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#can you tell i'm just about done with this ravens team?
allpromarlo · 1 year
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am i getting into a whole new thing bc i want to distract myself from the imminent disaster on sunday? absolutely
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nereidprinc3ss · 3 days
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slumber party
in which there's only one bed. fem bau!reader x spencer reid
fluff! warnings/tags: dark humor, (the word molest is used jokingly once but in my defense your honor its completely on brand for early seasons cm humor, if u cancel me u have to cancel the whole cast those are the rules, its just a joke cause reader always flirts w him aggressively, pls don't come for me i have a wife and children and three boyfriends to take care of,) mutual pining, bullying and death threats as flirting, they love each other so much and bicker like children, glasses spencer, (moans), emily and rossi are mentioned bc canon means fuck all to me, i think thats it but this is my most out of pocket duo so if i'm wrong lmk a/n: just a silly little thing that i cooked up, not a masterpiece but i think its cute!! I hope u enjoy!! lmk what you think!! looooveee youuuu
“Oh, there is no way.”
Your duffel bag hits the dingy carpet as Spencer is still closing the door behind you. 
“What? Is it—”
You give him a look over your shoulder, eyebrows raised as if to say, what are you going to do about this?
But he only manages to meet your eyes for a split second before they’re back to the singular queen bed, darting over the white sheets and pillows like he might find another mattress if he looks hard enough. 
Sharing a room with Spencer, you can handle. You've done it before. Whenever the team has to pair up at a hotel, you two are an obvious choice. And while you occasionally butt heads, mostly you adore each other and it's great.
But sharing a bed is a whole other situation.
One you were not prepared for. And evidently, neither is he.
Watching his big anxious eyes flit around the room nervously, you feel sort of bad for your reaction. You know you can be a bit… abrasive, sometimes. 
“It’s fine, I’ll just—I’ll see if I can share a bed with Emily or JJ in their room—”
Just then there’s a knock at the door. Spencer looks relieved to have something else to focus on, turning back around and quickly undoing the latch again before opening the door to reveal your favorite raven-haired SSA. Emily leans past the doorjamb, eyes immediately honing in on the awkward sleeping arrangement. 
“Oh my god! You guys too?”
“What?” You and Spencer ask at the same time. Emily raises her eyebrows at this and glances between you, but otherwise doesn’t comment. 
“Me and JJ only have the one bed. I thought it might just have been us.”
You frown. There goes your plan of sharing a room with them. 
“What about Morgan and Garcia?”
Spencer snorts.
“Something tells me Penelope wouldn’t be too torn up about it if that's the case.”
“Hotch and Rossi?”
The room goes quiet and a little chilly as the thought disturbs everyone equally. Emily frowns deeply.
“I don’t even… I can’t picture that.”
“Can we please not try to picture it?”
“Great. Okay, well. I just wanted to make sure everyone is suffering equally. Good luck, champs.”
“Thanks,” Spencer mutters dryly. Emily smiles, eyes darting between the two of you for just a moment too long, before pushing off the door frame and disappearing from sight. Once the door is closed again, a heavy silence ensues. “I’ll… I can take the floor—”
“It’s fine, Spencer. I’m not going to make you sleep on the floor. We’re both grown-ups. Besides, we like each other, right? It’ll be like a slumber party.”
“I’ve never had one,” he admits. His glasses slip further down his nose as he frowns. Your fingers itch to push them back up. 
“Then I’m happy to be your first,” you tease, facing him fully with your hand on your hip and barely resisting the urge to add, I’ll be gentle. “Do you want the shower first or can I?”
Spencer has a habit of looking you up and down like he doesn’t realize he’s doing it. Some might find it odd, but his utter lack of social graces is, lucky for him, incredibly endearing to you. 
“You can have it first,” he says, meeting your eyes again. “Just don’t do that thing where you get the entire bathroom soaking wet.”
“Aw. But I love doing that. It’s my favorite part,” you tease, scooping up your bag once more.
Twenty minutes later you’re emerging from the bathroom with damp hair, clad in loose shorts and a college hoodie. 
“Nice outfit,” Spencer says from the spinny-chair at the desk, examining your outfit choice with a scrutiny you wish you’d been prepared for. Really, you wish you’d known ahead of time you’d have a roommate and brought some alternate sleeping clothes. “I had no idea you felt so passionately about… Scooby Doo?”
“Shut up right now,” you grit, tossing your bag into the corner of the room and tugging your hoodie down over your cartoon-patterned shorts as far as you can. 
“What?” He’s laughing as he brushes past you on his way into the bathroom, bearing his own bag. “It’s a good look for you.”
Your face is burning as you choose the side of the bed furthest from the door. Springs creak underneath your weight as you sink down, sitting with your legs hanging off the side for a moment before swinging them up onto the mattress, leaning against the headboard and side-eyeing the empty space next to you. There’s really not very much of it. The bed feels even smaller than it looks. 
From the bathroom you hear the sound of the shower squeaking and starting up again—a cacophony of droplets against tile on the other side of the wall. You try not to be nervous as you imagine Spencer filling the space beside you in just a few minutes, hair wet and in pajamas. And yet you spend each second wondering if he’s almost done, wondering if the shower will finally sputter to a halt, and once it does, wondering how long it’ll be before he’s out again. It’s ridiculous how impatient you're getting—and by the time you finally watch the door knob twist you feel crazy. 
“I think that was your longest shower yet, Dr. Reid.”
The teasing affords you a moment to ogle him head to toe, taking in his choice of pajamas—tonight, familiar plaid pants and an MIT crewneck—as well as his hair which has already begun to dry. Briefly you wonder if he does that thing guys do, where they lean down and haphazardly dry their hair with a towel because they have no concern for its texture whatsoever. But you kind of doubt it, because his hair always looks so soft. 
“You were sitting here waiting for me?” He chuckles, and honestly you’d been expecting a shyer response. But you adapt quickly. 
“Maybe I was. Big spoon or little spoon?”
“Ha-ha.” He opens a drawer in the dresser and begins unpacking his clothes into it. It's a funny habit of his. You never unpack your duffel. “You took the better side of the bed.”
“Uh, yeah. I’m the woman. I get to do that.”
“Well you should know that if an intruder breaks in, I’m not fighting him off. You’d probably have a better chance than me.”
“And my chances will be even better if he’s distracted with you first.”
“So I’m just bait?” He scoffs, looking back at you. Strands of wet hair hang so prettily around his face, like the perfect frame around a work of art. You smile sweetly from your spot on the bed before playfully biting at the air in his direction. The message goes unspoken but reads loud and clear. Of course you are. You make such good bait. 
That gets a blush out of him and he has nothing else to say as he turns back to his drawer. Happily you lean back against the headboard, stretching your legs out and bouncing slightly in place. Beneath you the mattress springs groan and squeak in protest. 
“I hope you're not going to be this irritating all night.”
It's clearly lighthearted, but you promptly stop and frown at his back. 
“Call me irritating again and see where you end up sleeping tonight.”
“I just don’t see how you’re even more hyperactive than usual right now. Has anybody ever told you that you’re crepuscular?” Spencer asks, finally sliding the drawer shut and going to shut the overhead light off. Your eyes narrow. 
“Obviously nobody has told me that.”
“It means y—”
“I’m most energetic within the few hours around dusk and dawn. Contrary to your belief, Dr. Reid, other people are also capable of looking up words in a dictionary and remembering what they mean. Are you going to stand in the corner all night or are you gonna come to bed?”
“I am,” he scoffs, clearly embarrassed and shy and embarrassed of being shy. “I’m just… you look like you kick in your sleep. And hog the blankets.”
You shrug, folding your knees to your chest and hugging them quaintly. 
“I’ve never had any complaints. In fact, you should be so lucky to share a bed with me. All five star reviews, baby.” 
You toss a suggestive wink in at the end, which seems garish enough to break the tension so that Spencer can stop lingering in the corner like a sleep-paralysis demon and move to carefully take his place next to you. He almost mirrors your position, but his legs are too long to quite manage your level of compactness and so they simply fold underneath him. A few silent moments go by, in which you have the dumbest smile on your face and you keep glancing over to the side, waiting for him to be looking back at you. 
“This is already the least relaxed I have ever been in a bed.”
“Good thing we’re not going to sleep yet.”
Finally he looks at you, a casual mix of hesitance, concern, and moderate curiosity coloring his features. 
“We’re not?”
“Oh, my god, Spencer,” you snort. “I’m not gonna molest you. We have to do slumber party stuff, remember?”
He flushes again, glancing at the digital clock in his bedside table. 
“But it’s late. We should go to sleep.”
“At slumber parties you have to stay up until you literally can’t keep your eyes open anymore. Those are the rules. I don’t make them.”
Still, your insistence that you follow the international code of sleepover law goes unabided by Spencer. He simply leans over to flick off his lamp, bathing the room in darkness. 
“I appreciate the effort,” he says, and your eyes haven’t adjusted but you can hear the rustle of sheets and blankets as he gets under them, “but unfortunately we have to be awake and alert in five hours.”
“You’re no fun,” you huff, but climb under your own side of the cover and scoot down until you’re flat on your back, covered in blanket and hands folded on your sternum. 
Spencer doesn’t respond. 
It’s silent for maybe five minutes, during which your brain doesn’t slow down at all. Maybe you are crepuscular. Or slightly nocturnal. You have nothing but energy. 
In an attempt to get comfortable, you try adjusting your position.
The mattress squeaks. 
You do it again. 
Another squeak. 
A second goes by, and now you’re intentionally jostling about, squeaking the mattress as much as you can. 
“Would you stop that?” Spencer says, voice already gravelly with sleep. You manage, but you’re already devolving into a fit of giggles. “I’m going to smother you with this pillow,” he threatens, but you hear the disgruntled smile curling his words. 
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m just not in the mood to rest.”
Another moment passes. He sighs deeply. You smile into the dark. 
“What are you in the mood for?” He asks flatly, and you’ve won. 
“Tell me a secret,” you immediately demand in a hushed tone, flipping on your side to face his back. “Something you’ve never told anyone else.”
“I don’t—”
“Shh! You have to whisper it. Those are the slumber party rules.”
“I don’t have any secrets,” he whispers, clearly flustered, and to your delight, rolling to face the ceiling. “None that you’d want to hear.”
“Oh, now that’s just not true. You’re an enigma, Spencer Reid. You fascinate me.”
You’re only sort of kidding. 
“I… fascinate you?”
“Completely. You know, ever since you moved your desk across from mine I get distracted just staring at you and wondering what you’re thinking about. But you’re very… hard to read, sometimes. I think it’s because you’re a Scorpio.”
“The position of the stars at the time I was born has no bearing on my personality.”
“Fine,” you concede, still in a glorified stage whisper. “But that doesn’t mean you don’t display the archetypal Scorpio traits. You’re all brooding, mysterious. Kinda, I don't know... intense and sexy and unknowable…”
“Sexy?” He laughs, breaking the whisper rule. You grin and let it slide. You’d hoped he would catch that one. 
“Hey,” you snap, losing the smile immediately and lightly shoving against what you hope is his shoulder. “You’re supposed to be telling me a secret, damnit. I won’t let your wiles and charm distract me from getting what I want.”
“When have you ever let anything stop you from getting what you want?”
Truly, your cheeks are going to start aching with this constant back and forth between poker-faced and huge Cheshire smile. 
“Stop flirting and answer my question, Reid.”
