#and then later he started getting shitty and passive aggressive and when i told him i just didnt have the energy for it he said fine | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

you-usuratonkachi · 2 years

Text

about El's character arc and Mike's monologue

so i went back to rewatch the parts of the show that had Mike and El and El and Brenner, because I had noticed parallels between Mike and Brenner, and I wanted to single those scenes out to make sense of them. I might have gotten what they were trying to do with that...? Maybe. I'm not sure myself because the whole thing is kinda convulted, but hear me out.

The whole issue with Eleven this season is a fundamental insecurity: she does not feel like she's worth it without her powers. She doesn't know how to live as Jane. Not to mention she is having flashbacks/dreams about something she might have done in the past that she forgot.

So before Mike comes to California she's already feeling vulnerable.

She lies to Mike in her letters because she feels like she lost the only interesting part of herself (the part that she feels Mike likes her for) and she tries to make up for it by telling him that everything is fine and dandy and she has lots of fun and she's popular and everything she feels like he might like in a girl (who does not have powers).

When she strikes Angela, she triggers her own trauma.

It's her highest insecurity moment.

She's scared that she might have done something far worse than stricking Angela. Mike is already freaking out over a "small" cut, how would he react if he knew she had murdered children at Hawkins lab instead?

She was hanging onto the hope that none of it was true, that it was just some kind of nightmare, but seeing Mike take it so badly fueled her insecurities: she feels like a monster.

He says he "cares" for her, not love. Not like last season. Because she has no powers anymore? Because now she just strikes bullies in their faces? Because she is not able to make them pee their pants anymore? She's not cool anymore, she's just scary.

So when he says "you're a superhero" she does not believe him. Because she doesn't believe in herself either.

Was the issue truly stemming from Mike?

I think all considered he had a fair reaction. Kinda insensitive towards her feelings but fair. No matter how shitty Angela was, what El did was not cool either. So I know it's not a popular opinion and we all think Angela deserved it, but Mike has quite an adult reaction to it. Insensitive towards El's feelings, but fair. He basically calls her out for her bad behavior at the dinner table (albeit a bit passively aggressively... 😅).

It's not that Mike was scared of her, he was displeased with her behavior (plus the fact that she lied to him the whole time).

What she thinks she saw in him, it's what she saw in herself. She's projecting her insecurities.

(Now, while this is true, it doesn't change the fact that Mike couldn't say ILY when she needed it the most. Would it have solved the problem? Probably not, but perhaps she would have opened up to him about how she truly felt. But he couldn't say it anyway).

Later in the show, she starts training with Brenner and she has a whole conversation about Monsters and Superheros.

He says that people cannot be so easily defined and just by accepting the bad and the good we can become whole. To which she answers "what if I don't want to become whole?"

She does not want to accept the bad in herself, because she wants to be able to stay a superhero.

Later she learns that it wasn't her that killed the other kids in the lab and she realizes that the only reason why she opened the gate at all was because Brenner made her search for One. It wasn't her, it was him. So she rebels against him. Asks him if he even cared about the children.

He says he loved all of them. That he tried to help and understand Harry because...

So Brenner manipulated and abused her to get One back. So she would somehow open the gate. It was not her. It was him. He's the monster.

With this and by leaving Brenner behind, she finally feels like, after all, she might still be that superhero she wanted to be.

So yeah, rethinking the whole situation with El and Benner, I do feel like what Mike told her in the monologue was actually what she wanted to hear.

Because when she argues that she wants to go save her friends, Brenner tells her:

"you came to me broken, but you've learned how to walk again. but if you want to defeat one, you'll have to do more than walk. more than run. you will need to fly"

He's doubting that she can do that.

On the other hand, when Mike calls out to her as she fights Vecna, he says:

"you can fly, you can move mountains."

which is in direct contrast with what Brenner told her. So Brenner didn't believe she could do it. Mike did.

he ends it with "you're my superhero" which is what she wanted to be.

So, in truth, the monologue wasn't THAT bad. There is some sort of continuity with the storyline. While Mike did not evolve at all and told her exactly what he told her the first time (minus the ILY), El did change.

In that moment, coincidentally, it might have been exactly what she wanted to hear.

Except she loses. Max isn't saved (or I guess partially) nor Vecna truly defeated.

Brenner was right. She wasn't ready.

In the last ep, after the time skip, Will asks Mike if she talked to him at all. Mike says no, then corrects himself and says "a little" and right after that Mike and Will sit down and Mike tells him that she told him that Brenner was right, that she hadn't been ready.

So the parallels between Brenner and Mike are basically about one person who didn't believe in her and one person who did. Except the person who didn't believe turned out to be the one in the right.

So right now it doesn't really matter whether Mike loves her or not, the same way it did not matter whether Brenner loved them or not. At the end of the day, Brenner failed them all (which is why she does not acknowledge him as he dies). At the end of the day, whether she is Mike's superhero or not, she failed Max.

"There's more to life than stupid boys" because after all this wasn't about Mike. It was never about Mike. It was her trauma, her insecurities, her feelings projected onto Mike.

This said, while Mike's monologue perhaps had some kind of sense after all, it also failed in so many ways.

1. Yes El was projecting mostly, but the fact that Mike cannot name a single quality of hers that isn't her powers is also very true (bad writing? I guess even the writers forget that she's an actual person and not just their magic caster) so it's not surprising that between Brenner and Mike she doesn't feel like she has any worth without her powers

2. He still couldn't say ILY when she needed it the most and his excuse for it still sucked balls. Truly. Especially because he was never shown to be angsty about losing her for shit. He (the writers?) just pulled that out of his (their?) ass. Bad writing once again? Possible.

3. Mike quoted Will's confession and basically responded to it, thinking that was what she wanted to hear.

Everything else I can shrugg of as partial bad writing, but the parallel about "needing" after Will reminds Mike that he's the heart and therefore about his whole confession and therefore about the fact that El will always need him is not random. It was intentional. The whole thing hurting Will was intentional. They made it a point to show him throughout the monologue because his feelings are important for the plot, I assume.

So yes, I do believe that the monologue could say almost whatever because it wasn't supposed to work. The point of it all, it's that it failed. It's that by the time everything is done and is over, El realizes that it wasn't Mike, it was her all along. It's not Mike that has to believe in her. It's herself.

She has to find herself, accept herself as a whole, with or without powers. Believe that she's the superhero herself.

She doesn't need to hear that from Mike.

She does not need him.

This is where her arc is truly going. Her entire plotline it's about learning that she's sufficient. That she does not need to be validated or pushed by anyone else.

She did not need papa to love her. And she does not NEED Mike to love her either. She needs to love HERSELF.

This is what she's ultimately learning in this last part of the story.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

What she's learning and what Mike wants right now go in opposite directions (he wants her to need him). She's working on herself but he's suck in whatever his issue is. Either inferiority complex or internalized homophobia or general insecurities or all of the above.

What does this say about M*leven and where they are ending up? I'm not sure. It all depends on how Mike develops next season, truly. Will he be able to develop with her or will she ultimately decide that she's better being on her own as she finds herself?

Plus let's not forget that while everything might feel linear and orderly and very sensible written down like this, I have taken out one important piece from the picture, so that I could single out her journey, because that piece is not part of her journey, but is very much part of Mike's. And visually? It's been part of M*leven's journey throughout the season: Will.

After all, Brenner was still El's catalyst for her character development, while Mike was kind of collateral demage.

I think ultimately, Mike's catalyst will be Will (and viceversa). Because it kinda... always has been.

The writers made it a point to hammer Will in our heads throughout the season. Even if El's journey makes sense and so does M*leven, the visuals kept reminding us of Will over and over.

The monologue quoted Will's confession and this will have repercussions.

Lies were told and sooner or later the truth always finds ways to come out.

I think ultimately, Mike being sincere or not is still in question, because despite the whole narrative following through for his monologue, he just so happened to say what he thought she wanted to hear. And he thought so because 1. she said she wanted him to say ILY 2. she told him she was gonna be a superhero again 3. he believed what Will told him

The fact that he was only able to confess to her when she was on the verge of death? Still true. The fact that he thought that she wouldn't "like the truth"? Still true. The fact that he has behaving out of character with Will? Still true.

Even more than before, after analyzing the whole thing, I'm convinced that it's a mediocre confession because it was supposed to be.

Because ultimately what El learns from it, is that she thought she needed it, but she didn't.

#byler #eleven #jane hopper #i don't know what to tag exactly #so that I don't make people upset #but yeah #i think she's going through an amazing journey #I don't know whether Mike will be in it as a significant other at the end of it #it really all depends on Mike's character arc #will they finally show us HIS perspective next season?#there's so much that is up in the air with him #but if Will is gonna be center next season you bet everything you want that Mike is gonna be under the spotlight #'cause he's the heart #of course #his character arc is inherently connected with will's #I strongly believe that

148 notes · View notes

bourbon-ontherocks · 11 months

Note

so, 305. I hate that there were so many lovable things about it. like the ducks around morgane’s house (bathroom, living room) keeping up with the theme--reminded me of those pictures books where you had to find the duckling hidden on every page! (speaking of; timothée il a un peu une tête d’Où est Charlie nan ? he’s got the stripes + glasses + hair) or the fact that morgane is randomly wearing floaties at the swimming pool 😂 (… maintenant que j’y pense, elle comptait peut-être les piquer pour chloé mdrr)

et les combines de serge. céline giving up on educating morgane on procedure, ptdr. l’employée de l’ehpad qui a un vague air de mylène farmer. [gros canard] still holds the title of HPI’s mr. worldwide. daphné being daphné. ("gilles..? 🤨 euh, oui. GILLES !") gilles STILL being way too good a friend (j’espère que sa psy lui dit), but also how close he was to morgane during the investigation, that was cute!

par contre, 2 trucs qui me hantent : 1) why does [gros canard] seem mesmerized by morgane’s neck while she goes on and on about the kid’s drawing?? 2) morgane’s lack of empathy at the pool. I didn’t expect her to joke about moms murdering each other right in front of the bereft husband 😧

Oh my gosh anon, I'm just so sad that this episode was so tainted and ruined for you 😭 It breaks my heart a little, and also it makes me dread for you, knowing what's coming ahead, but... one shitty plotline at a time, amirite?

Soooooo *cracks knuckles* let's get started 😈

"I hate that there were so many lovable things about it" -> literally me after watching the finale tbh 😂😭

I must say I didn't notice the ducks thingy but thank you for pointing it out, it really is reminiscent of those child books and was a very nice touch (the way this show can switch from absolutely shitty and unsubtle to actually brilliant and clever in the bat of an eye will never cease to baffle me) 😍 The duck jokes at the crime scene were excessively funny too, and the moment Bonnemain enters the game too with a joke that's not even funny?? Peak comedy! And Adam's reaction "Mais vous allez pas vous y mettre vous aussi ?!" -> 200% Artur vibes 😂

100% agreed that Timothée is a human waldo and was intended to be lol (also on en parle de Timothée qui offre le même polo à Théa ?? Who does that? 😂 It's like he asked for her to put it in the mopping supplies... And her general passive-aggressive animosity towards him was SO entertaining!)

And OMG I didn't even notice Morgane had floaties on at the swimming pool, this is hysterical 🤣 And re her lack of compassion, I must say Morgane's relationship with empathy has been a mystery for me since day one, sometimes we get to see her really sympathizing with the victims' families (the daughter in the pilot for instance, or the mall's widow in 201, or even the actual bledigirl), but also sometimes not ("ah bah ça tombe bien puisqu'elle est morte" with the victim's sister in 201), so this scene didn't strike me as particularly ooc, but her characterization regarding this specific personality trait is unclear. I'd say perhaps she tends to lose her compassionate skills when she gets excited about figuring out some stuff?

Serge's cancer kid scam was very fun to watch ("coucou c'est la maman du petit Eliott, bon bah il est mort" 😂), and also I wouldn't have noticed the ehpad employee's similarity with Mylène Farmer but now that you're pointing it out...

Somehow it warms my heart a bit to see you calling Adam [gros canard] this episode, I guess it shows you're on your way to forgive him? But maybe it's just my own wishful thinking lol! Anyway, yes, he also speaks Russian (and not to spoil, but Mehdi Nebbou is gonna keep on bragging in later eps 👅), and remember when I told you that your dream about escaping from Putin was foreshadowing? Well I was talking about this KGB bit haha 😆

No idea why he seems to stare at Morgane's neck in the hospital, perhaps he just can't look her in the eyes nor in the boobs (in his defense, she just talked to him about nipples) so he's stuck in between lol 😅 Or maybe Mehdi just forgot he was acting for a bit and was thinking about dinner or something idk... But there is indeed room for interpretation and I'll go with the most probable option which is that he's just mesmerized by her in general, especially in that episode where he's discovering that he can't stand seeing her with someone else (let's be real, everyone saw that coming but him 😂), so he's probably just staring at her while thinking "what the fuck is wrong with me?"

Daphné and Gilles were the heart and soul of this episode I swear!! I love Daphné's completely clueless but supportive ass, Gilles being so torn between friendships he's gonna break, the fact that he kept the charade going on for TWO MONTHS, the fact that apparently he talks about Morgane to his therapist 🤣, him trying to hide Morgane's presence from Adam at David's (he's the definition of the no-questions-asked friend who'll support you no matter what, we all need a Gilles in our lives 🥰) Daphné being ready to get any disabled but homophobic employee fired (worst idea ever to give her that workplace inclusion responsibility mais je l'a-dore), and also her blind anger towards Morgane, misunderstanding of the CENTURY 🤩🤩🤩

Also, did you notice that Gilles shaved, this ep? The man is such an Adam fangirl he's now cosplaying as him istg 🤣🤣🤣

[EDIT] OMG I JUST FIGURED OUT WHY YOU CALL HIM GROS CANARD ANON YOU ARE A GENIUS IN DISGUISE OK BYYYYYE

#julia's adventures with the hpi anon #hpi #anon #hpi analysis #hpi season 3 #ask

7 notes · View notes

traumasurvivorshelpingsurvivors · 1 year

Note

Hi, this is the recent anon with the racist, sexist etc mom.

Tw emotional abuse, suicidal ideation

I need some tips: not only me but also my partner are living with my mom at the moment and my partner can bear my mom much worse than I do. He's always soo close to replying to her racism etc or, for example, we decide to cook something and she will be inspired to cook too (at the same time) and just take our pots with boiling water and put her stuff in etc. My partner is very sensitive with that because he loves cooking, his parents are cooks as a job. And while I have.... Repressed all emotions, when I am around her, and just leave the pots to her and cook a bit later, he always gets very angry (understandable but not helpful). We usually cook separately because my mom usually eats meat with meat and occasionally a bit rice at the side, and we are vegans.

And my moms racist talk.. That's harder for me to bear than the usual bs she talks, but he sometimes has to leave the room so he won't say anything. And I am very afraid this won't work out much longer.

And my mom seems to be pissed of him too. I mean, she's generally more pissed since her diagnosis etc understandable but tbh I can't feel any sympathy for her and can't bear her much. I have one of my recurring (and re-leaving so don't worry, I don't worry either) suicidal phases so yeah. Idk which breeded which but I try to be away from her as much as possible.

She's been more abusive again. It became less as I grew older (and knew and followed the rules) and when my partner moved it, it almost stopped (don't embarrass yourself in front of strangers, right?). But it started again. Don't need to get into details, it isn't as verbal as before but very passive aggressive. She's also very restless so she always finds a reason to be mad at me.

She always asks me stuff about my partner or tells me something I shall tell him. Like, last weekend he was cooking for us and she was behind him with her cooking stuff (ready to steal his pots) and he wanted to clean the hotplate but since she was behind him, he just brushed the dirt into his hand and threw it away. And on monday, my mom gave me her most aggressive cleanser since "we obviously never clean the plate properly. She saw, how my partner did it so now she's disgusted" (since she can't imagine, this was an hurry-exception). Which is so hurtful because I clean the kitchen daily to give her less reasons to yell but ok.

Like, this is a sidestory but she always thinks shitty of me. I remember one random day, I came home from school, walked the dog (as usually), came home again and short time later, she came home from work and immediately yelled at me because she was certain, that I didn't walk the dog that afternoon. She had no reasons, nothing was different, she was... sensing it? Idk she has such days on which she accuses me randomly and wrongly. And it shows me that overall, she believes I am a bad person, who wouldn't do anything good or properly, if I wasn't watched.

And her... arrogant behavior. "Yeah, you'll now clean the kitchen properly! I already put the cleaner-bottle on the hotplate." ohh, too gracious. Try not to overwork yourself. It's also never a question but a command.

I am getting a bit drawn away but I feel like I need this.

And after I cleaned she told me, how wrongly my partner "cleans" the kitchen but "Oh, I just wasn't in the mood to argue, so I just thought, I'll tell you and you can tell him".

This really reminds me of the time after my parents seperated. They didn't talk but still wanted to insult one another so I had to deliver the messages "Mom said, you should pay child support!" "Dad said you should get a fucking job" etc. And I hated it as a kid and refused at some point but... Me and my partner need this home atm. So I have to keep the peace. Which is hard work.

