#Nine percent imagines
Text
masterlist/wip list
NCT
sunflower girl (COMING SOON)
- dong sicheng x reader, fluff
- barista au where sicheng is your sweet regular
walking in a winter wonderland
- dong sicheng x reader feat jung jaehyun, fluff, friends to lovers
- sicheng saves you from an awkward situation with your ex at a christmas party
best friend (COMING SOON)
- huang renjun x reader feat hwang hyunjin, pining and fluff
- renjun is your best friend. and he was kind of content being your best friend... until someone else came into the picture.
she wants me (to be loved) (COMING SOMEDAY I PROMISE)
- TWO ENDING FIC. xiao dejun or dong sicheng x reader
- college au, angst, fluff, and pining
- your best friend xiaojun calls you one night, wasted out of his mind and the only thing he says is that he wrote you a song...
[????] (COMING NOT AS SOON)
- park jisung x reader, idiots to lovers
- jisung walks into a dusty, run-down antique store one day and tries to chat up a cute girl who claims the store is magic... but magic isn’t real. is it?
Stray Kids
[???] (COMING SOON)
- han jisung x reader feat hyunjin, unrequited love, angst
another day (COMING SOON)
- yang jeongin, angst, death, reincarnation au
- every time you see him it’s at eighteen. before nineteen, he’s gone, ripping another hole into your heart. but you can’t help falling over and over, with every life
Nine Percent/NEX7/Idol Producer
lover (COMING SOON)
- cai xukun x reader, college au, fluff
- you get a call late one night from one of your friends to come pick up kun... and when you get there he’s so drunk that he can’t keep secrets anymore
#nct#sicheng x reader#winwin x reader#nct fanfic#nct imagines#renjun x reader#wayv#nct dream#xiaojun x reader#wayv imagines#wayv fanfic#jisung park x reader#stray kids#stray kids imagines#stray kids fanfic#han x reader#han jisung x reader#yang jeongin x reader#nine percent#nine percent imagines#idol producer#cai xukun x reader#xukun x reader
18 notes
·
View notes
Text
One time I read an article (I believe on buzzfeed) about this woman who was playing with her dogs in her front yard when they, apparently out of nowhere, straight up ripped her arms off and I will NEVER forget how almost every comment on that article was from dog people claiming she abused the dogs with no evidence of that whatsoever because they could not imagine a dog doing a Bad Thing. And like one of the dogs was a boxer, which is a breed I'm very familiar with- they obviously don't rip owners arms off with their other breed of dog friends normally. But I also think it's absurd to claim someone abused those animals when sometimes dogs do fucked up shit. Doesn't make em evil or bad, sometimes dogs snap like people snap and that's fine no need to moralize which dogs are Bad Dogs but there's also no need to claim someone who went through a horrific tragedy and was victimized by their pets of all things was abusive to said pets with no proof.
Another person in the comments pointed out how weird and cult like everyone else was acting and as a cat person who has been told a number of times how awful and horrible my pets are I gotta agree lmao. Crazy what dog people will do to defend the obviously indefensible rather than being like "damn that's fucked up has anyone done a check on those dogs to see if maybe they've got a health issue that caused them to lash out like that" or otherwise act normal instead of jumping straight to victim blaming someone with no fuckin arms. Like damn dog people will call cats evil for eating you after you die (dogs do that too by the way, do you expect them to STARVE to death because you think your corpse matters more than your pets life? Wtf. Plus not all cats OR dogs will eat you post death so ??? Not to mention if I stick YOU in a room with nothing but dead grandma you will eat her too if I leave you there long enough why vilainize cats for *checks notes* eating food when starving) but then defend dogs doing literally the most fucked up shit I've ever read a pet doing. Of course the dogs were not evil or bad, sometimes shit happens and that says nothing about dogs as a whole but I wish cats got even REMOTELY the same respect from those same people. If you can acknowledge a couple dogs ripping their owners arms off probably doesn't make those dogs in particular evil there's no reason to treat all cats like they're evil incarnate.
#winters ramblings#i was like cool good to know if i had the misfortune of being maimed by my pet everyone will accuse me of abusing them#like damn dogs do fucked up shit sometimes thats fine. it doesnt NEED to say anything about the species 'dog'#hell id argue if you were able to find a health issue in the attacking dog rehabilitation MIGHT be possible#but if a PERSON did this do you think there would be a defense?? hell if a CAT did it which is not possible but if a CAT did do that#cats as a whole would once again be labeled psychopaths by EVERYONE. just be normal!!! the dogs did a fucked upuo thing#i assume they had a condition because i DO know boxers and that is SUPER FUCKING WEIRD of them to do#i cant remember what breed the other dog was butthere was NO proof of abuse AT ALL so blaming this woman for her ARMS being RIPPED OFF#seemed like one of the most fucked up ignorant to this persons deep and disturbing trauma way to react to an obvious tragedy#imagine having that happen to you and everyone and their dog (ha) accuses you of animal abuse??!?#so fucked up that people did that and it was like NINETY NINE PERCENT of the comments minus the ONE#that was like 'hey you guys are being EXTREMELY fucked up right now you know that right??'#and then the thread of cat people beneath that was like 'YEAH THIS IS WEORD OF DOG PEOPLE TO DO THEY ALL HATE MY CATS BUT EXCUSE THIS????'#anyway just goes to show dog people are the most annoying entitled people on the planet. dogs are lovely the people who love them are not
4 notes
·
View notes
Text
Misc. groups
After school
Reactions
How they are with first gf
Nana
Gf! Nana
Astro
Rocky
Long night
Clc
Reactions
Fem! Crush coming out
4 minute
Reactions
S.o is a scorpio
Kard
Reactions
Soulmate au
Highlight
Yoseop
Jealousy is poison
Vixx
Reactions
S.o using chopsticks for the first time
Winner
Scenarios
Jealous winner
Mino
Not enough?
2ne1
Reactions
S.o is a Scorpio
S.o is a leo
Nine percent
Reactions
Making s.o feel better
They pass out during practice and you find out
Stood up by crush
Cai Xukun
Let’s meet in the garden
Sonamoo
Reactions
Gf kisses them first
Hearing their s.o’s morning voice
Crush has the same patronus as them
Cuddling with their s.o for the first time
d.ana
girlfriend d.ana
A.C.E
Reactions
S.o is clumsy
Bf wearing feminine clothes
S.o falls asleep on their lap
Matilda
Reactions
S.o shows up at fan meet
B1A4
Reactions
Gf bites their neck
Crush lays their head on their lap
Scenarios
How B1A4 would kiss
How they are on dates
Gugudan
Sejeong
Newly weds
BTOB
Minhyuk
Bf! Minhyuk
Ilhoon
Almost family
Weki Meki
Doyeon
Gf! Doyeon
Sei
Single mom Au
Itzy
Reactions
Bf throwing them over their shoulder
AOA
Jimin
Soulmate au
Wjsn
Exy
Pottery
Madly in love
Bona
Gf! Bona
Big bang
Reactions
S.o has a different religion
Scenarios
As types of jealous
Imagines
Loving boyfriend
#kpop#kpop imagines#kpop scenarios#kpop fluff#kpop angst#afterschool kpop#Astro#Astro kpop#clc#4 minute#kard#highlight#highlight kpop#vixx#winner kpop#2ne1#nine percent#cpop#cpop fluff#sonamoo#a.c.e#Matilda kpop#b1a4#gugudan#btob#weki meki#itzy#aoa#wjsn#big bang
1 note
·
View note
Text
✩ ‧₊˚ ✩。PLAN B — ALHAITHAM.
alhaitham has long resigned to the reality that as long as he’s dating you, there can never be an argument he can fully win with logic alone. all his life, his brain has carried him above men in the most impressive of ways, granted him effortless victories that he’s strategized in just a few quick seconds—except no matter how impressive, his brain is no match for your stubbornness.
one time, he even overhears the general mahamatra mumble, it seems like he’s met his match. to this day, the moment haunts him in his sleep sometimes.
but he figures cyno is right (though no one should ever tell him this) because otherwise, alhaitham, the akademiya’s scribe and current acting grand sage, would never be buying flowers and standing before you to apologize for something he didn’t even do.
well, he did—it’s just that he did in a dream, not reality.
“oh, has the cheater come back for my hand again?” you spit, crossing your arms and looking to the side with a hmph.
the universe must be having a field day with this show, he thinks, the show of alhaitham’s life taking complicated turns in places they simply do not have to. woefully, he’s sure kaveh is enjoying this, at least. otherwise the architect wouldn’t be sitting on the opposite couch and watching in pure glee.
“technically, i didn’t cheat,” alhaitham argues, “that was the alhaitham of your conjured imagination. the real alhaitham was peacefully sleeping until he was rudely pushed off of the mattress despite having work in a few hours—”
“i don’t speak to cheaters,” you huff.
alhaitham figures it’s now time to put plan b into action. plan b is as follows: to buy your favorite type of flowers and present them to you, all while dinner from your favorite restaurant sits on the table waiting. as soon as your eyes light up at the sight of the flowers, he’ll be able to skillfully sneak his way beside you on the couch, pull you close with one arm, and before you realize what he’s done, he’ll lead you to the dining table with your usual order waiting for you.
it’s a fool proof plan, he thinks—all plans of his have always had a ninety nine percent success rate, and this is no different. the only reason there’s not a one hundred percent success rate is solely and entirely due to the fact that he cannot plan for unforeseeable circumstances that occur last minute. these circumstances are beyond his control, but the small statistical chance of them occurring puts his mind at ease that in a few short minutes, all will be back to normal.
“these are for you,” he says, holding out the bouquet he bought—which was rather expensive, might he add.
and then, because the universe hates him, that one percent chance of an unforeseeable circumstance presents itself at the most inopportune of times.
“why is this one dead?” you raise a brow, pointing to the flower in the corner he failed to notice.
wonderful, he thinks. kaveh snorts, and alhaitham simply let’s his shoulders sag.
“well,” he starts, “i didn’t notice that one. forgive me—”
“just like you didn’t notice my presence while you cheated on me, huh? yeah, for the akademiya’s scribe, you sure do miss a lot,” you glare daggers at him.
“but i didn’t—”
“it’s your fault i dreamt that in the first place,” you hiss, “who’s plan allowed the people of sumeru to dream again?”
“yes,” kaveh adds from the corner, “do tell, alhaitham. who’s brilliant plan has lead to this situation?”
“certainly not yours,” alhaitham shoots back, crossing his arms as he raises a brow at the insufferable blonde, “if it were up to you to make the plans, we’d have quit before we even start.”
“don’t be rude to kaveh,” you scold, “kaveh would never cheat on me.”
“of course i wouldn’t,” kaveh agrees.
alhaitham pinches himself in hopes this is all his dream and he can wake up from this torturous nightmare.
“kaveh is behind on rent and acutely single. the only place kaveh could cheat on you is in his own dreams,” alhaitham argues, which earns an offended sound of indignation from his roommate.
“if this is your way of apologizing, it sucks,” you sulk, refusing to meet his eyes.
with a heavy sigh, alhaitham sets down the flowers and hesitantly—he does not wish to be shoved to the floor a second time in one day—settles beside you on the couch.
“i would never be unfaithful to you. i love you,” he says simply, but his voice is delicate, serious, like he means it. “i love you because you brighten each day, and make them far more tolerable by your side—even despite your occasional illogical fits of rage. and i will continue to love you even when i am the target of them.”
“seriously?” kaveh gapes in disbelief, “that’s your apology? are you trying to be broken up with—”
“really?” you ask, hopeful.
“of course,” alhaitham nods, and if the corner of his eyes shoot kaveh a smug look…well, only kaveh sees it.
“you’ve never cheated on me?” you narrow your eyes, searching for confirmation in his.
he grabs your hands, nodding. “never,” he assures.
“okay,” you nod, “as long as you’ve learned your lesson, i can look past the mistakes of the alhaitham of my dreams.”
“the alhaitham of your reality is so graciously thankful,” he says sarcastically.
you giggle. he smiles softly. kaveh rolls his eyes and walks to his room.
“well, alhaitham of my reality,” you hum, moving to cup his cheeks and lean in until your lips are just barely touching his, “i love you too. even despite how you infuriate me—including in my dreams.”
“it’s an unfortunate quality all potential versions of alhaitham come with,” he chuckles, and then his lips are pressed to yours firmly.
and you know, from this kiss alone, from the way he holds you like you’re the first bloom of spring after a harsh winter, that you’re the only one he has room for in his heart.
plan b had a few unexpected complications, but as always, alhaitham adds another successful attempt to his list.
this reader is so me-coded pls look away 😭
#i’m still on hiatus don’t throw tomatoes at me i just rly had to get this idea out there#teepods.writings#drabbles.#alhaitham x reader#alhaitham x you#alhaitham fluff#genshin x reader#genshin x you#genshin fluff#genshin impact x reader#genshin impact x you#genshin impact fluff
2K notes
·
View notes
Text
brat tamer / tonowari is now live. 𐙚˙⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩
ಇ new message from: anonymous. since you asked for tono fics you shall receive bestie👩🏾❤️💋👩🏿💃🏾mean brat tamer wari plz 😻
ಇ current game. tonowari decides to teach you a lesson.
