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#and today on Jess makes bad fucking decisions
quick-drawn · 9 months
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what's your muse's favorite / guilty pleasure / go-to fast food restaurant,,
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ladyzirkonia · 9 months
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Heavy Rain - Part 1
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Summary: Long-standing tensions with Commander Fox reach a breaking point, when some regretful decisions lead to a chase through the rainy nights of Coruscant.
Pairing: Commander Fox x Doc!Fem!Reader, feat. juicy Jesse 😎
Tags & Warnings: violence (police violence?), strong language, discrimination
Word Count: around 1.000
author's note: I know I really wanted to write smut (I'm fucking trying) but I got carried away and because this got a little bit to long there will be a two parter. Building up the tension for the release. 😏 I listened to this while writing.
@clonexreaderbingo Square: Coruscant
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It was a rainy night on Coruscant, and you cursed inwardly as you almost slipped, sharply turning a corner and running into a dark alley. The rain had completely soaked your clothes, it's not like you had much on today anyway. You had been looking forward to a relaxing evening at 79's after a long, hard day of work. Jesse hadn't given up easily, and even though you were tired, that handsome son of a mudscuffer had managed to lure you out. Damn that stupid face, it was almost embarrassing how quickly you ran when he called. But could anyone blame you? You couldn't think straight when he looked at you with that certain gaze, confident and teasing. In that moment, you knew if you wanted to punch or kiss that stupidly handsome face. But instead, you pulled out your only going-out outfit from the closet and used the little makeup you owned. Hair? Oh, completely overrated, that had to do. After all, you had a Doctorate, he should admire you for your brilliant mind, and if not? Then he could go kriff himself.
But it hadn't come to any of that. You hadn't even gotten a kriffing drink, instead, you ran like crazy through the rain, a damn bad idea because you weren't the fastest, and certainly not the most athletic. And all of this because of that idiot in front of 79's who insulted you and Jesse. Being called a "slut who spreads her legs for clones" was one thing, something you could still ignore, but when he didn't stop ranting about the clones, claiming they weren't worth living, an insult to all real beings, and had no right to be treated like humans, that was all it took to make you snap completely.
You had to hear phrases like these far too often, and you had been working in the GAR and with the clones long enough that they made you furious instantly. These men were so loyal, each one you had met so far was unique and endearing in their own way - well, almost everyone - that the unfair treatment they repeatedly endured embittered and angered you. And that one idiot had to pay the price - just like his nose - when you brought him down with a well-aimed punch. Your medical training had helped, as you knew exactly how to break a nose precisely. Your bad luck was that the act didn't go unnoticed.
Of course, Commander Fox was patrolling EXACTLY tonight. Not just any of the Corrie Shinies or at least Commander Thorn, with whom you got along well. No, it had to be precisely the stern and often ill-tempered Fox, and you knew that you were in serious trouble. There had been tensions between you from the beginning. He liked to stick to the rules, and you... well, you were good at bending the rules of GAR protocol to suit your needs. The few encounters you had with the man usually ended in heated arguments. You were the little teasing shit who could annoy the hell out of him within five minutes, and he hadn't had anything in his hands against you - until today. And that's why you ran for your dear life now. You knew it was foolish, if he really had it out for you, you didn't stand a chance of escaping. But your instinct still said, "Run, just kriffing run." The last thing you saw was Jesse's amused and impressed face - well, maybe this would take your relationship to the next level - before you ran like crazy.
You ran for your life, hoping luck was on your side and that Fox hadn't bothered to follow you. Perhaps you had managed to escape. As you turned into the next dark alley, your relief turned into a loud curse. You had ended up in a dead-end, the street blocked by a high chain-link fence, and you had no chance of overcoming this obstacle. You weren't a Jedi or a trained soldier, so you could only frustratedly pound against the fence.
In the next moment, you heard a deep and all-too-familiar voice behind you, causing you to flinch. "Turn around slowly and put your hands up where I can see them," barked Fox, and you knew he had you right where he wanted you. "Seriously, Fox?! Kriff, you know damn well I don't have any weapons. What's the meaning of this?" you retorted angrily as you turned slowly and raised your hands, staring into his dark visor. You couldn't see his face, but damn, you could imagine his smug expression all too well, which only fueled your anger.
"Watch your filthy mouth, Doc. You're not in a position to make demands," he said in a far too calm tone, sending a shiver down your spine. "And now be a good girl and turn around, hands on your back," he continued, and for a moment, you considered going for him again, but kriff, it wasn't worth it. You loved your job despite everything, and you didn't want to lose it because of this mudscuffer. So you gritted your teeth in frustration and turned around slowly, crossing your hands behind your back. You felt Fox approach you, and you sharply inhaled as that sack of a bantha fodder got too close for your liking. His hard armor pressed into your back as he pinned you against the chain-link fence to put handcuffs on you.
"Kriff Fox, are you serious?! What the hell is this?" you exclaimed, your face pressed against the cold and wet chain-link fence. Your body trembled with anger - yes, it was definitely just anger, and maybe the cold - it had absolutely nothing to do with Fox invading your personal space.
"Language, Doc. And it's still Commander Fox for you. Your sens of respect has always been lacking," he said coldly, and you could only respond with a sarcastic laugh.
"Respect is something that has to be earned," you shot back.
"We will work on that," was all he replied - and you didn't know if it was a promise or a threat - before leading you away.
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Miles: I like personality quizzes in theory but in practice I just get irritated by the semantic ambiguity of literally every question. "On a spectrum from scientific to artistic what are you" motherfucker I literally wax poetic about the laws of thermodynamics where the fuck does that land on your spectrum.
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 Ben Riley: due to personal reasons I will be sitting on my bed in a wet towel and staring at the wall for the next 25 minutes.
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Jess: Your future self is hating you for the poor decisions you're making today.
Gwen: Bold of you to assume current me isn’t also hating myself for making the decisions that I am making.
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Bonnie: Beat your depression. Beat it with a fucking broom, beat it into the fucking ground, die, die, die!
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Hobie: Nobody controls what I do!!! Nobody!  Not even me! I'm out of control but only I control that!
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Pavitr: *watching Margo play a video game* In a game, with no consequences, why are you still playing the 'good' side?
Margo: Because being mean makes me feel bad.
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Ganke: I hate how you're just born out of nowhere and you're forced to go to school and get education so you can get a job what if I wanted to be a duck?
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Miles: I hate when people are actually really prepared for a test.  Like, who do you think you are? Someone who actually has their life together? That is not acceptable
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Bonnie: Earthquakes are the weirdest things. Like we're just floating in space and our planet just decides to spontaneously do the chimichanga.
Miguel: Who let her back in?!
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Spectacular! Peter: Just found out my entire personality is a trauma response.
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Miguel: Peter B. is trying to prove that he's closer to the younger spiders than I am but the joke is on him because he doesn't know how little I care for Gwen.
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Jess: Orbweaver! What’re you doing today?
Bonnie: Having my day ruined with whatever you’re about to ask me to do.
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Peni: do you care if i take the skin off of the furby? I want to make him a diety. once he is free of his sinful flesh he can begin the path towards enlightenment. he will take care of us. Also I want to softhack his circuits
Miles: i literally could not care less but never say anything as frightening as that ever again
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Hobie: Who hurt you?
Gwen: Do you want a list or what?
Hobie loading his gun: Actually, yes.
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Margo: I am shattering like glass, but at least I have video games
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Spot: Hello there, Spiderman. Long time no see. Except in my revenge fantasies, where I see you on an hourly basis.
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Pavitr: Miguel sleeps after us and is awake before us. Does he ever actually sleep?
Spectacular! Peter: I think he periodically makes a whirring noise and then just shuts down.
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Hobie: It's your first time being a fugitive, so I made you a watch.
Gwen: Thank you, Hobie.
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Ben Riley: I'm sorry I messed everything up. I guess I'm not cut out for the high stakes world of having friends.
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Miguel: It was reported to me by—
Miles: By your spies?
Miguel: No, no. Not spies. People I have terrorized into doing my bidding and watching other people and places for me. You pay spies.  
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Pavitr: Remember how I have such good luck that it’s almost bullshit?
Gwen: I’m afraid to ask, but go on.
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Miguel: Bonnie, a question — if Jess and I were drowning, who would you save?
Bonnie: You can both swim.
Miguel: True, but it’s a hypothetical question, so who would you save?
Bonnie: My time and effort.
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Margo: Remember Spiderwomen, before you say or do anything, ask yourself: Is this something that would get me diagnosed with female hysteria and locked in the attic by my relatives in the late 19th century? If the answer is yes, proceed.
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Ham: Hey! How’s it going?
Peni: On all levels except physical, I am dead.
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Miles: Top 30 reasons why Spiderman is sorry, number five will surprise you!
Spot: Top 30 anime deaths! Number one: Your fucking ass right now!
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Bonnie, taping a knife to a roomba and setting it loose: Be free, my child.
Miguel, entering the room with a cut on his ankle: WHO THE FUCK—
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flownwrong · 5 months
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happy wincest wednesday alina! I'm sending this around a few boxes today. What movie that you've seen would you like to see sam and dean in, and how much do you have to mangle them to get them in there? are they having a good time? DO. THEY. KISS.????
happy ww nige! what a question haha
well it depends i guess on whether in there is like, an au/fusion or a full crossover
i think i'd love to see them in an it follows setup actually! it's basically a ready-made fuck or die (or in this case i guess DON'T FUCK or die lol) setup
in an imaginary s3 i'd put them on the case: a trail of bodies connected in ways both obvious and not; how they figure it out is irrelevant, but just imagine—
an entity able to take shapes meaningful to you follows you at a slow but dreadfully intent pace because of a one night stand you had; nobody but you (or people previously afflicted and still alive) can see it; you have to be on the run until you figure out how to kill the thing (let's pretend for a nebulous wincesty reason you don't have an immediately available solution); you know the thing will prey on whoever you sleep with next; you got the hots for your brother, and he's going to hell.
your brother would probably like to see whatever is hunting you instead of taking shots in the dark. is probably hellbent on it even because he's due for a trip to hell soon and he needs you safe period. but if you do sleep together you'd both read some kind of obligation into each other's decisions. from his perspective, he's finishing what he started, making sure that when the deal comes through you're truly and fully safe and free. make no mistake, he wants you bad. but he's probably very focused on the idea he's talked you into it and you accepted because you'll give him anything before he leaves. from your perspective, lost in your pre-grieving, he's going through with it because of his obsession with your safety, and he'll give you anything before he leaves.
I can't figure out more sound reasoning for it to happen, mine doesn't sell the idea that well, but hell, however they work it out, it will lead to one fraught and complicated sex scene.
anyway! you have this miserable fuck, you can now both see the thing, but you also both realise now there was more than duty and desperation in there, but discussing it is a moot point now, right? the deal is still just around the corner. uh oh! get on the pain train!
bonus point if the creature takes some ouchy and confusing shapes. jess or mary for sam? dad and so help me god ruby for dean? and like. IT DOESN'T TALK. it doesn't taunt you. it just... follows. coming for you. because you fucked someone for an arguably wrong reason (if we run with my sam triggered it premise, from his perspective the wrong reason would probably be losing sight of his obsessive save dean quest. although then why did he do it in the first—quick, hit that post button before you talk yourself out of it Alina!!). and you can't stop it.
bonus point two if they figure out what to do with the creature just in time to realise they didn't need to both see it after all. wow! awkward!
short answer: THEY. DO. KISS. but they have a pretty bad time :(
also, wow, that thought got away from me. all I took from the movie is the monster concept. uh. sorry!
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lagncx · 10 months
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Your face-wisp
summary: Miguel isn’t your Miguel (a second chance series small chapter)
you sat down in front of Miguel who called you in to talk you were happy to see him for obvious reasons. “If we’re gonna work together you need to understand this.” He started and looked down his hands on his waist “you know I’m not him. I’m not that Miguel he died and I have no idea how you two were together I don’t remember anything he did or anything”
You wore a smile but your heart was breaking you only tried to cope by using him as a alternative it was bad for you and for him especially since he couldn’t be that for you he doesn’t want you to hurt. Your Miguel was gone he drowned all because you broke your arm using your web and the pull of his weight snapped it you could’ve dove and caught him but shit. You’d be dead too. Worst of all it wasn’t a canon event.
Fuck spiders.
is this all real? You’re stuck in my head drowning. Is what you said to the Miguel who stood next to you in all your battles and decisions guiding you. Of course he was just a figment of my imagination then
“You look at me the same but I can’t reciprocate.” Miguel said a hand on your shoulder
“I’m sorry”
The dark and moody miguel had a sympathetic look but the one behind him was yours more lean and warm happy looking and they looked identical just small differences you won’t live with the thought that he isn’t here in front of you
your eyes dart to them both
fuck. fuck. fuck. All you can see is him
“I wish I could call you mine.” You said your voice breaking as you look up at him his hand falling off your shoulder back to his hip his head tilted to watch your face drop your eyes open tears falling
“I-…can’t be him for you that wouldn’t be real for you or good for you.” He shook his head “therapy is available for everyone here-…”
“not real for me? You are real for me.” You said looking up at him making him stop talking “but I’m not Miguel. I’m not. Your Miguel.” You shook your head before you felt a hand creep up your spine all to familiar.
-few weeks ago-
you had got an anomaly pinned to the wall and to be honest you weren’t pulling punches for some reason today was extremely bad maybe the fact you didn’t see Miguel as he was busy taking a break and going out with the spider gang? Which was really just Peter lego and Jess and Peter B. Leaving you with nobody to bother. Nobody to bring an empanada. Nobody to use to mask that your boyfriend was rotting at the bottom of an abyss of salt water being picked at by fishes and sea lice. The anomaly just kept pushing your buttons he kept trying kept talking and you just couldn’t take it. And if you weren’t stopped you would’ve killed him. Fingertips came up your back going to your shoulder you stopped your breathing stopped and you turned and there was Miguel. Your Miguel he wasn’t…real he was just your imagination but he smiled kindly at you taking your face in his hands (haha…your face get it)
your eyes closed the feeling almost heavenly as he pulled you towards him his face almost distorted like you forgot how he looked but quickly came back to you it all came back he was exactly as you left him the last good memory when you two kissed after wrestling. Everything was right oh and his smell the smell of him was perfect like home. He whispered something so soft you almost didn’t hear it
“It’s time to come back to me.” you opened your eyes and he was gone your hands shaking all adrenaline was gone and no anger just empty you didn’t feel the urge to fuck up anyone right now. So you just finished the job and got the anomaly back to The others you got your report done and went to go get your wounds cleaned. -now-
Those fingers you turned and there was your Miguel who smiled and shook his head his voice low and comforting you looked back at Miguel the alive one of course “sorry Mr O Hara. Won’t happen again” you went back to a smile and laughed “memory of my boyfriend is wiped- bee boop beep” you laughed and turned pulling down your suits hood over your head walking out before Miguel could say anything.
Miguel stood there his stomach was doing backflips worrying about how the conversation would go and you took it alright. He went back to his floating platform. He played the recording
“Shh shh their coming you guys. Mama get the candles ready” the recording said it sounded like his voice Miguel smiled a little footsteps approached the apartment door it going open you came in your face bruised and tired till a bunch of confetti and balloons got thrown at you “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” everyone screamed your face scrunched from the loudness and stuffed miguel running to you hugging you then everyone went to go get things ready for your cake miguel whispering to you “happy bir-…baby what happened to your face? Don’t say it was a door.” He said holding your face “agh-…fuck baby easy it burns a little.” You got scolded by Miguel in Spanish that you didn’t understand “Cállate, sabes que es mejor que hacer lo que sea que hagas para verte así….lemme see” he pushed your head up “is that glass?…baby-“ he said in a warning tone “Miguel I’m okay I fell at work it was a wet sign and ignored it hit a coffee table okay? Let’s not get upset you threw me a party.” Miguel laughed a little at the recording obviously you had spider business that didn’t go well. Miguel sighed annoyed “you owe m-“ you cut him off with a kiss which he just stared down at you “you owe me again for cutting me off” you smiled.
the recording went off and miguel shook his head…looking down ashamed as he played another.
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hi so i finally got back into my tord addiction after so long. i am thinking abt him DAILY my friend, school was suspended today and all i could think about was “mmm tord picking me up from school <33”. however, i have gained 2 new f/os…again…from childhood fandoms…the narrator from stanley parable and fucking grillby? from undertale? aksel and august will be making a comeback because i love them more than anything <33 i just need prompts
but yeah i picked myself up out of hiatus because i’m me. how’s tom by the way? any new hcs for maybe edd,matt and tord also? 👀
- ave!!! your moot who makes bad decisions (at ang traffic today…like talaga)
avery yo!!!!!! missed seeing u pop up hehe but I'm glad u're doing alright 🥺 damn walang pasok ha sanaol joke lang AHAHSGDHAHEH i already got like a quiz and report in just the first week of actual classes help me /lh lh but I love everyone in there so haha
my goodness tho yes <3 everyone else is so jealous cuz ooooo u got ur handsome bf picking u up so true so true <3
dude........ i need to touch on stanley parable again oh mAN I heard amazing stuff abt the new update and.... that's like peak 2015 shit for me I gotta go back to it some time!!! also undertale ayOoo I'm suddenly seeing a resurface of ut faves 🥺🥺🥺💚💚💚
HOW PERFECT i genuinely like aksel and august's character, you know actually they suddenly remind me of kel and hero omg SHSHHSHSBSHSHAJAJSJ FR THO AAAAA
no worries on the hiatus! we're all busy now. classes go brrrr orz
oh MAN i still have him on my mind, but it's now balancing with hero/p and tom/r because they just sit there and do their magic and make me happy that's like therapy ayo 🥺 /jjj pos
I guess if there's a big hc I can drop for all the 3 boys, it's that I finally thought about MY idea on their heights, I'm too lazy to look at my gallery for the screenshot DPFOJTOROR but basically edd-matt-tord-tom from tallest to shortest and jesse sits at the very last hehe 🤸
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pbandjesse · 2 years
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Me and James are on our way home from the museum in a wild fucking storm. Like I love a good rain but this is the second storm this week that has me terrified. We had to go super slow on the highway but it will be okay.
And today was a good day! I slept well and was happy for the ac because when I got out of our room this morning it was so hot. The air doesn't move great in the apartment. But I got washed up and put on my pretty dress and we headed to the market.
It was not my best day. I only made one sale but there were a lot of nice people. And the sale I did make was of a fluffy large bear to a little girl. I even had extra baby clothes with me so she got to pick them an outfit. So that was sweet and made me feel nice.
I was going to catch up on my knitting again but I couldn't find my pick tool? I was a little annoyed but I also brought some sewing to work on and was able to finish 5 bears. And I talked to Bob and he took my awe to sharpen for me. James says he liked being able to show people that and that it was very cool to demo.
I mostly just enjoyed people watching. O'Malley came with their partner and I got two hugs! I love a hug. And it was a hot day but still beautiful out. I didn't even really notice the heat until I went inside to talk to James and was blasted by the ac.
Ann left so I was in charge for a little bit. But same as always, when Ann leaves early everyone else starts packing up at 1245. Which makes me laugh. Like I get why she wants everyone to stay til the end. But she also makes people who sell out stay and I don't know. Just feels unnecessary but it's not my decision.
I packed up and was able to get almost everything in the trunk. So that was cool. I went inside to say hi and goodbye to James. And waited until everyone else was out from the pavilion and headed home.
I was tired. And hungry. I got back here and had the rest of our leftover pizza and a piece of the good cheesecake James made. And then I slept.
It was such a good nap. And when I woke up James was here!! I gave James a hug and went to get redressed for the museum.
It was a good drive out. James drove us so they could take the car to their parents to do laundry. And when we got to the musuem the wedding planner was like you can't go inside! And me and James were like I am working tonight! And they were like. Oh! Made me laugh.
The wedding was fine. I didn't have a lot of people come in but the ones who did were nice. James had stopped to get me a donut and that was a good snack. I was able to talk to some really nice kids at the wedding and show them how to print and that was fun for me.
I cleaned up the print stuff and we got to have some fancy leftover cheeses and spreads. It was fun to try things.
A storm started rolling in. And James apparently got in the car just as it started raining on that side of town.
The lights flickered in the musuem and I was like. Again?? Another scary storm? And it would be.
James would get me and almost as soon as we pulled out of the museum the way opened up. The sky was green like before a tornado and we couldn't see anything. It was terrifying. My heart was racing really bad. The lighting was really big and was hitting things. We were going so slow and with our blinkers on. But we would make it home without an accident.
And of course the storm slowed down and eventually stopped once we got home. Man the stress I feel around storms is wild, I don't remember ever feeling this scared before? Or are the storms just worse now?
I am happy to be home. I have tomorrow off!! And things I want to do. Specifically going to the craft store. And pick new clothes for camp. And just rest.
I hope your day is restful too. And illness free. Poor Jess and her family all have covid but it seems to be hitting her the worst. I hope she gets better very very fast. Send her food thought through the universe. I love you all. Goodnight.
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veronicaphoenix · 3 months
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Chapter tags & trigger warnings: angst, swearing, best friends’ comfort, alcohol intake, implied depression. | Word count: 1.7k | Cross posted on AO3. | Series masterpost. ✧.*
General trigger warnings: This work addresses and depicts issues related to addiction and violence, contains explicit sexual content, and explores themes of childhood trauma. Reader discretion is advised. +18
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The creative fervor in the studio suddenly hit a roadblock as my eyes scanned the lyrics on the page. 