She is also always so... into things that aren't hers. My partner has skin issues and got a creme from his doctor recently to use after shower and he forgot it the first time. And my mom saw the still closed bottle and was like "Didn't he use the creme yesterday, after he showered? Oh he's so unreliable!!" or, he needed to talk to his doc so he wrote him an email but got a number wrong from his medical insurance id and the doc said, "sorry, there's something wrong and I can't help you until you give me the right number". And my mom somehow knew about the doc issue (it was a sole bureaucratic issue, no health thing, nothing urgent) and randomly one day said "what did the doc say?" and I didn't think quick enough so I made the mistake to be honest and said "He got a number mixed up and needed to write to the doc again". And my mom was sighing so loud, for like 5 minutes straight, how my partner can't do anything right. It's not your problem!! It's actually nobodies problem since it is no problem!!

So yeah, situation is... tense. And I fear it won't calm down easily. And.. it kinda is my job to hold the peace? Like, my partner doesn't has the capability and experience I have with my mom and I don't want him to have to do this. And my mom doesn't have the emotional maturity and self reflection. And me... atm has no energy and a deathwish so... Yeah.

No seriously, how can I calm everyone down? All those situations, those teensy things that destroy the peace, happen daily. There is no day without it. I tried to calm it down by doing everything perfectly and being there for my mom (also as a conversation partner) whenever she needed one. But.. omg I can't bear her existence at the moment so... I am so afraid it will explode. My partner just has to make one comment about her racist behavior or that she should stop stealing his pots and she would kick us out.

I really need tips to keep the peace until we find an appartment. And maybe tips to overcome myself and spent more time with her.

Hi anon,

I'm so sorry you've been dealing with this. You don't deserve to put up with this.

It can be very difficult knowing how to handle being around an abusive person. Transparency and honest conversations would usually work, but these conversations typically go in one ear and out the other for abusers. But you may not exactly be able to simply ignore your abuser either, because they may demonize you for it and escalate things. Unfortunately there is no clear answer.

However, there is information about how to respond to things such as verbal abuse. Some of the main things are to maintain your boundaries such as how you are spoken to, remaining neutral in your tone and body language, walking away or leaving if needed, as well as looking into therapy, and maintaining contact with friends and family.

Ultimately please know that your mother's behavior is not your responsibility to quell. It's her own responsibility to behave herself and be mindful of how her behavior affects others, instead of putting the responsibility on you to tell her what's not okay.

I hope I could help. Please let us know if you need anything.

-Bun

#mod bun #trauma talks #tw abuse #tw emotional abuse

3 notes · View notes

rhaenyras · 8 months

Note

I’m a cisgender bisexual woman and sex worker, and I’ve been dating a wonderful man for the past eight months. Everything is perfect: He’s smart, handsome, cares for me and we have an amazing time together. He even cut ties off with his parents when they insulted me because I am a sex worker. Everything feels right. Except that he berates me for my job.

I began doing sex work three years ago to help pay for university. I’m estranged from my family, and I’ve never had any financial help, everything I want and need I provide for myself. I used to bust my ass working multiple jobs at once to pay for school, food, and rent, but sex work has allowed me to increase my income while also exploring my sexuality.

My boyfriend has known that I do sex work since our first date, and he said he was okay with it then. But lately, he’s been making some really shitty comments. It started subtly: “Do you actually enjoy doing sex work?”, “You will catch many STI”, and “Don’t you worry about how it’s going to affect your future?” to “I don’t get why you have to do this,” and “Your body shouldn’t be for other people, it should be for me.” Recently, he confessed it makes him “sick” to think about me with other people. When I tell him that these comments hurt me, he responds by saying that my work hurts him because he felt “humiliated.”

I’m hurt and confused by all this. He’s making me feel ashamed when I actually love what I do. I don’t want to quit sex work, but I don’t want to lose him either. Do I have to leave my boyfriend or my job? What should I do? Many of my sisters, brothers, friends and mentors have been sex workers. Almost everything of value that I know I have learned from sex workers. And I have lost many dear people to whorephobia and anti-sex worker hatred and violence.

hmm i wish i had a clear coincise answer for you but the truth is you have to ultimately decide for yourself and choose what you would miss the most in the aftermath of your choice. if your partner offered to provide for you so that you never have to work in that field again, and you also get to be with him, would you be happy? would you retire with a light heart? would your relationship with him go back to normal so easily and immediately? are you even sure that you quitting sex work would make things alright again between you two? if sex work is just a means of sustenance for you then you could try bringing up this scenario when you're talking to him but the thing is i don't think you see sex work as being just a source of income in your life. it seems like sw is so much more than that to you. it sounds like you were able to find a sense of community and bodily autonomy through sex work. so i dont think you could just shrug it off, move on and leave it behind you, even if you somehow found the way to pay rent and live comfortably without it.

and i also think that jealousy is human when love is involved. your man probably didn't think much of it when you first told him on your first date because he didn't feel too strongly about you back then, but then he caught feelings and so of course his views about what you do started to also change. i dont blame him, i just think he was naive not to predict that this would happen sooner or later. he definitely overestimated his own open-mindedness.

are you certain that he won't hold sex work against you for the rest of your life, even if you end up quitting for his sake? won't he always be lowkey bitter and passive aggressive that you slept with other people for a prolonged chunk of your relationship? only you can know the answers to these questions. and if you don't, then you should definitely bring them to his attention.

personally i wouldn't tell a woman to quit her education or career over a man, so I don't see why it should be any different with you just because your career happens to be sex work.

but you are the only person who ultimately knows just how much you'd miss this man if he broke up with you over this. because that's a very real possibility at this point. i truly don't envy you or the dilemma you're tackling right now and I'm aware I've raised more questions than I've answered, but i deeply hope you can sort it out and emerge from this dilemma holding what you cherish the most, whether it be the man or your career 💖

#you guys have such complex lives #i could never keep my sanity. I'd just snap and pull a gone girl #thankfully im just a 27yo married old woman #ask #anon #anonymous

0 notes

hotdamnhunnam · 3 years

Note

congrats on 2k followers!!!!!! you're such a wonderful person and you deserve to be celebrated! for the emoji fic fest i'd like to send in the following emojis for raleigh becket: 😚☂️💦

Thanks for your request for my Emoji Fic Fest! And thanks for the congrats and kind words! 💗

..................................................

Under My Umbrella

Pairing: Raleigh Becket x F!Reader Warnings: smut, swearing, random silly song references, Raleigh being a big dorky softie but also (shockingly!?) down to fuck immediately Word Count: ~1.6k Emoji Prompt: 😚☂️💦 (key words are in bold)

The breach is closed. The war is over and he saved the world and everybody knows.

And that’s the problem. Raleigh Becket doesn’t like the way the spotlight overcomes him. Light he never chose, so blinding as it glows. The way the masses flock like moths drawn to the halo set above him and blindly believe they love him. That’s not love—they know of what he did to save the day when push came to a cataclysmic shove, but truly they know nothing of him.

It’s a shame to live in fame. Beneath the shadow of his own overblown name. He doesn’t have the massive ego, to embrace the role of hero, to indulge when strangers scream after him everywhere he goes. He worries that his life won’t ever be the same.

That was what drove him to this small town tucked away and hid, a little off the grid—and he’s felt better ever since he came. He’ll never be completely unknown, but at least the crowds are tame, and leave him well enough alone. He’s so alone lately it’s almost lame.

He likes it that way though. Likes his routine of waking up and waiting at the bus stop, working at his humble job. The pay is low. Even more so when business is slow. And Raleigh savors the simplicity, the contrast to the constant flash of cameras when he was recently living in the city. Even the weather helps his cause by often shrouding this small town in rain and snow.

He’s the new golden boy in town you haven’t met. You’ve heard the rumors of a cutie who just moved here but you haven’t crossed paths yet. When you hurry to the bus stop this fine morning, find yourself caught in a downpour without warning… that’s when you finally set eyes on Raleigh Becket. Suddenly the rain is not the only thing getting you wet.

You would have made sure to bump into him much sooner had you known that this is what your ass was missing. Even when his mane is damp-darkened by the rain you can still tell he’s got a bright blonde head of hair. Big eyes as blue as the Pacific and deliciously pink lips just made for kissing. You could swear, you’ve seen his face somewhere… but even if you hadn’t you would still shamelessly stare.

You’d missed the forecast so arrived at the bus stop without an umbrella in hand. The golden god has one but you do not want him to think you’re staring at him as a hint that he should share it with you; that’d be a bitchy thing to do, to make such a passive-aggressive demand.

From Raleigh’s end—once he’s calmed himself down after reacting to the most beautiful girl who’s ever come around the bend—he clears his throat and clumsily invites you now to join him where he stands.

“Y-you can stand under my umbrella.”

He just says it with no introductory words. You find it cute as fuck that he’s so awkward. It’s a good thing too, given the awkward vibes uncontrollably coming off of you. “–ella, ella…”

You had just murmured it quietly… then bitterly regret that shit immediately. Cursing yourself silently for your idiocy. Maybe the poor guy doesn’t even know this reference to a song from the 2000s or whenever it was.

But apparently he does. The next thing that he bashfully goes on to say: “… ey, ey, ey.”

Suddenly all your insecurities about your stupid sense of humor fade away. All you can think about is standing under his umbrella and hopefully sitting on his cock later today.

***************

This bastard smells so fucking good it isn’t fair.

Can probably hear you breathing him so deep but you don’t even care. Standing beside this total stranger you have never felt such comfort anywhere. That subtle clean scent of simple unscented soap… mixed with the warmth of honeycomb and home and hope… cinnamon sugar muffins, sweet and soft and fresh out of the oven. Smells so wholesome you can’t cope.

You want to say something but don’t even know what. After a few seconds of silence steal another glimpse up at his gorgeous face and have to stop yourself from moaning like a slut.

… That’s when it hits you who he is. You were too caught up in his beauty that you hadn’t even realized who this hero truly is.

And Raleigh senses it the moment that you recognize—picks up on that familiar jolt of such starstruck surprise, that makes him feel like he’s an object for a sea of prying eyes. Less of a person, more a prize. It kind of hurts him, as he wishes he could meet a pretty girl and flirt a little bit, without his reputation far preceding him and getting in the middle of it. Wishes he could carry on like all the ‘normal’ guys.

Then he remembers he’s an awfully shitty flirt. That helps a little with the self-pitying hurt.

You gather up your fallen jaw to ask him the obligatory question as it’s naturally the only thing to do. “Are you…”

But then you pause—notice the shadow fall across his gaze of blue—you hate to think you were the cause. You can’t begin to process all his thoughts and what he’s been through, but you understand on some level that just because the whole wide world regards him with applause, that doesn’t mean you have to stand here and remind him that it’s true.

And so instead you just finish the sentence with something painfully dumb. The words just come, because all two of your brain cells are doing their usual stupid dance. “… are you into piña coladas by any chance?”

The sadness in his gaze fades a bit as he casts you a curious glance.

You backtrack to explain your silly words. You’ve referred to a super old song yet again, even older this time and he might not get it so you have to explain. You feel so fucking awkward. “I–I just thought that maybe since we’ve already gotten caught in the rain… we could work backwards…”

Before you can carry on with your explanation, Raleigh’s blushing face lights up in realization. His adorable pink cheeks flush red. “Oh my God I’m so sorry that went right over my head!”

He’s so fucking precious you can’t even stand it. Too cute to be true. You laugh off what you’d said and just shoot the shit, for a few minutes—or more than a few—till the two of you realize the bus isn’t coming and that you are stranded.

“Well, I guess I’ll just call in sick today.” He shrugs but shocks himself a little bit ‘cause that was not at all a Raleigh thing to say. He’d never lie about his reason for an absence from the job. Yet he might have to, if he hopes to carry on chatting with you, all day here under his umbrella at this lonely little bus stop.

“Me too,” you coo, smiling up at this wholesome heartthrob, then nervously shuffling your feet and looking out into the steady sheets of rainfall that surround you. Wondering whether or not he took the hint that you were asking him out on a date with that piña colada thing. You hope he didn’t; if he had gotten the hint, he isn’t answering.

As soon as the thought enters your mind, he picks up on your anxious energy and hits rewind. “Back to your piña colada question—I’ve, uh… actually never had one.”

Your heart perks up in happiness based on the promise in his tone. The promise that the two of you won’t have to spend this rainy day alone. The next words out of your mouth are a little flirtier than they should be maybe, but he’s such an innocent baby, that you just can’t help but have a little fun. “I’d bet there are a lot of things you’ve never done…”

Blue eyes go wide as if your insult was obscene. But Raleigh can’t stay mad at such a pretty girl. “What’s that supposed to mean?! I’ll have you know I saved the fucking world!”

And just like that he’s fucking told you—even though his tone is playful it’s still true—and though you obviously knew, he finds he’s no longer compelled to hide that part of him from view. The way he always used to do. As if he knows that you want all of him and not only the surface-level shit, as if you see into him more than just a little bit, whereas the rest of the world sees right fucking through.

He knows that you only just met, so maybe it’s too early to be feeling shit like this but he’ll take any glimpse of hope that he can get.

You take his hand and feel his pulse in sync with yours as your hearts race. Pure fucking joy. “C’mon golden boy, I know just the place.”

The place for his first frozen pineapple coconut drink. The place for his first indulgence in a new fucking kink: screwing someone he only just met in the bathroom of this little diner and whispering filth in your ear as he rails you so hard that the force of it might break the sink.

Through all the purity of Raleigh there is definitely something fucking dirty and you caught it from the first blink. Now you’ve gone and stirred it up in him turns out he’s even dirtier than you would ever think.

You standing under his umbrella was the start; you lifting him out of the shadows over his head sparks a new light in his heart. And you awakening new sides of him is honestly the sweetest fucking part.

..................................................

Emoji Fic Masterlist

Emoji Fic Tag List – below; if you’d like to be added or removed, just let me know!

@happyhunnams @band--psycho @est11 @edonaspanca @starbooty @innerpaperexpertcloud @i-love-scott-mccall @six-camelot @alexa-rae-dreamz @coffeebooksandfandom @thesuicidalflower @flaireandsynch @helloheyhihowdyheya @gemini0410 @waywardodysseys @zozebo @bettergetusetoit @emilykjh @little-diable @rocketqueen @mrspeacem1nusone @miss-smutty @rayslittlekitten @abby-splace @chubbychubbs28 @miraclesoflove @tegggeeee @hunnambabe @missusnora @kesskirata @vixenrebellion @thexhostess @pomegranatearildreams @kandii395 @severewobblerlightdragon @itspdameronthings @niki-xie @cind-in-real-life @saweetspoiled @poge-life @few-proud-emotonal @samanthaisnthome @melodranas @soaharleys @charlie-hunnams-old-lady @simpmasterjr @nataliewalker93 @lovebarefootblonde @marvelousmermaid @tsukuyomi011 @sciapod @midnight-dreams-23

#charlie hunnam #raleigh becket #pacific rim #charlie hunnam smut #raleigh becket smut #pacific rim smut #charlie hunnam imagine #raleigh becket imagine #pacific rim imagine #charlie hunnam fanfiction #raleigh becket fanfiction #pacific rim fanfiction #raleigh becket x reader #raleigh becket x you #charlie hunnam x reader #charlie hunnam x you #emoji fics

260 notes · View notes

prismadog · 2 years

Text

Homestuck Headcanons Part 7

Almost to the last of the headcanons. There's one more post after this and then the Master Post.

Guardians’ Past/HCs

Due to years of Lil’ Cal’s influence and just being in the presence of evil incarnate, Bro suffers from insomnia and nightmares. The nightmares usually feature future Sburb events and Dave dying. This is one reason, as effed up as it is, that he “trains” Dave so hard.

Alpha John and Alpha Jade had a similar upbringing to Nanna and Grandpa, though, unlike those two, John and Jade stayed in touch even after Jade went into hiding.

Maybe Alpha Jade was the one to raise Alpha Dave and Alpha Rose. She found these two babies on one of her adventures and raised them on Hell Murder Island. And then, when they were old enough, they went off into the world to find their own adventure. Later, when Rose starts to write books and Dave starts making movies, they would take on the names "Strider" and "Lalonde" as a sort of penname so's to keep their private lives private. Alpha Jade would be proud of her albino babies. (god, I am getting so tired of having to type the word "alpha")

If Alpha Jade raised Alpha Dave and Alpha Rose, then she most definitely told Alpha John about them. Alpha John would be so happy/proud to have a niece and nephew and he would make sure to give them all the love (alongside giving his son all the love too) even though he couldn't really meet them due to them living on the island. Dad Crocker would know of them and care for them as well.

If Alpha Jade did raise them then after they left home, one of the first adventures the kids would go on would be to visit their Uncle John in Washington. They would get to know him as well as his son, Dad Crocker.

Dadbert (and by extention Dad Crocker) has the first name "Harry", named so because their respective parent (Nanna/Pop Pop) liked Harry Anderson's Wise Guy book.

Pre-Sburb

Mom Lalonde just wants to be BFFs with Rose, fangirling over the occult and wizards and whatnot, but every attempt at bonding ends up in being a silent passive-aggressive dispute.

Also, that room in the lab is definitely Mom Lalonde’s. She loves all those cutesy things and being surrounded by her mutant kitties.

If the Beta Guardians were friends and got together for holidays/birthdays/special occasions, Grandpa Harley would give guns as gifts to the other children, Bro would give out shitty anime swords, and Mom Lalonde would give everyone mutant kitties. Dad Egbert would be relatively okay with the kitties but would immediately get rid of the weapons.