ಇ game warnings. minors and ageless blogs do not interact! nsfw, fem! metkayina! reader, mean dom! wari, reader being a brat, spanking + fingering ( reader rec ). words. 662.
ಇ slang. tsahik ( healer of the clan ) + tewng ( loincloth ).
ಇ things to note. this is the first prompt that stopped below 1k. anon i hope you're still with me, sorry i took so long with it. also, it's times like this that i miss tiny text on my fics. : masterlist / kinktober masterlist / previous fic / taglist
Brat Tamer! Tonowari who thought you had outgrown your spoiled ways from when the two of you were younger, especially now that the two of you were promised to each other. You still were the annoying girl who got on his nerves ninety-nine percent of the time. That one percent was his crush for you, he always liked you from afar, especially because whenever you were close, you would open your mouth and say something snarky to him.
Brat Tamer! Tonowari who would allow you to talk down on him to your friends as if he weren’t around and would keep calm and ignore you.
Brat Tamer! Tonowari who would be tasked to help you collect herbs for your tsahik training.
Brat Tamer! Tonowari who would once again try to ignore you after 15 minutes of collecting herbs, having to listen to you talk about yourself.
Brat Tamer! Tonowari who would bite down on his lip trying to keep the growl from escaping his throat once you start talking about Nemrey, another warrior who's second best to him. How he was better for you, how he was so handsome, and how he would do anything you wanted him to do. As you tell him about Nemrey, your tail starts to swing from side to side slowly as you notice you’re getting to him.
Brat Tamer! Tonowari who would finally snap, grabbing your wrist and making you drop the basket of herbs as you let out a gasp. “Tonowari! What is your problem?” you queried but he didn’t respond as he towers over you looking down with a sharp glare and a low growl making your ears flatten against your legs and your tail tucked between your legs. “It’s time I teach you some manners!” He growled.
Brat Tamer! Tonowari who would sit on a log and bend you over his lap, loosening the knot on your tewng and letting it drop to the ground as he rubs the swell of your ass before a hard smack was sent to your ass making you jolt as your hand flew back to cover the burning flesh. “Move your hand, this is your punishment for acting like a spoiled brat!” He demanded and when he saw you don’t move an inch, he used his other hand to take both of your wrists on your lower back to keep you from moving.
Brat Tamer! Tonowari who would have you count the smacks that landed on your precious ass. “T…Twenty,” you whine as you bite down on your bottom lip as you feel another smack land on your ass. Barely managing to speak the numbers out as you feel your pussy clenched around nothing, you couldn’t help but manage to get turned on by this. This was your plan all along to see him get mad and put you in your place.
Brat Tamer! Tonowari who would watch your pretty self squirm but he knows that you’re enjoying it just by the sweet scent of your arousal. “You’re such a slut.” He smirked as he swipes his fingers between your folds, rubbing your clit a little, earning soft moans to exit your mouth. “Only for me, you understand?” You would nod your head as you push back onto his fingers, imagining as if it was his huge cock.
Brat Tamer! Tonowari who would continue to circle your clit with his thumb while two of his long fingers prodded at your entrance, sliding in slowly as he lets out a low chuckle at how you gripped tight around his fingers. He wastes no time in rutting his fingers in and out hearing the wet sounds your pretty pussy makes.
Brat Tamer! Tonowari who would continue to make sure you knew what your place was, mending you to be his good girl and it worked. He tamed you real good, that had people do a double take once they saw how the new you acted, and of course, Tonowari stood right next to you admiring his good work.
ಇ chat. @neteyamyawne, @zanabelle99, @moonchildxoxx, @jakescumdump, @saeayanaa, @neteyamsblog, @btsiguess-kpop, @sweetdayme4427, @neytiriandronalswife, @utsukushisa0, @angelsamor, @shit-i-say-shit-i-think, @23victoria, @tsireqas, @cats-and-sheep, @glimmering-darling-dolly, @lilmackiee, @mooniequeen, @kasai-https, @ratchetprime211, @neo-novaa, @ami-s-k, @so-this-is-a-thing-noww, @rainbowturdz, @doireallyhavetonamthis, @merlinbtch, @atxxokirina, @neteyamssyulang, @c4shces, @itsjazzsworld, @hadesbabygurl, @pandoraslxna, @teyamsatan, @blue-slxt, @justcaptiannoodles, @neteyamsyawntu, @galactict3a, @luvv4j4ybe11. (if your @ is not working, please fix your settings).
꒰ stream has ended. — all rights reserved © neteyamsoare 2023. do not copy, repost, translate & recommend elsewhere.
#ಣ : sylaphone#lunaskinktober2023#tonowari x reader#tonowari x female reader#tonowari x fem!reader#tonowari x metkayina!reader#tonowari x you#tonowari x y/n#tonowari x reader smut#tonowari x f!reader#atwow x reader#atwow x reader smut#atwow x y/n#atwow x you#avatar x reader#avatar x fem reader#avatar x reader smut#avatar x you#avatar x na'vi reader#avatar x y/n
369 notes
·
View notes
Text
♡ AMERICANO.
❝ baby, take a chance on me! give me one sign and you will see. // crushing on the local barista ❞
✧ feat : xiao x gn!reader
✧ a/n : FIRST POST OF THE YEAR!! yk it had to be my beloved xiao <3 here's to a fourth year with my baby hehe
✧ note : this is a very late entry to ying's cafe week for the prompt americano !
please reblog w tags + leave comments ! it rlly makes my day :)
“uh, hi. could i please get a…” you flash what you’re certain is the most awkward grin of your life at the poor barista, who’s currently running the cashier as well. you swear you’re never the type to hold up a queue, pondering for ages over what to drink to get – in fact, you always get the exact same drink. it’s just that the way the barista’s pretty amber eyes almost seem to gleam in the late afternoon sun has you stumbling over your words, barely able to form coherent sentences; it’s so embarrassing you wish the ground would open up and swallow you whole, you're lucky there's no one else in the line behind you.
“your usual?” he raises an eyebrow, a few strands of jade hair tumbling out of his loose bun to frame his face, and holy archons this man is such a masterpiece he belongs in a museum. you gape at him for a few seconds, opening and closing your mouth like a goldfish before you realise how stupid you must look and you scramble for a reply, “how do you know?!” the corner of his lips quirk up into what might be a smile, “you order the same drink every time.” you’re fumbling for a retort when he continues, “and you come here three times a day.” now you’re ninety-nine percent certain your face is on fire.
“that’s true…” you mutter sheepishly before making a valiant attempt to defend yourself, “but maybe i just really like coffee!” “i think you drink too much coffee,” he chuckles softly as he writes your name on the cup. you’re freaking out over the fact that what has to be the world’s cutest barista is actually aware of your existence, he recognises you instead of seeing you as just another customer from the endless throngs of students that flock to the campus coffee shop daily. then you gasp, “wait. how do you know my name?!” he lifts an eyebrow once more, “i just told you that you order coffee here three times a day. you say your name every time.” great. now he definitely thinks you’re an idiot. it’s not your fault that all your braincells seem to fly out of your head every time you see him!
“oh.” you laugh weakly as you pull your wallet out of your bag, “that makes sense.” mentally, you’re slamming your head against the wall, cursing yourself for being so head-over-heels that you can’t even carry a normal conversation with the barista. as he types your total, he suddenly murmurs so softly that you have to struggle to catch it, “it’s a pretty name, though.” “o-oh, you think so?” the compliment makes your brain short-circuit, but thankfully you manage a proper response, “i like your name too… xiao.” saying his name out loud almost makes you spontaneously burst into flames, which honestly would be pretty inconvenient for the rest of the customers in the coffee shop. not to mention you doubt it would endear you to xiao if you exploded in the middle of his workplace.
you aren't sure if it's just your imagination, but you think that xiao's ears look a little red as he taps on the screen in front of him. then he clears his throat, “you know what, today's drink is on the house.” “what?! really?!” your eyes light up and xiao meets your gaze for a split second before looking away, the faintest pink tinge dusting his cheeks as he starts making your drink, “yeah.” your heart's beating at a million miles per hour from just this small interaction, but you swallow your nerves and give yourself a pep talk as you wait to receive your drink. you never know unless you try, right?
and as xiao turns to give your drink, you blurt, “icouldtakeyououtonadate!” he blinks slowly, cat-like, and furrows his brow in confusion, “sorry, what did you say?” doing your best not to melt into a puddle on the ground, you mumble, “to make up for the free coffee, i could take you out to lunch or something.” there’s a pause, and you quickly continue, “only if you want to, of course!” you're cursing yourself for even daring to be so bold, there's no way he'd want to go out with a caffeine addict like you- “i'd like that.” his reply is so unexpected you look at him incredulously, “what?” “i said, i’d like to go for lunch with you,” now xiao's face is bright red, and he's gripping your coffee cup so tightly his knuckles are turning white.
at this point, you think that you could jump over the moon. “oh! that's great!” you beam, and xiao thinks that your smile is like the sun, “maybe sunday?” “sure,” he smiles, and it's the most adorable thing you've ever seen, “it's a date.” he turns away after saying that to hide his blush, and with the biggest, cheesiest grin on your face you reply, “yeah, it's a date.”
(and later when you finally drink your coffee, you realise xiao has scribbled his number on the side of the cup. maybe all this time you were crushing on the local barista, he was crushing on you too.)
wahhh i missed writing 🥹 i tried something new with this one, i usually prefer writing confident and flirty readers so i hope this is okay for a first time hehehe. hope you enjoyed! <3
© starglitterz 2024. do not repost or modify in any way – reblog / follow if you enjoyed !
#✏️ — quill writes !#xiao x reader#genshin impact x reader#cafe week; an i23kazu event#astronetwrk#xiao fluff#genshin x reader#xiao x you#xiao imagines#genshin fluff
235 notes
·
View notes
Text
Veiled by discussion of headline global trends in new renewables capacity investment is the fact that almost all the incremental progress is currently being made in one country: China. Trumpeting 2023’s 50 percent growth in annual global capacity installations as a global achievement is wrongheaded, given that China by itself delivered nearly 80 percent of the increment.
And the IEA, for its part, expects China to continue to be the sole meaningful over-achiever. It recently revised upwards by 728 GW its forecast for total global renewables capacity additions in the period 2023–27. China’s share of this upward revision? Almost 90 percent.
While China surges ahead, the rest of the world remains stuck.
This raises a crucial question. What is different about the development of solar and wind resources in China from the rest of the world?
The main answer is that in China, such development is capitalist in only a very limited sense. Certainly, the entities centrally involved in building out new solar and wind farms in China are companies. But almost all are state-owned. Take wind. Nine of the country’s top 10 wind developers are owned by the government, and such state-owned players control in excess of 95 percent of the market.
Moreover, the state is far from being a passive shareholder in these companies. The companies are best seen as instruments wielded by the state in the service of achieving its industrial, geopolitical, and – increasingly – environmental objectives.
The best example of this concerns the gargantuan ‘clean energy bases’ first announced by President Xi Jinping in 2021. To be built mainly in the Gobi and other desert areas by 2030, these new bases will have a combined capacity of in excess of 550 GW – more than Europe’s total solar and wind capacity at the time of this writing.
Such development is as far from ‘capitalist’ as is imaginable. This is the state, in its most centralized and authoritative form mustering whatever resources it needs at its disposal to ensure that it delivers what it has said it will deliver.
Add to this the fact that the banks financing all the new renewables development in China are generally also state-owned and directed, and a stark reality comes into focus. This is essentially central planning in action.
Does the profit motive figure? To be sure, it does. But usually only marginally, and it is ridden roughshod over whenever Beijing deems fit.
112 notes
·
View notes
Note
Would it be possible to hear more of your thoughts about the 5th absorbs the ninth au?
oh my god YES
i'm so deep in my tlt bre fic or i would already be writing this because i LOVE this au and will soon be reading EVERY fic with this concept (some of which are linked in the notes of the original post)
so i imagine this taking place a short while after harrow opens the tomb, a year or two at most
harrow is equal parts devastated w grief and fanatic with adoration for the body in the tomb
she is also NOT in the mood for the ninth to be absorbed by the fifth and is ready to fuckin throw down
of course by throw down, harrow means "glare at them until they go away and also bones" bc she's twelve and that's really all she can do
fifth's first trip to the ninth:
abigail: hel- those people are dead
harrow, currently manipulating the corpses of her parents: (drops from the ceiling like batman) begone, invaders, you are not- griddle!
gideon, who Should Not be there but saw a sword and thought "fuck it": (walks up to magnus) fight me old man
magnus and abigail immediately decide to adopt these children
magnus starts sparring with gideon and getting his ass handed to him, much to aiglamene's delight
abigail begins the daunting task of Earning Harrowhark Nonagesimus' Trust
she explains she doesn't actually want to take over the ninth and harrow can have it once she's eighteen
this inadvertently offends harrow and sets them back a month
the fifth quickly pick up that ortus is Not Into this whole cav business and make the pretty obvious connection that gideon should be harrow's cav and the equally obvious connection that both girls would Rather Die
cut to quinn and pent's epic quest to trick two preteens into accepting the fifth as their caregivers and becoming cav and necromancer
they also become the world's most awkward wingmen
magnus, during a sparring session: say, the reverend daughter looked very regal this morning, didn't she?
gideon, who has already adopted this man as a father figure: what the fuck mags how could you betray me like this
ortus is either besties with the fifth or actually fucking them like abigail pent would one hundred percent take one look at this chubby eloquent caring inept motherfucker and be like I Want That Bear Obliterated
at some point they get it into their heads that the girls need peer engagement so they bring jeanne and isaac to visit
harrowhark nonagesimus, who has never met a person younger than her, watching a nine-year-old jeannemary chatur vibrate with excitement: what the FUCK is That
gideon nav, whose only experience with people younger than her is harrow: what the FUCK is That
#fifth absorbs the ninth!au#tlt fanfic#the locked tomb#tlt#harrowhark nonagesimus#gideon nav#gideon the ninth#harrow the ninth#griddlehark#abigail pent#magnus quinn#jeannemary chatur#jeannemary the fourth#isaac tettares#tlt au
426 notes
·
View notes
Text
Shotgun
A/N: Okay, another fic that has been 95% completed and I finally got around to wrapping up. PR relationship, drunken wedding, enemies to lovers, all the good stuff. As always let me know what you guys think and enjoy!
