#nothing gets done and every idea gets vetoed. that sucks too

[synthaphone]

im tired

the stuff happening in moderneo is indicative of a trend i've been seeing in neoclone art contribution, which is that artists who come in to work on pet colors often clash because they're coming from two majorly different viewpoints:

its for fun so don't take it too seriously and just be creative- if the site runner likes it then its good to go

its for a website that's seeking to recreate the neopets experience, so we should strive for the art we make to match the existing art in style and quality

neither of these are incorrect approaches for a volunteer collaborative project, and i think its up to the people in charge of each respective neoclone to clearly establish which of these ways they want their art team to approach the pet colors, in order to prevent conflict i'm definitely in the latter camp, and have also been called a bully on a couple different occasions for offering gentle critique. seeing very level headed and reasonable points be reacted to as though they're evil bullying makes me want to spontaneously combust. sometimes, on a collaborative project, you'll end up feeling bad when you receive critique or pushback on an idea you had. and that feeling sucks!!! but that doesn't mean that the people who gave you the critique were bullies. seeing professional artists get treated like dangerous cruel people for approaching a project like professionals makes me feel insane.

like okay, if its not a professional project and the more 'anything goes' atmosphere is whats wanted, then fine!! but you have to make that clear- and even IF that's the goal, i think its unreasonable and immature of any participating artist to demand zero critical feedback on the designs that they're submitting to the website for everyone to be able to adopt. also, if the project isn't going to be approached like its professional work, you can't expect consistent professional quality artwork, because you cannot get that from an environment that doesn't allow for critique or style direction

#i need a text post tag #also why join a collaborative project submitting art for a site everyone will use #if you get really upset at critique? #i don't understand why people don't realize how selfish that comes off? #making art for yourself? hell yeah go wild. making art for a pet site?? you have to be open to other people having opinions #especially because if you're making the Darigan Aisha or whatever; that's it! that's THE Darigan Aisha!!! #so i think its fair for other artists and users on the site to be able to offer SOME amount of input as to what that should be #like obviously if you go too far with this mindset #nothing gets done and every idea gets vetoed. that sucks too #but imagine if i waltzed in like 'hi guys. what if all future toy neopets were classic wooden nutcrackers' #and then started making nutcracker neopets at an incredible speed #and then got upset that people were like 'wait this doesn't make sense' or 'i don't like this idea'. i don't think that would be fair of me #it shouldn't just be for you and your own desires and ego!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[centrally-unplanned]

after your last post about STEM, what do you think about expanding the fields of 1) environmental science and other study of the environment and our interactions with it and 2) urban design and urban planning. Imo both of these should be as big as health sciences and engineering respectively, the only reason they’re not is that people don’t care about our interaction with the environment we need to care about and systemic place-drivers behind inequality, liveable lifestyles, and our ability to actually live sustainably as a species. mostly asking bc these are fields I’ve studied in and there’s very minimal, very introductory education imo compared to how much potential there is for 1) innovation and 2) applied study of ecosystems etc to actually care for said ecosystems

These are classic individual-cart-before-the-structural-horse issues. Does the current US economy (I'm talking about US, this will be unique by country, no commentary on Italy or w/e) lack for environmental scientists? When the EPA makes job postings for inspectors, when Williams & Connolly LLP puts out the call for environmental consultants for pending litigation, when Siemens is drowning in NEPA paperwork for a solar installation and needs to onboard staff, do they lack for candidates? Like fresh-out-of-school candidates, not "30 years of experience litigating environmental impact statements in United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit" candidates? I think the answer is "no" - its a popular major. It has tiers for levels of math skill, it has politics & business subfields, and so on. The system only needs so many of these people to do its job - I actually know about the environmental field from a professional capacity having built a degree in it, and right now we graduate too many in this field if you made me bet (but again not by like a ton, they do fine).

You can't make the system care more via the lever of supply of college majors. We currently empower environmental scientists by X% because that is how much we value the environment as a society. You wanna budge that you gotta convince people, win hearts and minds, initiate political reform, etc.

With urban studies I haven't done this professionally so I am a little less confident, but I think we oversupply that category even more. We have tons of urban planners in the US - we just don't let em do anything! We hire them by the dozens in every city and then suborn them root-and-stem to elected officials and an infinite array of veto points by local councils and lawsuits. Boosting the supply of graduates would do absolutely nothing - in fact its a "flakeout" career as we call it in the industry, the kind of job someone majors in, gets hired in the field, and then leaves after a few years because it turns out to suck for w/e reason. (though again, never dug into the data on this one, so grain of salt on this specific claim. Wider thrust is true).

I think this ties into a general principle I have - the US higher education system is not a lever for social change. In some small ways sure, and for academia oh yeah ofc and I have a ton of ideas on that one. But overall its downstream of wider social forces, and its decently-optimized to cater to the needs of those social forces. You can't squeeze new social goals out of society's certification system.

[taylors-karma]

My official week 1 rankings of the houseguests. As always, these are subject to change but I have a feeling some of them are pretty set in stone.

1. Queen Taylor- Homegirl has done absolutely nothing wrong and has proven to be super sweet, caring, and thoughtful. I have mad respect for her because she is keeping her head up and playing to stay, and I hope that even if she does leave this week (most likely) that she returns for something because I would love to see her compete.

2. Brittany- So far she is the only person to have reached out to Taylor and fully explain to her what’s going on in the house. Is she excused for partaking in it and not saying anything before it all happened? No, but at least she had the decency to do it eventually. She’s the best of the worst.

3. Nicole- I cannot believe that I am putting the ex-cop up at number 3 but compared to everyone else this woman is not bad I fear. She is one of the few people to address the oddity of the mob mentality and Taylor bullying going on, and even though she’s done nothing about it for some reason, at least she is fucking aware that this isn’t normal.

4. Michael- He has moved down because he has participated in Taylor slander and doesn’t seem to want to be actively against it, but I do think it’s iconic that he won veto as the HOH’s target and he’s not the worst offender of it all.

5. Indy- She’s kind of irrelevant but she’s starting to defend Taylor so she’s working her way up for me. I don’t think she’s ever been problematic and she’s probably next in line to be evicted but I don’t hate her.

6. Alyssa- Cannot believed she moved up this far but she has legit been so irrelevant and quiet since the first two days that I don’t have much to say. She was a bitch at first but she’s been shutting up so she’s indifferent rn.

7. Turner- He’s done next to nothing to the point where I keep forgetting he’s here, but he still sucks bc he’s been participating in Taylor bashing. 

8. Joseph- This man is confusing bc he’ll say stuff like, “I don’t mind Taylor” then conflict that with, “Taylor called Daniel racist” like boy pick a side.....he still isn’t the worst though somehow.

9. Terrance- Although he is far from the worst, he still has said some shit about Taylor without knowing her and seems to be way too happy about this situation. Like I get that you now have a better chance of staying and good for you, but also fuck you bringing her down for your benefit.

10. Daniel- Some of y’all would probably rank him way lower, but tbh I think this guy is just a fucking idiot. He has no idea that what he is doing is wrong and has even been aware of how it looks, but lets himself be manipulated by assholes to keep it up even though the implications are right there. Stop crying about being seen as problematic and change that I don’t fucking get it. You’re dumb and ignorant. 

11. Kyle- Cannot believe I am ranking a Trumpie this high. Literally cannot, but I have to because he hasn’t done anything super problematic yet. Still goes down though bc of Trumpie shit. 

12. Ameerah- The reason why she’s a little higher up is because she is trying to build an alliance against the bros and has potential to play a great game minus all the bullying, but she has lost my stan card after all of the obvious bullying, mocking of Taylor’s mother, and laughing. She also gets pissed easily and believes every lie that’s being told to her so idk if she really is gonna make it that far or not.

13. Poo Poo Pooch- Fuck this guy. I knew he sucked, I knew he was an asshole, fuck this guy. I hate that he’s not still at the bottom because he’s not one of the main antagonists, but he’s still garbage. 

14. Jizzmine- This bitch screams jealousy and is literally the most annoying person I’ve ever had to listen to on here. Her voice sucks, her personality sucks, and she’s a bitch for no reason coming up with shit and shitting on a woman bc she’s insecure and sad like.....get tf over it and grow tf up. You’re how old???

15. Palomayo- Y’all already know why this bitch is this low. Homegirl is cracked out of her fucking mind, spreading rumors, speaking in fucking fast forward, losing her mind, and literally pretending to be cool with Taylor when SHE started this shit. I hate her. She literally deserves nothing but hell.

16. Derek F 2.0/Monte- I hate this man. Not only did he start the rumor and shit about Taylor and come after her for literally no reason, but the way he talks down to her is actually disgusting and honestly he is the reason everyone else is doing it too. This man is the problem with the group and is the actual cancerous personality thank you very much. He is awfully sexist and gross and needs to be removed immediately. Goodbye. 

#bb24 #my thoughts and rambles #fuck this shit #ranking 2 done

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Lovers VANDEAD CARNIVAL ;; Present from Sakamaki [PART 1]

ー The scene starts in the classroom

Health committee member (1): ーー There we go. That should conclude the check-up.

Yui: Thank you. Phew...

( Hm...I wonder if it’s because I’ve been having my blood sucked, but my weight has gone down a little. )

( I don’t know whether I should be happy or sad...It’s a complicated feeling. )

Health committee member: Is something the matter?

Yui: Ah, no. This is my health report card.

Health committee member: Yes, thank you very much. (2) ーー Ah.

Yui: ...? Is something wrong?

Health committee member: Oh no, that’s not it.

Here...Your date of birth. It’s your birthday tomorrow, isn’t it?

Yui: Ah, now that you mention it...

Health committee member: I’m one day early, but congratulations!

Yui: ( I honestly didn’t think I’d have anyone congratulate me for my birthday after moving to this city. )

Thank you very much. I’m so haーー

*Rattle*

Laito: Nfu, Bitch-chan~! Laito-kun’s here to pick you up~!

Yui: Laito-kun...!

Kanato: You’re late. What were you doing? You really are such a slowpoke.

Yui: K-Kanato-kun as well...

I’m sorry for keeping you guys waiting. The examination has finished already so let’s go.

Laito: By the way, Bitch-chan~? What did you hand over to the lady just now~? 

*Flip*

Health committee member: Eh? Ahーー!

Yui: L-Laito-kun! Y-You can’t!

Laito: Aah~ Right, they took body measurements today, no?

Yui: I’m begging you, don’t look...!

Laito: Hm...? Oh dear, oh dear, what do we have here...? I see...~ 

Yui: Geez, Laito-kun...!

*Flip*

Laito: Well, I’m not really interested in this stuff so I’ll be nice and hand it back. More importantly, let’s hurry back home.

Yui: ( Thank god. He handed it back right away... )

U-Um...By the way, where’s Ayato-kun?

Laito: The・truth・is...~ He got such a bad grade on his test this morning. 

So he got called over to the faculty room~

*Rattle*

Ayato: ...The fuck?

Laito: Ah, well done getting through the teachers’ scolding~! We were just talking about you.

Ayato: Che...The fuck’s their problem? They kept on naggin’ at me just ‘cause I didn’t get the best score.

Kanato: You reap what you sow. If only you were intelligent like we are, you poor thing.

Ayato: Aah!? You two aren’t much better, are you!?

Laito: Eh~~? We’re not on your level.

Kanato: You had a single-digit number, right? Please do not group us together.

Ayato: Che...

Yui: U-Um, Ayato-kun. Please don’t beat yourself up over it...

Ayato: Fuck off! Come on, Chichinashi. We’re goin’ home already!!

Yui: Y-Yeah...!

*TIMESKIP*

ー The scene shifts to the limousine

Reiji: Haah...Because of you lot, we are running horribly late.

Yui: ( Uu...I’m pretty sure I informed him of today’s physical examination before we left for school today though... )

Reiji: For one, people such as you lot who fail to stick to a time schedule on a regular basis, will surely experience problems in your daily life as weーー

*Rustle*

Ayato: Oi, Chichinashi. Give me your blood once we get home, ‘kay?

This irritated feelin’ is makin’ me thirsty, so I’ll suck you plenty.

Kanato: Could you not just decide that by yourself?

I am just as irritated because you kept us waiting.

I will be sucking her blood first once we get home. Right, Teddy...?

Ayato: Ah? Excuse me...?

Laito: Nfu~ Bitch-chan’s blood, how nice. I’m hungry as well, so why don’t we equally split it amongst us three?

Reiji: ...Haah...I wonder how I got stuck with a bunch of stubborn fools who refuse to listen to what someone is saying...

Shuu: ...

Reiji: ...That being said, I suppose they are still better than the guy who falls asleep before he can even listen at all...

This good-for-nothing...!

Yui: ( R-Reiji-san... )

I-I’m sorry. It’s my fault we were running late. We had a physical check-up today and...

Since I’ve been a little anemic, it took slightly longer than I expected...

Subaru: Hm? ...Oi, have you really been feelin’ anemic?

Yui: Yeah...

( Could he be worried about me...? )

Subaru: I don’t give a damn ‘bout what happens to you...But it’d suck if you’d run dry of blood. Make sure that stuff gets replenished, ‘kay?

Yui: R-Right...

Reiji: Exactly. Your blood is the only value you hold after all.

Yui: ( Of course. That’s all I’m good for to them. )

( What made me think they’d be worried about me...? )

( I should know that already but...For some reason, it makes me a little sad. )

Laito: ...Nfu~

*TIMESKIP*

ー The scene shifts to Yui’s bedroom

Yui: Phew...Somehow I’m really exhausted today...

Tomorrow’s a free day, so I’ll hit the hay early and spend some nice, quiet time.

*Rustle*

Yui: ( Tomorrow’s my birthday, huh...? I wonder if I’ll be able to head out somewhere...? )

ー The scene shifts to the living room

Laito: Attention please~! Thank you all for gathering here on this fine evening~!

Ayato: ...Geez, what do you suddenly want? I was thinkin’ of droppin’ by Chichinashi’s room for a sip of blood.

Kanato: My poor Teddy had his snacks stolen by Laito, you know...!? I won’t forgive you if you made me come here for nothing!!

Subaru: Che...

Shuu: ...Pwaah...Sleepy.

Reiji: ...Now this is unexpected. I did not think you and Subaru would show up as well.

Shuu: No...I was already taking a nap here when you guys just started gathering one after the other.

Laito: Nfu~ I plotted this get-together immaculately, no~?

Reiji: ...I suppose one could say you used your brain for once, Laito.

ーー So, what is this about? Please stop beating around the bush, and explain to us what is going on.

Subaru: It better not be some bullshit or you’re not gettin’ away with it!

Laito: Hm~ Thank you for your typical input, Subaru-kun~ However, I’m pretty sure you’re going to love hearing about this?

Kanato: What do you have to tell us then!?

Laito: You see, it happens to be Bitch-chan’s birthday tomorrow~

Ayato: Ah? Birthday?

Laito: Yes, exactly!

So...I figured we would all throw a surprise birthday party for her!

Subaru: Ah!? Who in their right mind would waste their fuckin’ time on somethin’ so ridiculous!?

Laito: Oh come on~ I mean, she’s always giving us her delicious blood, no?

Ayato: ‘Giving’, my ass! It belongs to me either way.

Laito: Relax! That’s not what matters right now!

I don’t think it would hurt to show our gratitude and do something in return for once though~

Kanato: Surprise birthday party...

Ayato: Keh. Why do we have to show our gratitude? She’s our prey!

Laito: Eeeh~~~? I thought it’d be fun though. I mean, if none of you are up for it, I guess I’ll drop the ideaー

Don’t you think you’d get to indulge in plenty of takoyaki or sweets? It is a birthday party after all.

Ayato: ...

Kanato: ...

Laito: But well, seems like I’m out of luck, so I suppose I’ll have to give up~

Kanato: Please wait. I cannot possibly turn down an opportunity to eat sweets.

Ayato: I’m in too! Let’s prepare a whole mountain of takoyaki and throw this party!!

Laito: Nfu...~ Now that’s sounding more like a proper celebration.

Reiji: Haah...I feel ashamed having to call those three my brothers...

Shuu: ...Who cares. Just do as you please...

Ayato: Stop complainin’ if you’re not even gonna join in. That only means there will be more food for me, so don’t even bother showin’ up!

Kanato: Agreed. You won’t join either, Subaru?

Subaru: No way in hell I’m botherin’ with that annoyin’ crap!

Laito: Hm~ I would have loved it if we could all participate though. You’re skipping out as well, Reiji?

Reiji: Well, under normal circumstances, I would never consider taking part in such nonsense. Howeverーー

It cannot be denied that she has been donating her blood to us.

Furthermore, I cannot see things ending well if the three of you combine forces. 

Worst-case scenario, the whole manor will be blown into the air...Which would be highly troublesome, so I shall participate to keep an eye on things.

Ayato: Keh, there you go talkin’ shit ‘bout us again.

Laito: Well, I guess the four of us will celebrate Bitch-chan’s birthday together then.

Reiji: Halt. Do you truly believe that I can supervise all three of you just by myself?

Laito: I’m pretty sure we don’t need someone keeping an eye on us though~? 

Reiji: I am not that naive to fall for those words.

I am using my veto to impose mandatory participation on every member of this household, understood?

Subaru: Haah!? What gives you the right to do that!?

Reiji: Do you have any idea how much I look after all of you on a daily basis? 

Subaru: Aah!? Fuck do I know!? Besides, we never asked you to do that shit, nor do we actively try and trouble you!? 

Reiji: I suppose those being looked after do not realize how privileged they are themselves. ...That good-for-nothing over there is a prime example of that.

Shuu: ...

Reiji: Better be safe than sorry. You shall participate to protect the manor.

Shuu: Ahー ...What a drag. Fine, so just shut up already...

Reiji: Very well. Well then, Subaru. You will join in as well, no?

Subaru: Hell no.

Laito: Oh come on, why not~? You should join the fun as well. It’s not like you get the chance every day? Right?

If you continue to be stubbornー...

Nfu~ We’ll hold the party over at your room, okay?

Subaru: Haah!? No fuckin’ way!!

Laito: Perfect! That means everyone’s in!

Subaru: Oi!! Don’t make that choice for me!

Laito: Eeh~~? But then we’ll throw the party in your room though? Are you fine with that?

Ayato: Actually, didn’t you lose your temper the other day and busted another hole through the wall?

Shuu: Haha...Taking a nap while enjoying the night breeze honestly isn’t that bad though...

Subaru: ...Don’t come here to sleep...

...Fuck...! You guys better don’t make me do all of the shitty tasks!

Reiji: Well then, I suppose that wraps up this discussion. As for what we need to prepare, the obvious things would be...

Ayato: Takoyaki, duh!

Kanato: I want to eat a cake covered in whipped cream with a bunch of large strawberries on top!

Reiji: Those are the things you guys want to eat, no? We should at least try and consider what she likes.

Ayato: Ah? What are you sayin’? We’re already doin’ plenty by celebrating her birthday, no?

Laito: They say it’s the sentiment which counts, right?

Reiji: Guh...I am baffled to hear something sensical come from you lot’s mouths for once.

Kanato: So, what exactly do I need to do to get my strawberry cake?

Subaru: ...Aren’t we kind of missin’ the point now?

Laito: Oh well, wasn’t there this one important guy who said that participating is more important than winning?

...That being said, let’s go shopping for all the foods we want to eat!

Kanato: I don’t mind if you go buy it for me, but it better be delicious.

Subaru: Then go buy it yourself!

Kanato: Me? Going grocery shopping? Why would I bother doing something so troublesoーー

Right...In one of the books I read in the past, it said that a birthday cake is best when homemade.

I can put on as much whipped cream as I like, before decorating it with a bunch of strawberries...Fufu, my own exclusive cake.

Haah...Just imagining it is making my mouth water...I’ve decided. I will make a delicious cake.

Reiji: Not in my book.

Kanato: Why do I need your permission? I decided I will make it, so it’s already settled.

Ayato: Oh, sounds kinda interestin’! In that case, I’m gonna try my hand at some homemade takoyaki as well!

Reiji: You make it sound so easy...Do you truly believe you can pull it off?

Shuu: Haah. This situation is steadily going downhill...

Laito: Nfu~ Homemade, huh? It’s starting to sound more and more like a real birthday party.

Reiji: Laito, why are you pretending as if you take no responsibility in this?

You are the one who brought up the idea in the first place, so you should make sure things are kept in check.

Laito: Eh~~~? But that’s what you’re here for, no?

Ayato: ...So, what else needs to get done?

Kanato: You aren’t thinking of making us do all the work, right?

Reiji: Of course. For one...

I have yet to hear of a birthday party with only takoyaki and a cake.

Ayato: Haah? What’s so bad about that?

Reiji: It is a day on which humans celebrate their very short life, so do you not believe there should be a diverse, luxurious buffet as you would see at evening galas or dinner banquets?

Kanato: I do remember how noisy those evening parties would be. However, I am not interested in anything besides the cake.

Reiji: ...Haah, you are only thinking of your own gain. Truly what one would expect from you lot.

Ayato: I mean, I doubt Chichinashi will enjoy it, unless we’re having fun as well!

Subaru: Che...Ridiculous...

Reiji: Good grief...I suppose I have no other choice. In that case, I shall be in charge of making the main course...

Laito: In that case, I’ll help out Ayato-kun~ Making takoyaki sounds kind of fun, to be honest.

Shuu: Pwaaah~ ...Doesn’t seem like there’s anything I need to do...

Reiji: You shall keep an eye on her to ensure she does not leave her room.

It is a trivial task, perfect for someone like you, no?

Shuu: ...Che...What a chore...

Subaru: Haah, whatever.

Reiji: Subaru, you will be doing your fair share as well.

Subaru: Haah!?

Reiji: Do you truly believe I can trust Kanato by himself in the kitchen? Make sure to keep an eye on him.

Subaru: Why me!?

Reiji: Since you are the only one still left without a task, obviously?

I expect you to put your life on the line to ensure the kitchen does not go up in flames.

Subaru: Annoyin’...

Laito: Okaay~! Well then everyone, off we go! (3)

*TIMESKIP*

Ayato: Oi, Reiji! Step back! I gotta be the one walkin’ in front!

Reiji: Pipe down, Ayato.

Kanato: Good grief...I cannot stand all this noise. Say, you feel so too, don’t you, Teddy...?

Subaru: We’re not lil’ children anymore, so wouldn’t it have been better if just one of us did the shoppin’ by themselves...?

Laito: Oh come on, don’t you think it’s fun to all go grocery shopping together for once~?

Subaru: ...Che. Don’t talk to me as if we’re buds.

Reiji: ...Hm? Everyone, wait one second.

I cannot see Shuu anywhere around?

Subaru: Haah? Who cares? He’s probably snoozin’ again somewhere.

Reiji: Good grief...Here I thought he was actually joining without any protests for once, but there he goes acting off his own accord again...Truly infuriating.

Even though we have to ensure we are back at the manor by the time she wakes upーー

Ayato: Oh! They’ve got a takoyaki grill! Laito! Let’s go check it out!

Laito: Huh~? But don’t we already have one of those?

Ayato: Ah? Like I know where to find that thing. It’d be too much trouble lookin’ for it.

Laito: Good point! Let’s go have a look then!

ー The two of them enter a store

Reiji: Ah, halt! We should stick to the planning and only visit the necessary stoーー

Kanato: I simply cannot spend another minute with this rowdy bunch.

I will go my own way, so come look for me if you need me.

ー Kanato leaves as well

Reiji: Hey! Where are you going, Kanato!? I will not let this selfish behavior slide!

Haah...

Shuu: Pwaah...Like this, I can’t relax no matter where I go...

Reiji: You good-for-nothing...You shamelessly come walking up to me and that’s the first thing you say...?

Shuu: Nn...I’ll be over on that bench over there, so just come wake me up once you’re done shopping...

Reiji: At this point, your laziness has surpassed the point of being disappointing, it almost feels refreshing.

Shuu: Thanks for the compliment...Sleepy...

ー Shuu steps away

Reiji: It honestly is not even worth insulting him...

Subaru: Haah...The fuck is this farce? I want to go back home...

*SCENE SHIFT*

Ayato: Oi, Laito! Do you know what ingredients we need to make takoyaki?

Laito: It’s called takoyaki, so octopus is a given, right?

Ayato: I know that much as well!

But I want to make takoyaki like nobody has ever tasted before!

I’m gonna make so many of them, they’ll pile up all the way to the ceiling!

Laito: Nfu~ Sounds like something you would do. In that case, we need to stock up on plenty of ingredients.

Ayato: Yeah! We’ve got plenty of people with us to carry the bags!

Laito: If we’re going through the trouble of making them, it’d be a little dull to stick to normal takoyaki, right? ...Ah, how about this?

Ayato: Wasabi? Whatcha gonna do with that?

Laito: Fufufu, that’s something to look forward to at the party.

Ayato: ...This and these, also those over there...

Laito: Let’s put them all in our basket! I’m so excited, nfu~

*SCENE SHIFT*

Reiji: Honestly those triplets, always doing as they please...

Subaru, wait right here. I will go call them.

Subaru: Haah!? Why do I have to...Wait, oi!

ー Reiji leaves

Subaru: ...Haah. This grocery run is fucked up.

Shuu: ...

Subaru: This guy is seriously out here snoozin’...

Shuu: ...Shut up. I’m still awake.

Subaru: The fuck!? You’re actually awake...

Shuu: Haah...I just don’t want to move because it’s too much of a chore...

Subaru: Then why did you even join us in the first place...

Shuu: I could ask you the exact same thing...Pwaah...

Subaru: ...Che.

ー Subaru starts walking away

Shuu: ...Oh? Going home?

Subaru: Shut up. Leave me alone.

ー Subaru leaves

Shuu: ...

*SCENE SHIFT*

Subaru: ...

Kanato: Aah, as if on cue. Subaru.

Subaru: Che, goin’ home now after he said that just doesn’t sit right with me...

Kanato: Subaru.

Subaru: That bein’ said, I don’t want to just have to stand there and play supervisor either. I’m goin’ home because I want to.

Kanato: Subaru!

*Rustle*

Subaru: Ow, the fuck you doin’, bastard!?

Kanato: How many times do I have to call you before you come? Are those ears there just for decoration?

Subaru: Ah? I filter out that annoyin’ voice of yours.

So, what do you want?

Kanato: I’ve settled on the ingredients I want for the cake. Please carry the basket and follow me.

Subaru: Haah!? Why do I have to act as your personal carrier!? I was just ‘bout to head home!!

Kanato: What are you saying? The two of us are in charge of preparing the cake together, so it only makes sense for you to help out, no?

Subaru: You’re the one who wants to make that damn thing, aren’t you? Then shouldn’t you be carrying the basket yourself?

Kanato: I’m already holding Teddy. How am I supposed to do that?

Subaru: Aah!? I’m gonna punch you, you bastard!

Kanato: Punch me? You’ll ignore my request and hit me...? Even though you’re the one just standing around there, doing absolutely nothing?

Yet you trample all over my generous attempts to try and help you be useful...Who do you think you are!?

If you fail to understand that, then why don’t you punch yourself on the head instead? Come on, hurry up and do it!

Subaru: Haah...Shut up. Ahー Fine! I just have to carry your stuff, right?

Kanato: Hmph. ...You should have just done so from the very start. Right, Teddy...?

Subaru: Fuck off! I’m comin’ so shut up and show me the way!

Kanato: Fufu, it’s this way.

Subaru: Honestly...I seriously should have never tagged along...Fuck.

*SCENE SHIFT*

Reiji: ...That’s...

Subaru: ...

Reiji: Subaru. Why are you here?

Did I not tell you to wait by that bench over there earlier?

Subaru: Ah, geez! Stop naggin’ at me this whole time! I can go wherever I want!

Reiji: Do you not think you are at fault for not simply saying no earlier? Honestly, it’s always the youngest ones that cause trouble...

Subaru: Oi, you jerk. What didya say just now!?

Reiji: I only stated the truth. So, why are you on the move?

I gave you that task because I figured you would not want to have to walk around.

Take a look! I have brought Ayato and Laito along with me.

Ayato: Ah? 

Laito: Nfu~ You’re talking about us as if we’re your luggage~

Subaru: Not my fault! I’m not doin’ this ‘cause I want to! If you want to complain, then complain to Kanato instead!

Kanato: We’re going to buy the ingredients for the cake. You really are the very definition of a creep, trying to track my every move.

Reiji: ...

Ayato: Oi, Four-Eyes. I know what I wanna buy so gimme some cash.

Reiji: You sure have some nerve to ask me for money after you have been doing nothing but acting selfishly this whole time. Do you really think you can get away with that!?

Ayato: Ah? Why are you snappin’ at me? You’re such a cheapskate.

Kanato: Exactly. Why do you not try and keep your calm a little?

Laito: Nfu~ Perhaps you’re running a little low on calcium~? (4)

Reiji: ...

Subaru: ...

Reiji: ...Very well. Just do as you please. However, I do not intend to give you lot a single yen.

ー Reiji leaves

Ayato: Ah! Oi, wait! ...O-Oi, do any of you guys have some cash?

Kanato: Are you dumb? Why would I have money on me?

Subaru: Oi, what are we gonna do...

Laito: This is your fault, Ayato! Go apologize to Reiji!

Ayato: Haah!? Why do I have to say sorry!?

Kanato: That’s easy. Because you’re to blame for everything.

Ayato: Haah!? He was upset with you as well!

Laito: In that case, the two of you should go say sorry.

Kanato: Why are you trying to escape the blame when you’re the one who was together with Ayato in the first place?

Ayato: I’m never apologizin’!

Laito: Get going, you two.

Kanato: I’m not going either!

Subaru: Ahー God! Stop the damn arguin’! All three of you should go apologize!

Ayato: Why do I have to!?

Laito: Ehー?

Kanato: Under no circumstances!

Shuu: You guys are way too loud...You’re practically shouting for the whole store.

Pwaah...That being said...You’re still not done...?

*TIMESKIP*

Subaru: ーー There you have it. So Reiji, just give in already.

At this rate, we’ll never make it back to the manor.

Reiji: Even so, I cannot give in now.

Subaru: ...

Reiji: ーー However, right...I suppose I shall show my gratitude and let it slide this once. Although I have yet to hear an apology.

Ayato: What is this Four-Eyes goin’ on ‘bout?

Reiji: If you continue to call me that, I would not mind just heading home straight away.

Ayato: Che...

Reiji: Hmph...

Subaru, I will be joining the three of them.

Meanwhile you will go look for Shuu so the two of you can purchase the ingredients I need for my own dish.

Subaru: ...Hah? Why not just buy them yourself?

Reiji: Perhaps try using that brain of yours a little and you will realize that it is simply impossible to look for the items on my own list while also keeping an eye on those triplets at the same time.

Above all, I want to ensure that good-for-nothing at least does something as well.

Subaru: I don’t get it. I’m not doin’ anythin’, understood?

Kanato: How can you be so selfish?

Ayato: Exactly! Are you goin’ to ruin this whole thing ‘cause you’re being a selfish prick?

Laito: Reiji’s mood finally improved, but now Subaru-kun’s going to ruin it again?

Subaru: Fuck...What is your problem!?

Laito: It’s easy, no? If Reiji doesn’t give us any money.

We can’t buy the stuff we need for Bitch-chan’s birthday party, right? Ah-ah, I’m sure she would have been so happy as well.

Subaru: ...

