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#because his suits in the first four episodes got on my nerves
bitacrytic · 4 months
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I like that Marry My Husband didn't just give us a Cinderella moment for the female lead where she ditches her glasses for contacts and starts wearing form-fitting clothes. They also gave us a Cinderfella moment for the male lead where he ditches his glasses for contacts and starts wearing form-fitting clothes.
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trutrustories · 3 years
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Bad fighter Mobius M. Mobius is the best kind of Mobius M. Mobius, Actually.
I already loved Mobius more than most of the MCU characters before episode 6 came out, but THAT scene in Ravonna´s Office was really game changer for me. Until then I was actually sure, that this man is a great fighter. Because HOW THE FUCK COULD HE NOT BE, RIGHT? I mean...
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he looks so sure of himself, He´s going on those missions with trained hunters all the time, he´s fearless! And then Ravonna says: “even with that, you´re of no danger to me” And I was like: Ha! keep dreaming girl He´ll show you! And Mobius was like: “Is that what you think? Let´s see..” And I was like: Yeeees that´s my boyyyyy!!!”
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And then Ravonna was like...
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Mobius in the air in like a split of second. And I was like 
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But Mobius freaking smiled and was like: “Yeah you were right”
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ok. OK. HE´S MY FUCKING FAVOURITE NOW. THERE IS NO ONE BETTER THEN HIM SORRY.  Suddenly I was lost. I was blown away. It was HE BETTER STAYS IN MCU FOREVER OR I WILL SCREAM type of feeling. So let me get this straight. He can´t fight. He probably knows that he is not a good fighter, and he...  HOLY SHIT. THE WHOLE SERIES IS SO MUCH BETTER!!! .... As much as I love the idea of strong Mobius with long hair and daggers, looking for Loki through entire universe… I´m not sure, if I really want to see that in canon. I just love this cute and non-combatant version of Mobius too much, I´m sorry! Let me explain my weird brain please: we have lots of strong heroes in MCU – those who are great fighters, or those who had to learn how to fight.   The one thing I always loved about Iron man was the fact, that he really needed his brilliant brain, his technology (suit) and bravery to fight. And in the end he was the hero who saved them all. I mean… yeah. There are side-kicks, like Happy Hogan, or Luis (Ant man´s best friend) and I LOVE them! But none of them has got as much screen time and importance, as Mobius. When I think about what I love so much about him and his dynamic with Loki, there is always this one thing that prevails: one of them is an incredibly strong but also very careful god (not when he´s drunk though) who uses a lots of strategies and plans, while the other is a tiny man in a suit who can´t fight shit but runs into the throat of a danger every chance he get and no one can´t stop him. just look at him!!!
He goes on missions with these trained hunters to just look around for clues and has no concerns about potentional harm whatsoever.
And he even finds the time to stand up for normal people and be kind to them in the process:
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Once Loki has no collar, on his neck he could break all Mobius´s limbs in a matter of seconds if he wanted to, but Mobius is completely sure he has nothing to worry about around his Loki. He´s not scared of ANYTHING, especially  of Loki variants. Like EVER! :D
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let me break it down in detail for ya. I made a list: When they are taking Loki on his first mission outside, Loki asks, if no one is concerned that he is going to has his magic back...
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well, maybe someone actually is concerned by that but it sure as hell isn´t Mobius. He just simply says that he could get Loki to Time keepers if he won´t try anything and like... this one line is getting on Loki so much, that Loki even tries to use it few moments latter xD And here is the best scene ever: 
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LOKI: “we can go anywhere!” 
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MOBIUS: “I´m not taking you for a stroll along the promenade, much less an apocalypse” FEW MOMENTS LATTER:
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Hang on. Wait. So you telling me, he took this man outside without  permission, without backup (you know, hunters, that actually CAN fight), right to the apocalypse, knowing that Loki can use his powers anytime, however he wants.  It´s just...  God. I love him!!! And then he just hands him the daggers like it´s no big deal!
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Like are we all aware this man has no any super powers, no big strength, nor any impressive fighting skills and he is willing to give him daggers for a mission, where this god is capable of magic and everyone else in team ECCEPT mobius is at least able to fight????? And he just has that small bulletproof vest,  and a raincoat and he chats with Loki in a rain like it was a fucking another apocalyptic DATE?
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Ok. Let´s jump to the episode four He goes and persuades Ravonna to let him interrogate Sylvie and he is straight up arguing with her, even when he´s told how dangerous Sylvie is. This man LOVES danger!!! 
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Once he has doubts he  decides to risk it all and  swaps TemPads right behind Ravonnas back. 
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And he is watching it OUT LOUD in a place where anyone can show up at anytime! 
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no but serously. This is a face of a man who is EXCITED for a dangerous adventures with Loki. Yeah, lets bring this whole place down together! 
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And then we have this scene. Mobius really has a nerves to pull “ ha ha I had to take it by mistake” line right there. 
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But once he understand he´s gonna die, he just take his fate with bravery and talks to Ravonna about life he really desires. 
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And remember that time Ravonna warned him about this variant and how dangerous she is?  He casually saves her, just like that. No big deal. 
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He even has a time to make teasing notes about how  Sylvie should be more careful jumping to a strangers car like that and how she really is one of the Lokis. 
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And after he saves her, he manage to apologize to her  and make her to like him. EVERY FREAKING LOKI LIKES HIM! - that has to be his super power I swear And then Sylvie is like: well actually let´s go back there, I think It´s the best idea ever.  And mobius is like:  What back to the angry cloud? - oh great. fuck this why the hell not. Lets do it. 
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so... while Loki and Sylvie are getting closer, lets show us, how literally every Loki likes Mobius (like not even alligator loki wants to hurt him, even when Mobius suggests that he is a liar I CAN´T) And just random (AGAIN) during the chat  saving Loki and Sylvie (without even knowing) when he inspires Classic Loki to change. 
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He offers free tickets straght to the TVA to kid Loki, classic Loki and an alligator. I mean... What a LEGEND. 
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when he gets there he just knock on Ravonna´s door and is like - lets talk about it xDD
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And he isn´t even suprised to lose that fight. He makes himself comfortable on the floor: yeah you were right. Here we go again. Just prune me already, doesn´t matter, I have my Lokis there anyway.
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But make no mistake, I don´t think he is stupid, or naive. That is the most fascinating thing about him.  He is brilliant. He can makes great plans (it surely as hell was him, who come up with the high school scheme) He is a great  investigator, he  is familiar with psychology very well, he know how to manipulate people just as well, as Loki. He can  interrogate flawlessly (when jealousy is not involved) And when he woke up in the Void, he was able to escape certain death, choose a car and drive around looking for Loki - and eventualy save Sylvie. He is a very capable man. I dont think he shouldn´t have any power. Like - he has his inteligence, his knowledge of all  languages  (I want to see him chat with Groot please), his knowledge of psychology,  knowledge  of how TVA works... He can have his pruning stick, TemPad, bulletproof vest and a raincoat for what I care. but most importantly he has his kind heart, love of adrenaline, and he is a freaking Loki expert. And let´s not forget, every Loki loves him. Also, he has a damn luck as well :D It´s like - Loki always ends up loosing, so Mobius  is fine  - even when he should be dead about million times already. (one man´s void is another man´s piece of cake) So when they are togheter. There is no way for Loki to actually die. Not by his side xD So I don´t think he needs to become great fighter. I believe, that this is a hundred times better. Creators should explore this dynamic to it´s bottom before they make him fighter with super powers or something like that. ( I wouldn´t mind long hair though)  I´m sorry. But I just really love that. I love how small and fragile he is, but he wont be scared of anything. And now he´s Loki best friend (while having masive crush on him, let's be precise ) So just imagine all those amazing scenes that could come with that.  Imagine there is some very dangerous Loki variant that everyone has problem to deal with, and Mobius is gonna be like - you´re so cute guys, nice try. Now let me talk to him, will ya.  Imagine some big battle where our Loki and Mobius are fighting side by side with Avengers and Loki is using all his potential, and he is so stunning in his leather but he can´t focus very well, because few metters from him is a small, fragile man in a suit just using TemPad an afucking pruning stick. And Loki didn´t even want him there in the first place. So they are arguing like married couple right then and there and every avenger AND enemy in  close distance just can´t believe these two are real.  also Loki saves Mobius by taking him in his arms right on time and running to safety with him
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Maybe this post is  completely useless and has  incredibly bad english like every text I write, but I don´t care. I just wanted to loudly  appreciate this mans non-fighting skills and his hilariously huge courage. End of the post.  have nice day! Bye!
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yespolkadotkitty · 3 years
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i think it’s fair to say that i’ve fallen far too in love with your zach one shots — not only do you capture his persona so well, it genuinely feels like i’m watching an episode of brothers & sisters
also, your ricky one shot was also so so so good!! you have no idea how grateful we all are that you pluck these characters from obscurity and portray their defining characteristics so accurately while also adding the loveliest fluffiest fluff of all time
i was wondering if you would consider writing a jealous!zach one shot? ngl, the (mutual) pining mixed with jealousy trope is my guilty pleasure and i feel like jealous zach would be 11/10
anyway, just wanted to say you’re fucking amazing and i adore your writing — i hope you’re having a great day!!
THANK YOU FOR THIS LOVELY ASK
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(NB: Ok I know this is not Zach but it COULD be. It’s the right year. There are SO FEW pics of Zach so let’s just go with it).
Words: 1700 ~ Warnings: jealousy, pining, angst, fluff, one awesome kiss
Pairing: Zach Wellison x gn!reader
************
YOU: Is it wrong to be attracted to the super in my building?
BFF: Why would it be wrong? Use it to curry favour! Get stuff fixed faster! What is he/she like?
YOU: Tall. Tanned. Dark blond. Has a tattoo - military maybe? Sexiest voice ever.
BFF: If you don’t get him, I will.
You set your phone down and smiled.
Maybe I should say something.
Zach had been the building super of your apartment block for the last three months. He was a massive improvement on the last guy, who spent his days playing Zelda and smoking weed and very occasionally getting off his ass to fix stuff.
He’d been to your place - conveniently next door to his, he had a live-in type gig - four times. The garbage disposal, the leaky faucet, the faucet again, and then the window.
Notes could be left in his mailbox downstairs by tenants who needed assistance. He always responded the same day, the next day at the very latest, and he always tried to arrange a time with the occupant that suited them.
He’d gotten all greasy and wet fixing the faucet, his plaid button-down clinging to him, and eventually he’d stripped it off, revealing a tattoo you hadn’t been brave enough to try and examine properly, and some serious biceps.
Next time I see him, you promise yourself.
BFF: Btw, what’s happening with the dude at no 16?
YOU: Nothing.
You’d engaged in a mild flirtation with the well-built guy across the hall. Sometimes he got your mail in his box by mistake and he dropped it off, but lately he hadn’t engaged with you, and you began to think he was just being friendly.
The next day, before you could properly think of what to write down for Zach, the washing machine that came with your place started to leak. You noticed when trying to take your clothes out of it.
“Crap!”
Rather than put a note in his box, you knocked on Zach’s door.
He opened it after a minute, surprise sketched on his handsome face, hair ruffled, sweat beading at the neck of his t-shirt. Past him, you could see weight lifting equipment on the floor, along with a small speaker playing 70s rock.
“Fleetwood Mac?” You ask, smiling. “They’re my favourite.”
“No kidding?” A smile tipped up one corner of his mouth. “So... “ His brown eyes met yours, warm, concerned. “Are you okay?”
“I hate to bother you directly, but my washer’s busted - leaking.”
“It’s no bother.” He glanced behind him. “Give me five, okay? I’ll be right there.”
“Thanks so much, Zach.”
He nods and closes the door. You’re about to turn back to your apartment when Well Built Guy - Damon, you think his name is - comes out of his own apartment.
“Hey,” he greets you.
“Oh, hey. How are you?”
He pushes a hand through his short, black hair. His single earring glints in the daylight; gives him a pleasingly piratical look. “I’m good. How are you?”
“Yeah, good - thanks.” You move again.
“Wait.” He takes a step closer in the small hall. “I was wondering if you - if you wanted to get coffee sometime? This place two blocks over does an amazing dark roast.”
“Oh, well-”
You’re cut off when Zach’s door swings open. He’s changed into a clean shirt, a forest-green henley, and he carries a faded red toolbox. His gaze darts between you and Damon, wary, and for a second, his mouth turns down.
As quickly as you see it, it’s gone.
“Sorry to interrupt,” he mutters, to you. “Can I go in?”
“I’ll let you in, Zach.” You turn your attention to Damon.”Catch you later?”
“Sure, sweet thing.”
He’s called you the nickname before but it’s never chafed until today.
Zach doesn’t react as you come to the door and let him in.
“Thanks for coming by so quickly.”
He doesn’t look at you. “You didn’t have to cut your time with your boyfriend short.” He sets his toolbox down by the washer and kneels, unbothered by the pool of water that begins to leech into the pale denim of his jeans.
“He isn’t my boyfriend.”
Zach sets about exploring the washer. “Okay.”
“He isn’t.” You stuff your hands in your pockets. “You want some coffee?”
For the first time, he looks up at you, and the expression in his honey-brown eyes is scraped bare, and then he looks away and the connection is lost. “Sure. Thanks. Black, one sugar.”
You busy yourself, just a few feet away - your kitchen is not big by any stretch of the imagination.
“Here you go.”
“Thanks.” He’s absorbed, only his waist and ass sticking out from the drum of the washer.
You potter off to do some work.
An half hour later, Zach knocks on the door of your tiny office - the only other “room” of your studio aside from the bathroom. 
“All fixed.”
“Thank you so much, Zach.”
He swipes the back of his hand over his forehead, leaving a smear of grease. “No problem.”
“You’ve got a-” You reach up, every nerve on end, wanting to touch him.
A knock sounds at your door.
Dammit.
“Sorry,” you mutter.
You swing the door open and Damon is there with two coffees.
“I was on my way back from the office,” he says. “I thought you might like to - oh, the super’s still there. Not fixed yet, pal?”
Damon says it innocuously but you see Zach’s shoulders tense.
“Nope, all good.” He rubs the palms of his hands together in a “that’s done” gesture. “I’ll get out of your hair.”
“... Place next door is this amazing Italian,” Damon is saying, oblivious. “It’s pretty pricey but I’d love to take you there.”
Zach pushes between you and out of the door, but you see the crestfallen set of his shoulders as he goes.
The door swings shut behind him and you turn back to Damon, resigned to see this conversation out, and to make it clear that he’s kind, but you aren’t interested.
*******
That evening, you take the stairs down to the communal gym in your building. Well. Gym is stretching it. There’s one ancient rowing machine, one treadmill, a barbell that has seen much better days, and a CRT TV that only shows Judge Judy. But, you don’t have to pay for it, so it beats a gym contract elsewhere in the city.
When you push through the door, Zach is on the treadmill, earphones in. He’s wearing a sleeveless vest and your gaze is drawn to his intricate tattoo - an eagle perched on a world, an anchor hugging the globe. Marines.
Wow, you think - wow.
Sweat trickles down the back of his neck, and his thick, dark gold hair curls around his nape.
Now or never.
You walk over to the treadmill and drop your gym bag to announce your presence.
Zach turns, does a double take, and then presses a button on the treadmill to slow it down. He pulls his earphones out.
“Hey.”
“Hey, Zach.”
Curiosity flits across his features. “Something you need?”
You swallow. He looks so good, his pale gold skin slick with clean sweat, his breath coming in soft pants, his chest rising and falling, lean muscles delineated by the clinging vest.
“No. I mean, yes.”
“And you can’t get the guy at 16 to help?” he snarks.
You step back.
“Sorry,” Zach says, immediately. “I just…”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” you assure Zach.
Above his head, on the TV, Judge Judy silently reprimands a woman with six face piercings.
“He could be. Guy like him. Good job. He’d take you to fancy Italian places.”
You curl your hand around the arm of the treadmill. “Maybe I don’t want to go to fancy Italian places.”
Zach huffs out a breath, but you have his interest.
“Maybe I’d just like to hang out with you.”
Suspicion narrows his eyes. “Why?”
“Maybe I like you? Did you consider that? Maybe, for some bizarre reason, I think you’re nice and attractive?” you wave your arms, frustrated.
Zach folds his arms across his chest, pursing his lips. “I used to be a Marine, but I had to resign my commission because I got hit hard with PTSD. I lived on the street for two years.”
You hold his gaze as he speaks. 
“Why are you telling me this?”
But then you know. He’s telling you so you’ll turn tail and go back to Damon, with his suits and fancy haircut and ability to take you out for $100 dinners.
He expects you to turn him down.
Because that’s what happens. What has happened and what he thinks will happen now.
Zach firms his lips and shakes his head slightly.
“Just go,” he says, so softly, mistaking your silence for pity, rather than resolve.
“No.” Instead, you lean up on your toes and touch your lips to his.
He starts, and then holds perfectly still. You break the kiss, and look up into his face, and he’s gazing at you like you hung the moon and all the stars.
“I like you, Zach,” you whisper. “And I don’t care if our first date is a picnic in the park.”
He blinks, turning away from you for a second, and then he ducks under the arm of the treadmill, and he’s so close that you breath catches. 
“I’ve thought about this,” he murmurs, and then he cups your face in his hands and kisses you like he means it, lips and teeth and tongue, and it’s everything.
You spear your fingers into his hair and breathe him in, press yourself against the hard wall of his chest, sigh his name against his lips.
“I gotta shower,” he says, with clear reluctance, his voice half an octave lower, unsteady from a kiss that has rocked both your worlds. “Then, let’s see about that picnic.”
**********
Zach Pit & permanent taglist: @mrschiltoncat @astroboots @songsformonkeys @biblioworm @aeryntheofficial @thirstworldproblemss @wheresarizona @pedropascalito @knittingqueen13 @alwaysbethewest @agirllovespancakes @f0rever15elf @heatherbel @frannyzooey @lannister-slings-and-arrows @sarahjkl82-blog @thedazeinmylife @holographic-carmen @idreamofboobear @fromthedeskoftheraven @disgruntledspacedad @chicken-nugget-puta @miulola @nelba @alienprincesspoop @tardisfangurl @synystersilenceinblacknwhite @mylonelylittleappreciation @filthybookworm @absurdthirst @thestrawberry-thief @lilangeldevil006 @marydjarin @jedi-mando @havenforafrazzledmind @myoxisbroken @10-96dispatcher @stormtrooperofficerbrowneyes @mrsparknuts @roxypeanut
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ramp-it-up · 3 years
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Sundancer
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Pairing: Rafael Casal x Reader
Word Count: 4.2k
Warnings: Minors DNI, Some pictures, Angst, Pining, drinking, explicit language, oral sex (female/male receiving), love fluff. All errors my own.
A/N: This an ask from @honeysucklechocolatedrippin​ from the 100 smut prompts ask list. I got caught up with this one because I went back to the Show Runner AU.  I kinda love these two.  Hope you enjoy. Read Show Runner.
-------
This press tour was going to be all work. No play. 
Those were the strict rules that you were given.
This was the premiere film and television festival and January in Park City could be a fun, wild place and time, but you were on the clock. 
There would be no open flirting, touching, or even covert fucking while the cast was there. 
You listened to the lecture and smiled and nodded when appropriate.
Truth be told, you really weren’t paying attention, just waiting on your knees, naked and wet, to suck the shit out of his dick. 
When he gave you permission to of course.
You were determined to suck all those stupid ideas out of his brain along with all his cum when he gave you the chance. 
And Rafael was, indeed, without much coherent thought when you were done.
_____
Wednesday 
That conversation was of no consequence to you four days later when you landed in Park City. 
Daveed and Rafa had been there for two days and the rest of the cast was trickling in. 
You gathered your bag while answering a few questions from the paps and headed to your hotel alone, following the driver who held your name up outside baggage claim to a luxury suv.
You texted Rafael that you had landed, to which he just replied, “Good.”
No, ‘how was your flight,’ nothing. 
You sighed, assuming he was busy. 
He had been texting you nonstop for the past three days and now he wanted to play you. 
That was cool.
You relaxed as you took in the snowy scenery of snowy Park City. 
You were taken to a stunning tiny little chalet at the edge of the city and halfway up the mountain. 
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The views were spectacular, the cute cozy kitchen fully stocked, and the fireplace was bomb.
As you took in all the antler decor, you texted Rafa again, hyped at the accommodations.
This is dope!
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You made sure your cleavage was right in your v-neck sweater and took a selfie of you from above in the bedroom. 
I can’t wait to be on my knees for you later.
You saw the thought bubbles, but no response.
Cool cool cool. 
If that’s what he wanted. That’s what he would get. Ice.
You shook your head and looked in the refrigerator for water. You also found your favorite snacks. 
Production thought of everything. You’d thank Gwen later.
You relaxed on the couch until it was time to get ready for the mixer. 
The car was ready to go at 6:45, in time to get you fashionably late to the Television mixer at the Waldorf Astoria at 7.
Because of all the traffic, you didn’t arrive until 7:30, but you were chilling. You spotted your crew immediately, partly because they were the loudest. 
