she said a completely different story on how she got introduced to Kate Bush around 46:47 and said "I still remember going to the CD World and buying The Sensual World when I was sixteen. And the cover, there’s a rose in front of her mouth that has bloomed, she’s got big wide eyes. And I remember, you know, putting it in the shitty car stereo on the way home, and you know, my life was forever changed.” (https://youtu.be/c4sLwt8mhZs?t=46m49s)
Its the detailll thats giving Moon dominant manipulation lmao
Alfred Nobel- Shravana Moon
He is known for inventing dynamite as well as having bequeathed his fortune to establish the Nobel Prize. So now no one remembers him for being the horrible man he was lol.
He made millions selling explosives and then decided to manipulate his legacy as that of a philanthropist.
Mahatma Gandhi- Hasta Sun, Ashlesha Moon
In 1903, when Gandhi was in South Africa, he wrote that white people there should be "the predominating race." He also said black people "are troublesome, very dirty and live like animals."
Gandhi championed women in politics. But he was also obsessed with his own celibacy. In his late 70s, before he died at 78, he slept naked with his grandniece when she was in her late teens. He said he wanted to test his willpower to abstain from sex.
Gandhi denied life saving treatment to his wife. She was in bed, extremely sick from pneumonia and he refused to let the doctors administer her with penicillin.
Instead of giving her the medicine, Gandhi decided to fill the room with followers who sang devotional songs, as per the book. The next day, on 22nd February 1944, Kasturba Gandhi died. He said, “’How God has tested my faith! ‘If I had allowed you to give her penicillin, it could not have saved her. But it would have meant bankruptcy of faith on my part… And she passed away in my lap! Could it be better? I am happy beyond measure.”
Going by the rigidness of Gandhi against modern medicine, one may think he had observed the same for himself and other associates. But the case was different. Interestingly, records show that he had undergone repeated medical tests and surgery throughout his life though Kasturba was denied penicillin.
Manu was Gandhi’s grandniece and was used by him as one of the participants in his so-called ‘experiments with celibacy’ where he used to sleep naked with girls and had naked girls bathe him. She was often seen with Gandhi, who used her and Abha, another grandniece, as support while walking.
Manuben’s diaries revealed that Gandhi used to control almost every aspect of her life, including food, education, sleeping, rest schedule, and even the clothes she wore. She even used to sleep in the same bed with him.
Moon dominants twist the truth as and when it suits them. They can be controlling, manipulative liars who parade around as virtuous, kind hearted and generous people. Most people on this list have a good reputation. This is the danger of Moon influence; very few people see the darkness that truly lurks within them.
Obviously this only applies to unevolved Lunar people<3
#moon#rohini#shravana#hasta#astro notes#vedic astrology#vedic astro notes#astrology notes#astrology#astroblr#nakshatras#astrology observations#sidereal astrology#astro observations#jyotish
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as a treat for @jamiesfootball, an extended sequence of softness and light, taken from far ahead in wriggle up on dry land (the baby jamie au). enjoy, my friend <3
Jamie has been repeatedly assured by both Roy and Sarah that what he is doing is fine and allowed, but even so, the walk up the path to the school building makes him more nervous with every step he takes. He feels like any moment now he’s going to get accosted by a teacher or school official and interrogated about what he’s doing here. Possibly arrested. If it weren’t for the fact that he would rather die than let either of the Kents down, let alone both of them, he would probably chicken out and run or something. But he would rather die and the task does need to be done, and so here’s Jamie, finding a teacher in the courtyard and walking up to her like he has every right to be here.
“Hello,” he says to the woman, doing his best to sound trustworthy and respectable and not like an awkward sixteen-year-old. “I’m Jamie, I’m here to pick up Phoebe Kent?”
There’s only a moment between when Jamie speaks and when the teacher does, but that moment is plenty long enough for a thousand potential responses to cycle through his mind, none of them positive. And then-
“Oh! Right, yes, Jamie,” the teacher on after-school duty says brightly, flipping up a piece of paper on her clipboard. “Yes, Sarah did call about you picking Phoebe up this afternoon, she sent your picture along as well. Come along, I’ll fetch her for you.”
Still not entirely believing that this was all going to work out, Jamie follows her across the pavement.
“Nice of you to look after your cousin like this,” the woman says without turning around, and what sounds like it was intended to be an offhanded, casual comment stops Jamie in his tracks. It takes her a few seconds to notice, and it takes just about as long for Jamie’s brain to catch up with his mouth and produce any sort of coherent response.
“Huh?” Okay so maybe ‘coherent’ was pushing it.
The teacher has stopped as well, turned to look at him with slight confusion on her face. That’s rich, given that she’s the one who’s just said something that didn’t make any sense at all.
“Oh,” she says, “just that when your aunt called and said her brother’s lad was going to be taking Phoebe home on the bus today I wasn’t expecting how young you are. My boy is just a little older than you and I couldn’t get him to babysit my sister’s lass if I tried.”
The gears in Jamie’s head slowly start creaking back to life. The math does itself rather quickly, and before he can say anything else, he hears his name shrieked out and then there’s the sound of thudding light-up trainers on the pavement. Jamie barely has the time to crouch down and open his arms before Phoebe has hurtled straight into him, nearly knocking him off balance.
“You’re getting big then, eh, what do they feed you at school, Phoebs, rocks?” he asks, a little winded from the impact and from what the teacher had said. Your cousin. Your aunt. Her brother’s lad.
“No-o-o,” Phoebe giggles, drawing the word out. She bounces out of Jamie’s arms a moment later, never staying still for more than a few moments at a time. They aren’t separated for long, though. A little hand latches onto Jamie’s almost immediately after Phoebe exits the hug and she starts to swing their interlocked fingers enthusiastically. “Can we go home now please? I’m sure Dauphine has missed me terribly while I’ve been away.”
Looking to the teacher, Jamie waits for further instructions from the adult in charge. It surely can’t be that easy to just show up and take a child from school, name and photo on hand or not. He must have to… well, he doesn’t know, but there’s got to be some kind of test. Some kind of ‘will you get this seven year old home in one piece’ test that he’ll have to undergo.
“Off you pop!” says the after-school duty teacher. She smiles at both of them and gives an exaggerated wave that seems like a bit much even for a kid Phoebe’s age. She’s a bright little gremlin, she doesn’t need to be condescended to.
“Right, okay,” Jamie says, blinking at the teacher even as Phoebe starts tugging him by the hand towards the gate. “Uh, thanks,” he calls over his shoulder, then focuses on not falling over his feet or the kid leading the way. “So, you ever taken the bus before?”
“The bus!” From the tone with which she’s exclaimed it, you would think Jamie had just told Phoebe they would be riding home on a pony made of gold. “Oh I love the bus.”
“That’s the attitude, mini-Kent.” It’s an acutely funny thing for a kiddie her age to say, but Jamie focuses on not laughing. He doesn’t want to discourage her interests or whatever. Nothing feels worse when you’re young than someone older than you laughing at you.
Their hands keep swinging between them, and every so often Phoebe adds a little skip into her gait. It makes the lights in her trainers go wild, little yellow and pink stars flashing against the grey of the pavement. She chatters as they go about her day at school, about how she thinks maths is dull and how she and her new best friend Cierra were going to write a comic book together about their cats being best friends and solving crime. Jamie responds where appropriate, humming and nodding and asking questions. He wants for her to know that she’s being listened to, but he would have to admit that his mind isn’t all focused on the proposed adventures of Dauphine and Prime Minister Socks. Instead, he’s still thinking about that teacher’s voice and the way she’d smiled at him when she’d told him it was nice of him to look after his cousin.
Your aunt. Her brother’s lad. Had Sarah said those words exactly? The teacher surely hadn’t invented them out of thin air. They had to come from someplace, and the thought makes Jamie feel warm inside and a little bit shy. He tries to imagine it, to picture what it would have sounded like. Sarah’s voice saying, My nephew, Jamie, he’ll be picking up Phoebe today. Yeah, he’s my brother’s lad. All the way to the bus stop and up the steps onto the bus he thinks of different ways that it could have gone, in-between responding to Phoebe. All of them feel… They feel good. They feel right.
Sure it’s lying and lying isn’t exactly right, but what’s the harm? It’s one teacher at a school Jamie has never been to before and probably will never go to again, this being a one-off fluke of scheduling and convenience. What does it matter if she thinks he’s Sarah’s nephew? Roy’s… Roy’s lad? So what if Jamie likes the idea of someone out there thinking that, even if it isn’t true?
“You’re smiling.”
The observation comes after what Jamie belatedly realizes has been an extended silence from Phoebe. She’s sitting on the bus seat beside Jamie, legs swinging back and forth and his hand clutched in hers. They’d let go for just a moment while Jamie took care of their fares, and then Phoebe had promptly reclaimed her place hanging onto him, which is encouraging as far as her awareness of travel safety goes.
“Am I?” Jamie asks. He’s sure that his face has turned a lovely shade of red, and he only hopes that at least will pass unnoticed.
“Yes, you are,” she confirms, nodding for emphasis. Then, as if to prove her point, Phoebe lets go of his hand just long enough to poke him in the cheek. “You’ve been smiling all the way to the bus. It’s nice. I think you should smile more. I think everybody should smile more, because smiling means you’re happy, and I think everyone should be happy. Except for Walter Lewis who is a mean, mean boy who chased my friend Stephen with a worm on a stick yesterday, so I think he should be sad, and go and live in tarnation.”
“He should go and live in what?” Anything else he could have asked flies promptly out of Jamie’s brain at that completely incomprehensible conclusion. This could be a matter of her knowing things that he didn’t, which is entirely possible, because geography has never been Jamie’s strongest point, or this is about to be a much funnier interaction. If they get to move off of Jamie’s expression before she could get to asking him why he was smiling, all the better.
“Tarnation,” Phoebe says, pronouncing it very deliberately and primly. “That’s what Mister Ted says all the time. What in tarnation, he says, and so it must be a very bad place, because he does not frown very much and he’s always frowning when he says that. So I think Walter Lewis should go and live in tarnation and not be mean to anyone anymore. And he can be sad forever there.” A frown creases her little face as she thinks very hard on it for a moment. “Actually, no, he doesn’t have to be sad forever. That would be terrible, even for Walter Lewis. He should be sad for a while, though. A very, very long time. Like, maybe even until he’s ten. Or until he learns to stop chasing people with worms.”
The effort with which Jamie is not laughing is nothing short of heroic. He takes a few deep breaths, ensures that nothing is going to slip out, and then he tells her, “That seems like a very fair decision. He can live in tarnation and be sad until he’s ten, or until he learns to stop chasing people with worms.”
“Exactly,” Phoebe responds. She nods, a sharp jerk of her chin and a self-satisfied conviction in her face that makes her look very much like Roy. “I’m glad you understand.” Then, in the flip of a moment, as fast as everything seems to change with children her age, Phoebe has let go of Jamie’s hand so that she can slip both arms around his elbow, hugging close to him and pressing the side of her face into his bicep. “I’m so happy you got to come ride the bus with me today, Jamie. Let’s do this again lots of times, okay?”
Jamie finds it suddenly very hard to speak. His throat feels tight and his eyes prickle with heat and he is not going to cry on this fucking bus and definitely not in front of Phoebe Kent and most certainly not because a seven-year-old asked him to hang out with her again.
Nice of you to look after your cousin like this. Your aunt called and said her brother’s lad was going to be taking Phoebe home on the bus today.
“Yeah,” he says eventually, when he’s glad that an entirely new kind of unwanted sound won’t slip out alongside the words. Lifting his arm, Jamie carefully dislodges her grip and wraps it around her shoulders instead, letting Phoebe cuddle in close to his side, even though her swinging feet kick him in the shin every so often. His other hand keeps a firm grasp on her book bag, and he feels both very young and very grown up all at once. “Yeah, I’d like that, too.”
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Tom Holland needs to explode and die btw. The second I saw he was going to play Romeo in a new Romeo and Juliet adaptation I already was pissed but now it's even worse with the way he is silent while his co-star Francesca Amewudah-Rivers is being constantly harassed by racists and white supremacists literally just for existing as a Black woman
#'oh the producers are probably stopping him from speaking up'#HOW hes a white man he'd get the LEAST backlash from saying literally anything#anyway Francesca is gorgeous and im so excited to see her performance#she's gonna do amazing#to thine own self be true.txt
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amortentia
fred weasley x ravenclaw reader. this is a quite short one sorryyyy!!
"AND CAPTAIN L/N HAS THE QUAFFLE, SHE SHOOTS AND SHE GETS PAST WOOD. SHE SCORES. 10 POINTS TO RAVENCLAW." lee jordan's dejected voice was heard from his commentating box.
you smile to yourself. you were captain of the ravenclaw quidditch team and you were absolutely determined to win the quidditch cup. you knew it was probably unlikely, gryffindor had harry potter who was a magnificent seeker, but secretly you thought your seeker cho was just as good.
"SAMUELS. INGLEBEE. BE RUTHLESS. THE WEASLEYS ARE!! STOP BEING POLITE." you order your beaters, to which they rolled their eyes but listened none the less.
fred weasley, one of the gryffindor beaters and someone you'd say you had a "playful rivalry" with, heard you say this.
"i knew you loved me really l/n." he shouted, smiling and then aiming a bludger at you.
you expertly dodged it and caught the quaffle from burrow, another chaser.
"you wish weasley." you zoomed past him and chucked the quaffle into the hoop.
"L/N SCORES AGAIN, ANOTHER TEN POINTS TO RAVENCLAW." lee shouted.
"i thought your team was supposed to be good, weasley." you smirk at him.
"shut up." fred scowls at you, and you grin.
your chat was however disrupted by harry potter, the gryffindor seeker, casting a patronum spell.
you turn to see some slytherin 3 years laying on the floor, gasping. you chuckle at the sight.
what you don't laugh at, however, is harry holding up the snitch, ending the match. gryffindor had won.
"i thought your team was supposed to be good l/n." fred mocked you.
"shut up." you flew back to the rest of your team, probably to give them a speech.
you were quite in awe at the patronus charm harry had produced, so you went over to him, whilst he was, no doubt, being praised by his teammates.
"good game wood." you look at the gryffindor captain.
"good game l/n." he nods back at you.
"you're not here to attack us, are you? for winning? ravenclaw can't win all the time, you know." fred asks you.
you roll your eyes playfully.
"whatever, i'm actually here to speak to harry. your patronus spell was incredible! how did you even do that?!" you smile at him, which catches fred off guard.
"o-oh uhh t-thank you, professor lupin taught me." harry blushed, not used to the female attention.
"it was brill." you gave him another smile.
"flirting with potter won't change the result of the match, love." fred smirked at you.
"i'm not.. you know what." you shake your head and walk back to you own team, not before you immaturely stuck your tongue out at fred before you left.
"unbelievable" fred muttered, but he was smiling.
"just admit you fancy her, mate." george nudged him
"never."
over the next week, you kept your head down, keeping a low profile, like you always did when you lost a match. you had a competitive nature, so of course you were annoyed.
you weren't looking forward to potions. sure you were good at it, but snape infuriated you. and you also shared a class with the gryffindors. fred weasley would be there, your "enemy". you groaned to yourself.
as you arrived, late, may you add, resulting in 10 points off ravenclaw, you had realised snape was putting people in pairs for the potions you'd be making.
"jordan and george weasley, johnson and spinnet, l/n and-"
you waited for whoever snape was going to pair you with.
"fred weasley."
"for godrics sake." you frowned. just your rotten luck.
you moved next to him, avoiding eye contact.
"we meet again" fred smirks.
"seems like you can't get enough of me." you respond.
"i-" his words were cut off by snape.
"today, we are going to be brewing amortentia. l/n, what is amortentia?"
"the most powerful love potion in the world, it's supposed to smell differently for every wizard." you respond.
"smart-arse" fred nudges you.
you roll your eyes, but you were smiling.
"quite vague, but correct l/n. it is the most powerful love potion in existence. you are all going to be brewing it today." snape instructs, and leaves you to work.
"weasley, get the pearl dust." you say, beginning to pour the ingredients already out in the cauldron.
"on it." he salutes and winks at you.
you shake your head and continue to work. when fred comes back, you are surprised in how much you were getting on.
"thats time up." snape points to you and fred. "you two, what can you smell?"
"i smell... i smell.. i don't bloody know, y/n move away from me, all i can smell is your shampoo." he frowned at you.
"don't be ridiculous, let me have a go.." you smell your potion.
"right fred, shift, your cologne is overbearing, it's all i can smell." you sigh.
the other students laugh, realising what was happening.
"that's all i need." you could've sworn you saw a hint of a smile on snape's face.
oh. oh. you had smelt fred in your amortentia. no way. you couldn't have. this was insane. but.. it made sense.
"looks like you fancy me l/n." fred grins, but you could see him blushing slightly.
"i think you're the one that fancies me." you respond, with a small smile.
he shakes his head.
"you caught me... look do you want to go to hogsmeade on saturday? i promise i won't tease you about us beating you."
and to your surprise, you found yourself saying yes.
#x reader#fanfic#short#fluff#enemies to lovers#fred weasley#fred weasley x reader#fred weasley x you#fred weasley x y/n#weasley twins#harry potter#harry potter x reader#snape#potions#amortentia
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a clandestine affair —
summary || bucky can’t hold himself back when you look that gorgeous at Tony’s house warming party.
warnings || semi public sex, breeding kink, dirty talking, choking, fingering, multiple orgasms, orgasm denial, dacryphilia, bucky is horny and filthy af. PWP — MINORS DNI 🔞 if any of this makes you uncomfortable then please do not read!
I have decided to not do taglists anymore, so if you wished to be notified of my newest updates please follow @bonky-n-steeb-lib and turn on the notifications!
I have no idea why I’ve written this, guess I’m just horny but then what’s new..
“Bucky, what are you doing?” You giggled as Bucky led you into a room. His entire body was pressed to your back and you nearly moaned as he sucked on your neck. You harshly chewed on your lip to stop the moans from spilling out. “We can’t do it here…” you tried speaking some sense into him.
“Why can’t we?” He rasped back as he continued his ministrations. You nearly lost your thought process as he nibbled on your neck before leaving the bruises with his tongue. “Because…” you trailed off as his fingers slipped past your dress and trailed up your thighs.
“Because we’re at a party!” You finally blurted out, but it didn’t really have an effect. He just hummed and continued until you were touching the wall. You reached down to swat his hand away, but he cupped your clothed cunt and you backtracked in your plans. “They wouldn’t know.”
Technically he wasn’t wrong, the party was going on in full swing at the lawn, and you were at nearly the other end of the huge mansion. It was a house warning party arranged by Tony and right from Clint to Sam, everyone with their families was invited.
“Bucky but…” your train of thoughts derailed as he began circling your clit through your soaked panties. You closed your eyes and leaned your forehead against the cool wall to ground yourself. “What if someone finds us?” Producing coherent thoughts was getting more difficult as Bucky played your body to his tune.
His lips were busy sucking bruises on your neck and his metal arm held your hip while his flesh hand was making you dizzy with its ministrations. “They won’t even notice we’re gone.“ his reply was muffled by your skin. The trail of saliva left behind by him cooled down on your neck and made goosebumps erupt.
You stopped protesting when he pushed your panties aside and ran his fingers over your wet folds. He hummed against the column of your neck and your eyes nearly rolled back when two of his thick fingers entered your drenched hole. “Oh Bucky…” you moaned out his name.
“Be quiet sugar, we can’t have them listening, now can we?” His voice was thick with lust and even that somehow aroused your more. You squirmed and tried to suppress your moans as his fingers hit that spot within you that you couldn’t reach with your fingers.
You stood on your tip toes as he fingered you and kept murmuring filth in your ear. “You hear how wet your pussy is, sugar. You can’t deny me this softness when you yourself need it so bad.” You felt your face heat up at his words, but you were loving every second of it.
You were already on an edge with the thought of getting caught and though it sounded sinful, it still excited you. His palm was rubbing deliciously against your clit and that combined with every other sensation had you clenching down on his fingers.
But right as you were about to cascade down the abyss of bliss, Bucky pulled out his fingers. Your eyes snapped open and you turned around to gawk at Bucky. You whined pathetically and he just chuckled at your struggle, “Have patience my dear, because I need you to make a mess on my cock.”