Alongside the above headcanon, Bro and Grandpa Harley would get into heated arguments about which was better - guns or swords. Dad or Mom would have to play peacemaker.

Unlike Dirk, Bro can’t draw very well. He can draw some things, mostly patterns for his smuppets / puppets but other than that, he’s not good at art and he’s not interested in learning how.

Bro Strider definitely owns a shitty single-cab truck that’s full of smuppets, puppets, and random trash. However, there is one clean spot on the passenger side where Lil’ Cal, and sometimes Dave sits. (should he actually take Dave anywhere)

There is the rare occasion where Bro will break free of Lil’ Cal’s influence. When this happens, he regrets everything he’s done in raising Dave and he drinks himself into a stupor. He goes to Dave and bawls his eyes out and begs his forgiveness. He doesn’t remember much, if anything, by the morning and he returns to his usual cold, asshole, abusive self. One time, he almost gave Dave up so he could have a real childhood but Lil’ Cal got in the way and set him back on track.

A really young Dave accidentally called Bro “daddy” once. Bro secretly loved it but knew he couldn’t let it continue because he knew what would happen in the future. He didn’t want Dave getting attached only to have his heart break when his big brother eventually died - because he was definitely going to die.

#homestuck #homestuck fandom #homestuck headcanons #bro strider #alpha john #alpha jade #alpha dave #alpha rose #dadbert #mom lalonde #grandpa harley #dave strider

45 notes · View notes

himboarcher · 3 years

Text

reasons i've seen folks say that grad critics hate grad:

they hate travis (in fairness, i’ve def seen some comments of people shitting on trav for the sake of shitting on trav, but it’s not super common and typically gets downvoted into oblivion on reddit.)

it's not balance / travis isn't griffin (???????)

they hate neurodivergent people (again, in fairness, i have seen a handful of comments that could come across this way! but most of the time when travis being ADHD or his NPD is brought up, it's by defenders saying that criticizing travis is ableist because he's neurodivergent or, in one particular comment, infantilizing him bc of it and literally comparing grad to putting a kid's artwork on the fridge. there were some comments early on that pointed to him being a narcissist as the reason for things people disliked about grad, but everyone seems to have realized that that's a shitty train of thought and left it behind.)

they're just toxic haters (again, there are a small handful of people like this because this is the internet, but the genuine criticism greatly outweighs their bullshit. i 100% think that the people, which is mostly just one dude who is also insufferable on reddit, who have been responding rudely to positive tweets under the episode announcements lately are out of line and need to stop. there's been an influx of that lately, presumably because people are frustrated that after over a year of grad going on, there's been no improvement to most of the major issues. that's still no excuse to be a dick to folks, though.)

vs some of the actual reasons i don't like grad:

the racism / racist tropes, and the way that they’ve straight up ignored this criticism and will likely never acknowledge it. pretty wild considering a core tenet of their brand is their willingness to acknowledge when they’ve messed up and do their best to course correct.

clumsy attempts at inclusion that are shallow and often end up being fairly offensive ("...ask me about my wheelchair," anyone?)

on a related note: i don't think that travis had bad intentions, but as an nonbinary person, it feels othering to me that travis only has enby characters give others their pronouns unprompted. i'm thinking specifically of kai here. having listened to their introduction, i don't think it's as bad or awkward as some people have said, but i can't remember travis ever having another NPC tell the PCs their pronouns, especially not a cis character. it's not a huge deal, but it's something that rubbed me the wrong way. admittedly, i don't think it would bother me so much if travis hadn't dropped the ball so much with performative inclusion in the past.

okay i'm putting the rest under a read more because even without getting into all of the problems i have with it, this got Long.

little to no player agency. player choices are ultimately meaningless and have little to no effect on the world. even when he seems to go along with a plan they come up with, it always ends with them having to go back to travis' pre-written script (see: subpoenaing the xorn, but not really because they had to go with travis' original plan of "send the xorn home through the rift".) the players repeatedly get told things about what they think or feel or what they've been doing to an unnecessary degree. fitzroy is the only one who really gets space to play and decide things for himself, and that's only because travis has decided he's the main character.

the NPCs are all too nice and willing to give the PCs anything they ask for and more, unless the PCs are trying to follow their own plan and then the NPCs are completely useless. but honestly, aside from gray, all of the NPCs are just.... nice. travis refuses to even let his antagonists be mean or cruel or even more than just slightly rude, because that'd be a bummer and we don't want that! the "twist" of gordy the lich king actually being polite and chill is not a twist at all because everyone is like that in this world. the NPCs are also wildly overpowered, but then suddenly absolutely useless when the PCs actually want their help.

too many cliffhangers that are dropped immediately at the beginning of the next episode. i feel bad for travis because so many of these cliffhangers actually set up good momentum and seemed like things were gonna get interesting, but almost every single time he just dropped them at the beginning of the next episode. like when althea showed up to interview the boys and the next episode started with travis being like "actually you went to sleep, she said she'll be back tomorrow!"

that time travis specifically said in his exposition dump that the thundermen left their horses behind because they thought the centaurs might be offended by them riding horses, only to later on rag on them for being surprised that the centaurs had horses they could ride.....

also the centaur arc in general, but i already listed racism above, so.

the way that the toxic positivity and parasocial tendencies in the mcelroy fandoms have made a large portion of the fandom take ANY criticism as a personal attack on travis and/or on themselves for enjoying something others consider bad, either morally or just quality-wise. it’s okay to admit that something you like has problematic elements or just isn’t as good as it once was. you can and should engage critically with the media you consume.

related to above: the way travis has handled genuine criticism, which is to throw public tantrums on his twitter or make weird passive aggressive tweets & ultimately ignore all the genuine criticism and advice he's been offered by claiming it's all subjective, even after he specifically asked for it and set up an email for folks to send in genuine, objective advice for him (after he threw a tantrum on twitter and replied to someone's criticism publicly, which resulted in his followers dogpiling on that person bc how dare they insult their internet best friend). while i was writing this last night, he actually announced that he’s taking a break from Twitter and acknowledged that he’s been using it as an echo chamber where he can easily get validation from folks, and honestly i’m happy for him that he’s recognized this problem and is stepping away for a while! i hope he’ll genuinely use this time to reflect on how he’s been behaving and find a more healthy way to use social media. i’m leaving this point in because i think his Twitter being such a positive echo chamber was encouraging him to do stuff like this, and him somewhat acknowledging his behavior doesn’t mean it can no longer be discussed.

rainer. extremely cool concept in theory and i was very into it until that awkward "does anyone want to ask about my wheelchair?" moment. also when travis had her use her mobility aid to RAM INTO A DOOR instead of just fucking knocking???? also all the times travis has tried to force a romantic relationship between her and fitzroy, despite fitzroy displaying no interest in her in that way. also, just to clarify: as an ace person, i don’t think this is aphobic! (and it’s kind of a stretch to call it that imo, especially since griffin never explicitly said that fitzroy's aromantic!) i just think it’s weird and awkward and a little uncomfortable for me personally, mostly because it reminds me of the times i’ve been in similar situations.

less of a problem than a lot of the other stuff and more just bad writing, but the forced emotional moments. in general, nothing in grad feels earned (why are the boys heading a war? when they have multiple actual heroes with combat experience on their side and a supposedly powerful secret organization? and the thundermen are like 21 years old max and have only had like ~10 fights in the entire campaign?) but there've been a couple times where travis has tried to force unearned emotional moments, presumably because he knows people enjoyed those with the last campaigns. but the difference is that in balance, the big emotional moments happened because they were earned. in grad, it's just travis throwing a baby pegasus at us for a few minutes and then the next time she shows up, it's supposed to be a tearful goodbye.

there are absolutely no stakes. remember when the thundermen got told that if they left, gray would kill 10 students? and then they left and came back and it turns out that what gray actually meant was, "i'll tie ten students who are mostly nameless NPCs to a tree and throw some dogs at them that you can easily stop in time, then throw a tantrum because how dare you but i'll leave before you can really do anything to hurt me lol" travis did have fitzroy's magic get taken away, but like. it didn't really do anything? also all he had to get it back was be coerced into using drugs by an authority figure and trip in the woods?

we're told that the school is weird and the hero system is corrupt, but the world of nua is still presented as more of a liberal utopia than anything? althea getting fired because of a corrupt villain is the only time we've somewhat seen corruption, but even then, she was still allowed to get (what seems to me, anyway, but admittedly i don't know for sure bc nothing about the HOG makes much sense) a fairly important job from the very people who stripped her of her hero license or whatever the fuck heroes need?

travis doesn't actually seem to understand how capitalism or bureaucracy works and just chalks up everything to "red tape." also more on the rest of the boys than him specifically, but the "let's destroy capitalism!" thing turning into just pushing some filing cabinets over................... okay.

and one last piece of extremely subjective criticism: it's just kind of.... boring. i think a lot of people, myself included, would be willing to overlook 90% of the problems with graduation if it didn't feel like such a slog to get through.

also people saying that we can't or shouldn't criticize graduation because it's "free" is absolutely absurd for several reasons. first, something being free does not make it above criticism. second, there ARE people who directly financially support the show with monthly donations. three, there's a difference between something being free and something being not for profit. podcasting is their full time job. they make their living off of money made from TAZ and MBMBAM (and probably their other shows to a lesser extent). this not a fun home game that they are graciously recording and sharing with us. it is a product they are producing that they make money off of, both from ads in the episodes and merch & books based off of these podcasts. they have marketed themselves as professionals, and both griffin and travis have been on panels where they are marketed as professional DMs and appear alongside other professional DMs (which makes it incredibly frustrating when people say that travis is just a newbie DM and we can't criticize him because of that. if he's a newbie, then he should not be taking part of panels as a professional DM where he speaks as an expert). TAZ is free in the same way that an episode of NCIS is free. i may not pay for it directly, but the creators are paid to create it and profit off of me consuming this product. so saying we should be grateful for any mcelnoise that the benevolent good boys share with us and that we're not allowed to criticize it "because it's free" is absolutely wild.

#negativity cw #i guess #anyway this is not meant to say that you cannot enjoy grad.#but i'm tired of folks on this website acting like there aren't genuine problems with it #and saying that people just dislike it bc they hate travis etc etc #taz graduation #i genuinely don't expect anyone to read this bc it's so long #but here ya go.#long post

99 notes · View notes

nowandajenn · 3 years

Text

Blue Christmas- Six

Pairing: Chris Evans/OC Kelly

Summary: After almost three years of marriage, everyone would tell you that Chris and his wife Kelly are the most stable, solid couple they know. But behind closed doors, things are tense as they keep trying for a baby, to no avail. When a secret threatens to shake their solid marriage to it’s core, will they be able to pick up the pieces?

Warnings: language, angst, shitty moms, family drama.

Author’s Note: I do not consent to have my content, whether it be this story or anything else of my creation, posted by a third party on any other platform other than right here without my permission. This blog is 18+ and is not intended for minors. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Heed the warnings.

December 24th

I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to do this.

The same thought runs through my head like a conga line as I stand in the bathroom of Connor’s house, finishing up my makeup.

“Hey, you almost ready?”

I jump at the sound of Connor’s voice and his sudden appearance behind me in the mirror and almost stab myself in the eyeball with my eyeliner pencil.

“How pissed do you think they’d be if I just didn’t show up?” I ask him rhetorically, already knowing the answer.

“Well, dad would be disappointed but he’d understand, and mom would probably come and hunt you down and never let you hear the end of it.”

“I could just never answer her calls again.” I shrug.

“Yeah, but then she’d show up at your house, the studio, HERE....and since I don’t feel like having her come over unannounced because you decided to be a chicken and skip out on Christmas Eve dinner, move your ass. We’re leaving in five minutes.”

As we stand in front of my parents’ front door, I run through a list in my head of things that I’d rather be doing than getting ready to face my parents. Or more specifically, my mother.

Get stung by a jellyfish. Having to walk through a room full of Legos barefoot. Pulling my own fingernails out one by one. Okay, maybe I went too far with that one.

“You ready?” Connor asks.

“No.” I deadpan.

Before we can stop her, Olivia reaches up and rings the doorbell.

I heave out a sigh of relief when it’s my dad that answers the door, knowing that at least I’m not going to be insulted before I even step foot inside the house.

We get ushered inside the house take off our coats before my dad wraps me in a hug.

“Where’s Chris?” he asks.

“He’s over at his dad’s house. You only get me tonight.” I say with a small smile.

“I guess we’ll have to make do.” he huffs out dramatically.

I make my way into the kitchen and my sister Colleen immediately hands me a glass of red wine.

“Here, you might need this.” she tells me. I roll my eyes, knowing that there’s no other choice than to nut up and face the music.

“Hey mom.”

My mom turns from the stove, her face completely devoid of any emotion.

“I didn’t even know if you were coming tonight, since you haven’t returned any of my phone calls or anything.”

“I’m sorry. I should have called you back. Things have been a little.....” my emotions start to bubble up in my throat, threatening to choke me. “Things have been busy. I’ve been swamped with work and getting last minute things done for Christmas. I wasn’t actively trying to ignore you.” I tell her.

“Why did you come with Connor and Olivia? Where’s Chris?”

Here we go.

“He’s at his dad’s house.”

“Why didn’t you go with him?”

“Because I knew I’d never hear the end of it if I didn’t show up here tonight. Chris will get let off the hook, though, right?” It takes everything in me not to roll my eyes.

“Chris is a busy man. He has an excuse.”

I take a deep breath, count to ten, and let it out before walking out of the kitchen. If there’s anything my mother loves more than passive aggressively insulting me at every turn, it’s getting the last word.

We’re all sitting around the living room opening presents when the doorbell rings. Since I’m closest to the door, I get up to answer it and nearly have a small stroke when I open the door.

“Hey.” Chris says, standing on my parents’ porch with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

I can only stand there and blink owlishly at him as my brain tries, and fails, to come up with something intelligent to say.

I look over my shoulder into the house to see that everyone is thankfully not paying attention, and pull the front door closed behind me.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, my breath puffing up in clouds in front of my face.

“Listen, I know what you’re thinking, but listen to me. I know your parents don’t know about what’s going on with us, and I know that if they think something is wrong, they’re going to be all over you.” Chris tells me.

I wrap my arms around myself and swallow hard.

I hate that he’s right.

“Can we just pretend that everything is okay? Just for tonight? We get through dinner with your parents and get you off the hook, and then, we can....” he trails off.

Before I can either agree or tell him to get the fuck off the porch, the door opens and my dad steps out.

“Chris! Hey, we thought you weren’t going to be able to make it!” my dad says, pulling him in for one of those man hug things.

“Not a chance. Finished up early so I headed right over. Sorry I’m late.”

My dad eyes me disapprovingly. “Get in the house before you catch pneumonia.”

Three things happen simultaneously when Chris steps foot into the house: Olivia squeals at top volume (because Uncle Chris is her favorite person in the world, second only to me) and runs into his waiting arms, my mom’s almost always stern looking face breaks into a huge smile, and Connor and Colleen’s jaws both drop open at almost the exact same time. It would be funny if I weren’t shitting my pants even more now about how the rest of this night was going to go.

Halfway through dinner, things are going about as well as can be expected, but I’m still ready for this night to just be over. Between Chris sitting next to me and having to act like we’re still the Chris and Kelly we used to be, the 13 passive aggressive digs my mom has thrown at me over the course of the evening, and the headache trying to hatch in my brain, I’m ready for this night to be over.

“How are things going at the studio, sweetheart?” my dad asks me.

“They’re fine. It’s always busy this time of year.” I tell him, pushing the food around on my plate.

“It must not be that busy if you can afford to be closed during the middle of the holiday season.” my mom sniffs.

“Brenda-” my dad warns.

“Mom, just let it go, okay? I needed a break. Things were a little hectic and I was getting burnt out. I needed some time off, and so did my staff.” I tell her.

I reach for the bottle of wine to refill my glass, and my mom snatches it from my hand.

“You’ve had enough. You’ve been drinking like a lush tonight, and I know you’re smoking again. I can smell it on you. You treat your body like shit; no wonder you can’t get pregnant.”

The sound of several sets of silverware clattering against the fine China that’s only brought out for Christmas is deafening.

My face burns with embarrassment and my heart lodges itself somewhere in the vicinity of my throat. Hot, angry tears spring to my eyes, and it takes me a minute before I can even move.

Chris is absolutely frozen, absolute shock and disappointment evident on his face at what my mother just said. It was the lowest possible blow she could have dealt, and she just absolutely nailed me with it with no remorse whatsoever.

Without a word, I push my chair back and stand up on shaky legs and leave the table and everyone hears the front door slam less than a minute later.

When his brain can fully process what just happened, Chris gets up and runs out the door after me, just in time to hear

“Just let her go. I didn’t mean it the way it sounded. She’s too sensitive.”

When Chris comes outside, I’m leaning against the passenger side door of his car, trying and failing to light a cigarette through my sobs.

“Hey, hey, stop. Come here. Give me that.” he says, taking the lighter from me. He flicks it once and holds the flame steady so I can light the cigarette and I take a deep drag in. He lights his own and leans against the car next to me.

“I stopped being surprised by anything she said a long time ago, you know. I stopped being shocked when she would make shitty comments about my weight or my clothes or anything I did. She’s always been like that with me. Nothing was ever good enough. I was never going to be as good as Colleen or Connor because I was the mistake. I was the baby she never wanted. I never tried to let it bother me or let it get to me, but....” I sob quietly and sniffle in the cold air. “Man, she just fucking sucker punched me right in the face. I never should have even told her about it; about how I was having trouble getting pregnant......I should have known.......” my words trail off as more sobs shake my body.