“What?” Matt asked, sensing my energy shifting as he waited for me to say something. He was standing in front of me, reclined on the desk, his arms crossed over his chest, cap on. 
“I’ve been thinking about the album’s concept, and I feel like we’re heading in another direction with these lines,” I said, hesitating before speaking. “I know I wrote them myself, but I’m still not convinced. They don’t sound… dark enough.”
Nicholas exchanged a glance with Matt. Matt leaned forward, concern etched on his face. "How dark do you want to get, Noah? We’re not trying to scare people away. That’s not the point of making music.”
“I know,” I replied back with exasperation tainting my words. I dropped the notebook on the small table in front of the sofa where I had been sat for the past twenty minutes. My coffee from Starbucks was going cold. 
“Maybe we can add that dark tone with the instrumentals,” Nicholas added, eyeing the two of us as he took a sip of his coffee.  
I nodded. It wasn’t a bad idea and we had done it plenty of times before, however, I was still not satisfied with my own choice of lyrics, and no one could beat me at being the most stubborn man in the room. 
“I understand your intention,” Matt continued, “you want the album to resonate with the fans, you want them facing their demons and embracing the darkness and all of that, but we’re on a deadline. We can’t keep changing lyrics every single day. Besides, this is pretty good. I don’t see why you’re not happy with it,” he pointed to the open notebook between us. 
The room fell into a contemplative silence as the weight of my final decision lingered. 
Despite feeling torn, I sighed deeply. “You’re right. I need to stop being such a fucking perfectionist.”
Standing up, I ignored Nicholas and Matt’s nods of agreement and walked to position myself in front of the glass, hands on the edge of the monitoring desk. On the other side, Jolly and Nick waited for me to give them new instructions. 
By the time we made it back home that evening, I was exhausted. I took a shower, ate some salad and lasagna that Jesse had prepared, and went straight to my room. I knew I should just let it got, but I couldn’t shake off the unease in my head. I grabbed the notebook I left on the armchair in the corner, a pen, and settled on the bed, headphones on. 
Just as I filled the last empty spaces on that page and turned to the next one, I found Lia’s handwriting staring back at me. 
‘Some days I cannot tell if the sea is calling out to me
Some days I cannot tell if it’s just me who wants to drown
Will you say the sea is the enemy?
Or will you say the only enemy is me?’
I stayed silent for a few minutes, lost in the lyrics written on the page. I couldn’t remember when the last time had been that she had written anything in that particular notebook. As I tried to decipher the meaning behind the words and understand why she had written it, if there was anything that had happened that I could relate it to, a text from Lia appeared on my phone, which lay by my side on the bed. 
‘Can I call you?’
I frowned at the question, making quick work of my reply. 
‘Of course you can call me. Why do you even have to ask such a stupid question?’
Ten seconds later, I had an incoming call from Lia. 
“Hi, Gremlin,” I greeted her. “I missed you in the studio today.”
I’d missed her the whole day, as per usual, but I wasn’t about to tell her that. 
“Hi,” she said. Her voice was low, her tone down. 
After her greeting, there was a certain weight hanging in the air, and I could sense that something was off. 
“Lia? Is something wrong?”
“No”, she replied, but I could hear her sniffling. 
Concern crept into my voice as I straightened up in bed, pushing myself and placing the notebook, our shared notebook, on the bedside table. 
“Lia, what the hell is going on?”
As if she didn’t know how angry it made me whenever she dismissed my worries, she replied, “Nothing.”
“Lia,” I started to raise my voice. All I got from her in the last five days were texts, a random videocall when she was in Barnes & Noble, and a few pictures of her plants and some drawings she was working on. Nothing else. And now this strange call at nearly midnight? “Don’t lie to me,” I said. “I know you. I know your voice. You’re about to start crying.”
“It’s nothing, really,” a sigh. Her voice was heavy. “I’m just really sensitive these days.”
Frustration knitted my brows together as I tried to make sense of her vague answer. What did that mean? Her period? No, not that. Lia wasn’t one to get extra sensitive those days —she was sensitive most of the time, let’s be honest, and since she honestly admitted that she missed me a couple of weeks ago and she fell asleep on my lap she had been a mess, crying for whatever reason every other day—. Whenever she was on her period it was pretty obvious to me because she got hungry as a lion and she could eat everything she found in the kitchen in a matter of a couple of days. So, it wasn’t that. What the hell made her really sensitive?
“You’re starting to worry the hell out of me, Lia,” I told her as a matter of fact. “Do you want me to come over?”
“No. No, don’t come. It’s fine,” she ushered to say, which only added more fuel to my concern. “Noah?”
“Yes, Lia?”
“You’ll never stop being my best friend, right?”
 Her question caught me off ward. What was going on with the silly questions? Why was she being so insecure and childish?
“Of course not. You’re everything to me, you know that. You know all my bad habits and put up with my shit and still, you cho—… Oh, not again, Lia.” She was crying.  
“Sorry,” she managed to say between sobs. “I’m such a mess. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“I’m coming over,” I declared, pushing the duvet away.  
“No, please.”
“Why?” I demanded, moving to the edge and scanning the room for the hoodie I wore that day. The room was only bathed in the soft glow of the bedside lamp, which created shadows here and there that seemed to mirror the turmoil in Lia’s voice. 
The line fell silent, and I could sense a struggle within her, a hesitation that begged for understanding.
 “I need to learn to deal with this bullshit on my own. I’m serious,” she asserted, regaining some control after weeping for a long minute. Then, I heard her faint footsteps. She was moving from one room to another. “I just… needed to hear your voice, but I need to get a grip on myself. Sometimes I think I’m too dependent on you.” 
“Well, if I’m allowed to be honest, I like it,” I told her, picking up the hoodie from the top of the drawer. 
“But it’s not right. I have Mitch now and…” Her voice trembled.
“Hey!” I interrupted, lifting my head to find myself staring at empty space. Fuck Mitch, I thought. On her end, I recognized the sound of the fridge door opening and Lia retrieving a bottle — beer.  “Mitch might be your boyfriend, but he’s no replacement for me. Are we clear?”
“Yes,” came her reply, accompanied by the distinct sound of the bottle cap hitting the counter. She took a gulp. “I meant to say that I shouldn’t be bothering you so much. I’m used to calling you whenever I feel like shit and this will only lead to uncomfortable situations in the future.”
“No, it won’t” I asserted, not knowing exactly what she was referring to, “and we can’t go back now, can we? Don’t mind me, but bless the day I found you on the street plucking grass from the concrete.” 
“A concrete jungle…” she muttered. More footsteps. She was going back to the room. I couldn’t help but laugh. 
“Exactly. A concrete jungle. Now you finally now what that song is about.”
“Sure.”
 Her sweet laughter echoed through the phone, and the mission was complete. 
After a stretch of comfortable silence, I dropped the hoodie back on top of the drawer and retreated back to my bed, yearning for Lia’s physical presence in my room, wishing I could make sure she was okay. I would take her to the living room and force her to watch some stupid comedy, just like I used to do whenever she lived here and she had nightmares. 
Or better, I would have her sleep by my side.   
“Can you stay on the line until I fall asleep?”
I raised a brow.
“Shouldn’t you be having some lavender tea or something like that to help you fall asleep instead of drinking beer?” 
“How do you know I’m drinking beer?”
“The glass bottle you took out from the fridge is some kind of iced green tea, then?”
“Ugh,” I could see her rolling her eyes as she plopped down on the bed.  
“Yeah, okay,” I answered to her previous question. “I’ll stay on the line, no problem,” the tension dissipating, the knot in my stomach gradually loosening. 
“You have to promise me you’re coming over tomorrow. We need you in the studio. I got stuck with some lyrics today and Matt doesn’t want me to change them. I need your help, and being out of the house might do some good to you. Come on.”
“Okay,” she replied, her tone lowering down. “Just keep the phone on.” These were her parting words, which conveyed more concern about having my presence on the other side of the line until she fell asleep than meeting with me and the boys tomorrow for work. 
It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep, either. 
When I woke up in the morning, the first thing I did was check my phone. Lia had disconnected the call at 6.30am. The entire night had been spent with our breaths traveling through the phone line, keeping us together despite the physical distance.  
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Supercorp 26 if you’d please?!
"Yeah? Well, fuck you too."
Kara fought the urge to flinch at the harsh way the woman beside her slams her phone down in the space between them.
Kara was sat peacefully in her usual park bench today, like every day when she's got a few extra minutes on her lunch break. She's spotted this woman a few yards away, next to the drinking fountain, angrily talking into her phone.
An expensive looking, six-inch heel wearing, raven-haired woman.
Kara had observed her for a good few minutes before getting distracted by the ice cream truck.
By the time she came back to the park bench, said woman was already sitting next to her spot. Still ranting away into her phone.
Kara doesn't know whether to pity the creature on the other side of the phone or be curious. What could they have possibly done to warrant such a violent reaction???
The woman now has her hands pressed to her face, back hunched low, elbows resting on knees. Kara can feel the frustration rolling off of her in waves.
Kara gingerly pushes the 2nd cup of her ice cream towards her. It was a half-hearted decision really, she was excited to finish the second cup. But oh, well, when life calls for kindness Kara would deliver.
"Uhm, here, you sound like you had a bad day."
The woman slowly raises their head, looks at the offering in Kara's hands and then to Kara and then to the ice cream and then to Kara again.
Her eyes were a light green mixing with gold in the open sunlight of the park.
For a moment, Kara thinks, she wouldn't accept.
But then, pale hands reach towards hers and then, "Thank you."
Kara smiles brightly, perks up a bit at the approval.
'Of course," Kara says. "Nothing like ice cream to cheer you up!"
The woman gives her a small polite small, nods slowly and brings the plastic teaspoon to her lips.
Kara should not have been distracted by such a mundane gesture.
But here we are.
She tries to hide her blush, fidgets with her glasses and takes a spoonful herself before speaking again.
"So, if you don't mind me asking, what's got you so upset? I mean you totally don't have to tell me! If you don't want to, that is! I mean who am I, right? I'm probably a serial killer for all you know, but also would serial killers offer you ice cream, though? I don't think they would, I think they'd straight up just mur-"
Kara glances at the woman who seems to be holding her free hand over her face in an attempt to cover her amusement.
"Please stop me," Kara pleads. The other woman's shoulders shake in silent laughter before saving Kara.
"First off, thank you again. For this." She raises the cup playfully. "Second of all, it was just a work thing. But nothing I can't figure out and for the record, I also don't think serial killers would offer you ice cream."
And then more hesitantly the woman asks, "Do you have a sibling?"
Kara doesn't know if she should answer, the sibling question has no relevance to their current conversation after all. But Kara finds herself nodding along.
"Oh, yeah. I do. A sister. I have an older sister,' She elaborates.
"Good. Great. Then you know that feeling when your mom asks your sibling to do some chore and then somehow somewhere along the way, the chore ends up being your responsibility even though you weren't the one who was supposed to do it anyway??"
Wow, okay. That was a lot to take in. But Kara got most of it. And yeah, she does know. Snippets of Alex sneaking out and telling Kara to wash the dishes for her or fold the laundry for her--errands that were Alex's job getting passed down to her. Alex using the 'I'm older do as I say.' card when they were younger.
So, again, Kara finds herself nodding along.
"Yeah. I get what you mean," She says.
"Now, take whatever scenario in your mind and then multiply that ten-fold. Multiply it to disastrous proportions. To corporate, career-ending proportions,' The woman tells her, her irritation once again showing.
"Oh, oh wow, that sounds really bad?' It comes out like a question, she doesn't really know what to tell this woman. She doesn't want to say, Well, I think your sibling is an ass if they do that to you, she thinks that might be too much, might be overstepping a bit.
But then, "Oh yeah, my brother's an ass."
Oh, so not too much then.
Her companion lets out a deep sigh, "But what can you do? You can't change family. Not like I have much of a choice anyway."
The woman sounds defeated, tired. And it's only then that Kara notices how her eyes are sunken and how unnaturally pale she really is.
Kara wants to console her, to tell her that everyone always has a choice, every single one--even angry women she met in the park. You can always choose who you want as your family.
But instead Kara says, "Well, that's okay. Just look on the bright side, at least you got a free ice cream over it, right?"
The woman gives her another smile. A big smile, a real one this time.
And oh, she looks really beautiful when she smiles.
"I guess you're right. Thank you, really. I appreciate it very much," She tells Kara. "But I do have to get going now. Thank you again."
The woman collects her trash, picks up her phone and leaves Kara sitting there, a 'You're welcome!' stuck in her throat.
It isn't till the woman is lost to the crowd that Kara realizes she didn't ask for her name.
She tries to push down the disappointment, no use crying about it now. And besides, it's her first real interview today. Her first real exclusive and...she is so damn late.
******
"Miss Danvers, there have been a slight change of plans. Mr. Luthor seems to be unavailable for today but he did sent Ms. Luthor, LexCorp's R&D chief, to discuss the interview with you today."
Well, Kara can't really do anything about it can she? This is what Clark and Cat Grant had warned her about, people like Lex Luthor, making a journalist's job harder that it actually is.
"Oh, well, thank you for informing me. Can I go in now then?"
"Uh, yeah. Follow me please, it's just through here."
Kara is led through a long hallway of empty conference rooms and walls with abstract painting.
They reach the double doors at the end of the lobby and the petite woman guiding her, went on inside.
"Ms. Luthor, your CatCo appointment is here."
Kara hears a curt and brief, "Thanks Jess."
And then, there, sitting in a pristine office, National City skyline behind her is Lena Luthor--angry park bench seatmate who ate Kara's precious 2nd cup of ice cream.
Lena's eyes sparkle with recognition at the sight of Kara.
Her lips curling into a smirk.
"Oh, and who are you exactly?"
prompt list here
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supercorpkid · 3 years
Text
Walking in someone else’s shoes.
Supercorp, Kara Danvers x Daughter!Reader, Lena Luthor x Daughter!Reader.
Word Count: 2865.
Home.
“Baby? Time to get up.” You open your eyes and see your own head hovering above you. Your first reaction is obviously getting freaked out about it. Did you die? Is your body detached from your soul? How the hell are you experiencing yourself as an outsider right now?
“What?” You hear your voice and then it hits you. Right. You and Lena have body swapped. Because that is a normal thing in your life, apparently. “Oh, right. That.”
“Yeah. It was weird at first to me too, but then Kara and I flew to Ireland and picked up scones, and I think this is going to be the best day of my life.” Lena says excitedly, and you roll to the side.
“I woke up a minute ago and I can already tell that this won’t be the best day of my life.” You growl, a little too annoyed by her excitement first thing in the morning. “Plus, I thought you said no flying to other countries to pick up food all the time.”
“Well, it was the first time for me, so I still have credit.” She smiles, turning your face to her side. “Let’s go, you have to be at work at 8.”
“What’s the point of being a CEO if you can’t sleep until late?” You mumble under your breath, forgetting she has your super hearing.
“The point is-I-I’ll tell you what the point is-” Lena says, and you stare at her waiting for the point. “I’ll tell you later. Right now, we really have to go.”
“Ugh, fine.” You get up and look at her outfit. “You’re not wearing that to school.”
“Why not? Jamie was wearing something very similar the last time she was here, so I thought-”
“No, trust me. You can’t wear that outfit. It will get unnecessary attention.” You go to your closet and pick up a plain and boring outfit. She looks outraged that she has to wear something so lifeless but doesn’t fight you on it.
“Your outfit is on my bed.” She points in the direction of her bedroom, and you agree with your head.
“I’ve figured it out.” It was pretty obvious that Lena wouldn’t let you choose what to wear. And if you’re being honest, you rather not make this decision anyway.
You get dressed in your mom’s clothes and look at yourself in the mirror. Wow. You can get used to the feeling of looking this good in a suit. Or in anything, really. You’ve always wanted to look like Lena, and now you are Lena. Maybe this day won’t be so bad after all.
“Hey, love.” Kara says when you walk in the kitchen. “What’s wrong with your shoes?”
“I can’t walk in these.” You look at Lena currently jumping up and down on the kitchen.
“I never get tired!” She just says, like it’s a good explanation on why she’s being so weird. “And I’m never not hungry. It’s a crazy feeling.”
You exchange a sympathetic look with Kara. “Insane.” You look back at Lena. “Can I wear sneakers instead of heels?”
“Only if you want them to think I died and was replaced.”
“Whatever.” You roll your eyes. “Little ride to work, honey? Since I can’t really drive, and I can’t walk in these things.”
“Oh, oh, can I fly to school?” Lena asks excitedly, and you look at your own face and smile. How is it so easy for her to say no to you all the time? You’re finding it very hard right now.
“Be careful.” You slowly walk towards her, trying hard not to fall. “Listen, don’t call unnecessary attention to yourself, ok? Stick with Jamie. Don’t kiss my girlfriend. And oh, right-” You give her a bitchy smile. “Don’t break anything.”
“HA HA.” She fakes a laugh and kisses your forehead. “Just ask Jess to cancel all meetings today and tell her you have something important in the lab, and then have fun.”
“Sounds easy.” You agree with your head, and she makes her way to the backyard door. “Who’s Jess?”
“Sounds really easy.” Kara jokes behind you.
“You’ll figure it out. See you later!” You watch your body flying out the house and you look back at Kara with a smile.
“How weird are our lives, right?”
“I’m still mad you swapped bodies with your mom and not with me.” Kara says, looking anything but mad. “I would be so much better pretending to be you.”
“It’s a bet, momma. What’s the point of swapping bodies with you just for the fun of it?”
“The fun of it! Well, come on Mrs. Luthor, you have a company to run.”
L Corp.
It’s within your first few steps with these terribly uncomfortable shoes that you find yourself being followed by a short little guy with a recorder in hand, shoving it at your face.
“Mrs. Luthor, can I get a quote about the new device L Corp is launching in a few days?”
You search your mind for anything your mom might have told you about a new device, but you have nothing.
“Please get in contact with my secretary for an approved quote about it. If you excuse me.” You make your way inside L Corp with a smile on your face. You know what? You’re a pretty convincing Lena Luthor. “Aly!”
“Mrs. Luthor! Hi-Good-Good morning?” Aly shuffles a little uncomfortable in her chair. Ok, so apparently your mom doesn’t speak so excitedly to the receptionist. Noted.
“Good morning!” You walk to her front desk. “Did I ever get you that raise my daughter told me about?”
“You-you did not, Mrs. Luthor.”
“Oh, sorry about that. I’ll get right to it! Thank you for your services and for being so nice with my kid.”
“Of course! She is an awesome kid.” Aly says and you smile from ear to ear. She IS nice.
“Very well! Good day to you.” You tap on her table and make your way inside the building. You can do this!
“Hey-” You look at your mom’s assistant and smile. “Jess?”
“Good morning Mrs. Luthor. Your meeting with the CFO is confirmed at eight thirty and your meeting with the tech team is-”
“Sorry Jess, if you would be so kind as to cancel all my meetings today. I have some important work to do in the lab.” You say making your way inside Lena’s office thinking this will be the end of it, but Jess follows you closely behind.
“I’m sorry Mrs. Luthor, but these meetings are urgent, and Mr. Larson said it’s critical that this meeting still happens this morning in order to…” Blah-blah-blah. Is what you hear after. Who the hell is Mr. Larson anyway?
“Ok, ok. Keep the two meetings, but that’s it. My work in the lab today is also critical. Send Mr. Larson in when he arrives. That’s all, Jess. Thank you.”
As soon as she leaves the office, you grab your phone to text your mom.
You: Who is Mr. Larson? What’s so urgent about this meeting? HELP!
You wait for her answer, but it doesn’t come, so you just breathe deep and hope you don’t have to say anything in this meeting. Men love to talk anyway.
National City High School.
“Hey weirdo!” Lena looks behind herself to see Jamie running after her.
“Oh, hi Jamie.”
“Hi? What’s wrong? You’re weird today.” Jamie says making Lena freeze. Really? All it took was a ‘hi’ and she already knows? “Nah, just kidding, you’re always weird.”
“Yeah? So are you. Anyway, what’s my first class today again?”
“Physics?” Jamie furrows her brows at Lena.
“Great! I’m good at that!” Lena smiles from ear to ear and Jamie lets out a confused sigh. She doesn’t have time to ask any questions because soon Maya is coming at her direction.
“Hey babe! Hey Jamie!” Maya plucks her lips together and comes a little closer, so Lena knows what’s coming right after.
“Oh, babe!” Lena hugs her tight, staying like that for longer than usual. “Wow, you smell so good.”
“Thank you!” They step away from each other and Lena gives her a big smile. Maya smiles back looking a little confused, but she lets it slide. “You cool?”
“Yeah! Great! Awesome! Amazing! Tubular!” Tubular? Stop talking Lena. Stop talking. “Let’s get to class! We’re here to learn!”
“Ok?” Maya says looking at Lena getting inside the wrong classroom. “Maybe we could go to our class, instead?”
“Yeah.” Lena comes back to where they are. “That would be neat.”
“What the fuck.” It’s Jamie’s reaction. Come on, Lena! Get it together!
L Corp.
“So what we need is more funding for not so high-tech products, but companies have a tendency to not want to invest in them.” Mr. Larson, who has been speaking for at least half an hour non-stop, says to you. “Do you have any different process you would like us to use whilst approaching this situation?”