Warnings: 18+ content only. DNI if under 18. Smut.
Word Count: 8k+
Strengths and weaknesses make us who we are. They are the foundation of our entire beings and personalities. Concocting in a fashion that swirls around us and presents us to the outside world. Special groups can become world class athletes while others thrive in the arts, presenting world altering pieces to the public. Niche groups of writers can put pen to paper in ways never imagined before, the opposite can be said of mathematicians. Some individuals are wonderful public speakers.
Take your childhood best friend Jake for example. The man thrives on the attention when it settles to him. Putting his best self forward when in the presence of other people Yet, he still utterly despises ninety-nine percent of the general population. It’s why you two got along so well.
Also why you and his twin did not.
Your strengths? Well, they lie in solo activities. Anything that needs to be completed alone, you thrived in. Preferring not to work with others unless you absolutely had to. Even then, you weren’t going to be happy doing it. An intellectual, not an artistic bone in your body. Not understanding how he and his brothers can create literal magic in their minds and then go and perform for thousands of people.
Not being a people person was one of the main key characteristics of your personality. You had your small inner circle and that was more than enough for you. Even better that they spent most of their time away from you touring.
If you were together all the time, it would make the time spent together less exciting. Less meaningful. Sure, some people would say it was you being shy and to yourself, but you knew that wasn’t really it.
Okay, maybe just a bit.
Who could blame you though? Being in the public eye like your closest friends sounded like a nightmare. Not being able to keep any information about your private life hidden because it seemed as though someone was always watching. It sounded like hell. It was hell.
That was the life of being a celebrity though. Which is also why you strayed as far away from it as possible. Even when you went out to lunch with Jake when he was in town, it was not a rare occurrence for him to be stopped on the street for a picture or something of the like. Keeping your distance and watching from over his shoulder some few yards away was where you were most comfortable in situations like that.
He would then come back to you, exasperated because of the constant stopping for fans. Jake wasn’t as annoyed with it as he let on to believe, secretly loving when he was approached by adoring fans showering him in praise. It always earned an eye roll from you. Such an attention whore.
Just not to the extent of his twin. Josh craved it. There was hardly ever a time when he wasn’t ecstatic to discuss the intense life he led on a daily basis of being adored by fans and the like. Not to mention the annoying personality trait of needing to be best friends with any individual he was an acquaintance with.
His pursuit of reaching that level with you had been nonstop since high school when you and Jake had hit it off. It was thoroughly exhausting fighting the man as often as you had to, but it was the only way to get him to leave you alone.
He loved it. Finding it hysterical how truly annoyed you were by his sheer presence. Honestly, he wasn’t entirely aware of the actual reason why you didn’t want to be around him. He would be lying if he said he hadn’t lost sleep over it more than once.
Thinking it was just a silly game, not comprehending that you truly wanted nothing to do with him. It was frustrating. Dealing with this since high school and you truly believed he knew the main reason why, but opted to ignore it for the sake of not self reflecting. Jake on the other hand, similar to his familiar counterpart, could always guarantee a chuckle from your interactions.
Never getting into full arguments, but you had been known to raise your voice at him on a few occasions when he refused to leave your personal bubble. It was borderline anxiety inducing. Always having a few Xanax on hand for when you knew you would be having to spend more time than necessary with the boy.
Like on vacation.
Jake had invited you as soon as they had decided where they were going to be taking a weekend trip to. Given you had never been to Las Vegas, you thought it was going to be an absolute blast. Staying at an incredible resort, relaxing by the pool, occasional gambling whilst enjoying the complimentary drinks. I mean, in what world would someone turn that down?
You seriously considered it once you heard that Josh was going to be in attendance. Being trapped on a plane with him, having to do every vacation activity together, getting little to no break from the 24/7 Josh show. Way to ruin a trip.
Given how desperately you did need this getaway, biting your tongue and accepting the fact that the thorn in your side was going to be even closer than normal was what you were just going to have to deal with despite the bile burning the back of your throat at just the thought of it.
Knowing that you would at least have the reprieve of the flight out to Nevada was adding a little bounce to your step. Until he plopped himself down in the seat directly next to yours with a loud sigh echoing in the shell of your ear. Without a moment of hesitation you placed your earphones in, not wanting to give him a chance to engage, or attempt to engage, in conversation with you.
It didn’t last long. He grabbed the left one from your ear much to your dismay, giving a large grin. “Everyone got to pick one activity for the weekend. What’s yours?” Snatching the item from his fingertips and placing it back where it should’ve been the entire time, you sighed.
“Pool morning.” His eyes lit up, going to speak again, but luckily the flight attendants began their aisle explanation of rules and regulations. Smirking at the interruption, you let your head recline back onto the ridiculously uncomfortable headrest, your eyes slipped shut.
You couldn’t be one hundred percent certain of how long your eyes were closed, but it felt like two minutes later when he nudged you to gather your attention on him. A large exhale left your nose, still trying to ignore him. It only worked for so long until he began incessantly tapping your shoulder.
“What? What? What could you possibly want right now, Joshua?” You snapped, staring him dead in the eyes, but he wasn’t phased in the least by your outburst. Holding up a ziplock bag to you, he offered another large smirk. “Trail Mix?”
Josh had set himself a personal goal for the trip. By the time the wheels were up on the way home, you two were going to be fast friends. Deciding on that after having a group dinner together one night and you did everything in your power to avoid him. Whilst he and Jake chatted in his kitchen he racked his brain at the possibilities.
“Can I ask you a question?” Jake hummed in response, eyes stuck to his screen. “Why does buzz not like me?” Jake’s eyes briefly glanced at his spitting image and sighed. “Because you’re you.” Josh let the words simmer for just a brief moment.
Before giving a response, Jake continued. “It’s just a lot for her to handle. You’re on constantly and it drives her up the wall. You know how she is. More reserved than any of us and you're just elevated by ten.” Josh’s brow furrowed, leaning against the counter, shaking his head.
“Yeah no, I don’t think that’s it.” Jake’s hands shot up, deserting his task of trying to get Josh to understand why his best friend did not adore his twin like every other individual under the sun. He was going to get her to be friends, even if it was the last thing he did.
A blinding migraine is what woke you up. That and the feeling of someone's arm wrapped around your bare waist.
Blinking your eyes open slowly, you could feel whoever was next to you, breathing deep and even into the crook of your neck. The disheveled hair was tickling your cheek and jaw, hand twitching every so often as he slept.
When he began to feel you stirring, he himself was slow to get up as well. Having no clue if this person was a complete stranger or if you happened to know them pretty well, had you beyond nervous to turn around and look.
Then it hit you. Patchouli.
Eyes blowing wide open, you turned your head to see him in the same position as you. Wide eyed, shock, and confusion painted across his face. Entirely sure he was mirroring your expression as well.
Neither of you said a word to one another as you laid there. Eventually, you pulled your gaze away from him and chose to stare at the ceiling instead. “Buzz?” He finally broke the uncomfortable silence drenching the room.
Making the wrong decision to shake your head, you groaned, stilling your skull and attempting to stop the room from spinning further than it already was. “No, no. Don’t say a word.” You seethed out between gritted teeth.
He took in a sharp breath, fingers laced soundly over his comforter covered torso. His phone vibrated on the nightstand and when he grabbed it, he only showed you the message from Sam. They were all downstairs waiting on you both to join them for breakfast.
Silently getting dressed, you stepped out of the restroom to see Josh waiting patiently for you. “We do not speak a word of this. To anyone. You understand me?” His lips were pulled between his teeth, but he nodded at you. “Of course, absolutely.”
As you two took your seats at the table, all eyes were glued to you both. Trying to play it off, you pointed to the pitcher of orange juice sitting on the other end of the table by Josh. He handed it off to you, but everyone's attention had yet to leave you both.
Finally giving in, you stared down Jake. “What? What’s wrong?” His chin rested on the backs of his hands, a small knowing smirk gracing his lips, sunglasses blocking his hungover eyes. “Are we going to talk about what happened last night?”
Shrugging, your brow furrowed at his words. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. What happened?” Sam snorted, sipping his coffee before responding. “Josh invited us all to watch,” your head snapped to the boy next to you, shooting daggers at him.
“You fucking pervert,” Josh’s cheeks burned crimson red at the response bit out at him. Danny finally spoke up through a bite of toast. “Like we weren’t going to watch our best friends get married.”
You perked up in his direction, looking at the paired off couples seated around the table. “Oh my god, who got married?” Josh was excited to hear the news himself. Jita’s confused gaze met your enthused one as she spoke.
“Uh, you two?” Eyes falling down to the table, you and Josh gasped at the same time, the memory slamming into you. Your hands covered your mouth as it hung wide open, staring at the man in pure shock. Slowly shaking your head, you stuttered over your words. “No-no, ther-there’s no way.”
Josh’s head fell back, swallowing thickly as his brothers erupted in laughter around the table. “How did they let that happen when we were so drunk?” You whispered out, staring at Jake for answers. He shrugged, “That’s the way most people get married, buzz.”
Letting your head fall into your hands, Josh finally spoke. “It’s fine, we’ll get it annulled and it’ll be like nothing even happened.” Nodding at his words, you shoved his phone into his hands from the resting place it had been on the table. “Now. Do it now.”
Standing from the table, he excused himself as he dialed his lawyer's number. Deciding that it was probably best to check your own phone for any inkling as to what had gone on the previous night, you checked what was buried in your purse. The screen was continuously lighting up with notifications from Instagram, Twitter, any and all social media known to man.
“Oh-oh my god,” you breathed out. Slowly lifting your head and looking at the youngest brother, you calmly asked him a question. “Samuel?” He huffed in response, spreading jam onto his toast. “Did you post the wedding on your Instagram last night?” Dropping his butter knife to the table with a loud clink echoing, everyone immediately took to Instagram.
A chorus of oh no’s, fuck’s, and holy shits were spoken by all of the table. Josh sat back in his seat and turned towards you. “There’s a problem,” you nodded, eyes never leaving Sam. “Oh, trust me, we’re well aware.” He breathed out a sigh of relief.
“Oh great, I don’t have to be the one to tell you.” Sam bit into a piece of muffin, shooting you a wink. “Happy honeymoon!” His attempt to release the tension that hung heavy on the group did not work as he had hoped.
The remainder of the trip you spent as much time away from Josh as possible, absolutely mortified about the circumstances and what had gone on. The only interaction you had with him was right after brunch when he told you his lawyer was working on it and he had made their manager aware of what was going on.
Otherwise, you had kept your distance like Josh was a plague. It hadn’t been too bad afterwards. You spent the rest of the time relaxing by the pool, enjoying great food, and before you knew it you were on the flight back home.
To face reality.
As you walked to your car, his voice echoed through the parking garage to gather your attention. Only stopping because you had to, you turned to face him and saw him jogging towards you. “So, uh, my lawyer wants to meet with us tomorrow morning. Manager will be there, too.”
Nodding in agreement, you didn’t say anything else as you loaded your luggage into your car and then yourself. He didn’t try to speak more, knowing how truly furious you were with him for this.
Knowing that this now being public information was going to make the situation that much worse to deal with. Not like it would have been if this was a normal person, no, you had to deal with the ramifications of being black out drunk and marrying a celebrity.
Awesome.
When you arrived at his home the next morning, you let yourself in, seeing a man dressed in a suit standing in his living room and the man you knew as their manager quietly chit chatting with Josh. He only offered a nervous, sheepish smile to you as you walked in and sat on his sofa.
“Alright, so what do we need to do? Sign some papers?” You spoke out first, grabbing a pen from your purse and looking at everyone expectantly. They were all nervous and you couldn’t figure out why.
The boy's manager cleared his throat and called you by your name, but you shook your head, offering your nickname instead. No one ever used your legal name, it was odd to even hear it spoken out. “Buzz, then. So, unfortunately, this is going to be a bit more,” he paused, trying to find the magic word, "more complicated than we originally assumed.”
Not responding, you only blinked slowly at him. Acknowledging the lawyer to step forward and speak, your head inclined towards him. “The annulment itself is not what complicates matters. It should only be a few months until everything is squared away based on the legal proceedings. What does make things sticky is the social aspect of this.”