The sound that bubbled up your throat definitely wasn’t dignified. Just moments before you were worried that someone would find you, but by now you’d almost forgotten about it. Bucky knew what an effect he had on you, and he probably got off on it. It took him mere moments to turn you into a whiny mess.
Your palms curled on the flat wall as you heard him unzip his pants. You were breathing heavily as he pressed his cock against your swollen folds and rubbed it, wetting it in your slick. You choked on your breath as his girthy head entered you and he groaned out.
“Fuck,.. you’re so tight sugar. If it wasn’t me fucking you silly every night, I would’ve pegged you for a virgin.” Your entire body writhed like a leaf as he entered you inch by inch. You could feel his hot breath against your neck and every single cell in your body had become hypersensitive.
Bucky snaked his arm around your shoulder and the other held your hips, locking you still, and only then did he start thrusting inside you. There was this sense of urgency in his movements that you didn’t really understand, but whenever you opened your mouth to speak, only broken moans came out.
You tried your best to keep quiet, but you couldn’t stop your whimpers no matter how hard you tried. Bucky’s wasn’t holding back as he fucked you within an inch of your life. His hand on your hips snaked down to press tight circles over your clit.
Bucky pressed his metal hand tightly over your mouth to muffle your moans. “You gotta keep it low sugar, or someone will hear us.” Your walls pulsated around his hard length and he increased his pace, hitting deeper the before. “Oh you naughty girl, you like this, don’t you? You wanna get caught?”
Your clammy hands slipped on the wall and Bucky was the only thing holding you up. “Is that why you’re wearing such a slutty dress?” You were just wearing a cute sundress, but your eyes watered from the intensity of the whole act, and Bucky turned your face around a bit to lick up at the salty tears.
“Oh sugar, I saw how wonderful you are with the kids and I couldn’t help but think of putting my baby in you. And no better time than now, right?” He was thrusting up into you like a man possessed and you gulped when you finally realised the reason behind his urgency.
“God, you’d look so fucking gorgeous all full and swollen with my child.” The more Bucky talked, the more he pulled you into his fantasy. “Bucky… yesss!” You slurred as you spoke. “Yeah sugar, don’t worry. I’m gonna fuck you so nice and deep that you’ll make me a daddy.”
You sobbed into his hand as your suddenly came. This orgasm hit you out of nowhere and shook you right through your core. Your legs trembled and Bucky tightened his hold on your to keep you from falling. Your entire body felt electrified as you writhed under him.
“See, you’ve made such a mess on my cock, just like I wanted. Good girl.” You were nearly nearly boneless and yet his praise went to your head. You were so sensitive that you could feel the course material of his pants against your thighs as he pressed against you.
“Tell me sugar, you gonna make me a daddy?” His question had you shaking your head passionately. He flicked your swollen clit and you feared you’d come again soon. His hand slipped lower from your mouth and curled around your neck. You arched your back such that your head was resting on his chest as he rammed into you.
“Did I fuck you dumb, sugar?” His voice had become breathy and hoarse. You didn’t know whether it was a rhetorical question or not, but you didn’t have much time to ponder as he answered it himself. “Guess I have.” He chuckled darkly in your ear.
You were still riding the high of the first orgasm when you felt the next one approaching. “Kiss me..” you blurted out even though it was barely above a whisper. Bucky turned your head again, and crashed his lips down on yours.
You didn’t really have the energy to kiss him back, but you happily let him guide the movements. The kiss was passionate as he explored your mouth with his tongue and his hand tightened just a tad bit on your neck, but that was enough for you to cum harder than you ever had.
You lost the sense of time as you crashed through the waves of overwhelming bliss. You felt Bucky cock twitch inside you and the feeling of his hot cum filling you up had your eyes rolling in the back of your head. Drool collected at the corner of your mouth and Bucky hummed as licked it off.
Bucky placed his metal arm on the wall as you caught your breath and you too heavily leaned on him. You could feel his cum trickle down your thighs as he pulled out and you sighed. “We..” you cleared your dry throat before speaking. “We gotta go home. Can’t go in front of them like this.”
Bucky hummed as he readjusted your panties and dress until you were at least presentable. Though one look at your dazed eyes was a give away. He was quick to zip up his pants and he hissed as he did. You leaned on his as you walked out of the room and roamed the halls until you finally found the back exit.
“Oh god, there you are!” You both stopped dead in your tracks when you heard Tony’s voice behind you. “We’ve been searching you everywhere. What the hell were you doing?” Tony’s smile dropped when you two turned around and you could bet he knew exactly what you’d been up to. And with a very straight laced voice, Bucky replied,
“We were christening your house.”
#a clandestine affair#bucky barnes#sebastian stan#marvel#mcu#bucky barnes x reader#bucky barnes x you#bucky barnes x y/n#bucky barnes x female reader#bucky barnes x plus size reader#bucky barnes smut#bucky barnes fluff#bucky barnes angst#sebastian stan x y/n#sebastian stan x you#sebastian stan x reader#sebastian stan smut#bucky barnes one shot#bucky barnes series#bucky barnes drabble#bucky barnes fanfiction
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hey!!!!
I’d like to request vox (I sense you like him a normal amount) x gn!reader headcanons where the reader is an overlord and is in charge of theatrical productions such as musicals, in which vox sees as ‘out of date’ and therefore detests the reader, but the reader is oblivious to this and is always seen trying to befriend him? I could see this as some good slow burn :)))
thanks a ton! 🎀
I DEFINATELY like him a normal amount :)
Anywho- Have to write for this guy more often and the second I saw this request, I knew I was gonna have so much fun writing this! Vox slow burn is literally my kingdom come-
ENOUGH SAID-
Vox x gn!thespianOverlord!reader
Cheery and old-timey, that’s how Vox viewed you.
Truly, he only interacted with you because the musicals you produced for his films sold very well. But the world was begging and in need of more realistic movies and shows. Musicals just weren’t as interesting to him. So he always saw you as a luddite. Maybe not to the extent he saw Alastor that way. But your mannerisms and theatrics reminded him so much of his rival, so despite you having done nothing but benefitting favors for him, he kinda hated you on the lowkey. But who didn’t he hate at this point?
He at first found you extremely obnoxious. The way that, at times, people flocked to your theater productions instead of his movie premieres…
Despite this, despite hating you so, you were always so kind to him. It baffled him truly, that you never caught the hint.
The amount of time he’d rejected your invitation for coffee at your opera house should have already given the hint but you always figured he was busy (he was one of the most powerful overlords after all).
Every time a meeting was held, you spoke to him before and after the meeting. Always in such a friendly manner that made Vox smile awkwardly at you. He couldn’t outright tell you to stop talking to him, that would give off the wrong impression about him. So he would try his best to socialize with you without making you think you two were friends.
At times, you’d send him friendly gifts after collaborations.
You’ve given him blue roses after writing a particularly famous movie musical that earned both you and him a huge amount of money.
(He’d never admit it, but they made him feel special. He put them in a vase and kept them alive as long as possible.)
You definitely text him as if you two were friends. Which he always responds to very dryly, but you figure (again) that he’s probably too busy to put much thought to the text. Either way, you’re happy to hear back from him.
He does ghost you on occasions, which you don’t take personally (much to his dismay).
You find yourself always speaking fondly of him and his image. Admiring him to some degree. The way he acts in front of everyone, you ought to ask him to try acting for a production! His skills impress you a lot. And you’ve told him before. Which, for a moment (and only for a moment), made Vox think you weren’t that bad.
Oh, what he hated the most… it had to be seeing your play advertisements plastered all over the city.
Hell, you would also go up to him and ask him if he could advertise your shows.
You’d pay, so he couldn’t say no…
But the medium you expressed yourself with, oh how much he detested it!
Sometimes, out of courtesy (despite how much he detested you), he’d always accept the invitation to come to your Opera productions. Velvette liked to see the outfits the actors wore (and criticize them), and she always ended up dragging him along anyway. So he always ended up going when invited.
This particular time, you were putting on a production of Phantom of the Opera. The actress who was supposed to play Christine/The Phantom got severely ill, and the understudy was killed in the recent extermination. So it was up to you to take matters into your own hands and save your production.
The second he saw you in that scene, his eyes shot open wide. He’d never seen you act before. Hell, you looked so good on that stage, that even Velvette’s heavy criticisms of the play’s costume wardrobe didn’t move him.
And your voice! God… He’d wish someone that pretty/handsome would sing to him like that. Maybe it was the character you played and how they depicted them.
Matter of fact, he was paying attention to the plot this time. Unlike the other occasions.
The fact that you were willing to jump in and play the part perfectly as if you’d been rehearsing it every day surprised him. You’d be perfect in one of his movies, he just KNEW IT!
After the production, you approached him. Speaking to him and thanking him for coming to see as you always did.
The way he smiled at you was no longer full of false politeness. He now spoke much more freely with you. And it made you feel like you were finally important enough for him to have time for you! It was such a great feeling!
He didn’t want to admit how his perception of you had changed but let’s just say he began to plan more musicals.
Velvette knew what was going on the second he stayed to talk to you a bit longer than usual. She made fun of him for DAYS.
He would begin to respond to your DMs with less dryness.
And he would accept your offers to drink coffee at the opera house (he’d deny them sometimes to not raise any suspicion on your side or from his fellow Vees).
He would publicly deny any ties with you and would try his best to balance it out by telling Valentino just how “annoying” you were.
Vox being the obsessive little man-child he is, would survey you. Or rather, jump in excitement the second you appear in the sight of one of his cameras.
He’d set up a camera in your opera house just to see you directing rehearsals and even to see you practice.
He refuses to admit his feelings, but his fellow Vees are finding it hard to pretend they don’t know. Vox is… very obvious…
He begins sending you roses (yellow so he doesn’t make anyone think that he’s THAT obsessed with you).
He might start spiraling a bit when he sees any man approach you. But oh no, he had to keep himself together. You two were nothing, he didn’t like you! He only stayed close to you for convenience! …right?
Until he received another bouquet of blue roses signed off as “-Your Thespian Angel of Music”.
Oh, he went nuts! He had to find the footage of you signing it off. And just as he suspected, you were bashfully smiling as you wrote the note.
He couldn’t! He simply couldn’t let this change his mind! But he didn’t have much time to think about the move you’d made, because you’d invited him for coffee soon after.
Oh, he couldn’t keep himself together that time. Your smile, the warmth of your fireplace… it was all too much for him.
So it slipped out his mouth, he invited you to come over to his place and watch a movie.
You gladly accepted and after agreeing to a date for this to happen, you two were set!
Of course, he planned for you two to watch a musical together.
When you arrived at the V-tower, he was anxious to make sure that you were greeted properly. So he himself walked you to his area.
Sideye from Velvette because she just knew that Vox inviting you was him admitting to them that he was definitely into you.
During the movie, he admits that he thinks you’re pretty cool and you take it as a huge compliment!
When you go home after the little date-not-date, he can’t get you off his mind! The way your eyes shone in the TV’s light, the way you paid careful attention to every scene. Oh, he was so stupidly in love with you.
So what did he do next? He spent his free minutes texting you. Sending you Envees (the hell version of TikTok) he thought you’d like and you sent him some back.
He’d start advertising your stuff for free now!
If it wasn’t already obvious to the Vees, now they knew he was head over heels for you.
Eventually, he got Velvette into thinking you weren’t that bad… Maybe she could put some more style into your shows.
After a few months of you talking to Vox and Velvette casually texting you, she was fed up with Vox’s obsessive giggling when he saw you in the cameras, so she told you.
Yup. Velvette told you he liked you.
You were elated, to say the least. To be seen in a favorable light by such a powerful overlord was one thing. But to be the object of his adoration… Oh, you were more than happy.
So you set up another coffee date with Vox at your opera house.
To his surprise, you kissed him at the doorstep of your opera house.
It almost fried his circuit. The lights in your building flashed a bit and you could have sworn he was glitching in the middle of that kiss.
After which, your relationship was VERY MUCH PUBLIC.
Vox posted about your musicals almost every day.
He’s definitely the type to go to your practices and post you with a caption like “My Angel of Music”, “My Romeo/Juliet”, or “My Christine Canigula/Jeremy Here”. Something in reference to the lead or most adored role of the production you’re currently directing.
He’s corny as fuck in private-
He’d definately cuddle to watch whatever new musical you two just co-produced.
He funds your shows and is kind of embarrassed to admit it, but he’d blow marvelous amounts of money on you if he could (he has to be smart about how he spends his money and the fact that he can’t just spoil you as much as he wants, destroys him).
He also hates to be caught accidentally humming along to your musicals. He claims to not care about those things at all (he knows the entirety of your repertoire by heart).
#hazbin hotel#hazbin vox#hazbin alastor#hazbin hotel x reader#vox hazbin#hazbin hotel vox#vox x reader#vox#vox x reader headcanons#vox headcanons
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Since I've been pissing people off all week, here's another unpopular opinion for y'all;
I keep seeing a lot of fans saying things like oh it's such a shame that Anne isn't here to see all the success the show is having and some are even tagging Christopher in the SDCC posts and I have to say, please don't do that.
It's a very sweet and lovely sentiment and I get why some of you who have been fans of these books for decades and have waited for this moment for so long would love to think that your beloved author would share in your joy. But let's be fucking for real for a second, Anne Rice would have probably hated this show, much in the same way most of her hardcore fans do.
Christopher Rice also probably fucking hates the show and gets annoyed every time people ask him about it or tag him in posts. There is a reason why he has not spoken about it or made any promotion of it despite being credited as a producer. He is probably under NDA and is not at liberty to voice his opinion on the show publicly, but his continued silence speaks volumes. So please just leave him alone and stop tagging him in AMC IWTV things.
Anne Rice was a very complex and contradictory woman but one thing she was known for was being very demanding and controlling when it came to her IP. And she demonstrated it many times in the past by vehemently and publicly criticizing the other adaptations of her work—she eventually changed her mind on the 1994 film but the damage was done at that point.
She was also very vocal about her vision for a tv adaptation, and AMC's IWTV wasn't it—no matter how many times Rolin Jones and Mark Jonson tell us otherwise.
For those who have followed the development hell the show went through before it was finally picked up by AMC, you would know the reason it took so long to get made and it kept getting tossed from one studio to another for nearly 10 years was because Anne had categorically refused to relinquish creative control. She also wanted her nepo baby Christopher to write the script and produce instead of letting in someone actually competent and qualified to do it.
So, as much as we all love to imagine a kumbaya world where Anne Rice would be rooting for this show and cheering on not only Sam but also Jacob, Assad and Bailey/Delayne, let's not rewrite history. Let's not pretend that Anne Rice was this amazing and open-minded person who would have wholeheartedly embraced this modern and more diverse retelling of her story when her books and her track record clearly show otherwise.
#bffr#y'all have very short memories#anne rice#iwtv#interview with the vampire#the vampire chronicles
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la vida es tan dulce (contigo)
race day with dad!logan sargeant
[2.3k]
note: woooow this got out of hand quick… well, enjoy my first proper full length fic! #didntknowhowtofinish x
“come on honey, time to go,” your boyfriend calls into the hotel room, still holding the door open for your daughter.
lottie sargeant, every bit her dad’s lookalike, runs out, a tiny hand placed above the cap on her head to prevent it from falling.
you stifle a laugh at her mild panic, readjusting the purse on your shoulder as you follow her out. logan closes the door behind him and holds out his arm for you to take. lottie, seeing you’re both ready to go, leads the way to the elevator, hitting the down button as if to summon it faster.
you squeeze her hand as you step in, “are you excited, lottie baby?”
she grins up at you and nods, seemingly too happy for words.
“you’re gonna do amazing too, honey.”
logan looks up at this and shoots you a nervous smile. he’d qualified p14 the day before, a genuinely impressive result for the twisty streets of monaco.
“all thanks to my lucky charm,” he’d said afterwards, kissing the top of lottie’s head in thanks.
“i’ll just be happy if i can stay p14, y’know?” he says now, fidgeting with his watch, “at least it’s pretty tricky to overtake here.”
“daddy’s gonna win!” lottie, having regained the ability to speak now, wraps herself around logan’s leg, a hug of support. logan laughs at her blind faith and pats her head as he leads her out of the elevator and out to the street.
“thank you, baby, i’m gonna try so hard just for you, yeah?”
williams had managed to get you holed up in a hotel only a couple of blocks away from the paddocks, so you’re walking a bit slower than your family because of the heels you’re wearing, having wanted to dress up a bit for the prestigious monaco grand prix. lottie, who’s now found herself atop her dad’s shoulders, develops a system of tapping the top of his head whenever she looks back and you’re a bit too far behind for her liking, so that he stops and you get an opportunity to catch up.
although lottie’s brilliant stratagem means you get there a few minutes later than planned, you all eventually arrive at the paddock entrance. logan puts your daughter down to grab his pass as rifle around in your purse for yours.
“lottie, have you got your paddock pass?”
lottie reaches for her neck, only to find it empty and pass-less.
“mummy…” her lip wobbles and her eyes turn sad as she realises what this means.
logan stops as he’s about to scan his, already thinking of ways to get her in without a pass. she’s a kid- she’s his kid, surely it’ll be fine, right?
“oh look, darling, here it is!” you produce lottie’s pass from your bag, along with your own, and hand it to your girl on the verge of tears. instantly, she brightens and runs back over to her dad.
relieved he doesn’t have to smuggle his own daughter in, logan lifts her up so she can tap her pass on the gate, before doing the same with his own and pushing through the turnstile. you follow suit, cringing at the photo which pops up on the display.
just as logan hands lottie back over to you on the other side, a fan recognises him, and then another, and another. soon, logan’s being swarmed, and you’ve been pushed off to the side. lottie, to her credit, isn’t much disturbed by the sudden separation, but does cling to you tighter, probably for fear of being pushed away from her mum as well. logan’s head pops up above the sea of people, eyes searching for you and you gesture vaguely in the direction of the garage and hospitality areas when you spot each other. he sticks a thumbs up in the air before ducking back down to focus on autographing mementoes and taking selfies.
you’re only stopped a few times on the way to hospitality, by a couple of fans who recognise you as logan’s partner, and a few photographers, looking to snap a ‘candid’ picture of the sargeant family.
the williams team principal is engaged in a lively conversation with a few team members when you emerge on the second floor of the williams area.
as soon as he sees you, he crosses the room for a hug, greeting you with a, “how’ve you been? it feels like it’s been ages!”
“ah, you know, busy with this one always,” you return the hug and help lottie to stand on a chair.
“hello lottie!” james is ecstatic to be fawning over your daughter, “don’t you look lovely today?”
she’s dressed head to toe in williams merch, a team jersey layered over a white tutu and tiny williams-blue sneakers. her team cap is slightly askew from the journey here, but at least her pigtails seem intact for now.
“hi grandpa james,” she reaches for him to hug her, and giggles as she’s spun around in his arms.
“where’s logan?” james asks you, peeking over your shoulder to spot his missing driver.
“ah, we left him at the gates; i didn’t want lottie to freak out about the crowd.”
he hums in understanding, still holding lottie.
“it’s looking good today, you know,” he nods down to where the garage is on the floor below, “weather’s fine, car’s performing; we’ve high hopes.”
you start to reply when he’s called over by an engineer with a clipboard. he hands lottie back to you with an apology, which you wave off.
“come on baby, where do you wanna watch the race then?” you shift her weight into one arm as you free the other to fix her hat.
lottie furrows her brows in deep thought, pondering your question, then points towards the balcony.
the view from up here is incredible; you’re looking out over the pit lane and back straight of the circuit, and can see all the yachts lined up in port hercule.
just then, lottie makes a small squeak, looking down at the pit wall. you follow her gaze down to see your partner walking over to gaëtan, greeting his engineer by dapping him up and pulling him into a hug. logan’s already dressed, wearing his fireproofs and overalls, tied at the waist. the two part and start discussing something or rather— most likely the next two hours of racing.
you know the race is supposed to start soon, but if logan’s only now saying hi to gaëtan, surely you’ve still got a little while. enough time to pop down and wish your boyfriend luck, at least. you adjust lottie in your arms again and make your way downstairs.
logan’s no longer in the pit lane when you reach the garage, so you head towards the drivers’ rooms in the back. you go to knock on the door just as benny pushes it open on his way out.