“Me?” You ask and he nods the slightest to you. “Oh. Ummm. Not-Not yet. We must consider different, ummm, approaches. So this situation has to be studied further.”
“Ok. Now onto the paycheck of our employees-” Great. Is this going to last forever? This is even worse than most of your classes. How do you make him stop talking?
“About paycheck. Let’s give a raise to Aly. I don’t know her last name, she’s at the front desk.”
“Mrs. Luthor, I’m here to tell you we can’t give anyone raises any time soon. The tribute over the-”
“I’m sorry Mr. Larson, I don’t think I’ve made myself clear enough.” You put your hands under the table, so he doesn’t see how much you’re shaking while saying this. You hope he can’t hear it in your voice too. “I say let’s give Aly a raise, you as the CFO must find a way to do so.” You give your best Lena Luthor eyebrow raise with a long stare. “If that’s all, I must ask you to excuse me because I have another meeting.”
“Oh no, Mrs. Luthor, you have to sign these documents and look over the-” He says, but you are already up and leaving. Palms sweating and heart racing.
“I will take a look at them later and send my assistant over when it is signed. Thank you, Mr. Larson. You can see yourself out.” You’re almost sprinting out the door, but you breathe deep and try to look like you belong there. “Jess, I’ll be at my lab. I mean, my daughter’s lab. Let me know when I’m needed in the other meeting. Thank you.”
You don’t wait for her answer. You make your way down to your lab and as soon as the door closes behind you, you let out a breath. This is horrible, you don’t want to be Lena ever again.
You hate Lena’s life.
National City High School.
It’s just the second class of the day. Jamie and Lena are making their way to their other classroom, when Lena stops out of the blue, while covering her ears.
“I can’t stay here. Everything is so loud!” Lena looks at Jamie who just shrugs, unbothered. She doesn’t have super hearing, so it doesn’t make much sense. “I’m leaving.”
“What? What the hell little Danvers.” She holds Lena’s arm before she flies away. “You can’t just take off like that. One of your moms needs to pick you up.”
“Fine. I’ll call Lena.” The scoff that leaves Jamie’s mouth is very offensive to Lena.
“Really? You’re going to call Lena and ask her to pick you up because school is too loud?” Jamie looks at Lena like she is nuts. “Are you high on something?”
“What, no! Lena is very reasonable.” Now that maniac laughter that leaves Jamie’s mouth is even more offensive. Great. “Ok, whatever. I’ll call Kara, then!”
Lena turns around all of a sudden, knocking her head over the trophy case. The glass shatters falling on the floor loudly and half of the trophies hit the ground as well.
“MISS LUTHOR-DANVERS AND OLSEN-DANVERS! My office, now!”
“It looks like Mrs. Goodwin will be doing the calling now.” Jamie half smiles, half grunts and Lena rolls her eyes at herself. Damn you, powers!
“Don’t worry, I’ll tell her you had nothing to do with it.” Lena says quickly while they follow the principal to her office.
“Like that ever worked before.” Jamie shrugs it off and Lena thinks about it for a second. How many times Jamie was in trouble because you accidentally turned something simple into a bigger thing because of your powers?
“Wait, you get grounded because of her? I mean, me. Because of me?”
“No, I get detention because of you. It’s not like my moms think I can burn down an entire gym or freeze an entire pool, so they obviously don’t ground me for it. Besides, you know mami doesn’t believe in grounding. That’s Lena’s thing.”
“It’s not Lena’s-”
“Oh please, who’s gonna ground you, then? Kara? As if!” Another offensive scoff. “What’s up with you today, little-Danvers?”
“Just a little off.” Lena waves her off, while thinking about how ‘grounding’ suddenly became her thing.
“You don’t say.”
“Come in, both of you. I already have Mrs. Danvers and Mrs. Olsen on my speed dial, it shouldn’t take so long.”
“Great!” Jamie sits in one of the chairs, picks up a lollipop on top of the principal’s desk and smiles at her. “How’s Mr. Goodwin? Did he figure out how to kill the salmon he fished?”
“He’s getting good at it!” Mrs. Goodwin answers and looks at Lena standing at the door. “Oh, sit down, dear. I know your mom is fast, but she’s not The Flash!” She laughs it off and Jamie makes a number.
“She is certainly not!” Lena lets out a forced chuckle and finally sits. “Actually, can you call Lena today, Mrs. Goodwin? I think Kara is rather busy.”
“Rather busy.” She mocks. “Of course she is busy, Miss Luthor-Danvers. But this isn’t bad enough for me to distress Mrs. Luthor. You know how this works. Minor infractions we call Mrs. Danvers. So just sit back and wait. Oh! Mrs. Danvers!” Mrs. Goodwin says on the phone. “Yeah, she destroyed the trophy case! I swear your kid has the strongest head I’ve ever seen! Yes! You should take her to check for a concussion. Poor thing wanted me to call Mrs. Luthor instead! I know, she knocked her head hard!”
Ok, that’s messed up. Lena can’t believe what she’s hearing about her in this school.
“Mrs. Danvers will be here in five minutes. She’s in the neighborhood. Now onto Mrs. Olsen.”
Lena hates your life.
Home.
“Hey, mom.” You walk in a lot earlier than Lena usually does, and you see your/Lena’s head peeking out of the couch. “I brought the ‘empathizer’ so we can get this over with.”
“Why?” You hear coming from the living room, while you kick her shoes to the side and let her hair down. You have a headache from tying your hair so high in your head.
“Because I quit. Your life is horrible. You win.” You make your way to the living room slowly. You can’t believe you’re backing down from a bet, but you can’t spend another day in Lena’s shoes anymore. Literally. But also, figuratively.
“A-HÁ! I knew it!” She smiles excitedly and you roll your eyes. You see Kara coming from upstairs and she gives you a symptomatic smile.
“Long day?”
“The longest of my life and it’s not even night yet.” You complain, earning a smile from Kara.
“Good thing that you’ve won the bet then!” Kara shows you her hand for you to high-five and you furrow your brows.
“No, I quit.”
“Yeah, well. Lena actually quit-”
“KARA!”
“Like an hour ago.”
“KARA!”
“Or maybe even before.”
“Why don’t you stop talking when I’m yelling your name?” Lena growl upset.
“What?” You make your way to the couch and watch Lena laying down in it with your super suit looking destroyed. You just raise an eyebrow at her.
“There was a fire.” She explains with a sheepish smile. “I made it out alive!”
“My suit hasn’t.”
“She also destroyed school property and I had to go pick her up and it wasn’t even ten yet.” Kara says again, making Lena grunt in frustration.
“You’re grounded, young lady.” You cross your arms looking at her and she sits up immediately. You look at her hair, your hair, half burnt and completely messy and shake your head at it.
“I thought you wanted to switch back!” She looks desperate at the thought of staying in your body longer.
“Not today, because you’re grounded.” You smile victorious. “Maybe tomorrow morning, if you behave well.”
You leave it at that and make your way to Lena’s bedroom for a long bath. She doesn’t need to know that you gave a raise even when there was no money to do so, and that you shut off all of the tech team ideas. She’ll deal with this mess tomorrow, because no way in hell you’re staying in Lena’s body for another day.
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cycwrites · 3 years
Text
WIP Things aka Unofficial Fic Tease
In order to remind myself that I’ve left all of you hanging for the rest of my trilogy rewrite, I thought I would post my unbeta’d, unedited, good with the bad chapter 1 for the second movie. I also have hope that it will make me feel guilty for taking so damn long and get back to it. Especially since I’ve basically closed myself off from writing (and the muses) and I’m trying to pry the doors back open because I really do miss sharing my stories with you guys.
I wrote this well over a year ago, along with a 2nd chapter that deals with the Dean’s office, and really just hope you like it. 
--------
About Damn Time 
Chapter One: So That Happened
Word Count: 2600 -------- ~B~
At the end of Beca’s junior year, two things of note happened.
First: Chloe, once again, made the decision to stay with Beca and the Bellas and failed Russian Lit for the third time.  Beca had tried to talk her out of it, torn between wanting Chloe to move forward in her life beyond Barden and guilt that she was relieved they wouldn’t have to figure out how to work a long distance relationship. She wasn’t ready to try that and couldn’t imagine leading the group without her.  But Chloe had insisted this was where she’d wanted to be and she didn’t feel like she was missing out on anything.
Second: The Bellas were asked to perform at President Obama’s 50th birthday celebration at the Kennedy Center on August 8th.
Beca had laughed when the call had come through the never used landline at the Bella house.
“Good afternoon, this is Mack Johnson and I’m calling on behalf of the White House…”
“Yeah right. Nice try, Jesse.” She hung up and pulled out her cell phone as she walked into the kitchen. Pausing by the counter she typed out a quick message to him.
Beca: I’ve gotta give you points for originality though. You almost sounded like an actual adult.
She poured herself a glass of lemonade before he answered.
Jesse: I’m going to take that as a compliment and ignore the wound to my manly pride, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.
Beca: Whatever you say, ‘Mack.’ If you’d said you were calling from anywhere but the White House I might’ve let you keep talking.
Instead of answering via text, Jesse called her.
“Are you day drinking, Mitchell?” Jesse clucked his tongue. “Without your lesbro? I’m hurt, Becaw.”
“I was going to ask you the same thing.” Beca lifted her glass and took a sip. “What inspired your call today?”
“Uh, your cryptic and confusing texts to me, of course.” Jesse chuckled. “Want to clue me in?”
Beca sighed. “Man you’re committed to this.”
“To what?”
Beca set her glass on the counter. “Fine – you just called me and –” She jumped as the phone in the living room rang for only the second time in her years at Barden. “Pretended… to be… from the White House.”
“I thought you said you weren’t drinking?” Jesse laughed but it sounded distant as Beca watched Chloe answer the phone.
Her girlfriend’s blue eyes went wide and locked on Beca’s as she said, “I’m sorry, did you say you’re calling from the White House?”
“Jesse?” Beca said absently.
“Yes, Beca?” His voice took on an echo as all the blood drained from her face.
“I gotta go pass out now.” She swallowed dryly. “I’ll call you later.”
“Beca wa-”
Beca had remained frozen in the kitchen while Chloe became more and more animated, frantically scribbling down notes on the notepad sitting beside the phone, though her voice was carefully calm and collected. Then she’d run into the kitchen, screaming and jumping in excitement and talking faster than Beca’s shocked mind could process. Drawn by the commotion like a frat boy to a kegger, the rest of the girls soon joined the chaos while Beca still stood frozen by the counter as they swirled around her.
The school had allowed them to stay on campus through the summer so they could discuss songs and choreography. The time had been a whirlwind of security checks and practice and everything they planned needed to be vetted by the performance organizers. Of course, since they’d come to the Bellas after their third ICCA win in a row, there weren’t any real problems.
Until the night of the performance when one set of tangled silks and a desire for no panty lines wrecked everything.
No pun intended.
~B~ Sunday, August 24th, 2014
Beca lay on their bed and stared at the ceiling, listening to Chloe pace beside her.
“I’ve ruined everything.” Pace to the head of the bed. “Destroyed our reputation.” Pace back to the foot. “Made the Bellas a joke.”
Beca sighed and pushed herself up on her elbows. “Chloe. It’s a capella. It’s already a jo-” She stopped as Chloe spun to face her, outraged. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it.” Beca tried a smile. “I was just trying to lighten the mood.” She let it slip when Chloe just stared at her and Beca dropped back down to gaze at the ceiling. “Won’t make that mistake again.”
“I’m the one who gave Amy the green-light to do ‘Wrecking Ball.’” Chloe resumed pacing.
“Because, despite most of her claims, she actually had done some training on the silks before coming to the states.” Beca countered, as she had for the past three weeks. “She was good on them and never once in our rehearsals did she get tangled up.”
“But-”
“No.” Beca cut her off and sat up, pulling her legs up to sit cross legged and face her. “We all agreed to let her do it. It was a group vote.” She softened her voice and held out her hand. “This isn’t all on you, Chlo.”
With a sigh, Chloe took her hand and let herself be tugged onto the bed. Beca stretched back out and Chloe settled against her side. “It feels like it.”
“That’s because you’re the one who looks out for us.” Beca gently rubbed her back. “No one could’ve predicted this, love.”
“No…” Chloe said grudgingly. “But…”
Beca cut her off again. “There’s no buts.”
“Except Amy’s.” Chloe huffed, tension that had begun to fade making her stiffen up again in Beca’s arms. “All over the news.” She groaned. “Why didn’t I just use the cloth I was freaking holding to cover her up?”
“Same reason I didn’t,” Beca said reasonably, having heard a version of this several times before. “My mind went blank and I couldn’t move. I just… kept waiting to wake up.”
“Same.” Chloe pressed her nose to Beca’s shoulder. “I still am. This is such a nightmare.”
“She feels bad.” Beca offered. “It was her idea to do that press conference.” She winced as Chloe snorted.
“Yeah, where she then tried to show her ‘silk burn’ to the entire world.” Chloe sat up and pushed herself off the bed. “Again.” She resumed pacing and Beca’s mind hunted around for anything she could say to defuse things.
“At least we saved Aubrey’s college legacy from Pukegate?” Even as the words were out of her mouth Beca knew they were stupid and wrong.
“And ruined ours with Muffgate.” Chloe snarled.
“I wish I could find the asshole that came up with that. Bet it was those podcast people and of course everyone else jumped on it.” Beca made a face. “It was an accident and eventually there will be another crisis for them to focus on.” She slid over to the edge of the bed and swung her legs over. “It won’t be forever, Chlo.”
Pace, turn. “But tomorrow we go see the Dean.” Pace, turn. “With those podcast people who are apparently actually part of the Collegiate A Cappella Association.”
“They’re still weird and he’s an ass.” Beca stood up and stretched as she heard the door open at the bottom of the stairs. “Think you’ll be able to enjoy yourself at dinner tonight?”
Chloe stopped by the small table they inherited from Aubrey and took a deep breath. “Of course. It’s Amy’s birthday. I’m not going to ruin it for her.” She flashed Beca a small grin, the first in an hour. “Why do you think I’m up here instead of downstairs?”
“Speaking of,” a new voice said from the stairs. “There’s maybe… A situation.” Jessica smiled apologetically when they both looked at her as she reached the top.
Beca sighed. “Of course there is.”
“Do I even want to know?” Chloe pinched the bridge of her nose.
“Probably not, but Stacie sent me to get you.”
“Coward,” Beca muttered. “She knows I can’t hit you because you’re too nice.” She took a deep breath. “Okay, quick like ripping off a band-aid.”
“Amy’s sitting on the couch. With a towel on her lap.” Jessica hesitated.
“That’s… Why is that a big deal?” Chloe asked, confused.
“She’s… commando. Because of her silk burn.” The blonde’s shoulders bounced once but she didn’t say anything else.
“I swear to fucking god I’m going to glue underwear on her,” Chloe muttered under her breath.
Beca was struck by a horrible thought. “Is she sitting on another towel?”
“We were afraid she’d show us if we asked.” Jessica looked at Beca. “That’s when Stacie sent me to get you.”
“Why do I have to do it?” Beca knew she was whining but couldn’t help it.
“Because you’re the captain.” Jessica shrugged again. “You can threaten her with cardio if she tries to flash us again.”
“Yeah but Amy doesn’t always listen to me and I don’t want to have flashbacks.” Beca reluctantly headed for the stairs as Jessica started back down.
“Birthday or not…” Chloe muttered as she followed.
“I’m sure Lilly has a hot glue gun you can use,” Beca mused, not surprised to find Ashley hanging out in the hallway when they left the attic.
“Don’t tempt me.” Chloe didn’t say anything else the entire trip down the stairs.
Beca rounded the corner, passing Jessica and Ashley who had stopped in the entry and came to a halt herself, Chloe running into her back.
All she could see was the back of Amy’s head but she appeared to be looking straight at Lilly who sat cross-legged on the ottoman and staring back.
“Do I even want to know?” Beca turned her head toward Jessica but didn’t take her eyes off the scene.
“I didn’t ask that either,” came the whispered reply.
Beca took a bracing breath then walked into the living room. Despite the reassurance that the covering towel existed, Beca didn’t relax until she saw it for herself. It was nothing personal against Amy, but Beca just didn’t want to see any of the Bellas naked, Chloe being the obvious exception. You never knew when the visual would pop back in your head and Amy had already shown up enough in the past few weeks to last a lifetime.
“Amy.” Beca looked up at a sound from the kitchen and saw Stacie leaning in the doorway with Cynthia Rose and Flo sitting at the center island.
“Captain.” Amy didn’t turn her head or avert her gaze.
“Are you guys in a staring contest?” Beca frowned, looking between the two women. “And if so why?”
“I don’t know,” Amy lifted one shoulder. “All I know is she hasn’t blinked since she sat down and why take the risk of losing.”
Beca felt her eyes twitch at the thought. “Jesus, please cut it out before my eyes start watering.” She stepped between them and Amy closed her eyes in relief.
“Thanks, Shawshank. That was starting to burn.” She started to lift one corner of the towel to wipe her eyes and Beca threw out her hand.
“Nope. That stays there.” Chloe said it before Beca could.
“Please tell me you’re sitting on another towel.” Beca sighed and ran her hand through her hair.
“Of course I am!” Amy actually looked indignant. “I’m not a heathen, Beca.” She rolled her eyes. “The pants I want to wear to dinner are tight, so I’m giving my bits time to breathe first.”
“Now that’s in my head.” Cynthia Rose muttered from the kitchen.
“That’s in all our heads,” Ashley said from the doorway behind them.
“You could always wear that blue skirt,” Chloe offered diplomatically. “That way you’re not uncomfortable for your birthday dinner.”
“I do look hot in that.” Amy thought about it while the rest of them made sounds of agreement. “Alright, you’ve swayed me. And as it’s almost that time, guess I’ll go upstairs and change.” She started to stand as Beca moved back then paused. “If you’d all turn around and give me some privacy while I wrap?”
Beca rolled her eyes as she turned to face the front window that, thankfully, had the curtains drawn. “That’s what you get for being half naked in the public areas of the house.”
“I got bored in my room.” Beca heard Amy stand up and the rustle of fabric. “Alright, I’m decent.”
“Hey!”
Beca jumped at the unexpected shout and looked over her shoulder. Stacie had come out of the kitchen and was pointing at the couch.
“That’s my favorite towel!” Outage filled her face. “I was looking for that for over a week!”
“It’s also the softest towel in the house.” Amy said as she picked it up, tucking the other firmly around her waist. “It’s the only thing that doesn’t hurt when I’m sitting.”
A choked sound from behind her brought Beca’s eyes back around to Chloe, who was biting the inside of her cheek and trying not to giggle. “I’m sure she’ll wash it before she gives it back.”
Beca tried to choke back her laugh and ended up sounding like a pug with a cold as she snickered into her hand.
“I think…” Stacie sighed. “Happy Birthday, Amy. It’s all yours.”
“You sure, Stretch?” Amy threw the towel in question over her shoulder. “I don’t think I’ll need it for much longer.”
“Yup.” Stacie nodded emphatically. “I’ll go get another one this weekend.”
“Thanks, Stacie.” Amy smiled at her before her lips twisted slightly. “Sorry I didn’t ask first.”
“’S okay.” Stacie shrugged. “Now go get changed so we can celebrate your day.”
“Are you allowed to give me orders on my birthday?” Amy mused as she headed for the stairs.
“Probably not,” Beca said. “But I’ll probably do it anyway.”
“Bossy.” Chloe whispered behind her and Beca flashed her a grin.
“Alright.” Beca clapped her hands once. “Show’s over, let’s go get our party outfits on and get some grub. We’ve got a Bella to celebrate.”
Stacie walked past her, shaking her head. “Bossy.”
Beca let her head fall back as she stared at the ceiling. “I can’t with you two.”
“What?” Stacie paused in the door to the entry. “Did we do the thing again?”
“Yup.” Chloe pushed Beca toward the stairs. “I called her that thirty seconds ago.” She high fived Stacie over Beca’s shoulder when the tall woman grinned and held out her hand.
“Score one for us.” Stacie laughed and started up the stairs.
“I hate you guys.” Beca said weakly as she followed.
“Liar,” Chloe laughed and ran her hand down Beca’s back.
“Maybe.” Beca let Chloe go before her.
“Definitely.”
“Yeah yeah,” Beca waved her up the stairs, unable to help admiring the way Chloe’s muscles flexed as she moved. “But seriously, my stomach just woke up and if I don’t feed it soon it’s going to take over the world.”
“Aye aye, Captain.” Stacie saluted as she stepped into her room.
“Smartass,” Beca threw back.
“And you love it.” Stacie closed the door with a laugh.
“Stop flirting with Stacie and let’s go change before you get hangry.” Chloe took her hand and tugged on it.
“She wishes,” Beca muttered but followed Chloe up to their room, ignoring the ‘Often’ that came from Stacie’s room behind them.
‘She’s got bat hearing, I swear.’ Beca thought to herself as she went to the closet to get her outfit for the night.
Tomorrow was still looming over them, but Beca pushed it all away, determined to think about Amy and the Bellas for the rest of the night.
It was one mistake and they’d just won three years in a row. Surely they weren’t in that much trouble.
Right?
