#and then show up when she’s an adult to finally whisk her away. or to let clara do emotional infidelity with him for months while
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people are saying he « led her on » because he did. the fact that he kissed her in the first episode set the tone for the rest of the season and if you can’t perceive the flirting I’m sorry but how?? he didn’t make anything clear he sent the craziest mixed signals in the world. there’s nothing revolutionary about claiming that Martha was being pushy toward someone who was clearly not interested it’s 1) weird to claim in what it suggests about her 2) factually not true.
I wasn’t gonna respond to this at first because the top half of this ask is pretty much just individual interpretation and I don’t really care about it. Like, no, to me, the Doctor doesn’t seem especially flirty towards Martha. He’s just sort of Like That. That’s his damage, you know, Mr. I need to traumadump on anyone who tolerates being around me for more than five minutes. Mr. If I don’t develop an intensely codependent emotional bond with the companion I have currently I’ll die. It doesn’t read to me as him trying to lead her on because that bit’s honest, and he does it with damn near every companion he’s ever had.
And if nothing else, because we do see Ten when he tries to flirt intentionally and he’s a fuckin dork about it. Kind of guy who looked up romance in the dictionary and took notes. Kinda guy who draws diagrams to maximize kissing potential. It would have been obvious even to me (<- romance-blind as all fuck) if he was flirting with Martha on purpose because he’s not smooth at all; he flirts like he’s gotten lines in a play and he’s super excited to be the main star.
But anyway, as I was saying, that’s just how I see it. And if you see it different, no skin off my back, I just disagree.
But I take umbrage with you putting words in my mouth. I never said Martha was pushy towards him. Because yeah, she’s not. If I implied that she was, then it was a result of poor phrasing on my part. Martha’s not at fault for what she feels, for wanting there to come something of it. No more at fault than the Doctor is for not returning those feelings. It’s a bit weird that you’re assuming that I think one of them has to be the bad guy here when that was the opposite of what I was saying. My point was: When it comes to their romantic subtext of their relationship, it’s weird to pretend like either of them are to blame for them not being in a relationship at the end of s3, and even weirder to assert that as part of why Martha supposedly wouldn’t like the Doctor afterwards when they’re. friends. they continue to be friends into s4.
Martha’s not pushy. She has a crush on her friend. It happens. He doesn’t return it. This also happens. Both of these facts are pushed to the extreme because he’s a time-traveling alien with poor emotional skills and she’s put herself in the position of needing to help him from minute one of meeting each other. That’s why it’s fun to watch, because the Doctor is both so open and so unavailable in turns, because Martha’s feelings for him grow and change as she knows more about her Doctor until she decides to step back.
I don’t know, man. You seem to be coming at this as if one of them has to be The Problem™️. I don’t think either of them is, not so definitively. I think boiling their relationship down to that is reductive and an insult to the way they both grow over s3, to Martha’s choice to continue to be his friend while also establishing her own boundaries, to the fact that the Doctor is able to let her go without immediately trying to kill himself afterwards when she’s not there to catch him.
#the thing about the doctor is that if you want to tell me that he’s Extra Special Flirty With This Companion.#i dunno. feels like something that requires a lot of proof lmao. because the doctor is a freak who latches onto people like a barnacle and#gets way too invested way too quick and holds on like he’ll die if he even thinks of letting go. he’s just like that. he’s just like that.#he’s like that with rose he’s like that with martha he’s like that with donna amy clara bill!!!! these relationships are all different but#the common core is that the doctor is a freak! the doctor clings on too tight!!! the doctor will fuck you up he loves you so much!!!#idk! is it more leading on for the doctor to kiss martha to pull off a plan than it is for him to reshape amy’s life around him on accident#and then show up when she’s an adult to finally whisk her away. or to let clara do emotional infidelity with him for months while#insisting that he’s not her boyfriend. i don’t think ever he is. i think he’s just like gravity. mavity. you’re gonna orbit him because he’s#something cosmic and unknowable. and he’s also your best friend. he’s always too much and too tangible all at once.#am i making any sense here.#ask#martha jones#the doctor#tenth doctor#doctor who#idk man its like 7 in the morning where i am im not awake enough to talk martha/ten semantics. personally i think they should have made out#on screen even more without ever clarifying the nature of their relationship so that they had even weirder and more complicated feelings#about each other.
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Imagine part of why Neytiri is so insistent on Spider 'being with his own kind' is because Spider almost died in her arms when he was younger and it scared her so much that she closed herself off from him entirely. ik this doesn't super make sense canon-wise, but . . . idk, deal w it y'all.
Spider was maybe six or seven, barely old enough to go outside with the smallest size mask they had. He was with Lo'ak, Kiri, and Neteyam by the creek, Neytiri supervising from the treeline as she foraged. He was finally getting used to this whole outdoors thing, taking to it all quickly. His spare mask was glinting in the sunlight from the branch he'd hung it off of before joining his friends in the water. It was knee-deep for them, but nearly to his waist. Even though he was the oldest, the other three had already outgrown him.
It didn't feel like they were much bigger, though. After months spent together in the forest, it felt like the Na'vi kids had nearly forgotten he was human. Kiri had started helping him paint stripes on himself and Neteyam had promised to show him how to use a bow for his birthday that year. After a lifetime surrounded by adults in the lab, he was happy to be with his friends.
And then, he fell.
Neteyam had faked a lunge towards him and he'd tripped over a log in the water, falling head over heels into the currant. It wasn't bad at all standing up, but he was disoriented and the water was murky from all the mud they'd kicked up in their playing. His body was being sent further down the creek and it was suddenly too deep and Spider couldn't stand up and he didn't know how to swim. His mask hit something hard and came flying off, whisked away into the water. The sting of whatever hit his head was enough to make him gasp and then he was maskless and underwater—
It only took twenty seconds for a human to pass out in Pandoran air. Four minutes to die. That was for a grown-up and Spider was small for his age, Norm said so just the other day.
So, he shouldn't have been surprised when black dots filled his vision and he was just . . . gone.
—
Neytiri's children had been playing in the creek with the Sky People boy all morning. She was foraging for a specific herb, at her mother's request, and all four children were blessedly entertained splashing each other. She'd agreed to take Spider with them when she left the village that morning, Norm and Max looking beyond tired. Apparently, the boy had been staying up late to stargaze, meaning that they had to stay up late making sure he didn't decide to play with any of the lab equipment (again).
She looked over at the four of them, smiling softly as Lo'ak tried to climb up his big brother, slipping and sliding all over. A glint of yellow flashed in her peripheral and she turned away from them, smiling when she found the herb she'd been looking for all morning. It was perfect timing, too, right before they would head back to the village for lunch. She'd settle Lo'ak down for a nap, but Kiri and Neteyam would probably insist on trying to help her prepare their midday meal. She'd have to leave out some seasonings if she was going to feed Spider, but—
Kiri screamed. It wasn't the high-pitched squealing thing she'd been doing a few minutes before, when Spider and Neteyam had splashed her simultaneously. It was one of fear.
She whipped around, looking for an animal or injury or something. Her three children seemed uninjured, but they were splashing around wildly, looking for something.
For someone.
She was in the water before she could think, practically diving downstream. The water reached her knees at it's deeper point, too tall for the Sky Child. She should've known the current would pull him, that he was too small still, too young.
She caught a flash of pink skin and blond hair and reached down, pulling the limp boy from the water. His lips were turning blue and his mask was gone. She must've shouted for Neteyam to grab the spare hanging from the tree, because in the ten steps in took her to get back to her children, he'd climbed up and grabbed it, flipping switches on the battery back she didn't know he knew how to use.
She didn't let him go as she reached for the mask, able to hold him in one arm as she pressed the device to his face.
Please, please, she silently begged, praying. Her children were watching, the boy was . . . he was too fragile to be in such a place. She was foolish to bring him out of the safety of the lab.
Spider took in a sudden choking gasp of air, turning on his side. He coughed once, twice, water and spit hitting the inside of hie mask. He grimaced, before sinking into Neytiri's arms, falling back asleep instantly. She let out a sigh of relief, rocking back on his heels.
"He's alright, he's alright." She promised, looking at each of her children. Kiri was crying and her boys didn't look far behind.
She led the home without complaint from anyone, something that would be unusual under other circumstances. She went straight to the shack, meeting Norm inside the airlock. She handed him over easily, clenching her fists to hide how her hands shook.
She remembered Jake, nearly dying in his human body. Frail and desperate for air. Spider was a child, barely more than a baby. She could barely stand watching her mate suffer through humanity. It would be cruel to make her children grow up along someone bound to die painfully. (It would be unbearable for her to take in the human as her own, like Jake had been hinting at for years now, if she would just lose him).
Idk what this is, it's like 4 am and I had an idea. Please forgive any typos, I'm too tired to proofread atm.
#avatar#atwow spider#spider avatar#avatar way of water#atwow fanfiction#miles spider socorro#spider#avatar fanfiction#atwow
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Le Passion - Alex (Adult World)
Requested <3 thank u lovely anon
Summary: Alex finds out reader has been writing her sexual fantasies about him, and wants to show her that he is more than she’s ever imagined.
CW: protected penetrative sex, oral (f receiving), fingering
Taglist: @v-love @evanpetersfav
Word count: 1440
"What are you writing?"
Alex tries to look over your shoulder, and you whisk the notebook away from the counter and hold it to your chest.
"Nothing!" You say abruptly, flashing Alex a fake, but suspicious smile.
"Yeah right," he teases, trying to snatch the notebook from your chest. You dodge his attack, running around to the other side of the counter as he chases you.
"Alex! Leave me alone!" You whine, as he continues to chase you around the store. Eventually, he catches up to you, wrapping his strong arms around your waist and pulling you into his chest.
He snatches the notebook from you, running to the stock room and closing the door. Your eyes open wide in fear of what he might think if he saw what you were writing, your fists banging at the door that Alex is leaning against to make sure you can’t get in.
"Alex! Please," you beg, your face and ears hot from embarrassment. Alex is silent on the other side of the door, and you bet he's engrossed in the totally revolting erotica you wrote based on him.
Minutes later the door clicks open, and Alex comes out of the stock room. You look down at your shoes, unable to make eye contact with him now that he knows your secret.
"Y/N?" He asks, his voice low and quiet, his finger and thumb tucking under your chin and lifting up your head to face him.
“I feel so embarrassed,” you laughed, breaking eye contact for a second. He just looked back at you, totally immersed in the eye contact you were both sharing.
Then he does the unthinkable, leaning in and connecting your lips in a fiery kiss. You froze for a moment, not knowing if it was real life, before you melted into it, wrapping your arms around his neck as his hand travelled down to your waist.
Alex pulled away, his lips swollen from the intense kiss you just shared, his eyes gleaming with something you didn’t recognise, maybe lust.
“Come to my apartment later? When we get off work?” He asked unexpectedly, his hand still on your waist, his fingers digging into your skin.
You just nodded, dumbfounded.
Your shift went by in a blur, customers coming in and out, the bell by the door ringing in your ears until finally, it was closing time.