“Come here.” Chris whispers. He pulls me against his chest and wraps his arms around me and I hold onto him as tight as I can.

“I’m so sorry.” he whispers against my hair. Over the sound of the wind blowing, I can hear raised voices inside and can only imagine what’s going on in there. And to think it had been a pretty decent night up until that point.

“Will you take me home? I just....I don’t want to go back to Connor’s. I can’t be around any of them right now. I just want to go home and see Dodger and drink some more.”

“Okay. Whatever you want.”

The Usual Suspects: @averyrogers83 @wordywarriorwrites @imanuglywombat @joannaliceevans-fanficblog @hlkwrites @reminiscingrogers @mom—nicole @jtargaryen18 @alexakeyloveloki @kelbabyblue @sarahp879 @moonlessnight14 @mojean13 @mrskokitztelford @artisticrogers1972 @southerngracela @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan @mybesttobobcratchit @gracethegeek9902 @mdemontespan1667 @marvelfansworld @capslut2014 @dispatchvampire @jamielea81 @jamesbarnesappreciationsociety @nerdy-bookworm-1998 @southerngracela @what-is-your-plan-today @letsdisneythings @theladybiers @lexeeehhh @sweater-daddiesdumbdork @autumnrose40 @donutloverxo @harrysthiccthighss @jessaywahh-blog@smediumsmeatbae @before-we-get-started @lizette50 @littlegasps @rageshots @what-is-your-backupplan-today @clairebubbles @patzammit @sweet--catrastophe

Kinktober 2020: @saiyanprincessswanie @superquirky-blog

#chris evans x oc #originial fic #blue christmas #chris evans x kelly evans #chris evans x wife #drama #angst #nothing like a family to fuck up a family #holiday drama #shitty parents #this was harsh to write

96 notes · View notes

hockeyboysiguess · 4 years

Text

Jerseys and Dumplings

a/n: some good old friends to lovers Tkachuk for your Thursday!

warnings: swearing

word count: 6.3K

You yanked the restaurant door open harder than you’d meant to, but you were in a rush. A last minute assignment had kept you at work later than you’d planned, much later than you’d planned, and you were running later than would ever be considered fashionably late by anyone who made insane amounts of money to recite a bunch of shitty dialogue to a camera. You pulled at the bottom of your skirt to adjust it as you walked through the door before giving up. Your skirt was definitely crooked, your hair was definitely a mess, but your mother’s words played over in your head, “It’s never the job of a successful, powerful to look a particular way. Success is messy. Own the messy.”

“Hi, sorry,” you whisper-yelled to the hostess. “Uh, Hanifin? Pretty sure everyone else is already here.”

“Right this way.”

She was clearly unimpressed with your disheveled appearance and your tardiness as she looked you over from top to bottom from over the top of her glasses. You pushed thoughts of her and work out of your head to focus the evening. Meeting your best friend’s boyfriend was a hit-miss experience with Tessa as your best friend. She alternated between introducing you to immature, outrageous guys who were all about having a good time who always ended up cheating on her or guys who were basically the human equivalent of a completely dried builder-grade beige wall. This one was apparently some moderately famous hockey player, which automatically had you leaning him in the first column, but she pleaded with you to reserve judgment until you met him tonight. You were desperate for her to finally date a guy that was somewhere on the middle of her two extremes. She always countered by saying she wanted you to go on a date, any date. You brushed her off every time, telling her you were focusing on your career and yourself.

“There you are!” Tessa shouted, bumping the table harshly as she stood up to great you. “I started to think you forgot about us.”

“Sorry, babes,” you sighed as you let her pull you in for a quick hug. “I-”

“Got caught up at the office.”

You pulled back from her and glared at her. Tessa saying the words that all too frequently left your lips was just a little passive aggressive, usually your specialty. You rolled your eyes at her and she giggled before reaching out to the guy next to her to pull him to his feet.

“This,” she wrapped her hands around his forearm in a sort of death grip, “is Noah. Noah, this is the ever-discussed best friend slash somehow roommate even though I see her more out to lunch than I do in our apartment.”

“Thanks, Tess,” you mumbled. Noah offered his arms out to you gingerly and you accepted a soft hug. “Nice to meet you, Noah.”

“Really nice to finally meet you,” he smiled softly as you took your seats.

“Oh, I hope you don’t mind.” The sing-song tone in Tessa’s voice drew a groan from you because you knew what was going to come next. “Stop it! Anyway, Noah brought one of his teammates along, so you weren’t third wheeling.”

“Is he invisible?” you asked with a wave of your hand to the empty seat next to you.

“Just in the bathroom, actually.”

You turned your head and were greeted with a bright, toothy grin and mop of curly hair. The restaurant was dark, but you could tell he had a beautiful pair of baby blues to go with his dimples and sharp jawline. Tessa has clearly hand-picked this one out of the Flames line up for you. He was exactly your type. You watched as his light eyes broke contact with yours and gave you a quick once look over, lingering almost indiscernibly at your chest and your hips.

“I’m Matthew,” he said, his smile starting on a slippery slope to a smirk as he sat down next to you.

You debated calling him out for checking you out, but Tessa rapped her foot on your shin, letting you know she was ready and waiting to give you a swift kick if she didn’t like how you were acting. People thought Tessa was soft. You thought people shouldn’t underestimate Tessa, so you swallowed your comeback and introduced yourself instead. Matthew gave you a quick nod, his broken curls bouncing with the sudden movement. A smile began to pull at the corners of your lips against your will and something in your chest told you he was going to be trouble if you let him be, so you resolved not to let him be. You watched his attention shift to the couple across the table and his face scrunch up in disgust. Noah and Tessa were seeming trying to figure out if it was possible for two people to become one via their open mouths pressed against each other.

“Come on, guys,” Matthew whined as one of his hands came down roughly on the tabletop, causing the silverware to click together loudly. Noah and Tessa separated at the sound, not at Matthew’s words. “The single folks don’t even have drinks yet. Can you save the foreplay until we at least have some alcohol in us?”

“Seriously,” you joined in. If Tessa was going to set you up against your will, at least it was with someone that hated Tessa’s fondness for wild amounts of PDA as much as you did. “Please keep all tongues, hands, and arms in your own seats tonight.”

“Genitals should remain their not upright and locked positions” Matthew added. Tess blushed at his words, causing Matthew to turn his head towards you. He cocked his head to the side, a mischievous look dancing in his eyes and pulling at the corners of his mouth. “Too much?”

You answered by continuing, “Excellent addition, fellow date attendant. Fasten your seatbelts as we expect there might be some turbulence on tonight’s date.”

“Turbulence?” Tessa asked, her voice a solid octave and a half higher than normal and her eyebrows raised, daring you to continue.

“Oh yes, turbulence,” Matthew cut in. “So, Tessa, where did you grow up?”

“I’m sorry, I’m back on turbulence,” Noah jumped in verbally and physically, a hand raised across the table.

“We,” you informed him, gesturing between Matthew and yourself, “are the turbulence.”

“Yes, thank you, good blind date I didn’t ask for,” Matthew nodded to you, curling bouncing again in a way that made you have to bite your lip to avoid smiling like a schoolgirl with a new crush. “You both worked together to set us up tonight, unasked for based on just how fed up my fellow date attendant seemed by my very presence. Esteemed co-worker, can you confirm, for the record, that you did not ask for this set up and that you’re just as tired as I am of your friends across the table setting you up with people?”

Matthew grabbed a breadstick from the basket in one fist and presented it to you like a microphone. You laughed softly, making an out of character smile crack across Matthew’s face before you both pulled yourself back into the accidental routine you’d created.

“Yes, yes, Matthew. I can confirm I was not made aware of your presence tonight and I have not asked Tessa to set me up with anyone at this time,” you replied seriously, putting on your best politician impression.

“You sounded like you were doing an impression of Tina Fey doing her Sarah Palin impression from SNL,” Matthew laughed at you. He couldn’t stop smiling as he turned his attention to your friends who had no idea what monster they’d created tonight. “As my good colleague Sarah Palin just said, neither one of us asked to be here. So now, we’re teaming up to see if we really approve of this union or not. So, I repeat. Tessa, where are you from?”

The evening was filled with you and Matthew teaming up to flip the script on your friends. You grilled Noah, with Matt’s support, and you offered some direction to his probing questions for Tessa. They took in stride though and you realized somehow, some way beyond your understanding, Tessa had fallen into a good relationship for the first time since you knew her.

Just after making a two-bite dent into your incredible dessert, Tessa pulled you to the bathroom with her, the classic story of girls never being able to pee alone floating at the excuse. When you left the stall, you were greeted by Tessa, arms across her chest, one foot tapping on the ground, and wry smile on her face.

“So, things seem to be going well with Matthew,” she said with a smirk and a soft nod. “Figured it would be sink or swim but didn’t think it would go quite this.”

“Oh, shut up,” you groaned as you turned on the water for the sink to start scrubbing your hands, “we’re just being friendly.”

“Are you kidding me?” she practically shouts at you. “He literally has not taken his eyes off you once all night. He’s so into you!”

“Tess, stop,” you told her with a sigh as you shut off the water. You grabbed a couple of paper towels before spinning on your heels to face her. “Seriously, Tess, he’s not into me. We’re just getting along as friends, okay? Be happy this didn’t blow up in your face for the first time.”

“You cannot be serious right now,” Tessa whined. She reached for your arm as you tossed the paper towels away, pulling your attention back to her. She bounced on her heels a little and gave you the most frustrated look she could muster. “He is into you. Noah thinks so too. Just, can you just try? For me?”

“I don’t want a relationship, Tess,” you replied curtly. “Why can’t you just accept that?”

“He’s perfect for you!” Her frustration with you was growing with each word that she had to say as she tried to spell it out for you. “He’s your type. I know I nailed that one. I know you have to think he’s attractive, so you can’t lie to me. You have really similar senses of humor. He totally thinks you’re hot, which you are. Don’t you dare, that’s not up for debate. Come on, babes. Give Chucky a chance.”

“Chucky is a murderous doll,” you retorted, skipping over everything else she’d said. “Look, Tess, can’t you just be happy I might have made a friend tonight? That’s growth for me right there.”

“But he wants to be your special friend!” she insisted, bouncing on her heels again.

You couldn’t help but laugh at the image presented by her bouncing and her words. She was channeling herself at age six for sure, an age you didn’t know Tessa at, but from the stories her brothers and mother told you, you were kind of happy you didn’t know her at.

“Jesus, did you just say that?” you got out between laughs. You sighed as you pulled yourself together. It was time you both escaped the bathroom as the boys were bound to get suspicious soon. “Look, I’m just not really in the sort of place to put myself out there at all right now. If Matthew really does want this and he really does try, I’ll think about it for real, okay? Does that work for you?”

She sighed and rolled her eyes before saying, “I mean, no, it doesn’t because he would totally give you the good dick right here in this bathroom and probably buy you brunch tomorrow if you actually showed the tiniest bit of actual interest in him, but, it’s the best you’re going to give me, so it’s fine.”

Your desire to leave the bathroom and get back to your chocolate cake overwhelmed the desire to correct Tess. You pulled her back to the table with you, collapsing into your seat and immediately diving back into the dessert you’d been hearing call your name since you’d left the table five minutes ago.

“You’re murdering that cake,” Matthew noted. “It’s impressive, honestly. Where does the cake go?”

“Hopefully out my pores tomorrow in the stupid hot yoga class Tess is dragging me too,” you replied, halting another bite on its way to your mouth just to answer. “I wanted to watch Love is Blind and Too Hot to Handle as our new best friend activity for the month. Tessa wants to do hot yoga, so we’re doing hot yoga.”

“So, you’re the boyfriend in this relationship?” Matthew joked, gesturing between you.

You dropped your fork to your plate and reached for your almost empty drink instead before replying, “Gender roles are a completely unnecessary societal standard, Matthew, and they do not need to be enforced by heteronormative men who play an incredibly heteronormative sport. Who is the boyfriend and who is the girlfriend is unnecessarily gendered, especially considering I’m clearly the left chopstick and Tessa is the right. ”

Matthew’s nose scrunched up when he laughed, a sight you were quickly growing used to over the evening, maybe even starting to like. He shook his head softly at you as he took a sip from his glass.

“Says the girl who pitched to watch a bunch of trash Netflix dating reality shows that are all pretty heteronormative, right?” Matthew countered with a nod of his glass to you.

“Garbage is not heteronormative,” you replied. “Trash TV is just trash TV, Matthew. Don’t read too much into it. I still haven’t gotten to watch any of it though.”

“If you need someone to watch with, hit me up,” he told you. “I need an excuse to get drunk on a Wednesday night and sounds like it I would need to be incredibly drunk to watch any of that.”

“So, this Wednesday then?”

—————

Standing in front of Matthew’s apartment door with a wide variety from your favorite Chinese takeout place in one hand and a six-pack from your favorite local brewery five days later, you were beginning to regret the life choices that led you to this particular moment. You didn’t have much time for the regret to sink in though before Matthew opened the door.

“If there is something the resembles a dumpling in that bag, I will be your servant for the rest of your life,” was Matthew’s verbal greeting.

“You’re about to be my servant then, but it’ll be worth it. These are the best dumplings I’ve ever had,” you informed him as you pushed past him into his apartment to drop the bags and beer on the counter. You started pulling containers out of the bags as you continued, “I will say you should never Google this place. I’ve only ever ordered via Grubhub delivery before today. I did pick up and this place honestly looks like the architect was drunk and the builders forgot their glasses for the entire build and I’ve never been more horrified, but the dumplings are killer, so I’ve just decided to put it in a box and try to forget I ever saw where they originated.”

You heard a beer crack open beside you and Matthew’s large hand came into view as he set it in front of you. He was close to you, closer than you had thought he would be. You could feel his tall frame behind you, his loose t-shirt brushing against you as he set the beer by your hand. His arms brushed your softly, making your breath catch in your throat.

“Good brewery pick,” he complimented you, his lips near your ear as he spoke. “Also, if you give me food poisoning from your weird Chinese food place, I’m released from my servitude.”

“You know the word servitude?” you countered, trying to pull your mind out of the gutter it was sliding headfirst down with sarcasm and chirping him.

Matthew laughed lightly and shifted himself closer to you. He leaned into you, his chest gentling coming into contact with your back with each breath you took. His large hands gripped the edge of the counter on either side of you. He towered over you and you couldn’t stop yourself from wondering what it would feel like to let him bend you over this counter right here and now.

“Mm, I know a lot of things that might surprise you,” Matthew laughed in your ear.

He pulled back without warning and you released a breath you hadn’t realized you’d been holding. Matthew shifted over to the opposite side of the counter, grabbing a beer and popping it open on his journey. He didn’t say another word before turning on his heels and heading toward the couch. Your brows furrowed as thoughts began to swirl and bleed together in your mind. Was that just all in your mind or was that nothing that your mind turned into something? You didn’t have time for something like this. The fact that you’d found time to have dinner with Matthew within two weeks of meeting him astounding given your inconsistent hours and his season. No, you didn’t want him to be flirting with you, you decided, so he wasn’t. You came over looking for a friend, so that’s what you were here for, the only thing you were here for.

“Hope you can use chopsticks,” you told him as you sat an overly full plate of food in front of him a few minutes later.

“I play hockey. I wasn’t raised in a barn,” he threw back at you, a joking smile on his lips.

“Okay, okay,” you laughed with a roll of your eyes.

Matthew tossed the remote as you with his free hand as he brought a dumpling to his mouth with the other, dropping the entire thing into his mouth in one go. You watched his eyes go wide as he bit down for the first time. He looked at you in disbelief as he chewed.

“Holy fuck me,” he told you through a full mouth. “I want to marry whoever made this.”

“Now,” you open Netflix on his TV, “you get me, Tkachuk.”

Matthew had already shoved another one in his mouth by the time Netflix loaded the first episode. Matthew was in food heaven, shoving dumpling after dumpling into his mouth. You laughed a little as his stuffed cheeks. He looked like a curly-headed chipmunk and you told him just that as you grabbed another container of dumplings out of the bag on the counter. He almost chirped you back, but when you dropped a full container in his lap, the chirp died before it had even fully formed.

“I think you’ve ruined dumplings for me from everywhere else in the world. Also, is that guy hot? I feel like they’re just trying to convince us he’s hot when he’s not.”

You were amazed he was able to pay any attention to the show with the speed at which he was consuming food. It was equal parts impressive and disgusting.

“He’s alright,” you shrugged as you reached for your beer. “Not my type. You’d be better off asking Tessa.”

Something you’d said finally beat out the interest of the dumplings. Matthew dropped the container to the table and skewered a dumpling with his chopsticks in exchange for a beer and turning his attention to him. He raised an eyebrow at you before he spoke.

“A type, huh? I wouldn’t happened to fit that type, would I?”

He took a sip as he watched you roll your eyes at him. He chuckled a little against the edge of his bottle at your response.

“Why would you think you would?” you countered, barely pulling yourself together in time to say something within an acceptable response time.

Matthew shrugged casually before replying, “Noah asked me specifically to come the other night and after meeting Tessa, I have a hard time believing she let Noah pick whoever he wanted since that was definitely a set up and blah, blah, blah, so I’m definitely your type, right?”

