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wildcard-rumi · 10 months

Note

Ai the somnium files for the fandoms ask? You can include nirvana initiative if you want :3

I think I did one of these for AI about a month ago??? But my memory's terrible so I might as well just do it again 👍

3 male characters I love:

Kaname Date, I'm usually not a fan of the pervy character in things, but Date works so well because 1) He thinks all these things and makes comments but he never actually does stuff to people to make them uncomfortable, and 2) It's not his defining characteristic, he's so much more than horny. Like he's a great detective, he cares about his peers and wants to keep them safe, he's a great father figure even if he doesn't really know what he's doing, he's just such a great character. Also Greg Chun's performance is 👌👌👌

Kuruto Ryuki, *slaps roof* this boy can fit so many mental illnesses. I love this boy but goddamn he is a filthy liar whenever he says "I'm fine". But his story was so engaging and you really feel for him when it clicks into place. Like I've been giving the game a second playthrough with the knowledge of the twist and wow so many scenes hit different. Also, this is the first time I've heard Stephen Fu in a big role (The only other time I've heard him is Douma from KNY and he's only appeared a couple of times so far) and wow, I really wanna hear more of his work because his performance was incredible.

Pewter, I dunno he dresses like a fruity Pokémon villain and he's got an awkward yet charming personality. Not to mention, his story in the right path of the first game made me feel so bad for him... Like damn, just let this man be happy please, he deserves it. Also, I know I'm a broken record, but Sean Chiplock's performance, his delivery on the weirder lines are so funny (Yes I am thinking about the chairs line, how did you know?)

3 female characters I love:

Aiba, I fucking adore Aiba. She's the best. I love how she's the straight man to Date's shenanigans IRL but when they're in somniums, Date is the straight man to her shenanigans, I love her excitement whenever she sees bugs, I love how she knows Date so well she can manipulate him into being a better fighter, I love her lil jelly hamster form, I love Erika Harlacher's performance, I just really, really love Aiba.

Mizuki Date, I don't even know where to start with Mizuki... She's honestly one of the best written child characters I've seen in a game. And this poor girl has been through so much in both games but her route in the first game had me sobbing buckets. Not to mention, Corrina Boegetter's performance, they really knocked it out of the park for every single facet of Mizuki's personality. Also they genuinly managed to sound like a twelve year old, that's impressive all by itself.

Shizue Kuranushi, Listen... I am not immune to hot women voiced by Allegra Clark, okay? I'm only human. But seriously... Her design, her personality, her dedication to her co-workers, her office and the funny interactions that come from all the stuff she just doesn't throw away, and the fact that's somehow simultaneously a girlboss and a cringefail milf???? Impressive. She has the range, darling.

Also, quick shout-out to Tama, I adore her and her crazy laugh so much

3 romantic ships I love:

Kaname Date/Hitomi Sagan, god those two are so cute, really bummed they barely interacted in the sequel...

Kaname Date/Kuruto Ryuki, Date has two hands. But seriously, the admiration Ryuki has for Date and the way they watch out for each other is really sweet

Iris Sagan/Amame Doi, cute bubblegum colours but also they have each others backs and they always have fun hanging out with each other

There was another ship I wanted to add but it's spoilery and a mutual was considering potentially checking out the series so I thought it would be best to leave it out. But if you've played the first game, you can probably guess who it is.

3 platonic dynamics I love:

Kaname Date/Mizuki Date, I mean... Chances are if you've been following me for a while you know that I am just a huge sucker for family dynamics. And the dynamic of adopted father/daughter viewing each other as their real family but being too embarrassed to admit is something I adore.

Kuruto Ryuki/Tama, I love these two so much. I love how IRL Ryuki is just so done with all of Tama's dirty jokes and then in somniums Tama is so done with all of Ryuki's weird suggestions and skits. But also it's their concern for each other, you can tell they're partners. I feel like the best example of this is when Tama insists that Ryuki goes to the hospital no matter how much he protests, like... She just wants him to be safe and healthy...

Ota Matsushita/Mayumi Matsushita, god the Ota route destroyed me when I played through it but seeing them as a family getting through their issues was so sweet. I won't go into detail because it's personal but a few months ago I went offline for a while because of a family emergency and it's because of similar situation to Mayumi. So yeah, playing that hit hard.

3 favorite moments in canon:

The ending scenes of both games. If you know, you know.

Again, I wanna avoid spoilers but the Annihilation Route interrogation. Holy shit that scene was incredible.

The final scene in the final Somnium of Nirvana Initiative. Just... Goddamn that hit hard and the delivery of the "I have no regrets!" Crushed me.

3 favorite headcanons:

I honestly can't think of any headcannons off the top of my head... And I've been typing this response for way longer I intended... Sorry...

3 least favorite things about it:

Some of the somniums can have some obscure logic but like... Not in the way that you proud when you figure it out, but more angry in a "how the hell was I supposed to figure that out?" Kinda way.

I really hate how Ryuki and Tama just got kinda shoved to the side halfway through Nirvana Initiative. Like they stole the show for a lot of their scenes and then once the Mizuki Route started they barely appeared and when they did, they weren't really shown in the best light, especially Ryuki. Granted there's a plot reason for this but still... It's disappointing. If there's an AI3, I hope they get more screentime.

I feel like Tearer really didn't get enough screentime in Nirvana Initiative, especially when unmasked. Like c'mon this is the main antagonist, give us more of him! Especially considering his entire backstory, that's a lot of really interesting stuff to build off of! Also just... I wanted to hear more of Billy Kametz' villainous performance. It was rare to hear him in those roles but he was so damn good in them.

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wjbs-aus · 2 years

Text

Since I'm (probably) near the end of the new Saints Row, I can safely say that I love it and personally would put it as either second or joint-first on my personal SR ranking, and it's the best game I've played this year at time of writing. But because nuance, I'll be going into more detail below.

(spoiler warning for all but one of the missions prior to The After-Party).

I found the new named Saints far less annoying than I thought I would, and personally I would die for Eli.

Speaking of Eli, the LARP storyline is really fun, and it's personally my favourite part so far, especially the fact that the other Saints get roped in, leading up to the massive battle against Gwen. Also, the bit at the end when the Boss does all the silly poses while shooting the king was really funny, especially the aftermath where the petrol station clerk awkwardly asks the Boss to order something and they respond in-character.

I honestly think Sergio's death was kinda anticlimactic, like you're told you will fight him and you get ready for a huge fight that just... doesn't happen, and he just gets anticlimactically killed off in a cutscene; the Boss isn't even the one who does it! It doesn't help that I also think Los Panteros are the least-interesting of the three gangs (or two gangs and one megacorporation), just being the Brotherhood but orange and aztec-themed.

For the moral choice in the AI tank level, I chose to fire Marshall. I'll probably shoot him on my next playthrough.

The mission where you have to steal the sculptures was really difficult and I had to get my brother - who is better at driving games than me - to do it.

The city is amazing, and honestly it's my favourite sandbox in the entire series. I love all the fake brands, I love the armadillo sculpture-trail, and I love the fact that there are proper strip-malls in a Saints Row game (mainly because strip-malls are an injoke between me and my brother).

The Boss might be canonically non-binary in the new timeline, which is very cool.

I am very dissapointed that - as far as I can tell - importing a Boss made in the Boss Factory doesn't carry over the outfit, only the character (although it did give me the opportunity to fiddle around with my Boss's fashion).

The existence of a Saints of Rage arcade machine in (at least) one part of the map, as well as an associated T-shirt, implies that Johnny exists as a fictional character in the new timeline.

Oh! Speaking of references to stuff that doesn't exist in the new timeline, the in-game Volition shop sells an Agents of Mayhem shirt, which I'm fairly sure is the first time I've seen someone acknowledge that game since it came out (not counting me buying it and playing some of it a year or two ago).

It is ridiculously easy to become OP.

It took me ages to realise that the MDI building is boot-shaped.

THEY DIDN'T DEPICT REPLACING THE CEO OF MDI AS A WHOLLY GOOD THING! THEY ACTUALLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WHAT'S-HER-FACE ISN'T WILLING TO FULLY TRUST THE SAINTS JUST BECAUSE THEY HELPED HER BECOME CEO, AND THAT SHE PRIORITISES THE COMPANY OVER THESE FOUR RANDOM ZOOMERS!

I like how the Boot Hill mission is literally just Super-Ethical but less frustrating and with a better announcer.

The Cutting Edge materials are really disappointing. I was expecting them to work like normal colours but with a different visual effect, but they colour the entire thing you apply them to, so applying them to clothes looks really tacky.

I want a Collective helmet in real life.

The Hidden History stuff is really fun and I like that they're actually putting effort in to establish a consistent timeline, unlike the original one which was an absolute mess. Also the glove-guns are OP as hell, especially when you unlock the special attack for them.

I have more thoughts, but I can't really think of any right now, so I'll add them as an addendum when I've finished the final mission (and also the other one I have to do first).

#saints row #saints row 2022 #saints row spoilers

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finelinevogue · 3 years

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So I was just sitting and dying over the pictures of harry at HSLOT last night and I just thought.

Image if Harry's kids made little necklaces for him and he wore them on tour.......

I'm not okay imma go cry brb 😌

yeah i'm about to walk on a path of lego because it would genuinely hurt less than this concept...

"Daddy!" Freddie screamed at Harry, who was standing across the room talking to Mitch.

You were currently at Harry's apartment in New York, just before the first Madison Square Garden show, and you had everyone over for a lunch. Whilst Harry was hosting, talking to his friends and handing out platters of fruits and cheeses, you were keeping an eye on your children - Freddie and Gracie - because they were absolute trouble when they weren’t being watched carefully.

Currently they were making necklaces for their dad, wanting him to have something to wear on stage that night for his first MSG show. They’d learnt how to make necklaces at school, using dry pasta and glitter and beads so had used their pretty eyes to suede you into allowing them to make them at home too. Freddie was 5, whereas as Gracie was 2, so Freddie was a lot better at making the necklaces than Gracie and also less likely to eat the glue when unsupervised.

Now Freddie was finished, he wanted his dad to see since he was so proud of his creation.

“What is it buddy?” Harry asked, pulling away from his conversation with Mitch.

“No, you have to come here.” Freddie explained, frustrated that his dad didn’t realise that already.

Harry excused himself from Mitch, who went to find Sarah anyways, and made his way over to his son. He placed his bottle of beer on the side and came to sit on the sofa, Freddie kneeling on the floor in front of his dad and the coffee table that was currently acting as a DIY table.

“Ask nicely next time, okay?” You had told Freddie, as Harry walked over, Gracie sat between your legs as she played with the blue-sparkly glitter.

“What do you want then trouble?” Harry asked, glancing at you and giving you a quick smile before returning his attention to his son.

“I made you a necklace, daddy.” Freddie told him, holding out the string that was delicately strung with pasta, beads and bundles of rainbow glitter. It was the most perfectly ugly thing ever, but it was also the sweetest gift Harry had ever been given. He loved it so much, all because it came from his little creation of a man.

Harry gasped, taking it out of Freddie’s hands and pulling Freddie up to situate him on his lap comfortably.

“Did you do this all by your self?” Harry asked, overselling his facial expressions to make Freddie happier and more excited. It was so cute to see how happy it made Freddie seeing his dad so happy.

“All by myself.” Freddie repeated, nodding his head in agreement and wiggling in Harry’s lap excitedly. Harry had to steady him, in fear of him falling off and hurting himself.

“You’re so clever bud!” Harry exclaimed, telling Freddie to sit still as he used both his hands to attach the necklace around his neck. Freddie clapped once he saw it hang perfectly around his dads neck, the glitter sparkling in the light just his he wanted it to. The pasta was a nice add on next to the brightly coloured beads. It didn’t go at all with Harry’s outfit, but he really didn’t care. The smile on his sons face was worth the critique of fashion experts.

You laughed as you watched Freddie and Harry play with each other, laughing about meaningless, random, things. Gracie was clearly missing out on the fun as she got up and ran away from you with her creation - the one she’d made for Harry too.

“Gracie! Where are you going?” You asked, kneeling up as you were unsure as to where she was off to.

“Daddy!” She exclaimed, but unaware she was toddling off in the completely wrong direction.

“Then this way sweetheart, c’mon!” You smiled at her, waving for her to come back your way. She started running back over towards you, before making her way over to Harry.

She went around the table and saw Harry still playing with Freddie. She whined as she tried to push Freddie away and off Harry, wanting some one-on-one daddy time. Harry quickly stopped her and pulled her up into his other knee.

“No Gracie. We don’t push people.” Harry ordered sternly, making her pout and furrow her eyebrows. If looks could hurt, Freddie would be crying.

“I made necklace.” She explained, holding it up to her dad as Harry’s stern expression turned into a soft smile.

“Oh wow, thank you baby.” He said excitedly, putting the same energy into responding to her as he did Freddie so he didn’t seem biased - Freddie’s was slightly better he internally admitted. Gracie’s was the definition of a mess, the pasta being broken and the beads being so covered in glitter you couldn’t even tell their original colour. It was so pretty and pink, but just very whacky.

“You wear please.” Gracie asked politely, earning a kiss on her forehead from Harry for using her manners properly.

“‘Course darling.” Harry said, before attaching it around his neck. This one was slightly smaller so it looked like he was layering these necklaces. He loved them so much and thought about how they might actually look good with his black outfit tonight.

“So pretty daddy.” Freddie told him, smiling with his crooked teeth as Gracie squealed in excitement.

“Yeah? Thank you buddy! What does mummy think?” Harry turned to face you, wiggling his eyebrows as he tried to show off his new and forever daily jewellery. He was trying to see if you were jealous or not, which clearly you were.

“I think you look beautiful hun! You’re very lucky.”

“I know I am.” Harry started talking to your children after that, letting you use it as an opportunity to snap some funny photos of them before cleaning up the ridiculous mess. You didn’t mind the mess though to see moments like this between Harry and your two precious troubles.

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writingwithcolor · 3 years

Text

Neurodivergency and Desi Culture: Appropriate forms of Accomodation for Holi

@honeydewsapphic said:

Hello! I'm writing a story about an interracial neurodiverse couple who live in the United States. One of the main characters is half Indian and has a very close relationship with her family in Dubai and usually visits her family for big holidays. I thought a cute arc to have in the story would be the Indian MC taking her partner to visit her family and celebrate Holi. The other MC is autistic with sensory issues with sounds and touch, so I wanted to have the arc play out where the Indian MC's family hosts a backyard Holi celebration so the autistic MC can participate comfortably. I've read online that smaller Holi celebrations are done and that there are phrases elders say to let others know it's okay to hit them with colors, so I thought it would be plausible. However, I want to make sure this comes off as a mutual romantic gesture between the two MCs of sharing culture rather than a watering down of Holi. Does this storyline come off as a sweet and thoughtful gesture between the two MCs? Would it work better if I used a different/less culturally significant holiday? Thank you so much!

Important Note: All mods replying to this are ND

Something Sounds Off

There are no such “phrases” to say “hit/don’t hit me with colours” - if you are in the colour throwing area, then you are fair game (take it from someone who got the Indian Student Association in trouble for ruining a girl’s hair after she accidentally wandered into the area). What would be more plausible is for the MC to watch from a safe distance, smearing powder on her face, and eating snacks with the other people who don’t want to participate in the powder throwing. You could also add a conversation between the two MCs where one explains exactly what will happen and the meaning behind Holi. Other accommodations could include providing ear plugs and ensuring there’s sensory safe food. Even the MC choosing not to attend and the other MC bringing them some food, maybe smearing a little powder on their face, would work.

Without knowing the extent of the changes, this comes across as an entitled white person demanding South Asian people change their holiday observance for their own comfort - are we talking about lowering the stereo or cancelling the fireworks altogether when the rest of the family loves them? This is something to avoid in both the actual changes and the phrasing of the requests.

- SK

Speaking as someone who is neurodiverse and has celebrated Holi with people who have sound and touch sensitivity, I would say that the environment is generally welcoming and made to be comfortable and fun. I agree with SK that it would be more plausible for the MC to be at a safe distance, eating snacks with powder on their face. That said, the people I know have had little to no problems participating in general because they were in their element. If stressors were present, they would step out for a little bit, we’d figure out what the problem was, work out an accommodation for them, and they’d come right back in. We never fully changed a celebration just for one person, just made it easier for them to be included of their own volition. If the MC is demanding a full change to regular observance just because they think they might be uncomfortable, then that reads a bit sketchy to me. We have new people every year and the expectation is generally of mutual respect and adaptation to cultural customs.

Also, based on my experience, a backyard Holi celebration can be just as rowdy and exciting as one on the streets; the only difference is who you’re playing with. I’ve had some Holi celebrations at my local temple where there were children with color in water guns, and everyone there was playing. I’ve also been to some Holi celebrations at people’s houses where there were people inside eating and chatting quietly while there was pandemonium outside.

If you really want to target the romantic angle, I would use the story of Krishna and Radha, and how he crushes a flower and puts the color on her cheek to make her feel happier and ‘give her his color’. You could have a small, intimate moment where the MCs do this and the story is given to both give a little more background on Holi and to give the scene a little more context.

~ Abhaya

I’m going to join the “ND Desi” chorus and agree with SK and Abhaya. Abhaya’s last suggestion in particular is both romantic and culturally appropriate. Otherwise, the proposed story sounds like way too much bending-over-backwards-to-make-the-white-person-comfy. My desi side has lots of ADHD and anxiety. We would not ask nor expect the above of our family if introducing a non-desi partner. What I think white ND folks heavily entrenched in The Internet Discourse on ND Issues forget is that ND interactions with the environment will vary depending on culture, because what we perceive to be stressful depends on what is the norm for us.

- Marika.

Collectivism and ND Coping Skills

Even in situations where the stimuli is both stressful and culturally relevant, one must remember that many Asian cultures, including S. Asian cultures, are collectivist. That means that there’s an expectation that accommodations for the individual will be made when reasonably non-disruptive to the preferences of the group. If the individual’s needs fall outside what the group can accommodate, the expectation is the individual will come up with their own coping mechanisms. Efforts to push the individual’s needs ahead of the group often have negative consequences (Leaving aside whether this interpretation is right or wrong).

Example

I could not tolerate Hindu temples as a child. The sounds and smells were too intense for me. However, I had very, very religious relatives who dragged me to morning prayers at the local temple. I didn’t like it, nor did I enjoy it, to the extent that I dreaded summer stays in India until I was 15. However, my mother was adamant in making my attendance mandatory because she saw it as necessary for me to show my family I valued my culture. A Western parent may have said that I would have been better served by not being forced, but giving in to my comfort and having less anxieties about going to India would have come at the cost of my family feeling like I was an American stranger. Thankfully, circumnavigational prayer is a thing in Hinduism, so when I could no longer tolerate it, I would walk around and around the main part of the temple chanting my prayers until my grandmother finished up. I think my reward was usually fruit or Bournvita.

Collectivism: Give and Take

This is the other important part of collectivism: The exception yields to the group on what is important to the group, but ideally, the group rewards the exception for agreeing to participate in something the exception would have preferred to avoid. This give-and-take is vital to strengthening community ties. Western internet ND culture has a tendency to prize constant accommodation, rather than considering the ways in which coping and the interplay between the individual and their community can facilitate more beneficial interactions for all parties.