His hands waved to you both, but you refused to look at Josh. He could feel your energy humming with pure anger at what was being said to you. His manager spoke up once more. “Yes, so, Sam posting this definitely made it more difficult. In order for you both to get out of this as unscathed as possible, we all discussed the options.”
Your face contorted in confusion. “Excuse me?” Everyone’s eyes settled on you. “I was not consulted for any of this. So when you say we all discussed the options, no we didn’t.” Josh’s wide eyed gaze looked at the two men standing, blankly staring at you.
Jaw setting in annoyance, you spoke again. “I don’t understand how there can be options in the first place. We get it annulled and call it a day. Wipe our hands of it. That’s the option here.” Josh cleared his throat, turning to face you from his seat.
“Buzz, listen. It affects our image. It’s one thing to actually be married, but for us to have gotten drunk in Vegas and then got married, and within seventy-two hours to get it annulled. That’s so bad,” you scoffed at him, but before you could speak they all chimed in.
“It puts a very bad image on Josh. We’re just trying to get damage control done right now. All we’re suggesting is that for the next few months, until the annulment is officially granted, you two continue to put on a facade of sorts to the public that you two are actually together.”
Unbelievable.
“And what about me?” You breathed out, staring at these men like the fucking vultures they were. His manager shrugged with a laugh. “You get to date Josh Kiszka for a few months. This will boost your image too!”
Standing up from your seat, you exploded on them. “Well, I’m not fucking dating Josh Kiszka! This is the problem with you, Josh! It’s all about you and your image. Doesn’t matter who else's life you screw up along the way as long as your image remains clean. Go fuck yourself. Let me know when I need to sign the papers.”
Storming out of his house, when you got to your car, you sat there in silence, trying to catch your breath. A scream left your throat as you continuously hit your steering wheel over and over. Admittedly, you had done some incredibly stupid things in your time, but nothing to this magnitude. No, this was truly life altering stupidity that put you here.
And you did it with the worst human imaginable. You hated yourself for letting this happen. This wasn’t like you. Getting married on a bender in Vegas? Nope. Bets were always going to be on Sam to do something like this. You? Not in a million years. With Josh? Not even in the realm of possibilities.
Yet, here you were.
Sitting in your apartment, you drowned your sorrows in a pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, watching Bridgerton as you sobbed about the utter mess you were in. Josh had been blowing up your phone all day, honestly you were surprised he hadn’t shown up at your door.
Ah, spoke too soon, you thought as a rumbling of knuckles on your front door drew your attention. Sniffling, you wiped your face with a stray tissue, praying it wasn’t too dirty, before walking to the door.
“I’m not in the mood right now, Josh.” Sighing as you took in the sight of who was at your door, you were overjoyed to see someone else standing there. “Well, damn good thing I’m not him then, huh?” You didn’t hesitate, throwing yourself into Jake’s embrace, continuously sobbing into his shirt.
His hands rubbed your back with a sad sigh, leading you back in towards your sofa. Sniffling as he grabbed a tissue, he wiped your tear stained cheeks that were positively swollen from the day spent in absolute waterworks. “What’s up, buzz?”
Your hands hit your thighs in exasperation, shrugging as more tears welled up. “They told me I have to date Josh until the annulment is done. I don’t want to do that, Jake.” Chin wobbling, he wiped at your falling tears again, nodding in understandment.
“I’m so stupid! How did this even happen?” He handed you the box of tissues before speaking. “First of all, you’re not stupid. You were drunk beyond belief, we all were. Second, who said you have to date Josh?” Eyes staring at the crumpled fabric in your hands, the sadness that sat on your shoulders sank further in.
“Your manager. The lawyer. Josh. They said it was to protect his image. That a drunk Vegas wedding doesn’t look good as is and then getting it annulled or having the paperwork filed a few days after is even worse. Like, they didn’t even consider me!” Your body shook harder as more tears fell, sobs escaping your throat as you laid on Jake.
A deep sigh rumbled in his chest, hand smoothing your hair down. “You’re gonna hate my response then.” Pulling back from his embrace, you shot daggers at him. “You want me to do it, too? Seriously, Jake? You know why I don’t want to be associated with him. I’m not doing it!”
His hands went up in defeat, but raked through his hair as he watched you move to the kitchen then back to the room in a nervous pace. “Buzz, listen. It’s not just Josh that’s affected. Honestly, if it was I would 100% be on your side and let you do what you wanted to do. I’m worried about you,” your brow furrowed at his words.
“Being associated with someone like us is not easy. You should see the toll it takes on Jita sometimes. It’s rough and brutal,” you cut him off, his words only aiding your reasoning. “Exactly! That’s one of the main reasons,” he didn’t let you continue, speaking over you and grabbing your hands to bring you back to sit with him.
His thumbs brushed over the skin on your wrist. “It’ll be so much worse if the annulment news gets out this quickly after what happened. Buzz, your life will be decimated. It will be horrible. It will affect your daily life, your work, everything. I want you to do this so that way it’s more sound when it does happen. Otherwise,” he shook his head as he trailed off.
With a groan, you flung yourself back onto the couch. You had never hated life more than you did right then. Grabbing your cell phone, you sent Josh a message only sending a Fine, as Jake patted your leg. “Good girl.” You kicked him in response.
A carefully drawn plan was created by everyone. Keeping public appearances at a minimum, their manager stated that only a few were necessary in the amount of time needed for it to be legally done. However, what was necessary was social media posts.
Since your…wedding, had been so publicly broadcasted, making an appearance on his social media whether by posts or stories was absolutely necessary according to them. The goal was to keep actual posts minimal, but stories more often. Which also meant that you and Josh were going to have to be spending more time together than you ever had before.
You were dreading it to put it lightly. In fact, you only wanted to crawl under your bed and hide for the rest of eternity. All you could think about was why this had to happen with him. Why not Danny? You loved Danny! Sweetest human being known to man.
Instead, you were legally bound to the person you despise most. Why must the universe laugh in your face like this? You believed you were a fairly decent person, so why you? It was that question that was on an ever repeat in your mind as you sat at a restaurant you couldn’t even afford to look through the window at.
The two of you were sitting in dreadfully uncomfortable silence. A fake engagement ring sitting on your left hand, a band on his. Waiter already having come and taken both of your orders, you didn’t know what else to do at the moment. Nibbling on a skinny breadstick, your eyes scanned the scenery around you.
People that would never give you the time of day if they were to spot you on the street filled the tables around you both. Occasional glances from the younger crowd falling over you two made you shift in your seat.
Taking notice of wandering eyes himself, he reached his hand out across the linen covered table, grabbing your hand with his. Speaking through a smile, your look of disgust made him laugh. “Can you at least try and make it look like we’re having fun? We’re married and people are looking, buzz.”
Forcing a grin onto your face, you squeezed his fingers, a hiss escaping from his teeth as he pulled his hand back. “You’re right, I am having fun!” Rolling his eyes, he expelled air from his ballooned cheeks.
“So what do you do for work, again?” He asked. You stared him down, opinion of him sinking further. “I’m an archivist. Do you know what that is?” Your smug tone had his face falling, mocking you. “Yes, I know what an archivist is. Asshole,” he mumbled, playing with the straw in his drink.
Sighing, he leaned back in his seat, eyeing you from across the table. “What’s your deal with me? Why don’t you like me? Everyone likes me. I’m Josh!” Elbows landing on the table with a clatter of plates and glasses, you began listing the reasons on your fingers.
“You’re selfish, snobby, too energetic, think you’re better than everyone else, an attention whore,” he cut you off, arms crossing over his chest. “Alright, alright, alright. I get it. But I’ll have you know I’m not any of those things.”
Your eyebrows shot up your face. “Really?” He nodded, a smirk tugging at his full lips. “Of course! There’s so much more to me.” Snorting, you pointed at the table. “If you’re not a snob or selfish then why would you bring me here? I don’t even like fish! I’m allergic to shellfish. I literally ordered the only thing that didn’t contain any fish. A fucking salad, Josh. I don’t like salad.”
Continuing with your rant, he listened to every word you said. “Not to mention that a place like this,” you waved your hands around, “is the last place I would ever want to come to. I’m more of a Chili’s girl,” his nose scrunched up in disgust. “You see! This isn’t going to work, Josh.” Catching your head in your hand, he tried to ease your spiraling mind.
“Okay, okay. I promise that next time we will go somewhere you want. I just figured that this was a good spot to get noticed and that is working. Three different people have taken pictures which I am almost 100% certain are already circling Twitter.” Your face showed your confusion because you hadn’t noticed that at all.
“I promise, next time, we will go somewhere or do something you want. Scouts honor,” he held his hand up in the salute, earning a tired laugh from you. “Ah, see! We’re already making progress. You laughed at my joke.”
Smile falling, the waiter appeared with your food right then. “Actually, I was laughing at you. Not at your joke.” He shrugged, digging into the salmon on his plate. “Still counts.”
Awkward small talk consumed the remainder of the evening. Walking to your own car that had been parked a few blocks away from the restaurant, Josh stood behind you, ensuring you got to your car safely.
Not offering a parting word, you got in your car, but Josh tapped on your window, a smile on his lips. Rolling it down, but only a crack, you tilted your head towards it. “What?” He placed a sloppy kiss on the glass, much to your dismay, but laughed right after.
“I had a great time with you, buzz. Make sure you’re at my home this weekend to make an appearance in a social media story!” He called out as you reversed out of your spot, driving off with your middle finger extended in his direction.
You weren’t a firm believer in the idea about people changing. People are the way they are, especially once in adulthood. The way someone acts by the time they’re in their early twenties, in your experience anyways, was how the person was meant to be. Which is why you were entirely confused about why Josh was growing on you.
After spending more than a few evenings at his home to appear in his stories or Instagram posts, even making it into a TikTok, you were growing more comfortable around him. Even opting to hang out without the need for posting purposes. You hadn’t even given a second thought to why you were okay with it.
It honestly started after your suggested publicity date. After having a night out at a fancy dinner, you decided to do something a tad more laid back for your date choice. However, when you realized that they wanted you to be seen out in public together, it dawned on you what to do.
The boys were still on tour, so like any normal “girlfriend” or “wife”, you flew out to spend some real good quality time with your partner. He even went the extra mile to pick you up from the airport. Your decision to keep him in the dark of what your planned outing entailed was driving him insane.
It is also why he was standing in the happiest place on earth with the largest scowl on his face you had ever seen. With your Minnie Mouse ears adorned, Mickey Mouse t-shirt, and Nuimo sticking out of your cross body bag, you were beaming from ear to ear. Walking up to Josh, you stood directly in front of him, placing a pair of ears on the frowning boy.
“No, no. Absolutely not.” Giggles fell from your parted lips as he took them off with a loud sigh. “Okay, Mr. Grumpy, what would you like to do first? Space Mountain or Autopia? I think we should do Autopia because it’s a car perfect for your frame and one you might actually be able to reach the pedals in.”
He mocked a fake laugh, walking in the direction of Space Mountain. Josh could try all he wanted to feign irritation with where you two had landed for your date, but by mid-afternoon, he was smiling more often than not.
Even indulging in a churro although it was against his dietary restrictions. You two were sitting in New Orleans Square, splitting a box of popcorn, giving your feet a rest after the incredibly long day, but your mood and spirits had never been so high around him before.
Laughter and smiles had been a regular throughout the course of the day, nearly riding every ride you could. Josh was grinning like a child after having indulged himself all day. “I can’t believe you actually bought the picture from Splash Mountain. It’s so dumb!” You spoke through laughs.
Whipping the picture out, you were cowering over, blocking yourself from the water, face contorted in fear while Josh had both hands up, the biggest smile you’d ever seen as he yelled out in excitement. As he put more popcorn in his mouth, his eyes narrowed at you.
“Why’d you pick here?” Smirking, you sipped from your novelty alien sipper cup. “For starters, I knew you’d be pissed when we walked in.” He shrugged in agreement, a light tint falling on his cheeks. “But I also knew that you would warm up after a few rides and snacks. Almost everyone does. And I picked somewhere where I knew we would be spotted.”
Sliding your phone across the tabletop, a photo of you and Josh on the teacups was circling the Twittersphere. “I think I’m starting to get the celebrity appearance thing.” Taking a bite of your salty treat, Josh eyed you in surprise.
“Well, look at you.” His gaze settles on you for just a beat too long, causing you to fidget in your seat. Looking back at your phone to get away from the uncomfortable feeling worming its way in your stomach, you spoke out. “C’mon, we have a lighting lane for Indiana Jones.”
Josh stared after you as you stood and began walking in the direction of the ride. His plan was working.
It was pissing you off to no end. You didn’t want to like Josh or be friends with him. Not since his fuck up in high school that was the root cause of all of this. So why was he growing on you?
Refusing to fall for the sweet Josh act, which you were beginning to doubt was an act at all, after your Disney day, you decided to keep contact and visits extremely limited. Only showing up at his home to appear in a quick story and then immediately leaving. Josh wasn’t a fan of this sudden change either.
Becoming downtrodden each time you rushed to leave his home after making brief appearances. Keeping conversations to a minimum. When you received a text from Josh saying one of your final dates was ready to take place, you were dreading spending an evening with him. Not excited about the confusing feelings that were happening.