Che...I just have to go buy that shit, right!?

*Flip*

Reiji: Very well. I have written down everything with the exact quantities I need on this note.

Subaru: ...You nitpicker.

Reiji: It would be bad to overbuy, no? Please call it effective instead.

I will pay for all ingredients together, so please wait in front of the cashier once you’re done.

*Rustle*

Subaru: ...Hmph.

ー Subaru walks off with the memo

*SCENE SHIFT*

Subaru: Shuu!! Wake up!

Shuu: How could I sleep under these circumstances...? You guys are really noisy...

Subaru: I have to go through this shit ‘cause you were loafin’ ‘round! Now get up and make yourself useful!

Shuu: ...Haah...Guess I have no other choice. I heard most of the conversation earlier, so I’ll make an effort to move today...

Nn...So, what do we have to buy...?

Subaru: This.

*Rustle*

Shuu: Haah, that’s quite the list...Subaru, you carry the basket.

Subaru: Haah!? You can go get it yourself, no!? Why is it always me!?

*TIMESKIP*

*Rustle rustle*

Yui: ...Nn...

( I wonder when I last got such a good night’s rest? )

( Usually, someone always barged in to suck my blood the second I try to go to bedーー )

*BOOM*

Yui: W-What was that!?

( That sound just now...I didn’t just imagine it, right? )

*BOOM*

Yui: A-Again!? Also, I can smell something burnt as well...

( I-Is everyone okay...? I should go check up on the situation... )

ー Yui tries to leave her room

Shuu: ...

Yui: ...S-Shuu-san! What is happening!?

( Why is Shuu-san lying on the floor in the middle of the hallway...!? )

*BOOM*

Yui: Another explosion...!?

Shuu-san, wake up please! ...Shuu-san!

( Oh no...He’s not waking up at all. There might actually be something wrong with him... )

Um, Shuu-san...! P-Please wait right here! I’ll go call someone else!

*Rustle*

Shuu: ...Shut up. ...Oh, it’s you.

Yui: Shuu-san...!

( T-Thank god. He was just asleep... )

Shuu: ...My muscles are sore...

Yui: Geez, it’s because you slept on the ground. More importantly, why are you here?

Shuu: Ahー... I have no other choice, do I? ...I have to keep an eye on you...

Yui: ...?

Shuu: ...No, it’s nothing.

*BOOM*

Yui: ( ...!! )

U-Um...Do you have any idea what these loud blasts are about...?

Shuu: Hm? Aah...You’re just hearing things. Now hurry back to your roomーー

*BOOM*

Shuu: ...

Yui: That sound again...!!

Shuu: ...Guess we’re not using the kitchen for a while after this...

Yui: Um, what did you say just now...?

Shuu: Nothing...Well, you can just continue sleeping, don’t let it bother you.

Yui: E-Easier said than done...

Shuu: Whatever, just go to bed....If not, that fussy guy will...

ー Reiji joins them

Shuu: ...Too late.

Yui: Ah, Reiji-san...!

Reiji: I came to check up on you because I could imagine you would be sleeping on the job again...

Yui: ( The job? What is he talking about? )

Reiji: You...You’ve woken up, I see?

Yui: Um, is something the matter? I’ve been hearing these explosions this whole time.

Reiji: No, it is nothing serious. You should return to your own room.

Yui: But, I’m worried about the others...

Reiji: Your concern is meaningless to us Vampires. Now get back to your room.

*BOOM*

Yui: A-Again!? Um, Reiji-san...?

Reiji: ...Haah, for god’s sake...

*SCENE SHIFT*

*BOOM*

Ayato: Uwaaah!? What the fuck’s happenin’!? Do somethin’ ‘bout this!!

*CRASH*

Laito: The fire, Ayato-kun! Hurry up and extinguish the flames!!

Ayato: You do that!!

Laito: Okay, here I go!!

*SPLASH*

Ayato: Oi, that’s damn cold...!!

Kanato: What are you doing!? It nearly got on Teddy!!

Ayato: Complain to Laito, not to me!!

Laito: Ahaha! My bad, my bad~! My hand slipped a little~

*Thud*

Ayato: Ah! Hot, hot, hot! Oi, this thing’s hella hot if you touch it!

Subaru: Oi, you fool!! Of course it’s gonna be hot...Che!

*SHATTER*

Kanato: Why do you keep on getting in my way, Ayato!?

Ayato: I’m not doin’ it on purpose either!

Kanato: Then get out of my sight! You’re in the way!

Laito: Uwah~ This situation keeps on getting worse and worse. I feel like it’s beyond saving at this point?

Subaru: Don’t be standin’ there makin’ a calm observation of the situation and do somethin’ ‘bout it instead!

Laito: Ah~ No chance! Once things stop exploding, we’ll just have to start over from scratch, okay?

Kanato: Don’t be ridiculous! Do you have any idea how much time and effort I put into getting this far!?

Ayato: Crap! I think it’s gonna boom again!

Subaru: Oi, idiot! Don’t come my way with that thing!!

*BOOM*

*CRASH*

Subaru: Fuckーー!! Which one of you bastards thought this was a good idea!?

*SCENE SHIFT*

*BOOM*

*CRASH*

Yui: ( I could faintly hear Ayato-kun and the others in the background. I’m sure they’re the ones behind these loud noises... )

( I have no idea what they’re doing, but I can tell that the manor is on the brink of destruction... )

Reiji: ...

Yui: ( Reiji-san’s temples are twitching...I’m pretty sure he’s infuriated...? )

U-Um...If there’s any way I can help out...

Reiji: ...No, that will not be needed. I will take care of it...

Yui: I see...

*BOOM*

*SHATTER*

Yui: ( Honestly, what is going on? I can still hear everyone shouting too... )

Reiji: Shuu, how long do you intend to sleep amidst this ruckus?

Shuu: ...Shut up, I’m awake. I’m doing the task given to me, no?

Yui: ...Task?

Reiji: Aah...It is nothing that should concern you.

I will come and call you later, so do not set foot outside of your room until then.

Yui: Eh? U-Um...

Reiji: Understood?

Yui: ( S-Scary...I probably shouldn’t ask any more questions, right? )

...Yes...

Reiji: Very well. Well then, good-for-nothing. You will be switching duties and head towards the kitchen with me.

Shuu: Haah...What a drag...

ー The two of them leave

Yui: ( ...What on earth is happening in this house? )

( However, I have no other choice but to return to my room after what Reiji-san told me, right? )

ー Yui goes back inside her room

Yui: ( I went back inside as I was told to, but... )

*CRASH*

Reiji: Ayato! Cut it out! What are you even trying to do!?

Ayato: I just...!!

*BOOM*

Ayato: Uwaaah! This damn thing exploded again!!

*THUD*

Yui: ( Don’t let it bother you, just ignore it... )

Subaru: Uwaah! The fuck you doin’, Kanato!? Don’t point that dangerous thing towards me! 

Kanato: ...Fufufu, I talked it over with Teddy, and we’ve decided to take down Ayato with this!

Laito: Then point it towards Ayato-kun instea...Uwaah!!

*BOOM*

*SHATTER*

Reiji: Ah, you lot...Stop this at once!!

Yui: ( Peace of mind...Positive thinking... )

Kanato: Ayato! Keep still and let yourself get hit!

Ayato: In your dreams!

Laito: Ooh~ Nice catch, Ayato-kun! Now dump it inside the water...

Ayato: Kanato, you should go ahead and blow up!

*BOOM*

Yui: ( ...Haah, I feel as if it just keeps on getting worse... )

( Speaking of which, I can’t hear Shuu-san at all. He can’t possibly be asleep amidst all of that...Right? )

( Even a Vampire would get hurt, no...? )

( Above all, it’s kind of rare for all of them to gather and do something together. )

( Hm...I honestly can’t imagine what they could be doing. )

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

Translation notes

(1) At Japanese high schools, they usually have a health committee with a representative in each class. This student is in charge of helping out during the physical examinations, will escort students when they are feeling ill or have injured themselves to the infirmary, etc.

(2) In Japan, it is quite common to say ‘I have received it’ when somebody hands you something. (People at stores might say it when you pay and give them the money as well.) However, the translation ‘Thank you’ just sounded more fluent and natural in English.

(3) 持ち場に着く or ‘mochiba ni tsuku’ usually gets translated as ‘to get to your station’ or ‘to get in position’. However, since some of them are actually moving places/leaving the house, I altered the translation a little. 

(4) I had never heard of this before, but I googled the terms ‘calcium deficiency’ and ‘irritation’ in Japanese and did find multiple articles talking about a possible link between a bad mood and lacking calcium.

→  LIKE MY TRANSLATIONS? SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI!

[ Part 2 ] →

#diabolik lovers #dialovers #vandead carnival #diabolik lovers translation #vcpresentfromsakamaki #shuu sakamaki #reiji sakamaki #ayato sakamaki #kanato sakamaki #laito sakamaki #subaru sakamaki

[arysafics]

prompt: clarke finds bellamys old online dating account thats obvious he hasnt used in forever, but she sees all his preferences are exactly the opposite of her (i.e. tall, brunette etc.) which makes her insecure. then he can convince her she hit him out of nowhere?

haven’t had much time to write lately since i’ve just moved apartments, but here’s a little something to tide you over until i can finish my next proper fic

like a freight train

rated t, ~1.7k words

Clarke hasn’t been on a dating site in forever, so honestly, it’s kind of fun to help Emori set up her profile. Things hadn’t ended well with Murphy, and after a string of Tinder hookups, Emori claims she’s ready to really move on and try a proper dating site, the one Raven met her current boyfriend Shaw on. There’s a sign-up fee and everything.

So Raven and Clarke have had fun picking Emori’s best photos, writing her bio, and selecting all her preferences, while Emori vetoed all their worst suggestions, and now they’re onto the really fun part—vetting the men.

They’re crowded around Emori’s laptop, sitting on her living room floor. A selection of thirty matches have come up for Emori, and the way it works is you don’t actually get to see the guy’s photo unless you agree to the match based solely on his biographical information.

“Why do all men either love fishing or cars?” Clarke asks, after the fourth man Emori has declined based on the fact that he will clearly never love a woman more than he loves his four-wheel drive.

“It would be fine if they had other interests too,” Emori says. “I like cars. And I could like fishing, I don’t know, I’ve never tried it.”

“Ooh, okay, what about this guy?” Raven interjects, then starts reading his bio from the screen.

“Looking for someone like-minded who enjoys fitness and the outdoors, particularly hiking and cycling. I also love kayaking, rock-climbing, soccer, and basketball. Would love to find someone to share those passions with me. I love a woman who can cook, not because I can’t (I can) but because I think great food is a way to share culture, history, and passion.

I want somebody laidback, who isn’t afraid to go with the flow and be spontaneous. I don’t vibe well with people who are intense or highly-strung. I hate country music and refuse to listen to it, yes, that includes Taylor Swift. Especially Taylor Swift.”

Clarke interjects then. “Emori, I don’t know about you, but I could never be with a guy who doesn’t like Taylor Swift.”

“You know I only listen to metal.”

“Shh, I’m not done,” Raven huffs. “Looks aren’t as important, but I’m partial to tall brunettes.”

Clarke snorts out a laugh. “This guy would hate me.”

“Yeah, but he’s perfect for Emori. What do you think, Em?”

“First halfway decent guy, I vote yes.”

Raven, who for some reason is the one in control of the laptop, hits the accept match button. Immediately, the man’s photo and name pops up, and immediately, Clarke’s stomach drops. Raven and Emori both erupt into fits of uncontrollable laughter. Because, of course, it’s Bellamy. Clarke’s very own boyfriend.

“Clarke, you better watch out, Emori’s going to steal your man.”

“He must have lowered his standards since then, Clarke,” Emori jokes. Clarke isn’t laughing.

Actually, quite the opposite. She feels like she might burst into tears. Her chest is all tight, and she knows her reaction is probably unjustified, but she can’t help it.

“Grow up, Clarke,” Raven says, rolling her eyes when she notices Clarke’s expression. “We’re just kidding around.”

“I know,” Clarke snaps. “I don’t care about that.”

“What then?” Emori asks. “You don’t think he’s actually still using this, do you? The photo is obviously so old, he clearly hasn’t been on here in years. Look,” she adds, pointing out the last active section on his profile, “last active 2012.”

Clarke nods, her jaw tight. It’s not that either, but she doesn’t feel like explaining it to her friends. “Yeah, you’re right,” she says, forcing a smile. “I’m being stupid.”

“Exactly,” Raven agrees. “Okay, who’s the next guy?” She turns her attention back to the screen.

“I think I’m going to take off,” Clarke says. “Bellamy gave me a shopping list, I’m supposed to pick some stuff up so he can make dinner.”

“Okay, whatever,” Raven says. “See you later. We’ll let you know if Emori finds the love of her life.”

Clarkes picks herself up off the floor, says a quick goodbye and hurries out of there. She’s not really in the mood anymore.

She does Bellamy’s grocery shopping on the way home, taking longer than she needs to, because for once she’s actually not eager to see him. The things he wrote in his dating profile haunt her. How is it possible that when he described his ideal woman, he described the exact opposite of Clarke? If those are the things he wants, what is he even doing with her?

She’s not tall, or brunette, for starters. Clarke hates fitness and the outdoors, and she especially hates sports. She’s not a terrible cook, but she’s not exactly Masterchef material, and she doesn’t enjoy it, just does it out of necessity. She’s intense, and uptight, and high-maintenance—and she fucking loves Taylor Swift.

Emori was right, Bellamy clearly lowered his standards.

She makes it home eventually, and Bellamy is already in the kitchen, getting dinner prepped. He’s got on his navy apron, that Clarke bought for him, with his name specially embroidered on the front.

Clarke dumps the bags of groceries on the counter, and Bellamy looks up from where he’s chopping onions, and gives her a heart-melting smile.

“Just in time,” he says, putting the knife down and wiping his hands on his apron. He reaches for her, with the clear intent of kissing her, but Clarke pulls away from him, still hurt from reading his old dating profile. His wounded expression makes her feel a little guilty, but not enough to overshadow her dejection.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

Clarke takes a deep breath. She has to talk about the calmly and maturely—they promised each other they always would. No passive-aggressive comments, or screaming matches, or walking out in silence because of a lack of proper communication. That’s how Clarke’s last relationship ended.

“Raven and I were helping Emori set up a dating profile today,” she explains. “And one of her matches was you.”

Bellamy hesitates, and she can see the gears turning in his head. “And you think…I’m still on dating sites?” he guesses. “I’m not, Clarke, I promise. I was on a few back in my twenties. I guess I didn’t delete all of them.”

“No, I know,” Clarke says. “It’s not that. It’s—it’s what you said in your bio. About what kind of woman you want.”

Bellamy groans. “Did I say something grossly offensive and misogynistic? If so, Murphy probably wrote it, he was helping me out with them.”

Clarke shakes her head. “It was all perfectly respectable. It’s just—it wasn’t me.”

Bellamy stares at her. “Well—I didn’t know you then.”

“No, but you seemed pretty certain about what you wanted. A fit, tall, brunette, who loves sports and cooking and sucking your dick.”

“I’m sure I didn’t say that last one. Besides, you do love sucking my dick.”

“That’s not the point,” Clarke huffs. “The woman you want is the complete opposite of me. Why are you even with me, when you could have anyone you want?”

Her voice cracks on the last sentence, and the tears spill over. She tries to blink them away to save herself the embarrassment, but it’s no use.

“Clarke, baby,” Bellamy says, all gentle and loving. He pulls her into his arms, and she lets him. There’s nothing more comforting than his embrace, even if he’s partly the reason she’s upset.

“I have exactly who I want,” he says. “All that other stuff is meaningless, just dot points on a list I thought I could check off and magically find the perfect partner. I was what, twenty-five? And a complete idiot. I didn’t know what I wanted.”

“But I’m not laid back or fun, and I don’t go hiking with you, or canoeing or whatever,” she sobs into his chest.

Bellamy kisses the top of her head, then pulls her back so he can look into her eyes. “Truth is, I once thought that stuff mattered. I was counting on meeting that woman, I was on every dating site, looking for her. But then I met you, and there was no magic dating algorithm that could have predicted that. You hit me like a fucking freight train, Clarke. As soon as I met you, I knew I was done for. You’re it, you’re absolutely it for me. I love your intensity, I love that you care so much, that you’re so organised. I love how you pretend to care about sports for me. I love cooking for you, knowing how much you appreciate it because you hate doing it yourself. I love you. I love you. Understand?”

Clarke nods, and she’s absolutely bawling now, but for entirely different reasons. He’s said he loves her a million times, of course, and she loves hearing it. But he’s never laid it out quite like that—never had the reassurance of him telling her he loves her exactly as she is, not in spite of her faults but because of them.

“You’re still crying,” he says worriedly. “Do you still not believe me? Because—”

Clarke cuts him off with a wet kiss, still half crying. He’s too surprised to kiss her back properly before she pulls away. “I love you too,” she says.

He nods, a little bewildered.

“I love you,” she repeats, kissing him again, and this time he kisses her back. “I love you, I love you, more than you will ever know.”

He brushes his nose against hers, then presses his lips against her tear-stained cheek. “I think I might have some idea,” he whispers.

“You know, in your dating profile,” Clarke murmurs, “you also said you hate Taylor Swift.”

Bellamy chuckles. “Well, you definitely fixed that,” he says. “Is that what you were really upset about? Did I not sing every lyric when we went on that road trip and you played nothing but Taylor Swift?”

“Good point,” Clarke says. “I think I’m definitely a good influence on you.”

“Definitely,” Bellamy agrees. “Now, back to Emori’s dating profile—you know this is going to crush Murphy, right?”

#bellarke #bellarke fanfiction #the 100 #the 100 fanfiction #mine #prompts filled #Anonymous

[dreamyjoons]

heartbreak trials // jjk

⇢ it all started with a bet: the one with the highest body count would get the most illustrious prize - Namjoon’s bedroom. For you and Jungkook, the race was on.

Genre/warnings: angst, smut! roommate!au, sex talks, best friend & fwb!Jimin, very background Namjin, swearing, alcohol use & drunkenness, creepy/pushy guy at a bar, oral (m & f recieving), fingering, unprotected sex, a creampie thing (lmao sorry), overstimulation, snarking constantly I can’t stop it

Words: 13.8k

A/N: In celebration for Jungkook’s birthday, enjoy this baby. I hope you all like it. Thank you to the incredible underthejinfluence for the support, suggestions and letting me complain regularly lmao.

“I swear, one of these days I'm gonna kill him.”

You throw yourself over the arm of the couch, letting your head flop on Namjoon’s knee. You sigh and pout up at him, waiting for him to pay you attention.

He casually ignores you, thumbing through the book in his hand. Another louder sigh passes your lips. Namjoon rolls his eyes, hastily dropping the bookmark in his hand between the pages. Once the closed book sits neatly in his lap, he turns his unimpressed gaze on you.

“What’s he done now?”

“He brought someone else home last night. Which is fine” -noting Namjoon’s raised eyebrow- “but Jungkook always seems to pick the loud ones.”

“I see. But do you not think he’s getting back at you?”

You sit bolt upright and spin, fully focused on Namjoon. Sure, you and Jungkook had some weird… thing going on when it came to having hookups in the house. Sometimes it felt a little premeditated. But you didn’t hate each other enough to have that kind of rivalry. Not that you thought so, anyway.

“For what?”

“When you brought home that guy from work who yelled the whole time you both fu-”

“Yes, your point?” You rush, ignoring the heat creeping across your face.

“Kook had an exam the next day.” Namjoon shrugged, his fingers idly teasing the edge of his book.

“That? That was last year Joonie! he’s graduated already!” You yelp, throwing up your arms for good measure.

“Yeah, but you never apologised.” You splutter at his quiet words, a Jungkook-shaped rage beginning to simmer inside you.

“Did he apologise when that devil ex of his put her thong in my bedroom? Or when that other crazy bitch tried to punch a hole through our connected wall-“

“Oh Sana? I thought you’d like her.” Jungkook smirks, strolling into the living area.

You jolt as he swaggers into the room, messy hair falling into his eyes. Wearing yet another all black ensemble, he casually strides to the sofa and sits himself between you and Namjoon, shimmying in the spot for good measure.

“What do you think?” You snap, scooting as far away from the demon as possible.

“Oh, I'm not interrupting, am I?” He smirks at you, brown eyes glittering with mischief.

“Always-“

“You’re fine, Jungkook. Actually I’ve been meaning to talk to you both.” Namjoon says gently, leaning forward to place his book on the table before turning to face you both. You and Jungkook both forcibly break your tense glare at each other to turn to Namjoon.

“I finally have a date for when I move in with Seokjin.” He smiles, his little dimple flashing on his face.

“Congrats, man!” Jungkook grins, slapping a hand on Namjoon’s shoulder.

“That’s amazing, Joonie. I bet you’re both so excited.” You smile, warmth spreading through you. It had been a long time coming - two bean poles who annoy each other constantly but found each other made your heart swell.

“We can’t wait, but that leads me to something about here. Obviously this was originally my flat, so I’m gonna pass it to you both. But it’s listed under my master bedroom.” He stops, taking a second to collect his thoughts. “So you both need to decide between you who’s going to have my room.”

An uneasy glance passes between you and Jungkook, a chill descends upon the room.

Namjoon’s room was not only nearly the size of yours and Jungkook’s room combined, but it also had an ensuite bathroom. It was prime real estate, and there was no way you were going to pass that up.

“I’ll have it-”

“Me!”

You both shout before another deadly glare passes between you. His eyebrows knit as he stares at you, but you’re not intimidated. You never are by Jungkook. He was a bunny! And apparently he banged like one-

“No way Jungkook, I deserve it! I’ve had to listen to you one-stroke wonder for nearly two years now-“

“Not a chance, Y/N! If I have to listen to you fake another orgasm I swear-”

“Fake? Fake?!” You splutter, heat surging to your face as you gawp at the floppy-haired idiot.

“Oh please, I’ve had to listen to you enough to know when you’re putting it on, which sounds like it happens regularly.” He shrugs, flicking his hair out of his eyes before smirking over at you.

“What makes you an orgasm expert?” You scoff.

“Oh baby, I know how to give an orgasm or three.”

You splutter and try to play it off as a cough, but Jungkook grins triumphantly. Namjoon loudly clears his throat, shuffling to the edge of the couch to give you both a meaningful stare.

“I’ll be out of here by the end of next week, but the contract will be changed in just under a month.” Namjoon gets to his feet, tucking his book under his arm. “You both have until then to decide.”

You stare at each other, sizing the other one up.

“I don’t care who takes the room as long as nothing gets broken in the inevitable fight you both are gonna have. Now, goodnight.” He smiles, before ducking out of the room. You and Jungkook both sit in silence until you hear his door shut.

You’d known each other for a year or two - you’d moved in with Namjoon after graduating after seeing an ad for a room. Jungkook had moved in three months after, having needed a place for his final year of college. That had been almost a year ago, and things were a lot different.

It wasn’t that you didn’t get on - you did. Most of the time. But there had been this strange atmosphere between you which had resulted in a weird competition; namely who can have the most sexual partners. Or in Jungkook’s case, the loudest.

“Obviously we both want the room.” He states, and you force yourself not to roll your eyes so hard your retinas detach.

“Yeah.”

“So how about we come up with a fair way to battle it out?” He asks, his full attention on you.

“Like what?” You ask, but he merely shrugs, hiding behind his hair slightly.

“I dunno. But we need a fair competition, because neither of us are gonna with over an argument.”

“I mean, I probably would-”

“No. Let's do this somewhat fairly.” He asserts, raising an eyebrow at you. You huff, but finally nod.

“Fine, but I can veto it if it’s a stupid idea.” You counter, holding out a hand.

He reaches out and takes your hand in his, gripping it as you shake hands, finalizing your agreement. You both break apart, sinking into separate ends of the couch.

“It’s gonna be weird without Joon being here.” Jungkook says quietly, and you nod at his words.

“Who’s gonna burn all our food and break up our fights now?” You smile, a genuine ache seeping its way into your chest.

Jungkook lets out a small chuckle, running a hand through his hair as he looks around the room. So much of Namjoon’s personality was in that place. The book titles with too many words strewn about the pace, the huge, earthy blankets laid over nearly every surface. The one bonsai he trusts you and Jungkook not to kill sitting proudly in the window. It was cosy, and completely Namjoon.

A silence settles over you, the air palpably thick.

You drag your eyes back to Jungkook, and find his eyes on you. They’re gentle but probing, like he’s trying to read your deepest thoughts. You nervously drag your lip between your teeth, heat flashes across your face as his eyes follow the motion.

And there it was. The deep ache in your stomach whenever you’re alone together, or when he creeps into your thoughts every day. You could never dwell on it, because you and Jungkook in any other context but roommates wasn’t something you could see. The risk of a broken heart is something you couldn’t handle, so you avoided it at all costs.

You push yourself to your feet, needing fresher air to fill your lungs. His bright eyes widen at your movements, following your every move.

You stare back at him, hair pushed back out of his face, mouth parted as he watches you, hands resting on his muscled thighs.

“Got work tomorrow, gonna get an early night rightokaybye-” you rush, darting around the couch and heading to your bedroom.

You shut the door and lean against it, tipping your head back against the wood. You take a deep breath and slip into autopilot, changing and climbing into bed, trying to clear your mind of Jungkook and his smile. And those thighs.

— —

Staggering through the front door, you kick your shoes off and slam your keys onto the little key rack Namjoon excitedly hung a month ago. You push the thought aside, not wanting to deal with the sadness of Joon moving out today.

Dragging your feet, you moan as you stumble into the kitchen and throw yourself on one of the island chairs, slumping into the counter.

“Fucking managers… ‘we need you to file these before you clock out’... yeah well file my fist into your face, asshats…” you mumble into the counter, the cool granite seeping into your forehead.

“Rough day?” A tinkling voice greets you, and you lift your heavy head to stare at Jungkook, half in the fridge with a banana milk in his hand, wiping some escaped liquid around his mouth with the back of his sleeve.

“... have you been there the whole time?”

“Yeah. Work sucked, then?” He asks, closing the fridge and leaning on the counter, head in his hands as he looked at you. You blink stupidly at him, his big eyes sucking you in.

“Uh… yeah. Yeah, it was crappy.” You rush, before slamming your head back down on the counter, letting the cool seep into your burning face.

This is why you prefered arguing with Jungkook. Fighting him was easy. Because when you’re not being snarky and insulting each other, he has the stars in his eyes when he talks to you and you become a stuttering mess.

“You need to blow off some steam.” You can hear the smile in his voice, and you pick your head up to look at him.

“Yeah, by taking the bubbliest bath ever and sleeping until next January.”

“Nope, you know what I mean.” He winks, and you roll your eyes at him.

“Thanks, but no. I’m not in the mood.”

“Awh, don’t think you could get it?”

“Please. I can pull way more people than you, Jungkook.”

“I doubt that, Y/N. I mean, look at me.” He gestures to himself, and you focus on keeping your eyes fixed firmly in his face. You weren’t going to follow those gorgeous hands-

“Whatever. Keep dreaming.”

“Wanna bet on it?”

“Bet?”

“Yeah, say, one the one with the highest body count gets Namjoon’s bedroom?”

“I dunno Jungkook, that sounds like a lot of work. And shaving.”

“You haven’t got to shave. Or are you just looking for an excuse?” He smirks at you, eyebrows wagging.

“... how long would it have to be for?”

“Until we have to sign the contract for the room, right? Namjoon said less than a month, so let’s say… three weeks.”

You flick your eyes over him, weighing him up.

It would be a lie if you weren’t tempted. Both you and Jungkook had a … colourful sexual history, which seems especially ramped up with your unspoken competition over the last year. There was a chance you could win, but no one could resist Jungkook - you often wonder how you’ve lasted so long.

But then again, Namjoon’s room did have a shower with amazing water pressure.

“You’re on.” You grin, holding out your hands.

Jungkook reaches across the counter and takes your hand in his, shaking excitedly. He pulls back over the counter and gives you a bunny smile, eyes practically sparkling.

“Don’t we need some rules or something?” You ask, and his smile drops as he groans.

“No? It’s sex, there’s no rules.”

“Oh come on, stuff like using dating apps, and, I dunno, lying about our number.” You frown, waiting for his reaction.

“Why would I lie?” He asks, genuine concern crossing his face. A twinge of guilt settles in you, and you have to admit: Jungkook may be a lot of things, but he’s never been a liar.

“Fine, fine, I know you won’t. But we need to talk some things through.”

A fierce discussion and a lot of colourful words later, you both agree to some tentative terms for your competition.

“Okay, so. One, no dating or hook-up apps, we have to do this the old fashioned way. Two, we can’t interfere with each other when we’re trying to get laid-“

“Ugh, can you not say it like that?” You groan, sinking back into your chair.

“Okay - when we’re trying to bump uglies-“

“No-“

“Three, we can sleep with the same people, but more than once doesn’t count. Failing to do any of this will mean we forfeit.”

“Right. And once we’re done we note it down on…” you pause, getting to your feet and walk to the fridge.

You take off the magnetic white board and scrub it clean. You draw a line down the middle, and put your and Jungkook’s name on either side of the line.

“Namjoon’s gonna be pissed that you got rid of his cleaning rota.”

“Shut up. We tally it here.” You tap the board for emphasis.

“Done. So are we starting now?” He asks, but you shake your head. It wasn’t enough that work had worn you out, but now the exhaustion from the conversation and the task ahead of you was threatening to totally wipe you out.

“Nope, too tired. You’re not gonna have an advantage over me like that Jungkook. Tomorrow.” You assert, getting to your feet.

He stares at you for a moment, assessing. A soft look passes his face - a glimmer of something. But it vanishes instantly.

“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.” He says gently, his eyes fixed on you.

“I want to, Kook. I’m gonna win that bedroom and sing in my shower all the time. I’ve got this.” You grin. He watches you for a moment before his demeanour changes, slipping back to the bubbly Jungkook you’re so used to and grinning at you.

“Keep dreaming, Y/N.” He smiles, before picking up what’s left of his banana milk and chugging it. You roll your eyes and walk away, your bed calling your name.

“Good luck getting someone to sleep with you when you have banana breath. Night Jungkook.” You call over your shoulder.

“Goodnight, Y/N.”

You walk through your door and shut it behind you, finally letting yourself sag on your bed. You stare at the ceiling, the bet ticking through your brain.

It was probably dumb, but competition with Jungkook was always interesting, and it had been a while since you’d had some action. At least you could find someone to distract you, and get a nice bedroom out of it.

You wearily get to your feet, changing out of your work clothes and into pajamas. Then, after a second’s thought, you tidy your room just a little. If you’re gonna have company, you may as well be presentable.

Finally you drop into your bed, bone weary but mildly excited. Time to get up on the saddle, and show Jungkook who’s the real cowboy.

— —

Your blissful sleep is interrupted by a dull thudding, one that seemed to get louder and louder. You vaguely register it coming from the wall you share with Jungkook, but you were desperately trying to cling to the remaining tendrils of sleep. A grunt meets your ears, and you realise something wasn’t right. Groggily you open your eyes, the rude awakening souring your mood already.

“Jungkook! Fuck…” you hear a faint whine and you freeze.