You loved this new family you made.
“Ayyyy! What’s cracking! We thought you’d never make it. Late flight? You want a drink?”
You laughed at Daveed, seeing that he was on his way to getting lit.
“I’ll have what you’re having.” 
He raised his cute ass eyebrow at you. “This grown folks shit. You sure?”
“Yes. I’m grown. I need to catch up to you! I misjudged the time to leave my chalet. What time did you all leave yours?”
“Ummmm. I walked downstairs like 20 minutes ago. The whole cast is staying here. You’re the only one staying on the other side of town.”
“Oh.” 
You didn’t know what to say as Daveed turned to go get your drink.
You looked around and saw a lot of actors you’d love to work with, some you already had, and some you knew to stay away from.
You spotted Rafa’s golden hair on the other side of the room. 
You weren’t going to go after him, and you didn’t need to, because some of your cast mates enveloped you and Daveed brought you a drink.
You were having too good a time to worry about Mr. Artistic Integrity.
You two circled the room, never really ending up in the same place. You finally saw him with Gwen and got a chance to talk. Rafa saw you approach. He nodded.
“Hey, Long time no see. You make it in ok ?”
You looked at Rafael for an extra beat. He’d seen you up close and personal three days ago when you’d ridden his face. 
But you were an actor. You could play this game.
“Hey Casal. Yeah, I got a few hours ago.” 
You turned to the logistics producer. 
“Gwen! My chalet is so dope!”
She raised her eyebrow at you. 
“That’s great! So, you wanted peace and quiet and away from the rest of us, ay?” Gwen laughed as you and Rafa smiled politely. You were seething. 
“Trying to avoid all the parties. I get it now, although I thought it was weird that you declined accommodations.”
“You know our girl, always a loner.”
Rafael took a sip of his drink, looking at you over it. Your blood boiled but you turned and smiled at Gwen.
“Yeah. On my INFJ shit. What’s the lineup for tomorrow?”  
You made small talk to avoid cussing Rafael the fuck out. He stood there for a minute, listening and being an adorable muthafukin asshole. 
Other people came up and you didn’t even notice Rafa step away. But you spotted him, in a corner with that little twat Ava with the tight little body. Just his type.
He saw you stalking out of the mixer as he chatted her up.
—-
Two hours later, you were cozy in the hot tub, smoking some kush to relax, scrolling your phone. 
A TMZ post from your explore page caught your eye. 
There was a picture of Daveed, next to Rafa and Ava, who looked pretty close and fucking beautiful together. 
The gossip site gushed over the picture of the Bay Boys, noting the ‘adorable couple’ and their mingling at the mixer and somehow sneaking in a not so subtle hint that they were staying at the same hotel.
That was the final straw. You saw it all. Rafa wanted you far away from him while he fucked this little miniature Bratz doll. Bet.
It was only midnight. You were going to get your own plastic action figure for the night.
——
Thursday 
The next morning, you met up with the crew at the suite which was set up for the series press day. 
You went straight to Chelsea who was set up in the bedroom of the suite.
You gave her a hug and took off your sunglasses. Your eyes were puffy.
“Damn girl. You did have fun last night. I got just the thing for those circles.”
You breathed a sigh of relief and let her work her magic.
You emerged ten minutes later and went and got something to eat and a bottle of water from the catering station set up in the kitchen. You watched D and Rafa charm the interviewer. 
You took a deep breath. You could do this.
Ten minutes after that, you find yourself sitting in a chair with the cast lined up, somehow seated next to Rafael.
As the first interviewer was setting up, you got comfortable in your chair. Being a professional.
“I see you had fun last night.”
You looked over at Rafael as if surprised to see him there.
“I’m sorry?”
He smirked at you.
“I said it looks like you had fun with Michael last night.”
He held up his phone and you squinted at a post of you and your new friend, a highly sought after actor who had been in one of Rafa’s favorite movies. 
The pic was from after you went back out to the club last night. You were hugged up close.
You looked in his eyes and saw that he felt some kinda way. He had some fucking nerve.
You smirked. 
“Yeah. He’s really truly a dope person. Not just beauty, but brains too. I love an intelligent man. We… talked all night.” 
Rafa’s smile slipped. You sat back and put on a megawatt smile for the reporter.
The entire day was filled with your secret shots and animosity toward Rafa. 
You couldn’t wait to talk to him in private and tell him not to call your cell phone ever again.
Reporter: “This show has many complex relationships, and you are at the center of two of them that are just developing as the series begins. What do you do to ease into a new relationship?”
You leaned back and crossed your legs.
“That is a great question. Let’s just take an example of, say, meeting someone at... a club?”
Daveed leaned in front of Rafa and said, “This is not a true story from last night by the way.”
“Of course not,” you quickly replied and winked. Everyone laughed, everyone but Rafa.
“What I’ve found recently that works wonders is: ‘Oh my god you’re so much better than the last person I was with.’”
Everyone was dying laughing.
Rafa choked on his water. You leaned over and patted him on the back. “You good?”
He just glared at you. You shrugged and kept it moving.
“No, but really. You should start off in a relationship where you can be open and honest. There’s really no relationship if you can’t have that.”
Rafael cleared his throat, but you refused to look at him.
The press day continued.
After eight hours of interviews, you were ready to get out of there, so while Rafa and D were playing host, you managed to get out and to the car. 
You were exhausted of the tension.
On your way to the chalet, Rafa texted you.
‘We need to talk.’
You huffed. Now he wanted to talk. 
Well, tough shit. 
You blocked his number. 
You couldn’t function like this right now. You and him could break it off next week in LA. He was right, you were on the clock.
That night at the Midnight showing, you sat with Michael. 
Might as well try to have some fun. The paparazzi were snapping lots of pictures with you two.
While Mike took a quick interview, you made your way to the bar alone.
“You’ve not answered any of my texts. Or my calls.” 
You rolled your eyes at Rafael.
“You’ve texted and called?” 
You shrugged and took a drink.
“Look. We can do all that back in Cali next week. Gotta keep it professional here, isn’t that the deal?”
You downed your drink and walked back over to Michael, Rafael boring a hole in your back. 
He left you alone after that.
——
Friday
The next day and night were much the same, a cast interview and screening of two episodes during the day and another industry party at night. 
Rafa being so busy made it easy to stay away from each other.
You got back to your place with a bottle of tequila about midnight. 
You were flying out the next day and you should have some fun, even if it was not what you’d envisioned before you arrived in Park City. 
You hated Rafael Casal. 
But you refused to cry. Again.
An hour later, you looked up from your drunken haze to see Rafa standing over you. 
He looked so damn good in this dream.
“You shouldn’t drink a whole bottle of tequila in a hot tub, especially alone.”
“What the fuck do you care? You’re probably fucking Ava ten ways from Sunday right now.”
Dream Rafa raised his eyebrow at you and shook his head.
“Why would I want to fuck Ava?”
“Right? Especially when you could have all this.”
You stood up, almost falling and showing off your wet, naked body.  You giggled as he appreciated you, his eyes sweeping down your body.
Dream Rafa moved closer to you and grabbed your hand as you wobbled. 
“Let’s get out and get you some water.”
He helped you out and wrapped you in one of the huge white fluffy robes that you’d found in the closet.
He led you to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator.
You drank, your head clearing, but just a bit.
You kept staring at Dream Rafa, who was regarding you steadily, a weird look on his face.
When you finished, he walked you to the bedroom and watched as you lay down. You looked at the clock on the bedside table. It was 1:30 am.
You opened your robe and turned to see Dream Rafa in bed with you.
“How convenient. I’m so so horny Dream Boy. Haven’t had any dick since last week.” 
You untied the robe and grabbed your breasts, squeezing them and rolling your nipples, arching your back.
Rafael watched you hungrily.  
“Help me to get off. Fuck me, Dream lover. The real Rafa doesn’t want me anymore…”
You moved your hand down to your core and started playing in it, moaning and watching Rafa watch you.
As he licked his lips, you brought your hand up and let him taste the wetness on your fingers. He hummed, then took your hand in his.
“Not like this. I want you. Fully present and clear headed. But I want you. And we need to talk.”
He kissed the palm of your hand and covered you with the robe again.
You groaned and turned away from him.
“Even the Rafael of my dreams reject me? I can’t believe I’m in love with such a jackass.”
You didn’t feel Rafa pull you close as you started shoring.
Saturday
You woke up alone, mad at the sunlight. Your head was pounding. 
Your mouth was parched, but you found a bottle of water on the bedside table. 
You grabbed it, grateful that you got it on the way to the bedroom last night. 
As you sat up and drank, you groaned as you thought back to your dream. 
You had to get him out of your system.
You got up and went to the kitchen, halfway expecting to see him there. 
You sighed with something that must have been relief when he wasn’t there. 
You took your water and some grapes to the little kitchen bar and sat there, eating and drinking slowly with your head in your hand.
You jumped when you heard a key in the front door and stared when Rafa let himself in. 
“Look who’s up. Bet you’ve got a doozy of a headache.” 
You just continued to gape as he put his bags down on the counter. He handed you a bottle of aspirin.
“You’ll need these.” He put some pedialyte in front of you. “And this.”
“Wait. Did you just let yourself in? With a key?”
“Yeah. This is my chalet. I own it.”
Your mouth dropped open. 
“I thought you had a hotel room.”
“I do. This is business so production put the cast up there. D and I decided to join.”
Your heart clenched at the fact he did not want you there too. What was this reality? Then you thought about the dream.
“Wait. Were you really here last night?” 
You were confusion.
Rafa smiled at you. 
“You want something to eat? Gotta get something in your stomach besides tequila and grapes.” 
You groaned and held your head at the realization that last night was not a dream.
“Fuck. Did I say all that? Did I do all that? Out loud?” 
You peeked at him through your fingers.
That smile. “Yeah.” 
You were mad. He looked to fucking happy. 
“Well, don’t take it personal. I was zooted. When I’m sober, I hate you Rafael.”
He frowned. “Are you sober now?”
You opened the bottle of aspirin and drank some pedialyte. 
“Unfortunately, yes. Very sober.”
Rafa moved next to you.
“I’m going to come closer so I don’t have to yell.”
He tipped your chin up with two fingers.
“I can’t believe I’m in love with a fucking brat.”
You were ready to fight.
“I’m a brat? I’m a BRAT?” 
You leaned back, your hands on the counter behind you to get some space from the electricity bouncing between you.
“You ignore me as soon as I land in the same city as you, and then you put me out here in this secret hideaway so you can fuck with that Ava chick.” 
You closed your eyes because you’d be damned if you cried right now. 
“I thought we agreed that we’d talk to each other before we tired of each other and got with other people?”
Rafa leaned close to you, caging you in with his arms on the counter beside yours. 
You could barely breathe, the emotions were getting the better of you. You just wanted to kiss him.
“Who told you that I fucked Ava?” 
This time you raised your chin on your own.
“No one had to tell me. I saw the pictures of you two together. I can read, Rafa.”
“Not very well in this situation, I’m afraid.”
Rafa shook his head and looked down. Then looked back up at you with those damn eyes.
“You also don’t listen. Did you even hear what I said? I just said I love you.”
You just stared at him.
“Wait… what?”
Rafa brought his hips closer to yours, standing up tall. You wanted them on you.
“I love you, you fucking brat. Why would I want Ava when the woman I love has all this.”
And he reached for you, opening the tie on your robe. He sighed as he moved his hands on your brown skin. He was home.
“I want you to listen. Listen before you jump ahead and try to argue.”
You were about to say something and clamped your mouth shut at his warning glance.
“I told you, this was work. And we agreed not to go public with our relationship yet.”  
He saw you wanting to protest.
“We agreed.” 
His hands spread against your stomach, thumbs on your warm nipples.
“I wasn’t ignoring you, I was controlling myself. I wanted to meet you at the airport, but the paps are swarming.”
Rafael's blue eyes were now dark.
“And I didn’t stash you away because I wanted to fuck Ava, but because this is my home and I wanted you in it.” 
Rafa finally kissed you, and you took his tongue in your mouth, wanting to own a part of him.  Your moan while you kissed was getting him even harder.
“And when you sent me that picture of you in the bedroom, I wanted to run over here and take you in every room,  but I couldn’t. Still working. Just had to jack off when I could. To that picture.”
You moaned as his words made you drip down your thigh.
He pressed his pelvis to you and you could feel how hard he was. You took a ragged breath and forced your hands to remain on the counter. 
But you looked up into those burning blue eyes. You were wet and ready.
“It was killing me knowing that you were so close, sleeping in my bed without me, naked in my hot tub without me, and that I couldn’t touch you, hold you. Fuck the shit out of you. Hear you scream my name.”
“Tire of you? God, I wish I could get tired of you. I want you all the time, I can hardly function when you’re not around.”
He kissed across your collarbone to the other side of your neck. You were definitely weak.
“I was coming over that first night, but I saw you going out. To the club. Where it seems you hooked up with Mike.” 
Rafa bit down on your pulse point.
“Rafa, I…”
Rafa licked the spot he just bit. 
“Shhh. I know you didn’t get with him, but you were a bit of a bitch at the Q and A day. And then you took him to the midnight screening.”
Rafa was appraising your body possessively now.
“You tried to make me think that you were with him; that he was touching you like this.”
Rafa grabbed your breasts and squeezed your nipples between your fingers. You arched into his hands.
“It was like you were teasing me.” 
His hands moved down your torso and around to your ass, squeezing and pulling your cheeks apart and ghosting your intimate parts with his fingers.
“You know I don’t like to be teased.”
He released you and took two steps back, leaving you feeling bereft.
You were panting in the middle of his kitchen. You felt what it was like to be teased.
“Rafa, I’m sorry. Please…”
Rafa was two steps ahead of you. He was pulling his Oaklandish hoodie over his head. Then he shook his head at you.
He bent his head to your breast as he lifted it roughly to meet his lips. He drew your hard bud between his lips and grazed it with his teeth. 
Rafa nipped and sucked your flesh roughly as he licked the fingers in his other hand and reached between your legs.
“Did you want Mike to touch your cunt like this?”
“No...only you Cash…”
He traced his fingers between your wet lips, causing you to shudder and moan. Then he started to tease your clit.
“Tell me what I want to hear. Tell me you love me.”
“I..I…” You didn’t know when it happened, but it did. “Fuck it. I love you Rafael.” 
You sigh in relief and with desire as he pushed his fingers deeper into you.
He moaned softly in your ear as he pressed you back against the island.
“Good girl. Now tell me more. Tell me you love what I’m doing to you right now. Tell me you love this shit.”
“I love it so fucking much,” you squeaked, holding on to his shoulders for dear life, your nails digging in.
As he pumped his fingers, you wriggled and started to grind against his hand. As you wriggled more, he cursed under his breath.
“Fuck! Stay still.”  
His tongue licked up and down your neck as his hand went faster and faster, playing you like an instrument.
You were getting so close, and Rafa could feel it. So he stopped and stepped back again, panting while he tasted his fingers and leaving you quivering and emotional.
You refused to beg, but he knew what you needed.
“I want to punish you for not listening to me and your heart, but I can't because I’d be punishing myself.”
He walked toward you again, put his hands on you and slid down your body as he knelt before you.
Rafa looking up at you like that made you fall in love all over again. 
He leaned forward and kissed your lower lips oh so tenderly. Then, he licked them, and you had to hold on to the counter again. Then he started talking.
“I’ve been hard for you ever since you texted me that you touched down.” 
He kissed each of your thighs and lifted one up and rested it on his shoulder. You were not ready.
“I was so pissed off all day. Until I saw you that night.”
Rafa lightly licked a long stripe between your legs.
He pulled back and looked at your pussy, as if entranced.
“But, I stayed away from you at the mixer because I knew I would drag you to a bathroom and bend you over the sink…”
Rafa slowly rolled his tongue over your slit. You held your hand over your mouth as you watched him.
He looked up at you and chuckled. 
“No close neighbors. Let me hear you.” 
He sighed as he looked at you again. 
“I wanted to take you in the bedroom at the suite during the press day and put your ankles around your ears to dig out that attitude.”  
Rafa licked you again, making you tremble and moan loudly.
“I decided to come and give you an ultimatum last night, but I get here and you were so cute and drunk and said that you loved me.”  
He graced you with a smile. You smile back and brush his hair out of his eyes.
“I know you said that I don’t own you. But you own me. Body and soul. I’m starving for you.”
And then he dove in, making you gasp as he eagerly parted your lips with his tongue and started to flick it back and forth over your clit, grasping your ass and your leg to support you and keep you in place.
This time he didn’t stop. He licked and sucked and swiped, his head moving back and forth as he ate. He did it until your eyes rolled back into your head and you were screaming his name. He increased his pace and intensity until you were a quivering, moaning mess. 
You come on Rafa’s face in the middle of a ski chalet in Park City, Utah.
You were still quivering as you watched him stand up, take off his shirt and wipe his face with it.
“So, you can take your flight back to LA in a couple of hours, or you can stay until Monday and we can be seen together tonight. In public.”
Your face lit up as he led you to the bathroom. You were catching on.
“And we will be ‘good friends’ for a few weeks until we let on.”
“Now, you’re listening.” Rafa was smiling wide now.
“Wait, does Diggs know about us?” Rafa started taking off his pants. You needed what was inside.
“Nevermind. I know the answer, Jackass.”  
You ignored Rafa’s laugh as you began to make up for lost time.
-------
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nyisles · 4 years
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Magic in the Hamptons
Part Five
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part one | part two | part three | part four 
Player: Mathew Barzal 
Words: 3k 
Warnings: language
Notes: long long long long overdue, but i’m too critical of my writing which makes it so hard to write something i feel is good enough for y’all.. But please leave feedback. It makes writing all this feel worth it! also it’s hard to write angst???
         As soon as your foot was set through the door of your apartment you peeled off the islanders t-shirt. It just made you feel dirty and used. You really wanted to be ok with this and not be upset, maybe you were overthinking your relationship/ friendship/ whatever-ship this was with Mat? Though replaying past events in your mind, you didn’t understand how he could’ve possibly thought inviting his ex-girlfriend to the game was a good idea and it did really seem like the two of you were going to be exclusive, it seemed like he was spending all his free time with you. You both were in contact every single day, how could he have possibly had time to do this to you? It honestly didn’t matter anymore. Changing into sweats, you washed your face trying to get rid of the redness from all the tears you’d let out on the ride home. You just needed to cool down and process things. Flicking on netflix, you settled on watching some John Mulaney special, you were on the market for a pick me up that actually made you laugh out loud. 
         Maybe ten minutes into the special you heard your apartment door buzz, you weren’t expecting any company and it was already past midnight and you didn’t order any take out. Going up to your buzzer, you pressed the ‘talk’ button. “Hello?” you questioned, pressing the listen button to hear the mystery guest had to say. “I just want to talk.” Your heart dropped into your stomach hearing the male voice. “So talk.” You said to Mat. There weren’t any voices he could’ve been confused with. You just wanted to know why he was here and not with Whitney, or more importantly at his own apartment. “Face to face, (Y/N).” 
         Letting out a sigh, you had no idea why, but you pressed the unlock button letting him into your building. Realizing you had a minute or two to yourself before he was able to climb up the stairs in your walk-up, you headed into the kitchen taking out a wine glass and filling it up to the brim. Taking a huge gulp before the knock on the door interrupted you. Behind the door was Mat looking awfully disheveled. His gameday suit was now missing the blazer, and what was formerly a crisp white button down was now a wrinkly wine stained mess. At least you both were on the same page about having a tall glass of wine before you spoke. “So can I come in or are you going to make me stand here?” He said plainly. No smile, no anger in his voice either, his eyes did look tired, but to be fair the boy had just played a professional hockey game. He seemed completely indifferent to the situation. No words exited your mouth, you just stepped to the side opening the door a bit wider so he could make his way into your apartment. Normally he makes himself comfortable on the couch in your living room but he just paced around a little unsure of where to go. Looking at your kitchen counter he let out an uncomfortable laugh seeing the wine, “Looks like we both had the same idea...” he trailed off scratching the back of his neck. 
         “Cut the bullshit.” was the first thing that came out of your mouth. It was so honest that it almost took you by surprise. If Mat being here brought anything good into your life, at least it was a little bit of a backbone. “What are you doing here? You don’t understand what ‘leave me alone’ means?” You said moving into the kitchen, leaving him to follow behind you.
         Looking back you saw his jaw clench, “If I recall your text it was ‘don’t contact me’ which can be interpreted a little differently.” Mat said starting to get a bit angrier in his tone, probably because of the way you were acting, but he deserved it. He really made you look stupid in front of a large group of people you were still getting to know, most of your interactions were while you were intoxicated. Mat had to realize you were in a vulnerable state, he had brought you into his world, and then he did that. “And by the way, have you ever thought about how you embarrassed me?” You were mid-sip of your wine when you choked a little bit, not believing one word of what he was saying. You embarrassing him? All it took was that one little sentence to completely get you in your head. You understood you didn’t quite fit the bill of what a WAG looked like or acted like or how they always came through to games in head to toe designer. Or maybe you embarrassed him in the way you were acting - as if the two of you were a couple? You were unsure, but it quickly made your eyes burn, feeling another round of tears just ready to go. “If you felt that way you should’ve just let me stay home.”