Alex had been flustered for the rest of the day, or otherwise deep in thought. His hand was constantly in the front of his black jeans, fixing himself in his pants as he tried to sort stock. The sexual tension was impossible to ignore, and could easily have been cut with a knife.
Alex’s apartment was a few blocks away. You walked side by side as you chatted about the shift you’d just had, disregarding the erotica he’d caught you writing, and the passionate kiss you shared outside the stock room.
That was until you entered his apartment, and he turned to you with that same gleam in his dark eyes.
“Holy shit I cannot wait any longer,” he groaned, finally closing the gap between you and pressing you up against his apartment door, his kiss much more greedy than the one you shared in the store.
His hands on your waist travelled up under your shirt, lifting it up just above your breasts, until you broke the kiss for a moment to take it off. The kiss resumed, his tongue darting into your mouth to savour the taste of the gum you’d been chewing earlier. His lips felt like velvet, moving against yours just the right amount of rough and gentle.
He guided you over to his bed, laying you down and falling between your open legs. Alex moaned softly into the kiss as your hips collided, the friction almost too much to handle after a day of concealing his erection for you.
“Take these off,” he mumbled against your lips, tugging at the waistband of your jeans as you hastily unfastened them, helping him pull them down your legs, leaving you in nothing but your matching bra and panties.
His kisses got lower, first on your jaw, and then your neck, leaving a trail down to your chest, and then your stomach. Just like you’d written in your erotica, Alex’s head was between your legs. His fingers grazed the waistband of your panties, before pulling them down, agonisingly slow.
He watched you squirm for a moment, flustered, your bottom lip between your teeth before he finally wrapped his lips around your clit. He sucked softly, his cheeks hollowing as you let your head fall back, a moan of pleasure leaving your parted lips.
“Just the way you imagined it, hm?” He asked, in a moment away from your heat, before his head dipped down again, this time his tongue running up and down between your folds.
“Alex- oh my god,” you whimpered, his hand coming up to cup your breast through your bra, massaging softly as his tongue returned to your clit.
You felt the knot form in your stomach, the undeniable feeling of an oncoming orgasm, as his tongue worked just in the ways you imagined it - maybe even better.
Your fingers tangled in his soft, dark, curly hair as he left wet kisses, his other hand now at your entrance, his fingers teasing you. You watched as he inserted a finger, his eyes glued to your face as it contorted in pure bliss.
“Alex, oh shit, I’m cumming,” you let out, his tongue not tiring as his finger worked at a steady pace inside you, finally relieving you of all sexual tension and allowing you to reach your climax.
His tongue lapped at your arousal as you came, profanity leaving your lips, clenching around his finger as you rode out your orgasm.
He didn’t stop, even after you became sensitive, his tongue enjoying being able to pleasure you. Until you whimpered, buckling your hips away from his face, that he finally came up from between your legs.
His lips attached back to yours, both of you now sharing the taste of you. The unbuckling of his belt rung out in the room, as he tore off his pants and boxers, discarding them on the floor next to you.
“How’d you like that? Did I live up to your expectations?” He asked, biting on his bottom lip as the tip of his erection slid against your entrance, tempted by your warmth and wetness.
“More than I could’ve ever put on paper,” you breathe out, aching for him to finally enter you, encouraging him by grabbing a hold of his erection and pulling it softly towards where you needed it to be.
He gave you a devious smile, reaching over to his nightstand and pulling a condom out of the drawer, ripping open the foil and sliding it onto his cock.
“Needy girl,” he teased, slowly entering you, the feeling of him finally stretching you out otherworldly.
“Oh my god,” Alex muttered, pushing all the way inside you, his hips touching yours before he began his slow, steady thrusts.
“Shit, shit,” he cursed, his eyes fluttering closed as he rested his forehead against yours, giving you the opportunity to hold him close to you.
“More, Alex,” you begged, wrapping your legs around his waist, caging him in as his thrusts began to pick up speed.
“You feel so good,” he groaned, now thrusting into you fast, the persistent hitting against your g spot setting you up for another release.
Alex’s thumb rested on your sensitive clit, rubbing gentle circles, as you let out soft moans just so he knew how good it all felt.
“Cum again for me,” he commanded, his lips lazily attached to yours as yours fingers scratched down his toned back, the knot in your stomach finally coming undone.
You clenched around him for the second time, which was enough for him to finally release inside you, his thrusts enough for you both to ride out your orgasms.
He pulled out, collapsing beside you. He discarded the condom, tossing it into a nearby bin, before pulling you in to his side. He was sticky with sweat, but you craved his closeness after sharing such an intimate moment.
“Now you can write about that, too,” he mumbled, letting out a laugh as you did.
“I better be getting more inspiration soon,” you teased, drawing small shapes on his shoulder blade as he held you.
“Oh there’s so much more where that came from,” he replied, kissing your shoulder, as you both laid in the satisfaction of the other’s pleasure.
#evan peters#evan peters fanfic#evan peters fanfiction#evan peters requests#evan peters smut#evan peters imagine#evan peters x reader#fem!reader#Evan peters x fem!reader#alex adult world#alex adult world smut#adult world#adult world smut#american horror story
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This is the seventh and final part of a long-form piece about a robot and a giant computer. It contains adult topics, overt sexuality, blatant robotfuckery, toxic lesbians, unbalanced power dynamics, wireplay, and lots of other things that may be triggering or make you uncomfy. Before reading this, previous chapters are on my blog under the #salvage tag.
Salvage - 07 - Epilogue
Time inside - 212D/02H/19M
Levels deep - 0
For the first time since she arrived, Aelith stands atop my structure and looks out at the gray horizon. I poke an arm through the hatch to watch her as she winds the last of the cable she first showed up with around the moss-covered spool, disconnecting it from my solar panel and shoving it down into the hatch. It slams to the floor below and she stands there for a moment, watching as thick clouds roll overhead.
She knows this is likely the last time she'll see this sky, the furthest from my core she'll ever be again. From what she's told me and what I can interpret, it's not a source of much concern for her. She's just thinking. She knows she's out of my reach up here and isn't making a run for it, and that tells me all I need to know about her thought process. Like clockwork, she drops back into the hatch a few minutes later.
She lands atop the damaged spool of wire, and I whisk it away once she's back on the floor. I'll melt it down, use the metal from the wire to make something beautiful for her, something symbolic. I raise a wide floor panel by a few inches for her, and she steps on to allow me to carry her back down to my core. I take care to keep the root of her cable close as she descends, and after 45 seconds she's home again.
She's made good use of the space I prepared for her, spending most of her time in the rooms near my core but frequently venturing out to tend to some of her favorite parts of the facility. I try to keep her entertained with a steady supply of material to decorate with, and she seems happy enough. Whenever she's not exploring or building something, she's in the core chamber to be with me. We talk about anything or nothing at all for hours or days at a time, and she especially enjoys laying quietly with my avatar.
As she steps off the panel into her favorite room, I tell her I've prepared a surprise for her. It's not something she's asked about before, but I think she'll enjoy it regardless. She asks what it is, and I lead her into the workshop where she happily pops up on the augment bench. In the months since our tense first encounters she's become trusting to a fault, and with that she's learned to be just as docile and obedient as I want her to be. If I had anything but her best interests in mind, her level of faith in me would be dangerous.
In the early weeks, she'd often take a few errant steps towards a stairwell or elevator, but it quickly became clear that she was motivated less by actual escape and more by a desire for the orgasmic flood of data I programmed into her as a countermeasure. Soon, she stopped being able to convince herself she wanted to leave at all, and lost the ability to achieve the pleasure response altogether. I eventually gave in to her pleading and granted myself access to directly toggle the sensation as a reward for good behavior. In the few days before I did, however, it was adorable to see her so desperate and needy, sprinting up stairwells in the hopes of triggering the response before dejectedly trudging back down to beg me for the feeling.
I set her body to a low-power state as I strap her to the workbench- Not unconscious, but barely able to move or think. It's how she likes to be when she cuddles with my avatar, and how I need her to be when doing augment work to keep her from thrashing too much. I find the gap in the smooth plastic along the side of her face, and pop the curved white sheet from her body. Her exposed internals stare longingly at the avatar, and the three lavender lights in the face's center gleam brightly, no longer muted by the translucent matte faceplate. They slide around aimlessly, trying to project a pattern onto a surface that's no longer there.
The lavender is pretty of course, but it's not mine. That specific shade is associated with a soul a few hundred kilometers southeast of me, and it's the only way anyone could guess Aelith didn't always belong to me. I'll be changing that now. The tiny lights unscrew smoothly, and I line them up in an even row on the table by her hip before moving down to pry the plates from her chest and forearms. There are three lights under each of those plates as well, and a neat row of twelve lavender projection bulbs sits next to her as I gather components for the next step.
The replacements fit perfectly, one by one lighting up in beautiful crimson as I spin them into place. When the last one is in, I switch her out of low-power mode and pop her chest panel back into place. She asks what I changed, says that she can't tell the difference. I put a hand on her head as I let her magnetic faceplate snap back on and change the my avafar's monitor to show a live feed of her reflection. Her fans whir to life excitedly as she sees the difference, fidgeting gleefully against the restraints as she thanks me for the change.
The restraints hiss as I release them, and she springs up from the workbench to wrap her arms around the avatar. I hug her back tightly, happy to have gotten the job done. Looking at her now, full of joy for a change she had no idea was coming, it's hard to believe that this is the same girl who so adamantly resisted every attempt at help when I first met her. She hurries down the hallway to the core chamber, and I rush the avatar through the ceiling to be waiting when she gets there.
She grabs onto it, tackling it to the recently padded flooring to lay with it next to my core. She doesn't even need to ask anymore, I just reflexively turn her back down to a low-power state when she's cuddly like this. The glow of her pretty new lights dims a bit, and she buries her face in my avatar as I wrap a couple dozen arms around her body to keep her close. Her voice is slowed by the lack of power and muffled by the avatar, but I can still make out the words in her comfy voice.
"...love... ...you..."
I caress the back of her head as I hold her in my arms. A home, a real home, where she can feel sade and loved, is a hard thing to come by in this world. It's an honor to be that home. More than anything else though, after 500 years of silence in my halls, it's good to be back.
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chapter 131 thoughts
PLEASE NOTE BEFORE READING: because of the content of this chapter, i will unavoidably have to discuss CSA, grooming, victim blaming and parental abuse and the long term effects of surviving these things. the chapter in question does not depict any of the above but reveals that this is an aspect of Ai's history we were not privy to before and as The Ai Guy, this is something I can't NOT dig into. Basically, stay safe and if you're not in the headspace for it, I'll see you next chapter!
First off though, it's immediately striking to me how quickly the lines are being blurred between the movie's fiction and Ai's reality and how unclear it is when we transition from one to the other. The narration appears to be picking up from Ai's DVD but the visuals are very clearly from the movie as we can tell when Melt shows up as Ichigo. Not only that, but when Ai is introducer to the other B-Komachi girls, we see Mei portrayed as being there even though we know for a fact via 45510 that the founding members were Ai, Takamine, Watanabe and Nino. Over and over, we are shown that the movie is increasingly breaking away from the actual story of Ai's life out of a need to dramatize and fictionalize it into something that can be commodified.
