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#probably the most serotonin boosting thing i’ve ever made
sunshinebunnie · 2 years
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31, 34, 35 re: fic writer ask because you fascinate me! 😇❤️🫣
Thank you so much, hun, for the lovely ask!!! I appreciate you talking to me!! 🥰🥰🥰🥰
31. Of the characters you write for, which is your favorite? Has that choice been swayed at all by your followers/readers’ reactions to certain ones?
Hmmmm….for Euphoria, probably Ash, and for Riverdale—the first fandom I started writing fic for (mind you, I read fic for a loooooooooooonnnng time before I ever wrote any, although I wrote original fic years before that)—I would say Cheryl Blossom. In both cases, I’d mostly for the same reason—they’re both such unhinged characters in a lot of ways that you can give them the most outrageous, funny, sarcastic lines. It helps me integrate humor into my stories in a way, that, as a smut writer, I may not always feel fits for my main characters. 🙂 As for has reader response swayed those choices, I don’t think so? I definitely appreciate it though when someone tells me a line or a scene I’ve given to them made the reader laugh or that it stuck with them though! 🤗🤗🤗
34. How much of yourself and your life experiences do you put into your writing? What do you think your readers’ image of you is?
Hahaha. I’d say I definitely put a lot of my life experiences into my stories. I’ve had a lot of really crazy, varied life experience, so there’s A LOT for me to draw on with my writing. (Which I like to believe helps my stories resonate with people???? 🥺🥺) I think the closest I’ve really come to putting myself in my writing would be in my most recent fic for the Good Girls fandom where one of the minor characters JT goes on a rant about all the stupid shit that’s gonna get one of Rio’s front operations flagged for money laundering. I didn’t have to go so hard on that, but a lottttttttt of that was definitely my personal mission to civilize. 😂😂😂 As for what do I think readers’ image of me is—I know this is gonna seem like a cop out—but honestly, I’m pretty shocked to find out people think of me *at all*. My parents divorced when I was super young (but they were good about joint custody), which meant that I often wasn’t around during weekends/school breaks/summers—not to mention, my mom shipped me overseas in the summers when I was in middle school to stay with my nana & great-aunt. So, basically, people got used to me never being around to do things, so that when I **WAS** actually around, no one actually thought to invite me. Lol. Which is all to say, I don’t really expect my readers think about me all that much. 🤷🏼‍♀️ (This is also why I get so excited when people take the time to send me asks and stuff! It’s like, “Yay!!!! A person wants to talk to me!!!!”)
35. How much has writing fic changed your life?
It’s definitely helped me find community, for sure. Plus, I’ve always been someone who’s used creative writing as an outlet when I’ve been dealing with shit, and this past year especially (with all my daughter’s health stuff), I’ve needed that outlet more than ever. Fic writing is one of the few things I do purely for myself and it’s such a source of positive reinforcement. It’s truly reinvigorating for the soul. (I cannot emphasize enough the, at times, desperately needed serotonin boost those AO3 “you have a comment” emails & the comments therein have given me this past year!!!) 🥰🥰🥰🥰
Thank you so much for the ask, doll!!! I hope you’re having a terrific weekend!!!!
Fan fic writing asks
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heademptynothoughts · 2 years
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song-by-song thoughts about Halestorm’s new album Back From the Dead that nobody asked for but i’m gonna give anyways:
Back From the Dead
literally the perfect opener, are you freaking kidding me?
lzzy’s vocals, omfg i’m in love with her
such a banger
Wicked Ways
i think this is the heaviest song on the album and it’s fucking awesome
i get a serotonin boost every time lzzy screams
also the lyricsss, embracing your dark side and saying it’s not evil and telling someone not to idolize you or think you’re some kind of perfect angel
hell yeah
Strange Girl
THESE LYRICS
it’s so empowering and makes me feel so good
also lzzy wrote this for a fan which i love
Brightside
“life’s a bitch and then you die”
bruh the whisper line gives me chillsssss
The Steeple
THIS
this is THE anthem
Terrible Things
ballad timeeee
it’s so beautiful agh
My Redemption
layered vocals are probably my favourite thing ever
“i’m my own redemption” fuck yes
once again boost of serotonin every time lzzy screams
Bombshell
i think this might be my favourite song of the album
female empowerment my beloved
“she’s not fragile like a flower, she is fragile like a bomb”
I Come First
sexual innuendo aside
self-love babyyyyy
another banger
Psycho Crazy
ok actually this might be my favourite, maybe tied with bombshell, but also i’m extremely indecisive because every song is so good
the lyrics, the vocals, the guitar and drums, everything is 10/10
Raise Your Horns
another balladddd
as much as i love the heavier vocals, when lzzy sings softly it’s genuinely one of the most beautiful things i’ve ever heard
the lyrics are also really beautiful
this made me tear up
such a perfect way to end the album
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obeiii-mee · 3 years
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MC had a bad day or they’re dealing with a bad loss from a loved one. So they decide to seek comfort from the Brothers! But they don’t do it in a normal way, they just barge in the room where the brothers are all relaxing or hanging out at before MC just busts in getting their attention and they go “I need a hug 🥺”. Let’s see the some fluffy hc’s of the brothers comforting MC 🥰
And how could they not want to hug their cute human that is literally 3 seconds away from breaking down into tears?
The Brothers Comforting MC After A Bad Day:
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You’re right, they wouldn’t be able to resist, they love their human too much 😌
*soBS* I want to hug one of them so bad rn
Thank you for the request, I love writing fluffy HCs, it’s my weak spot and it gives me serotonin. I hope you have a nice day/night!! Uh, it’s sort of implied that MC is slightly shorter than them so sorry if that’s a problem-
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Notes: Fluff, mentions of loss and dead family members/friends, mostly comfort though, short HCs
Characters: Lucifer, Mammon, Leviathan, Satan, Asmodeus, Beezlebub and Belphegor.
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Lucifer:
-He doesn’t say anything and he doesn’t really need to because him just being there, arms wrapped around you and hands lightly running up and down your back, is worth more words than any sort of verbal consolation he could’ve given you and because of this, you feel at ease
-His touch is firm but gentle and you relax almost immediately, burying your head against his chest and feeling him press a kiss on top of your hairline, tightening your hold on him
-He already told his brothers to back off because the last thing he wanted was for you you to get overwhelmed by their insensitivity so you two were left in the living room by yourselves
-In a bit of an awkward position though, because you were both standing and after a while, it was clear a hug wasn’t going to be enough
-That’s his excuse as to why he picked you up bridal style five minutes later and carried you all the way to his bedroom, a place he knows his siblings won’t ever trespass without his permission and somewhere he can shield you from any prying eyes while you’re in this vulnerable state
-At this point, he was basically cradling you like a baby, having you sit on his lap and waiting for you to tire yourself out until you couldn’t cry anymore and watching you slip into that hiccuping stage you get after a breakdown
-Lucifer is obviously going to ask what happened, but whether you answer him or not is up to you because he’s not one to push matters if he sees you’re uncomfortable talking about it
-However, he might insist if he concludes that it’s affecting you and your well being and that’s how you know usually know he’s worried
-His voice is soft though and just listening to it makes you want to tell him everything, whether it’d be something as annoying as a small inconvenience you stumbled across that day or the death of a relative, you feel welcomed enough to spill everything
-Even if you decide not to, he’ll stay with you until you feel better, until you’re no longer crying or shaking or anything of the sort. He speaks occasionally, almost soothingly about how important you are to him and how capable you are of overcoming anything in your way. For the most part, however, he remains quiet and allows you to mull over your thoughts, willing to forget about his paperwork just to let you cling to him for a few hours
-Maybe later, when you’re no longer as distressed, he could get the full story out of you and help you overcome whatever problem you’re having trouble facing but for now, he understands all you need is for him to be there
“MC?” He calls your name out because he was thinking that maybe you had fallen asleep but he realised that was not the case when you looked up at him, streaks of tears still sliding down your cheeks. When you don’t respond, he sighs almost contently “A bit longer?” You don’t answer again but this time, he could feel you nod against him and he smiles despite himself as he leaned his head against yours “All right then, just a bit longer.”
Mammon:
-Truth be told, he’s never been the best at comforting someone and normally, he’s kind of awkward when he wants to show his support because it feels so out of his character
-But it’s not like he was going to refuse you anyway. Not when you specifically came to him and asked him for help and not when you looked like you were on the verge of crying. He’d be a monster to deny you >:(
-It upsets him too, you know. He’s meant to be your protector, guardian even, so the fact that he couldn’t keep you from getting hurt makes him feel like he failed at keeping his human safe. Actually, it takes a lot of convincing on your part just to tell him that you’re not actually physically hurt. Just a shitty day…
-Mammon, despite the walls he puts up ever now and then, is someone that genuinely cares for you. And he’s also the type that does almost everything in excess, especially when it comes to you or spending money. That’s just his personality; he’s loud and boisterous and even though he wants to deny this, completely transparent with his emotions
-You ask for a hug? He gives you plenty of hugs! He lets you lay on top of him while cuddling so he can hold you!!! He brings you snacks and drinks!!! Shit, he basically cradles you the whole night!!! And he’s blushing and acting annoyed the entire time, refusing to accept how much he’s actually enjoying this
-The point is, he tends to coddle you whenever you have a bad day or if you’re really affected by the loss of a dead loved one. This is probably because he, in turn, likes to be babied and cared for when he’s feeling down and he subconsciously does that to you because it’s the only means of comfort he knows how to execute well
-A hug would’ve sufficed, but you’re his human and let him be damned if he’s not gonna give you the world on a silver platter if you keep looking at him with those sad eyes of yours
-By now, if you need anything, you just need to ask because even with a bit of grumbling, he’ll get it for you. More snacks? Say less. Wanna watch TV with him for a while? Immediately reaches for the remote? You just want to cuddle? His body is naturally warm for a reason bby, dig in. You want his heart? Give him a moment to surgically get it out of his chest-
-No matter what, he’s so glad that you trust him enough to talk to him about this sort of stuff and that he’s the first person you think of when you need consolation
-It makes sense after all, right? He’s your first pact so your direct happiness is his responsibility while you’re in DevilDom! It’s his job to make sure you function again by tomorrow morning and that you’re no longer troubled by anything
“Hey! What’s with all the crying huh?” He cups your face in his hands and softly squishes the flesh between his fingers. His thumbs brush over the tears in your eyes and he let’s out a small ‘tsk’ as your foreheads touch and his hands drip to your shoulders to keep you steady “The Great Mammon is hugging ya right now, ya know? There’s no reason for you to be upset, not when I’ve got ya in my arms like this, OK? So you can stop with yer water works now.” As noisy as his voice is, there’s a gentle note behind it when he speaks and embraces you, his cologne spreading everywhere “I love you, ya big idiot. So please, stop cryin’ and lemme hold ya already! Yer making me worried, ya stupid human.”
Levi:
-You stopping by his room is not unusual. In fact, you do it every day and it’s just part of the routine you have with him. However, he’s wasn’t exactly expecting you to stand there, all shaken up and ask him for a hug!!!
-And he doesn’t process this request for a second but then he freaks out so badly-
-Yells incomprehensibly about how you’re ‘pulling your normie tricks on him again’ and how he’s ‘not going to be fooled by them anymore.’
-You raise your head to meet his eyes while he’s still rambling on though and he sees your teary expression and now he feels guilty because you look really upset. Levi’s kinda scared he made it worse-
-He’s the type to usher you in his room and lock the door as usual but instead of doing what the two of you always do, you literally stay attached to him because you need comfort damn it!
-Levi….is sort of clueless about these emotional outbursts since he himself doesn’t deal with them very well. However, he’s watched enough animes revolving around romance to conclude on the best course of action so-do not fear! (Spoiler, he still doesn’t know what he’s doing)
-He’s really stuck and can either stay as quiet as a nun or start babbling in a language you probably wouldn’t even understand because he’s so nervous
-Or actually, he might start crying with you if I’m being fair; he’s very in sync with his Henry and your emotions
-Once he calms down, he’s actually not all that bad at comforting. Levi is a bit stand offish with his hugs at first but he relaxes into them and by now, you’re both standing by the side of his bed, with you leaning onto him and him holding your hand. He then intertwines your fingers together but subconsciously because he wouldn’t have the gall otherwise
-Later, he tells you to help yourself with the snacks he has hidden in his room. I guarantee you he has a whole ass mini refrigerator hidden somewhere for his all night gaming session, in case he needs any boosts. No one knows how Beel hasn’t found the stash yet and there’s no need to tell him
-Then you watch re runs of old shows together and make fun of the shitty editing and dialogue. He’s still holding your hand though and he’s really flustered and wondering if it’s too sweaty for you but don’t mention it because he’ll get even more embarrassed
-He glances over to you, every once in a while, whilst you’re cuddled up against his arm, eyes glued on the TV, to make sure you’re OK. You almost gave him a seizure or at least that’s how he felt-so he made it his mission to make you feel better by any means necessary. Fuck today’s raids, his team can get them done without him!!