You hear a few more thumps until reality hits you. Throwing yourself from your bed, you grab your phone and storm out to the kitchen. Namjoon sits at the kitchen counter, sipping his coffee calmly. Thankfully you couldn’t hear the smut from here, so you sink into the seat next to him, planting your forehead onto his shoulder.

“Take me with you to live with Jin, I beg of you.”

“You started this, Y/N. Never make a bet with Jungkook on anything! The boy will stop at nothing to win.” He sighs, placing his coffee down.

You sit bolt upright and glare at him suspiciously. He blushes a little, but he meets your gaze.

“How do you know about the bet?” You ask, forehead creased.

“I’m very smart, I tend to know things.”

“... Jungkook told you.”

“Yeah Jungkook told me.” He laughs. “He waited for me to get home and told me.”

“Why would he do that?” You frown.

“Oh, uh…” he flusters. “He- he just wanted to give me a heads up.”

“Okay… well whatever, I’m not gonna be beaten.” You mumble, picking up your phone and scroll through your recent messages.

“That doesn’t sound good.” Namjoon says under his breath, but you decidedly ignore him.

You find the number you’re looking for and shoot a quick text before locking your phone. You grin at Namjoon as you stand up, grabbing a glass of water and chugging it.

“Gotta go prep, have fun at wo-”

You're cut off by the door of Jungkook’s room opening, and you and Namjoon spin in unison. Out totters a relatively familiar girl, and you recognise her as one of Jungkook’s usual hookups. He walks her past you both to the door, his hand hovering in the small of her back as he leads her out. You move your gaze to Namjoon who looks between the both of you, frowning.

After a brief murmur, the front door shuts and Jungkook saunters back into the room, a small grin on his face. You flick your eyes up to him and see that he’s only wearing a pair of gym shorts, his hair messy and wild. Perspiration still clung to his bare chest, his hair slightly sticking to his forehead. You swallow hard, forcing your eyes away from him.

“Looks like I’m taking an early lead.” He shrugs, bunny teeth on show as he smiles. Your phone buzzes on the counter and you look over at it, a smirk lighting up your face as you look back to a curious Jungkook.

“Well, I think we'll be even before you’ve even got dressed, so don’t get too cocky.”

A groan cuts off his answer, and you both dart your gaze to Namjoon who has his head tilted back, eyes screwed shut.

“Please just… can you both make sure no one gets hurt if you’re actually going through with this?” He sighs, bringing his head back to glare at you both.

“Get hurt? Who’s gonna get hurt?” You ask, but your gut screams that you know. Deep down where you try to ignore, you know.

Jungkook flusters, settling to stare at Namjoon with wide eyes. Sighing again, Namjoon gets to his feet and dumps his cup into the sink before turning to stare at you both one last time.

“You know what I mean. Now, I’m going to work. Please don’t get your bodily fluids all over my apartment.” He tells you both sternly before walking away.

You and Jungkook look at each other for a moment before you buckle under his gaze, grabbing your phone and heading to the bathroom.

“We’re not gonna get hurt, are we?” Jungkook asks quietly, and you spin to face him.

“No- no, why would we? We’ve got no reason to.” You say awkwardly, fiddling with the hem of your pajama shorts. “As long as neither of us do anything stupid, we’ll be fine.” You finish with a forced smile, ignoring the voice in the back of your mind telling you that this was dangerously stupid already.

“You’re right. Yeah.” He nods, stepping back. He bumps into the stool behind him and flounders before regaining himself, giving you a small salute before he vanishes to his room.

You stare after him for a moment before you shake your head and walk to the shower.

Taking your time to shave and moisturise so that you were feeling yourself, you finally step out, wrap yourself in a towel and head back to your room. A quick check of your phone tells you he’s almost there, so you slip on a top and some shorts - it’s not like you’ll be wearing them long, anyway.

You faintly hear a knock at the door and you speed out to answer it.

Swinging open the door to see Jimin smiling at you, you can’t help but grin back.

“Hey Y/N.” He smiles, his eyes scrunched as he beams at you.

“Hey, thanks for coming so quickly.” You laugh, grabbing his hand and dragging him through the house and towards your bedroom.

“Well, you know I’m always keen to help you beat Jungkook at something.” He laughs as you shut your door behind him.

“That’s why I can always count on you.” You smirk, pressing him back so that he falls onto the bed. You straddle him, hands pressed gently to his chest. “And please, be as loud as possible.”

— —

“I’m gonna go pee. Then we can talk about your battle plan to defeat Jungkook.” Jimin says gently, smiling at you before he gets out of the bed and pulls on his boxers and jeans.

You wave at him and stretch out on the bed, smug at closing the gap already - and you’d only been awake for three hours.

You sit waiting for Jimin, keen to talk to him about the whole bet with Jungkook. But you waited and waited, until finally you got impatient and got up, throwing on a tee and shorts.

You walk out of your room to find Jimin in the kitchen, head thrown back with laughter as he talks to Jungkook. Both were shirtless, but you felt your face heat up when you tried to avoid staring at Jungkook. You approach them, eyebrows drawn together and an uneasy smile on your lips.

“Hey guys…”

“Oh, Y/N! You didn’t say Jimin was coming over.” Jungkook smiles, fixing you with a bubbly giggle as he watches you approach.

You shrug as you walk to the fridge and pick up the pen, putting your first tally on your scoreboard. You spin back to smile at Jungkook, a surge of excitement rushing through you. He swallows as he looks between you and Jimin, his bubbliness dulling a little.

“So, neck and neck, huh? Don’t expect it to last long.” You wink at him, before flicking your eyes to Jimin.

“Wanna go out tomorrow?” You wiggle your eyebrows at him, ignoring Jungkook’s noise of exasperation.

“If you’re going out, I’m coming too!” He yelps.

“No way, not happening! I’m not having you cramp my style.”

“Cramp your style? What are you, sixty?” Jungkook snarks, causing Jimin to stifle a giggle into his hands.

“You’re gonna mess me up! No way.”

“Oh come on, if I do ‘mess you up’ then I’ll void the bet and that’s not gonna happen. So buckle up baby, we’re going out.” Jungkook leans against the counter and crosses his arms across his toned chest, challenging you to try and deny him again.

You look to Jimin and see that he’s set his puppy dog eyes on you. You huff, throwing your hands in the air, and Jungkook grins.

“This is gonna be fun.”

“Whatever nerd, we’ll see who’s gonna be having fun.” You snap, grabbing Jimin by the shoulders and pushing him back to your room before slamming your door shut.

“Chill out Y/N, I’m not gonna take your man.” Jimin giggles, stretching himself out on your bed.

“He’s not my man, you ass.” You hiss, picking his shirt off the floor and launching it at him.

“Well either way, I can’t wait to watch the train wreck happen tomorrow night.”

— —

Night and day passed too quickly.

Namjoon or Jin couldn’t be persuaded to go out with you, citing that they weren’t going to be around ‘childish games of romance’. You elected to ignore what they were trying to say, and simply took your frustrations out by stress texting Jimin all day.

But it couldn’t be held off any longer, and soon you found yourself pressed between sweaty bodies making jerky movements to loud music.

Jungkook had been relatively silent for the whole of your journey, only replying in solemn nods and prolonged staring.

Jimin -who was sick of both of you- ignored the pair of you, practically skipping his way through the club to the bar. He orders a round of shots, passes one to both of you and chucks his down his neck. You blow out your cheeks, forcing yourself to relax.

Jungkook being there wasn’t going to cost you Namjoon’s room. Keeping that in mind, you tip the liquid into your mouth, the burn rippling down your throat as you swallow.

Your eyes flick to Jungkook as he does the same, eyes fluttering shut and lips pulling tight as he forces down the shot.

You forcefully drag your eyes away from a spot of alcohol that escapes his mouth and creeps down his exposed throat, and focus on the crowd.

There were a lot of people in the small club, and your hopes at finding someone were high. Jungkook walks off, mumbling something about the bathroom, and you watch him leave. You turn to look at Jimin, a smile finally slipping onto your face.

“Feeling lucky?” He asks, noting your grin. You shrug your shoulders at him, a twinkle in your eye.

“As long as Jungkook stays out of my way, I’ll be fine.” Your voice is low, and you fiddle with the shot glass in your hand before gently placing it on the bartop.

“Why would he be an issue?” He winks, eyebrow raised.

“He just… gets in my view and I can’t concentrate because his stupid face is in my vision.”

“Sure, and it’s not because you -“

“Shut up, Jimin. I don’t know what you think but you’re wrong.” You snap, eyes narrowing. He simply laughs, holding up his hands in a surrender motion, before his eyes flick over your shoulder.

“Well whatever, I think you’re gonna have company in a minute.” He nods, and you follow his eyes to find a man down the bar looking in your direction.

He’s cute, kinda tall, a little beardy. You give him a shy smile, before turning back to Jimin and winking. He shakes his head, a small giggle passing his lips.

“Give me a signal if you need any help.” He whispers, watching the man walk towards you. You squeeze his arm gently, before turning back to rest on the bar.

After a mere moment, you feel a figure slide next to you, a faint air of expensive cologne filling your senses. You hide your smirk, electing to run a smoothing hand over your hair. The loud music thumps along with your heartbeat, the thrill of the chase lighting your veins on fire.

“Hey.” His deep voice filters in from beside you, and you turn your slightly head to face the man.

“Hi.”

“Would you like a drink?” He asks, bringing his mouth low by your ear.

“Depends if you’re buying or not.” You smirk, meeting his hazel eyes.

“If it means I get your company for the evening, it’s on me.” He tilts his head as he smirks at you, pulling a light laugh from your lips.

“Does that work on all the girls you try it on?”

“I don’t know - will it work on you?” He whispers, his cool breath brushing over the hair by your ear and down your neck.

You lick your lips, letting a hand rest on his arm as you bring you gaze level with his, mere inches away. You were already mentally checking off another mark on the scoreboard, causing a smirk to slip on your face.

Leaning into him and letting your eyes flutter shut, your lips are on the verge of grazing when he’s suddenly ripped out of your space. Your eyes fly open as you search around you, only to find Jungkook pushing the guy through the crowd and out of sight. Shock etches across your face, eyebrows rocketing up as you jaw hangs.

Jungkook stalks back to take the guy’s empty place, fury written across his face as he looks at you. His side is pressed against you in the busy bar but you take a dizzying step back, trying to uncloud your mind. Your stunned stillness fades, replaced by blind rage.

“Jeon Jungkook, what the fuck-“

“I know him, Y/N. He’s a complete asshole.” He fully faces you, bright eyes holding yours in a deadly stare.

“He doesn’t have to be a Nobel Peace Prize winner for me to sleep with him! You’re way out of line!” You shout and he winces at your tone, but he doesn’t falter.

“Trust me, it’s better if he’s not around. I’m trying to help-”

“Are you? It doesn’t look like that from here.” You snap, holding his gaze.

“Believe me, Y/N.” His voice is quiet, and for a moment the storm in your mind clears. But you can’t let him into your head like that, you won’t.

The crowd jostles around you, knocking into you and Jungkook as they try to get to the bar. You’re both pressed together, held in place by unaware figures. But you don’t bend, intent on letting him know how you feel.

His dark eyes examine your face, drawing his lip between his teeth as he lets your words sink under his skin. Your eyes dart about his face, unable to focus. The small freckle that sits just under his mouth, the flare of his nostrils, the way his teeth sink into his lip. It was all him - impossibly Jungkook, and hard to stay angry at. But you wanted to, you needed to.

There’s something electric about him when he looks at you like that. Breathing your air, painted in red and blue lights, surrounded by darkness. It’s heavenly - and too much.

“Stay out of my way, Kook.” Your voice is low, but he hears you loud and clear. With one last withering look, you step away from him and go to find Jimin, his eyes hot against your back.

You deliberate leaving the club completely, Jungkook fully ruining your mood. You can feel him working his way under your skin, and it alarms you that you don’t mind him being there. You shake your head, expelling those thoughts. You’ve got a bet to win, you tell yourself. It shouldn’t be that deep.

Finally, you find Jimin surrounded by a crowd as he dances. They’re cheering over the music, strobe lights illuminating the graceful moves the makes. He laughs as he moves, catching your eyes across the sea of bodies. You smile at him, but his head cocks and he ceases all movement, making a b-line for you. Some of the crowd complain, but he ignores them, stopping before you and placing his hands on your upper arms.

“Are you okay?” He asks, eyebrows creased and plush lips pulled into a thin line.

“Yeah, I’m fi-“

“Do I need to beat that guy up? Where’s Jungkook, we’ll grab him and-“

“No, it’s not the guy that was the problem, it’s Jungkook.” You murmur, eyes shooting away from Jimin.

You find yourself scanning the crowd for him, but not finding him anywhere. You ignore the small pang that hits your chest and instead turning your attention back to Jimin. He has a soft look on his face, his thumbs rubbing soothing circles in your arms.

“So you finally admit it?” He asks softly, barely audible over the music.

“Admit what?”

“... nothing. Come on, let’s get another drink and you can tell me about it.”

With a soft embrace, Jimin steers you to the bar. Pressing through the crowd, you let yourself lean against the wooden bartop, watching but not seeing.

Jimin’s served, and he slides two shots of something clear towards you. You look at him and raise an eyebrow, but he shrugs at you before throwing back his own. You drink one, then two. Wiping your mouth in the back of your hand, you look at him and smile weakly.

“Thanks.”

“So what happened?” He asks, and you take a steadying breath before relaying what went on with Jungkook.

Jimin is silent as you speak, weighing the value of each word. He’s quiet after you’ve finished talking, and you wonder for a minute if he even heard you. But he looks back at you with a sad smile, and suddenly you don’t feel so brave any more.

“You two don’t learn, do you?”  He sighs, shaking his head. Your eyebrows cross as you stare at him, waiting for him to elaborate. But he doesn't, letting the words hang in the air.

And you know. You know what he means, you know how you feel. But thinking any more of Jungkook will never be reciprocated, and ignoring your heart is better than having it broken.

But heartbreak follows you.

You cast your eyes back around the room again. You see someone flick their hair, and you know it’s him, you know it. But moving your eyes around him stops your heart.

Jungkook stands just off the end of the bar, whispering in the ear of a petite brunette. There no playful air about him like there usually was, no thrill of the chase. Determination ripples around him, no sense of ease. In a way, it felt personal.

You blink back a sting in your eyes, turning back to the bar and suck in a deep breath. Jimin looks over his shoulder, spotting what you had been fixated on. He looks back and lays a light hand on your shoulder, but it’s too much.

“Y/N-”

“Excuse me Jimin, I’ve got a bet to win.” You say in a low, dangerous voice, before slipping away from his grip and moving quickly towards the dancefloor.

You let yourself be distracted for a mere moment, letting nothing but music, people and darkness fill your senses. A coldness creeps through your system, your protection. You let your eyes flutter shut, forcing everything but that second away from you.

You’re bumped forwards, and you begin to trip over your feet when a small hand grips your arm and steadies you. You right yourself and turn, only to come face to face with a beautiful, tall blond woman. She looks at you gently, letting her eyes linger on your body.

“Sorry about that.” She smiles, letting her hand linger on your arm.

“Oh, no worries.” You smile at her. She steps away after a prolonged glance, and you bite your lip.

You take a quick look around, eyes immediately darting to where you knew Jungkook was. The girl's hands were pressed to his chest, giggling something excitably in his ear. His expression doesn’t change, but you watch as his hand slides over to her hips.

For once halting moment, his eyes find you in the crowd. It’s fleeting, but you share something that you can’t pin down. He looks pained, guilty.

But he doesn’t push her hands away, and his hand stays rooted to her hips.

You drag your eyes away, your decision for the evening settling in your chest. You briefly make eye contact with Jimin, an unending pity deep in his soulful eyes. You swallow thickly before turning back to the retreating woman, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“Wanna dance?” You ask, fake smile slipping onto your lips.

“I’ve been dancing all night, I was gonna head home.” She smirks, and you school your face, another rejection threatening to slice through you.

“Oh-”

“But I could do with some company.” She winks, threading her fingers through yours.

You smile at her and let her lead you towards the bar exit. You look to Jimin, a sad expression on his features. You offer him a blank stare and a small wave, ignoring the flicker of concern in his face.

With an ache in your chest, you flick your eyes to Jungkook - only to meet his. He watches you get pulled by, examining the woman before looking at you. His mouth is parted, his normally sparkling eyes glazed over. The girl he’s with paws at his face, but he doesn't look away from you.

You’re the one to drag your eyes away, trying to erase how her hands looked over him in your mind.

The girl looks back at you and smiles, and you return it, your heart heavy. But you follow her, out of the bar, into a taxi and into her arms.

— —

The next week and a half was painless - purely through the power of ignorance.

You barely saw Jungkook. You spent an entire day with him at one point - but fortunately Namjoon had too many books and lots of furniture to move, so you were barely in each other's presence for long.

But Namjoon was gone, and the two of you were left to haunt the apartment like lonely spectres in his wake.

It wasn’t a total bust though - you’d managed to take the lead in your bet. You were two ahead of Jungkook with eight. Namjoon’s room was in your grasp, and you had planned to go out with Jimin again tonight.

You quietly eyed the whiteboard - Namjoon left it behind saying it had been ‘tainted’. You pull out a carton of juice and pour yourself a glass, trying to delay going into your room.

You knew Jungkook had someone over. You didn’t want to go to your room and hear them, and you wanted them to walk out and see you much less.

Instead you drain your glass and make a grab for your keys - but you had to go to your room and get them from your bag.

Steeling yourself, you make a break for it. You’re almost at your room when his door swings open, and you’re blindsided, your gut wrenching.

“Jeni?” You splutter.

She turns, dressed only in one of Jungkook’s oversized shirts. Her perfect blond hair fell into her precise bob, beautiful features pulled into a look of confusion and disdain.

She places a perfectly manicured hand on her hip whilst the other pulled Jungkook’s door shut. You glare at Jungkook’s ex, your head beating so hard you thought it would burst from your chest.

“What are you doing here?” You growl, letting malice seep into every word.

“Isn’t it obvious?” A spiteful laugh falls from her lips, eyes sizing you up.

“Come back to break his heart again? Or did you get lost on your way back to the swamp?” You snap. She laughs mirthlessly at you.

“Well, Kookie said you weren’t any different. Glad to see nothing’s changed.” You cringe at her nickname for him - it always sounded so cold and calculated when it came from her lips.

“He said that?” You ask, eyebrows creased.

Why was he talking about you - to the ex who tore his heart to shreds? You could remember nights where you’d stay up until 5AM to distract him from the pain he felt - as if you could absorb it for him. In some way, you did-

“Oh Y/N, dense as ever, and hopelessly in l-”

“Shut up Jeni. I know it uses up a lot of brain cells for you to form words, so you can just stop.”

You brush past her, making sure to knock her as you walk by. She squeaks at the impact, but you don’t feel anything but empty.

“It was good to see you. You’ll be seeing more of me soon enough.” You can hear the smile in her voice but you ignore her, bursting into your room and slamming the door behind you.

Pacing the room, your mind reels and your stomach churns.

Jeni being here had changed things. Jungkook was left shattered by her, why would he bring her back into his life? Even to win a bet, that was dumb.

But her being here was bringing to a head something you hadn’t wanted to admit to yourself - how you truly felt about Jungkook.

Because you realised if she is here, you can’t be. Him sleeping with people was one thing, but a relationship, emotions and love with someone else? That wasn’t something you could watch again - it broke your heart enough the first time around.

Your plans to leave the house abandoned, you sit on your bed and pull out your headphones, placing them tightly in your ear before blasting the first song you could find.

When the roar of your headphones was the only thing to fill your senses, you lay back on your bed and curl on your side, letting the music take you some place that wasn’t here, and that didn’t hurt.

Only an hour or so later, you were rudely woken by someone shaking your shoulders.

Groggily you snapped the earbuds out of your ears, and rolled on your back to see a blurry Jimin standing above you.

“Hey.” He says gently, hand resting on your arm.

“Hey.” You whisper back, sleepily rubbing your eyes.

“You doing alright?” He asks softly, big doe eyes examining your face. You nod and sit up, letting the sleep work its way out of your system.  

“Come on, get dressed. We’re getting out of this damn apartment.” He orders, taking your hand and pulling you to your feet. You didn’t argue - you didn’t want to.

“You’ve seen Jeni, then?” You ask, walking to your wardrobe and finding anything to pull on.

“Yeah. Stupid boy…” he sighs, the last part quiet but you hear it all the same.

You finish getting dressed on autopilot, throwing on a quick layer of light make-up before you're ready. Grabbing your purse and phone and slipping on your shoes, you nod at Jimin.

He offers you a small smile before taking your hand in his and leading you both out of your bedroom. He squeezes your hand lightly, and your heart swells at the support from your friend. He was a lighthouse through the fog of all the bullshit you felt.

You hear her voice in the kitchen and tense, but Jimin runs a soothing thumb across your knuckles, and you shudder in a breath.

Both of you walk past the kitchen and see Jungkook making coffee, a pained expression on his face as he half listens to Jeni speak. At the sound of you and Jimin walking by his head snaps up, bright eyes fixed on you.

You feel your face heat up as you make eye contact, but Jimin continues to pull you away. Jungkook’s eyes snap to your locked hands, before back to you, his lips parting.

“Where are you going?” Jeni asks, obviously annoyed at Jungkook’s distraction.

“Out.” Jimin snaps, pushing you to the door.

You open it and step out, heaving a heavy breath of air. Jimin shuts the door behind you and throws an easy arm around your shoulder.

“We haven’t got to go out if you don’t want. We can go for a walk or something.”

“No, no it’s okay. I need something loud. And alcohol. Definitely alcohol.” You sigh, wrapping an arm around his waist, grateful for the support.

An hour later, you find yourself gulping down your sixth - seventh? - shot of the night, and your third glass of a bright blue liquid that was definitely strong but tasted too sweet for you to care.

The bar wasn’t too busy, it being a weeknight, but there was enough people there to keep it interesting.

Loud pop music filled the room, bouncing off the dark walls. You bopped along to the beat, the haze of drunkenness clouding your vision. You were numb, comfortably so.

Jimin had disappeared a little while ago, phone pressed to his ear - he said he was going to the bathroom, and for you to stay put. He’d been trying to tamper down your behaviour all evening, holding back too many shots and chasing off anyone who approached. But still you had managed to get a drink or two bought for you and gulped it down without him catching you in time. However you had gotten bored waiting and being babied, and drunkenly wandered off.

The bet still rattled around in your head, which caused you to flirt with everyone you came across. The still rational part of you screamed - your heart wasn’t in it, not any more. But your clouded brain wouldn’t see past it, and instead you let yourself be pressed against strangers, their hot breath rolling across your face as you tried your luck.

With your most recent attempt telling you that he’ll come find you later in the night, you gave him a sloppy wink before staggering away.

You press yourself against the bar, sloppily propping your head on your hand. The bartender places a small glass of water in front of you and you smile your thanks at him, pulling it to your lips and lightly sipping.  

The look in his eye catches you off guard - pity. Your smile falters, your drunken haze shattering around you. You gulp down the rest of the water and in a moment of clarity, realise you should find Jimin. You shouldn’t be here any more.

Your turn from the bar a little too fast, causing yourself to stumble. A pair of hands catch you, and prop you back up against the bar.

You look up at the man and thank him, and he smirks down at you. His brown choppy hair frames his face sharply, his lips drawn tightly into a smile.

“You heading somewhere in a hurry?” He asks, and you offer a polite smile.

“I’m- I’m” you pause to hiccup, “gonna find my friend. ‘Scuse me.”

“Woah, what’s the rush? I’m sure your friend will be here in a minute.” He takes hold of your wrist, pinning you in place. You try and snap your hand out of his hold, but his fingers are an iron grip.

“Let me g-go.”

“Don’t you wanna stay and chat? You’ve been hitting on everyone here, why not me babe?” He laughs, but his voice has an edge to it, an underlying bite.

“I’m going home… asshole. Getoffme-”

“Listen, slut-”

“Let go of me or I’ll scream.” You grind out, rage and fear bubbling in your chest. The man simply laughs, and you see red.

You dig your nails into his hand around your wrist, and he releases your hand with a grunt. You snap your hand away and begin to scramble from him, but he grabs your upper arm and slams you back against him.

“Isn’t this nice? Now-”

Just as suddenly as you’re pulled against the guy, you’re pulled away into someone’s chest.

“Jimin, I’ve got her!” The shout rumbles from the chest you’re against. You flick your eyes up to the owner of it, only to have the air sucked out of your lungs.

“Kook?” You whisper, his wide eyes meeting yours, a softness touching each corner of his face.

“Bro what the fu-” the man starts, snapping Jungkook gaze from you.

Jungkook wraps a protective arm around your waist, holding you to his side. Rage fills his face, his teeth gritted as he stares at the man.

“I’m not your ‘bro’. You’re disgusting.” Jungkook spits, steering you away from the guy.

You let out a breath, fingers gripping tightly into the material of his shirt. Jimin finally finds you, rushing to you and cupping your face in his hands. Jungkook tenses a little under you, but you don’t let him go.

Jungkook explains what just happened, and Jimin looks between the two of you and towards the man you were just with.

“Get her home, Jungkook. I’m going to have a little chat with our friend.” Jimin almost growls, letting his hands drop from your face.

“Be careful Jimin.” Jungkook offers quietly, but Jimin shakes his head.

“Just get her home.”

With a final nod, you’re walked out through the door of the bar and out into the darkened street. The wall of fresh air makes your head spin, and you cling to Jungkook for support.

You let him lead you down the street as he waits for an uber, his arms still snugly around your middle.  

“Why are you here, Kook?” You slur, lifting your lidded eyes to his face. His eyes stay firmly glued to his phone.

“Jimin called. Said you needed me, so here I am.”

“Yeah, but why are you here?”

His eyes flicker to you just for a second, a glimmer of something flashing across his wide eyes.

“Because… I care about you. Even if you think I don't. And if I left you to fend for yourself, Namjoon would castrate me.”

“I-I can handle myself. I don’t need you… stepping in like some knight in shining armour-”

“I know.” He murmurs, interrupting your rambling tirade. “But I want to.”

Your words die in your throat as you look at him. He’s aggressively avoiding your eyes, instead searching the roads.

It’s overwhelming, the need to tell him the depth of your feelings. You know it’s the alcohol coursing through your veins, but it’s deeper than that. And sober you would hate the drunken delivery, but you need to lighten your heart, your soul.

“Kook-“

You’re stopped by a car pulling up beside you. Jungkook confirms with the driver through the window about his pick up before reaches for the door, helping you in.

You reluctantly disentangle from him and climb clumsily into the car. Jungkook shuts the door behind you, and appears a moment later getting into the other side. As soon as the door shuts the car moves away, your mind spinning.

The ride’s quiet, but your eyes never leave him. You can't tell if it's the alcohol or not, but you can't stop. After a moment, he turns his gaze on to you, his lip between his teeth.  

“Why don’t you call me that more often?”

“... what?”

“Kook.” He says softly, and you feel your heart begin to thump wildly in your chest.

“I dunno, it just happens.” You shrug, but the weight of his question sits on your chest. He was your Kook, you wanted to scream. Not just Jungkook. Kook.

The rest of the ride is quiet. And despite all your anger and hurt, you slide against him and rest your head on his shoulder, lacing your fingers with his. You couldn’t stop yourself, but it felt right through your haze.

Too soon, the car pulls in front of your apartment block. Jungkook throws open the door and slides out, but keeps his hand clasped with yours. You follow him out on wobbly feet and close the door behind you.

You fight to keep your mind blank as he leads you back up to your apartment, only pausing to unlock your front door.

“Is, uh… is that devil bitch still here?” You whisper, pressing to Jungkook’s side. He nearly drops his keys as he looks at you, eyes wide.

“Jeni? No, no. She finally left when Jimin called.” He sighed, at last getting the door open.

You stumble in, momentarily forgetting your hands were linked and dragging Jungkook with you.

He says nothing, simply kicking the door shut behind him as you head straight for the sofa, pulling him down beside you.

The only light came from the windows, dewy street lights strobing the room. Shadows fall across his face, soft, and so close.

His lips part as he watches you, eyes wide. You don’t know how long you sit there for, but it felt like an eternity - and it was perfect. You could spend a lifetime looking at him, seeing him.

He forces his mouth shut and swallows before disentangling your hands. You make a noise of protest, but he holds a finger up.

He hurries to his feet and disappears, only to emerge a moment later, a glass of water in his hands. He offers it to you and you accept gratefully, gulping the cool liquid down.

You place the glass carefully back on the table before settling back onto the chair, head falling to his shoulder.

It couldn’t be helped - the neediness that was trying to claw its way from your chest. You wanted nothing more than for him to consume you, to hold you, to kiss you. It felt so amplified in the moment.

But you couldn’t - how could you? You had to live together, you shared the same friends. Would he ever feel the same? You weren’t like his exes, you weren’t like anything he knew.

You feel his weight shift, and your heart thuds as he leans his head on yours, fingers lacing once again.

“Are you okay, Y/N?” He asks, his voice so soft you barely hear it above the roaring in your head.

“I… yeah. Tired.” You mentally kick yourself, chickening out of your true feeling and leaving a bitter taste in your mouth.

“You should go to bed-“

“No! I mean… just a minute longer. S’nice.” You murmur, tracing your thumb across his pink knuckles. He lets out a soft sigh, and you feel him relax beneath you.  

You realise as you drift off that you can’t do it - the bet, Jeni, any of it. It was heading to something you didn’t want, a trial you weren't prepared to face.

“Stupid.” You mumble aloud. Jungkook hums at you but you don’t hear as you quickly drift off, the heat radiating from him to you being the only thing that matters.

— —

There was only four days of the bet left.

When you had woken the morning after your night out, you were on the couch alone. You were in the apartment alone. You shifted, only to find a blanket draped over you and the blinds pulled to block out any unwanted light in your fragile state. A fresh glass of water sat on the small coffee table in front of you, and you swallow thickly.

You remembered the night in gory detail, but the essence remained true enough - the bet was over for you. You couldn’t do it anymore, no bedroom was worth it.

And so the next few days had passed uneventfully, slowly and totally alone. You hadn’t seen Jungkook at all since that night, but a glance at the board on the fridge told you that he hadn’t stopped the bet - in fact he’d overtaken you. The wonky lines under his name sliced through you, a chill settling in your chest.

It had begun to feel claustrophobic in the apartment, a constant pressing on your mind and heart. Even though you hadn’t seen Jungkook, knowing he was around was enough. You barely left your room, conscious about running into him.

You waited until he had left for work before you emerged from your room, keen on devouring anything in your path. You’re midway through rummaging in the fridge when a knock raps quickly at your door.

You hesitate for a moment, waiting to see if they would leave. When the knocking continues, however, you decide to answer. Scraping your hair back neatly as you approach the door, you swing it open-

Only to be met with Jeni.

“What?”

“Charming. Is Kookie here? He’s not replying to my texts or calls.”

“Work.” You sigh, ignoring the way she waves her expensive phone inches from your face.

“Hm. Well, maybe I’ll wait for him to come back- we’re talking again, you know.” She smirks at you, smugness radiating off of her as her eyes scan your face for the slightest hint of weakness.

You let nothing slip despite the punch you feel in your gut. You swallow, trying to wet your drying throat.

“Oh really? I didn’t know gargoyles were able to converse. Congrats for your species.” You say, the fakest smile you could mister plastered on your face.

“You’re just jealous, Y/N. It’s obvious.”