“Mm,” you hummed as you took a sip of your beer to try and disguise the anxiety his question had brought on. “My type is definitely guys who are obsessed with trying to be my type. It’s so sexy how much you need my validation right now.”

Matthew’s head fell back as he laughed, curls shifting back in tandem. His mouth opened wide as he laughed a full belly laugh at your words. One of his hands came to his stomach as his laughs became breathier and he slowly brought himself back down.

“You’re something else,” Matthew mumbled through a smile, beer on its way back to his lips and soft shake of his head with his words.

“I’m a goddamn goddess and you know it,” was all you had to say to get him laughing again.

—————

“Let’s fucking go, Calgary!” Tessa screamed next to you out of the blue, jumping to her feet as she shouted, making you and several other people around you jump a little in their seats.

“Jesus,” you sighed. “Tess, can you take it down a notch or eighteen, please?”

“It’s the Battle of Alberta, baby!” she shouted in response, a wide drunken grin on her face as she retook her seat next to you with a flop.

The referee blew the whistle, stopping play, and you pulled your attention back to the game with a soft smile on your face. You looked down the ice to see someone wearing a red and black jersey tangled up with a white and blue one. You craned you’re neck to try and see who it was, your breath catching in your throat at the idea it as Matthew. Your eyes were flying back and forth between the ice and the screen, trying to see a number or part of name to figure out if it was him or not. Your racing thoughts were interrupted by a tap on the glass in front of you. You were greeted with a smile that was slowly becoming more and more familiar, just with a mouth guard hanging between his teeth, and some curls peeking out from under a helmet.

Matthew waved at you with two gloved hands, his light blue eyes crinkling at the corners as he looked at you. You let out a breath you hadn’t realized you were holding. You were relieved he was standing in front of you, a goofy smile on his face, rather than down the ice in that fight. At least the linesman has managed to break it up by now. Matthew’s eyes broke contact from you to give you a once over. He pinched his jersey between his gloved fingers and his eyebrows furrowed down as he looked at you

“Where’s your jersey?” he shouted, though you had to read his lips to actually understand him

You just put your hands out next to you, palms up, and shrugged with a slight pout sticking out your bottom lip. You didn’t own any Flames gear of any kind, certainly not the Tkachuk jersey he was probably looking for. He shook his head at you and glared a little, just to get a small laugh out of you, before he turned his attention back to the game.

“Look at your guy!” Tessa said way too loudly for how tender she’d said it, hands stacked over her heart. “He likes you so much.”

“We are just friends,” you countered firmly, which made Tessa frown.

“He likes you! Aren’t you going over to his place after the game? You should make a move,” she nudged you in the ribs with her elbow.

“I’m picking up exactly four containers of dumplings and we’re watching exactly two episodes of Love is Blind because we’re going to finish up the episodes before they go on vacation with their new fiancés, okay?” you told her. “That’s not exactly a hot date. Besides, I don’t want to make a move. I like him, as a friend.”

“Okay, whatever,” Tessa rolled her eyes at you. “You keep denying that I set you up with a good one until you can’t anymore. Chucky is so smitten with you, he’ll probably wait for you for a ridiculously long time, like rom-com style long time, babes.”

—————

It was your new routine. Well, it wasn’t regular enough to really be a routine. Matthew would text you when he felt like he hadn’t seen you recently enough and demand you show up that same day with dumplings and your sparkling personality. You had tried to deny him, push him off a day or two due to work, but he might be the only person you’d ever met more stubborn that you were. Over garbage television shows and Chinese food, you’d made an actual friend out of him and despite Tessa’s insisting that both of you wanted more.

“Oh, suck it!” Tessa shouted as the Bruins pulled out a last-minute OT goal against Edmonton. She hated the Bruins, but you were pretty sure the only thing Tessa hated more than your insistence that you didn’t want to date Matthew was Edmonton.

You sighed, realizing you’d lost the bet you’d made with her, even though you picked that Edmonton would win to piss her off. She was shouting and jumping up and down, trying to rub her win in your face, but a text cropping up on your phone was pulling your attention.

Tkachuk: pls get five orders of dumplings and bring them right over

You: worked hard today huh?

Tkachuk: you know I fucking did. See you in 30?

You smiled softly, catching Tessa’s attention in the middle of her winning tirade.

“Is that Chucky?” She was already leaning over you, trying to get a glimpse of your phone screen. “Are you ditching me for him again this evening?”

You glared up at her and tilted your phone back, hiding the screen from her view. She stated to glare back, but then her face softened as the corners of her mouth started to pull up. You caught a mischievous glint in her eyes start to form she spoke.

“Hey, the bet was that I get to pick your outfit next time you go out, right?” Tessa asked hesitantly.

“I mean, yeah, but your face is scaring me a little bit here,” you replied, concern for yourself dripping off each word.

“And out could just mean when you go to see Chucky in a few minutes, right?” Her excitement was beginning to leak out, but you couldn’t understand why. “Because since you’re leaving, that’s going out, right?”

“I mean, I guess- Tess, what are you getting at here?”

Tessa didn’t reply. She ran out of the living room, cursing as she banged her elbow on the corner as she turned into the hallway. You heard some rustling in her room, followed by another curse, before she came bounding back into the living room. She tossed something red at you, a borderline evil smile on her face as she did so. You grabbed the red garment. As soon as your fingers touched it, you had an idea of what it was based on the fabric and you groaned as you flipped the garment in your hands. You were greeted with Tkachuk in large bold letters when you looked at the back of the jersey.

“I’m not wearing that to Matthew’s apartment,” you whined, letting the jersey fall into your lap.

“Ah, yes you are. You lost the bet. You wear what I let you to wear,” she told you, waving off your complaints. “Besides, Chucky gave it to Noah to give to me to make sure you wore it to next game anyway. We’re just getting you in it earlier than he had in mind, that’s all.”

You sighed as you stood up to head to your room where you exchanged your comfortable, worn in sweatshirt for the new, crisp jersey. When the red fabric finally hung off your body, you turned and let out a groan when you saw his last name on your back. You knew he wasn’t going to let you live it down the entire time you were with him, but Tessa’s wrath was worse than Matthew’s chirping would ever be.

Tessa was laughing as soon as she caught site of the red fabric, but you didn’t give her much time to feel satisfied with her handiwork. You grabbed your wallet, keys, and phone and headed out the front door. You paused as you sat in the driver’s seat of your car. Tessa had said Matthew wanted you to have the jersey to wear to the next game you went to, but why was he insistent enough to get Noah to give Tessa one of his jerseys? Why didn’t he just give it to you himself?

You tried to analyze the gesture as you waited in line at the restaurant. You’d taken to just coming in for pick up since you’d been unsuccessful in forgetting just how terrifying seeing this place for the first time was. You never called ahead anymore. You just showed up and the chef knew to start making dumplings for you. They were ready when you got to the counter to order, so you paid, grabbed your food, and returned to your car quickly. You decided the gesture was probably nothing, just Matthew being odd per usual, and tried to force the thought out of your mind as you drove over to his place.

The thought hung around as you parked in his spare parking spot. The parking pass had gone from being loaned out to every guest to living in your car after the fifth dumpling and trash television visit. He said you were his most regular visitor and he was tired of having to leave to put it in your car for you since you always argued that you’d brought him food, so it was the least he could do. Your mind was racing, trying to figure out if all of it added up to something, or if you were adding up things that didn’t really exist to get to an answer that definitely didn’t.

You only got one knock in before Matthew opened the door. He moaned when he saw the bag in your arms.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he said, his eyes trained on the brown paper bag his hands were reaching for the entire time he spoke like a prayer had been answered.

You laughed at him and let him take the bag from your arms before following him inside. He dropped the bag on the counter and began grabbing containers and chopsticks while you kicked off your shoes. You let out a long sigh as you prepared yourself for the chirps that were bound to come when you took your coat off and the jersey was finally in his line of site. You chewed your bottom lip between your teeth as you spun around to face him.

Matthew was frozen in place, a partially opened to-go container on the counter in front of him and chopsticks about to be ripped apart in his hands. His eyes were trained on the flaming logo on the front.

“Tessa made me wear it,” you admitted quickly. “I lost a bet and she made me wear it.”

Matthew slowly put the chopsticks down and one of his hands came up to his mouth. His hand was on his chin, thumb crossing his lips as he shifted his weight to his other hand braced against the counter’s edge. His light eyes were darker than you were used to as they scanned up and down your body. They came to rest on the number partially visible on the shoulder. He moved his hand from his face to hovering in front of him with his index finger outstretched. Slowly, his index finger began to make small circles as he looked at you.

“Oh, you’re rubbing this in now,” you huffed, hands going to your hips.

Matthew just shook his head softly before he swallowed hard, then said one word, “Spin.”

You sighed, knowing he wanted the full picture for future ammunition, but you wouldn’t get to enjoy your food until you gave him what he asked you. You slowly let your feet shift across the floor, moving you in a gentle circle, giving Matthew a perfect view of his last name across your back. You closed your eyes as you reached the point in your circling where you’d have to see him again. You didn’t need to see the smug look on his face.

You heard Matthew sigh and you knew whatever he was about to say next was going to be brutal. Instead, all you heard was his feet shuffling quickly across the floor before you felt his hands on you, pressing you back against the nearest wall. Your eyes flung open when you made rough contact with the wall. Before you could fully process it, Matthew’s head dipped down and his mouth was on yours. You almost pulled back, but he was kissing you in a way that took your breath away. You couldn’t not fall into the moment with your palms coming to rest on his chest, but you needed some sort of explanation and you weren’t even sure if this was really what you wanted, so you pushed gently on his chest and he instantly separated from you.

“What the fuck?” you breathed out at him as you lifted your eyes to look at him.

He was towering over you, his arms boxing you in on either side of your head. His eyes were even darker than they had been and while you could usually read Matthew like open book, you couldn’t recognize the expression on his face.

“I can’t be your friend if you’re going to look this fucking good with my last name on your back,” he told you. His words were so matter of fact, as if it was the most obvious thing the world. “You have absolutely no idea how bad I want you right now.”

“Matthew,” you said between deep breaths, “I don’t know.”

“You know,” he said, his baby blue eyes locking your gaze on him. “You know you know. You’ve known since that first dinner. Tessa knew too. Hell, even Noah knew, and you know how fucking thick he is. We’re not supposed to be just friends. You,” he sucked in a breath through his teeth when he broke eye contact to look down at the jersey while balling some of the red fabric in his hands, “you are too perfect for me to be my friend. God, it’s like someone took everything I ever wanted and put it all in one perfect, stupidly sexy girl, except that someone made her fucking oblivious to her own feelings.”

Matthew let out a soft laugh and shook his head as he released the fabric from his hands. His eyes rolled up to lock with yours again.

“You can’t stand her and tell me that kiss wasn’t different,” he continued. “stop being so fucking thick for two seconds and you’ll really feel it. I know you feel it. Because if somehow, I feel this goddamn strongly about someone, and they don’t feel a single ounce of something for me, then I must have really fucked up in my past life and deserve to have the perfect girl right between my fingers and feel her break my heart instead. Like, fuck, you know this is different, that this is something that stupid kinds of special. Just let yourself feel it. Let me in, baby. I’m right here. You’re not gonna fall. Nothing is going to break. I’m right here. I’ve got you, if you want me to.”

Matthew was wrong. You felt the walls you built to keep you from having to put yourself out there, from having to risk anything, start to crack under Matthew’s gaze. His eyes started bouncing from feature to feature on your face, trying to figure out what was going on in your mind since you hadn’t said a word yet. When his baby blues met yours again, the walls broke, and you felt everything. You felt everything he said and somehow, so much more. You grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked his mouth down to yours. He kissed you back instantly, his hands reaching down to the backs of your thighs to pull you up to his height. Your legs wrapped around his waist and his hands moved to your torso, yanking at his new favorite piece of clothing you owned to get under it and feel your skin under his palms.

You broke the kiss to breathe. His mouth moved to your neck as you tangled your fingers in his curls.

“I’m going to fuck you and you’re going to wear this while I do it,” Matthew breathed out against your neck with a faint tug of the jersey, “if that’s alright with you.”

“Little aggressive,” you told him with a tug of his curls. Matthew pulled you away from the wall, switching to support your weight so he could start walking you towards his room.

“Oh, shut up, would you?” Matthew laughed against your skin. “If you actually have objections, fine, but the peanut gallery is closed for anything other than curse words and my name for the next few hours, okay?”

“Whatever you say, Tkachuk.”

#matthew tkachuk #matthew tkachuk imagine #matthew tkachuk fanfic #nhl imagine #nhl fic #nhl fanfic #nhl fanfiction #nhl writing #hockey imagine #hockey writing #hockey fanfiction

1K notes · View notes

bowie-boy · 3 years

Note

Favorite LGBT+ headcanons for X-Files characters? Mine is that pretty much every main F.B.I. agent(including Krycek) is either bisexual or asexual(or both)! :)

This has been in my inbox for months and I keep forgetting about it I’m so sorry but TODAY IS THE DAY!!!! Happy TDOV Fox and @himbo-mulder (this is my response to your ask too)

LGBTQ X-Files Headcanons Because Someone Asked

Fox Mulder:

Bi and trans icon

The first person he told was Samantha

She accepted him immediately as her big brother and told him he should name himself Fox (it was her favorite animal at the time)

He was going to make his name William Mulder Jr. up until she disappeared, in which he actually decided to make his first name Fox (he misses her 🥺)

Came out to his parents sometime in high school, both took it badly

Bill was hella transphobic—he was already pretty shitty to Mulder but this added a whole new layer to it

Teena was more passive aggressive about it but still made withering comments about how she “lost two daughters now”

Some high school friends (*chants* PHOEBE AND GIMBLE PHOEBE AND GIMBLE) helped Mulder start T and change his legal name on government documents before he left for Oxford

Mulder wanted to go stealth while he was there but came out to Phoebe

When they broke up, she outed him to everyone

Things got so bad that he almost dropped out

Mulder joined the FBI, excited at the prospect of knowing no one and being able to go exclusively by his last name

He was somewhat happy of his solitude in the basement—no one really looked into him past his spooky nature, so no one could find out he was trans

Since Samantha, Scully was the first person who was truly accepting of who he really was

Got top surgery sometime before Colony

Definitely fell in love with Scully right after reading her profile skrjnwkdjwka

Mulder and Krycek were definitely an item for a hot sec until Krycek went evil

Mulder is 500% faithful to Scully but kinda had a crush on Doggett for a little bit

Mulder just wants to be a better dad than Bill 🥺🥺🥺

Mulder helped Byers realize he was trans!!! More on that later though

Dana Scully:

A bi queen

Definitely experimented in college and had a couple girlfriends there and through med school

Ending up breaking up with a girl she was really close with because Scully’s job was just putting too much strain on their relationship

It was really hard on her and made her swear off serious relationships for a long time

She thought Mulder was adorable from the moment she saw him but was really scared of actually developing feelings for him so she pushed it down

And kept pushing it down until she finally realized Mulder was never going to hurt her and actually let him in

I’m just ranting about MSR now oops

100% faithful to Mulder but thought Reyes was super hot

Scully is just a distinguished bi idk what else to say

Walter Skinner:

You can’t adopt THAT MANY LGBT agents if you’re not LGBT yourself, right?

Definitely bisexual

Grew up in a really conservative family and didn’t even consider it an option until he moved out

Skinner was attracted to a lot of guys in his squad in Vietnam but he thought it was just because there were no women around

(Spoiler alert: it wasn’t)

Skinner fell in love with John “Kitten” James and he fell hard

Absolutely did everything possible to protect that man

He was terrified of his feelings though and pushed them down, eventually starting to resent his best friend for making him feel things he couldn’t understand

When Kitten got infected by that gas, Skinner put his values over the man he loved, not just because he thought it was the right thing to do, but because he was terrified that he might be bi

He has regretted it ever since

Married his wife after the war and had a pretty good relationship until he became too consumed with his work

Their breakup was really hard on him and he delved even more into his work

Sometime after Avatar (maybe by season 5 or 6), Skinner meets a really lovely man and that man becomes his boyfriend

It’s really hard at first, but the guy helps Skinner to open up and allow himself to be okay with who he really is

They make time for each other outside of work and are really happy together!

Skinner’s boyfriend is 100% okay with the fact that Skinner has basically adopted all these agents

Skinner is everyone’s dad!!! No exceptions

John Byers:

Trans man!!!!

Discovered it pretty late in life, like he knew earlier but he Repressed it

First person he ever came out to was Mulder (as in my fic 😌)

Lots of internalized transphobia in this man but Mulder and the Lone Gunmen really helped him break out of that

Langly and Frohike obviously went with him to get his first T shot and chanted “MAN JUICE” while it happened (scaring a lot of the nurses)

Met Susanne before he transitioned so seeing her again in Three of a Kind was a little terrifying for him

She accepts him though and is a bi icon herself

Byers wears suits so much because they make him feel really validated

Ringo Langly:

Non-binary and gay!! Langly uses any pronouns (gonna stick to he/him for this list to keep things simple though)

Grew up pretty unaware about gender as a whole, just living his life

Moving away from home to a city was huge for him, he started going to gay bars and really realized that he was gay

Eventually started to experiment with his gender, using different pronouns etc., and found out he was non-binary!