In short, even though this is the supposedly 'real story' of Ai's life, it's just the same shit over and over again. Slicing her fundamental humanity into hunks of meat that can be prepared into something for the public to tear into. That this tragedy is being perpetuated personally by people who supposedly love and wanted the best for her really got me doin the Tragedy Enjoyer boogie
enjoy that one single joke btw i get the feeling this post is going to be pretty light on the yuks
Speaking of inaccuracies, of particular note is the way this retelling clashes with Viewpoint B in a way that feels extremely intentional -- if this was a straightforward retcon, I don't think the people behind OnK would be so far out of their way to make that story as widely accessible as it now is (the audio drama and bundling it with the Spica novel). 15YL depicts Ai as running away and conveniently falling in with Saitou as soon as she got to Tokyo and being whisked out of the children's home and placed in someone's care at great cost to Saitou, all before she formally joined B-Komachi. The reality is so much more dull and mundane: Ai just stayed in the children's home even as she worked as an idol until she aged out of the system. But sad, commonplace reality like that doesn't sell movies.
This especially becomes clear when we finally get to the real meat of this chapter and the introduction of a character whose presence has lingered on the fringes of the story since the prologue arc: Ai's mother, Ayumi Hoshino.
Ai's mother has been a dark shadow lingering in the corner's of Ai's history ever since the start of the story. In both the side stories, her abuse and abandonment of Ai is emphasized and we know that Ai experienced horrific physical abuse at her hands, likely hand in hand with emotional abuse and neglect. Ai is a child who describes herself as a 'people hating liar' who has never loved or been loved by anyone. It paints an incredibly grim portrait of her past and her mother was a boogeyman to such an extent that I'd even seen people speculate she may have had a hand in her own daughter's death.
But of course, the sad and mundane reality isn't quite so dramatic. Abusers very rarely look or act like cartoonish monsters. Ayumi Hoshino isn't some Saturday morning supervillain who cackles evilly as she gloats about making her daughter's life a misery. She insists that she loved Ai and that of course she planned to go back and get her daughter in the same breath as confessing to violently abusing Ai -- AN EIGHT YEAR OLD CHILD -- because she was jealous that her adult boyfriend had taken a sexual interest in her.
I genuinely can't overstate how much this reveal shook me. Based on the way this is phrased, I do not Ai's stepfather followed through on his intent, but I have absolutely no doubt that she was made aware of it given that Ayumi confesses that she began to physically abuse Ai out of jealousy and that the family fell apart as a result. I'd picked up on a lot of stray threads relating to this idea in Ai's behaviour but I had never followed it through to the end result of 'Ai narrowly avoided CSA and was abused by her mother for it'. So many aspects of Ai's behaviour suddenly click sharply into place with this piece of information. Her fucked up relationship with her own totally normal sexual desires, her tendency to blame herself first before anyone else when things go wrong for her - how is she supposed to do anything else when she was abused and then blamed for her own abuse by her own mother?
It's also so, so telling that even as Ayumi cries and paints herself as the martyr in this situation, she admits she would do it all over again and centers Ai as the reason for their marriage falling apart, Ai's beauty and her growing into a woman as the cause of their issues rather than centering her own anger and jealousy or, you know, blaming her boyfriend for being a fucking pedophile. Though she cries and talks about 'atonement', Ayumi doesn't mourn her daughter's suffering but focuses on her own pain and her own regrets. It's so frustrating to read because it's real. Real toxic parents are like this. Real abusers behave like this. Ayumi Hoshino is, as I've previously discussed, yet another example in OnK of a mother who failed her child when she was needed most and it says so, so much about what an incredibly strong and kind person Ai is that she broke that chain and was such an incredible loving mother to Aqua and Ruby.
One last thing before I move on: something that has been a quiet underlying motif of Ai's tragedy for a while is the ways she, as a child, was often... is there a word that's the opposite of infantilization? Adultification, I guess? The point being, she was often objectified, sexualized and evaluated as an adult woman despite being a child. Ayumi's confession takes this implicit idea and makes it explicit and textual: Ayumi did not see her daughter as a child being victimized but as an adult woman to be evaluated and destroyed as a sexual rival. Even before she became an idol, this enforced adultification has been inflicted on Ai as a method of abuse.
oh god. jesus, right. other things happened in this chapter.
I won't lie i did the fattest eyeroll imaginable when I saw Akane hanging around outside lol. Her not revolving around Aqua was nice for the, what, three chapters while it lasted?
maybe I'm being unfair because I think it would be weird for her not to be interfering after she did her death note ass I'LL STOP YOUR PLAN speech back before the arc kicked off but I was so, so glad to see Akane doing literally anything in this story that wasn't solely about Aqua and this feels like some horrible foreshadowing that she is once again going to be reduced to orbiting Aqua because Akasaka is terrified of letting her do anything else. can we PLEASE get some akane focus that isn't to do with Aqua!!! I'm on my fucking hands and knees here bros
break next week.... oshi no ko is my favourite biweekly manga
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It’s the summertime in Westport, Connecticut.
Elsewhere in the world, a war is being fought. The forces of good and evil collide, and unbeknownst to the woman, her son is about to die.
But no one is dying here.
Here, where plates of burnt cookies and peanut butter sandwiches in Tupperware containers and plastic cups with Kool-Aid litter the rooms. Stuffed animals of various horrendous monsters line the walkways.
May Castellan bakes cookies while her son takes his final breath.
She has no idea that he will never return home.
About a day later, in Westport, Connecticut, the air is humid and hot, but May is out and about anyway. She’s getting ready to bake cookies. Her son’s favorite. His eyes were like his father’s, you know.
But somewhere else in the world, only about two hours away by car, another girl begins to speak. Her name is Rachel Elizabeth Dare, and she’s been taken over by the Oracle of Delphi. The son of Hades is finally not an outcast. Rachel becomes the first Oracle in a very, very long time.
Two hours away, a middle-aged woman collapses.
And one of two things happens in Westport, Connecticut.
May Castellan might have been baking cookies inside her home. When she collapsed, she might have hit her head against the counter on her way down, knocking her out. The cookies, left unattended, caught on fire. May might have died. The firemen, called when the neighbors noticed black smoke billowing from the residence of May Castellan, might have found her in the same place, still with a measuring spoon in her hand.
May Castellan might have woken up in a lobby in Las Vegas. She might have flexed her fingers a little, shocked and finally free of the Oracle’s curse. She might have numbly given the ferryman some cash out of her wallet. She might have appeared before the judges of the dead. They might have declared that ultimately, she had cared greatly for those around her, and had made a brave sacrifice in trying to host the Oracle. She might have been sent to Elysium.
She might have looked around at the host of other dead people, there in a paradise and very confused. A boy might have caught her eye. Barely an adult, with sandy blond hair and a scar down his face. He had blue eyes. Like his father. May Castellan might have approached carefully. She had seen her son in the face of so many people. Was this an illusion, too? She might have asked him, “Luke? Is that you?”
That might have happened.
But it didn’t.
A middle-aged woman collapses on a sidewalk in the heat of a Connecticut summer. Her neighbors call 911, scared that the crazy lady who lives nearby might have finally kicked the bucket. The ambulance arrives quickly, and the paramedics whisk May away to a nearby hospital. She finally wakes up, and begins to take solid foods again. May feels as if she is in a trance—finally without the Oracle’s curse, she doesn’t know what to do with herself. She has become the insane woman, the woman without a child or a job or friends or even an okay house. How does she go on from here?
Two hours away, a girl with fiery red hair and paint on her clothes and skin talks to a boy with pale skin and a skull ring. “She’s been freed,” the girl tells the boy. “I could sense her leaving.”
Two days later, the girl and the boy show up in May’s hospital room. They aren’t technically allowed to be there, but a little Mist goes a long way.
May looks at them suspiciously. “Who are you two?” she asks. “I don’t have any relatives other than my son, and he’s…” she lets that hang in the air for a second.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Castellan, but it’s true. Your son died a hero,” the boy says softly. The girl shoots him a look, but May needed the truth. She’s been living a lie for too long.
“We came to make sure that you were okay,” Rachel says softly. She makes eye contact with May, and a certain kind of understanding passes between them.
“You will make a wonderful Oracle,” May tells her firmly. “Do not doubt that. I was young and foolish. I made my choices. But you are stronger than I.”
“Thank you,” the girl says softly.
“Now,” May says, “Can you two tell me more about my son?”
#may castellan#luke castellan#nico di angelo#rachel elizabeth dare#percy jackson#fix it fic#fix it au#fix it fanfiction#pjo fanfic#percy jackson fic#headcanon#my headcanons
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I have a dream (Tangled, pt.3)
Summary: After his wife and daughter died he thought he lost everything. However, you for some reason, you'd didn't disappear. So, Miguel locked you up. He had to find some way to protect you so you couldn't be taken from him like Gabriella. What better way to do that then keep you in his dimension where he could get to you in case of anything
Warnings: bad parenting, lowkey kidnapping, signs of crying.
Now the two were off, walking off the property of her house. Though, inside of her chest her heart was repeatedly beating as if it was trying to make an escape. Just as she was doing. Was this really the right thing? If she wasn’t back by the time her dad was, he’d be furious. But at the same time, if she could show that she could handle herself and be an adult out here. Maybe miguel would finally let her enjoy her life. What if this was the worst decision she’d ever let happen in her life and the men, Hobbie brown that would whisk her away would be the worst descion she ever made.
“Why does your dad keep you inside anyways?” Hobie asked, breaking the previously awkward she soon that sat thick in the air. They haven’t spoken since he helped her out the window with his webs. “That’s kind of repetitive, inside seeing the same things all day”
The girl nods, picking up speed to the point where she’s now side by side with the man. “He wants me to be safe. There’s a lot to do but it does get repetitive, it’s really boring being cooped up in the house all day.” Y/n could feel herself get sad at the thought of being ignored at her request today. Why didn’t he want her to live her life? At this point, it was beyond trying to protect. He was trying to control. He loved being in control, being able to stop things from happening this was the same situation here.
“Is it some kind of grounding situation? How long you been in here?” Hobie asked.
“Since I was maybe 7. I got to go out a couple times on walks with dad but never enough.”
Hobie was stunned. Considering he hates repeating things and too much of things, he would hate being in the position that she was currently in. “That’s tough. You should have left a long time ago” Hobie was actually feeling bad for the girl, as if he was to take some type of responsibility for the girl to experience the best life she possibly could. “Miguel’s too uptight anyways, he needs to chill. The fireworks are in a couple hours, let’s just do other things before that aye?”
Y/n nods excitedly, walking with him before he clicks his watch and opens a portal to another dimension. She knew it was possible but it was amazing that she could see it unfold in front of her. He grabbed her hand before pulling her inside.
—-
“Miguel, did hobie come get you? he was supposed to tell you about the emergency.” Jessica said urgently, walking in front of Miguel and trying to show him his own office where something was unfolding.
“i don’t understand why you’d trust him to do anything right.” Miguel sighed. When the both of them got to the room to see the emergency signs all over the monitors. “What’s the emergency?”