With the amount of times you’ve made him sigh tonight he must be dizzy. You chew your lip apprehensively in the silence, picking a loose thread on your pillow. It’s so pitch black in the room, you can’t see him where he lies only a few meager inches from you. But you can feel his presence. You can feel the unexpected bass to his voice when he’s tired and speaking this lowly, which you’ve never heard before.
“All the secrets I’ve never told anyone are just… depressing.”
Your heart sinks a little at the way he swallows between words, like that in and of itself was hard to admit. Unthinkingly your hand slides into the small gap of white cotton between the two of you. 
“Not very good slumber party material, I think,” he laughs self-consciously. 
“You’d be surprised.” 
The sentiment comes quieter and more serious than you’ve been all night. If only you had the words to tell him that he can tell you anything. That you want to hold his secrets for him under lock and key. That you would never, ever do anything less than offer him kindness and support—even if it doesn’t always seem that way when you’re teasing him. 
“Do you have any secrets you’ve never told anyone else?” He murmurs eventually, so soft it could kill you. 
And you do. There are plenty of dark ones, probably not all dissimilar from those he’d elected not to share only a moment ago. 
But you don’t bring those up. 
Instead, you decide to admit to something silly. Still, it makes you nervous as you feel it coming loose in your chest. You’ve really never told anyone this, and it’s perhaps more vulnerable than you’d realized before the words were already leaving your mouth. 
“I, have…” You pause to laugh at yourself, and continue on. “I have a stuffed dragon that I take with me on every single case.”
“You do?” Spencer laughs, so loud and unexpected it almost hurts your ears, angling his head toward you. Blood rushes to your face. 
“Yes. He usually sleeps in bed with me. He’s an excellent listener and has been the origin of several of my most genius breakthroughs. You remember Gibson Cooper?”
“Family annihilator from Houston?” 
“Correct. He’s in prison because Oscar helped me make the Cook Creek Campground connection between the O’Hara and Diangelo families.”
“You have a stuffed profiler dragon named Oscar? Is he here?”
“He’s—I mean, I wasn’t expecting to share a room with someone.”
“So he’s in your bag.”
“Yes,” you seethe, “and I will not be introducing you to him. He doesn’t do well with men.”
“You are genuinely psychotic.”
You huff.
“Fine. I’m sorry I told you anything.”
You’re about to roll over onto your other side—but Spencer surprises you by catching the hand that had been outstretched in his direction. He carefully intertwines your fingers and squeezes gently. 
“You’re right. That was mean. Thank you for telling me about Oscar.” His tone is surprisingly teasing, and you’re so uncharacteristically flustered by this rare show of physicality and affection that you can’t muster an adequate comeback. Spencer doesn’t seem to mind filling your silence, though, sounding a little more solemn now. “I’m sorry I don’t have any secrets for you.”
The way his voice gets all thin and scratchy sometimes—it’s like the earnest sincerity just pours out of him. He can’t control it. He can’t be anyone other than who he is. Maybe that’s a part of why you love him so much. You wonder if he knows how much you love him. It’s not exactly a secret—anyone on the team would be able to tell as much. You’ve been relentlessly teased for the way you are with him. For your batting lashes and your lingering touches and your unabashed flirting. But beneath it all is true affection, and nobody doubts that. 
“It’s okay,” you decide with a squeeze of your own, after a moment of deliberation. “You’ll think of something. ’Cause, y’know—you’re stuck with me for at least a few more days.”
“Oh, god,” he laughs, and releases your hand, rolling over to face away from you. But you don’t mind. You’ll get lots more time to invade his personal space over the coming week or so. “Goodnight.”
“Sweet dreams,” you sing-song, turning away to face the wall with what is perhaps your biggest, stupidest smile yet.
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thevoidstaredback · 2 months
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Honestly, Danny doesn't know how he gets into these situations. It's probably the fault of a deity or an Ancient or someone. It's most definitely Clockwork's fault.
Going on that mission with Constantine sounded like a good idea at the time, and Raven was going to be there! She's the best impulse control on the team. He realizes he should've clarified why Raven was going with them. Evidently, it was not to help or be impulse control for the Ghost King and the Alcoholic Soul Whore. (Don't tell Constantine that's his nickname) Raven was going along because she had business at Titan Tower. It should've been obvious, but Danny is not the most observant.
Either way, he was wrong. He thought going on this mission with John - there was a demon running around an apartment building and people were, apparently, quite upset about that - would deter the Justice League from hounding him like roaches. He was right about that, but also very wrong because the proteges took the opportunity to sniff him out like the bloodhounds they are. Unsurprisingly, Red Robin was at the head of the charge.
Raven, the traitor, sat back and laughed at him. She wasn't laughing, but it was obvious that she found his misery amusing.
Anyway, this lead to a citywide hunt for Danny. Anytime he spotted even a hint of any of the Titans chasing him, he was gone. He couldn't stray too far from Constantine, though, and Beast Boy had a nose like a damn elephant.
The chase lasted a solid three hours before he had to let them catch him, if only so that he could tell them to leave him alone because he's there on official JLD business. Not like that would actually work, but he had hope. Unfortunately, he forgot that Red Robin is Bat Trained.
Danny took a second for himself before the Titans caught up with him. Was this really better than Deadman harassing him about his first time in Gotham? No, it wasn't. It wasn't any worse, either, and he didn't know how to feel about that.
"Are you finally done running?" Red Robin asked, landing in a crouch in front of him.
Danny folded his legs to sit criss-cross in the air as the rest of the kids that had been chasing him joined RR. "You make it sound like I'm a criminal."
"You ran like one," Beast Boy pointed out. Fair, but rude. "And, dude, I don't know if you know this, but you smell horrible."
Danny placed a hand on his chest with a dramatic gasp. "How dare you! I took a shower just last week!"
Raven was now unamused.
Superboy gagged a bit. "He's right," A small shudder. "I couldn't smell it before, but I can now that you're so close to me."
He sighed with equal dramatics as his gasp. "I guess I can never get rid of the smell, even after all this time."
Wonder Girl tilted her head to the side slightly. "Oh? And what smell would that be?"
"The smell of death," John Constantine, ever a man of impeccable timing, turned onto the side street to join them. He largely ignored the kids in favor of the ghost child who isn't actually a child but no one listens to him when he explains that so he's probably going to stop trying. "It lingers. C'mon, kid, we've got a demon to exorcise."
Danny huffed like a petulant child, "Still not a kid!"
Constantine continued walking away. "Still don't care."
Part 4 Part 6
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constantinerkives · 1 year
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PAIRING: Swim Team Captain! Yoo Jimin x Photojournalist! Fem reader _________________ WARNINGS: College AU, tsundere Karina, strangers to lovers trope, and fluff. OC is Pisces-coded but has a Capricorn rising sign and Capricorn Mercury because I am too, random I know but anyways, profanity, Jimin is aloof but cute and I like it, profanity, that's pretty much it, I guess. _________________ SYNOPSIS: Who knew falling into the pool was one surefire way of getting the swimming team captain's eye. _________________ A/N:
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You asked I shall deliver. I based this one-shot on a song: Rose, by Taeyong and Seulgi. Have fun reading!
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"Will it be okay for you to fill in Ryujin's stead?" Wendy, the senior EIC of the school paper, asks with her fingers knotted atop her office desk. "She got sick two days ago. I know it's sudden, and I understand if you don't-"
"I'll do it," You tell the older girl with a polite smile, "If my memory serves me correctly - she was assigned to take pictures of the inter-school competition of our swimming team, yes?"
Wendy mirrors your smile, albeit warmer. Her posture relaxed. "Yes. Yes, Y/N. And it's this weekend." 
You recount your task, "Then you're in luck, Wendy. I'm free this weekend." 
The brunette heaves a sigh of relief, "Good. That will be all, Miss Choi. You can go." You bowed your head in acknowledgment before exiting her office and proceeded to the university library to meet with your friend and confidant: Yunjin, who needs a copy of your captured photos for the school paper. 
"There you are," You whisper and sit next to the younger raven-haired beauty who's busy typing on her laptop. "What did Wendy want from you?" The latter inquires without tearing her eyes from the screen. "A substitute for Ryujin," You answer her as you lean next to her; eyes following the sea of words that showed events during the last competition. "Are you almost done?"
The raven-haired beauty mutters something decipherable, and you just let her be. 
"Okay," She stretches her back and gestures an open palm toward you. "The USB?"
You arch a brow at her, "Please?"
She mirrors your expression, "The USB, please, Y/N?"
A teasing grin graces your lips as you fish for it in your jacket pocket and give it to her. "Jeez," The latter grumbles before plugging it into her laptop. "Where and what?"
"Here at our university. I'll be taking the pictures of our swimming team." 
Finally, Yunjin tears her eyes off her screen and blinks at you. "A sports-based competition?" She muses, "That's a first." 
Indeed, for years that you've been a photojournalist, you were assigned to academic-based competitions. "That means you get to see Yonsei's pride." 
"Younsei's - what?"
She gives you a look, "For a journalist, you're not updated with the times here, Y/N. What would Wendy say?"
You scowl at her, "You can't blame me for being assigned to Academics, Yunjin." You brush her off, "Anyway. What about Yonsei's pride?" She curls her lips to a sardonic smile before typing away and presenting you with a photo of the team wearing Yonsei's varsity jackets and swimming trunks. There are four of them, and three of them are familiar to you: Sungchan, the first one on the right. Hyunjin is first on the left and Minjeong who's standing next to Hyunjin. 
You're familiar with the three of them. All except one. A girl standing in between Minjeong and Sungchan. The girl possesses fair skin, a small face, a V-shaped jaw, big yet fierce dark brown eyes, and a lithe physique. "So the team is the pride of the university?"
"No," She zooms in the photo of the girl. "She is. That's Karina Yoo, their captain." 
"She looks mean," You observed, and Yunjin chuckled, "You're not wrong."
Your jaw slacks, "Really?"
The latter hums in agreement and pauses. "A bitch is an appropriate term, bestie." You frown at her, "That's a bit too much." 
She scoffs at you, "Try interacting with her this weekend, and we'll see." 
"Whatever," You huffed and eyed your USB, "Are you done uploading my pictures to your folder?"
Yunjin unplugs it and places it atop the table. "Yep, thanks, girl." 
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You observe the team from the bleachers with your camera in your hands as cheers ricochet against the walls of the spacious gym upon seeing your team make their appearance from the ground floor. Yonsei's team wore their signature swimsuit with the university's logo placed on the left lower front area of the men's swimming trunks, while for the women: it's located on the right upper breast of their partial bodysuit. 
You're not too far to get a clear shot. 
The girls of your university squealed when Sungchan flexed his toned body. Although impervious to such behavior, you can't help but admire the body of the swimmer before moving your gaze onto Minjeong, who waved at her fellow peers. Both men and women cheered for the auburn-haired girl while Hyunjin put his arm around Sungchan, who also waved to Yonsei's students.
"That's three of them," You tell yourself amongst the noise, "Where's the captain?" 
As if the universe answered, she finally appeared, and you swore you were about to go deaf due to their screams and cheers amplifying. 
Your eyes followed their gaze, and your jaw slacked. 
Karina Yoo's photos did not do her justice; she's drop-dead gorgeous in real life, and her lithe body is just a bonus to the grace that the girl exudes. You examine the captain. She couldn't be older than twenty-three.
"KARINA! KARINA! KARINA!" The students chant as she stands beside Minjeong - awaiting their opposing team while she converses with her team by huddling them. You take it as an opportunity to take their photo. 
But as you take another shot, Karina's eyes flicker in your direction.
Did she? Uncertainty and confusion seep into your thoughts as if you were shamelessly caught. 
You instinctively put your camera down. 