85 notes · View notes
floralseokjin · 4 years
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;good2me (m)
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Hoseok has been your friend and one of your roommates for over a year. That’s fine by you. In fact, most of the time he’s getting on your last nerve, even though you love him half to death. He’d agree. But soon you both find out there’s a very thin line between friendship and potential lovers... Are you prepared to cross it? 
pairing; jung hoseok x reader (slight kim seokjin x reader)  genre/warnings; friends to lovers (idiots to lovers), roommate au, bartender! hoseok, romance, bearable angst, a small infidelity, some mature content, implied smut  words; 15,351
author’s note; i started watching new girl again and got inspired by jess and nick’s relationship! Late, but for hoseok’s birthday 🥺💖
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“Ohhh!” Hoseok hollered as you walked into the living area, looking up from where he was sat on the couch, flicking through the television. “Mama’s looking sexy!”
“Thank you. She is,” you said, trying to put on your best sexy voice. You did a little spin, before squeezing your cleavage up. “Got a little breast on show. A little booty if I bend over at a ninety degree angle.” You didn’t bend over the whole way, but he got the picture. 
He laughed, genuinely amused. “What is the occasion?” 
Trying to keep your bashful smile away, you failed. Big style. “Seokjin’s taking me out on our very first official date.” 
“Where to? Somewhere fancy no doubt.” 
“It’s a surpriseee.” 
You were giddy. Had been all day. You and Seokjin were finally happening, after all this time. Three months ago it seemed impossible. You had met in a quite unsavoury way, as in, you’d been determined to go out that night and have a one night stand. The one night stand had sure happened, but make that a multiple night stand. 
It was just casual sex for a few weeks. You didn’t know much about one another—more detail would mean this thing would just get deeper, and it was supposed to be the most casual of casual. You had come out of a longterm relationship at the start of the year, nearly 30 and very unsure what to do now when it came to dating. You’d met a couple of guys along the way, but you kept making the same mistake. You kept getting into relationships with them. You were sick of being Serious Sue, you wanted to be Fun Fanny. The nickname wasn’t the most desirable and you quickly stopped announcing that to potential hook ups you found at the bar. (Hoseok said you were giving off vibes you really didn’t want to be giving off.) 
Seokjin was a bit of a closed book back then, you didn’t know his story, why he wanted to keep things so casual. The guy was super sweet, really attentive and amazing in bed, but you didn’t pry. He hadn’t asked for your history, so you didn’t ask for his. Until you found out he was a doctor. A kid’s doctor. Or if you wanted to be official, a paediatrician. The dude was actually perfect, and that’s how you started to fall. 
It didn’t end well. When you confessed your feelings and implied you wanted more, he took off. He was sorry about it, apologised profusely, but he still left. You were heartbroken. But not just because of the rejection. It was because you’d fucked up again, wanted something serious, even though you’d sworn this thing with Seokjin was just a hook up. 
You managed to shake your dark mood, but you couldn’t shake the fact it felt like Seokjin was the one that got away. The one who was husband material if the situation had been different. It still felt like that nearly two months later when you ran into him at a Christmas party. However, to your surprise, he came at you with a thousand apologies. He couldn’t stop thinking about you, couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d let go. He couldn’t concentrate the regret was so deep. He’d just come out of a shitty relationship when he’d met you, he’d gotten hurt and the idea of getting into a fresh relationship so soon had half frightened him to death. But the truth was he really liked you and wanted to be with you. He wanted something serious now, but he totally understood if you told him where to go. 
You very nearly did. You’d put your heart on the line once and he’d stomped all over it. Maybe it was just the stubbornness in you, seeing as you’d secretly held out for this. You’d needed time to think and Seokjin understood. It was actually Hoseok in the end who’d encouraged you to give it a shot. He knew you were frightened of getting hurt, but you deserved happiness and Seokjin could give that to you. (The dude’s perfect, were his exact words. And rich. Bag him now, before I do.) 
“Well, have a great time,” Hoseok grinned, taking a moment to get another look at you. “You look stunning. He’s gonna be blown away.” 
Your phone dinged in your hand. It was Seokjin, he’d just pulled up. “That’s him now.” Your voice was an unusual pitch. All high and excited. You were nearly at the door when you stopped, remembering what you wanted to tell Hoseok before you’d gotten distracted. You turned back. “Thank you again, Hobi.” 
He groaned. “Quit thanking me. I just gave you my opinion. You’re the one who made the decision.” 
You nodded, smiling softly. You were a broken record by now. “I don’t think I’ll be coming home tonight so don’t wait up.” 
“Ew.” He wrinkled his nose, feigning disgust. “Get out of here!” 
You laughed and opened the door to leave. Yeah, you were big style getting laid tonight. “Have fun with the guys!” You called, managing to get a grunt in reply. 
Living with three males was interesting, to say the least. Definitely not how you imagined seeing in your thirties. But when life hands you lemons, you make lemonade. Life had dealt you a lot of lemons (Read: blows. Lemons = blows) these past twelve months. The breakdown of your eight year relationship had resulted in you moving out of the home you shared. Living with your best friend Joy had been fine at first, but it was always a temporary thing in your mind. That’s how you found yourself here, in loft 4a, living with three guys. Your mother had always told you not to trust an ad on Craigslist, but she lived 100 miles away. What she didn’t know wouldn’t harm her. 
There was Hoseok, of course, who you were closest with. It didn’t make any sense, most of the time you were like chalk and cheese. He was hard to read, kind of judge-y on a bad day, but somehow he got you the most. Maybe it was because just before you’d moved in he’d gone through his own similar breakup. Another long term relationship with a woman you’d meant once when she was picking up some of the things she’d left at the loft. You hadn’t known him well back then, but now you did, and you’d seen first-hand what the separation had done to him. It made him insecure. In himself, in his capabilities and in his job. He worked in a bar down the road, had for a few years after he dropped out of law school, and even though he’d never said it outright, you think that was the parting dig Minah, the ex, had left him with when she’d walked out. But despite that, Hoseok could be fun and easy to be around. That’s why you liked him the most. Because he’d always made you feel comfortable. Right from the beginning. 
Next, there was Yoongi. A radio host for the local station in your area. You might think he was aloof if you didn’t know him any better, but the guy was very much similar to a cat. Slight in his affection but that just made it all the more sincere. You’d never forget the time he’d kicked out this lame-o you’d thought you were exclusively dating, when in fact it turned out he was seeing three other girls too. Yoongi found you in tears in the living room, jerkface trying to apologise for the misunderstanding. He was out on his ass in under five seconds. From that night on you knew to call him a friend, much to his chagrin. He was a big softy really, and very loyal. That’s why Joy had fallen for him pretty early on. One introduction, a few weeks later and Bam! They were an item. There went her vow to never date a guy shorter than her. Plus, Yoongi was very smug about dating a model. Thought all his Christmas’ had come at once. But yeah, they were very much in love now. Pretty sickening really…
And last but not least, there was Namjoon. He was the brains of the group. The only one with a master’s degree, and the only one with a “proper” job. A high school science teacher. Well, technically you were a teacher too, but it wasn’t particularly the same when you taught a bunch of adults creative writing. Namjoon was the sensible one. The one who kept the lid on everyone’s antics when they were in fear of getting out of control. Although boy could be erratic when he wanted to be. More often now that the woman he’d been dating on and off for six months had finally ended things. Heartbroken Namjoon was not fun. Nor was the depressing music he played at 2am in the morning. But you were there for him because you loved him. You, Hoseok and Yoongi. 
3 guys, one girl. Best friends until the end, living in loft 4a. 
Ew. It could be a sitcom. 
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“I don’t understand why you had to meet me outside,” Hoseok said to you. “I work here, it’s not like this place is new to me.” 
You hummed, not really wanting to answer him, but also severely distracted. It was a good few weeks later now, winter was pretty much over, life had long and resumed after  Christmas. In fact, it was the middle of February and today was Hoseok’s birthday. The last but one of you to turn the dreaded three-oh. You were pretty nervous right now, inside the bar a whole bunch of people ready to celebrate. Hoseok thought it was just you, the guys and Joy joining him for a few drinks… There was minor detail you’d left out and ignored: Hoseok hated surprises.  
Walking through the bar entrance first, leading the way for obvious reasons, you were met with darkness. Hoseok stopped dead behind you, and you heard him mutter oh, god, aghast. Your stomach dropped out of your ass but you flicked on the lights, yelling SURPRISE! with the rest of the partygoers filling the dingy room. 
“Happy 30th birthday, Hobi!” You exclaimed, hugging into him slightly. You pulled back, a grin on your face, eyes wide as you tried to gauge his reaction. He wouldn’t make a scene, surely? You watched with slight dread as he tried to stretch one across his face too. His eyes were piercing though. Piercing into you with complete and utter disbelief. You then watched as he turned his head and addressed his guests. “Thanks, guys. What a lovely surprise…”
Frick. He was definitely using his fake voice. 
.
.
“What is this?” Hoseok hissed at you. He’d finally been able to corner you an hour in, and you stood huddled together by the restrooms. “I told you I didn’t want a big deal. You said it was just going to be a few lowkey drinks at the bar!” 
“It is,” you insisted, before muttering that next part. “Just with an added 20 more people…” 
“I don’t even know half of them!” He looked around the room, and you joined him. 
Okay, you had to admit, after the first five people you’d added to the list it was pretty hard to think of more. In the end you’d had to improvise. Invite acquaintances or just even friends of a friend… You wouldn’t admit that though. “Sure you do,” you shrugged. “There’s Yoongi and Joy.” 
“She’s your best friend.” 
“There’s Namjoon.” 
“They don’t count.” He frustrated. “They were supposed to be here! It was just supposed to be them!” 
“There’s Mrs. Choi from our building–”
“You invited a 60 year old lady to my birthday?” 
She had a soft spot for him. Of course she should be here. “There’s Brian, your-your boss…” You admit by now you were struggling. 
“He’s just here because he works every night.” 
“There’s…” You glanced around again, desperate to see a familiar face of Hoseok’s. Finally, you found someone. “THERE’S NARA!” You shouted pretty loudly, excitement taking over. She drunk at the bar a few nights a week. Hoseok had become a little enamoured. 
He jerked his head in her direction. She was sat in a booth with Yoongi, Joy and Namjoon. The latter chatting away with her. “Oh, my god. You invited Nara?!” 
“Of course I did. You like her.” 
“No, I don’t.” He was quick to refute. “I don’t like her. How do you know I like her?” He was also quick to give in. 
“You find a way to bring her into conversation every single time. Ask Yoongi.” 
He sighed dramatically, rubbing his his temples. “Well, that’s just great. Now she knows I’m 30. She knows I’m old!” 
“Shut up,” you scoffed. “She’s close to 30 too.” 
His head shot up. “You know her age?” 
“Yes. I know a lot about her.” You smirked, feeling powerful. “In the five minute conversation we had while I was inviting her, I found out way more than you have in the past three weeks you’ve been into her.” 
“I like to take my time.” He fumed. You were close to bickering, you could feel it. Hoseok said you were a butt-er in-er. You took control of things that weren’t your job. This was probably a classic example. However, this time around he relented. He wanted in on this info. He lowered his voice, leaning in. “What did you find out?” 
You shrugged, pretty nonchalant. If it wasn’t his birthday you’d make him pay you ten bucks for the facts. “Her surname. Her age. Where she was born. She prefers cats over dogs. LOVE that,” you exclaimed. Hoseok rolled his eyes, speeding you up with hand motions. “She’s only had one serious relationship in her life. Kinda like me. Although, who knows now that me and Seokjin are an item.” 
You found yourself easily on a tangent. Your relationship with Seokjin the biggest distraction in your life right now. Things were going amazing. Just over six weeks in and you were finding that domestic bliss you and your ex never had. 
“I don’t care about your life. I care about mine.” Hoseok rudely interrupted. “What else did you find out?” 
You glared at him but replied. “Not a lot after that. Bottom line is I love her. We’re a lot alike actually.” 
“No, you are not,” he insisted, a little bit of nausea in his face. You knew better than to get offended. “Hey, how did you find this all out in five minutes?” 
You tipped your shoulders. “People feel comfortable around me. They can open up, y’know?” 
He grunted in response, before his eyes widened in horror, thinking of something. “You didn’t tell her I like her, did you?”
“No,” you scoffed. “What do you take me for? An idiot?” The look he gave you was a yes. You rolled your eyes and grabbed him by the shoulders. “You’re going to tell her. Tonight. That’s why I invited her.” 
He swallowed, now looking scared. Talking to girls was never his forte. The last “relationship” he’d had since the big breakup had lasted four weeks. He had a lot to learn. You tapped his back encouragingly and he gave you a tight nod. Damn, maybe he really was about to get his flirty flirt on with this woman. You smiled at him and he looked around the bar one last time, shaking his head with a chuckle as he realised something. “God. You threw me a party at the bar I work at.” 
When would you ever win?! 
.
.
An hour later you were making your way back to the apartment. Hoseok in tow. You wanted to convince yourself it was because you could see the party wasn’t his style at all. You mean, you could see that, but the real reason you were in the elevator right now was because you’d been hit with another, even better idea. In fact, you wished you’d just thought of this first. 
“They’ll be fine back there. They won’t miss you,” you tried to reassure Hoseok, stepping out into the hallway. 
“Gee. That makes me feel so amazing on my birthday. Thank you.” Sarcasm all day, everyday. You didn’t deserve it. “Thank you for gathering a bunch of strangers to celebrate that I am one step closer to death.” 
See? It hadn’t been that hard to get him outside and convince him to walk you home because you were feeling a little lightheaded. It was like taking candy from he baby. Hoseok was dumb. 
“What happened to you?” You glared his way. “The guys always tell me you were so full of life before I moved in.” 
He raised an eyebrow. “I think you’ve answered the question yourself there.” 
You tutted, letting it go over his head. “Thirty is not bad, at all. I turned it a few months ago and I’ve just felt amazing ever since.” 
“You cried all day.” 
Goddamnit. “They were happy tears. Now,” you changed the subject, because yes, he was calling you out, but also he was pulling out his key, about to let himself in. You pushed him to the side, grabbing yours from your purse. “Just let me go do it,” you announced loudly. Almost like you wanted someone to hear you. “Just getting my key. Pushing it in the lock.” You continued the description. “Arriving home!” 
“What are you doing? What’s going on?” He was bound to be suspicious. You weren’t exactly being discreet. 
“Nothing.” You shook your head, now pushing the door open. 
“Nothing? I—
“SURPRISE!” 
Hoseok didn’t have a chance to finish his sentence, door swinging open to reveal the guys. Namjoon pushed forward to slip a ’30 Years Old’ banner over his head, and he had the audacity to glare at you. 
“I specifically said don’t make this birthday a big deal and instead you throw me TWO surprise parties in the span of a couple hours.” He was in disbelief. “Don’t you listen to a word I say?!” 
“This is a better one though.” You whined. “The one I originally should’ve planned. It’s just friends.” 
“Hi again,” a little voice sounded from behind Namjoon. 
“And Nara.” You grinned, watching Hoseok’s face light up a little. “See Nara came. I invited Nara.” Success. Namjoon had followed instructions. Get the woman into the apartment. 
Hoseok finally smiled at you, stepping inside the loft. “Nara came! Hi, Nara!”  You’d take that as his seal of approval then. This place was much better for getting to know her. He’d failed miserably at the bar, you wouldn’t allow it here. You were going to play matchmaker tonight. 
“Baby!” 
The sound of Seokjin’s voice in the hall distracted you, and you shrieked a little when you saw him walking towards you, dressed in all black. “Yay, Seokjin! You made it.” He hugged you straight away, landing a kiss on your lips. 
“We managed to get someone else in for the night. I escaped.” He cheered, still holding your waist as he turned his head towards Hoseok. “Happy Birthday, man.” 
“Thanks, Jin,” he smiled, before shooting a misplaced compliment. “You’re looking very handsome. As always.” 
You rolled your eyes, laughing a little as Seokjin pulled a confused face at you. “Ignore him, he’s already a little buzzed.” You still didn’t understand Hoseok’s obsession with your boyfriend’s looks. But the guy wasn’t wrong, Seokjin did indeed look very handsome tonight. As always. 
You glanced around the room, Yoongi and Joy had managed to put up some balloons and a banner in record time after you’d frantically text them the plan half an hour ago. Alcohol stood on the dining table, a few snacks in bowls. Definitely Joy’s doing. You clapped your hands. “Music please! Let’s get this party started!” 
The room erupted into cheers. 
.
.
“Okay, I have an idea,” you yelled into the room. It was over an hour in now. This party was popping, much better than the one happening in bar you bet. You were drunk. Not wasted or anything, but definitely merry. “Let’s play spin the bottle!” 
You’d already played Pass the Balloon, thinking of games from when you were a teenager in desperation as you tried to hook Hoseok and Nara up. The balloon one was going well until Namjoon and her had found themselves in some difficulty. Then it was just a wasted ten minutes as you watched them fail to give in. At least Joon was having fun though, it had been a while since you’d seen him have fun, let alone laugh. 
“We’re not in high school,” Hoseok grumbled from beside you.
Nara piped up from the kitchen. “I think’ll be fun.” 
“Yeah. Yeah. Cool.” Hoseok soon changed his tune. “I think it’ll be fun too. Cool.” 
“Great!” You took the bottle Seokjin had been drinking from and swigged the last bit much to his amusement. You hadn’t told him what you were up to yet, but he was going along with your crazy ideas anyway. He always watched you with fondness, which was sweet considering he also called you the wackiest person he knew. 
“Everyone, get in a circle and sit!” You ordered. They listened. You grabbed Hoseok just before he took off. “You, come here.” Dragging him out into the hall that lead to your bedrooms you tried your best to whisper. “Sit next to Nara.” 
“Huh?” 
God. Was he dumb? “I’m helping you here. Setting you up.” 
“I don’t need you to,” he exasperated. “I got this.” 
You knew for a fact he didn’t “got this”. “It’ll be your turn first, birthday boy n’ all.” You carried on like you hadn’t heard him. “Spin it ever so slightly.” 
“That’s so obvious.” 
“You want to make it obvious.” 
He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Fine.” 
You smiled in triumph, grabbing him by the arm. “Remember: ever so slightly!” And with that you dragged him towards the circle. You were pretty feisty when you needed to be. 
“It’s Hobi’s turn first because he’s the birthday boy,” you told everyone as you pushed him down between Nara and Joy. You sat to Nara’s left; convenient to keep an eye on everything, plus you were next to Seokjin too.   
“It’s so cute how you call him Hobi,” Nara commented, leaning into you with a smile. 
“Oh, really?” You were a little caught off guard. “Everyone calls him that. No big deal.” You tried to think if that was true… You must’ve heard it from somewhere else why would you have started calling him that…?
“Are there rules?” Joy asked. 
“Yes! Rules!” You suddenly realised. You racked your brains. Hoseok and Nara couldn’t kiss in front of everyone. That would just be odd. Hm, maybe this was too obvious. “Whoever the bottle lands on, that’s who you kiss! But there’s a twist. It has to be in my closet.” 
“You got cameras in there or something?” Namjoon piped up, Nara laughed loudly. 
“No,” you said slowly. “Because it’s the biggest. You can’t come out until the deed is done.” 
“Isn’t that like seven minutes in heaven?” Yoongi asked. 
“Yoongi, just shut up and listen.” Why couldn’t people just be excited? You were trying to hook up their friend! “It’s not like that because I don’t want people having sex in my closet.” You nudged Nara and giggled. She slowly laughed back, a little confused. You caught Hoseok shooting you a look but ignored him.
“Kissing only,” you continued. “And we need photographic evidence.”
“What?” Hoseok sounded like he was about to run off any moment. 
“Just a quick pic,” you shrugged. If truth be told, you wanted Hoseok to have the memory of when you set him up with the girl of his dreams forever. That way he could always thank you. 
“Is the guy to girl ratio a little skewed?” Yoongi pointed out. “I’m not kissing Joon.” 
You ignored him. “TONGUES.” You shouted instead, clapping your hands. “Almost forgot to specify: tongues!” 
“I’m not tonguing anyone bar my girlfriend.” Yoongi was adamant. 
“Whatever.” You sighed. Didn’t he realise this wasn’t about him? You didn’t care who he tongued or didn’t tongue. It was about who Hoseok tongued! 
You stretched over and handed the bottle to him. “Hoseok, spin.” You were careful not to use your, no, the, nickname. There was nothing cute about it. 
“Okay. Kinda nervous.” He was practically shouting. If this was his way of trying to sound casual, he was failing. “Don’t want to mess it up.” Thinking about it, this was a very stupid idea. He was about to spin a bottle four inches to the left. You watched feeling a little sick. 
The sick feeling turned to one of horror in a nanosecond. You watched in slow motion as the bottle passed Nara. It wasn’t four inches, it was eight. He’d landed on you. 
“No.” Hoseok spoke into the room. The denial was strong. “No. No. Nope. No.” 
You could hear the room cheering. Yoongi laughing, saying something about how amazing this was. The game had backfired on you. But in truth you weren’t really listening, too busy having a minor breakdown. 
You looked at a Hoseok. “No.” He said it back. You looked around at everyone else, eyes wide. In denial and begging for someone to say you didn’t have to do it. “No. No. HA,” you forced a laugh. “I have a boyfriend. I can’t kiss anyone else.” 
“If you were going to make me kiss Joon, you’re kissing Hoseok.” 
“Baby, it’s just a game,” Seokjin chuckled, hooking his arm around your shoulders. “It’s fine.” 