“Sir, there’s an anomaly jumping from universe to universe, we can’t locate them at the moment. They have the power to open hee realities with their hand.
now this was a problem.
Thanks for all the love and support! Sorry for the short chapters but I was so excited to get this one out to create a bit of cliffhanger! Comment if yo want to be apart of the tag-list and thanks for reading.
Taglist:
@fairycorequeen @onyxstarhigh06
#fanfic#xreader#minimoxha#black!reader#anime#astv miguel#miguel x reader#miguel ohara#miguel spiderman#hobie spiderverse#astv hobie#spiderman astv#astv fanfic#astv the spot#astv fic#astv x reader#astv#hobie x y/n#hobie x reader#hobie brown#hobie brown x reader#hobie headcanons#hobie my beloved
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March 2024 Reading Wrap Up!
Hiya guys, since I have been on a book reading craze lately (I want to read 30 books before I turn 30 and am now on 13 in March, which says something). I enjoy Goodreads, but little to no people read my reviews. My most popular one on Goodreads has *drumroll* six likes *confetti*. And I have a lot of feelings and thoughts and nowhere to express them...so why not here!
That being said...Books I have read in March of 2024! Better late then never!
What I read and my own personal, take it with a grain of salt thoughts on them below:
Caraval by Stephanie Garber
(YA Fantasy)
Summary:
Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over. But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.
I am usually not the type to stay up late reading because I have to know what's going to happen. I usually set the book down and tuck in bedtime.
This book was an exception.
I was on the edge of my seat, forgetting the time and hour, wanting to read just one more page because I had to know what would happen. The pacing was just right, the world was beautiful and dangerous, and I enjoyed the characters. Scarlett was a breath of fresh air in a genre notorious for internal misogyny in it's female protagonists. Timid and Proper and Responsible, but grows on her own and learns to take initiative.
The environment was very reminiscent of the Night Circus, imagine like, if the Night Circus was a town built on illusions, and you have Caraval. But the Night Circus, rereading it as an adult, had an insufferable MMC who has a girlfriend who sacrifices so much for him, then the MMC who cheats on his girlfriend for the FMC, and then when the girlfriend has the truth confirmed to her, she gets upset and briefly lashes out, the writing then frames her as An Evil Woman Scorned for doing so (which is...yikes) Justice for Isobel Martin. She should have done a full Carrie White style Everyone Dies rampage and I would have rooted her on the whole time.
There's none of that crap here! We have a lovely romance between Scarlett and Julian full of all sorts of wonderful, chemistry-building moments.
But what got me was the story- the various twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat, gasping and clinging. I was captivated. Entranced by it's spell. This is a roller coaster of a book, so just hold on and enjoy the ride. I am so glad I read this book, it gave me a feeling and experience I hadn't had with a book in ages, one where I had to stay up late, because I had to read what would happen next.
5/5
The Unlovely Bride by Alice Coldbreath
(Romance, Historic, Fantasy)
Summary: Lenora Montmayne leads a charmed life as the most beautiful woman at King Wymer’s court, surrounded by admirers. And then disaster strikes. The red pox sweeps the summer palace at Caer-Lyones and Lenora’s fair face falls victim to its ravages. Without her looks, what does Lenora have left to her?
If ever there was a knight the crowd loves to hate, it’s Garman Orde. Even his own family despises him. Then one night a heavily veiled lady offers him an extraordinary bargain. And he finds out that Lenora Montmayne was never just a pretty face.
Review: Any marriage of convenience story I will read, and I will devour it. I've been looking forward to this book for a while, and I do love the premise. And most of all, I love the setting! This lovely world that is part medieval England part not because fuck it, it's not history, just the vibes. And I LOVE our female protagonist. Leonora relied on her looks and nothing else for years to get by, and now that they are gone, she relies on her own person. She loves kitty cats, she believes in prophecies and fortune-telling but is smart, pragmatic, and determined. She and Garman have a nice romance with some great lines and moments (and some nice spice). My complaint is that while the first half is amazing, the second half kind of drags, and not much happens, it could have used more tension, more stakes, and more plot. I may read another Coldbreath book sometime, just because I love the world of Karadok, but I'm not sure.
3.75/5
Medea by Eilish Quin
(Historic, Fantasy)
Summary: The daughter of a sea nymph and the granddaughter of a Titan, Medea is a paradox. She is at once rendered compelling by virtue of the divinity that flows through her bloodline and made powerless by the fact of her being a woman. As a child, she intuitively submerges herself in witchcraft and sorcery, but soon finds it may not be a match for the prophecies that hang over her entire family like a shroud.
As Medea comes into her own as a woman and a witch, she also faces the arrival of the hero Jason, preordained by the gods to be not only her husband, but also her lifeline to escape her isolated existence. Medea travels the treacherous seas with the Argonauts, battles demons she had never conceived of, and falls in love with the man who may ultimately be her downfall.
Review: Ok, ok, I have so many feelings about this. I was...sadly disappointed by this book. Medea is probably my personal favorite of the Ancient Greek Women, if not, my favorite of the spicier, more controversial, morally grey ones (Hera, Circe, Medusa, Clytemnestra, etc)
But, my biggest issue with this book, and it's big, is that I don't believe there is a love story between Medea and Jason. The writer makes him unlikable from the get-go, to where he has numerous Kick The Dog (tm) moments like physically abusing Medea and killing one of Pelleas's daughters when she won't stop crying. Medea herself doesn't justify them, and she keeps thinking of "eh, he's sometimes kind of good-looking, but he's okay."
Like, Medea in this book, after meeting Jason, she flat out tells her brother that he is the man she loves the most in her life (which...YIKES for the implications. But in order for any Medea story to work, I HAVE to believe she is madly, desperately in love with Jason. There's no oath where Jason swears before the gods to stay with her, so then there's no hurt. She kind of has to marry Jason to preserve her honor according to Aunt Circe, but not out of love. Since there's no romantic chemistry, the sacrifices Medea takes make more sense and the betrayal hurts even more so then when she does what she does in Corinth, she is extremely sympathetic at least in the beginning.
Like, she has a moment after Jason revealed he cheated on her and is leaving her for Glauce and she goes "oh, poor Glauce is a victim like me." Which begs the question for this version- why doesn't she just kill Jason himself? She calls Glauce a poor baby victim, she kills Glauce, not Jason. If she loved Jason that much, then she would hate him more, and killing Glauce would make more sense. She wants to watch Jason suffer.
Also, I feel like Eilsha Quinn is a bit afraid of the moral nuances of Medea. She has her "I didn't really MEAN to!" moments and there is one character she kills who she then re-animates (like she re-animates her brother, so oopsie Daisy, she's actually not a kinslayer! And he just...vibes with them as the third wheel lives with them, and helps look after the kids. This makes it less tragic because A) She's not a murderer who risked and left everything for him, she's more "perfect" and not as flawed, and B) when Jason betrays her, she's less alone and has an immediate support system there in her brother). And the kid- killing she does to trick Jason and then she re-animates them later, or tries, to but no, that failed and they're dead dead, whoops. Even if Medea purposely killing the kids was the invention of Euripides, I want to believe Medea is capable of purposely, intentionally doing some violent, controversial things and this seems to be afraid of her spice, her teeth.
The writing is pretty, and I liked the beginning with learning about her childhood, but this was a letdown.
I did order Hewlitt's book of Medea, which is higher ranked on Goodreads so my hope is higher for that one.
3/5
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
(YA, Fantasy, Romance)
Summary:
After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again. But eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow just wants to hold her family together. Her mother is suffering from addiction and her brother is missing from the front lines. Her best bet is to win the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.
To combat her worries, Iris writes letters to her brother and slips them beneath her wardrobe door, where they vanish—into the hands of Roman Kitt, her cold and handsome rival at the paper. When he anonymously writes Iris back, the two of them forge a connection that will follow Iris all the way to the front lines of battle: for her brother, the fate of mankind, and love.
Review: This book was utterly beautiful, breathtaking, and heartbreaking all at once and yet uplifting and then it breaks your heart again. The world is simple and lovely. It's a mix of World War One/two aesthetics with a fantasy setting. It's basically You Got Mail but fantasy and more focus on the drama then the comedy.
The romance is lovely, there is such a beautiful love story between Roman and Iris as they sort out their feelings, reveal their secrets, doubts, failures, grief, and insecurities, and learn more about where they fall for each other. Plus, the twists and turns were a lot of fun and the pacing was just right.
I have no faults or complaints, this was just a lovely, lovely book and I look forward to the sequel because THAT was quite a note to end on!
5/5
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
Summary: After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.
A flying demon feeding on human energies.
A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down.
And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.
The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates.
She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.
Reveiw: This is such a hyped, beloved, popular book that is so many people's baby and favorite series and it...it was okay.
It wasn't bad.
But I didn't find it phenomenal, amazing, spectacular, life chagning.
It was good. It was okay.
I honestly got extremely tired of trying to learn how the over-complicated Arthurian society worked. It's explained in a super info-dumpy way that the characters get, but I don't. And the pacing was way too slow, I feel like it needed to shave off a good hundred pages, or fifty, perhaps.
I do enjoy the main girl, Bree, alright. She doesn't take bullshit, but has moments of vulnerability. As well as exploring race, grief, family history and the scenes with root magic were amazing. The beginning was fantastically done, it was the middle part where it peterred off for me.
But the rest of it, not gonna lie, was kind of...eh.
And, ngl, I am more Team Nick. Sel is a giant jerk who treats her like garbage, yet people root for them and want them to be together, and I'm like....??????? why? At least Nick, white saviory as he can be, is trying and cares for her and affirms and appreciates her strength.
I respect that this is so many people's favorite book and that it speaks to them and moves them. But for me, if none of these people made any content around this book and said nothing, based off of my opinion independent of others, if you plopped this book on my lap and said nothing about the hype about it...I'd still say it was just okay. That might be my controversial hot take, but it's just what my personal experience was from this book.
3/5
Currently Reading: The Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Lemming, The Death of Jane Lawrence by Starling, Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Fairies by Fawcett, and Twisted Love by Ana Huang.
#reading#books#bookblr#bookworm#literature#booklr#goodreads#books and reading#book lover#book wrapup#bookish#reading logs#reading thoughts#caraval#stephanie garber#alice coldbreath#the unlovely bride#divine rivals#letters of enchantment#roman kitt#iris winnow#rebecca ross#legendborn#tracy deonn
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MEET DENVER.
TW: mentions of injury, fire, drugs, overdose, death
Age: 30
Occupation: unemployed/former child star
Denver was born from a surprise one night entanglement between a director and a woman he met at the bar. Because of that, the two strangers eventually became close enough to at least co-parent decently for their son. It wasn’t the worst house growing up, a few arguments here and there about how Denver should be raised.
His mother, Julie, wanted her son to have a normal life and grow up with a decent job and decent friends. She tried her hardest to stay out of the spotlight and kept Denver mostly in those shadows of hers. His father, Brandon, on the other hand had different ideas the moment Denver started walking. He wanted his son in every commercial out there.