Resist the Notion of One-Size-Fits-All

SK and Abhaya have provided you with some good, ND-inclusive examples of Holi participation that don’t exempt the white MC and refrain from diluting the revelries in an inauthentic way (Because, honestly, if one has sound and touch sensitivity, the majority of Indian holidays for many religions can be all Loud and Overwhelming). However, I would like to encourage you to think even further about the tensions that would inevitably emerge between the two characters as they realize that being ND means different things in different places without a clear wrong or right solution.

Disability activists often note that universal accommodations do not exist for all disabilities. I believe the same holds true even for two people with the same ND condition from two different cultures. What may seem reasonable for an ND individual in the United States may not be reasonable or even desired for an ND individual in another culture. Of course, there are benefits as well. Conceptions of time and community obligation differ in many traditional S. Asian cultures. Expectations of communication and career may similarly benefit certain ND conditions in ways that wouldn’t apply in the US. Finally, even in instances of poverty and scarcity, making ND relatives feel valued and included is expected in many social circles. Institutionalizing relatives who can’t support themselves is heavily frowned upon, and families with resources will often allocate funds to help even distant relatives.

Dubai?

A final point: it seemed odd to me that this Holi celebration is taking place in Dubai, which is in the United Arab Emirates. UAE does have a large desi diaspora. It is also a country governed by Islamic law. Holi is a Hindu/ Sikh/ Jain polytheistic holiday. I’ve never lived in Dubai, but even I wear a hijab when traveling through and avoid wearing visible religious symbols.

Desis living in Dubai: Sound off in the comments. How realistic is a private, outdoor family Holi celebration in Dubai?

ND Desis: what sort of accommodations have been made to holiday celebrations that you appreciated? How do you navigate sensory sensitivities and asking for accommodations from your family?

- Marika.

P.S.- Reminder all mods replying are ND people of colour

#South Asia #South Asian character #Desi #Desi character #Mixed race #mixed race character #non-desi love interest #neurodivergency #ND love interest #ND and culture #autism #ND characters #accomodation #collectivism #Holi #WWC #interracial relationships #asks

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shurisneakers · 3 years

Text

harmless (iv)

Summary: Bucky volunteers to go stop a small time villain, but nothing can prepare him for what exactly he has to deal with. (Bucky x villain!reader, drabble series)

Warnings: cursing, guns, mention of war, frustrated bucky, dramatic reader

Word count: 1.5k

A/N: good evening i’ve never been to any of the places i mention in this series so dont come @ me

if you have any ideas for future inventions/evil plans, lemme know! i might actually end up using them

here’s my ko-fi if you’d like to support my writing <333

Previous Part || Series Masterlist

He spends the weekend doing nothing. It’s supposed to be relaxing. He finds it nauseatingly boring.

“No mini mission this week?” Steve asks him from across the couch.

They’re supposed to be catching up on Star Wars but two prequels in and Bucky could feel himself lose his sanity. Anyone could present him with a random assortment of alphabets, call it a Star Wars species and he would have no reason not to believe them.

It’s not like he doesn’t like space. It’s just that he’s had enough of it and everything and everyone who came from it for the foreseeable future.

“No. Someone else is taking care of it.”

“Didn’t you volunteer for this?”

“I pulled myself out of the case.”

“I thought you were having fun.”

Bucky’s head slowly turns to look at him. “Why would you think that?”

“I don’t know,” Steve shrugged. “Looked like you were.”

Well, he wasn’t. He likes it here at home, glued to the TV. Popcorn beside him, sweatpants on. Refreshing, calming, slow, mundane, and Jesus Christ, so fucking boring-

His spiralling is interrupted by the dinging of the elevator to the common floor. No one was allowed up there unless it was extremely urgent. Guests were barely allowed into the Tower as it was.

It reveals the receptionist from downstairs, Marie. She’s always a little reserved, a little shy. But Bucky had seen her chew and spit out trespassers or anyone who dared to get on her nerve. He adores her.

“Hey, Marie,” Steve says while Bucky sends her a friendly wave in greeting. “What’s wrong?”

“There’s a hostage situation downtown,” she informs them.

“Okay...” Steve drawls, waiting for a reason why this was an Avengers level threat.

“They’ve asked for Mr. Barnes by name.” She makes a mention towards him.

Bucky sits up straight. Bits of popcorn fall off his chest.

“What?”

“They said, and I quote-” she looks down at her notepad. “‘Tell that grumpy motherfucker that I’m waiting for him and that he’s not getting out of this so easily because we have come too far.’ End quote. They’ve also told me to include a kissing emoji. And a skull.”

Steve and he look at each other.

“Well?” Steve prods.

Bucky sighs and gets up to go get ready.

The entrance of Chuck E. Cheese is more crowded than he’d ever seen. He wasn’t even sure he’d seen people in the store before. If there were, they probably only came up till his waist.

There are a few journalists, a few policemen standing together outside. Whispers of confusion and curiosity reigned free.

Bucky gently pushes his way to the front. He gets a nod from a police officer who opens the door for him after a quick briefing.

The place is darker than it usually would be. A trademark, it seemed. The blinds are drawn shut and most of the light is coming through whatever sneaks in through the crack.

“Hey, Barnes.” Your voice is muffled by a mask that looks suspiciously like it was made out of classroom craft supplies.

There’s a person in a loose chokehold in your hand with a gun pressed against his head. Once again it looks straight out of a cartoon, purple with round disks lining its barrel.

“What’s all this now?” He gestures around monotonously.

“A hostage situation. Didn’t you get the memo?”

“Got that part down, genius,” he bites back. “But why?”

“Fucker kept harassing me when I was walkin’ down the street.”

The guy’s helpless gaze met Bucky.

“Catcalling me, stalking me.” You tighten the grip you have on him. “Call me darlin’ one more time, you son of a bitch. I dare you.”

He wasn’t impressed with his pleading eyes. He kinda felt like he deserved it.

“Why’d you do it here?” The bright colours were starting to give him a heading. “And where are the staff?”

“It’s symbolic, Bucky,” you emphasise, “He deserves to be among other rat bastards.”

Of course.

“The staff?” he asks again.

“Gave them thirty bucks and told them to leave. I’m not a monster.”

“Right.” He doesn’t bother refuting you. “Why’d you call me here?”

“Dunno.” You shrug. “Thought it’d be fun. You having fun yet?”

You shake the guy you’re holding. He gives a small whimper.

Bucky doesn’t want to stop you. He had chugged enough Respect Juice in his lifetime to know that this guy probably deserved a threat or two.

Hell, he’d even help but you were more than capable of handling this on your own.

“Listen,” he sighed. “As much as I’m sure he deserves it, this is technically illegal and I’m required to stop you.”

“Sorry sarge, I thought you weren’t interested in playing this stupid game with me,” you mock, voice dropping to imitate him.

“I’m not.” It wasn’t entirely true. One Saturday with Jar Jar Binks had convinced him otherwise.

“Okay, so before you leave, do me a favour and call Hawkeye. I hear he looks mighty fine when he’s annoyed.”

His face involuntarily scrunched up. You were going to replace him with Clint? Clint?

He probably took it more as an insult than he should have.

“I’m not doing that.” Bless his foul mouthed friend, but he was a little shit who was too sarcastic for his own good. At least twice a week he’d say something stupid to Bucky and then take out his hearing aids when he tried to argue back.

“You’re leavin’ me with no options here,” you groaned, using your thumb to flip a switch. The gun looks like it powered up, lights along the side turning red.

If he let you have this, it’d be a bad look for the Avengers.

New York man dies in Chuck E. Cheese lone hostage situation, unable to be saved by same superhero who tried to fight Thanos with a machine gun.

“Tell ya what,” he says instead, “If you kill him, there won’t even be a slight chance that you’ll see me again.”

Your grip on the gun falters.

“If I let him go...”

“I might consider coming back next week.” He’s trying to spin it, make it look like he’s the one with the upper hand here. “But you gotta let him go.”

You search his face for any signs of dishonesty.

“Let him go or you’ll never see me again.” It sounds too much like Clint’s arguments with his dog who brought a live squirrel into the house.

“Fine,” you relent, a glint in your eye. “but say goodbye to this fuckface.”

Before Bucky can open his mouth to shout in protest, you pull the trigger. The man clenches his eyes shut, face red.

He expects blood to be splatter across his face.

Nothing happens.

A barrage of bubbles floats into the room.

“I meant it literally,” you say, pushing him off you. “Say goodbye. He’s leaving.”

The man stumbles to the ground and Bucky doesn’t make any attempt to catch him. He scrambles to his knees, picking himself up and scurrying out the door to a hoard of reporters.

The door shuts behind him with the chime of a bell.

“You’re annoying,” Bucky states, giving a small sigh.

“I’m well aware of that.” You pull off the mask, wiping the sweat off your brow.

“Where is the agent assigned to your case?”

“Dunno. Last I saw he was crying on the driveway of my lair. I just figured he’d pick himself up later so I left him there.”

Bucky’s nose twitches.

“You weren’t actually going to kill him, were you.” He shrugs with his shoulder towards the door. It wasn’t a question, more a statement. He knew you wouldn’t.

“I could have.”

“But you weren’t going to,” he repeats.

“No,” you admit. “I wasn’t. But I’m glad to see you showed up.”

“You held someone hostage as leverage.”

“No, no. I held someone hostage and then asked to see you. They were completely unrelated.”

“You’re evil.”

“You jumped to conclusions,” you point out. “Would you like a trampoline next time? Maybe a pogo stick, you clown?”

He has a very real gun in his holster. His very real metal death arm aches to use it.

“No one else agreed to come,” he deflects.

“We both know that’s a lie. You were going to come back anyway.” You stuff the bubble gun back into the bag. “I’m deliciously irresistible.”

“I beg to differ.”

“Then beg.” You give him a smirk and he rolls his eyes. “Don’t worry, you win this round, sarge.”

He doesn’t say anything. He watches you remove your heist gear, revealing normal civilian clothes underneath.

You walk casually to the kitchen, intending to leave through the back door.

“But I can’t say I lost either.” You send him a wink before swiftly pushing open the door and leaving him behind.

He only watches you leave.

It doesn’t hit him until a few seconds later that he let a criminal out of his hands when there were several policemen and journalists outside.

He entertains the idea of chasing you down and handing you over.

It takes him only a few seconds to decide that if they wanted you, they’d have to try themselves.

Next part

#bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #mcu fic #bucky fic #bucky barnes fic #bucky fluff #bucky barnes fluff #bucky angst #bucky barnes angst #harmless fic #winter soldier x reader #Winter Soldier #bucky barnes #bucky

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wisehoagiekidwobbler · 3 years

Text

Forms of Witchcraft

•Dolls and Poppets

Poppets are the English terms for what movies call a ‘voodoo doll’. Voodoo doll is a misnomer, and does nothing for either poppets or Haitian magic.

Poppets can be used for a couple of things – mainly either cursing or healing. This doesn’t always have to be physical curses/cures – poppets can also be used to influence thought patterns.

Dolls can also be used to provide homes for Spirits, or used to create guardians. You can also use a doll as a scapegoat to prevent a curse from latching onto you.

•Shrinemaking

Shrine making is less a way to create a defined outcome, and more a way of pleasing Spirits who you may later want to call upon. It’s kinda like taking your new neighbours a pie, in case you ever need them to watch the house whilst you’re away. The pie is an overture to a friendly relationship, not direct payment for the house sitting. However, if you just blundered into their garden one day and offered them £100 to watch the house, they’d probably tell you to get lost. Randomly calling up Spirits, Saint or Deities can have the same effect. I mean, would you help someone get a job if they just banged on your door and waved some incense at you? Get your local Spirits pies. Find out what scents, and objects, and offerings that they like. Keep the land around you clean, and pick up after other people if you can. Use your vote and your money to protect the land from logging and fracking. Build a dedicated ‘meeting space’ where you call up Spirits, and fill it full of pictures of them or things they like. It pays dividends in the future.

Shrinemaking can also be used to help bless and protect your home and land. By connecting with the other Spirits that are there, you solidify the relationship, and can work together against intruders.

•Bottles and Jars

Witch bottles (or spell jars) are fun, easy ways to create a variety of effects. As a spell base, they can be effective for:

* money

* love

* friendship

* animal work

* protection

Some people define a witch bottle as strictly the traditional version which is used as a scapegoat, and call other spells involving bottles and jars ‘spell jars’. Some people use the term witch bottle to encompass all magics involving jars.

You can learn about all types of bottle magic in the free course which you can sign up for below!

•Candles

Candle magic is a much more modern form of magic than you’d think – especially if we’re talking coloured candles. Candles were very precious objects in the past! However, it was not an unusual item to have, like a hunk of crystal or fairy doll, which is why they became an item to use for undetected witchcraft – like brooms, and cauldrons.

As candles have got cheaper and cheaper and less needed to be used for lighting, much more forms and types of magic have sprung up around them. With the addition of coloured waxes or painted candles, the sorts of magic you can do with candles has grown exponentially.

Candles are a subset of fire magic and therefore are fantastic for banishing, but they are often the beginners tool of choice. It’s easy to understand why – easy to get hold of, easy to use, and there’s as much fancy ritual needed as you feel inclined to give it.

When you want to expand your knowledge, you can still stick with candles – but investigate the use of oils, herbs and crystals in conjunction with candles.

•Crystals and Rocks

Crystals and rocks are often used as ‘ingredients’ in other spells. They are very easy to add to bottles, pouches, dolls and more. However, you can also use crystals in spell work solely on their own by adding them to your pillow, till, money box, plant pot, etc.

Their use goes much further than this, but that enters the realm of energy healing which is a part of many traditions and is a very dedicated and intensive practice all by itself, and too much to explain here.

Air

You can utilize the powers of air in a lot of ways. It’s usually good for cleansing spells – think sweeping with a ritual broom, burning incense (smoke=air, not fire), ringing bells or playing bowls, singing, using flags and wheels. Air methods tend to return quick results.

Earth

Earth brings slow results, but they tend to be larger. Earth practices include enchanting seeds that will bring you money as they grow, burying offerings in the Earth, making vessels and spells out of clay, or writing spells in the mud.

Fire

Fire can bring things into your life, but is much better used to get rid of them – for beginners, anyway. If there is anything in your life that you wish to get rid of, you can write or draw a representation of it and cast it into the fire to remove it.

Water

Water can take the longest time to bring you what you need. However, think of water pounding against a rock. Drips of water became rivers, became waterfalls. Water can often bring you the biggest results, but it may take a long time.

Water spells can include potions (see below), but can also include ritual baths, leaving offers in water, or giving up bad energy or habits to the ocean.

•Bones

Bones are a contentious subject in witchcraft. Some people will never use them, some people’s practice is not complete without them. You can actually get bones in an ethical manner, by either cleaning up roadkill yourself or paying someone to do it for you, or literally keeping the bones from your dinner!

Some uses for bones are:

* Telling the future (casting bones or lots)

* Housing the Spirit of the animal so you can work with them

* Form parts of wands or ritual jewellery or headresses

* Ingredients in pouches

Tarot, Runes and Ogham

You can use all of these fortune telling tools in spells, too! You can choose one of them that has a characteristic or represents an outcome that you’d like. So if you wanted a new job, you might choose the Ace of Pentacles. Then you could do any one of the following with it:

* Use it to focus a candle spell

* Add it to a pouch or bag spell

* Add it to a jar spell

* Use it in lieu of a sigil

* Make a vision board around it

* Even burn it! (You can get single Tarot cards for this purpose on eBay.)

•Potions and Elixirs

Potion Magic used to be a lot more popular. Whilst elixirs, tisanes and tea blends are still popular for use on yourself, the masses of recipes of potions, philtres and similar recipes have all but died out. That’s because a lot of potion magic is only to be used in desperate circumstances, like love potions and curses. The reason so many old fashioned love potions are beyond creepy and controlling is that woman’s husband was her meal ticket. If he left her, not only would she be blamed, but she would be out of a house, food and her own family probably wouldn’t take her in. She had shamed them all. (Often through no actual fault of her own.) She was literally facing public humiliation, being outcast, perhaps even starving to death – and sometimes her children along with here.

So dousing a lover or husband’s food with love potion made a lot more sense then, than it does now.

Thankfully, most of us don’t live in those circumstances any more, so a lot of philtre or potion use has died out. However, there are still some amazing things you can make to ingest yourself:

* Tea blends

* Tisanes (herbals teas)

* Bath spells

* Lunar or solar water

* Herbal Oils

Spoken Magic

Spoken Magic can be long and complicated, or very short. It doesn’t have to rhyme (but it can) it doesn’t have to flow like poetry (but it can). You can use spoken incantation to help direct energy when you’re using other methods, but you can also use it on it’s own.

Some examples of spoken magic:

* Affirmations

* Words of power

* Singing

* Ritual Offerings

* Wishes

You can even banish Spirit’s solely through your voice. Shouting ‘Leave!’ with the correct intention can be very powerful.

•Written Magic

Written magic has existed since we could write. Many cultures view writing AS magic. Think about it – 26 (or thereabouts, depends on your alphabet) tiny squiggles can become anything when placed in the right order. Dumbledore was right about the power of words.

Written magic can include:

* Petitions to Spirits

* Magic squares

* Words of power or protection

* Wishes

* Tattoos

* Rune work

Bag and Pouch Magic

There is all kinds of bag magic – from mojo bags, to more modern spell envelopes. The main idea behind bag or pouch magic is that keeping a carefully curated selection of objects together for a certain time period will produce the effects that you want. A lot of bag magic produces indefinite spells provided they are charged. Such bags usually grant the wearer protection, prosperity, luck or good health. However, there are bag magics wear a specific time limited spell is wanted – invisibility spells, hex breakers and the like.

•Enchantments and Glamours

Enchantment covers a variety of spell types, but theme of the spells are pretty much the same. Enchantment covers a lot of the old folklore kind of witchcraft – hidden worlds, changing age, changing into different animals and so on.

Enchanting something fools the viewer into believing something is there when it is not, or isn’t there when it is, or is something completely different.

Think of the Harry Potter scene where Hermione explains that the ceiling of the Great Hall isn’t a real sky, it’s just enchanted to look that way.

Real enchantment can be done for fun, but they can also be useful pieces of magic. You can enchant jewelry, clothes or makeup to bestow certain personality traits upon you. You can enchant your witchy items to look normal if you’re fearful of discovery. The possibilities are just about endless.

#grimoire #witchcraft #book of spells #wicca #book of shadows #witch #spell book #witches journal #magic book #pagan #black magic #black spells #witchy #witchy spells #beginner witch #witchblr #witchtober

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mrpenguinpants · 3 years

Text

Childe: First Kiss HCs

I tend to make things gender neutral by not putting in pronouns and just using “you” but you can definitely read this as female^^ But I completely agree, I love this boy so much. He’s my favourite character to play (im so sorry razor) until Xiao comes out. I literally have a genshin team named “waiting for xiao” and it’s just Childe and Zhongli haha.

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Today’s appreciation post goes to childes-starconch. Fitting that this is a Childe fic but ty for your support^^ I always notice you pop up as soon as I post a fic and I really enjoy seeing you. Hopefully you read this since tumblr won’t let me tag people, for whatever reason I don’t know anymore, but just saying hey, I see you 💕💕

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I’m just gonna piggy back off my last Childe fic. I’m sorry.