“oh hello!” he smiles at you as you catch the door with your foot, but his arms are full of god-knows-what training equipment, so you forego a hug and settle for returning his smile. lottie waves at him as he goes.
“baby?” you turn your attention back to the room, hoping to see logan sprawled out on his massage table, or standing in the middle of the room stretching out. instead, he’s sat on the floor, staring at his phone.
“hey!” he gets up and takes lottie from you. she settles easily, head dropping onto his shoulder to watch her parents talk.
“how’re you feeling now, log?” you shake your arms out- lottie’s getting so big so fast- and wrap one around logan’s waist. he rests his chin on your head, breathing in deeply and letting out a sigh.
you stand together in silence until, “i don’t wanna disappoint the team,” he mutters into your hair eventually, “i’ve finally got a good quali position and i don’t wanna fuck it up for everyone.”
he takes care to turn his head away from lottie as he swears; she’s at the age where she’s picking up words left and right.
you move your head back to look at him, taking in every detail about him; the slight bags under his eyes, the freckles dotted across his face, the 5 o’clock shadow growing in. there’s a piece of hair hanging in his eyes which you brush aside as you take his face in your hand. it’s these quiet moments you really adore, where it’s just you two (and lottie) against the world. the sargeant family. even if you’re not technically a sargeant yet.
“you’re gonna do wonderfully babe,” you smile as he leans into your touch, watch as the stress in his face leaves it. standing in front of you now isn’t logan sargeant, the american who made it to f1, or logan sargeant, the other williams driver, each version of himself burdened with massive responsibilities. right now, he’s just logan, the boy you fell in love with.
“and for what it’s worth, we’re already so proud of you, no matter how you do in the race.”
at this, lottie perks up and reaches her hand up to logan’s face too, wanting to join in. he melts at the gesture, taking her hand in his to press a kiss to her palm.
“that’s worth everything.”
he sits lottie down on the massage table to kiss you properly for the first time today, arms settling around your waist. his hand drifts lower as the kisses get lazier, and soon it’s fully rested on your bum while you exchange slow, open-mouthed kisses.
remembering where you are and your audience in the room, you pull away first, placing one more peck on logan’s lips as he pouts, wanting more.
he holds you tight as you say, “you’ve got a grand prix to race in now, handsome,” and is only incentivised to let go when you remind him how much lottie’s been looking forward to helping him get ready today.
lottie helping her daddy get ready consists of watching him pull his race suit over his shoulders and watching you zip him up. she holds his gloves out as he slips his hands into them, and then- logan’s favourite part- gives him a good luck kiss.
he’ll put his balaclava and helmet on just before he gets in the car, which lottie can’t help with today because you’re watching from upstairs.
“i love you, logan. race hard, yeah?”
you kiss him one more time before you leave, relishing in the way he doesn’t want to pull away.
“i love you too. keep your fingers crossed for me- both of you?”
lottie frowns at this; she’s not yet mastered how to cross her fingers by herself, but you laugh at her little expression and promise you’ll help her once you’re upstairs.
pre-race rituals complete, you tug her away from daddy and return to hospitality.
logan gets a good start when the lights go out, though a slow reaction from an aston martin ahead means he has to swerve to avoid a huge crash. he manages an overtake on kevin magnussen through the chicane, earning cheers throughout the room, and no doubt from the garage below too.
the race ends with logan p13, but after zhou guanyu gets a 5-second penalty for leaving track limits, he finds himself in p12.
logan’s post-race radio plays from the tv playing sky sports f1, “-good race today guys, thanks for helping me not look so bad in front of my daughter,” he laughs.
crofty is saying something in response but lottie, already ecstatic because of the energy in the room, has stolen your attention by squirming happily in your arms as she hears her daddy talking about her on tv. you decide to take her back into the paddock so she can run around and let off some steam.
logan’s in the media pen when lottie spots him, and, full of excitement, she slides her hand out of yours and is halfway to him by the time you can react.
“-yeah, really happy,” you hear him say before he’s interrupted, “oh-? what are you doing here, baby girl?”
he picks her up and looks around for you, smiling when he finds you.
“and who’s this gorgeous girl? is this who you were trying to impress in the car today, logan?” the interviewer- thank god- doesn’t seem annoyed by the intrusion, and instead welcomes it, holding the mic up to lottie, awaiting her answer.
“i’m lottie,” your girl says brightly, “my daddy’s the best racer in the whole world!”
logan, the interviewer, and logan’s press officer all laugh at this, while lottie smiles proudly. logan takes the opportunity to carefully adjust the williams cap on lottie’s head, which has been knocked askew from her running.
“lottie, do you want to be a racer like your dad?”
logan angles her away from the mic before she can answer.
“oh, let’s not get those ideas in her head yet. she’s already a handful without the stress of karting and racing right now.”
this earns another laugh from the interviewer, thoroughly amused by father and daughter. the rest of the interview is uneventful due to lottie preoccupying herself with waving at the other drivers as they travel around the pen.
logan makes a beeline for you when he’s released.
“hi baby,” he lets lottie down and scoops you up just as quick.
“i’m so proud of you, log. for real.”
he says nothing, enjoying the moment, though you can feel him smile into the crook of your neck as he stays holding you up. you’re accutely aware of some people stopping around you and filming, but you’re just focussed on being with logan and lottie. your family.
#logan sargeant#logan sargeant x reader#dad!logan sargeant#f1 x you#f1 imagine#f1 x reader#williams f1#f1 fic#formula 1#formula 1 fluff#formula 1 x reader#ls2#ls2 x reader#williams racing#f1 fanfic#x reader#logan sargeant imagine#mclarengf#gf writes!
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Acouasm
Acouasm (n.) a ringing noise in your head
Synopsis: When your relationship with Kim Taehyung goes public, a walk down the red carpet turns south when you are attacked.
Notes: I had so much to write in this fic but it ended up being sub par and I wanna release it on V’s birthday, so I’ll probably work on another one similar to this situation. I even had another draft but I thought it was too gorey and violent 🥲 Anyways HAPPY BIRTHDAY V! Enjoy reading and thank you so much for liking my past oneshot Saudade.
Word Count: 11.9k
Your relationship with BTS’ Kim Taehyung had a long story.
You came from the same highschool and had been acquainted before, though you hadn’t interacted apart from a few glances in the halls. He was a few years older than you and Korean Arts High School was populated with soon to be popular faces, so you didn’t expect him to remember much about you. However, that didn’t stop you from having a massive crush on him as he seemed to be way different from his fellow BigHit trainee, Jimin.
Taehyung was more reserved and usually kept to a close knit of friends during school hours, though everyone seemed to know him and he knew everyone. He didn’t have any official relationships with anyone during highschool, yet it wasn’t like he was coined a loser. He was oh so much your type, though your crush on him didn’t last long after he graduated.
You knew he debuted in a boy group with his friend Jimin, and that was as far as you knew about his whereabouts. You didn’t have time to worry about him when you were already facing some difficulties in your own life at that time.
You were picked up by a more trustable agency in your third year of highschool. They were adamant on debuting a girl group and you were determined to be a part of that, so you trained harder than you have ever trained, worked harder than you’ve ever worked, and you finally got your pay off when you debuted three years after.
It was 2017 and your debut went smoothly. You weren’t an instant flop, though you weren’t an instant pop either. However, with enough work in producing three albums for your first year, you managed to come through and win the Mama 2017 Best New Artist Award.
Winning an award and enjoying your time performing songs and watching the other idol groups perform in the 2017 Mnet Asian Music Awards also meant that you would make a few new friends during the event. Your group had to switch seats often during the first half, so you had a lot of interactions with other groups. Coincidentally, landing seats right in front of a particularly cheery idol group for the rest of the night.
“Bangtan Sonyeondan! Congratulations!” The woman speaks onto the microphone as the group of boys behind you cheered and gathered into a group hug before they all started making their way out to the stage, and a specific pair of bright eyes catches yours as he passes by. Kim Taehyung.
You didn’t hold back a smile when you realized it was his group who had won a daesang. You clapped your hands even louder to congratulate him as he bows to you and your group and fixes his blonde hair that was held back by a cloth headband.
Later that night when a message from him surprised you. It turns out a director had forwarded your KakaoTalk to him after he asked, and he had made the time to message you despite the fact that they should be celebrating after their win by now.
A few messages at night had turned into friendly calls when no one was around. It was damn obvious that he was interested in you and you couldn’t say that your highschool crush on him had gone away after all these years. He was charming and he understood the struggles of being an idol.
When you and your bandmates would fight then he would drop anything to message or call you to listen to you vent. When he was having a particularly rough time with his schedules, he made sure that you would know and yet still made time to check up on you. Both of you would even be preparing for a comeback at the same time, and yet both of you supported each other through all of it. He was a rock you could lean on and you were an ear for him to rant to.
Soon after, you started hanging out with each other in your free time. It wasn’t a date or anything of the sorts. He just so happens to want to buy something when you would go on errands. He would joke that a popular idol like you shouldn’t be grocery shopping alone despite the fact that he was in fact more popular than you, though you never held jealousy over that fact. You were actually proud of him and his group after you learned of their earlier hardships, and you were even prouder when he would vent to you about their contract problems early 2018.
You two would try new coffee spots together and even watch the new Marvel movies together. Taehyung was certain that Doctor Strange was his favorite Marvel superhero because of his amazing cape, and didn’t hide that fact when he went on an interview in LA that asked him about it. You two even commented on each other’s interviews from time to time since you were both learning English and you two found it helpful to learn from each other.
And don’t start about how you couldn’t take your eyes off of him during Mama 2018, not when you two were on a call the night before he got his hair colored and you sent him a picture of the brightest pink you could see on Google to dare him into changing his hair that same hue. It was a funny joke, yet he called you the night after with the same hue on his hair. You would watch the American movie Trolls together through the call that night and his nickname on KakaoTalk would be changed for the very first time to ‘Poppy Imposter’ alluding to the pink haired Troll in the movie.
After a year of steadily getting closer and calling each other friends, he finally confessed to you. You knew he liked you and he knew that you knew he liked you, yet it still seemed like your heart was palpitating out of your chest. He didn’t kiss you. He simply stated a fact and said that he wanted to court you, and God did you fall for him even harder.
When he asked you out on a first date, he also asked for your parents’ permission. He made sure to make it known that he was serious about you and you were sure that this man couldn’t do anything more to make you fall for him more.
He was such a romantic. He made sure everything was done how it should be. He made sure to pick you up for your date with a bouquet of flowers for you and your mother. He made sure to greet your parents by the front door. He assured your father that he would keep you safe and take you home by your curfew. Despite the fact that you were a full-grown adult and had your own apartment to go home to. He opened the door of his car for you and he pulled the chair of the fancy restaurant for you. He was a true gentleman, and it didn’t take more than five months for you to answer him.
Both your companies knew of your affairs. Taehyung wasn’t exactly quiet about you and you can’t say no to him when he would ask you to go on a late night walk with him whenever you were in the same city. Your companies would help payout any media networks that saw you two in your public dates, though that didn’t stop other idols from gossiping about your relationship. It was getting harder for them to contain you two especially when he went on longer promotion stints outside Korea, and your appearance near his apartment anytime BTS arrived in Korea didn’t go unnoticed. You were two lovers deeply in love, and it got worse during Mama 2019.
“You’re up in ten minutes ladies!” A stage director yells to the hallway over the chaos of staff around us. You and your group were about to enter the dark backstage to prepare for the penultimate performance of the evening, right before BTS.
You had seen your boyfriend and his group leave the artist area earlier, though it seemed like they weren’t going to the waiting rooms directly. You just hoped he could watch your performance on his phone. Despite already seeing each other’s performances during rehearsals.
“Wait! Don’t go up yet! The backstage is still not ready!” Another staff member yelled as an older member tried to make a move to get inside the backstage.
You sigh as the crowded and loud surroundings begin to make you nervous. You could feel sweat gathering on your forehead as a makeup artist tried to dry it down. How long were they going to announce the awards?
The makeup artist by your side leaves to fix up your other members and you take the opportunity to find something in the hallway to keep your attention on. The more you could distract yourself from the chaotic environment the better, so you looked down both sides of the hallway and watched props and staff pass by.
There in the busy and harshly lit hallway was your messy haired boyfriend with a bright red cardigan, that he specifically wore for you to notice him in the crowd of idols, push past the crowd to look for you. His bandmates seemed to get inside their own waiting room to prepare whilst Jimin and Jungkook waited by the door to watch him find his way to you. His overgrown and curled hair was doing nothing to help him find you, though once his eyes met yours at the end of the hallway, you could feel a smile creep onto your cheeks.
“Hey!” Taehyung greets as he walks a few more steps to stand in front of you. He brushes his hair aside and shows you his warm brown eyes, void of any colored contact lenses. His smile was bright as you notice sweat on his forehead.
“Good luck out there. You’re going to kill it, I swear.” Taehyung cheers as you smile at him and nod. He reaches to hold both your hands as you only realize that they were shaking when his gentle and steady ones encapsulates them.
“I should be the one calming you down. You have five songs to do!” You say with a chuckle as he chuckles with you and brings your hands to kiss its knuckles. His lips hover a little longer over your left ring finger, though you don’t notice.
“I perform five songs, but I’m not the popular worldstar that South Korea votes as number one on the most beautiful female artists.” Taehyung says with a shrug as a more boisterous laugh comes out of you.
“Okay, and you talk as if you aren’t internationally known for a handsome face.” You throw back as Taehyung rolls his eye and lets go of one of your hands to throw his hair out his face and show you one nasty pimple that had been growing on his forehead. He had actually been pulling back his dermatologist and facial appointment, so that he could do both of them with you. He wanted to keep your dates ‘unique’ he says.
“Don’t show that around here Tae! You’re going to get exposed!” You scolded as he laughed and shook his head to glance at the even more incriminating position you both were in. Closely standing next to each other with your hands held together and both your eyes shimmering with that profound love. If someone was to take a picture to expose you two then could they send it to him too because he wants to take this moment and make it his phone’s lock screen.
“Taehyung! You have to get ready!”
“Y/N! We can enter the backstage already!”
Both your bandmates say at the same time, though neither of your eyes fall to look away from each other.
“I love you. Be careful in performing and don’t be nervous. You’re amazing and always will be.” Taehyung says as his soft hands grab hold of your jaw to direct your lips to his. The kiss was soft and ended quickly, though the energy and ease it gave you was a pill that made you feel like you could do everything you put your mind to.
“I love you too. Be careful in your performance too. I know you’ll do great already. I might miss the first part of it though, since they won’t let us out immediately after.” You pouted as Taehyung chuckled and pecked a kiss on your forehead whilst rubbing your shoulder to assure you that he didn’t mind.
“I can’t even watch yours live. I have to watch it in the waiting room, but I’ll make sure to cheer for you just as much. We’ll watch the replay later on the TV anyways. My place and some good takeout?” Taehyung proposes as you were always welcome to a night at his place.
“We’ll see if you aren’t blackout drunk from the celebrations.” You chuckled as you were slowly inching away from your lover. You can hear your leader call out to you multiple times already and your manager was coming down the hall, so you really had to close this off.
Thankfully, Taehyung only laughed and let you go. He even waved to you as you disappeared backstage. He wasn’t going to get drunk tonight, perhaps tipsy, but he would much rather remember a night with you than drink. He wasn’t much of an alcohol fan anyways. A glass of wine with you seemed much more his taste.
And that was what ended up happening. The two of you sprawled out on his sofa at six in the morning. Takeout food littered the coffee table along with glasses of wine and a replay of your MMA performances.
After the event, the two of you parted ways to go to separate afterparties for a few hours before you both excused yourselves and got to Taehyung’s apartment. You two had laughed over some funny playbacks that you missed during the event, and you celebrated on your own two ways.
Taehyung had brought you out to his balcony when he saw the sun rising. He felt like a true winner as he watched you bury yourself in his hoodie under a thick blanket on his balcony’s couch. The silence engulfing you two as sleep ate away at your high. Events like the Mnet Asian Music Awards and Melon Music Awards always had your sleeping schedules messed up, though he didn’t mind. How could he mind when the award shows were the reason why he had seen your beauty in the first place.
He thinks that even if you weren’t there in MAMA 2017 then he would have still fallen in love with you some other way. He believes that in different dimensions he still finds a way to find you and love you. He always will, and there was no universe out there that Kim Taehyung existed without you.
“Hey… look at me.” Taehyung breaks the silence as you turn to face him. The sky was only beginning to get lighter, though you were both still enclosed in darkness and the warm lights he had around his balcony.
“I would have never thought that the sophomore I saw in the hallways during break would have me wrapped around their finger in five years time. I would have never thought that the all-rounder of the girl group who won best new artist in MAMA 2017 would have me asking multiple staff members for her number. But what I now know is that I love this sophomore and I love this all-rounder. I love you. I love you so much, and I know for a fact that there is no one else I could love this much. Kim Taehyung in other realities always falls in love with Y/L/N Y/N and I don’t need to be Doctor Strange to know that. So…” Taehyung pauses as he stands up and grabs a box from his sweatpant’s pocket.
You were staring at him in shock and awe as you processed his words whilst trying to process his movements. You two were too young to get married. He knew that and you two had jokingly discussed that, so what the hell was he doing?!
“I’m not proposing. Don’t worry.” Taehyung chuckles as he bends both his knees to crouch on the floor and presents you with a cream box. He opens it to reveal two gorgeous Bvlgari Couple Rings. Both were of the color silver, though one was littered with gems and the other was plain.
Taehyung places the box on the table in front of the couch as he takes the ring littered with gems and softly reaches for your hand just like earlier. He takes your left hand and kisses the knuckle right above your ring finger as he looks up at you with doe eyes. The sun’s rays appeared higher up the horizon now and its soft hues colored his face perfectly.
“I want you to take this promise ring because with this you hold the promise of my heart forever loving yours. All my beauty and imperfections. My tight schedule and long rants. My overly romantic and cringey actions and my eyes that look for you in every crowd.” Taehyung says and a stinging sensation catches up to your eye.
“It will also keep your finger warm until the time I propose to you and marry you, so… will you—“ Taehyung’s slight joking and following question was cut off by your voice cracking. He looked back up to you after eyeing your bare finger and you had tears in your eyes. His eyes immediately fogging as it copies yours.
“Yes. Yes, Tae.” You nod your head to help rid your eyes of tears as Taehyung slips the silver ring through your ring finger and a happy tear slides down his cheek.
“And you, Taehyung. I want you to keep this promise ring until the time I marry you because God knows I’ll save up for a really expensive ring.” You joke as Taehyung laughs boisterously. You reach out for his left hand and take the remaining silver ring.
“I love you so much, baby. I’ve always loved you.” You say as you slid the ring through his fingers and something in your heart locks with security. It was as if life was completed with a simple ring even if it was just a promise ring.
You two had tear stains on your cheeks from happiness and Taehyung immediately stood up, farring you along with him, and brought you in for a deep and passionate kiss on the lips. His lips soft against yours as it held so much love for one another.
When you two parted you simply rested each other’s foreheads against one another as the sun fully rose from slumber. The sun’s light encapsulates the two of you in its beauty and peace. If only someone could take a picture of this moment right now…
Everything changed after these leaks. Both your management team had reached the agreement to put some space between the two of you to avoid any more evidence that could support the strong claim of your relationship. This meant lesser visits to Taehyung’s compromised apartment and lesser events where your group and BTS could have any interactions.
You barely saw Taehyung now and it felt like you had been thrusted back in time to when you were both getting to know each other and only calling and texting each other at night. Back then it felt like the right amount of time to spend with him, but now it felt too little. You missed him and not being able to see each other for months even when you were both in the same city hurts. You felt so close, yet so far.
BTS had also started growing internationally and Taehyung was spending more time abroad. Especially with their Map of The Soul world tour. You had your world tour too, but you two always made the effort to see each other once a month at most. Now, you barely saw each other in three months.
You didn’t understand why they needed you two to be separated after the rumors. There were always rumors in the Kpop world and they had always managed to payout news outlets, so why this ridiculous rule now? It was making you more and more frustrated by each meeting that you asked them to stop.
It all came to a breaking point in late September 2020. It had been ten months and the BTS world tour had ended in September, yet Taehyung and you hadn’t even seen each other since the summer. You were sick and tired of it and your latest comeback failing to reach the charts had stressed you out immensely.