She returns her gaze to her members and continues speaking while they nod. You zoom the lens and take their photo. But this time, you don't put your camera down when Karina's sharp eyes look in your direction. There's something about her gaze that makes you fix your relaxed posture; as if she's looking through your camera, and it makes you feel small - that intense gaze of hers. 
You didn't take a picture and instead put your camera down. Perhaps the captain's sharp, piercing gaze meant that was enough as she and her team moved away from each other, but she stayed next to Minjeong and leaned close to the shorter girl's ear. The auburn-haired girl's eyes flicked in your direction before saying something to the taller girl. 
Paranoia creeps into your body. It's not like you have done something wrong, right? You were merely doing your job as a photojournalist for Yonsei. You tear your gaze from the pair and see the team they're competing against. 
You take it as your cue to descend from the bleachers as Karina's team makes their way to their assigned benches, leaving Hyunjin alone with his competitor. 
While descending from the bleachers, you can feel someone's eyes following you as you make your way to the indoor pool with your camera ready. You didn't dare look in fear of seeing that intense gaze as the referee blew his whistle for the two representatives of the opposing team, and make their way to the edge of the pool's ledge. 
"On your mark!" The referee bellows, "Get set. Go!"
You ready your camera. 
Sometime later, it was the captain's turn. 
Your peers chant the captain's name as she made her way to the pool's ledge. 
Due to your proximity to the pool's side, you locked eyes with her, and you swallowed harshly under her harsh gaze. 
"Jeez," You mutter as you tear your eyes from the older girl. "What's her deal?"
"On your mark!" The referee once again bellows, "Get set. Go!"
True to her title, Karina Yoo is Yonsei's pride. And so is the other members - they won and will be competing for the nationals three months from now. 
After the game, your peers went down to take pictures with the winning team. By this time, they change into dry clothes with towels draped over their shoulders, and you are standing next to the pool, checking your shots, when you hear your female colleagues scream Karina's name from behind. Out of curiosity, you look back to see a group of them running toward you - correction, you look in front to see the captain approaching them, leaving you beset on both sides.
Before you can react, one of them pushes you aside. Your eyes widen, and you instinctively put your hand where you're holding your camera up as you fall into the pool. 
"Oh no!" One of the students yell as you surface up with a gasp, look at your dry camera, and sigh in relief. "Are you okay?" One of them asks as they approach you intending to help. 
"Yes," You gasp, "Take the camera - be careful with it, please?" The student nods in compliance and takes your camera. 
You can feel holes burning on the side of your face, and without thinking, you look to the source and see Karina standing at the edge of the pool with wide eyes, her posture stiff and rigid, as if repulsed by the sight of you violating their pool. 
You flush under her gaze and reluctantly take the students' hands as they help you out of the pool and hurriedly take your camera from the other student. 
"Thank you," You tell them with a flushed face as you hastily exit the gym - facing burning with shock and humiliation. 
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"Told you," Yunjin sneers, "A bitch." 
A whine leaves your lips as you slam your head against your desk. "Shut up - at least the students helped me." It's been a week since the minor incident, and you told Yunjin after you change into dry clothes in the university dorm. 
"Yeah," She snorts, "While the captain just glowers at you as if - what did you say?" She snaps her fingers, "Ah, as if you contaminated the pool." Then, she snickers. You glare at her while her lips curl to a teasing grin. 
"Whatever," You poke your tongue at her, and she relents by putting her hands up in mock surrender. "Look at the bright side," Your friend counters, "At least your camera's safe." 
"Yeah," You half-heartedly agree, "But I think I'm traumatized."
"Should I book your therapy?" She quips, "Oh wait, you're broke."
You scoff at her, "And? So are you." She stares at you, and you mimic her reaction before you two giggle as more students occupy the lecture hall. 
"Alright, students!" The professor says aloud as soon as he enters the room. "Take your seats - we have a new student joining us this semester." 
Murmurs echo while you and Yunjin share their curious looks as the older man looks at the entrance door. "Come in and introduce yourself." A familiar figure enters the room, and the class erupts with cheers and yells as Karina stands before all of you in casual wear in all-black: a cardigan with white accents, a tube top, denim jeans, and chunky sneakers, her hair is styled to a low, neat bun as she eyes the class, her gaze instantly meeting yours. You flinched and looked away from her and at Yunjin, who, in turn, looked at you. Both faces express surprise. 
"The fuck?" Yunjin mutters while you return to the new student, gaping. 
"I'm Karina Yoo," She announces, her voice is steely and attention-grabbing. "But most, if not all of you, know me as Yonsei's pride." 
The class yells and whistles in agreement. The professor holds his palm up, and the class quiets down. "Alright," Your professor gestures a hand at the vacant seats, "Thank you, Miss Yoo. You may take any seat." The captain bows her head and ascends to the elevated rows of seats with each student eyeing her expectantly for her to sit next to them. 
You quickly turn to Yunjin and grumble: "Just when I thought I'm finally free from what happened last week." She snickers at you, "Sucks to be you, my traumatized friend." 
A muffled pained groan reverberates from your lips, but you quickly stiffen as the captain walks past your row and takes a sit two seats above you. You sigh in relief and return your gaze to your professor preparing his presentation. 
"That bad, huh?" Yunjin observes as she takes out her laptop. 
"Yeah," You whisper. 
There it is again, that familiar burning feeling; as if someone's burning holes in the back of your head - it's the same feeling. But you chose to ignore it. Thirty minutes into the lecture, you couldn't ignore the feeling anymore and slowly peer over your shoulder. You almost jumped from your seat upon locking eyes with the swim captain. Her notebook lay forgotten. Instead, she was looking at you while the side of her face rested against her fist. Your skin prickles at the intensity, and you can feel your face flushing as her lips visibly curl upwards before slowly moving her gaze to the professor.
You quickly looked away from her and tried to focus on the discussion. But Professor Lee's words came and went out of your head. All you could do was mindlessly take notes and pictures of his slides and promise yourself that you'll go over your notes tonight. 
It went on for days; you could've been used to it now. But you're not. 
"I'm not being delusional, right?" You lock eyes with your friend, looking for reassurance. "I mean, it's not like I did something bad. I fell on the pool, for fuck's sake." You vent while the latter closes her laptop and sighs. "Have you tried asking her what's her problem?" 
You give her a look, "Are you kidding me?"
The raven-haired girl shrugs nonchalantly, "I mean - if you want an answer from her, just ask her directly." 
"Easier said than done," You mutter while she yawns. "I'll just ignore it, I guess? I mean, no harm, no foul, right?"
"Yeah," The latter looks at you, her relaxed expression turning serious. "But if she does something that makes you uncomfortable. Tell me immediately." On cue, the microwave dings. Dinner's ready. You're currently in her apartment; you can work together on your paper for the interschool competition due tomorrow. 
"I will," You smile at her and stand from her couch to grab your dinner. 
"Oh - come on!" You yell as the copies of the printed announcements; the latest news regarding the competition get whisked away by a couple of rushing students late for class. You put the other documents down on the floor, but not without putting your phone on top to ensure it doesn't fly away as you begin picking them from the floor. 
"Hey," A slightly deep feminine voice calls your attention, "You missed this last one."
"Oh?" You turn around and freeze as the captain of the swimming team holds the copy for you. You gawk at her while she moves her line of sight to the paper she's holding. 
"I look good in this photo," She remarks before looking at you. Her voice sounds softer this time. "Not bad for a picture taken from quite a distance." 
"Thanks," You smile politely at the older girl as you grip the papers you're holding to calm your nerves. She raises her brow and gently flaps the paper. "My hand's getting tired. Aren't you going to get it?"
"Right," You stammer and wince at the sound of your voice as you tentatively take the paper from her, and the latter walks away without saying a word. 
You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding as you looked at the paper she gave you before putting it with the rest. And as you continue your day, you couldn't help but replay the odd interaction you had with the captain. 
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"Weird," Yunjin muses as you take your designated seats for your proceeding lecture which is in ten minutes - but something's out of the ordinary. 
There's a rose atop your desk with a pink ribbon tied around its stem. 
The taller girl looks at you with a playful grin, "Someone's into you." 
You roll your eyes at her and sit down, "Must be for another person." You say as you carefully examine the rose to ensure there's a tag - and that it's for the right person. You freeze in your seat, and Yunjin bends to read the tag in perfect handwriting and snickers. "It's yours, Y/N." 
A frown creeps in your features, "But who-"
"Keep it," She shrugs and leans closer, "What else does it say?"
"Nothing," 
The raven-haired hums and takes her seat next to you. "Anyways, keep it."
You look at her with a questioning look, "Why?"
"As evidence that someone has a good eye and chose my BFF, duh?"
You let out an exasperated groan and playfully pushed her shoulder. "Oh, shut up." 
Yunjin was about to say something when she closed her mouth, and her expression became guarded. You furrow your brows and slowly follow her gaze, "What's the matter-" Your words die in your throat as Karina takes her seat next to you. Your eyes widen to the point that they were about to pop out from their sockets and snap your neck in Yunjin's reaction; eyes asking for her aid. 
"Karina," Yunjin softly clears her throat, "What's the sudden change of places?"
"So I can see better," She answers curtly. Yunjin arches a brow, "You don't seem to have a problem being two seats away for the past couple of days?"
You sit there awkwardly while the two exchange cold pleasantries. 
Karina shifts in her seat and looks past you, "I'd like to sit here so I won't miss any key points in the professor's lecture. What's it to you?"
Yunjin opens her mouth, but you look at her, head shaking sideways. 
The latter huffs, "Alright then, enjoy the view." 
"Thanks," Karina monotonously replies as more students pile into the lecture hall. You look down at the rose and shrug, "Alright Yunjin," You delicately pick up the rose and insert it into your tote bag carefully. "I'll keep it, my bedside needs decorating anyway."
From the corner of your eye, you can see Karina looking at the rose before tearing her gaze as the professor enters the venue. 
"Alright students, settle down and prepare your books, notebooks, laptops - whatever you need to keep notes. We'll begin shortly."
Forty minutes into the lecture, you missed the previous slide. 
"Crap," You mutter, and just as you're about to ask Yunjin if she copied the previous slide, Karina slides her phone next to you. 
The screen showed a picture of the slide you missed. "Here," She whispers. You blink at her while she continues to take her notes. She must've sensed your staring and sighed, "Are you going to copy that or what?"
You snap from your reverie, "Right, right. Sorry - thank you." You whispered to her and copied the slide she pictured before sliding her phone back to her but made no move to put it back in her bag. 
"I saw that," Yunjin whispers, and you jump from your seat.
"Next slide - is everything okay up there, Miss Choi?" The professor calls. Your cheeks redden as all the students, including the captain, turn to look at you. Your cheeks burn, "Yes sir, sorry." 
He hums, "Moving on..."
Sometime later, it was lunchtime; you and Yunjin decided to eat outside of campus. 
"So Chaewon recommended this restaurant," She opens the door for you while you carry both your laptop bags, "They sell good meat here and noodles here." 
"You've been mentioning her a lot," You comment as you take a vacant table. The latter makes a face at you before looking at the menu displayed above the counter, "What do you want to eat?"
"I'll take spicy chicken and jjajangmyeon." 
"Cool. Sit here. I'll go order." 
You open your laptop, "And I'll pay you later." The taller girl hums and goes to the counter while you work on your task. "Do my eyes deceive me?" Another feminine voice speaks from the side. You look up from your screen, "Giselle," You greet the captain of the debate team with a smile as you close your laptop. The Korean-Japanese mirrors your smile as she inserts her hands in her jacket pocket. "It's been a while, Y/N. Are you going to eat alone?"