Semi Part 1: Fiance HCs [honestly, one of my favourites haha]

Xiao Ver: First Kiss HCs

Venti & Kaeya: Mistletoe HCs

Venti, Xingqiu, and Razor: Kissing HCs

[Masterlist]

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[taglist] <- if you want to be added, please read this first.

@hanniejji @mikeysbike @unionwitch @musekala @twistedsunnshiii @stanzastic @akaasea @xoneaboveallx @adoring-ghost @asheseiler @childelover@youaskedfurret @snowy224

@youaskedfurret @diaxfeliz @wintergreen-aix @dandelily @thegayrubberducky @lovelykittycatmeow @yuunoagivesmelife @dokidokisama @simpygrimoire @minakohasmanyhusbandos @strwbrry-lia @tigerpriestess

For some reason I can’t @ certain people. I’m talking to tumblr about it.

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Childe: First Kiss HCs

Childe was never one to shy away from affection, be it holding your hand in his or wrapping an arm around you, he was always happy to be close to you. He was always a bit territorial which lead to some embarrassing situations for you but it was from a good place in his heart. But when it came to public kisses, he preferred to keep it between you two. It felt too private of a moment that he didn’t want to broadcast to the rest of the Fatui, especially to the other Harbingers. That is to say, if he actually kissed you in the first place. For all the two braincells Childe had, one was fighting and the other was protecting his loved ones, just imagining kissing you was too much for him and he needed to go find some poor recruit and beat his inner problems out. The Fatui recruitment process would always dwindled down during his inner turmoil sessions that Scaramouche himself, had to throw his goddamn hat at Tartaglia, and yell at him to hurry up and fix his problem. It was clogging up the air.

When he tried to think about it, it shouldn’t be this hard to simply lean in for a kiss. But it was his first and while Childe might run into whatever danger or prospect of a fight without a second thought, he didn’t want to ruin it. What if he accidently bonked his forehead with yours? He should remove his mask then right? Just in case? He’s only given forehead and cheek kisses to his younger siblings so it should be the same right? Yeah he could do this, this was just another battle for Tartaglia to conquer!

But whenever he would see you or you would both sit and bask in each other’s presences. He couldn’t bring himself to initiate something or heck, even looking at your face made him a bit hot under the collar in sub-zero temperatures. He can almost hear Scaramouche and Signora laughing maniacally at him behind their hands. He’s the youngest of the Harbingers, he should get a “get out of jail for free” card that all youngest children have whenever they get into trouble. But in this case it’s murder. He quickly slaps his cheeks to get his mind off fighting for one second which startles you beside him.

The first time you’ve seen Childe shy was when he first confessed to you, stuttering that he liked you and just really badly wanted to hold your hand without using the frost of Sneznaya as an excuse. You flushed pink but nodded that you returned his feeling and slipped your hand in his. Whatever shyness Childe had was quickly wiped off his face and he cheered and brought you in for an eskimo kiss. Rubbing your nose with his as he laughed in joy, the tips of his ears and cheeks still coloured pink. You always hold that memory dear to your heart because not only was it the start of your relationship, it was the first time you felt you were staring at Ajax. Not Childe. Not Tartaglia. Just Ajax.

But now, you’re not to sure what to call this. Lately he seemed to be out of it, always staring off into space or frowning at some poor poor snowmen that did not deserve that much pressure. Was being a harbinger starting to take it’s toll on him? Did something terrible happen to his family or was the Tsaritsa being too hard on him? You were beginning to get concerned because you’ve never seen this much mental turmoil in him. This never really happened before and he usually bounced back pretty fast. Would it be better if you left him be and he sorted it out himself? Would it be better if you asked?

Childe is startled out of his thoughts of possible committed murder because he’s too scared to ask his own partner if kissing was something they could do, when he felt your hand slowly nudge his. No matter how many times he holds your hand, you’re always warm. It could be snow storming outside and the only heater he would need would be you. He offers a small but warm smile as he laces his fingers with yours. He remembers when you first started going out he was so scared about boundaries and what was okay. Brushing your fingers together and overall, not doing a good job at saying he wanted to hold hands that even he cringes slightly at his younger self - even though it wasn’t that long ago and he’s doing it again just with kisses - but now he borderline clings to you like some overgrown animal. Scaramouche’s words, not his.

It’s still evening in Snezhnaya and the Tsaritsa herself seems to be taking a vacation because there’s only a light snow falling down between the two of you. You’re both sitting outside his house while his family is inside, warm and having fun playing games. He breathes in, closes his eyes, and let’s the world fade away just a second. He slowly brings his other hand to cup your cheek, his hands are always numb and the tiny pin pricks are dancing on his fingers again before they fade away too, and guides you towards him so he can place a small kiss on your fore head. Then tilts your face to the side so he can kiss your cheek. Brings his nose near yours to nuzzle against. Then hesitates when his lips hover above yours.

“Ajax is there something bothering you?” you ask softly, you’re so close to each other that all you can see is him. The small puffs of breathe you both take bounce off each other’s face before evaporating into the air. You never really took the time to appreciate Ajax’s bright blue eyes. His pupil from this distance seems to be slitted too.

“Hm? Ah no, of course not. Where did you get that idea?” he tries to laugh it off and tries to move back before you quickly bring your hand to the back of his head and nudge him forward so he stays in place. It wasn’t like him to run away from something, it was really starting to bother you what could get Ajax of all people to retreat from something.

“You know if there’s anything that’s bothering you, you can talk to me right?” you asked as you brought both your hands to cup his face as you softly rubbed circles just under his ear. He closed his eyes and hmmed happily at your actions and nuzzled further into your hand before turning his head inward to kiss your palm. Before relaxing and parting his eyelids half way as he seemed to be back in concentration mode. Before awkwardly saying what was troubling him these past few days.

“So wait, you mean to tell me that this entire time I was worried about you. How out of it you were and how many fights you’ve been getting into. Was because you wanted a kiss?” you asked dumfounded as he pouted but nodded. You sighed but bonked your foreheads together softly, “You’re such an idiot....C’mere.”

“Wha-”

You grab the scarf on his harbinger uniform and tug him forward as your lips slot over his. You kiss him hard and for a few seconds as Ajax just stares at you as his brain tries to catch up, before his eyes seem to dilate and he kisses you back just as hard. All his past worries are quickly thrown out the window as slowly pushes you on your back, cushioned by the soft snow, as he basks in the feeling. It’s a bit sloppy given this is both your first kisses but that’s what adds to the charm. You both have to separate at some point for oxygen but Childe looks like he’s ready to dive in again.

“One more,” he pants as he goes in for another but you quickly place your hand in the way so he ends up kissing your palm. He whines but you chuckle at him, place a small kiss on the back of your palm of where his lips would be, and push him off you. You’re both still outside his families home and you aren’t in the mood to be caught in this kind of position. Especially not in front of his younger siblings. He rests his cheek on your shoulder and looks at you, trying to make his eyes bigger and look like a kicked puppy. You sigh as you give a small pet on his head, running your fingers through your hair. What a troublesome partner you’ve gotten.

“Alright, one more.”

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My entire taglist was just made for the “Enemies” to “Lovers” post and I still haven’t started hehe. Trust me, it’s coming. I’ve got requests for it and we’re slowly getting there. The entire time I’m writing this I’m just thinking “honey..no, that’s not how this works.” God you’re so dumb. I hate you. You’re my favourite character. Pour one out for Xiao, I was going to make this a crack fic too but ended up making it somewhat serious.

So yeah, xiao is a cat and childe is a fox. In other news, water is wet. But I did actually google fox behaviors just for this shitpost. ALRIGHT TIME TO SPIN THE WHEEL OF “WILL TUMBLR BE NICE TO ME?” OR DO I NEED TO DOUBLE REPOST AGAIN.

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tomtenadia · 3 years

Text

Remember Us - 8

Weekend surprise!

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Rowan had another tough week.

His headaches had been almost constant and some days worse than others. He had bouts of dizziness and on a couple of occasions he had felt disoriented and confused again. He had been terrified. All of a sudden he had no idea where he was, who he was and it just sent him back him in the hellhole of the first days he had woken up.

Aelin had took him to the hospital and his doctor had ran some test and explained that what he was experiencing were some common symptoms with a head injury. The spells of disorientation should disappear soon but he had said that headaches might linger a bit longer. He had prescribed some painkillers but Rowan had decided to take them only when the headache was unbearable. The first time he took them he was knocked off for an entire day and did not like the idea.

That morning he was home alone. Aelin was at work, Thomas at his nursery and Evalin had taken Freyja with her while running some errands.

He was sitting on the sofa with a book in his hand. He had asked Aelin to show him the book where Thomas’ namesake was. He had joked saying that he was keen to meet his competition.

Things between him and Aelin had improved. He still had his fears, he was still scared of not being enough for her but she had been a constant presence at his side and never pushed. They had shared some nice moments and in bed at night he had started sleeping with her in his arms and his hand on her belly.

Slowly he realised that the feeling he had for her had been real. His attachment to her was growing day by day. More memories flooded back and in the past few days their friends made an appearance as well and he had talked with Aelin about those moments and now he could put names to faces. They had discussed the possibility of meeting them in person, but Rowan was not sure how he felt about it yet. A part of him wanted to, was curious, but the other felt terror at the idea.

He sighed and went back to the book and read the same page for the millionth time. He had discovered that he was also struggling to concentrate, another annoying side effect. Exhausted, he placed the book on the coffee table. He was about to go back to bed but someone rang the buzzer of their house. He was not expecting anyone. So he stood, grabbed his walking stick and reached the door. Once he opened it he found a tall dark-haired man with a baby carrier at his chest and a baby in it. Lorcan. The man was Lorcan. His partner at work. Aelin had filled him in.

“Hi,”

“I am Lorcan,” said the man.

“I know.”

“Sorry, I was taking Allison for a walk and I got to this area and decided to pop in for a visit.” He explained “I can go if you don’t feel like having visitors.”

Rowan shook his head “I guess I need to start to interact with the outside world.”

“Fancy some fresh air?”

Rowan thought about it and nodded. He hadn’t left the house since he came back from the hospital. “Let me change.”

He came back a few minutes later and left a note to Evalin, explaining that he had gone for a walk with Lorcan “you need to be my guide, I have no idea where to go and how to get back home.” He locked the door behind him and pocketed phone and keys.

“Don’t worry. I checked with Aelin and she said that it was okay if you felt like it and that fresh air might do you good.”

Rowan nodded and took a deep breath of fresh air. “Just don’t run, I am still very slow.”

“I was just going to the park down the road. Elide is at work today so I am on babysitting duty.” And caressed his little girl’s head.

The baby was fast asleep against Lorcan’s chest. “She looks lovely.”

“She is her mother’s daughter, she is basically an Elide in miniature.”

They walked in silence to the park and then sat down on a bench and Rowan sighed in relief. That had been the most he had walked and his leg complained. It was getting better and Dorian had recommended to keep using it as much possible to get used again to the weight on it. Also, he had muscle mass to rebuild and the man had given him exercises to do at home.

“Silly question, but how do you feel?”

Rowan sighed “definitely better than a few weeks ago. Memories are coming back and it’s not as scary anymore as it was before.”

“How is it going with Aelin?”

Rowan paused and looked at the park around him. That was a loaded question and he always had to sort out his feelings “We are growing closer, or actually is me. My feelings for her are slowly getting clearer.”

Lorcan chuckled “you two will go back being attached to the hips in no time.” And the comment surprised Rowan “as soon as you two decided to stop fighting you became this disgusting cheesy couple. You have been together forever,” he continued “and after what you have been through, this is a stroll in the park. I am not sure another couple would have survived it.”

Rowan looked away, the pain of those memories was always vivid. He had dreamt the night she had woken up in a pool of blood. He had wondered the same thing. How their marriage survived that level of loss.

“Elide would probably make fun of me for saying this but you are soulmates. Elide and I had to work hard, mostly because of me. Before her I was not the relationship type.” He told him, rocking gently from side to side to prevent his daughter from waking up “you and Aelin had a deep connection from the start, even when you called her a spoiled brat and she called you obnoxious bastard. There was something there, among all that fighting and you were the only ones who did not see until much later.” Lorcan kept talking and Rowan listened interested. He needed to know more about them and this was exactly what he needed. An outside perspective on his relationship with Aelin “that bond, that connection brought you back together after those dark weeks.”

“I felt it since the first time she stepped in my room after I woke up.” Then he looked at the man and decided to learn more about their relationship.

“How did we meet? You and I.”

“Uni.” Said Lorcan with half a smile “First year and first day. We sat at the back of the class. I showed up with no pen or paper for taking notes thinking it was not needed for our first day. But the professor dove straight in. So you gave your spare notepad and spare pen.”

Rowan laughed at the memory.

“We became friends instantly.” Allison stirred so Lorcan stood and paced in front of Rowan “Once we graduated we applied for jobs and we landed in two big law companies but after two years you left them and then a while later you came to me with a plan. I resigned the next day.”

“Do you regret leaving a high paying job?”

Lorcan shook his head “not in the least. It was driving us mad and killing our lives. We had no time for anything. Too many ungrateful bastards to deal with. Elide and I broke up for two months because of it. No, I have no regrets. What we do now is good. We actually help people.”

Rowan played with his wedding ring in a nervous gesture “what if I can’t get back to my old job?”

“You have probably heard this a lot, but take your time. Things are under control. When you feel ready you can ease back in, but there is no rush.”

Rowan sighed “I need something to do. When Aelin is not at home Evalin looks after Freyja to give me space.”

“You probably still have your law books. Get them out of storage and read and see if anything comes back. If not, they are handy if you are struggling to sleep.”

He laughed and in that instant Allison woke up.

“And she is awake.” He gave the girl her pacifier “come on I’ll take you home.”

***

Lorcan took him back home and Rowan was now back on the sofa trying to go back reading the book but only managed a few pages before the headache came back.

He groaned in frustration and then paced a bit around the house like a caged animal. He stopped at the window and looked at the tree in front of the house and he had an idea.

Slowly he reached the closet and found a few spare duvets and grabbed one of the colourful ones, then a couple of pillows and dragged them outside. He had to abandon his walking stick so the job had proved harder, but not as hard as the second part of his plan. He had to get the stuff in the treehouse. The weather was nice and he was going to prepare some adventure for the kids. He had no idea what, but he would think of something. Climbing the wooden stairs with the duvet in his arms had proven hard, but now at the top he dropped the blanket and took a deep breath then very carefully made his way down and grimaced at the pain in his leg. With a heavier limp he made his way back in the house and grabbed a backpack and started to add some toys, books. Then he found battery powered fairy lights in the closet and grabbed those as well. Finally he grabbed the pillows and left the house once more and went to the treehouse. Rowan climbed half the stairs and threw the backpack inside, then grabbed the pillows and finally got in the house and sat down ignoring the blinding pain in his leg. He had gone too far for one day.

Crawling around the place he started spreading the blankets to make it cosy and warm, then the pillows and eventually he attached the fairy lights around the walls. He switched them on for a moment and the effect was perfect. He laid out the books, the toys and eventually lay down to relax.

He had finally managed to read a bit more of the book and was now engrossed, Thomas was still the alleged bad guy but he had just discovered that he had confessed that the enemy had taken POW and begged his captor not to glass the base that still had their people on. He had started to like the man and could start to see why Aelin loved him.

He reemerged from the book when he heard some familiar voices. With caution he crawled to the edge and popped his head outside and saw Aelin with Thomas in hand and Freyja in her stroller pushed by Evalin.

“Good afternoon,” he greeted them.

Aelin lifted her head and gasped when she saw him inside the house.

“Dad!” Shouted Thomas, freeing himself from his mother’s grip and running to the wooden ladder.

“Careful,” Aelin was at his side and helped the boy climb.

“Fancy joining me?” Rowan extended his hand to Aelin and she smiled.

Evalin nodded at her daughter “go, I’ll take the stroller inside. Stay with your family.”

Aelin lifted Freyja in her arms and slowly climbed the ladder. Rowan waited for her at the top and grabbed the little girl and allowed Aelin to climb easier.

When she reached the top and peeked inside she gasped “did you do all this?”

Rowan gave her a grin and nodded “I was bored and I tried to do something so we could spend some special time as a family.” He winked at her and Aelin kissed him “I love you,” she whispered and he kissed her back. He could not utter those words yet but he wanted to show her how much he cared already.

Aelin lifted the blanket and squeezed underneath after she and Thomas had removed their shoes. Rowan sat at her side and brought her close to him. The kids sat in front of Rowan in between his legs. Thomas passed one of the books to his dad but Aelin took it. She knew Rowan was still struggling with reading for prolonged time “now, is everyone cozy?”

Thomas screamed all excited and leaned his head against his father’s chest and Rowan placed a hand on his head and Freyja snuggled closer as well.

Aelin pulled up the blanket to cover them and tucked under Rowan’s arm and opened the book

“In a distant and magical land there lived a princess. She was young but loved her kingdom very, very much…”

#rowaelin #rowaelinkids #rowaelin fanfic #rowaelin fanfiction #rowan whitethorn #aelin galathynius #domestic fluff #rowan x aelin

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hercleverboy · 3 years

Text

love story

spencer reid x reader

summary ↠ the story of how spencer and the reader met, and how they began to fall in love.

category ↠ fluff

warnings/includes ↠ none

word count ↠ 4.2k

“We are all better versions of ourselves when we are loved.” — Unknown

Spencer was insane, he was sure of it.

What else would you call him finding himself hopelessly falling for a woman he’d known for less than a month?

Pure insanity.

They first day they’d spoken he hadn’t been paying much attention. It was a beautifully sunny day, with blue skies for as far as the eye could see. It was Saturday, and the team had been graced with the entire weekend off, with Garcia even joking that serial killers seemed to have taken the backseat. And so, Spencer went where he often spent his spare time- the local park, where he could sit with his chess board for hours on end.

Initially, he didn’t notice when someone sat across from him, too engrossed in his game. It’s only when she cleared her throat slightly that he looked up.

The breath quite literally left his lungs, he felt like he was choking.

She was so beautiful.

Far too beautiful to be talking to you, he thought.

“Hi, I’m sorry to disrupt your game, and please tell me If I’m annoying you and I’ll go but- I was just wondering if you wanted someone to play with?” She asked shyly, a sheepish grin on her lips. She stood next to the table, clutching the strap of her bag in her hands.

He was staggered to say the least but managed to string together some form of a sentence. “You- you play?”

She let out a small chuckle. “I dabble. My father taught me as a kid, but I don’t play often, so forgive me if I’m a little rusty.” She joked, and he just nodded at her wearily.

He was confused, in all honesty. He moved to look over his shoulder, surveying the many other patrons of the park on this particular Saturday. Out of all the people she could’ve chosen to strike up conversation with, she chose him?

He was overthinking everything, like he normally did.

It doesn’t mean anything, Spencer. She’s just looking for some company, and god knows you need it. Just don’t scare her off.

He just nodded at her, words escaping him. She perked up at his approval, joyfully taking a seat opposite him and placing her bag by her feet.

Unsurprisingly, Spencer won easily, within minutes of them sitting down to play.

“You weren’t kidding when you said you were rusty.” Spencer remarked, a poor attempt at a joke. He then quickly realised how cocky and ignorant that must’ve sounded. “I’m- I’m sorry, that wasn’t how I wanted that to sound at all I-”

She’s gonna laugh at you, you know? IQ of 187 means nothing when there’s a pretty girl in front of you, right Reid?