“You know the question I’m about to ask.” You said coldly as your management team didn’t spare you a glance. Your general meeting had ended and though the other members and staff were still in the same room you didn’t stop yourself from speaking your mind.
“And you know what the answer is to it always.” Your lead manager says as you close your eyes to stop any tears from falling down your cheeks.
You were exhausted. You were exhausted from not making it to the charts and feeling as though all your hard work had turned out to be a failure, and you knew that perhaps a small break to be with Taehyung could fix you up nicely. A cuddle and a kiss could boot you right up to start producing and writing songs again. His touch could ease all your sore muscles and his voice humming songs to you could free your ears from the annoying buzz in your ear. A buzz that you think came from the amount of time you spent sampling beats in the studio, and then listening to the same beats during dance practice. Your head was a mess and you could only hear music through a broken filter.
“It’s been ten months…” You say quietly, though the founder of the company abruptly stands up and slaps his hand on the table.
“We can’t risk it!” He sounded angry as his loud voice shushes everyone.
“All of you! We can’t risk it, and you better listen before I put all of you on a dating ban!” He threatens as collective anger boils between all of you girls. You knew that each and every one of you had committed relationships, so there was no way in any universe would you agree to a dating ban.
“What the hell?! You can’t do that so abruptly! What’s really going on? Why is everyone so tense?!” Your leader speaks up as all staff members quiet down and the room is filled with silence. The clock on the wall could be heard ticking and if you really listened in, you would hear your own patience decreasing with each click.
“We’re nearing bankruptcy, okay?! Your album flopped, we’re losing sponsors, and I can’t afford paying out the media for your issue, okay?!” Your boss snaps as he seems to be on the verge of breaking down.
All your group members were at the same amount of shock as you were, though every
“How much time do we have?” Your leader asks as your boss breathes in a heavy sigh.
“6 months at most. We’re reducing staff and we can push for one more studio album. If it doesn’t chart then we’re done. I’m sorry.”
You left the meeting that evening with tears in your eyes and your head feeling agitated. How could they keep this very important news from you and the girls?! This was your job and your future. You had the right to know what was internally happening. Now, all of you had to give your best for the new comeback or else you would be left jobless.
This fury of emotions in you was getting overwhelming and as soon as you arrived in your apartment you called Taehyung for some comfort. Perhaps you could even see each other tonight. A good takeout dinner and a few kisses and cuddles could fix you right up for the new comeback.
“Hey babe, I’m at a shoot right now.” Taehyung answers the phone as you nodded and mentally noted that he would probably be called to hang up on you at any moment.
“Hey…What time do you end?” You asked meekly before you cleared your throat and leaned on your kitchen counter with a glass of water on your other hand.
“Ten or eleven. Why?” Taehyung seemed to be moving on the other side as you sigh. Late dinner would be fine, as long as you were with him, right?
“I was wondering if we could have some dinner at either of our places. I’ve had a bad day and I miss you.” You say truthfully as you closed your eyes and hold the tears that want to push past your eyelids.
“I’m sorry to hear that baby, but I don’t think it would be good for us to see each other right now. Management—“
“Please Tae. I need you.” You interrupted him as a sob coursed through your throat. You felt pathetic for asking for your boyfriend’s attention when you knew how busy the industry is during this time of the year, but you just heard your dreams are in danger and you needed someone you could vent to.
“Baby… I think it would be better if we follow our mana—“
“God! Do you not want to see me?!” This unexpected rage filled you as you began to see red behind the tears that dripped down your cheeks. Your apartment felt too hot. The heat made you agitated. You wanted one thing and the world couldn’t even give you that.
“You know it’s not like that.” Taehyung’s small voice sounded hurt from behind the phone’s speaker, but it enraged you more knowing your hurt was hurting him. You couldn’t do one thing right, couldn’t you? No. How dare he act hurt when you doubt he even fights for you in their meetings. It was always you asking to see him and he would remind you of both your management team’s warnings.
“Really?! Because I’m starting to think that you don’t even want to see me anymore. We haven’t even seen each other since summer! God knows where you’ve been during your tours.” Your last statement was uncalled for. You knew that. Your anger shouldn’t start accusations especially when you know that the man on the other side of the phone was deeply in love with you, but rage makes you do unexplainable things.
You were angry at everything and everyone, and the words that spilled out of your mouth had no further value but the vile that it carries. Taehyung knew that, but he was in the middle of his fifth shoot of the week. He was trying to be as patient as he could be with you, but a nerve had been touched when you questioned his loyalty. How could you question his loyalty when he has done everything in his power to show you how much he was in love with you? He had asked countless times when he could see you, but rejection was always the answer of his managers.
He hated this year just as much as he hated himself for bringing you out to the balcony that night. Not because he regretted giving you his promise ring, but because he wasn’t thinking properly. He should’ve known that neighboring people could see him with you. He should’ve thought about it clearer. He shouldn’t have placed you in that vulnerable situation, and that idea manifested itself to why he was so willing to follow the rules of his managers. He didn’t want to put you in that place again. He didn’t want both your names to go under fire on Twitter again.
“I don’t want to fight with you right now.” Taehyung says dejectedly as the glass on your hand slips to land on the floor. The sound of the glass shattering on the floor and the water spilling on tiles reached Taehyung’s ears as a shock filled him.
“Baby?! What was that sound? Are you okay?” Taehyung sits up straighter from where he was seated in the waiting room with the rest of his band members. All their eyes went to him as he looked panicked whilst on his phone call.
“Yeah, just a glass of water. I’ll talk to you later, V.” Your voice was monotone and the usage of his stage name had caused a frown to rest on Taehyung’s face. It felt strange. It felt as though you were placing a barrier between you and him when you used his stage name. The same barrier an idol had with their fans, but your relationship wasn’t like that. You were the love of his life and the keeper of his promise. Getting called his stage name by you felt cold.
Taehyung turns his phone off after you hang up on him and he leans back on the sofa he sat on. Yoongi sat asleep on his right whilst Jungkook was nearing sleep on his left, though Jimin sat across the room on another sofa with his eyebrow furrowed as if asking the younger for what that was about. However, Jimin was beaten to ask Taehyung about his call as Namjoon pipes in from sitting beside Jimin.
“What was that about?” Namjoon asks as Taehyung sighs. He didn’t want to answer, but now five pairs of eyes were on him and the ears of their makeup artists were pressuring him to answer with something.
“You already know.” Taehyung says in a low voice, though his hyungs nod in understanding.
“I don’t get why you don’t just go see her. You know, I break Sejin’s rules all the time.” Jimin says as he earns a warning shove from Namjoon and a laugh from Hoseok. They all eventually break Sejin’s rules and Taehyung himself even broke his rules earlier into courting you, but he shouldn’t risk it now. Not when your names were out there and any signs that you were dating would be taken as the truth.
“We’ll help you sneak out later, Taehyung ah.” Jin offers as he flashes the younger a playful grin and a wink from his seat in front of the mirror surrounded by makeup artists.
“Sejin will pay you out of everything.”
“You have to be careful though. Our company could buy you out, but hers might not have the funds for it.” Hoseok pipes in as his sudden negative input has everyone turning to him with questioning looks.
“Don’t you guys look at their stocks? It’s been getting lower since last year. It might be the reason why you weren’t protected from the balcony incident.” Hoseok says as he flashes the boys his screen that is filled with stocks.
“No, the balcony incident was because the people who caught us immediately posted it without the help of media outlets. Our management can only protect us to an extent.” Taehyung now speaks as he shakes his head and massages his forehead. They all knew that. If fans capture them then it would pose a larger threat because they were willing to release any media without sending an email and deal to companies.
But what Taehyung did take note from what his hyung said was how your company’s stocks were lowering. You never told him that problem so he thinks it isn’t a major problem, though if his hyung knew about it then the changes must be drastic.
And they were drastic. After you hang up on Taehyung, you have turned your tears into a driving power to get working on some lyrics in your notebook. You didn’t even realize the amount of time that had passed as you spent it hunched over the coffee table writing away. The glass shards still littered the tiles of the kitchen and your mascara still darkened your eyes.
It was already one in the morning and Taehyung carefully got into your apartment building as both his hands held your favorite takeout paper bags with drinks. The boys had in fact helped him sneak out of the dorm that night, and it took him a few minutes and taxi rides to finally get everything he wanted to buy for the night.
He was going to apologize tonight. He was going to tell you the truth of everything on his mind and he would listen to everything you had to say. He wanted to make things right and it starts with giving you a kiss as soon as he enters the door.
The knock from your apartment’s door was the first sound you’d heard in the past few hours. It brought you to consciousness from your endless writing, and when you looked down to see your work everything was only an incomprehensible mess. Dried tear stains littered the pages and the callus on your finger grew thicker from friction.
You pushed yourself up from your spot on the carpet and walked carefully towards your front door. Another soft knock followed after some silence and you wanted to tell the person on the other side that you were coming, though your throat was raw from lack of usage.
“Hey baby.” Taehyung’s figure greets you as you open the door. His freshly trimmed dark hair covered his forehead as his mask was discarded under his chin. His figure was engulfed in a black jacket with its hood unused. A soft smile played on his lips, though it fell as soon as he saw your figure. The smile instead was replaced with a look of worry as you can only imagine what state you looked like.
“I— I’m so sorry I didn’t come any sooner…” Taehyung immediately sets down the paper bags of food by the doorway before approaching you to engulf in a big warm hug. The hug that you had wished for earlier, and finally your emotions were put to ease.
The little droplets of rain left on his jacket and his steady heartbeat got rid of every pain and anger you had in your body and you finally let your eyes close as you hugged him back. His breath on top of your head slowly brings you back to the love and warmth you always knew would come to you.
“Tae, my— my company…”
You both had let everything out through dinner. In the early hours of the day, you both cried and laughed. You catched up with the happenings of each other's lives and you forgave each other.
“You know what would be great right now?” You spoke as Taehyung looked up to you from his place on your lap. His head rested on the valley of your thighs as his Hwarang drama played on the TV in your living room. His eyes bright and a soft smile permanently plastered to his lips.
“What?”
“A cone of ice cream.” You say as you watch his eyes brighten at the idea. So what if he just got his teeth cleaned and they were sensitive to cold food? If you wanted ice cream then he wants it too.
“What are we waiting for? Let’s get some ice cream!” He says as he sits up and turns off the TV.
“Tae, we can’t go out.” You remind him though the brow he raises and smug look on his face just makes a smile break your lips.
“I don’t care. No payouts, no worries. If they know then they’ll know. I’ll get my girl her ice cream!”
You giggle as Taehyung goes into your bedroom and comes out with a large black puffer jacket, a pair of warm socks, and a scarf. He ordered you to stand up as he wrapped the warm jacket over your figure and wrapped your neck up with a scarf. He pulls out a wet wipe to gently wipe your face with any dried tears or mascara before he pulls you towards the front door.
He doesn’t even let you crouch down to tie your own shoes or put your own socks on because he does it for you before he does his own. And soon you were already walking out your apartment building with his hand playing with yours.
You ended up grabbing a cone of your favorite ice cream from an ice cream place that was open 24/7. It was roughly a fifteen minute walk from your place and when he sensed your pace slowing, he took a detour and took you to a riverside road that had benches looking out onto the river.
Light bulbs tied into strings hung from trees and the gentle flow of the river made the place serene. You two sat on a bench and ate your ice cream by the river as silence engulfed you two. A comforting peace hugging you tightly as time seemed nonexistent when you were with him. You leaned your head on his shoulder and basked in the moment. A buzz of restlessness ringing in your ear, though it didn’t matter whenever he was near.
If someone took a picture of you now then you wouldn’t care anymore. As long as you were with him then you would be fine.
Everyone was convinced that the two of you were dating and ever since then you were a bit more shameless to post pictures on your instagram with a few too many similarities to deny that you two weren’t in the same place at the same time.
With the news of your unconfirmed relationship reaching new lengths with more leaked content, you two became somewhat old news. Everyone knew there was something undeniable between you two, though nothing had been confirmed. Your two companies stayed out of it after their first statement that only clarified that both of you weren’t engaged, though it also said that your companies had no rights in your personal engagements.
A month after, your latest comeback had been released and it was a massive pop. It had landed the charts and stayed on the Top 5 even with rising competition and BTS’s unstoppable Dynamite single. And Maybe, just maybe, it could save your company’s decline.
The end of November was the season of awardings and your latest comeback just manages to squeeze into the eligibility period of the criteria. Which meant your hit comeback had actually landed you multiple nominations, and perhaps your first ever Daesang? If that was possible against BTS’s unstoppable year.
It felt as though your struggles through the year were getting set to rest, and whatever happens now was up to the world’s hands.
Arriving in the 2020 Mnet Asian Music Awards felt like a reward. You could finally relax and enjoy the event of your year’s work. In these events you would always remember how it changed your life by letting you and Taehyung meet gazes. How it made you meet your closest friends and interact with fans from different fandoms. It was a celebration whether you left as a winner or not.
Taehyung took his first step out to walk the red carpet as cameras flash all around him. The crowd of fans behind the media outlets raised their phone cameras as cheers roared. His bandmates smiled and waved as they took a spot right in front of the banner backdrop.
They were missing Yoongi that night. The rapper was absent to recover from his long due shoulder surgery that he got in an accident years ago. This small change in their usual order had all the staff and management team on edge. They already had to relearn their choreography and positions for the performance tonight, and the staff were busy all week to find ways on how they would spend Yoongi’s rap parts of the song without him, so it was an understatement to say that everyone was a little tired and on edge for tonight.
The six remaining members all arranged themselves into their familiar order, with Taehyung leading the line and leaving a space for Yoongi before Jin, Jungkook, Namjoon, Jimin, and Hoseok followed in order.
They all stopped at the first spot where semi-popular outlets took pictures of them and their different colored suits. They all had a mix of muted navy, white, and some accents of maroon, a color scheme that stood out from the classic black suit. Taehyung wore navy trousers and a matching suit jacket whilst his undershirt was a satin white. His suit jacket was buttoned up to his chest and had a maroon colored handkerchief in its pocket.
After a few seconds, a director had signed for Taehyung to continue walking along the carpet as the boy group Seventeen, that was ahead of them in the queue, moved towards the part of the carpet where the event hosts would interview them.
Taehyung glanced behind him to make sure his bandmates were following him as he moved further up the queue. They stopped once again with their line still intact and they posed for the more known media outlets.
At the same time, their junior’s Tomorrow X Together arrived and followed them in the queue by taking their previous spot. Their hoobaes dressed in fitting black suits as they arranged themselves in a line and posed for the cameras. The crowd also cheered for them, before they reverted their attention to the short interview held on the members of Seventeen.
Another cue of a director made Taehyung turn to watch the Seventeen walk inside the building. He waited patiently for all members to enter before he followed to occupy the spot they had left. The host, Song Joong Ki, greeted the members as Taehyung was handed two microphones that he passed to his bandmates. He would let his hyung’s take care of the interview answers, though he still smiled to the cameras that flashed and broadcasted the carpet.
“Welcome! Bangtan Sonyeondan!” Song Joong Ki announces as classic questions fall from his lips, though he has lost all of Taehyung’s attention when he saw you enter to lead your group on the queue of the carpet.
Your body clad in a white angelic like satin material dress. It had thick bows as spaghetti straps on your shoulders, though it kept the skin of your collarbone and shoulders exposed. It hugged your torso tightly almost like a corset before it loosened below your waists and made you seem like a doll. Hemline details on your skirt had separated the silky fabric of the bodice and majority of the skirt to the more flowy and scrunched material that gave your dress an airy aura. Your white heels polished to shine as bright as the cameras, and your angel-like makeup made Taehyung feel like he was actually seeing an angel.
He didn’t care if people saw how his mouth stood agape and how his gaze stayed on you for a moment too long. It was the only appropriate reaction to your outfit. Your bandmates also had varying white dresses on, yet you seemed like the star of the show. A true beauty that he was blessed to witness in his lifetime.
“Taehyung ah, stop staring at your girlfriend and move.” Jin had whispered to Taehyung. The space for Yoongi in between them had disappeared as Taehyung snapped his gaze back to his hyung. He could see you posing for pictures on his peripheral vision, though the slight nudge of Jin pushing him along to enter the venue was enough for him to stop watching you.
He could even see Jimin flashing him a smirk as it was quite obvious who had stolen all his attention. Taehyung was shameless as he only smiled and calmly walked towards the small steps leading to the venue.
He wondered how he would celebrate tonight. The Mnet Asian Music Awards always have been an indicator to him that it had been another year since he met the most beautiful angel on Earth. He would always replay the moment he caught your eyes when he received an award, and sometimes, if he was lucky, your eyes would meet and he falls for you deeper than he had the first time you met. Gosh, he hoped one of the cameras had gotten a good picture of you because he can’t wait to make it his homesc—
Bang.
And screaming was all he heard as his head snapped to find out what the commotion was about. Everyone’s handheld cameras had turned to the start of the queue, and the cameras that were on fixed stands to face the carpet in front were left unattended by the camera directors. All their eyes widening at a sight that Taehyung couldn’t see.
Security guards that stood near the venue entrance had run past Taehyung to get to the commotion, though Taehyung couldn’t see through a combination of his hyung’s heads and the bodies of managers and staff that filled the red carpet.
Taehyung was more curious than worried about the commotion. All he knew was that the commotion had taken place at the start of the queue where he stood just a few moments ago. Taehyung watched as all his members tried to raise their necks to see past the crowd.
Namjoon had tapped a staff member to ask what happened, and Taehyung would have intently eavesdropped the conversation if not for the face Jimin had flashed Taehyung as he turned with a worried look. It was a look that knew something.
How did Jimin see through the crowd? They didn’t know.
“What is it?” Taehyung asked as Jimin stopped stretching his neck and stared at him with wide eyes whilst licking his lips as if he was finding the right words to describe the situation he saw.
But Taehyung didn’t need to hear it from him as Jin soon found a gap to see what happened, and the loud ‘woah’ that involuntarily left his throat was enough for all members present to look at him.
However, just like Jimin did after seeing the commotion, their eldest member flashed Taehyung worried eyes before grabbing Taehyung’s wrist as if he could bolt at any moment. These glances and actions were starting to worry Taehyung now. He would understand if the members who saw something happened wouldn’t want the other members to know, but why did it look as if they didn’t want him specifically to know or react.
“What?” Taehyung’s Daegu accent came out as he was getting worried at what was happening.
Then a few gasps came from the crowd that watched and Taehyung finally found a gap to see someone on top of another person at the start of the queue. Right where your group was standing mere seconds ago.
Taehyung tugged at Jin’s grip as he finally saw someone pull the erratically moving person off the floor and the person she had pinned to the floor.
Who was getting attacked? Taehyung didn’t know yet, but something in his stomach told him that his hyungs knew.
The crazy woman was pulled off the floor by a security guard. Taehyung's gaze went from the woman fighting the guard to one of the barriers that separated the general crowd of fans from the photographers, carpet, and artists. The barrier was on the floor as other fans didn’t dare cross it, though he had figured that the loud bang was from the barrier falling to the floor.
Taehyung then let his gaze wander to whoever the woman had pinned to the floor and lo and behold… it was you.
Seeing your messy hair and disoriented figure had blood surging through Taehyung’s body. A different type of adrenaline flowed through him unlike the ones he experiences at concerts. No, this one made him want to fight and flight at the same time.
Taehyung easily pulled away from Jin’s grip as he walked past Jimin before he could block his way. The call of his name from Hoseok and Jungkook fell on deaf ears as he continued his fast strides towards you. His eyes fixed on your figure before it was lost behind a crowd of people.
Taehyung pushed past TXT with little to no problems. He simply murmured an apology and an ‘excuse me’ as he passed through.
A ring of people had circled where you were supposed to be as Taehyung pushed past people in his goal to reach you. It felt as though his body was walking through quicksand at how he had to forcibly get his body past the crowd.
He can feel his suit get wrinkled and his shoes get stepped on. His hair must be ruffled by now and perhaps one of his prop rings had already slipped past a finger, but it didn’t matter. As long as the silver band he had as your promise was fine and he gets to you in the least amount of time then anything else could be replaceable.