"No," You gesture a hand towards Yunjin who looks back and sends the other a wave. "Yunjin's eating with me. How about you? Are you going to eat alone?"
The brunette shakes her head sideways, "No, I'm also going to eat with someone." The door opens, and Giselle looks back. "There you are, Karina." 
You fought the urge to drop your smile as you locked eyes with the captain of the swimming team. "Giselle," The captain regards, "You invited someone for lunch too?"
"No, no." She chuckles and pats your shoulder, "This is Y/N, the photojournalist who came with us four months ago for the nationals." She then gestures a hand towards her friend, "Y/N is this-"
"Karina Yoo," You finish for her with a polite smile, "We're classmates in Professor Lee's class." 
There's a look on Giselle's face that you couldn't decipher as her eyes lit up.
"Ah, I see." She looks at Karina, who seems busy looking at the menu, and then looks at the two of you. "I'll order for us." 
"Alright, alright." Giselle agrees, "I'll go get us a table." Without another word, Karina left. The debate captain looks at you with a knowing smile as Yunjin arrives at your table with iced tea, "Hey, Gi." Yunjin greets her with a grin as she puts your drinks on the table. "Hey Jen," She gives you another pat, "I'll see you two around campus, yeah?"
A hum leaves your throat as you watch the latter take a sit two tables away from you and Yunjin as more people enter the restaurant. "So," Yunjin clears her throat, "Care to tell me what was Karina sharing with you during Professor Lee's class?"
You shrug and sip your beverage, "Nothing, it was just the slide I missed." 
"Okay, but what about the time your documents flew away?"
A frown graces your lips, "She was just helping." 
Yunjin hums, and you lean closer. "What? What is it?"
"Nothing," She nonchalantly replies, "It's just that Karina's overall mean attitude seems to tone down with you, that's all." 
"Astute observation, Yunjin." You roll your eyes at her, "Maybe she's just being a decent person? We're classmates, after all."
"Oh, yeah?" She challenges, "How come she doesn't give a damn about others?"
You open your mouth, but no words come out to your defense, and Yunjin's smirk makes you close it. 
"I don't know," 
"Be observant, Y/N." She clicks her tongue, "Who knows, maybe you got the Yoo privilege." 
You look at her incredulously, "I beg your pardon?"
"Yoo privilege," She snickers, "You like it? I made it while I was making my astute observation, and by that, I mean you have the privilege of her toning down her attitude toward you. I mean, she could be the one who placed the rose on your desk three days ago." 
You know where this conversation's going. "Are you saying that she likes me?"
"Maybe," She grins, "Observe her, Y/N. Observe how she acts with others; how she acts with you. Then you'll know."
You consider that as the waiter arrives with your order. You sense a familiar from the side of your face. You look up from your food and meet her dark brown eyes.
And this time, you didn't flinch.
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You took Yunjin's advice and observed the captain. 
It wasn't hard to observe her. She was never far from you, which made it easy to detect whether she was looking at you before talking to her friends. 
But that still doesn't account for the roses on your desk. You tried, but with the number of deadlines piling up in journalism, you had to put your observation on pause. 
"Jesus!" You snap as one of the student's coffee spills on your shirt. Murmurs echo in the hall upon witnessing an incident. "God - I'm sorry-"
"Forget it," You snap at the student as you pull the drenched fabric away from your skin and gesture for the student to go away, "Just go." 
"Sorry again." The man says before awkwardly walking away while the others lose interest and walk away. "Fuck," You swore as you run your hand through your hair. "How the fuck am I supposed to go to the press conference looking like this?" You hiss as you swing your bag to the front to get your wipes. You hear footsteps approaching you and you scowl thinking it's the man who spilled coffee on you. 
"Man," You sigh without looking in their direction. "You don't need to come here and-"
"Y/N," Your ears perk at the familiar tone, and you slowly turn around to face Karina standing before you with her fist securing her monogram jacquard jacket. 
"Karina," You greet with slight surprise, "What are you doing here?"
She shakes her jacket, "Wear this." 
"I beg your pardon?"
Instead of frowning, she keeps her face calm and uses her other hand to gesture at your shirt. "I can see the outline of - well, you know..."
You look down, and your face flushes, and with your other hand, you cover your upper body while the other takes her jacket. But you stop upon seeing the logo of her jacket, and sheepishly look at her. 
"What's wrong?" She inquires. "I can't take this - it's expensive." 
Karina shifts her weight on the other foot. "You'll be late for your press conference if you don't take it, Y/N." She tells you with a tone that leaves no argument. Without another word, she leaves the hall, leaving you with her jacket. 
A frustrated sigh leaves your lips as you look at the expensive article of clothing before delicately donning it. 
"Woah," Yunjin muses upon seeing you enter the venue. "I know that isn't yours, Y/N. Whose is it?"
"Karina's," You take a seat next to her. The latter let out a mock gasp. "Yoo privilege." 
"Shut up, Yunjin." 
After the conference, you stop by the EIC's office only to be greeted with roses and a freshly brewed ice latte on your desk. 
"There you are!" Wendy grins as she stands next to you, "I receive our handler's feedback. You and Yunjin did a great job on the inter-school paper!"
"Yeah," You answer distractedly, "Who brought these on my desk?"
"Ah," Wendy frowns, "I didn't catch her name." 
Her?
You turn to your EIC, "Can you describe her for me? What was she wearing?"
The older girl pauses in thought. "Well, she was wearing a brushed ribbed knit top, white denim jeans with a beige tag on its left pocket, and black boots."
Exactly what Karina wore when she gave you her jacket. 
"I see," You mutter, and Wendy's face contorts with curiosity, "Why'd you ask?"
You brush her off, "It's nothing, thanks, Wendy." 
The latter smiles, "No problem," She then turns to leave the room. "Enjoy your iced latte!"
Once the older girl is out of sight, you quickly take the rose with a tag on it, it read:
I'm rooting for you at the press conference; I hope you like iced latte to savor your victory. 
-yjm
"YJM?" You move your line of sight to the iced latte, and beads of cold water slides down from the plastic cup. A smile creeps on your lips as you bring the cup's straw to your lips and take a sip, allowing the iced beverage to slide into your throat smoothly. You sigh in refreshment and place the drink on your desk. Your hands take the roses, careful from the thorns that could prick you as you study the delicate flower. 
"Yunjin will hear about this." 
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"No way," She cackles, "So she lent you her jacket and even sent roses and an iced latte to the office? Damn, Y/N. You won in life." 
You carefully pick up the jacket and raise it, "How do I clean this?"
Yunjin takes the clothing from you, "Leave it to me. I know a place where they clean luxury clothing." 
"Alright," You sigh and collapse on her couch. "Oh, and Y/N?"
"Yeah?" You answer aloud as Yunjin makes her way back to the living room. "Did you know Girl's Generation is having a concert in Gocheok Sky Dome?"
Your ears perk, and you sit up straight, "No? When?"
"Two days from now," She tells you and frowns, "You didn't know?"
You give her a look, "I'm not updated - I've been busy." 
"Right," She sighs, "Why?"
"Chaewon got a ticket for me - I can give it to you if-"
"Woah, Yunjin," You stop her by grasping her shoulder. "She gave it to you. You're the one she invited to go with her. It would be rude if you gave it to someone else." 
Her features remain concerned, "Are you sure? Chaewon would understand-"
"Yunjin," You exasperated a sigh, "It's fine. She invited you."
A genuine smile graces your lips. "I'll be fine. Just remember to make a fan cam for me, yeah?"
The next day, Yunjin gives you Karina's jacket: freshly cleaned and neatly pressed. 
While conversing on your way to Professor Lee's class, your eyes shift to the entrance only to be greeted by Karina leaning her back against the wall next to the door. 
"Oh shit," Yunjin snickers quietly, and you nudge her by the elbow. "Sh,"
"Karina!" You call out and was about to give her jacket back when she cuts you off. "Just give it to me after Professor Lee's class." 
Confused, but you comply as she enters the room. You and Yunjin follow suit as your peers begin to fill the lecture hall. 
While the older man is discussing, Karina slides next to you, startling you with a jump as she ducks her head and drops her voice an octave lower. "I have something for you after class. Is it okay if we remain after everyone else left?"
You tear your eyes from the presentation to look at her. Your cheeks heat up as you meet Karina's soft, warm gaze, but her attractive face swims with uncertainty at your would-be reply. 
A soft smile creeps on your lips, "Sure, Karina. What is it anyway?"
Her features soften, and surprise etches on your face as her lips quirk to a playful smile. That's a first.
"It's a surprise," She winks before returning to her original position. 
You gape at her, surprised by this new side of her. You can't wait to know what she has in store for you after Mr. Lee's class. 
Fifty minutes later, the older gentleman dismisses the class. Everyone left except for you, Karina, and Yunjin. 
"You go first," You tell the raven-haired girl. Yunjin flashes you a grin before getting her bag, but not without whispering: "Yoo privilege" against your ear before leaving.
You huff at the latter as you get the paper bag containing Karina's jacket and hand it to her. "Here you go, Karina." 
The older girl looks at the paper bag and smiles. "Can you stand up?"
How odd, "Sure." 
You comply with her innocent request and hand the bag to her. "Here you go," 
Her lips tugged to a downward smile and retrieves the bag. "Thanks, Y/N."
You let out a hum while you two stand in silence. A sigh leaves the older girl's lips before she laughs lightly - and it sounds pleasant like chimes in the wind. 
"Ah - this is not what I envisioned it." She guffaws and scratches her nape. You can't help but chuckle at the older girl's disposition. "Take your time," You assure the raven-haired beauty as she inhales sharply. Is she new to this? How adorable, you thought to yourself as she closes her eyes and puffs her cheeks. 
"Ok," She opens them and clears her throat. "I'm afraid that I've made a bad impression when we first met, Y/N." She sighs, "Which is why I'm going to change that tomorrow."
Tomorrow? What does she mean?
On cue, she brings out a bouquet - well not really. More like two tickets wrapped in pink silk with a pastel ribbon secured around it. 
"I hope you like concerts, Y/N. Especially Girl's Generation."
My, did your heart skip a beat?
"Will you be my date for the concert, Y/N Choi?"
"Yes," You breathe, and Karina's smile morphs into a delighted grin. 
"You just made me the happiest girl, Y/N." 
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Fin.
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jtl-fics · 2 months
Text
In honor of April Fools day I will talk a bit about an AU with my favorite fool - (Redacted) Smith that I will probably never write fully but have thought about a bunch of scenes for.
I call it 2 Fluent Freshmen.
Due to a clerical error at both the school and during the local government's push to digitize their documents Smith is noted down as being 2 years older than he actually is and (perhaps a clerical error or maybe no teacher can say if they've had him in class or not) Smith also has enough credits to graduate. Gran has passed away early and there's nothing for him in Washington other than more anxiety.
Wymack & Dan come to Smith when he is 16 and Smith takes the chance to escape from his family IMMEDIATELY. Sure the Foxes are the worst team and sure there's some drama going on with Kevin Day having joined them after his injury but a full ride scholarship is a full ride scholarship!
Smith is rooming with 2 upperclassmen and his only other fellow freshman - Neil Josten. He is not hiding the fact that he can speak Russian, he is hiding the fact that he is 16. Smith ends up pretty close to Seth and Allison due to sharing a dorm / position respectively and just doing his best not to get to close to crazy Andrew Minyard. He does get a bit close with Neil but it's not something he's trying to do.
He's trying to keep his head down and get through the year.