Yet, here you were at a concert for the boys. Given you were as good of friends with Jake as you were, most people figured that you were constantly at concerts. Not really. Actually, you had only really seen them perform a handful of times. Now that you and Josh were married?
Of course the perfect opportunity for a sighting was going to be at a concert, supporting your fake spouse. Okay, not entirely fake because the marriage itself was technically real, but whatever. Standing off to the side of the stage, you smiled warmly at them putting their best efforts into their show.
It was hard not to notice the wandering eyes of fans falling to you and realization dawning on the crowd who you really were. Animosity towards you hadn’t been too much to deal with. Sure, there were people who truly didn’t comprehend how you and Josh were together. There had never been a mention of you before, Jake working overtime to ensure that through your friendship, and now all of a sudden this random woman is married to Josh?
Bonkers.
As their encore wrapped up, once Jake stepped off stage, you jumped in excitement, offering your happy praises of how well the show had gone tonight. Walking off with Jake, you halted as their manager’s wide eyes observed you, subtly nodding his head in the direction of who you should have been walking with.
Jake offered you a knowing smile, continuing towards his dressing room as you waited for Josh. As his curly hair bounced towards you, you offered a large smile. He knew what he was doing as an arm wrapped around your waist, pulling you towards him and connecting your lips.
You froze, not expecting him to do something like that. As he retreated, his arm never left you, a smile still adorned as he turned you around and walked you towards his own room. Skin positively on fire from the encounter, your stomach was a chaotic mess of nerves.
Sitting in the general waiting area for Josh to finish getting ready to head to the hotel, you were literally sitting on the edge of your seat. You weren’t stupid, you knew why Josh kissed you right in the viewline of hundreds of fans. So, why was your mind running about the passion behind it? And why did you like it?
His curly due popped out of his door, a big grin greeting you as his wet hair dripped down his temples. “Ready to go?” Nodding with no verbal response, his hand linked with yours, escorting you down the tunnel. Your eyes were glued to the faux wedding rings adorning your hands.
Some fans waved you off in the private cars that headed in the direction of the hotel. Not muttering a word, Josh could sense the vibe was just ever so slightly different than normal. He knew you weren’t upset, but you weren’t exactly dripping with excitement either. Nervous?
It remained silent in the elevator ride up to the floor of your rooms. When he walked to his door, he finally made eye contact with you for the first time all evening. “Do you want to come inside and talk for a bit?”
Your wavering voice would give away your endless thoughts, so you just bob your head in agreement, stepping into the suite before him. Sitting on the overly large sofa for one person, Josh immediately knew something was different when you didn’t give a snide remark about that.
Finally sitting next to you, he handed you a drink from the bar. “Alright, what the hell is wrong with you? This is the longest you’ve ever been silent around me.” Sighing, you battled how to word this, but Josh beat you to it. “Was it the kiss? I’m sorry I should’ve asked you beforehand, but so many people were around I thought it was what I should do.”
Shaking your head, you felt heat creep up your neck. “No, no it’s fine. I agree, it was what should have been done. It’s just,” trailing off, his eyebrows furrowed. “It’s just what?” Deciding against telling him how you truly felt about it, you changed conversation tracks.
“Just that it was a lot of fun seeing you guys perform. Makes me realize who I’m actually married to.” He bought it. Immediately smiling brightly at your words, he relaxed into the stiff couch. “I can’t get over that. We’re married.” You both chuckled, eyes going to the wedding rings you wore.
“Do you remember the night at all?” He questioned, seeing if you had any recollection of how it came to be. Eyes going to the ceiling, you laughed as you tried to replay the fuzzy night. “I remember laughing. A lot. It was at one of those twenty-four hour chapels on the Strip. Jake was your best man, Jita was my maid of honor. Jake signed as our witness. Sam recorded the whole thing on Instagram.”
You two were erupting in laughter at the sheer stupidity of the situation. “You wanted to consummate the marriage right there in the chapel on the pew.” Josh laughed into his glass. Your jaw opened in shock, refuting the claim. “I did not!” Josh’s eyebrows raised as he recalled it. “Oh yes you did.”
Sitting there and staring into his eyes as his laughter died down, you gave a shrug. “Okay. So, what if I did? Would you have taken me right there?” He didn’t hesitate, not an inkling of nerves as his response came quickly.
“I would’ve taken you right there if we had been alone.” Swallowing thickly, in the blink of an eye Josh had ended up on top of you. Teeth hitting in a messy, hurried encounter. His tongue trying to explore every inch he could.
It moved so quickly you weren’t sure how you had ended up entirely nude in his bedroom. On your knees and hands, Josh pounding into you from behind. Hitting so deep inside of you that you were certain you were going to split in two.
Your moans were borderline murderous screams. Body being moved forward which each meet of his hips to your ass. The sounds ridiculously lude as your soaked bodies continued to join over and over.
As his cum painted your back and ass, you felt like you had run a marathon. His fingers still lightly tracing circles over your throbbing clit, instead of stopping all at once, easing you out of the pleasure that wracked your body.
Limbs turning to immediate jelly, you weren’t sure how you ended up in the shower together, going for another round. Fairly certain your body would never be able to recover again. Yet here you were, accepting him again with pleads. Years of pent up aggression with one another colliding.
Heavenly.
Well, that complicated it a bit more. What the hell was the matter with you? It was Josh for god’s sake! All you needed to do was show up for the concert, hang out with him for a few minutes, then go to your own room, and fly home the next afternoon. You couldn’t even do that right.
Because you were currently entangled in bedsheets with the boy, limbs intertwined, and you didn’t want to move. He was just so warm and soft, comfortable beyond belief. The gentle rise and fall of his chest nearly eases you back to sleep.
It was only a couple minutes later when he stirred awake, humming in content at you still being there. Arms tightening their grip on you. His deep, husky morning voice broke the gentle air, erupting your skin in goosebumps. “Morning,” his lips landed on the crown of your bedhead, trailing down to your cheek, then neck.
Easy was one way to describe it. The head of his cock breaching your entrance slowly and deeply. Lifting your leg as you remained on your side, Josh right behind you. His fingers danced on your clit, and in no time at all, you two fell apart.
Wanting to return back to the safe slumber of your life, he refused. As your eyes slid shut, they shot back open as his tongue traced your leaking hole. It was going to be a long morning. Which you didn’t really mind.
Letting Josh take you to brunch probably wasn’t the best move, but you couldn’t bring it in yourself to come up with a phony excuse as to why you couldn’t. You wanted to spend some time with him, it wasn’t a crime or anything. If anything, it only strengthened the PR relationship you were putting up!
Oh, shut up.
Even when you got home, you found yourself looking forward to hearing from Josh. He didn’t understand what the change had been or when it had actually happened, but he wasn’t complaining. If anything, he was celebrating it. You were no longer doing everything in your power to avoid him, but instead were actually reaching out to see when you could see him again.
This was the literal best case scenario for him. His yearning for you over the years had only grown stronger through all of this and what had been a silly crush on his brother's best friend was blossoming into an actual romance.
Still, you were hiding your reasoning for seeing him behind the PR aspect of this arrangement, but the more you presented it and accepted when he did, the more hopeful he was becoming. It might be silly wishes, but after having harbored these feelings for you for as long as he had been, getting this close was playing with fire.
Did anyone have any idea about this infatuation? Not in the slightest. Josh knew he had done a wonderful job of keeping it at bay. Perhaps it came off as an elementary level crush where he teased you relentlessly, but he seriously had little to no game and that was how he knew to get your attention.
Some fine tuning was most definitely needed, he would admit that.
Did the teasing that Josh relentlessly tormented you with sear into your memory and want you to second guess what you were doing? Absolutely. In fact, one night in particular would always stick out to you. A junior year pool party where Josh announced to the entire party during a truth or dare session that you had never slept with a boy let alone kissed a boy, mortified you.
You could remember the shocked faces of your friends who had all recently gone on sexual journeys that school year and were no longer at your clumsy virgin level anymore. Only having told Jake in confidence, you were horrified to discover that Josh had obtained that information and that he thought it would gain some laughter and bump him up in popularity to divulge it.
He had regretted it immediately after it left his mouth. Your vision of him forever tainted. Of course, you would never admit that was the line he had crossed, instead picking other things about him that annoyed you. Josh knew the real reason.
So, where did that leave you both? Sitting in Josh’s living room about to sign your annulment paperwork after four months of fake dating. He had called you that afternoon at work and said his lawyer had dropped them off and all that was needed was a signature from you both.
Holding the pen to paper you signed your name, handing it over to Josh and seeing him do the same. Letting out a shaky laugh with a puff of air, you eyed him. “Okay, well that nightmare is now over.” He chuckled with you, hands rubbing nervously over the tops of his thighs.
“I am sorry about all of this.” You finally broke the tension by saying. Josh knew what you meant. This had been your idea. The entire thing. Having made a bet with Jake that if you could win on a $200 bet in one go at a blackjack table, he owed you $5,000. Being as inebriated as he was, he hastily agreed. Yet, when he asked what would happen if you lost it left you fumbling for an answer. Something worth at least that monetary value, you reached your decision quickly.
“I’ll marry Josh tonight.” Everyone hooted and hollered, watching you place your bet and of course, losing on the spot. Josh immediately invited everyone to come to the chapel with you both, saying he couldn’t imagine marrying you without his family there. One Instagram livestream and twenty some odd stories later, you two were hitched.
He shrugged with a chuckle thinking back to it. “It’s a funny story we will always look back on and laugh about.” Agreeing with him and not sure what your next move was, you rose from his sofa, heading toward the front door when your name echoed in the large room.
Turning, you saw Josh cross to get to you. Colliding together, your purse fell to the floor, wrapping your arms around his neck as he crushed you to him. “Don’t go.” He spoke out. You nodded eagerly, bringing him back to you.
“I like you. A lot.” He spoke out in between kisses. Only a muffled mhm and me too escaped your throat before Josh led you to his room.
It was like answering a craving that your body was shaking to get its fill on. Like a drug you had never experienced before. Needing him in you more than the air you breathed. Filling the void that only Josh could fill.
Only Josh. That was all your mind could think of. Could handle. Even as he eyed you, laying nude in his sheets, he riddled every thought.
“Can I take you out?” You laughed, seeing him eyeing you from above you. “I’m serious! I know we kind of did this backwards, but I really do like you. I want to take you out. For real.” Narrowing your eyes at him, you grabbed his chin in your fingertips. “Promise you won’t marry me this time?” He nodded, looking at you like you were crazy.
“Absolutely. The plan is to knock you up this time.”
#ficthots#josh kiszka#greta van fleet#joshua kiszka#josh kiszka imagine#josh kiszka fanfiction#josh gvf#greta van fleet imagine#greta van fleet smut#greta van fleet fan fiction#danny wagner#jake kiszka#sam kiszka#josh kiszka x reader#josh kiszka smut#josh kiskza fanfic#josh kiszka x reader smut#josh kiszka x y/n#josh kiszka x you
424 notes
·
View notes
Text
27. Good Merlin Fics I've Read Recently (7/12/23)
A Glimpse Into The Future by fahrenheitlove
A Night To Remember by Clea2011
a prince is never late (unless you're merlin) by lydiasgrace
(Ancient) Greek To Me by BeautifulFiction
Arthur's Bane by nishiki
Arthur, Sincerely by MerlinLikeTheBird
Be My Mistake by justiceformerthur
Bwnyfacys by Jockles [gen]
The Cat’s Pajamas by MerlinLikeTheBird
Dandelions in Spring by elusive_eventuality
Destiny by diner_drama
Determination by diner_drama
Distance Traveled by Mcguffan
Don't Try To Pin This on Me by whumpling (LiGi) (gen)
Dragon's Legacy by Zaharya
Magical Sleeper by Noel803
Meteorology (five ways to defuse a prince) by Fahye
Ninety-Nine Percent Complete by this_is_kelly
One Fool Thing by Of_Ivy_and_Gold
Our Shared Wardrobe by InkThroughHerVeins
Rainbow is the Colour (the Red Thread Remix) by Clea2011
So Near, So Far, So In-Between by Mirayla, Mischel
tantivy by iz_the_original
that I'm better off on my own by TukeIHNW
The past and pending by glim
The King and the Land Are One by PeaceHeather
The Royal Prat and the Cave of Destiny by who_la_hoop
The Scroll and the Sword by Elizabeth
This isn't funny! by orphan_account
Though Love Like Light Can Flee by horsecrazy
through storm and hellfire by prattery
time, mystical time by andiwriteordie
Watching You Like I'm in Love by General_Jellyfish, remaymber
when you let your fingers linger by Imagined
Who Are You? by whumpling (LiGi) [gen]
Woad Blue by MerlinLikeTheBird
The Wisdom Of The Ages by tehfanglyfish
You Have To Let Me Go by whumpling (LiGi) [gen]
Your Eyes Glow by Eldritch_Ambrosi
369 notes
·
View notes
Text
Criminal Minds | Masterlist
SERIES
Begin Again:
Chapter One: The Savior
Chapter Two: Room 304
Chapter Three: I Know Who Did It
Chapter Four: Swimming Pool Kisses
Chapter Five: Ninety-Nine Percent
Glitter & Crimson:
Glitter and Crimson
Reader is keeping a secret from the rest of the team and they're adamant to find out. When they do, they're absolutely gobsmacked. One of them more than others...