With one more push he finally got to the middle of the crowd. The air felt less dense, though Taehyung couldn’t get a proper breath in until he could see that you were okay.
It didn’t take long for your eyes to meet each other though. Your wide blown out eyes reach peace as your eyes meet his, and he would be lying if your eyes didn’t give him just a small bit of ease running through his body.
He immediately took a step towards you as a few gasps were heard followed by a louder bang rang and silenced his surroundings. A disorienting buzz ran through his ears as he turned towards the woman to see her get tackled to the floor by multiple security guards and a gun slipping past her grip.
The bang wasn’t another barrier falling…
She shot a bullet
And he didn’t know where it landed.
Taehyung reached for you to engulf with his body and shield you from the direction the woman was. You immediately collapsed into his grip as you brought your hands to cover your face and bury yourself in Taehyung’s suit.
“Baby, are you okay? Are you hurt? D—did you…” Taehyung couldn’t finish what he wanted to ask you as he opted to skim your body for any obvious injuries.
He wasn't going to admit it but he was looking for a bullet wound under the fabric of your dress, though all he saw was the ruffled satin material as you cried onto his chest. His grip on you tightened as he turned his head back to see proper police men restrain the woman in handcuffs.
“You’re okay now. You’re fine. You’re safe, baby. She’s gone.” Taehyung repeats his words over your hair. A kiss landing on your messy hair. His whispers of comfort placed ease into both your bodies, though you could still hear his heart pumping heavily.
“Tae…” You were breathless as tears uncontrollably dripped down your cheeks. You were just thankful that Taehyung was blocking you from the media. Now that the woman was gone, the media was bound to get an aftermath photo of you so you were just glad they couldn’t see you in the middle of a breakdown.
“Yes baby? Are you hurt? Do you need an ambulance?” Taehyung asked as he rubbed a hand on the top of your hair to soothe down some loose strands, though the action was more to comfort you than fix up your appearance. He was well aware of the cameras and whispers around you.
“Are— are you hurt? The g-gun…” Your voice shakes as you wipe your tears and look up at him.
The sounds of cameras flashing, managers and staff speaking loudly, and police, was the loud buzzing of your ear. It started right as you were tackled to the ground with a twist of your ankle and your head hitting the not so soft red carpet. It still heavily buzzes in your ear over any other noise, excluding Taehyung’s calming voice which you can hear just as clear as the vibrations of your heart pumping.
“No. No, I’m not hurt, baby. Please answer me now. Are you okay?” Taehyung repeats himself whilst placing emphasis on the word ‘you’. He brings a gentle hand to wipe tears sliding down your cheek as you take in the condition of your body.
“My— my ankle… I think I twisted it when I fell, but I think I’m fine.” You say as the adrenaline wears off and an uncomfortable sting comes to your left ankle. You still stood on your heels effortlessly, though a growing tingle had started to spread from where the heel’s strap held onto your ankle.
“Okay. Thank you for answering.” Taehyung kisses your lips swiftly before he raises a hand to call for attention, and looks towards the direction of the venue. Paramedics and staff that were on standby were already walking down the carpet as your eyes even catch Jimin’s worried eyes skimming over both you and Taehyung. The medics were by your side in no time as the crowd around you disperse.
“She said that she might’ve twisted her ankle.” Taehyung says to the paramedics who nodded, though they didn’t signal him to let go just yet.
“Let’s go to the back to check for further injuries. The media is out of control.” A manager suggested to the paramedics who agreed.
“Can you walk?” Taehyung asks as you merely nodded before you were led to a private space behind the wall of the red carpet. Taehyung continued to support you as you took heavy steps in your heels.
The small space behind the backdrop wasn’t too spacious though it was enough to shield you as the paramedics opened a kit and let you sit down on a small plastic stool. Taehyung stood right beside you. Your fingers intertwine as your fingers meet the cold material of his promise ring, and that’s when it hits you.
“Sh-shit.” Your once dried cheeks had now turned wet again as you looked down to your hand and found all your fingers were bare from any jewelry.
“Shh… You’re fine, baby. You’re getting treated.” Taehyung rubs your head to help soothe you though your sobs start to grow as the paramedics ask you what’s wrong, though you only shook your head to dismiss them.
“Tae… I lost the— the ring. It— It must have fell when I—“
“It’s fine, baby. I can buy you a new one.” Taehyung reassures you, though you were inconsolable.
“Please, say something if this hurts Miss.” The medic speaks as she caresses the skin of your ankle. A yelp leaving your lips as the medics nodded and continued to assess your shin.
From the way your chest heaved with each sob and the way tears fell from your eyes, the medics couldn’t assess you properly though they made the best of the situation and made the decision to take you to the hospital.
“Taehyung, you need to get into the venue. The event is going to be delayed, but groups need to be inside the venue for security checks and safety.” His manager speaks as his head pops from the other side of the backdrop. A wheelchair strolling behind him as the medics explain to you that they were taking you to the hospital.
“What? I can’t leave her right now. Did you see what happened?!” Taehyung didn’t mean to raise his voice, though he couldn’t leave you right now. Perhaps you were physically okay, but that must have been mentally shocking and he wants to be there just to comfort you even if it doesn’t make a big difference.
“Yes, I did see. Everyone saw. And we don't know if there’s another sasaeng out there, so we need you to get in the venue now.” The manager said sternly, though Taehyung continued to ignore the orders.
He instead opted to help guide you to sit comfortably on the wheelchair. His finger grazing over red scratch marks on the skin of your forearm. He hadn’t seen those earlier, though he doubts the paramedics had missed it.
When they exited from behind the backdrop they were met with security guards escorting them to the road where the ambulance was parked. Taehyung walked alongside the wheelchair as the paramedic wheeled you to the ambulance. His manager followed a few paces behind.
You writhed with shame as you thought about all the news that could be written on this night alone and you hadn’t even entered the venue yet. You weren’t sure you could.
Taehyung was held back by his manager before he could enter the ambulance with you. His gaze in question and slight irritation as he was met by the face of their manager once more, though this time his members were walking out the venue in search of him.
“Kim Taehyung don’t go. For her sake. You can see her after, but right now we need you inside for the media's sake.” Their manager says more desperate now as he turns to meet your eyes that were inside the ambulance.
He was all too aware of the eyes watching both of you and he could tell that you were too. You gave him a slight nod as a sign that you’d be fine as he nodded more to himself and took a step back to be with his manager. For your sake, he wasn’t going to be with you right now. Not when the media would be having a frenzy already. For you, your company, and your reputation.
“Come on, get inside.” The manager nudged Taehyung to follow behind him as he kept his gaze down on the floor when a few cameras took pictures of him walking to the entrance.
A shiny piece of jewelry caught his attention as he bent down and found the promise ring he had given you last year. A promise ring that had caused you more tears than he wanted you to have.
“Come on, V.” Jimin says as he reaches out for Taehyung to accompany him in walking to the venue behind the rest of the members that flashed him pitiful looks.
“You did the right thing. She needed you, and you’ll see each other after this.” Jimin reassured, as Taehyung’s eyes began to sting from behind, though he tried to stop the emotions from showing in his eyes.
“They said it was a sasaeng?” Taehyung asked as the security guards opened the door for them and they entered the dark and cold doors of the big venue that the 21st Mnet Asian Music Awards would take place in.
“Apparently. I tried my best to eavesdrop and they said that the motive might’ve been because of your relationship. She was ARMY.” Jimin summarized everything he had heard as they both stopped in a dim hallway to wait for staff to open a door that led to the artist area.
“I still don’t get how she managed to walk past security, staff, and camera directors. How did she even have a gun?!” Taehyung was exasperated as the two ‘95 liners leaned against the padded walls. Taehyung leaned his head on Jimin’s shoulder as Jungkook came up to squeeze his shoulder.
“Is she okay? We heard guns were involved.” Jungkook asked as it was obvious that the rest of his bandmates were listening from behind the maknae.
“Yeah. She’s shaken up. Maybe even have a twisted ankle and a few scratches.” Taehyung says as his eyes zone out on the pattern of the carpet and his fingers play on the ring he held on his finger.
“Are you okay?” Namjoon shows himself from behind Jungkook as Taehyung simply nods.
The night had gone by like a blur. It was obvious to everyone watching that he was not as present as he should have been, though nobody blames him. The views of the event had skyrocketed after news broke out that an artist was attacked and yet the event continued on. Hashtags about the event and incident even went viral prior to the awards finishing because clips of Taehyung running towards you and escorting you to the ambulance had gone viral. It practically happened in front of everybody so it was bound to get posted, and technically no blood or gore had been shown so the content wasn’t blocked as quickly as both your companies and the event organizers wanted them to be.
Taehyung walks through the hospital hallways with paper bags of your favorite takeout food, your favorite drink, some spare clothes of his that you could change to in case your personal assistant didn’t bring good comfy clothes, and a small cake of your favorite flavor. He had made do with how late it was and how your favorite bakery was already closed.
It felt like deja vu once again. However, this time he wasn’t riding the elevator to your apartment but rather riding it to your hospital room.
Your absence from the event was so painstakingly obvious for him and everyone. He was jittery all night, and your group seemed so small when they occupied the stage for their performance. It was obvious that they had done last minute blocking, and the bactrack had been used for your solo parts. They seemed so small when they walked down the artist area and got to the stage to receive the Best Female Group award and the Best Female Group Dance Performance award. Your group wasn’t small in the sense that they had little members, though it felt like something was missing. Your big bubbly smile and your funny yet carefully worded speech was missing, and Taehyung could speak for everyone that your presence was greatly missed.
He had received a text from you as soon as the event ended and when he got his phone back. Your text contained your congratulations for him and his wins and performances. Jimin even showed Taehyung a message you sent that congratulated Jimin and the rest of BTS. It was certainly a good year for them, and you had grown closer towards your boyfriend’s close friend despite only interacting a few times.
You told him that he should probably visit later into the evening since your group would be visiting you after the event, though Taehyung didn’t listen and still went as fast as he could when ordering food.
He arrived at your hospital room at almost two in the morning and from what he could hear, your bandmates were still in your hospital room talking to you.
He knocked on the door and heard the girls quiet down as one of the members opened the door to see Taehyung standing in the middle of the hallway with his PA behind him holding the bag of clothes and box of cake.
“Hey, sorry to intrude on your celebrations but can I come see my girlfriend?” Taehyung says as a smile couldn’t help but creep up his face as his heart swells with pride with how he openly says that you were his girlfriend.
“Yah Y/Nah, your boyfriend is here.” The member smiled brightly as she opened the door wider to show you laying in the hospital bed with wide eyes from Taehyung’s early arrival. Your other bandmates had visibly smiled brighter when Taehyung entered the room.
“Good evening.” Taehyung greets as he places all of the paper bags on a nearby table and bows deeply to your bandmates.
“Congratulations on your wins and performance!”
All of your bandmates greet the same words as they bow just as deep to their sunbaenim.
“You should have told us Kim Taehyung sunbaenim was coming. We should’ve ordered more food for him—“ You leader speaks as you stay silent yet a small smiles lingers on your lips when Taehyung doesn’t let his eyes leave you.
“It’s okay. I brought some takeout to eat, and a cake to celebrate your wins.” Taehyung opens the small cake he had brought as his PA takes his leave and walks out the door.
“Oh V sunbaenim, thank you! We already had some cake, but I’m sure Y/N would love that. She barely ate anything tonight.” One of your members discloses as you send her a warning gaze as her face contorts into a look of apology.
Taehyung’s brown doe eyes met yours once more and this time it held the same worry it had earlier in the evening. You hated that. You hated seeing him worried over you, though at the same time it made you feel so cared for.
“We should probably get going. We need some rest and we can celebrate properly when you’re feeling better Y/N.” Your group’s leader says as they all excused themselves after they bid you well and congratulated Taehyung once more.
You were left in the silence of your hospital room with Taehyung at last. It felt like a decade just to get some time alone ever since the incident, and it felt like a reward to finally be alone together after the stressful night.
“Why aren’t you eating?” Taehyung asks as he comes towards the side of the bed to give you a kiss on your cheek.
“Not in the mood for it.” You say honestly because you really didn’t feel hungry, though Taehyung’s brow raised to doubt your answer.
“Come on, don’t let me eat all of this alone.” He says as your favorite food reaches your nose. The aroma turns the wheel of your appetite as Taehyung moves the table closer to the side of your bed.
“Seriously, Tae…”
“Please baby? Let me food you a few spoonfuls at least? It would help me feel better.” Taehyung asks as you nod willingly.
He opens up a container and grabs a wooden spoon to fill with the right amount of everything before guiding the spoon to your open mouth. The warmth of the food immediately landing in your stomach as a satisfied hum left you. Taehyung smiled at that and took his own bite with a smile.
“How’s your ankle?” He asks.
“It’s twisted, but it should heal well. I’ll be walking around with a brace, but it's not like we have a comeback coming.” You say as you move your leg from under the white blanket and show him the brace that keeps your ankle straight.
“I don’t know how long I’ll be here though. They said that I’m showing symptoms of an acute concussion, so it would be better to keep me under observation. That’s why I’m not really eating food right now. I don’t want to throw it up in case this does happen to be a concussion. ” You shrug as you eye the movie that showed on the TV.
Taehyung took your left hand in his and raised it to meet his lips. His breath grazing over your ring finger as you feel him slide a familiar metal back to its place.
“What— Woah! You found it!” You smile as you check the ring to truly see if it was the same ring he had given you a year ago. The same small dent that you had accidentally struck against the wall had grazed the design and you knew for a fact that it was the same ring you had worn as a promise.
“It’s kinda hard to miss. No wonder everyone saw it when we wore it.” Taehyung chuckles as he kisses your hand again before you pull him closer to you to kiss on the lips.
His usually soft lips still had some remnants of lipstick from the makeup of their performance. However, the surface wasn’t the soft flesh you’ve come to be familiar with. It was bitten and cracked in some places. Some skin was freshly peeled and others were dry and waiting for the time to be peeled. It was a sign that he had bitten them off prematurely as a coping mechanism from anxiety.
“I’m sorry, baby. I— I heard the fan was a sasaeng and I didn’t even try that hard to join you in the ambulance, but I— I didn’t want the media following and— and our companies… It’s not an excuse—“
“Tae, it’s not your fault.” You state sternly with your expression straight. You didn’t know where this reaction was coming from, but you had to shut down all those thoughts.
“She was a sasaeng— an ARMY…” Taehyung was teary eyed as he sat on the side of the bed with his hands wrapped around your waist as your arms rested on his shoulders.
“You can’t control them and you can’t control what our agencies tell us to do. Just like how they told us to keep some distance when we told them about our relationship. We can break what they say sometimes, but eventually we know we have to follow them. Like how we still kept on seeing each other and how you still had to join the event.” You explained as he nodded.
He was tongue tied or perhaps he didn’t have anything more to say. He just wanted to hold you and tell himself he did everything he could to prevent what happened and that at the end of the day you are fine with injuries that could be fixed. He wanted to kiss you and feel your skin against his. He wanted to breathe in your scent and feel your chest move with every inhale and exhale.
So he did just that. He laid beside you and brought your body down with him to embrace. Your skin against his as you both settle in a comfortable position.
“What if we weren’t idols?”
“Don’t say that Tae. We met because we were idols. We met because we wanted to study being idols and you saw me because you are a damn good idol.” You say as Taehyung laughs and kisses your cheeks.
“I know, but like what if we went away for a while. Just the two of us and some place we don’t know.” Taehyung proposes as you tilt your head to think over the idea as you signal him to continue his brewing thought.
“Just for a few days or a week. We deserve it after a long year. Besides, it’s my birthday soon.” Taehyung smiles brighter when he mentions his birthday as if you hadn’t been saving up for his birthday gift already.
“That does sound nice…”
“So it’s settled! New Year’s and my birthday in some place we don’t know! I’ll start planning it tomorrow.” Taehyung smiles as you laugh with him, but really he was planning on replacing your dented ring with a new one.
“Also I brought some clothes. I was wondering if I could sleep here tonight.” Taehyung asks as you smile and land a kiss on his lips.
“I was waiting for you to say that. My parents are visiting early in the morning though, so you better be up by then.” You both chuckle as he kisses you once more.
“Are you comfy in your clothes? I have your favorite sweater in the bag, and a coat in case you ever feel like having ice cream again.”
You chuckle as you slightly nudge his shoulder. This man truly was something else.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY V!
And
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
#bts#bangtan#bts fanfic#kim taehyung#bts x reader#bts angst#bts fluff#bts oneshot#kim taehyung x reader#kim taehyung birthday!!!!#birthday boy!!!!#kpop#bts v#bts v oneshot
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hi bestie 😚 can we get an lil update on Kai plsssss, like what my man been up to 💕
omg hiiii i’m so happy to see you pop in i hope you’ve been well ;-; as requested here’s your favorite guy’s update ✨
uhhh i got a lil long winded here, so i stopped myself before i went too overboard!
he’s now working at an elementary school as a part time music teacher! he’s even writing and producing their school musical! crazy, right? over the last year, kai realized there’s so much more he can do with his love of music. (band life has flopped, basically) after becoming a father, he began to notice how much he actually enjoys being around children, and teaching them something he loves has brought a lot of happiness in his life. (is this the same guy who said he never wanted to be a dad and literally rejected it at all costs?) anyway, the other half of the time he still takes on solo gigs in bars, and runs his soundcloud, lmao.
speaking of kai and fatherhood! he’s fallen in love with being arielle’s dad. he can’t imagine life without her. he’s a complete and total softie for his daughter. whatever she wants or needs, he will give. that being said though, he doesn’t want anymore children, mostly because he’s convinced that arielle is the most perfect human to exist so how could he duplicate that twice?
marriage troubles??? while kai and ashton are very much in love, there have been a few rifts in their relationship. (it can’t be all rainbows and butterflies, sadly. especially if kai is involved.. oh did i say that out loud?) as we know, kai has made amazing progress with his self discovery journey but that doesn’t mean he’s all good all the time. kai has a tendency to get bored, he craves change and chaos. without it he almost feels.. empty? he often self sabotages, and while he’s suppressed those feelings recently, it’s coming to a point. which has led kai and ashton to couple’s counseling. kai has been a little…. flirtatious and carless to say the least. kai and boundaries? yeah that’s something he likes to test. constantly! in his darkest moments, he often questions if he’s capable of long term commitment. and it scares him, because he loves ashton and doesn’t want to ruin it. :/ but don’t worry, they’re dedicated to figuring it out. ashton won’t give up on his boy so easily.. as he's said many times.
kai and elia! they are good friends. they text and facetime now and then, even send each other snapshots of their life. kai has a bit of an attachment to elia, he can’t seem to fully let her go. he wants her in his life in whatever form he can get. (and elia feels the same) they communicate and understand each other as friends much better than they ever did as lovers. buuut there is tension when makoa is brought up, for obvious reasons. he wants her to be happy, but still isn’t convinced it’ll be with him. like, we know he's makoa's number 1 hater through and through. that hasn't changed.
kai and jasmin are closer than ever. jasmin is probably kai’s best friend. there was a time he was cruel to his sister (and the entire world around him) but as they’ve aged they have realized they’re all each other has since they don’t speak to their parents. sadly since jasmin still lives in sulani, they don’t see each other as much as they like but that leads me to my next point!
kai and ashton want to get a summer home in sulani. 🤭 y’know, get away from the city, enjoy the beach.. be near jasmin! oh, and it just so happens his dear friend lives there.. and he wants to see her more often too. (makoa just popped a blood vessel) but anyway, that opens up sooo many possibilities for reconciling, right? beach days with the fam, arielle and elia's twins growing up together.. how could makoa and kai still hate each other after all that future bonding time? (jk they'll find a way)
all in all, kai is doing his best. he's still got some deep rooted issues to work through, and maybe some of it will never go away....... but he IS happy. most the time, anyway.
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Covered in You | b.b.
Bucky Barnes x fem!superpowered!reader
“My house of stone, your ivy grows. And now I'm covered in you."
Word Count: 3.0k
Warnings: none
Author’s Note: Listen. Idk.
Read on AO3 | Talk to Me! | Masterlist
“Bucky!”
He froze in the produce section of the grocery store, frowning when he heard his name. It was a normal reaction for him; paranoid to be addressed or attacked in public. But he was relieved, though did not relax at all, when she started running through the aisle to reach him.