It's a little hard when he is sat on the couch with the Kathy Ferdinand show. It's a lot harder when Riko Moriyama shows up and doesn't realize he's there and just...sits in Smith's lap?? Smith remains as blank faced as ever and what the fuck is Riko supposed to do? ADMIT HE FUCKED UP?
Do you know how hard it is to intimidate someone when you're sitting in the lap of some dude? The answer is VERY. Kevin can't take him seriously at all, especially after Smith made a comment that Riko's ass was bony.
Riko goes after them the same but Smith doesn't really get that his anger is at Kevin. "Hey, I'm sorry I called your butt bony on national television. That was rude of me. You should try some squats though." and like what the fuck is Riko supposed to say in the face of some dude genuinely apologizing to him.
It buys enough time that no one is grabbed or slammed.
Seth and Allison drag him out to the bar that night and after a few minutes sitting with Allison Smith realizes that he actually does have to pee and oh god someone's trying to assault Seth! Smith calls upon the powers of Gracie Hart and Seth has a black eye and a concussion but he graduates.
Neil wants Smith to come with him to the Thanksgiving because Neil has latched on a bit. Smith ends up going and also ends up going upstairs to go to the bathroom because oh god he cannot handle Nicky's parents hearing him take an anxiety shit. He's making his way to the end of the hall and sees a penny on the ground so he bends over to grab it.
And Drake Spears is unbalanced from missing his swing and falls right out the open window to the ground below where he breaks his neck. Naturally, Andrew is watching this scene unfold from the stairs and just starts to laugh his ass off. Smith turns around after flipping the penny over (it was tails side up and therefore not lucky) unaware of what has happened.
Smith asks if Andrew wants to use the bathroom. Andrew insists that Smith goes on ahead. The Hemmicks keep asking if they saw anyone upstairs and Smith has no idea what they're talking about, Andrew does but plays dumb out of spite. A day later it's wild that Nicky's parents got arrested. Like they seemed so normal, how did they kill someone and dump him in the side garden??
The Winter Banquet happens and well...it's dark. It's dark and Neil has brown hair and brown eyes and Smith has brown hair and brown eyes. Riko is not the best at judging heights so he calls Smith to threaten him and tell him that he's joining the Ravens for a Winter Break training camp. Jean is doing the most anyone has ever done not to laugh right now.
Riko only realizes his mistake when he's finished threatening Smith with his father and Smith ruins it. Smith is elated to have somewhere to stay over winter break. He can't mention he has nowhere to go so he'd thought he'd spend the break homeless. Now here comes Riko Moriyama inviting him to a camp where room and board will be provided?
What a nice guy. To thank him Smith compliments the gains he's noticed on Riko's ass. "The squats are really helping you, or are you doing something else?" he asks.
What the fuck is Riko supposed to do? ADMIT THAT HE FUCKED UP? Tell Smith that he's been doing squats and leg lifts before asking that he hand the tickets back and go get Neil???
Fuck that.
He'll just turn Smith against the Foxes and-
Well Riko kept talking about Smith's dead dad and so Smith may have a slight misunderstanding about the full scope of this training camp. He may think that there is some sort of seance element to it at this point and he's kind of excited at the idea of talking to his dad. "I've never spoken to a dead man before, this will be fun." and it's delivered flatly with no expression.
Riko starts to wonder if maybe Smith is the Butcher's son? Did the Butcher have two sons? He's sweating all the sudden.
It does not help that Smith brings a Ouija board to camp or that his dad was a legit Butcher before he died so Riko's tentative questioning only sends him further into an anxious mess about if Nathan had twins and Riko, due to being kept away from the family business, might just not be aware of it?
Smith has a nice Christmas break.
The last scene I've got dinging around in the noggin is in Binghamton. Smith has been left behind at many a stadium at this point. There's a solid and fast rule.
Neil cannot get on the bus without Smith. They are buddies. This is the buddy system. So when the riot starts and Neil seems to be getting pulled away in the crowd?
Well Smith grabs his hand and pulls him towards the bus, "Buddy system."
The bus starts and they're on their way shortly after. Neil's an anxious wreck but that next morning he wakes up to the news that the Butcher of Baltimore died in an FBI raid the night before as well as his men.
Smith watches the news with Neil, "Wow, that's scary." as he sips some orange juice.
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ninyard · 6 days
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Hellooo i saw that you were asking for asks (that sounds funny) and I wanna know some of your hcs on Kevin and Allison being besties/ kevjean relationship
This is my chance to finally share some Allison/Kevin hcs so I'm gonna seize this opportunity with both hands and give you this total MESS of a brain dump
- Allison is the only fox that doesn't make fun of Kevin's eating habits. Kevin KNOWS his relationship with food is fucked up because of the nest and Allison knows it too, so she refuses to make bets or make fun of the way that he eats. Kevin only realised because she once tried to quietly tell Nicky to knock it off when he was pushing Kevin to have dessert or making fun of what he'd decided to have instead.
- Kevin also knows not to talk about the numbers or macros in front of her, too. They have a weird unspoken mutual respect RE: food and they both appreciate each others efforts on that front without ever actually mentioning it. they also have a gesture for each other that's code for "i want a snack do you have anything" and they'll throw each other protein bars if they're out/on a long bus journey etc.
- they are the BEST drinking buddies. Whenever the team starts drinking/partying/clubbing more together post-TKM, they are literally CHILDREN when they're drunk together. Kevin gets tired of the monsters being boring when they go out and there's only so much dancing he can do with just Nicky and Aaron alone. So Allison pulls him up to the bar one night to do a tequila shot, and they literally have the most unexpectedly fun night ever. Kevin loosens up a whole lot without the threat of Riko etc post tkm, and when I tell you he is such a fun drunk. now he doesn't really drink THAT much during the season but off-season? oh he's a party animal. I could write thousands of words about him and Allison getting drunk together and becoming literal best friends as soon as they have a drop of alcohol in their systems but here's some things I think they've done drunk
stole a shopping cart and sat in it as they pushed each other down the road in it (and fallen out of it and laughed so fucking hard) ((but were bruised up as fuck the next day because of it)
he's sat her on his shoulders - while dan sits on matt's - as the two girls try to push the other one off
he's really easily convinced to do things by her. another shot? sure. and another shot IMMEDIATELY after that? alrighty! karaoke? well, okay. jockeyback? stealing traffic cones? pulling pranks and fucking with the other foxes? acting like actual teenagers? okidokie!
she's probably the only person in the world who has successfully convinced kevin day to sing
he holds back her hair if she has to puke
she convinced him to let her do his makeup once. full glam. like a serious look, fully beat, full coverage look. there's a picture out there somewhere of it that she saves for blackmail.
fucked. make out sometimes. strip poker. they dance together :)
he never lets her walk alone anywhere when she's drunk. if she can't find one of the girls to accompany her to the bathroom at a party she'll take him.
she's taught him full dance routines
she was joking that there's no way the raven warmups could be that different to theirs, and bet him that she'd be able to do them without breaking a sweat (he won)
they've both ugly drunk cried in front of each other (but they never talk about that sober)
she's pretty light so he's bench pressed her before
- They know each others drink orders/favourite shots
- if Allison is out, say she's with her friends and not with the foxes, and she has to wait alone for a taxi or walk somewhere alone, she'll call him and he'll stay on the phone with her until she's safe
- They make fun of each other and bully each other like there's no tomorrow (affectionate). the whole "Allison hates Kevin" thing WAS true for a while, but once they get closer, she just pretends to hate him. he's like an annoying brother to her
- Allison is really easily frightened, and Kevin thinks it's funny to scare her. she's never safe walking around a corner or into a room if Kevin is there and in a good mood.
- they're not BEST FRIENDS. like they're not in each others pocket all the time and laughing and joking ALL THE TIME but she can read him like a book. she knows when he's having an off day, or thinking about something too much.
- She also knows when he's being serious and when not to joke around. She knows when he doesn't want cheering up or to joke about something and knows when to back off. The same with him - he knows when she's having a mood that requires being cheered up, or a mood that requires him to leave her the fuck alone.
- He's a big reason why she puts a whole lot more of herself into Exy post tkm. She's always been invested, but once they talk more, and they consider each other friends, she listens to him talking about Exy and it really clicks for her. his dedication. and also how fucking talented he really is. She doesn't do the night training with him but they'll occasionally go to the gym together or start practice a half an hour early to run some basic raven drills.
- They're iconic when they get together to do press after games. they bounce off each other like nothing else. they're just so funny. and he's also like andy murray in that he will ALWAYS defend her, dan, and renee's talent if interviewers start to focus more on him instead of the girls. he'll step in if an interviewer says something shitty or misogynistic. she LOVES directing objectifying and misogynistic questions his way.
- She calls him a bitch and makes fun of him for being a nepo baby. He calls her an asshole and makes fun of her for being a rich kid.
- Have gone to banquets as each others date.
that's just a few random thoughts off the top of my head but yes. Allison and Kevin. Literally the only Two Pretty Best Friends ever to exist.
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stick-ball · 7 months
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Hi! I'm about to end my whole career!
Here goes the Riko rant that dear @capcavan asked, demanded and begged for.
You know, I get it.
So here's the thing. I get it, Riko sucks. He is the bad guy we all got hung upon. Why? Because he is a rival for our protagonist. He is an angsty, young guy, born into wealth that came from money laundering and human trafficking. It's despicable, the Ravens are bullies and he himself makes lots of bad things happen. Yeah sure, I get that, whatever.
Being raised as a superstar must've been really, really difficult for you.
But I want to really dig deeper right now, this is a Riko rant after all, and you need to really know your fighters. So, to start: a huge trap in toxic families is that the children, even when grown up, will refuse to identify their parents and guardians as negative and toxic people. Not even outside influence can really sway them, usually. Kids that get away from a sinister situation can later tell they were abused, that it wasn't right, but still, they don't get the specifics of what and why, and they are doomed to repeat the same abuse and call it good. Call it right. And sometimes that's substance abuse, sometimes thats domestic abuse, sometimes that's racism and sexism and xenophobia they will grow into believing as the way the world works. Sometimes, thats nepotism and sadism. Only thing that can help is therapy and an environment removed from the control of the original abuse, lots of therapy, lots of space, years of it. A perfect case of a typical toxic family is Aaron.
A perfect case of that could also be Riko.
And here you can call bullshit because Neil had such a fucked up, abusive father and he *knew* it was wrong. Yes, he knew it was wrong for his father to hurt him to the measure he went. Why? Because his mother protected him, because his mother feared his father, not adored him. Because his mother took him away and kept running. A mother, a role model a child feels very strongly about, subconsciously.
Riko was taken from his mother. He was pushed aside by his father and left in the care of a family member, who was easy to glorify for an impressionable child. Because he was a legend. In fanon I often see Tetsuji's character taking a very background role in everything, and sure, he seems pretty background to Neil, because every bad guy seems background to Neil in comparison to his Father - besides Riko, who is the one dangling that threat in front of him. Tetsuji just wants his property back, Riko is playing with fire though. So yeah to us, reading the story, Tetsuji is a total asshole among many such men in the book.
But to Riko he must've meant almost everything for a long time. A crucial thing about Tetsuji is, he is a sadist. Oh sure, sorry, it's only called sadism when done against his team, right? Against Jean or Kevin or Neil? When it comes to Riko, who was in his care for all of his formative years, it was just strict childbearing right? He is a Moriyama after all, so he is evil from birth.
Yeah, I must've mixed something up about Riko being beaten to unconsciousness several times being mentioned in extra content. You think that was a one, two, third times the charm occurance?