         “If I had known that you would just walk out on me, I probably would’ve.” it’s when he said that the tears started to roll down your face. His face didn’t even show any sort of remorse when he recognized what he said struck a nerve. This wasn’t the Mat you knew. That Mat you’d grown to like so much was much softer, he’d make you laugh at any opportunity and contrary to what he’d let his friends know, he was sensitive. You’d seen him tear up during the episode of the office when Jim and Pam got married. “So you’ve come over here to make me feel worse?” You said quietly not feeling as strong as you had in the beginning of the conversation. “You can leave now, you win. You’ve made me cry… a second time in 24 hours, okay?”
         “I just want to have one honest conversation with you.” Mat said, grabbing the wine glass of your hand and putting it down on the counter looking directly into your eyes. It was the first time his hazel eyes had pierced your soul in a way that made you uncomfortable. This was the first time his gaze made you feel like you weren’t in your own home, but some strange alternate universe. “I’m fucking mad, you know why? I invited this girl, who I thought was cool to come hang out with my friends and I on an important night for me to then make me look like a fucking criminal after.”
         You let out this startled laugh, “Which girl are you referring to? Me or your ex? Because I don’t remember thinking that I was going to be part of some bachelor episode fighting for your attention. Stupidly enough, I thought things between us were going to turn into something.”
         “Yeah, well you sure as hell fooled me too.” Mat spat out.
         “You realize how fucked up in the head you are for inviting two girls to the game, don’t you?” you said, raising your voice, wiping away some of the tears, now letting your sadness turn into anger. You were flopping back and forth between emotions and it was exhausting. “Am I some sort of joke to you? Just a friend who you kiss when your girlfriend is out of town.”
         “Fuck this, I’m going home. Keep feeling bad for yourself, (Y/N). It’s pathetic.” was all that Mat could say as he looked around at everything in your kitchen except for you. “You won’t even let me talk” He said while you let out another laugh, this time exaggerated and loud and full of disdain, you picked up your wine glass taking another large sip, finishing off whatever was left in the glass. “You should be with the girl you flew in from out of town, Matty. She was so thrilled you left her ticket that I’m surprised she let you get away.” you said, doing your best to imitate her voice when you said his name, it still rang so clearly in your head. You could only imagine Whitney being in the passenger seat of his car right now, waiting for this conversation to be over so the two of them could go out on some fancy date at a fancy restaurant where he’d take someone who wasn’t so embarrassing. Maybe that’s why most of your dates had just been at each other's apartments. 
         “If you really think that I did that to you then you’re right. I have no purpose in coming here. You don’t know me at all.” Mat said, he made his way back to the front door of your apartment seeing his clothes in a messy pile. You could see him roll his eyes giving them a kick further in the corner, “You should wash them before finding a way to give them back to me.” and with that he left, slamming the door behind him. 
- - - 
         You hadn’t spoken to Mat for a week, and in hockey season that might as well have counted for a whole month between the home games, away games and travel time. To be fair you hadn’t planned on speaking to him anytime soon, you did though have your friends keep tabs on Whitney, who they reported was on a flight home the morning after the game. What you did know was that the Isles had been on a bit of a losing streak, and it didn’t even bring you the joy you thought it might knowing Mat would be pissed off. You did get a sweet text from Grace inviting you out to lunch though you politely declined saying you were feeling a bit overwhelmed from a busy work week. What you didn’t expect was another buzz at your apartment door. “It’s Meg…” “And Grace.” “And Syd.” You heard the three separate voices, which honestly made you a little bit uncomfortable. You could pretend you weren’t home, or you could tell them you were feeling sick, but both options just felt wrong to a group of girls who’d done nothing but try to make you feel welcome into their group. It was practically an obligation not to leave three pregnant women standing in the chilly october air, so you buzzed them in. 
         “We come with gifts” Megan said when you popped your door open seeing them with brown take away bags from your favorite sushi place. It was all so odd to you knowing that these girls had taken you in a little too prematurely, because surely you were finished with Mat. He had made that very clear the night he left your apartment. He didn’t want much to do with you, and there wasn’t much you wanted to do with him. He’d played you since you’d first met him at Sydney’s wedding. The first strike was him not texting you for weeks, the second being the time Tito interrupted your date to talk about Whitney, the third being the home opener. You had no more chances left to give. Weren’t the early stages of talking to someone supposed to be fun and easy? You’d had the same amount of fun times and dates as fights which was ridiculous. You weren’t made to be some athlete’s girlfriend and Mat had kindly reminded you that during your fight when he called you embarrassing. When you recounted the events to your friends you left that part out, you didn’t want to even bring it up, it just hurt too much. There were a lot of slight digs that you didn’t want to bring up because they hit differently.
         “If i’d known you girls were going to force lunch upon me I would’ve met you at the restaurant instead of making you all walk up four flights of steps.” speaking softly you invited them in to put the bags down on the coffee table in the living room figuring you all could eat there. “Well we have a lot of catching up to do, so this works.” Sydney said bringing in more bags of food, placing them on the table, as Grace held up a bouquet of flowers. “From Mat” she said softly. You gulped, taking them from her, putting them on a side table plucking out the note. “I guess we all have a lot of catching up to do.” you muttered opening up the card beginning to read it aloud. “These don’t even cover half of how sorry I am. I’m -” you stopped reading aloud and silently instead. 
‘These don’t even cover half of how sorry I am. I wasn’t honest with you and I'm miserable thinking of everything I said. I wish I could re-do that conversation at your apartment. Sounds stupid, but it’s even stupider making some florist write out this card. Please call me. - MB.’
         “He’s right, he really is miserable.” Meg said, as you looked up at her, Grace shot her a glare. “Megan… we didn’t read the card.” You couldn’t help but to smile, it felt better having them here as opposed to your other girlfriends. Your girlfriends didn’t quite get it, and they didn’t know Mat. They didn’t understand how in such a short time you had become so connected to Mat and how that was ripped away from you in minutes and a fight that was so meaningless and led to no real resolution. 
         “Well the flowers are lovely, but I don’t think I want to call anyone.” 
         “Just think about it. We can all agree Mat wasn’t himself, it’s fucked.” Grace said, “Now let’s just eat, I’m tired from all those steps. I gotta refuel.” The girls managed to spend the rest of the lunch not pestering you so much, just discussing upcoming halloween plans, babies, and how to get you to go to lunch with them more often. It was refreshing and honestly quite nice. 
- - - 
         It's been another week, and another month in hockey time. Ever since the girls had come to your apartment with their ulterior motives of getting you to talk to Mat, he had stepped his game up. The poor boy had tried to call your cell phone at least five times within the past two days. He managed to sprinkle in some creative ‘miss you’ texts without being so blatantly obvious. Didn’t matter though, as fate would have it you’d find him in a place you least expected it. Right in the middle of a grocery store, with Tito. The two of them laughing in the baking aisle as you watched Tito try to decide between two different boxes of cake mix. You wanted to turn around and run. Leave the cart full of groceries but you’d accidentally bumped into someone else’s cart trying to make the u-turn out of the aisle. “Shit” you mumbled, avoiding eye contact even though you felt their gaze burning into the side of your face. Hearing footsteps behind you and his voice calling out your name you politely turned around. You needed more self restraint. You watched him pick up his pace stepping in front of your cart, gripping onto it so you couldn’t roll it away. “I’ve been calling you. Texting too...” 
         “I don’t really have much to say.” speaking softly staring down at his beat up stan smiths that used to sit at your front entrance because he insisted that his mom raised him properly and he wouldn’t track his mud around your apartment. Slowly raising your gaze you noticed how different he looked since the last time you’d spoken. He just looked exhausted, the dark circles around his eyes a little bit more prominent. You’d recognized that the team was moving into a more game heavy part of their schedule so you tried to excuse it as that, and not the fact he was sending you late night texts trying to fix something that seemed too broken to repair. “I just… don’t have anything to say to someone that thinks so poorly of me.” 
         “(Y/N)” he said, taking in a deep breath, you couldn’t tell where he was going with this, and you knew he didn’t even know where he was going to go with this. He’d already groveled through the card and voicemails. “You know that’s not true at all. I have no problem making a scene in this store if it gets you to let me talk to you for just ten minutes to explain.” 
         “You might embarrass me in the way I embarrassed you.” was all you could say. God, his insults still stung and bringing them up again as you stood in front of him only made your eyes start to well up again. Embarrassing and feeling sorry for yourself, just as he had originally thought. Moving closer to you, he placed his hand gently on your upper arm that was still holding onto the cart. You wanted so badly to pull away, but he felt comforting. Normally with other guys you never had such trouble blowing them off, but everything about being with Mat felt different and maybe that’s why it hurt so much to be betrayed by him. “I think… no, I know my worst trait is speaking out of my ass. Now when can we talk, maybe privately? You deserve a hell of a lot more answers than I was able to give you before.”
         You shook your head looking anywhere other than his eyes that were dead set on you. Biting your lip you just shrugged, “Your place? I do have some shirts to return.” He nodded finally getting what he wanted. Pulling you close by the arm he was holding onto he kissed the top of your head. It wasn’t meant to be flirty, just something he’d done to try and comfort you. You were bothered by how the affection didn’t bother you, it didn’t make you feel any better about your situation, but you also didn’t want to claw his eyes out. “I’m leaving for some away games tomorrow, but I’ll text you later, yeah?”
         “Yeah. I’ll be around.”
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Tech Whiz ~ Matt Devlin - Part 1.
Hey guys, so I recently watched all the episodes of Law and Order: UK that Matt was in and came up with this idea for a story.  Hope you all enjoy and let me know if you want to be tagged in future parts.  Edits will be made later on.
Pairing: Matt Devlin X OC. Summary: Saylor Clarke gets a new job working on the tech aspects of solving the crimes that Ronnie and Matt investigate. She swears to herself that she will not get into any office romances but the more time she spends with Matt the harder it gets not to fall for him. Someone on the sidelines however are always watching their every interacting, when things go to the next level Saylors mystery admirer will make themselves known in the worst way possible. 
Tagging those who showed interest in my post about this story, if you don’t want to be tagged in further parts let me know and i’ll untag it immediately.  Thank you for showing support though <3 @dreamingundone​ , @fyeahmeninroyalnavy​ , @alittlepronetopanic​
Saylor Clarke visuals. 
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As it is for anyone, the first day of walking into a new workplace was a nerve wracking experience. It was only made more daunting as Saylor took in all the bodies dressed in various formal suits and ties, pencil skirts and blazers. 
Of course, Saylor was also dressed presentably, but the big difference between her and her new colleagues was the dip dyed shoulder length emerald hair she sported, the numerous piercings in her ears - which were mainly covered by her hair - and a small green ring through her nostril. 
She was grateful her sleeve tattoo in progress was covered under her blazer or she would have felt even more uneasy than she already did. Her only body art on show was five thin lines encircling four of her fingers. They were dainty and usually most people didn’t even notice them unless they were in close proximity to her. Even so, she loosely clasped her hands into fists in case anyone decided to peer too closely. 
Still, alternative styles evidently were not a popular sight in the The Crown office, because as Saylor walked down the aisles of cubicles, eyes zoned in on her. She tried to remind herself that this was not the first time she’d faced stares over her appearance and that it no way detracted from her professionalism or ability to do her job. That’s all that mattered, and she would remind them all of that in due course. 
Arriving at a standard looking office that overlooked the city, she met DI Natalie Chandler who went over all the necessary debriefing and documentation with her. The woman’s kind nature lifted some of the nerves rattling through her and she hoped she would get to work with Ms Chandler in the future.
Natalie then led her over to the middle of the bustling office to a set of desks where two men had their backs to her. 
“Guys! This is our new tech master, Saylor Clarke.” 
Both of them swung around in their chairs, the older gentleman who sat to the right and she shared a warm smile with him, but what caught Saylor’s was the young man on the left. “I’d like you to meet DS Ronnie Brooks and DS Matthew Devlin.” She smiled, meeting both their gazes in greeting. 
“She’ll be taking over from Angela from today.” Before Natalie walked away she gave both of them a pointed stare. “Be nice! Look after her.” 
“We’re always nice!” Matt called after her playfully then turned on Saylor and she forgot her own name for a breath. “Hey, Mathew Devlin but you can call me Matt.” He held out his hand for her to shake.  Worried her hand would be sweaty due to the first day nerves and her body’s response to meeting someone as striking as Matt before, Saylor hesitated, but suddenly she realised how rude that would look and slipped her hand into his. It enveloped hers and she hoped he didn’t hear the way her breathing jittered at the contact and noticed the electricity that skated up her skin leaving goosebumps in its wake, and she truly hoped he didn’t feel the slight moist covering on her hand. If he clocked onto anything at all, he never let it show as he gave her a friendly grin and returned to his desk. 
With ocean eyes that shamed the carribean shores, sunkissed skin that enhanced every muscular valley in his bare forearms and bone structure that rivaled the godly marbled statues she’d seen at the A&E, it was fair to say Matt might have been the most mesmerizing man she’d ever laid her eyes upon. 
One word came to her mind. Shit.
How was she going to stop herself from crushing on Mr Devlin?
“Ronnie Brooks,” The older man stated, waving a hand. “don’t worry you’ll settle in right away. If you need anything though don’t be afraid to ask us. Me and Matty will be happy to help.” They both offered her bright and reassuring smiles and she felt instantly welcome in their company.  
“Thank you, guys. It’s nice to meet you both. I guess I better go log into my computer, and get it all set up.” Ronnie pointed out her desk which was a little way across the room from theirs, she thanked him and made her way over, cursing herself on the way for being so awkward.
Her first day seemed to flash by, and before she knew it, it was dark outside and people started leaving the office in drips and drabs. Nothing too exciting had happened through the duration of the day. It wasn’t as though she had expected to be thrown straight into the middle of the chaos on day one, but admittedly, lack of productivity had her itching in her seat. 
However, her day was pleasant nonetheless; she had managed to set up her computer almost exactly the way she liked it, she’d gone and spoke to some of her other new colleagues around the office to get to know who she would be working with and had been pleasantly surprised at the warmth she was met with. She shouldn’t have assumed they would judge her based on her looks, she needed to squash that insecurity. 
But mostly, she had chatted with Matt and Ronnie. Apparently, not much was happening in the way of cases, so they had time to tell her about some of their most interesting cases and how tech had helped them catch their criminal in the end. She looked forward to being able to be a part of that team and process in the future. 
Both men were incredibly charming and sweet. She counted herself lucky that she’d been put in an office with such lovely company. Ronnie was instantly like a father figure to her, he seemed gentle and caring and she was in no doubt that he’d be the first to her aid if she needed it. Matt on the other hand spoke to her in a more flirtatious manner, which of course she could never honestly say she minded. It was actually an honour to have such a beautiful man trade playful banter with her, but she had to remind herself that this was her work place now and no matter how she may want to, nothing past friendship was to be permitted between the two of them. 
There was only one person she met in that office that first day that made her uncomfortable; Mike had walked up to her desk, and she could tell right off the bat that this man was typically shy. Knowing this feeling all too well she greeted him warmly, but as soon as he started speaking she got an unsettling feeling from the interaction. She couldn’t, however, put her finger on what exactly it was that was making her so uneasy about the man who had only said one word to her. 
After the single interaction though, she didn’t see him for the rest of the day so she brushed it off and buried herself in customising her systems to her personal preference. 
At the end of the day, she was at her desk switching everything off when she felt someone approach her from behind. She sent a silent prayer that whoever it was, it wasn’t Mike. Regardless, of the lack of action she’d seen through the day, she still felt drained from all the information she’d had to retain and had no energy left to try to understand him.
“How are you getting home?” 
Turning, a jolt of excitement spiked through her fatigue when she saw Matt standing a few feet from her wrapping his scarf around his neck. “Not to sound creepy or anything, I just thought It would be decent of me to offer you a lift seen as it’s pitch black outside and you said earlier that you live on the other side of London.” 
She smiled not only at how genuinely adorable this man was with his slight pout, but also at the fact he remembered when she’d idly said where she lived. Then she quickly reminded herself not to overthink his basic capacity to listen to information. She couldn’t let her head run amok. “Thank you Matt, that’s really nice that you thought of me. But I have my bike.” 
“Bike? As in a peddle bike? I mean I could probably fit it in the back of my car. London traffic in the dark isn’t the nicest to people on bikes.” 
“Erm, no, my motorbike.” Matt looked taken aback at this. Saylor simply laughed at his surprised expression.
They both started for the door. “Okay this I have to see!” She looked at him confused but she couldn’t hide the amusement on her face. “Oh no I didn’t mean you riding a motorbike I meant the actual bike.”  
 “Sure! You can come meet Alvin.” 
Matt stopped in his tracks in the middle of the foyer, Saylor stopping a step in front of him, eyebrows raised. “What?”
“You named your bike after a chipmunk?”
She burst out laughing at the remark, envisioning the small rodent in question. “No.” she shook her head. “I named my bike after the Glam Rock star Alvin Stardust, a childhood favourite.” Sniggering to herself as she walked out of the revolving doors. 
Matt was close on her heels as she walked to where her bike was parked on the side of the street. Stopping in front of it, she reached inside of her jacket to grab the key for the little storage box on the back of the bike.
“Matt meet Alvin, Alvin meet Matt.” 
“Wow, such a beautiful bike.” Matt slowly walked around observing every detail of the vehicle. 
“Thanks. I try to keep him in tip top shape.” Matt paused again looking over the bike to Saylor who had finally freed her helmet from the box. 
“You do maintenance on the bike yourself?” 
She looked up to find Matt staring at her in something akin to awe. “Yeah, I won't let anyone else touch him.” 
She got up on the bike and started up the engine. Itroared to life.
Putting on the helmet, she turned to Matt one last time. “If you’re lucky one day I might let you ride him, I’ll see you tomorrow.” She winked at him, closed the visor and as Matt walked back to the pavement, he watched as she safely pulled out and sped off. 
The last look on his face said it all; maybe she wasn’t the only one that was going to struggle toeing the line between friendship and something more. 
...............
The next morning was uneventful, but Saylor didn’t mind too much. It gave her additional time to settle in and socialise some more. Which included Matt.
When she got home the previous night she couldn’t shake the smile from her face. Her interactions with him the previous day had left her feeling like a campfire had ignited in her stomach and set a flock of butterflies into a frenzy above. 
“Hey, a few of us are heading out for something to eat tonight if you would care to join us?” She turned in her chair to find Matt and Ronnie stood behind her with hopeful smiles on their faces. 
“Sure, why not.” She leaned back in her chair and grinned at them both.
“I hope I’m invited too.” 
As if out of nowhere, Mike appeared beside Saylor, that uneasy feeling came back to her. She shifted in her chair then glanced at Matt who seemed to sense her unease. He moved to perch himself on the corner of Saylor’s desk, putting himself between them. She looked up at him and gave him a silent ‘Thank you!’
“Sure. Everyone's invited.” Ronnie chimed in. 
Saylor and Matt both snapped their heads to Ronnie. Obviously, he hadn’t read the room, but it was too late. Mike said he would meet them at the pizza place later and had walked off.  
Unable to pinpoint exactly what it was about Mike that gave her the creeps, she felt a little bad, but every time he was near her, the hair on the back of her neck would stand up and she had the greatest desire to be as far away from him as possible. 
“Jeez, Ronnie, why’d you invite him? Can’t you see that he makes Saylor uncomfortable?” 
Ronnie looked at Saylor, confused. 
“Does he make you uncomfortable? I can go over and uninvite him?” Ronnie started walking to Mike's desk but Saylor reached out an arm and stopped him. 
“No, no. It’s okay. I’m probably just overreacting, he’s probably a really nice person, I have to give him a chance. Besides this is only my second day, he barely said two words to me. Can’t be making enemies straightaway, can I?” She smiled at them both, trying to be as lighthearted as she could. Ronnie said a simple okay as he walked back to his desk.
“Did you bring the bike today?” Matt said still perched on her desk, she swung back round to face her computer. 
“I got a cab today actually, I never ride when it’s raining.” She chuckled to herself. “One of my mum's rules, actually. I understand though. Plus, I’d rather not turn up to work drenched.” 
“So, you’ll be getting a cab home?” 
She just nodded as she typed away on the keypad. If someone would have asked her what she was working on she wouldn’t have been able to answer. It was hard to concentrate when she had such a handsome man distracting her. 
“Or I could give you a lift after the pizza place, I mean I’m the designated driver so....” 
She stopped typing and looked up, catching his eye. “Sure, I guess it saves me some money. Unless you want gas money which I will happily provide.” 
“Don’t worry about it. Just buy me a coke at the pub.” He snapped his finger and pointed at her with a wide grin.
“You got it.” She tilted her head as she looked at him, matching his grin. 