Came out to Frohike shortly after learning Frohike was bi (more on that later)

Goes by Ringo because it’s somewhat gender neutral

He isn’t dysphoric very often but when he is it’s very hard for him to cope, Byers and Frohike are always there to support him and help however possible though

Langly gets way more dates than Frohike and loves to brag about it

Melvin Frohike:

We stan one funky little bi king

HE WAS AT STONEWALL I’LL DIE ON THIS HILL

Frohike had a mega crush on Mulder when he first met him and it persisted all the way until he met Scully

And then when he met Doggett he crushed on him too

Frohike is just kind of a hopeless romantic okay I love him

Absolutely bonds with Scully and they always debate which celebrity is hotter while they get more and more drunk

John Doggett

GAY MAN

Doggett was really repressed for a lot of his life, not because he thought his family would hate him for being gay but mostly because of his environment

(He was a drama kid though)

The military REALLY repressed him and thoroughly fucked him up

It wasn’t until he met Reyes that he started to accept himself more

At first Reyes being a lesbian totally freaked him out and he was really upset, leading to a huge strain on their friendship, but one night he broke down and told her he was pretty sure he was gay

Reyes really helped him through everything, especially his divorce from his wife and the loss of his son

Doggett eventually came out to his dad, who was super accepting

It took Doggett a long time to be comfortable enough to date but he started and met a really great guy, one who he’s now married to

One day he mentioned his boyfriend in passing and the rest of the Spooky Squad totally flipped out because they had no idea he was gay

Doggett just straight-faced “I didn’t think it was relevant?”

Sings musical theater songs in the office when no one else is there

Monica Reyes:

A lesbian

There isn’t a straight bone in her body have you SEEN her???

Absolutely crushed on Scully for the longest time at first, totally backed off when she realized she was involved with Mulder

Total mlm/wlw solidarity with Doggett

Reyes is super comfortable with her sexuality

I’m convinced that she’s married and she and her wife live in the same neighborhood as Doggett and his husband

Running out of brain power at this point but I just love her so much??? Mwah

Alex Krycek:

Gay rat

Everything he did against Mulder and Scully was fueled by spite at his ex-boyfriend Mulder

Daddy issues

Sometimes he breaks into TLG’s base and vibes with them for a few days

Rat (affectionate)

Deep Throat:

Gay :)

Bonus: Melissa Scully is a trans lesbian and Samantha Mulder is bisexual and they’re dating

#jack’s posts #the x files #txf #x files #fox mulder #trans fox mulder #bi fox mulder #dana scully #walter skinner #alex krycek #john byers #ringo langly #richard langly #melvin frohike #john doggett #monica reyes #melissa scully #samantha mulder #long post

92 notes · View notes

phykios · 3 years

Text

honesty and promise me, co-written with @darkmagyk [read on ao3]

“I’m in love,” Piper tells her when she shows up for another fitting. “Have you seen the new Beyonce video?”

“I heard the song.” Annabeth says, “isn’t that enough?”

“God, your whole play-acting thing is too far if you’re pretending to not like Beyonce.”

“I never said that.” Annabeth holds up her hands, “I like the song. But I did not see the video.”

“Well, when you see it, you’ll be in love too, but I will fight you.”

Piper could be scrappy in a fight. But Annabeth had been a champion fencer in high school.

“Kidding!” Piper says at her look. “There’s plenty of them to go around.” She didn’t even start to drape fabric over Annabeth, pushing her onto a muslin covered couch, and then pulling the video on the TV. She didn’t have one of those voice control devices. Because she was friends with Leo, and he was pretty firm on them being evil. “But I do call dibs on the main guy. The CALVES. The thighs. He’s unreal.”

“That good?” Piper went all ways, though as of late she gravitated towards women more often than not, so this was some high praise indeed.

“Unreal, I am telling you. Like, the hand of God came down and sculpted him personally out of marble.”

Already in her recent watch history, the thumbnail of the video greets them, the song title splashed across the TV screen, weaving between a very, very familiar set of legs.

Like, intimately familiar.

In something of detached horror, she watches the camera pan up, lovingly lingering on every inch of bare skin, following the muscles of his calves (which were unreal) to his knees then his thighs (which Annabeth had spent almost too much time between now), up his torso and his chest (which she knew made for an excellent pillow) to Percy’s face, set in a firm, hard stare.

And that fucking blue lipstick again.

She can’t even focus on Beyonce herself, too distracted by the way her hand traces the length of Percy’s outstretched thigh held in perfect arabesque as she gracefully drapes herself over him, crooning softly into his ear.

Annabeth should do that next time. That’s her spot, after all.

Tearing her eyes away from the screen even as Piper watches, enraptured, she slips out her phone, sending a quick, furious text.

annabeth: BEYONCE???????

A minute, then he responds.

percy: oh lol i didn’t realize that came out today 😁

percy: what’d you think?

annabeth: i think im going to kill you later

“Just look at him,” Piper says, pausing on Percy’s form, his arms outstretched, fingers placed delicately around a bar. “I mean--look at him!”

“Yeah,” she chuckles, maybe a little uneasy. “He’s alright I guess.”

Incredulous, Piper swivels her head. “Alright? Alright? Do you need your eyes checked?”

She just shrugs.

Why is she being so weird about this? It’s just Piper. She’s trained to find symmetry and beauty in bodies. They’ve happily shared crushes and fixations plenty of times before, so why is Annabeth being so weird about Percy? It’s not like they’re… you know… dating or anything. Just hooking up a bit.

Piper squints at her, then shrugs herself. “Fine. I don’t have time to get an answer out of you anyway. Come on.”

“Speaking of time,” Annabeth says, following Piper back into the kitchen studio, “I have to head out by 6:30.”

“Oh yeah?” Piper’s head is buried in her belt box, searching for the perfect accent. “What for?”

“I’ve got a show to catch.”

“Kind of early,” she says, pulling out something thin and silver. “Don’t you usually meet Thalia at the ass crack of midnight?”

“Well I kind of want to eat first.”

“Okay.” She cinches the belt around her waist, tight. “Then you’re going to have to help me with this skirt.”

***

Hands aching from hours of macrame, Annabeth walks up to the box office window at the Koch Theater at 7:46, having a handful of second thoughts.

Old, uppity white couples keep shooting her some particularly intense passive aggressive glares, some of them even venturing into actually aggressive territory, which usually wouldn’t even register on her very short list of things to care about, except that she is feeling woefully out of place. The lady in front of her has ten pounds of diamonds hanging off of each old, wrinkly ear, and the best Annabeth could do was fish out her least-ripped pair of jeans, pairing it with one of her nicer black shirts, the sleeves long enough to cover most of her tattoos. The macrame kept her longer than she had meant, so she didn’t have time to change before dinner, but fuck it, right?

She did also take out most of her face jewelry on the way. But she left the nose stud, obviously. And the tongue piercing. And the industrial, because Percy really likes those, so she doesn’t feel that bad about it. And he hadn’t even told her about this until after she had already given herself the half-undercut, so it’s not like she could do anything about that either.

“Can I help you?” At least this box office worker isn’t giving her the stink-eye.

“I’m here to pick up a ticket? Should be under ‘Jackson.’” He’d offered to leave it under her name, but this was safer. She doesn’t think her mom is a big ballet person, but she isn’t about to risk it, either.

She slides the ticket towards Annabeth beneath the glass plane. “Enjoy the show,” she says, with a quirk of her mouth that is surprisingly sincere for someone in customer service.

She’s pretty sure she’d enjoy the show more if she weren’t panicking thinking about getting dirt on their fancy carpets. Her boots are clean, of course, and she doesn’t really care, but she doesn’t want to, like, embarrass Percy or whatever. She’d asked him if she should dress up, but he’d assured her otherwise. “No one’s going to care, I promise,” he’d told her the night before, her lounging in his bed while he did some pushups. “And if anyone says something, let me know and we can kick their ass after the show together.”

“Great. Guess I don’t have to break out the Chanel, then.”

He’d paused, frowned, then huffed a laugh, shaking his head. Like the idea of Annabeth wearing Chanel was hilarious. Like what she’s wearing tonight really is the best that she can do.

Self-consciousness isn’t really a feeling that Annabeth has anymore. She’s spent so many years chafing against expectations, shucking them off when she inevitably failed to meet them, desperate for a place, a crowd where she could just be. In her scene, she doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone, and when Percy is out with her, he doesn’t need any convincing. He likes her. He likes her a lot, she thinks. He likes her enough to let himself be dragged out to every shitty dive bar and shittier rock show in New York City, laughing and cheering and holding her close the whole time. He likes her enough to cart her to his apartment at 4 AM, inevitably waking Nico up from his undead slumber, and leave her with nothing but a glass of water and a kiss on the forehead. And she likes him, too--a lot. Annabeth likes Percy enough to ditch her band t-shirts for a night and track mud on the carpet of the Koch Theater and willingly sit through a performance of fucking Swan goddamn Lake of all things, and it’s only a little scary how much she is willing to do for him after only a few months of fucking him. Because this really isn’t her scene, not anymore.

The weight of everyone’s stares bears down on her, threatening to crush her beneath them, a feeling she was so sure she’d left behind.

At least Percy had been thoughtful enough to get her a ticket out of the way in the back of one of the balcony sections. It’s a bit of a hike, but the audience members aren’t dressed quite as nicely as the ones downstairs, and she feels like she can breathe a little easier.

She pulls out her phone, checking her text messages on instinct. There’s a selfie from Percy in his stage makeup (and she’s not going to lie… he looks fucking pretty), with his standard accompanying three blue heart emojis. She can’t help it, her heart skips a beat and she can’t help but smile, even as she rolls her eyes. She’s just about to send him something appropriately sarcastic when another text notification slides in. It’s from her father.

Hi Annabeth… I was talking to a friend in Boston who said he's looking for a new

prospective in his architecture firm. Passed your information along.

Love you, dear

She swipes it away. Deletes the whole text conversation, for good measure.

Forget about him. This night is about Percy.

A few minutes later, so engrossed in Percy’s program bio (it’s about all she can focus on right now), she doesn’t even notice everyone around her leaning forward in breathless anticipation, until the warm, honey-like sound of the oboe draws her head up.

Roughly two minutes in, she’s really wishing she had attempted the synopsis. The extent of her knowledge of Swan Lake is a few half-remembered orchestra rehearsals in her teens and reading the Wikipedia article on that Natalie Portman movie a few months ago, and she definitely doesn’t recall there being anything about any Men-in-Tights looking motherfuckers prancing around. They’re sort of bobbing, back and forth, elegantly stepping from one side of the stage to another. Even from back here, she can see the delicate, precise placement of their hands, fingers curved just so, moving through space as though they aren’t bound by the laws of physics.

The fingers, she remembers. She could never get the hang of the fingers. Her old ballet teacher had given up on them after a week, and that had been the beginning of the end for that particular extracurricular.

Now her fingers tap on her jeans, impatient, far faster than the easy going music on stage. She’s just about to give in to the millennial instinct and pull out her phone, maybe play a round of sudoku, when the dancers motion as one to the back corner, and Percy comes stepping out. His hair is perfectly slicked back, gelled down, any hint of curl beaten into submission, and his smile is small, but white, gleaming against the tanned brown of his skin. She can’t help but smile back, like he could somehow see her. Finally, she thinks, relaxing a little more into her seat. Something to watch.

On his off days, her off days, any day when she would spent the night at his (always at his, never at hers) and wake up wrapped in his comforter and the smell of seawater, she would take the blanket with her and steal into his living room, curl up on his couch with her feet tucked under her legs, and watch him dance. She’s seen him drill these sequences over, and over, and over again, counting furious sequences of sixes and eights beneath his breath in duet with the thuds of his feet on his floor. Most times he would notice her and shoot her a grin, granting her permission to observe the artist at work. Sometimes, though, he would be so caught up in his body, the shifting of his feet and the music in his head, that it was like he couldn’t see her at all. Seemingly alone, he would dance, uninhibited, and she would be struck by a feeling that she usually reserves for specific monuments. Watching Percy dance in his apartment, in his brown tights and black tank top, lost in his own world, is like looking at pictures of the Gateway Arch, or the Hoover Dam, or the Parthenon.

She searches for that feeling now, leaning forward in her seat, eyes hungrily raving his form, but she just doesn’t see it. It’s… honestly, it’s a little boring. She won’t lie. He had warned her it would be something of a slow start, but this isn’t exactly an ADHD friendly medium, and she is losing her patience, just a bit. He’s so reserved, like he’s holding something close to his chest, impersonal as he takes the hands of the female dancers and lets them twirl around him.

Personally, Annabeth thinks that he looks kind of lost. Maybe he’s just nervous--it’s a big role and he’s a young guy. But he had seemed fine when he’d kissed her goodbye just after lunch.

The court jester is killing it though. Feeling just the slightest bit guilty, she lets her eyes drift over to him, deciding to watch him for a while instead.

On some level, she does appreciate the skill on display here. Percy can raise his back leg in a perfect ninety degree angle that would make her architecture professors sweat. The girls drift back and forth across the stage on the tips of their toes, weightless and ethereal. It’s mesmerizing, and she lets herself be mesmerized.

Time must slip away from her, because she blinks and all of a sudden the stage has gone from sunny yellow to cool blue, the crowds of dancers having vanished. He is alone on stage. Percy kneels in a deep lunge that makes her thighs ache just looking at him (and for… other reasons), his arms and his attention pointed to the wings, with a… Annabeth squints. When the hell did he get a crossbow?

But everything is swept to the sides when the White Swan tiptoes her way on stage, impossibly graceful, and all of a sudden, Annabeth gets it.

It feels a little cliche to say, but the way that woman moves on the floor really does remind her of those old, vintage jewelry boxes, suspended in animation, moved by some otherworldly force. It’s amazing. It’s a little terrifying. Sublime is the word that comes to mind as Annabeth watches her. Her arms move with fluidity, perfect curves, her fingers trailing behind her like wings.

And Percy is just as mesmerized as Annabeth is. As the audience is.

A few things hit her, in rapid succession. First, that Percy is, actually, a really good actor. His reticence before--he’d been playing a character. He’d been playing aloof and reserved and unmoored, because Percy--Siegfried--whatever--has been waiting his whole life for something to fulfill him, until this singular moment, the moment he laid eyes on this beautiful creature. Second, that she doesn’t need words to understand what’s going on. It’s all there, in every look and gesture and step, as the two characters circle each other, slowly but irrevocably falling in love. And third, that she recognizes the look on his face. It’s the look that Percy gives her when she has been talking for too long and he can’t get a word in edgewise, or when she screams along to the god awful underground bands, three beers in and missing every single fuck she’d ever had, or when she wakes up after him to Percy’s arms around her waist, her hair in his mouth and her head resting against his collarbone. She recognizes it, because that’s the look that Siegfried has for Odette. Because that’s the look that Percy has for Annabeth. Because he loves her.

And fourth, that that doesn’t make her as happy as she wishes it would.

There’s a cold pit in her stomach for the rest of the show, a turning screw that twists in deeper, minute by minute, with every turn of the dancers. She wastes the next hour trying to puzzle this out, not even pretending to watch the drama unfolding on stage, because it makes no goddamn sense. (Her situation, not the ballet--she managed to skim the synopsis during intermission, her foot tapping incessantly against the blessedly empty seat in front of her.) Things are great between them. It’s been a heady, intoxicating four months, full of bubbles and butterflies, sweet, soft mornings, and some really, really phenomenal sex. This should make her happy. This should put her over the fucking moon, and she cannot, for the life of her, figure out why it doesn’t.

The prima ballerina comes back out as the Black Swan, just as poised and precise as her counterpart, but she’s a great actress as well, because there is something undeniably different about her. Her arms move like rubber, like joints are just an afterthought, wrapping themselves around Percy’s neck and shoulders. She misdirects his attention, drawing his eyes to her wrists, her clavicle, the curve of a leg or the point of her toe. Seducing him. Tricking him.

Like Annabeth.

Because try as she might to run from it, Annabeth isn’t who she says she is. She wants so desperately to be this fuck-the-rules, fight-the-power, punk rock princess that she took every part of her that didn’t fit that image and tried to rip it out of her, bloody and struggling. Her trust fund, her two (two!) Harvard degrees, her enriched childhood and her bright and shining future; she took it all out back and shot it, and prayed that would be the end of it. She’s a phony, just like that goddamn Black Swan. Percy is in love with a phony.

Her sweet, wonderful, devastatingly kind and handsome Percy--she tricked him and made him fall in love with a mishmash of archetypes and aesthetics, distracting him with nose piercings and ripped t-shirts and ugly, deafening noise.

She’s not surprised that she’s crying when the curtain falls. She’d never known that Siegfried and Odette both died at the end.

When the cast reunites for curtain call, Percy is given a standing ovation, and Annabeth enthusiastically joins in, wiping the tears from her eyes, smearing her makeup.

She doesn’t wait for him at the stage door, but sits on the steps of the theater, plucking at her sleeves, aching for a drink and wishing she had had the presence of mind to wear something a little nicer. Percy finds her there almost an hour after the show ended. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

In the dark of night, illuminated only by streetlamps, she can’t read his face--but she can read exhaustion, in every part of his body. “I was waiting for you by the stage door.”

Something in her stomach goes cold. “I… wasn’t sure if I was allowed,” she offers, weakly.