Spencer braced himself to be humiliated, as he was used to being. A feeling of unsettledness filled him as he mentally berated himself for not knowing when to keep his damn mouth shut- wait, why wasn’t she laughing at him? He relaxed slightly, looking over at her cautiously.

She was watching him intently, a small frown on her face.

“You don’t have to apologise, I’m not offended. In fact, you’re absolutely right. I should really brush up on my skills before I try playing a professional such as yourself.” She smiled, and Spencer blushed as he ducked his head down, avoiding her eyes.

“I’m not a professional.” He mumbled, trying to hide the smile that pulled at his lips.

“You’re not? Then you must be a genius.”

Spencer figured she was probably joking, but having never been very good with social cues, he simply nodded his head at her. When he saw her curious expression, he scrambled to explain himself. “I am, technically. I have an IQ of 187, I can read 20,000 words a minute and I have an eidetic memory.”

Great, now it sounds like you’re boasting. Why are you being such a showoff, she’s not gonna like that!

Spencer cringed, sighing inwardly, preparing for her to make fun of him. Any possible chance he could’ve had with her was gone, surely she’d think he was weird now.

“Wow, you are? That’s- that’s awesome.” She smiled, and Spencer’s head shot up in slight shock. She smiled at his reaction.

“It’s- I’m- awesome?” He stuttered, and Y/N refrained from showing how his lack of self-confidence made her heart ache a little for him.

“You sure are. I can only imagine all the cool things you know.”

He blushed again, smiling slightly at the compliment.

She grinned at him, happy she’d managed to make him smile. “I’m Y/N.” She reached her hand out across the table for him to shake. He just stared at her hand, and she quickly understood, moving her hand back. “Oh, bit of a germaphobe huh? It’s okay, I get it. I once read that with the number of pathogens passed on with a handshake, it’s actually much safer to kiss.”

Huh. As if she wasn’t perfect enough already.

“You knew that?” He breathed.

“Hm. I might not be a genius, but I know a few things.”

He chuckled a little awkwardly. “I’m- I’m Dr Spencer Reid- I’m Spencer, you don’t have to call me Doctor.” He could feel himself getting flustered under her gaze.

“You’re a Doctor? Like, of medicine?” She asked inquisitively, tilting her head to the side slightly.

He shook his head, moving his hands from where they rested on the table to wipe them on his trousers, only then noticing how sweaty they’d gotten. “No, I have three PHD’s, actually. But none in medicine.”

“Three?”

“I uh- yeah.” He swallowed, nervous as a silence overcame them. Spencer took note of how comfortable he felt, despite his visible nervousness.

“You- you’re really something special, Dr Spencer Reid.” She smiled, and he could tell it wasn’t meant to sound sarcastic or mean, but instead a warming compliment.

“Uh- thanks.” He uttered, unsure of what to say next.

You’re beautiful.

That’s what he wanted to say but he couldn’t force his mouth to form the words, no matter how hard he tried.

She flicked her watch up, checking the time before grabbing her little lavender coloured bag. “Sorry but I have to get going. I’ll uh- I’ll see you around?” She smiled, getting up from the seat. Spencer’s eyes followed her as she stood, willing himself to speak his mind.

Please don’t go, not yet.

Stay.

But the only words that left his lips were. “Y-yeah. I’ll see you.”

And then she was gone.

Spencer couldn’t help the smile that graced his lips as he watched her walk away.

He didn’t see her for two weeks after that. He’d been called away twice for a case, but every spare minute he had when he wasn’t working he spent sat at the table in the park, waiting to see if she would turn up that day. He felt silly, all the days he’d sat there waiting to see if she’d show. He rarely ever actually played any chess, just attempted to make himself look busy in case she just happened to swing by.

He was starting to lose hope that he’d ever see her again when he felt a familiar presence sit opposite him, the sight of her lavender bag being dropped by her feet.

“Are you up for a rematch?”

He looked up, trying to act as though he hadn’t dreamt of seeing her again for the last two weeks.

“Y/N.” Her name left his lips as a statement, relief that she was finally in front of him again. His lips pulled up in a small smile as he took in how she looked, ethereal as ever.

“Dr Reid. How have you been?”

“I’m good, how- how about you?”

“I’m great, thank you.” She beamed, a smile that radiated a warmth that spencer could only compare to the sun. “I was wondering when I’d get to see you again.”

“S-same here.” He grinned bashfully.

“I came here the other day hoping to see you, but you were nowhere to be found.” She commented, and Spencer cringed.

“I- yeah. I was away for work for a few days.”

“Ah. What do you do for work, if you don’t mind me asking?” She moved to lean her elbows on the table.

Of course he didn’t mind her asking. He wasn’t sure there was anything he wouldn’t do for her.

Stop. Stop that. You don’t know this girl, Spencer. Don’t fall in love with her, she won’t ever look at you like that.

“No, it’s okay. I uh, work for the Behavioural Analysis Unit of the FBI.” He winced at how much it sounded like he was flaunting.

“The FBI, no way.” She smiled, and he simply nodded his head. “That’s another thing to add to the already impressive list of reasons why you’re a pretty awesome guy, Spencer.”

His cheeks flushed again, looking away. Not wanting to make him uncomfortable, she smiled sincerely and then looked down at the board between them. “So uh, obviously I’m not very good at chess, and you’re brilliant at it. Would I be overstepping If I asked you to teach me?” She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth nervously.

Smiling lightly with a little chuckle. “I- uh- no, not overstepping at all. I’d love to teach you.”

“Great!” She looked down at her watch. “I’ve actually got to run, but I’m free tomorrow if you’re about? How’s 11am for you?”

He found himself nodding, even though his mind was nagging at him.

“Cool. I’ll see you tomorrow, Spencer.” She smiled before standing up, grabbing her bag and waving kindly before turning to leave.

and then again, she was out of sight.

He felt dazed as he stared after her longingly.

When 11am rolled around the following day, Spencer made his way to the park with a little skip in his step. He had to keep reminding himself that this was most definitely not a date. He was simply going to help teach her how to play chess, right? Nothing else.

Don’t get your hopes up. Last time you did you ended up hurt. You remember that? Don’t kid yourself, Reid.

He pushed the self-depreciating thought deep down, locking it away in his mind. Instead, he focused on the warm feeling he got as he approached their table, seeing her already sat waiting for him.

He had never been more grateful to not be interrupted by his work.

She beamed up at him as he took his seat across from her. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

“I don’t have anywhere to be today, so I’m all yours Doctor.” She joked, and he chuckled a little, ignoring the small twinge of pain in his chest as he thought about how desperately he wanted that to be true.

If only you were mine.

They spent the majority of the day together, Spencer trying numerous tactics to get her to have a better understanding of how the game worked. They even took a lunch break to grab coffee and pretzels from the little stand in the park. Eventually she was playing at a fairly decent level, although still no match for Spencer.

Y/N watched intently as he moved one of his pieces. She knew exactly what he was doing, but still moved her final piece.

Spencer grinned over at her. “Hey! You won.” He met her eyes, his smile faltering a little. “What?”

“You totally just let me win.” She deadpanned, and Spencer gasped dramatically.

“I did not! You’re just that good, I guess.” He shrugged and she squinted her eyes at him playfully, unable to stop the wide smile from forming on her lips.

Of course, he had obviously let her win. He should’ve known she would be smart enough to see that he’d evidently threw the round so she would win. Spencer reckoned that he’d happily lose every round if it meant he could see her smile like that.

Spencer didn’t even realise how late it had gotten until the sun began to set, casting a beautiful golden glow across the park- and her.

Y/N tapped the home screen of her phone, and Spencer watched as the screen lit up, displaying the time. “Wow, it got late quickly.” She quipped. “I should- I should really get going.” She stood from her seat, grabbing her bag and hanging it over her shoulder.

Spencer clumsily stood as well, somehow nearly tripping in the process. “Y-yeah yeah, of course.”

“Thank you for today, Spencer. I had fun.”

“That’s good- that’s good. I’m glad. I had fun too.” He replied, hand coming up to rub the back of his neck nervously.

She simply smiled with a nod before beginning to walk away, waving as she left.

Spencer’s brain was screaming at him.

Spencer Reid if you dare let this woman walk away from you for a third time without asking her out I swear to god-

“Hey, Y/N!” He’d already called after her before even thinking about what he was going to say.

She turned around, frowning a little as he caught up to her. “Everything okay?” She asked.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s just um- I was wondering if you’d want to go out sometime? I’d love to- to take you out for dinner or something?”

Okay, Reid. Be smooth, stand up straight, stop stuttering. Deep breaths, man. Come on.

She seemed stunned that he’d asked, and he started to backtrack, apologising profusely for even thinking for a second that she might like him. “I’m sorry, forget I said anything. Have a good night, Y/N.” He turned to walk away, trying to eliminate the burning feeling in his chest when she called his name. When he looked back at her, she was smiling at him.

“Of course, Spencer. I’d love to go out with you sometime.”

Relief filled him as he nodded happily, giving her a tight-lipped smile. “Uh well- how about the little Italian restaurant that’s just down the road from here? Does- does Friday around 7pm sound good for you?”

She nodded, grinning contentedly. She then leaned toward him slightly, and Spencer froze.

Holy shit, she’s totally going to kiss you.

She quickly pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek before pulling back with a joyful smile. “I’ll see you on Friday, Spencer.”

Then she walked away again. But this time, Spencer had hope. He put his hand to his cheek, touching the place where her lips had lingered mere seconds before. A smile spread out over his lips. He felt an unfamiliar warmth is his chest.

He felt happy.

For a split-second, anyway.

Then his mind caught up with him, and the realisation hit.

What if you get a case? What’re you gonna do? You didn’t get her number, so you can’t tell her why you won’t be there. She’s gonna think you’ve stood her up!

Spencer sighed, his head dropping into his hands.

For a genius, you sure are pretty stupid sometimes.

And because it’s just his luck, his phone chimed with a text from Garcia.

‘Crime fighters! We got ourselves a case!’

Of course.

He sat in the local police station, trying to focus on the case files in front of him. But he simply couldn’t focus. His mind kept drifting to her. How she was definitely sat at the dinner table of the tiny Italian restaurant he’d made reservations for, waiting for him. It made his heart ache. He wished he had a way to tell her why he was absent. She deserved better than to be stood up by him.

Morgan was sat next to him at the table, watching his friend intently. When he noticed how long it was taking Reid to read the pages of the case file, which would normally take him a matter of minutes, he knew something was up. So he chucked the case file he was reading down on the table, the loud bang getting Spencer’s attention.

“Okay, Pretty boy. Spit it out.” Derek demanded, in his ‘no nonsense’ tone.

Spencer’s brows creased in confusion. “Spit what out?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, kid. You’ve been staring at that same page for like fifteen minutes. I know for a fact that your smartass would’ve finished ages ago. Come on, tell me. What’s on your mind?”

Spencer still tried to play it off, shrugging his shoulders. He really didn’t want any of his friends finding out about Y/N. Not until he was sure if there was something going on between them.

Morgan put on his ‘serious face’, giving Spencer an unamused glare. “You know you can tell me anything, right? Anything you say, I’ll keep between us.” He attempted to persuade him.

Spencer’s shoulders dropped in defeat. It would be nice to get his worries off his chest, and if he showed Morgan how truly bothered by it he was, he wouldn’t ridicule him for it. Hopefully.

“Okay. This doesn’t leave this room though.” Spencer said, deadly serious.

Morgan smirked a little triumphantly, before crossing over his heart with his finger. “Cross my heart.”

Spencer took a deep breath before starting. “I met this girl.”

Morgan couldn’t contain his reaction, a smile lighting up his face as he leaned over the table to clap Spencer on the back as he grinned. “My man!”

Spencer rolled his eyes. “It’s not like that. At least not yet. I’ve only met her three times. She sat across from me at one of the chess tables in the park. She’s just- she’s beautiful.” Spencer’s last few words were whispered, and he smiled at the thought of her.

“So? Why don’t you go for it?” Morgan asked, as if it was the simplest solution in the world.

“Well- because. I mean- why would she- she wouldn’t like me.” He visibly deflated as he spoke. Morgan was quick to shake his head, leaning forward on his elbows.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Reid. She’d be lucky to have you. Did you at least get her number?”

Spencer shook his head. “No, ‘cause I’m in idiot. I asked her to meet me for dinner today, but then we got called away on this case and now I have no way of telling her that I haven’t stood her up.“ Spencer’s breathing was picking up a little, and Morgan could tell how awful he felt about it all.

Morgan nodded along in understanding. “Hey, hey. Calm down, Reid. It’s okay. When we get back, you’ll just have to find her in the park again and explain everything to her.”

Spencer nodded but still sighed. “And if she doesn’t want anything to do with me?”

“Then it’ll be her loss.” Morgan promised, and Spencer just nodded, biting down on his lip.

That didn’t help at all. She still going to think you’re an ass.

Luckily for Spencer, the case didn’t take much longer to crack. Two days later they were touching down on the tarmac at Quantico. Spencer had been nervously bouncing his knee for the entirety of the flight and drinking copious amounts of coffee (his form of liquid courage.)

With some last words of encouragement, Morgan watched as Spencer practically ran down the steps of the jet, grabbing his go bag and heading off. “Go get her, pretty boy!” He called after him, promising to tell his confused team what that meant later.

Spencer drove quickly to get to the park, where he could only hope she’d be. As he tried his best to focus on the road, he couldn’t help the way he found himself begging all and anyone who was listening to let him fix this.

Please, if you ever do anything for me Universe, please let it be this. I’m a good guy, all I’ve ever done is help people, so i think you owe me this one. Just please, please let her be there.

As soon as he stepped through the entryway to the park, he was immediately scanning the few who were there, hoping to find the one person her cared to look for. He ran his hand through his hair, trying to stop stressing out and think for just one moment. He headed towards where they always sat, the place he would now proudly label their seats.

He didn’t think he’d ever felt happier than when he saw her sat in their spots, her back facing him. He knew it was her by the colour of her hair, and that lavender bag that sat by her feet.

He took a moment to breathe and calm himself down before approaching her.

Alright, Reid. This can go one of two ways- Either she hates you, throws everything back in your face, and you never see her again. Or she’s kind enough to give your stupid ass a second chance which you cannot afford mess up. Just, keep it together.

As he got closer, he noticed how she was playing a game of chess by herself, a skill he’d taught her. He’d mentioned before how being two players really gives you an understanding of the board. He smiled slightly at the sight, knowing she’d taken his words in and actually valued his advice. He sheepishly sat down opposite her and saw how her shoulders visibly tensed as she recognised his presence.

“I see checkmate in five.” She murmured, not meeting his eyes yet.

He frowned, that wasn’t what he expected her to say. He observed the board, the cogs turning in his head as he took note of where each piece sat on the board. “I see it in three.” He mumbled, feeling slightly relieved when her eyes flicked up to meet his. “Hi.”

“Hi.” She whispered back.

fixitfixitfixityouhavetofixit-

“Y/N I’m so so sorry.” Those were the first words to leave his lips, as he tried to poor as much sincerity into the apology as he could. He was never very good at apologies, and he’d also never felt this way for someone before. In all honesty, it frightened him. He didn’t want to seem vulnerable. Was he supposed to just hand her his heart and trust she wouldn’t break it?

She smiled sadly at him. “If you changed your mind Spencer you could’ve found me and told me. You know? Instead of just standing me up.” She gave a weak chuckle at that.

He cringed when she said that. “I didn’t stand you up- well technically I did- but not on purpose! I got called into work for a case and I had to fly to a different state, and I forgot to ask for your number and I had no way to contact you and tell you that I wasn’t standing you up.” He rambled, and Y/N’s eyes widened in realisation. She knew he was telling the truth. He worked for the FBI, it was bound to be a demanding job.

“Oh.” She murmured, not sure what to say.

He breathed out a heavy sigh, hoping he could still attempt to convince her of how sorry he was. “Yeah. I’m sorry, Y/N. I really am. I didn’t want to upset you. Believe me, I was so excited to take you out. Well I was more nervous than anything-“

“Nervous? Why?” She asked inquisitively.

Spencer frowned. It seemed a silly question, wasn’t it obvious? “Why? Why- because you’re absolutely beautiful, that’s why. And for some, unheard of, unimaginable reason you wanted to go on a date with me.”

“Why’s that so hard to believe?”

“Because- because I’m weird. I talk too much and ramble about things no one cares about, I wear mismatched socks and have a phone that’s ancient ‘cause I repel technology-“ He would’ve continued had Y/N not interrupted him.

“I think you’re phenomenal.” She breathed out, smiling a little. “And you’re very handsome, too.”

“I- thank you.” He looked down at his hands, watching how his thumbs nervously intertwined. “I know you probably can’t forgive me, but I just needed you to know I was sorry. You deserved an explanation.” He mumbled, his shoulders dropping sadly.

“Spencer. I forgive you. It’s okay, really. You work for the FBI, for god’s sake. I think saving lives was more important than dinner. And besides, we can just reschedule for whenever you’re free.” She promised, shrugging like it didn’t matter- because it didn’t, not in the grand scheme of things.

Spencer was shocked that she wasn’t kicking him to the curb, leaving him like most people in his life seemed to. “You- you don’t- you still want to go out? With me?”

“Yeah, of course I do. I like you, Spencer.” She blushed.

“I- I like you, too. A lot.” He chuckled, and she laughed with him, as he unsuccessfully tried to downplay how attracted to her he was.

A silence fell on them, both just smiling nervously, trying to figure out where to go next.

“Would you want to-”

“I just wanted to say-”

They both stopped midsentence, laughing at one another.

“You go first.” Y/N giggled.

“I was just wondering- if you would- would you like to go for a walk maybe? If you don’t have somewhere else to be, that is.”

She shook her head, biting her lip softly. “A walk sounds lovely.”

As they began to walk side by side, Spencer, in a move that shocked even him, reached out to gently take her hand in his, intertwining their fingers together.

It wasn’t love, yet.

But it was something.

Something that would only blossom into more than either of them could have ever imagined.

Tag list (which I completely forgot to put on here when I first posted this fic lmao) : @beyonces-breastmilk @pinkdiamond1016 @itsmyblogandillreblogifiwantto @thelovelyrose

#spencer reid #spencer reid one shot #spencer reid x reader #matthew gray gubler x reader #matthew gray gubler #mgg x reader #mgg #criminal minds

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boldlyvoid · 3 years

Text

Amoreena | Chapter Nine

chapter nine

main summary: Heaven is a real place and it's located exactly 14.6 miles away from the FBI, Quantico Headquarters. Off behind a small park, under a fantastical willow tree surrounded by wildflowers, in every colour young minds can imagine.

Don't forget, heaven also comes with angels.

Chapter Warnings: date night!! this is very fluffy, very emotional and extremely horny. edgar allan poe is rolling in his grave at what they did in his enchanted garden

exhibitionism, public sex (no ones there tho), drug mentions at the end (let me know if I should tag anything else!!!!)

word count: 5.4k

from the beginning <3

He spent all of Thursday afternoon with Penelope in Richmond, setting up for his date that night.

Stringing lights on the trees, mowing the grass and trimming the flowers back, the staff ensuring that the museum was in pristine condition for them tonight, it was perfect. The cats were brushed, there were rose petals the fountain and the most beautiful picnic set up in the garden.

Penelope packed their dinner for them, keeping it in the museum fridge for when they finally arrived, it was the only thing Spencer needed to remember.