“Great, I guess I’ll meet you back here when it’s time to leave.” Nodding again, she watched as he got up from the desk and walked away with the biggest smile on his lips.
Sighing, she knew she’d spend the rest of the day trying not to overanalyse said smile and tame the butterflies wreaking havoc inside her.
By the end of her second morning she’d already made some amazing friends. She just hoped that it would stay like that, that she wouldn’t ruin this job for herself like she did the last one.
No way would she let that happen again.
Time ticked by ever so slowly. Every time she looked at the clock, only mere minutes had passed. Now and then, she’d peer over to Matt’s desk. Most of the time he’d have his back to her, but sometimes he’d be talking to Ronnie and would catch her eye, a dazzling smile appearing on his face.
She didn’t have the adequate vocabulary to describe how adorable Matt Devlin truly was.
After her lunch, she’d been given some work to do which she became immersed in, completely forgetting about the time and what was happening around her. She only became aware of her surroundings again when Ronnie placed a warm hand on her shoulder. 
“You ready?” 
She looked up to him smiling down at her, she saved her work and switched off the computer. “More than ready.” Grabbing her bag and jacket, she met Ronnie by the door. 
“Matt just had to go drop off some paperwork, he said he’d meet us by the car.” Nodding, she followed Ronnie out to the back parking lot. 
Less than a minute later, Matt came strolling over to them smiling, swinging his keys around his finger.
Ronnie let Saylor ride shotgun, even though she insisted she would be fine in the back seat.  “It’s the most gentlemanly thing to do.”  He smiled as he got into the back. She looked at Matt over the roof of the car rolling her eyes but got in the font anyway. 
When they reached the little pizza place, they found a booth near the back and settled in. Once Matt had taken his coat and scarf off, he got the drink orders and went to the bar. 
Ronnie and Saylor were having a full blown conversation when the bell above the door chimed, indicating that someone had entered the restaurant. 
Both looking up at the noise, they could see four people entering and looking around. Saylor only recognised one of the people. Mike.
“Oh god.” 
She shook her head and looked to Ronnie.
“What is it?” She enquired. 
“That women behind Mike, she’s from the evidence team. Completely obsessed with Matt, finds any excuse to come up to the office to see him.” He sniggered, evidently amused.
“Honestly, can’t say I blame her.” Saylor laughed at the surprise on Ronnie’s face. 
“I’ll remember that remark!” He jokingly threatened her, but before Saylor could reply, the group had reached their table, and the women who Ronnie had pointed out sat down next to Saylor. 
“I’ll go help Matt with the drinks now we have more people.” Ronnie got up and headed to where Matt still stood at the bar. 
Saylor just stared after him in complete disbelief that he had left her with a bunch of strangers. 
Not even a second after Ronnie had left his seat, Mike slid in the booth next to her. She tried her damn hardest not to shift away from him when he shuffled in closer to her. 
Finally, the two men came back from the bar, hands full of drinks and distributed them out to everyone. She caught Matt's eye when he handed her, her drink then his eyes shifted to both sides of her. His eyes showed concern but he mouthed a ‘sorry’ to her. Replying with a gentle smile, she let him know she was okay. For now. 
“Hey, I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. My name is Alice! and this is Chase, we work in the evidence lab.” Alice held out her hand which Saylor shook, then proceeded to shake Chase’s hand as well, of which he held onto her hand a second longer but then just smiled at her and sat back into the booth. 
“Saylor, I’m the new tech wiz in the office.” She changed her attention back to Alice who was now sizing her up. 
“Oh, lucky you. You get to be in the office all the time and be around Matt.” Saylor looked to Matt who was conversing with Ronnie and tried to think innocent and professional thoughts. 
“He’s an amazing person. I mean I’ve only known him for two days and he’s been nothing but kind to me.” 
“He’s more than amazing. Have you seen him? He’s so yummy. If only he could see how amazing I am, I’d take him straight home and do nasty things with him.” Saylor was taken aback by the way Alice was talking about one of her coworkers. 
All she could do was laugh uncomfortably and turn away hoping to end the conversation but she forgot that the person on the other side of her was Mike. She was trapped. 
“Don’t take no notice of her, she has no filter and has been completely obsessed over Matt for years.” Chase reached over and moved Alice out of his way so he could sit next to Saylor. “I’ve heard way worse come from her mouth about that man.” Saylor gave the man a ‘oh god’ look but smiled at him anyway, glad that finally she was sitting next to someone she could converse with normally. 
The rest of the meal was relatively normal. Although she missed the time with Ronnie and Matt, she found that Chase was also someone she could see herself calling a friend in the future. He’d also saved her when Mike shifted unbearably close to her so again, but then Chase switched seats meaning she was back next to Alice, and she’d take that over sitting next to Mike any day.
When they were getting ready to leave, Chase also offered her a lift home but she had to decline, looking up to see Matt waiting for her by the door, his sparkling eyes dancing in the candlelight. “Thank you, that’s really kind, but Matt already promised me a lift home. Thank you for saving me tonight, twice!” She laughed. 
“No problem. Anytime.” Then he did something unexpected. He grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it. She didn’t know how to react so she just smiled and waved her goodbyes. 
“You ready?” Matt smiled at her, opening the door. 
“Yes.” She walked out into the rain, Ronnie trailing behind her and the three made their way to the car parked just outside. 
They dropped Ronnie off first and bid their goodnights to him, and then for the first time that night, it was just the two of them. 
Saylor gave him the directions to her flat before any conversations started. 
“Seems you have many admirers already!” 
Saylor chuckled and turned to look at Matt, the streetlights highlighting his sharp features as they drove. “That's funny because I hear you have admirers too!” 
“Urg, if you’re talking about Alice, I don’t want to hear about it. She’s a nice person and I respect her but agreeing to go on a date with her was one of the worst decisions I've ever made.” He glanced at Saylor in the passenger seat to see her beaming at him.
“You went on a date with her? I bet that was eventful!.” 
“Oh! it was, but I’m not going to give you the satisfaction of hearing about it.” Saylor huffed out a ‘spoil sport’ and went back to facing the front of the car.
“Did you enjoy tonight?” 
“I did, everyone’s so nice. Shame I didn’t get to speak to you and Ronnie much. I was kind of trapped between Alice and Mike, who, for some reason I can’t put my finger on why, but he gives me the creeps.” She shivered in her seat. 
“Yeah, I could see how uncomfortable you were with him earlier.” 
“Luckily Chase was there to put a barrier between us.” She didn’t look but she could tell he was glancing at her. 
“Ah Chase! think he has a thing for you.” They both looked at each other when Saylor laughed out loud. 
“Yeah well nothing will come of it. For one, he’s a nice guy, but I don’t feel any attraction towards him. And secondly, I promised myself long ago not to date coworkers.” Matt's face fell, and for a moment she thought she saw disappointment in his eyes, but it was only a flash. 
She couldn’t say anymore though as he pulled up to her apartment. 
Looking up at her door, she sighed. She’d told Matt that about coworker relationships, but every time they were close, all she wanted to do was be in his arms and just feel his arms wrapped around her.  
She opened the door but turned back to Matt. “Thank you for being so kind to me in my first few days and for dropping me off home.” 
He smiled in reply and she wondered if she’d ever get tired of that smile. She doubted it.
Without time to think it through, she reached over the centre console and kissed him on the cheek. Once she realised what she had done, she moved back a bit to read his reaction, but all she saw was shock and happiness all mixed together,  and gods, she really wanted to kiss him. She could see he wanted the same as his eyes travelled down to her lips. 
But she couldn’t let it happen. 
So, she pulled back further and finally got out of the car. 
“Goodnight Matt.”
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darksideofparis · 2 years
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miss paris what I would give to read your 10xAva and your 09xshareen fics... do you have any idea when you may get to them? please can we get some crumbs?
So, I have absolutely no idea when I'm going to get around to Ava and Shareen's fics. I'm really just concentrating on trying to finish up 'Pros and Cons'. BUT, I'm more than happy to provide some breadcrumbs!
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So, starting off with Ava, she comes in in Series 2, not long after the events of 'The Age of Steel'/'Rise of the Cybermen' for the Doctor and Rose. She's working as an assistant to as yet unknown actress Lauren Bacall while the latter is filming To Have and Have Not, her first of four films with Humphrey Bogart.
Ava's story is essentially my love letter to classic Hollywood films and we'll see her working behind the scenes on several notable movies of the Golden Age. Some of those films include other Bogie/Bacall pairings such as The Big Sleep, and Bogie leading films The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and The African Queen.
Ava is also an aspiring writer/costumer. When we first meet her, she's trying to work on a script to submit to Warner Bros. (assuming she can work up the nerve to submit anything to the notorious Jack Warner, head of the studio), but she eventually comes to the realization that her writing better suits novels. And let's just say she's got some pretty unique inspiration in the form of a certain madman and his blue police box. . .
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Now onto my girl, Shareen! We meet her in 'Aliens of London', where, upon learning that her BFF Rose Tyler is newly returned from a year-long disappearance, she immediately rushes over to the Powell Estate and is soon sucked up into her best friend's new world of aliens and time travel.
Shareen is Troublemaker With a Heart of Gold. There's nothing more she loves than getting into mischief, making her an excellent candidate as a companion. But she's also willing to help people in need, and if that means getting into trouble because of it, that's all right.
Similar to how Ava's series is devoted to Hollywood cinema, Shareen's series is all about the true crime. This is a girl who loves true crime podcasts (and even ends up starting one!), counts Forensic Files as being one of her favorite TV shows, and can rattle off serial killer trivia the way most of her peers can rattle off football team stats. The Doctor strongly suspects Shareen wants to actually meet a famous serial killer, but this is something Shareen strongly denies. Though I'm strongly considering doing an original adventure a la the Legends of Tomorrow episode 'Slay Anything', so you never know. . .
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asilentguardian · 3 years
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My Thoughts on Gotham
My mom and I finished watching Gotham on December 29th, and this analysis has been sitting in google docs since then. Some of this is a bit incoherent, some of it I wrote as I was watching, and some of it I wrote after finishing the entire show. So here it is. 2,000 words or so of rambling about Gotham. 
My thoughts on the show as a whole: Gotham changed my opinion on a lot of Batman’s villains. I used to be indifferent towards Penguin, now I love him. I used to hate Firefly, now I love her. While there were one or two decisions that I disagreed with, the portrayal of these characters was satisfying and the tone of the show as a whole was refreshing. The writing was good for the most part, however there are issues with sexism and homophobia that I personally noticed.
And now I’m going season by season cause I’m a nerd.
Season One
Season one is a bit of a mixed bag for me. It seemed to me that the show writers and the younger actors were still trying to find their footing and decide what kind of world their Gotham was. Some episodes are slow, but overall it’s intriguing and I was invested after a couple of episodes.
The pilot has a lot of moving parts and it still works. They did a good job of intertwining all of these characters before starting them all on their own paths.
I can’t imagine anyone else playing these roles. I am really happy with the casting choices for this show. Jim Gordon, Harvey Bullock, and Bruce Wayne especially.
Fish Mooney is an interesting but welcome edition! To be honest, the first time my mom and I tried to watch Gotham, we hated her. The second time around, however, I LOVED her and her role in the rise of Penguin.
Having Edward Nygma start at the GCPD was a really cool idea! I think they executed his descent into madness perfectly. I wanted Ed to prevail and to be a goodman just as much as I wanted to see the Riddler emerge.
Speaking of the GCPD, the corruption and the conflict within the precinct is very believable and compelling. It’s easy to believe that Jim Gordon is a young and optimistic detective who believes wholeheartedly in doing good. I also appreciate the fact that Jim Gordon doesn’t lose that drive for good throughout the show. I also don’t find it too cheesy, even if it’s a common trope.
The Batman universe is huge so I was expecting references and easter eggs at every turn, and I was half right. There's plenty of references and cameos but they work and they aren’t essential to the plot which helps casual fans keep up with the story.
A lot of seeds are planted during this first season, and it’s rewarding to see them pay off. I don’t feel as if the first season suffers from the thing that a lot of movies do where they are clearly trailers for the next part in the franchise. 
I think my favorite episode of this season is episode 20 “Under the Knife.” The stakes are high and the story line with the Ogre is definitely unexpected and horrifying but in the best way. Also Ed kills Dougherty and it’s very satisfying.
Season Two
Rise/Wrath of the Villains!
Theo Galavan and Hugo Strange were the big bads of this season and I think they were written and acted very well.
Something I’ve noticed about some of the villains on this show and their interactions with children and Bruce in particular is that they’re... unsettling. I suppose that’s intentional and I definitely think it makes some of the villains more intimidating, but it’s really creepy. There are a lot of adults that are preying on Bruce’s innocence in this show. 
Theo Galavan was not my favorite. He was intimidating for a bit, but I kinda grew bored of him. I did enjoy the nod to Azrael. 
Hugo Strange! I was kinda indifferent to him when playing Arkham City but I enjoy him in this show! Loved when he showed up again in subsequent seasons and you immediately knew some Fucked Shit was happening.
So Mr. Freeze. I’m not too sure how I feel about Gotham’s take on this story. The casting is solid, but killing Nora? Not the move. Actually very angry about that to be honest. The Mr. Freeze episode could’ve been so much more compelling and emotional but instead it was a way to move Lee and Jim’s relationship forward :(
They managed to make Firefly not annoying, but I only found Firefly annoying before because of that stupid boss fight in Arkham Origins. But I liked Bridget.
Penguin and Nygma’s relationship is very fun in this season! More on them later, but at least in season two it’s very enjoyable to watch them learn to trust each other. My mom and I adored their story line.
I LOVE Nygma’s character arc in this season. His interactions with Gordon are some of my favorite bits from this season. They are very rewatchable and I find their relationship to be one of the more intriguing ones in the show.
Overall season 2 was decent. Some of the villains were forgettable, but the relationship arcs and character arcs that were compelling kept me interested.
Episode 15, Mad Grey Dawn, was one of my favorites this season. Seeing the Nygma v Gordon thing play out was so so so fun. I really loved being able to follow Nygma’s logic and feel Gordon’s frustration at being framed.
Season Three
Mad City/Heroes Rise!
There’s A LOT I have to say about season 3. I liked it. There’s a couple of big issues I have with season 3, but overall it was compelling and I enjoyed it.
While I’m not usually one for the “this character has a darkness inside of them” trope, I really didn’t mind it with Gordon. I thought it was believable and interesting enough to be engaging. bounty hunter Gordon was pretty fun, too. And hot. Anyway.
The Mad Hatter v Jim Gordon stuff is intense. Episode 6 where Gordon is forced to choose between Valerie and Lee is where the “dark side” trope lost me a little but I do like that they make a point to have Gordon always make his way back to the light. Valerie’s exit felt very rushed and sudden? I don’t know if the actress was written off for some reason, but it felt very weird.
So. Penguin and Nygma. I don’t know if I would necessarily call it queer-baiting, but it definitely doesn’t sit right with me. Here’s the thing about Gotham’s queer representation: it’s not good, but it’s not bad. There is 100% an issue with making all of your queer characters villains. And there’s a HUGE issue with having Barbara’s attraction to women only be present when she’s a) acting as an antagonist to Gordon’s work at the GCPD (Montoya in season one) or b) on the side of the antagonist and framed as crazy (Tabitha in season two). Also, notice how in season five she’s “sane” when she’s with Gordon. It’s homophobia luv.
However, in the case of Penguin and Nygma, the added layer of Penguin’s love for Nygma makes their arc a little more interesting and compelling (there’s still an issue with queer love being framed as toxic and obsessive in this show, but if I don’t stop talking about that this post will be miles long).
The Ivy thing is certainly a new plot device, but I don’t hate it. Took a bit to get used to, but older Ivy makes sense and to be honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of child Ivy. Not that her character was bad, but I personally found her a tad annoying.
SEASON 3 EPISODE 14. THE GENTLE ART OF MAKING ENEMIES. I HAVE A LOT TO SAY ABOUT THIS. Bruce’s character development in this episode made me extremely happy. I haven’t talked a lot about Jerome-Joker yet, but I really like him. Joker is one of those characters you can take a lot of liberties with and it can either really work or really suck (looking at you Jared Leto). Gotham’s version of Joker, while a bit rushed, is a good fucking Joker.
The reason why I like s3e14 so much is THIS is what the Joker vs Batman relationship is about. This is why they are perfect foils. Batman always has a reason, a method. Motivation and a cause. He believes in Gotham and he believes that EVERYONE has the capacity for good. Joker does things just for the hell of it (i.e. kidnapping Bruce). His point is anarchy and chaos. His point is that everyone has darkness and that they are “one bad day” away from giving into that darkness (subtle nods to The Killing Joke, very nice). This is illustrated SO beautifully in this episode. However, I do see an issue down the line of Joker knowing who Batman is instantly, but I digress.
The birth of Riddler! The development of Penguin and Riddler’s animosity! mwah!
Also. Bruce standing above Gotham in an early version of the suit. There’s no ears or cape but my mom and I were VERY excited. I felt so giddy.
Bruce’s vow not to kill was beautifully framed, props to the DP on that one. It felt nice to hear a live action version of Bruce Wayne say that. (Note from the future: yes he breaks it. Sorta. I’m mad about it, but I explain my feelings in depth later).
Season Four
A Dark Knight!
Alright. Season 4. To be honest, it took me a while to warm up to this one.
Scarecrow. Love his costume. Love his escape. Scarecrow is one of my favorites because he’s creepy and cool and terrifying. Well done. The episode where Jim goes after him is really brutal. He goes there alone, not even Harvey by his side, and he is forced to stare his biggest fear in the face. I loved it!
The Pax Penguina. I’m easily won over by references to old literature and history. This show has made me actually like Penguin. I used to find him annoying and didn’t understand why he was people’s favorite, but this show has proved him to be a competent and cunning villain. I love to hate him. It’s fun seeing him at the top of Gotham.
Riddler’s escape and Nygma’s return. His friendship with Lee and Grundy (Grundy!!). Ed and Lee was certainly an interesting choice. I didn’t hate it, it just seemed really odd. I enjoyed Lee’s rise to power though! 
Sofia Falcone. Not really a fan tbh. Didn’t trust her from the start and it was SO satisfying to see her get shot in the head. Talk about a ruthless mastermind. To be fair, I did love to hate her in the beginning, but then she kinda got on my nerves? The actress that played her was really good though!
Captain James Gordon. Yessir. What a legend. One step closer to Commissioner. But also ouchie he had to go behind Harvey’s back. That subplot hurt so good.
Professor Pyg is. A lot. Gotham is a mature show, but it’s hard to like Pyg even as a villain. He’s unsettling and his episodes are a bit too much. I tolerated him but it just got to be gratuitous. I will say that I am relieved that they weren’t heavy handed on the cross-dressing thing. Would prefer not to see that played for a joke anymore, and this show does not need to vilify queerness more than it has.
Jerome and Jeremiah! ahhhhh!!! What wonderful interpretations of the Joker! Jerome was great, but I think I’m partial to Jeremiah. Maybe because his costume looks so much like the Joker from the animated series and Mark Hamill will always be my Joker. Either way, I LOVED their story line in season 4.
Kinda love Barbara being involved in the League. Very sexy of her. Also very sexy of her to not be dead. 
Alright. Here we go. Ra’s Al Ghul and Bruce Wayne. I have mixed feelings about this. So Bruce kills. Technically he’s not Batman yet, and obviously Ra’s didn’t stay dead, but he already took the oath. I have a hard time staying with any adaptation that makes their Batman a killer, but this one wasn’t awful? And then technically Barbara uses Bruce’s hands to kill Ra’s in the finale. I’m upset that they went with a “what if Batman kills” story line in the first place, but the resolution wasn’t too terrible.
Those last three episodes of season 4. Wow. My mom and I couldn’t stop watching. The nods to The Killing Joke were cool but not too on the nose. The stakes felt high and I was so deeply invested because this story line in particular was very well crafted and planned out and it definitely shows. There’s so many loose ends at this finale, and somehow it works and you still have hope. But holy shit, those bridges coming down, the utter panic and confusion as you’re wondering “is X person okay? what happened to X?” wonderful, chefs kiss.
Season Five
Legend of the Dark Knight!
Oh gosh. I have so much I want to say, but I don’t know how to put it into words. I loved this season. I loved the post apocalyptic vibes of Gotham. Loved the rise of the villains into the people who will one day face Batman. Loved Gordon’s leadership and rise to Commissioner. There’s a few things I have issues with this season, but I’m just so in love with that finale. What a beautiful send off.
I loved how the finale was crafted, how we didn’t see the full Batman suit till the end. I did, in fact, cry when that thing was revealed. The score was beautiful. It felt so much like an episode of The Animated Series, yet so unlike any other piece of Batman media. It was so refreshing to have everything wrapped up nicely, so refreshing to have hope and satisfaction in a finale.
Overall, this version of Gotham City feels like a living, breathing thing that is lived in and flawed. It is wonderful. The set designers did wonderfully and it feels so timeless in the way that the Animated Series did as well. I think that’s part of the reason why I loved this show so much. It made me feel the same way that the Animated Series did.