“Bucky! It’s me!” She exclaimed as she got closer, throwing her arms around him.
He didn’t return the gesture, put off by the sudden physical contact. Bucky pushed himself away, giving an uncomfortable smile as he did. It was better this way; not giving anyone any reason to get attached. Though she didn’t seem thrown off by his rejection of her hug.
“How have you been? Are you okay?” She asked, looking him over.
The last time they’d seen each other was when Steve…well, when he left. Though Bucky wasn’t sure why she cared that much. The two weren’t friends; she was closer with Wanda and Steve than she was with him. The only interactions they had were in Germany, and very briefly in Wakanda. Though based on how she smiled at him, she didn’t care about that.
“I’m fine,” he replied, tone short and to the point. “You?”
He hated small talk.
“Oh I’m good. I got my job back at the library. Kinda weird being a superhero and needing a day job but it’s okay. I’m okay.” Bucky noted she certainly didn’t sound okay, but that wasn’t really his problem. “Have you heard from Wanda? I can’t get a hold of her, and I’ve been trying to. I’m just worried and I was just thinking about you the other day too so it’s funny —“
“I can’t really talk right now.”
“Oh.” She stared at him for a moment, looking around them as she realized he was uncomfortable. Then she turned red in the face, nodding some. “I’m sorry, Bucky. I didn’t mean to bombard you. Maybe we can meet for drinks some time.”
“No, thank you,” he responded politely, looking down then back up —anywhere but her. “I appreciate the offer, but I think it’s best if I stick to myself.”
He moved to step around her, gripping the hand of his basket tighter. While he did appreciate the offer —it was hard not to when she was so excited to see him —Bucky had little desire to be social or make friends. It just wasn’t something that seemed to be in the cards for him. Besides, he had a laundry list of things to make up for, and that left little time for friends.
“Sam says you don’t return his calls.”
Bucky stopped mid step, frowning deeply as he glanced over his shoulder at her. She was holding her basket in front of her, brow furrowed. “I never called, I figured you didn’t really know me so that’d be weird.”
“Weirder than yelling at me from across a grocery store?” He cracked a small grin, unable to help himself. Though it disappeared as she kept speaking.
“Listen, I know you think you should be alone because of the whole Winter Soldier thing —but you don’t have to be. Just…I don’t know, answer Sam’s calls. Or be ready for me to call you every day.”
She gave him a promising smile —a guarantee that she was going to call him regardless —and turned on her heel to leave. Bucky stared at her as she walked away, brow furrowed as he processed what had just happened. In the short time he had known her —probably a total of four months if you put it all together —he never really spoke to her. When he did, it was short and to the point, usually serious or “it’s the end of the world” conversations.
This was probably the most normal conversation he’d ever had with her. Which was a bit depressing to think about, but refreshing to know that she was normal before all of this —that she could go back to whatever she was before everything.
Bucky couldn’t remember the last time he felt normal.
*****
As promised, she called the next day.
And the day after that.
And the next day too.
She called everyday, as promised, for about a week. And every day, Bucky sent her straight to voicemail. He had to give her credit —she was a woman of her word. She called every day, at different times. As if he would answer if she called at 1:45 instead of 12:30. And her voicemails never sounded like she was annoyed when he didn’t pick up, even after the seventh message left.
“Hey, Bucky! I know I’ve invited you out every day this week, and I know you don’t want to but that’s okay!” Her voice was cheery; excited for whatever she was about to propose. “Tomorrow is the opening of the community garden at the library. This is less going out and socializing and more supporting the neighborhood so maybe that would be better for you. If you want to lurk in the background of photos, you have to call me back for the time!”
He was almost offended by the lurking comment, however she was technically right. Even if he did go, that’s all he would do: lurk. Avoid attention. But she hit him with a significantly more annoying dilemma: he kind of wanted to go to the library to see the garden. He walked by it every so often, and he liked seeing how much progress was being made to set it up. Bucky just hadn’t realized she was the one doing it. Though, he supposed it made sense given her powers.
Huffing in frustration, Bucky ran a gloved hand over his face. Then he hit the call button; it rang once.
“I knew the garden would be the better choice!”
“I can just look up the time online,” he reminded her, rolling his eyes.
“I didn’t know you could use a computer,” she teased, and Bucky could picture the grin on her face. “It starts at noon, but I’ll be there all morning if you want to come by before everyone else is there. You know, avoid the absolutely massive crowd that will come to a public library garden.”
He couldn’t help himself as he chuckled, scratching at his chin lightly. “Is this an actual event or is this just something you’re doing on your own?”
“We’re a bit short staffed so there wasn’t a lot of time to advertise,” she explained, and for the first time that week, she sounded a bit defeated. “So the only people who will probably be there are the gardeners, me, and you.”
He didn’t like how dejected she sounded, honestly. “You’re making me feel like I have to come now.”
“I mean you don’t have to —but I’d really like it if you did.”
Bucky hesitated before sighing. “Okay, yeah. I’ll be there for a little while.”
She let out an excited sound, and Bucky could hear her clapping her hands together through the phone. “Yes! Awesome! You won’t regret it, Bucky, I promise. You’re going to have so much fun, it’ll be so nice. I can order lunch to be delivered —“
“Let’s just…let’s just play it by ear, okay?”
“Oh, right. Yeah. I’ll see you tomorrow, Bucky!”
He stared at his phone, taking a breath. Maybe this was a bad idea.
*****
The last time he had come to the library, it had been in 1941. Steve had signed them up for an art class, and convinced Bucky it would be a good place to meet people. Steve had been right; Bucky left with a list of dates set up.
But this was different.
Obviously it was different. It wasn’t the forties, it wasn’t the middle of a world war. He wasn’t just some guy, flirting with pretty people. He was a former assassin, with a metal arm and more trauma than any one person should carry. But then, he was going to a community event hosted by someone who’s fought alongside him before. Whose life is just as strange as his —maybe a little less, but still weird.
It was a little after eleven when Bucky stopped at the steps of the library. A sign on the door —written in a very pretty cursive and covered in flowers and vines —said to walk through to the back doors and “watch for resident bees.” There was a little bee and hive drawn beside it. Something told Bucky she was the one who drew it.
Following instructions, he slipped into the library quietly. There weren’t many people there for a Saturday; a few kids with their parents. Some older people —younger than him, technically —and a handful of people using the computers. An older gentleman glanced up from the shelf he was at, standing up a bit straighter when he saw Bucky. He nodded once as the man saluted —and that’s when Bucky noticed the man was in the World War II section.
He quickly beelined for the back door without a word. No one should be saluting him.
As he pushed the door open and slid outside, he heard people chatting idly. He waited to the side, peering into the garden from the walkway outside the library. Sitting in the dirt was her, with her hair thrown up out of her face and dirt covering her shorts and hands. A bright smile was on her face though as she spoke to two older women, who had gardening tools and far less dirt on them.
“It’s amazing, you know,” one lady commented, voice soft. “When you said you were going to start a community garden —well, I thought you meant you were going to grow it all yourself.”
“I considered it,” she admitted, running her hands over her thighs. “But what’s a community garden if the community isn’t involved? I just…kept it alive.”
“And we appreciate that so much,” the other woman assured, setting her tools down. “It reminds me of the garden we set up when I was a little girl, during the war.”
Bucky swallowed hard, frowning deeply as she stood up. His hands gripped of the railing of the sidewalk, trying to calm his nerves. He wondered if she would mention him coming to see the garden; he hoped she wouldn’t.
“Well, the good thing about this garden is that it’s not necessary to survive. It’s just nice to have.”
He let out a sigh of relief, though his grip on the rail did not loosen. Without realizing it, unfortunately, it crunched between his fingers with an awful sound. All three women looked up at the sound, with the older two looking horrified and her smiling brightly at him.
“Bucky, you actually came!” She exclaimed, dusting the dirt off her hands one more time before running up the stairs to greet him. She paused, looking at the railing with a reassuring smile. “We needed to replace that anyway. Thanks for making it a little cheaper to do.”
He opened his mouth to apologize but snapped it shut, giving her a small smile and a nod. “Uh, yeah, of course.”
Glancing down, Bucky felt the back of his neck heat up from embarrassment. What happened to the overly confident, charming guy he used to be? Why couldn’t he play it cool suddenly?
“Are you barefoot?” He asked suddenly, changing the subject.
She looked at her feet, wiggling her toes some. “Oh, yeah. I always garden barefoot. The more in touch with the earth I am, the better I work. Wanna see?”
She held her hand out to him, bright smile never fading even as he hesitated. When he didn’t take it, she reached for his wrist and pulled him along anyway. Bucky didn’t resist her as she pulled him into the garden.
“Ladies, this is Sergeant James Barnes,” she introduced, dropping his wrist. Though she kept close, as if shielding him from their stares.
Both ladies quietly introduced themselves, though they didn’t seem surprised by him anymore. Actually, they seemed impressed as they looked between the two with little grins.
“Just Bucky,” he quickly corrected. “It’s nice to meet you both.”
“Oh the pleasure is all ours, sweetheart,” Delilah, the one with the ration garden, commented. “We’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Not from me,” she quickly assured him, looking up at him. “I mean a little bit from me, but they’re the ones who have told me about you and the Howling Commandos and —“
“Hey, it’s okay,” he interrupted, smiling tensely down at her.
“Yeah, it’s okay,” Clara, the other woman, teased. “He knows he’s famous.”
Bucky shifted uncomfortably, looking around the garden for a moment. Famous was a strange way to describe him. Maybe infamous —he did more harm than good as far as he was concerned. But neither Delilah nor Clara seemed to care about what he did after the war.
“Clara, I just remembered —we need to go trim the leaves on the tomatoes.” Delilah elbowed her friend, grinning over at her.
“Oh, right. We do! We’ll see you in a little while, kids.”
Both ladies waved and hurried off to a corner of the garden that was a bit more obscured. Bucky watched them for a moment before turning back to her as she let out a sheepish laugh. He raised a brow as she ran a hand over her hair.
“Those two are so gossipy,” she laughed, shaking her head. “Sorry about that. Delilah is basically my grandma. She, like, unofficially adopted me when I first started working here.”
“That’s nice,” and he meant that. It was nice. Though he didn’t know what else to say. “You were going to show me something?”
“Oh! Right!”
She turned around a few times, looking around for an empty space. Then she motioned for him to follow her to an empty plot, where she dropped to her knees in the dirt. Bucky stood above her, hands moving to settle in his jacket pockets as she scooped up a handful of soil.
“Tony used to call me an earth bender —like from the tv show, but I don’t think that’s super accurate because earth benders just control materials from the earth, not make them grow,” she explained, pushing the dirt back into the ground. “Dr. Banner calls it arborkinesis. Which sounds cool, I guess but a little too supervillain-esque for me. I just tell people I have a green thumb…Come closer, will you?”
Bucky hesitated; he hadn’t seen her abilities up close before. He’d seen it in action —in Germany, in Wakanda, and at the compound against Thanos. But never nearby. It was always just something he witnessed in passing; too busy to properly stand and watch her work. But she was genuinely happy to show him, and he’d left his comfort zone already today so he kneeled beside her.
His attention was focused on her hands as she reached for his. Bucky almost pulled away, but stopped and allowed her to bring his hands together in front of her. Then, she scooped the soil back up and put it in his hands. Brow furrowing, he watched in confusion as she covered his hands with her own. And he almost pulled back again as he felt the dirt moving and something pushing between his fingers –but she held him in place with a reassuring smile.
As she pulled away, ivy began sprouting up from the dirt and slowly creeped its way up his arm like a snake. Bucky watched it grow, covering his sleeve with vines and emerald green leaves. The vine wrapped around his arm and stopped just below his shoulder before flowers popped open in bright pink hues. He couldn’t help the smile that spread over his face as he looked over his arm, admiring the flowers that contrasted with the dark colors of his jacket.
She pushed up off the ground, extending her hand to him with that same bright smile that hadn’t faded. With the hand that wasn’t covered in vines, he took hers and stood, allowing her to guide him to a trellis that leaned against the fence. She took his ivy covered hand and lifted it, resting it against the stand there. Her free hand lifted, and the vines that wrapped around his arm uncurled and moved to a better home on the trellis. When all the ivy found its new home, Bucky dropped his hand and admired her handiwork, smiling even more now.
“When people think of superpowers, a lot of them think of superheroes, the Avengers. But…I don’t know, I was never much of a superhero. But I’ve always been a gardener,” she explained, looking over the flowers now. She touched the petals carefully.
“You helped save the universe,” he reminded her, glancing down at her from the corner of his eye. “Maybe give yourself a little credit.”
“I will when you do,” she countered, meeting his eyes with a sly grin.
Bucky’s mouth snapped shut, and he narrowed his eyes at her. He walked right into that, didn’t he? They stood there for a moment, their attention supposedly on the flowers but really, it was on each other. He wanted to thank her –for inviting him, for pestering him until he finally accepted. But as he turned to do so, her name was called from across the garden and she turned, lighting up as a handful of people gathered outside the gate.
“Oh, I guess I should get ready to officially open the garden!”
Bucky nodded, smiling down at her as he stepped out of the garden bed with her. She looked up at him with another smile, resting her hand on his arm gently. “Thank you for coming by today, Bucky. It means a lot to me; I hope you liked it.”
“I did. Really.”
He decided he’d thank her later –over a drink and some food. It was the least he could do.
———
Part Two
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Recovery Time: Chapter 3
Joel Miller x Fem!Reader
No use of y/n
Rating: Mature
Word Count: 4938
Summary: He says his name is Joel. You want to make him feel safe, so you share more of your home with him
Warnings: Eh, not really any in this one.
Series Masterlist
Previous - Next
AO3
_______________
Chapter 3: The Grand Tour
It’s been 3 days and you think he’s said maybe a total of 10 words to you— most of which were a quick thank you whenever it’s mealtime or a bandage change. At least he had manners. You don’t want to press or hover over him so you just let it be. He needs to recover anyway. Without anything to seemingly leave for anymore, he’s finally settled into the situation.
This morning was the first time he’d hobbled around anywhere other than to the bathroom across the hall. You’d been sleeping on the couch and woke up to him looking over the bookshelf next to you. Gus, of course, still sat at your side watching his every movement.
He grabs the collection of Henry David Thoreau works and turns to face you, arms heavy over his crutches, “Alright if I sit on the porch?”
You nod. He places the book in his teeth and awkwardly shuffles through the front door.
“Think he’ll run?” you ask Gus. He raises his eyebrows and huffs through his nose. The tell-tell sign he’s deeply annoyed. You can’t blame him, “Oh, you always say that.”
You fry up some eggs over the wood stove and debate bringing your breakfast out to eat with him but ultimately decide against it. You hadn’t eaten a meal together yet. Hell, you’d barely had a conversation.
Space. Give the poor guy some space.
He’s taken a seat on the bench swing, propping his bad leg up next to him. He seems startled when you bring out the plate of eggs and a cup of coffee.
“That coffee?” he asks, almost in amazement.
“The freshest around,” You place his breakfast on the side table next to him along with a few Tylenol. It was unfortunately the best you had to manage the pain, “I’m gonna… be working around the property. Holler if you need anything.”
“I—” he looks down at the plate like he’s wondering if today’s going to be the day you poison him. “Thank you, I will.” He nods and returns to his book.
You take a few steps off the porch when you hear him speak again.
“Joel.”
You pause and turn back to face him, “What?”
“Joel Miller.”
Did he just…oh.
You smile, “Nice to meet you, Joel Miller.”
_______
He’s southern, you can tell at least that much from his accent. The drawl on certain words. He’s called you ma’am a few times and that felt weird given the obvious age difference. He’s in his late forties if you’d have to guess from the gray in his hair and set lines on his face. You could always just ask him all this, of course, but instead your canning okra across the yard in the produce shed. He doesn’t strike you as someone who would be receptive to a round of 20 questions anyway.
Still, you can’t stop your mind from wandering to him. You hadn’t had anything new to think about in a while.
He’s from the QZ. Anyone who leaves the quarantine zones is killed… at least if they're caught. He came all the way out here for a trade deal, that’s what he claims anyway. If he was trying to get back inside he probably wasn’t Fedra. Good. A Firefly— maybe. Or just a smuggler.
For all you knew there weren’t Fireflies or Fedra anymore. All the info you had on them was at least 5 years old, and you only ever got it from passers-by. The Firefly resistants just blossomed in the last year or two when you were still out in the world. You’d traded with them a few times. They came to your settlement seeking medical aid. Just people unhappy with the status quo, that’s what they said anyway.
You hadn’t been to the city since the outbreak, and that was just fine with you.
You liked it out here. You belonged out here. Whatever small community your little settlement found all those years ago seemed leagues better than whatever was in the QZ. It seemed so long ago— everything you lost. What they took from you.
“Jesus Christ!” you hear a now familiar gruff voice exclaim from across the yard, followed by a bark from Gus. You run out of the shed and around to the front of the house. You round the porch to see a familiar orange and white cat rubbing up on Joel’s leg. You sigh, a little annoyed you rushed over here so fast for this.
“That’s Lilly,” You tell him, “She comes and goes as she pleases.”
“Damn thing snuck up on me,” He scratches his fingers along the cat’s back. Gus responds to the interaction with a growl. “I didn’t do anything,” Joel rolls his eyes at the dog.
Boys. They always fight, no matter what species.
“Gus, let’s be nice to our guest,” You reprimand him, coming to kneel in front of Joel. Lilly strolls over to you. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine,” He says curtly, almost annoyed, “Look… is there anything I can help with? Around the place, I mean.”
Oh, you weren’t expecting that.
“I don’t think you’re capable of too much.”
“I can hold my own,” He says in the same irritated tone.
“Ya know, most people these days would be happy to have a few days off.” You pick up the cat and sit back cross-legged. “Or at least let their bodies heal.”
“Not me.”
“Clearly.”
This wasn’t about healing. He didn’t want to sit around, you could tell. A man who’s always on the move, just like everyone else in the world. You sit too long and the anxiety sets in. The gravity of it all comes crashing down under the weight of your own thoughts— and he’d been alone in that bedroom for days now. If you’re moving, using your hands… you’re not thinking.
You really get it.
There isn’t any work you think he should be doing, but maybe instead of berating this already traumatized man, you could share a little something of yourself with him. Make him feel comfortable. Make him feel safe.
You sigh, setting the cat aside, “Tell you what, how about a tour? Get to know you’re unwilling prison and explore a little bit. If you're feeling up to it, of course. Get that blood pumping… whatever you have left of it anyway.”
“Ha.” He says flatly, expression not moving an inch.
“So is that a yes I’d love to, or…?”
He pauses, probably physically willing his eyes not to roll.
“Okay,” He grabs his crutches.
You hop off the porch, trailed by a hobbling broad man, an overly friendly cat, and an anxious border collie. Where do you start? You hadn’t shown anyone the property in… ever. It was always a secret. Art liked it that way. That’s what made it so safe. It was so different now from what he’d built— so you start with something you built.
“The gardens,” you enter between a row of onions, turning to face him while you walk backward, “Twelve rows of all of your dietary needs and wants with only a 4 to 6-month waiting period on the product.”
You’re putting on the dumbest commercial announcement voice you can manage. You think you see the ghost of a smile tug at his lips… just barely. You count it as a small victory.
“Looks dead.” He comments, probably noticing over half of the rows are bare. Mostly the greens section.
“If you wanted to see it in its full glory you should have gotten beat up at least a month earlier.” You turn, leaving the garden and heading for the first shed.
You think you catch the corner of his mouth tick up, just slightly, before you continue on your way.
_______
There’s chickens scurrying through the whole garden. You greet them all by specific names as he follows behind you. They don’t even move out of the way when he approaches, completely desensitized to human presence. He’s a little annoyed that he has to make the extra effort to avoid them while on crutches. At least he knows where the eggs came from now.
You’re standing in front of a shed on the other end of the garden. The dog behind him might as well be nipping at his heels to get him to move faster. He’s not used to these damn things. God, he already feels a little worn down just limping a few yards away from the house. Pathetic.
He tries to hide catching his breath when he finally makes it to your side at the shed.
“You good?” You ask him.
“Fine.” He brushes you off a little more harshly than he intended to. He looks at the overgrown faded red shed. A rotting plaque hangs above the large doorway. He reads it, “The Buck Shack?”