“I-I don’t know why you would want me of all people to hug you but…” he trailed off in a whisper, having to lean down so you could wrap your arms against his neck and bury your head in his shoulder. He pulled you in closer, a streak of protectiveness coursing through him as he shut the door to his room with his foot “Lord of the Shadows would never leave Henry all on his own, so I’m not going to do that either. This is an important character development arc and-just, please don’t cry. I’ll give you more hugs, OK? Seeing you like this is not good for my heart-“ stopped mid sentence after realising what he just said and now he’s the one burying his head in your shoulder, flushed beyond hell “Forget I just said that! Holy Lord Diavolo this is embarrassing, why am I like this????”
Satan:
-It troubles him greatly to see you like this and he can sort of feel the world shift out of place, seeing you with tears running down your face and hands balled into fists out of frustration almost immediately makes him fly into a fit of rage because who would dare to hurt you-
-Oh, a hug? If that’s all you need, he’s more than happy to oblige but if you’re as distraught as you seem to be, he wonders if just a small embrace from him would be enough
-Satan’s hugs are very intimate and even passionate at times. He has one hand on the back of your head and the other supporting your lower back while you bawl your eyes out into his shoulder and getting his uniform wet
-You can’t really seem to focus on what he’s trying to tell you because he’s so warm and welcoming and even though he’s someone as renowned as the Avatar of Wrath, he’s shockingly patient with you as you let out the overwhelming emotions that have been consuming you all day
-It’s hard to not relax when you’re in Satan’s presence because he’s calm and he smells like musty, old books and mahogany wood and cats, meaning he was most likely cuddling strays he found on the street the entire day. The first visual that comes to mind is fire crackling behind a grate in a chimney and someone reading a book while swinging back and forth on an old, rickety chair when you’re around him
-He will wait until you’re no longer crying and then, before you know it, you find yourself in the library with him, drinking tea and being handed a plate of biscuits he took from the kitchen to help you regain your strength after all that crying. You’re still feeling pretty miserable about the day you’ve had but you quickly lose yourself in a conversation with him over a cup of tea
-Sometimes, you two talk for hours on end about nothing important just to hear each other’s voices and finally have some quality time spent together. Even though he wishes the circumstances were better, he’s glad to have been able to snatch you away from his brothers for a while and he’s even happier you chose him to confide in
-Satan practically doesn’t even mention your outburst and keeps the small talk minimal but he wants you to know that if you do wish to tell him about it, he’s more than happy to listen and he’s not so bad at giving advice either
-The topic of the discussion you were having with him changed abruptly by the end of the night and now you’re reading together from this book he started a while ago, both of you covered with a blanket, your head on his chest and his leaning on yours. He’s holding the book with both of his hands, but still managed to get his left wrapped around you. And because of this feeling of safety and warmth, you don’t feel desperate anymore. Tomorrow, you’ll be able to sort out your feelings but now, you’re content to just listening to Satan read, in his clear, soft voice
“Ah MC, could you turn the page for me?” You do as he asked to and you could feel him smiling as he kissed your hairline, sighing before going back to the book and the story within “Thank you. You truly are amazing, did you know that? I’ve never met someone as caring and as kind as you. Well, I suppose Beel could compete for the title but unlike him, you don’t really leave us in debt whenever we visit the grocery store.” Hearing you laugh makes him smile even more and he lets you hold the other side of the book while he plays with your hair and now you join in reading with him, out loud and trying to act out voices for the characters. As everything unfolds, Satan feels the world click right back into place.
Asmo:
-It’s a known fact by now that Asmo is willing to give you any sort of affection at any point in time, whether it’d be a hug, a kiss, holding your hand-you name it! I mean, whenever he’s feeling down, you being there to encourage him helps a lot so it’s only natural it works the other way around too!
-If he notices that you’re genuinely upset by something, then he would have no problem whatsoever with lavishing you in attention and really, a hug or two from him is the bare minimum in situations like this
-In any case, he always enjoys fussing over you and you having a bad day is the perfect excuse for him to do so! After all, he can’t disappoint you since you came to him with your troubles and he will do anything in his power to make you feel better. Actually, if he could, he would keep hugging you forever but as miraculous as his charm can be, it’s not effective against someone with this low of a morale
-His first suggestion is to take a bath! It’s his way of taking care of you; you’re tired after such a long day and he feels like you’re neglecting yourself a little because of it. So you relax in his bathtub with him for a while, him actively trying to get your mind off any bad, lingering thoughts while you splash around in the bubbles
-And obviously after that, you need to have your mandatory spa sessions with him since you need to unwind and what’s a better way to do that than to let him paint your nails and apply lotion to your skin? Besides, it creates a great opportunity for you to take things off your chest
-He’s in need to hear gossip constantly so if you don’t feel like talking, he’s gonna be a bit bummed out but he still respects your wishes enough to not push you. If your problem is as sensitive as the death of a family member, you’re not obligated to talk to him about it and he will understand, since people grieve in different ways. He too shut down after the death of Lilith for a while after all
-A bad day is nothing Asmo can’t handle. He’s had plenty of those before, mostly because of Mammon and his thievery, they’re usually common factors. It’s only natural you experience those yourself and he’s more than willing to be your support system if you need one. He wants you to know that you can go to him if you need advice or help with anything, or even if you just need to someone to hear you out
-To give a more detailed explanation of his hugs, they are usually really light and you never feel suffocated when you’re in his arms. He never squeezes you too tight and he always smells amazing, so you feel inclined to stay near him for as long as possible. Despite his overtly loud nature, he gets incredibly soft spoken with you and he traces patterns on your back and arms as you stand there together
-It’s important to mention, he never pulls away from you first. He lets you decide when you’ve had enough and when you’re ready to move on or if you require some other means of comfort
-And even if you’re no longer disgruntled, he’s still going to pamper you as much as possible the next day with either a shopping spree or another few spa sessions, this time done at a professional institution rather than the privacy of his bedroom
-Asmo is in touch with your emotions and it’s kinda scary sometimes because of how well he can read you, since he almost always knows what you need
“Oh darling, how could I refuse a hug from you?” You can feel his arms embrace you, even with your eyes closed and for some reason, this makes you cry even harder, sobbing as he tries to comfort you. You’re aware he let go of you at some point and returned with a tissue to dab away at your tears, gently to not hurt your eyes and now he’s hugging you again, a wry smile on his face “You don’t have to worry about a thing, MC. Everything will get sorted out, I promise. In the meantime, come to me if anything troubles you again, OK? No more crying, darling-it’s bad for your eyes.”
Beel:
-The type to immediately lean in for a hug without even questioning why. As soon as you ask him, you barely have time to finish the question and you already find yourself in his arms. The only exception would be when he’s eating or maybe in the middle of a work out but the point is he doesn’t hesitate much when it comes to you. And I mean, he loves hugs just as much as his siblings do
-Beel is not the most observant and he may not realise you’re in a bad mood unless you tell him outright. It’s not even that he’s emotionally distant, it’s just that if you tell him that you’re fine, then he’s gonna take your word for it and believe you since he’s pretty straightforward with his feelings as well. However, as dense as he may be on occasion, even he’s bound to notice that you’re not being your usual self and this is especially true if you start crying out of nowhere while he’s nearby. Probably assumes the worst and is under the impression that he did something to upset you because shifting the blame onto himself whenever others suffer is his coping mechanism and we’ve seen him to do it before
-If you’ve just had a bad day, he understands that things could’ve been very overwhelming for you and he wishes he had known sooner so he could’ve helped back then, instead of letting it come to this. But he doesn’t hesitate all that much since he looks like he’s built for giving hugs on a daily basis. I’m not even sure this would classify as a hug since you’re not touching the floor. Rather, you are attached to him like a koala and he’s carrying you around as if you were a baby strapped to his chest. And he genuinely doesn’t mind. He’s been doing it with Belphie for centuries now
-Please, after a while he gets seriously concerned because are humans supposed to cry this much? What if you dehydrate or something? So he makes you stay in bed and just gives you plenty of water. You look so pale and sad, he shares his food with you too because his heart is aching just looking at you like this. He feels like besides being there, he can’t provide you with much help and he’s starting to think he’s hopeless at comforting
-If a family member died then…Beel is one of the best people you could’ve gone to. Honestly, having dealt with his sister’s situation, he knows how horrible it is to lose somebody you love dearly (I mean, all the brothers do but I’m making a point saying Beel, Belphie and Lucifer were especially affected). Now he’s sad himself since he’s aware that you’re going through something similar and his twin might walk in on the two of you being emotional on the floor
-For the most part, Beel makes sure you keep yourself healthy even when you’re tired and depressed. Continues to bring you food, even if he eats half of it on his way to your room, and just keeps you company in general in case you get lonely. Seeing you upset makes him even more considerate of your feelings and you don’t have the heart to tell him that he doesn’t need to stay with you all night. He thinks he does because you’ve always offered to stay with him whenever he’s had nightmares before so how he’s gotta return the favour
-Beel gives these bear hugs all the time, since he’s so big and his hand basically covers your entire back. So, more often than not, you end up cuddling while standing because he’s a lot taller than you, with him being a demon and all. Despite that, you feel so unbelievably complete when he holds you like this. It’s hard not to feel protected since his whole body is practically concealing yours so easily all the time and you feel sheltered from the world and it’s….nice
-And Beel enjoys hugging you too, because he knows that as long as he’s nearby, you’ll be safe and that’s really all he needs. He wants to be there for you the same way you were there for him when he needed it most and comforting you when you’re having a shitty day is like his full time job
-You could come to Beel with any problem and he would never judge you, no matter what. He’s just really unproblematic and he just wants you to go back to your normal self because it hurts him to see you cry your eyes out. Now, not only are hugs mandatory but holding your hand is too. It’s like hugging…but your hands are doing the hugging
-Definitely even goes to Belphie after a while if he really doesn’t know what to do and that’s how you know he’s desperate to do something. Since the Seventh Born isn’t exactly someone that yields great advice, more so when it comes to other…people….and his twin knows this-
-Beel’s best strategy at the moment is to just maintain some kind of physical contact because he discovered that makes you feel better and it calms you down more than him trying to verbally console you. He even invited you to sleep in his room if you’re comfortable doing so just so you’re not alone. After that one incident, he’s trying to coax you to tell him whenever something is wrong so he can jump in and help, because that’s all he really wants to do ahakenksms
“MC? Did something happen?” He’s honestly taken aback by how shaky you are and how you’re hands are trembling as they’re reaching to connect with his. Without much of a warning, he feels a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach and now he discovers that he doesn’t like seeing you with tears trailing down your face. And he feels worse the longer you wail in his chest and he doesn’t know what to do. So, he wraps his arms around you so tight you think you might explode, strangely comforted by the feeling as he speaks again “I’m sorry if I’ve done something to upset you. What can I do to help, MC? We can just stay like this for a while if you want” And when he sees you nod, he proceeds to not move an inch almost the entire night. Obviously, hunger overtook him eventually but he shared his stolen goods with you so can you really complain? Doubtful, not when he hasn’t let go of your hand the whole time.