I know I’ve missed a lot of details and plot lines, so if for some reason you are interested in my thoughts on a particular thing in this show, my inbox is open!!
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HAIKYUU IS BACK AND SO HERE I AM 
listen folks, season 4 has come. my crops are flourishing, my skin is clear, i’ve been revived. i cried and watched the opening 4 times, i’ve watched the episodes 3x now. Kuroo has always owned me and bITCH he still does. 
as usual, i have no shame, so have this professor Kuroo x  grad student reader that turned surprisingly angsty (my heart is so full with s4 that idk how it ended that way). i dont even care how cliche this is, im so weak for stuff like this. also i have no idea if this field is even a thing but i dont care 
warnings: suggestive nsfw, angst 
will there be a part 2? who knows 😉 (spoiler, there is...and three and four)
as usual, 💖 J
~
You weren’t exactly sure what you were expecting what your faculty member that you’d be working with for your graduate career to be like, but it had been more along the lines of: crotchety old man, white hair, still sporting tweed suit jackets from the seventies. It definitely never crossed your mind that a young man, probably around your age, you’d guess a bit older since he was already a faculty member, would greet you on your first day.
You also weren’t expecting him to be fucking drop dead gorgeous—and you mean ovary melting, cliché totally swooning material. Never in your life have you felt so nervous around a person before. It really wasn’t fair in the slightest. And on top of it all, he was amiable. The two of you got along swimmingly, half in part to how close you are in age and the other half since you’re both mad about biotechnology.
You tried. You really did. Tried not to develop a crush on him. But the more you got to know him, the more days spent together, you felt yourself falling deeper and deeper because it wasn’t just about looks anymore. You liked him. A lot too. You can’t even explain why. You learned rather quickly he’s no lady killer like he’s looks suggested—oh no. He’s the biggest dork you’ve ever met.  And now you’re head over heels with no hope of going back. It was a rather futile attempt to resist it.
Sitting at your desk, you rub your hands over your face trying to get those thoughts out of your head. Or at least shove them to the far depths of your brain so you can continue to act like everything is fine and not like your heart is going to overwork itself anytime he’s anywhere near you. And god—was that getting increasingly difficult. With your first year ending and presenting your research at the National Biotech Conference coming up, the two of you have been spending more and more late nights in the lab together. Alone.
You might as well dig your grave now.
Just a few nights ago the night ended early because he set off the fire alarm making a hot pocket. The two of you too enamored with the project to notice the microwave on the verge of combusting. Why the hell he put it in there for five minutes was beyond you, but he tried to explain that he was planning on taking it out before the timer ran out. The memory of it makes the corner of your mouth quirk upward.
“You bored out of your mind already?” A voice teases from behind you, making you to jolt in your seat.
Speak of the devil.
You turn in your chair to find none other than the root of your problems: Dr. Kuroo. Jesus fuck you can barely look straight at him without feeling some sort of nerves ball up in your stomach.
Giving him a weak smile, you say, “Those all-nighters are really getting the best of me.”
His eyes soften and christ—you need medical help to deal with the way your heart is stuttering in your chest. By the end of this conversation you’re going to need a defibrillator with the way he smiles at you sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. “Riiiight. About those….” He avoids your gaze and you already know what’s coming.
“Another one tonight?”
He sighs. “Yeah. Sorry about that. We’re just really down to the wire now. I want to make sure everything is set.”
You wave him off, there’s nothing to apologize for. You knew what you were getting into here. And you know it’s only his second conference as a distinguished member of the community, so he has a standard to uphold.
A startled gasp escapes you when his voice appears right next to your goddamn ear, his warm breath against your skin practically sending you into a frenzy. “You working on the statistics?” The nod you give him is almost imperceptible, afraid any movements from you are going to give away how his proximity is making you feel. His eyes scan your screen before patting you on the shoulder. “Looks good so far, send it to me when you’re done.”
You let out a breath of relief you didn’t know you were holding when he moves away.
How the fuck are you going to survive the next year?
Hell—how are you going to survive a week-long convention with him?
As he heads back to his own desk, Kuroo glances warily around the office to make note of any suspicious onlookers. It’s been harder and harder to keep that professional line with you, and every public conversation you shared he was highly aware to not slip into his easy mannerisms he found himself indulging in during all those late nights. Because fuck him—he liked you. Why did he of all the options get assigned the one graduate student who is his age and is fucking gorgeous on top of your academic prowess?
He never stood a chance.
He is barreling straight towards an academic violation at full speed and his brakes are broken. That’s how bad it is.
But goddamn he can keep it in his pants for the sake of his job and your career.
That sentiment went to shit that night.
You’re late, which almost never happens. He can count on one hand the times you’ve been late. And you always texted him with your ETA and an explanation but tonight…silence. He knows you haven’t left, he saw you a little over an hour ago speaking to Dr. Yu, and a quick trip to your desk confirms it; all your stuff is still here.
He’s lucky to catch Dr. Yu on his way out, asking if he knows of your whereabouts. “You haven’t seen her?” His brows lift. “Must’ve gotten caught up in the library. Said she was going to stop by there before your meeting.”
Kuroo does an excellent job of hiding his confusion. Meeting? Is that what you’ve been disguising your all-nighters with him as to your colleagues?
That means you feel there’s a reason to keep it a secret.
Or is he reading too far into it?
Nonetheless, he strides towards the library, irked to find most of the lights off and it utterly silent inside. He checks the table area first, then peruses the shelf, peeking down each to see if you’re actually in here. It’s likely you already left and are now waiting for him in the lab in the time since he’s begun looking for you.
He finds you in one of the farthest corners of the library and it isn’t until he approaches you does he realize the situation he’s just put the two of you in.
Alone.
In the dark library.
You’re sat deep into an armchair, legs curled up underneath you, head resting on your hand while you flip through the pages of a book sitting in your lap. You look so picturesque he can’t help but stare for a few seconds before clearing his throat to alert you to his presence.
He scares the absolute shit out of you.
Leaping out of the chair, the book clattering to the floor, you shout, “Holy fu—Dr. Kuroo! You can’t just do that!” Then you blink, like your brain is catching up to you, then you frantically check your watch and outwardly groan. “I knew I should have set an alarm. Sorry, just lost track of time back here.” Smirking softly, he takes a step forward, bending to pick up the book sprawled on the floor. He hands it to you, your fingertips brushing his, a jolt of lightning spearing through you at the contact.
Every sense of yours is filled with his presence, your head clouded with thoughts of what if you just…closed that gap. What would happen if you took just one step forward? Would he let you run your hands over his chest, snaking around his neck to tangle into his dark hair? What would it feel like to press your body against his?
Holy hell—you need to get out of here.
It’s then that you realize you’ve been staring at him.
And that he’s holding your gaze, his golden eyes locked onto yours. The air is so charged you feel like your entire body is buzzing, urging you to indulge in the thoughts swirling in your head. You open your mouth to break the silence, grasping at any sense of logic you have left to end this dangerously tempting situation.
Kuroo’s last strand of self-control splintered the moment he caught you staring at him so intently. The same thoughts weaving through his head as yours, the fantasy he’s had for months now of holding you against him, his lips pressed to yours, is so tantalizingly close he can barely stand it.
So, he comes to decision. Before this opportunity eludes him, he has to act now. He watches as your mouth opens, your better judgement clearly still intact, and before you can get a word out, he leans down to kiss you. His hands finding their way to your waist, tugging you to him, he’s pleasantly delighted to find you sink into him. Your own hands reaching up to curl into his shirt, soft mouth moving against his own, he almost groans at how you’re reacting to him.
He’s intoxicating, the way his fingers are digging into the skin of your waist, how his tongue slips into your mouth, you can barely keep your feet underneath you. What’s even more exhilarating to you is that he initiated this.
He wanted you too.
The thought makes you a bit dizzy.
When he feels your hands travel from his collar to slip your fingers through his hair, this time he can’t help it, a deep pleased sound escaping him, rumbling through your entire body and sending heat straight to your core. Jesus Christ this man his going to be the absolute death of you.
“Fuck,” he mutters, his hands roam from your waist to cup your ass, using the leverage to press you even closer to him, letting you feel just what exactly you’re doing to him. All he can think is that he wants more, he wants you underneath him, chest heaving, moaning his name and no one else’s. With that on his mind, he splays his fingers out underneath your thighs, intending on lifting your legs around him.
The action turns your brain back on, the gears working hard through the haze clouding your mind, realizing where exactly this is going. Your sense of reason finally coming through, screaming: Stop! What the fuck are you doing?! Instinctively, you shove him away from you.
He blinks in surprise as he stumbles back into the bookshelf, thrown off by your sudden rejection.
Your heart crumbles seeing his hurt expression. It’s no use denying it anymore. You want him. So bad that you were this close to throwing all caution to the wind just now. But you can’t, not under the circumstances. He is your colleague. Your superior. What the hell were you thinking?!
Steeling your resolve, you say quietly, “Kuroo…I—That…that shouldn’t have happened.”
You can’t even look at him, too afraid of what will happen if you do.
He knows you’re lying.
He stares at you for a moment, considering all his options. Truly, he’d like to just gather you up in his arms, assuring you everything will be fine, and kissing your worries away until you melt beneath him again. But he knows that’s crossing the line. Instead, he settles on making his feelings clear. He wants you to know where he stands. He doesn’t want you to think what just happened meant nothing to him. But he’s willing to give you space to put your thoughts together.
“I need you to look at me,” he says.
You bite your lip. “I can’t.” Now your throat feels tight with the effort of keeping tears at bay. Why is it like this? Why did you have to meet him in this way? He says your name like a command, so you ball your fists in determination and raise your watery eyes to meet his.
With such surety and resolve it just about makes you burst into tears, he tells you clearly, “I’m so head over heels for you it’s not even funny.”
He’s right, this isn’t funny. It’s anything but. And he’s making it worse by being so goddamn perfect you want to scream. The universe must really be a bitch for putting you through this, making you fall in love with someone who is so off limits. You can feel your heart wilting within your chest as you plead, “I need to leave.”
He lets you go, despite every instinct telling him not to. He spends the night in the lab alone, barely getting anything done through his ever-present thoughts of you. He tries to remain hopeful, that somehow this will all work out. That on Monday you’ll come to work, and everything will be alright.
Monday morning, he finds out you’ve put in a request to join a separate project.
He doesn’t know what to do with the growing hole forming in his chest.
And neither do you.
~
part two part three part four 
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agustdef · 4 years
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Pairing: MJ x Reader
Genre: Established Relationship; Fluff
Word Count: 2.2K
Warning: Brief and vague mention of sex and cheating. It’s mentioned, it doesn’t happen. Nor is it suggestive. 
Rating: PG-13
Author’s Note: This fic was written for the ever so sweet and lovely @jinterlude​‘s birthday. I wish I could do something longer, but I’m also very happy to be able to give you this specific concept for a story. You are one of the greatest humans I’ll ever know and I hope you have the best day that you can. 
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MJ had always been a quirky dork. The man was all over the place and would do the weirdest things at the weirdest times. It was chaotic, but also adorable and YN wouldn’t change his way of being even if she could. And it’s why she tried not to question it much when he started to ask her random questions and then change the subject or disappear altogether.
That didn’t stop her from being curious each time it happened though.
The first incident was when they were sat down in their shared apartment eating dinner. One second MJ was shoveling food into his mouth at an alarming rate - one that made her worried he would choke on it - and the next he was staring at her so intensely she was a tad uncomfortable. Of course, YN ignored it for a while hoping he’d stop or say something but when two minutes passed she grew mildly annoyed.
“What?” she asked, looking up from her plate.
Instead of the usual smirk that played on his lips once he successfully annoyed her there were pursed lips and a furrowed brow. He continued not speaking for a moment or two and then when he did it wasn’t what she expected.
“A or B?” he asked.
YN sat there confused, but when there was no follow up and his serious expression didn’t waver she responded.
“Uh… B.”
At that MJ nodded and went back to eating his dinner. YN perplexed opened her mouth to question it, but he looked so into inhaling the rest of his dinner that she left it alone. Well, that and she knew that he would break sooner rather than later on what that was about.
Or that was what she assumed would happen.
For the rest of the night MJ said nothing and acted like it was a normal evening. They cleaned the dishes together, got ready for sleep, and spent the evening cuddled in bed watching some random show that happened to be on when they got into bed most nights. Neither were that invested, but also invested enough to be sad when they missed an episode because they’d gotten into bed too late or fell asleep too early.
The usual routine is what made her forget about the question until another incident happened.
About a week later MJ called her while she was at work and usually that was a highlight of her day, especially when they day had been tiring. But there was no small talk, nor did he try his usual mood maker tactics on her.
He said four words.
“1, 2, or 3?”
Midway through a greeting YN paused and her brows furrowed in confusion. Why in the world had he asked her that and why was it the second time? What could he possibly be having her choose?
However, none of those questions could be asked aloud before he was speaking again.
“Kinda urgent, my sun. Which one?”
The pet name got her out of her head and helped brighten her day for a moment, which meant she could answer him.
“Hm… I wanted to say 1, but how about 3?”
There was a soft laugh from the other side of the phone and it was music to her ears. MJ’s laughs were infectious, especially when they were the loud ones, but something about his gentler ones just sparked joy inside of her. They were just so cute.
“Thank you, my sun. I love you. And don’t forget we’re doing movie night tonight,” he said.
“I love you too. Also, I didn’t and don’t think I don’t remember you saying that I could take your turn on choosing this time.”
There was a horrible attempt at the phone cutting out from his end that she rolled her eyes at.
“I’m sor- I ca- hear you. I’ll ta- to y-y-you later. Bye!”
That left YN with something to laugh about for the rest of the day, especially when things felt like they were a bit too much for her. But questions lingered in the back of her head for longer than they had the last time.
Naturally, she forgot over time or for the most part she did. But that was only because MJ was being extra weird outside of the questions. He still asked them at random times, even having their friend Jinwoo ask her once and going so far as to add the question onto the card for the flowers he’d sent her one day at work.
But her true focus was the secretiveness that went along with it. Outside of the questions he was obviously hiding something from her. She trusted him so she knew it wasn’t cheating - plus he was never gone enough for that to be a thing. And that man was not a fan of quickies so there was no way he had them at work or between work hours. There was also the fact that one of his friends always was near when he was heading out and she definitely knew that wasn’t happening since they preferred to love MJ from a distance. Plus a few were her friends first and they’d never betray her like that.
And with that off the table that meant she was left scrambling for something or anything to explain what was going on. All she could think of is it being some sort of surprise for her, but her mind kept glossing over the one possibility. Not once did she think of it, not even to dismiss it as an option.
It worked in MJ’s favor though because on the day he asked her out to dinner for the following evening she was still none the wiser. All her focus seemed to be on the joy of going to a restaurant they hadn’t in a while and not needing to dress extra fancy to do so. His job held a lot of work dinners and she came as his date most of the time, which meant so much dressing up when she just wanted to relax at home or with friends.
When venturing to the best kimchi stew place with the best view she didn’t mind it. That meant she slipped on a pair of jeans, wore a cute top, and could wear any non-heels in her possession. Once ready to go she met MJ out in the car where she got to see his outfit for the first time all day. It was casual, but something about it was a bit more put together and intentionally stylish. She didn’t think to say anything though because it wasn’t rare that he did it; plus, she was against adding something as little as that to her pile of suspicion.
Besides, she planned to ask him about it during their date.
They bided the time in the car talking about their week and the ridiculous thing Sanha had done the day before and how Eunwoo had seemed ready to kill him. Which meant the week went about how it normally did, because Eunwoo often looked ready to just unload on his chaotic friend group. The poor bean was perpetually stressed out and done with all of them.
Something that YN and everyone found hilarious. Though sometimes she took mercy on him and got them in line, especially when they grated on her nerves as well.
Upon arrival they pulled into a spot and walked into the building, being directed to their favorite seats immediately. Both were such frequent customers that they knew the staff by name and vice versa. Everyone knew what they liked and did their best to accommodate them because they all got along so well. It was a nice space to be.
Once in their seats YN’s eyes drifted to the window next to them. Through it you could see the cityscape. The buildings high, the lights bright, and the people and cars moving about. It was peaceful despite the inherent busyness and chaos that came with living in a city. At some point in life she may have enjoyed the quiet of a smaller town or a suburb, but she would never change out of the city for that. At least not with the way she lived her life in that moment. Maybe when she and MJ were married with kids to raise would she wish for a change of pace.
“You going to stare out the window all night? I’m sure my face is just as beautiful,” MJ teased.
YN made a fake gagging noise and then laughed.
“That was so cheesy,” she said.
“I know. Speaking of, are we getting the usual?”
“Of course.”
And just like magic their waiter, Hyuk, strolled over to take their order. There was some light small talk before he was off putting the order in, though YN was sure they started it the moment they walked through the door. They never changed it unless they added another item on as some sort of side, so there was no need to guess or wait for them to come to a decision.
As they waited they talked about anything and everything, well anything that was light. They’d swerved into the topic of a case the YN worked that was particularly hard and when MJ saw how much it took out of her to speak about it he changed the subject. However, he kept the focus on her and a story she had to tell. Something he’d explained to her once as a way to get off a not great conversation, but still letting her know that he was there to listen to whatever she wanted to tell him.
“I think you should do pink,” he said.
“Pink? You think I should dye my hair pink?” she asked incredulously.
MJ nodded, pausing as Hyuk sat their stew, side dishes, and drinks down before leaving.
“Yeah, pink would suit you well. We can even dye it together if you want. Hot pink.”
No response felt right for YN so she just left him sitting there with his ridiculous idea and grabbed her spoon to gather a bit of the broth to drink. Even when he did that dork eyebrow wiggle she ignored him, motioning for him to eat his food. After a few seconds he did, though there was a look in his eyes that she couldn’t place. It wasn’t the earlier mischief, but it did indicate he was up to something.
She would’ve said something right then and there, but the taste of the stew had her releasing an involuntary moan as she did. The taste was just so perfect and she was much hungrier than she assumed, so the thought of talking was over before it truly started.
And they remained like that. Eating wasn’t a talkative affair, so the silence was fine. Well, silence with the occasional whisper of how they loved the food so much and would do anything for it.
They were both weird.
Dinner finished quickly enough and the moment the dishes were collected they were replaced with their usual bingsu. It was chocolate oreo and way too sweet, but also way too good. They didn’t have it every time or at least that was the lie YN liked to tell herself so she could validate getting it the next time they came.
The lie had no one fooled.
While YN dug in almost immediately MJ did not and when she didn’t notice his spoon fighting to steal her scoop she looked up. Surprisingly, MJ wasn’t there and that confused her, until she turned her head and saw him down on one knee with an open ring box in his hand. He wore a bright smile and the joy in his eyes matched it.
“I’ve been asking you a million random this or that questions for weeks now trying to figure out how to do this. You’ve helped me with so many decisions, but in the end of it all they didn’t feel right. So, with the last thing I asked you helped me realize that this was best. That I wanted to ask you to marry me, to be my wife in a place we both love with a view that very few places could beat. YN, my sun, I love you with my entire being. And I know my personality can be a lot sometimes, but you love all sides of me regardless of how you sometimes lock me out of the bedroom for peace. Or make me go to JinJin’s. And I love you the same way. So, if you don’t mind I’d like to ask one more question. Yes or no?”
YN felt her stomach churn and her heart beat erratically. There was just so much joy inside of her that her body didn’t know how to handle it and she felt a little overwhelmed, but in the best possible way. The man she loved and who she’d spoken to about their future life proposed to her in one of her favorite places and included her in the entire process. Even if she didn’t know about it.
“Yes,” she said, her voice shaky.
And without another word MJ slipped the ring onto her finger and stood up, pulling her into a tight embrace. They laughed and they cried throughout the night. Both of them on cloud nine.
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randomflower24 · 3 years
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10 Floors
A/n: I’ll be posting the requests soon but I wanted to post a Series idea I had about a Office AU of Fire Force. You could also find this Story on Wattpad.
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Episode 1:Being Assigned.
The repeating stepping sounds slowly started to get on your nerves. Some other noises were more annoying but the stepping sounds were worse. You slowly started to walk towards the building in front of you.  The amount of times you wanted to turn back and say screw it were to many. You were quite scared because of your first day of  work at the most popular office building in Tokyo.
"Y/n! Wait for us!"
You could hear running foot steps coming towards coming you so you quickly turned around. 3 males and 1 young female, the sight of seeing the 4 of them made you smile. They slowly ran towards you and bowed.
"Y/n! We didn't expect for you to actually come. I thought you said you were going to turn the offer down?" One of the males said.
"I changed my mind... I didn't want to be the only one that didn't take this Job opportunity." You brushed the pieces of hair that were currently blocking your way of sight.  
"Are you sure your ready though? After the one accident, I really didn't think you would be able to come back in public." The female said.