“Are you done? I’m bored of this conversation.” You snap, leaning awkwardly against the door.

“You know what, I will wait for Koo-“

“Yeah, I’m gonna be late, I left my keycard at home- oh.” Comes a voice from down the corridor, and you lean out to see Jungkook stopped in his tracks, his eyes rapidly flicking between you and Jeni. He had his phone pressed to his ear, dressed impeccably in his suit and tie, perfectly pressed trousers tailored to his figure. You’d seen him in what he wears for work many times, but it never failed to knock the breath from your lungs.

“Kookie!” Jeni squeaks, fixing him with a wide smile.

“I’ll be in when I can. Bye.” He deadpans into his phone, not waiting for a reply before he ends the call and pockets the device. “What are you doing here?”

“You weren’t answering my calls-”

“Because I told you I wasn’t going to.” Jungkook’s voice is low, dangerously low, but his eyes are deadlier.

“Jungkook, what are you talking about?”

“I’m sorry you’ve misunderstood me again Jeni, but I told you from the start that nothing would happen between us again. I won’t let you hurt me a second time around.”

The stunned expression on her face is almost laughable, but you do feel a slight tinge of pity for her. It doesn’t last long though. She pulls her expression into a scowl, sneering at him. She casts a sharp glance at you before glaring back at him.

“Whatever Kookie. You’ll come crawling back to me, they always do. Let me know how this all works out.” a spiteful laugh pulls from her lips, flicking a finger between you and Jungkook.

Your eyebrows shoot up as she walks away, letting her hand trace across his bicep as she walks by. You watch the strain on his face as he suppresses a shiver, refusing to move until she was finally gone.

“You okay?” he asks, voice softened as he looks at you. You nod, unable to find your voice.

Panic flushes through you as you step back, ducking back through the door and into the apartment. The gentleness that had crept into his face when he looked at you was too much, it was what you were trying to hide from. You were nearly at your room when his voice hits you, deep, and pained.

“You’ve been avoiding me.”

You breathe in deeply, steeling yourself. You’d hoped it wouldn’t come to this. Jungkook had never liked confrontation, so you were banking on him ignoring the tensions that hangs in the air. You just wanted enough time to forget. To get over him.

“No, I haven-”

“Yes you have, Y/N. What have I done?”

You didn’t want to look back at him. You couldn’t bear to see the galaxy in his eyes. But he deserved a reason. And maybe, finally, once he knew you could breathe a little. There was no glimmer of hope that he’d return the feelings, but at least you could get some space. But getting that would hurt too.

What a fucking mess.

Slowly, you turn on your heels and walk back to the kitchen to meet him. He stands in the doorway, eyes fixed on you. You take a steadying breath, stamping down the fear that begins to rise in your throat.

“You haven’t done anything.”

“There must be something. I don’t want to upset you, Y/N. Talk to me.” He takes a step towards you but you take a step back.

“It’s me, Kook.”

“What? Y/N I’m confu-”

“I like you. Okay? I really like you. Fuck, I don’t want to say the ‘L’ word but...I can’t do it any more.” Your voice shakes and your eyes sting, but you hold strong. His eyes widen as he drags his eyes away from you, and appealing to the dark irony within you, his eyes fix on your scoreboard sitting glaringly on the fridge.

There were your words, your heart, head and hopes all laid out for him.

But he just stares at you. Silently, suffocatingly. Time stretched, and the longer it went on, the blacker your heart felt.

“Jungkook?”

Nothing.

“Please?” You croak, your voice thick.

“Y/N. I don’t know what to say.”

“Spare my feelings, Kook. Just say something.”

His eyes finally meet yours. They’re wide, tainted with a softness that made your chest hurt.

“The ‘L’ word?” He asks, eyebrows pulled together, fingers nervously twitching by his side.

“Love, Jungkook. I love…” But you can’t finish the sentence - not with the way he’s looking at you.

“Why do you love me?” he takes another step forward, eyes desperately searching for an answer in your face.

“I-I don’t know. It just crept up on me. I can’t stop. Believe me, I would if I could.”

“But- but why would you want to?” You frown at him. His words come from a much more innocent place than you imagined, but it stirred up so many feelings inside of you. You chose to focus on anger.

“Because I can’t watch you love other people that aren’t me, Kook. I can’t have my heart broken any more. I don’t want to hurt.”

He steps forward, hand reaching out to hold yours. He fills your senses, and you can’t think straight. Everything becomes him, and as much as you don’t want him to leave, he’s too much.

You step back from him, letting your hand slip from his. His mouth parts as he watches you, the lost expression you’re so used to creeping back onto his face.

“I- I can’t. You’re everything, Jungkook. I can’t let you break my heart again, watching you fall for people who I can’t be.” You walk back slowly, eyes flicking everywhere but him. “I’m gonna go stay with Joon and Jin, and find somewhere else to live-”

“Y/N-”

“It’ll be better for both of us-”

“Y/N!”

“Kook?!”

“I don’t want you to leave me.”

His eyes are wide, but determination seeps through him, his unending need to see things through permeating his very being.

“I- what?” You blurt.

He strides the distance between you in a few easy steps, his hands finding your face before he crashes his lips onto yours, desperate for you to understand just how he feels.

You tense under him, your heart thudding so loudly in your chest you’re sure he could hear it.

But your body lets him in, finally, totally and completely. Your hands knot around his neck, yout eyes fluttering shut as you finally give in to your heart.

His hands gently caress your cheeks as he kisses you, fiercely parallelled by how hard he pressed his lips on yours, small sighs escaping him.

You’re the first to pull back, your arms still pressed against his neck as you explored his face, freely and unashamed. His thumbs drag across your cheek, the universe swimming around you both.

“I… may ‘L’ word you too.” He whispers, a goofy bunny smile sliding onto his face. He tucks his face into his chest, almost as if he was trying to hide.

All the pain and confusion seemed to melt at his words. The weeks, the months, you spent aching for something you didn’t know.

“You do? But what about Jeni?” You ask, and his smile turns sheepish as he looks up at you.

“Oh..uh, yeah. I kinda, was a little, maybe bitter. Jealous. Possibly.” A blush creeps along his face, and it unfurls something hot in the pit of your stomach.

“Bitter about what?” You raise an eyebrow, and his next words are barely above a rushed whisper.

“ParkJimin-”

“What?

“Park Jimin!” He yelps, before hiding his face in your arms.

“Jimin? What’s he got- oh. You were jealous of me and Jimin? Why?”

“Look, I know it’s dumb-”

“It is, yeah.”

“-but I couldn’t help it. You two had some… thing, and you hang out all the time. I just… got caught up in it and the bet. Knowing you’d been with him first and had slept with more than me… it just got to my head.”

“But Jeni…”

“Yeah I know, I wasn’t thinking straight. But she was here, and all I could think about was you.”

The admission stunned you, your jaw dropping.

“So why didn’t you say anything to me?”

Why didn’t you?” He asks quickly, and you feet heat creep across your face.

“Okay, touché. We’re both stupid.”

“Yeah. But not any more.” A smile slides on to his lips, and you mirror him.

“I doubt that.”

He chuckles as he looks at you, bright eyes meeting yours. He brings you forward once again, pressing his lips to yours. It’s softer this time, slower. Something that had been worth waiting for.

You pull back from him, placing your hands on his chest and push him back before you fall in too deep.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at work?” You ask, your voice croaking.

His eyebrows knit as he looks at you, kiss-reddened lips pulled into a pout. But then an easy smile slips onto his face. It shines so bright it felt like you’d been living in shadows your whole life.

“I’ve waited long enough for this. They can have a day without me.”

You smirk, the fire inside you burning as you finally, finally have Jungkook where you wanted him. And you weren’t going to pass this up, not for anything ever again.

You back him against the wall to kiss along his angular jaw and down his throat, his adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows thickly at your ministrations.

You slide the jacket from his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor before you start to undo the buttons on his shirt.

You remove your lips from his neck to watch the shirt slip from his body, the fine fabric rippling off his supple skin. You let your finger drag across his bare chest, excitement bubbling in your chest at finally being able to touch him.  

Meeting his eyes you let one hand slip to his belt, slowly unbuckling it. You let your other hand slip into his pocket, pulling out his phone and handing it to him.

“Call your office.”

He takes the phone tentatively from you, confusion crossing his face. But he does as he’s told, scrolling through his call history, eyes fixed on you.

You wait patiently for his call to go through, your fingers subtly undoing the button on his trousers. Finally his call gets picked up, and you prepare to spring into action.

“Oh hey, it’s Jungkook.”

At his words you rip his trousers and boxers down to his ankles, take his girthy cock in your hand stroke him quickly to his full hardness. Jungkook’s eyes bug out of his head, jaw hanging open as he watches you.  

Y-yea I’m not, oh go-“ he slams his mouth shut, taking a steadying breath as your hand twists around his tip.

“I’m not gonna make it in!” He rushes, heaving a relieved breath.

You can hear them ask why, and hiding your smirk, you wait for him to start replying.

“Oh, uh, my apartment, it’s-“

You take him in your mouth as far as you can, lips wrapping around his cock and pressing your tongue against his underside, dragging off slowly with a pop before taking him again.

“Fuc- f - flooded! It’s flooded. Shit.” He pants, his free hand weaving into your hair as he stares down at you, bunny teeth sunk into his lip.

You twist your hand around his base and you bob up and down on his cock, heady at the precum that oozes into your mouth.

“Oh, I’m f-f-fine. Gotta go!” He yells down the phone before ending the call and throwing it at the kitchen counter.

He lets out a juddering moan, letting both his hands knot into your hair.

“You’re the fucking worst.” He pants, hips rolling off the wall.  

You hum onto his cock, swirling your tongue around him. With each swipe, his hands on your hair pull tighter, the tingling in your scalp that sets you on fire.

You feel him throb in your mouth, and despite the tears that spring to your eyes each time his hips stutter him further down your throat, you can’t take your eyes off him. Breathless, wide eyes watching you take him in, bare chest rapidly rising and falling.

He cries out, quickly but carefully sliding you off his length, the tip oozy and red.

“Not yet. Not yet.” He croaks, before pulling you to your feet.

He walks you backwards into your kitchen counter, before turning you and pinning you against the cool granite.

He leans over you, lips pressed to the shell of your ear as he slides his hands down your body.

“I’ve wanted this for a long time.” He breathes in your ear, and you shiver beneath him.

“You better get on with it.” You murmur, circling your ass into his crotch.

He groans, and furiously yanks down your track pants and panties. He stands back from you to examine you as you sit there, totally exposed to him.

“Kook…” you groan, the cool air meeting your soaking slit.

He says nothing, and you can’t feel him around you. Confusion creeping in, you move to turn around when you feel his tongue lick from your clit all the way along your dripping core.

“Jungkook!”

“Sorry - was admiring the view.”

You squeal as your fingers clench on the counter, his hands moving to grab your ass cheeks. His fingers knead in as he works his tongue, catching just the edge of your clit before he swipes up. He’s perched behind you, on his knees with his face buried in your pussy. The reality of it all makes your face heat, so you lay it back on the counter to cool off.

He only kitten licks, never enough pressure to make your eyes roll back but too good to stop. A light suck on your clit, a fast flick all the way up to you asshole, never anything with substance. Every time you try to roll your hips back for more friction his hands would hold you down, pinned and bent over the counter.

“That feel good baby?” There was a hint of genuineness in his voice, vulnerability that made your heart quiver. And your-

“Jungkook…” you moan, toes curling as he blows cool air across your dripping slit. You were too turned on for his games.

“Not’ Jungkook’.” He whispers, his hand sliding down to run a feather light touch over your throbbing core.

“Wh… what?” It’s more of a moan than a question, but he delivers a light slap across your pussy and you yelp in surprise.

“Call me the other name. The one I like.”

Another quick kitten lick has your hips rolling, the teasing pushing you too far.

“Brat.” Another slap, this time a little harder.

“What was that, Y/N? I didn’t hear you properly.” You can hear the smirk in his voice, and as much as you want to turn around and fight him, you want his mouth on you so much more.

“Kook, just eat my fucking pussy already.” You growl. He gives you a small giggle before he obeys.

He begins to eat you out like a man starved, licking fat strips up your length and rolling his tongue across your clit. He groans as he works, fingers kneading into your ass cheeks as he tastes you.

You were practically dripping, Jungkook’s tongue expertly hitting your clit in every way to make you moan.  

He ghosts a finger across your ass, bringing it to your clit to replace his mouth. His mouth moves higher, moving to press just inside your walls. A cry leaves your lips, his finger coating with your wetness they swipe quicker and quicker over your clit.

The tip of his tongue impales you, his moans vibrating you and sending your mind reeling. Your clit throbs beneath his touch, sending you hurtling to your orgasm.

“Jungkook, fuck…”

“Hmm?” He hums, and you groan at his petulance.

“Sorry… brat.” You smirk, only to have him fully pull away at you just as you were at your peak. The absence makes you ache with need, whiney and desperate.

“Jungkook!”

Another slap lands on your pussy and you squeal, the heat of his hand leaving you dripping as the cool air rushed in to replace it.

“Who’s the brat now?” You can hear the smirk in his voice.

“Kook, please!” you shout.

With an incredibly unsubtle laugh, his fingers fly back to your clit, circling faster than before. His tongue seeks you out, pushing inside and letting your wetness coat him.

A cry escapes you as you begin to cum, twitching and bent over the countertop. Jungkook coaxes you through it, whimpers erupting from his throat. He pulls away from you once your gyrating stops, hand gently tracing along your sensitive slit.

On shaky legs he turns you, smiling at your flushed expression and blown out eyes. His eyes scrunch as he pulls you in for a kiss, quick and sloppy, the taste of you fresh in his tongue.

With gentle hands, he hoists you from your ass, settling you on the counter. He comes back to kiss you again, body pressed against you. And despite how tender he was being and how it made your heart clench in your chest, you needed him.

Sliding your hand between your bodies, you take a hold of his cock and begin to rub him up and down your wet slit. His face scrunches, the feeling of you coating him rocking him to his core.

He grabs hold of your hip and places a hand over yours so that you begin to guide him inside of you together. He pushes in slow, the drag of his girthy length inside you sends your head flying back. He frowns as she concentrates, finally bottoming out inside you.

He pulls slowly back out before driving home, the sensation making you both moan.

Pure euphoria is written across his face, an infectious happiness that you find yourself wanting to bask in forever.

You move to meet him, the cool surface beneath you biting into your hot skin. His fingers knit into the bottom of your shirt before tugging at it, pulling it up and off you, His eyes shoot to your bare chest, a groan leaving his lips.

He surges forward, lips latching to your nipple, but his hips never missing a beat as he thrusts deeply into you. A guttural moan of his name leaves your lips.

His tongue swirls over your stiff nipple, the bud aching under his touch. You lean back against the counter, toes curling as you wrap your legs around him.

He’s pushed up on his toes, trying other angles to be able to reach inside you properly without leaving your chest, but he struggles. A whine leaves him as he slides off your breast with a pop, his fingers pressed against your back.

“What’s the matter Kook,” you moan, blurry eyes focusing on him as he drags back out of you. “Can’t reach me?”

A shadow passes his face, a challenge he can’t refuse. Gripping you around the waist, he slides you off the counter, still fully seated inside you.

With your legs wrapped around him, he carries you to the sofa, a smirk on his face. Lowering you both down, his eyes fix back on yours, pressing you into the couch beneath him. With a quick peck, he’s pulling back out of you again and pushing back in, his hips picking back up speed as he pounds you into the sofa.

You wrap your legs around him for support, his forehead coming to rest on yours. You wind your fingers in his hair, holding onto the strands for stability as Jungkook rocks into you. His brow creases in concentration, small gasps and murmurs falling from his lips.

He hits your soft spot inside of you with the drag of his cock and your vision goes blurry. Your fingers tighten in his hair, the pressure making him hiss.

In the blink of an eye he takes hold of your wrists and pins them above your head and you whine, a smirk clear on his face.

“What’s the matter, Y/N, can’t handle it?”

You gasp, rolling your hips particularly viciously at him and clenching as hard as you can. His hips stutter for a moment as he lets his head fall into the crook of your neck, catching his breath.

“Do that again and this is gonna be over very quick.” he pants, and a wave of pride fills you.

“What, this?” You whisper into his ear, rolling your hips and clenching down again on his cock that sat deep inside you.

He picks his head up and kisses your roughly, fingers digging into your wrists. Your hips still, Jungkook sat inside while you enjoy the moment for what it is. He finally releases you and smiles, sparkling eyes and bunny teeth. And all yours.

His hips begin to move again, working you both back towards the fast pace he drilled into you before. You hook your legs tighter around him, pulling him closer to you with every thrust.

He collects both of your wrists in one hand above his head and brings his hand down your arm, fingertips tracing along your skin to your face. He thumbs over your jaw before bringing his hand down to your throat, fingertips ghosting on the delicate skin there.

You suck in a deep breath, eyes latching on his above you, perspiration sticking his hair to his forehead as he smirks down at you.

His hand slides off your throat, and trails down your body to reach between your legs - but not before stopping for a light flick of your nipple on the way down. His finger drag across your clit drawing a moan from you. Your hands twitched in his grip, desperate to feel him. Your hips begin to roll, The pressure inside you mounting.

“Kook, close…”

“Let go for me baby.” He whispers, before pressing his lips against yours.

You manage to snap one of your wrists from his grip, and bring your hand down to twist your fingers in his hair, kissing him back deeply.

A few more circles of your clit and you come undone, Your body juddering beneath Jungkook’s strokes as you see stars. You clench uncontrollably on him, the motion tipping Jungkook over the edge with you.

He cries out against your lips, hips stuttering as he comes inside you. You both ride the sensation out until he lets himself collapse on you, head tucked into the crook of your neck.

He takes a moment for his hips to stop their ministrations, his hot breath fanning against your chest. Finally he lifts his head up and smiles down at you, his nose scrunching at the motion. You smile back at him, totally lost in his eyes.

Sitting back, he pulls himself out of you, stopping to watch his cum drip out of your pussy. Entranced, he runs his fingers along your sensitive clit, your body twitching under his touch.

Gathering up some of the spill, Jungkook slides a finger inside you, pushing it back in.

You immediately clench down on his fingers, your core oversensitive but still completely responsive to him. His fingers build up speed, jackhammering his come back inside of you, his fingers crooked so that they brushed your g- spot with each move.

“Kook, my god!” you yelp, hands curling into the cushions beneath you. Your hips gyrate at the pressure. Despite the sensitivity and the sting, the waves of pleasure that washed through you couldn’t be stopped.

“What was that?” He snarks, before flicking his finger over your clit at lightning speed.

Your orgasm breaks over you, your hips thrusting off the chair as his fingers work, a strangled cry escaping your throat. He only stops when your tired body begins to slow, sliding his fingers out with a smirk on his face.

Once your unfocused eyes finally zero in on his he smiles at you before sticking his finger in his mouth, sucking them clean. A low moan emits from your throat.

“Wow.”

“Wow yourself.” He mumbles, taking your hand and pulling you up. He gently wraps an arm around your waist and flops back on the couch, settling you on his chest.

You sit in silence for just a moment, letting the reality settle into your skin. Finally you rest your chin on his chest, and stare up at him with a smile on your face.

“I told you I could give you an orgasm or three.” He smirks and your sigh, planting your face into his skin. He laughs, the light rumble from his chest shaking you, squeezing your heart tighter.

“You’re the worst. I don’t know why I like you.”

“Well I know why I like you.” He whispers, and you pick your head back up to look at him, teeth sunk into his bottom lip.

A small smile slips onto your face, your heart thudding wildly in your chest as you stare up at him. You bring your hand to brush over his jaw, before stretching up and pressing your lips softly against his own.

You release him and open your eyes, his bright eyes fixed on yours. His hand moves to rest in your hair, the strands woven around his fingers.

“So, do I get Namjoon’s room?”

“Kook! No way-”

“Come on, baby. I kinda did win!”

“You can’t ‘baby’ me! I was in the lead and gave up. If I kept on pace then I definitely would have won.”

“Not fair.” He huffs, but a small smirk turns the corner of his mouth. “How about another bet? First to cum wins.”

You laugh and shake your head, letting your hand smooth down from his jaw to trace across his chest.

“Screw it, be prepared to lose..”

He smiles, leaning forward and pressing his smiling lips against yours. He pulls back to press his forehead against yours, nose scrunched.

“If I’m still yours after, then this is one competition I don’t mind losing.” His whispered words clench in your chest and you giggle, despite yourself.

“You will be, Kook. But I’m still gonna win.”

#btswriterscollective #btssmutclub #btsbookclub #smutcentralnet #jungkook x you #jungkook x reader #jungkook smut #jungkook angst #bts smut #bts reader insert #bts x you #bts x reader #bts fic #heartbreak trials #my writing

[douchebagbrainwaves]

WHY I'M SMARTER THAN UNDERGRADUATES

One of the cases he decided was brought by the owner of a food shop. Don't be discouraged if what you produce initially is something other people dismiss as a toy, it makes us especially likely to invest. Seeing a painting they recognize from reproductions is so overwhelming that their response to it as a tautology. There's nothing more valuable than an unmet need that is just becoming fixable. You have to show you're impressed with what you've made. Google, companies in Silicon Valley already knew it was important to have the right kind of people to have ideas with: the other students, who will be not only smart but elastic-minded to a fault. Being good art is that it will make the people who say that the theory is probably true, but rather depressing: it's not so bad as it sounds.

The founders were experienced guys who'd done startups before and who'd just succeeded in getting millions from one of the reasons artists in fifteenth century Florence to explain in person to Leonardo & Co.1 If Microsoft was the Empire, they were the Rebel Alliance. In every case, the creation of wealth seems to appear and disappear like the noise of a fan as you switch on and off. One often hears a policy criticized on the grounds that it would increase the income gap between rich and poor? Perhaps this tends to attract people who are bad at understanding. It would work on a moon base where we had to buy air by the liter. It seemed obvious that beauty, for example, as property in the way we do. It could be the reason they don't have to wait to be an adult.

The answer, I realized, is that my m. And passion is a bad way to put it, because it's so hard for rigid-minded people to follow. That's to be expected. An eloquent speaker or writer can give the impression of vanquishing an opponent merely by using forceful words. But valuable ideas are not quite the same thing; the difference is individual tastes.2 Don't talk about secondary matters at length. When we launched Viaweb, it seemed to be nothing more than a tenth of your time working on new stuff. Now a lot of people in the Valley is watching them. In either case you let yourself be defined by what they tell you to do.3

Of course, space aliens probably wouldn't find human faces engaging. Rebellion is almost as stupid as obedience. The next level up we start to see responses to the writing, rather than something that has to be the most common complaint you heard about Apple was that their fans admired them too uncritically. Does anyone believe they would notice the anomaly, and not simply write that stocks were up or down, reporter looks for good or bad?4 Inc recently asked me who I thought were the 5 most interesting startup founders of the last 30 years.5 Simplicity takes effort—genius, even. But unlike serfs they had an incentive to create a giant, public company, and assume you could build something way easier to use.

Putting undergraduates' profiles online wouldn't have seemed like much of a startup called Friendfeed. That would definitely happen if programmers started to use handhelds as development machines—if handhelds displaced laptops the way laptops displaced desktops. Taking a shower is like a form of exemplary punishment, or lobbying for laws that would break the Internet if they passed, that's ipso facto evidence you're using a definition of property be whatever they wanted. Back in the 90s. Franz Beckenbauer's was, in effect, that if you tried this you'd be able to say about such and such market share. The average person looks at it and thinks: how amazingly skillful.6 It's still a very weak form of disagreement, we give critical readers a pin for popping such balloons. If one blows up in your face, start another. Ten weeks is not much time. Everyone at Rehearsal Day. Merely being aware of them usually prevents them from working. If I could tell startups only ten sentences, this would be one of them.

What counts as property depends on what you mean by worth. It would have been. I don't think people consciously realize this, but one person, but secrecy also has its advantages. Honestly, Sam is, along with Steve Jobs, the founder I refer to most when I'm advising startups. It's also true that there are quite a few marketplaces out there that serve this same market. Obviously the world sucked, so why wouldn't they? There was not much point. There are always great ideas sitting right under our noses. England in the 1060s, when William the Conqueror distributed the estates of the defeated Anglo-Saxon nobles to his followers, the conflict was military. When I ask people what they regret most about high school, I now realize, is that I was ready for something else. The old answer was no: you were supposed to pretend that you wanted to make pages that looked good, you also have to discard the idea of good art, there's also such a thing as good art, and if one group is a minority in some population, pairs of them will be a minority squared. You have to show you're impressed with what you've made.

For describing pages, we had a template language called RTML, which supposedly stood for something, but which in fact I found my doodles changed after I started studying painting.7 We are having a bit of a debate inside our partnership about the airbed concept. It was thus subjective rather than objective. Don't fix Windows, because the school authorities vetoed the plan to invite me. You can see wealth—in buildings and streets, in the sense that hackers and painters are both makers, and this question is just to do what they did.8 It's dangerous to design your life around getting into college, because the only potential acquirer is Microsoft, and when you're not paying attention, you keep making these same gestures, but somewhat randomly. No matter how much to how many voters, and adjust their message so precisely in response, that they tend to split the difference on the issues have lined up with charisma for 11 elections in a row?

So is it meaningless to talk about it publicly till long afterward.9 The way Apple runs the App Store is full of half-baked applications. If I were talking to a roomful of people than you would in conversation.10 The problem is, it's hard to get the gold out of it. Where does wealth come from?11 You can demonstrate your respect for one another in more subtle ways.12 So for example a group that has built an easy to use web-based spreadsheet and see how far we get.13 If success probably means getting bought, should you make that a conscious goal? While young founders are at a disadvantage when coming up with a million dollar idea. I'd like to reply with another question: why do people think it's hard?

Notes

But it is generally the common stock holders who take the term whitelist instead of themselves. There's comparatively little from it. I couldn't convince Fred Wilson to fund them. I've come to you about it.

Peter Norvig found that three quarters of them could as accurately be called unfair. We don't call it procrastination when someone works hard and doesn't get paid to work on what you learn via users anyway.

They're often different in kind, because some schools work hard to say that the investments that generate the highest price paid for a startup in a more general rule: focus on building the company down. Enterprise software sold through traditional channels is very visible in Silicon Valley.

In many ways the New Deal was a kid that you'd want to get jobs. Philosophy is like starting out in the US, it might seem, because they have zero ability to change. If the rich paid high taxes? The two guys were Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston.

Don't be evil. And especially about what other people in return for something that flows from some central tap. I'm convinced there were, we found Dave Shen there, only for startups to have suffered from having been corporate software for so long. I think investors currently err too far on the dollar.

The fancy version of everything was called the option pool as well use the local stuff. Philosophy is like starting out in the postwar period also helped preserve the wartime compression of wages—specifically by sharding it.

This is everyday life in general. So, can I make it easy. Believe it or not, under current US law, writing and visual design.

But which of them agreed with everything in exactly the opposite: when we say it's ipso facto right to buy your kids' way into top colleges by sending them to justify choices inaction in particular.

An influx of inexpensive but mediocre investors. Comments at the start of the things I find myself asking founders Would you use in representing physical things. These points don't apply to the ideal of a rolling close usually prevents this.

If you're sufficiently good bet, why are you even working on what people will give you fifty times as much income. When a lot of money around is never something people treat casually. No one writing a dictionary from scratch, rather than giving grants.

For similar reasons, avoid the topic. It's not only the leaves who suffer. They act as if you'd invested at a 5 million cap, but that we know exactly how a lot of reasons American car companies, like the bizarre stuff.

Foster, Richard and David Whitehouse, Mohammed, Charlemagne and the exercise of stock the VCs should be designed to live in a request.

Odds are people who are good presenters, but to do certain kinds of work the upper middle class first appeared in northern Italy and the first version was mostly Lisp, Wiley, 1985, p. So during the 2002-03 season was 2. Possible doesn't mean the hypothetical people who need the money so burdensome, that must mean you should seek outside advice, before realizing that that's what you're doing.

Thanks to Robert Morris, Sam Altman, Chris Dixon, Jessica Livingston, Paul Watson, Geoff Ralston, Sarah Harlin, Dan Giffin, and Alexia Tsotsis for smelling so good.

#automatically generated text #Markov chains #Paul Graham #Python #Patrick Mooney #version #Does #stuff #someone #founders #Wiley #company #wealth #Steve #sentences #development #people #Valley #Alliance #person #Fred #Jobs

[bigskydreaming]

Making this its own thread so as not to take over @northoftheroad​‘s - but about that scene with the memories from Nightwing Rebirth annual #1....tbh, I wasn’t terribly sad when that didn’t come back into play because I kinda hated this scene, lol. And it sucks because like, it COULD have had an entirely different vibe, but as usual, it comes down to execution, and like.....agency. I know, my favorite word, but like.

The problem I had with this scene (and my caution regarding the way Taylor’s talked up Babs’ importance to his run of Nightwing), is there’s this line between bringing other characters into Dick’s own title to lend a supporting hand or even for their own specific area of expertise....and Dick like, becoming the guest star in his own title. And for me, personally, that line tends to be most apparent when Dick stops feeling like he’s in the driver’s seat of his own stories and instead is just riding shotgun while other people make decisions that have far more to do with his life than their own.

This COULD have been a great scene, IF the decision for the memories needing to be kept and the malware studied had come from Dick himself.....much like, y’know, the memories did. If upon Dick deciding that there was a reason they still needed to exist outside and independent of him, be a safeguard or used for some purpose, Babs made the same vow of keeping them safe, like, that would have been great! That’s an expression of concern, of RESPECT for the importance, the significance of what Babs is holding in her hand there, rather than just a scientific curiosity, a puzzle to be studied.

But instead, the way it was kinda framed as just Babs knows best when the actual topic of weight wasn’t the technical specs or the scientific how/why of what was being studied, but rather SHOULD it be studied versus just destroyed....that was the problem for me, because that was absolutely, one hundred percent not Babs’ decision to make. They were Dick’s memories. He was the one left exposed by their continued existence in that form. It wasn’t just the sensitive information those memories contained, the intel on hundreds of others of Dick’s family and friends and teammates, their identities and weaknesses and all kinds of other stuff pertaining to people beyond just Dick himself, many of whom Babs has very little connection to herself, in comparison to Dick’s connection with them....and their trust in Dick having that information about them, which is not unilaterally blanket trust in others having that information by extension or proxy.....it was also just. Sensitive stuff, sensitive to Dick himself, stuff he was no doubt sensitive about. And this was just brushed off and moved past without a second glance, because the writer considered Dick’s concerns about HIS memories of secondary importance to what Babs could do with them or learn about the technology/from them.

And again, it would have been entirely different if that decision had come FROM Dick. If the scene, the issue in question had been framed around him making the executive decision on what to do about these memories, and Babs lending her aid in whatever HE decided should be done with them, including study them or keep them safe as a back-up of some kind.....there’s zero problem!

But the fact that Dick is written objecting, and then those objections brushed off as inconsequential by the writing on the exact same page like, makes it all the worse, because it demonstrates that the writer was aware, LOGISTICALLY, of various reasons why the memories shouldn’t be kept that way......but that reasoning was kept divorced from all examinations of Dick’s perspective of the situation, his own vulnerability, from any kind of other angle beyond just logistics. Like emotional. Proprietary. Even uncertainty, like ‘I don’t know how I feel about this, can we take a beat for me to get my head back on straight after everything that’s just happened to me and revisit this after I’ve had a chance to think about it,’ that would have been fine.