“No.” You were adamant. “I would call that cheating. Wouldn’t you?” 
“I would.” Hoseok piped up. At least someone was on your side. No one listened to him. 
“Relax.” Seokjin rubbed the back of your neck. “Come here.” He dipped his head, capturing your mouth in a soft kiss before pulling away and winking. “That’s to remember me. Now get on in there!” 
The guy physically hauled you up. You perfect boyfriend had no problem with this. Damn him. Damn him for being so reasonable and laid back. Yoongi made a beeline for Hoseok. The glee on his face was pretty frightening. 
“To the closest! To the closet! To the closet!” The chanting wasn’t necessary, but it happened any way. Frog marched into your bedroom and pushed into the closet. Surrounded in pitch black before you reached for the light switch. 
“You overshot it,” you hissed. 
“I was under pressure!” Yelling in whispers was hard. “You do not know how stressful it was!” 
You groaned, rubbing your hands all over your face. “Don’t do that you look like The Scream.” Hoseok commented.
You shot him a look before stomping your feet and pointing a finger at him. “I can’t believe this. You were supposed to be in here with Nara!” 
“Why the hell did you sit next to her?” 
“I don’t know. To keep an eye on you!” In hindsight it was a very bad idea, but what would have happened if you hadn’t? Hoseok would be in here with Seokjin? That was even more weird! 
“You guys kissing yet?” Yoongi asked through the door. You could almost see his Lenny face. 
“Oh, god,” Hoseok muttered. He sounded faint. 
“Yeah. We did it!” You yelled back. You were getting you both out of here. “Was super wet. Hoseok has a freakishly long tongue. Yuck.” 
“Hey. No, I don’t.” 
“Send the pic. Did you take a pic?” Yoongi sounded way too excited. 
Shit. The stupid picture?! Why did you even come up with that rule… “Oh, would you look at that. I didn’t hit the button. Oh well, doesn’t matter,” you shrugged, moving to turn the door handle. It didn’t budge. Almost like someone was holding it shut. “Hey, let us out!!” You yelled. 
“No evidence, no escaping.” That was Namjoon. He sounded overly amused. 
“Namjoon!” You shrieked in surprise. You twisted and tugged on the handle, hoping you he would relent, give up so you could get the hell out of here. “Let us out. Let us out! I’m claustrophobic!”
“Kiss and take the pic!” Joy shouted. 
Joy?! That was it! Friendship over. Come to think of it, where was Seokjin? Maybe you could appeal to him. He’d give in surely. You were about to open your mouth when fresh chanting started. “KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS!” It was so loud you swear you’d wake up with a noise compliant. But more importantly, you could hear Seokjin’s voice along with the rest. Goddamnit. You were really going to have to kiss Hoseok. 
You turned back to him, defeat on your face. He’d been oddly quiet since you’d tried escaping. “Let’s just do it,” he shrugged. 
“What?” You mean, you’d been planning on saying the same thing, but you’d thought it would take some cajoling. 
“Get your phone out. Let’s just get it over with,” he told you. “You want to get out of here, right?” 
“Okay.” You nodded, telling yourself it would be fine. “Yeah, we’ll just kiss. It’s no biggie.” 
“Nope, no biggie.” He stepped closer. You were suddenly sweating. It was really hot in here and you swear the floor was shaking because of how rowdy they were being outside. 
“Hey, remember when I saw your boob that one time?” Hoseok laughed. “It popped right out of your towel when you were talking to me as I brushed my teeth.” He made a popping sound to emphasise, his hand flopping from his chest in an unnecessary reenactment
That had actually been particularly mortifying for you. Especially seeing as it was only a month into living with the guys and you’d just flashed a boob accidentally. “What does that have to do with anything?” 
He looked at you, releasing his mistake. “It doesn’t. Just if I’ve seen your boob, I can kiss you.” There was no correlation at all. You wanted to point that out but now he was a few inches from your face. You were going crosseyed trying to look at him. “Okay, let’s do this,” he murmured. 
“Ew. What did you just do?” You startled, stepping back. 
“Huh?” 
“You licked your lips.” He’d licked his lips and moved forward. He was about to put his wet ones on your normal ones. 
“Of course I did. Do you want dry lips?” 
“Yes! I want dry lips,” you insisted. 
He pulled a face, more than puzzled. “These things can get pretty chapped, but ok.” Before you could say anything else he had his hands on your face, lunging closer with his eyes closed. 
“No. No.” You ducked from his grip, darting to the other side of the closet. Had it always been that small in here? You used to think it was massive. 
Hoseok sighed. “What now?” 
“You cupped my face. You did this thing with your eyes.” 
“What, closed them?!” 
“Don’t kiss me with your eyes closed.” 
“So you want to be staring at each other the whole time?” He thought you were crazy. Could tell by the tone of his voice. He exhaled, voice calmer when he spoke again. “You don’t want to kiss me, do you?” 
“Of course I don’t. It’s weird as hell.” You caught the look on his face. “Oh, come on. You cannot be offended. Does the idea of kissing me not gross you out?” 
“No, it doesn’t gross me out. That’s a bit drastic.” 
God, he was not guilt tripping you right now. It worked anyway. “Fine! Let’s kiss.” He looked startled, probably feeling dizzy by your back and forth. “C’mon. Kiss me, Jung.” He didn’t budge. You started chanting. It was the only way. “Kiss me! Kiss me! Kiss me!” 
“Ok, okay.” He yelled over you. “Shut the hell up.” You continued. You always did like pissing him off. 
In a split second he was in front of you. “Come here.” His cupped your face again and you instantly shut up. Your eyes were locked on his, and in this pretty dismal lighting he looked beautiful. It made your insides feel funny. For a moment there you caught yourself puckering. You caught yourself actually wanting to kiss him, and then in the blink of an eye it was gone. Almost like it never happened. He murmured your name and pulled away, shaking his head 
“What?” 
“I can’t do this,” he admitted. “It’s too weird.” 
“Ha! See!” You were triumphant. “It is weird!” 
He shook his head again, chuckling quietly. “No, I mean… This is not how it’s supposed to go.” 
“What?” There was silence. He didn’t try to elaborate. “Supposed to go?” No matter how much you tried to make sense of that, nothing worked. “How’s it supposed to go, Hoseok?” 
“Forget it. I didn’t say anything,” he tried to backtrack. “It came out wrong.” 
“Hoseok.” He didn’t tell you. He just stared at you, unable or unwilling. “Hobi—p”
“You guys win.” You were interrupted as the door burst open, Yoongi grumbling like a giant baby. 
You blinked rapidly, not used to the bright lights. Everything felt a little weird, like you’d been in that closest for years. You walked out first, not looking behind you. You felt a little shaken up. You couldn’t explain why. 
Seokjin wrapped his arms around your shoulders and laughed. “We were sick of waiting.” He smelt of beer and his eyes were unfocused. You hadn’t realised before but he was drunk. Way more than you were. 
“Get back in the circle,” Namjoon ordered, leading the way. God, this game was still going to continue? You’d all be here until tomorrow morning. “You guys are spoilsports.” 
“What’s a little kissing among friends?” Yoongi piped up, which was rich coming from him. “Okay, Nara’s turn,” he said once everyone had gotten back into place. She took the bottle eagerly. “Spin it, girl!” 
You all watched it go. You totally forgot to pray it landed on Hoseok until it was too late. The room erupted into cheers and wolf whistles as it stopped and your heart sunk. 
“NAMJOON!!” Yoongi yelled. “Get it, Kim!” 
You shot Hoseok an apologetic look. 
.
.
“Hey.” You said, stopping by the sofa where Hoseok sat. “I’m sorry about tonight.”
It was a fewhours later, the party was over and you were in your pyjamas ready for bed. Seokjin was already tucked up on his side and you’d just gone to get a glass of water. You didn’t want a headache in the morning. You were surprised to see Hoseok still awake and in the living room. 
He shook his head, laughing a little. “It’s fine. I actually kinda enjoyed it in a strange way.” 
“You did?” 
“Yup. What better way to see 30 in. Trapped in a closet with you.” 
You laughed at his silliness, making your way over to the sink to fill up your glass. You gulped the water down, thinking to yourself. You didn’t care if he was just trying to make you feel better. You were still relieved he hadn’t totally hated it. There were worse people to be stuck in a closet with. You hoped. 
As you placed the now empty glass down a faint banging appeared. Like something hitting against a wall. It got louder and then slowed away. “What’s that?” You asked Hoseok, turning around and genuinely puzzled. 
“Oh, that,” Hoseok chuckled. “That’s Namjoon and Nara. He’s giving it to her good. Real good.” 
Your mouth dropped open, just as the banging re-emerged. Yes, it was definitely coming from his room. His headboard. Then the guilt kicked in. “Oh my god. Hobi, I’m so sorry.” How had this happened? How had you not seen the signs? It was pretty obvious now, thinking back, Nara had been totally into Namjoon. All that hushed talking, giggling and touching. The game of spin the bottle. That girl had rigged her own spin for it to land on him. Only she’d been a good shot. Hoseok on the other hand… 
Hoseok raised his hand, brushing your apologies away. “He asked for permission. He needs this.” Maybe so. This was the first woman Joon had shown an interest in after Sookie. Hoseok was too understanding.  “Besides, I oddly don’t care.” 
Or maybe not. 
“You don’t?” You instantly kicked yourself for prying. Prying and being nosey had been the downfall of this night. Yet here you were itching for more info. 
“Yeah, I just…” He trailed off and shrugged. “Maybe I don’t like Nara that much. It was just a stupid crush. No big deal.” 
You didn’t know what to say. You wanted to ask what made him change his mind so suddenly? Made him realise? But that seemed inappropriate. You nodded instead, letting him know you got it, and turned to leave. “Goodnight.” 
“Wait,” he called. “Hold up.” He jumped up and you turned to face him again, waiting like he’d asked. “I want to say sorry too. I made that weird. The game.”
“Oh.” The closet. The awkwardness had slowly disappeared through the night and now you had a sickly feeling it was about to come back. If the look on his face was anything to go by. 
“What I meant was,” he was talking slow, a little stunted. “If I was ever going to kiss you, it wouldn’t be like that. Because of some stupid game.” 
His words took a moment to process. Perhaps you had another hundred questions to ask but they seemed impossible. You should just take what he said and accept it. The game was over and you’d never play it again. You’d never get in a closet with him again. You felt strange, but you didn’t admit that. Instead you smiled. “Okay.” 
That feeling was creeping back. The one from the closet, when he’d been holding your face and staring into your eyes. The one where he’d looked so good under that weird yellow light. Hoseok was handsome, you’d always thought so, but in a way where you’d never actually thought of it, if that made sense… In that closet, you’d thought it. 
“Come on, I’ll walk with you,” he told you, interrupting the butterflies in your stomach. You walked side by side, down the corridor. Your rooms were directly opposite one another. Had you pointed that out before?  
You stopped when he did, forcing yourself to say something. It was just Hoseok. You talked to him all the time. You yelled at him all the time. And laughed, and fooled around. He was your friend. “I promise I’ll make next year’s birthday better.” 
He smiled gently, head tilted, voice soft. “You don’t have to promise me anything. Night.” 
“Goodnight, Hobi.” 
You made to turn, hand nearly on the door handle, but then he pulled you back. One hand reaching for yours, the other curling around your waist. Your mouths met in such a rush you didn’t realise until you felt the warmth of his tongue. It was passionate and eager. The kind of kiss you see in the movies, where no one comes up for air, where their bodies move on their own accord. 
There were no thoughts, just feelings. The feeling of how good this was, and how much it took your breath away. The feeling of his lips on yours and how you should’ve been feeling them a long time ago. The feeling of his arms wrapped around your waist, clutching you tight, and yours around his shoulders, holding him close. 
When you finally pulled away, no choice but to, you were trembling. Boneless. Hs breath fanned across your face and you were sad. You wanted more. You wanted to kiss him all night. Slowly, more deliberately, you pushed your lips against his, savouring the feel. He kissed you back just as softly before breaking away for good. 
“That’s how it would go,” he murmured. He was breathing heavily. “How I imagined it to be.”
And that he was gone. To his room, door shut. 
You stood there dazed, lips tingling and you brought your fingers out to touch them. There was silence all around you, and slowly, the haze began to lift. In its wake brought panic and guilt. Seokjin. Your boyfriend was asleep just behind the door.
What had you done? 
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You got hardly any sleep. Your brain wouldn’t switch off. The guilt twisting your gut, even more so when you kept thinking of the kiss and how good it was, and how short lived it was. Seokjin centimetres away from you, clueless. You rose early. Everyone else was still asleep, the loft silent. Still in your pyjamas you poured yourself some cereal and sat on at the counter, munching away sombrely. 
Hoseok was the first to wake up. Of course. You should’ve just stayed inside your room, but you couldn’t bear to be near Seokjin. He strolled into the living room casually, making his way to the kitchen. You tried to ignore the way your stomach flipped because you didn’t know what it meant. Were you angry, panicked, something else? 
“Good morning.” He greeted casually. 
Angry. You were angry. It rushed up your body. How dare he be so casual. As if nothing had happened. “Seriously? Good morning?” You retorted. He was making himself a coffee. “What’s good about it, Hoseok? You kissed me last night!” 
He gave a little shrug. “I know I did.” 
You were flabbergasted by his gall. Had to force yourself to continue. “Well,” you stared at him. “Aren’t you going to explain yourself?” 
“I already did.” He spoke simply. “I wanted to kiss you. I wanted to show you how I would kiss you.” 
Nope. You weren’t feeling guilty over this any longer. Not when he was acting so unfazed. He was the one who had kissed you. This was his doing. And he didn’t care at all. “To what? Prove a point?” You demanded. 
He scoffed, dropping a teaspoon into the sink. “No, not to prove a point.” He turned to face you, back leaning against the counter. “I wanted to kiss you.” 
Your mind was beginning to reel. “I have a BOYFRIEND,” you said slowly, unable to keep a lid on your anger. “Who I had to sleep next to last night.” 
Right on cue, Seokjin came from around the corner, still half asleep and rubbing his eyes. You froze, feeling instantly sick. You hope he hadn’t heard anything. 
He hadn’t. He smiled when he saw you both, making his way over. “Morning, guys.” 
“Seokjin, hey,” you breathed, feeling a little trembly. You pushed your bowl away, not hungry now. You caught Hoseok’s eyes. 
“Morning,” he nodded, turning to look at Seokjin but averting his gaze. 
Seokjin leant down and kissed your cheek, rubbing your shoulder. “Did you sleep at all last night? You were tossing and turning like crazy.” 
You felt yourself panicking. You needed to cool it. “Ah, I think I was still pumped from the party.” You laughed lightly. 
Seokjin joined in. “You guys sure do know how to have fun. I think I’ve drunk more in these past two months than I have in my entire life.” You heard Hoseok gave the lamest laugh back. It sounded more like a scoff and you shot him a look.  
“Hey, wanna go to the zoo today?” Seokjin suggested. You’d been on about going for weeks now just hadn’t gotten around to it. “I’m not due at the hospital until tonight.” 
You forced yourself to smile. Hoped it seemed natural. “I’d love to.” 
“Perfect,” he grinned, reaching to kiss your lips. They twinged, and you remembered the feeling of Hoseok’s mouth. You were also very aware he was a witness to all this. You pulled back quickly. “Wanna shower first?” Seokjin asked. 
“No, it’s okay. You go.” 
You couldn’t bear them to be alone together. Hoseok was acting weird, you didn’t trust him not to tell Seokjin. As it would have it though, by the time you looked across at the counter, Hoseok was gone, already walking off back to his room. 
.
.
“What’s wrong?” You asked Seokjin as you made your way into your room. You’d showered straight after him. Gotten dressed in the bathroom because you did not fancy bumping into Hoseok wrapped in a towel. Even though you had many a time. 
Seokjin looked a little sad, you could tell by his face straight away something was up, and  delayed, you felt dread begin prick at your spine. What if Hoseok had told him? 
“Bad news. They need me at the hospital.” He sounded guilty that he had to let you down. 
While you felt instant relief. He didn’t know about the kiss and your guilty conscious was happy you wouldn’t have to spend all day together. You felt terrible at the realisation. Maybe you should just tell him what happened. But… not like this. Not today. You were a serial put-er off-er.
“That’s okay, it can’t be helped,” you told him, making your way over to the bed where he sat perched on. You rubbed his shoulder. You both liked doing that to one another. Thinking that made you sad. “I feel bad for you though. You haven’t had a proper day off in weeks.” 
It was true, Seokjin worked harder than any person you’d met before. You didn’t know how he did it. More sadness filled you. You couldn’t explain why. This time it wasn’t the guilt over the kiss, but something else. Everything had changed. 
“You’re cute,” he smiled. “I’ll be fine. Always am.” Those words stuck with you. “I’m sad we can’t go to the zoo. Rain check?” 
“Rain check,” you nodded, smiling slightly. 
“What will you do instead today?” He asked, before chuckling. “Hoseok’s here all day. Keep him company.” 
Your eyes widened. “You’ve been talking to Hob–Hoseok?” Damn that nickname. He didn’t deserve to be called Hobi. 
“Yeah, while you were in the shower.” 
Change the subject. “I think I may hang out with Joy.” It was the weekend after all, and Yoongi had work this afternoon and then he was going out for drinks with some coworkers. Joy would be free. “We can have a girly day. I could stay over maybe.” You were babbling. Trying to make this believable even though it wasn’t a lie. “Face masks, pillow fights, all that sleepover stuff.” 
Seokjin looked at you funny and laughed affectionately. “You’re really trying to relive your high school years, aren’t you? You’re cute,” he repeated. He always called you cute. He wrapped his arms around you waist, pulling you a little closer. “—and weird. That’s why I like you.” 
Yes. Sometimes you did think you were a little bit “too much” for Seokjin, but he always seemed so endeared by you. Usually this kind of talk made you happy, but you felt strange inside. Like everything was slowly dying. Seokjin kissed you, it didn’t bring you back to life.    “I’ll see you tomorrow night. Promise I’ll be free.” 
You forced yourself to smile. Any more and your lips would start aching. “Can’t wait.” 
He rubbed his nose against yours, voice low. “You can come over. Maybe we can play seven minutes in heaven…” 
You giggled, but in your mind you couldn’t stop thinking about your kiss with Hoseok. 
.
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“Hoseok kissed me last night.” 
It was a few hours later, not even twenty four after the kiss, and you were finally telling someone about it. You weren’t built to keep secrets. Joy knew that. She knew you the best out of anyone. She’d been your best friend for over twenty years. That’s why it was her you told. Curled up on her sofa you blurted it out. No lead up, no ‘Hey, can I tell you something?’ Just straight out with it. 
She turned her attention away from the television, a look of confusion spread all over her face. “During the game or?” 
You breathed out. “After. Once everyone had gone home.” 
Her eyes widened, but she spoke slowly, as if she was trying really hard to understand. “I’m confused. Was it a drunk thing?” 
“I don’t know why he did it,” you admitted. If you had a solid answer maybe you could get your head around it more. “He said he wanted to show me how our first kiss would go.” 
“Hold up.” Now Joy had come to life. Still in shock, but needing explanations. “He imagined a first kiss? Does he like you?” 
“No,” you exclaimed, pulling a disgusted face. “It’s Hoseok. Me and Hoseok.” 
“Do you like him?” 
Was she crazy? “No.” But that sounded too mean. “Yes. I mean, of course I like him, he’s my friend.”
“Christ. He kissed you,” she muttered, shaking her head a little in disbelief. 
“I kissed him back.” Had you left out that minor detail? It was all very well saying Hoseok kissed you, but you’d let him, and you’d kissed him back just as hard. The memory had your insides feeling funny again. 
Joy looked a little in stunned. You didn’t blame her. You and Hoseok kissing? His mouth on yours, his hands on your body, his tongue in your mouth… You needed a cold shower. Where was your guilt now?! 
“What was it like?” She asked hesitantly. Curious. 
“Really good.” You couldn’t lie. And you couldn’t keep the truth in. You just needed to be honest with yourself. “I’m so confused. Joy, I cant stop thinking about it. I’m so mad at him but it was just so… It was just so hot. But out of this world. Like, I saw through time and space, and it was Hoseok doing it!” In what world did that seem realistic? He was your friend! 
“Damn, Hoseok has game.” Joy sounded half impressed. 
You sighed sadly. “I think it was the best kiss of my life but it can’t be because…” There she was. The guilt. She settled in your stomach, heavy and sickly. “Seokjin. I have a boyfriend. One who I’ve liked for the longest time.” 
You remembered how much you wanted to make it work with him while things were still just a hook up and how heartbroken you’d been when he’d told you he couldn’t give you that. How confused and kind of mad you were when he found you again and confessed his feelings and how happy you’d been when you’d given him another chance. When Hoseok had encouraged you to give it a try. Nothing made sense. Everything had changed after one kiss.  
“Are you going to tell him?” Joy asked. 
“I don’t know. I was going to forget the kiss ever happened but I don’t think I can do that,” you admitted. Seokjin deserved the truth, but selfishly, more than that, you couldn’t live like this, so conflicted. It wasn’t black and white. You’d kissed Hoseok back. 
“Just think it through, okay?” She told you gently. “If you tell him it’ll make things awkward. You’re friends with Hoseok. You live with Hoseok.” 