You let out a tiny laugh before giving them all a tiny smile. "To be honest I thought the same but I needed to face my fears and come out... Tamaki, Ogun ,Arthur and Shinra...we should head in now, we'll be late on our first day if we don't hurry up." You quickly turned around and made your way inside the building. The four of them quickly walked in after you.
"Do you think we'll all be assigned the same floor?'' Tamaki said.
"Shh...We're in the lobby now." You all said to Tamaki.
Sooner or Later, you all took a seat in the lobby. Sense you would probaly be waiting for a little while, you decided to go over the number of floors you could be assigned to.
The 10th floor...the floor where the main 8 leaders of the office would meet everyday. You could always be sent to this floor to work as a desk lady but that probaly wouldn't happen.
The 9th floor aka the one floor that you apparently don't want to be sent too... rumor is this floor hasn't really revealed their purpose yet but you were guessing that you would just serve as a normal office worker on that floor.
The 8th floor... you weren't even going to think about that floor because you knew you had 0 chances about getting on that floor. The floor that belonged to the "pronationalists."
The 7th floor...the floor that handled all of the health problems of Tokyo. You were probaly going to be sent here.
As you were thinking about the remaining floors, you friends were being called to the 10th floor to hear which floors they would be assigned to.
The 6th floor...floor that handles all of the research of Tokyo. Maybe you would be sent here?
The 5th floor... floor that handled all of the citizen issues. Ogun would probaly be best suited for this floor.
The 4th floor...actually no one is allowed to even go on this floor anymore so it isn't a option.
The 3rd floor... handles all of the militaries issues. Maybe this could be a option?
The 2nd floor... was in charge of anything religious. This could be a possible option but you kind of didn't want to assign their for personal reasons.
The first floor was basically the lobby and main entrance.
"Y/n! We were assigned our floors!" The 4 of your friends said as you were completely zoning out. You blinked a couple of times before rubbing your eyes. Hearing about what they said made you smile. "What floors did you 4 get assigned to?"
"Second Floor!" Tamaki said.
"Fourth floor like I was hoping to get." Ogun said
"We both got the 8th." Arthur and Shinra said at the same time.
You smiled and slowly got up. "That's great to hear, I'm curious about which floor I'll get."
Ogun blinked a little bit. "Which reminds me, they told us to tell you to come to the 10th floor after us so you might want to hurry up!"
You gave a tiny bow before running off to the elevator and muttering you'll be right back. Once you reached the elevator you stepped inside. When the door was about to close, a male quickly stepped in and started to look at you. He clicked the button to the 10th floor and went back to staring. You gulped, maybe you two were both trainees?
"Hello Sir!" You gave a tiny bow before going back to looking at the male in front of you.
"So you're the new girl that's going to be replacing the old assistant? Tch, good luck with that."
"Replacing? Maybe your talking to the wrong person-." You let out a nervous laugh before you were suddenly pinned to the wall. The male in front you had eyes that started to look like they were glowing but in reality they weren't. His stare continued to pierce your thoughts. He leaned in and whispered something.
"I'll make sure to make this absolute hell for you...I am Shinmon Benimaru after all." He released the grip on your hands. You quickly backed away to one of the corners in the Elevator. "Shinmon Benimaru? I'm guessing your the leader of the 8th floor?" He nodded. "Yes...which makes me one of your many higher ups." He watched the expression on your face slowly turn scared.
You have arrived on the 10th Floor
After hearing what the Elevator said you quickly made your way out and started to walk towards the conference room. As you expected, Benimaru started to follow you. He reached the conference room first and opened the door for the both of you. He gave you a tiny smile. You gulped and stepped in. The sight of the 8 leaders sitting around a table in front of you was kind of scary. Benimaru went to the 7th chair and sat down.
Whispers could be heard.
"She's the new assistant?"
"More Useless Gravel?"
"Hibana Shush."
"Everyone Shut up!"
You gave a nervous smile before bowing. "My name is Y/n L/n, I look to working with all of you." They all smiled at the sentence. Benimaru continued to look at you so you started to look towards the ground.
"Do you know why you're here?" The man in the 4th chair said.
You quickly shook your head.
"You're here because we picked you for something." The man in the 1st chair said.
"Sir, do you mind me asking about what you picked me for?" You turned your head towards the male in the 1st chair.  
"We all picked you to become the new Leaders assistant.'' Benimaru said.
Leaders Assistant?! You thought that you would just be assigned an regular job on a normal floor!
"Which means you'll be helping the 8 of us whenever we need you." The male in the second chair said.
You nodded, fear started to flow through your thoughts. Helping all 8 of them? That seemed like a major work load. "We'll be giving you a buzzer with 10 numbers so you know which floor to report to." The Female in the 5th chair said. "Ara Ara, let Princess Hibana have the first honor of giving you your first assignment." All supervisors got up from their chairs. "Clean this whole room, Gravel!" Hibana said with a high pitched voice. You bowed and nodded your head.
All Supervisors left the room, before Benimaru left he gave you a tiny smirk before walking out. The relief of them all leaving made you sigh. You would make sure to do a amazing job while cleaning sense this was your first assignment.
"Such a great First Day..."
To be continued in Episode Two: Lunch Break and the Second Floor
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shannygoatgruff · 4 years
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Talk to Me
Stay Safe, Stay Home Writing Challenge: (Prompt #16 – Call me if you need anything)
Genre:  Romance
Pairing:  Modern Ivar x OC
Fandom: Vikings
Warning: Language/mild angst
Rating: M
Summary: Can an online relationship work in the real world?  Ivar and Cash are about to find out.
A/N:  So this is my first challenge.  What was supposed to be a one-shot has turned into a mini-series.  I’m having so much fun writing it.  I haven't written in about 10 years - my muses all went away when Dave Batista left WWE. Then one day, Alex Høgh Andersen showed up and all of my muses came back!  I’m so happy!
Please, note if you notice grammatical errors in the dialogues between characters, it’s because I write how people speak.  Any other errors may just be because I was careless...
Also, I’m writing the Lothbroks as Europeans speaking English. In my head, when they are together they are speaking Norweigan but when they speak English, it’s with their Vikings’ show accents.    
Chapter 2
Chapter 1
What the fuck am I doing?  No seriously, what the fuck was she doing?  
Cash didn’t do things like this.  Ever.  She had literally seen every episode of MTV’s Catfish and 90 Day Fiance (the original show, Abroad, and After the 90 Days). She was responsible, respectable, intelligent, reasonably attractive and she had just landed a job where she actually got to use her degree. This side of 25 was looking up for her. She wasn’t desperate, was she?  
She was going to feel so stupid when everyone rubbed it in her face that this “Ivar” guy didn’t really exist, or turned out to be something totally other than what he claimed. Although she had only told a handful of people about her trip, they had all filled her head with so much more angst that she almost canceled the trip four times in the last month.  Her mom was convinced that Cash was going to be kidnapped and sold into an Eastern European sex trafficking ring.  While her best friend just knew that Ivar was going to turn out to be a sadistic 65-year-old ex-KGB operative who hated Americans and only wanted to torture her like in that movie Hostel.  Even her younger brother tried to email Nev & Max to see if MTV could do an episode of Catfish Abroad and put her on blast for all of his friends to see.
Cash let out a nervous breath as she looked around the Austrian Airlines terminal. Her flight to Vienna was due to start boarding in a little more than an hour and there were still a lot of empty seats. 
She fidgeted in her chair trying to fish her phone out of her jacket pocket.  What she needed was mood music – Billie Eilish, although played in heavy rotation lately, wasn’t cutting it.  She needed mood music - something angrier... more upbeat.  Remi Ma or Joyner Lucas?  Why not both? She made a quick playlist, put it on shuffle, and bobbed her head to the music.   
No sooner did she feel herself getting lost in the beat, did the music stop and the phone ring.  With a slight eye roll, Cash answered the phone pleasantly, “Hey Ma.”
“Hey, honey. How you doing?”  Barbara Heath spoke to her daughter in a voice reserved for someone that might have just suffered a loss or been seriously injured, “You okay?”
“Yeah, Ma.  I’m fine.”
“You know, it’s not too late to come home, Shay.”  Cash cringed at her mother’s nickname for her.  All of her life, she had tried to get people to call her Cash, but her parents were still hell-bent on calling her Shay.  “No one would blame you.  I didn’t tell anyone you were going on your little excursion except your Aunt Margaret and Gigi.  You know they don’t think this is a good idea, either.  And you know your Daddy is still upset that you decided to go.”
“Ma, don’t.”  She slouched in her seat and looked up at the airport ceiling. “When I finished grad school, I told you guys I wanted to travel more. Everyone was fine with it then.  Now all of a sudden everyone is against me going…”
“We’re aren’t!” Barbara walked across the kitchen with her glass of wine and took a seat at the kitchen counter.  She didn’t want to start another fight with her daughter, but she needed to Cash to understand how dangerous this could be. “I just don’t understand about this going across the world to meet some boy. There are plenty of those here.”
Oh my, God.  “For the last time, I’m going to Vienna because I haven’t been back to Austria since undergrad.  While I’m there I’m going to meet up with one of my friends, Ma.”  
“Yeah, a friend you met on the internet.”
“Really?  I’m about to get on a plane and I won’t see you for weeks, and you want to do this now?  How about saying ‘Have a nice trip’ or ‘I’m proud of you for being so adventurous’ or something like that?” She tried not to raise her voice, but she could tell her frustration at her mother mixed with her own nerves about the situation was coming through on the phone.
Barbara sighed in defeat. “You got that stubbornness from your Daddy.”  She was relieved when she heard her daughter chuckle.  “You know, I’m proud of you.  And I want you to have so much fun!  This is going to be the best trip of your life. I just want you to be careful and know that I will worry about you. Let me know when you land, and when you get to your hotel, and when you meet this Ivar-boy.”  She was going to make a point to stop babying her as soon as she came back from Europe. “Just know that I love you.  Call me if you need anything.  Me and your Daddy will be on the first flight to come get you and bring you…”
“I love you, too Mommy. I’ll call you when I land.”  
When Cash hit the button to end the call, she noticed a WhatsApp notification on her phone.  She hadn’t even heard the phone chime.  She felt the smile slide across her face as she opened the app. 
Ivar was the only person who ever contacted her on WhatsApp.
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“Ahh, Ivar, you will be fine.”  Ivar cut his blue eyes over to his brother driving the car.  “You will have fun.  You’ll see.”
He folded his arms over his chest, like a child, and returned his gaze out of the passenger’s window. “I am not a child, Bubbe. I do not a chaperone.”  He really hated being the youngest. His brothers always acted like he was completely incapable of doing anything on his own.  
“I know, brother.” Ubbe let out a soft chuckle and connected eyes with Hvitserk in the backseat through the rearview mirror, “Serk is not coming to chaperone. He is coming with you, to help you.”
“I do not need help, either.”  Ivar was sick of this fight.  He had been having it with his brothers for about a month now.  He was perfectly capable of traveling by himself, without Hvitserk’s assistance. “And why Serk?  He is the least responsible of us all.”
Hvitserk nodded in agreement from the backseat and smiled good-naturedly. He really didn’t give a shit what Ivar wanted to do.  All he knew was Bjorn was footing the bill for his trip to Austria with Ivar and he wasn’t about to turn down a free vacation. Women, liquor, food, and a hotel suite...all he had to do was carry Ivar’s bags and help him through the airport? It sounded like a sweet deal to him.
Ubbe shook his brother’s shoulder, “C’mon, Ivy.  I would come with you if I could. I have to work.”  He peeked over at his brother’s face, noting his anger looked something more akin to nerves.  “Besides, Serk will give you much more freedom than I would.  Who knows, you might really like this girl when you meet her.”
“It is not like that.” Ivar said quietly, looking out of the window.  He wanted to talk to Ubbe about Cash for some time now, but Ubbe was always so busy with work. Besides, he and Torvi had just had a baby. He clearly had more important things to think about than his little brother and his lack of experience with women. But, Ubbe was the kindest and most level headed person he knew. What he wouldn’t give for some of his big brother’s advice right now. “We are just friends.”  Even if that’s not what he wanted, he was sure that’s all they would end up being.
“But there may come a time when you are not just friends.”  Ubbe tried to hide his smirk as he noticed the blush start to creep up Ivar’s neck and settle on his earlobes.  “What will you do then, hmm?”
“He will fuck her!” Hvitserk clapped Ivar on the shoulders and laughed.  
How far ways was this damn airport?  If Ivar didn’t get out of this car soon, he was going to grab the steering wheel and drive them off of a cliff.  “Please don’t leave me with him.”  He never asked his brothers for anything, but he made this plea to Ubbe with such sincerity. “I am going to kill him.”  
After Ubbe pulled the car into the parking space, he killed the engine and asked Hvitserk to get the bags while he talked to Ivar for a moment.  “So…you have told her?”  He waited for Ivar to turn around and look at him before he lowered his eyes to Ivar’s legs.  He sighed in disappointment when Ivar refused to meet his eyes.  “Ivar.”
“I never thought we would actually meet.” It was never really his intention to lie, but it really wasn’t a conversation he was sure how to start. Did he start by saying, ‘Hi I’m Ivar. I’m a Taurus and I’m physically challenged?’  “Then I started to like her and could not tell her.  I did not want to stop talking to her.  So, I came off like Bjorn.”
“Like an ass?”
Ivar shrugged.  “A little. She is American.  She likes that confident, arrogant type.”  Shaking his head at the mess he had gotten himself into, he threw his hands up in frustration.  “Ahh, it does not matter now.  We will meet and have fun as friends and that will be all.”
“But that is not all. You like this girl and it sounds like she likes you.  You need to tell her before you see her.”  Gripping his little brother by the back of the neck, Ubbe pulled gave him a brotherly hug.  “You have nothing to be embarrassed about Ivar Ragarsson.  Any woman would be proud to have you.”  Kissing him on the top of his head, he grumbled when Ivar pushed him away and got out of the car.
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madebycoffee · 4 years
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OH ALSO I finished watching Legend of Korra and here is non spoiler thoughts: I really enjoyed it and just like atla I cried at every single season finale. I really like that the main cast while still young, is older than the lITERAL children of atla. atla still holds up watching it as an adult, but I feel like korra is a bit more my jive. There is only one episode that I won’t watch again (season 4 remembrances, when you are binging the show it isn’t necessary as it’s a recap and not as fun as ember island players which serves the same purpose in atla. Also I looked on IMDB, that is the lowest rated episode. I agree. Honestly, if you are binging you can skip it) but I can def see myself watching the whole thing again. Season 1 is my overall favorite of the series. 
Spoiler thoughts below the cut because WOW I HAVE THOUGHTS (it’s long)
hi spoiler time last chance to look away
Before going into LOK I had read a decent amount of spoilers beforehand since this aired back in 2012-2014. I don’t think I even knew about it after it was nearly done so the one thing I knew was that Korra & Asami get together lol. Anyway my point is I knew what was coming overall.
Season 1: My personal favorite, I think it’s a really strong stand alone season. I thought it was really smart to begin the series in the water tribe again, as well as with Katara as that’s how ATLA started. I also think its really clever that with Aang, he was very spiritual and a master airbender already, but needed to learn the other 3 element. Korra is the opposite. It helps it not be so repetitive. We already saw one avatar working to master fire, water, and earth. I also realized how used to the world of atla I was and was confused for a split second how Mako and Bolin were brothers but one was an earthbender and one was a firebender... Yeah I know I’m dumb and I forgot that its a different world lol.  -Another strong point was that no matter how in danger Korra got in season 1 she never went into the avatar state, because as she says in what ep 1? that she has never been good at the spiritual side of being the avatar. Part of me kept expecting it to happen, but even the final showdown with Amon it didn’t so I was like oh damn. The finale when she does go into the avatar state with Aang giving her the bending she lost back.... I was a wreck. Sobbing my eyes out it just HIT ME.  -Other moments that hit me hard: Hearing Dante Basco’s voice as General Iroh ow my soul, Hearing through Katara that Sokka is dead, The flashbacks to the trial of the bloodbender (forgot his name??) and seeing them get bloodbent HURTS MY HEART. And every time Aang’s statue was shown. ;-; Also, just like ATLA there isn’t a main character that I dislike. I genuinely like Korra, Asami, Mako, & Bolin as a team. Lin is my favorite which not hard being Toph’s daughter lol. Tenzin and fam are a delight (though Meelo can get on my nerves but eh)  TL:DR SEASON 1 IS GREAT I CAN’T WAIT TO WATCH IT AGAIN!!
Season 2: Alright so. A lot of Spirit World dealings. Unalaq being a GASP evil brother??? LOK has a thing about brothers lol. First with Amon and whathisname, now with Korra’s dad and uncle. Anyway, season 2 I really like too. Yes even the finale. And it’s been a few weeks (maybe months??) since I watched season 2 so the finale is really all that stands out. Other than that I do really like seeing the story of the first avatar. OH MAN AND IROH IN THE SPIRIT WORLD HAD ME ALL SORTS OF LEVELS OF EMOTIONAL. -SO. This was the big spoiler I knew going in, that the past lives of the Avatar are severed from Korra. I know that A LOT of people really don’t like it either. And upon hearing that plot point I didn’t like it as well. But when I sat down and watched the whole series. I actually thought it was the right thing to do. And I didn’t mind it as much as I thought. Korra can no longer call upon the past lives which is sad, but those Avatars still existed. And with Tenzin being so prevalent in the show, it really feels like Aang is still there in spirit. The reason I thought it was the right thing to do with the story, is that it let’s the show as a whole exist on it’s own. IDK how to properly explain.. I get why people don’t like it, but it makes sense to me. -And I do commend the show runners for sticking to this. There is no getting contact back with the past lives. Which, personally I approve of. Whenever you do something world altering like that it annoys me when the show takes it back. My main gripe is people dying but wAIT NO THEY’RE ALIVE!!! It lessens the stakes. And I think a through line of Korra is that actions have consequences. TL;DR I LIKE SEASON 2 AS WELL. DOESN’T LEAVE A LASTING IMPRESSION SINCE THE FINALE IS SUCH A BIG DEAL.
Season 3: I THINK this would be my second favorite season. I REALLY like Zaheer as I guess the ~big bad~ and the squad he has. SO much so that I’m actually upset that they all are dead by the end. I think P’Li is done the dirtiest. You see and know very little about her until an ~exposition~ line a few scenes before she dies. (But damn if the scene of Su throwing her metal breastplate around her head isn’t hardcore cool. I haven’t said yet but the fight sequences in Korra??? Amazing.) Bolin finding out he can Lavabend??? oh hell yeah that’s the good shit, same with lavabending in GENERAL. seeing what people can REALLY do with their bending is probably my favorite part about Korra. I do think Zaheer looks a little silly when he starts flying around, but hey that part is cool too. Also easily the most horrified I’ve been watching this show was the pulling the aiR OUT OF SOMEONE. JESUS. Up until that point Airbending still seemed like the least dangerous form but HOLY SHIT. I will say that the way Kuvira is if not introduced/ we’re reminded about her in the finale is a little bit more like “uhhh is Korra’s dad going to have an affair???” to me than “she gonna be the big bad next season” Also on IMDB the finale of season 3 is the highest rated finale. 
Season 4: Even thought this has the same number of episodes as season 3, it feels the most rushed to me. However I do appreciate the timejump and GODTDAMN I love me some old lady Toph. I also like that Toph says that she’s watching Su & Lin through the swamp, an episode or two later Su and Zaofu are attacked and captured, and when Lin, Opal, and Bolin go to Zaofu to try and rescue, Toph is there. It’s a nice payoff. As Su was getting captured I was thinking “hmmmm does Toph see this” And she does, which has her leave the swamp, so she’s not there when Kuvira’s army is cutting vines. Because cmon is Toph was there she woulda kicked their asses. -The huge mecha suit with the spirit weapon on it is HARROWING. I like that Baatar Jr. see’s that Kuvira was gonna kill him for thE gREatER gOOD and was instantly like “oh shit well i guess my loyalties were wrong then ok” Oh and out of order but I had a feeling that Zhu Li was telling Kuvira what she wanted to hear to be sneaky and I was v happy to be proven right by Toph. I ALSO like that things like Toph being able to tell if people are lying aren’t forgotten about. Also... Cried like a baby at Zhu Li and Varrick’s wedding. Haven’t mentioned Varrick yet but hot damn if he isn’t one of my favorite characters. What I wouldn’t GIVE to have Sokka and Varrick brainstorm some truly crazy shit. 10/10.  TL;DR SEASON 3 IS REALLY GOOD AND SEASON 4 IS GOOD BUT FEELS LIKE IT’S TOO SHORT.