Anything but just.....raising the issue of ‘maybe this isn’t a good idea’ and moving past it two panels later with full speed ahead, without any further exploration from Dick’s own POV why he might not be cool with this or with his objections treated as like, a PERSONAL issue rather than simply a LOGISTICAL one.

Because that ultimately is the heart of the issue. Dick was effectively overruled as though his objection was logistical only, rationale based, and Babs’ opinion ended up carrying the more weight because her rationale was better reasoned and the logistical issues addressed by her declaration of keeping it safe.

Problem is, it was never just a matter of logistics, and this is where the writing failed the story, and the characters, by not recognizing that Dick’s objection should NOT be capable of being overruled by someone else’s logic or rationale, because there’s very little that’s MORE personal than a person’s own memories, and treating it as anything other than a personal issue that only one person had the ultimate right to make the judgment call of what to do with those memories moving forward, is taking eyes off what’s actually being talked about.

Tbh, I do consider it fairly surprising - even if I’m not sad about it - that Percy’s work here wasn’t referenced more in the Ric Grayson conclusion, because I think a ton of how that was approached was directly based on the foundation of a lot of Percy’s own takes here. This same problem reared its head again later in that same issue when the writing again had Dick raising valid concerns when he brought up the matter of his memories again, and wanted to know where they were being stored.....and again, Percy’s answer to that was to have Babs overrule Dick’s feeling this was ‘need to know’ information for him by saying you don’t need to know that.

Again, its frustrating because the writing then continued to demonstrate an awareness of the flaws in Babs’ argument here, with Dick continuing to present possibilities like “what if you’re the next target of today’s villain and thus can’t keep those memories safe any more than I could in the first place, like let’s take a second to acknowledge that you’re as much of a target as Batgirl that I am as Nightwing, and just as vulnerable to being captured and mind-probed”....its just, the writing then proceeds to effectively change the subject immediately AFTER Dick poses these questions but BEFORE any answer is actually given, almost as if to get his objections on record and logged, before like....moving on with the story as though those hugely pertinent questions were ultimately irrelevant. LOL. No. They weren’t. Its just the writer chose to frame them that way in order to keep the focus on everything as purely logistical and Dick’s logistical sense here being not even lacking, but BIASED......but with zero acknowledgment anywhere in the story that like, he had a right to that bias, that bias was real yes, but also reasonable, because those memories were HIS, lol, and every issue he had with them, about them, about what was done with them, was one hundred percent valid and should never have been subject to someone else’s veto power.

And there’s no point to having a character speak up for himself, raise issues based on his own personal feelings and rationale on things pertaining to HIM.....if you’re still going to treat everyone around him as having veto power over what he says or does or thinks on these matters. Either without any acknowledgment of that being what these other characters or doing, or basing their ‘right’ to do so on some flimsy rationale of him being too biased or emotional or subjective on the subject, as though all these other characters don’t have their own biases and emotional perspectives, and he’s no less entitled to his than they are, and he’s far MORE entitled to what decisions are made about HIM and things that are HIS, than they are.

(Also, sidebar, but I also trace a lot of the problems I have with Babs and other characters’ declarations of knowing more about Dick/knowing him better than he knows himself, like, directly to this annual and the whole scene in the Batcave-on-wheels. I believe Castelluci, the most recent Batgirl writer, has flat out said that she isn’t that familiar with Nightwing’s character, and so I think a lot of the objections I have with how she approached Dick’s character ultimately stem from the likelihood that Castelluci’s take on him was informed mostly by like, this very annual and other recent writings, with no attempt at a more diversified reading of his character before writing him.)

Anyway, point is, I kinda hated that scene, because I have a huge beef with scenes that have Dick speak up about stuff that’s about HIM first and foremost.....when the writers then proceed to steamroll right over everything he says as though its irrelevant. Like lol no. HIS VOICE SHOULD GET TO BE THE LOUDEST IN THE ROOM WHEN THE TOPIC OF CONVERSATION IS HIS OWN LIFE OR THINGS DIRECTLY STEMMING FROM IT/AFFECTING IT.

This is a hugely recurrent thread in a lot of different issues with his character, with them all ultimately just spilling out of a weird refusal to keep him in the driver’s seat of his own life.

And again, it could have gone down ENTIRELY different. Every single decision and ramification from that scene could have existed just the same, without any significant plot alteration, but with 100% less problems, if the writing had just framed all those decisions and ramifications as springing from Dick’s OWN decisions, logic, wishes, rather than in OPPOSITION to them. The only thing that needed to be different, IMO, was just....keeping him and his choices, his own rationales, and his RIGHT to them, as being MOST in focus in that particular story and sequence of events.

And also again, just for the record, this has nothing to do with it being Babs in that scene and everything to do with just....the issue itself. Which is a problem for me with any and all other characters whose choices are similarly prioritized over Dick’s own decision-making process, even when the decisions are about him and his life, far more so than their own. This isn’t Babs-specific, it just tends to come up a lot with her due to the mere fact of like....how often Babs is the one in Dick’s stories or title, compared to other characters like Jason or Tim who cross over relatively less....but still usually create or raise the same problem when they do.

[generaldisdainn]

Four of a Kind

AO3 link

Rating: MA

Pairing: Kristanna

Previous chapter

The wonderful @epbaker​ drew some GORGEOUS artwork that’s loosely inspired by this fic that you can find here!

The lovely @ahtohallan-calling doodled the title of the fic which you can find here!!

Chapter 10

Kristoff, Anna, Ryder, and Sven were all scrunched together in that order on the sofa, watching Ryder play Breath of the Wild on the TV.

“So let me get this right,” Kristoff said, “it’s called ‘The Legend of Zelda’ but you’re Link, the guy who has to save Zelda?”

“Yup,” Ryder responded, most of his attention devoted to the game.

“And you’ve never been able to play as Zelda?”

“Nope.”

“Wow, sucks for Link,” Kristoff said. “He does all the hard work and Zelda gets the glory.”

“Well, she’s still a major figure in the games.”

“Yeah, but isn’t she not in some? And Link is in every one?”

“Well, yeah, but—”

“So it should be ‘The Legend of Link,’ right?”

“Well, no, because Link is supposed to be a player avatar. You can name him other things, too, so it wouldn’t make sense if—”

“Wait, you can name him something else in this game but you decided to name him Link?”

“No, you can’t name him something else in this game, because this is the first game with voice actors in it, so—”

“These games have never had voice actors? ”

“ VETO!! ” Sven shouted and shot up from the couch.

“Aw, c’mon!” Anna complained. “I was having fun listening to them bicker!”

A few weeks ago, the four of them came up with the concept of a “veto”. It gave the person who declared it the power to force the other three to stop what they’re doing and do whatever that person wants.

“We are not spending another weekend like this,” Sven declared. “We are going to remind ourselves what real nature looks like. We’re going hiking, bitches!”

Sven was immediately met with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

“Ugh, fine,” Kristoff mumbled.

“Yeah, I’m okay with that,” Ryder said.

“Oh my god, that sounds so fun!” Anna squealed. “Are there good hikes around here?”

Sven seemed to begin to answer affirmatively, but the words caught in his throat. He pulled his phone from his pocket and rapidly typed something. A few seconds of silence passed.

“Yeah, of course there are!” Sven said. “Do you think I would use my veto power if I didn’t have a plan? We’re going to...um...” His words trailed off as he began scrolling furiously before suddenly stopping. “...Reinpikk Gorge! It’s got, uh...a big waterfall?”

“I’m sold,” Anna said, standing up. “Let’s go.”

“Alright, this might actually be fun,” Kristoff conceded. “Let’s be ready to go in fifteen minutes.”

* * *

Kristoff knew he was doing the thing he hates again; pretending to be excited about something for a girl. When he was seeing Samantha, he would always try to find time to go to wine tasting events with her, even though he couldn’t stand the people, the atmosphere, or the wine. She loved those things for reasons Kristoff could never really understand. Hiking was another one of those activities; he tried to feign excitement as much as he could for Anna’s sake.

But if he was being honest with himself, the moment they rolled into the parking lot of the park, he found himself drawn to its natural beauty. He’d done landscaping work on multiple occasions; he had to admit nothing compared to the real thing.

“I mean, just look at that, guys,” Sven said emphatically. “I hope everyone is now realizing just how brilliant of an idea this was, thank you, thank you, tips are not necessary but very much appreciated.”

“Give it a couple hours and a few dozen mosquito bites,” Kristoff said, half-sarcastically.

“You ever heard of bug spray, wise guy?” Sven said.

“I’m just excited to bother you guys about all the different plants,” Ryder chimed in.

Anna was silently giddy, eager to be in nature, happy to be past her problems with Kristoff, and glad to be such close friends with the three of them. As they all climbed out of Sven’s car and prepared for the hike, she could feel her excitement growing. She began to wander away from the car, Sven and Kristoff too caught up in their own argument to notice.

“Uh, Anna?” Ryder called after her. “Where are you going?”

“Oh, is nobody following me?” Anna said, spinning on her heels and noticing Sven and Kristoff still at the car. “Hey, guys! We get it, you’re an old married couple, now come on!”

Kristoff found himself once again getting wrapped up in Anna’s own excitement. He caught up to Anna while Sven did his best to stifle his urge to shout after him. After all, this was his idea, and if Kristoff was only going to be excited because of Anna, then Sven would happily take that.

* * *

“You have no idea where we are, do you?” Kristoff asked Sven.

“Hush, getting lost is half the fun!” Anna said, slapping Kristoff’s arm with the back of her hand.

“So I’ve been seeing a lot of perennial weeds, which means we’re near water,” Ryder said.

“Yeah, obviously we’re near water, Ryder,” Kristoff grumbled. “That’s one of the defining characteristics of a gorge.”

“No, I mean we’re closer to water than we were,” Ryder corrected. “There’s also a higher concentration of evergreens, which is important because--”

“Okay, we get it, Doctor Plant,” Sven teased. “Look, none of y’all had to follow me off the trail, I just wanted to channel my inner Lara Croft.”

Anna imagined Sven in a too-small blue tank top and tiny brown shorts. She was amused as much as she was repulsed by the image. She couldn’t deny that she wanted to be a little adventurous as well; she hadn’t been this immersed in nature since she and Elsa left her parents. She looked to her right and spotted a large boulder, covered in cracks and crags, perfect for climbing.

“Hey, Kristoff, can you come over here? I need a spotter,” Anna said, already walking off in the direction of the giant rock.

“Wait, Anna, we should--” Kristoff turned to see Sven striding confidently away, Ryder close behind studying the flora. He let out a sigh, but if he was being honest with himself, this was an ideal scenario. Just him and Anna, completely alone, separated from everyone by a veil of nature. Completely unafraid to be himself. He quickly caught up to Anna.

“God, I forgot how fun this is,” Anna remarked, searching for a handhold on the rock face. “Did you ever do anything like this?”

“No, not really,” Kristoff answered absentmindedly, his gaze affixed on Anna’s ponytail fluttering in the gentle breeze.

“I used to go rock climbing all the time,” Anna said as she began to scale the rock, making Kristoff nervous. “I used to…” Anna’s words trailed off as she strained to reach a new handhold, trying to plant her feet where her hands had just been. Kristoff moved under her, his hands upturned, prepared to catch her if she slipped.

“You used to…?” Kristoff said.

“Oh yeah, I used to have a dream of...of climbing Mount Everest, but...then I learned people...regularly die on the way--”

Suddenly, her hand slipped. She shrieked as she fell backwards off the rock. She hung in the air for a second that felt like an eternity. Her heart rose and her stomach dropped, her hands grasped fruitlessly at the air, and her breath caught in her throat. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the impact with the ground.

The impact wasn’t harsh or abrupt, but rather warm and soft, like she collided with a giant teddy bear. She opened her eyes to see herself in an undignified position on Kristoff’s lap, who had collapsed onto his rear end when she fell into him. She looked up at his face just in time to hear him say “Jesus, Anna, are you okay?”

Typical, Anna thought. The two of them going to Ikea alone, her falling onto him after being separated from the other two—it’s like the universe was begging them to get together. She pressed her hand to her heart and found that it was racing, threatening to burst out of her chest. It was the combination of exertion, shock, and the sudden contact with Kristoff causing her heart rate to skyrocket.

“Yeah, I’m—I’m fine,” Anna stammered, readjusting herself, but not yet climbing out of Kristoff’s embrace. “I’m glad I asked you to follow me.” She laughed nervously.

“No kidding,” Kristoff said. “How about we just walk from now on?”

“Or you could carry me,” Anna responded, laying one arm around his neck.

Kristoff laughed. “No, no, we’re not doing that,” he said as he stood up, hoisting Anna onto her feet. “Come on, let’s see what’s on the other side of this.”

They started walking parallel to the wall Anna had just tumbled from. They didn’t say anything to each other for a little while, comfortable with just being alone with each other. Then, Kristoff remembered they had never finished their conversation from earlier.

“So, you wanted to climb Mount Everest?”

Anna snorted. “Yeah, but then I started doing research on what it would take to achieve that, and I decided it just wasn’t worth it.” Her eyes wandered, her words and her mind out of sync with each other. “And, y’know, I had other goals, more realistic ones, like starting my own animal shelter, officiating my sister’s wedding, making a perfect crème brûlée, stuff like that. And some of them I’ve already achieved, like making a group of friends on my own, being a better person than my parents are, finding someone I want to spend the rest of…” Her words trailed off. She snapped her head to look at Kristoff. “Am I talking too much? Is any of this TMI? I’m sorry if it is, I just--”

“Anna, you’re totally fine,” Kristoff chuckled. “Honestly it’s inspiring to hear about your goals, considering...well…” Kristoff shrugged, then hunched his shoulders. His eyes pointed at the ground. “...I’ve never really had goals like that.”

“Really?” Anna asked. “You’ve never wanted something so deep in your bones that you would, like, jump into a volcano to get it?”

“No, not really,” Kristoff admitted, almost embarrassed to say, knowing how driven and determined Anna was by contrast. “My parents...well, they settled in a big way. My dad had a promising career as an architect and my mom could have easily sung at the Met if she wanted to, but they both agreed to give up their potential to live much simpler lives.” Kristoff sighed, a sound dripping with regret. “Their decision must have rubbed off on me.”

“Wow, Kristoff,” Anna said, doing her best to sympathize. “I’m really sorry.”

“No need to be,” Kristoff said. “I’m fine.”

Anna knew he wasn’t fine. He looked at his face to see his normally boyish features locked in contemplation, making him appear older than he was.

“Well, you know what, Kristoff?” Anna began with an encouraging tone. “Now’s as good of a time as any. Let’s come up with some goals for you!”

Kristoff smiled a sad smile. “You don’t need to do that for me.”

“You say that like I don’t want to. I do,” she retorted. “Before my mom was a bitch, she was a guidance counselor, and I learned a few things from her.”

Kristoff’s sad smile turned cheerful, despite how he tried to oppress it; the tiny wrinkle on the bridge of his nose betrayed his true feelings. “Alright, why not?”

“Yay!” Anna clapped her hands a few times before gathering herself. “So before we come up with any giant goals, let’s start with small ones. Is there something you’ve wanted to do for a while, but never gotten around to it?”

Kristoff hummed and made a show of scratching his head. “Well...I guess...I’ve always wanted to read the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy.”

“Okay, that’s a great start! Were you a big reader as a kid?”

“Yeah, but ‘Lord of the Rings’ always felt out of reach to me, and by the time I was old enough I--well, the friends I hung out with were way more into sports, so I just kinda stopped reading.”

“Well, I know it’s cliché at this point, but there’s no time like the present!” Anna’s words were bursting with optimism, their infectious energy broadening Kristoff’s smile.

“Yeah, it’s true. I guess that’s why it’s a cliché, right?” They smiled at each other, their eyes sparkling with each other’s light.

Anna blinked, coming out of her daze. “Okay, so what else?” She vaulted over a rock the size of a large dog while Kristoff walked around it. “Any places you want to see? Any skill you want to learn?”

“Oh my god, I used to want to play the accordion!” Kristoff said, his head craning back like the memory struck him in the forehead.

“Really!?” Anna exclaimed, a wave of giddy excitement rushing through her.

“Yeah, I used to be really into Weird Al when I was a little kid. But I ended up getting a guitar one Christmas instead.”

“Okay, so as your guidance counselor, I would tell you to get an accordion for yourself. As your roommate, well, not so much.”

“What about a guitar?”

“A guitar’s fine, a guitar’s nice and quiet.” Anna smiled broadly. “See? You already have two goals: read ‘Lord of the Rings’ and learn guitar! Who knows, you might start a ‘Lord of the Rings’ band in the future!”

“Yeah,” Kristoff said, something else piquing his interest. “Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Anna said, suddenly nervous. They stood in silence for a bit before Kristoff turned and walked in the direction of whatever he was hearing.

“Kristoff, wait!” She hurried after him. “We shouldn’t--” she started to say, but then she heard what Kristoff must have been hearing too: a massive volume of water, a sound that could only be coming from a waterfall. She rushed ahead of Kristoff, eager to see what had sold her on the hike in the first place.

First, she saw the enormous granite wall of the gorge that the water had carved out of the earth. There were shrubs and small trees dotting the surface, but for the most part the rock was bare, providing a stark contrast with the scenery of the rest of the hike. Then she saw the top of the waterfall, the river above it roiling and churning as it tumbled over the edge. Finally, once she reached the lip of the gorge, she looked down at the entirety of the waterfall as a joyful smile spread across her face.

The water leapt and danced over the rocks as it tumbled downward. Mist lifted from the torrent, forming a rainbow that arced from the top of the waterfall to the base of the gorge. At the bottom, the water gathered in a swirling mass and continued deeper into the dense forest, unimpeded and unshaken, just as it had been at the top of the waterfall.

Kristoff caught up with her and had a similar, albeit subdued, reaction. His eyes were fixed more on Anna than they were on the natural splendor. He loved seeing her this happy and excited. He loved it more than he cared to admit to himself. If this is what it took for her to be as happy as she was, he would take her hiking every day at a different gorge each time, and then cut new gorges directly into the earth once she had seen them all.

He decided at that moment that he wasn’t going to hide his feelings for her anymore. He wanted to be with her.

“Hey, Anna?” Kristoff asked.

“Look at this, Kristoff!” Anna shouted, her voice full of reverence. “It’s so, so beautiful! I can’t believe it!” She giggled and laid a hand on Kristoff’s arm. “I’m really glad we’re seeing this together. It’s just so...so…” She waved her hand in the air, like it would help her find the right word. “...I don’t know, I just like doing things with you! When we’re by ourselves, you and me, I just feel like I can be excited, and I am excited about this waterfall and this hike, and you, and…” Again, she let her words trail off before elaborating further. “Sorry. Was there something you wanted?”

Kristoff stifled his nerves. He knew he fucked up once with her, but he also knew he’d been forgiven; it was part of the reason why it was so easy to fall back in love with her.

“...Can I, um...can I kiss you?”

Anna’s eyes popped. She wasn’t expecting him to say anything like that any time soon. Her reaction made Kristoff even more nervous.

“I mean, uh…” Kristoff stammered. “I--well, I would like to. I may? I mean, ay mi? Uh...may I? You don’t have to, I just, um…” Kristoff decided to stop talking. Fully expecting a rejection at this point, he began to turn away.

Anna didn’t even expect herself to do what she did next. She turned his face back toward her gently with her hand, stood on her tiptoes, and delicately laid her lips on his. Kristoff returned the kiss, a less graceful one, but a kiss all his own. A vulnerable, tender gesture of love.

Anna lowered herself, smiling gently, her lower lip tucked between her teeth. But when she noticed Kristoff’s unsure expression, her own face twisted in concern.

“Was that okay?” she asked.

Kristoff’s eyes darted to the side. His lips were pursed and twisted to the side. Anna was beginning to fear she did something terribly wrong.

Kristoff inhaled through his mouth, preparing to speak, but then shut it again. He tilted his head, like a puppy trying to figure out where a sound was coming from. Anna was all but mortified at this point. She thought her potential relationship with Kristoff was ending before it began, right before her eyes.

Finally, Kristoff spoke.

“Do you want to go out with me?”

All of Anna’s tension dissipated in an instant.

“Jesus, Kristoff, that was terrifying!” she shouted, slapping him on the arm.

“Oh my--I’m sorry! Really, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for it to be!” Kristoff apologized.

“I thought you hated me! It looked like you were--oh, yes, by the way, I’d love to--but holy shit, don’t ever do that again.”

Kristoff smiled bigger than he had all day, embarrassed by his ambiguous reaction to the kiss, but also elated that she still had feelings for him. “Okay, okay, I promise. But also, yay!” he said.

Now it was Anna’s turn to look puzzled. “So, what changed? You were asking for space not too long ago.”

Kristoff responded without missing a beat. “I can’t afford to deny my feelings for you anymore.”

Anna blushed and gave Kristoff a quick peck on the cheek. “I won’t if you won’t.”

All of a sudden, Ryder and Sven emerged from the trees behind them.

“Are you guys done?” Sven asked.

Kristoff and Anna both turned to face them. “Have you guys been right behind us the whole time?” Anna asked.

“It was Sven’s idea!” Ryder accused.

“Not that bullshit again,” Sven said to Ryder. “Not the whole time,” he continued, turning back to Kristoff and Anna. He walked right up to the edge of the gorge. “Guys, can you make way for your king, please?” That, or a variation of it, is what Sven would say when he wanted a picture taken of him. Kristoff stepped down behind Ryder and Anna followed him.

“I need a pic of me in nature to balance out my Grindr profile,” Sven said to Kristoff. “That was kinda the whole motivation behind this trip for me.”

“Wait, your what?” Anna asked, like she had just heard a grand revelation.

Sven, Ryder, and Kristoff all slowly turned to look at her, each with the same expression on their face. Complete stunned silence.

Without warning, Ryder did something that was uncharacteristic of him as long as Anna had known him. He burst into hysterical laughter.

“Anna thought you were straight this whole time!” Ryder said to Sven between fits.

“Well, no one ever told me!” Anna shouted in an effort to defend herself.

“Wait, you actually never knew?” Kristoff asked.

“I don’t know, I just didn’t pick up on it!”

“Anna, don’t even worry about it,” Sven said, opting to be the voice of reason. “They’re just being stupid. But yeah, I’m like, really gay.”

Anna’s face was beet-red, but she smiled through her embarrassment.

“Actually, you know what?” Sven said with a new inflection. “I’m a package deal. Everyone get up here, we’re taking a group selfie!”

Hearing him say that made Anna’s heart lift. She knew she was an integral member of their crew now, but every time someone reiterated that fact, it made her so happy she could burst. She wrapped her arm around Kristoff and led him up to the edge, Ryder following shortly after. Sven pulled out his phone, opened the camera app, and held it at arm’s length, trying to fit everyone on the frame.

“Kristoff, crouch down, Anna, be taller, Ryder, you’re perfect. One, two, three, say bees!”

Kristoff and Anna didn’t have to say anything to smile. They couldn’t stop smiling.

#kristanna #kristanna fanfic #frozen fanfiction #Kristoff

[squishykpoptummies]

When in San Francisco...

a/n: k y’all here it is. so like i was watching the nct hit the states thing and the taeyong x SF one had me lowkey shook he was eating the throughout entire goddamn video i’m. so this happened.  also this is my first fic on here for nct so. yay? lmao. also note: things said in italics are english

--

The best part about San Francisco, Taeyong soon decided, was the food.

 As soon as they set foot in California, it became Taeyong’s mission to find an In ‘N’ Out. It was certainly easier than anticipated, with one right down the street from their hotel. He managed to sneak away before he was set to film his Hit the States segment with Doyoung, snagging whoever was interested (Jungwoo and Donghyuck) along with him.

 The three of them thoroughly enjoyed their burgers and shakes, moaning about how good it was every other bite. They all might have overdone it, just a little: Donghyuck unbuttoning his jeans so he could have a third burger, Jungwoo imbibing more French fries than seemed humanly possible, and Taeyong’s own pants feeling a bit snug around his middle by the time they were done.

 Taeyong was momentarily very jealous of Jungwoo and Donghyuck, who had nothing to do for the next few hours but fall into food comas while Taeyong had to walk around San Francisco, but he figured it was better he do it than either of the other two, with Jungwoo practically falling asleep standing up and Donghyuck clutching his belly and whining very loudly when Taeyong refused to get an Uber back to the hotel that was literally just at the end of the block, Hyuck.

 He barely had time to drop Jungwoo and Donghyuck off at their rooms before he was whisked away for hair and wardrobe. The stylist frowned a bit when the pants Taeyong was supposed to wear barely closed over his bloated tummy.

 “Taeyong-ah, what happened?” she asked.

 Taeyong shrugged. “San Francisco has really good food.”

 She sighed. “Let’s try a different pair.”

 The next pair felt a lot better, though he protested against the belt, and was promptly overruled. By the time they finally left to film, the bloating seemed to have gone down some, and Taeyong no longer felt like he was about to burst.

 But the first thing that caught his eye when they got to the boardwalk was, “Ice cream!” he pointed excitedly. “Let’s get some now.” He was already fantasizing about what he would get. Definitely something with chocolate in it. Maybe hot fudge. A waffle cone.

 “No, no,” Doyoung said flippantly.

 “Waffle and ice cream,” Taeyong said. He hadn’t really intended for that to be out loud, but it sounded delicious and he hoped Doyoung would agree.

 “No,” Doyoung said again. “We should eat real food first. A meal.”

 Taeyong gazed longingly back at the ice cream stand as Doyoung steered them away from it. He then caught Doyoung’s eye and gave him the biggest puppy-dog eyes and pout he could muster.

 Doyoung sighed. “We can go later,” he conceded. Taeyong was definitely going to hold him to that.

 After flitting through a couple stores, gaping at their beautiful surroundings, and buying a few things along the way, Taeyong zeroed in on a chocolate shop. He practically skipped over, Doyoung trailing behind, complaining how he didn’t like chocolate, which was total bullshit; he just liked being difficult.

 His mouth dropped open as soon as he stepped inside. He wanted to try everything. He couldn’t obviously: Doyoung couldn’t afford it, and management wouldn’t allow it. But he got away with a nice little assortment of treats, starting in on them as soon as they got back outside. He wheedled Doyoung into giving him some of his, because since Doyoung purportedly hated chocolate he’d definitely need help finishing it, and Taeyong would be more than happy to offer his assistance.

 He idly ate his way through the bag as they continued shopping and sightseeing. He stole more of Doyoung’s candy while the other was distracted by the seals.

 Taeyong frowned when he went for another piece of chocolate only to be met with his fingers brushing the bottom of the empty bag. “Doyoung-ah, I’m out,” he said as he snaked his arm towards Doyoung’s bag.

 Doyoung swatted his hand away. “Stop stealing my candy,” he said. “There’s not gonna be any left for me.”

 Taeyong pouted, but Doyoung just rolled his eyes.

 “You need to save room for lunch, anyway.”

 “We should have ice cream for lunch.”

 “We’re getting clam chowder.”

 The chowder bread bowls were, admittedly, amazing. The soup was rich, the bread was fluffy, and it made Taeyong feel very warm and comfortable. It also settled heavily in his stomach, bloating out even further than it had earlier. It would be very nice if he could unbutton his pants, but he knew that if he did, he’d never be able to get them closed again. Instead, he adjusted the waistband to that it settled under the curve of his tummy, rearranging his flannel to try to hide it some.

 Doyoung noticed his situation, because of course he would. He smirked. “Still want that ice cream?”

 Taeyong smirked right back. “Definitely.”

 Management vetoed the ice cream. They’d already had enough sweets, was their reasoning. Taeyong petulantly argued back, Doyoung hiding his face in his hands, ears tinted pink in embarrassment.

 They compromised on fruit.

 The cherries were very good, but they would have been better on ice cream. But they were sweet, easy to pop into his mouth as they meandered around the farmer’s market. And they filled him up way more than he’d expected.

 By now, his overindulgence was fairly visible, round tummy sticking out from his lean frame, pushing against his shirt, flannel only accentuating it at this point. Management saw this, and quickly decided that filming was done for the day, which was perfectly fine with Taeyong, because now he could get his ice cream.

 Their manager sighed and Doyoung rolled his eyes when he announced this.

 “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” their manager asked, eyes trained on Taeyong’s tummy.

 “Yes,” Taeyong replied. “Doyoung-ah, can I have some money?”

 “No.”

 “Hmm, I wonder what would happen if I ordered but couldn’t pay…”

 “Hyung. Please.”

 He started walking to the stand.

 “Taeyong-ah, get back here!”

 Taeyong had no idea where this surge of defiance came from, but he ignored the callings of his manager and kept walking. He was gonna get his goddamn ice cream if it was the last thing he ever did. And it very well might be, if the murderous tone in their manager’s voice was any indication.

 “Good afternoon!” the girl behind the counter greeted in English.

 “Ah, hello,” he replied.

 “Do you know what you’d like to order?”

 Taeyong was in awe of the plethora of flavours available. It was definitely a bit overwhelming. He hummed. “What is… most favourite?” he asked clumsily.

 The girl, an absolute sweetheart, took his broken English in stride, no scrunched eyebrows or double takes, just another person trying to buy some ice cream. “Well, the salted caramel is pretty popular, but my favourite it the mocha chip.” She smiled.

 Wow, those were a lot of words Taeyong didn’t know.

 The girl might have sensed this, because she quickly asked, “Would you like to try them?”

 “Try taste?”

 She nodded.

 “Okay, yes please.”

 As she was turned away, preparing his taster spoons, Doyoung sidled up to Taeyong.

 “Manager-hyung is going to kill you,” Doyoung said under his breath.

 “Do you want some, too?” Taeyong asked him, totally ignoring the threat.

 Doyoung let out a long-suffering sigh. “Might as well, if we’re going to die anyway.”

 The girl turned back, handed Taeyong two spoons, and smiled at Doyoung. “Would you like to try something, too?”

 “Buy?”

 “Only if you’re ready.”

 “No, she wants to know if you wanna taste anything,” Taeyong explained in Korean, holding up his tiny spoons.

 “Ohh.” He then pointed at a bright blue ice cream. “Blueberry?” he asked. There was no way that was blueberry.

 “Cotton candy,” the girl replied.

 “Cotton candy? Clothes candy, hyung what is that?”

 Taeyong shrugged, just as clueless as Doyoung, but thoroughly enjoying watching this play out, happily sucking the ice cream from the spoons. (Both flavours were amazing. He was going to get them both.)

 “Um, can I try cotton candy?”

 Taeyong and Doyoung both stared at the mysterious, electric blue ice cream as the spoon was handed over. Doyoung gave it a cautious lick, and his face brightened instantly. “Cotton candy!” he exclaimed in Korean. “It’s pretty good.”

 “Let me try.” Before Doyoung had time to protest, Taeyong leant over and ate the remaining ice cream from the spoon. It was cloyingly sweet, not something Taeyong would want a whole serving of, but tasty nonetheless.

 “Can I have a cup of cotton candy? Small, please.”

 “Coming right up. Are you ready to order?” she asked Taeyong.

 “Yes. I like the two.” He held up his taster spoons to hopefully get his message across, because that’s definitely not how you say it in English. “Can I have the two?”