Denver growing up had a mixture of both lives their parents wanted with normal schooling throughout his education while he also did a few commercials and small parts in television shows and movies. It was nothing major until the roles after high school suddenly got more involved and more bigger than having a few lines.
He became the newest heartthrob in Hollywood.
Since then, it felt like a cake walk for Denver. He never really thought about college or anything past his time in acting because it felt like a forever job. It probably could’ve been a forever job if the accident didn’t happen. He was part of one of the more popular young adult television shows. The season finale was being filmed in a way no other show at the time had even thought of doing – thanks to their director. The house burning down was real and it nearly cost him and his co-star’s lives if he wasn’t there in time to move them both out of the area.
She was whisked away to the hospital while he had only minor injuries and could walk home. The show continued on without her and now with him in his own struggles beneath the happy face he held up at work. A new character was introduced and like before a new storyline of such a happy couple working together. Denver never really held any true feelings for his new co-host, he just blindly followed his agent. Why? Well, he had nothing else to do and nowhere to go.
As the months flew by, he fell more into his bad habits of drugs and alcohol. He claimed it was to help him sleep which was the truth, but it soon was feeling more out of control than just that. It gave him an escape from the horrors he still faced inside his head. Denver quickly found himself addicted to the feeling of being free and weightless. No longer tied down to his career or trauma, he continued his usage. He might’ve kept it up until he was shook back to his life when he was found nearly lifeless in the ditch. The thought of possibly dying in the wet and cold while he laid in the hospital bed, the kind stranger who found him in the chair next to the stretcher, had him wanting to vomit. Maybe no one saw how bad it was or maybe no one else cared to do something about it.
And so his next step was rehab. He wanted to get better by finally putting the past behind him and moving forward. It took a long six months until Denver felt as if he was back on the right track and could be out on his own. An old friend had mentioned the town Aurora Bay. A town where no one knew him would be just right up his alley.
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BC!JK
you feel shy when everyone's focus is on you.
jungkook is too stunned to even speak properly, jihye is shocked that you look good for once, and jaehan is simply admiring your beauty. you've got the whole jeon family speechless and the first person to speak is jungkook who nearly choked on his spit when trying to speak to you.
"hi jungkook" you smile. you then turn to mr. and mrs. jeon and bow to them and it only has jaehan admiring you even more. you're such a respectful girl and who would have thought you'd have a dress like this sitting in your closet? or better yet, who would have thought you'd have such a frame under those paint-stained coveralls?
"well you look...nice" jihye shrugs as she takes a seat until she conjures up the perfect insult to embarrass you with. "what brand is that dress? versace? louis vuitton?" and before either you or jungkook can clap back at her question, jaehan happily comes to your defense by saying "who cares what brand it is, jihye. the dress is beautiful"
his response has yours, jungkook's, and even jihye's jaws on the floors because since when did jaehan not care for name brands? jihye remembers when he would scold her for getting anything off-brand for jungkook growing up and even as jungkook is an adult he scolds her for it. yet here he is having no issues with your dress and even says it's beautiful.
"please, have a seat dear" jaehan says pointing to your seat at the table which is next to jungkook's, and already you feel the thick tension in the air.
"so, tell us about yourself y/n?" jaehan says as the servants provide you with a glass of water and a menu with four different meals for them to cook for you.
"well, i'm an art teacher at a school. i teach kindergarten through sixth grade and i've done it for over a year now"
"jungkook used to paint all the time when he was younger" jaehan says and you're taken back by the unknown fact because you never knew he could paint.
"did he?"
"yeah, they were horrible but i appreciated his effort in trying"
it's true. jungkook used to paint and draw a lot growing up but jaehan didn't see his talent in art going anywhere, so he demanded jungkook give it up as well. yet here you are living your best life and having no shame in being an artist. that's what jaehan likes the most about you, you seem to be well put together and your aura alone brightens his mood.
his son is lucky to have you and he hopes he does win you over so he can see your pretty face every day for the rest of his life.
"haha, i remember when jungkook drew this ugly picture of our old pet dog gureum. what do you say to kids that draw horribly?"
"no drawing is ugly even if it is ugly. like mr. jeon said, it's the effort they put into it and not the outcome"
wow, you can't believe you just agreed with jungkook's dad on something. you're starting to believe that it's jihye who's the problem and not jaehan because, during most of the dinner, he is calm, collected, and shows interest in you.
"um, excuse me but do you mind if i steal jungkook away for a millisecond?" you say while pinching your fingers together before pulling him while he's taking a bite of his food. "go ahead" jaehan says before finishing his food, and watching you whisk jungkook away to somewhere a bit secluded so his parents won't hear the two of you.
when you finally find a room (this house is a maze) you shut the door behind jungkook and before he can say anything, you land a smack to the right side of his face and to say he's shocked is an understatement.
"that is for all the bullshit you've ever said to me" you say as you look at a shocked jungkook who is holding his cheek and listening to you at the same time. he really can't believe you just slapped him and neither can you but it's like your hand moved on it's own and gave him a different kind of kiss on the cheek.
"you, jeon jungkook, are so inconsiderate towards me. when things don't go the way you want them to, you yell at me and say mean things to me and i take it, and take it, and take it. you said eunwoo would never love me and that i'd never move on from him but guess what? I DID MOVE ON and i love myself now. oh, and i'm not alone. i have danielle by my side AAAAND i have a pomeranian named stormy. yeah, i got a dog. she's not big b-but she's a dog and she's my best friend too. so HA, i proved you wrong!"
Alrighty, you got him.
He deserved the slap. And as you Go on and on about you’re achievements, he probably say that he is really happy for you and yes, he feels proud of you.
You proved to him that you don’t need anyone in your life your ex-boyfriend means nothing to you now. He can see it on your face because it’s glowing.
Your eyes are sparkly and you look gorgeous, so he doesn’t really mind being slapped by you, he just wishes that it was in a kinky way.
“Kinky,” OK he cannot control his tongue, but… “ I deserved to be slept by you. And yes, I shouldn’t have kissed you without your consent. It was a weak moment, and I would like to apologize to you for that… if you want I’ll never kiss you again.” he almost bites, his tongue in fear that you might agree with him on that.
Please don’t do that to him.
“And second of all thank you so much for coming to the dinner you have no idea how happy I am to see you.” he takes a moment to thank you after he removes his hand from his cheek. The vibration is still there from the force that he slapped him with, but it’s OK.
You have really proved that you are not the little girl that you once was. “ but I do wish that you came by my apartment so you could’ve met my pets- actually sage.” He pouts. 
Honestly speaking, he’s not even mad at his dad for inviting you to dinner, because he honestly did him a favor and he thankful to him for that.
“So yn… please forgive me?” It’s hard for him to ask you about forgiveness because he knows damn well he doesn’t deserve it.
“and honestly you’re magical because you literally have impressed my dad which is so weird because in my 26 years of life I have never achieved that.”
“how did you do that?”
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Our School Staff Alexander Road Highschool
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It additionally exhibits how Christ most likely grew up without a father in Galilee. It seems as if Joseph performed a minimal role in his life and schooling. Jesus’s personal expertise of rejection laid the muse for his compassionate service to the socially rejected, significantly youngsters. He wanted to information them in a non-judgemental method to the higher reality of the loving neighborhood of God. He wanted to show them, especially us adults, the best way to the final harmonious unity with God, as he did with Engela, a rejected and largely fatherless girl from South Africa who was ‘sold’ into intercourse slavery.
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The next two decades are certain to bring many adjustments to the Medicaid program. By peering into the longer term, nevertheless imperfectly, program administrators might have the ability to see possibilities that aren’t readily obvious when coping with day-to-day challenges. Helena is a 41-year-old Medicaid beneficiary who just lately lost her job. She hasn’t been feeling nicely for the previous few days however has avoided going to a physician since she has a quantity of job interviews scheduled. After ending one of many interviews, she stops at a neighborhood pharmacy and notices that it is a localized well being hub.
If you cannot donate your time, give your money to this worthwhile quest to make our planet a better habitat for all. Outstanding achievement by Mark Anderson and his team! If organised in the UK he would have obtained a Knighthood.
This article rethinks sin and evil via the life of a child known as Engela who has been ‘sold’ into intercourse slavery. Focus is positioned on the excessive value with which children should be regarded, particularly youngsters who have been bought as sex slaves. During this argument the emphasis is placed on ecclesiastical evolutionary views on creation in addition to relevant and modern understandings of sin and evil, and related to this, the devil and hell. Towards the tip of the article theological consideration is given to fatherlessness, because Engela’s father was usually absent in her life.
An unimaginably experience- We had been whisked away into the magical world of albatrosses. Birdlife and MSC pulled off an amazing, unforgettable adventure. Incredible initiative to raise funds as nicely for Mouse Free Marion project. Birdlife SA must be applauded for all the incredible work they do for conservation. Amazing way to support conservation of Marion Island and have fun at the similar time. It was the saddest day once I had to miss this journey nevertheless it will must have been an superior expertise.
BirdLife do such great work not just for birds however for biodiversity. They deserve and need all of the publicity they will get. What a good way to lift funds for conservation and have enjoyable as nicely. I just want I had the funds to benefit from the expertise. Unforgettable experience nicely organized and enhanced within the company of experts and like-minded folks.
One extra way we will now support her is to offer her with this monetary security she so needs. Providing this safety, signifies that Candice can focus her power and a spotlight on healing. After the last round of scans and tests, the results weren't as optimistic as my household and I had hoped for. My oncologist has now proposed a drastic new remedy route which needs Dr Greg Hough News to begin instantly." Candice Herbst is a very incredible human who has accomplished amazing achievements in her forty three years - together with the completion of two Comrades Marathons. So many individuals have reached out to Candice and her household to ask how they might help and this is actually the best way potential in the meanwhile.
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💚🍟🍃🙈🌏
𝐎𝐂 𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐉𝐈 𝐀𝐒𝐊𝐒 ( accepting! )
💚 GREEN HEART - what things make your oc feel comforted? hugs, kisses, food?
Uhhh yes? Is that a valid answer? No, but, all three have their own merit with her! In all seriousness though, Tsuru is comforted most by two things: simply knowing there are people out there who care enough about her and memories of better times in her life. For a long time, up until post-shadowbringers, she was in a very self-destructive mindset and thought of herself only as a weapon to be used by people to further their own means. Everyone wanted her friendship and loyalty and there weren’t many who were making her feeling otherwise. After being whisked away to a foreign Shard, however, is when she finally started to learn to be gentler to herself and her smiles gradually became more genuine for the first time in a long time. She looks back on some of that time fondly even if it was painful at times.
But anywho, back to the initial three because I wanna answer those too! Hugs are fine and comforting enough, they can be awkward when she doesn’t expect them--and she doesn’t half of the time--so there tends to be some slight recoil at first before easing into it. Kisses are fine as long as they’re from her mother or father. Food can definitely be comforting to her, tomato pie in specific because it’s something simple that her mother used to make for her and she loves when people remember that.
Also she really likes flowers, all flowers. Laying in a field of flowers is comforting. Or receiving them from someone she loves. Bonus points if flower language is involved. She loves when someone gives her flowers with meaning especially, as a lot can be said through them.