Belphie:
- Hugging him is a gamble. Realistically speaking, you’re not going to catch him standing upright long enough for you to give him a hug. He’s laying on the floor somewhere, asleep so you shouldn’t expect much from him to begin with. Even if you were to get lucky and stumble upon him while he’s wide awake, he might slump over and succumb to sleep the moment you embrace him because you’re so warm
-Cuddling is a different story altogether. He’d rather shoot himself in the foot than not have you cuddle with him so if you need to be babied for once, he’s a pretty good option to consider
-As usual, he’s in the attic and you go to him because it’s really late and you didn’t want to wake up any of the other brothers. Actually, Belphie is normally awake by dusk so to see him sleep like a log past midnight was quite surprising. You didn’t exactly want to interrupt but if you stayed alone for any longer, you would’ve gone insane. So you shook him awake. And he was understandably confused and probably forgot what planet he was on for a minute when you did so
-Technically, he was half awake and from his point of view, everything must’ve been pretty blurry. He did see you; the problem was that because he was still feeling very sleepy, he was basically in a daze and could only squint at you to try and figure out if you were really there or if he was hallucinating. His suspicion was confirmed soon enough because he reached out after a few seconds and poked your cheek just to check. His face the entire time and the action itself was so amusing that, despite tittering on the edge of a breakdown, you burst out laughing
-Once he came to the conclusion that you were, in fact, real and he wasn’t dreaming, he sighed and opened his arms out for you; a direct invitation to cuddle with him. By now, he likely didn’t even noticed you looked sad because, as I said, he was all over the place but this little ritual you two have was common enough that it got engraved in his memory. Now he does it out of impulse whenever you’re around and he wants attention
-So you basically tackled him and threw yourself on top of him so hard, both of you toppled over on the bed and now you were used as a blanket, with his arms wrapped securely around you; preventing you from getting up. Not that you were planning on doing that anytime soon but moving on-
-You thought he had fallen back asleep, because he went really quiet and he stopped squirming to get comfortable. To be exact, the whole room was rather still and the only thing you could really hear was Belphie’s soft breathing and the rustle of the bedsheets every once in a while. And since it was extremely dark as well, you couldn’t see a thing either so it felt like the best place to let go of your stress
-It’s not like you were making much noise but as I said, the seventh born wasn’t sleeping just yet. And he wouldn’t be able to because it was obvious to him now that something was wrong. He believed that he was bearing witness to something that should’ve been a lot more private than this so he didn’t say anything. You should have your moment, let you have a chance to recollect your thoughts and the next day, he might ask you
-It was too much to handle. It’s not like he was gonna get any sleep unless he knew your problem was solved otherwise he might get nightmares all night. Besides, if you’re crying this much, then something terrible must’ve happened. You realised he was awake when he gave your entire body a small squeeze, as if to reassure you and you froze because did you just wake him up???? Or worse, did he hear all that sobbing you were doing????
-Hugging him is similar to hugging a pillow. He’s soft and squishy and warm and it’s impossible to resist him when rest at a time like this is so tempting. His fingers running over your pact mark once or twice, as if to remind you that he’s right there and low whispers describing the best dream he ever had about you, hoping to distract you for long enough to help you fall asleep
-To him, it doesn’t make a difference if a family member died or if you’re just having a bad day. All he knows is that you’re having a lot of emotional problems because of either one and as a result, you need a shoulder to lean on. He’s glad that you trust him enough to let him assist and if it was up to him, he would keep cuddling you forever. You’ve already suffered enough so let him take care of you this time around, OK?
“Dumbass, why are you crying?” The gentleness of his words was a clear contrast to that quick insult he shoved at the beginning of his statement, though you couldn’t hear any malice behind it and the fact that he really cared about what happened to cause you to struggle with your emotions so badly, would’ve made you wail even harder. However, he managed to silence you pretty well because he kept speaking and you wanted to listen; you wanted to hear what he had to say so you reduced your sobs and you sat quietly enough to do just that. Belphie flipped you over, now with him on top and you underneath and he laid there, cheek sloshed against yours as he sleepily mumbled out more praise for you, “MC, are you tired? You should go to bed, you need to get some sleep. Tomorrow, you can tell me what the problem is and I’ll help. I promise-I’ll even get up early for you. Just…please calm down. I don’t want to see you crying yourself to sleep ever again. I’ll stay here the entire time, alright? And I’ll make sure you have nice dreams tonight MC…just let me hold you…”
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jiminrings · 3 years
Note
umm maybe this is me projecting bc i am messaging you during my break but for a drabble request, yoongi in a retail setting???? 😐😐😐😐 oc could either be a co-worker or a regular customer who asks too many questions 😔😌
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retail-type beat
drabble week: day three
drabble week masterlist
pairing: customer!yoongi x retail worker!reader
wordcount: 3k
glimpse: "hi! almost thought you were hiding from me for a second. anyways, is this sweater wool or cotton?"
feedback + support mean the world to me!!
the last time you checked, work doesn’t start until nine
you kNEW it doesn’t start until 9 in the morning, so clearly that’s why you’re just wearing slides instead of your sneakers
the company uniform is either black or purple (it has to be from what the store is selling though so you can get to choose) with of course!!!! a lanyard!!!!
and you know this, because you’re still wearing your slides from home because it isn’t opening time yet
“goddamn it, i forgot to bring my slippers,” jin moans the moment he walks to see you, looking down on your feet that only reminds him he’d be stuck in his cool yet painfully uncomfy sneakers
he’s probably the only co-worker that you’re truly close with, not feeling the urge to sell him just to get a free day
“i told you to get the sneakers that nurses use!!”
hands-down one of the best purchases you’ve ever made
retail’s hard and it’s not exactly the best-paying job!!! thankfully the franchise owner is a bit more generous so that’s why you get slightly-higher hourly pay
“i would if they looked a little more seasoned,” jin snorts and stubbornly crosses his arms, “i might sacrifice my pride and buy some compression socks.”
OOOOOH THOSE ARE GOOD TOO
makes you feel like ur walking on air
but lol no seokjin isn’t ready to buy those just yet
he’ll settle on some blisters and putting salonpas patches because they look cooler that way, thank u very much <3
jin yawns, talking about finding a steam iron somewhere to replace a blowdryer so he could break in his shoes
“you wipe the glass this time.”
oh right he absolutely hates wiping down the glass — even before opening!!! even when there aren’t any grubby kids that would soil it instantly with their equally as grubby hands
you don’t mind it honestly
you might honestly like it
you prefer wiping the glass a hundred times over than steaming clothes
there is nOT a single thought in your head when you spray on the solution to the glass, rag and squeegee tucked between your fingers when-
maybe you should’ve hOLY FUCKING SHIT
it’s not opening!!!! it is nOT nine o’clock in the morning!!!!
you know that the shop you’re working in is pretty fucking famous and it’s located on one of the most populated streets ever BUT THERE’S ALREADY SOMEONE
although the bucket hat seems familiar from a distance and-
oh it’s just yoongi
yoongi?
yoongi’s already here????
:O
yoongi, the guy in question, is an always customer!!
no, not a regular customer — an always customer
he comes every week and maybe even twice within that period
he’s a nice talkative customer who likes asking questions and even occasionally guides the other customers on what to buy and where to find it
he’s yoongi!!! of course that’s expected of him
he’s been going here long since you ever started working here, and jin keeps iNSISTING that he’s been here more frequently since you started like a year ago
but doesn’t he come at eleven in the morning?
“woah, yoongi’s already here? — doesn’t he come at eleven in the morning?”
?!!?!!
“i was just thinking the exact same thing.”
jin bangs the glass with his fist and you automatically wince and frown
you dO like cleaning the glass panes!! you didn’t say you liked cleaning them a second time :(
“YOONGI!”
“YES??”
you push jin’s fist away to wipe at the smudge his hand left
“IT’S NOT OPENING YET!”
“I KNOW!!”
wow they’re uh
they’re really loud
sometimes you forget how seokjin could be since it’s been awhile since you heard him yell
lol no one’s been shoplifting recently so you haven’t been hearing him
a mind-blowing idea is for jin to come outside and talk to him in a normal talking voice, so your ears would stop ringing
“HEY! WHAT IF YOU JUST ENTER EARLY IN?”
“REALLY? IS THAT EVEN ALLOWED??”
"YOONGI, EVERYONE ON THE FLOOR KNOWS YOUR NAME. NAMJOON EVEN GAVE YOU A CUSTOMARY BIRTHDAY GIFT, AND WE DON'T GIVE CUSTOMARY BIRTHDAY GIFTS TO ANY OTHER CUSTOMER!!"
namjoon, who technically should be called mr. kim because no one really thinks to call the franchise owner with their government first name, is actually pretty cool
but he's too busy these days and haven't been visiting because he's too busy tending to his newly-opened coffee shop
as if the money he earns from opening his franchise in a day alone isn’t enough :0
"IF YOU SAY SO?"
you’re the one who hikes up the roll-up door in the slightest, enough for only yoongi to enter and not encourage anyone else to nOT enter when it’s still not opening time!!!!
he only has to crouch a little but he still has to dust his thousand-dollar pants as if he crawled through mud
his cream-colored slacks with a large black hoodie that has a giant bear embroidered on the middle of it and mules
... you don't hate his outfits
pretty cute, actually
it's yoongi!!
you'd never catch him lacking!!!
you don't even have to envision him rocking the shit out a paper bag
one time, he came in the store wearing the WRINKLIEST brown linen jumpsuit that no iron could possibly fix and he still pulled it off
toon-teen-ten!
oh god that’s the sound of the intercom
and the sound of the intercom equates to jungkook
... as in jeon jungkook who’s the floor manager and his constant top one goal for every month is to endearingly annoy seokjin
he’s young and mischievous!! but if you were to ask him, only you and jungkook are the people in this floor he’d actually get drinks with outside the shop
“seokjin come to the lingerie department right now, please.”
you see the thing is :D
“now this is just funny
there’s walkie-talkies for everyone here!! jungkook likes intercoms, and seokjin like yelling!!
“WHY ME AGAIN?? I’VE ALREADY FOLDED-“
“there’s a literal rat and i need yOU to catch it!! you know that i hate rodents!!”
him and jungkook are forever gonna be on this eldest-youngest brother dynamic and while jungkook pouts and shared the extras that he gets, jin is the one who kills the bugs :D
10/10 totally fair
fine then!! he’ll catch that goddamn rat
that leaves you and yoongi. alone.
“why did you come so early this time?”
you ask out of courtesy, genuinely baffled too because you know that yoongi’s a creature of habit
yoongi’s eyes pop out, head fervently shaking no
“i’m typically not the type to do that, no.”
???
is he-
are you-
are you both talking about the same thing
yoongi’s face flushes in embarrassment, his mind just then registering what you were actually saying
“o-oh! it’s because last night, i dreamt of the sweater i saw here last week!!"
oh right
typical :D
"need me to find it for you or do you already know the aisle?"
you align the folded shirts by the corners as you pass, looking at yoongi briefly while he trails behind yoh
“not unless you pulled it out already."
he's hoping that dear god you haven't
the black sweater with the moon aND buildings on it and when you turn on the flash, the windows of said building reflect it right back???
he SHUDDERS just by thinking about it
it’s gonna go with everything!!! an instant boost of serotonin every time he sees it
"for you, yoongi?" you shake your head, a small smile on your face that he only sees every once in a while, "i'd comb through the entire stock room."
wait
that’s sweet :((
“i’ll hold you to that.”
you know what??? you're less cranky when it's only him, and a couple of hundred people less
your smiles aren't for customer-service and you don't have misplaced clothes hanging from your shoulders and your walkie-talkie isn't talking in latin
or when no one’s asking you to reach something from the top shelf
or when you’re on the way to the intercom because a kid got separated from their mother
or when someone’s approaching for a refund for a shirt who has a stain that’s 100% no doubt customer error
his feet immediately move on its own because he’s memorized the outline of this too many times
there it is!!!
the sweater he’s dreamt about is already on his hands, only a handful few left
the piece is considerably more expensive than majority of the items here, so that’s why they’re all spaced-out instead of being clustered altogether
yoongi rarely goes to the dressing room, regardless if it's a full-house or not!!
he could just look at an item and immediately tell that it’s made for him ta know
he's beyond sure that this sweater fits him perfectly, but he may want to be here a little longer
yoongi may have say inside one of the fitting rooms and spent a little time in it just to sit on the chair inside, not fitting the sweater at all
he's gotten his item SO quick and he wished he could've just walked slower or pretended to not know where it was!!!
he wants to spend a little more time here
you don't hate yoongi!!! but sometimes he could just be... yoongi
he's quite talkative and strikes it whenever, making you unguarded
he could be overbearing but like an overbearing kind of nice
yoongi’s nice!! he’s the type to ask a lot of questions sure, but he’s also the type that would point the other customers what to buy and where to find it
he’s the type to find an obvious faulty stitch on a shirt, but he’d just quietly exchange it instead of asking for the manager
he’s the type you wouldn’t want to stand behind in line because it would take a long time for him to finish, but he’s also the same one who buys giftcards with generous amounts for family and friends
yoongi’s kind of cool and that’s cemented on your mind
"what do you got for me?"
he materializes out of nowhere, spooked because you thought he already ringed up and was out of the store already
it just happens to be ten minutes before opening and you’re doing last-minute arrangements on a new spread
well, yoongi most certainly is still here and his attention’s piqued
“we have... a new collection."
you clear your theory, awkwardly gesturing because you’re more than aware that yoongi hasn’t seen this either
“yeah, i know that. but like, what's going on??" he gestures to the displays and racks, squinting his eyes, "what's the theme? what's the material?"