Steady As A Drumbeat
And that ends in a night neither of them will ever forget.
A Little Less Conversation
+ The Aftermath
ONE SHOTS / IMAGINES
Memoriam
Season 4 Episode 7 rewrite -- Spencer's childhood best friend helps him on the Riley Jenkins case. Working together after years of not seeing each other brings up old memories and new feelings.
Do Re Mi
Spencer's next-door-neighbor comes into the BAU, distressed, saying that her ex-boyfriend was the person responsible for the recent string of kills happening in D.C.
Truly Madly Deeply
Spencer comes home from a case and wakes up next to reader. Inspired by One Direction's 'Truly Madly Deeply'.
Johnny and Dora
Spencer and Reader go undercover together to catch the most prolific identity thief in New York. What happens on the case might spark a shift in their relationship.
Inspired by the Brooklyn 9-9 episode with the same name.
When?
Reader is tired of always coming in second place. Even when her and Spencer have split up, she's still looking over her shoulder as though he'd still be there. When will that end?
When The Girls Talk Boys
Spencer and Reader talk to their friends about one another, which causes their co-workers to find out about their secret relationship.
Inspired by Girls Talk Boys by 5SOS.
Nothing is Accidental
After hearing Spencer's talk on a conference, Reader tests her luck and talks to the young Doctor. It sparks a new friendship, partnership and maybe even more.
Rewrite of Season 7 Episode 11: True Genius
Dream Away The Dark
Four times where Reader comforts Spencer after a bad dream and one time where Spencer does the same for Reader.
Hunting Monsters
Halloween is Reader's favorite holiday and she plans to implement that love into her child's life, too. When little Poppy tells Reader she doesn't want to go trick-or-treating, Reader and her husband's co-workers help her convince the tiny genius.
I’m Recharging
How Spencer and Reader's ritual of 'recharging' began.
Tongue Tied
Reader is invited to her best friend's birthday party where she meets Dr. Spencer Reid. An instant connection is made.
Meet Me On The Courtyard
Spencer encounters his neighbor from across the yard, dancing around in her apartment until she catches him. They decide to properly meet on the courtyard.
You Owe Me A Date
Spencer and Reader plan to go out on a date. When she doesn't show up, Spencer gets worried.
You Knock The Wind Out Of Me
Spencer clearly dislikes Reader, but when she tries to ask him why, he evades the question. Only her boyfriend being disrespectful towards her forces her to admit his true feelings.
A Man After Midnight
Spencer and Reader are best friends since they were kids. When Reader is set to marry James, Spencer decides to give her the bachelorette party of her dreams. Only he wishes it were him she was about to marry...
Girls Can't Drive
Where a case hits reader a little too hard. Spencer doesn’t get why it’s hitting his girlfriend so hard until she finally tells him how hard it is to be a woman sometimes.
Annotations
Spencer finds a book in the breakroom one time and when he starts reading it, he noticed the notes in the margins. What quickly develops as a love written in the margins of several books, might have to step out into the real world soon.
King of My Heart
Spencer has always taken care of reader. Whether it was giving reader food before they realized they were hungry or buying them coffee, ... Tiny gestures that made it impossible for reader not to fall in love with him.
This Love Is Ours
Reader and Spencer are best friends with obvious feelings for one another. When Spencer ends up in prison, Reader gets angry at him, which keeps them from visiting him. But once she does, there's no pane of glass that would keep them apart.
Mine (Spencer's version)
Spencer reminisces about the first time he met Reader.
New Romantics
After a bad breakup, Reader and her friends go out to party where she meets one young FBI agent. Suddenly, she'd forgotten her ex even existed and was more interested in getting to know the stranger.
I Can See You
When Penelope's best friend comes to help out the BAU on a couple of cases, there's an immediate connection with the youngest of the team. After longing glances, soft touches and wild fantasies, the truth comes out accidentally. What is the resident genius going to do with that information?
There's A 100% Chance I'm Gonna Marry You
The team doesn’t even know of her existence but when Spencer can’t get a hold of her, he gets worried. Now he has no other choice than to tell his coworker about her.
I Think He Knows
JJ invites her best friend, a linguistics professor, to help out on a couple of cases. When she and Spencer work together, something sparks between them.
Maybe We'll Take Some Time
Spencer and Reader broke up five weeks ago. When he comes knocking on her door, crying about a friend's death, their love is resparked.
HANDS
Spencer's hands are lovely and as he placed them on Reader's cheeks, it was the only way to calm her down. So, when Reader comes home breaking down after a difficult day at work, he's quick to calm her down.
The Stranger
Spencer and Reader are coworkers and best friends. When Reader gets hurt on a case, Spencer's feelings for Reader are bared.
Floored Decisions
Many decisions were made on the floor of their apartment. One day, she asks him a very important question.
#criminal minds#spencer reid#aaron hotchner#derek morgan#jason gideon#jj#jennifer jareau#elle greenaway#emily prentiss#david rossi#penelope garcia#fanfiction#nele's masterlist
268 notes
·
View notes
Text
Character sheets take longer than I thought (I'm drawing on my phone without a stylus help me)
notes below the cut
I am absolutely TERRIBLE at drawing guys body types so I had to stare at reference photos for like ever and I chose discus athletes as my frame of reference. It's better than my usual work but still not perfect so I'm glad I don't have to do scar/tattoo maps for all of the characters.
very common headcanon I know but I imagine all the the Ro'meaves are tall with Garroth being around 6"7-6"8. HOWEVER he and his brothers inherited their height from Zianna not Garte. With Zianna being around 7ft and Garte being around 5"11 (Which is still tall but like he's the shortest so he WOULD make everyone sit for family portraits)
I'm getting rid of the cross on Garroth's design and replacing it with a star symbol, maybe something to symbolize Irene's power or something. The "gem" in the center is actually dyed quartz as it's customary for head guard to place a false gem of glass or a cheap gemstone to mimic the look of the Jury of Nine. Guards are gifted slightly higher quality stone or hunks of metal if they are on the waitlist for the Jury as well.
I know we make fun of the fact he never changed his name but there was a period in where like 20 percent of the English population was named Mary so he can keep his name unlike Aph.
I'm basing O'khasis on specifically on places like Wales, Ireland, England and France so maybe expect some later design elements from there.
His cape is "faerie silk", which is one of the few exports from the Yggdrasill forest region and is known for its durability. It's one of the few items Zoey always keeps in stock because after the incident with Zenix, Garroth incorporated it into Phoenix Drop's guard uniform.
I keep running into problems with ages because Diaries is just inconsistent like that but I THINK 24 is a good enough age??? I'd explain but that's a whole ass post about the Ro'Meaves that isn't set in stone until I figure out how evil I'm making Zane and reworking how the lord system works.
His armor was originally way too fancy for Phoenix drop but I imagine that it fell into disrepair after the lord dies. Aphelia and Laurance get his armor fixed up for him for his birthday one year before everything goes downhill.
The scar on his face is because Zenix swung a giant-ass blade at his face and I refuse to believe he walked away from that fight unharmed physically
I know it's hard to see BUT HE HAS STUBBLE. He always attempts to grow a full beard but after like 2 weeks it gets too itchy and he just goes back to the stubble.
if you're still here pls send in a request for the last character sheet for now because Laurance has like 5 outfits and I don't want to draw all of themmmmmmmmm help.
#theladyofrosewater#art#minecraft diaries#minecraft diaries rewrite#mcd#garroth ro'meave#mcd garroth#I have a whole ass rant about the Ro'meaves and their bs#however it it held back because I can't decide on how evil I want zane to be#aphmau#aphblr
57 notes
·
View notes
Note
hi!! congrats on 3k <3
for the event, could i request taehyun + twilight + fluff/smut
tysm! and congrats again!!
NOW SHOWING...
pairing: kang taehyun x fem!reader
genre: fantasy/supernatural, fluff, smut
wc: 2.8k
details + warnings: mdni, vampire!taehyun + human!mc are not representative of any particular characters they're just vibing in the twilightsphere, taehyun (looks-wise,,) + mc are in their early twenties, sex in the great outdoors, dom!tae, sub!mc, mc is kind of a masochist LOL, light spanking (f receiving), praise, thigh riding, face sitting, tae calls mc: baby
note: thank you nonnie!! i hope you enjoy :))
you maybe, kind of, sort of hate the town that is forks, washington.
forks, in your honest opinion, is...painfully gray. clouds constantly hide the sun from view. it is almost always raining. fog is the norm, not the exception. the real cherry on top is how the town is blocked in and divvied up by expanses of creepy trees of which you have no desire to step even a single toe into. it's dreary, it's boring, it's weird — and it's just all too fucking gray.
you wonder what your life would be like if you had left while you could, if you had uprooted your life and attended college in some state far, far away, if you had gotten a degree and become a teacher or an artist or even some bigshot lawyer. maybe you wouldn't be wasting the years of your youth in your parents' little diner. maybe you wouldn't be stuck with the indelible expectation that said diner will be yours one day, hanging dark and heavy over your head like the storm clouds that loom over your house ninety-nine percent of the year.
then again, if you had left, you would never have met taehyun.
he moved into town when you were nineteen, an age at which you were hard-headed and bitter because everyone else your age had already moved on to bigger and better things while you were abysmally stuck like a tire in mud. you felt abandoned, alone, and you saw yourself in him because he, too, seemed to have no one else.
at the same time, you also thought he was a little strange — stoic, reserved, out at odd hours of the night — but you couldn't really judge, lest you sound like a raging hypocrite. you remember the first time that you saw him: it was well after midnight, you had just closed the the diner, and the streets were eerily empty — yet there he stood, across the street, turned away towards the tree line. he seemed to have been watching something in the woods, but as soon as he picked up on the crunch of your shoes against the gravel parking lot and saw you behind him, he fled, gone as quick as lightning. you almost thought that he was a figment of your imagination, that you were finally losing it after your nearly lethal consumption of caffeine that night.
however, after that incident, he began to show up during your shifts, sitting in the far corner of the small space for hours, answering your questions with curt nods and quiet hums. very real, very much not a hallucination. he never ordered anything other than a water, and his eyes often stayed trained on the woods that lay just outside the windows. watching, waiting (for what, you didn't know, but you didn't really care to find out). though the fact that he never once ordered something — not even a basket of fries, or a milkshake — irritated you to no end, but you bit your tongue like a good waitress had to and allowed him to sit there. not many people stopped by at such late hours, anyway, and maybe his presence cured some of your loneliness; he wasn't good company, by any means, but company nonetheless.
one particular night, a few months after he began to come in, things simply weren't going your way. if the argument between you and your parents before your night shift started wasn't enough, you burned your forearm when you accidentally spilled a pot of coffee and slipped and fell onto the unforgiving linoleum floors while carrying two plates of food. by the time he showed up, you were in the middle of a full-blown mental breakdown and could barely hold back tears as you greeted him at his normal booth.
“are you okay?” he had asked, his eyebrows furrowed, betraying his typically apathetic expression. in response, you burst into tears, apologizing as you attempted to run to the back, but he stopped you, his ice-cold fingers looped around your wrist. the sensation sent shivers straight down your spine, something that you can still vividly remember. you whipped around to face him. his wide, carob eyes cut through you with an intensity that you’d never experienced before. “sit. with me, i mean.”
“i-i’m working,” you choked out.
his lips formed a flat line. “no one else is here.”
“fine,” you mumbled, taking a seat on the other side of the booth. he had let you vent about everything and anything that plagued you, silent while he listened. the words he spoke once you finally exhausted yourself stick in your mind to this very day.
“it’s never too late to start carving your own path, y’know. you’re young, you have time.”
things changed after that night. a friendship bloomed, then a relationship began after about six months of knowing each other. things changed again, however, growing strange once you did begin dating. he made constant excuses as to why he couldn't sleep over and why you couldn't come over to his place; he didn't touch you often; and the weirdest of all his habits: he never, ever went anywhere near your neck, whether it be with his hands or his lips. loneliness and the acrid feeling of being unwanted returned in full force, nipping at each and every nerve within your body.
sick of it all, you eventually confronted him about it during a picnic date in a large clearing one evening. naturally, when your boyfriend admitted to you that he's a vampire — in the middle of the woods — and showed you his sparkling fucking skin, you were freaked the hell out. yet, in the end, it didn't scare you away, especially once he said that he only ever fed from animals he'd find in the woods. you cared for him just as much as he cared for you — human or not, you decided that you loved him either way.
(also, he'd always seemed a little off, other. maybe you were a little satisfied to know that you were right, but you'd never admit to that.)
nearly two years have passed since then, and while your feelings about forks haven't changed in the slightest, taehyun brings an ironic sense of life to the dismal little town.
“you’re staring.”
you feel your face heat up at your boyfriend’s words, your gaze immediately diverting away. you were not staring, no way. though he moves to find your eyes again, you maneuver out of his hold, now glaring at a spot on his shoulder. “no, i wasn’t.”
“aaand your heart rate just picked up.”