Y/N: just got home, about to get ready! Can’t wait to see you at 6 ♥︎

Spencer smiled at his phone, about to text her back when Penelope laid a hand on his back, “change into your suit and head back to her, traffic might be bad?”

“Thank you, for everything. You’ve always been my best friend, more of big sister actually,” Spencer pressed his lips together tightly as to not get emotional. “You’re wonderful Penelope, thank you.”

“Awe!” She swooned, wrapping him up in a big hug. “I will always love you, Spencer, you deserve all of this and so, so much more, now go before I cry.”

He laughed, pulling back, hand lingering on her shoulder as he walked into the museum. They let him change in the backroom, it felt incredibly strange to be putting on a suit inside Edgar Allan Poe's house to go pick up his wife. Not too long ago he dreamed about bringing a girlfriend here someday, life was moving too quickly, he needed a breather.

He kept his suit jacket folded and on the passenger seat as he drove home, where he lived with his family. Even just thinking that as he paid attention to the road made him smile. The wind hitting his face, his hair blowing in the breeze, he felt free at last.

He was where he was supposed to be, all roads lead to here.

Travelling up her driveway with a smile on his face as the dust followed him to her doorstep. She was waiting in a red dress on the porch, Amoreena and her nanny eating pizza on the steps as they waited for him.

Stepping out of his car, he straightened his tie and pulled his pants up more, looking at his wife like she was a star plucked from the sky, landing in this Virginia field for him.

She stood then, her satin dress flowing and exposing a leg as she walked down the steps to him, “Is this what you wanted?” She twirled in front of him to show it all off, her hair getting stuck in her lipstick and making her laugh.

“I love you,” is all he can say as she leaning in with a wide grin, surpassing the smile to kiss him gently, using her thumb to get all the lipstick off his bottom lip and chin.

“Love you too, cutie,” she winked, taking his hand and turning back towards Amoreena, “listen to Nanny, remember we love you and we will see you no earlier than 7:30 tomorrow, okay?”

“Yes ma’am!” She saluted, mouth full of pizza.

“And what are the new rules about coming into our bed in the morning?”

“Knock first, wait till you respond, don’t come in unless you say it’s okay,” Amoreena replied, sticking her tongue out at her as she remembered it all.

“Smartie pants,” Y/N smiled at her, “come give us a hug, don’t get pizza on my dress, please.”

Amoreena wiped her sleeve over her mouth before running into her mother's open arms, they shared goodbye kisses before it was Spencer’s turn. She held him so tight it felt wonderful, “goodnight Lovey, I’ll see you tomorrow morning, have the best sleep ever for me?”

“I’ll see you in dreamland,” she replied, kissing his cheek gently before she pulled back.

“Have fun!” Nanny called from the porch as Amoreena skipped back to her.

“We will,” Spencer replied, taking Y/N’s hand and leading her to the passenger side, he opened her door and helped her inside, insuring her dress was inside before closing the door.

Jogging back to his door, he got in and put on his seatbelt. He threw the car in reverse and turned around by the barn, heading down the driveway, not saying a single thing as Y/N stared at him.

“You’re really not going to tell me anything?” She shook her head, licking her lip before biting it as she huffed.

“We’re going to Richmond, Virginia, to read,” he gave her one hint.

“Hmm,” she smiled, “I’m sure you won't tell me the title, so Mr. I can remember every book ever, what’s a random line in it?”

“You’re smart,” he teased her, “but for the brilliant green of the huge leaves that spread from their summits in long, tremulous lines, dallying with the Zephyrs—”

“We’re going to the Edgar Allan Poe Museum!” She cut him off with a cheer.

He slows down on the barren dirt road, mouth wide open as she got it right, he turns to her as they come to a complete stop, “how the heck did you get that?”

“Yes!” she laughed, tossing her head back as she clapped and kicked her feet a little, so proud of herself, “I’m a librarian, Spencer! Did you think I wouldn’t know Eleonora?”

“That’s the most random sentence in the whole poem?” Spencer was shocked, she recalled it faster than he thought he would be able to if she read a line to him.

“My brother’s first motorcycle was a Zephyr,” she smiled at him, raising her eyebrows. “My brain is kinda like a filing cabinet, if you give me a word I can remember everything I’ve ever heard with that word included.”

He started to drive again, shaking his head as he paid attention to the road but still astounded by how amazing she is. “Amoreena gets that from you then, she could have both our eidetic memories together, that would be very interesting to see.”

“Eidetic memory?” She questioned.

“It’s what most people call photographic memory,” Spencer explained. “You can remember everything you hear which is why you and Amoreena are able to recall songs, books and movie facts so fast, while I can read back to you anything I’ve read without having to see it again, it’s forever in my mind.”

“So we’re both geniuses, cool,” Y/N smiled at him again, “sorry I ruined your surprise.”

“You just know where we’re going,” he reminded her, laying his hand on hers, interlocking their fingers as he drove.

They had an hour alone before the real date started.

So she showed him all of her favourite songs, including some of Amoreena’s playlists so he could get familiar with them before their trip to Rhode Island. Her voice was impeccable, she knew all the words and harmonies, often opting to cove background voices he wouldn’t have even known were there if it wasn’t for her.

She loved music in a way that intrigued him, she enjoyed music with a story. Much like the reason she loved books so much, she enjoyed picturing the happy places in her mind that the songs were able to take her to, they filled her with glee and hope as she sang to her heart's content. Taking short breaks to explain the meanings of songs, to recite the best lyrics and why the songs are close to her heart.

“Do you want to hear the song that reminds me the most of you?” She asked between songs, pausing so that nothing else would start.

“Sure,” he blushed, nervous for what it could be and how she imagined him in her mind, hoping he could live up to it.

“I'm perfectly fine I live on my own, I made up on my mind, I'm better off bein' alone. We met a few weeks ago, now you try on callin' me, baby, like tryin' on clothes,”

She stares at him with a beautiful smile as she waits to see his reaction to the opening, finally singing when the beat drops, dancing softly in her seat as she belted the words out to him.

“So prove to me I'm your American Queen, and you move to me like I'm a Motown beat, and we rule the kingdom inside my room,” She brushed her hand across his jaw, teasing him as the words flow from her lips to his ears, she loves him and he can feel it with every syllable.

“And all at once, you are the one I have been waiting for, King of my heart, body and soul, ooh whoa! And all at once, you are all I want, I'll never let you go King of my heart, body and soul, ooh whoa,” she sings so softly, with a purpose, turning it down a little so that he can talk to her.

“I love you,” he reminded her, “so much it hurts sometimes.”

“It’s like your heartstrings are tugging on each other, right?” She agreed, “like they want to jump out of our chests and run to each other.”

He nodded with a soft smile, reaching for her hand again holding it as he brought it to his mouth for a kiss, “queen of my heart.”

“Hmmm,” she thought over his words, “I’m pretty content with being princess still, Lady Amoreena is in line for the thrown, it’s part of her namesake after all.”

“Does the kingdom have a name?”

“You know the Elton John song Goodbye Yellow Brick Road?” She waited for his nod, “my grandma called it Ozellous so it’s like wizard of Oz but I added the 'ellous' because people always said they were jealous of our farm.”

He’s trying his best to keep his eyes on the road when all he want’s to do is look at her smile, to see her pupil change as she recalls the loving memory, it’s his favourite thing to do. Better than any movie or play, seeing her face was better than looking at the most expensive art piece. He was so in love with all of her.

“Were you like Amoreena as a kid?”

“Oh yeah,” she laughed, “bullied hardcore for it too, kids always told me to shut up cause I’d add facts to conversations I wasn’t a part of.”

“I would have loved to listen,” Spencer replied softly, knowing the feeling all too well.

They were only a few minutes away now, turning into the small town and passing quaint little homes and cottages. “Amoreena would love this drive, these are some interesting townspeople homes for her imagination, we should come back sometime this summer.”

His heart was going to actually explode, she was everything he never knew he needed.

“I’d love that,” he added as they pulled into the museum. “I’m a museum member and I’m a patron, so sometimes I donate rare pieces I find, they love me here.”

Her mouth opened to speak, but her eyes got caught on the twinkling lights in the distance, mesmerized by everything. Old cobblestone streets, brick buildings and wooden gates, it was straight out of the 1800s and absolutely fantastical.

“And it’s all ours for the night,” he put the car in park and turned to her, “wait here?”

She nodded, speechless as she continued to look out the window at everything. Spencer got out of the car, opening the back seat to grab and put on his jacket, straighten out his suit before opening her door and extending a hand to help her out.

“Princess,” he extended his arm for her to tuck her own under, he closed her door and escorted her through the gate and towards the garden.

The sun was just starting to set, 7 pm in early June being the most beautiful time of year in rural Virginia, the sky was a perfect purple as he leads her through the stone arches towards the picnic.

Her eyes sparkled with all the lights, wide and pupils blown as she took it all in. It was a fairytale, she was in a princess dress, he was the king of her heart and this was just the beginning of happily ever after.

“Spencer, whatever your middle name is, Reid,” she gasped, swatting his arm lightly with a smile growing on her face.

“It’s Walter,” he smiled right back.

He let go of her hand then and walked over to a table, turning on the record player and dropping the needle in the right spot. He did his research into some Taylor Swift songs, finding one that reminded him the most of Y/N and how much he loved her.

“May I have this dance?” He asks as she notices the all too familiar guitar strumming.

He reaches a hand out for her, pulling her in as she takes it, “I was so so lost before I found you in the park,” he explains the first verse, barely a whisper beside her ear as they start to sway.

There I was again tonight forcing laughter, faking smiles Same old tired, lonely place Walls of insincerity Shifting eyes and vacancy, vanished when I saw your face

“All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you,” he whispers once more, feeling the goosebumps bursting on her bare arms.

He spun her around, extending both their arms as she twirled out and then back into his embrace again with a giggle. She swayed back and forth, dancing with him like the night they got married in her field.

Your eyes whispered "have we met?" Across the room your silhouette starts to make it's way to me The playful conversation starts Counter all your quick remarks, like passing notes in secrecy

“And it was enchanting to meet you, All I can say is I was enchanted to meet you,” he sings them this time, spinning her out again as the chorus hits, her eyes widening as she began to smile wider than he’s ever seen before.

They sang the words together as they danced, smiling and laughing as they moved around the cobblestone. Finding a rhythm so perfect, so them, it was silly and not on beat in the slightest, mostly spinning, it was a spinning song if the album cover was any indication.

This night is sparkling, don't you let it go I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home I'll spend forever wondering if you knew I was enchanted to meet you!

“The lingering question kept me up, Two a.m., who do you love? I wonder till I'm wide awake! Now I'm pacing back and forth, wishing you were at my door, I'd open up and you would say, hey! It was enchanting to meet you, all I know is I was enchanted to meet you,” Y/N’s voice softer than ever as she sang her anxieties into his ear, remembering the day at the museum where she wondered if she could have him all to herself.

This night is sparkling, don't you let it go I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home I'll spend forever wondering if you knew This night is flawless, don't you let it go I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone I'll spend forever wondering if you knew I was enchanted to meet you

Spinning around in circles she leaves his grasp, dress circling in the wind and he watches her. She takes both his hands and spins around with him in a tight circle before pulling back in, their chests bumping as they laughed, happier than he’s ever been in his entire life, and she’s made him pretty happy in the last few weeks.

The girl of his dreams, dancing around him with a smile like she was making her own music video. This was a dream of hers he didn’t know, making it come true as it became a dream of his own.

He places his hands on her cheeks as he stares into her eyes, “this is me praying that this was the very first page, not where the storyline ends. My thoughts will echo your name until I see you again. These are the words I held back, as I was leaving too soon, I was enchanted to meet you,” he whisper’s the words, barely singing, more talking.

“Please don't be in love with someone else. Please don't have somebody waiting on you. Please don't be in love with someone else. Please don't have somebody waiting on you,” she sings right back to him, staring into his eyes as they stand still in the garden.

She pulls him into a kiss, breathing in deeply through her nose as they hold each other’s cheeks, unable to get closer as they kissed. Pulling away with a loud smooch sound, smiling before taking her hands in his, once more.

Spinning her around again as the beat drops once more, her smile more beautiful than the first time he saw it. He was so madly in love, he firmly believed he was in heaven.

This night is sparkling, don't you let it go I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home I'll spend forever wondering if you knew!!

This night is flawless, don't you let it go I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone I'll spend forever wondering if you knew I was enchanted to meet you!

Please don't be in love with someone else Please don't have somebody waiting on you

“Now go stand in the corner and think about what you did,” Taylor Swift's voice cuts into the beautiful moment as her songs change and the mood drastically changes.

Y/N bursts out in laughter, jumping lightly as she enjoyed the song, head-banging along as she danced by herself until Spencer turned the music off once again, “you’re so cute.”

“Thank you,” she bowed, “this is cute!”

“There’s a picnic basket in the fridge inside, and some wine if you think that’s a good idea?” Pointing towards the main house, she followed him towards the door.

“Oh, hello?” Her voice changed as she noticed the two black cats on the window, letting Spencer head inside for the basket as she talked to them.

“That’s Edgar and Pluto, the groundskeeper found them in the shed in 2012,” Spencer explains as he comes back out, basket in hand but she’s too busy with the cats to notice.

Petting both their faces, they stretch into her reach and bask in the feeling of her nails on their skin, Spencer would agree it felt nice. He loved the feeling of her hands in his hair, he must have been a cat in his last life.

“Amoreena wants her own indoor cat,” Y/N smiled wide at him, “she always wanted to call him Hercules like the Elton John song, almost like she knew you were her dad all along.”

She took his free hand then, following him towards the blanket in the grass, “how?”

“There’s a line in the song about Greek gods, but it says Hercules on her side and Diana in her eyes, and she does have your mom's eyes, right down to the colour of her iris,” Y/N looked at him like he was everything to her.

Spencer couldn’t speak, he just set the basket on the ground and ushered her to sit down beside him. She held the skirt of her dress up so she could sit crisscross applesauce on the blanket, draping her dress over her legs so she didn’t show anything off just yet.

“Every time I look at you I understand all her quirks and her facial expressions,” she added like she was trying to make him cry, “I’ve been looking at her for almost 8 years now, wondering who you were and now I know, and you’re so much better than I ever imagined.”

“Would you have looked for me when she turned 18?” Is all he can ask through his sniffles, trying to hold it together for her.

She nodded, “I was going to tell her soon anyway, she asks a lot of questions I’m not sure if you noticed.” Her giggle was priceless, “she had lots of questions when the goats were born this year and that meant her asking more about making human babies and I just said a special man helped me make my dreams come true, and she thought it was Rumpelstiltskin.”

Spencer couldn’t fight the laugh that erupted from him, leaning forward as he chuckled, making her laugh too. “Does she even know the whole story?”

“She’s only seen the 4th Shrek movie with him, she has no idea that he also takes the babies,” Y/N placed her hand on his knee gently, “If I get pregnant again, I’m going to tell her about how it all works as simply as possible, I want her to feel included in this and she’ll be less jealous if she sees this as a learning opportunity.”

“That’s a good idea,” he agreed, “I still can't believe she almost punched Michael for hugging me.”

“Oh, I can,” Y/N laughed again, “she was being bullied last year by an older kid and I said if someone upsets you or hurts you, sometimes it’s not that bad to hurt them back. Make them know you’re not weak and you care about yourself, and she gave a kid a black eye for tugging on her braid.”

Spencer couldn’t stop smiling, “that’s my girl.”

Y/N opened the picnic basket then, taking everything out with a smile as Spencer stared at her, thinking a million different thoughts about future kids, how Amoreena would grow up, seeing her as a big sister to hopefully many.

They both leaned forward and kissed softly, smiling as they pulled back, “so you like charcuterie?”

She laughed, “Amoreena called it shark coochie once, I can’t not think of that now.”

“How many kids do you want?”

“Have you ever read cheaper by the dozen?” She teased him. “As many as I can have, I have the funds thanks to my job and the farm and not having to pay a mortgage, I was going to have another baby next year anyway, I had an appointment and everything scheduled, I even tried to get them to contact Amoreena’s father for another sample but they said they couldn’t ask you outright for me.”

“They asked me if I wanted to give another sample when I asked if I could know my kids,” Spencer remembered the words exactly, “she said ‘You have four offspring so far, none of the other samples used have produced a child, the women were all IVF as well so it wasn’t your swimmer's fault if you wanted to donate again.’”

“I don’t want to know the truth, are you okay if we let her decide if she wants to find out at 18?” Y/N asked softly, “I’m content thinking you’re her father, I don’t want to know if it’s some other tall who-lookin’ genius, okay?”

“That’s perfect actually,” Spencer agreed, “and on the kids front, you don’t mind me being in my 70s when they all start going to University?”

“My dad is 68 with no signs of stopping, and he’s still fantastic with his grandkids,” Y/N always had a fact to combat his anxiety. “You have a lot of life left in you, I’ll take good care of you so that they have the best dad ever for as long as possible.”

Spencer was so in love with his family he felt like he was floating, laughing and smiling all meal long as they shared facts back and forth about their lives. Getting to know each other more and more as the seconds passed, he imagined it would be like this forever. She was like a bottomless pit of information, facts, stories and secrets. He loved every single one she shared with him.

She poured herself a second small glass of wine, “you know they say that one glass of wine every once in a while is actually good for the baby?”

“It doesn’t work that fast,” he reminded her, more like he reminded himself. He didn’t want to hope in the chance it didn’t happen right away.

“I had a nightmare last night for the first time in a long time, so I think it worked,” she teased him. “I won't know till June 10th, that's when my next period would be.”

“Nightmare?” It was the only part he picked up on, worried for her and wondering why she didn’t wake him up.

She nodded softly, “I found out I was pregnant and you never came home, and I got lost in the forest looking for you and then I remembered I could wake up.”

He rests his hand on her knee, rubbing his thumb against her bare skin softly, “I’m always coming home to you.”

“I know, when I got pregnant with Amoreena I had bad dreams in the first few weeks too, mostly about giving birth to nothing and being alone all over again, the subconscious and pregnancy hormones are mean as fuck when they hang out,” she laughed away the pain, “I know none of it is real.”

“Good,” he whispered, not knowing what really to say, he wasn’t used to soothing other people yet. Most people didn’t want his facts or concernment when something happened, just a hug normally.

She took a deep breath, pushing everything away, “good news, either my anxiety disorder is back in full swing or something’s working in here,” she laid her hand over her stomach, “either way, I’d like to try again tonight?”

He laughed, “we don’t need to make a baby every time you want to have sex?”

She got onto her knees then, crawling over the blanket and sitting right in Spencer's lap with her hands on both of his cheeks, “I want all your babies.”

He held her waist, pulling her in closer to his chest, “right now?”

She nodded, moving her dress out of the way to undo his belt, “no one is here right? It’s not like anyone would know?”

“Mhmm,” he agreed, kissing her neck as she unzipped his pants, moving his underwear out of the way just enough to free his hardening cock, she stroked it right there in the middle of the garden, staring down between their bodies in awe as he came to life.

Sitting up on her knees more, the slit of her dress made it a lot easier for her to show him her underwear. She was wearing just a thong, perfect for pulling to the side as she lowered herself onto him, ever so slowly.

She fixed her dress around them, completely calm and composed as he was fully inside of her, “you’re okay with this?”