:O
uhm you haven't read the brief about this
you aren't even sURE if there is one!!
doesn't everyone make up something on the spot in retail
or atleast that’s what seokjin tells you
“the theme," you clear your throat, scratching your temple before gesturing towards the full rack, "is everything."
“everything?
yoongi’s eyebrow is raised, not expecting that answer at all
you look back to the new feature, and nOW that you think about it,, there's no cohesion at all
“y-yes. the shop was going for the theme of uhm, everything... all at once — yeah, that's it. everything all at once."
it’s a nice way to put it when not one bit of the new collection goes together
“hmmmm. i like it,” yoongi nods solemnly and tilts his head, “and the material?"
"the material?"
you repeat, eyesight not the best so you can’t really tell anything off the bat or uh aNYTHING really
"t-the material is shirt."
they're all shirts!!! that’s it
yoongi grimaces in disgust, the first time you’ve seen of it
“what?? you can't say that.”
he outsretches his hand to the nearest article, holding it up by the hanger
"this, right here, is satin. see how it shines like silk, but doesn't feel like silk?"
uhm yes
you have a gist of what he’s saying but yes
yoongi picks up a pink button shirt this time, flipping it inside out
"this, is silk charmeuse. look at the inside, is it smooth?"
okay where is he going with this
he urges you to put your hand on the fabric and uhhh you didn't sign up for this???
it looks smooth, sure!! end of discussion
"yea-..."
“it's not. it's rough. it is smooth, but it's dull. silk charmeuse is still silk, but the backing it has is different from the lustrous part."
okay yoongi
you’re starting to feel uncomfortable and it has to do something with the tone he’s using on you
“can't believe you didn't know that!! how about this," he plucks out a shirt with a tiny print at the middle of it, "cotton or polyester and rayon?"
"i don't-"
there’s an itch in your neck that you want to scratch, a tell-tale sign that you just wANT to remove yourself from this situation
“come on!! it's a dead giveaway!!"
:((
why is he being like this?
toon-teen-ten!
“y/n, panty section please. jin almost got bit by a mouse and he needs comforting. two minutes until opening, people!!"
jungkook speaks at the right moment, and jin’s little incident is enough of a reason for you to bolt
yoongi's still looking at you but you can't afford to embarrass yourself further
“bye. happy shopping."
huh?
yoongi’s face falls when you leave as cold as that!! typically when you were going to show him out (when it’s regular shop hours), there’d be a smile :((
there's not even a customer service smile :(((
yoongi goes to the only cashier that's open so far and it happens to be far away from you and a teary seokjin
seokjin's fine he didn't even get bit!! that much he could say
but are you okay? uhhh you kinda went cold on him by the end and he thought he started on a good note
yoongi doesn't visit for another week and you don't find yourself counting the days until you meet him again
you did not have a devil wears prada moment where anne hathaway has an epiphany for fashion knowledge
you just felt belittled at a job that isn’t exactly what you wanted anyways
needed, yes. but wanted? not exactly
you know that basic knowledge about clothes is required in a retail job like this and you have it!! you do!!!!
you’d know more if only there were actual available resources for employees to know!!! nobody besides yoongi asks anyways
you’d know if you have time to yourself and aren’t working two jobs trying to make ends meet and tHEN you could pull up a book or something!!!
you’d know if your life is as lax as yoongi’s and could have the budget to buy new things for yourself every single week
“jin, i need to ask you something.”
he hums as called, looking at you briefly until you get on with it
“do you know the difference between silk and silk charmeuse?"
he shrugs casually while you're sitting inside one of the closed-off fitting rooms to catch a break, sharing a burger because the store’s packed-packed
why did you ask him? it’s too easy
“one's made by worms, and the other's a pokémon."
that,.,., could not possibly be righti* it brings you a laugh and you honestly don’t even try to correct him
it’s 11:15 and you kNOW it’s time to resume your shift, straightening your shirt because atleast one (1) person would hound you when they see a familiar red lanyard
oh you’re hounded alright
“hi! almost thought you were hiding from me for a second.”
yoongi????
oh
you haven’t seen him for a week and you don’t know what to feel in all honesty
"anyways, is this sweater wool or cotton?"
wow
you're quite speechless as he holds up the item
really?
this thing all over again???
why are you even surprised
the only thing that yoongi gets your customer service smile, fishing your hand from inside the sweater to show him
“70% wool."
that's it???
NO GOOD MORNING????
you're mad at him, aren't you?
he knew it :((
he knew something was wrong but he just didn’t know what
he’s gonna fix this!! he will
which is why the very next day, he takes the day off from his work and comes to the store at a time he knows you’d surely be there
you're on cashier duty and you like it actually :D
you have an option to sit and the way you’re just gonna scan pricetags (and occasionally enter the code if it doesn’t work) is really appealing
“good morning!"
you’re about to grab the items from the basket laid on the counter and your eyes could only see the very familiar hand
the same one you’ve seen go through racks and racks
yoongi??
he sets his items one by one, buying himself more time
the first one is the same exact sweater he came to wait for before opening
“you already bought this."
you tell him even before you could hold it back, looking back at him briefly before you scan the tag
“i know. i just wanted to see you."
oh
oh
yoongi threw a bunch of other items (individually) so it would be a longer talk, but you scan each item quickly that he’s grabbing things from the counter
hand sanitizer!!! hair ties!!! keychains!!!! yeah he needs them
“i'm sorry that i tend to spring shit on you most of the time. you don't need to know the difference between silk and silk charmeuse."
you only chuckle then, a meek smile on your face
"it's okay, yoongi.”
“it's not."
... it’s not?
yoongi fidgets, opening and closing his mouth like he’s nervous!!! he’s never had his credit card cancelled but he could only feel that this type of jitterness is more than the former
“can i make it up to you? no lanyards, no baskets, no customer service?? i don't wanna fuck things up with you."
“don't feel obligated-"
“i know i could be a condescending ass who expects people to automatically know fabric and whatnot, but i wanna make it up to you."
alright yoongi’s a really good apology-maker
you mIGHT be even flustered a little
“you're holding the line, yoongi.”
“i cleared my schedule."
“i haven’t!!!!!” - guy in the back
“dinner at my place at 8. i-i promise to make your hard-earned break after your shift worthwhile!!!"
hmmm
maybe that wouldn’t hurt
“okay. just because you're holding the line."
“fine by me."
:))
yoongi transfers all the items he bought, all but one, to his tote bag
he hands back the paper bag to you, scribbling his address on the back of the receipt before he does
he lingers a little while at the counter, the people behind him ALREADY switching lanes to the one seokjin’s just opened beside you
it's the sweater that he has too
yoongi scratches the back of his head, this time being the meek one
“what? m-matching sweaters for our first date. s'cute."
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Text
Stuck Together
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Summary:
Your coworker Seungcheol likes to sing at work, and every day it makes you fall for him more and more.
1.2K words
-
Most people thought it was a bit of a hassle to work with Choi Seungcheol.
Not because he wasn’t kind.
No, Choi Seungcheol was one of the kindest people that you worked with.
He was always so gentle with everyone. Greeting every employee and guest with an infectiously kind smile that spread wide from ear to ear. You didn’t think there had ever been a time when you hadn’t come in and had Sengcheol greet you loudly from across the restaurant with a hearty laugh and a wave.
You knew it was dangerous working with him quite honestly.
Hearing him laugh near you at the stupidest thing that Kwon Soonyoung just said andinding it so funny that he had to lean on Lee Jihoon just for support was always such a heartwarming event to watch. You adored how unashamed he was to tease Kim Mingyu when he messed up something. Most people were wary of him and Jeon Wonwoo- but Seungcheol had never been afraid to poke the bears.
And you couldn’t help the way that your heart leaped that time you accidentally walked in on Seungcheol comforting Chan after a particularly hard shift. The customers were all so cruel and hard to work with- and Chan had barely been able to keep up on his position.
So, when you walked in on Seungcheol’s hand on Chan’s shoulder, and his other hand on his own leg, peering up at Chan with kind eyes, you had almost fallen in love right there.
But ultimately, what had been the tipping point of your huge crush on Seungcheol had been the fact that he sang so often at work.
You thought he picked it up from Boo Seungkwan. It wasn’t necessarily common prior to Sengkwan’s hire for Seungcheol to outwardly sing in front of everyone. But one day Seungkwan heard him and joined in and the day ended in a karaoke session on shift.
It was cute- but most people thought it was annoying fast.
You enjoyed however hearing what was playing on the Sengcheol radio that day.
He had a beautiful voice that you could listen to for days and days on end without stopping.
“Don’t even know your heart,” he sang softly as he looked up at the screen before him, beginning to busy himself with work. You looked over at Seungcheol, wondering momentarily if he had somehow managed to hear your thoughts but you could tell by the fact he wasn’t looking at you that wasn’t actually so.
You sighed and looked back down at your own work.
“Baby please have mercy on me-”
“Seungcheol please,” Jeonghan interrupted. SEungcheol shot him a look.
“What don’t like the song?”
“You’re always singing,” Jeonghan replied back. “Geez, can you not sing for like... Two seconds?”
Seungcheol snickered, but your heart just sank knowing that meant Seungcheol wouldn’t sing again for at least an hour- probably the entire rest of the time Jeonghan was there.
Seungcheol was the kind of person that always thought about other people. Which meant when someone asked him not to do something or to do something, he almost always listened. He was close to pretty much all of the customers because of that.
How could anyone not love someone as kind as Sengcheol after all? He was your secret charm at work. Whenever things got hard and customers got angry- slide Seungcheol into the situation and they pretty much always left with smiles on their faces.
So sometimes, because you loved the mood boost being around Seungcheol got you, you joined in on his singing. Never loud enough for him to hear. Just quiet enough that you got that serotonin boost and could making it easily through the day.
“There’s nowehere we need to be, I’ma get to know you better,” Seungcheol sang softly. “Kinda hope we’re here forever.”
“There’s nobody on these streets,” You sang with him. He didn’t seem to notice as he sang the next line, so you decided to continue: Ain’t no other way that I can spend it.”
Still Seungcheol didn’t notice as he sang Jsutin Beiber’s part of the song, so you contined singing the song with him under your breath as you worked. Eventally you weren’t even listening to yourself as you two sang together.
“I lock the do-,” you sang.
“You are!”
You jumped at Seungcheol’s suddenly loud outburst- throwing your hands in the air.
“Wh-What?”
“You’re singing Ariana’s part with me aren’t you?” He accused a large smile on his face. “I never took you as a singer! I can’t believe this is the first time you have ever sang with me before!”
You stared at Seungcheol, your face turning red the longer he spoke. You weren’t nearlly as outspoken and... Performative as Seungcheol was. You couldn’t stand the attention.
“No I wasn’t,” you laughed nervously, brushing your hair out of your face. “You must be hearing things.”
Seungcheol gave you a skeptical look and the way his nose and eyebrows scrunched made your heart leap. How could a guy like him be single?
“I know I wasn’t hearing things,” Seungcheol replied. He tried to catch your gaze but you quickly looked away, so he came up on the other side of you, his face suddenly in yours.
You jumped back but didn’t risk looking away from him this time.
“What?”  You whined. He smiled at you, a borderline crazy expression on his face as he stared at you. He reached forward- suddenly and without warning and took your face in his hands. Your eyes instantly widened at the contact.
“O-Oh,” you said in surprise. Seungcheol’s eyes narrowed at you, making himself appear much more suspicious of you then he had before. You didn’t think he had ever been this close to you before.
“Sing with me, songbird,” he mumbled. You couldn’t really find it in yourself to lie to him again.
“He knows,” you started, watching as Seungcheol’s lips spread into a bright smile. “Dirty secrets that I keep, does he know it’s kiillin me?”
You turned away from Seungcheol to return to work
“He knows, he knows.”