“you’re so unfair,” you hiss. “just— just keep your stupid vampire senses to yourself!”
he laughs, the sound light and melodic, as he attempts to wrap his arms around you again. you've turned away from him, arms crossed over your chest and in a state of faux despondency. he knows just how to press your buttons; the fact that he can pick up on each and every minute change of your heart rate and scent will forever be something that gets to you. you can't hide anything from him, and both of you know it.
you feel like you spend every waking hour with taehyun nowadays. if you're not working, you're with him doing fuck all just to spend time with each other, but even in the most mundane moments, boredom never becomes an issue. even right now, as you lay together in this small clearing in the forest, simply talking and staring up at the pewter clouds, everything feels...right? complete? you think that's the word that you should use — like the final piece being placed into a puzzle.
“c’mon, you can’t stay mad at me,” he goads. he blows into your ear afterward to make you flinch, earning a yelp in response. “you just make it so easy to tease you.”
“yeah, yeah. make fun of the defenseless human,” you sigh, turning back around to face him with pursed lips, delivering a firm poke to his forehead. “you’re lucky that you’re pretty.”
if he had said anything similar to you a couple years ago, you would've likely stormed off and ignored him for hours. you're not proud of how you once acted, but at least you've grown softer around the edges over the years. kinder, less resentful. and rather than tear your walls down, he scaled them slowly and met you at the top, took them apart brick by incorporeal brick as the trust between you grew, gentle and never prying.
one of his eyebrows raises. “pretty, hm? is that all i am to you?”
pretending to think, you tap your chin, your eyes shifting up towards the sky. you've grown softer, no doubt, but your witty edge refuses to disappear. how else could you keep up with him?
you make eye contact with him again, finding an expectant glint in them. you can barely bite back the smirk fighting to pull at your lips. “hmm...yeah, i think that’s about it.”
“you are such a brat, my god,” he groans, head falling against your chest. “is your life goal just to rile me up?”
“honestly? yeah. it’s just so easy to tease you,” you throw his earlier jeer straight back into his face, but the words are soon followed by a series of shrieks as he pushes you onto your stomach, unfazed by your feeble attempts to break away from his inhumanly strong hold. a hand leaves your wriggling waist to deliver a light slap to your ass. it’s careful, barely there. he knows how much more fragile you are compared to him, after all. the last thing he’d want to do is hurt you.
what he doesn't account for is the way you'd moan at the sensation.
a tense silence overtakes the air around you, the only noises remaining being the rustle of trees and the chirping of birds. you've all but buried your head into your arms. although your current position renders him unable to catch your flustered expression, your scent — fuck, your scent has changed, something heady and sweet and it's almost as if he can taste the lust and need rolling off of your form. your blood rushes faster beneath your skin, the erratic ba-bump of your heart loud in his ears. he pushes his base instincts down; he's better than this. he can't hurt you — he won't.
“you— did you like that?” he carefully asks, a gentle hand pressing into the middle of your spine. it’s not often you find each other in spontaneous intimate moments, mostly due to his fear of losing control, but your trust in him is immutable. in the span of two years, he has not once hurt you — but you still find yourself shaking your head in denial, the embarrassing heat gracing your cheeks keeping you from looking at him. he won’t hurt you, you know that, but that doesn’t change just how mortifying this moment is. you and him haven’t explored this part of your sexuality yet, the hidden side of you that enjoys a little pain amongst all the pleasure. it’s something that you’ve barely touched upon yourself.
taehyun, on the other hand, isn't satisfied with your answer. a morbid curiosity eats at his nerves, and he can't help himself from gathering you into his lap so that you straddle his hips. you are wearing a thick pair of jeans today, but it's not enough to prevent your scent from overwhelming his senses further due to your spread apart thighs. he steels himself, trying not to press the pads of his fingers into your hips too hard. you still refuse to look at him, your head hanging low and bottom lip tucked beneath your teeth. he brings a hand to your chin, tilting your head up. your eyes divert to his shoulder under his intense gaze.
“look at me, baby,” he orders softly. he watches a shudder run through you before you listen to him. the muscles of your throat contract as you gulp, though his expression remains neutral, his fingers squeezing your chin. “i’m going to ask you one more time: did you like that? did it feel good?”
inhale, exhale, nod.
his lips purse. “words, baby.”
“y-yes,” you whisper, weak and breathy, like you don’t want to admit it to yourself either. it earns you a quiet “good girl” and his thumb brushing over your lower lip.
taehyun stares at you for a moment before he asks, “do you trust me?”
of course you do, and you tell him just that, pulling a smile from him. “i want you to take your jeans and panties off for me, okay?”
you nod, rolling off his lap with shaky limbs and removing everything below your waist. the chilly air nips at your bare skin.
he takes no time in maneuvering you back onto his lap, legs straddling only one of his thighs now. you send him a questioning glance, with which he responds by rubbing soothing circles against your bare hips beneath your oversized sweater.
“get yourself off on my thigh,” he encourages. he doesn’t trust himself to be inside of you right now — he’s barely keeping it together as it is — but that won’t stop him from making you feel good.
you're silent as you take an experimental roll of your hips. the friction of your clit against the rough fabric of his jeans causes your mouth to fall open. you press your hands against his chest, grinding down again. and again. and again. the picnic blanket below you digs into your knees. taehyun grabs your hips a little tighter, beginning to help you move your hips faster, pressing you down harder. his grip is nearly bruising, but the ache that it brings renders you speechless, unable to speak besides the quiet gasps that you let out. quickly, you grow lost in the pleasure, the delicious friction against your clit growing more intense as the seconds tick by.
smack! taehyun brings a hand down against the swell of your ass, much harder than the teasing one he gave you earlier. you jolt on top of him with a loud moan, clenching around nothing. “tae— fuck!”
“yeah? what is it, baby?” he coos, slapping his palm down again. he’s barely breathing, monitoring your expression to make sure he’s not hurting you too much. but all he finds is pure, unadulterated pleasure, your head thrown back and your eyes fluttering as your movements grow more desperate. his head grows fuzzy at your strengthening scent.
“gonna— ‘m gonna cum, please,” you whine, nails now digging into his chest. you look like pure sin, with your flustered face and heaving chest and your glazed over eyes straight into his. “please please please—”
he can't take it anymore.
suddenly, your body careens through the air before you can even process it, your thighs now cushioning taehyun's face while he fully lays back. he gives you no time to complain of your ruined orgasm, his lips suckling your clit while his tongue circles the weeping bud. your hands grab at his hair, pressing down. there's no way that you can hurt him, so you allow yourself to grind down on his face like you did his thigh, using his face as your own personal toy. he gropes your ass all the while, pushing you further down against him until you smother him, ravaging you whole. you can no longer hold in your moans, and they only serve to spur him on. one of his razor-sharp teeth slides against your lower lips, and that's enough for your high to wash over you, your vision flashing white while you quake above him. he holds you up with strong hands, continuing to tongue at your clit until you're pushing his head away.
“tae, stop,” you beg while he cleans you up, ignoring your heightened sensitivity. “tae.”
“fine, fine,” he mumbles once he pulls his mouth away from your center. “can’t help it, you taste good.”
“quit being embarrassing,” you groan, your submissive tendencies all but gone. you struggle to lift yourself off of him and wiggle your jeans back on. he ends up helping you, patting your ass when you’re all done. you slap his chest, but you lean up and press your lips to his anyway. pulling away, you slide a hand under his sweatshirt. above, beams of sunlight break through the thick clouds, illuminating his skin. biting back a smirk, you rub a thumb over his cheek where it shines.
“take me home,” you purr. “we’re not done yet.”
you're careening through the woods moments later.
3k event masterlist | masterlist
© to agustdiv1ne. do not copy, repost, steal, and/or translate.
#txt smut#taehyun smut#txt x reader#taehyun x reader#txt fluff#taehyun fluff#txt imagines#taehyun scenarios#txt hard thoughts#txt hard hours#agust.nsfw#3k milestone celebration#💌 — tyun
231 notes
·
View notes
Text
꒰ 8:45 P.M. ꒱❛ miya atsumu x reader ༉‧₊˚✧
“you don’t get to just do that!” you scold the taller man, feeling your cheeks flush hotter than they already were.
roommate!atsumu stands tall in front of you, crossed arms over his chest as he looks over at you boredly - boredly! he has the audacity to act nonchalant in the middle of getting an earful from you!
“do what?” he asks, jutting his chin out in feign innocence.
“do what-" you scoff, repeating him. “you third wheeled my date!”
“wasn’t your date the dinner?” atsumu asks skeptically, putting a hand to his chin in thought. “i didn’t third wheel nothin’.”
you groan in frustration at the blond. miya atsumu may be your roommate and best friend, sure, but you wanted to strangle him ninety-nine percent of the time.
you’d gotten back from a date just an hour prior, bringing your date home along with you since he (and well, you didn’t mind) wanted to continue after your reservation at the nice spot in the center of town.
“you can’t seriously by playing dumb right now,” you mutter, turning away from him as you trudge back over to the living area where coasters and a near empty (mostly atsumu’s doing) bowl of chips are settled on an end table. first, you put the coasters back in their place on the lower shelf of the table for the next time you have company — thanks to atsumu though, you don’t think that’ll be soon.
then, grabbing the bowl, you walk back toward the kitchen where atsumu’s leaning against the counter, closely watching your movements.
“the first date i’ve had in months and the guy’s never gonna call again,” you continue muttering. it’s toward your roommate but you’re not exactly talking to him, more like talking into the air, well aware he’d catch it.
at your less frustrated expression, atsumu's original playful and mischievous gleam in his eye dissipates. you look more solemn, shoulders hunched as you do the dishes in the sink – after all, it was your turn to do the chores.
“to be fair, i don’t think you’d want a guy like that calling again. to have to be told to take off his shoes when entering our home? i can already tell what sort of man that is,” atsumu huffs, remembering the way the man so casually stepped into your apartment, following you, watching you slip off your heels – heels atsumu knew you hated wearing since they always left a blister at your pinky toe – and just, waltz in without taking off his shoes.
“he apologized!“ you quip back, glaring at him over your shoulder. “maybe he’s raised different.”
“sure.” the faux blond rolls his eyes as he recalls the way the man (now come to think of it, atsumu doesn’t even remember his name) apologized quickly to you when he’d been the one to tell him to take off his shoes in a rather dry tone. apologizing for the sake of it, atsumu thinks, because just two minutes after walking in he’s asking for some wine. asking!
“he was nice all night and you were being so hostile and interrupting us,” you chide, going back to scrubbing a plate in the sink.
“he was nice to you,” atsumu clarifies. “man didn’t like me the second he walked in-“
“-demanding a man to take off his shoes isn’t exactly a polite hello,” you cut off knowingly but atsumu continues anyway.
“-so of course i was hostile.” not to mention, atsumu wants to add, the way said man stared at his dear, beloved roommate as if she were a meal, only melting her resolve with sly compliments and an innocent act. “he gave me weird looks,” he settles on instead.
“can’t imagine why.”
he could tell the minute your date walked through the door, charming smile gracing his lips as you stepped inside, he had more plans than just dinner and some home snacks. nah, atsumu thinks with a sneer, he wanted dessert.
but damn, if atsumu’s chest didn’t swell with pride and confidence at the slight falter in your date’s reaction to him, a roommate you were vague talking about (so vague you didn’t mention it was a man at all).
it helped that he could tell the guy was a sleaze, finding any excuse to set the mood; drinks, a rom-com playing on one of the movie channels of your cable box, shutting off the lights. yeah, atsumu had fun barging through the living room of your apartment every fifteen minutes, claiming he needed something, either from the kitchen or the living area itself.
atsumu walks up next to you, holding a hand out. it’s a subtle attempt to lighten the mood, helping you dry the dishes as you wash them, but it doesn’t go unnoticed by you.
“you probably made him feel uncomfortable,” you pout, passing him a mug to dry.
that was my intention, he thinks. “by just bein’ me? hm, i think that’s a him problem then.”
“still, he wasn't being outright rude to you, or me! he-"
"right, because he was nice," atsumu drawls out, rolling his eyes.
"yes," you answer, matter-of-factly. "nice."
"these quote, nice guys, aren't it, gotta tell 'ya." he crosses his arms as he sighs out, looking as if he knows all, as if he's about to give you some wise words. good thing you know he's miya atsumu so you don't expect too much.
"oh yeah?" you muse, light smile curling one side of your lips, a reaction he was hoping for.
"definitely. it's all a facade covering up all their severely red flags. 'ya need a guy who can tease ya, make fun of ya, y'know the type to laugh first when you fall and then ask if you're alright."
"oh, so someone like you then?" you stifle a laugh at his blatant autobiography. you don't notice the underlying meaning of your question when you ask it but atsumu does.
he freezes for a second, glancing at your genuine curiosity. "y-yeah," he stammers, grateful that you don't catch it, reaching up to put away a dried bowl back into a cabinet. "someone fun. not "nice"."
"an asshole," you reveal with a teasing lilt, awaiting his response. atsumu whips his head toward you, brows furrowed at your insinuation. at the playful gleam in your eyes, all frustration settled between your brows fully gone, he relaxes.
"sometimes," he clarifies, looking down at you amusedly.
"mm," you hum out in disagreement. "i think it's always."