He smiles, a light in the dark. “Of course you’re allowed,” he says, offering her a hand. “Shall we?”

She knows what will happen next. She’ll take his hand, and they’ll walk to the subway together, fingers intertwined. They’ll get on the 1 train headed north, and Percy will let her rest her head against him, tilting his head back against the window, eyes closed, almost asleep. The doorman will nod at them as they walk up to Nico’s apartment, barely batting an eye at his sweats and her ripped jeans, the two of them sticking out like a sore thumb in a sea of impeccably dressed rich New Yorkers. Nico will wave at them distractedly from his office, gulping down his sixth coffee of the night, and they’ll tiptoe into his room, falling asleep in each other’s arms with little more than a good night kiss.

Which, of course, is exactly what does end up happening.

Almost.

Annabeth crawls on top of him in his bed, kissing him soft and senseless. She doesn’t know where he’s getting this energy from, but she is not complaining as he slips up inside of her, the two of them rocking each other gently to orgasm, their foreheads pressed together. Shuddering as he comes, he captures her mouth in another kiss, pouring every ounce of love he has in him into her.

A waste, honestly.

But as far as goodbye sex, it’s pretty damn great.

She needs to end this, before either of them get hurt. It’s the least of what he deserves, after all. To put yourself out there, to offer yourself up like that, that might be the bravest thing Annabeth’s ever heard of, and surely, Annabeth can find the courage to do what needs to be done.

#whomp whomp!!#ballet au #pjo fic #my fic #percabeth #the rivalry ends here #darkmagyk #perseannabeth

35 notes · View notes

springday-aus · 3 years

Text

Hockey Player!AU with Mark

moodboard link

Group: NCT

Member: Mark Lee

Genre: fluff, romance

Additionally: college!au

Type: Bulletpoint AU

Word Count: approx. 2.3k

→ Inspired by NCT U’s 90s Love!

I’m gonna be completely honest: I don’t know shit about hockey so apologizes in advance

Mark is a left-winger for the team

he plays for his university’s team and they’re actually pretty good

within the three-ish years that he’s been on the team, they’ve won a couple of championships

it’s not really hard considering that Mark takes everything too seriously

(at least that’s what Donghyuk says during practice all the time)

Johnny somewhere: “okay Mark”

Yuta: “let’s not overreact Mark”

Taeyong: “leave my son alone”

Mark: “I’m a grown adult…”

Taeyong: “shhh”

since he used to play for his team back in hometown, he naturally joined the university’s team

he was a natural and everyone easily took a liking to him

especially since now they have someone to make fun of constantly

by they, I literally mean just Donghyuk

I’m just kidding—it’s all in good fun because it just shows how close they are

Mark is just that one college kid that’s still cute even when he’s not a freshman anymore

the other team members still treat him like the youngest even though YangYang and Sungchan are like

👁👄👁 hello ?

speaking of which, their teamwork is incredible and it shows through their games

and, on the rare occasions that they don’t win, they still have dinner together afterwards

well, it’s less of dinner and more of drinks and strategizing what went wrong—which are kind of depressing but it’s fine

at least that’s what Sicheng says as captain, but it sounds like denial

anyways, even though Ten is the co-captain, they all work to make their play plan together

they all contribute ideas, especially since they’ve been in the positions they’ve been in for, like, ever

anyways

again, Mark is like really good

so you know he got that bombass scholarship

and that’s what really pushes him to do well bc let’s be real, college is e x p e n s i v e

he also likes ice skating in general because the cold reminds him of home

so he’s one of those hockey players that also likes figures skaters and it’s funny because he gets so many weird looks from the others

(altho, Jeno goes with him sometimes bc he’s nice)

back to what I was saying tho: Mark is really good

despite his personality, he’s a bit more aggressive on the ice—considering he’s a forward

Donghyuk, the right-winger: he makes sense

there’s the passive aggressive-ness

Mark? who knew he had some strength to him when it’s actually applied

seriously, have you seen his thighs?

speaking of which, the team serves a lot of looks

which means a lot of speculators that show up to the games

which means lots of fans

people typically come for the looks, but then stay for the games bc the team is very underrated

they actually win games and everything but like

advertising for the team? nonexistent

@stupid college funding distributions that focus on mediocre sports like football

so, where do you fall into the mix? you’re an og stan

you’ve been in the stands since you entered university

it didn’t even have anything to do with the members (altho, it is nice to have some eye-candy)

you just……… like hockey

even if you don’t understand much about it

it’s just… interesting to watch

so, whenever the season rolls around, you go to the games

but to say over the years that you didn’t develop a particular attachment to our boy Mark…… is an absolute lie

so, do you have a crush on Mark?

yes

but also like

who doesn’t have a crush on Mark

this man is literally so talented and nice and adorable and he just makes you want to take care of him all the time and ugh

one of your friends went to a game with you and literally was just like “oh he’s cute”

You: “we know”

he’s def one of those guys who everyone has or has had a crush on at some point

and you are no different

the thing is that you are fine with not ever confessing because you’re happy with just being on the sidelines because you’ve. literally. just been on the sidelines…

the idea of confessing feels ridiculous bc realistically, what would you mean to some guy that literally e v e r y person has a crush on?

the thing is though is that Mark knows you

at least, he knows of your presence

if he didn’t, it would be embarrassing considering that you come to every game - he’s got loyalty unless some people

Ten: “who?”

Mark: “dude”

Donghyuk: “is this another one of your imaginary friends?”

Mark: “I TOLD YOU THAT IN CONFIDENCE”

jkjk , they all kind of know you, considering you’re one of the more consistent faces since they’ve been playing in these games (primarily the home ones bc free tickets for students but still)

you also don’t paint your face or anything—you just show up in your university sweatshirt with a couple of those foam light up sticks or something

again, not that wild like signs with his face or anything

you’re just…. a spectator

but yeah, Mark knows of you as a loyal fan ?

who also is kind of cute when you’re cheering for them

I want to emphasize that you have gone to, like, nearly every game, but the main ones you’ve *always* have gone to are the home games bc they’re more convenient

or the final games bc hello

they’re the finals, why the fuck would you miss the finals

I emphasize this because, when you’ve suddenly gone down with the flu, you literally cannot make it to the finals championship game

you thought: no one was gonna notice your absence anyways

haha, you thought

anyways

your friends figured you were sick from the beginning and were like, my friend, it’s flu season, stay away from me and pls stay at home

(wash your hands kids, it’s still covid season)

so you didn’t go and stayed in and binged watched iCarly or something

meanwhile, during the game, Mark was like

where... where are you???

so homeboy is highkey distracted and lowkey worried bc did you die???

(you were dying bc of your clogged nostrils, but otherwise, no)

they somehow managed to win by a couple of points so it was kind of fine

but the teasing was increased by all of Mark’s friends

i.e. Johnny, Donghyuk, Jaehyun, and everyone else

come on, it’s so easy to make fun of him

but like he doesn’t care about any of it bc he was worried about you

which got him thinking

why is he worried about someone whose name he doesn’t even know? is there something more? why is there something more? he literally doesn’t know you? except that you come to the games and you’re really cute cheering him on? what is this?

you know, ✨just Mark things✨

this bothered him for quite a bit more than he liked to admit

and it’s about a couple of days later

things are normal and you don’t feel like everything is dripping out of your nose

until you’re walking through campus from your class

and there’s some footsteps running from behind you that makes you coil up into a semi-standing ball bc you thought a bunch of frat boys were just excited or some shit

but then the footsteps stop at you and you’re standing there, wide-eyed

in front of an out of breath Mark

he was walking out of his class with Jaemin and he spotted you from across the quad

and immediately ran to you

Jaemin: I was talking but okay

this isn’t about you Jaemin

anyways

Mark is in front of you, panting and you’re just like sir?

You: “how are you out of breath? aren’t you an athlete?”

Mark: “oh my God, you’re just like Donghyuk”

you give him a bit of time (and some water bc he seemed like he needed it)

and once he’s caught his breath, he stands up and blurts it out

Mark: “what happened to you during the championship?”

You: “....................... what?”

seeing you blink at him confused, he can feel his ears reddening when he’s realized the situation he’s put himself into

Mark: “um, I just”

Mark: “I noticed that you weren’t at the game”

You: still confused bc how does he know about you

You: “huh?”

Mark: oh my God this is the wrong person, want to die

Mark: “you know what, I have the wrong person, I’m just gonna bounce I am so sorry—”

he starts backing up, but you aren’t letting him escape

You: “whoawhoawhoawhoawhoa, hold up hold up”

You: “I didn’t even know that you knew that I knew you”

You: “wait, did you run here just to ask me that?”

Mark is full on flushed at this point bc of all the questions and realizations and it’s all crashing down on him all too soon

and now you have this mischievous look in your eyes that remind him of Ten when he’s clowning Doyoung and he feels like he’s made a mistake

a good mistake but still a mistake

You: “is it?”

Mark: “well, you like, show up to all of our games and you didn’t go to the finals so I didn’t know if anything happened”

You: “oh, I got sick and I figured I shouldn’t be going into giant crowds while having my insides die internally”

You: “but, I did hear from my friends, congrats btw”

Mark: “thanks”

Mark: “are you feeling better tho?”

You: “yeah, but like, my throat is still kind of shitty”

Mark: “oh, if you want, I have a couple of friends who might be able to cook something up for your throat”

Mark: “I’d offer to make something, but Kun doesn’t let me in the kitchen anymore after finding out about the egg incident”

You: “the egg incident?”

Mark: “I can’t cook, like. at all.”

You: “I think I’m good, I was just gonna go get some tea to make it less scratchy or something”

Mark: “I can walk you?”

You: “sure”

so you two go to a cafe or something for you to get some warm tea and you two end up talking and you get to know each other a bit

and then you end up trading numbers and you make some time together

since Mark doesn’t have to go to practice until the next season, his time has opened up considerably

sometimes you study together

other times, you go check out some other places nearby campus

(eventually, you did get to try Taeyong, Jaehyun, and Kun’s food, to which there was no turning back at that point bc they make the best kind of food—free)

you’re basically dating at this point and his friends know you as his significant other so

Chenle: “is (Y/N) gonna be here?”

Mark: “no? it’s our movie night”

Donghyuk: “aren’t you dating tho?”

Mark: “what”

he told you he took it casually and cool, but considering how red his ears were getting when he told you………………. cute

Mark: “c-can you believe they thought we were dating?”

You: “is that not what we’re doing?”

Mark: “what?”

you both established your relationship after that and Mark got a lot more shy and it’s super adorable bc it makes you wanna take care of him and ugh

he’s precious okay

also cut to him trying to ask the other guys for advice, but then he gets embarrassed as Johnny and Ten tries to educate him about love

or how Lucas gives him cheesy lines to use on you

these boys are having a field day and Xiaojun and Doyoung have never felt more at peace

anyways

def the nervous type that he can’t even hold your hand and keeps asking if it’s okay

so you’re the top of this relationship bc he’s a shy lil boy

after a bit tho, he gets more comfortable and it’s great

he’ll get teased often right? when it happens in front of you, he just runs to you with a whine of your name and buries his face into your neck

and you end up yelling at someone

it’s cute tho

bc they def see you both as an adorable couple

when the hockey season starts rolling around again, you def spend more time at the practices—whether you’re there to watch, do your homework, or just help motivate him to play better

you started dressing up more too, especially since he gave you his jersey so you started wearing them to the games (and also face paint bc Jungwoo had some extra for an unknown reason)

and you make Mark Lee signs and it’s super cute

Sicheng also invites you to the afterparty dinners bc why not

also, remember that thing I said about watching figure skaters?

you two watch the Olympics for that and it’s like tradition now for you two to settle in front of the tv with snacks and watch them skate

so, since he’s an athlete, he has to be careful with his body bc then like scholarship will go poof

that means some of your dates might be physically limited

like he’ll go mini-golfing with you, but he can’t go to like self-defense classes with you

he’ll go to support you but if his foot gets busted, his coach and the rest of the team will be on his ass and he feels a bit bad about it but like you understand

considering that you absolutely refuse to get on the ice bc hockey is hard people

speaking of hockey, you told Mark he’s hot when he plays and he was FLUSHED

bc like the look in his eyes and the way he carries himself…. reminds you of when you’re doing some more………...steamy activities

anyways, stan Mark Lee

he’s a sweetheart who works so hard and you’re there to provide him with lots of love

61 notes · View notes

youvebeenlivingfictional · 3 years

Text

Benny and Techie Have It Out

The Pool Masterlist Pairing: Benny ‘Borracho’ Magalon x Reader Rating: Mature Warnings: Cursing; angst; mentions of past asshole exes; there’s a happy ending, I promise! Not beta-read Notes: Requested by @monicabennerman-blog (it wouldn’t let me tag you 😫) Summary: It’s not the first time you’ve gotten that answer from someone you’ve dated.

It doesn’t come on all at once - and it doesn’t even bother you at first. You’ve heard Borracho talk about his family a ton, is the thing, you know how important they are to him. The two of you have been dating for nearly six months, so you’re… A little worried about the fact that you haven’t met them yet. You try to bring it up a few times, mostly when Borracho mentions he’s going over to hang out with them for the afternoon. “Maybe I could come with you?” You offer, but he just pecks your lips and murmurs, “Next time, sweetness.” And the first two, three times? Fine. But the tenth time, it grates on you.

And it’s not the first time you’ve gotten that answer from someone you’ve dated. But in the past, it’s never been for a good reason - it’s been because exes haven’t thought you were serious, or have wanted to break up with you and haven’t known how, choosing instead to string you along until you cut the cord. So this time, when you ask, and when he returns his answer of, “Next time, sweetness,” You mutter, “Bullshit.” And that stops him at the door. He turns back to face you as he straightens his jacket. “What?” You shake your head, wave him back toward the door. “What did you say,” He’s more firm now, taking two steps deeper into your apartment. “You heard what I said,” You rise off of the couch, grabbing the plates from the breakfast the two of you shared on your couch and heading into your kitchen, “Otherwise you wouldn’t have stopped walking.” Borracho follows, watching as you start to passive-aggressively scrub at the dishes. “I heard it, I’m just wondering where the fuck it came from.” “Well then why didn’t you ask where the fuck it came from instead of acting like you need a hearing aid?” “What has gotten into you?” “If there’s not going to be an actual ‘next time’,” You shut the faucet off and turn to face Borracho as you scoop up a dish towel to dry your hands on, “Then you need to tell me that. Don’t just--” You wave a hand at Borracho, “Don’t just keep on pushing off me meeting your family like it’s gonna happen if you don’t want it to ever happen.” “Who says I don’t want it to?” “No one’s said it, but with the way you’ve been acting, you don’t have to. Do they even know about me?” “They know I’m seeing someone.” “Someone.” “Yeah.” “They don’t even know my name?” “Not yet.” Yet. Yet feels as bad as ‘next time’. “Not yet,” You repeat quietly, pinching the bridge of your nose, “Okay, well maybe you can clue me in. Is there some kind of information phasing that you typically use with your family?” “What about you? I haven’t met your family.” “Yeah, because they live on the other side’a the fuckin’ country, Ben!” You snap, “If they lived here, I would’ve introduced you by now. Fuck, I tried to put you on the phone with my mom two weeks ago!” “I didn’t wanna talk to her, I don’t know her!” “What the fuck did you think I was holding the phone out for!” You’re yelling now, both of you. Borracho shakes his head, takes two steps back, says, “I’m going.” “Do whatever the fuck you want.” --

You’re not expecting the bell to ring half an hour later. You frown. You aren’t expecting any packages, haven’t ordered any food. You press the talk button, ask who it is, then wait for the answer. “Can I come up?” He sounds miserable, even through the feed. And fuck, you wanna say no. You curl your hand into a fist and rest it next to the intercom for a moment. The irritation hasn’t disappeared, yet, is the thing. You’re still dealing with it, it’s still bubbling in your stomach like some shitty bicarbonate soda. You take in a deep breath, push it out through your mouth, press ‘talk’ the button, prepared to tell him to leave… Then you say nothing, hit the button to open the door instead. You walk over to the front door and unlock it for Borracho like you always do when he’s coming up. You go back into the kitchen. You haven’t finished cleaning up yet. As soon as Borracho left, you’d just started walking around your apartment, mentally continuing the argument that the two of you had been having - and winning it. You hear the door open, then close. You hear Borracho’s footsteps come down the hall, round the living room, stop at the entrance to your kitchen. You don't turn to look at him, just keep at your task. “Can we talk?” “Go right ahead,” You answer. “No, sweetness,” You pet name is tight in his throat, “I wanna talk to you, not at you.” You set down what’s in your hands and place your palms flat on the counter before you nod. Borracho comes further into the kitchen, stops at the counter beside you. He doesn’t reach out to touch you, doesn’t draw you to soothe the hurt with a kiss. It won’t solve anything and the both of you know it. “I’ve got a… A reputation with my family for jumping into shit too quick,” He says; his voice is quiet, a little apologetic, “After my divorce, there were a lot of women that I brought around, but they never stuck around long. On top’a that… My family didn’t think too highly of then. And I’ll be honest, those girls, they were just fun, I wasn’t serious about them. I’m serious about you. I just… I gotta ease ‘em into this. I don’t want them saying shit about you, not like that. Not like them.” Your hands curl into fists again, and you’re fighting to keep your eyes on the counter as your stomach churns. “Why didn’t you just tell me that? I mean-- No, Ben, listen,” You shake your head as you hear Borracho wind up to say something else, “You’ve been saying ‘next time’ like--? For months now. Months. And giving someone that expectation and then just yanking it away time after time after time--” “It wasn’t fair,” Borracho concedes, “I’m sorry.” You nod, let your head hang. “I’m sorry, too. The way I approached this was-- Really bad. I should’ve just told you that this was bothering me... And I shouldn’t have yelled.” Borracho does reach for you, then, and murmurs, “C’mere.” You go, curl into his chest, wrap your arms around him and press your face into his shoulder. He gathers you close, and you feel a tension to him. “I shouldn’t keep you too long,” You mumble after you’ve held to him for a while, “You’ll be late to get to Gabriel’s.” “Texted, told him I would be,” Borracho’s words are muffled against your shoulder. You smile a little bit, rub your hand between his shoulders. “Go on,” You urge him. He leans away just enough to duck in for a kiss. You sigh, sliding your hands up to settle on either side of his neck. “Can I come by...After?” He mumbles. You hum, nodding a little. “Gotta leave to come back, though,” You tease. You feel him smile against your lips and that makes you grin. You want to tell him that you love him but-- well the two of you haven’t used that word yet, and you’re not sure if the moment after a fight, right before he goes to see his family is the best time. You peck his lips one more time before you lean away. “I’m sorry again,” You murmur. He nods a little, rests his forehead against yours. “I am, too.” You pat his cheek. “Get outta here, Magalon.” --