 “Both flavours,” Doyoung helped explain.

 Taeyong nodded in agreement. “Large, please,” he added.

 “Do you really think you should be getting a large?” Doyoung asked quietly.

 Taeyong put a hand on his stomach, patted it lightly. “I can handle it.”

 A large turned out to be, well, large. But Taeyong was determined. His pride depended on this now. Taeyong drew his now regular sized spoon through both flavours as Doyoung paid, and wow they tasted good together. Taeyong eagerly dug in.

 After taking way more napkins than necessary, Doyoung led them back towards the crew. When they were about fifteen feet away, the girl called out to them, “Good luck with your tour!”

 Taeyong almost choked on the huge bite of ice cream he’d just scooped into his mouth. She knew who they were! All this time! He quickly swallowed, turned over his shoulder and beamed at her. “Thank you! Ahh, brainfreeze!” He clapped a hand to his forehead and screwed his eyes up. Doyoung, who’d been waving to the girl, laughed at him.

 Surprisingly, they didn’t get into much trouble. It seemed as though they thought Taeyong, who was now slumped on the bench he’d made them stop at so he could finish his ice cream and cradling his overstuffed tummy, had been punished enough just by doing this to himself.

 Now, he couldn’t say it aloud, but Taeyong would hardly call this a punishment. He felt amazing. A tad uncomfortable, but still amazing. He also noted with a smug satisfaction that Doyoung, slouched and sulking beside him, was nursing his own over-filled belly.

 “This is all your fault,” Doyoung groaned.

 “You can’t say you didn’t enjoy it at least a little bit?” Taeyong teased.

 “I hate you.”

 “Hashtag worth it.”

 “Please never say that again.”

 --

 Johnny was waiting for them when they got back to the hotel. His eyes raked over Taeyong’s appearance, Doyoung scowling beside him. “Productive day?”

 “Your boyfriend tried to kill me.”

 “Business as usual, then.”

 Doyoung rolled his eyes. “I’m going to my room and I’m not coming out until tomorrow, no one is allowed in, and hyung,” he turned to Johnny. “I probably don’t need to tell you twice, but please get Taeyong out of those clothes before he explodes and dies.” And with that, he shuffled off to his room; Taeyong distinctly heard the lock being slid into place.

 “Well, you heard the man,” Johnny said, smiling a little, as he helped Taeyong waddle back to their own room, hand on the small of his back.

 “Doyoung really wasn’t kidding, was he?” Johnny cocked his head to the side as he watched Taeyong struggling to shuck off his jeans. He’d taken the belt off during the van ride back, as well as untucking his shirt, currently rucked up so he could get better access to his pants button, which he had not been allowed to undo.

 Taeyong whined. The waistband was tight against his stretched skin, button all but refusing to move, and he was in an awkward position and it hurt his tummy and Johnny just standing there laughing at him wasn’t helping.

 “Need some help?”

 “Yes please.”

 Johnny’s large hands ghosted over his stomach and gently worked the button free within seconds. Taeyong let out a sigh—he could breathe now!—and flopped backwards onto the bed. Johnny, an absolute angel, began working the jeans off his hips.

 “Taeyong-ah,” Johnny said a while later, folding up the jeans he’d finally managed to get Taeyong out of, “what have you been doing?”

 “What do you mean?” Taeyong asked, stretching out on the bed, immensely enjoying his freedom from the suffocating pants.

 “You know exactly what I’m talking about. Don’t think I missed the state Hyuckie and Jungwoo were in when they came back. You’ve taken out a third of our members at this point.”

 Taeyong shrugged. “Not my fault.”

 “Uh-huh.”

 “It’s the food! The food is really good.”

 “I can tell,” Johnny smirked, eyes on Taeyong’s tummy, sitting on the bed next to the other boy. “You’ve just been eating all day, haven’t you?” He traced a circle over Taeyong’s tummy, and Taeyong shivered. “Does that feel good?”

 “Really good.”

 “Does my baby boy need a tummy rub?”

 Taeyong nodded.

 Johnny chuckled, and kissed the pout off Taeyong’s lips. He brought his hand back to Taeyong’s belly, ran his fingers over the indents made by too-tight clothing. He cupped the bottom of it, and then lay his hand to rest right over Taeyong’s belly button.

 “Do you think it’s a boy or a girl?” Johnny whispered.

 “Excuse me?”

 “We should start thinking of some names.”

 Taeyong spluttered. “I’m – wha—Johnny!”

 “Personally I’ve always liked Natalie.”

 It was then that Jaehyun walked in. Taeyong froze and looked at the boy in the doorway with wide eyes, but Johnny continued to swipe his thumb over the crest of Taeyong’s belly.

 Jaehyun slowly shut the door behind him. “Am I interrupting?”

 “Nah, we’re just trying to come up with names for Taeyong’s baby.” Johnny gently gave Taeyong’s tummy a few pats. Taeyong groaned.

 “Ooh, fun,” Jaehyun said, wasting no time in joining them on the bed, sandwiching Taeyong in the middle. “How far along is he?”

 “Hmm, looks to be about five months.”

 “Guuuuys,” Taeyong whined.

 “He was even waddling earlier.”

 Jaehyun cooed. Taeyong huffed.

 But, he couldn’t complain too much. He had two loving boyfriends, he was full and content and happy, and he wouldn’t change anything for the world.

#what even is this ending #and i haven't even read it over before posting rip #nct #writing #nct 127 #taeyong #doyoung #jaehyun #johnny #stuffing #tummy #tummy rubs #belly #taeyong has a daddy kink don't @ me #lee taeyong #kim doyoung #johnny seo #jung jaehyun #johntae #jaeyong #johnjae #johnjaeyong #do they even have a ship name?? #well i guess they do now

[smilingformoney]

America’s Most Eligible 3 Diamond Scene: McDermot’s

You turn to your wedding party with a grin. You: Since we’re all starving, what would you guys say to some McDermots? Our treat! Fiancée: Technically, it’s the studio’s treat… but the offer still stands! Han: That. Sounds. Awesome! You have no idea how long I’ve been craving chicken tenders. Bianca: Sure, why not? I’m hungry enough to eat one more carb at this point. Slater: More like fifty more carbs. Bianca: Shut up before I change my mind. Smiling and laughing, the ten of you hurry across the street and into McDermots.

The ten of you file into McDermots together, startling the handful of customers who are currently inside. You: Are you ready to feast? Omar: Not so fast. First, we need to get everyone in here to sign these NDAs. Fiancée: You really know how to suck the spontaneity out of things, don’t you? Omar: Just doing my job. While Omar and the crew pass out paperwork for the patron and employees to sign, you and your party grab a couple of tables. Eden: This is so exciting! I’ve always wondered what the inside of a McDermots was like. Han: You’ve never been to McDermots? Kiana: I’d expect nothing less from our resident rich girl. Eden: It has nothing to do with money! My parents were just very opposed to junk food. Slater: I hear ya. My mom was a total hippie growing up. She was all about clean eating.

You: Personally, I think… -A little junk never hurt anyone!

You: Honestly, I’d be happy if we could have McDermots catering at our wedding. Eden: You’re not serious, are you? Han: I hope they are! Bianca: Fiancée, please talk some sense into your fiancée. They’re clearly out of their mind. Fiancée: Hey, if it’s good enough for Jamie, it’s good enough for me.

-McDermots is a guilty pleasure.

You: Slater’s mom has the right idea. Pigging out is fun every once in a while, but fresh food is so much better. Slater: You say that now, but you’ve never experienced the pain of being a six-year-old who’s never had chicken nuggets. Kiana: Aw, poor baby Slater! Nuggets are the key to happiness. Officiant: And possibly heart disease. Fiancée: Shh. Let her have this.

Omar and a few crew members come up to the table with trays full of burgers, fries, nuggets, and milkshakes. Omar: Alright, everyone. The NDAs have been signed, so you’re officially free to chow down. Best Man: Finally. I’m starving! Kiana: I know exactly what to eat first. You all watch, stunned, as Kiana plucks a fry from the tray… and dips it into her chocolate milkshake. Eden: Babe. Seriously? Kiana: Don’t judge me! This is actually delicious. Han: She’s right. It’s like, the perfect blend of sweet and savoury. Kinda like Jamie and their fiancée! Han: …That sounded more romantic in my head. Eden: Han has a point though. You two are easily the best-matched couple I’ve ever met. You: That’s really sweet, you two. But my fiancée and I didn’t bring you here to talk about us!

You: We’re here to… -Celebrate you!

You: Everyone’s so focused on me and my fiancée, but we think you guys deserve more credit. Fiancée: They’re right. We’d be nothing without our kickass wedding party by our side! Kiana: Aww, you guys. Han: I promised myself I wouldn’t cry on camera… Officiant: Fiancée, Jamie… thank you for trusting us. It really means a lot.

-Chow down!

You: You guys wanted food, and we delivered! Fiancée: Yeah, everyone. Dig in before everything gets cold! Bianca: You don’t have to tell me twice. Slater: Seriously, though. Thanks for going out of your way to set this up for us. Officiant: This is Stacey and Eloise we’re dealing with. Whenever we need something, they make sure we get it.

Best Man: I’m with the officiant. This competition is about your wedding, but it’s great that the rest of us have a say too. Eden: You know what’s really great? This food. You look at Eden, who’s already finished one hamburger and is working on her second. Eden: I can’t believe I’ve been missing out on this incredible flavour my entire life! Han: Check it out. Eden’s experiencing fast food nirvana for the first time in her life. Kiana: I’m kinda worried we just created a monster. Your wedding party laughs as Eden continues eating, unfazed. Han plucks a handful of fires off the tray and shoves them in his mouth. Han: Man, this is the life. All the junk food we can eat, and we don’t even have to pay for it! Bianca: As long as you don’t mind stuffing your face on national television. Han: Eh, it’s a small price to pay. I’ll never get sick of AME. Han: Kinda bummed this is probably my last season… but at least we’re going out with a bang! Slater: I gotta admit, since this season is a wedding special, I was worried the rest of us wouldn’t get much screen time… Bianca: Always focusing on what really matters, huh? Slater: I’m just saying, it’s cool that Jamie and their fiancée let us share the spotlight a little!

You: Well, why wouldn’t we? -You’re as much a part of this show as we are.

You: Sure, the show is about winning out wedding, but they made it clear from the start that we need you to make it happen. You: Keeping you guys happy is literally my job, but even if it weren’t, I’d be glad to do it. Fiancée: Yeah. You’re not just out teammates, we also consider you our friends. Fiancée: And the way I see it, we’re all the stars of this season.

-Being in the spotlight 24/7 is exhausting!

You: If the cameras were focused on me and Eloise every hour of every day, I think I’d lose it. You: Sharing the spotlight gives you guys screen time, but it also gives us peace of mind. Fiancée: Seriously. You have no idea how helpful it is, knowing we’re not carrying the whole show on our backs. Fiancée: We’re the grateful ones in the situation. Without you guys, we’d be ridiculously stressed out.

You: Besides, we have to seize moments like this when we can. We really don’t get enough opportunities on this show to just goof off. Best Man: I think we could all benefit from letting our inner child out every now and again. You glance around the restaurant and your gaze falls on the play area. You: That gives me an idea. Follow me.

You and your wedding party step into the deserted play area. You: Who’s ready to have some fun? Han: I’m so game! Maid of Honour: This is gonna make for some really interesting footage. Officiant: Hey, we’re supposed to be showing America our fun side, right? Bianca: I don’t know. Aren’t we a little old to be jumping into ball pits? Slater: Aw, you heard the best man! It’s time to let your inner child out. Eden: Oooh, I always wanted to play on a playground like this! Mother never let me. She was worried about the germs. Kiana: Not gonna lie Eden… your childhood bums me out. You: Come on, guys! When are we going to get another opportunity to let loose like this before the wedding? I’ll go first.

You: … -Jump in the ball pit!

You back up a few steps, before taking a running leap into the ball pit. You: BALLS AWAYYYYYYY! One by one, your friends and party members jump in and join you, scattering plastic balls everywhere. Derek: Red alert, red alert! Dive, dive, dive! Derek buries himself in the balls, leaving just one hand extended upwards as a ‘periscope’. Eden: They’re so slippery, it’s almost like being in quicksand. Rainbow quicksand! Kiana: You okay over there, Han? Han: I’m good, I’m just not used to handling more than one ball at a time. It’s a little overwhelming. Jen giggles uncontrollably as Eloise and Lanzo bob up and down in the balls like prairie dogs. Slater: Think the staff will let me bring my board in and try surf these waves? Bianca: Waves? This is a tsunami! Might be too risky even for an experienced surfer like you.

-Go down the slide!

You climb up onto the platform and shoot down the slide, landing in the ball pit with a rattle of plastic orbs. You: Whooooo! Take that, gravity! Maid of Honour: Impressive…? You: If you think you can do better, you’re welcome to try. Laughing, everyone lines up on the platform to try going down the slide in different ways. Your maid of honour slides down headfirst. Bianca: My turn. Let’s make this interesting. Bianca positions herself sideways and rolls down the slide, while Han curls himself into a ball and tumbles down end over end. Han: Owwww! This wasn’t as graceful as I thought it would be! Giggling, Kiana and Eden sit down like they’re in a bobsled and slide down into the pit together. Kiana: Teamwork! Slater: Step aside and let me show you all how it’s done. Bracing his legs, Slater surfs down the slide standing up, landing gracefully in the pit. You: That is how you do it! Who’s next?

Before you know it, you’re laughing so hard your stomach hurts. Bianca: Okay, you got me. That was a lot of fun. Officiant: Sometimes you just have to let go of common sense. Eden: I was really missing out on McDermots. I had no idea fast food places could be so much fun! Best Man: Leave it to Jamie to show us the fun in even the most unexpected places. Han: I think you mean funexpected! Maid of Honour: Stop. Please. Before you ruin a perfectly good afternoon with puns. Kiana: This is giving me some killer wedding ideas. What if you have a slide at your reception? Fiancée: Oh yeah, I’d love to see Great-Aunt Gertrude barrel headfirst into a pit of plastic balls. +50 You: I’m gonna have to veto the slide idea, but I get what you mean, Kiana. If our wedding isn’t fun, then what’s the point? Fiancée: Couldn’t have said it better myself. Feeling happy and satisfied, you and your wedding party pile back into the limo and let it take you back to the mansion.

#playchoices #choices stories you play #choices ame #choices america's most eligible #america's most eligible

[bluegreenspierfelds-blog]

“That’s right motherfuckers...I’m Gay”

Simon Spier/Bram Greenfeld, Leah Burke/Garrett Laughlin (mentioned), Abby Suso/ Nick Eisner (mentioned)

2.4k words 

In which Simon comes out on his terms...Bram isn’t so lucky

Simon is walking though his own personal hell, Creekwood High School. Granted, high school is supposed to suck. Simon didn’t hate school for the early mornings, nagging teachers or the stupid amount of homework he was assigned.

Nope.

He hated high school because his classmates, hormonal, overly sexually active classmates. Simon didn’t make it through a school day without seeing at least one straight couple sucking face or showing any form PDA. This particular morning, Simon was greeted by his two friends pressed up his locker making out...like making out...like almost making a baby….making out…Ew

How can they breathe?

Wow I hope they’re alright after this

KISSING MARATHON..WHO WILL WIN?

Simon got out of his realizing they didn’t feel his presence. He was staring at them for so long...he thought people would start staring at him. He sees the headline on Creeksecrets now.

SIMON SPIER: RESIDENT GAY GUY STARES AT HIS BEST FRIENDS KISSING EACH OTHER

IS HE ACTUALLY STRAIGHT? OR JUST FUCKING WEIRD??

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST

“YO”

They broke apart like lighting struck in between them. Nick instantly reached for his binder he lazily threw on the floor. He immediately used to cover his boner...Ew...why did he even check to see if he had one….

Simon wasn’t expecting them to break apart so quickly. He prepared a few jokes in his head in case they ignored him. Damn his friends ruin E V E R Y T H I N G. They mumbled their sorrys and hellos, as Simon dug in his locker.  Abby casually tried to fix her hair, reapply her lip gloss and checked reflection on her phone screen. Simon kept the if you make a baby on my locker, you gotta name them after me comment to himself but another sly comment slipped out.  

“They don’t call me walking birth control for nothing..” Simon scoffed and opened in his locker.

“No one calls you that…” Nick said, completely confused by the joke.

“No, but they should” Simon said closing his locker.

He waved goodbye to them, to start his trek to English.

I wonder how many straight people I’ll see boning today.

Being the only (openly) gay kid at Creekwood wasn’t too bad. They were accepting, as accepting a small town in Georgia could be. He no longer had to endure awkward conversations asking him when he was getting a girlfriend.

He wasn’t sure if more pressure was coming from his peers or his parents. They have been dropped hints for some time. Simon pretended to ignore their efforts….well he ignored them until he couldn’t. He snapped one day, he was sitting at dinner with his family and it slipped out.

His dad made a stupid heterosexual joke over dinner, instead of fake laugh and nodding along. He just said it.

“I’m gay”

His dad choked on the jasmine rice his sister Nora made. He cleared his throat, drank some water and dinner continued. Well dinner continued AFTER an insanely awkward conversation.

A few awkward conversations later...he was out to everyone he knew. His friends did a decent job of spreading the word. Every time a girl would approach the lunch table to ask out Simon, someone at their lunch would say “He’s gay”  

It was kind of inside joke with his lunch table. The first few times Simon said it rather awkwardly “yeah I’m gay sorry” . After a while Leah took over, her deadpan scared a few girls, they would turn to Simon to confirm and he would nod. Everyone has their own version of delivering the news to these oblivious girls.

Abby took the nice girl route, she called the random girls sweetie and honey and breaking the news gently.

Garrett used his class clown persona to mess with these girls. “Excuse me, are you dude?” followed by “then Spier isn’t interested”

Nick went the borderline-asshole route, “Do you have a concussion? Simon has been out for like EVER”

Even Shy Bram Greenfeld got in on the joke, “uh you do know he’s gay right?”

Simon wasn’t sure why it was so funny, maybe because Bram rarely spoke or just how nicely he told that girl that Simon was not straight. The lunch retired the inside joke because Bram just fucking nailed it.

Besides, being completely and utterly repulsed by the constant PDA, Simon is jealous of them. He wants to see his boyfriend after class and press him up against locker and make out until the warning bell interrupted them. Simon would settle for a boyfriend that would hold his hand around school. He would settle for a boyfriend.

Simon decided that being of jealous of the straight couples wasn’t going to get him a boyfriend. He resorted to (badly) flirting with guys who didn’t have a girlfriends. Only three boys in his junior class were single.

Bram Greenfeld

Cal Price

Martin Addison (yeah...hell no...Not even it someone paid him)

He started with Cal they were in drama club together. Come on he HAD to be gay, he was in drama club and he had blond highlights. Simon awkwardly approached him after rehearsals one day.

“I was gonna hit up Waffle House tonight, you want in?” Simon managed to not stumble on any of his words.

“That sounds awesome...but not tonight man Taylor asked me to run lines with his at her house” He finished off his sentence with a wink.

Ew ew ew ewwwwww

He just totally asked a straight guy on a date.

Ughhhhhh

Simon cringed, “It’s cool man, have fun. Taylor is a nice girl” Should he wink back? He didn’t…

Bram Greenfeld…..Ughhhh he’s cuteeee

Simon almost crossed him off the list. He played soccer, in Simon’s mind all athletes were straight and went on dates with cheerleaders.

Either Bram is really subtle with his PDA or he’s gay……

How was he supposed to ask this dude out if they haven’t spoken to each other without their mutual friends around.

FUCK

It’s all about timing….Simon didn’t know if it was flu season or the fact that Creekwood had a mini mono outbreak.  He found himself alone with Bram at their lunch table.

“Oh hey, no mono for soccer star Bram”

“Nah” he replied simply….damn Simon is really gonna have to egg him on to get some dirt on his kid.

“Not kissing anyone? What I thought all the soccer guys were required to have girlfriends.” Simon is now teasing him….not integrating him..I mean his tone was joking right?...Does it sound his integrating him?

Bram laughs. “ No no….A girlfriend does not come with the uniform…”

“I mean I really don’t want a girlfriend” shrugging...oh man he’s so cute.

“So what you gay or something?” Yes, Simon did just blantily asked that boy if he was gay...way to be subtle Spier…

Simon realized he waited quite a while to apologize to this poor kid. He was too busy mentally kicking himself.

Okay more than a minute has passed, and there was no sputtering denials, no strong exclamations about how straight he is. Just silence….and mega blushing.

“OH MY GOD” Simon said a little to loud. Bram sunk lower in his seat. He looked around the cafeteria, like someone was going to bust him for being gay.

He looked down to collect his thoughts and have a possible heart to heart with Bram. Everyone deserves a gay is okay talk. Simon went to look into those insanely pretty brown eyes and he wasn’t there.

Bram speed walking out of cafeteria, dumping his lunch in the bin...looking back at Simon. His eyes pleading him not chase after him. He didn’t of course...he tortured that boy enough.  

The next time he saw Bram was at Garrett’s party….well get together. It was a “we got over mono” party.

And by we… they mean Leah, Garrett, Nick and Abby….

This get together started with Garrett wanted to throw a massive party that the whole school was invited to celebrate his brush with death, surviving mono. Leah instantly vetoed the idea, suggested a regular hangout session with alcohol.

Simon was forced to go because it was a “friends thing” not a “couples thing”. And Bram was going so he wouldn’t be the 5th wheel. Whatever I’ll go for the booze.

Simon had to remind himself that he was going for the booze, not that he hasn’t seen Bram in few days. Stupid Winter Break.

A game of Never Have I Ever started, the gang filled their red solo cups with the rest of the wine, supplied unknowingly by Garrett’s mom.

“Never have I ever got shit-faced on wine” Abby stated very seriously.

Garrett chugged his wine then slurred “I RESENT THAT SUSO” Leah jokingly held him back.

“WINE IS DOPE” Garrett said stumbling to find the next bottle.

“Wow Leah, you’re dating a Wine Mom, how does it feel?” Abby said in between laughs.

“Greenfeld you’re up” Garrett egged him on…”give us something good”

“Never have I ever had mono...I don't fucking kno-”

“THATS COLD GREENFELD, THAT’S COLD” Nick grabbing his chest pretending to hurt.

Followed by a chorus of boos, Simon and Bram looked as all their friends drank. They locked eyes with knowing looking. Bram cracked a smile.

“BOOOOOO WHO INVITED THE VIRGIN”

“YOU DID GARRETT”

“Oh right...but seriously B you need to get laid man, you into anybody….a girl? A boy? At this point I don’t give a shit...you just need to laid to chill the fuck out”

Garrett drunken stupor was followed by silence. Nick broke the silence  “OKAY WHO’S NEXT?”

“I’LL GO! NEVER HAVE I EVER SUCKED A DICK”

Simon gripped his cup tighter, his lifeline, the only thing keeping him afloat. He wanted to drink nonchalantly to ease the tension but then it would imply that he has sucked someone’s dick...which he hasn’t...and lying about that would only lead to more questions. Simon looked over at Bram he looked just as uncomfortable as Simon.

“GARRETTTT STOP.”

“Okay okay okay...but you did drink babe?…” Leah and Abby rolled their eyes and cheers their cups, taking a small sip.

“Spier, I thought you were gay….no D yet...you should help him out with Br-”

Garrett was physically being pulled out of the room by Leah.

The damage has been done, Bram was looking down at his shoes. It made Simon’s heart sink, he wanted to go over to him and cheer him up. He didn’t know exactly how he would cheer up Bram they hardly knew each other.

They continued without Garrett...Nick, Leah and Abby went again.

“Oh shit sorry Si we skipped you..go ahead buddy”

“Never have I ever been outed by my drunk best friend” Simon contained his laughter, it was his attempt to lighten the mood. Bram smiled at him, a little twinkle in his eyes.  

Bram chugged his drink very dramatically, and proceed to laugh and giggle.

Instead of waiting for the prying questions he said, “That’s right motherfuckers...I’m gay”

Nick, Abby, and Leah’s jaw’s were on the floor.

Simon was laughing his ass off...Mentally cheering on Bram.

Go Greenfeld go Greenfeld

The wine ran out a little after Bram’s coming out...they toasted to “Bram’s gay ass”

Leah and Garrett went up to his room, Leah practically dragging him, being a little less than loving and caring because of the stuff he said to Simon and Bram. Leah was protective of her friends, Garrett wouldn’t hear the end of this for a while.

Abby and Nick went up to the guest room. Nick and Abby were the happy, semi-flirty drunks...giggling and booping each others noses while they struggled up the stairs.

“You kids stay safe! Use protection! Love you!” Simon called up to them, starting his own giggle fit, Bram joined him.

“You sound like my mom,” Bram said in between giggles.

“How so?” Simon looked at him curiously.  

“When I came out to my mom, she gave me the whole ‘use protection’ speech, that put all other sex talks to shame” Bram said blushing furiously.

“Anyways she convinced I was fucking the whole soccer team...actually I think she still thinks I am”

“OH! Other time I told her I was staying Garrett’s house to study, she gave me CONDOMS and lube...after insisting Garrett was in fact VERY straight...she still made me bring them”

Simon knew this story was personal and quite embarrassing, he wasn’t sure if Bram was actually drunk bambling or just using faking it to tell Simon but himself without judgement.  

After exchanging embarrassing and silly stories, they decided that sleep with the best option.

Bram and Simon were left in the living room with pull-out couch and busted recliner. Simon volunteered to sleep on the recliner...before he knew it was broken and did not actually recline.

“There’s room for two you know…” Bram said inviting Simon to join him. Patting the empty spot next him. Before Simon knew it, he was crawling into bed with Bram. A half-naked Bram Greenfeld.

Whew don’t think about that...Yeah I don’t think that you and Bram are half-naked laying on a futon. Geez, why did boys have to sleep half-naked, why just boxers? And if you were shy (like me) you wore tee shirt and boxers. If you were as confident as Bram Greenfeld, you wore boxers and nothing more….OKAY ENOUGH THINKING ABOUT WHAT BRAM IS WEARING OR HIS LACK OF CLOTHING.

Simon noticed Bram was staring at him, yeah he probably because he looked like psycho having argument with himself.

Simon looked into his eyes, and damn he just about died right there. Cause of death: drowning in Bram Greenfeld’s eyes...like chocolate pools, he wanted to drowned, he wanted to devour….He wanted Bram to be his. Be mine...Simon wasn’t sure but those eyes looked like he was inviting him in, come for a swim, make me yours.  

Simon broke the silence, “Can I kiss you?” Simon whispered...he’s not even sure Bram heard him.

“Absolutely not” Bram whispered with a smile on his face. A pure, genuine smile. Jesus Bram is one cruel motherfucker...he doesn’t look sorry about reject him...

Simon was going to turn to face the other way, he thought he could cry right there. A arm grabbed for him, stopping him from turning all the way around.  Bram stopped him. “I was kidding” Bram gently grabbed his cheek and kissed him. He was kissing him, like he fucking meant it.

“Good night, Simon”

Simon didn’t sleep good that night, a little worried about what would happen in morning. He thought about Bram being his boyfriend, Bram kissing him. That’s the only thing on his mind, Bram Greenfeld will be on his mind for quite while.

#love simon #spierfeld #simon vs the homo sapiens agenda #simon vs #simon spier #bram greenfeld #abby suso #garrett laughlin #leah burke #and yes theres a part 2! #let me know if like it! #send me prompts and shit!

[mineofilms]

RAW Used To Be War, Part II…

RAW Used To Be War, Part II… If you want to read Part One from 4/4/2017, Here is a link to that blog...

https://mineofilms.tumblr.com/post/159196425113/raw-used-to-be-war

 I still hate the verbiage "Sports Entertainment." It is and always will be Professional Wrestling... I am still overly critical of the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) for the way it presents its product to us. I still feel its way tooooooooooooooooooo much RealityTV and not enough Professional Wrestling...

I have timed RAW a few times to see how much actual product we get for 3 hours and 5 minute with commercial interruptions. In most cases, it is a hair under 2 hours of a show skipping TV Spots. In that 2 hours, we might actually get an hour of actual professional wrestling in the ring. The show has way too much talking about nothing in and how many times they will rehash what happened movements before or a week before, its constant. It's like they just phone the show in weekly...

The in-ring work is still very good. I am never going to have a problem with these athletes going after it for the best fan reaction period. I know enough about the business to know that in WWE most of these guys and gals have little control outside of the actual in-ring-action. That is still pushing it.

FYI, the ladies of the WWE are killing it. I am actually never bored with the lady matches. If this was 2010 I'd go do laundry the old fashion way and come back. I am glad WWE was able to identify that having models that cannot wrestle or look like they can wrestle was gonna cut it. I do not want to be all name-calling on my blog, but there were Diva's that absolutely had no business being in professional wrestling outside of being a full-time valet/manager. Glad that is sorted...

I still feel that Smackdown (The B Show) is still just that.  I do not know if it is the PG feel I get from WWE or what, but Smackdown hasn't been worth watching in years....

The fans every week on RAW & Smackdown speak directly to WWE and WWE does not listen. Every week they chant what they love about the show and what they hate about it and rather than Vince/Shane/Stephanie recognizing this and trying to do more creative things they just keep forcing storylines and characters most of us cannot stand.

We love our Superstars, but the fans really hate how they are portrayed and how the stories go. Since WWF changed their name to WWE, went PG, did the Split brand is where, for me, personally, it has been very hard to watch. What TripleH has done with NXT is great, but what is starting to happen is the NXT talent is better at Professional Wrestling than the current WWE talent. Not just in the ring, but story-wise as well.

Even Randy Orton is boring as hell. We get it, dude. You hear Voices lol... Storylines like that are so predictable. I have sat there many of hours and called out what was gonna happen next. WWE Creative lacks that most important thing, Creativity... I get it... Vince will Veto anything he doesn't like even if said idea could be great for the shows.

History in sports tends to repeat themselves. Al Davis and Ralph Wilson both owned their NFL teams into their 80's, Ralph was 90... They made all the decisions till their deaths. How did that all workout for the Raiders and Buffalo Bills? It's only now that both franchises are getting out of the gutter and started to become forces in football again.

How much of Vince's madness do we have to tolerate before his choices hurt the product? Well, its already too late, it hurts. Now though, we have a choice...

It's called AEW... AEW... AEW... ALL ELITE WRESTLING... This is the product we have wanted for a decade now. It took them almost NO time to make the names on their roster household names. On an episode on the WWE Network, Ruthless Aggression Episode 1, they talk about the WCW invades WWE angle and used all the B Team Talent because all the A-Lister's were under contract and couldn't wrestle till the contracts ended. So WWE pressed forward with this angle and it killed nearly all these guys' careers.

WWE claims we didn't know these guys nor cared. Parts of that are true. I am bringing it up because in AEW... No one cares. The fans love these guys. Most of them did work in Mexico, Japan and the US Indi Circuits. By the 2nd PPV for AEW all these guys, face and heel alike, got-the-fuck-over with the fans.

So if WWE has this attitude towards AEW they may very well lose this new war in the dominance of professional wrestling.  AEW brought back the ATTITUDE in professional wrestling. Its a throwback to the old days of NWA/WCW before it was in decline. No Hogan/Nash to make bad business decisions. Even though I am a huge fan of both guys as wrestlers. As bookers and runners of a wrestling business, not so much. They had a huge hand in how WCW started to decline. TNA was doing well until they put those 2 guys in charge. This really isn't my opinion about this. I am just rehashing what is widely accepted by fans as to why's and how's of this happening.