“Unfortunately, the name came with the place,” You scoff, pushing the barn door out of the way. “This is the more boring of the sheds. Not that sheds can be that exciting but...” you trailed off. He noticed you did that a lot.
He’s only noticed two other structures on the property. If the name and the smell of this one were anything to indicate, this was the game processing shed. Inside there were maybe 2 pheasants and a rabbit hanging on the wall. Tw empty hooks hang from the rafters, likely for hanging a deer. Concrete floor with a drain in the center, the floor long since stained with the blood of past kills.
A small smokehouse sat in the space with a rack lined sparsely with what he guessed was venison. He looks over at the large counter and sees an open drawer of cutting knives and immediately thinks how stupid you are for showing him this. Of course, he wouldn’t do anything to you, but he’s still a stranger at the end of the day. You don’t know anything about him and you’re showing him where all your sharp things are. Either you're threatening him a little or you're just that dumb. He can’t tell.
Rows of antlered skulls lined the perimeter of the inside. Trophies of hunts long past. “The Buck Shack.” He says again.
“Aptly named, though none of them are mine,” You smile and move over to the neighboring shed. This one is blue with no name apparently. The chicken coop rests in between the two.
He’ll admit, he’s a little more impressed with this one. There are full crates of vegetables on one side and shelves of stacked canned ones on the other. There are literal full garbage cans of apples and potatoes sitting in the corner. The things people would do to get their hands on a place like this. No wonder you’ve been doing so well out here.
“And here’s the rest of the garden.” You smile proudly.
Bill would like you, he decides.
“Damn,” is all he says, limping into the space. “You grew all these? No trading?”
“Traded to get some of the original seeds,” you say, pushing a few more full bags of carrots and beets out of the way, “But that was a long time ago.”
He hobbles back outside and notices the rain barrels placed at the corners of each shed and a hose coiled up next to them. So you used rainwater for the plants but what about the house?
He follows you around the overgrown cabin and gets his answer. You had your own damn water reservoir. A massive corrugated steel tank just up the hill from the house. He’d helped install something like it in some ranch fields back when the world was still whole. It held maybe 5,000 gallons if he had to guess. It sat on the hill just high enough for any pipes to get flow from it. That’s how your plumbing worked out here with no power— You had yourself a little water tower. Gravity did the work for you.
“How long did that take to set up?” He asks, gesturing his head towards the holding tank.
You smile, likely a little proud of yourself, “About a year to get it figured out. The tank was already up there when I got here so that made it easy. Getting the pipes though, was rough. But I had more help back then.”
“And filling it?”
“A manual pump another few more yards up the hill. Go up there for about an hour each week.” You kick one of the half-full barrels at the corner of the house. “It’s a workout. Maybe you can do it in a few weeks and see.”
“Maybe.” Joel scoffs. A hand-pumped well. Was there anything here that you didn’t have to do manually? He turns and notices two cellar doors on the edge of the house. “What about down there?” He nods towards them.
“Oh, this is where I keep the bodies,” You answer just a little too quickly, tapping your foot over the rickety wooden doors. He knows it's a joke, a bad one, but he doesn’t laugh. You roll your eyes and swing the doors open, “Come on, I’ll show you.”
You quickly walk down the steps and he slowly follows, taking each step cautiously. He really hates crutches.
Daylight streams in from above just enough to dimly light the little space. It’s dry storage, just like he suspected. Beans, rice, and some dwindling cans of some grocery store items he recognizes. And a few other fun treats of yours that look to be homemade.
“Wine?” He raises a brow, looking at the shelf of deep red bottles lining the far corner.
“Chokecherry wine.” You confirm, “Had some spare time in the summer a few years ago. Found a bush and a recipe in an old cookbook and decided what the hell.”
“Any good?”
“Absolutely terrible, but it’ll get ya drunk,” You turn and gesture to the other mismatched bottles and jugs that fill the space. “We have maple syrup, some vinegar still, salt, whiskey, acorn flour—”
“Why are you showing me all this?” It comes out harsher than he wanted. He feels cornered, suddenly overwhelmed with it all. Is this all really here? Were you? The realization hits him like a freight train— This place was a fantasy. This couldn’t be real.
A look of pain lightly marks your features. He’s immediately regretful, thinking he’s offended you in some way.
“I just wanted you to…” You trail off softly, crossing your arms and looking away. “This isn’t a prison, Joel. It’s not a death camp either. It’s a home. It’s… safe here.”
The second realization washes over him like a soft wave, warm and assuring. You were showing him your home and in doing so, showing him he was safe. That everything was okay. That you could take care of him… easily. You genuinely wanted to put him at ease with it all. His chest tightens at the thought.
“I’m sorry, I just—” He groaned, looking away as well. “You’ve done somethin’ special here, and it’s amazin’ but it’s… just a lot.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to—”
“No,” He cuts you off, “Don’t apologize. I’m grateful, I am, but–” he feels like an absolute ass. He’s been an ass to you, even after everything you’d done. “It’s a lot.”
“It’s okay Joel,” You smile sweetly, somehow forgetting how cold he’s been. He follows you out of the cellar silently like an embarrassed child.
You’re almost wholly self-sustained here. A marvel in every way. Christ, you even had a freaking wine cellar.
Yeah, Bill would really like you.
The thought of it makes Joel realize the one thing he hasn’t seen on this little tour. One very crucial thing.
“Where’s your fence?”
You raise a brow, “What, for livestock? I don’t think I—”
“No, for people,” Joel is suddenly on edge about this little paradise, “For keepin’ people out.”
You pause, a small wave of… something passing over your face. Realization maybe? Pain? “I don’t need to keep people out.”
“What?” His hands tense on the crutches.
“Joel, you’re the first person that’s made it this far in years.” There’s an emphasis in your statement but it doesn’t ebb any of his newfound worries. “Do you know how deep we are into the woods?”
He thinks, trying desperately to remember which direction he started walking once he was done with the smugglers, all banged up and battered with even more death on his conscience and blood on his hands. He thinks it was north but he can’t be sure anymore. It’s all a blur now. He has no idea how far he walked, how many days it was— nothing.
“No.” He simply says.
“We’re safe, I promise,” you attempt to assure him. You smile and gesture to something further over to the edge of the property. He follows you, stopping right next to a massive flowering bush.
“Lilac?” He says, recognizing the pale purple flowers. They’re fading and spotting in brown, but still smell like summer. A sweet scent he doesn’t think he’s smelled in years. It lifts his spirits, just for a moment.
“Planted them and a few other things all along the border.” You gently cradle one of the bundles of flowers, “These are my wall. You can barely see the house from a distance, what with all the overgrowth on the walls and roof. We’re safe.”
He wants to believe you. He desperately does but he can’t bring himself to. While what you did here was truly something, you were being incredibly naïve thinking these were enough. Flowers to protect you from the world out there? Completely foolish.
Then he thinks about what you said earlier. He’s the first person that has come here in years. Years?
“Who else you got out here?” he asks, cautiously. He’s seen no proof of anyone else but this can’t all just be you running this place like a well-oiled machine.
“You’re looking at the full crew here,” you scratch the dog's ears next to you.
“Traders come over?”
“Nope.”
“Just you?”
“And Gus. Well, you met Lily earlier. She counts too.”
“How long have you been up here? Alone?”
You pause as if trying actually to recall the number. Time loses so much meaning these days. Or maybe you're embarrassed to say. You eventually answer.
“Five years.”
______
The day slowly rolls into the evening and neither of you has interacted much since the tour. He was clearly exhausted from limping around the property by the end, so you insisted he lay down for a nap. After some heavy convincing, he eventually relented. A stubborn man, but not a completely dumb one.
You admittedly feel a little embarrassed from earlier. Strolling him around like a child showing off a school project. You wanted him to feel secure and form a little more trust— but you think you just ended up making him uncomfortable in the end.
Have you really been here 5 years? It was probably so obvious to everyone but you— Your unwanted social isolation. It was this or scrounging for scraps and being worked like a dog in the QZ, at least that’s what people told you. Being cooped up and monitored like animals. You know what choice you’d make ten times out of ten.
Still, your predicament was a weird one. You saw the shock in his face when you revealed it. Or maybe it was disgust? Or pity? Maybe all three. Either way, it all ended there and you went back to canning and he retreated to the house.
The sun was setting now, signaling it was time to head in for the evening but you didn’t want to. You don’t want to face him or the potential of a million questions about your strange little life here all by yourself. Now you know how he probably feels. You were so eager earlier, but now… now you just feel like an idiot.
Eventually, you of course work up the courage to walk back into your house, Gus sitting lazily by the door waiting for you. It was the first time you hadn’t seen him watching Joel’s every movement like a hawk. You guess you all made some progress today.
The bedroom door is closed when you enter the house, with Joel nowhere in sight.
You brought in a pheasant for dinner. Stoking the wood stove, you start to chop up any vegetables you’re afraid will go bad— A head of broccoli and some wilting spinach. You place the prepared pheasant in a broiler pot and feed its leftover bits to Gus, as usual.
“Gizzards and guts. Your favorite,” You scratch the dog's ear. Upon hearing Gus’s obnoxious slobbering, Lilly comes strolling down the hall. You hadn’t seen her since this afternoon, “Decided to stay for the evening, princess? Or you just want a free meal?”
You grab a small chunk of meat from Gus’s bowl and toss it her way. This was your usual night. Alone at the kitchen counter with your strange little family— your whole world.
You hear the bedroom door creak open and uneven footsteps clomp down the hall.
Joel takes a seat at the small bar counter opposite you and you instantly feel put on the spot. Like you’re an insect being observed.
What’s the strange hermit woman doing now?
“How’d you rest?” you passively start the conversation as you place the broccoli into its own roasting pan.
“Fine.” He answers bluntly, staring down at his fingers as he picks his nails. You wonder if he feels like he has to interact with you now. If he’s doing this out of pity or obligation. “Your place is… really nice.”
Mmm, enthralling conversation.
“Thank you.” You say, mindlessly stirring the vegetables around.
A pause.
“Did you find it or a family thing or—”
“Family friend.” You answer, “Well… friend-ish.”
His brows knit together, “Friend-ish?”
Does he really want to know? You tell him anyway. You hadn’t just talked to someone in so long.
“His name was Art. Most crotchety mean old man you’d ever meet.” You smile, remembering his wrinkled face, “My dad was his only friend. He tolerated me. They were the town doctors.”
“What town?” His interest is peaked.
“West Lake. Used to be about 7 miles north from here.” You point in the general direction, “Used to be a town of probably no more than a thousand people. Quiet place.”
“That’s where you’re from?”
“I used to be.” You confirm.
Then more bloated silence. You’ve shared so much of yourself with him now and he’s said nothing. You only just learned his name today. He opened up on his terms, and that was fine. It just felt so strange when you were an open book.
You don’t like this. You don’t like your every move being watched or like you’re stepping on pins and needles in your own home. Is this how it used to be? No, surely not. Something about him though. It sets you on edge.
“I’m sorry.” He finally says. Oh? You turn around to face him. “About earlier. How I’ve been actin’. I’m not… used to this. To bein’ taken care of. It’s usually the other way around.”
“I can tell.” You fucking idiot.
“You made something special here,” He continues as if you’d said nothing, “I just… I don’t know what to do with myself. I wanna be useful.”
Right on cue, Lilly jumps on the counter and rubs against his forearm. He reciprocates with a passive head scratch and an irritated sigh.
“You are useful,” You smile, “You’re keeping Lilly company.”
“Damn thing wouldn’t leave me alone.” He looks at the cat with endearment in his eyes, but his overall expression remains sullen. He seemed to always look that way.
“Well at least one of them likes you,” You both turn to Gus sitting idly next to the counter, eyes once again glued to Joel.
“I don’t blame him,” Joel returns Gus’s pointed look.
You feel a fraction of the tension melt off. Just a little. He was getting comfortable here. Good. If he was comfortable then so were you.
Dinner passes in relative silence, as to be expected for your first official meal together. This wasn’t a first date or anything. Just a meal between two temporary housemates. He didn’t need to share his whole life story with you and you didn’t need to share any more of yours.
You take his empty plate and stack it on yours.
“So, I have to change your bandages again.” You say it almost like a question. Like you’re asking permission.
He looks at you with a slightly puzzled expression, “Alright.” He simply says with a nod.
You drop the dishes in the kitchen and return with some new gauze and a bowl of hot water. He takes the hint and removes his shirt before you can even ask. His movements are slow and pained, not that you mind watching him for just a little longer.
He leans over the table while you scoot a chair over and begin your work. He flinches as you remove his crusted-over old bandages. The area around the wound was tender and red, but no signs of infection. Good.
You start to gently clean it.
“What were you… before it all?” You start the small talk up again. Something easy.
“General contractor,” he answers, “You?”
“Nurse.”
“I never would have guessed.”
You pause… was that a joke? Well, at least he’s loosening up.
You smile to yourself. “Only worked in the hospital for about a year before it hit. Ended up getting more medical practice after the world ended.”
“Ain’t that a bitch.” You swear you can hear an amused smile in his voice. He was getting comfortable around you. Just the simple thought of it warms your heart— just a little.
“You still building stuff in the QZ?”
He lets the question linger but eventually answers. “Not really.”
There was something there. You shouldn’t pry more but you go on anyway, “Are you a firefly, or—”
“No.” He answers curtly, “A smuggler but at the end of the day I’m… not really anything.”
Not really anything, huh? That didn’t seem true from what little you know about him. Still, you don’t push it anymore. Maybe he’ll tell you all about it in due time. When he’s ready.
This time he asks the question first.
“What’s that?” He nods his head toward the corner— toward Art’s old guitar.
“A decoration, mostly.” You answer, wiping the area around his wound dry.
“You don’t play?”
“God no,” you snort, “I’ve plucked around on it a few times but it’s not my thing. Missing a few strings now anyway.”
“You can do plenty with a few strings.” He stares at it, almost mesmerized. A guitar was a rare thing now, you suppose.
“There’s a few changes of strings in the drawer next to it,” You inform him, “Art kept backups for everything. I never knew how to change them myself so I just left it be. Just thought I’d break it.”
He doesn’t say anything else but you can see the gears in his head turning. So he plays. He’s found something here he can actually do. Something he can hopefully enjoy. Good.
You finish taping his bandages down and give him a pat on the knee, “Okay, you’re good to go.”
He grunts what you can only assume to be a thank you and rolls his shirt back on. You made progress today. Gaining trust and giving some in return. Learning a little bit more about one another. You didn’t need a life story but feeling more comfortable around each other would be nice. At least if he was going to stay here for a while.
A selfish part of you hopes he does. That he stays as long as he can. Then you could finally have someone. Not even in a romantic sense but just… someone. Anyone. And the other, more logical part of you, knows he’ll probably be gone the second he can bear to put any weight on that foot.
He had a life he had to get back to. People who probably needed him. What’s that name he called you? Tess. He could be a husband and father for all you knew. But then again, you feel like he would have mentioned that by now. You’re sure you’ll find out one way or another. You’ll learn who Joel Miller is, eventually. For now, though, you’ll keep doing what you’ve always been doing.
Taking it one day at a time.
You get up to walk to your place on the couch, an old fantasy book waiting on the coffee table for you.
“There isn’t another bedroom in here, is there?” He asks.
“Just the one.” You answer, fluffing out the quilt over the couch.
“Okay,” he limps towards you, “I’ll sleep out here.”
“Joel, it’s fine you don’t have to—“
He gently grabs your wrist and you instantly feel every hair on your body stand up.
“You give too much. I won’t take your bed too. It’s your house. Sleep in your bed.”
Not wanting to argue, and admittedly wanting to sleep on a mattress again, you silently retreat back to your bedroom. The sheets smell like him. You don’t entirely mind. If anything just because it was something different. Something new.
This was all going to be new.
______
You wake up the next morning and find Art’s guitar re-strung and tuned to perfection— Joel fast asleep next to it.
#joel miller fanfiction#joel miller x you#joel miller x reader#joel tlou#tlou#the last of us#recovery time
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Today's prompt for Spring Fling, hosted by @monthly-challenge, is Sunshine! And for it, I have produced a little Williza drabble
(And yes, I know that it's probably never gonna be canon now. But I'm fueled by spite and the Vibes, not logic. And I hate the idea of letting the fandom die just because the actor is no longer in the show. This ain't my first OTP that I've watched die in front of me, and it sure as cuss won't be the last. That won't stop me from writing fan fiction for it. Public service announcement over!)
(Oh also this is set sometime around season one or two, I'd say?)
It was rare that there was a sunny day in London. Usually a nice day was only mostly cloudy, without any rain.
But today the sky was clear, and sunshine warmed the damp streets. Most of the other residents of London were in more cheerful moods than usual, and who could blame them?
William Wellington, on the other hand, considered himself relatively unaffected by the reappearance of the sun. Sure, it was nice, but he had a job to do, which meant he wasn’t about to get distracted just because it was a nice day out.
He was on his way into work, his head already filled with a dozen things he’d have to do when he got there. With the expansion of Scotland Yard, his workload seemed to pile up faster and faster each day. There wasn’t really much time to stop and smell the roses, so to speak.
All the same, his steps slowed a little as he walked past a certain street corner. The one directly across from the small shop with the sign reading “Mr. Henry Scarlet, private detective.”
Of course, Henry hadn’t been the one in that shop in a long time. And no matter how much William missed him, he was equally fond of the new inhabitant— if not, he would only admit to himself, fonder.
And there she was, as he casually paused on the curb to glance at the shop door. Eliza was on time for once, and was politely making conversation with her neighbor, Herr Hildegard. She was wearing blue, and the warm sunlight illuminated her soft blonde hair, the beams of light seeming to catch in the strands.
William felt his heartbeat stutter, and he took a quick breath. This is not the time to get distracted, he scolded himself. But, as he continued on his way, he couldn’t resist the urge to look back once. Or twice. And his mood was a little lighter as he headed into work.
The sunshine was pretty nice, after all. No sense in not enjoying it.
#springfling2024#miss scarlet and the duke#msatd#william wellington#eliza scarlet#williza#eliza x william#monthly challenge#writing stories is a kind of magic too
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meet me at midnight (austin butler)
summary: in which y/n has her album release party and austin is there to support her
ask/request: lately i have been obsessed with midnights so i was thinking of making something based on the album like singer!reader releasing the album or something idk you’re the writer do it your way if you can do it tho! 💓
authors note / warnings: no warnings! I also love midnights, so im glad this was requested!! you can see my 'works in progress' list here to see what is coming next
────── ∘◦❀◦∘
Austin knew that you had worked your entire life for this moment. As a kid you were locked away in your room with a guitar in hand, lyrics flowing from your lips and were then put on paper. You counted yourself as lucky, but you felt that you were finally at a point in your career where you can say you have worked for your success. Luck was no longer a factor in your life.
Midnights was your newest album, and tonight was your night to celebrate it. Your assistant sent invites to all of your friends, other artists, producers and movie stars. It felt like everyone was there to marvel at your work.
Austin had never felt more proud of you than he had when he saw you that night. You stood on the stage, speaking quickly to your friends and peers about your album. You spoke of sleepless nights and growing as a woman and person. His name was mentioned, he was thanked by you. Austin knew that he had nothing to do with how amazing this album was, that it was your raw talent.
He had been there through every writing session, every crumbled up page from your notebook. Austin watched the entire process of you beating yourself up over words you never felt held enough. But here you were, in all your glory, an album being released that night as the clock strikes twelve.
"Thank you all again for coming," You held the mic with two hands, trying to reduce the visibility of your shaky hands, "I'm going to stop talking now and I hope you like the album" A few people chuckled as you spoke, "If not, please don't tell me because I'll probably cry or something. Have the best night!" You smiled before handing the mic back to the sound technician your manager had hired.
Everyone clapped as you made your way off of the stage. The first song of Midnights began to play, Lavender Haze. People cheered as they heard you sing 'meet me at midnight' during the song's introduction. You smiled again as you finally found Austin within the bustling crowd.
He grinned and grabbed you gently by the waist before pulling you in closer to him. "You were amazing up there," He held you as he placed a kiss on your cheek.
"I was actually a nervous wreck," You scoffed, looking around the room of familiar, and unfamiliar, faces.