You didn’t think Joy got it. You didn’t think you got it. You couldn’t forget about the kiss. That’s why you had to tell Seokjin. “No, I should tell him.” Your voice was a little shaky. “I kissed Hoseok back. It wouldn’t be fair to blame it all on him. Seokjin needs to know.” 
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You slipped through the door, trying to be as quiet as possible. You turned left, towards your bedroom and began creeping. It was past midnight but you still wanted to go as undetected as possible, praying Namjoon and Hoseok were in their rooms already. 
“Hey.” You winced when you heard Hoseok’s voice, freezing. “I was waiting up for you. Where were you all day?” 
You turned back slowly, trying to make your voice sound as neutral as possible. If truth be told, the last person you wanted to have a conversation with right now was him. “At Joy’s. I was going to stay over but Yoongi got drunk and she had to pick him up.” 
“You were going to stay over because of me?” He asked. You stayed silent and he sighed your name. “Look, I’m really sorry I did this. Made things awkward between us. It’s the last thing I want.” 
Your jaw tightened in anger. Then why the hell had he kissed you? “I don’t feel awkward. Do you feel awkward?” 
“I feel a little awkward.” He admitted, hands in his pockets. You stayed a few feet apart. “You left the house all day to avoid me.” 
“I’m not feeling awkward. I’m feeling…mad.” 
“Mad?” He had the cheek to sound surprised. “At me?” 
“You kissed me when I have a boyfriend.” You explained like you had to. “Did you not think of the consequences?”
He lowered his head, sheepish, yet he still didn’t apologise. “Are you going to tell him?” He asked instead. “Just don’t.” 
“What?” Your voice was low, anger rising. 
Hoseok shrugged. “Just forget it ever happened.” 
“Forget it ever happened?!” You exclaimed. “I can’t.” You shook your head, the memory of the kiss pushing its way back into your head. No. That wasn’t why. “I can’t lie to him. You’re asking me to lie to him?” 
“It’s not lying, it’s just not telling him something happened. He’s oblivious to it anyways.” 
“What the hell?” You couldn’t begin to explain why you felt so frustrated. So offended. “I can’t do this.” You voice shook. You were blowing up. “I was happy before last night. Like really happy, and now everything is ruined because you kissed me!” He stayed silent. You couldn’t read his expression. 
“Like jeez,” you laughed in frustration. “It doesn’t make sense, Hoseok. You were encouraging me to give him another chance and now what, you like me?” You mocked, instantly regretting it by the way his face fell. 
“Is that funny to you?” He scoffed. “Is the possibility I like you so hilarious you feel the need to laugh in my face?” Oh no. “Or are you laughing because it seems so crazy? Impossible?” 
You could feel the dread prickling your skin, but all you could do was watch him in horror. “I like you.” The way he said your name afterwards made something inside of you long. You pushed it away, because otherwise your legs might give way from under you. 
“I like you a lot. Way more than a friend and I don’t know for how long.” 
You couldn’t speak. Just watched him struggle to find the right words himself. “It-It’s just one of those things. You came into my life like a bulldozer and I kept thinking, how had I gone through nearly thirty years of my life not knowing you?” He scoffed. “It sounds stupid, but it’s true. Slowly I just began thinking maybe one day it’ll be our chance. It wasn’t urgent. Just kinda there in my subconscious. Most of the time I didn’t even think about it.” He shrugged. “I was okay with waiting. Okay with watching you date other guys because it wasn’t our turn yet. One day,” he sighed. “One day it would be, and I’d get to kiss you like last night.” 
The kiss was back behind your eyes. The feeling of his lips, the taste of his mouth. The touch of his body. For some reason you were angry. 
“That game messed it all up and I’m sorry for that, but I’m not sorry for kissing you. I won’t apologise for that.” 
“No.” You finally said something. It was final, but your voice shook. “No. You can’t be doing this right now, Hoseok.” You pointed at him, accusing him. “I’m happy. For the first time in a long time I was happy. I like Seokjin. He’s the first guy I’ve really felt something with since Seungwoo. Do you know how important that is?” He should understand that more than anyone, with what happened with Minah. 
“You expect me to throw it all away because one day you see yourself with me? One day?!” You were a goddamn after thought. One of those pacts friends made. If we’re still single at 40 we’ll get married. Was that what you were to him? You blinked away frustrated tears. He was one of your best friends and that’s how he saw you? 
“Oh, please,” he sneered. He sounded hurt, but mad. You’d never seen him angry before. You hated it. You’d bickered many times, but never to this level. “You’re always choosing shitty men.” 
“You’ve known me for a year!” 
“Yeah, and in that time it hasn’t been great,” he scoffed. You thought of the handful of men Hoseok had witnessed you date and cringed. He was judging you. Two could play at that game. Childish or not. 
“Oh, and you have such a great taste in woman. If I remember correctly, one robbed you after you slept with her!” 
“That could’ve happened to anyone!” 
Whatever. “Seokjin is not a shitty man!” He was kind, and sweet, and probably way too good for you. 
“You were his fuck buddy for weeks and when you told him you had feelings for him he ran away only to come back with his tail between his legs. He had his chance and he blew it. You deserve better.” 
“You were the one who told me to go for it!” You exasperated. He wasn’t making sense. He was the one who encouraged you to give Seokjin a second chance. Without Hoseok, you wouldn’t be together right now. 
“I regret that now. What more do you want me to say?” 
Really? You stared at him. “I want you to say you don’t know anything.” 
“I don’t know anything?” 
“Yes, you don’t know anything about anything.” He just said things, did things, without thinking of the consequences. He was thoughtless. “Seokjin might’ve been the one, but now it’s all ruined!” 
“He’s not.” 
Fuck him. He sounded so sure. What did he know? “It’s ruined because of you!” You shouted in frustration. “I don’t know what to think. I don’t know what to feel.” All you could remember was the kiss. “I was happy and now I’m not.” 
“Well I’m sorry for making you unhappy,” he sighed. “That’s what I do.” He threw his hands into the air and laughed bitterly. “I’m sorry for thinking me and you could be something great. I’m sorry for not having my life together. Not being rich, or for not being devilishly handsome—which I may add,” he shot, “is freaky. No man should be that beautiful!” 
For god’s sake. What was he trying to do now? Guilt trip you? “What are you going on about? Those are your insecurities. I don’t care about all that stuff.” Was he trying to say you were shallow? 
“Of course you do,” he insisted. “Seokjin has it all. What do I have? Nothing. I’m 30 and work at a bar. I dropped out of law school and forget to shower some days. I don’t own my own home. I live in a loft with two other guys and you.” 
You? Why did he say it like that? For someone who supposedly liked you he wasn’t doing a good job of showing it. From the seems of things he didn’t like you. 
“Do yourself a favour and just don’t tell him. Forget about me and be happy. Fall in love with him, marry him, have tons of super pretty babies.” 
Jaw tight, you sneered. “This is why we wouldn’t work out.” You told him. “You’re childish.” He wasn’t relationship material. He wasn’t what you were looking for. “You’re selfish. You’re mean.” 
He scoffed. “I’m mean?” 
Your bottom lip wobbled, eyes filling up. “Yeah, you really are.” And then you stormed off. Down the hall and into your room. Just in time to hide the tears that slipped down your cheeks. He couldn’t see you cry. He couldn’t see he’d gotten to you. 
He yelled your name, calling you back, sounding regretful, but you didn’t listen and he didn’t follow you. 
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The next morning you didn’t see Hoseok at all. He was either in his room when you finally emerged from yours, or he was already at the bar. You were thankful either way. You didn’t think you could handle facing him. You were still so mad, but more than that you were upset. Confused. 
You showered and got ready with a struggle. Forced yourself to go grocery shopping even though you had no appetite for food, and then you just tried to keep yourself distracted. You caught up with some marking that needed to be done by tomorrow, meal prepped for lunches and tried to seem normal around Namjoon who was milling about the loft too. Then Seokjin messaged your asking if you still wanted to hang out this evening. You replied yes with a heavy heart. 
On your way there you’d convinced yourself that you weren’t going to tell him. Yes, you had kissed Hoseok back, but he was the one that had made the move. You could forget about it with time. You could be happy with Seokjin again. Your guilty conscience would go. 
But sitting with him on the sofa, his arm looped around your shoulders and his soft laugh rumbling in your ears every time something funny happened in the movie you were watching, you realised something. The only reason you didn’t want to tell him was because you wanted to spite Hoseok. You were being selfish. The same thing you’d accused Hoseok of last night. 
Seokjin deserved to now, whatever the outcome. For him, for you, for Hoseok… 
“I kissed Hoseok.” 
It didn’t sound like your voice, but you’d said it. 
You felt Seokjin move and you automatically wriggled out from under his arm. He paused the movie, looking back at you with a bemused expression. “You kissed him?” He laughed slightly. “Why didn’t time say? We would’ve left you out sooner.” 
He’d mistaken what you meant. Just like Joy. You closed your eyes softly, sadness filling you. You wanted to say yes, in the game more than anything, just not to hurt him, but that wasn’t the truth. You’d kissed Hoseok off your own back and you’d enjoyed it. “No,” you said softly. “We kissed after the party. Later on when I went to get some water. He kissed me, but I kissed him back.” You didn’t take a moment to pause, needing it all to be out. 
Seokjin was silent as he absorbed the information. Shocked being a given. Finally he said something. “You kissed him while I was in the loft too? In your bed?” 
When he worded it like that you felt sick. You nodded sadly. “I feel terrible, Seokjin. I do. I just couldn’t not tell you. Hoseok said to forget it ever happened but I… It–We…” You fumbled over your words and took a moment to compose yourself. “We argued last night and I’m just… I’m really confused.” 
Two nights ago everything had changed. You’d been in this perfect new relationship. It had promise, it was going somewhere and you were over the moon. Then the kiss had happened and you hadn’t been able to see a future with Seokjin anymore. No matter how small. 
His face was unreadable as he looked at you. You wanted him to get mad. You wanted him to yell at you and tell you how much of a horrible person you were. You deserved it. But that wasn’t his style. Instead he breathed out some kind of little laugh. “There’s no need to be confused. I get it now. You like Hoseok. Of course you do.” 
You were too surprised to even think about refuting him. Of all the things for him to say, you had not been expecting that. “Seeing you guys together,” he carried on. “You always bicker, get on one another’s nerves, but now I see it.” He chuckled. Sadly amused. “It was chemistry. You two just bounce off one another so well. I don’t know, maybe you’re frustrated too, mad you’re not together.” 
You let his words sink in. Trying to think of every interaction you’d had with Hoseok since you met him. It was pretty much an instant connection. You’d always thought so, but did that really mean… You couldn’t let yourself think here. In front of Seokjin, after you’d just confessed to him. But everything was flooding to the forefront of your brain, and it was hard work trying to stop it. There was no point trying to deny it. Not now. 
“I never wanted to hurt you,” you told him instead. Meaning it sincerely. You hadn’t even realised anything yourself. Not even when it was right in front of you. When Hoseok was telling you he liked you. 
He smiled sadly. “Better for it to happen now, right?” 
“I really care about you, Seokjin. These past few weeks have been amazing. Even before, when we were…” You stopped and shook your head. “You’re the best and I’m really sorry.” You truly did mean that. No matter how lame it sounded. 
“You’re a really great girl, remember that,” he told you. “Maybe if I’d figured out my feelings months ago things would be different, but then again,” he shrugged, “maybe you’re just meant to be with him.” 
Meant to be with him. Hoseok. Were you meant to be with Hoseok? 
Seokjin took you hand and squeezed it gently. “I’m done,” he murmured, his eyes kind but firm. “I don’t want to be second best.” 
.
.
You had déjà vu. You were slipping through the door again. This time you didn’t try to creep into your room though. You made your way into the kitchen, needing a glass of water. Just to take some time for yourself, needing to find some clarity. You found it as soon as your eyes landed on Hoseok walking from the direction of the bathroom. Everything fell into place, began to make sense. 
He stopped dead when he saw you, awkward and probably panicked after last night. “Hey,” you said gently. “Where is everyone?” It was strange for the loft to be so quiet on a Sunday night. 
He cleared his throat. “Namjoon has Nara over, Yoongi‘s still over Joy’s place.” He was already beginning to walk away.  “I’ll be out of your way, just going to bed.” 
You opened your mouth to call him back. You had so much to say, but… But was tonight a good time to start? Your head was still whirring. Sadness and guilt over your breakup with Seokjin but you also felt giddy at the sight of Hoseok. You wanted to say sorry for the argument, for all the things you said, and most of all you wanted to tell him that you—
“Aren’t you supposed be staying with Jin tonight?” Hoseok had stopped, turning back with the afterthought. “Namjoon mentioned it.”  
He didn’t need to explain himself. You didn’t care how he knew. You didn’t care about a lot right now. Only one thing. “He broke up with me,” you replied. “I told him about the kiss and now it’s over.” 
Hoseok’s eyes bulged, visibly shocked. “What? Didn’t you tell him it was my fault?” He walked over to you. There was still a distance but it was a start. “No,” he muttered. “Why would he break up with you? It’s not your fault.”
Sweet, caring Hoseok. You smiled at him, the words that left you almost bubbling into a laugh. “It is.” 
He looked mighty confused. He was probably thinking you’d lost it right now. You hadn’t. You’d only just found it. You took a deep breath. It was now or never. “It’s my fault because I like you too.” 
Silence. He looked stunned. It seemed strange to say it out loud but also sort of invigorating. Nothing made sense in this world, bar one thing. Your feelings for him. You laughed, more words now rushing out. “I really like you. And I don’t know for how long. Maybe from the beginning,” you shrugged, “maybe from the kiss. I don’t know.” 
You’d been trying to pinpoint the exact moment on the ride home. Going through each memory you had with him in an attempt to understand when it happened. There was no real answer. It had snuck up on you, wanted you to be oblivious. And you think that was how it was for him too. Why last night had been so confusing. 
You were mad at him because you liked him too. You were mad at him because you thought he didn’t like you enough. He didn’t like you like he thought he liked you. God, you were a mess. Your thoughts weren’t making sense. What were you trying to say?
“I don’t know,” you repeated. “My head’s a mess and I really have a headache right now.” You rubbed your temples and then remembered something. “I also have a flat tyre. I think I drove over a nail on the way here. I don’t know how I’m going to get to work tomorrow morning.” 
“You could borrow my ca—
“Hobi, I don’t care.” You interrupted, laughing again. You felt funny, like you were floating. It felt good to call him that again. “I don’t care about anything right now, except you.” His eyes flashed at that, something changing on his face. He moved forward, closer to you. The counter was the only thing that separated you now. 
“I don’t understand anything and I’m really confused, but I know one thing,” you insisted, finally giving into the urge that had been raging your body for nearly two days. “I really want to kiss you.” You swallowed, tasting the memory of him. “Again. I can’t stop thinking about the kiss. It was the best kiss of my life.” 
He rounded the counter in the blink of an eye. He’d stayed silent for the majority of your confession, except for offering you his car, the idiot. You almost laughed again; why was he so sweet? Yeah, you would’ve laughed if he didn’t look so irresistible right now. So serious, so desperate, so intense. He was breathing heavily, almost panting, eyes blown black. 
“Can I kiss you now?” His voice was rough, broken with desire. 
You parted your mouth to reply. To say yes, to say please, to almost beg, but his lips were already on yours, hands cupping your face. Hungry, needy, eager. He pushed you against the counter your back was to, and you let out a gasp, maybe more of a moan. He took the opportunity to swipe his tongue against yours. He tasted like toothpaste. You hated spearmint, but now you loved it. 
You grasped him, letting your hands roam over his back. You wanted to touch him, feel him, never let him go. You grabbed the corners of his t-shirt with your fists and pulled him closer. He stumbled forward and your head feel back against one of the overhead cupboards. You didn’t care, clung to his mouth as he tried to pull back and check on you. “Don’t stop,” you whined against his lips. 
He chuckled but it trembled, probably had something to do with the way you were pressing your body into his. He gave up in the end, needing to get his hands on you too. He moved to your waist, hands gripping around the small of your back, holding you tight and pushing just as much into you, because he wanted to feel you against him too. To get as close as possible because there had always been a stupid, unnecessary distance between you. 
You felt hot, a little sweaty and out of breath, unsure how a kiss had got you this wrecked. It was just as good as his birthday—no, better. It was better because now you both knew what you wanted. 
“Hey—I know—this isn’t r-really the–mm–time,” Hoseok was trying to speak but he couldn’t stay away from your lips long enough. Words blurred and getting caught short, but you just kissed him more furiously. “But I really f-feel guilty about—last night. All the–the stuff I said–”
“It’s fine,” you got out, but it was enough to begin distracting you. 
He pulled back successfully, gazing at you, eyes warm and sincere. His breath fanned across your face. “I just feel really bad about all that stuff I said about Seokjin. He’s a good guy, I just—
“Let’s not speak about him now,” you interrupted softly. You took a deep breath, slipping your hands up his sides to rub his back. You were both coming down from that high slowly. 
He sighed weakly. “Yeah, I know, I just,” he paused, struggling, before giving a small shrug. “I was jealous of him.” 
“It’s okay,” you reassured. But now Seokjin was back in your head. The guilt was still there. Of course it wouldn’t go immediately, no matter how understanding he had been. But these emotions were conflicting. Plus, you knew you and Hoseok couldn’t be this simple. There was still so much to talk about. From both of you. 
“We need to talk before anything happens, right?” He read your mind. You smiled and nodded, feeling a little sad. 
And right at that moment a familiar banging appeared again. You caught Hoseok’s eyes and you both burst out laughing. Trust Namjoon to ease the moment.   
Hoseok pulled you upright, wrapping his arms around your waist now in a slight hug. You wrapped yours around his neck and he grinned. “We should go on a date tomorrow. We can talk then.” Your eyes widened. A date? Hoseok didn’t do dates. Not proper ones anyway. 
“I want to to this properly.” Again with the mind reading, you smiled to yourself. “I’ll take you out for dinner and we can, I don’t know, talk about what this means.” 
You grinned, Namjoon’s headboard still hitting the wall. “I’d really love that.” 
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You were giddy all day. Couldn’t concentrate in work. You were still replaying last night in your head. After the kiss you’d watched some television together, like you always did on Sunday nights. You sat close, but not entwined, too afraid Namjoon would pop out of his bedroom—hopefully fully clothed. You couldn’t explain why that fear hadn’t been there when Hoseok had your back against the counter, but whatever, you weren’t ready for the weirdness that would unfold, nor the conversations that would need to be had. You hadn’t even talked it out yourselves yet. 
That was for tonight. Hoseok had text you just gone midday to tell you he’d gotten his shift for tonight covered and he’d booked dinner at a restaurant for 8pm. After that it had all felt too real. You were nervous, scared and excited all wrapped up into one. You were going on a date with Hoseok. Your friend Hoseok. The one who you’d bumped into this morning in the kitchen. The one who’d handed you a coffee with a shy good morning because he couldn’t say anything else with Namjoon rummaging around in the fridge next to you, totally oblivious. 
And later on, once you were home, getting ready for the date was a whole new experience all together. You know, living with the guy in question and all. You bumped into one another in the bathroom, brushing your teeth together with awkward giggles. He met you outside of your bedroom once you were dressed, eyes wide, cheeks a little flushed at the sight of you. Maybe the fact you were dressed up for him now turned him speechless. “You look beautiful,” he’d managed to splutter finally. 
He didn’t scrub up too badly himself. He was in a shirt for one. Loose at the neck, no tie, but a shirt nonetheless. And dress pants. Where exactly was he taking you? You didn’t have time to ask because you had to ninja your way out of the loft before you got caught. 
Dinner started off awkwardly at first. Stumbling over words, small talk drying up, lots of nervous laughter, but gradually you both found your groove. How could you not? It was you and Hoseok! All the history and chemistry you had didn’t just disappear because of one date. You were soon giggling together when you noticed a man accidentally walk into the women’s restroom. Childish, yes, but who cared? That’s who you and he were. 
By the main course you were both ready to open up, talk about you guys and what this meant. 
“I’m sorry about yelling the other night,” he apologised, pushing some spinach around his plate absentmindedly. 
You gave a little shrug.  “It’s okay. I’m sorry too. I was mad at myself more than anything.” 
“No,” he shook his head. “You don’t have to do that.” 
“Do what?” 
“Blame yourself.” He looked across at you. “You were mad because I kissed you when you had a boyfriend. I mean, it was a pretty dick-y thing to do and I feel really bad about it.” 
You smiled, that meant a lot to you. It was a complicated situation. The suddenness of it all the sole problem. 
You didn’t want to talk about Seokjin. You didn’t want to compare the two men, even though throughout the day your mind had tried to. In all honestly, both were very different, but both were good men. There was no winner, there was no loser. It just happened that you couldn’t ignore this chance with Hoseok. Not when he had been there first. Maybe looking at it now, you and Seokjin were different kinds of people. Maybe the relationship wasn’t as perfect as you’d thought. Not your perfect anyway. It could’ve worked out yes, but you knew he deserved someone better than you. Someone different to you. 
You realised something at that moment. Seokjin had always found your quirkiness adorable, but Hoseok found it normal. You didn’t know what that meant, but it made sense in your own head. It made you happy. You were here, in front of one another, on a date. Nothing else mattered.  
“If you hadn’t have done it we wouldn’t be here right now.” You told him. It was no good just thinking everything in your head. You needed to tell Hoseok some things. You wanted to tell him how happy you were. “On a dateee.” 