Always a commodity, never a human being, not a single person in your family thinking you’re worth a damn off the court— yeah, sounds rough.
I always wondered how sarcastic Neil was saying this. I mean, he definitely meant to land a punch where it would hurt. And he actually knew Riko as a little kid, so he knew more than most.
Stockholm syndrome is very common among victims of childhood abuse. I would know, anyway. It's like the most logical option - the survivior is living in a dual reality. These people are my family, the care for me. They provide for me. They want me to be the best. They also abuse me. They hurt me, but it's for the best. Hurting me is a expression of love. I am grateful to them.
I often wonder how many people who read the books know what a commodity is. A commodity, in the most basic terms, is a basic good that can be used in ccommerce to interchange with goods of the same type. A commodity is not a king, or a queen, or a bishop or a knight, or even a rook. It's a fucking pawn. It's cannon fodder.
Riko is worthless to his family. Riko is just a tool to Tetsuji to generate profit. Riko wants to be worthy to his family. Riko most likely loves his uncle and is ready to do the most insane thing if only it gives him the one thing he desires, which is being seen as worthy by his family.
Kevin and I talk about your intricate and endless daddy issues all the time.
Then there's grooming. Grooming is more obvious when it's done by a stranger who sees the child randomly or in some intervals of time. It's much harder to resist when it's constant. To Riko, Tetsuji is a good person, he is a hero, he is his family, he cares for him, they have a common goal. Riko wants to be what Tetsuji wants him to be. There is a price to pay for it, of course. There is a price for everything. But the price doesn't matter. Riko wants to pay the price he has to pay, to be what Tetsuji wants him to be.
And the thing is, do you think Riko learned how to use his money and crime connections to control others? How to gain power through fear and pain? You think spending his whole life locked in a fucking stadium he taught it to himself how to break people in body and spirit? That torturing them was his special interest? Or maybe are you forgetting that amongst valid responces to trauma, besides fight, flight and freeze there is also fawn? Don't you think it's much more likely, being groomed and enamoured with his captor (bcs thats what Tetsuji is to me, their captor) he impersonated him to the best of his ability? That he learned every leaf in the book from him, because he was his only connection to the family, to his father, to his brother. He was a legend, the creator of exy. Wasn't he always trying to be worthy of him? To be good enough to be loved and wanted? To be great full enough?
I am not saying this absolves him of any of the things he did, but people do insane things under lesser influence, things they would never do otherwise. And I am not talking of people groomed from early childhood, I'm talking of sane adults, being dragged into dangerous and destructive ideologies.
I know it’s not entirely your fault that you are mentally unbalanced and infected with these delusions of grandeur, and I know you’re physically incapable of holding a decent conversation with anyone like every other normal human being can, but I don’t think any of us should have to put up with this much of your bullshit.
Because it isn't, is it? The things HE does ARE his fault, definately. But the reason why? That is not that easy to pinpoint. And Riko is so unstable it hurts. He is so far removed from real life he is completely incapable of conversation. He is a child brought up in a grave, but...
Pity only gets you so many concessions, and you used yours up about six insults ago.
To me Riko is besides all other things, wasted potential. All the things he dreamed of? He could have had them. He was talented, he was determined and had a lot of courage, but all of that was utterly wasted in the violence and malice he was soaked in. In all the violence and malice he created in return.
So please, please, just shut the fuck up and leave us alone.
The most interesting thing about All for the game though is, that in every other book Riko dying would've been the big bad wolf being defeated. But here, that's just a bleep on the radar. Because Riko was a product, not the producer. What I love about All for the game is it shows none of the madness and evil in life started or ended with me or you, with Riko or Neil. Not even with Keylight or Tetsuji. Fuck it did not even end with Nathan dying. It all ends how it begun. With a deal with the devil made in the back of a car, bought with blood money.
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lunchtimebedamned1997 · 2 months
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Warmups #1 (Plus Charlastor!)
Turns out warmups really DO help in art (fuck me, right?) and these are all from yesterday and today, hope you enjoy it!
SCROLL TO END FOR TIMELAPSE <3
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Pretty much just Hazbin and some OCs of mine! (That's basically all I've been drawing the last month or two lol) I've also been reading way too much (not really, fight me) Charlastor/RadioBelle fics and consuming ALL the artwork. I might just be obsessed with Al in general though - *sigh* - before my Charlastor fixation it was RadioStatic/Silence. Anything with the Strawberry Pimp or Vox tbh. Fuck I'm just rambling about Hazbin, huh? uhhhh where was I? RIGHT here's the one and only reference I actively used besides glancing at some official Hazbin art:
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I saw it, and then immediately fell into a fit of laughter at the idea of drawing Charlie and Al like this. The whole drawing process made my cheeks hurt bc I was giggling over getting to make those two idiots be, well, adorable fucking idiots! XD
Anyways, here's the speedpaint!
Anatomy is so harrrrrd but I'm actually really proud of myself for how I did with this one, I'm still terrified of drawing the lower body but heyyyy, problem for another day!
OH I almost forgot to talk about my own characters a little?! Hyperfixation, what have you done to me?!!! We've got four of my babies here, all from the same project called Ashland Bites, which will hopefully, someday, be an animated series! I've been writing it for years and years (slow but steady, I'm a team of exactly one person lmao) and I've been trying to get my art skills honed so I can do as much of the (probably very distant, but hopefully someday) future pre-production work myself! I started learning more about animating recently, and the openness that Vivienne Medrano allows her cast and crew to have has been a godsend for learning more about the different steps of the process (all while feeding my ravenous little neurodivergent brain with that good good fixation content lmao)
Can't share too much about my own project at the mo, but let me just say it's got Vampires, the fair folk, godesses, ancient fantasy cultures, modern humans running around thinkin' the world is our definition of 'normal', and SO much more (I wish I could tell u all the things oh my GODDD)
Thanks for taking a look at my work *smooches ya*
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kangen-wanshi · 1 year
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Talking About Other Constructs ft Roland: Flambeau, Lee: Entropy
What sort of reaction will they give if you keep praising other construct in front of him?
Tags: Separate, jealousy, comfort/fluff
A/N: I keep writing Roland Flamingo I don't know why
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Roland Flambeau, He Doesn't Get Jealous (lies)
Roland puts on front, fairly obvious about it yet he still seems subtle in doing so.
Others would just think he's being, well, him. But more annoying.
But of course after spending so long by his side, knowing every bit about how his 'act' works, it's not difficult for you to figure out that he, possibly, is jealous.
Obviously enough, he feels and has explicitly expressed that he's better than every other construct Babylonia has to offer, including the Strike Hawks that keep clinging to you, and Gray Raven that seems to never leave you alone.
And then there's Camu.
Camu, just like him, is a Transcendent. He believes that he can overpowered him easily, but when you came back and told him about the scouting mission with Camu where he's just so helpful in fighting enemies in places with intense virus density,
His guts are twisted.
He'd laugh at you even needing Camu's help, at Gray Raven's incompetent that they have to use the help of someone like him, and maybe at you being absolutely smitten over Camu's strength.
Okay, he's jealous. You get it.
Naturally you laugh it off and brush his mean comments aside, but Roland is persistent and petty, so he'll keep pestering you with mean words until he's satisfied.
When you've had enough with his 'teasing', before you can snap at him, he'd grab your hand, pull you towards him with one hand right on your lower back, while the other firmly grips your chin, forcing you to look at his grin and heterochromic eyes.
"Next time, let me execute your command in battle. I'd like to see your own competency. And besides, with me by your side, following your every word, you wouldn't need those pesky birds and insects trying to woo you away from me."
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Lee Entropy, Improving Himself
Lee being competitive is normal.
Especially against Chrome.
At surface honestly it seems normal: Him pestering the leader of Strike Hawk, convincing him that you're fine and that his assistance is more than enough.
But Chrome, obviously, insists on helping you and Gray Raven to finish the task at hand. Your smile and acceptance at the Strike Hawk's leader honestly doesn't help with his boiling heart.
That sort of scenario repeats every other day. But at the end of the passive aggressive interaction he's had with Chrome, he knows that he'll be the one who will always stay by your side in the Gray Raven team.
So generally speaking, even if you praise or talk about other constructs to him, he'd simply go silent and nod along. (Would probably scoff if it's Kamui or Chrome specifically).
It's less likely that Lee will get jealous. Instead, he'd probably think that he doesn't give you his best yet.
On a mission where you're forced to separate from him, and end up needing to be saved by another team. Or whenever you overworked yourself without telling him for whatever reason, and instead you went on to ask other constructs.
He'd feel like he's not enough. And that sometimes takes the words out of his M.I.N.D and made him quiet for a long while.
When it reached this stage, you'd have to confront him yourself that he's more than enough. For Gray Raven, for Murray, for you, and for himself.
Hold his hand, reassure him with your words. And perhaps if you're lucky and he allows it, hug him.
He'd rest his head on your shoulder and stay there for a bit. Appreciating you and himself, and creating various possibilities in his M.I.N.D about how he could improve himself for you.
Yes you did say he's enough, but Lee is not himself if he's not constantly trying to be the better version of himself.
And honestly, it feeds his ego whenever he manages to flex his capability to you.
"I'm sorry that I couldn't have done better previously, Commandant. Please let me stay by your side and compensate for the mistakes I've made, and let me improve myself further, by being next fo you, for you."
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thebisexualdogdad · 8 months
Note
Could I request a Roy Harper and Reader
Where Roy asks for help fixing up his suit/asks reader to help with a tie for a formal event/formal dinner date.
Roy has experience in this but wanted reader to do it
Reader clues in that he knows how to tie his tie and unties it to tease him.
(Dc comics version of Roy)
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Roy Harper x GN!reader - the tie
*Ben Levin used as fancast*
The titans had gotten word that HIVE was sending a few of their assassins to kill a tech mogul during his yearly charity gala which meant the team was going undercover.
You stopped by Roy's apartment to pick him up as Dick had assigned you to pretend to be a couple for the night though this may have been an indirect set up since Kory had been telling Dick for months that the two of you had feelings for each other.
Letting yourself in with the spare key Roy had given you, you walk into his bedroom to find him standing in front of a mirror dressed in the only suit he owns, a loose tie around his neck.
"Wow Roy, you clean up nice," you say, Roy smiling at you when he turns around.
"You don't look so bad yourself," he laughs, giving you a once over, "lend me a hand with my tie?"
You approach him, biting your lip at how close you are to him now.
Roy looks into your eyes, making you nervous as you attempt to tie his tie.
Your hands tremble ever so slightly, you were a badass superhero yet somehow Roy Harper was able to make you a nervous wreck.
"I think that part goes under now," Roy says as you struggle to get through the final steps making you realize he fully knows how to tie a tie he just wanted to get you close to him.
You finish tying his tie, smoothing it down, "there, now you look even more handsome," you smile.
"So you think I'm handsome?" He grins.
You gulp, glancing between his eyes and his lips.
Two could play this game.
You tug on his tie, undoing all the work you had just done.
"Really?" He laughs.
"Since you seem to be such an expert you can tie your own tie Harper," you say leaning in so close you are nearly kissing him, "and hurry up, Dick scheduled our grand entrance to be at 8pm on the dot."
Roy licks his lips, intently staring at a certain part of you highlighted by your form fitting attire as you walk away from him.
He's broken from his trance by Dick's voice in his coms, "Roy are you and Y/N still going to be on time?"
"Yep, we are just about to leave," he informs him.
"Good, Kory and I are already on our way, Donna and Garth will arrive after you guys, then Gar and Raven with Vic running base of operations," Dick states.