"Well, you didn't look it," Austin raised his eyebrows, looking down at you. You rolled your eyes and shook your head at him.
"I know I did, I could feel myself sweating," Austin laughed, smiling down at you. He took a breath, listening to your voice boom through the speakers.
"You handle it beautifully, yeah, oh, yeah" Austin sang, pitching his voice higher. Leaning in closer to you with each word. You laughed, your head leaning back.
"How do you know the words already?" You marvelled.
"I'm your biggest fan," He shrugged, he looked almost offended.
"I don't doubt that," You shook your head. Austin span you around and held you from behind, allowing you to lean into him. A few people walked past and threw congratulations your way, praising your work.
"So what's next?" Austin leant his chin on your head once the crowd had died down around you for a moment.
"Tour, maybe?" You sighed, "I'm not sure, I need to make sure people like it first" There was always a little voice in your head pulling you back from fully allowing yourself to breath in your success.
"People will love it, because you really are amazing," Austin kissed your head, "Your music is amazing, baby" He wasn't sure of how many times he had found himself reassuring you of this, but he didn't mind.
"You really enjoy stroking my ego, don't you?" You turned slightly, trying your best to look up at Austin.
"My favourite past time" He shrugged.
"When do you need to go back to Ohio?" You turned away from him once more, taking in your party, Maroon now playing.
"I fly back Monday morning," Your heart sank a little bit, remembering that you would soon find yourself again dropping Austin at the airport. You sighed, trying to shrug off your disappointment.
"So I have you for the entire weekend? All to myself?" You smirked, leaning your head on Austin's chest. He found his way to your neck, softly placing small kisses on your skin before whispering.
"All to yourself mamas," You felt his hot breath against you as he spoke.
"Good," You giggled, moving your head from where your neck became ticklish, "I've been missing you."
"I've missed you more," Austin admitted, "Gonna miss you more when they play you on the radio every day"
You couldn't help but laugh, "You'll get sick of it."
Austin smirked as he drunk in your scent for a few more seconds, "I couldn't". The party was begging the two of you to return and socialise with more than just each other, regardless of Austin's desire to hide in a back corner with you for the night. "Come on," He turned you back around, holding your hand, "I wanna buy you a drink."
You raised your eyebrows, "It's an open bar."
"Then I at least want to order you one," He began to lead you to the bar, his hand on the small of your back before lightly smacking your ass, "Smart-ass."
liked by ashleytisdale, selenagomez and 4,289,091 others
austinbutler midnights is out now for the world to enjoy, I am so proud of you mamas yourinstagram
#austin butler#austin butler imagine#austin butler one shot#austin butler x reader#austin butler fluff#austin butler drabble#austin butler fanfic#austin butler fic#austin butler elvis#celeste writes fics
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Idea: a angst-y fanfic where Dr. Teeth loses his voice/catches a cold RIGHT BEFORE a show.
Oooo interesting! I'll try it!
The Electric Mayhem had been doing a show almost every single night for weeks. Teeth was driving himself and his friends to the area of their next show which was in southern Los Angeles. However, this show was different. It wasn't like all the rest. A very well known producer was coming from the label he worked with to see whether or not the band would be a good fit, worth being signed.
Floyd had asked him something from his seat behind Teeth, and it was when Teeth responded to him that he felt something weird going on with his throat. He figured maybe he just hadn't drunk enough that day. Further down the highway, he felt his nose getting stuffy. Maybe it's just the AC, he thought. Oh wait... that still hasn't been fixed.
The band got to the venue in plenty of time before the show and decided to go ahead and get set up. Janice suggested rehearsing some of the newer songs they had planned to perform, and the others agreed. When they got to the first chorus of the first song, Teeth felt the soreness starting up in his throat. He had stopped singing for a second and cleared his throat. Floyd and Janice turned to look at him, but continued singing. Teeth tried to jump back in on the vocals but overtime his voice kept getting more and more hoarse.
At that point, Floyd and Janice stopped singing and playing and looked at him, cueing the others to stop as well. Teeth saw all of his friends look at him with concern.
"Why'd you stop? We were almost at my favorite part," Teeth spoke, his voice extremely hoarse at that point.
"Teeth? You feeling alright?" Floyd asked.
Teeth nodded.
"Well, you don't like, sound alright..." Janice said.
"I'm fine. Let's keep going." Teeth insisted.
Janice shook her head quickly. "I think you need to like, totally rest your voice. Especially before this show."
"She's right, Teeth." Floyd put his bass on its stand behind his spot on stage. All the others nodded in agreement.
Teeth looked down at his keyboard and ran his hand over some of the keys. "Fine..."
A couple hours went by. The band had been in the green room waiting for their show time. Teeth had probably drank a gallon of water just trying to fix his voice issues before the venue owner came in to tell them that the venue was nearly full and they could get started.
"Well, let's go like, have a great show!" Janice said, standing up from the couch with Floyd's help.
"Hopefully great enough for that producer to like us," Floyd stated.
Teeth opened his mouth and tried to speak but nothing came out. His eyes widened and his hand went over his mouth as panic filled him. Janice had noticed it and her mouth gaped at him. "Teeth? You like, lost your voice?!"
"What?" Floyd's eyes darted over to him.
Teeth tried to speak again and got the same result.
"NO VOICE! NO VOICE!" Animal yelled.
Zoot was still asleep on the couch.
Lips blabbered something in panic, too fast for the others to understand.
"Like, what are we going to do?!" Janice panicked.
"Well, we can't do a show without Teeth!" Floyd exclaimed.
"No show?" Animal asked sadly.
Teeth looked down at his hands, so many emotions running through him. Anger, disappointment, sadness... his emotions got the best of him, and he stood up and picked up his glass that he had water in before and smashed it on the ground.
"Teeth!" Floyd yelled.
Teeth was going across the room until Lips and Floyd ran and grabbed him, stopping him and calming him down. They got him sat down on the couch again and that was when his anger turned into complete turmoil and anxiety. Teeth had never missed a show, let alone had to cancel one. Performing... his passion. What he had dedicated his entire life to. It was a big deal to him. He knew it wasn't his fault but he couldn't remember the last time he had felt that disappointed in himself. He felt like he was disappointing everyone. His friends, their fans... Not only that, but of all the shows that this could have happened to, it just had to be this one. The one with this very known producer coming to listen to them.
After some time, the venue owner returned to see what the deal was. His irritation did not make Teeth feel any better. The owner took to the stage to inform the audience of the canceled show. Teeth was distressed as tears rolled down his face. The band had never seen him like that before; but then again, nothing like that had ever happened before.
Lots of audience members were also irritated having bought tickets and traveling to the venue only for the show to be cancelled once they got there. One person in the audience who was very understanding, however, was a guy named Erik. And Erik just so happened to be that well known producer that the band hoped to impress.
He explained his reason for attendance to the venue owner once a majority of the audience was gone, and asked if he could go back and talk with the band. Once he had permission, he went to their green room and the band explained that Teeth had some type of sickness that caused him to lose his voice, and that they just could not do a show without him.
Erik felt sympathy and even felt his heartstrings tugging at just how close this band was and how they felt for each other.
"I'll tell you what," Erik started. "Next time you're in town to do a show, just let me know." He handed one of his cards to Floyd who put it securely in his pocket.
Erik left after that. Teeth was still laying against the couch full of sadness. He hadn't been able to catch much of what just happened.
"Teeth," Floyd said, going to him. "It's going to be alright." He patted Teeth's shoulder, causing him to calm his breathing a little and look up at him. Floyd continued to reassure him. "That was Erik, that producer, that just came in here. He's not upset at all and said to give him a holler when we do another show here. It's gonna be just fine."
Teeth sat up and sighed. Well, there was one thing that was bothering him that cleared up. "I didn't mean to let you guys down," he whispered.
"Oh, Teeth. You like, could never let us down," Janice said, sitting beside him.
Lips blabbered something to him.
"Yeah, what Lips said," Floyd agreed. "Things just happen."
Within a few minutes, Teeth had calmed down and smiled a little at his friends. "Thanks," he whispered to them. He was grateful to have such great friends to help him through moments like that.
"We're family, bud," Floyd told him. "That's what we're here for."
#request#ask#the muppets#the muppets fanfic#the muppets dr. teeth#dr teeth the muppet#electric mayhem#the electric mayhem#dr teeth and the electric mayhem#the muppet show#dr. teeth#fanfic request#fanfic#fanfiction request#fanfiction requests
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An Unexpected Summer Meeting
Chapter 2
You sat vacantly at the blank piece of paper that sat before you on the table. You had written the first sentence in your head but somehow you were unable paint them to the paper.
No word from George, so you decided to take the initiative and try to speak first.
You missed home, you missed George and even missed your days at work. You tutted to yourself to only imagine how Gretchen, the other girl who worked whenever you were not in.
As you intertwined the pen between your fingers you heard footsteps coming down the stairs , Norman was ready for his day. Your uncle was a big sweet man, a lonely man but he had space enough in his heart for anybody- he reminded you of what Santa would look like, all they Norman was missing was a red hat , an overcoat and black boots.
He reached the bottom step and looked at you “Writing your memoirs love?”
He joked
You laughed “No I was…going to write to mother and father but I think I’ll leave it.” You said putting the pen down slowly and brushing the paper to one side .
You noticed Norman get his coat on “Where are you off then?” You asked
He looked at you as he put his cap on “oh I’m off to do the paper round…” he picked up the stack of pacifist papers he had by the table.
He knew how you felt about the war, you both discussed it at length since you arrived.
As he buttoned his coat up and adjusted his hat he looked at you “You can come with if you want? Gonna meet my friend afterwards and go for a pint.”
As tempting as the invite was you did not feel quite up for it.
“Which friend is this Norm?” You asked
“Douglas. He’s a good man. Fought in the Great War with him…sound man. You’d like him.” He answered.
You nodded “Maybe some other time. I hope you’re successful and stop us from joining in any potential war.” You said picking your pen back up.
He nodded “I’ll be back later. What are you up to today?”
You sighed “I might go for a wander later..but I won’t stay out to long just till maybe 5 or 6.”
He dug down in his pocked and produced a key. He tossed it onto the table “there you go…just in case I’m still out . But be mindful. These streets are different to the ones in Didcot.” He smiled lightly
You nodded “I’ll be careful. Thanks Norm.”
He tipped his hat and within seconds he left the house. You inhaled sharply as you looked around, your eyes fell to the paper again, and once again the words failed you.
You started to write
Dear George
I hope this finds you well.
Manchester is certainly full of sights and life..but not the same as Oxford and no the sights I had planned for our first summer together. Only two weeks and it feels like an eternity since I saw you.
How is it back in Oxford? I wonder how you are keeping yourself occupied, probably preparing for your interview for your Masters at the university. You must remind me of the date and how you get on. Also remind me when you are traveling to Devon
My uncle is a kind man, a pacifist just like you and I. Hr had a lovely home, poor man is on his own- his wife sadly passed not long after the end of the Great War, they had no children of their own but he seems Happy enough. He has friends and colleagues at the factory where he works during the week…He spends a lot of time trying to pass of a paper of peace , seems he’s just as keen to stop us going to any form of war that may come round.
I am sorry it s short but I eagerly await for response…I’m counting down the weeks until We can meet under the oak tree outside of Basildon and pick up where we left off.
Yours,
Y/N
You found an envelope and folded the piece of paper inside. Writing the address on and placing a stamp delicately on the top right corner. You got up and wrapped yourself in your thin navy coat and took the letter and spare key.
*
You had posted the letter, now George’s response gave you something to look forward to . You took yourself For an aimless walk after that, thinking how you should be talking a stroll by the ashmolean museum, how you both would go in and enjoy soaking up some culture - but that was a dream that you had to postpone. You found yourself exploring the neighborhood , children were playing on the streets - families were enjoying the summer afternoon and you grew envious of couples walking past flaunting their happiness …you felt like the only single person in the world.
Your attention was immediately drawn to what looked like an old Library, naturally you couldn’t resist. The library reminded you of the Bodleian Library. The smell of old books resonating in the air, the sight of students reading vigorously …all the while you could hear a pin drop it was so quiet. As the silence crept in your heads your thoughts kept dwelling on home and George. You mindfully gave yourself a little head-shake and headed back outside.
As you stepped out of the library you accidentally brushed past a man, a few of the papers he held onto fell to the ground and you immediately went down to help pick them
Up “ I’m so sorry sir!” You exclaimed.
“Don’t worry lass I wasn’t paying attention.” He said.
His accent was thick but he had a pleasant tone to him.
You noticed he wore a cap similar to Norman’s, you briefly met his eyes and you could see he had lived a life- though fear seemed to be a constant mask
He wore. You picked up the papers snd handed them to it
“Ah thank you kindly.” He said with a small smile.
“I do apologize I hope I did not hurt you .” You said
He shook his head “It’s okay .” A small frown grew “Your not from round here are ya?”
You shrugged with a little smile “What gave me away?”
“The accent…Reading ?” He asked
“Oxford. “ you answered
“Ah so close. First time in Manchester ?”
You nodded “Yes I’m having an explore …whilst I can before war happens.” You said with a distant hint of disappointment
He handed you one of the leaflets he was holding “Here love…bit of reading if your interested.”
You took it , seeing the words “pledge for peace” in bold letters on the top “Thank you sir. Nice to meet someone else who objects to the barbarity of war like I do.”
He had a proud smile and chuckled slightly “Where does a young lady like you get thinking like that?”
You laughed a little too and tapped your head with your index finger “Not sure but I know it could get me in bother. “
He laughed “Smart lass. Well I will not keep you…i best be off.”
“Thank you…take care.” You said as he tipped his cap and walked in the opposite direction.
As he left the square you read the paper he let you keep, it was a bloody good read to you. So much so you read it again, taking in every word. You were so engrossed with it you lost track of time and before you knew it , the day had almost escaped you. It was getting that dark you had to stop by a lamp to read the last part. You stood still reading the last part and started to fold the paper up nearly.
“Letter from your lover?” A voice caught you off guard and you Held The leaflet behind your back.
A man stood there with a half empty bottle in his hand, he approached you slightly as you took a step
Back
“It’s nothing .” You said as you attempted to walk away calmly
“Oh come on love let’s have a gander” he said taking another step, as you turned to leave he lunged forward and managed to snatch the piece of paper out of your hands. He read it, and frowned “Pledge for Peace?” Who gave you this ?”
You didn’t answer you just looked at him “nobody it’s mine.”
He scoffed “Old man Bennett probably or that fool Eugene.”
You didn’t answer you just took another step back “If you wanted entertaining love all you need is to ask.” He said taking another gulp , the stench of booze invaded your nostrils, seeing you were repulsed he took another drink
“I’ve already had some laughs tonight thanks I do not need another from you.”
He almost spat the booze from his mouth, “Such a pretty mouth and such hard words. Think you need to be taught some manners.” he angrily threw the paper to the ground before your feet and stamped on it. He took one long step and you knocked the bottle out of his hand , the crash of the glass breaking was sure to alert somebody. As he was distracted by the destruction of his booze you ran down the street of terraced houses, hoping to come across a corner soon. For a drunk he was surprisingly able to keep up, you finally found a corner and within seconds of turning into it you collided with someone by the corner lamp. Your hand immediately stretched onto his chest as she looked up and was met with a surprised smile, accompanied by tender coral blue eyes that glowed. Your fingers scrunched his shirt as a reflex , he knew something was amiss , yet he did not shove you away.
Under the lamp light. You had a look of panic that eased slightly as he recognized your look and put his arm around you , as if you had both communicated secretly. You didn’t know this man but you had no choice but to stay where you are, you caught a scent of nicotine and musk on his shirt, slightly intoxicating and refreshing compared to the heavy booze you were exposed to moments ago.
The exhausted pants of the drunk Man caught up with you, he stopped mere feet away when he saw you were not alone.
“Alright love been looking for you everywhere !” The man who held you said.
You forced a small smile “Sorry lost track of time.” You answered more confidently than you expected.
The drunk man pointed “Oi Your bird here owes me a bottle of booze…knocked it right out my hand.”
The stranger only tightened his grip on your forearm “Good. Smells like you’ve had plenty.” He said.
“She ran away from me! Just wanted to show her a..” he hiccuped.
“Clearly she don’t want you to show her anything mate. ”
“Your bird was rude she needs some manners shown!” His slurred words only made the stranger chuckle with an arrogance that you found enlightening “mate go home yeah? Show some respect and go.”
“I’ll bloody show you both!” The drunk man made a clumsy swing with his right hand , the man who held you swirled you around out of harms way before grabbing the drunk fool
By the scruff of the neck and holding him against The wall, you clasped your hand over your mouth as you watched him.
“I won’t ask again mate. Piss off before I knock your lights out!” The stranger then dropped him, the drunk man took one last glance at you and stumbled his way out into the distance and out of sight. The stranger turned to you as he straightened out his dark blue jacket. He ran his fingers through his musty brown hair and faced you “Alright love?”
Usually you would run away, but despite his aggressive defense of you, you were in no hurry to leave.
“Yes I…thank you .” You said “I don’t know what I would have done.”
“Ah I think you could have managed , he wouldn’t have been able to keep up .” He said.
“ I’m sorry I bumped into you like that.” You apologized
He shrugged smiling “I’m not.” His smile then turned into concern “seriously alright though?”
You nodded “I am yes…thank you for helping honestly I don’t know what to say.” You patted down your own coat and flipped your hair back from your shoulders
“Could tell me why he thought you were rude - you don’t seem the type .” He smiled.
His devilish smile actually made you glad it was dark, as you felt your cheeks go flush with attraction.
“I don’t think he liked what I classed as a good read. A nice man gave me a pamphlet as I left the library in the square peace pledge stuff.” You explained
He nodded “Ah I see...into the pacifism are ya?”
You gave one nod “I don’t think war is ..always the solution.”
He nodded with you and looked around “You live far?”
You also looked around and panic struck you “I think…I can’t remember …oh shoot which way is my uncles house.”
He chuckled lightly “What street is it? “
You briefly closed your eyes to try and remember “Erm Green Street.”
He smiled “This way.”
You were hesitant at first , he looked at you “What?”
“I…don’t even know your name and you’re leading me off somewhere .” You said with the shy smile that made him step and reassure you by offering his hand “Tom.”
You shook it “Y/N.”
He did not let go and neither did you, he shook it a while longer - his hands were surprisingly gentle with odd scratches on his fingers.
He smiled “Green street is just round here.”
He started to walk and lead you around the corner and onto the street, you hardly recognized it even with the street lights to guide you …you truly felt completely alien.
“First time in Manchester is it?” He asked as you passed the doors of houses.
You nodded “Yeah..and I think this has been my first night of excitement .” You joked “ah here.”
You remembered the shape of the door for your uncles house .
“Hopefully not your first and only night.” He asked leaning against the wall beside the door , watching you search your pockets for your keys.
“We shall see…” you found it “Well Tom…thank you again for rescuing me. “
He winked “My pleasure. I swear Manchester isn’t full of drunken bums.”
You laughed “Well if I can thank you in anyway ..” you locked eyes with him for a moment and you were sure his eyes were staring into your soul, a moment passed between you and you clumsily tried to unlock the door as you opened it he spoke
“Well I don’t know how long you’re staying…but I don’t want you to leave thinking it’s bad here…what are you doing tomorrow ?” He asked
You stood in the door way, nervously fidgeting with your key “If my uncle gets his way probably selling the peace leaflets”
He shook his head “Na. You won’t be. Meet me at thaw library steps tomorrow …midday …what do ya say?”
You did not have to think twice, he seemed genuine but there was something about him that was equally mysterious and roguish …you were curious.
“Sure…I’ll come by.” You said with half a smile
He wore that cheeky smile again “Great.” He popped his hands in his coat pocket “See ya tomorrow Y/N.” , as he strutted away you watched him pick out a cigarette and light it. The smoke blew up in the air as he grew more distant . You smiled and closed the door and leant against it. Catching your breath and imagining what would transpire tomorrow. You could smell the nicotine and delicate musk in your fingers from when your hand held onto his shirt upon your first contact …you inhaled them in and stayed by the door a few moments longer
Chapter 3
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#ewan mitchell#tom bennett#tom bennett x reader#world war two#world on fire#tom Bennett x you#fic#fiction#sailor Tom#1930s#England
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