He huffed a laugh out of his nose, dropping his forehead to her shoulder so he couldn’t buck into her and ruin the moment she was making, his hands moving to her hips, guiding her back and off him slightly before back down again, making her gasp.

“I thought you wanted to read?” She teased him as she started to ride him more, moving her hips in a way that took him in and out of her at just the right angle, her hands on his shoulders as she bounced on him lightly, he couldn’t even think straight. “Go on, read to me.”

He took a second to remember the words, mind totally somewhere else and not interested in a book at all when her boobs were right in his face.

“I am come of a race noted for vigor of fancy and ardor of passion,” the first sentence slipped past his lips as she kept going, he took a moment to kiss right under her ear before continuing.

“Men have called me mad; but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence—whether much that is glorious—whether all that is profound—does not spring from disease of thought—from moods of mind exalted at the expense of the general intellect.”

“Shit,” she moaned, pushing his hand down towards her clit, “you can multitask, smartie pants.”

His thumb was on a mission then, rubbing small circles against her pleasure point, she tossed her head back with her eyes closed as she continued to ride him, “I don’t hear you reading?”

He moaned softly in her ear at the feeling, and the fact she wanted to get off to hearing him recite something from memory, it was more euphoric than he could have ever imagined.

“They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night. In their gray visions they obtain glimpses of eternity, and thrill, in ah- awakening, fuck,” he was trying his best to stay as composed as she was when he really just wanted to lay her against the blanket and fuck her into next week.

“to find that they have been upon the verge of the great secret,” Y/N whispered the end of the sentence, grinding down on him harder than before.

“In snatches, they learn something of the wisdom which is of good,” she whispered into his ear, biting his earlobe softly with a moan and he kept rubbing her clit, “you’re so good, Spencer, so so good," she paused to enjoy the moment before whispering in his ear once more, "And more of the mere knowledge which is of evil. They penetrate, however, rudderless or compass-less into the vast ocean of the "light ineffable," and again, like the adventures of the Nubian geographer, "agressi sunt mare tenebrarum, quid in eo esset exploraturi.”

Her words softer than ever and they were never going to get to the end of this poem, he'd never know how the rest of the words sound on her tongue, she pulled him into a kiss then, moaning into his mouth as they ground against each other, finding a perfect rhythm to bring them to the end.

“There, yes, fuck,” she whispered against his lips, pushing against him as she arched her back slightly, slipping away from his mouth as she did so.

He slammed into her then as he chased her lips, making her whimper one last time before she was shaking in his lap, her legs quivering as she finished on him, sending him over the edge and stilling as he came with a shudder. He held her so close, both of them breathing into each other's mouths as they came down, kissing and smiling as they stayed connected.

“We’ll name her Eleonora,” Y/N teased, pulling off him and laying back against the blanket.

He made sure her underwear was back in the right spot before covering her with her dress again and sliding himself back into his underwear.

“Amoreena and Eleonora have a good ring to it, we just need 10 more names,” he teased right back.

“Hopefully we have a little boy one day too,” she smiled as she tugged him down beside her, cuddling into her side as they stared up at the newly dark blue sky and the array of stars that decided to join them this evening.

“Even if it’s just Amoreena, I’ve never been happier in my whole life than when I’m with you,” he whispered. “Thank you.”

“For what?” She asked, purely to keep hearing his voice.

“Making me want to get up in the morning again, giving me a reason not to buy drugs for something euphoric to happen to me, showing me real love and proof that happiness is possible if you just chose to be happy,” he gave example after example.

“I thought I learned everything the world had to offer, but you’ve been showing me new little life hacks that make the world so much better, I see a future of bright colours and happiness and laughter for the first time ever, so thank you.”

She held him closer, “it’s been a pleasure falling in love with you, together, you deserve to love yourself. You’re so wonderful Spencer, it breaks my heart to know that anyone has ever made you feel the opposite.”

He couldn’t speak anymore, turning to kiss her neck and cheek so he had something to do that wasn’t crying. He loved her so incredibly deeply that he felt like he was an anchor, dropping to the bottom of her deepest ocean, without a single plan to leave.

tag list: @shemarmooresfedora @spencers-dria @spookyspence @reidsfish @manuosorioh @mochionly @samuel-de-champagne-problems @jswessie187

#spencer reid #spencer reid smut #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid x you #spencer reid self insert #spencer reid request #criminal minds smut #criminal minds imagine #amoreena

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geekgirles · 3 years

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Mirrors

Considering Lies premieres tomorrow, I thought it would be best to upload this now.

And here is part 2 of my analysis on Kagami acting as a reflection of both Marinette and Adrien. This time I’ll be discussing how Kagami is a foil to Marinette and vice versa.

Part 1

Marinette & Kagami

It’s undeniable that these two have as many similarities as they do differences. In a way, they are both as alike as peas in a pod, as they are opposites from each other. And no, the irony of this duality is not lost on me.

Just like Kagami needs to be similar to Adrien for him to bond with her, she also needed to be similar to Ladybug, and by extension Marinette, for him to develop an interest in her.

Both of them are strong, confident, capable, and independent girls who will not hesitate to jump into action if the situation calls for it. Both are also kind and loving, and they care greatly for their friends and loved ones. And have many physical similarities as well. Both are of Asian descent, their hair as it’s pictured in the show is very similar, both have pale skin and freckles, the colour red is very present in both their colour palettes (the difference being that red and black are present in Kagami and Ryuuko’s colour palettes, while in Marinette’s case it’s only there as Ladybug)...

Come on, don’t pretend you don’t remember that theory about Adrien thinking Kagami was Ladybug when the trailer for Riposte first came out.

But just as they have many things in common, they are also incredibly different on their approach to certain things. So different, in fact, that one’s weaknesses become the other’s strengths.

Insecurity:

Now, what really tells Marinette and Kagami apart is their confidence as civilians.

If we compare their “introductory” episodes, there is a clear contrast between the two.

For this we’ll be counting Origins as Marinette’s debut. When the episode starts, Marinette’s demeanour is a stark contrast to the optimistic personality we’ve grown used to. From the moment her alarm woke her up to Sabine’s words of encouragement, Marinette was already defeated. Having spent four years in a row as Chloé’s punching bag had really taken its toll on her, and she believed that year would be no different.

Unlike the Marinette we were familiar with up until that point, who, not only confronted Chloé on a regular basis, but was also brave enough to sass her, the moment she made it clear she wanted the seats behind Nino, Marinette just went along with it and took what now are Chloé and Sabrina’s current seats. And she didn’t get any more confident until Alya spoke up and befriended her.

At the same time, in both parts of the episode, it wasn’t until things were dire that Marinette got a grip of herself and accepted that she was Ladybug and it was her duty to protect everyone. And yet, she still needed Chat Noir’s support to finally become the superhero she is today.

Kagami, by contrast, showed a great level of confidence in Riposte. The only time she looked insecure was before getting akumatised, when we got a glimpse of her lonely life and the high expectations that were set on her. But other than that, she arrived at M. Argencourt’s class and immediately asked to face off against his best student.

Kagami was well aware of her worth and talent as a fencer and was not going to settle for anything less than the proper chance to show off her skills.

During her match with Adrien her strikes were fast and precise, her focus, unwavering, and her movements fluid but intense. So when the match came to an end she was anxious to see she had proven herself as the superior fencer, for she spent her whole life honing her skills to prove just that.

Kagami takes great pride in her skills and who she is as a person. So it is to be expected that an exaggeration of that pride would be apparent as Riposte, where they turned into arrogance and a sense of superiority.

Of course, another crucial aspect reflects on the relationship each has with Adrien.

As Kagami herself pointed out in Frozer, Marinette is incredibly insecure when it comes to Adrien. Because her crush usually manifests itself in her getting tongue-tied, bouts of clumsiness, and embarrassing herself in front of him, she is very reluctant to be honest about her feelings for him. Because all that only gives her more reasons to worry and fear she’ll be rejected.

There’s also the fact that they don’t get to spend much time together. Marinette’s anxiety in Backwarder was fuelled by the fact that Kagami would get to spend a lot of time alone with Adrien in a memorable setting. Add to that all the fencing lessons Marinette knows they’ve had together, and the date she had no choice to witness, and it all becomes very painful to her.

In other words, Marinette knows that, logically speaking, Kagami has more chances to get together with Adrien than she does, which only makes it harder for her to admit her own feelings.

By contrast, Kagami knows her worth. She knows she’s talented, she shares lots of things with Adrien, they spend time together, and he even confided his insecurities in her.

To her, being with Adrien just makes sense. Her whole life she’s been told to achieve her goals, no matter the obstacles; and her feelings for Adrien should be no different.

Recklessness:

We’ve already mentioned Kagami is more reckless as Ryuuko than as a civilian when we compared her to Adrien. But it’s worth mentioning that the situation inverts itself when compared to Marinette.

One of Marinette’s biggest flaws is her impulsivity. Being impulsive has led her to some terrible consequences, but while that trait sometimes transfers itself to her role as Ladybug (Bubbler, Volpina), most of the time Marinette’s civilian self is the one rushing into things, as opposed to Ladybug, who’s a master at strategising.

I wholeheartedly believe that’s the writers’ way of “balancing things out.” Adrien, as himself, doesn’t make mistakes often. Furthermore, the few times he’s been the cause of someone’s akumatisation, he was never directly responsible for it. Some other factor played a role: like his fans getting in the way of Gorilla when he was looking for him, the fact that the decision of his match with Kagami fell upon Marinette, who had never before practiced the sport; his father’s need to cover his tracks…

His biggest mistakes he makes as Chat Noir. Why? Because he doesn’t have to be the golden child, so he doesn’t have to be as cautious with his actions. To put it simply, Kagami’s the same.

Meanwhile, Marinette is painfully aware of the heavy burden she carries on her shoulders as Ladybug. Her very first mission went wrong because she made a mistake and didn’t purify the akuma! So she’s learned to be focused and to take her job seriously. Because when she does make a mistake as Ladybug, it hits her hard.

Just compare her usual demeanour to how she acted as Lady Noire! It’s the first time that I can think of that she was genuinely having fun while saving the day! She said so herself: “It’s a lot easier on the shoulders.”

As Marinette, however, that’s usually when she gets to make mistakes. Since her parents aren’t controlling and she’s lived a normal life until the day she helped Master Fu out, her civilian self is usually when she can afford to be herself, make mistakes, and just be a normal girl.

Her secret identity is where her freedom is. At least until she became the new guardian...

I know I haven’t talked a lot about Kagami, but that is because with the parallels between Adrien and Marinette it’s pretty much explained.

Moving on:

As I mentioned when I elaborated on this same aspect with Adrien and Kagami, Marinette has less trouble moving on from him than Kagami.

I know this might seem a bit contradictory with the way she suffered over her unrequited crush on Adrien in the season 3 finale and the New York special, and it’s true. Marinette is hurting immensely over her feelings for Adrien. But she actually has less trouble than Kagami because she has at least tried to move on!

Among the several factors that set Marinette apart from Adrien’s other suitors (beside the fact that she is the girl he’s in love with or that Chloé and Lila are actually antagonists) a crucial one is that Marinette always puts Adrien before herself. And if that means letting him go, so be it.

Every time Adrien himself expresses a desire to be with somebody in front of Marinette she immediately tries to comply with his wishes and help him be with that other person, not once confessing how much that hurts her. She probably doesn’t say anything either because she doesn’t want Adrien to worry about her when he should be focusing on that other girl.

Deep down, both Marinette and Kagami try to do what’s best for Adrien.

But while Marinette thinks the best she can do is step aside and let him go (not knowing the best she could do is be honest with her feelings for him because that’s the only thing that’s keeping Adrien from realising his own feelings for her), Kagami believes she is what’s best for Adrien.

And because she believes they are meant to be, she keeps pushing and pursuing him even when it’s obvious they’re not on the same page. Adrien is comfortable around her on a platonic level, but the moment they try to go for the romantic route, he hesitates. Because deep down he knows he doesn’t care about Kagami the same way she cares about him, but he keeps trying to move on from Ladybug instead of being honest with himself and Kagami.

Just like Kagami prefers to wait until he feels the same way about her before acknowledging that might never happen and letting him go.

Which could play an important role in Lies...

That is the difference between Marinette and Kagami. While Marinette pulls herself away from Adrien, Kagami pushes forward.

Connection with Adrien:

This is where Kagami truly has the advantage over Marinette. She gets to share many more things with Adrien than her.

Besides their very similar backgrounds, their own parents’ partnership allows for many instances where it can be just the two of them. Adrien is the only friend Tomoe fully approves of, while Gabriel only really encourages his son’s friendship with Kagami over his other friends because that will strengthen whatever deal he’s got going on with Tomoe.

And so, Adrien and Kagami are together in fencing, they go to London together, they spend their time together at the premiere of Ladybug and Chat Noir’s movie, they get to sneak out together and have fun!

Marinette, on the other hand… she doesn’t get to do any of that with Adrien.

She only ever spends some time alone with him either because it’s an extracurricular activity (the gaming tournament, their fencing session in Riposte) or because they happen to stumble upon each other (Gorizilla).

It was precisely that that got Marinette so down in Glaciator. Seeing how she was the only one that was alone when they were all supposed to do one of Paris’ most romantic activities together reminded her of just how far away from her Adrien actually is. And it’s precisely his unavailability that leads her to find some solace in Luka, who unlike Adrien is always there for her, because he can be there for her!

The amount of time they spend together has brought Kagami and Adrien close, which doesn’t go unnoticed by Marinette.

Having said that, things are much more different when we analyse the way Adrien acts around the two…

Adrien’s relationship with them:

Despite Adrien’s similarities to Kagami and the many chances he has to be with her, it’s actually Marinette who’s higher up in his priority list and whom he’s more comfortable with.

Adrien cares for Kagami and is clearly doing his best to try to have a good relationship with her, but for better or worse it’s Marinette who always comes first.

The best example of this would be Frozer.

Adrien was trying his hardest to have a good date with Kagami and give her his full attention, and yet, the moment he saw Marinette fall or get out of the ice rink looking dejected, he immediately went to check on her. He ditched his date twice for Marinette’s sake.

Not only that, but there’s also his reaction to any of them getting hurt because of Lila. It was Lila hurting Marinette that pushed him over the edge enough to threaten to cut ties with her unless she undid what she’d done and get Marinette to come back to school.

Adrien was absolutely furious at Lila for hurting Marinette.

Look how devastated he is on her behalf!

You might say it had to do with Adrien having warned her already in Oni-Chan. Which, true, was partly for Kagami’s sake since Lila’s lies had harmed her to the point of akumatisation. But there is a difference:

Even when Oni-Chan went to Adrien, he still believed Lila only wanted attention. It wasn’t until Ladybug almost got killed that he realised just how ruthless and monstrous Lila truly is. Not only that, but Adrien never mentioned Kagami being akumatised as a reason to keep his distance from Lila, he only said she had gotten Nathalie and Gorilla in trouble.

As true as that is, it’s not like Adrien couldn’t have brought Oni-Chan up. Sure, the true reason for him losing hope in Lila changing for the better was her trying to get rid of Ladybug even when they were trying to save her; it makes sense he wouldn’t bring that up. But Kagami? We’re talking about Miraculous Ladybug’s Paris. Where people get turned into superpowered villains every single day! It’s not like it wouldn’t have made sense if he’d said “Because of you, Kagami got akumatised.” And yet, despite trying to comfort Kagami after the whole ordeal, her akumatisation actually had very little to do with Adrien’s warning to Lila.

But when she went after Marinette… Oh, boy! Did the tables turn!

Ladybug didn’t even have to be involved for Adrien to go “I’m about to ruin this girl’s whole career” on Lila! Adrien was ballistic because it was Marinette Lila was messing with, and he wasn’t having any of it.

That says a lot about who Adrien is closer to.

As I mentioned above, his bond with Kagami allows him to rebel against his father and his expectations on him a little, something he doesn’t do as freely with Marinette. Because if the two are together while Adrien runs away from Gabriel is usually a coincidence; with Kagami it’s all on purpose.

And yet, Marinette is the one Adrien feels more comfortable with.

Aside from Ladybug (oh, sweet irony), Marinette is the character Adrien has opened up to the most. In Gamer he showed her a glimpse of his most insecure side, in Glaciator (as Chat Noir, sure, but it still counts) he confessed his feelings for Ladybug to her, in Gorizilla he talked about his mother to her, in Frozer he asked her for help regarding Kagami, and in the New York special it was her who he thought could work a miracle and get him to stay.

And don’t get me started on Adrien’s love language.

As of The Puppeteer 2 and Oblivio it’s been established that while Marinette shows her love through actions (usually handmade gifts), Adrien shows his by being open about what he feels. But he doesn’t just talk about how he feels, he touches people to show just that.

If Adrien’s close to you, he’ll show physical affection.

And we all know who he’s more touchy-feely than any other character in the show.

Adrien is constantly looking for Marinette’s touch, while Kagami is usually the one to initiate physical contact.

Adrien might be able to do things with Kagami he can’t do with anybody else, but Marinette is the one he’s closest to.

Zodiac signs:

I already did an analysis on this back in the day, but I think what I discovered from it it’s important to point out since it’ll help understand and summarise the way Marinette and Kagami’s characters reflect each other’s better.

In the French dub of Ikari Gozen, instead of the Chinese Zodiac, they talked about their Western horoscope. Marinette said she was Leo and Kagami was Scorpio. Those signs are opposites. Leo is a fire sign while Scorpio is a water sign. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t compatible at all…

(Although, considering Leo is self-reliant, confident, has bravado, and is honest, while Scorpio relies more on strategies and wits, I’d say they got their signs mixed up a little).

Their compatibility per se is low, but there is a great attraction between the two, albeit hindered by their usual clashing. This is shown through the many things the two have in common, but since they used to assess the other without truly getting to know her and their own feelings for Adrien, there was a lot of friction between Kagami and Marinette.

Both signs are jealous. However, while Leo is jealous due to pride, Scorpio’s jealousy comes from a desire to control. Both Kagami and Marinette have displayed jealousy issues. In Marinette’s case, it could be argued she felt jealous towards Chloé, Lila, and Kagami because she didn’t think they were actually good enough for Adrien or better than her. I mean, Chloé is an egotistical, sell-centred bully and as of Miracle Queen, a traitor. Lila is an unrepentant liar, a manipulator, and an enemy to Paris (even if only Ladybug and Chat Noir are aware of it, to some extent). And before she got to know Kagami, Marinette thought she was cold and rude (her brutally honest responses can be seen as this).

Based on that, there’s no way any of them are better for Adrien than she is!

On the contrary, once she got to know Kagami her jealousy comes from the fact that, perhaps, Kagami is more suitable to be his girlfriend than she is.

Kagami, on the other hand, could have displayed jealous behaviour over Adrien because, as her only friend, she felt threatened by him having a life and friends outside of her, who (until Ikari Gozen) only has her family, her responsibilities, and him.

Basically, these two being Leo and Scorpio explains their relationship pretty well. They have enough things in common and enough differences to attract each other and have a good friendship, but at the same time that can also stirr issues between the two.

Final thoughts:

Despite Adrien and Kagami’s similarities, they still have many issues to solve before they can truly be sure if they want to be in a relationship or remain friends. Kagami is sure of what she wants, but that sometimes can clash with Adrien’s own feelings, making their relationship go through a rocky path. Adrien is making an effort to move on and be a good boyfriend to Kagami, but they are not in the same place in the relationship; Kagami is ready for more, while Adrien still has problems of his own to move on from.