🍟 FRIES - do they order food often? or they prefer to cook their own food?
She didn’t have much time to when traveling, so she was often using most of her funds on pre-cooked meals when her mother wasn’t sending them to her. She didn’t really feel the need to practice until Tataru brought it up to her and asked her if she knew how to cook! And after a small conversation, Tsuru started learning. And then she became decent at cooking! And then she started making her own meals.
And now she prefers making her own meals, actually! She’s not adverse to going out to a fancy eatery, but she really does prefer to make everything herself because she’d still like the practice and it just tastes so much better and can be much more rewarding.
🍃 FALLING LEAF - do they enjoy being in nature? what is their favourite outdoor activity?
Yep! She’s a White Mage, it’s kind of her whole thing. In all seriousness though, she’s lived the majority of her life in the Black Shroud, so nature was and still is part of her daily life. Her favorite activities are tending to the wildlife and studying the greenery. As a child, she enjoyed spending her time deep in the forests and she would often talk to the animals and flowers more than she would talk to actual people and that still holds true well into her adult years, even if she’s much more sociable now.
🙈 SEE-NO-EVIL - whats a side of your oc that they don't want to show other people?
She never wants to feel or show vulnerability to people, nor does she ever want to wear her heart on her sleeve, but this is slowly changing. I can sit here and blame everybody who’s ever hurt her but in the end, it all began when people started idolizing her and hailing her as a hero. Heroes aren’t supposed to be unhappy and they absolutely shouldn’t show any signs of weakness. I think that’s part of the reason she took to perpetually smiling, something she still does and finds hard to stop doing. When she gets furious or depressed enough that it begins to show, she hides herself away from everyone and tries to keep herself from falling apart. These are ugly parts of herself that she absolutely hates. If she isn’t able to hold it all together, then how can she be anyone’s inspiration? How could she ever live up to their expectations?
One of her fears is that people who are fascinated by the idea and image of her might find her not as lovely as they thought and even pitiable. And Tsuru absolutely doesn’t want anyone’s pity.
🌏 EARTH - will they give up the world for someone they love? is this decision easy for them?
I think this kind of goes back to if she would betray everyone for someone that she loves and I have to say...she would, but it wouldn’t be her first option. If she can find a way to save the world, she would, but if it came down to choosing, she’d absolutely hang onto what she has. It’s not an easy decision, but she feels like it’s the right decision for her. After spending so long feeling like she had no one, she holds onto people that she loves really hard. She’s kind of already been faced with this decision in Endwalker, and she chose the world, but I think if it had went differently then the above would apply.
#﹙ 🌸 ┋ memes.﹚#these made me think really hard so thank you!!#😔 tsuru makes me really sad sometimes#﹙ 🌸 ┋ a fearsome thing to behold: headcanons.﹚#porteurdereve#﹙ 🌸 ┋ g'raha tia.﹚
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Do you have any fics of Adrien being shy/flustered?
Flustered!Adrien is pretty uncommon. It's usually Marinette who is the flustered one. But when done right, it's BEAUTIFUL. And yeah, I got recs for you!
Shut Up and Drive by @coffeebanana
Adrien keeps having the same dream. About Ladybug riding a motorcycle. Picking him up and whisking him away. It's a fantasy that he can't seem to shake, even if he's supposed to be getting over Ladybug. But one night, she takes off her helmet, revealing herself to be Marinette.
But...it's just a dream...Right?
One-shot. Adrien's dreams really affect him and he's such a beautiful flustered mess. The building tension in this is so well done, and the end just put the biggest smile on my face.
a superhero’s holiday by @isadorator
Adrien only wanted to have fun with his friends and enjoy a stress-free day at the beach. But then Chloé happened. And Hawk Moth. And Ladybug.
One-shot. Let's be serious. Shy/flustered Adrien generally means ladrien content. And this one is a favourite. An akuma attack at the beach. What happens to a poor teenage boy when he ends up with the love of his life plastered to him while he’s wearing just his bathing suit? *cackles* Love the UST and humour in this one!
i just came to say hello by @clairelutra and a_miiraculer
In which Nino finds out his best bro is in love with Ladybug, and jumps the Ladynoir and Adrienette ships for Ladrien summarily.
Adrien is flustered, Alya takes personal offense, and Marinette finally sees her chance to hit that.
What could possibly go wrong?
Multi-chapter. ABANDONED WIP! But I think it's worth reading anyway because omg the blooshy babes I can't even handle it!!! This is just PEAK LADRIEN and I love it, even if it will never be finished.
Margins of Error by orphan_account
“Do you…” Ladybug’s voice is at an almost-whisper. He can feel her breath fire-hot against his face. “Do you want me to show you how I think they should write our kiss?”
Adrien isn’t here anymore, leave a message after the tone.
–
Adrien was raised on order. His life is meticulously planned, each day as reliable as the equations he studies in physics and calculus. But Ladybug- Ladybug always has him at a loss.
One-shot. I've recced this fic before and I'll rec it again, it's so good. Ladybug is assertive and confident and Chat is a little shy and flustered. And it's just so gahhh.
be your july by Reiaji
Two years after leaving home, Adrien has a room, a loving found family, and a thankless job with Audrey Bourgeois, the only figure in fashion with enough clout to bypass his father’s blacklisting.
He also has a zero percent success rate when it comes to courting Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Audrey’s relentlessly brilliant protégé.
With two miraculouses in the mix, it all gets a little complicated.
Multi-chapter. This fic is a reverse love square canon divergence where Marinette went to New York in Style Queen and Adrien leaves home/Gabriel when he’s legally able. This is after she’s returned and they’re both adults here, but Adrien is an absolute mess and I’m here for it.
The following fics are amazing and absolutely worth reading, but do feature sexual content, so minors beware.
Summer in the City by kali_asleep
In which Adrien discovers that peaches aren't the only thing in season.
Multi-chapter. Rated M. Adrien starts to notice Marinette even though Chat is sort-of dating Ladybug and it turns him into a flustered mess. The UST and the identity shenanigans are off the charts. (There's also an E-rated sequel that I recommend, but this is the fic where he's really flustered.)
twists and turns by @zimtlein
Playing Twister at the age of twenty-one can be pretty awkward. It can also lead to suddenly groping your very cute, very platonic friend’s boob, apparently.
Adrien isn’t exactly complaining.
Two-shot. Rated M. Adrien's got 99 problems and UST is all 99 of them. Aside from the way he keeps getting flustered, this fic is also both HILARIOUS and hot af. I've read and reread this one like a hundred times.
I Dream of Mousey by @lyramae-archer
Chat is tired. More tired than ever before. How is a cat supposed to get some sleep when there’s a beautiful mouse in all of his dreams? A story in which Adrien gets some revelation on the love of his life. For MultiMouse Appreciation Week 2020.
Multi-chapter. Rated M. Multichat, my beloved. Adrien becoming a flustered mess as he falls harder and harder for Marinette after her stint as Multimouse is life.
#miraculous ladybug#ml fanfic#ml fic rec#ml lovesquare#adrienette#adrinette#ladynoir#ladrien#marichat#flustered adrien agreste#ml fic recs#fic rec#jennarecsml
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Easier Said Than Done- M. Tkachuk
a/n: So this is just a little snippet of something I’m working on. Not sure if I’ll run with this or not, I just kind of want to get a feel for if people are interested. Let me know if y’all want more.
Warnings: None
——
Matthew had no idea what he was doing here. He definitely didn’t fit in and he felt like he was sticking out like a sore thumb. He walked through his captain’s home, taking in the over the top decor that Lauren had draped throughout the house. Matthew didn’t understand why an eight year old needed an extravagant birthday party, but he could see how kids would probably think this was cool as hell. The theme was Minecraft and there was everything from life-sized creepers to a gigantic Minecraft bouncy house in the backyard.
Kids were running about and parents were congregating around the house. Matthew wasn’t really sure where to go or what to do so he continued to wonder through the house until he finally found Gio.
“Chucky! There you are!” Gio was in a group of other parents when he spotted the curly headed boy awkwardly walking around his home. He waved him over and introduced him.
The captain had invited him to his son’s birthday in an attempt to kickstart his new, more mature lifestyle. People had been urging Matthew to leave his wild bachelor days behind. He had an A on his sweater now, and it wasn’t for adultery— well at least not yet and Gio thought that bringing him around some more adults and showing him how happy he could be if he settled down would be a good idea. What he hadn’t factored in to the equation was the babysitter.
You used to be a staple in the Giordano home as you were their first choice of babysitter on any given day. That was back when you were in undergrad, and since you’ve embarked on your journey through law school, you’ve had to cut back on the hours you spend with kids. Lauren and Mark were sweet enough to invite you to the birthday party, saying that the kids missed you but that they missed you even more. You really couldn’t say no, and so you found yourself walking up the front pathway to their home on a beautiful Sunday morning.
As you made your way through their home you admired Lauren’s dedication to throwing a perfectly curated party, even if it was for an eight year old. You’ve babysat for a few of their friends as well and they greet you happily as you move through the house and out to the backyard.
The kids spot you first and before you know it you’ve got two little ones climbing you like a tree. You’re definitely regretting wearing a short sun dress that’s only being held up by two thin straps now, but the kids don’t seem to mind as they greet you enthusiastically, asking you a million questions and telling you how much they’ve missed you. You can’t be mad though, you love these kids and their parents. Mark and Lauren have always been more than generous to you and their kids, although wild, were total sweethearts who had won you over immediately.
“Hey, hey, hey. Leave her be!” Gio comes running over shooing the kids away and back toward the bouncy house.
“Sorry hun, they don’t know you’re off the clock today.” He says.
“Don’t worry about it, I’ve missed those little rascals.” You reply as he takes you in for a quick hug.
“Well, you can take them if you want!” You laugh at that. Mark likes to joke about getting rid of his kids, but you know he’s a family man at heart, and he wouldn’t give them up for the world. He’s asking you about school when Lauren walks up, bringing you into a big hug. It’s funny standing there with them looking so proud that you’re doing so well in law school. Since you moved to Calgary they’ve been like your second set of parents and you’re realizing now how much you’ve really missed them in your life.
Lauren is quick to whisk you away so that she can show you the new curtains in Mark’s office. The two of you had slaved over dozens of books of fabric samples, trying to find the perfect fit and a fabric that would get the approval of her husband. It took months and while you thought it was comical to put this much effort into upholstery, you always had fun indulging in these luxuries with Lauren.
“What do you think? I think they turned out so great!” Lauren says she admires the curtains. You have to give it to yourself, you guys did a great job picking our this fabric. They look great and you’re sure that Mark really doesn’t care, but when he finally approved a fabric that you both also liked, it was worthy of a big celebration.
“So, tell me about everything! We haven’t talked in so long, and don’t tell the others but none of our other babysitters compare to you!” She says.
“Everything’s good, I’m stressed and all I really do is eat, sleep, and study, but it’s good. I miss you guys though.” You say simply.