You get a text from him later that says, ‘my entire family says you’re too hot for me’ It makes your heart swoop and you laugh aloud. Tag list: @mylittlelonelyappreciationtoo ; @jedi-mando

#The Pool #Benny and Techie Have It Out #The Continuing Adventures of Benny and Techie #Benny Borracho #Benny Borracho x Reader #Benny Borracho x You #Benny Borracho/You #Benny Borracho/Reader #Benny Borracho Magalon #Benny Borracho Magalon x Reader #Benny Borracho Magalon x You #Benny Borracho Magalon/You #Benny Borracho Magalon/Reader #Maurice Compte characters

74 notes · View notes

thejilyship · 3 years

Text

The Houses as Shit I did in College

Gryffindor: I had a terrible roommate for two years. She was passive aggressive and a narcissist. Like I told this girl that I had heart surgery and she found a way to make it about her. So my suitemate and I decided that the best way to get back at her was to print out memes, school athletes, politicians, random ass quotes, bears, moose, hearts, songs that we wrote, and then use them all to decorate our shared bathroom. We got balloons, hung a tablecloth on the ceiling, bought a giant Frozen wall sticker to put in the shower. It was a lot, like so much. And she laughed and pretended that she didn’t mind, and then a couple days later, asked us when we were going to take it down. We told her that we would soon, and then we took everything down for a day, only to redo it entirely different the following day. We did this for an entire year. (the second year she was my roommate)

Ravenclaw: I had this writing class Prof assign an essay that she was going to grade in front of the entire class, real time. So the first time she read it, was going to be while she read it out loud to the class. I stressed out about this paper for the entire week before it was do. Then I wrote it two hours before class. I sat in class and listen to her tear every. single. person’s. paper to pieces and tried to mentally prepare myself for hearing her rip me a new one, consoling myself with the fact that no one was doing well. But then she got to mine and started going on about how perfect it was and how I was the only one who seemed to understand the assignment. This was both great and the absolute worst for me, because I love praise, but hate everyone in class glaring at me. She talked to me about this paper YEARS after.

Hufflepuff: Someone ran into me on their bike while I was crossing the street. I don’t know if they’re breaks weren’t working or if they just weren’t paying attention, but I was also on my bike. My bike was bigger though, so I hardly felt it at all, and this guy flips over his handlebars and goes flying. Like he really hit me. So he hits the ground and comes up swearing at me. Like ‘f u’ kind of swearing. And I’m upset. But I pull my bike back to the sidewalk and put on my nice person face, walk over to him and start fussing over him. ‘Oh, are you okay? That looked like it really hurt. Let me help you fix your bike chain.’ And this guys face just drains. Like white. He starts stammering out apologies and tells me not to worry about him because he’s fine and it was all his fault. Made him feel bad, but it made me feel good. Sometimes kindness can be devious.

Slytherin: I worked for a pretty shitty organization in college, and I was a manager at said organization. We were always short staffed across all our different sites on campus, and they would always take people from my site even though we were one of the biggest sites and needed the manpower. Anyone, one night around 11 (we closed at 12) HR called and said that they needed someone from my site to go across campus to help close. I said that I would only send someone if they could find them a ride back to their dorm afterward. The people who worked in my site, lived either in the building, or in one of the three buildings surrounding the building. HR said that they couldn’t do that, and that I had to send someone to walk over a mile, by themselves, at 2 in the morning less than a week after someone just off campus got stabbed in the middle of the night. I refused and hung up on them.

#fel talks to the void #hogwarts houses #hp

68 notes · View notes

contrabandhothead · 4 years

Note

Hi! I have a request for Band of Brothers. How Easy company would treat the reader when this person is sick. I hope this works! I love everything you have written, thank you!

in sickness and health - band of brothers

- [ BUCK COMPTON ]

PANICS

this man smothers you with attention

he’s waiting on you hand and foot every single second of the day, and he does not care if he gets sick

he’s literally so sweet, even though he still tries to kiss you

like Buck, no, it’s probably contagious

holds your hand while you wait for the medic

tells the medic all of your symptoms for you while you sleep on his shoulder

he actually learned how to cook just so he could make you some food when you got the flu once

he tells you he needs you to get better so he can take you out on dates and spoil you Buck, we’re in the middle of a war

he acts like he doesn’t spoil you already

- [ CHUCK GRANT ]

will beat your ass if you’re not in bed

don’t even try to resist him taking care of you, he will not be having it

actually super soft as long as you don’t fight him about taking some time off the line

chews people out for being too loud while you’re trying to sleep

brings all of your meals to your room and eats with you, making sure you finish every part of your meal

LOTS OF CUDDLES

he’s quite careful not to get sick though

don’t ever try and deny that you’re sick, seriously

“fine? FINE? baby, i just saw you throw up.”

constantly checks your forehead to make sure you’re not burning up

- [ BILL GUARNERE ]

he has a lot of siblings, he knows what he’s doing

i feel like he’s less aggressive about it than some of the other men, but he’s gonna tell you you’re dumb for getting sick at least 2 times

he genuinely tries to be super sweet when you’re not feeling well, so give him a break

cooks you lots of his mom’s family recipes (how’d he find the ingredients?? we don’t know how, but he did)

you’re gonna eat every meal he makes you or you’re gonna get force-fed

carries you everywhere, even if you don’t ask him to

SO MUCH HAIR STROKING

he loves to pet your head until you fall asleep

expect lots of sleepy cuddles

definitely contracts whatever you had, so expect to get a whiny Bill that wants you to take care of him

- [ BABE HEFFRON ]

PANICS LIKE BUCK BUT EVEN WORSE

constantly has Roe checking on you, making sure that you’re getting better

will indeed rub your back while you throw up, and even hold your hair back if necessary

he’s constantly moping because he wants cuddles and kisses, but he knows he can’t have any until you’re not sick anymore

he’s surprisingly calm on the outside, but on the inside he’s panicking because he’s so worried

brings you tonssss of extra blankets that he collected from the other replacements

this man brings in the whole battalion to help you get better, he’s out here begging everyone for supplies

even though you’re sick, he’s still gonna hold your hand

sorry, but he needs at least a little affection

get ready to be absolutely smothered when you’re no longer sick

- [ JOE LIEBGOTT ]

he’s not as aggressive about it as he would be if you got hurt, but expect lots of teasing

he’s gonna call you a dumbass at least once, okay?

will NOT leave you alone for a single SECOND

he’s worried that you’re gonna start throwing up when he leaves the room and then choke to death on your own vomit

gives you all of his food, even if you don’t want it

don’t try and act like you’re not sick, he will yell at you (he’s not playing around)

gets so frustrated with you when you won’t take your medicine, so he has to have Roe give it to you

he doesn’t like being super soft in front of the guys, but if you have the chills, he will not hesitate to cuddle you

he’ll literally let you get away with ANYTHING if you’re sick

like i’m not even joking, he’d literally let you use his shirt as a tissue if you needed to

- [ CARWOOD LIPTON ]

SO SOFT

yells at the guys to be quiet so that you can get more sleep

if a trooper isn’t whispering while you’re trying to sleep, no one will ever find that man’s body

LOTSSS of forehead kisses

will not let you do anything

not even if you bring up the time that he got a pneumonia (he just glares at you until you yield)

he makes sure that everyone treats you with extra caution, especially if it’s hard for you to walk

he gets soooo worried if you have a coughing fit

he just panics whenever it happens while rubbing your back and offering you water

lets you burrow into his chest while you rest

- [ GEORGE LUZ ]

tries to make jokes so that he can help you feel better

i feel like George has absolutely no idea what the hell he’s doing

asks Roe a million questions about what he should do to help you

if this isn’t your first time being sick around him, then he’s already gonna have a set plan on how to help you get better

steals a lot of extra food for you, especially hershey bars

whines that he doesn’t get any kisses now that you’re sick

he thinks it’s his job to take care of you, so he feels really bad that there’s not much he can do

he does get supplies from replacements, but unlike Babe, he steals them

will kiss you regardless of if you’re contagious or not

now you have to take care of him while he whines and complains about how stuffy his nose is

- [ DONALD MALARKEY ]

so SOFT UGHHHHH

he takes over your duties as well as his own just so that you get enough time to recover

brings lots of blankets, the softest ones he could find in the whole entire town

holds your hand a lotttt

he spoons you (which is rare because Don Malarkey = little spoon) when your sleep schedules match up, and he buries his head between your shoulders

omg if you have something bad like a pneumonia he’s literally so scared that you might die

like you wake up to him sobbing into your back, and when you turn around he just tells you to go back to sleep

but you just pull his face close, and tell him you aren’t going anywhere and that you’ll never leave him

he feels a lot better after that, and he does his best when taking care of you

he’s literally so happy once you’ve fully recovered that he picks you up and twirls you around

- [ JOHNNY MARTIN ]

acts like he’s annoyed that you got sick, but he’s secretly very concerned

he makes some very passive aggressive comments at first, but once he realizes how awful you look, he feels really bad

starts treating you like a princess after that

he keeps you slightly isolated from the rest of the men, as he doesn’t want you to accidentally give them whatever you have

brings you anything you could ever need, you’ll never have to take a step out of bed

checking to make sure your fever is gone

he restrains himself from PDA during this time, so expect absolutely no kisses until you get better

he tells you that it’s your “punishment” for getting sick

if you tell him you’re sore or something aches, expect a massage

give him a kiss for all his efforts afterwards, you’ll see a rare smile cross his face

- [ SKIP MUCK ]

like George, he tells you jokes to help you get better

unlike George, however, he tells you shitty ones so that you’ll get better faster because absolutely no one wants to listen to them

not gonna lie to you, this little bastard is not very helpful

Malarkey and Penkala tell Roe about it once Skip finally realizes how bad your illness is getting

he feels really awful later on because he realizes if he told Eugene sooner then you wouldn’t be lying in bed, coughing your lungs out

spoils you after that because of how bad he feels

he won’t give you his own food, but he will steal extra meals for you

honestly he’s more mad that you’re sick than you are, he wants you to get better IMMEDIATELY

tells you about his day immediately after you’ve woken up from your nap

expect cuddles, kisses, hugs, and other physical affection he should not be giving you while you’re ill

- [ LEWIS NIXON ]

literally offers you alcohol at the beginning of your sickness

the man can’t even take care of himself, how the hell is he gonna take care of you

asks Winters a lot of questions, to the point where it’s basically Richard taking care of you

it’s fine, they come as a pair

lets you sleep in his office while he does whatever he has to do

gives you his most expensive blanket to keep warm

is actually very worried even though he puts on quite the humorous facade

he just wants you to be okay

he eventually calms down though, he knows a virus wont take you away from him

not even a war or an entire ocean could, so what’s the flu gonna do?

- [ FRANK PERCONTE ]

he probably thinks you’re sick because you forgot to brush your teeth ONE TIME after you were drunk

germaphobe to the MAX

sorry, but you’re not gonna see this man until you are in 100% healthy condition

he feels bad about it, but he doesn’t want whatever you have

he doesn’t believe Doc when he says it’s not contagious, which is stupid because Roe is literally a MEDIC-

i’m not even joking, this man will literally have Luz deliver you the hershey bars he wanted to give you

he’s basically quarantined you and there’s nothing you can do about it

everyone’s like: .... bruh... isn’t this a little too far???

but he’s just like: i have no idea what you’re talking about

it’s fine, he makes it up to you by literally smothering you once you’re all better

- [ SHIFTY POWERS ]

KING OF CODDLING

practically waits on you hand and foot for an entire week

blows on your soup to cool it down before feeding it to you

he’s scared you’re gonna burn your tongue, then you’ll be sick AND have a burnt tongue

lets you clutch on to his hand when your chills get worse

probably thinks you’re dying, which just makes him FREAK OUT

brushes your hair off your face when your fever is running high

always has a wet washcloth to place on your forehead

lets you burrow into his coat after your fever goes away

he rests his head on top of yours when you’re bundled up in his coat

- [ EUGENE ROE ]

HOVERS LIKE A GODDAMN MOTHER HEN

constantly taking your temperature, giving you more blankets, feeding you, making sure you stay hydrated, etc.

OH AND YOU BETTER STAY HYDRATED

throws a hissy fit that you got sick because he needs you to take better care of yourself

not extremely touchy because he doesn’t want to catch whatever you have, which is like actually painful for him

constantly giving you tea & other hot beverages to drink

spoon feeds you because he doesn’t want you to lift a single finger

will tie you to the bed to make sure that you rest

don’t test him, he’s serious about your speedy recovery

“mon amour, you need to rest or else i won’t be able to give you kisses”

- [ BULL RANDLEMAN ]

gentle giant

makes sure you’re eating lots of healthy food (or the healthiest you can get) & staying hydrated

does tasks like cleaning your bayonet and your gun so you can go to bed earlier

lots of forehead kisses when you wake up from sick naps

instructs all of the replacements on how to take care of you while he’s away

they’re actually very helpful and you treat them all like your kids

when Bull comes back and sees this, he thinks it’s adorable

but then he realizes that you’re sick and they might catch the same thing you have if they get to close

spends a lot of time shooing people out of your room

rubs your knuckles to lull you to sleep

- [ RONALD SPEIRS ]

oh god, he tries to act like it’s all good but he’s falling apart because you just look so fucking tired

SUPER SOFT with you

carries you to bed, even though you try to tell him you’re fine

steals a tonnnn of supplies for you, especially the finest quality cough drops he could find

whispers to you how much he cares about you when he thinks you’re asleep

spoiler alert: you’re not, but the stuff he says makes you feel so warm and fuzzy inside that you don’t want him to stop

thinks he has a superior immune system and that he won’t get sick, so it doesn’t matter if he kisses you or not

oh and he DEMANDS kisses even though you’re sick, he just can’t live without ‘em

he didn’t get sick, and you’re still bitter about it

he’s so doting, it’s the only time you’ll ever see him this soft

- [ FLOYD TALBERT ]

he’s so smug that you’re sick and he’s not

it’s genuinely annoying, but you get back at him by revoking his kisses because you’re sick

he is super bitter and will not talk to you for the first few days

around the third day, he’ll start to cave in, and he’ll be spending every waking moment at your side

it’s mostly him whining that you won’t give him any smooches, but he’s actually quite helpful when you ask him to get you things

finds only the BEST materials for his baby to get better

he will settle for nothing less

he has Trigger stay with you when he’s gone, just so that he knows you’re safe

when you’re finally better, he will not stop kissing you on the lips

the other men keep telling you two to get a room, but he genuinely does not care... he just tells them they’re all jealous

- [ JOE TOYE ]

the most surprisingly doting out of all the men

constantly asking you “are you okay? can i get you anything?”

will beat up anyone that tries to take your extra food or blankets

very wholesome, spoons you when you sleep

lots of neck and shoulder kisses because he cannot kiss you on the lips

constantly making sure you’re comfortable

not at all opposed to giving you piggyback rides so that you can get to places faster

plus, it’s a good opportunity for him to show off his muscles and strength to you

gives you all of his chocolate

kisses your nose because it’s red

- [ RICHARD WINTERS ]

tucks your blanket around you so that you are all cozy when you sleep

tries to dote on you as much as possible, but it’s very hard with his busy schedule sometimes

also lets you sleep in his office, you just have a big pile of blankets and pillows

no one else comes in there anyways so like... who cares?

does basic things that you don’t feel like doing (ex: brushing your hair) for you

assigns a paratrooper to look over you when he’s gone

it’s usually Tab, but sometimes it’s someone else

the only person he doesn’t assign is Nix, and that’s because Nix is a human train wreck

anyways, he wants lots of snuggles in your pile of blankets

i hate the way this turned out, but i’m not gonna beat myself up over it because i tried. i hope you liked this at least, sorry i’m a little slow with my requests right now. there’s a lot going on, but i’m trying my best. i should be posting a lot more in the next couple days! thank you for your patience and for your request 💕

383 notes · View notes