"You paired me up with Y/N on purpose didn't you Grayson," Roy chuckles as he redos his tie.
"Well maybe if you just asked them on a date already you would be going out tonight as a real couple," Dick teases.
"Well maybe I'm just waiting for the right time to ask Y/N out," Roy retorts.
"Um guys, this isn't the private line," you state, Roy blushing when you peak your head back in his bedroom, "and yes Roy I will go out on a date with you."
"You're welcome Harper," Dick says and he can hear the others laughing through their coms.
"Shut up Grayson… but thanks…"
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quicksilverdrabbles · 8 months
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Morana: *gaze flipping between Kaidan and the hot springs in shock* You want me to what-
Taliesin: Told you.
Kaidan: Wait hear me out-
Morana: *gripping the fabric of her armor nervously, staring at the water of the hot springs* I-I don't know, Kai, I haven't... None of you have seen...
Kaidan: *moves to stand in front of her, holding her shoulders gently* Starlight, everyone here has scars-
Inigo: Except for Lucien.
Lucien: Not a good time.
Taliesin: I think I would actually rather die than let a scar tarnish my body.
Morana: ...
Taliesin: *clears throat* Not that there's any problem with yours.
Kaidan: *brow twitching in irritation* Most of us here have scars. You've seen mine, haven't you?
Morana: *frowning* You didn't.. really have a choice, though. You were-
Kaidan: I know. And I'm not tryin' to force you. If you're uncomfortable, we can turn right back around and keep on our journey to Kynesgrove to help Delphine. I just.. *reaches up to stroke her cheek gently, brushing over the scar that covers half her face* There's so much the others can do to help ya'. I didn't want you to think I wasn't trying, too.
Morana: ... *reaches up to hold his hand to her cheek* What makes you think I don't know you're trying?
Kaidan: *flustered, accent thickening* I-I dinnae know, I just..
Morana: You help me just as much as the others. Even more, sometimes. *glances at Tally, who's busy trying to keep water off his robes* ... Don't tell Tally I said that.
Kaidan: Hah! Yes, ma'am.
Morana: *sighs, dark silver coloring her cheeks as she blushes* ... Since we came all this way... I suppose a quick dip wouldn't hurt.
Kaidan: Yeah? Only if you're up for it.
Morana: Yeah. But.. Don't peek until I'm in the water.
Kaidan: Fair enough. *pulls away from her with a gentle kiss to the top of her head, turning to the rest of the team* Alright, lads, listen up. Turn around while the lass is undressing, and no peeking.
Gore: I think you're the only one any of us would have been worried about.
Kaidan: *raises an eyebrow*
Gore: Fiiine, no peeking. *turns away as he start tugging off his own armor*
Xelzaz: *already swimming around in one of the deeper springs* It's very warm compared to the rest of the water in Skyrim.
Taliesin: Hm. *undresses quickly, dipping a foot in the water to test it before submerging himself long before even Morana is done*
Lucien: That was fast.
Taliesin: Yes, well, I share Morana's sentiment in not wanting anyone else to see me.
Morana: That's one I can't understand, coming from you. *finishes stripping off her plague doctor armor, showing scars of varying lengths and depths all over her body, with flagellation scars all over her back, and a large burn covering her shoulder, creeping up to connect with the burn on the right half of her face* I mean, You're very beautiful, Tally. *folds her clothes and leaves them on a log close to the water, stepping in the hot springs and almost immediately melting into the water* ... Oh.
Kaidan: *glances over his shoulder, smiling at her submerged form* Feel nice?
Morana: Yeah.. Just... *winces, pulling her bad knee up to her chest and out of the water*
Taliesin: *still flustered from her previous comment* N-No need for that, raven, come here. *scoots closer to her, raising a hand over her knee* Just relax, I'll see what I can do. *summons ice magic in his palm, covering his hand with a glove and holding it over her knee*
Morana: Mm.. *sighs, the warmth soothing her pained muscles while the cold helps her knee* Can you do that with all of my joints?
Taliesin: Haha. Maybe when we get home.
Kaidan: *leans against a rock with a groan, working at a knot in his shoulder* Ah, this is nice.
Inigo: *scrunched nose as he swims around* It stinks.
Lucien: Literally?
Inigo: Yes.
Taliesin: *rubbing a thumb on Morana's knee gently, frowning at how mangled and disfigured the scarring is* ... If I could kill them all over again for what they did to you, I would.
Morana: *hums, closing her eyes and leaning her head back* It's ugly. I don't like looking at it.
Taliesin: You don't like looking at yourself at all, I've noticed.
Morana: Maybe.
Taliesin: *sighs* You know, I don't hate scars as a whole. Or think they're ugly. I just know they would be hideous on me. *chuckles, resting his hand on her knee gently* On you, however, they look ethereal.
Morana: *eyes still closed, sarcastic* Yes, I'm sure they do. For someone who's a self-imposed 'fashion expert' you certainly have strange tastes.
Taliesin: *pinches the skin above her knee gently* Don't get sassy with me, now.
Morana: Hey! *laughs, jerking her leg out of his grip*
Taliesin: *chuckles, letting her get settled again and replacing his hand on her knee*
Inigo: *watching from afar* She looks surprisingly comfortable with Taliesin touching her while she's exposed.
Lucien: *politely averting his eyes* Don't say it like that.
Gore: Why are you two even watching?
Lucien: I'm not!
Kaidan: *shifts over and lets Morana rest her head against his shoulder* Comfortable?
Morana: Mhm. *opens her eyes and looks up at Kaidan with a shy smile* Thank you, Kai.
Taliesin: I'm still right here.
Morana: *giggles, looking back at him* Thank you, too, Tally. This is nice.
Kaidan: I'm glad it is. *reaches up and strokes Morana's hair gently as she relaxes* You deserve nice things, Morana.
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flightfoot · 8 months
Note
IF YOURE STILL FEELING LIKE giving recommendations... do you have any for post-pappilon pre-reveal...? thank youu
Okay so, I'm mainly using tags in my bookmarks to find these which isn't super reliable, but I can give at least a few good ones! I'm sticking with only completed fics once again.
Under Oath by @eoscenes
In the aftermath of Hawk Moth's defeat, Ladybug finds her heart torn between her schoolgirl crush and her superhero partner ― who returns, after an unexplained hiatus, more irresistible than ever. ⋆☆⋆ Gabriel Agreste is unmasked, and Paris rises up in the aftermath. Marinette Dupain-Cheng must weather Paris' anxious protesters, ravenous reporters, a scattered team of judiciary investigators, and her conflicting feelings for two different boys. In the eye of this storm is the elusive Adrien Agreste, the primary witness in his own father's trial, who might just hold the secret to finding the Peacock Miraculous. (If only she wasn't in love with him.) Meanwhile, locked away in Le Grand Paris hotel, Adrien grapples with his responsibilities to a city that can't decide if it hates or loves him. Keeping his daytime persona and Chat Noir separate entities becomes even harder when Ladybug, whom he has finally decided to get over, starts visiting him at night, determined to figure his secrets out. (If only he wasn't in love with her.) When an unknown figure returns with the Peacock Miraculous, Ladybug and Chat Noir will have to save their city once more — or lose each other trying.
This Distance Between Us by @coffeebanana
After defeating Monarch, the search for the Peacock Miraculous brings Ladybug and Chat Noir to a hotel room in London. But it's hard to enjoy the victory when Ladybug can't figure out why Chat's been so quiet, why he seems so sad. How's she supposed to help if she has no idea what's wrong?
When Secrets Come Undone by SortaArtsy
Ladybug promised not to tell Adrien... but she never promised not to confide in Cat Noir. What happens when Ladybug unintentionally vents to the one person who wasn't meant to know any of it? ****MAJOR SEASON 5 SPOILERS WARNING! **** May not be season 6 compliant when it comes out.
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missing person (at the window) by @coffeebanana
Adrien expected to spend another night staring at the ceiling and ignoring his friends' messages, as he'd done every night since his father was unmasked as Shadow Moth. But when Ladybug falls through his bedroom window, he gets a little more than he bargained for.
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drowning (in plain sight) by @buggachat
Everybody had expected Monarch's defeat to be a moment of triumph. Nobody had expected Gabriel Agreste, unmasked and mind frayed from continual abuse of the miraculous, crying out to all who would listen and making Paris certain of one thing: His son, Adrien Agreste, is one of his sentimonsters. And now he's missing. Nobody can find him— not even the superheroes, and not even his closest friends. But Marinette, Nino, and Alya aren't ones to give up so easily. They'll find him, no matter what it takes. (But, geez, would it kill Chat Noir to lend a hand?)
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metamorphosis by @peachcitt
I was thinking about that time you hated me.” “Why?” "I don’t know." “I didn’t.” “I know.” or three years after hawkmoth's defeat, marinette is still trying to figure out her version of normal. there's also sleepovers.
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The Parable of the Caller by @nemaliwrites
A week after Hawk Moth’s identity has been revealed, Adrien finds himself with nowhere to go, nothing he can do, and worst of all, strange gaps in his memory he can’t explain. In a stroke of luck, he stumbles upon a burner phone filled with voicemails from one of the Saviors of Paris: Chat Noir himself, who disappeared following Hawk Moth’s arrest.
But with each new voicemail Adrien listens to, he’s forced to confront the fact that there might be some kind of connection between himself and Chat Noir — and discovering it might leave him more broken than before.
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plutoslvr · 2 years
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sibling dynamic foxes is the best thing ever and no its not a headcanon this is canon to me.
like the foxes and Kevin? siblings if I ever saw any. They would relentlessly bully Kevin and Kevin would just bully them back but the moment anyone tries talking shit about either of them it's absolute hell.
Reporter 1: Kevin, what do you think about the Foxes as a team? I'm sure they can't compare to your old team, The Ravens and Ri-
Kevin Day best Exy player in the league, holding his Exy racquet like a weapon: the fuck did you just say to me?
or
The foxes: man FUCK Kevin
some exy hating loser: yeah screw that guy
Bisexual defender Allison holding enough money in her pocket to end their life: No. You don't get it.
NOT JUST THEM are you guys trying to tell me Matt and Nicky aren't best friends? Are you telling me they don't have gossip Fridays where they share everything together whilst Dan listens in on them. Are you telling me Nicky doesn't read the upperclassmen to filth about their fashion sense (except Allison who joins in on making fun of them).
And of course we have the twinyards (YES THEY HEAL IDC NORA CAN CHOKE ON AN EXY STICK) and they're fucking dickheads to each other its insane. The first few months everyone's slightly on edge but then they realise its all bark and no bite.
Andrew: I'm going to stab you.
Aaron: Do it coward
Andrew: *jabbing him with a mechanical pencil*
Aaron: Fine, not so much of a coward I guess.
Oh and the foxes 1000000% make fun of Neil for living in Britain. They're constantly talking to him in a British accent and when the Queen died they all showed up in his room offering gifts of condolences.
"This is a hard time for you, we understand if you need space but we'll always be here for you."
"It'll get better buddy trust me."
"It's better if you cry and get it out now, we know how important she was to you."
They also make sleepover nights mandatory. The first few years they just had the og foxes let into the dorms but after they all graduated Kevin made a whole separate room just for the foxes where they have sleepovers. It's decked out with beanbags, weighted blankets, stuffed animals and his favourite photos of the Foxes printed out and framed and a TV.
He says Jeremy picked it out but secretly it was all him and he would rather die than let them find out. Somehow they did (Jeremy ratted him out) and Kevin's nickname was permanently changed to softie. No they did not secretly feel giddy with happiness, no they didn't think this was the best thing Kevin Day has ever done absolutely not.