Falling into the harmonies with Seungcheol was easier than your actual job, and actually singing with him made your job more fun. You two spun around each other as you bagged food, and sang the song, going through one another’s parts like it was something you two did on the daily.
You had always thought that Seungcheol’s voice and your own complimented one another, but today was like a whole new revelation none the less.
“I know what you did last summer-” You two sang spinning out into the center of the room. This caught the attention of the lady who was in the window, with her phone out and a large smile on her lips.
“You two are adorable. The cutest little couple I’ve seen in a while.”
Your face flamed red once again and you frantically gestured towards the customer.
“Oh no I think-” “I always wonder what I did,” Seungcheol interrupted, pulling you into his side before you could keep going. “To get a person as wonderful as the one in my arms right now.”
The drop in his tone told you something that you hadn’t been expecting... He was speaking sincerely. Did he actually like you? It hadn’t initially seemed possible but looking at him now...
“I think that too... All the time. He’s just too good for me.”
Seungcheol laughed softly.
“Then I guess we have some talking to do after work today, because suddenly I can’t seem to let you go.”
“Just hold me close.”
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juniorgman187 · 3 years
Text
Love & Other Drugs (Spencer Reid Imagine) Part 1
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*not my gif
Summary: Toxicologist Reader meets her match in the ever intriguing Doctor Reid. Category: Fluff Couple: Fem!Reader x Spencer Reid Content Warning: drug addiction, love addiction, neglect Word Count: 4.1k
This is going to be a two-part series. 
✧・゚: *✧・゚:* 
Love is an addiction.
Not only is there behavioral evidence that suggests love can be addictive, but thanks to recent studies, we also have neurochemical and neuroimaging evidence to support the theory. Multiple feel-good chemicals are released when we are in love. These include dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin.
The roots of love addiction extend back to early childhood. A history of abandonment, neglect, or inadequate/ inconsistent nurturing can lead to a love addiction. Like other addictions, a love addiction is often the result of insecure attachment patterns.
It may sound strange to equate love with addiction. After all, love is perhaps the most positive of emotions; it results in many health benefits and has life-lengthening effects. It may only be, then, that a dysfunctional relationship to love is necessary in order to consider a person "addicted."
Love is like a drug and we don't care about the long term side effects; we just care about how high we can get.
So with that being said . . . how high could I get?
A question that I would soon find the answer to following a visit from the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit. 
“I’m Agent Hotchner. We spoke on the phone briefly.” 
The dark-haired man with the gentle eyes and dimples greeted. I recognized his voice, despite it being deeper in person. No complaints, though.
“So what was it you needed a toxicology report on?” 
Fully expecting the same gentleman to respond, a younger man behind him cut into the conversation, answering for the agent.
“This cloth,” He dangled the evidence bag in front of my face and practically let it drop when I took it from him, rather than making sure the bag landed safely in my hands like he should’ve given the fact that this was something vital to their case. So valuable, even, they requested to have the results expedited. 
“I suspect it’s chloroform, but they said we should bring it to a professional to be sure.” He finished his statement by pursing his lips into a thin, straight line, which oddly enough, I think was his version of a smile, and a not very agreeable one at that. 
Simply by the way he handed me the evidence bag and the tone of his voice as he said, “professional,” like the word stung his tongue and tasted like acid, I knew he was offended that he wasn’t deemed fit to analyze the chemical on the cloth. He surely thought of himself in the highest regard and to ask for help from someone else, much less a woman, was insulting to him. I was certain that he wasn’t doing this out of his own will, but that his superior most likely assured him it was just a precaution so as not to bruise that fragile ego. I had a feeling the only person he would listen to was a male superior, most likely from the absence of a proper one. A father. 
I could be a profiler, too, you know?
“Great. I’ll let you know what I find when I’m done.” 
“I’ll come with you.” 
I should’ve anticipated he’d have the audacity to invite himself as if this was a social gathering of some sort, which it was most certainly not. If anything, it was degrading to me that he insisted he come. Like he didn’t trust me to be on my own, like he was doubting my intelligence. I didn’t need a babysitter, chaperone, or supervisor, and I was going to make sure he knew that. 
“What’s your name again?” I asked, merely as a subliminal reminder that if he had said his name, I forgot it within seconds because he was that forgettable. 
“Dr. Spencer Reid.”
He didn’t ask for my name in return, and I had to ponder if it was his way of saying that he just didn’t care. How classy of him. 
Two can play that game. 
When he stepped foot into my beloved lab, or my lair as I liked to call it, I could feel the environment being tainted with his passive-aggressiveness, and I almost wanted to push him right back out the door so the dark cloud in the room would leave with him, but I settled for a kinder approach, politely asking if he could wear the appropriate protective gear if he insisted being so close to the chemical - the chemical I was to inspect. Again, the chemical I was to inspect - me. Not him - me. 
“No, it’s alright. I’ll just be right here.” 
I suppose his refusal to abide by my simple precaution of wearing a coat, goggles, and gloves was made up for by his promise to maintain a distance away from me, so I didn’t push the topic any further out of fear that he might change his mind and come closer and meddle with my space. I had my own personal bubble around me and I would go feral if he invaded it, whether it was knowingly or unknowingly. 
We’d spent probably two hours or so there in silence, which I quite liked, but I couldn’t help but notice how often he’d excuse himself to leave for the bathroom. I let it slide since I was too busy with my toxicology report anyway, and why would I complain about those few extra minutes of peace I got when he was away?
“This is so old fashioned,” I said in sheer awe as I inspected the small square of fabric that had clearly been doused with a euphoriant. “I haven’t seen this being used as a sedative since like the 1920s in those soundless black and white movies.” 
I was too engaged with the findings of my microscope to pay attention to the “info-dump” that was brewing from the lanky doctor so it came as a shock to me when all that I had said in light of the situation would be refuted with facts. 
“Actually, Chloroform was a popular anesthetic from the mid-1800s to around 1900, mostly around the time of the Civil War - not the 1920s.” 
I pulled my eye away from the lens of the microscope to inspect the speaking specimen. He looked quite proud of himself for knowing and saying what he did, and for that, I was almost perturbed all the more by his bravado, but given his physical stature, I suppose the skill of his brain was how he compensated for what he lacked in appearance, so I let it pass to boost his ego. 
“Yeah, I was never really a history buff. I guess that’s why I got degrees in Chemistry and Toxicology instead.” Hitting him right back with that pursed-lip smile at the end, mirroring his own. 
My comment didn’t settle well, and I could tell from the way he scratched at his arm like my words were making him itchy as they seeped into his skin. But I liked to make people uncomfortable, as awful as that sounds. Yet I had a sneaking suspicion, I wasn’t the true cause for why he was itching his arm.
“But um, you . . . you were actually right about the silent films. Those were exceedingly popular in the 1920s.” 
His sheepish words seemed to suggest a surrender. As if he was giving me the satisfaction of knowing I was right about something so that I might not be closed off to him entirely, which I was most certainly not, even if it seemed like it. He might have aggravated me slightly with his coldness, but he was arguably the most interesting character out of that team, and I had a feeling he didn’t usually act like this. 
Antsy, fidgeting. 
Unkempt in appearance. 
Often lost in thought. 
Depressed breathing. 
Pinpoint pupils. 
The signs were all there, but that wasn’t what surprised me. I was just surprised that in a team of profilers, no one else seemed to notice him and his addiction, and if they did - they just didn’t care. 
“What drugs are you on?” 
I asked bluntly with a slight head tilt to deepen the notion of my harmless curiosity to which he definitely misinterpreted as a harmful curiosity. I was never one to address things with subtlety and grace, but it seemed like a waste of time to approach this situation with any other attitude than candidness. If my intuition was correct, which I knew it was, he was months into his substance abuse and at this rate, if he wasn’t receiving any help, he’d need to soon. 
“Excuse me?”
“I may not be a profiler, but I’m a toxicologist and I can tell when someone’s on drugs in the same way you can tell when someone’s lying - through studying their behavior. And so far, I’ve noticed that the left cuff of your shirt is unbuttoned, which makes sense considering you’re right-handed, giving you easier access and making it faster to inject whatever it is your taking, but I should warn you - you’re not fast enough. Even though your ‘visits’ to the bathroom have shortened minute by minute, I haven’t been blind to the fact that you’ve gone there at least five times since you’ve been here, and don’t even bother lying. I know you aren’t peeing because you haven’t touched that cup of coffee or the bottled water whatsoever. So let me ask you again - what drugs are you on?”
From the baffled look on his face, I could tell he had never met his match. 
Not until now. 
His eyes were narrowing in on me darkly, and I feared to see his “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” duality, but I was also curious if the oncoming switch in personality would reveal anything more to me about what he was using. However, that was quickly cut short by his sudden burst out of the room, giving me no opportunity to see his fit of rage unfold, and I had to believe that he knew if he stayed a second longer, I would’ve easily been able to distinguish the drug he was on. I wouldn’t put it past him, he was smart enough, that much I could admit. 
I followed him with my eyes as he flew out of the lab, dodging the stupefied Agent Gideon. 
“Reid?” Gideon called out to him, as if he was a dad checking on his hormonal teenager, but neither I, nor the agent, heard a response back. 
Now, turning his attention back to me, Agent Gideon entered the lab, clapping his hands together and rubbing them together in anticipation, completely disregarding what happened only moments ago. It wasn’t even like he was truly uncomfortable and trying to brush it aside so that I wouldn’t be uncomfortable, it just genuinely seemed like he didn’t care. He didn’t feel the need to bring any more attention to the situation, but judging from his reaction, I had doubts on if there had been any attention being paid to the doctor’s drug addiction - ever. 
“So, what do you got for me?” 
“Two things - first, this is clearly Deuterated Chloroform, which is an isotopologue of Chloroform with a single deuterium atom. CDCl 3 is a common solvent used in NMR spectroscopy-” I paused when I realized my toxicology jargon was flying right over his head. “So in other words, this type of Chloroform can daze or knock out people even when it's consumed in small doses.”
“And the second thing?”
Without missing a beat, I asked, “What’s up with that guy?”
His hands unfolded to reach out on either side of him in a shrug as a sign of incomprehensiveness. “Spencer?” He finally pointed with his thumb to the door, which Dr. Reid had just stormed out of. 
I nodded. 
“Ehh, I prefer to leave it alone.” He threw his hands up in surrender, but I wasn’t about to let him maintain his attitude of ignorance. 
“Why? Isn’t it better if he talks about it? I mean, it’s obvious there’s something going on. He’s clearly displaying habits of an addict.” 
The room was shot dead with silence. I could tell he couldn’t believe I’d just said that so bluntly, addressing what I assumed he had yet to even come to terms with. 
“Agent Gideon, I mean this as no insult to you, but I’d surely hope that, even as someone that analyzes behavior for a living, you were sincerely unaware of his addiction and not deliberately avoiding addressing it only because it makes you uncomfortable. Addiction is a very common thing, more common that people would like to believe, and I would hate for Dr. Reid to feel that he’s alone in a room full of people that could help him - that should help him. Or that he can’t turn to any of you without being treated like he's a victim in one of your cases.” 
I wasn’t exactly sure which of my words was the one that crossed the line, but I knew, as a whole, I ventured far beyond the boundary. He didn’t even answer me verbally, but his body language did the talking, and if I heard it correctly, he was dumbfounded by my audacity. 
“You have a good day, Miss.” He finally said with a forced smile, while snatching the evidence bag from my hand. 
Amicably, I had to let it go the minute Agent Gideon left my lab. I shouldn’t care more about the doctor’s wellbeing than his own coworkers, than his own team - than his own family. And even though I was incredibly passionate about proper drug use, I couldn’t be too invested in the care of Dr. Reid. At least not until he started caring about me, too. 
After my minor back-to-back confrontations, I was more than ready to go home. Once I cleaned my station and removed my gear, I was out the door. When I got to the parking lot, I saw that on either side of my car, there were two black SUVs I’d never seen here before. The government license plates were all that I needed to see to come to the conclusion that they belonged to the BAU. Having just instigated something with both Spencer and Agent Gideon, I knew I had to leave before they did, otherwise I might risk running into them, which would’ve been utterly humiliating. 
It was the sudden chirp of familiar voices that caused me to bolt into my car and try and start it, but naturally, buried somewhere within the Bermuda Triangle that was my purse were my keys, and I couldn’t find them in time.
“Hey, I’ll catch up with you guys later.” I faintly heard from behind me. 
Keys! Keys! Keys! Where are you?