AEW has money... Owned by Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan, he is a billionaire. His son and Cody Rhodes are very good friends and that is how AEW was born. Cody has a lot of inside information on how to run a wrestling business, has his own ideas, leans on the fans for support and has connections to talent. Cody runs most of AEW operations, but when you watch the show you see how many people he has close to him from years past...

WRESTLEMANIA approaches and WWE Raw and Smackdown has been the worst I have seen it. I am not even watching. I get the 5-minute version on YouTube now. I only watch the 4 major events of Summerslam, Survivor Series, Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania. I have to be honest here. This year's events have been really bad. Just god awful. It if wasn't for my friends coming over and us drinking the whole entire time I probably wouldn't have watched at all.

We are approaching WRESTLEMANIA 36... These are the weeks its supposed to be GREAT... Its Terrible... WTF...

Same problems. Poor Character Development. Poor Booking... Poor Storytelling... Poor and/or Unsatisfied Finishes. WWE network at $9.99 is the only reason I still watch it or have any interest at all.  Another thing that has been bothering me is the deal with Saudi Arabia. I like that we get to see matches we normally wouldn't see and such but these events are a huge problem... The wrestlers in most cases do not want to go. John Cena refuses to go because of how Anti-America Saudi Arabia is. The US Gov't has told WWE not to go but they do it anyway. There has been drama and issues with pretty much each show.

Again... WWE doesn't listen, not even close... Do you notice they will say the name of the show but won't say it is in Saudi Arabia... MMMMMmmmm...

As we approach Wrestlemania 36 we now have to prepare ourselves for an almost 8-hour show. This is crazy. 8 hours... I get it... Its the biggest show of the year. WWE makes a considerable amount of their yearly profits from this one show. The ticket prices are so insane one has to pay for them as a payment plan in most cases. Really, do we really need all that? I remember when a mere 4-hour show was considered obscene. Wrestlemania IV was over 4 hours, the 1st one that was and I remember as a kid being, whoaaaaaaaaaa, really...

RAW used to be the highlight of Wrestling and now it is just a footnote. WWE creative has shown it can make a great show but it only happens a few nights a year. Why The Fuck Can’t EVERY RAW be good every Monday???

Anyways… One more thing I wanna touch on… The Fans… I hate the term WWE Universe to describe ALL PRO WRESTLING Fans. That is complete horse shit. To US it will always be Professional Wrestling. Not Sports Entertainment. To US it will always be the WWF, not the WWE. To US we are Wrestling Fans, not the WWE Universe. FK right off with that Shit...

Hey, don't even have to gripe anymore about WWE when there is AEW that is catching up and perhaps passing up WWE as we speak...

The fans have been dictating what they want from WWE and WWE keeps under-delivering to a point its sick.

If fans are chanting "this sucks." WWE should listen. The Wrestling Fans do not care about the WWE’s Creative Political Process of who gets “over,” who’s a “face” or “heel” or “The Champ or what angle they want to press.” The Fans do... All WWE has to do is LISTEN... 

RAW Used To Be War, Part II… By David-Angelo Mineo 2/25/2020

[bigbrothermonopoly]

EPISODE 3:

HOH: EVE

EVICTED: TAWNI 13-0

KORI:

Honestly, after recording this, it kinda shocks me how much was happening in House Chat... did they not have friends and family to spend the New Year's with instead of being drunk on Discord?

JESS:

If I have to hear Chris say "And I ooop" ONE MORE FUCKING TIME. I SWEAR.

WILLIAM:

I can't say I am not nervous about Eve winning HoH for two reasons.... First off I know that there are no more major house targets so now alliances might start forming, and I just hope that I am a part of them, and secondly I don't think many people know where Eve's head is at and whoever she puts up will absolutely be a blindside 

KRISTINE:

Oh my goodnessss Im so glad that Eve kept me safe this week. It really really sucks that I’m playing veto though... especially since Austin is up there as a nominee. I really think I should throw this Veto because I really need to keep my middle ground. I want to work with Eve for sure but Chris is just like pulling me into all this craziness with a big alliance and everything it’s really too much sometimes. I’m throwing this veto hard asf and this one BETTER not bounce back lmao. Anyways I hope this works out for me. 

JESS:

The relationships in this game are definitely becoming super evident and transparent right now. From the top of my head I can name at least 4 sets of duos, budding friendships, and alliances. This what I think so far.... Gwen, Silence, and Austin are an alleged thing. How do I know: Will told me because Madison spilled it to him. (Brien hasn't told me yet and I'm sure Madison has told me so that is SUSSSSSSS) As a result of that... I know: Will and Madison are close which means Brien/Madison/Will should be close just by association through Madison. Madison has come to life so it wouldn't surprise me if she was friends with a majority of these boys because apparently that is her thing. Brien also seems to be spreading his social seed around so those two are kind of scary to me but as soon as I expose they are dating I think there will at least be some paranoia there and people will target them. Will was an idiot and shared his screen so my ass took a screenshot to see his alliances and I do know he has one called "Rws League" so I know he's at least withholding that info from me. SO SUSSSSS but also can't blame him for not sharing alliances with me? We will work on that though. Next up we have: Kristine, Chris, Brien, Emma, Emma How do I know: Brien spilled the beans last round. Do I think it's 100% a thing not really but I do think there is a chance it is a thing. The idea of this being a thing is soooo scary to me because this group has sooo many other outside connections. Brien has Madison because well they are dating. Kristine and Chris are close I think? Emma and Def have that Galore thing but who knows? (I honestly don't think the Galore thing is an actual factor in this game) Kristine has Eve and that whole duo thing fucking scares me because I think they could both run this game if they wanted to do so. Where do I fit into all of this? I have no idea. I don't have anything outside of my day 1 alliance of Kori/Emma/Eve/Mackenzie/Myself and the weird Brien and Madison one. I know I need to make more connections so people won't nominate me or if they do I'll have the votes and the connections to stay. I know Brien has hinted at wanting to make an alliance of 5 with myself, Eve, him, and Madison but he's really pushing for William as a fifth. Which I would be fine with IF I didn't know that he was already close with Madison. I don't like power imbalances not in my favour in alliances so...  yikes. I feel a bit better about my position in the game right now. I do think I've at least gained some ground on people like William and Andrew. I want to trust Kori and work with him going forward but I'd be dumb to think he's not doing the same thing and planning for the future where the alliance implodes. I just feel like with Kori it is so hard for me right now to get him to give me info. I feel like I'm the one who constantly has to talk to him first, give him info first, and try to basically encourage him to TALK TO ME ABOUT THIS GAME and it is driving me insane. I'm trying not to be paranoid but that just scares me and shows me that just because I think I can trust someone it does not necessarily mean the feeling is mutual or at least it isn't at the same level of trust I have in them. This is probably paranoia all talking so don't mind me future episode reader.

CHRIS:

All right so I survived Potentially eve putting me up. I only assume that she would because her and Andrew seem very close. I know that I am on thin ice with some people however hopefully the nominations will stay the same and I won’t be back doored. If anyone in my alliance wins and they want to take down Austin, I might convince them to not and just shove all the votes on silence. If all the vote go on silence then Austin will still be here no matter what, which would then still have power trap, Jason’s book club, and underwood slongs are still intact. Soon this game will take off, and there will be no easy targets. When that happens I am hopeful all my appliances and the relationships I made or help me walk towards the end

KORI:

So, this kindof sucks? Like on one hand I'm glad Eve won HoH because I want her to raise her target so that she'll eventually take the fall, and because I know we're good and she won't be looking to nominate me or backdoor me for a solid while yet. Still not exactly a fan of how it went down since she did LITERALLY nothing in the challenge until the last hour. Mackenzie did all the work in my mind she should've probably won the challenge. The part that sucks is that she nominated Austin AND Silence, two of my Mandela Moncoles Alliance members, which means I can't actually win POV even if I'm capable of doing so. (Granted I'd have thrown even if she nominated one of them.) Because then I'd have to choose, that could expose things, yadda, yadda, yadda. I might come to regret throwing POV because it could lead to myself being backdoored. But I also am hoping the game I'm playing is like I don't know, not complete shit that I won't be in that kind of situation this early on. There's still some people where my relationship is pretty lacking and balancing that last challenge when I'm in 2 alliances was just a complete cluster-fuck, and here's hoping that if it IS Silence and Austin, that Silence is the one that goes. I feel like Austin is easier to manage, even if he's a little less active. Like Silence is ok, but we don't need more drunkeness and shit. Hopefully whoever goes my relation to Gwen and whoever stays remains UTR. Though the nomination situation might change post-veto. I'm also currently debating snagging the Utilities when I have enough money... I dunno, it just seems like it could be a good purchase for me, since I don't predict I'll be in a situation where I'll actually be able to get Boardwalk and Park Place. We'll see what my options are closer to the time.

ANDREW:

episode 3 why tf would chris come for me, he asked me to be his ally the other day like thats annoying af. he pissed me off "i see that william billed me. i now give myself permission to destroy him without feeling bad" mission accomplished i want to win this HoH so far im doing pretty good and im confident i can win if i keep it up the only thnig im worried about is i told my bf id hang out with him at like 7:30 but. might have to blow him off jk not ruining a relationship 4 this game but i hope i can win lmfao Chris pming mackenzie to get me out Ur ass is going up if i win mf Ur an idiot. I hate every man in this competition except brian and dem i like actually dont wanna try anymore these bitches are so fucking annoying like i will try but i dont fucking want to i hate kori and chris i hate chris so fucking much Eve is in first place and she hasnt done shit which is lowkey annoying af but its whatever For some reason i feel like Eve is going to do me dirty this week, I don’t know why i feel this way but I just do I see her as big af competition like probs my biggest, i hope she doesn’t see me in the same light because i don’t want her gunning for me@ Daily reminder I hate Chris I know it’s going to be a bitch to take him out of this game But i will go down trying Omg! Austin winning veto is fucking dope cuz i completely expected him to go home this week lmfao And i think he likes me still despite the whole chris thingy (i informed him what happened and how we will no longer be working together) EVE has informed me that there are sides slowly forming in this game, I tell her I'm scared bc I don't get much info, she tells me to stick with her and she'll have my back, so tht's what im going to do :heart: I trust her, the bitch is smart and people like her. her word seems genuine, she doesn't need to be making a deal with me, i have no power and she has all of it, so thats why im trusting her word rn 

JESS:

Well time for a tipsy confessional. Guess what? People aka: Kristine think me, Gwen, and Tawni are close? That's fucking news to me. That kind of really bothers me because I don't get how she'd come to that conclusion.... which means someone on a call spread that to Kristine. Somehow. The only people on call with the 3 of us were Brien/William/Madison I think so rip,

AUSTIN:

So... I was nominated this week. But guess what? I won the mother fuckin’ power of veto and saved myself. Now Tawni is on the block next to Silence as Eve’s replacement nominee. I’m in an alliance with Silence so it would make sense to vote out Tawni. Most of the house wants Tawni out I believe so I’m pretty sure she is going home.

TAWNI:

I’m probably gone TAWNIToday at 5:11 AM Part of me wants to quit because I’m annoyed But I’m not a quitter At least physically leave the game quit I’ve just given up I physically feel sick TAWNIToday at 5:18 AM I wouldn’t be in this position If this was the time o was going to bed and not waking up everyday Or if I could be more active at work And this happening right after I’ve had to deal with the add contacts shit Like and everyone is mad at me because I have a bad taste for cheatham in my mouth when I have a valid reason to be mad at him but everyone sees it as I’m mad he voted me out But when have they heard me talk about the others that did Everyone in the community believes what they want to believe And right now I feel like I’m seen as the bad guy TAWNIToday at 5:29 AM But someone is saying I have connections in this game And I don’t I talk to Jess and brien Two votes won’t save me My fucking connections are in here And no one here can help me The worst part is the fact if anyone drafted me I like let them down. And like people have said before no one really cares about the draft like that but it’s like people had faith in me or at least hoped I’d win and I came up short. And on a comp I’m able to get a 12 on and I just couldn’t do it TAWNIToday at 6:23 AM I just don’t understand what I did Because eve saying it’s not personal doesn’t make sense. I’m not a physical threat. I haven’t come close to winning anything. I’m not a social threat clearly because no one wants to keep me where. And she said I was always going to be the renom???? And now I’m the target? And she’s mad at me for being upset?? I’m I just that big of an idiot that I don’t see her logic? And yes I’m still crying TAWNIToday at 6:34 AM It’s seriously taking everything in me to not go off in the house chat. I have so much anger and hurt built up inside of me right now. From getting out on TS and having everyone hate me to getting put on the list and not being able to defend myself not being able to defend someone I consider a friend after I got them put in that Situation and now because I don’t even know who started this thing about me having connections. I

MACKENZIE:

hiiii currently trying to decide who i’m gonna vote to evict hzjjzjzjz ummm hoping me or jess wins hoh next round ummm also kristine still scares me

GWEN:

Tawni will be going home. So much has gone down in the last few days. I was on VC with Silence and he didn't realize that Madison was on and mentioned an alliance with us and Austin. And now people think we're in an alliance with Dem. How that happened? I have no idea. Also, people think that the "Old ladies" of Tawni, Jess, and I are in an alliance. Not true. Soooo that is a good reason for Tawni to go home. I DON'T TRUST BRIEN THAT SNEAKY SON OF A BITCH...LOVE YOU Brien, but you gotta goooo dude.

JESS:

So I'm just here eating a bagel kind of hoping I choke on it because maybe it'll put me out of the misery that is this GAME. So much has happened this fucking round. First of all Kristine trying to paint me, Gwen, and Tawni as a trio... super cute. She couldn't be more wrong.This is the second time Kristine has been shady towards me so she needs to fucking go. She won't go for a bit because Eve thinks 'she has Kristine" but I don't so she needs to BOUNCE. I don't trust Tawni one bit. She's too emotional, she literally admitted to hating me for A YEAR for a past game move I don't even remember or the game.. Gwen is also just... way.too.much. So that is a big yikes. So Tawni has to go. She was going to go regardless because of her comment she made towards me about being mad at me for a year. So that had to go for me before jury started because nope. not listening to that all game. I'll let Eve think she's protecting me from others but I would have pushed Tawni to go because she has the MOST dirt on my gameplay in this game. So this all works out. HOWEVER, MY BOO ANDREW IS KEEPING STUFF FROM ME. I'm heart broken. LITERALLY HEART BROKEN. I'm hearing he knew about the alliance of Gwen, Austin, Silence, Dem but he didn't tell me. Now he's trying to pretend like he's hearing this shit for the first time and I'm just overrrrrr it. This is strike one for him. I know he's close to Austin. So that's probably why everyone knows about this alliance. Austin probably told Andrew and Chris. I think Chris told Brien who in turn told me.. and everyone else because he's... Brien. I've also found out that Chris/Kristine/Emma have recently played a game together so THANKS JACOB for casting them together. That there is also an alliance with Brien/Chris/Gwen which is cute. Will use this info later on. I just think there's way tooo many unknowns for me in this fucking game but I don't want to win next HOH because I would want to nominate fucking Kristine. She doesn't trust me and I don't trust her. I'd be so tempted to nominate Kristine/Austin just to shake shit up. But one could only dream and that'd be dumb. I'm so happy Mackenzie is starting to see through Eve's shit. I really hope she starts playing as her own player because I'd make her my #1 so fucking fast. I obviously can't agree with her straight up because she might go back to Eve but... Eve does treat her and me like we are her bitches. We HAD to give Eve the advantage, we HAVE to take out Tawni for Eve. I can't wait until people start seeing through her shit and she goes but not only I've secured myself in this game..

KORI:

So like legit, Tawni has CRACKED. She got really emotional on call with Gwen and Eve, she's apparently HARDCORE throwing Gwen under the bus. I'm just sitting here drinking my tea like: https://media2.giphy.com/media/3o7btLQZrOU4ssEew8/giphy.gif It looks reasonably likely that Tawni is going to go home as a result. What's interesting is that this week I feel like revealed a dynamic to me of Madison-Brien-Tawni-William, that I think I wasn't aware of before. I also just did a clutch maneuver towards what I believed to be peak Chaos, Me and Gwen went and bought the utilities. Ideally I'll be the one in control of how we use the Utilities no idea what the power is yet because we're so BROKE we can't even trade them to a single person to hold... so that's fun. I'm excited though because I feel like it's the first thing I've like DONE. Granted this probably removes any Chance I have of getting Boardwalk/Park Place. But I'm totally fine with that, the odds of me getting that whole set was low anyway, this one is at least obtainable and there's a chance that I might get some more of the lower properties too. Brien is honestly probably a snake though based on the conversations we've been having lately. But I'm not gonna look to make some giant waves. Like if I win HoH next week I'll probably nominate some combination of William, Dem, Andrew, and Madison. Just gotta see how this week goes first. (And actually win HoH next week. Probs won't happen... we'll have to wait and see.) In other news I just launched my ORG series Survivor Zenith YAS! It's stressful hosting an ORG but like I'm excited too, so here's hoping that goes well and that I'm still in this game when I finish hosting it.

EMMA:

shit is gonna be wild next week cant wait to make a confs and not be boring yeehaw

BRIEN:

[theyearofthestar]

[ duets ] rachel & jessi

WHO: Rachel Berry (@theyearofthestar) & Jessi St. James (@heavenlystjames)

WHERE: A Cup-pella

WHEN: Saturday, November 25

WHAT: Gobble Wobble Prompt: Karaoke Duel

rachel

While she knows that some Wobblers' aim for the day is receiving the annual shirt, Rachel doesn't much care for expanding her wardrobe. She mostly wants to hit up a couple of the bars, drink just enough to feel that tell-tale buzz, and end her day at ACup, most likely on the stage. So Rachel starts her day at The Library, wanting to support Hunter's efforts and snag a chocolate dream turkey before drinking and eating her way back to ACup. Sondheim stuck in her head, Rachel's nursing her second Turkey Lurkey and halfway through a butternut and carrot handpie when the free barstool beside her becomes occupied. Looking over the rim of her glass as she takes another sip, Rachel smirks. "I didn't realize that Warblers wobbled."

jessi

Honestly, the shirt one can win at the end of this whole thing isn´t exactly why Jessi´s out tonight. It´s a good way to hang out with friends, have some fun and dance the night away. Oh and the booze, yeah that´s definitely a plus too. Jessi isn´t one to get insanely drunk, and possibly do stupid things, but she enjoys a good drink here and there, especially if they have names as appealing “Turkey Lurkey.” She´s lost most of her friends after two hours and while Jessi doesn´t mind being by herself for a while she can´t really resist when she sees Rachel at the bar. They have a bit of a weird relationship these days, very competitive and always head on, but then there´s those times when they´re in the bathroom after the battle of the bands, unable to take their hands off each other. “Oh of course we do, it starts with the same letter after all,” She grins, putting her drink down at the bar. “Besides: I heard they´re doing a karaoke contest here in a few. I just HAD to come,”

rachel

If anyone is watching them across the room, Rachel figures they'll assume she and Jessi are bickering. It's their public persona after all, rivals on and off stage, and Rachel thinks that would likely be true if their respective professional goals aligned. But their dreams and aspirations fork off into different paths, which means Rachel truly does appreciate and respect Jessi's talent for what it is. Her voice is beautiful, stage presence perfected, and the confidence she exudes enviable. "You know April. Any excuse she has to get in front of the mic herself and she'll take it." Another sip of her drink. "Are you planning to participate as well?"

jessi

Jessi doesn´t really care what anyone thinks of them. They´ve kept up the rival personas so far, but mainly because the bickering comes so easy to them, but they never mean any harm. Deep down Jessi knows that Rachel can appreciate her talent, both on and off stage, and it´s the same for her. They´d be unstoppable if they teamed up, not just in the bathroom but also on stage. Which is mainly why she´s here at the bar, talking to Rachel. Jessi´s lips curve into a smile and she nods. “What do you think? That´s what I´m here though. It´s a duet contest and I figured we´d teach these amateurs a lesson. Besides: The price, next to eternal fame, is free coffee and food for a week here and I´m not saying no to that.”

rachel

"The Jessi St. James requesting her nemesis take the stage with her?" Rachel places her hand over her heart in mock shock, nothing but teasing in her expression and tone. "Has the underworld frozen over? Is bacon flying through the sky?" Rachel laughs then and drains the rest of her drink, a smile forming after she licks her lips. "I suppose I can set aside our vast differences if it's for such a worthy cause as free caffeine and sustenance. Plus I'm sure our harmonies will be outstandingly brilliant."

jessi

“I´m not sure about the bacon, I haven´t checked.” Jessi teases with a smile. “But the point of nemesis is that they work exceptionally well together if they have to, isn´t that so? And if I´m going to take the stage I want the best at my side. We´re going to win this thing and make everyone´s mouths hang open, gasping for more.” She added with another grin before downing the rest of her drink and placing the empty glass on the bar. “Any special requests as to what we should blow them away with today? I´m feeling generous today so I´m giving you the first vote,”

rachel

"First vote, but you have veto power I take it?" Rachel can work with that. Though April hosts karaoke at ACup three times a week, Rachel doesn't too often participate. Mondays are out due to PL rehearsals, and she's almost always working or gigging on Friday evenings. However, every now and then she finds her way into ACup on Wednesdays, and has become fairly familiar with the song catalogue April's amassed. "How do you feel about 'Alone' by Heart?" Rachel thinks the lyrics suit the post-performance past she and Jessi share, plus the melody allows for belting and notes that will surely garner the attention of the crowd and reward them with a win.

jessi

“Of course, but I trust your judgement,” Jessi replies with a small chuckle, though shes completely serious about her words. If anyone knows their way around music like she does then its Rachel, which is another reason why she’s picked the fellow brunette so sing with. Besides: with their talent and chemistry in stage they’ve got this in the bag! “See? I knew you wouldn’t disappoint me,” she grins as she gets up from the bar stool and reaches over the counter to get the sign up list. “Got one of your gold stars to add to this?”

rachel

Rachel has the decency to blush just the tiniest of amounts. Gold stars are kind of her thing, and yes she does keep a few sheets of stickers with the rest of her drum kit and music for various reasons, but, "No. No stickers on me at the moment, so my plain Jane signature will have to do." Rachel adds her name next to Jessi's on the sign-up sheet, and then turns back to her newly minted ally and smirks. "I'd suggest warming up in the bathroom due to its acoustics, but I'm afraid temptation may cause us to miss our slot."

jessi

She had meant just to tease Rachel a little bit, but in reality the whole told star thing made Jessi smiled. It was rare that someone had enough confidence to fall themselves a star, let alone carry stickers to of gold stars to their name, but Rachel had always been admirable in that department. At the other woman’s words Jessi let out a small chuckle. “Ah yes, we couldn’t risk that. Some quick warm ups before the performance will have to do,” She hen agreed. “But I’m sure we’ll nail it, as per usual. The bathroom will have to wait until after we leave everyone with their mouths hanging open,”

rachel

It doesn't take too long for April to kick off the festivities and start the contest, though she does perform solo. It's her cafe, her stage, and her rules, of course. When the other acts begin to perform, Rachel watches them with a critical gaze, commenting to Jesse here and there about areas for improvement, and ways they can make their own number shine bigger and brighter. As it nears their turn, Rachel slips off the stool at the bar and raises her eyebrows in Jessi's direction. She has no doubt that they could easily take the stage and belt out the song without the need to warm-up, but it would simply be silly to do so. Rachel wouldn't head out for a run or tackle a spin class without warming up her muscles first, and her voice, one of her many gifted instruments, is very much the same.

jessi

While they all do enjoy performing with April sometimes she´s more of a solo performer, so of course she´s the one kicking off the contest and Jessi and Rachel are watching, commenting and discussing how to make their own performance a great one. Once April is done and the first couple gets on stage Jessi follows Rachel to their warm up in one of the corners. It´s pretty basic, especially considering there´s other people performing, but it´s enough to get them warmed up properly. It helps that they both knows what they´re doing and have similar routines, so the warm up passes quickly. Once their names are called Jessi´s lips curve into a grin and she glances over at Rachel. “Ready to deliver, gold star?”

rachel

"Of course. We were born to perform, Jessi." Rachel offers Jessi a genuine smile and then leads the way to the stage. It's always a bit strange when stands directly in front of a mic and there's no instrument -- no drums, piano, or on the rarer occasion a guitar -- between her and the stand, and as always, it takes Rachel a moment to settle her hands when there's no sticks or keys before her. But she does eventually grip the mic as the music begins, and Rachel looks to Jessi to start the song. It was her idea after all, so Rachel supposes it's only right she takes the initial spotlight.

jessi

„Truest words ever spoken,“ Jessi replies with a smile. She had always know that she was born to perform and entertain and for Rachel it’s the same. Maybe that’s why they gravitate towards each other so easily. She smiles again as she grips the mic, swaying along to the music as she waits for the lyrics to show up on the screen. It’s not like she needs them, really, but they’re good for the timing. Jessi glances over at Rachel then, her smile softening. 

“I hear the ticking of the clock. I'm lying here the room's pitch dark. I wonder where you are tonight. No answer on the telephone. And the night goes by so very slow. Oh, I hope that it won't end though... Alone.”

rachel

The melody crescendos into the chorus and Rachel's voice takes over as she belts. "Till now, I always got by on my own." She sucks in a another breath and nods at Jessi to join her for the next line, "I never really cared until I met you. And now it chills me to the bone... How do I get you alone? How do I get you alone?"  

It really is a shame that they split their respective talents on two different teams because their voices harmonize beautifully, and Rachel can tell that those within the cafe agree as well. Patrons that had been lost in their own conversations, or busy eating food or tossing back drinks are now watching them move on stage as the second verse begins, and this time, Rachel takes lead. "You don't know how long I have wanted to touch your lips and hold you tight." Playing off their chemistry, Rachel steps into Jessi's space, singing directly to her. "You don't know how long I have waited, and I was going to tell you tonight." Turning back to their gathering audience, "But the secret is still my own, and my love for you is still unknown... Alone."

jessi

Jessi listens to Rachel´s voice, her eyes glued to the other woman as she sings and when she finally joins in for a line her lips are curved into a smile and she feels that familiar spark ignite between them. For once there was no rivalry between them, and as much as Jessi enjoys their bickering she finds this quite interesting as well. She finishes the chorus and lets Rachel take the lead for a while, keeping her eyes on the Brunette as she sings, grinning when the other woman steps into her space. Jessi stays where she is, tongue darting out to lick her lip before she draws in a breath and sings again. “Till now I always got by on my own. I never really cared until I met you. And now it chills me to the bone. How do I get you alone.” She sings to the audience and then turns to Rachel, now it´s HER turn to step into the other´s space, a smirk on her face. The audience is long under their spell and boy, they´d most definitely have this thing in the bag. “How do I get you alone?” Jessi belts out the last note then, grinning still. “Tell me Miss Berry,” She speaks into the mic, “How do I get you alone?”

rachel

As the crowd applauds, Rachel raises a knowing brow in Jessi's direction. She's feeling good, great even. There's just enough alcohol coursing through her veins that Rachel feels warm, relaxed, and giddy rather than tired, and the continued clapping of ACup's patrons only serves to feed her ego and level of satisfaction. Well, most of her satisfaction. Replacing the mic in its stand, Rachel does a short bow and points in Jessi's direction, and then once the clapping has died down, moves to exit the raised area of the cafe's stage. Once they're out of earshot of most of those mingling around, "I think you know exactly how to get me alone, Jessi. It's never been a problem after previous performances."

jessi

The whole question has been more for the show than anything else, because Rachel is right: Jessi knows exactly how to get her alone and she´s positive that tonight isn´t going to be any different than the usual ones. Apart from the fact that this time, she´s buzzing with excitement more than she is with adrenaline. Usually they sing in opposite bands, battle against each other, and while that´s exciting as well it´s an altogether different feeling to be singing together for once. She takes her own little bow, enjoying the applause as the small crowd goes wild. They definitely did tear the house down, there´s no denying that, and it´s extremely satisfying. “Mhm…true.” She grins as she moves back towards the bar. “There´s about 6 more couples ready to sing, that gives us approximately 15-20 minutes before we can collect our prize.” She then adds, giving Rachel a wink as she moves towards the bathrooms.

rachel

After watching Jessi walk toward the cafe's restrooms, Rachel decides she should linger by the bar for anothr handful of seconds. She doesn't think they've ever been obvious before, and doesn't want to risk drawing attention now. When a suitable time has passed, Rachel confidentaly follow's Jessi's path. She enters the bathroom without a word, strides taking her directly to the last stall. It's almost old hat by now, the routine of knowing that the door is closed but unlocked, that Jessi's waiting. Opening the door just enough to slip inside, Rachel promptly closes and locks the stall, and then turns toward her, in this instance only, partner rather than rival. "I for one believe we deserve a victory lap for that stellar performance."

jessi

It´s always like that, but Jessi has to admit that it hasn´t gotten old yet. Maybe it should have, and maybe that´s an alarming sign, but she really doesn´t mind. Not when she feels her stomach fluttering at the simple thought of Rachel joining her. She freshens up her lipstick, for good measure and because she likes the idea of smearing it all over Rachel´s own lips and maybe her neck too. The prospect of having sex in a bathroom, no matter how clean April keeps it, really shouldn´t get her this excited, but here she is, lips curving into a grin as she hears the bathroom door. “Oh I think we do,” She then replies, pushing Rachel back against the door, her own lips only inches apart from the other woman´s. “I think we did excellent. Blew them all away with one shot,”

rachel

Rachel grins. "Well saying it as such only has me wanting to hum some Hamilton," she teases at first, "but I believe there are better things we could be doing..." The with their mouths is implied, and though Jessi is already close, Rachel wraps her fingers in the front of her shirt and pulls her that much closer. Leaning forward, her lips ghost along Jessi's jaw, teasing and tempting Jessi to chase her lips.

jessi

“Oh you know, you humming a bit of Hamilton might just turn me on even more,” Jessi replies with a grin, her voice barely a whisper as she lets herself fall into the feeling of having Rachel close again. It feels like it´s been forever since they´ve done this, when in reality it hasn´t ( of course not ) and she smiles, taking in the familiar scent and frame as she chases the other´s lips for a moment before capturing them with her own. She feels her lipstick smearing onto Rachel´s lips and her smile gets a little bigger then, one hand gliding down to the other woman´s hips and beneath her dress.

rachel

If Rachel's eyes weren't already closed they'd be rolling as she feels Jessi's lipstick smear. They never mark each other since marks can lead to questions Rachel doesn't wish to answer, so it always seems like Jessi's lipstick is a loophole and her own way to leave but a brief reminder of the brief time they've shared. Breaking the kiss, Rachel's hand snaked into Jessi's hair directs her mouth to her neck. Rachel takes the moment to breathe and then comment, "You're not wasting any time, are you?"

jessi

So maybe Jessi´s found her own, unique way of marking Rachel as her own, even if it´s just for a couple of minutes. It´s nothing that make up wipes can´t solve, an item they both always carry in their purses, but for now she can pretend that Rachel is hers, even if it´s just for the duration of another duet going on outside. She smiles as Rachel directs her to her neck then, placing a few kisses there and leaving some more lipstick. “Mhm…I`m not throwing away my shot,” Jessi then can´t help herself, a small chuckle falling from her lips before he leans in closer again, teeth lightly scraping across the soft skin on Rachel´s neck.