This might come to a head in Lies. Truth came as a bit of a surprise to us because we actually expected Lukanette would break up because of Marinette’s feelings for Adrien, but that actually had very little to do with anything! Lukanette ended up breaking up because Marinette is very literally carrying the weight of the world over her shoulders. Her responsibilities as Ladybug are overlapping with, and eventually destroying, her civilian life. Lukanette broke up because of external reasons!

But if Adrigami were to break up in Lies, that would be, or at least should be, for internal reasons. Since Chat Noir wasn’t chosen as guardian of the miraculous, his responsibilities as a hero don’t tie him down nearly as much as they do Marinette (in the previous analysis we already discussed how they actually give him freedom), so it wouldn’t make sense if Kagami and him broke up because of it.

It could have something to do with it, but I can actually picture Kagami pointing out Adrien is not as invested in the relationship as she is better. Maybe she could even point out his feelings for Marinette, which she had suspected of since Riposte. But having Adrien realise that in the second episode would be a tad soon, so I’m not getting my hopes up.

The thing is, if Adrigami breaks up tomorrow, it would make sense if it actually were because of Adrien being more in love with Ladybug (Marinette) than with Kagami. Because the narrative has actually been pointing at something like that happening.

As for Marinette and Kagami, I just hope they remain good friends even after Adrigami breaks up. Because the two would be able to understand each other’s feelings better. As much as the girls want to help Marinette out, none of them really know how being in love with Adrien is really like. They don’t know what it is like to get their hopes up, thinking they’ll get to be alone with him, only for him to cancel or make some change in the plans. Kagami and Marinette do.

More importantly, the way each feels regarding where they stand in their relationship with him foils the other’s and ultimately all depends on Adrien.

Marinette sabotages herself by not being honest with her feelings and hesitating, but it’s Adrien who seeks to get closer to her. Kagami is sure of herself and her feelings, but it’s Adrien’s hesitation that hinders the development of their relationship.

Because those two misjudged Adrien and warmed up to him when he showed himself as an honest, caring boy. Kagami and Marinette fell in love with Adrien for his honesty and his good heart, when he literally tended a peace offering to them. And it’s precisely like that how they came to be friends.

And it would be a pity if they lost each other because of a boy.

@miraculouslycool & @flightfoot

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multimetaverse · 3 years

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HSMTMTS 2x08 Review

Most Likely To was the best ep of S2 so far and ended one ship while launching another. Let’s dig in!

Gaston was super fun, a very nice showcase for both Larry and Matt. This is the kind of energy that early S2 was lacking. Also feels like the first ep where East High might actually have a shot at beating North High. Covid restrictions played a role but we really needed to see more rehearsal scenes and scenes of the wildcats just being theatre kids. This also may be one of the last times we see EJ perform as a student in the musical so I’m glad we got this.

EJ has been criminally underused for most of S2, he’s marketed as part of the big 4 along with Nini, Ricky, and Gina and Matt Cornett’s name is listed 3rd in the credits but in the early eps of S2 you’d think he was guest star. Lately he’s started to become more important and tonight was an excellent showcase of why he’s such an interesting character. I’m not gonna check but this feels like it’s the most EJ screen time in a single ep that we’ve gotten all season long.

Of course, the main reason for EJ’s increased screen time is because of Portwell. I’ve been neutral on them but tonight they really won me over’ their scenes were so sweet that they warmed even my cold black heart. Matt and Sofia are good friends irl and that shines through in their easy rapport and great chemistry. Gina snorting at EJ’s joke was cute and I loved the shot of Gina accidentally walking into the shot for EJ’s confessional. As an aside, they’ve been doing some fun stuff with the confessionals lately which helps add a bit of the metaness that helped make S1 so great.

The real big Portwell scene tonight was EJ and Gina talking on the couch at Ashlyn’s. Lot’s to love there. Gina’s speech to EJ about what she sees when she thinks of him was sweet and her saying that EJ tried to do the right thing and often failed but kept trying echoes what she said of herself during her confession to Ricky. Also when EJ asked Gina if she understood the feeling of having her life mapped out she replied, ‘’not really’’ which is almost certainly the inspiration for Gina asking a question to EJ and him responding ‘’not really’’ in their pre S2 face time call on the hsmtmts instagram.

EJ is still wracked with guilt for the guy he used to be but Gina reminds him that he’s grown and is a good guy which leads to her slip up about her seeing him that way vs the rest of the gang hinting that she’s beginning to catch feelings for EJ. Which leads to EJ complimenting her and them having a moment that could well have led to a kiss if Ashlyn hadn’t come home. And they cap it off with Gina falling asleep and EJ covering her with his Duke sweater.

It’s been nice not seeing Gina upset over Ricky these past two eps and it’s a damning indictment of the poor writing and pacing of S2 that her story in the first 6 eps can be summed up as Gina being upset over something Ricky said or did. Not only has Portwell allowed EJ to rise in prominence but also it’s allowed Gina to escape the rut her character was stuck in pining for Ricky.

I hope after S2 is over that we get an interview where Tim explains how the Portwell plot came to be. The S1 finale set up some possible interest between them as did the pre S2 face time call but nothing came of it during the first 4 eps, they stood next to each other a lot but barely interacted otherwise. Notably in 2x01, which Tim himself wrote, EJ tries to grow a beard and tells Ashlyn that he says her as so young which is extremely jarring now that we know that EJ is crushing on Gina who is Ashlyn’s age.

Was Tim not set on doing Portwell until he realized he needed to give Gina something else to do other than hopelessly pine for Ricky? Narratively, it made sense after Rini got together in S1 to put the other two Big 4 characters together in S2 but did Tim not want it to seem so obvious to the audience so he deliberately kept Portwell apart until 2x05 where EJ’s feelings make for a nice plot twist? Was he just reluctant to plug EJ back into the love square due to how much more complicated it would make things but later felt he had no other options? Or was it just plain old bad pacing and writing?

Of course, I wish that there wasn’t such a large age gap between Sofia and Matt but there are no Gina ships that avoid that problem, there’s also an age gap between Sofia and Joshua, just as there was between Olivia and Joshua and Matt in S1. Depending on when they film S3 there’s a good chance that most of it will be finished before Sofia even turns 18 which is deeply unfortunate. There’s a broader issue of teen girls being cast in mostly age appropriate roles while their male love interests are older adults and in particular it often affects female characters of colour. Netflix has a really bad track record with those kind of age gaps but Disney has problems too as we’ve seen on HSMTMTS and on GMW where by the end of S3 they had 18 year old Peyton Meyer as the boyfriend of 14 year old Rowan Blanchard’s character (not to mention canon Joshaya which didn’t have such a bad age gap between the actors but was problematic regarding the ages of the characters themselves).

A knock I’ve seen on Portwell is that EJ is just gonna leave for university next year but that was never gonna happen, Matt’s under the same 4 season contract as all the other mains and he’ll be sticking around in some capacity much like Sharpay ended up doing in the movies. It is true that EJ will probably have to move on at the end of S4 while Gina still has her senior year left but that will also happen with her and Ricky since he’ll be graduating at the end of S4. It was a big mistake to make EJ a senior but it also may end up being a big mistake to make Gina a sophomore. It would have been too messy to retcon EJ to be a junior but Tim probably should have taken the chance to retcon Gina into being a junior in S2.

That Rini breakup was so sad (missed opportunity for gotta go my own way). They managed to get in a Troyella reference with the treehouse. This was inevitable they just have not been communicating well though now that we know that Ricky thought Nini left YAC for him some of his desperation to spend as much time together as possible makes more sense. I think Rini is endgame if the series has 4 seasons but it wouldn't shock me if we never seem them dating again and they only get back together in the series finale. It also wouldn’t surprise me if Nini never dates anyone else for the remainder of the series or at least not seriously.

We’re not even halfway through the series so it’s way too early to permanently slam the door on Rini though this time apart will probably help Joshua and Olivia move on from their own bitter break up before it bleeds too much into their performances. I do wonder if Tim really has a clue what he's gonna do with them for the remaining 24-28 eps of the series, assuming S3 and S4 have 10-12 eps each.

Roman Banks killed If I Can’t Love Her and the montage of all the couples or ex couples was great.

It was nice to finally meets some parents other than the Bowen’s and Salazar-Roberts’. Kourtney’s mom was played by Dara’s actual mother and their dynamic was great as expected. It seems from their conversation that Kourtney's father is dead which I don’t believe has been mentioned before. Cash Caswell.... well it gets what the character is about across. He really looks and sounds like a rich Utah republican, I bet he knows Mitt Romney personally. I liked EJ going to tell his father that he’s not going to Duke and recognizing that he wants to build his own life on his own merits.

We saw a bit of that S1 Miss Jenn energy tonight which was fun though I didn't like how curt she was with Seb nor did I like how rude Carlos was to Seb although we know that blows up in 2x10.

Jazzara rising! I really liked how Jazzara and Portwell are sort of mirroring each other and since Mazzara knows about EJ’s feelings for Gina it wouldn’t shock me if helping EJ out is part of him showing a softer side in 2x12.

Of course Ashlyn is VP of the Nostradamus society. It's clear her family has some kooky new age beliefs (her parents are probably members of some naturopathic medicine group on Facebook that doubles as a gateway into Qanon)

It was nice to see Big Red being such a good friend to Ricky and the return of Ricky’s infamous pillow hugs. Lmao at Ashlyn just chilling while Big Red is comforting Ricky

Also Miss Jenn saying sexy and Big Red referring to pillow talk, the writers are adding a bit of spice when cooking up these scripts.

Looking Ahead:

Looks like Gina may be wearing EJ's duke sweater next ep according to some posts I saw. Jack presumably is there to somehow help Gina decide what she wants with Ricky and EJ though him having wanderlust might also feed into Gina’s thoughts on settling down in SLC or moving with her mom around the country.

Let's see what mom of the year, Lynne Bowen, has up her sleeves. Ricky’s bedroom at her place in Chicago looks much nicer than the apartment Mike Bowen has so perhaps she makes a lot more money than he does.

Not looking forward to the Zoom portions of the ep but I guess it was inevitable.

There’s only two paths for Gina’s story to go in the remainder of this season; either she decides to move on from Ricky and give EJ a chance or she decides that Ricky is worth trying again and squelches her budding feelings for EJ. The former looks much more likely after tonight’s ep but either way it needs to be handled with care. Inevitably Gina and Ricky need to talk about what happened between them but if Tim really wants Ricky to continue being a viable love interest or even a good friend to Gina then he needs to really have Ricky apologize and show a thoughtful, kinder side of him that’s largely been missing this season.

What I think Tim is doing is setting up Portwell getting together in 2x12 but Ricky pining over Gina until Portwell break up late S3 and Rina get together in the S3 finale before they break up later in S4 and Ricky gets back with Nini near the end of the series. If I had Tim’s ear I would tell him that he should pick which ship he wants to do, Rina or Portwell, but don’t do both. He wants canon Rina? Great then end Portwell before it starts and have Rina happen in S3 and introduce other obstacles to them getting together rather than having to damage EJ’s character and make him lose another girl he likes to Ricky. He wants canon Portwell? Great then have Gina and Ricky’s conversation be closure for the both of them and have Gina and EJ get together and break them up without Ricky being a cause of it or waiting in the wings to get with Gina soon afterwards. Doing both will be a disaster and I truly hope that Tim Federle carefully thinks over his mistakes in S2 and really plans out the remaining 2 seasons of the series while there’s still time to prevent things from going really off the rails like GMW and AM did thanks to the bad decisions of Michael Jacobs and Terri Minsky.

Until next week wildcats.

#HSMTMTS #Portwell #Rini #Gina Porter #EJ Caswell #Ricky Bowen #Nini Salazar-Roberts #Kourtney Greene #HSMTMTS Reviews

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esamastation · 3 years

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etaet: Jedi!Cody clone!obiwan? Or has this already been done?

When Cody had been called away from his previous mission and told that he'd be one of the Jedi assigned with clone troops, he hadn't been particularly surprised.

His mission record was mostly about war relief, post war restoration, negotiation in war zones and so on, and he's confident in his abilities and specialisation to know that as far as Jedi go, there are few more suited to leading an army than him. Certainly, the mess of Geonosis showed how few Jedi were suited for it at all, never mind well.

He'd been expecting the call of duty to come sooner, if he's honest – but the issue of Melidaan, after centuries of civil war, was so close to being finally resolved, that the Council had given him the grace period to finish. Cody supposes he will glad of that, once he got to the full swing of things of leading an army and the memory of fending of assassination attempts and terror attacks in Melidaan would seem peaceful and quiet by comparison.

"You, my brother, are consistently pessimistic," Rex says flatly. "I'd call it comforting if it wasn't so damned disheartening."

"It wasn't pessimism. Cynicism, at most," Cody says calmly, idly resting his hand on his lightsaber hilt – a habit he'd grown in Melidaan and isn't about to shake now. "Have you been assigned clones yet?"

"I got some of the Skywalker bunch," Rex says and at Cody's arched brow, explains. "They had like a bunch of different donors for the army, all selected for excellence in certain fields. Skywalkers are pilots and gunners and… maniacs most of the time. Supposedly, they're well suited to my predisposition."

Cody hums and checks his datapad. "I have been assigned a troop marked as Kenobi."

"Oh. Yeah, that makes sense," Rex says.

"Hm?"

"They're like, uh… front line guys, I guess?" Rex says, scratching at his bleached hair. "The get right in and deal with the issue at hand type. Super smart too, from what I can tell. Couple of the Skywalkers know a few Kenobi's and they're always complaining about them being kriffin perfect prissy bastards, too. Should suit you just fine."

Cody gives him a look. "You shouldn't be talking about your men like that."

"Your men, and I didn't – Anakin said it," Rex shrugs and offers him a grin that doesn't quite meet his eyes. "He's my Commander – I mean, the commander of the 501st. 4N4-K1N."

Cody carefully doesn't react to the clone name – from what he's heard, they're all named like that, with letters and numbers. Looking down he checks the commander of the 212 attack Battalion. 0B1. "Hm. Is there a significance to the length of the names?"

"Not as far as I know. The shorter the name, the older the clone, I guess – the further long they go on the patches, the more letters they add to the designation," Rex says and peers in – and then whistles. "Damn, you got one from the early patches."

Cody hums. "I am not terribly comfortable with the terminology used here," he mutters. "It makes the men sound like things."

"It's how they talk to each other," Rex says and pats his back consolingly. "And yeah, it's damn uncomfortable, but you get used to it the same as any other culture. Or, well… if there's anyone who can turn things around, it's you."

0B1 is old enough to have grown a full beard and hair that cascades down to his shoulders in tousled curls and the look he gives to Cody is full of certain kind of guarded mischief that tells him the utter lack of regulation haircut is perfectly intentional and absolutely intended for a certain effect. The others in the officer core of the 212st have also slightly longer hair than is standard for a military, commonly with a parting on the side – though 0B1 is the only one with a beard.

"General on deck," 0B1 calls and the clones all come into attention in a sharp clatter of plastoid against plastoid, and boots against metal.

"At ease," Cody says, looking for one man to another. They're all identical, of course, the entirety of the 212th consists of Kenobi clones, which seems to be the standard with the Grand Army – 501st was entirely made of Skywalkers too. There's variance though, both in armour colouring and in hair. Few have tattoos, but it seems to be the rarity – most have settled on playing with hairstyles. One of the clones has a completely baffling style of a little nerf tail and then a single little braid behind his ear in an otherwise short hair – the clone grins cheekily, when he sees Cody eying him.

Well. In a group of identical faces, one would want to differentiate.

"I am Jedi Master Cody," the Jedi introduces himself, wondering at the absurdity of the fact that in a bunch of military clones, he seems the only one with an actual crew cut. "I will be taking charge of the 212th Attack Battalion from today on. As far as Jedi go, I am one of the more militant ones and have been going from one battle field to another since my knighting, so we will likely be send right into the thick of things as soon as I am settled in."

That makes almost every eye in the crowd shine with a sort of eager light, which Cody muses wryly will likely get dampened before long. 212st might be an attack battalion meant for the front lines, but from their files they haven't seen any actual action yet. They'd learn, fast, that it wasn't as fun as their trainers no doubt made it out to be.

"Tomorrow I will do a full inspection of every squad," Cody continues, "And I hope to be introduced to as many of the men as is feasible. We will be receiving our orders the day after, and likely will set off from Coruscant immediately. Today you will all have reasonable time off to fill up requisition orders for personal and off time effects and entertainment – make sure your men make use of it, we will likely not see a Republic planet in a while."

That gets him a few eyebrows and actual smiles, and a lot of tense shoulders loosen. Good – it's not enough to warm him up to the men, but it's a start.

"I will be eating meals with the officers every night in my quarters," Cody says – something he'd done in Melidaan, to establish a rapport with the military there. "I expect you all in comfortable but reasonably clean uniforms for these meals – no plastoid, though. Armour tends to make for uncomfortable sitting. If you have any questions, I am open to answer them now."

There's a moment of silence and then 0B1 smiles, lifting a hand. "Are there any restrictions on the form of personal and off time effects and entertainment?" he asks, with devilish glint to his eyes, his accent so perfectly Coruscanti that Cody isn't sure if he's being mocked for his own Wild Territories accent or not.

"Keep it legal and if it's porn keep it under wraps, I don't want to see it," Cody says flatly and gets actual giggles in answer from the clones. "And if it's alcohol make sure it's only indulged at proper times and not immediately before your shift. And if it's on your shift, i will put you in the brig personally"

The smile his Commander gives is full of trouble. "Yes, sir," he answers, sounding absolutely delighted with Cody's answer.

Cody clears his throat and looks away from the Commander. "Anything else?"

He answers everyone's questions, some of which are about their free time allowances – something they apparently didn't expect to get – and some of which are about their future duties. 0B1 also asks about Cody's past records, what kind of engagements he's been in, and his eyes all but shine as Cody summarises some of the major galactic actions he's taken part of.

In the end, Cody thinks he leaves his officers pleased enough with their new General. When he dismisses them, there's no unease in the air, and everyone seems both briskly professional – and comfortable with his presence.

0B1 lingers behind, which Cody half expected. The Clone watches him, keen eyed and thoughtful, and Cody can't help but ask, "Well then, commander, do I satisfy?"

The Clone smiles, wide and warm, and it reaches his eyes. "Oh, you'll do, General Cody," he purrs. "You'll do indeed."

That one is going to be trouble, Cody thinks, straightens his shoulders, and prepares himself for a long campaign.

Aw man this was such a good prompt, I was grinning like madman writing this.