"yeah?" he tests, raising a brow at you. "didn't i bring an umbrella to your job so you wouldn't get stuck in the rain?"
"fine, fine." you brush him off, waving your arms.
"or that time i bought you lunch 'cus you forgot your bento?"
"i get it-"
"driving you home from that god awful date you had three months ago?"
"atsumu-!" your voice is pitched higher in embarrassment, remembering the circumstances.
"what about the time i saved you from a nice guy who probably isn't so much of a nice guy?" his voice is quiet then, looking deeply at you.
your mortified expression shifts into a softer one, absorbing his words. although atsumu came off as a prick ninety percent of the time, he really did have your best interest at heart — even though your best interest could only satisfyingly be him.
“he talked about his workout routine all the way here,” you mumble out of nowhere, feeding into atsumu’s perception.
“i knew it!” he snaps his fingers and looks at you victoriously. “that’s total douche behavior if y’ask me. dodged a bullet, doll.”
you sigh out a laugh, lips curling up at his eager expression. “guess I did. besides,” you pause, bumping his shoulder with yours, despite the height difference. nothing but an affectionate tone slips between your lips and as it seems, you’ve forgotten whatever you’d been annoyed at him for. “i think i’m keen on a particular asshole in my life anyway.”
✿ reblogs and interaction always appreciated !! ✿
#haikyuu#haikyuu x reader#hq#hq x reader#haikyuu!!#haikyuu x fem!reader#haikyuu x y/n#haikyuu x you#haikyuu x female reader#haikyuu miya atsumu#miya atsumu#miya atsumu x reader#atsumu x reader#haikyuu atsumu miya#haikyuu atsumu#atsumu#atsumu drabble#haikyuu fluff#haikyuu scenario#haikyuu scenarios#haikyuu imagine#haikyuu imagines#haikyuu drabble#haikyuu drabbles#haikyuu au#atsumu fic#atsumu scenarios
2K notes
·
View notes
Text
[“For some of us, taking a deep breath and a moment to reframe or refocus our thoughts after an upsetting event will be enough to halt our physiological stress response. However, members of populations subject to weathering are rarely—if ever—responding to a single acute stressor. Their bodies are in constant biopsychosocial motion fulfilling their many and compelling responsibilities, which also steals their chances of having “me time.”
A 2004 ethnography of low-income mothers in Chicago (Black, white, and Latina) described the complex puzzle that many face to meet the basic daily necessities for their families. Mothers commuted up to five hours a day (and rarely less than two hours), facing severe weather conditions and patching together the meandering routes of their underfunded public transportation systems. Long wait times and limited hours of availability at public-aid offices meant missing meals in order to navigate their schedules successfully. Not only was their discretionary time scarce compared to their more affluent counterparts, but the consequences of missed obligations were dire. The investigators wrote, “Mothers who received TANF benefits [Temporary Assistance to Needy Families],” for example, “faced work requirements that often did not take into account changing circumstances. If they showed up late for work because of sudden illnesses or emergencies, they often were docked prime hours or even fired. Changing family circumstances had continuing repercussions because public benefits could be cut or terminated when employment was lost.”
All in all, these strangling time constraints meant drastically reduced sleep, less family time, and less time to unwind from the day—the cruel irony being that more-structured stress meant less time to decompress. Two-thirds of the study sample led such “highly challenging” lives. One participant averred she “could never get a break.” Another observed, “With working, the kids, and cleaning, […] you just ‘do’ until you can just sit in a chair and nod off.”
Another study of low-income mothers (Black, white, and Latina), using data from the same ambitious three-cities ethnography, exemplifies the kind of extraordinary stresses and choices faced in the communities most subjected to weathering. Francine, a thirty-year-old mother of three, had no time to attend to her own stomach cancer diagnosis because she had to attend to her asthmatic son, as well as her mother who recently suffered a stroke and heart attack at the age of fifty. Lourdes, a thirty-four-year-old mother with diabetes and glaucoma, was expected to comply with welfare work requirements because her doctor insisted she could still work despite partial paralysis and blindness. As noted, 80 percent of mothers studied suffered from chronic conditions (83 percent of whom were thirty-nine or younger) yet could not afford regular doctor’s visits, owing to either lack of income or “more immediate concerns,” such as the need to attend to their child’s health problems or their need to hold on to jobs that did not give them personal time off. It is hard to imagine a “more immediate concern” than an early-onset cancer diagnosis. That addressing it might not be an immediate priority reflects the constant juggling required in high-effort coping.”]
arline t. geronimus, from weathering: the extraordinary stress of ordinary life in an unjust society, 2023
148 notes
·
View notes
Text
"If I wanted to convince you of the reality of human progress, of the fact that we as a species have advanced materially, morally, and politically over our time on this planet, I could quote you chapter and verse from a thick stack of development statistics.
I could tell you that a little more than 200 years ago, nearly half of all children born died before they reached their 15th birthday, and that today it’s less than 5 percent globally. I could tell you that in pre-industrial times, starvation was a constant specter and life expectancy was in the 30s at best. [Note: This is average life expectancy, old people did still exist in olden times] I could tell you that at the dawn of the 19th century, barely more than one person in 10 was literate, while today that ratio has been nearly reversed. I could tell you that today is, on average, the best time to be alive in human history.
But that doesn’t mean you’ll be convinced.
In one 2017 Pew poll, a plurality of Americans — people who, perhaps more than anywhere else, are heirs to the benefits of centuries of material and political progress — reported that life was better 50 years ago than it is today. A 2015 survey of thousands of adults in nine rich countries found that 10 percent or fewer believed that the world was getting better. On the internet, a strange nostalgia persists for the supposedly better times before industrialization, when ordinary people supposedly worked less and life was allegedly simpler and healthier. (They didn’t and it wasn’t.)
Looking backward, we imagine a halcyon past that never was; looking forward, it seems to many as if, in the words of young environmental activist Greta Thunberg, “the world is getting more and more grim every day.”
So it’s boom times for doom times. But the apocalyptic mindset that has gripped so many of us not only understates how far we’ve come, but how much further we can still go. The real story of progress today is its remarkable expansion to the rest of the world in recent decades. In 1950, life expectancy in Africa was just 40; today, it’s past 62. Meanwhile more than 1 billion people have moved out of extreme poverty since 1990 alone.
But there’s more to do — much more. That hundreds of millions of people still go without the benefit of electricity or live in states still racked by violence and injustice isn’t so much an indictment of progress as it is an indication that there is still more low-hanging fruit to harvest.
The world hasn’t become a better place for nearly everyone who lives on it because we wished it so. The astounding economic and technological progress made over the past 200 years has been the result of deliberate policies, a drive to invent and innovate, one advance building upon another. And as our material condition improved, so, for the most part, did our morals and politics — not as a side effect, but as a direct consequence. It’s simply easier to be good when the world isn’t zero-sum.
Which isn’t to say that the record of progress is one of unending wins. For every problem it solved — the lack of usable energy in the pre-fossil fuel days, for instance — it often created a new one, like climate change. But just as a primary way climate change is being addressed is through innovation that has drastically reduced the price of clean energy, so progress tends to be the best route to solving the problems that progress itself can create.
The biggest danger we face today, if we care about actually making the future a more perfect place, isn’t that industrial civilization will choke on its own exhaust or that democracy will crumble or that AI will rise up and overthrow us all. It’s that we will cease believing in the one force that raised humanity out of tens of thousands of years of general misery: the very idea of progress.
Changing Humanity's "Normal" Forever
Progress may be about where we’re going, but it’s impossible to understand without returning to where we’ve been. So let’s take a trip back to the foreign country that was the early years of the 19th century.
In 1820, according to data compiled by the historian Michail Moatsos, about three-quarters of the world’s population earned so little that they could not afford even a tiny living space, some heat and, hopefully, enough food to stave off malnutrition.
It was a state that we would now call “extreme poverty,” except that for most people back then, it wasn’t extreme — it was simply life.
What matters here for the story of progress isn’t the fact that the overwhelming majority of humankind lived in destitution. It’s that this was the norm, and had been the norm since essentially… forever. Poverty, illiteracy, premature death — these weren’t problems, as we would come to define them in our time. They were simply the background reality of being human, as largely unchangeable as birth and death itself...
Between 10,000 BCE and 1700, the average global population growth rate was just 0.04 percent per year. And that wasn’t because human beings weren’t having babies. They were simply dying, in great numbers: at birth, giving birth, in childhood from now-preventable diseases, and in young adulthood from now-preventable wars and violence.
It was only with the progress of industrialization that we broke out of [this long cycle], producing enough food to feed the mounting billions, enough scientific breakthroughs to conquer old killers like smallpox and the measles, and enough political advances to dwindle violent death.
Between 1800 and today, our numbers grew from around 1 billion to 8 billion. And that 8 billion aren’t just healthier, richer, and better educated. On average, they can expect to live more than twice as long. The writer Steven Johnson has called this achievement humanity’s “extra life” — but that extra isn’t just the decades that have been added to our lifespans. It’s the extra people that have been added to our numbers. I’m probably one of them, and you probably are too...
The progress we’ve earned has hardly been uninterrupted or perfectly distributed... [But] once we could prove in practice that the lot of humanity didn’t have to be hand-to-mouth existence, we could see that progress could continue to expand.
Current Progress "Flows Overwhelmingly" to the Developing World
The long twentieth century came late to the Global South, but it did get there. Between 1960 and today, India and China, together home to nearly one in every three people alive today, have seen life expectancy rise from 45 to 70 and 33 to 78, respectively. Per-capita GDP over those years rose some 2,600 percent for India and an astounding 13,400 percent for China, with the latter lifting an estimated 800 million people out of extreme poverty.
In the poorer countries of sub-Saharan Africa, progress has been slower and later, but shouldn’t be underestimated. When we see the drastic decline in child mortality — which has fallen since 1990 from 18.1 percent of all children in that region to 7.4 percent in 2021 — or the more than 20 million measles deaths that have been prevented since 2000 in Africa alone, this is progress continuing to happen now, with the benefits overwhelmingly flowing to the poorest among us.
Vanishing Autocracies
In 1800, according to Our World in Data, zero — none, nada, zip — people lived in what we would now classify as a liberal democracy. Just 22 million people — about 2 percent of the global population — lived in what the site classifies as “electoral autocracies,” meaning that what democracy they had was limited, and limited to a subset of the population.
One hundred years later, things weren’t much better — there were actual liberal democracies, but fewer than 1 percent of the world’s population lived in them...
Today just 2 billion people live in countries that are classified as closed autocracies — relatively few legal rights, no real electoral democracy — and most of them are in China...
Expanding Human Rights
All you have to do is roll the clock back a few decades to see the way that rights, on the whole, have been extended wider and wider: to LGBTQ citizens, to people of color, to women. The fundamental fact is that as much as the technological and economic world of 2023 would be unrecognizable to people in 1800, the same is true of the political world.
Nor can you disentangle that political progress from material progress. Take the gradual but definitive emancipation of women. That has been a hard-fought, ongoing battle, chiefly waged by women who saw the inherent unfairness of a male-dominated society.
But it was aided by the invention of labor-saving technologies in the home like washing machines and refrigerators that primarily gave time back to women and made it easier for them to move into the workforce.
These are all examples of the expansion of the circle of moral concern — the enlargement of who and what is considered worthy of respect and rights, from the foundation of the family or tribe all the way to humans around the world (and increasingly non-human animals as well). And it can’t be separated from the hard fact of material progress.
Leaving a Zero-Sum World Behind
The pre-industrial world was a zero-sum one... In a zero-sum world, you advance only at the expense of others, by taking from a set stock, not by adding, which is why wars of conquest between great powers were so common hundreds of years ago, or why homicide between neighbors was so much more frequent in the pre-industrial era.
We have obviously not eradicated violence, including by the state itself. But a society that can produce more of what it needs and wants is one that will be less inclined to fight over what it has, either with its neighbors or with itself. It’s not that the humans of 2023 are necessarily better, more moral, than their ancestors 200 or more years ago. It’s that war and violence cease to make economic sense...
Doomerism, at its heart, may be that exhaustion made manifest.
But just as we need continued advances in clean tech or biosecurity to protect ourselves from some of the existential threats we’ve inadvertently created, so do we need continued progress to address the problems that have been with us always: of want, of freedom, even of mortality. Nothing can dispel the terminal exhaustion that seems endemic in 2023 better than the idea that there is so much more left to do to lift millions out of poverty and misery while protecting the future — which is possible, thanks to the path of the progress we’ve made.
And we’ll know we’re successful if our descendants can one day look back on the present with the same mix of sympathy and relief with which we should look back on our past. How, they’ll wonder, did they ever live like that?"
-via Vox, 3/20/23
Note: I would seriously recommend reading the whole article--because as long as this post is, this is only about half of it! The article contains a lot more information about the hows and whys of human progress, and it also definitely made me cry the first time I read it.
#progress#human rights#humanity#science and technology#premature death#cw infant death#child morality#womens rights#lgbtq rights#bipoc rights#doomerism#climate change#food insecurity#extreme poverty#global south#developing countries#optimism#climate optimism#good news#hope
205 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
alunasky-blog
Alunasky
almondfeather
(might do the drawing sometimes)
rouvenar
Still gathering Universes
tjswritingstuff
Tamara Haddock