But yeah. Overall I really enjoyed it. I looked through the episodes on IMDB and nearly everything is above 8.5 except for some of the first episodes in season 2 which I get. I can tell that this is by the same team that did ATLA. It feels so much the same. And I think there was the right amount of the original peeps or their kids but still was focusing on our core four. Other little things:
- I like that the “villains” or ig the conflicts of people weren’t anyone from the Fire Nation. (Although do we know where Zaheer is from??? Family lineage?) Well regardless, what we have is Amon: Waterbender, Unalaq: Waterbender, Zaheer: Airbender, Kuvira: Earthbender. ATLA we were fighting the fire nation, LOK has the range lol. - I do wish we could have been in the Fire Nation tho. I wanna see what’s it like over there :( - Adored seeing all the changes to the world. In ATLA we see the blimps/airships more or less being invented and then 70 years later AIRSHIPS AND CARS GALORE. And having radios/phones VERY nice. Don’t have to rely on letters or talking in person.  - I really like Korra. I feel like it needs to be said lol, but I thoroughly enjoyed her as the Avatar (maybe more than Aang??) - Zuko’s face after Korra says she talked to Iroh in the spirit world I’m not crying you are.
ANYWAY. I think that’s it. I just needed to get it all out somewhere. Not a perfect show (neither is atla) but damn if it isn’t some of the best TV out there. If you read all of that woW good job.
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And the Nominees Are...
In honor of Lexi McIntosh being the announcer for the Oliviers nomination ceremony!!! Big ups Lexi you were fantastic
Katherine was staring at the front door of the flat, curled up in a ball on the couch, looking very, very concerned. The newest episode of Love Island has been paused for the past five minutes, but the center of Kat’s attention is at the door that Anna walked through to answer a phone call. It’s weird for Anna to not take a call in front of the other queens, and it’s weirder still that she hasn’t returned.
“Anyone have any idea who Anna is talking to?” she asks, never letting her gaze leave the door. “She doesn’t usually just walk away from our telly time, regardless of what the call is, so it has to be important.”
Anne, across from her on another couch, continued to look at her phone. “No idea, but I’m sure it’s nothing.”
“She left really quickly,” Kat immediately remarks. “It’s got to be something.”
“Bessie’s upstairs with the other ladies,” Catherine says, working on some needlework. “So it can’t be her.”
“Maybe it’s a dog at the shelter?” Cathy suggests, tilting her head as she looks between Kat and the door and back at Kat.
Jane, who had been reading next to Anne, just sighs. “We’ll know as soon as she comes back, love, I doubt it’s anything bad-”
She’s interrupted, however, by the door opening.
Kat immediately scrambles forward, opening the door, where Anne is standing. “Are you alright?” Kat asks, clearly concerned.
Anna chuckles and nods, gently pulling the girl close.
“Queens, I’ve got an announcement to make,” Anna says confidently. The Ladies, having heard commotion, are waiting on the stairs for said announcement.
The others watch carefully as Anna suddenly grins:
“I’m going to be announcing the nominations for an awards show!”
At first, there’s silence.
But then, the entire room bursts into excitement.
“Oh really?!?”
“That’s incredible, Anna.”
“Congrats, babes!”
“That’s really cool!”
“Hell yeah!”
The girls talk over each other, excitedly congratulating Anna and giving her hugs and the like. Eventually, when the excitement dies down a little bit, Katherine is the first to speak.
“Is that who you were on the phone with?” Kat asks, tilting her head.
“Yes,” Anna nods. “I’ll know who the nominations are, I’ll need to practice their pronunciation and the like, and it’ll be streamed online.”
“Oh! Do you need to practice in front of a live studio audience?” Catherine asks, smirking as the rest of the women chuckle.
“No, no, I actually can’t really practice here at all,” Anna says. “They made me sign a NDA so I don’t reveal who is nominated.”
“Rude,” Jane says, “but fair. When’s the announcement?”
“In a week,” Anna replies. “I’ll be jumping from shows to the rehearsals to make sure I get this right.”
“Well, we’re all very proud of you, Anna,” Cathy says, “and if there’s anything we can do to help, let us know, yeah?”
Anna nods with a grin. “Thank you. All of you.”
The week is a blur for the rest of the queens, who rarely see Anna. She’s often got a list that she’s pouring over, mouthing words to herself to make sure she understands the pronunciations. The other queens keep to themselves mostly, and before they know it, it’s the day before the event.
Katherine and Cathy wander on into the living room, unexpectedly interrupting a mini rehearsal session that Anna was doing.
When Anna spots them, she instantly scrambles to hide the papers she has, making Cathy chuckle.
“You know you’re going to do fine, right?” Cathy asks.
“More than fine,” Katherine says, “she’ll be brilliant!”
Anna gives a small smile. “I know, I just... I don’t want to get this wrong, you know?” she looks down at the papers; they’ve got the actual spelling, but also a phonetic spelling that Anna’s written in herself. “English isn’t my first language, and I’m always afraid I’ll mispronounce something. I don’t want to be wrong, you know? There will be a lot of people watching - apparently it could be thousands of people.”
Katherine frowns, instantly moving to hug Anna. “I’m sorry we’re not allowed to go with you, otherwise we would absolutely be there to give you support-”
“No, no, I get it, and it’s not your fault they aren’t allowing me a plus one,” Anna says, gently booping Kat’s nose. “Otherwise, I know you’d be there. I guess I’m just a bit nervous because it’s not something I’ve ever really done before...” 
Cathy tilts her head. “But you do it every night, you know? And you sing, too. In heels. This doesn’t require any dancing, right?”
Anna chuckles. “No, but that’d be really funny. Could you imagine, doing Ex-Wives but with nominations?”
Cathy smiles a bit at that. “See? You’ve done more hectic things before, you’ll be alright.”
“And they’re not even requiring you to wear heels, right?” Kat asks, and Anna nods. “It’ll be easy!”
“I guess the lack of audience is nice, too,” Anna says, “but there’s a big camera and lights...” Anna sighs. “Sorry. It’s just... different than usual.”
Katherine hugs Anna tighter. “You’re gonna be alright. I promise you, Anna. You’re the best of us, you’ll ace it for sure.”
Cathy nods. “With how much you’ve been preparing, I’ve no doubt that you’ll be the best announcer there.”
“Well, there’s only two of us-” Anna starts, but Cathy rolls her eyes with a smile.
“You know what I mean, missy.”
Anna nods, a grin growing on her face. “Thank you, loves. I mean it.” She lets Kat hold her for a moment more before she gently pulls away. “Now go on then, I need to practice and you can’t be here.”
Katherine pouts. “Just a little spoiler? Please?”
Anna laughs. “Not a chance, Kit. Go on, go with Cathy upstairs, I’ll see you lot tomorrow. It’s past your bedtime.”
Katherine groans, but she moves with Cathy upstairs. Cathy gives Anna a final nod - which Anna returns - before Cathy retires for the evening, Kat in tow. Anna looks down at the lists, smiles, and goes back to rehearsing.
The next morning, Anna wakes up relatively early. Grabbing her folders and her outfit, she gets changed into something comfortable before heading downstairs.
She smiles when she finds that her breakfast has already been made, a heart-shaped pancake and various fruits.
There’s also a card right next to the breakfast, with everyone’s well wishes. The girls were already off to the morning matinee, but they left Anna a good luck meal to help calm her nerves.
Anna chuckles; what did she do to deserve them?
She gets herself ready, heading out to the limo that the awards show arranged to pick her up, and is whisked away to the studio.
When she gets there, her co-announcer, Henry, smiles brightly at her.
“Good morning!” he says as Anna hugs him hello. “Are you ready?”
“I think so,” Anna says with a nod. “Been practicing the names all week.”
“You’re going to do splendid, Anna,” he says. He’s not from the country either, and they bonded a bit over having to learn English as a second language. “We’ll be the best announcers the show’s ever seen.”
Anna nods, liking the confidence he has, and they move inside. Anna’s dressing room is a door down from his, and it’s bigger than the one for the show. It’s decked out in flowers and goodie bags and other lavish items, and Anna smiles at the small ring of red roses that is clearly from a few fans.
As she gets dressed into her dark red suit, she can’t help but start to feel nervous. She tries to combat the intruding thoughts with logic: if she messes up, she just says it correctly. If she stumbles to the podium, she just recovers. If she says the wrong name, she apologizes and corrects herself. She knows what she has to do and how she can recover if things go wrong, but she can’t help but worry.
She takes a deep breath and moves to the makeup department, which gets her outfit covered before they start with the makeup process. The women working there help calm her down a bit.
“Just a bit worried that I’ll mess things up,” Anna admits softly, eyes closed as eyeshadow is applied.
“I’ve seen your show, you know,” the makeup artist says, “and you’ve killed it each time. You’re going to do just fine, Anna.”
Anna nods, looking down at her notes when she has the chance, a deep breath as she continues to pour over the more intricate names on the cards.
It’s ten minutes to showtime and both she and Henry are waiting for the stream to go live. Just as she’s about to turn off her phone, she gets a barrage of texts from the Queen and Ladies in Waiting group chat: they’re all supportive, they love her, and they cannot wait to see her shine. Her tweeting out the link also brought about many a good wish and excitement. 
People are excited to see her and are excited to watch her do this.
It’s a comforting thought.
“We’re live in two minutes!” says the stage manager, and with a final “love you all and thank you” to the queens and ladies, Anna turns off her phone.
“One minute!”
Anna straightens out her bowtie, taking a deep breath.
“Thirty seconds!”
She and Henry nod at each other, smile, and look forward.
“Ten!”
She straightens up.
“Five!”
She looks straight at the prompter.
“Four, three, two-”
The light above the camera goes red. They’re live.
“Hello, and welcome to the nominations ceremony,” Henry says. “I’m Henry.”
“And I’m Anna,” Anna says confidently.
“And we’re here,” Henry continues. “to announce this year’s nominees.” He looks over at Anna. “You know, Anna, I’m honored to be here with you tonight to show off the best talent of the year.”
“I must say,” Anna replies, smiling back. “that you’re the best Henry I’ve ever had the pleasure of having company with.”
They laugh - it’s still a funny joke, even to them - and Henry and Anna turn back to the camera.
“I’m glad to hear it,” Henry says. “And on that note, let’s get to it then, shall we?”
The announcements go well - they go back and forth with the categories, rattling off the names and their productions, wait a moment, and rinse and repeat. There’s no audience, and the studio itself is actually fairly small, so after a few categories Anna feels like it’s just her, Henry, the stage manager and that’s it. The quiet of the room is a comfort, really, and Anna is thankful for it.
It takes about twenty minutes to rattle off all the categories. Once they’re done, Anna has the privledge of signing off the broadcast.
“That concludes our nominations ceremony,” Anna says with a smile. “I’m Anna,”
“And I’m Henry,” Henry says.
“And we thank you for watching. Have a good night and once again, congratulations to all nominees.”
The red light slowly fades out, and Anna and Henry are left standing there smiling at the camera.
“And... we’re out!” the stage manager says. “Nice job, you two, that went really well.”
Anna let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding and instantly laughs, hugging Henry when he offers. 
“Brilliant job, Anna!” Henry says.
“You as well,” Anna replies with a grin. “That was a lot of fun, actually. I’m glad it went well.”
They chat for a bit more, taking a selfie or two together to post on social media, before Anna is brought back to her dressing room. She takes off as much makeup as she can, goes back into her more comfortable clothes, then gets into the limo waiting to take her back home.
It’s then that she turns on her phone... and is delighted to see that people both loved the ceremony but also her outfit. A lot of “#goals” are on tweets and insta posts, and she has to laugh at the very positive reactions. Most of all, however, people loved her and Henry together (something she never thought she’d hear again, to be honest) and everyone seemed to be really impressed with her.
As soon as she gets out of the limo and opens the door to the flat, she puts her things down fast and braces herself. Her instincts are well founded: she’s instantly tackled by a blur of pink-tipped hair, who hugs her as tightly as possible.
“That was brilliant, Anna!” Kat says, followed shortly by Bessie, who hugs her queen tightly. The rest of the group is just behind, excitedly congratulating Anna on a job well done. There’s even a cake to commemorate the event.
When everyone’s calmed down a few hours later, Katherine is asleep in Anna’s lap as Catherine and Anna watch television.
“You really did well today, Anna,” Catherine says with a grin. 
“I really liked doing it, to be honest,” Anna said. “I wasn’t sure how people were going to react to it just being me, but... I really liked it.”
“Of course they loved you, you’re incredible,” Catherine assures.
“I know that,” Anna quips, “but I was afraid...” she frowns, looking down at Katherine, who is fast asleep. “Well, honestly, I was afraid that people wouldn’t want to tune in because it was just me.”
Catherine frowns at that. “Anna-”
“I know what you’re going to say, Catherine, but the truth is... I’m not the most popular out there. I know that.” Anna sighs. “I’ve seen the bad messages, the people being rude, the trolls, I just... was afraid that they were going to overwhelm this.”
“There’s no way-” Catherine continues, but Anna cuts her off.
“Logically, I know that,” Anna replies. “But I couldn’t help but worry. And then, if I got something wrong, or if I mispronounced a name, I thought I’d be done for.” Anna shrugs. “That’s why I was practicing so much. I didn’t want to let anyone down, and I didn’t want to give the trolls an opening.”
Catherine moves to Anna then, and Anna puts her head on Catherine’s shoulder. She’s still gently rubbing up and down Kat’s arm soothingly, keeping the girl asleep, as Catherine continues.
“I’m sorry they’re so bad, babes. I wish you would have told us before this,” Catherine says quietly. “But you were brilliant, and everyone loved you. You’re one of the best public speakers I know, honestly, and I think you did better than Henry.”
Anna smiles at that, so Catherine continues.
“You were incredible, babes. Don’t sell yourself short. You really knocked it out of the park.”
Anna sighs, relaxing a bit into Catherine, and keeps her close.
“Thank you.”
“I didn’t do anything, you know,” Catherine quips. “This was all you. You’re the reason you killed it. I’m proud of you.”
Anna wrapped an arm around Catherine’s shoulders, and she gently kissed the girl’s cheek.
“Dunno what I’d do without you lot,” Anna mumbles. “But I’m glad you’re all here.”
Catherine smiles.
“Always.”
51 notes · View notes
tiptapricot · 4 years
Note
Okay uhhhh fanfic request. Batman Beyond where Terry ends up getting a Robin, (either Miguel from the episode Unmask, or Dak from Where’s Terry) and Matt finds out, that a) his big brother is Batman, and b) Terry got ‘some random kid’ to be Robin and not him, his own little brother.
Thanks for the request anon! You can find this on AO3 here. Enjoy!
Matt was home alone when it happened. Terry had gone out to run errands for Mr. Wayne and their mom had gone shopping for dinner. It wasn’t anything unusual. The same exact thing happened every few weeks. Matt had the TV to keep him occupied and there were snacks in the fridge if he wanted anything. The evening had been going as per usual, and Matt had even managed to dig out one of the boxes of Valentine's chocolates Terry never ate, when he had heard something from down the hall. He had turned down the volume of the TV and gotten up, walking as slowly and quietly as he could towards the sound. 
His mom had always told him to be careful of intruders. They had good locks on their windows and doors, but like she always said, you could never be too careful in Gotham.
As Matt got closer, he realized the sound was voices, two of them, coming from Terry’s room. Of course, his first thought was that Terry had snuck Dana into the house, and he was getting ready to throw open the door and tease them, when he realized that the second voice didn’t sound like Dana at all, it sounded like a little boy.
“You can’t just follow me home! How am I gonna explain this to my folks?”
“I wanted to see where you live. It’s been almost two months now and what do I get? Your name. I don’t even get to see your face, and it’s really starting to get on my nerves. You know how much a name means in Gotham? Nothing! There are like, what, a million Terrys? And what kind of lame name is ‘Terry’ anyways? I mean you can’t blame me for—”
 “Okay, okay, you can come over for a bit, but as soon as my mom and brother get home you leave, okay?”
“Yeah, whatever.”
There was a slight shuffling sound, and a bump that sounded like someone falling over, before the voices picked up again.
“This is your room?”
“Yeah, yeah it is.”
“It’s lame. Do you not like pictures or something?”
“I don’t exactly spend a lot of time in here you know?”
“So do I get to see your face now or what?”
Matt pressed his ear closer to the door. What on earth was going on?
“Only if you promise not to make my life hell if you see me in public.”
“Hey! You know me. I don’t snitch.”
“Fine. There, happy?”
The kid laughed.
“You’re just as lame as your name. You look like one of the pretty boy biker kids in my neighborhood.”
“Gee, thanks. Now remember what I said, my mom and Matt are out shopping right now but they should be back soon. The second the car rolls up you’re right back out that window. Understand?”
“I’m not some dumb kid, man, I know what I’m doing.”
“Right, because you totally knew what you were doing when those dregs beat your ass tod—”
Matt almost fell over when the door opened in front of him. He stumbled and jumped back, eyes wide as he came face to face with a great, big bat symbol.
“Holy…” he breathed. 
“Matt?” Terry’s eyes went wide. “What are you doing here? Didn’t you go out with mom?”
He couldn’t… Terry couldn’t be Batman. Batman was strong and schway, like the schwayest hero ever, and Terry… Terry was just his lame older brother. He wasn’t special, he was a huge jerk if anything. A boring guy who never made time to spend with his family. Because he can’t. Because he’s Batman. He’s standing right there, he’s wearing the suit, he’s Batman. 
Matt took a step back, then two more. Terry followed, still trying to come up with an explanation.
“I— it’s not what it looks like I swear it’s just a, it’s a…It’s a school project! One of my friends made this for me and I was just… I was just trying it on!”
“What’s goin’ on Terry?” The other voice came from inside the room and the kid himself followed.
Robin.
It had been a media sensation when Robin had first been sighted a few months before. Matt had gotten all the toys that had burst onto the shelves. Robin had quickly become his hero, almost more than Batman was. He loved to tell his mom “He’s my age! I could be a hero like him, just watch!” And now here the kid was, standing in the middle of his brother’s room like it was the most normal thing in the world. He was a bit taller than Matt, and he’d pulled back his mask to reveal a round faced kid with dark eyebrows and a permanent smirk.
“Woah…” Matt looked between the two of them. Batman. Robin. Terry. Robin. Terry. Some random kid.
“You’re Batman?!” He didn’t mean to yell. He also didn’t mean to trip over himself as he ran for the living room. Some kind of trick, it had to be. Maybe Spellbinder, or some new villain that messed up what you saw.
“Woah woah woah, hey Twip, where’re you going?!” A pair of smooth black arms wrapped around Matt’s stomach, hoisting him up into the air. The texture felt so wrong. It was soft, almost like skin, but it was too smooth, too cold, too firm.
“Let me go!” He tried to wriggle free but the arms were too strong. Too strong to be human.
Definitely Spellbinder. Or something worse.
“I said let go!” Matt twisted around and hit Not-Terry as hard as he could. Not-Terry let go of him with a grunt of “What the hell Mattie?” And then Matt was running for the door again.
It wasn’t Terry. It wasn’t Batman. It was something, someone, who had broken into their house or was making him see things or…
“Hey bud, can you please look at me?”
“No.” Matt tried to open the door but it was locked. His mom must’ve locked it when she left. He didn’t turn around, he just pressed his face into the door and crossed his arms.
The voice, the voice that sounded so very much like Terry, but that couldn’t be Terry, laughed.
“What are you doing Mattie?”
“You’re not Batman. You’re not Terry.”
“Oh bud. I wanted to tell you. Could you turn around, just for a second, and let me explain?”
Matt pressed his forehead even harder into the metal of the door, counting to ten.
One.
It wasn’t Batman because Terry wasn’t Batman.
Two.
Terry wasn’t Batman because Batman was a hero.
Three.
Terry wasn’t a hero, not really.
Four.
He made Matt laugh and he hugged him a lot, but he always left.
Five.
Just like dad.
Six.
Dad left and Terry came back into his life like he hadn’t been gone for nearly three years.
Seven.
Terry never had fun, he was too tired and too serious.
Eight.
He didn’t want to do things with Matt, even though he wasn’t that much older than him.
Nine.
Terry wasn’t schway or strong, he couldn’t do cool flips or fly a jet or beat up bad guys.
Ten.
So Terry wasn’t Batman, and the person behind him wasn’t Terry.
So who was he?
“Mattie, please?”
“Your brother’s acting like a big baby.” Anger flared in Matt’s chest.
“I am not!” He spun around without a second thought.
The kid, the kid that looked like Robin but wasn’t Robin, just smiled.
“Not now Dak.” Not-Terry hissed. He looked back and met Matt’s eyes. It was a look he’d seen a few times, like when he’d come home after Batman had saved him from Stalker, or after Matt had scraped his knee at Cheesy Dan’s. It was the look that Terry gave him that was soft and worried and… and Not-Terry looked so much like Terry.
“You… you are Batman.” Matt’s eyes widened, then went wider, his fingers reaching out to touch the red of the symbol covering his brother’s, his actual brother’s, chest.
“I didn’t think I’d have to tell you like this, and I definitely didn’t expect you to run.”
Matt was speechless. He guessed he finally understood what people meant when they said the word starstruck.
It wasn’t an illusion. Terry, Terry his brother, was Batman.
“Schway.” he whispered.
“Are you done freaking out now? I tell you, none of my friends would react like that. That was real weird.”
Terry glared at the kid. What had he called him? Dak? What kind of name was that anyway?
“Listen, I guess I better go. See you when something interesting happens and we can kick some butt. Thanks for finally letting me see your face by the way.”