He laughed, relaxing into his chair. “We’re on a date!” 
He couldn’t quite believe it still. You laughed at how cute he was being and looked around. “You chose the fanciest place.” 
“Yeah,” he murmured, looking a little sheepish. “Did I go over the top? Feel like I did.” He stopped and then laughed. “I hope your heels aren’t too high, we gotta run outta here when they fetch the bill.” 
“Hobi,” you whined. He didn’t need to make a joke like that. Then you thought of something else. You hoped he didn’t take you here because he thought you expected it. Any restaurant would’ve done. “Hey,” you said softly. “I hope you don’t still believe all that stuff about you just being a bartender.” He shrugged a little sheepish. “I teach adults how to write fiction and I’m not too hot at it. Half of them are failing.” 
He chuckled at that, picking up his glass of wine. “I think the problem probably lies with them not you.” 
You looked at him, needing him not to laugh this off. You wanted him to see you didn’t care what job he had. “My point is, my job isn’t all that glamorous. It doesn’t have to be.” You thought he liked his job. It should never be used as something to separate you. 
He sighed softly, giving in. “I’m sorry I laid all that stuff on you. They’re my insecurities not yours. It’s just after… Just after the breakup with Minah. The stuff she said to me really stuck.” 
You reached for one of his hands, grasping is fingers. The warmth was all you needed. “I get that.” You still had some insecurities left over from your breakup with Seungwoo, but with Hoseok none of those things mattered. “I’m sorry for calling you childish, and selfish.” 
“And mean. Don’t forget mean,” he joked. 
“And mean.” You looked away sheepishly, before realising you needed to look him in the eyes for this. “I don’t want you to be insecure around me. I like you for you.” 
He chuckled quietly, squeezing your hand. “Thank you.” 
“I think it’s cool that you work at a bar.” You wanted to lighten the moment now, shrugging. “But maybe that’s because of the free drinks you give me.” 
He laughed, both of you pulling your hand back to carry on eating. “I’m actually not allowed to do that, but you’re so pretty how could I not?” 
You felt your cheeks flush at his casual remark. “You think I’m pretty?” 
“Very much so. Plus other things…” 
You smiled shyly. “I find you pretty too. Huh?” You noticed the face he pulled. “Is that not a good thing?” 
“I’m not pretty,” he baffled. 
“Are too.” You insisted. You’d always thought so, especially when he smiled. “I think you’re sexy too. Very sexy.” 
“Oh yeah?” He seemed to like that one better. “What’s so sexy about me?” 
You looked down at his wine. It wasn’t the right alcohol, but it made you remember something. “I like the way you drink beer. You gargle it a little.” 
“I do?” He looked puzzled. 
“Yeah, you do, and I don’t know, it’s kinda hot.” He looked chuffed at that. “What about me?” You added. 
“Hm,” he thought out loud. “It’s not really sexy, maybe a little misogynistic,” he laughed, “but I like when you struggle to open things. Like that bag of chips last week. When you ask for my help, I don’t know, it makes me feel good about myself.” 
It made him feel good when he opened a bag of chips for you? You awed loudly. “That’s so sweet, Hobi.” 
He scoffed, a little embarrassed. “Oh.” He remembered something. “I like when guys mistake me for your boyfriend.” 
You cocked an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? I like that too. And vice versa.” You had never been able to pinpoint why in the past. It was usually gone before you could even try to explain it, but it had still been there. Numerous times. You’d just been clueless. 
“Isn’t this scary?” You asked. It was new and exciting, and you were happy, but it was also weird to be here. Sat opposite your friend, your roommate… the man you had feelings for. The man who up until a few nights ago, had a crush on another woman. No wonder he hadn’t really cared when Namjoon asked if he could bone Nara. And he, well he was sitting opposite you, who up until last night had a boyfriend. Talk about whiplash. This was crazy. 
“It’s the scariest thing I’ve ever done,” he admitted. 
“We’re like best friends, but is it because we’ve always had feelings for one another?” 
Hoseok upturned his shoulders. “I honestly have no clue. It makes sense, but…” 
“But at the same time it doesn’t?” You finished for him. He nodded. If he had never kissed you that night, then this wouldn’t be happening right now. Maybe it would’ve never happened. You would’ve kept missing one another. The moment never there for him and you probably oblivious until it was too late… 
But that wasn’t the case now. You were both here. Suddenly and maybe not in the best of circumstances, but you were here. That’s all that mattered. Was there really such a thin like between friendship and lovers? You tried imagining kissing Namjoon but couldn’t do it. It made you feel weird. Not the same weird you’d felt locked in the closet with Hoseok. 
“I don’t want to ruin what we have already but I can’t ignore these feelings I have for you.” Hoseok explained. “I’ve been repressing them for so long they’re uncontrollable.” He chuckled. 
“Same. I think.” You were beginning to realise that love didn’t have to punch you in the face immediately for it to be the real thing. “If I ignore how I feel about you I’ll spontaneously combust. I know it. I will.” These feelings had hit you full force and now you couldn’t ignore them even if you tried. 
He chuckled at your passion. “I don’t want you to spontaneously combust.” A thought popped into his head. “What will Yoongi say? Namjoon?” He groaned, rubbing his temples.  “What do we even tell them?” 
“Maybe we won’t tell them for a little while?” You suggested. You didn’t want to share this new, uncertain thing with other people just yet. The loft wasn’t the best set up in this situation. “Just until we work out what’s going on between us?” 
“Like keeping it a secret?” 
“I know it’s not ideal but I don’t want to mess this up.” He nodded, agreeing with you. “If we try and fail our friendship could get ruined. That terrifies me, Hobi.” You wanted to be honest here. All cards on the table. “I love you a lot. I don’t want to jeopardise anything.” 
“Hey, hey, nothing will get ruined, I promise you,” he reassured, reaching for your hand with both of his. “We’ll take it as slow as you want. This is new and if we do it properly then everything will be okay in the end.” He gave you a gentle smile. “Whatever the outcome. If we decide to move forward or decide to just stay friends, we’ll be okay.” 
Maybe that’s why you’d never realised your feelings for him. Why he’d never said anything. Your friendship meant too much to one another. If that was ruined somehow it would kill you both. But it didn’t have to be like that. If you both saw the potential danger, you could avoid it best you could. You shouldn’t be thinking of the potential end if it was only just the beginning. 
“You’re right,” you smiled back. 
Letting go of your hand he relaxed back into the chair again. “But for tonight, let’s think of this as a new thing. It’ll take the pressure off us.” 
“How do you mean?” You asked, curious. He had a giant smirk on his face. 
He shrugged. “Maybe we met on Tinder. Decided to go for a drink.” 
Oh. Okay, you saw where he was going. A little bit of make believe. That sounded fun. You and Hoseok always messed around like this. Why would it change? “Yeah,” you nodded, getting into it instantly. “We liked what we saw. I liked the way you dress.” 
He snorted. “You hate my dress sense. You told me I dress like a twenty year old hipster.”  
“I like it!” You insisted. You mean, in your defence you’d only said that because he’d said you dressed like a granny. He’d started it. 
“Thank you.” He was satisfied, you both could commence. “I liked your glasses. Reminded me of the librarian kink I had in high school.” 
“Eww.” You wrinkled your nose. “Weirdo.” You both laughed loudly. 
.
.
“Goodnight, pretty lady. I’ll see you in the morning,” Hoseok murmured. The night was over, the loft was empty, the guys probably already in bed, when you got back and you both walked down the hallway to your rooms, stopping outside to say goodnight. 
“Lame,” you scoffed, but he could tell by your face you loved it. “Night.” 
He leaned in for a kiss. It seemed like he was trying to keep it brief, nothing like last night or two nights before that, but no matter how hard he tried, it lingered. It was painful pulling apart and walking into your bedroom. You knew he was trying to be chivalry, and patient, and whatever else, but there was an itch inside you that screamed to be relieved. 
You pressed the back of your head up against the door, closing your eyes and taking a few breaths. Praying the desire you felt would ebb away. You heard movement from the other side. 
“Slow, we should take this slow.” Hoseok almost whined from outside.  
You opened your eyes immediately and flung the door open. You were on him in an instant, kissing him eagerly. Thankful your rooms were the other side of the loft from Namjoon’s and Yoongi’s. There would he no explaining this, and you didn’t want to share this with anyone else yet. Not to be careful, not just in case, like you’d originally thought, but because you were selfish. You wanted Hoseok for yourself. 
“I really want you. Like so bad,” you panted, hands all over his body. You wanted him out of his shirt. Out of his pants. Thoughts and images jumped into your mind. You were a woman possessed. “I’ve waited too long already. Please.” 
“Don’t beg like that.” His voice was so low, maybe even a growl, and it did things to you. 
You didn’t want to take this slow. Everything was already perfect. No matter what had happened to get here, it was all perfect now. 
You couldn’t wait a moment longer. You needed to be with him. 
“Pleaseee,” you said purposefully. 
He growled this time. For real. “I said don’t–ah, fuck it!” You exclaimed out loud as he picked you up from the middle, legs dangling alongside his as he walked into your room. He let go and cupped your face tight. He was breathing heavily. “I really want this, I really like you. I’m sure of it. Now that this is finally happening. Now I finally had the guts to make a move. This is for real.” 
You blinked. “Forreal for real?” 
“Yeah,” he murmured. “Never been more certain of anything in my entire life.” 
And then he was kissing you again. You never wanted it to stop. With shaky hands you took his and began to lead him backwards towards your bed…
*bonus* 
“Morning,” Hoseok smiled from above you. 
You’d only just woken up, eyes still blurry, but you rubbed them and rolled onto your back. “Good morning,” you smiled back. 
He rubbed his hand over your waist under the covers, now grinning like he couldn’t stop it. “We did that.” 
You were still naked. So was he. What a thought. “We really did that.” 
“Twice.” 
You hummed, reliving last nights antics. It was just so natural. The sex you mean. No awkwardness, no nerves. It was just…perfect. Giggling and messing around, just like you were as friends. Nothing had changed. Only now you were probably going to be bumping uglies on the regular… It was only right to make a new suggestion now. “Wanna make it a third?” 
“Thought you’d never ask,” he laughed, dipping his head to kiss your neck. You let yourself sink, closing your eyes and enjoying the moment until you remembered something. 
“Wait, wait—!” Your eyes flew open. “What’s the time?” 
Hoseok stopped and looked back, craning his neck to catch the time on your alarm clock. “Twenty past 7.” 
You groaned. “I have a class in 2 hours.” 
“Uhh,” he started awkwardly, pecking your lips. “This is new n’ all but I don’t want to get your hopes up so early into this. I will never be able to last two hours. You’ll be fine. You won’t miss class,” he chuckled. 
“Shut up,” you groaned, kissing him just to roll him on his back. The thought of leaving this bed today was depressing. “I’m just going to call in sick anyway.” You told him, pulling away.
He stroked his fingers through your hair, smirking. “Oh, a bad girl, huh?” 
You narrowed your eyes. If he wanted you to be bad, you could be bad. “Get a condom, Jung.” 
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trans-reader-fics · 3 years
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Happy Anniversary -- Deancas x son!reader (he/him)
TW/CW: Food mentions, light swearing (uncensored), canon-typical mentions of s/x, but nothing actually shown. Mentions of J*hn’s bad parenting.
Summary: They’ve been dating for four years, and somewhere along the line, they picked (y/n) up. To celebrate their fourth anniversary-- their first anniversary with a son-- they do something special.
Guys this has been in my drafts since literally January fifth. 
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The night before, Dean couldn’t sleep. He laid in bed with his lover, his angel, his Cas, and stared at the ceiling. Every once in a while, he felt the mattress shift, and he turned to check on the sleeping man beside him. After four years, he still wasn’t used to sleeping next to the angel. Hell, he didn’t think he would ever get used to it-- the domesticity, the gentleness, the pure love-- he had never had this. It was the kind of love you saw in the movies and scoffed at. It wasn’t real, and if it were, it would be when you found a hot woman at a sleazy bar, and fucked in the cheap motel across the road. 
Castiel changed that. He didn’t even know what he was feeling was love. Cas made him understand. He knew, suddenly, why Sam had been devastated by Jess’s death; why John had abandoned everything, even his own children, to get revenge for his wife. Dean shuddered as he remembered the fires, promising to never let anything hurt Cas. 
“Dean,” Cas mumbled. “C’mon. Sleep.” He threw an arm around the Winchester, pulling them together. Dean rolled over, wrapping Cas in his arms, holding him tight.
“I love you,” He whispered as he buried his face into the angel’s hair. He kissed his head gently, tightening his hold briefly. “Now and forever.”
“I know,” he whispered back, reaching up to squeeze Dean’s hand. “And I love you too.” Dean slowly relaxed, telling his negative thoughts to go to hell, and slowly fell asleep to the sound of Cas’s steady breathing.
He had less nightmares now. Maybe it was because they gave up hunting, or perhaps time really did heal all wounds, but it was a welcome change. And when he did have a nightmare, his lover was right there next to him.
The sun shone through little gaps in the curtains, painting sunstripes across the room. In the faint golden light, Cas seemed to glow, and Dean gently clutched his hand. They had long since given up on alarm clocks; there was no point to waking up early when there were no threats. “Happy anniversary, lover boy,” Dean whispered into his ear before standing up and stretching quietly. He tiptoed out of the room, heading down the near silent hall.
Stopping at a colorfully decorated door, he cracked it open and peeked in. “Well good morning kiddo,” he grinned at his son, who sat awake and reading a fairy tale book on his bed. 
“Morning dad!!” He jumped up, running to hug him. “Where’s papa?” 
Dean smiled, ruffling his hair. Adopting this little ray of sunshine had been one of the best decisions he ever made. “Well, it’s a very special day today.” he pressed a finger to the child’s lips in a shushing motion. “Four years ago, your papa and I said that we love each other.”
(y/n)’s eyes widened and he bounced on his toes. “Can we make an extra special surprise for him?” He looked up at Dean with begging eyes. “Please?”
“You read my mind, buddy. Wanna make him some extra special ‘I love you’ pancakes?” He grabbed (y/n)’s hand and walked him down the hallway towards the kitchen.
“Yeah!” he squealed, tugging on Dean’s hand. “C’mon, faster! We gotta surprise him!”
Dean swore when he saw this kid that no harm would ever come to him. He remembered his own childhood, how he was forced to play mother and father at a young age. He hardly remembered ever being this happy, but Mary told him some stories when she came back. He smiled sadly, knowing that she would’ve loved (y/n).
“You’re right, kid. We gotta hurry. In fact,” he let his voice trail off, and picked the kid up, running down the halls with (y/n) over his shoulder. He giggled in delight, holding on to Dean’s hair.
When they got to the kitchen, Dean put him down, slightly out of breath. “Pancakes, dad, pancakes!” (y/n) ran to the pantry, finding the box of pancake mix and putting it on the counter. He was still a little short to use the counter, but he didn’t let that stop him. “We need milk!” He pulled it out of the fridge, clutching it to his chest so that he wouldn’t drop it. 
“Wow, you’re so strong,” Dean chuckled, getting an egg from the still-open fridge. He also grabbed some measuring cups and a bowl. He did all the measuring, with an excited child clinging to his leg, but he let (y/n) do the mixing. He spooned a few circles of batter onto a buttered griddle, smiling at the quiet sizzling noises. “Do you think papa would want some bananas with his pancakes?”
(y/n) cheered and ran over to the fruit bowl sitting on the counter next to the sink. “Can I cut up the bananas?”
“Sure, buddy.” Dean flipped the pancake and helped his son get a butter knife and cutting board. “Can you peel the banana?” He nodded excitedly, his small hands grasping the end of the banana. It took him a moment of twisting, but the banana peel cracked open. 
“Dad, dad, look!” He proudly held the peeled banana up to Dean’s face.
“Wow,” he nodded in approval. “Soon enough, you’ll be a better banana peeler than your papa and I. We’ll have to ask you for help peeling our bananas.”
(y/n) giggled and turned to the cutting board. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he tried to cut the banana into even slices. They were a little lopsided, but as Dean turned to plate the pancakes, his heart swelled with pride. He hadn’t known how intensely he yearned for this life; until they adopted (y/n), this sort of domestic life was a fantasy, a sweet nothing that he dreamt about while he laid in bed. Seeing his son beam up at him? That was real, and that was good, and he would do anything to protect that innocence.
“I did it!” He clapped, still holding the butter knife. Dean knew that it was harmless, but his heart dropped when he saw the waving knife.
“Hey, hey, kiddo,” he rushed over, stilling his hands. “Let’s not do that with a knife, okay?” 
“Okay,” he giggled and placed the knife on the table before resuming his clapping.
“Now c’mere, lets put the bananas on the pancake.” They arranged the banana slices into a heart, and Dean drizzled maple syrup over the whole thing. “Let’s bring it to papa, okay? We gotta be real quiet so we don’t wake him up.”
The pair tiptoed down the hallway, Dean carrying the tray. He knew, technically, that Cas didn’t see the point in eating. How he tasted each individual molecule, not the food as a whole. That just meant more pancake for himself and (y/n).
“GOOD MORNING PAPA!” (y/n) shouted as they opened the bedroom door. “Look, look, we made you pancakes! Happy I love you day!” The child ran up, tackling Cas in a hug. He didn’t quite know what an anniversary was yet, but his excitement was contagious. Dean placed the tray on their bedside table and leaned over to kiss Cas.
“Morning angel,” he murmured as (y/n) stuck his tongue out in childish disgust. “Happy anniversary.”
“Good morning,” Cas smiled into the kiss. “I see you made some pancakes.”
“All for you,” Dean pulled away and placed the tray over Cas’s lap. “Well, mostly for me and (y/n).”
"I can see that," he gestured towards the young boy, already trying to sneak a banana slice off the plate.
In that moment, there was just love. The room was filled with it, and it was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Cas and Dean embracing each other on the bed, watching their son run around with glee, relishing the little life that they carved out for themselves. This was theirs. Their little corner of the world, safe from monsters and demons and gods.
And may God help the poor fool who tries to take it away from them.
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popculturebuffet · 3 years
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Star Vs: Stump Day Review or The Why Are You Booing Tom He’s Right Holiday Special
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Before we start a special credit to @jess-the-vampire​ who I discussed the episode with during the writing process and brought up a LOT of good points that ended up going into this review. She clearly hates it as much as I do and had even more good reasons for it.  Happy Hanukah, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Everybody! And today we got a big, fat, grotesque lump of coal to smash to pieces. And after a long, draining, if worth the effort scrooge review, and with this being something I needed to cross off my to do list this holiday season, I put this one here as I could use the cathariss of giving this steaming bowl of elephant piss a good thrashing. As you can tell unlike my usual reviews, I do not like this episode. This isn’t the FIRST i’ve not liked i’ve covered, but it is the first rather infamous one to me i’ve covered and not just a dead possum of an episode I ran into while reguarly covering an otherwise good show like “Quaraller’s Pass” or “Strife of the Party”. This one’s had it coming, making my top 8 worst christmas specials list last year, and while not the series worst outing, that’s a toss up between the finale and marco jr, it’s easily one of them. So while usually I like diving deeply into something good and picking apart while it’s good, if not ignoring any bad aspects, here i’m just going to take a hammer to this thing to explain why it dosen’t work and why it sucks dirty ass in thunderstorms. I might be overstating it a bit but probably not.  Nothing really new has happened since the last episode so the only new thing to cover is why i’m doing the episode here instead of after Monster Bash. And the simple reason is that like the Ducktales Halloween and Christmas specials, this episode clearly does not take place in the same time frame of the episode before or after it, with the next episode, The Bog Beast of Bogabah, taking place the day after Monster Bash. It’s most likely they simply held this episode over till Christmas and it dosen’t really fit in AFTER the huge game changer that is monster bash, especailly since the next three episodes after this all take place in rapid sucession, two on the same day one the day after them. So yeah i’m doing this one first and putting it ahead of monster bash on my episode guide for clarity’s sake. 
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Good, so with all that settled, let’s unwrap this complete works of pauly shore shall we? We open on the titular Stump Day, essentially mewni’s christmas complete with Cocoa, carols and a gay couple and their equally adorable child. And Star, unsuprisingly is giddy for it as the actual chlidren, and wearing an adorable santaesque dress complete with horns on her santa hat. Seriously you cannot tell me tom didn’t get that for her. Fucking precious. Marco is more just confused and has his hood up and one of Star’s cousins asks uncle river to tell him the origin of stump day. River’s response.. is easily the best joke of the episode. 