With animalistic speed, I rummaged through my purse, literally starving for the feeling of my fingers touching the jagged metal and the remote of my keys before I’d have to -
“Looking for these?” 
I tore my eyes away from my purse to peer up at the sound of my jingling keys as they hung from the index finger of the man I shouldn’t care about. I wryly chuckled, taking them with a goony smile when he handed them to me with much more caution than earlier when he handed me the evidence bag. 
“I saw you left them behind in the lab and I figured you might need those. Especially if you’re trying to run away from me.” 
“I’m not trying to run away from you.” 
My words were unaffecting, only leaving him with more reason to doubt me, evidenced by his deadpan stare. 
“Really! I wasn’t!” It was beyond me why I thought speaking more loudly would make him digest my words any better, but at any rate, it did. 
“Okay, okay, relax. I believe you.”
We shared a brief laugh, the euphoria of which was fleeting, and then, we were right back to where we were before. Back to square one - not knowing what to say. The uncomfortable silence pressed me to leave, but he must’ve registered my sudden movement as a tell that he needed to say something so captivating, so shocking, so bewitching, that would stop me from leaving. 
“Thank you.”
To say that I was baffled would be a gross understatement. I was in complete awe and disbelief. Hearing those words from his lips was enough to stun me, but even more so because of how sincere it sounded. 
“I was going to come back and apologize when I overheard you and Gideon talking about me. You left before I got the chance to thank you for what you said back there. So . . . thank you.”
And yet again, he thanked me, and surprisingly, it wasn’t any less pleasing to the ear. 
“Yeah, of course. I was just worried about you that’s all.” Unknowingly, I revealed too much out of the blinding bliss of the moment. 
“You were worried about me?” 
His own question brought me to the realization of what I’d just said, and in his tone of voice, I also became aware of the connotation behind it. He already knew the answer and just wanted to hear me say it again, so I nudged him playfully to avoid reciting my confession. 
“Actually, I take that back. Why should I worry over someone who didn’t even bother to know my name?” 
He looked quite offended; his neck recoiled in distaste. 
“I know your name.”
“You didn’t ask me for it.”
“That doesn’t mean I don’t know it, (y/n).” Drawing out my name just to demonstrate his honest knowledge of it. 
“Actually, it’s Doctor.” I corrected, earning a hearty laugh from him, one that made him throw his head back with an open mouthed smile. 
In my playful jest, he was reminded of himself and his own uncannily similar humor. He could see himself in me. (Mind you, this distinction was completely unknown to me). It was only he that could see we were foils of each other - parallel lines that ran side by side, never fated to intersect but forging a connection in spite of that; a connection formed on the basis of close proximity and congruence in shape.
“Anyway, thanks for bringing my keys. I’ll see you later.” 
Our goodbye was too quick, I knew that, but I couldn’t, in good conscience, keep talking to him and avoid bringing up the conversation of his addiction. I wasn’t nuanced like that. I was too eager to solve problems head on to keep my determination at bay. I couldn’t dance around the very thing that was killing him slowly. I just couldn’t. Had I drawn out our conversation any longer, I’d sooner touch that tender wound he restlessly picked at; a wound that might never properly or fully heal if he kept doing so. I knew he was too stubborn to let me clean it, so in favor of his pride, he insisted he could fix it himself and simply put a band-aid on it in an attempt to do just that, foolishly thinking it would be enough. However, like a real gash, tear, or cut, it may only be worsened by the lack of adequate disinfection. He could just as easily reap the benefits as he could suffer the consequences of the absence of a proper enabling agent that stings badly, but successfully targets the root of the problem. The choice was up to him. Would he suffer the consequences or reap the benefits? To be quite frank, there’s no way around that disinfectant. It’s that or nothing, and I found myself to be the confrontation to the problem that he lacked. So now that I’d addressed it, it was up to him to decide what to do. I had done all that I could, and I had to accept that. 
Maybe a minute more of talking to him and I might’ve even seen that connection he was seeing. I assure you, a few more soulful glances was all it would take to kill me in cold blood. If you could get intoxicated on someone’s eyes, I’d be drunk on his. I saw worlds behind them - raging waters of words unspoken bursting from overflowing dams, calm seas of his thank you’s, maybe even lazy rivers of useless stored information and memorized book passages I could dawdle in forever. An overwhelming guilt consumed me when I realized I’d only been staring at them for as long as I had to probe further and satisfy my own selfish desires. I felt all the worse for the unsuspecting object of my gaze who was led to the hopeful, naive notion that I was looking at him out of admiration. He had no clue what I was really doing. 
I was profiling him. 
Earlier in the day, I would’ve gloated about my ability to use his own job against him by employing the skill of profiling, but now, it was different. He was different. The guilt was escalating quickly and I made haste to get in my car, not even waiting to catch his reply to my sudden goodbye before I shut the door. If I had to assume, he must’ve said something in agreement because the minute I turned on my ignition, he stepped out of the way, letting me leave with no protests. Quite haphazardly, I drove out of my parking spot, reducing him to just a blurry figure in my rear view mirror that would haunt my dreams at night and occupy my thoughts in the day. Consider it merely a precaution to part from him so promptly. I needed my distance before I did something we both would have regretted. 
Before I started to love him. 
. . . 
“Positive for Alprazolam. Positive for Carboxy-THC,” I mumbled to myself while I jotted down the results of my preliminary toxicology report. You’d often find me in this state and by that I mean, it’s been more than one occasion where someone walked in on me talking to myself. I found that it was easier to make note of things when I spoke it out loud, even if just to myself in a hushed tone. “Negative for -”
“Am I interrupting you?” 
I pulled my eye away from the lens and upwards to the voice beckoning me at the door. To my surprise, it was Spencer. 
“No, not at all. What’s up?” 
As he made his way to my station, I instinctively shot up in my seat to fix my posture into one more ladylike and graceful, pulling my shoulders back as if there was a string tugging at them. It was a stark contrast to my previous hunched over position that rounded my back out almost to the point of looking like a half-circle. It was the most natural position for me, and arguably more comfortable, too, but now in Spencer’s presence, I wanted to assume a more flattering position. For what reason? I didn’t know. 
“I, um . . .” He cleared his throat and adjusted the collar of his shirt frantically. “I’m going to see a film tonight in Sky Meadows State Park. I was wondering if you wanted to come.” 
It was easy to meet his eyes until he said what he did. Reflexively, I looked down at my microscope to shy away from his gaze so he might not see the color forming on my cheeks. 
“That’s really sweet of you,” I began. “But I should probably get this report done first.” 
I wouldn’t have noticed I was tapping my pen on my paper anxiously had it not been for Spencer’s eyes drifting to the motion. After consciously stopping it, he looked back at me, seeing that similarity again. 
I was just as nervous as he was. 
“Yeah, yeah of course. Next time, then.” 
My heart sank at the visceral blow to his ego. I didn’t intend to shatter his confidence, but by the time he turned on his heels with his hands sheepishly shoved into his pockets, I knew it was not the first time someone declined an offer of his. 
“Actually,” One word was enough to draw him in. “I can finish this up another time. I’d much rather catch that movie with you instead.” 
I wish I could tell you that my intentions were pure. That I was going because I knew I would enjoy his company and he would enjoy mine, but that wasn’t it at all. It was that familiar itch again that made my ‘yes’ easier to say. 
The itch to dig deeper and to know more. 
“Great. I’ll wait outside for you.” 
The rational part of me knew that if I couldn’t let his addiction go, it’d be the death of me. But if I did, it’d be the death of him. Literally.
✧・゚: *✧・゚:* 
PART 2 HERE!
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your-world-with-nct · 3 years
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— 2020 has been a wild year for all of us and let me start this off by saying well done to us all for simply making it through this crazy ride - if surviving this year was your biggest achievement, that’s completely okay, and i am so proud of you for being here today !! despite the many, let’s say, mishaps, that have occurred this year, both nct and nctzens have been key in my 2020 and i couldn’t be more grateful for them, so i decided to make a little appreciation post of my own before the year ends 🥰
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— to my followers ;
my petals !! i can’t believe i started off this year with around 300 followers and i’m now nearing 600 🙈 this account has grown so much this year and it’s all thanks to you. if you’ve ever come across my blog, liked or reblogged a piece of mine, sent me an ask, or pressed that follow button, i want you to know that i am so grateful for you and thank you for enjoying my works 🥺 hopefully 2021 will carry the same positive energy here on your-world-with-nct as it has this year and i’m hoping that you’ll be seeing a lot more fics in the near future 👀 once again, i love you petals <3
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— to my dearest mutuals ;
@emistoomultifandom
em bubs !!! i know i could easily do this on any other app or even irl but i just wanted to thank you for making my year 🥺 my lockdown wouldn’t have been the same without us constantly texting and fangirling and our ty track/bfc reunion on my birthday was elite. and obviously this new school year has been an adventure and a half so far, with all the lunch time shenanigans, revision sessions, and exam stress, but i can’t wait for the rest of it 🙈 i am so grateful that i had you by my side during 2020 and i am eternally thankful that i’ll be able to go into the new year with you by my side once again 🧡💚💜
@misfitneo
bella - my first mutual, my tumblr mum - it feels like just yesterday that you wrote a beomgyu blurb for me after seeing my pink theme; now you’ve finished college and i’m applying to colleges 🙈i know we haven’t been able to talk as much recently but that doesn’t mean i appreciate your presence any less - i’m so proud of you for getting into med school and pursuing your dream 🥺🥺 i hope that this year treated you well, and that 2021 treats you even better 💞
@nsheeteeish
loml, almost birthday-twin, fellow leo and xiaojaem stan, fave writer - what do these things have in common? they all apply to v, or, yeet anon, if you remember the days where i ranted to you about my crush and you were a baby stay 😪 not only have you delivered such amazing content on ur writing and gif blogs, but you have provided so much comfort and joy to me whenever we message with dilay 🤧 i look forward to checking your blog every day for new posts and my twt and insta notifs in case you’ve sent me something or you’ve seen what i sent you 🙈 the fact that you think of me when you see certain things just warms my heart and you’re just such a caring person in general, thank you for being a part of my 2020 v, all the best wishes for your 2021 🖤
@cloudyangers
dilay !!! my resident yangqi and the person i think of straight away whenever i see yangyang 😚 i remember when you first requested that e2l chenle blurb back in 2019 and now the only chenle stan between us is v 😁 finding you on this app again after i forgot what ur skz blog’s url was, was just amazing and i don’t know what my tumblr experience would be like without me being able to reconnect with you 🥺 thank you for being able to make me laugh effortlessly with our lack of geography knowledge and our random antics, i will always look forward to seeing the username @cloudy_____ on my dash and screaming over renhyuckyang (+ sungchan 👀) with you for years to come 🤍
@nctsoftarchives
andi bb, my fellow dad!johnny stan 🥺 seeing you post a jaemin birthday blurb for me after your return to tumblr was so sweet and i can’t believe your first post after coming back was dedicated to me 🤧 i remember the day i first messaged you and you were gushing over how you were a big fan of mine and i said the same about you - we were just going back and forth about how much we love each other’s work 😌 you are such a talented writer and you are so full of love - wishing all the best for you in the coming new year babie 🥰
@jensungf
coming across leyna’s blog after reading that jsmr fic was the best decision, because not only have i befriended a brilliant writer, but also a jensung enthusiast who is just the kindest 🥺🥺 i think now would be a good time to tell you that despite jeno’s bias wrecking antics back in august, i actually bias jisung now 😃 i know we haven’t talked in a while, because of our busy schedules, but i hope you’re resting well and i hope that 2021 won’t be as hectic for you 💟
@doyoungcore
joyce, i know we only started talking recently but the serotonin boost both you and your works have given me this year is just incredible and i am so thankful for your warm personality on your blog and for your amazing fics 🤧 i started off as a silent reader who gushed about your writing in the tags but now i’m friends with such a talented writer and we just casually ramble about doie and jaems biases and writing struggles,,, wow 🤯 (btw took some of ur tips on editing headers 🙈) i hope that next year we can expand our friendship and that i can continue to give you the feedback you deserve 🥺💕
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— favourite reads of the year ;
i have reblogged all of these to my main @/lovelycharm05 before, but i just wanted these masterpieces on here with everyone since these fics are so memorable and enjoyable to me <3 (beware there is lots of me gushing over how f&%#ing good all these writing techniques and plot devices are - can you tell i’m an eng lit nerd)
@nsheetee - moonlight café
obviously v released so many iconic pieces this year but this series was just *chef’s kiss* coffee shop au’s are the cutest to me because you can do so many different things with them, and you truly showcased that through each members’ part. although i am nahyuck biased (out of all the 00 liners), i have a soft spot for jeno’s part 🥺🤧 but that doesn’t mean i’m not obsessed with jealous jaems and cocky hyuck 🙈
@notnctu - to all the j’s i loved before
the very first work i ever read of yours, joyce 🥺🥺 i remember seeing an nct network reblog this and after reading through the summary of the series, i was enticed by the plot and i read most of your masterlist whilst waiting for the next parts 🤧 the main character’s relationship with each ‘j’ was unique to them and their interactions were just so sweet to read (except jaemin’s >:( why did my ult’s part have to be the angsty one 😤 jk jk i loved it anyways) special mention to ‘cupid’s arrow’, because that fic was an emotional rollercoaster and i loved that almost as much as i love bestfriend!jungwoo in the last part 😌
@misfitneo - lee haechan’s pride
it would be a sin if i didn’t include this in my top reads this year, pun intended 😌, especially since i have a weakness for mafia aus. i haven’t had the time to read mark or renjun’s parts yet, but from what i read in this fic, i’m sure theirs are just as good, if not better. the storybuilding and the development of the plot are so detailed and intricate and that is what i love in a fic. i already reviewed this on my main with a lengthy description of my favourite parts so i’m gonna keep this short and sweet - if you love haechan, mafia au’s, and enemies to lovers, you need to read this !!