Dak pulled his mask over his eyes and walked back into Terry’s room. Matt heard the click of the window lock and a whoosh of air and then there was silence.
“So… I guess we need to talk.”
***
Terry got a call when he was changing in his room. He was trying to talk quietly but Matt heard him loud and clear.
“Yeah I know, but some stuff came up okay? Tell the commish I’ll be there in half an hour or something.”
“...”
“No it can’t wait.”
“...”
“Uh… Mattie found out.”
“...”
“Yeah I know but I can’t erase his memory or anything! He saw what he saw and now we have to deal with it!”
“...”
“Yeah I’m gonna talk with him right now. Right. See you later.”
Terry came out of his room a few minutes later dressed in his normal clothes. He was carrying the batsuit, folded up nice and neat in a little square with the cowl pinched between his fingers.
The shock still hadn’t fully worn off, and it was still weird to see the costume sitting in his brother’s lap when he joined Matt on the couch, but at the same time, Matt was excited. He was talking to Batman for Pete’s sake.
“What’s it like to fight bad guys? How did you become Batman? Can you show me any moves?” It all tumbled out like a dam breaking.
“Alright Twip, calm down.” Terry was smiling, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Before anything you gotta promise me you won’t tell Mom about this, okay?”
“Yeah yeah, whatever.”
“Or any of your friends.”
“Okay okay I get it!” Matt reached over to feel the suit again. It was still that weird texture, almost like silk skin.
“Alright then. What do you want to know? One question at a time.”
Matt opened his mouth but paused for a moment, thinking. He wanted to ask a lot of things but… there was one question he had to ask.
“Is this why you’re always gone?”
Terry blinked owlishly.
“I—uh yeah it’s a pretty time consuming job bud.”
Right. Batman had to fight bad guys and Gotham had a lot of bad guys. Still…
“Mom wishes you were home more y’know. I’ve heard her talk to her friends about it.” He tried to be casual about it, staring intently at the red and black material of the suit. That was all he could really focus on, it was weird to look Terry in the eyes.
He heard his brother sigh and felt him lean back into the couch cushions.
“Yeah I know. I’m working on that. You’ve been a real help, I’ve heard her talk about that too.”
“You’ve been gone even more recently, I think she’s starting to worry. Is it some big thing? Like when the Joker came back last year?”
“No, no, I’ve just been busy training Dak. He’s the new Robin, that kid that was with me just now.”
“Yeah Terry, I know. I’m not blind.” Matt picked a piece of dust off the suit.
“Oh… right.”
“How hard can it be though?”
“You mean besides the fact that he never listens and my boss has us training almost 24/7?”
“I’d listen. I bet I could be a great Robin.”
“Sure bud.” The way Terry said it was so off handed, almost joking.
Matt felt his face heat up, the anger from before resurfacing.
“I could! And you know me already! He’s just some random kid!”
“Woah hey. I’m not saying you wouldn’t be a good hero, but Dak needed Robin, just like I needed Batman.” Terry was using the calm voice, the one he used to get Matt to listen or do what he wanted, but it wasn’t going to work this time.
“How? How did he need Robin?”
Terry sighed again, pushing the hair out of his eyes.
“That’s a big question bud. It’s a long story. Dak helped me out of a sticky situation a while back. I didn’t see him for a long time, and then a few months ago I was beating up a gang and he stopped one of the guys from hitting me with a pipe. He got knocked out though, so I tried to bring him home. Turns out his folks died in a house fire while he was at school. My boss knows a thing or two about that kind of stuff, and told me it might be a good idea to take him on. I was the hesitant one at first, if you can imagine, but in the end it was the best option. He’s with a foster family now, and he works with me as Robin on the side. If I hadn’t given him that… who knows where he’d be now.”
Matt was mistaken. The excitement he’d felt earlier had just been anger.
“But what about me? I lost someone too, I lost Dad! Why don’t I need Robin? Why is he so special? Why didn’t you ask me?” Feelings were hard sometimes. Sometimes they were big, too big, for Matt to handle. He was standing before he knew it, his feet sinking into the cushions, his finger pointing accusingly at Terry.
“Oh Mattie it’s not like that.”
“Yeah? Then what is it like? You chose some street kid who you barely know over me!”
“Matt—”
“I need help too! You think it’s been easy? Everyone’s already moved on but I haven’t! I still miss Dad and I—” he didn’t mean to start crying, “and I—I… I can’t remember his face that well anymore, Terry. I can’t rem—remember what he looked like.” A hiccup interrupted the sentence, sounding much closer to a sob than he wanted it too.
“Oh bud I’m sorry.” Terry pulled him into a hug and Matt heard a dull thump as the costume slid onto the floor. Terry’s arms were solid and warm, his fingers combing comfortingly through Matt’s hair.
How did feelings just do that? How did they change so fast? From so big to so small, so angry to so sad? Matt pressed his fists against Terry’s chest and cried harder, his voice wobbling and cracking and shaking like a bowl of jello.
“Hey, I’m here. I’m sorry I haven’t been, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but I’m here now, Mattie, okay?”
Matt nodded into Terry’s shirt.
“I love you bud.” Terry said, pressing a kiss to the crown of his head.
They sat like that for a few minutes, Matt’s sobs slowly quieting, the tears drying in sticky tracks down his face. Terry didn’t move, he continued to hold Matt tight and rub his shoulders, and they just sat like that.
“Can I… can I be Robin someday?” Matt finally asked. “I think I need it too.”
He could feel Terry smile against his hair. “We’ll see. I don’t want you getting hurt, and Robin’s taken right now, but maybe you can be someone else, okay?”
Matt looked up at Terry and smiled.
“Okay.”
Terry gave him another kiss on the forehead and got up. He stretched, groaning, and made his way to the kitchen. “I have a thing I need to get to. Wanna come with?”
“What kind of thing?” Matt scrubbed at the tears on his cheeks, wiping his hands on the couch cushions. 
“Hero stuff. It’s about a case but it’s nothing major.” Terry started rummaging in one of the drawers.
“What about mom? We can’t just leave.” 
“I’ll leave a note, say I’m taking you to Cheesy Dan’s for a bit or something.”
“Okay.”
Terry paused when he pulled out the sticky notes.
“Hey Matt?”
“Yeah?”
“You know you’ll always be more important than any Batman business right?”
Matt stared. 
He stared at his brother, still tall, maybe a bit less lanky than he’d been before, more muscle, his hair falling thick and dark in front of his eyes. He stared at that dimple on his chin that Matt had always wanted, and he realized that it was the same brother he’d always had. 
He stared at Batman, the hero who was standing in his kitchen, who had saved people countless times on TV, who had saved him more than he could count. He stared at the way Terry held himself, just a bit differently than he remembered, at the way his eyes looked tired but aware, and the bruise that was becoming more visible on his jaw. He stared and he realized that Terry was Batman. He stared and he realized things weren’t the same, and maybe they hadn’t been for a long, long time.
He stared and he thought about those words. He thought about the boy in the Robin costume who was not him and who needed the suit. He thought about how he didn’t understand his feelings, and about how things were confusing and he didn’t know if they would ever stop being that way.
“Yeah. Yeah I know.” He said after a moment. And he meant it. 
Sometimes things were simple, sometimes they weren’t. Sometimes people were there, sometimes they weren’t. Sometimes Matt was alone and sometimes Terry was dragging him into a clean limousine and driving him to a big house and dragging him down a secret passage and introducing him to a legacy.
Sometimes there was Batman, and sometimes there was Terry.
And that was okay.
And Matt was okay.
47 notes · View notes
spideyspence · 5 years
Text
i swear you’re here; peter parker
peter parker x reader
summary: It’s nice having Peter with her when she wakes up in the morning. He’s been so much closer to her after he went to space, much clingier. He sleeps over a lot more, but she doesn’t go over to his and May’s place for dinner every Friday night like she once did. She’s unsure of why her mum hasn’t commented on Peter staying at theirs at much as he does.Y/N doesn’t have an issue with Peter being with her as much as he is, until she finds out why.
warnings: this is very sad im sorry, hallucinating, mentally ill!reader (but there’s no diagnosis)
A/N: this is is set after infinity war but before endgame so y’all can guess what’s happening right?
i have come to love this fic so much because it was a support through some of the tougher times with my mental health since the start of april, so this fic is my baby
tagged: @hey-its-grey (thanks for dealing with my rants about this fic), @poetrypeter, @hollandroos, @kiwispideys, @plushparker, @naturallytom
my masterlist
the playlist
Tumblr media
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Y/N walked into the train carriage with her best friend and boyfriend, Peter Parker. The train was packed as it usually was at 3:30 after school, so the two lovebirds stood and held onto one another, trusting each other to not fall.
Earphones were plugged into her phone and extended out with one earbud in Y/N’s ear and one in Peter’s. Some kind of alternative music was playing that could be heard due to the set volume, but they both still talked to one another, electric guitar playing in the background.
They maintained eye contact throughout the train ride back to Y/N’s apartment. When they first started dating, eye contact was hard for the both of them, but they both found out later on that while talking, the eye contact meant everything to them (they’d also be cheesy and would always say that they would ‘get lost in each other’s eyes’ and their friend MJ would gag every time). They denied it, but many of their friends labelled them as a cheesy couple.
After a thorough conversation about a new episode of a cartoon the two recently had become obsessed with and had binge watched over the weekend, the train came to their stop and they both hopped off.
The walk back to Y/N’s home included hand holding and more alternative music but at a lower volume this time. The streets of Queens weren’t as loud as the train was, especially on this sunnier afternoon.
Peter was always staying at Y/N’s place after school. He would come over and study with her and they’d go out for dinner some nights. One particularly warm night, they walked around the city as the sun was setting and buy some street food they would find. Any nights that Y/N would end up being a little bit clingier, Peter would be happy to stay the night.
It was like everything was going Y/N’s way, but she didn’t question it.
Her usual school routine was waking up in the morning, Peter would grab his own breakfast while Y/N got changed and then she would grab hers as her boyfriend got changed. They always brushed their teeth together as they looked at one another at the mirror and danced around listening to some of Peter’s playlists. They’d catch the train together and they’d go to their classes together.
Ned and MJ were different though. Y/N sat with them at lunch, but they didn’t really talk much. Y/N wanted to know why there was always silence between the four of them for nothing had changed. Ned and MJ still sat on the seats opposite Peter and Y/N in the cafeteria. It wasn’t like any of them had died in the snap.
Y/N knew about the real Stark internship. She was always worried about what would happen to Peter when he went out on patrol. She feared him coming to her room with some horrible wound or him not coming back at all. At the same time however, she knew that this is what Peter wanted. He loved helping others and even though he was putting his life at risk, he felt good about how he was helping the city he lived in. (Also, he had a great relationship with Tony Stark and Y/N loved hearing Peter talk about Tony and what they worked on with his suit).
She was scared when she turned around in the city, seeing people turning to dust around her. She called Ned and MJ to make sure that they were okay, but Peter wasn’t answering her calls. She feared that he may have turned to dust, and she couldn’t handle that thought. She couldn’t bear to think of a life without Peter by her side. So, when she returned home that afternoon to see Peter lying on her bed, doing his chemistry homework and his endearing smile appearing on his face when he noticed her come into her room, she knew everything was going to be alright.
Later that night however, when her Mum returned home with the news that her father was one of the victims of the snap, she held her face in her hands as she sobbed and ran back to her room. Peter had whispered to her that he had heard the news through the wall, as he hugged her as Y/N wept on her bed all night long.
-
There were quiet whispers shared among the two teens sitting in their chemistry class. They were writing some new equations that they had just learnt as the bell rang. It was their last class for the day and like usual, the two packed their school bags and caught the train back to Y/N’s home.
They opened up their chemistry textbooks and notebooks to do the rest of their work and Y/N was confused at one moment, so Peter helped her out.
‘Babe, you’ve forgotten to balance the equation here, that’s why you aren’t getting the right answer. See with phosphorus, you’ve got it written as seven when it should be 3.’ Peter explained.
‘Thanks Pete,’ she smiled as Peter went back to doing the rest of his work.
‘I love you.’
‘I love you too Y/N. I’ll love you for as long as I live.’ The brown-haired boy smiled.
She laughed as she leant in and gave her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek and they went back to their homework.
-
Y/N’s mother came home from work and said to Y/N that she needed to go see someone about her father’s death. Her mother wanted her to talk about how she was feeling because she wasn’t talking about his death all that much.
Y/N was confused because she did talk openly about it to her mother. She had grieved and she still missed her father, she always would but she didn’t understand. She grieved every night for a month but now she thinks of her father daily, and she hopes that he would continue to be proud of her.
She ate dinner with her mother as Peter went back to his and had his dinner with his Aunt. They weren’t going to hang out tonight because Y/N was tired, and she wanted to do some reading for English that night and wanted to read some of her own novels.
She wanted some downtime to herself, which she always valued a lot.
Before her appointment with the counsellor, she didn’t realise how much ‘downtime to herself’ she would have after the session.
-
Her first class was English for the day. Writing notes on the themes of the novel, colour coordinating. Peter and Y/N didn’t have the same English class, but it was nice to have some distance while at school.
Class felt like it went on forever, but when it ended, she walked to her locker and had planned to go to library for her spare periods to study. Peter also had spares at the same time and on these particular days they would go out for lunch. Some days it was a pizza, some days it was going to Delmar’s Deli-Grocery where Peter and Y/N played with the cat that sat on the counter until their sandwiches were done.
Y/N wasn’t looking forward to her appointment with her councillor. She hadn’t seen her in a few months. She saw her after the snap when her father had passed and if it wasn’t for her councillor, she wouldn’t know what kind of mental state she would be in currently.
Peter and Y/N studied together, Y/N writing a few more notes for her English and Peter studying for his Spanish test the next period (classic Peter style).
They then walked through the streets of NYC, making their way to Delmar’s that day. Peter and Y/N were ordering separately that day. They petted Murph as they were waiting and sipped their soft drinks.
When they returned back to school, Peter went off to his Spanish class and Y/N wished him good luck with a kiss on his cheek and he walked off down the corridor, the sun coming in through the windows in front of him.
-
Peter had told Y/N earlier on that day that he was leaving straight after school to help May with something, so she didn’t need to wait up after class.
It worked well for Y/N because she needed to go to the appointment which was about an hour later after school finished.
Prior to their appointment, she browsed her favourite second hand book shop and managed to find a really nice edition of her favourite book, and also a cool looking comic that she knew Peter didn’t have. She’d give her boyfriend the comic next day at school.
Y/N then walked a couple more blocks until she was standing outside the councillor’s door and she was nervous. She would have liked to have Peter holding her hand in this moment to calm her nerves.
She didn’t understand why she had to talk to someone right now. Y/N was doing well in school and her mental health was fine. She didn’t need a check-up.
But her mum thought otherwise.
-
Y/N sat on the couch while her councillor asked her how she was. She told her that she didn’t understand why she had to be sitting there. Y/N was alright. She hadn’t had a panic attack in couple of months, so things weren’t adding up.
‘Well, your mum called, and she told me to discuss with you a few things that are concerning her.’
So, she asked some of the usual questions. How she felt about her Dad and his death. Of course, Y/N still missed her father and her heart still hurt but at least her heart rate didn’t increase at any mention of him anymore. She had become stronger and moved on, just like her dad would have wanted her to.
Then she asked Y/N about Peter.
‘What? Peter, my boyfriend? Yeah, he’s doing well. We’ve been studying together lately but since the whole ‘half the world dying’ thing, he has been a bit more clingy than usual, but nothing has really changed.’ She rambled.
‘What does Peter have to do with this anyway?’ She questioned, confused on why the person opposite her, who knew so much about her would be asking about her boyfriend.
What direction was this conversation taking?
‘See, your mum wanted me to talk to you about Peter.’ The councillor smiled softly.
‘Okay look, if she’s wanting to say that we need to spend more time apart, why she would ask you to talk to me about it?’ Y/N asked with a puzzled face, but a small laugh to cover up her nervousness.
Her councillor laughed but their face then turned into a frown.
‘Peter didn’t survive the snap.’
Y/N knew she didn’t hear that sentence right.
‘Sorry?’
‘Peter died in the snap. He was one of the victims. He isn’t with us anymore.’ Her councillor said softly, cautiously.
‘Okay you see, that isn’t true. He helped me out with my chemistry homework a couple of nights ago!’ She stood up, infuriated that someone was telling her that her own boyfriend was dead, even though she saw him walk into his Spanish class for his test only a couple of hours prior.
Y/N started to feel the familiar tightness in her chest that she hadn’t felt for months. Her heart rate increased. Her councillor’s voice sounded like a dull, echoey sound in the back of her mind but she couldn’t hear it over the thudding of her heart. Y/N could hear someone calling out her name, but she didn’t feel like she was in the moment.
She looked at her councillor dead in the eyes and said ‘no’ as she walked out of the room, blinded by tears.
Now it wasn’t her smartest idea to walk blindly through New York at one of its busiest times, but Y/N jumped on the train and headed home. She wiped her tears away as her councillor’s words swam through her mind. She hit shuffle on her music to hopefully take her mind off everything only for the song to play was one that Peter had recommended to her.
‘You have to listen to this artist they’re so good Y/N’ Peter smiled. He had her computer sitting on his lap as he went through her Spotify. He had created a playlist called ‘peter p’s recs’ because he thought it was cool and Y/N needed a ‘music education’. He had chosen a silly photo of him that was on her computer as the photo for the playlist.
She looked at that playlist now, realising that it hadn’t been touched in months. She didn’t want to believe it, but she needed to find out herself.
She felt her tears return as she hopped of the train and headed to the direction of Peter and May’s apartment.
She walked up the stairs, headphones no longer playing music, just listening to her unsteady breath as she looked at the door she hadn’t seen in so long.
Y/N was debating on walking away and not dealing with the situation that was arising, but before she could stop herself, she had knocked three times on the door.
Moments later the door opened, and a familiar face appeared.
‘Hi Y/N, how are you? I haven’t seen you in so long’ May said to her but her smile quickly disappeared when she saw the tears in Y/N’s eyes.
‘Is he here? Or have I just been imagining all this time that Peter is still next to me and that we’ve gone to grab lunch together only for the reality to be that I go to Delmar’s alone?’ She sobbed.
May opened her arms and Y/N fell forward into her embrace and the teenage girl cried.
‘I don’t want it to be real but now I can see that everything is pointed towards him not being here. I haven’t seen you in so long which is completely out of the ordinary, I don’t see Spider-Man on the news anymore, but Peter wouldn’t want to fight after everything, I know that, but MJ and Ned don’t even talk about Peter anymore. It’s just silence.’ She ranted.
‘He can’t be dead because he held me. He held me when I cried for my Dad to come back when he died. He was there. I could feel him.’ She said, tears falling from her eyes as May was at the bench, making the two of them cups of tea.
May had sent Y/N’s mother a text saying that her daughter was over at hers and that she was safe, she just needed to talk. It was a part of the female guardian code.
Y/N heard the door open and she heard the keys being placed on the small table by the door.
‘Hey babe, I didn’t realise you were gonna be over.’ Peter smiled at Y/N but just like his aunt, his smile faltered when he saw her red eyes.
‘What’s wrong honey?’ Peter asked, worried.
That’s when she turned to May.
‘Can’t you-? He’s right there.’ Y/N pointed to the chair opposite her at the table and she looked at May. She shook her head as she placed the two mugs down on the table.
‘May please, he’s right there. Can’t you see him? He’s there okay. He helped me with my chemistry homework okay. He’s alive.’
‘Y/N, he’s not here.’
She looked back to where Peter was standing, except he wasn’t there anymore. Her eyes widened as her boyfriend disappeared.
‘Pete? Peter? Where’d you go?’ She called. She could hear the panic set into her voice.
She felt arms wrap around her and she cried into Aunt May’s chest.
‘He was telling me jokes in class and- and-’ Y/N hiccupped.
Peter was now gone, and Y/N had finally come to terms with it, and she let out all the pain.
She fell onto the floor, wailing loudly. The pain, it was unbearable. It was scorching hot but ice cold at the same time. It was nothing but everything at once.
May helped her up and guided her towards Peter’s bedroom. May knew that Y/N needed to rest and was unsure whether sleeping on Peter’s bed would be good for her or not, but it was the best and easiest place for she to stay for tonight.
May again, let Y/N’s mum know that she was staying over because she was in no position to go home but to let the school know that she wasn’t going to be at school the next day and to pick her up late morning.
Peter’s scent filled her nose when she entered her dead boyfriend’s room. Everything was left the exact same, nothing had changed.
She fell onto Peter’s bed in the corner of his room and cocooned herself in his cold blankets. She was wrapped in his scent and she knew that this was the last time she would feel whole in a long time. So, she fell asleep to try and numb the pain.
She hadn’t just lost her boyfriend, she was feeling the pain of losing her best friend and her mind.
-
'Cause I'm bringing you back to life And I know that you're gone, but I swear that you're here It's a feeling that won't disappear
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