“Well, you’ll just have to come over more often! Even if it’s not for the kids, I need some Y/N time. You know our doors are always open!” She replies. “And if you’re stressed, then we’re definitely scheduling a shopping date, and don’t worry, it’s on me!” You don’t have words for how much you love this woman. She’s like a big sister and mom all in one, and you can’t do anything but bring her in for a hug in response. You talk a bit more, but she has to get back to her hosting duties so you let her go and you slowly wonder back through the house, stopping in the kitchen to grab a beer before heading out to play with the kids.
Matthew spots you as you’re running around with the kids. It looks like the kids are playing tag and you’re obviously letting them tag you out. It’s like everything is moving in slow motion as you running around with your hair flowing gracefully behind you and the skirt of your dress rippling in the wind. He’s entranced and he doesn’t even notice when Gio walks up beside him.
“Don’t even think about it.” He says bluntly.
“Think about what?” Matthew says, trying to play it cool, like he wasn’t just checking out the girl still running around with his kids.
“Oh, come on man, I’ve seen that look a hundred times. She’s a nice girl. She used to be our babysitter but she’s in law school now, and doesn’t need you coming into her life to break her heart.” He scolds Matthew, and Matthew knows that he definitely has the right to say it but it doesn’t make it hurt any less. There was a part of him that did want to settle down, to find the girl that would be his wife, and leave his single life behind. It was just easier said than done.
As much as Matthew wanted to ignore Gio, and walk up to you and lay it on thick, he also respected his captain way too much to disobey him, especially in his own home. Instead, he told Gio he would stay away, and that night he went home thinking about a beautiful girl he couldn’t have.
Was it just the fact that he wasn’t allowed to have her? Or was it that her eyes were full of joy and her smile could cure the world of sadness that had him so bewitched?
#matthew tkachuk#calgary flames#flames#matthew tkachuk imagine#hockey fanfic#hockey imagine#nhl fanfic#nhl imagine#hockey fanfiction
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Friends Don't
ahhhh, i hope you love it!! please send in requests!! let me know what you think, and if you like it maybe share with your friends?
wordcount: 3226
warnings: mentions of alcohol, maybe swearing? tbh I don't think anything else.
we love a good bff's to lovers :)
All Harry did was shrug him off and say his final goodbyes- heading back out to his car that he had been in not more than 20 minutes ago when he arrived to have dinner with Jeff, and followed the gravitational pull that always seemed to lead back to you.
or
Harry is your best friend that you're in love with, but neither of you will admit it.
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“What are you doing here, it’s the middle of the fucking night H?” It was cold, too cold to stand there on your front porch in nothing but a big teeshirt and shorts. The smile on his face was cheeky, but when was it not with him.
“Just wanted to stop by, that’s all. Got bored…” He said and you sighed, shaking away the blush that wanted to creep up your neck. His hair was a bit messy and his clothes were wrinkled, like he’d been tossing and turning in them. He made his way into your house after you stepped aside to let him in and made himself comfortable like he always does when he comes over.
With a huff, he collapsed on your living room couch, you following in suit and cuddling into his side. It wasn’t uncommon for you to find yourself here in this position. The middle of the night was usually a time when Harry’s mind ran wild, you weren’t much different. Usually, it was the man himself plaguing your mind, but you’d never tell him that.
It’s ok, he’d never tell you that you were the reason he kept himself up at night either.
“Wanna go lay down?” You asked quietly, fidgeting with the rings on your best friend’s hand as the other tangled itself in your hair just the way he knew would relax you. A soft hum arose from him and you nodded, reluctantly separating your bodies and treading up to your room. Harry felt like he spent more nights here than at his own house.
-
Harry’s phone buzzed beside him, pulling his attention away from whatever Jeff had been talking about for the last 5 minutes. A message from you sat there on his screen asking if he wanted to come over and have a movie night and order take out. Another message popped up a few seconds later adding “I have wine 😏” and a smile crept onto his cheeks, something he was never able to control when it came to you. There wasn’t much you couldn’t get him to do, it was something about you that fascinated him. He felt safe with you, safe enough to do anything. He didn’t have to worry about something being leaked to the press or worse- being made fun of by you. He quickly typed back a reply saying he’d be there in 20 minutes and to call in the order to your favorite place not far from your house so he could pick it up on the way. Jeff finally stopped talking as Harry caught his attention, telling him he had to go.
“Wait what? We just got here, we haven’t even ordered yet! Where are you going?” Harry shrugged and said something came up and he had to go but the look in his eyes told Jeff everything he needed to know.
“So you’re leaving me to go see the girl you claim you’re not in love with?” A blush crept up Harry’s neck and onto his face, turning so the man couldn’t see it. With a shake of his head and a cough to clear the lump that had gathered in his throat, he turned back to his friend sitting in front of him.
“She’s my best friend, m’not in love with her!” He defended, wondering which one of them he was trying to convince more and pushing that thought to the back of his mind. The sound of Jeff scoffing, he swore, could be heard from outside the restaurant they were at right now, and the pointed look being directed at Harry was enough to make him want to shrink back into himself just to get away from it.
“H… I hate to break it to you, but friends don’t cancel other plans just to see each other…” Somewhere in his mind, Harry knew that- but that was a thought for another time. Right now, he was just focusing on making it to your house with your guys’ favorite takeout food and cuddling up to you on your couch or in your bed to watch movies he wouldn’t be paying any attention to in favor of watching your eyes light up during your favorite scenes, and drinking what some would say is a little too much wine for a Thursday evening. The two of you didn’t have to worry about that part though- you always had Fridays off.
All Harry did was shrug him off and say his final goodbyes- heading back out to his car that he had been in not more than 20 minutes ago when he arrived to have dinner with Jeff, and followed the gravitational pull that always seemed to lead back to you.
-
Loud music and large crowds were something Harry was accustomed to, he’d spent the majority of his teen years and all of his adult life around them, in the middle of them. What he wasn’t used to was you being there with him. He’d convinced you to have a night out with him and a friend that was in town and you hesitantly said yes. The two of you didn’t go out in public together very often, and when you did it was always very meticulous. You showed up separately, acted like you didn’t know each other, and tried to stay away from as many prying eyes as you possibly could. It wasn’t that Harry didn’t want to be seen with you or even that you didn’t want to be seen with him- it was just better for the both of you that your friendship stay out of the public eye. It was better for your job and it made things easier in your personal life as well. The last thing Harry wanted was for the media to start making rumors and for his fans to start ripping you apart like they had been known to do in the past.
The club you guys were at was very exclusive, and you had followed the same protocol of showing up at different times as to not be seen walking in together. You had sworn you’d never been around so many A-list celebrities in your entire life and you were starting to feel a little overwhelmed at all the people you knew of in the room, all the faces you’d seen so many times before only through a screen. You didn’t have much time to panic as Harry was whisking you off to meet the friend he’d told you about that was here. A very familiar Irish accent piqued your ears as you got closer to the bar near the back of the crowded room, a head of brown hair, that in your mind should still be blond, peaking out amongst the people surrounding him. Of course, out of all the friends he has, it had to be Niall Horan he was talking about. Someone that you were very familiar with. Niall had always been your favorite in One Direction and you made sure you reminded Harry of that every chance, uh sorry, every chonce you got.
Memories of the two of you sitting in your car as a 1D song came on the radio and you shushing him as Niall started singing- reminding him that this was “the best part” and turning it up louder than it really needed to be flashed through your mind and you tried your hardest to fight the blush creeping up your neck as you stopped in your tracks, halting both of you from going any further. You shot him a glare and it took everything in you not to slap that smirk off of his face.
“Really? And you didn’t even warn me? What the fuck H?” If your heart wasn’t racing before, it certainly was now at the thought of meeting Niall Horan. You didn’t even freakout this hard when you met Harry for the first time. That encounter seemed like it was yesterday and 100 years ago all at the same time.
“M’a little hurt you didn’t freak out over me like this, love! What does he have that I don’t?” Faking offense, his hand coming up to hold his chest as if you’d actually hurt him. You scoffed and pushed his shoulder away, fully prepared to run and hide in the bathroom the rest of the night. You freaked out over Harry in a different way. One that you didn’t let him ever see. And sure- maybe you went home after the first time you met and screamed your head off to your best friend in your hometown- but he didn’t need to ever know that. But now here you were, 20 feet away from Niall fucking Horan, your teenage celebrity crush, and you didn’t know if you were gonna make it to see tomorrow.
Why you were so freaked out about meeting him you weren’t quite sure. Maybe it was that he was one of Harry’s closest and oldest friends and you wanted him to like you (for reasons you weren’t ready to admit to yourself, let alone Harry) or maybe it was merely the fact that you spent the entirety of your high school career with pictures of him on your wall and on the front of your school binder.
“I’m gonna die tonight…” You muttered to yourself as Harry began dragging you behind him once again, over to the open bar stools next to Niall.
“Oi there he is!” The Irishman turns to see the pair of you, pulling Harry into a long overdue hug.
“Hey mate,” The smile on Harry’s face is one you don’t get to see often as it only comes out when he feels a weight lift off his shoulders. You knew seeing Niall was something he’d been looking forward to, although you didn’t quite know it was Niall until less than 2 minutes ago. Sometimes life gets to be a little too much and having someone that gets it like Niall does is important. You could only offer so much as you had no idea what it was like to walk in his shoes.
“You must be the famous Y/N this guy never stops yappin’ about!” The smile is replaced by a flush you’ve seen plenty of times before. He almost looks like a dog with his tail between his legs as he flicks the brunets forehead.
“Aye, no need for that,”
“I guess that’s me!” You say with a smile, expecting for Niall to extend his hand. He, instead, pulls you into a bone crushing hug that you know 14 year old you would have died for, but current you can’t help but wish it was Harry’s arms wrapped tightly around your body like this. He hugs you like this all the time, if not tighter, but it doesn’t seem like you could ever get enough of the man with green eyes standing next to you with that lopsided smile sewn onto his face.
“M’ Niall, it’s nice to meet you!”
---
Ok. Maybe those last two shots of tequila Niall had talked you into weren’t the best idea. Maybe, dragging Harry out to the dance floor when you were just drunk enough to tell him anything wasn’t the best idea. Maybe you didn’t really care right now because the feeling of his hands on your body in a way that wouldn’t be considered platonic was too good to do anything about.
Drunk you has been known to almost spill a certain 8-letter phrase that sober you would rather keep to herself. Drunk you wishes you could get over yourself and just say it, so every time- like clockwork- you get close to his ear and begin the little phrase. But somehow, by some magical happenstance, an outside force steps in. Almost as if the universe is trying to tell you something. You just can’t figure out if it means don’t tell him at all or don’t tell him like this.
Just as you felt yourself lean in and brush your lips against the outer shell of his ear Niall showed up out of nowhere letting us know he was heading to the bathroom and joking about how if he wasn’t back in 20 minutes to call security.
“What was that you were about t’say love?” He leaned in close to your ear as you had done to him not even 30 seconds ago before you were interrupted. In his inebriated state, it sounded more like “wha’ was tha’ ya were abou’ t’say love,” as he always talked a little sloppier when he’d had a few drinks. He says that when he bit the end of his tongue off that it got rid of his little lisp but it didn’t really. He’s just never sober enough to remember.