@jensungf - passing clouds + only forever
these fics hit different now that i bias jisung 😭 ‘passing clouds’ was pure angst and as much as it hurt, it was written so beautifully and i loved it so much. ‘only forever’ healed the jisung shaped hole in my heart and made me fall in love with him all over again. the first love vibes he gives off is unbelievable and that innocence was presented perfectly in this 🤧 side note: never let jisung bake for you even if it’s as a peace offering 😖
@hyucksie - in the long run + second first kiss
although ‘sweet talk’ and ‘silent treatment’ are also contenders for some of my favourite fics of the year, these two have taken the cake 😌 the concept itself of time travel and mark and y/n seeing their future child was so creative and the mixed emotions that the characters experienced seeing their future were executed so well and the ending when their actual future selves remembered the day they time travelled 🥺🥺 not to mention the sequel doesn’t feel forced at all, the story flows well, and jealous mark is a cutie 🥰
@luvdsc - not clickbait
i’ve been following cat after i first read ‘i turned my best friend into an e-boy!! (and kissed him)’ and ever since then every piece of hers that i’ve read is simply breathtaking and so engaging. her style of writing is so unique and whenever i read anything of hers i feel so immersed in the fic. the dreamies as youtubers and tiktokers was such a cute concept to me and the little comment section at the end of each fic is probably my favourite part 😳 the way each member’s fic connects to the plot of another is perfect and their cameos in one another’s fic >>> (jisung telling y/n about the tiktok challenge in mark’s fic + cameraman jisung in chenle’s) i could keep talking abt this series for a lot longer but i’ll end it here, also i can’t wait for norensung’s parts 💞💞
@pwarkhans - the neo academy
i’ve probably mentioned my love for ‘the umbrella academy’ before but THIS !!! this series just made me love it even more 🙈 despite yangyang’s part being the only one that’s out, that and the prologue are interesting enough and seeing the 00 liners in this alternate universe is honestly amazing jxjwjxkw jaemin as three and hyuck as two is everything. the brothers’ relationship, especially in yangyang’s part, is so complicated yet so cute and i can’t wait for the rest of the members’ parts 💘
@yongtxt - vintage
when i first stumbled across this series, i was immediately intrigued by the plot, and not just because it was about rapper!mark and singer!y/n🧑‍🦯🧑‍🦯 the side characters (dreamies + doie and jisoo) were so funny and well-written and the plot >>>> i was so invested in the twists and turns of the story, the relief i felt when the conflict was finally resolved and we got our fav musician couple !!
@byunbaekby - apartment b23
i only found this series recently but wow am i invested in the plot already 😭😭 the conflict in the story is realistic and feels like something you could actually relate to. norenmin’s friendship/bond is so strong and evident through the story and the side characters are my babies (heejin, shuhua, lia - ily 🤧) i can’t wait for the rest of this series since i am a sucker for the perfect balance of angst, fluff, and crack in this 🥰
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— favourite works of the year ;
unfortunately i haven’t had enough time to release any fics this year, and i’m hoping that that won’t be the case next year, but here are my top 5 favourite blurbs that i enjoyed writing and reading <3
1:48pm -> dad!johnny
one of the most popular blurbs on my blog to this day 🥺 honestly i get why, who doesn’t love dad!johnny? hyejoo is literally so adorable here and the family dynamics make me soft all over again whenever i reread this piece. also everyone’s reactions and replies to this are so heartwarming because everyone’s just whipped for the suh family 🙈
1:05pm -> soulmate!taeyong
i love soulmate au’s but something always irked me with the permanence of your soulmate like ,,, what if you end up falling out of love with them? then what? that inspired me to write my own take on soulmates, where they aren’t found, but made. taeyong’s character here is just so full of love and you know how much i love lovable boys 🤧 (ever wondered why i ult na jaemin...?)
12:13pm -> boyfriend!mark
7dream!!!! i don’t usually write domestic fluff even though it’s one of the genres i indulge in the most 😔 but when i do, i go all out because everyone needs to know how soft i am for my boys >:( mark’s love for the dreamies is so unique and i love their friendship so much, i had to write about it when i first heard about the 7dream announcement which i definitely did not cry at
11:40pm -> boyfriend!jeno
this was one of the first requests i ever got and i was just so touched than someone personally requested something from me AND it was jeno 🥺🥺 everytime i read the tags under this, everyone is just gushing over jeno and like,,, same 🙈 this type of fluff >>>
waking up with wayv -> wayv reaction
when em first requested this, i didn’t exactly know how to write something for each member without being too repetitive, but in the end, i loved the mini plots i wrote for them and it’s just one of my underappreciated faves 🥰
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— favourite releases of the year ;
just a few of my favourite albums that got me through online school and revision sessions for offline school 🥲 ft. lots of nct + october albums bc that month was PACKED
nct 2020 - resonance pt1 + pt2
nct 127 - neozone: the final round
nct dream - ridin’
wayv - awaken the world
superm - super one
enhypen - border: day one
twice - eyes wide open
txt - minisode1: blue hour
seventeen - semicolon
stray kids - go live + in life
itzy - not shy
conan gray - kid krow
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if you’ve managed to read all the way to the end, congrats for putting up with my lengthy and very sappy sentiment and sorry that you had to go through all of that 😭😭 thank you for being a part of my 2020, i hope that the new year allows us all to have a fresh start and brings us the opportunities we didn’t have this year. happiest new year to you all 🥳 (even tho it’s not 2021 yet when i’m posting this :))
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vanzhuo · 4 years
Note
do you have any tips on how to start a writeblr, specifically how to meet more people and make some cool mutuals? :D i wanna start a writeblr but i don’t know anyone from the community and i feel like it’s not as fun without friends :(
ok so hey, first of all, i’m not good at articulating my thoughts well but here it goes -- there isn’t any one way to start a writeblr. when i’d started mine, i lounged around idly for a couple of months reblogging things from other writeblrs. when i finally mustered up wits to post an intro, some writeblrs reblogged and boosted it so that’s how many people found my blog. but like, at the beginning, i was clueless enough (don’t you dare laugh) to ask @semblanche what a taglist was because i was confused about why everyone was asking to be on it. so yeah. i’m gonna jot down a couple of things you should do if you want to like join the community under the cut since this is getting too long and you should all be saved from making the same mistakes i made at the start. and of course, some tips on networking around the community and finding new mutuals!
1. make an intro post. so the one thing i’ve learnt after changing blogs twice is, make an intro post you are satisfied with. it can be simple one, a text post where you use the header option to announce your writeblr (ex. if i were to make an intro, i’d say kalki’s writeblr) and then i’d put in my name, the kind of stuff i like to read, the kind of stuff i like to write and the wips i am writing. point is, it should be something you like, something that tells something about you. like the first time i did this, my intro said: this girl doesn’t know what she’s doing. the second time: she’s being too pretentious, move on people. so on and so forth. some people prefer using fancy images (i am some people) to introduce their blogs with an image post instead, but you’re fine with or without. one thing you should keep in mind is to like tag a few of your favorite blogs. i didn’t do this the first time round because i wasn’t sure what exactly i was doing but you should all know that if you tag your favorite blogs, then those blogs will (mostly, sometimes mentions mess up like it does with me and tumblr doesn’t notify you about being tagged) definitely reblog and boost it. that way, a lot of people will, if not engage with you, then at least know of your existence. here’s my intro post for this blog, if you want. it’s not very, um, formal because i was sleepy and thought it was funny. 
2. don’t be discouraged by the amount of notes on your intro. listen, i know we’d all feel bad if we had like 7 likes and 2 reblogs alright but don’t be discouraged. i mean now that i go back, my intro post has only about 36 notes. it really just depends on the timing. however, when you start posting content, those 10 people who’ve interacted with your post will like it and will reblog it for everyone to see and when people start seeing your content, they get interested and slowly, you’ll have more people to interact with and more people will discover your content and i think what i’m trying to say is that, the note count does matter but don’t be discouraged if it isn’t enough. it’ll take time but you’ll find a solid footing really soon, writeblr’s a really warm engaging place minus the anon hate people get sometimes. (see: @inheriting. all queen elle did was breathe, guys.) 
3. interact with other people and their content. so yes. it’s not a one side deal. if you want people to find your blog, you’ll have to start looking for more content too. when you see something good, reblog it or comment on it or even send an ask telling them it’s god tier content. that stuff makes up half the amount of serotonin in our brains. seriously. there’s nothing writers like more than people reblogging their posts with incoherent screaming or coming into their asks to tell them something they think is funny. you could even post something like: hey, i’m a new writeblr and i’m looking for content like (enter the genres or tropes you prefer) and if you have wips similar to this, then pls reblog this with their tags. i wanna start engaging more. something like that. yeah.
4. message other writeblrs? ok so this is a thing that i would not recommend doing ONLY because sometimes everything gets lost in my notifs and i don’t see messages for days and i know other writeblrs probably face this too. tumblr automatically reads them and doesn’t lmk and stuff like that. and secondly, most of us don’t really, like, answer dms all the time. sometimes i got something important to say so i’ll go to minnie @medusaswrites or to chel @starshots and scream about it and then when the topic of conversation closes, and it gets awkward (i do this so many times you don’t even know) we go back to ghosting private messages and instead blasting each other’s ask boxes with love. that’s just how this stuff works. but there are plenty of writeblrs who aren’t awkward with private messaging and they will LOVE to talk to you so there’s also that. honestly, i don’t know where i’m going with this so i’ll stop now. 
5. graphics and other things. ok so the main part, and the most important part, about a writeblr blog is the writing. so you’re a good writer, you’re a great writer. that’s not all though. sometimes you need to organize your blog. you use coded tags like tags for a particular character (say, my character tag for katya is oc: katya) and tags for a particular wip and inspo tags, resources tags, aesthetic tags, etc. this helps you organize your blog better. and finally, look, i know most people can’t do photoshop, either because it’s too expensive or too complicated and i get it. photoshop isn’t required honestly, there are tons of other things you can use. what mostly attracts attention is how attractive a blog can be. the layout for your blog for one. the picspam for your wip intro. that sort of thing. they are a couple of apps on phone that are free to use like picsart and canva (it’s on web too and honestly, the one thing you should use. it’s not like photoshop but it does the job and it does the job really well. if you want to ask someone about canva, you should go to raye @vigilantscar. she isn’t a writeblr but she’s good in that department.) also, if you’ve got something to ask about layouts or simple intro post demos and arrangement or the kind of pictures you should choose for them then slide into my dms, i’ll be happy to help.
i think that’s all? like true, writeblr isn’t fun without friends but this community is so nice and open that anyone can join anytime and you’d feel welcome. i also feel like i’ve not been able to get a few points across without sounding ignorant/awkward? or like i might have forgotten a few things? but honestly, i just woke up. also, i’m gonna tag a few blogs here that you should check out for good content in no particular order: @starshots @medusaswrites @carumens @vandorens @liarede @aelenko @inesnenci @kiesinger @medeaes @noloumna @emdrabbles and @inheriting. there are tons of other writeblrs with good content that i’m pretty sure i, with the memory of a goldfish, forgot to mention but. yeah. if you ever get round to posting an intro, tag me! i’ll be happy to interact! 