rachel

A laugh from deep within leaves Rachel's parted lips, though the third chuckle is swallowed up by a gasp and then an accompanying moan. Rachel's neck has always been sensitive, and today is no exception as jolts of electricity buzz from her neck, down her spine, and to her toes. It causes her hands -- one still in Jessi's hair and the other at her hip -- to tighten just so, to silently show how the touch affects her, and ultimately to encourage Jessi to continue.

jessi

Jessi loves knowing that her touches affect Rachel, because being as good of an actress as the other woman is it sometimes gets lost in their everyday conversation and rivalry. But this? This is different, it´s just between the two of them and Jessi makes sure to file away every noise and movement Rachel makes. She bites down on the other´s neck again, a little more forceful this time, a small moan slipping from her lips as Rachel´s had tightens in her hair. Jessi lets her hand trail a little higher then, fingernails scraping over Rachel´s inner thigh.

rachel

With each kiss to her neck -- and now a bite! -- Jessi steals more of the air in Rachel's lungs. She's breathless by the time she manages to puff out her demand in regards to Jessi's hand that's taking its time to travel along her thigh. "Stop teasing. You and I both know we don't have much time."

jessi

“Mhm...” She grins as she slips her hand even higher, pushing up Rachel’s dress in the process. “But you and I both know how much I love teasing you,” they are both rather good at it, really, but Rachel is right, they only have a limited amount of time, so Jessi hooks her fingers into Rachel’s panties and pulls them down, hand slipping between her legs,  lips finding her neck once more.

rachel

Teasing is something they do best, isn't it? It's part of their unconventional 'friendship' where they blur the lines between friends and rivals, parallel counterparts. There's always a give and go, see how far they can push one another in a direction before the other bites back. They've learned their respective limits and how to press each others buttons in the worst, and at present the best of ways. A soft, "Fuck, Jessi," fills the space around them, Rachel's answer to Jessi's continued attention at her neck and now between her legs. She'd maybe be embarrassed that she's as wet as she is, but Rachel's never shied away from the fact that performing and talent's a turn on.

jessi

At this state Jessi is quite glad that she knows how to push Rachel´s buttons, because there´s nothing hotter than her arch nemesis falling apart under her touch. ( And yes that might sound a little more dramatic than it really is, but the two of them have always been about the drama and why should that ever change? ). It´s a good thing that there´s singing going on outside, because Jessi would hate to tell Rachel to shut up. She enjoys the sounds the other woman is making and she really wouldn´t want to miss them. She bites down on Rachel´s neck, lips forming a smile as she pushes two fingers in easily, “Look at you…so ready for me…”

rachel

"Don't leave a--" But Rachel's chastisement is stolen as Jessi enters her. Grip tightening once again, Rachel uses the leverage to resituate her stance, not trusting her knees not to go weak, but also to give Jessi better access. Her hips pick up the rhythm of Jessi's strokes, and after she refinds her words, Rachel admonishes, "Don't let it go to that head of yours. If it inflates anymore you won't be able to exit this bathroom and claim the prize."

jessi

A small chuckle falls from Jessi’s lips and she stills her hand, pulling back to look at the other woman. “Want me to stop?” She hen teases, “Because my ego is getting too big?” She’s teasing again, of course, and maybe they cant help themselves with that. Jessi captures Rachel’s lips with hers then, in an attempt to take her breath away a little before moving her fingers again, thumb shifting to run over the other’s clit.

rachel

Oh, two can play that game. "If you stop, I'm never following you into a bathroom again, J." It's a teasing threat, and an empty one at that, because as long as they're both single and down for having a bit of post-performance fun, Rachel won't turn the attention away. Because really, that's a bit of what this boils down to. They both feed off talent as well as the associated attention. Jessi hits a particularly sensitive spot that makes Rachel's pulse pound in her ears, and she gasps, "There. Just like that. Don't you dare stop what you're doing, Jessi St. James."

jessi

Jessi smirks and if they had a bit more time she’d tease Rachel a little more, but she wants to get off too and besides: she wants to hear Rachel Mutter her name when she comes and possibly soon please. “What would you do if I ever left a hickey?” She muses as she keeps moving her hand again the other woman, picking up the pace slightly while her lips attach themselves to Rachel’s neck again.

rachel

"You wouldn't dare," Rachel starts, but then Jessi reattaches her lips to her neck. She's not sure if it's simply more teasing, or if Jessi is pushing and testing their set boundaries. Between each thrust of Jessi's hand that pushes her closer to the edge, and the sensitivity of her neck, it's all Rachel can do to choke out her next words. "If you do that, I swear I will walk right out of this stall and leave you without an ounce of relief."

jessi

She wouldn´t leave a hickey, not now anyways. Maybe if they weren´t about to walk back out there to claim their prize ( because Jessi simply knows they´ll win ), because she enjoys the thought of leaving a mark on the one and only Rachel Berry more than she lets on. For now she focuses on working her fingers into the Brunette though, lips curved into a smile. “Oh, so you´d be mean,” She teases as she moves her lips down to Rachel´s collarbone and presses her fingers in a little deeper, thumb still rubbing against the other woman´s clit. “Good thing I´m being nice and not naughty today…because I enjoy getting off WITH you more than I do alone…”

rachel

"I'm not me--" Rachel attempts to protest, but Jessi pressing deeper within her steals her words as she's forced to suck in a quick gasp of air. Rachel forgets all about her need to refute Jessi's comments, her focus now singularly on the spot Jessi's fingers nudge with each stroke. Colors begin to burst behind her now-closed eyes, and Rachel knows she's but a few well placed touches away from winning a different kind of prize. And since Jessi talents don't stop on stage, it's only a few more moments before Rachel's burying her face in Jessi's neck, muffling the soft cry of the girl's name.

jessi

The teasing is nice, and Jessi enjoys it to no end, but there´s nothing that beats the fact that she can make Rachel Berry fall apart. She knows Rachel probably feels the same way when Jessi´s a whimpering mess against her and that brings her some comfort. They´re both competitive, ambitious and very proud, but most of that disappears when they´re together. Though Jessi does take pride in what she can do with her fingers, and her mouth for that matter. She smiles then, keeping up the motions with her hands as he hold Rachel against the door and carries her through the orgasm, a shiver running down her spine at her own name falling from the other´s lips.

rachel

Rachel's thankful for the extra weight of Jessi's body, the press against her own that keeps her upright in the stall as she momentarily basks in the afterglow and uses Jessi's close proximity to tip her chin and chase her lips. Rachel deepens the kiss immediately, the embers of the fire still within her fueling her desire as she regains her footing and presses into Jessi.

jessi

Jessi supports Rachel´s weight, lips curving into a smile before her breath is taken away by the other woman´s kiss. She enjoys the kiss, letting herself get lost in it for a moment. They still have time before they´ll be announced as the winners and Jessi is going to enjoy every minute she gets to spend in here with Rachel. Surely, it´s not the most glamorous place to be, but it´s…exciting, it always has been, and it feels like it´s taken straight from a tv show and Jessi can´t deny the appeal of that.

rachel

With newfound strength and now leverage on her side, Rachel continues to surge forward and eventually flips their positions. There's a bit of a wicked, wolfish grin on her face when she has Jessi's back pressed against the stall door. She's essentially at her mercy now, and oh how Rachel wishes time was on her side as she'd like to return Jessi's previous teasing, but hearing the audience outside the door clap once again, Rachel knows that any extra time they do have is rapidly waning. 

"You're lucky we're running short on time," Rachel begins, her lips ghosting along the ridge of Jessi's ear before her teeth capture the lobe in a gentle tug. Released with an audible pop, Rachel presses a kiss to the hollow behind her ear and then continues, "Because otherwise I'd plan to tease you until you were a shaking mess."

jessi

Jessi lets Rachel flip their positions, a grin on her face as she´s pressed up against the door. She likes this maybe a bit more than she´ll let on, but since no one´s ever going to know it doesn´t really matter. She doesn´t miss the wicked grin on Rachel´s face either and she feels a spark ignite between them once again. It´s always there, really, she can feel it when they argue or sing or whenever their personalities clash and sometimes it ignites a fire between them, like right now. “Mhm…what a pity.” She comments, though the grin on her face stays in its place, a small moan escaping her lips as she feels Rachel´s lips against her ear. “Maybe…next time?” Jessi then adds, hands coming to sneak around Rachel´s waist and up her back, fingers fisting into the fabric of the dress.

rachel

Next time? "We'll see." Rachel's grin remains, because while time might not be on her side, that doesn't mean she can't tease with words. And her mouth. Her lips follow the line of Jessi's jaw, tongue and teeth gently marking the path as she goes. One hand twists into the skirt of the Jessi's dress, freeing the fabric from the other path Rachel's tracing, the one along the inside of Jessi's thigh before pressing against the woman's damp underwear. It does something to Rachel to know she has this affect on Jessi, and she wastes no time brushing aside the fabric and slipping her fingers through wet folds.

jessi

“Sure.” Jessi laughs, a little breathless now that she can feel Rachel´s hand tracing up her thigh. She knows it´s coming, and the anticipation is almost as good as the actual feeling of the other woman´s fingers between her legs. Jessi moans and turns her head, pressing kisses to whatever part of Rachel´s face she can reach while her legs move apart a little more, giving the other woman more space. “Fuck…” She whispers, hands fisting deeper into the material of Rachel´s dress and Jessi briefly thinks that they need to smooth that out before going back on stage, but then that thought flies out the window and she focuses on Rachel again, specifically on her lips and hands.

rachel

Rachel's kiss against Jessi's neck transforms to a smile. She smirks against soft skin because Jessi, a woman of many words and precise diction is reduced to a single curse, an expletive at her touch. Oh, how Rachel enjoys that control, even if it's fleeting. Easing two fingers into Jessi, Rachel quickly finds a rhythm they can settle into. It's always easy, just like it was out on the stage. Musicality, of course, helps, but so does their chemistry.

jessi

It´s what Jessi likes about this so much, there´s no awkward fumbling or not knowing where to put hands or lips. They know each other inside out when it comes to this and it´s so easy to fall into a rhythm they can both enjoy. She moans again, bucking her hips up against Rachel´s hand, head falling back against the door. She can forget that it´s not the most glamorous spot to be doing this, and that they could probably be somewhere else having sex, like a bed for example, because what matters is the way Rachel makes her feel. “Yeah…like that…” She urges the other woman on, feeling the heat pooling in her stomach as she lifts her hands to Rachel´s face, pulling her up for a kiss.

rachel

Rachel (often literally) marches to the beat of her own drum, but she'll take Jessi's direction in this instance. If what she's doing is working for Jessi, Rachel's not about to change a thing. Not the pace of her hand's thrusts or the angle even as Jessi pulls her in for a kiss. And that connection is telling, too, another indicator besides the fluttering of Jessi's walls, as each stroke of Rachel's fingers drives her closer to the edge.

jessi

They do keep their rivalry up Heere, in between the walls of the bathroom, but it’s a different kind of rivalry, softer and more teasing. Jessi doesn’t mind, not when Rachel makes her shiver like that, her moans swallowed by the other woman’s mouth. „Fuck...yes...“ she whispers, the kiss becoming more forceful as she pushes back against Rachel, stars beginning to explode behind her closed eyelids as she tumbles over the edge.

rachel

Rachel assists Jessi with riding the wave of her pleasure, her fingers gently pumping until she's sure each tiny spasm, each after shock of the other woman's orgasm is complete. Still close and pressed up against Jessi, Rachel's mouth finds her ear once more. "We're very good at this whole duet thing, J," she teases and places a parting kiss to Jessi's cheek. Then, sure that she can stand on her own, Rachel takes a step back and helps to smooth out the wrinkles in Jessi's dress before turning her attention to her own outfit.

jessi

Jessi lets out a small laugh at the other woman´s words, nodding slowly once she´s come back to herself. "Mhm…our harmonies are hard to beat.” She then replied, glad to be able to stand on her own again. She has to admit that she misses Rachel being pressed up against her and chasing the other´s lips already, but puts it to the after glow. “And now we´re going to get a prize for it,” She adds with a grin as she smooths the rest of her dress down and picks up her bag, pulling out some make up wipes, handing them to Rachel. “You´ve got a bit…of lipstick on your neck,” Jessi smirks.

rachel

Of course she does. Of course Jessi left a mark in her own way. With the wipe in hand, Rachel reaches around Jessi to flip the lock on the stall. She squeezes past Jessi and then settles in front of a sink and mirror, eyeing the color blotched along her neck and smeared at the corners of her lips. Carefully Rachel dabs and blots, removing any trace of the dalliance shared.

jessi

Jessi smiles to herself as she lets Rachel pass, fixing the rest of her dress before slipping out of the bathroom stall herself. She moves up behind Rachel, pressing a kiss to the back of her neck, grin still on her face, before settling in next to her to check her own reflection in the mirror, fixing her hair. „So What are you going to do with the rest of this oh so wonderful night?“

rachel

Rachel's not sure if she's quite able to conceal the shiver that tingles along her spine at Jessi's brief closeness and parting kiss to her neck, but she does her best to look unaffected as she moves from checking her face to primping her hair and making sure each strand is curled and tucked in a way that doesn't scream bathroom stall quickie. Humming, Rachel considers her answer. She could swing by her mom's, find out what she's slated to bring for tomorrow's dinner, but even that would be a short visit. "I'll probably stick around here for one more drink," or maybe she'll take a pastry to go. "And then head back to Brooklyn." A beat. "You? Big plans tonight, Miss St. James?"

jessi

Jessi smiles still, because she’s well aware of the effect she has on Rachel, mainly because she would have reacted the exact same was had the roles been reversed. She doesn’t say anything about it though, because she’s still feeling the afterglow a little and there has been enough teasing for tonight. She finishes fixing her hair and make up before leaning against the sink, looking over at Rachel. „Not really, no.“ She then replies.  „I’ll probably stick around for a drink too and to bask in the afterglow of our victory and then head home, maybe going to watch a classic to fall asleep too. I haven’t watched a good Barbra movie in a while,“

rachel

"Barbra?" Rachel grins into the mirror, catching Jessi's eyes in the reflection. "Is this your attempt at trying to entice me to come home with you for an encore?"

jessi

Jessi‘s lips curve into a smirk as Rachel catches her eyes in the mirror. „Maybe,“ she replies. „Or maybe I just really enjoy watching Barbra Streisand movies late at night,“

rachel

"Well if you were to invite me," Rachel returns Jessi's smirk, "it actually wouldn't be a movie and chill situation at all. Barbra is serious business in our family." They celebrate Barbra Day after all. "And I promise I do not get distracted when she's gracing a screen or stage with her presence." Another round of applause sounds from the other side of the door, and Rachel perks up. "I think that was perhaps the last performance on the list."

jessi

Jessi let out a laugh, „Oh trust me, I’m very aware of that.“ She then replied. „How about Audrey and chill then?“ She let her make up wipes slide back into her bag, zipping it up before pushing the strap over over shoulder. The applause interrupted their conversation and Jessi nodded, giving Rachel a smile. „Seems like it. And once again we’re right on time,“ she adds before pushing the  door open, waiting for Rachel to come along.

rachel

Pausing just inside the door, Rachel catches Jessi's eyes and then nods. "Audrey and chill. It'll be a nice way to celebrate our deserved win."

jessi

„Good,“ Jessi replies with a nod, secretly glad that this wasn’t the end tonight. Usually they keep their endeavors confined to the bathroom, but she’s a little tipsy and enjoys Rachel’s company and skills way too much to just let it end here. At least for tonight. „Shall we then, Miss Berry?“ she asks, smirking as she gestures for Rachel to return to the stage so they could claim their price and eventually head to Jessi‘s place.

rachel

"Thank you, Miss St. James," Rachel winks as she passes by Jessi and heads back toward the bar knowing that this won't be the end of their dueting or winning for the night.

#jsj #para jsj #para5 #acup: event #acup: gobble wobble

[bitacrytic]

Benign

Lydia Martin was a genius.

She’d since figured out that this was not something to share. Not everywhere, at least. She survived high school by pretending to be the vapid, social butterfly with a razor, sharp tongue while she scaled through AP classes and graduated early.

Somehow, all that wit had led her to the Big Brother House where she was, once again, forced to hide her brilliance. But this time, she could not wear the same façade she’d perfected in High School. While being brilliant and obviously calculating would bring competitive attention to her game, being bossy and loud and controlling would just bring unnecessary attention.

So she hid, forming an alliance with the remnants of the housemates, after she’d made sure that everyone else was loyal to someone else. Allison was standoffish and had come into the house hoping never to make an alliance. Every other team that had approached her, she’d rebuffed because she wasn’t going to make any friends yet. But Lydia had befriended her… bonded with her over school and clothes and normal stuff till Allison started seeking Lydia out of her own accord.

Scott was avoided by the other housemates because they’d thought he wouldn’t have anything to offer. But after the second week, when he’d dominated the POV and chosen not to use it, the other alliances had started sniffing out his butt. It was too late by then because Lydia had already struck.

Her third and last teammate was the spastic twink who always had something to say. Within two seconds of meeting him, Lydia knew he was smart. Like, school smart. VERY. But that was about it. He had no idea how to read social cues and he always had weird stories to tell about circumcision and hymens and several medically private stuff that just made other housemates not want to be around him.

Lydia made it work. Without being overtly powerful, she had managed to keep all four of them safe because the other two groups were so busy tearing each other apart.

But now, they were coming for them. She could feel it. With Scott winning HOH the week before and Allison winning POV, the other housemates were starting to see them as a threat. And Lydia needed to do something about that. Not for her sake. She wasn’t much of a threat. Neither was Stiles. But Scott and Allison? They were targets, No. 1 and 2.

It was just too bad Derek Hale was HOH that week. For all Lydia’s charm, she’d never been able to get him to see her side. When she’d gone up to talk to him, he’d agreed with everything she’d said but she could tell. She could see it in his eyes. When the time came, he was going to destroy Lydia’s alliance.

By the time the tags got pulled out and only two more were left, with Lydia, Stiles, Scott and Greenberg still tagless, Lydia just knew whose name wasn’t among the two. When her name got pulled out, she stood stiffly and took the tag and hung it over her neck.

“Thank you Derek.” She parroted, placing her hand on the last tag and pulling it out. “Scott?” She read out in surprise. “Scott.” She said, handing the tag to Scott as he sat back beside Stiles.

What the hell was going on?

She could understand Greenberg being nominated to leave because he was the last person left in his alliance and his alliance had given Derek’s alliance a lot of problems. But Stiles? Looking anxious and uncomfortable, Stiles bounced his leg up and down and nodded as if he was accepting defeat.

“I have nominated you, Greenberg and you, Stiles for eviction.” Derek said.

For all her genius, Lydia couldn’t understand how this was a sensible move. At all!

_____

Matt needed Stiles to leave the house.

His alliance had already agreed that they wanted Scott McCall gone first. With the other real rivals gone, Scott was now the strongest member. Once he was gone then they could focus on Allison. But Matt had managed to convince them that Stiles was worth the trouble too. He was smart. He had a lot of information. And there had to be a reason two very strong players were paying attention to him.

Matt refused to mention that Stiles was, at best, a mediocre player. He’d sailed through six weeks without winning one single game and was only still around because no one saw him as a threat. The only game he’d come close to winning, Lydia Martin had won. But seeing as that was the only time Stiles had look confusingly insulted and intrigued, Matt had understood that Stiles knew he had close to no physical strength and had hoped he’d at least win at mind/brilliance games.

And yet, something about him just rubbed Matt the wrong way. He seemed very weird and the way he seemed to drift in and out of conversation mostly just made Matt want to bash his head into a wall several times a day. But he couldn’t do that. They were on TV and people would freaking see.

Scott was also a target too. For Matt’s alliance, Scott was a threat to their game. For Matt? Scott was always around Allison and there was even talk of some showmance. Matt couldn’t abide that nonsense. Not when he knew the countless fantasies he had, just waiting to play out the moment Scott was gone.

But he had to wait. Because Stiles was the target this week.

He’d been afraid he wouldn’t be able to get Derek to put Stiles up because he’d been noticing a little flirting going on between them. Although, from Stiles point of view, it was probably nothing because the boy was completely dumb when it came to understanding the social world so Derek might as well be flirting with  a lamp post as far as Stiles was concerned. So Matt had been a little worried that Derek’s loyalties might be shifting.

It was not. Derek was a monster and while he smiled and seemed to act nice, he was here to win. Appealing to his competitive side hadn’t taken much and surely, Stiles was put on the chopping block. They’d refrained from putting Scott so that they could backdoor him instead. Because if Scott played for POV, chances were that he’d win and take himself off.

With that securely in place, Matt had gone to work. He had dirt on people in the house and he was willing to use it. Greenberg was lonely and only too pleased to learn that he’d be saved so he agreed to vote for Stiles. Isaac and Erica’s weird thing in the shower one morning came in handy in reminding them that Boyd could cause both of them a lot of damage if he found out that Erica had cheated on him.

And with four votes secured out of the seven people who could vote, Matt was ready to roll.

Derek, Stiles and Greenberg were up for the POV game but Matt, Erica and Boyd got picked to join. So their alliance agreed that Derek should win, which meant Erica, Boyd and Matt put all their effort into getting Derek that POV because they all had the same goal (sort of).

When Derek won and he was standing there holding the medallion in his hand, Matt couldn’t help the look of joy on his face when he looked over at Lydia, Allison and Scott and saw total defeat on their faces.

_____

“Matt needs to go.” Erica said, seconds after she’d pulled Derek into the store room, her voice down to whisper.

“What?” Derek asked, looking confused. “He’s on our side.”

“No, he’s not.”

“Erica-”

“He wants Stiles evicted.”

“He wants Scott evicted. We discussed this.”

“No. He wants Stiles gone this week. He’s been campaigning on the side to get enough votes to keep Scott for now and send Stiles home.”

Erica tried not to flinch as Derek looked down at her in disappointment.

“How do you know this, Erica?” He asked. “What have you guys been doing behind my back?”

“Nothing. Nothing! I swear. He just came up to me and said he’d tell on me if I didn’t vote for Stiles.”

“Stiles was not the target.”

“He is now.” Erica whispered. “And Matt is willing to play dirty to get it. But he won’t come near you because he still thinks there’s something between you and Stiles.”

“There’s nothing between me and Stiles.”

“Aren’t you listening?” Erica asked, her voice raising just a little as she looks over Derek’s shoulders at the door in a panic. “I’m not after Stiles either. I want Matt gone.”

“Why?”

Erica swallowed a huge amount of saliva as she looked up into her HOH’s face. She couldn’t talk to him about what she and Isaac had done. At the time, she’d been pissed at Boyd and Isaac was drunk out of his mind, so she’d followed him into the shower and sucked him off till Isaac was crying in ecstasy above her. But that was it. She’d regretted it in the morning, Boyd had apologized and Isaac had stopped initiating any sort of contact with Erica, completely.

For Matt to bring that up and use it against her, Erica knew she’d always be in his dept. She had to get rid of him and the only way to do it was to have Derek do it.

“You don’t need to know why.”

Derek regarded her for a few seconds, before he turned and left the store room without any sort of closure or certainty.

Which meant that Erica had to spend the rest of the day biting her nail and freaking out. If Matt didn’t leave this week, that blowjob would come up again. If Derek told Matt what Erica had just told him, then he would explode and Boyd would find out. And then Erica would have both Matt and Boyd out to get her. Right along Lydia and her gang of misfits.

That evening, as they sat around, watching Derek wield the medallion of the POV, Erica couldn’t sit still. Even after Boyd noticed her discomfort and pulled her hands into his lap and began caressing the back of her hands the way liked it, she couldn’t concentrate. Everything just felt so heavy and blurry and heavy.

“This is the Veto Meeting.” Derek began. “Greenberg and Stiles have each been nominated for eviction. But I have the power to veto one of my nominations. I have decided to use the power of veto to remove Greenberg from nomination.”

Erica turned her hand over and gripped Boyd’s as she sat there. On the other side of the room, Allison was already shaking her head and patting Scott on the shoulder but Erica couldn’t be bothered with them much.

Not until Derek said:

“I nominate Matt to take Greenberg’s place on the couch please.”

Stunned and unable to understand the wave of joy coursing through her veins, Erica just sat there and allowed Boyd to continue to sooth away her anxiety.

_____

Greenberg was walking on sunshine.

One more week. He’d been freed to last one more week, which meant that it was time to start looking into a second alliance. But with the bonds so strong between the only two alliances, he knew he was going to have to come up with some pretty creative ideas if he was going to get people on his side. So he went in search of food. Food always helped him think.

But Derek and Matt were in the kitchen.

“…why you would put me up.”

“It’s part of my plan.” Derek said, face buried in the fridge.

“Scott was supposed to be up. The whole point was to backdoor him.”

Derek closed the fridge and looked down at Matt.

“I want Stiles gone now.” Derek told him. Greenberg sat at the island and pulled the bowl of fruit closer to himself.

“Are you sure?” Matt asked.

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“No harm would have been done if you’d nominated Scott.”

Derek sighed in frustration and walked passed Matt, heading for the stairs up to his room.

“If you don’t trust me, Matt, then that’s your business but I’m tired of talking about this anymore.”

As Derek’s legs disappeared up the stairs, Matt continued to watch with a far off look on his face… like he was planning and plotting something serious.

“He’s trying to double-cross me.” Matt stated to Greenberg. “Why, though?”

Greenberg continued to chew, suspecting that Matt wasn’t looking for any answer Greenberg had to give. Not that he had any to begin with.

“And now, with me on the block, we don’t have four votes to get Stilinski the fuck out of here.” As he said that, his eyes finally slid over and landed squarely on Greenburg. “You’re still going to vote for Stiles, right?”

“Of course.” Greenberg said without hesitation. Granted, now that Greenberg wasn’t on the block, he was not above keeping his options open if someone else approached him. But he wasn’t going to tell Matt that. The guy cared Greenberg like nothing ever could. In creepy, injury-inflicting-prank ways.

“I have to go check on Isaac and Erica but I’ll still need one more vote.”

Just then, Boyd walked through the sitting room, wiping down from an early morning workout.

“I’ll be back in a second.” Matt said as he followed Boyd into the bed rooms. But Greenberg was not about to sit down and wait for the psycho to return. The moment Matt was away, he delved into the fridge, got himself come snacks to go with his fruit and made sure he was nowhere near the kitchen when Matt decided to return.

_____

Allison didn’t even think too much about it when she cast Matt as her vote.

He was leery and he liked to pick fights with Scott and just plain pick on Stiles every chance he got. Plus, there was no way she was going to vote for Stiles. Ergo… the wicked wizard had to go. But she still held her heart in her hand for this one. Because she was sure only of three votes and there were four other people eligible to vote. And three of them were securely on Matt’s side.

Well, not so securely if Derek had put him up so Allison was a little hopeful.

While they all sat in the sitting room and waited for Julie to come on, Allison held Scott’s hand in one of hers while she patted Stiles on the knee to keep him from bouncing it up and down and freaking out like he was doing. She’d come to know that while he could talk circles round anyone when he was nervous, a true sign of a freak out was when his mouth was in too much shock to actually be useful. So continued to pat him through his shaking and still moments, hoping to offer him some comfort.

“It still doesn’t make sense.” Matt said out to the house. “The plan was for McCall-”

“Not right now, Matt.” Derek said.

“Why?” Matt asked. “Everyone is in one of the two alliances in the house… well except Greenberg and nobody wants him on their team. So why change your choice if Stiles was the new target?”

“I was trying to make the show interesting.” Derek said, wiping his hands over his eyes like a frustrated parent.

“If you’ve voted me out, Derek, at least do me the courtesy of being truthful.”

No one answered at this point, choosing to sit still and pray that they could brave whatever shit storm was on the way.

But no shit storm came. Matt just sat there, looking at Derek with his eyes narrowed and hi brows pulled together in stern concentration while Derek lay back on the couch, closed his eyes and ignored everything.

Then the screen came on and Julie was looking back at them.

“Houseguests! All the votes are in.” She said. “When I reveal the vote, the evicted houseguest would have just a few moments to say his goodbyes, gather his things and leave the Big Brother House.” She paused. “By a vote of seven to zero, Matt, you are evicted from the Big Brother House.”

Matt nodded and got to his feet as the members of his alliance stood as well with varied looks of guilt and something that looked oddly like relief.

“No hugs for me.” Matt said, moving to his bags. “But before I go, hear this: Boyd, Erica gave Isaac a blow job in the shower. Erica, Boyd fucked you one night while you were asleep. Everyone, whatever belonging you’ve been missing, Greenberg took it because he likes to wear our stuff at night and walk around the house… good luck explaining that America once you get out of here. Derek, you might want to watch out for Lydia because she’s the reason all of Greenberg’s alliance is gone. And Allison,” Matt said, looking right at her as she felt her heart freeze at the attention. “Scott McCall is a married man.”

As Allison’s world imploded in on her, she heard the faint click of the door slip shut just after the cheers and applause of the audience outside welcomed Matt Daehler to his exit from the house.

_____

That night, after a new HOH had been crowned, Derek slid between Stiles’ sheets and cuddled up to him from behind, dragging the leaner man closer as Stiles wiggled back and settled.

“How are you doing?” Derek whispered into his ears.

“Fine.” Stiles said, turning around. “Matt’s gone.” Stiles kissed Derek. “That’s all that matters right now.

SEVEN DAYS AGO

“Matt wants me out, Der.” Stiles had said, sitting between Derek’s legs and cuddled up against the door to block any intruders from coming in as they whispered to each other. “He needs to go.”

“Scott is the target this week. My people already agreed.”

“I heard him talking to Isaac. He thinks you might have feelings for me.”

“He’s right.” Derek said, kissing Stiles on the back of his neck as Stiles giggled and turned around to offer Derek his lips.

“When he suggests that you nominate me as a pawn, do it.”

“What?” Derek asked in shock. “No way.”

“Just do it. I won’t go home. You said your people want Scott.”

“Yeah, but what if he manages to bully enough votes to evict you?”

Stiles sat there, mulling it over till the answer came to him.

“Maybe he can bully Isaac or Boyd or even Greenberg… but I doubt he’ll bully Erica successfully.”

“What are you thinking?” Derek asked, spreading Stiles’ legs and closing his so that Stiles could straddle him.

“I’m thinking I saw something in the shower that could be very useful to Matt right about now.”

PRESENT DAY

Derek wrapped his hand around stiles, rolling them over till he was spread across his boyfriend.

“This is only going to get harder.” Derek said between kisses.

“Yeah, as long as I get to kiss you every day, I’m good.” Stiles said, still kissing.

“They’re going to figure out that this was all you, you know.”

Stiles laughed into Derek’s mouth.

“Not if I can convince Lydia that this was her idea all along.” Stiles said. “Everyone thinks she’s been controlling everything else…why not this?”

Derek stared, lost in Stiles eyes for a few seconds, but then he delved in again, sucking on Stiles’ lips and knowing that he’d never want to stop. Not when he was so, deeply in love with him and the two of them could go on till the end.

Till they were the very last two.

Please read Benign Two Here

#sterek #abc sterek #human au #big brother #secrets #manipulation #5+1 things