#fanfiction #star wars #codywan #commander cody #obi wan kenobi #or 0B1 in this case #haha

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sanstropfremir · 3 years

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kingdom episode 5 review!!! lets fucking go!!!!!

look. was i insanely hyped for this episode? yes. was my hype justified? also yes. holy FUCKING SHIT. you’ll have to forgive me for going off the rails at some points because ateez and btob directly tapped into something primal in my brain and i am obsessed. i'm obsessed. there’s no other word for it I’m obsessed.

ok ok ok i'll focus. i'm focused. i'll do the stage breakdown first and then do my personal ranking at the end. i might do a quick runup comparison of the self and expert rankings for funsies but i'll see how i feel when i get there. instead of going in airing order i’m gonna reverse it, since that was the order i actually watched them in and also i will run out of brains if i talk about rhythm ta first.

skz

i feel for skz. i don't think this show is going to be as much of learning curve as it needs to be for them because the fan voting skews the rankings so much. I’ve said it so many times before, but letting something flop or getting a bad ranking is actually good, because it shows you that you need to improve. because skz keeps getting validated by the fan rankings and placing first in the last two stages, they aren't actually taking the time to evaluate what about their stages is or isn't working. and besides, we’ve now seen two very similar concepts in a row from them, just one is on a grander scale than the other. what they should be doing is what both ateez and btob did for this round, which was scale up production value, but scale down concept. i know this sounds weird but i'll explain. skz has done two very abstract and ‘grand’ concepts. first round we had ghosts/good self vs evil self, and this stage they just went straight for the throat with a deal with the devil type stage. now when you combine these very abstract concepts with an unclear narrative arc, you lose clarity of intent in the performance because there are no specifics that you’re playing off of. there’s a lot more places left up to personal interpretation and this is where people can get lost. btob and ateez both narrowed down their concepts to hyperspecific scenarios where they very clearly showing the audience the arc the stage is taking. audiences can be smart but also if you can lead them by the hand they like not thinking about highly conceptual ideas, and especially not so much in a pop song competition show.

costume

this is so rare because generally stylists are pretty careful about this, but i genuinely think they got outshone by the backup dancers, especially in the ‘heaven’ sequence. those sash and skirt combos with the strapped white tops that look like straitjackets? the fucking angel wings?! these are some thematically fun costume designs and because they’re white they stand out so much more when skz are wearing black. i also think i've seen these tops on backup dancers before? i thought it was on the last stage but i might be going insane.

i am a sucker for beaded embroidery and the combined dyework on some of their sashes is beautiful. but again, thematically irrelevant? at least you can see the greco-roman inspiration in the backup dancers’ costumes. all this is telling me is that whoever the stitchers are at jype, they are fucking incredible, but they don’t actually have a good designer because the main costumes for all their stages have been both aesthetically similar and thematically irrelevant.

again, i applaud skz for trying more experimental makeup, but boys you have to go bigger, it has no impact right now.

set

well, i did ask for them to commit to the western art bit and they sort of delivered? the first space is not planned very well and combined with the wide wide camera shots instead of making the space seem grand and sweeping it just seems bare. the ‘heaven’ side was excellent though, there was much better control of the camera and the columns and altar scaled the space down so it was more believable. also the breakable columns were fun and corny and i love it when stuff gets destroyed onstage.

the child statue transformation into actual child was a neat trick that i think landed really well. i wish they had given that concept a little more grounding other than the flashback bit but it was still very readable.

i know using rodin's gates of hell is the easiest way to shortcut saying that like, “you are now entering hell,” but them being used SO literally feels a bit blunt when the last time we saw them used in kpop was by original blasphemous catholic lee taemin, who used them with such nuance and intelligence that i'm a bit put off by skz’s literalism.

on that note, i find it very interesting the conflation that happens between greco-roman/”classical” aesthetics and catholicism, because ideologically the two are opposed (see: the bible) and historically, they didn't exist at the same time. now i'm not going to go off on a tangent about neoclassicism because you are not here for an art history lecture but i thought i would make the observation about how catholics continued appropriation of greco-roman aesthetics without complete understanding or context of those aesthetics is as pervasive as it ever has been in the last several hundred years.

lighting

generally the lighting is pretty good, but there’s an over-reliance on projections that cheapens the look of the stage but also devalues the intentions as well. at the core of it there’s a profound statement being made about trading away your innocence, but when you underscore that with like, clock graphics and a WoW looking demon, it loses that simplicity of message.

the thing about using this particular type of projection, which are actually screens and not typical projectors, is that screens always throw light. and due to where they are situated, this basically means that if you're using the screens at full capacity with a cool colour range, we are going to be able to see everything. this is another contributing factor to why the stage looks so empty; they’re lighting up everything and it exposes where the gaps are.

now i fully acknowledge that this possibly could have been a deliberate choice, since they do actually use some spot lighting at the beginning and end. however, if it was it did not land for me.

i loved the intro of demon felix done in blue, that was a nice switchup from what we would usually see, but i wish there was more of a coherent colour arc. like the narrative it stutters around a bit.

sound

the arrangement was a miss for me. i found it a bit dissonant again, like their last stage, since the original i'll be your man has obvious lyrics about a good christian boy being sad about a girl. this gets a bit wonky conceptually as soon as you add a child self into it. i don’t know if they changed any of the lyrics in the singing to match this a little more because i don't speak korean, so i'll have to wait for episode subs for verification.

i really applaud them for trying, and overall they didn't actually do that bad, but skz is not a vocal group. the most i'm going to say about it is that these boys don’t have the breath support. this is likely because they're trying to do choreographically complex movements, but also it's a training thing. you can hear the difference even just between eunkwang’s ‘vocal warmup’ at the beginning of back door, he’s not projecting full voice but he still has the breath support for his voice to sound full, whereas all skz boys sound thin in comparison, even when at full volume, because they’re trying to project from the throat and not the chest. that's all i'm gonna say about that. i don't think the cracked note was bad, i didn’t really clock it on first listen.

staging

thematically they could have had something really interesting here if they stuck to a more simple narrative arc. the genesis (i’m very funny) of the idea here is good, the whole mephistopheles deal with a devil + regret/loss of innocence is clear, but the arc isn't really an arc, and the colour story doesn't help. it kind of goes earth (green/blue) -> the gates of hell are opening (red) -> oh it's heaven now (blue) -> oh just kidding it's hell/lets destroy heaven (red) -> back to earth (blue). not necessarily a bad arc, just a bit complex for four minutes.

the choreo was a lot better this time, there was a lot more intention and relevance to theme and i didn’t feel like they were flailing for the sake of flailing as much as i have in their other stages. there was also a clarity in the overall blocking and movement patterns that was missing from their other stages. this stage has a really great handoff of each member playing the ‘main’ character, especially in the beginning. i especially liked the cut from falling off the stairs to laying centre stage.

i think I’m right in assuming that it was a choice that the members were all playing the same character and demon felix was that character possessed rather than the actual devil, but personally i think it would have been a lot more fun if they had straight up just made him be the actual devil. there’s a bit of dissonance when you have a performer with such a specialized skillset that gets used in very specific instances, but then he shows up in the regular group choreo like any ol’ guy. they always put such emphasis on felix (as they should, he’s their most charismatic performer), but they never go the distance. i would have loved it if they had committed to the bit like TOO did in their magnolia stage from rtk, where they had a member just be blinded justice. that was literally the only thing he did and it worked so well. could have done the same here with felix and it would have been fun. that being said the felix parts were SO good. love love love him getting dragging in chains.

btob

this hit every little one of the buttons in my tiny backstage crew brain. i'm in love with this stage. there’s so many true to life little details here that on repeat viewings you're still finding new things. i know i rag on and on about narrative every week but here is a good example of what i've been trying to get at this whole time: the stage needs a shape. an a to b. you don't need a whole pirates spiel or a game of thrones theme extended universe; all you need is a clear setting and a point a to point b. this stage has both those things perfectly. we have a hyperspecific setting, (american rockstars) and a basic arc (getting ready to perform -> performing). even though back door is outside of btob’s wheelhouse, they spun it in a way that played to their strengths and did a bit braggadocio, which is rightfully earned. i'm gonna be saying it every time but the experience shows!!!

costume

good contemporary costume is SO difficult, i want to impress that here. because it's the the time period that we are currently living and seeing every day it's so easy for the audience to spot mistakes. although yes it's easier to source/shop for, to get it good enough that it doesn't pull people out of the immersion is surprisingly more difficult than you think. their stylists did an excellent job here. the backup dancers and btob are all in monochrome plus one and it adds a very clean unity to everything without visual clutter.

each of btob’s costumes have enough to give indication of character, along with the member’s acting, which i'll get more into in the staging section. regardless, never underestimate the power of a good fitting shirt and statement belt. oh and minhyuk in the stirrup motorcycle boots with the skinny jeans and the supreme boxers and the red satin robe? good bye.

i love love love a dyed buzz this was such a good aesthetic choice for peniel, 10/10 i have no complaints about the costumes.

set

oh my god i’m gonna french kiss this set designer. this is such a simple set but it’s executed so well. there’s the ‘backstage’ area, the corridor with four dressing rooms, and then the ‘stage’ that’s pretty much just velvet ropes. so simple, but all the detail is in the set decoration and props. the road cases, the monitor, the subtle flex of the posters of them on the walls, the clothing racks, all the booze. although this is not the actual layout of any theatre (they're normally much weirder than this), there’s so many little details here that really make the experience.

there’s a very straightforward path here and it works so well. i think this might be the best use of the gates so far? it appropriately suited the drama of the moment and they didn't have to do anything to them because they're already in a theatre. bada bing bada boom.

lighting

love the setup and continuation through the amber ‘BRRRMM.’ like with sf9 it gives a smooth transition into the stage. also loved no blackout. it's a general rule in current theatrical practice that you only use blackouts when they are absolutely necessary, because they can stop the pacing of a play dead in the water. so the lack of one here at the start of the stage was a really smart choice and makes the transition feel less jarring.

i will say that actual backstage areas are very rarely lit with amber because it travels far and it's bright. it's much more common to see running lights (the lights on during a performance) to be deep red or blue.

those blasting wash lights as the gates open? the DRAMA. such a seemingly innocuous choice that really cements the atmosphere of ‘we are about to perform.’

really smart use of the projections to accentuate the already existing stage facilities. it's pretty much unnoticable because it's very well done but i appreciate it.

sound

this ARRANGEMENT!!!! it's so good!!! back door has this premise essentially built into the song so it was so smart of them to put this gimmicky spin on it. loved the literal interpretation of the knocks into the structure of the stage, it makes the blend between the sound design and the staging that much more effective.

more rock versions of everything please and thank you.

btob is just stunting at this point and i love it. i'll have to wait for subs but judging by the hands in front of the camera bit and the ‘your super high note’ i’m pretty confident the added rap lyrics are full of shots at the other groups and honestly? valid.

staging

there's some really sharp camera control here with the one take first half. It’s up very close and personal because there’s a lack of space but it really works for the ‘intimacy’ of seeing backstage at a venue. also this is such a simple movement track but it’s so effective. it backs over a couple spots but it doesn't feel repetitive because there’s a sense of urgency and drive.

there are so many good little details in here that are true to life and unnecessary to include but sell the performance as a whole. peniel flinging water onstage, minhyuk stripping down twice and flinging his clothes around, minhyuk closing the door on the standby’s face, the backup dancer as a dresser with the laundry basket, peniel stealing the hat off her but then not going on stage with it these are all things that I’ve either had directly happen to me or something very similar has happened. but the best one and the one that sets off the tone amazingly for the whole stage is eunkwang’s intro. that ‘vocal warmup’ with the quiet okay at the end? with the little jump? i see that moment of vulnerability before the transition between person and actor every time i watch someone go onstage for the first time and there’s no way to describe it other than magic.

the luxury of only having four members, there was actually time in this stage to establish character. it also speaks to the performing strength of btob that they can establish clear character in this short amount of time. obviously it’s pretty one dimensional; there’s serious eunkwang, typical rocker minhyuk, fuckboy peniel (how many licks does it take to make your tootsie pop, anyone?), and comedian changsub. i’ve seen and met and worked with these exact dudes many, many times. ugh i love this stage

ateez

the utter euphoria i felt at the proof that last round’s stage wasn't a fluke. this stage is so good. it's so good. i'm obsessed with how good this stage. as an unreformed pop punk teen who played a LOT of latin jazz i am LIVING. if you’ve only seen the episode cut and not the full version here i'll make it easy and link it for you because oh my GOD mnet destroyed the pacing by cutting in a full minute and a half of reaction shots. actually mnet fucked up the pacing for all of these stages but this one was the worst. and look. i know this is the closest these boys are going to get to being real punks and this is a carefully curated and artificial facade for narrative purposes only but oh the pandering tastes so sweet. regardless of that, i am IN AWE of the level of storytelling happening here. the narrative is so clear on just the first viewing even though there is so much going on and they use every possible element they can to further enhance that narrative. repeat viewings just add more and more little details. i’ll probably miss some things because there's so much but i'll try my best.

costume

look, hanya and i were joking that my notes for this stage were just gonna be ‘san dog collar’ for a thousand words and i was so tempted to just leave it at that because.....woof. so here is a short list of things i am the most obsessed with:

san dog collar

san smeared lipstick

wooyoung cruella deville ponytail

hongjoong terrible blond crewcut

san crushed velvet cargo pants?!

seonghwa cropped fur jacket

yunho arm sleeve

hongjoong sockless in red derbys

but in all seriousness the costumes are so good. none of these are truly authentic punk looks but they capture the spirit right and that's what matters. all the right trappings are there; safety pins, patches, plaid, leather, and a lot of diy type looks. i love the painted masks, especially as a callback to the comedy/tragedy theatre masks. it was a thematic choice to have the backup dancers in black and the tac vests are a super simple contextual device.

also hongjoong’s quickchange hat/jacket combo is super fun and i hope that’s intentionally a preview of the next stage.

set

if you weren't convinced before that whoever is designing the ateez stages is a stage designer, i don't know what to tell you. it's hard to tell because there is so much environmental storytelling happening, but there is NO large scale set here. like with their last stage, kq smartly put money into two highlight pieces; the anarchist blimp and the van/wall, and the rest of the stage atmosphere is established solely through propwork and lighting. just think about that for a bit. every other group has some kind of large scale room or wall build. ateez has a bunch of tables, flyers, and a podium. i don’t know if i can accurately communicate just how difficult this kind of coordination is to pull off but holy fucking shit this is so hard to pull off. these are theatre people i see you and i see your work and i love you!!!

they fully used the gilt mnet stage as their pseudo government building and it works. everything about this (lack of) set is so smart i wish i could be more articulate about it but there’s so only so many ways i can say the same thing over and over again.

lighting

the laser scopes. the LASER SCOPES!!! god this lighting designer is so good. whoever you are, i'm acknowledging your effort because you deserve it. there’s some really wonderful contrast and directional lighting: the van light, the pinlights/lasers/smoke as searchlights. a lot of atmospheric red lighting but it makes sense for the theme (alarm lights) and they offset it well (unlike in the other two predominantly red stages we’ve seen) by fill lighting the faces with blue or amber; this is what actually makes us able to see what’s happening on stage

the projections are used to augment the stage action in without being overpowering, they're at relatively low tonal value so they aren't lighting up the stage at full brightness like in the skz stage.

the big brother eye on the tv screens (it's just a projection, not actual screens) combined with the government ban notice and the broadcast has to be the record for fastest visual explanation of fascist totalitarian state.

sound

i love it. they really successfully made rhythm ta into an ateez song and it’s cool as fuck. i love that it isn't sonically very loud. a lot of the chorus is actually quite level tone and quiet, which is a bold choice and they pull it off. this is very comfortably in their range (excluding jongho) and they went more for style than range and that's exactly what every group should be doing. singing high does not equal singing good. yes i am looking at you jongho you should have stopped at that penultimate note, it was fine!!

using rhythm ta as a pseudo protest song against a fascist government that’s banned all music and art? galaxy brain. that intro of hongjoong whispering “hey hey hey hey, this is just a song so get on the rhythm” after gunning down military police/guards? king fucking shit.

staging

i will eat all five pairs of my fluevog boots if kq hasn't hired a bunch of theatre professionals to direct and design these stages because now it's been proven that last stage wasn't a fluke. the level of execution at work here is absolutely incredible. oh the gesamtkunstwerk of it all!!! there is SO much happening so quickly in this four minute stage and it still manages to convey exactly the correct amount of information that it needs to on the first go round, and it only gets better on repeat viewings.

they use a really classic theatre perspective trick with san climbing the rope, and they absolutely didn’t have to do that. san probably could have actually climbed that himself, but here they made a choice for aesthetic artistry over tricking/other feats of skills we’ve seen the 4th gen groups do. instead of going with the more technically difficult and ‘impressive’ option, they chose the simple way that allows for more character to shine through. there’s actually very little tricking in this stage as whole, they're putting trust in the design of the stage and the raw performance abilities of the members to carry the stage and they stick the landing again. san has some breakdancing and so do the backup dancers, but it’s window dressing in the same way that the flyers are window dressing.

there’s a lot of really good little moments of acting that really sell the performance and dedication of the group as a whole to giving their all. hongjoong overall in his cocky aspirational leader role, seonghwa’s first verse and malfunctioning earpiece bit, san’s falsetto hostage interrogation bit. also i'm obsessed with how far yunho just hucks that mask. he gets like fifteen feet of air with that thing. also props to hongjoong barehanding that glass break.

the paper props are impeccable. the first notice sets up the situation right away, and then we get some further exposition with the newspaper wooyoung is holding (which says ‘the central government has defined the black pirates as a terrorist’ but honestly you don't really need to know what it says to get the point), and then we have raining anarchist flyers from the anarchist blimp. great atmospheric touches.

the blackout crash-to-mask transition is just so good. this is an example of a good use of a blackout. nothing else to add i just thought i would point it out because it's dope.

like with btob there's some really tight camera control here, that along with the lighting and the way they've laid out the space make it easy to follow the trajectory of where they're going and also make the space seem smaller than it is. this is a really big stage and if you don't control how you want it to be seen you end up like with what happened to the first part of skz’s stage. i wish they had tracked some of the one takes a bit better, but the end of that take where the camera followed the group movement laterally and then the formation swung around to face front? sexy. surprisingly the editing is pretty ok.

there’s probably still so much i could talk about but this is already so long so if i missed something just let me know.

ok finally lets do some rankings

personal ranking

this round wasn't as tough to rank because there were two clear top tier stages for me. i actually went back and looked at my ranking from last round and this is identical except the top two spots are switched, which i find extremely funny. however in contrast to last round, these stages were all leagues better than their predecessors. all the groups are improving, just some at greater speed than others.

ateez - i'm not even gonna explain this one.

btob - i won't explain this one either since i just did that.

sf9 - this would have been first if ateez and btob hadnt blow everyone out of the water.i still think they made all the right choices and played to their strengths.

ikon - this stage is so fun to watch but the others offer me more. that’s it.

skz - i like the idea behind it and i loved felix; i'm always down for some good catholic fuckery but like last round it just wasn't played out far enough.

tbz - double ding on the moulin rouge and the continued game of thrones references for me. there were a lot of strong elements here but when compared to every other stage it just doesn't have the same gravitas.

the self rankings i thought were fairly accurate, but again, what the fuck is up with these expert rankings? who are these experts? what stages are they watching?? i won't go more into it than that because then you'll be here even longer but i don't trust these experts who consistently rank btob at the bottom, do you have eyes??? ears????

ok i'm done for real now im so sorry this 4.6k words......if you make it this far do something nice for yourself like eat a cookie or something. this is way too long you deserve a reward for making it through my nonsense. as always if you’ve got questions or want to share your opinions feel free to send me an ask!

#kingdom #kingdom review #should i risk it and tag the groups this time? i kinda wanna bait some weirdos #kpop analysis #ok im gonna do it #ateez #btob #stray kids #the boyz #sf9 #ikon #im pretty sure i missed so much here but this is so long im so sorry #at least next week i wont be doing this kind of writeup #text

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