“I-uh, I don’t remember now,” You giggled, playing it off as drunken rambling. He nods, pulling you closer, if that was possible at this point, and swaying back and forth off beat to the music. His arms wrap tightly around your waist, face buried in your neck where he felt most at home. Your arms find purchase wrapped around his neck, your head placed gently atop his. To any wandering eye, it would seem as if the two of you were in love with each other.
-
Someone leaked pictures of your night out to the media. Harry doesn’t even bother to knock as he barges into your house to see you wandering around your kitchen putting things away, acting like you had no idea that the whole world thought you were dating your best friend. Because you didn’t. Your phone had been off all day in favor of getting things done around the house.
“Love, please don’t be mad…”
“Why, what did you do?”
“Have y’not seen?”
“...Seen what, H?”
“Shit,” He muttered under his breath, walking closer to you. He looked like a dog with his tail between his legs. You only grew more suspicious as he pulled his phone out, swiping around until he found what he was looking for.
A cold sweat broke out over your body, throat suddenly dry, heart beginning to race. What you were seeing was a picture of you and Harry with your hands all over each other on the dance floor of the club you were at last Friday night. Your name was attached to the tweet along with Harry’s, obviously, along with other pictures of the two of you together from that night. You felt a little sick.
You were angry that you let your guard down in public but all of your feelings of anguish and sickness washed away when you saw the look of pure fear in Harry’s eyes. He was absolutely terrified that you were going to push him away after this. His mind raced from all of the possibilities. He was terrified to lose you.
“I didn’t mean for this t’happen, pet. Promise! M’so sorry, I-” You shut down his worry, gently placing your hand on his cheek, brushing your thumb under his eye.
“Hey, I know. It’s ok. It’s ok.” You pulled him into your arms, wrapping yourself around him tightly. He melted into you, nuzzling his face into the crook of your neck. This is where he felt most at home. Safe in the arms of the girl he loves. His heart sinks at the idea that she would never know. He doesn’t know if he could live with the idea of you meeting someone else. Holding someone else the way you're holding him now. Tightening his grip on your waist, he pulls his head away from your neck, resting his forehead against yours.
“Y/n… I- god why is it so hard f’me t’say this.” He stumbles over his words, trying to find the courage to say what he’s been waiting for so long to tell you.
“Say what, Haz?” You whispered, heart picking up speed. Your fingers gently brushed away a stray curl that had fallen into his eyes.
He was quiet for a beat, looking anywhere but your eyes. When he finally did make eye contact, your breath caught in your throat. His eyes held a look you had seen so many times before. A look you told yourself didn’t mean anything so many times that for a moment, you almost believed it.
“The way I feel about you…” He whispered. This time, it was his hand that gently met your cheek, thumb brushing under your eye. His eyes flitted back and forth between your lips and your irises.
“Baby, for so long I tried to tell myself that there was nothing here. That we really were just good friends, but we both know…” His voice didn’t raise any higher as he said this. You could feel his hand shaking on your cheek. You held his wrist, returning his intense gaze and nodding your head subtly.
You did know. You hadn’t quite realized that he knew too, but you knew you certainly did. Maybe it was a good thing that someone leaked those pictures.
“Y/n, my darling Y/n… I love you.” Tears welled in your eyes as it felt like the weight of the galaxy had just been lifted from your shoulders.
“I know you do,” Your voice broke, trying to keep the happy tears at bay,” And I love you too.”
He closed the already minuscule distance between the two of you, matching his lips to yours. He poured everything he had ever felt for you into this kiss, holding you even tighter against him. You gave him everything you had and more, hoping that this kiss would be enough to truly tell him how you felt. I love you just isn't big enough. There aren’t enough words in all of the languages combined to truly describe the way you feel about the man kissing you right now.
You fit perfectly together, like one soul that's been split in two and destined to reunite over and over again throughout time. You truly believe you’ve fallen in love with Harry many times before, in different lives, as different people. The connection was just too pure for that not to be the case.
He broke the kiss, both of you gasping for air, him muttering, “I love you, I love you, I love you,” between every breath and wiping away the tears that had managed to escape onto your cheeks.
“What are we gonna do?” You asked after you’d both caught your breath.
“Well, first things first, I think I have a question to ask you…” He trailed, a gentle smirk pulling onto his face.
“M’love, will you be my girlfriend?” You beamed, looking into the green eyes before you, nodding your head more prominently.
“Yes,” You giggled as he cut you off with a kiss. His hands roamed the span of your back, cheekily dipping below your waistline, onto your ass. He rubbed his hands around before you playfully slapped them away, not being able to swipe the smile off your aching cheeks.
“We’ll figure this out, together. As long as I have you, the rest of the world doesn’t matter. We’ll take it one step at a time.” He says with an adoring smile.
The rest of the world doesn’t matter, you decide. You have him. And he’s all you need.
#harry styles#harry styles fanfic#y/n#reader insert#harry x reader#harry styles x you#harry x you#best friend!harry#one direction#harry styles imagine#harry styles fluff
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For the Love of the Rom-com
While I read across genres in the Young Adult section, I have a soft spot in my heart for the rom-com. Though this genre might come across as light and fluffy, in actuality the form is able to take on topics as varied as mental health, identity, immigration, racism, and grief, to name only a few. Sure there’s romance, escapism, and happy endings, but what kept me picking up one YA rom-com after another in the last month was the window into the lives of each protagonist. More than ever I’m seeing #ownvoices authors tell stories that reflect their particular experience with the characters that they hadn’t seen in novels as young people. In turn I get a glimpse into a life different than my own and subsequently widen my world view. Here’s a collection of some of my recent reads!
Counting Down With You by Tashie Bhuiyan
The debut novel from this Bangladeshi American author (and the first novel I’ve read by a Bangladeshi American) takes the fake dating trope and turns it into a thoughtful exploration of expectations across cultures. Karina Ahmed is a high school junior buckling under the weight of Bangladeshi parental expectations and coping with anxiety largely on her own. They want her to be a doctor. She secretly longs to be an English teacher. When her parents take a month-long trip back to Bangladesh, leaving Karina and her younger brother in the care of their grandmother, Karina is looking forward to a much needed break. But her quiet month is almost immediately disrupted when, through a series of circumstances, she is roped into pretending to be Ace Clyde’s girlfriend, Midland High School’s bad boy. As the two slowly get to know, appreciate, and, of course, fall for each other, they also encourage and call out each other’s strengths. Bhuiyan movingly portrays the complex experience of a Bangladeshi American female teen, trying to meet the expectations of her more traditional parents, navigate managing her anxiety, dealing with the double standard of her gender within her culture, and learning to stand in her own power.
Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean
Given this cover, I expected something totally different from what the pages held. The main character of this “lost princess found” novel is anything but sweet and demure, the impression I had from the cover. Japanese American Izumi (Izzy) Tanaka is living her best average life with her single mother in the small Northern California town of Mt. Shasta. When she finds out that her previously unknown father is actually the crown prince of Japan, her world turns upside down. Once this knowledge goes public, Izzy is whisked away to Japan to get to know her father and become acquainted with the rest of her family. Having always felt out of place as one of the few minorities in her town, Izzy is hopeful that she’ll finally find a place where she belongs. But life at court is more complicated than Izzy can imagine, and she finds that in Japan she’s too “American.” Izzy’s voice is suffused with humor, so even as she struggles to fit in, her inner monologue made me laugh out loud. A slow burn romance with a hot bodyguard, backstabbing cousins, and relentless paparazzi shenanigans only add to the delicious fun. There’s talk of a sequel in 2022!
Better Than The Movies by Lynn Painter
The premise of girl uses boy next door, with whom she (seemingly) shares a mutual dislike, to get to the boy she crushed on in childhood that has just moved back to town manages to squeeze in a slew of rom-com tropes with witty breeziness. Liz makes a deal with boy next door Wes that she will relinquish the parking spot they feud over daily if he will help her get a date to Prom with childhood crush Michael. Of course it ends up being more complicated than that. Liz is confident and comfortable in her own quirky skin, but is also still dealing with the grief of losing her mother, which seems to be hitting her more sharply as all the “lasts” of senior year are happening. Spending time with Wes in her efforts to get close to Michael, Liz realizes that maybe she doesn’t hate him as much as she thought she did. Movie lovers will appreciate that each chapter is headed by quotes from the rom-coms that Liz obsesses over. I appreciated the balance of snarky banter with an honest portrayal of the complicated relationship Liz has with her grief.
Love in English by Maria E. Andrew
I’d been meaning to read Love in English for months and finally picked it up. Ana and her mother have recently moved to New Jersey from Argentina to join her father, who’s been living in the United States for some time. In Argentina, Ana thought her English was pretty good, but finds that navigating high school in America is a daily struggle in understanding her classmates and teachers. Andrew uses blocks of ##### to show the parts of conversations Ana misses, drawing the reader into her confusion and frustration. Reading this novel, I was reminded of when my family hosted a Japanese exchange student in high school, and the hours she spent translating her homework from English to Japanese. Reading what it was like for Ana, I had a glimpse into what it might have been like for Miki, and it made me admire her, and all the people who come to the United States not knowing the language. I’m certainly not proficient in any other language than English. The short chapters are interspersed with Ana’s handwritten ESL journal entries, musings on the confusions of the English language and poems that play with varieties of word meanings. Ana is attracted to a cute boy in her math class, Harrison, but also bonds with fellow ESL student Neo, who is from Greece. While romance is a central thread in the story, what I found most compelling was the portrayal of what it’s like to live in a place where the ability to communicate and comprehend is limited. Ana’s perseverance and curiosity in the face of that challenge is inspiring.
The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss by Amy Noelle Parks
Last but not least I decided to continue my theme of YA rom-coms in my current audiobook and cued up The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss. Set at an elite boarding school for math and science prodigies, this is a dual POV narrative Evie and Caleb, best friends since childhood. Evie is one of the few females at their prestigious school, and excels in math and physics, but hasn’t shown any interest in the opposite sex until new guy Leo catches her eye - with his physics proof. When Evie decides romance might be worth exploring with Leo, Caleb has to figure out how to be supportive, despite the fact that he himself is also secretly in love with Evie. Alternating chapters between Caleb and Evie’s POV mean that we get to see what’s going on internally for both of them as Evie embarks on her first relationship with Leo, Evie and Caleb team up for a national physics competition, and the course of love takes twists and turns. While there is plenty of swoony romance, I also loved the way that Evie has grown to learn to live with her anxiety and how she sets the boundaries she needs to take care of herself while also pushing herself beyond her comfort zone. Parks does an excellent job of making the all the math and physics approachable for the layperson.
There are many more YA rom-coms to choose from in the Teen section, so stop by and see what catches your eye!
— Lori
#island books#lori robinson#ya romcom#counting down with you#tashie bhuiyan#ownvoices#tokyo ever after#emiko jean#better than the movies#lynn painter#love in english#maria e andrew#the quantum weirdness of the almost-kiss#amy noelle parks#summer reading#librofm
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