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citadelofmythoughts · 7 months
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Here’s an interesting question. What would Blake say to team STRQ about how her girlfriend and future sister-in-law were raised? Like, to each of them given Raven’s intentional abandonment, Summer’s unintentional abandonment, Tai’s neglect, and Qrow’s alcoholism. Especially after seeing what it’s done to the sisters.
You can include Weiss’s choice words for them too if you want.
Side note: for fun how about Yang’s appreciative words for Ghira and Kali for being RWBY’s only successful parents!
In an ideal world CRWBY would have time to actually be able to do something like this.
But yeah, Blake would have some choice words (and I'm hoping that AT LEAST she gets to say them to Raven in V10)
I think she'd tell them that those two girls grew up to be the amazing women that they are in SPITE of their upbringing but that it's not too late. They can still be the family that Ruby and Yang so desperately need.
<Blake talking to Tai> "Ruby and Yang should have had a father. Yang has never complained about raising her sister but she should NEVER have been put in that position! I don't know if you can ever make it up to them but that's no excuse for not trying! Qrow at least did that much." *Turns to Raven* "And you...abandoning your daughter. Do you have ANY idea of the damage you've done? How your absence has haunted Yang her entire life?" Raven: "You're one to talk" "Yeah, I left her. It was a mistake, a mistake I'll spend my entire future with her making up for. Because I love her!"
Weiss...has a more jaded outlook on biological family and she's already somewhat aware of how bad it was with Ruby and Yang but still angry about the lack of attempts to at least make up for and apologize for putting CHILDREN through what they did.
And I think that's the crux of the issue. You can argue that STRQ had a lot of problems but they've also NEVER owned up to them and definitely never even hinted at an apology to Ruby and Yang.
<Yang seeing how Ghira and Kali treat Blake when they're reunited and their kindness toward her as Blake's girlfriend and breaking down in tears.>
"I get it now. This is why Blake is the amazing, loving woman she is. I wish..." <unable to finish and Kali just gives her the biggest hug> Kali: "Oh Yang, sweetheart. You're part of our family now"
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kitkatopinions · 8 months
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I'm not going back through my posts to find this, but like three years ago I made a post that was like "when people say things about Ironwood that aren't true like 'he invaded Vale' I'm just gonna be like 'cool headcanon. My headcanon is-' and then insert some random headcanon." Well, nowadays, RWBY fans are making me want to do that again in response to every time they say something happened off screen.
"It's not that Yang and Blake 'don't talk about their problems,' they just talk about them off screen." Yeah cool headcanon. My headcanon is that Blake was actually closer friends with Neptune than with Weiss before the Fall of Beacon.
"Jaune isn't 'the only one who got to mourn Pyrrha,' obviously the others mourned, it just happened off screen." Uh-huh, cool headcanon. My headcanon is that Qrow and Raven are actually the children of Salem and they just don't realize it.
"You can't say that Ruby's message to the world in V8 didn't contain all the vital information, because some of the message just wasn't shown!" "Yang and Blake didn't keep secrets from the rest of their team by never telling them they told Robin everything, they told them offscreen!" "It's so stupid that people are saying Yang is a hypocrite for yelling at Oz about keeping secrets after she lied to Qrow about Raven, clearly she told the truth off screen!" "I can't believe that people are complaining that Weiss was never shown to deconstruct her anti-faunus beliefs or apologize and therefore her white-knighting for Blake feels performative. Clearly she unlearned that stuff off screen!" Cool headcanons, bro. I have this headcanon that when Ruby and Yang were kids, they started fighting over this toy yo-yo because they both thought the yo-yo belonged to them, and then one day Ruby was playing with the yo-yo and since she was mad that Yang kept saying it was HER yo-yo, Ruby clonked her on the head with the yo-yo and of course that dissolved into even more fighting, so Taiyang took the yo-yo from them. But then that only dissolved into even MORE fighting because they blamed each other for the loss of the yo-yo, and so Tai 'banned' all conversation of the yo-yo incident and even banned the word yo-yo and Yang and Ruby hold to that rule even as teenagers and will breakout into (now good natured) bickering about it if it comes up.
People sometimes think "if the RWBY writers did (insert thing they did here) it would be bad. Therefore they can't have done that, so what's the other explanation? I just must need to flex my imagination and fill in the blanks!" So then they see something like the show having Yang literally lie to Qrow's face and the show still four seasons later having not had that addressed despite the fact that Yang has been anti-lying to the point of angrily calling someone a bastard, and they're like "Well if Yang didn't tell the truth, she'd be a hypocrite. So she had to have told the truth and we just didn't see it, or else it would mean that the writers made a mistake. Why would someone say Yang has lied in the past when she clearly told the truth off screen!"
And it’s like.... Or... They got something wrong.... Or they made a mistake.
Some rwby fans will do this thing where they confuse 'I recognized the potential and imagined/headcanoned to fill in the holes left in this story to make it more enjoyable' with 'this story is great and actually DOESN'T HAVE HOLES.' It's like RT made a road that is full of holes in the concrete, and then when people are like 'wish this road wasn't full of holes,' other people come in like "um stop saying there are holes, clearly we're meant to pretend that the road is smooth and free of holes. How dare you call this bad construction and an incomplete road, the concrete is in the cement truck, duh. Why do you need your hand held?"
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Before someone comes in and is like "so nothing that happens off screen can ever be considered canon?" that's not it. If it's established in canon that it happened, then it's different.
Let's use Volume 9 as an example! There's a scene where Weiss summarizes events she's been told including Yang's prosthetic being stolen. Obviously Yang had to have told her about it. I wouldn't be here like 'Why is Weiss acting like Yang told her something that isn't on screen?' I did however complain that the writers skipped over that conversation, because it left the interaction feeling stale, pointless, and it limited my connection to the characters because it bypassed all emotion that wasn't 'being done' and cynicism. But they established that it happened in some way, so if someone says 'Yang told the others what happened to her off screen,' I'd say 'yeah, she did, that was made clear."
However, then there's a mistake that Eddy Rivas himself said was a mistake where they decided 'Ruby should find out that Jaune killed Penny off-screen' and then they never gave any indication that she knew at all. So not only did they bypass what should've been included as an emotional scene that humanizes Ruby and clues the audience further into her mental state while seeming more respectful of a well-loved character, but they also fully made it seem like that interaction just didn't actually happen. So in the actual show, there's no reason to believe that Ruby has been told that Jaune killed Penny, and most people kept waiting for it to happen and then the whole season ended and we were confused about it because as far as people who don't follow Eddy Rivas on twitter are concerned, there's no reason to believe that it happened at all. 'It happened off screen' doesn't actually mean anything when there's no reason to believe that except that some people really want it to have happened.
Again, RWBY isn't real, and author's notes dropped after the fact only tell us about intent and do not alter what's actually presented to us in the actual product. Stuff doesn't just 'happen off screen, but it's still happened' the way that a documentary might not include all the footage, but the events still happened.
This post is running long, but yeah. When stuff doesn't actually happen on screen and isn't referenced and doesn't make it into the show and plot, it's not only disappointing - because that stuff should make it into the plot (I can't believe that there are bees shippers that just do not care that crucial moments and conversations that lay conflict to rest between their one true pairing just 'happen off screen' according to them like I would be kicking down doors for my ships) - but also makes that stuff not canon.
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v3nusxsky · 1 year
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emily prentiss helping bpd!reader through an episode?
I'm here Angel
*Authors note~ bpd is such an important topic I hope I can do this some justice and she'd some light on the condition. This is going to be mainly based off my experiences with bpd*
Trigger warnings~ bpd r bpd episode abusive ex paranoia hallucination self harm etc
Prompt~ see ask^^^^^
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You were fine, until you heard those words. "Wheels up in twenty", it wouldn't have bothered you if you were not going to Florida. It's strange how a place could do so much to you, but they didn't know that. Maybe if they did you would've sat this case out. Stayed with Garcia and worked from the office. But they didn't, so you gathered your Go bag and headed out to the strip where JJ and Emily were waiting.
You started to notice the episode on the plane, you knew the team were talking, you could see their mouths moving but you couldn't bring yourself to join in. It was like an outsider looking in. You appeared to be distracted and unfocused. You couldn't help but fight the urge to slip into the planes bathroom and search for something to solve the problem. You knew it was wrong, but why would you care anyway, you were already littered in scars.
The team seemed to be frustrated at your lack of concentration so you tried as hard as you could to fight this episode off, you weren't able to cope with this while working. It wasn't that the team didn't know of your BPD because they did, Emily was closer to you than any of the other members. Spencer had the most experience with mental health but you still felt the need to keep things to yourself. It was safer that way.
By the time you arrived in Florida you were a wreck. You Emily and JJ were sent to the local Police department to set up base, and that's when you saw her. Fuck. You didn't realise she worked in the force. Suddenly you were suffocating, drowning as her face haunted your vision. Everything was her. The paranoia set in that very moment. You felt like everyone knew what she'd done, that they were laughing at you. Her voice in places she shouldn't be, no matter who's voice she replaced it was her. Spewing hatred as everyone sniggered and watched you.
You didn't realise you were crying, shaking and backing away into the left corner of the room until Emily began to advance towards you. "Pretty girl? Are you okay Angel?" It wasn't Emily. You could see it was her! You just wanted the real Emily. "Go away! Don't touch me! Make it stop" you sobbed now gaining the attention of most the police department. JJ looked over in sympathy before grabbing Spencer and trying to distract the officers, hoping the less people would help Emily calm you.
"Sweetheart? I won't touch you but I need you to focus on my voice" Emily whispered as your eyes darted around the room seeing multiple of her ex. "Go away go away!" If Emily didn't understand what was happening right now she may have listened to that command, but she knew you maybe not to what caused this episode but she wasn't about to leave you in such a state. "Hey, pretty girl, listen to me. It's Em, your Emi. It's okay, I'll keep you safe Angel." Maybe it was time or just that you found the raven haired woman soothing, but her voice finally broke through the hallucination and paranoia.
Your blurry eyes focused on Emily, "that's it, good job pretty girl" was all it took for you to fall into her awaiting arms. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry" you whimpered over and over again. "Angel, shhh it's okay it's all gonna be okay."
You lost count of long you sat sobbing in her arms. She didn't seem to mind holding you. You were exhausted and truthfully trying to processs that she wasn't currently in the room, all until you heard her tell JJ to let her in. You whimpered, clinging to Emily pleading with her to keep you safe. "You can't go in there" JJ was firm and clear yet she still pushed past into the room only to be met with an almost animalistic snarl from Emily. "Get out!"
"She's mine I'll help her, you don't know what you're doing" she snarled back only for Emily to stand with you immediately clinging to her, arms around her neck and legs clinging to her waist. She walked out holding you, biting at the fact the woman tried to touch you, only to be pinned by Spencer. "Not happening" was all he offered. You nuzzled into her neck as she quickly mumbled to Hotch, who was just arriving that you needed her and to be away from this hell. He nodded in understanding and of course JJ filled him in on what happened. Safe to say your ex had no job after this case, Hotch made sure of that.
Emily quickly managed to get you into the car and off to the hotel and into her room. "Angel, I need to get my key card" she mumbled only causing you to shake your head no. Somehow she managed it and placed you on her bed before offering you a hoodie and some water. Her scent soothing you as you reached for the woman again. "Can we talk about what happened pretty girl? Or would you like to sleep now." You choose sleep and you need up snuggled up to the woman. You'd talk tomorrow that's for sure but for now she's happy to hold you.
Word count~ 952
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