“(in a jolly tone) ha ha, you don’t tell me what to do”
He does so anyway though: Basically when settlers arrived on Mewni they found themselves cold and griping with each other, and soon found a blizzard had struck.. but by huddling together under a magic stump, they all learned to get along or something like that and now once a year everyone gathers in warmth and camraderie.. or else. Before Marco can understandably question what “or else” means in this context, Star butts in when one of her cousins chastises the younger one who asked river the question for beliviing and says he’s real. It’s a nice touch as it fits star perfectly to still belivie in mewni’s horrifying version of santa. I forgot just how adorable and likeable the character was before the final season shot that to hell. How her energy could be infectious and how Eden Sher really brought her all to the performance, which is still the performance of her career and hopefully like Rider Strong she’ll do more voice acting eventually.  So that night as Star tucks in after wonderful  night of sleep, and to avoid her dad’s usual drunken chorus of Tom Jones “Sex Bomb”, and gets woken up by Marco who leads her to the dining hall because a windows broken to fix it with magic. Star entirely buys this flimsy story.. but as Jess pointed out, and as I missed hence the credit up top... she dosen’t bring her wand. She.. dosen’t bring her wand.. to go fix something with magic. Now i’ll grant next season shows she CAN fully do magic without it, and while not as powerful like her mom still has plenty of punch behind it.. especially when she does the rainbow fist thing. But it’s still.. weird she dosen’t think to grab it and feels out of character. While Star’s learned by this point not to rely on it, and as we’ll see gives it up entirely, one of the few bits of her character development that actually sticks, it still seems resonable she’d take it with her wherever she goes.. and usually SHE DOES. And her jammies, which are also adorable, seem to have pockets so the animators had no reason to not just stuff it in one. It would’ve made their job harder yes.. but then don’t have marco use an excuse that directly requires it then and draws attention to the fact the wand is missing, and the fact you blatantly just hoped we’d forget about it as it’d ruin the climax. 
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It’s far from the worst thing in this episode..trust me we’re almost there. But this does bring me to a point.. so far the episode is GOOD. The comedy’s good, the setup for what’s about to happen is good, the holdiay setting is warm and inviting but weird enough to perfectly fit mewni, and River, much like his VA and homosexual talking boat portrayer Alan Tudyuk, is a national treasure as always. Whelp it’s all down hill from here bitches! Giddyup. 
So Marco announces a SUPRISE PARTY! And everyone’s there: Tom, Kelly, Ponyhead, Starfan14... oh yeah this is the first ep i’ve coverd with Starfan14 isn’t it? Starfan14 is star’s insane fangirl, voiced by series creator Derfron Nercy herself, who star happily tolerates despite clearly wanting to wear her skin. We’ve all been there. Also Jackie is transparently missing, though at least it’s SOMEWHAT reasonable as she and marco broke up a few .. months ago? I mean it is winter on mewni for this episode but the end of season 4 and the series is set at the start of summer, yet months still pass..... 
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Confusing timeline aside, Jackie has every reason not to attend a party thrown by her ex for the girl who confesed she had feelings for said ex and it’s probably the only good decision Marco makes this entire episode that he wisely decided to give Jackie some space. And it says something a decision made entirely off screen that was probably because the creators genuinely forgot Jackie once she was out of the way so they could shift the love triangle stuff to Tom, Star and Marco instead of you know.. not doing that because most love triangles are annoying at best and utterly insufferable at worst. Case in point this episode but I can give out more about this aspect of things in a bit with more context. 
And to his credit, and as Jess backed me up on, Marco’s gesture is genuinely throughtful.. at least to start with. He got her a choclate fountain, brought all of her friends, and geninely just thought Star never celebrated her birthday on her birthday because it was you know the same day as christmas. As someone whose birthday is a week before christmas, December 16th if you were curious, I understand the pain of having your birthday in the same month as christmas. Of having all your presents clustered at once and of having to manuver around a very stressful season, though it does sometimes have perks like getting to celebrate your birthday and christmas, it also means your birthday is secondary and always will be to most people due to proximity. And Star has hers ON mewman christmas, so it’s even worse. So from Marco’s perspective, TO START, his best friend constantly had to share her birthday with her faviorite holiday and just wanted to do something nice. SO FAR, he’s done nothing wrong and just means well. That’s... about to end.  Star.. instead of being greatful.. starts muttering no before going on an manic rampage and destroying everything including hte band’s insturments. And apparnetly star’s gotten some flack for her behavior.. but I understand it. To her the stump is VERY real, and will be very angry if someone else celebrates so to her all she’s doing is saving her best friend from the holiday equilvent of the trees from evil dead, and when Marco asks about it she GENUINELY is sorry, getting he meant well, that he was being sweet, and that he did a lot of nice stuff for her.. she just can’t celebrate not because she loves the holiday but because again, from her persepctive, the stump will kill them all if they don’t support it. She is genuinly affraid for her friends lives and given she could go grab her wand and fight it, clearly thinks she, with all her CONSIDERABLE powers, cannot win this, and neither can tom whose powers are almost entirely fire based. Star is just trying to protect her friends from being horribly murdered. And she turns out to be entirely right about it so no, star was not a jerk here. A bit over the top, but she was not insensitive, she was not mean, she just didn’t want a party for understandable reasons.
So let’s get to actually insensitive shall we?! Marco’s reaction to this is at first confusion as he didn’t realize the stump was real, though Tom, Kelly and Pony are convinced it’s not. Also this episode implies Kelly is from mewni, but she turns out not to be so why she knows about the stump I genuinely don’t know. They think it’s just a baby thing.. though in Tom’s defense he dosen’t phrase it that way, thinks star still beliving is cute, which for a teenage boy finding out his girlfriend belivies in santa is very sweet and mature of him, and is trying to be nice about it even if he doesn’t believe.  But Marco.. his response to his friend having a good reason for not wanting to have the party.. is to complain about how much effort he put into it and try to guilt and bribe her into having it by mentoining he got her faviorite cake flavor, rainbow. Just.. WOW. I’ve seen some bad turns from characters, but WOWWWWWW. Holy shit.. I mean at least other jerkass marco episodes before this had SOME reasoning to them. Sophmore Slump had him clearly sublimating his feelings for star combined with the usual obnoxiousness of someone having gone abroard for the first time, which as Letterkenny recently went into, the only thing worse is Stillborn Puppies. Nothing else. 
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And with Lint Catcher while he was presumptive and not blameless.. river still outright lied to him. Here? It’s clear star dosen’t want this, cake can be refigirated, he only takes a loss on the choclate fountain and he could still just let everyone have some and say it’s for stump day to appease her. He dosen’t have to take a loss on this finacially or morally and there would be no harm done. But that’s.. not what HE wanted, not waht HE set up and he wants what HE wanted, which was to impress star with a thoughtful gesture. But that’s the thing bud: Gestures aren’t about you or what you get. Their about doint something nice for another fucking person. It’s the whole point of christmas and birthdays: To just give someone something to be ncie and to celebrate the day and them respectively. If she dosen’t WANT your gift for understandable reasons and isn’t being rude about it you don’t have any leg to stand on you seflish twatwaffle. 
So already Marco is not coming off well.. and if you know this episode you know it gets worse. Oh god it gets worse. So first PONYHEAD of all people calls out Marco.. and for once, PONYHEAD, the most selfish, most unresonable and a character whose tolerablity varies on the episode, tells him he’s being selfish and is only pressing on because of his need to control things. So not only is Ponyhead right but the episode LIKELY wants you to feel she’s wrong because she’s pony which is not how this work as she knows star well and thus, while unaware she still belivied in the stump, which tracks as while it’s obvious she does Pony is so up her own whatever she has that functions as an ass, it’s understandable she’d miss some details. So no Pony’s right, and the fact PONY is one of the more resonable people in this episode is both a sign of the apocalypse, which is thankfully starting to recede, and a clear marker of just how bad Marco’s being if someone who torments him and disagrees with him out of principal is entirely right. 
Oh but it gets worse as next up, Tom steps in and tries to get Marco to back out, admitting he told him this was a bad idea. Now granted Tom did mess up by not stepping in to stop this a bit.. but he A) didn’t know how much his girlfriend genuinely belivied in the stump and B) Probably assumed Marco meant well, as would I before he whined about not getting his way, and decided it was worth a try. So he’s not that bad, and while it is a bit ehhh to try and take back credit for this when he participated, it’s still minor and Marco is still being a huge dick who refuses to help shut things down when it’s clear the party is only causing star to have a panic attack and assault some humble marachi players. He sees nothing good is coming from this and just wants what star wants. Also it paints Marco in a worse light as he was warned about this, and was so obssed with making it a suprise party because that’s how his plan went, he refused to just.. talk to her about it. Hell he could’ve just casually asked “Why do you never celebrate your birthday on your birthday”. It’s an easy question, dosen’t give the game away and allows him to gage if this is a good idea or not BEFORE baking a cake , hiring a band and getting a chocolate fountain. Instead he just went ahead with it.  And he did so.. because this ISN’T about making Star happy. This is abotu HIM making star happy. Him showing her how thoughtful, and considerate and sweet he is and how he’s always been there for her and how maybe she should be with him instead of Tom. I mean it just comes off that way.. he made it a suprise party because in his head that’s how it worked and she was super impresed and left tom that day to be with him in some elaborate fantasy. Granted the episode dosen’t say this.. but it sure as hell acccidently implies hte hell out of it by having marco act like a selfish ass who refuses to take what STAR wants into consideration, and just wants to get his fantasy back on track. What supports this to me is how he treats tom, you know one of his best friends: He, again, accuses him of forgetting.. then calls him a bad boyfriend.. a bad boyfriend for NOT wanting to force a celebration on his girlfriend she does not want, and for not forcing it on her. For you know GROWING AS A PERSON.  Beacuse here’s the pickle pumpernickle: This thing Marco’s doing? Is exactly the kind of thing a pre-character development TOM did, that was rightfully framed as bad. Being controlling, wanting things to go JUST a certain way instead of letting them flow naturally, not getting the hint star isn’t intrested, and not caring about what she wants and only what you want. Marco is doing the same thing Tom used to do. And for starters i’ts already bad because you know MARCO WAS THE ONE WHO FINALLY GOT IT THROUGH TO TOM THAT THIS KIND OF BEHAVIOR WAS TOXIC AND SELFISH. But apparently when it’s Marco himself doing it it’s fine. If there was ever any clear evidence Marco regressed as a character, there it is.  Him actively unelarning a lesson he taught someone else and then getting combative when that person rightly tries to call him out. Marco is just insufferable in this episode: He’s being selfish, creepy and posseive and he’s apparenlty supposed to, at least on some level BE RIGHT.  But.. we will get to that. Consider a pin put in this rant. 
So Tom overreacts, and throws some fire at marco, which is genuinely wrong and Kelly’s right to call him out, and then headlocks him asking marco to say he’s a good boyfriend. Marco screams out ‘NEVVVEEEERRRR”
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I just made this, by hapinstance, while watching the video I put up there. I.. I did not think i’d get to use this so soon but my god. Just my god that’s a terrible thing to say.  So the party soon breaks down elsewhere as Kelly is mad at tom for.. understandable reasons again the guy she has a crush on was just nearly set on fire, even if i’m still on Tom’s side overall here, it’s still not right. Janna points out it’s probably because she has a crush on marco, which while acurate dosen’t mean she was wrong and Tad pops out to be upset about that. Even though you know you two are broken up and as Kelly points out he needs to move out. Pony is mad she’s not getting any attention and Starfan is mad because star’s mad. Star results to desperate measures, opening the windows to try and repeate the act of the settlers.  She didn’t however count on the Janna factor as she throws the stump in the fire, which is in chracter. What’s not, and again I give Jess full credit for this one, is that everyone just starts.. warming around the stump and not caring like a bunch of jackasses not caring about their close friend, and in tom’s case, girlfriend’s feelings. Also tom and marco apparently stopped fighting just to be this stupid. 
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But naturally burning the symbolic stump is a bad idea and the real one attacks. Protip: If you live in a world of magical nonsense, maybe don’t discount the magic stump. Everyone’s captured, including moon and river, with River also being suprised and replying to Star’s annoyance at him not beliving with “Sweetie it’s a stump!”. Alan Tudyk is a god and I feel you all should acknowleddge that. But yeah everything seemsm to be bad but everyone apologizes, if not for the right things in Marco’s case, and Tom says “I’m sorry i’m a bad boyfriend!”. You .. you aren’t. You did nothing wrong. I feel like this is tom for the last agrivating 6 minutes of the episode
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He did SOME THINGS wrong but he is NOT a bad boyfriend. He is throughtful, kind and while he has flaws, SO DOES STAR. He is not a bad boyfriend for not wanting to repeat past abusive actions! GAH. Let’s just get on with it. They all hold hands, they thiunk this is what made the stump go away but Star is sure it was just going to kill them, Moon and River have a thousand yard stare as they realize they both have to get repairs for this room now and do an extra big stump day next year to make sure it dosen’t come back. And Marco apologizes to star.. for not beliving her. Not for forcing this on her, not for causing all of this, not at all to tom, but for not beliving her while star FUCKING APOLOGIZES TO HIM.  Pin removed, bullshit falling to the floor... Trunks if you would. 
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Thank you. Star DID NOTHING WRONG. Tom DID LESS WRONG THAN MARCO. WHY ARE THEY APOLOGIZING. Why is this little shithead getting everything he wants as the party happens after all, if a day later, and he gets to dance with star, while everyone else is painted as being in the wrong? That’s what makes this special so putrid: that MARCO is apparently in the right for doing the same , if on a smaller scale, manipulative shit tom used to do before he grew as a person, yet the episode sides with him, props him up and teases Starco. If it’s Starco it’s okay apparently and that’s.. not okay. You can’t .. build a ship on a character acting like a jackass. That’s not how this works. Marco was wrong, he was bad and he should FEEL bad. Instead he’s just a creepy jerk this entire episode, being entitled, manipulating star, screaming at tom.. and gets REWARDED FOR IT. Fuck this episode. 
FINAL THOUGHTS: I believe I said Fuck this episode.  This is easily one of star vs’ worst episode and much like the season after this episode it gets worse the more you think about it. I put it on my worst holiday episodes list for a reason.. and frankly even with the decent first 4 mintues it should be higher. It’s an unplesant mess that throughly ruins Marco’s character and takes him from a kind, upstanding, polite and bright young man to a creepy manpiulative jackasss. Fuck this episode and have a happy holidays. 
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Is It Really THAT Bad?
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How many fucking times must I talk about this movie?
I feel like this movie doesn’t need an introduction. Everyone knows this film. Its reputation precedes it. It didn’t bomb and it’s not generally considered one of the worst films ever made (at least on the level of films like Robot Monster or The Cat in the Hat), but this movie is easily one of the most divisive films ever made. This film has generated enough arguments that, if we harnessed the energy of all the flame wars it has caused, we could probably power the entire world until the heat death of the universe.
With the impending release of Zach Snyder’s bloated redo of Justice League, I’ve decided to go back and ask myself of this film here… is it really that bad?
THE GOOD
Here comes the most uncontroversial opinion: the action scenes in this movie rock (or at least two of them do). The standouts are the titular showdown, which almost makes sitting through the rest of the movie worth it, and the epic warehouse fight Batman gets into, which is like something straight out of the Arkham games. It’s so good. And aside from that, a lot of the cinematography in the film is good. The film knows how to look good, though unfortunately it does end up being a lot of style with little substance.
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On the subject of Batman, I think Ben Affleck is a great and inspired choice. I certainly think he’s worthy of standing alongside Batmans like Clooney and Keaton, easily embodying both the Dark Knight and Billionaire Playboy aspects fairly well, though the writing does not always handle him quite as well as it should (we’ll get to that soon enough). Henry Cavill, while still a rather dour Superman, is as good as ever as Superman, and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman was a great choice here, especially since she didn’t have control so that she could insert anti-Arab racism, like some DCEU movies.
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Perhaps one of the movies most impressive feats is how, in an uncharacteristic moment of brevity, it manages to condense the backstory of Batman into the prologue, getting it out of the way and not making us sit through yet another Batman origin film. This is literally the only thing the movie has over the MCU; where that franchise just has the character Spider-Man inexplicably in existence without even a hint of his origins, they just get Batman’s tragic backstory out of the way so we can see him beating the crap out of people. If more superhero movies want to take this route and just condense the backstory into an opening montage like this, I’d be down for it.
THE BAD
I really could just say “most of the movie” but that’s such a cop out. Let’s actually look at the problems. Let’s work our way up through the things from least problematic to most, shall we?
The best place to start is what Zach Snyder did to Jimmy Olsen.
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Jimmy Olsen is made into a CIA spook who is brutally killed early on, and yes, that was Jimmy Olsen. Snyder put him in to shock audiences with his senseless murder, and also because he felt the character had no place in his series. Does making Watchmen just turn people into joyless husks who like to horribly bastardize iconic characters? Jimmy Olsen is ultimately a small microcosm of the film, but he is the sum total of everything wring with the early DCEU. He is bleak, soulless, and shows a critical lack of understanding about the comics and why people enjoy them.
Now let’s move on to the more exciting problem to discuss: the villains. I don’t even think it’s worth wasting much time discussing what’s wrong with KGBeast. While it is kind of interesting they’d think to use the guy at all, the fact he never dons the costume and dies by the end of the film is unfathomably lame for a character named KGBeast.
Now, onto the main antagonist, and the most infamous part of the movie: Lex Luthor.
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Lex Luthor is horribly, horribly miscast. Jesse Eisenberg is a great actor for sure, and he’s effective in movies like Now You See Me, The Social Network, and the Zombieland films. But here he is being asked to play one of the most diabolical cunning geniuses in comic book history, and rather than play him as such, he plays him like a cartoonish twit. This Lex is utterly unrecognizable as Superman’s greatest foe. Does anyone think Lex Luthor would send a jar of piss to someone as a joke before he blows them up? That’s more something the Joker would do on an off day. Lex is not cunning, not intimidating, and not diabolical in the slightest, and yet there are moments where Eisenberg’s acting chops shine through and Lex, for a moment, is almost engaging. Luthor really suffers the way Doctor Doom tends to in film adaptations: the filmmaker clearly doesn’t get why people like the villain, and decide to do some weird, unique take that will only cause to alienate fans.
But perhaps the worst of them all is Doomsday. Doomsday has exactly one claim to fame, and that’s killing Superman, so as soon as he shows up if you have even a passing awareness of the character you know how the movie is going to end, which robs the film of tension for its last battle. The fact he also appears with little buildup and doesn’t have any characterization doesn’t help; Doomsday is just the Big Gray CGI Blob that superhero movies try and pass off as a final boss for the heroes to fight. This has worked precisely once, in Iron Man. The Incredible Hulk and Venom did not make it work, and this film is nowhere close to being in the same ballpark as Venom.
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By and far the biggest problem, though, is the movie’s incredible length and its very existence in the franchise at this point in time. This is an epic superhero crossover in which two of the biggest comic book characters of all time fight and then team up… And it is the second movie in a franchise. While they do a good job of establishing Batman rather quickly, Wonder Woman comes out of nowhere. And then at the end, Superman ‘dies.’ We have had one single movie prior to this to make a connection to the guy, and yet here he is getting a temporary comic book death with no buildup whatsoever that we know is going to be reversed sooner than later because the movie telegraphs this to us.
Imagine if, instead of building up the character over the course of a decade and putting him in all sorts of different stories, the MCU went right from Iron Man to Endgame. You go from a simpler, character-driven piece to a massive crossover where a hero dies right away, and it doesn’t give anyone time to care. Tony Stark had multiple films worth of characterization under his belt before they threw him in a crossover, let alone killed him, but Snyder expects you to give a damn about a Superman who just started his career in the previous movie of a franchise.
And the ass-numbing length of the movie is no justification. Even before the director’s cut came out this film was a slog, and the director’s cut really does nothing to earn its existence. All it does is add more runtime to an already tedious and bloated film, leading to the same exact ending and fixing none of the overarching narrative problems of the thing. The problem with any director’s cut is that ultimately the movie is still going to be Dawn of Justice, it’s still going to lead to extremely rushed character decisions, and it’s still going to be a mess. You’d have to redo half of the film to make this into a worthwhile and coherent narrative that’s actually worthy of being an entry in a superhero franchise.
And to top it all off, the movie spends far too much time foreshadowing for its own good. People criticized The Mummy for shoehorning in way too many shared universe elements right off the bat, and if that movie was bad for it, so is this one. The cameos from all the members of the Justice League, while striking, could be excised from the plot with little to no impact, and the Knightmare sequence is just excessive and weird.
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Is It Really THAT Bad?
The answer to this question has never been harder.
On the one hand, this film does have some merit. There is some good casting choices, good cinematography, good action… But then, on the other hand, the film is overly long, pretentious, has poor writing and dialogue, mishandles everyone aside from Superman, and is just incredibly unpleasant.
This film is in many ways the exact problem Christopher Nolan created with his Dark Knight trilogy. Nolan, by grounding the fanciful characters of comic books into a realistic setting, created a climate in which someone could suck any sort of joy or meaning out of comics. The success of his films meant that people would see dark, gritty realism as preferable to joyous, colorful escapism, and the negative effects of his films, however good you find them, are still felt today even as filmmakers are finally shaking off the grit. Dawn of Justice is the zenith of Nolan’s style of superhero film. There is nothing fun, joyful, or engaging to be found here; it is simply the characters you know and love forced into dark, miserable scenarios that ends in death and misery. Where’s the fun? Where’s the color? Where’s the wonder, the excitement, where is any of it? This film paints a bleak and miserable and hopeless picture of a world of superheroes. It really makes me think of this rather famous comic panel:
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I absolutely hate this movie, but not because I think it’s bad. I hate it because it has enough good ideas where it should be the best thing ever, but it really isn’t. It’s a miserable slog of a film that does nothing to justify or earn its massive runtime whatsoever. It really does belong somewhere between 5 and 6 on IMDB, because I can almost see why people like it, but it just isn’t even remotely close to being how good its fan say it is. This is not a good superhero movie, and this is not how we should want superhero movies to be. There is a market for serious superhero fare of course, and there’s no reason that these films can’t engage with mature themes or anything, don’t get me wrong. But this is absolutely not the way to do it.
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