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successfullyadhd · 4 years
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im 31, and after over a decade of trying to figure out what is wrong with me, my therapist and I are finally thinking it’s ADHD. i’ve had a gut feeling about it for a while and every ADHD post is relatable. now the problem is finding an place that does adult assessments and is affordable (no insurance). do you have any tips on going through the assessment as an adult? and if i can’t afford it, and can’t get medication. how do i ever become the productive focused person i want to be? thanks.
Sorry in advance for the long post... I put the most relevant bits in bold for a TL;DR version.
 I know getting diagnosed as an adult can seem daunting, but you shouldn’t worry too much. While ADHD was once viewed as something that only affected children, it is now widely recognized as a lifelong disorder and you shouldn’t have to fear being dismissed because you weren’t diagnosed early in life. It’s extremely helpful that you have been seeing a therapist, and they also think you have ADHD. Ask them to send over their notes when you do go to the doctor.
As for how to get diagnosed - I’ll start by saying I hate the way American healthcare is set up, as medication and healthcare in general are expensive. I have to move frequently for me and my husband’s jobs (we both work in hospitality, and as the saying goes, “You have to move out to move up!”). Because most (all?) ADHD medications are a Schedule II drug (highly regulated but still legal), I have to get rediagnosed in every new state. I always bring my past history, but most doctors want to complete testing as they are monitored for prescribing stimulants and can lose their license if found to be providing this medication without ample documentation. (All of this to say - I have been through the procedure many times as an adult.) Depending on the state, some doctors also require bloodwork and an EKG to ensure you are healthy enough to receive the medication (although some will accept past test results if done recently enough.) Also depending on the state and doctor, they may have additional requirements. In Florida, my doctor wanted a multitude of tests, and asked for a sleep study to ensure the medication wasn’t causing poor sleep. In California, as part of the Kaiser HMO system, I was required to do periodic drug tests to ensure I wasn’t also using street drugs, and to check that the Adderall was in my system (as a test that I was using it as prescribed, and not selling it). Some states are much easier – Utah, Alabama and West Virginia all were able to diagnose me in one appointment and prescribed the medication same day. Last, a General Practitioner won’t typically prescribe it and will direct you to a psychiatrist. Even if you did have insurance, most don’t cover psychiatrists or if they do, it comes with a different deductible (because obviously mental health isn’t part of regular health (heavy sarcasm)). After diagnosing, you have to meet with the doctor once a month to get the prescription refilled – due to the Schedule II status, they can’t have it on an auto-refill like other medications and they need to ensure you aren’t abusing it or having negative side effects. (although the one good thing to come out of COVID is that it normalized tele-health appointments, since an in-person meeting with a doctor once a month can be difficult to schedule). Even though I have health insurance, I typically pay out of pocket $120 a month for my visit with the doctor, and after insurance and a coupon I pay $73 for two medications (Adderall & Vyvanse). I’m fortunate now to be able to afford that expense – at the times in my life where I couldn’t, I would request a 30 day supply of the more affordable pills and only take medication on days where I couldn’t function without it (such as doing large amounts of paperwork) and try to use learned behavior techniques the rest of the time, to stretch out my resources.
As far as what goes into the actual diagnosis – doctors most commonly use a questionnaire about your daily life to assess you. Here is a link to commonly-used questionnaires: https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-assessments-and-tests/.
I know I just made it seem very daunting to get diagnosed and on a medication, but I want to be honest with you about what the process looks like, and again, depending on where you live it can be done in one session. Now that is out of the way, let me give you some information that is more helpful:
If you can, skip asking a regular GP for a referral and make an appointment directly with a psychiatrist. This will save you the extra cost of the doctor’s appointment, just to be told someone else will help. Many places have low cost mental health centers and ADHD falls into that realm, so I would check out what is available in your city. Before making an appointment, confirm the following:
-          Do they diagnose ADHD?
-          Do they prescribe medication? (Therapists don’t prescribe, only psychiatrists, and some will not prescribe ADHD medication at all so it’s important to be clear that it is your intention to receive medication if diagnosed)
-          What tests do they require for diagnosing, and prescribing medication? (Some places may have more or less requirements, and it can even vary within a city or state. This way you will know if it’s something you can afford at the time.)
Talk with the doctor about your specific situation, and what medications are affordable without insurance. Adderall, for example, is past the 10 year exclusive patent and now has a generic version available. It comes in quick release and slow release, depending on your needs. You can also talk to the doctor about a prescription to both quick and slow release, so you take the correct medicine based on your needs for that day (marathon work day? Slow release that extends over the entire day. Afternoon project – quick release that lasts for four hours). Vyvanse is great but doesn’t have a generic version and is insanely expensive without insurance (to the tune of $350+). Use the GoodRX app to find deals on medication without insurance (Adderall is about $15 for a month supply with this app). There are a ton of drug options so look up the pricing during the doctor’s visit, so you can confirm that you can afford what they prescribe. Also keep in mind that getting a prescription filled is the same cost whether you get 1 pill or 30 (a fact I learned the hard way when getting a 10 pill prescription filled once.)
 If you read all that and thought, Thanks but no thanks, here are some other options:
-          My psychiatrist in Florida recommended that I take Rhodiola Rosea supplements in addition to medication, as it has clinically proven positive effects on ADHD symptom control. I found it on Amazon. Omega-3 fatty acid supplements are also proven effective.
-          If you’re interested in this sort of thing, here is a super comprehensive study of various dietary supplements and behavior modifications that work or don’t work for ADHD: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4968082/
-          Practicing meditation is a great way to relax your body (increased stress, while helpful for short-term tasks, can make ADHD symptoms worse long term) and train your mind to hold onto singular, important thoughts (people’s names, why you walked into the kitchen, etc). I use the Waking Up app and love it – there are also many free options in the App Store and on YouTube.
-          Regular exercise is another great way to manage ADHD symptoms, as it gives your body a natural serotonin and dopamine boost, two important chemicals your body has trouble producing and absorbing naturally.
-          Caffeine is a great, easily accessible stimulant that has a focusing and calming effect on ADHD individuals. My doctor actually asked my parents to give me coffee each morning before school when I was a child, before we moved onto prescriptions.
-          Often, there are other factors that go along with ADHD, such as anxiety and/or depression. Getting this under control can go a long way in managing ADHD as well. I’m not sure if you have any issues with those, but it can be helpful to treat both if you do. The medication Wellbutrin is used to treat depression and also has mild stimulants, which would be helpful for both conditions. It isn’t a Schedule II drug, so you can probably ask your doctor for a 3 or 6 month prescription.
-          There are a ton more mind hacks and learned behavioral mechanisms you can try – read some of my other posts for suggestions.
Of course, I have to give the legal disclaimer – all of this is based on my personal experience, I’m not licensed in the medical field in any way and only a doctor can give you proper advice for your body and situation, and what medications will be most helpful. 😊
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haikyuuscreaming · 4 years
Note
omg hi! you started off your blog greatly, im so proud of you! do you think you can write an angsty scenario for akaashi? where his crush likes this guy and wants help from him and he feels all sad :( but she ends up confessing to him! i love your writing so far, keep it up!
UMM so i accidentally got really invested in this so it’s WAYY longer than a drabble and i often write long stuff bc of ao3 so this might sound a little more like that kinda fanfic style instead of a tumblr scenario? mainly cos im really a sucker for this stuff hehehe love you anon
also ! the request made it sound sort of akaashi-centric so i hope you dont mind? there will still be a lot of reader-chan here though! please dont leave yet and i hope u enjoy
again ALSO i wrote this half on my laptop half on my phone so please dont mind if it seems a lil clunky in some areas 
3092 words jesus ok here you go
-
Crushes weren’t necessarily a new sensation for Akaashi. Just an uncommon one. In fact, the last time he remembers even being attracted to someone was in first grade when everyone had a crush on this popular girl. He’s not even sure if he really liked her, or just found the idea of it interesting.
Now, second year of high school, Akaashi finds himself in trouble. Because for once, he really, really, really likes this girl. You. 
He can’t even fake himself out of this, because every damn time he looks at you, he feels all warm and tingly and his stomach feels less calm and he can hear his heart bump against his ribcage and god, his face even flushes a little bit.
(A little bit inconvenient when he accidentally finds himself staring at you and daydreaming.)
Akaashi doesn’t like this feeling.
I mean, yeah, Akaashi has somewhat of a sense of confidence in his looks, manners, and ability to make friends. He’s not exactly the top in each subject he thinks, but it lets him pass through high school without too much of a depressingly lonely life. He could easily befriend you and steal your heart, his inner ego-brat says.
But.. but what if you reject him?
He should become closer to you.
(For the record, he doesn’t not like the feeling. He kind of likes the serotonin boost you give him. But he definitely, more than kind of likes you.
A lot more.)
And one day, in the spring, he finds himself paired up with a special biology partner. With familiar, sparkling eyes and the cutest, most gorgeous voice he’s ever heard that always makes his heart fucking backflip.
Akaashi doesn’t think he can survive this.
His teacher blares, “Start brainstorming ideas for your science fair project! It’s due in a month, you know!”, but Akaashi blocks out the noise because all he can focus on is you, goddamn it. He can only focus on the way you push your hair out of your face, the way your lips upturn into the most stunning smile he’s ever had the fate of encountering, and he really hopes he doesn’t get h-
“Akaashi-kun?”
(Fuck you and your completely gorgeous voice that drives him up the wall and makes him want to kiss you.)
“Oh– sorry, yeah?” He kind of hates himself for how his voice lilted a pitch higher.
You laugh, sounding like a goddess. He hopes that it means you don’t hate him. “Ahaha, I was just wondering if you have any ideas for the science fair? It’s a pretty big chunk of our grade, and I am… not the smartest when it comes to AP Bio..”
Akaashi thinks quite the opposite, but he isn’t currently in the position to contradict you.
“Um…” He pauses and thinks furiously. He comes up with some borderline generic idea that has enough room for a unique twist. And your eyes brighten.
“Waaaoo, Akaashi-kun’s a genius, hm?”
(God, he thinks he might have a little more than a crush on that teasing grin and glittering pair of eyes.)
He musters the courage to smile without looking stupid. “Of course.”
Two weeks later, he wants to sink into a hole.
Yes, it might have been his request that you two meet up to work on the project, but that was because he knew you were a procrastinator! You would start the project the night before if he’d let you!
But it was not his idea to do it at his house.
Now he has to live with the fact that you’re lying on HIS bed, spread-eagled in your sweater and shorts, complaining about how lazy you are.
(He wonders how you’re so comfortable about wearing shorts to a male classmate’s house. You two aren’t even that close, although you claim otherwise.)
“Come on, get up,” he rolls his eyes. “We have work to do.”
“But I’m so tiiiiiredddd… and lazyyyy…. wouldn’t it be such a gentlemanly act of Akaashi-kun to do the project for me?” You flash him a sweet smile while stretching out even more on the bed.
Snorting, he watches you sink into his mattress and roll around idly. “Hey, don’t you need the grade? You can’t pass if you make me do your work.”
Sighing, you hum in defeated content. “Well, it was worth a try.” You reach out your hand and tousle his wavy hair, and he almost flinches at the touch. He hates to say it but he loves it so much that you’re so affection with him, and Akaashi knows he would give anything to keep you teasing him with all this attention.
“Yeah.. yeah, it was,” he murmurs to himself before letting himself sit down next to you. He notices how you scrunch your body from a spread-eagle to a cute, curled up position to make room for him.
“Mm, so how are we gonna do this?” you ask, with a subtle mixture of bored and curious seeping into your tone. Then, he watches your features melt into a warm, mischievous smile as you hum, “Unless you just wanna nap and cuddle or something.”
(Holy fuck.)
Akaashi forces himself to scowl playfully and he shakes his head, sighing loudly in mock disappointment. “I don’t know what to do with you.” And equally as teasing, he adds, “I should just kick you out and not treat you to lunch if you’re going to be like this.”
“Noooooo!!!” you whine in this adorably frustrated and threatening voice. “Don’t you dare starve me or I’m feeding you to the rats.”
He chuckles. “See, that’s what I thought.”
But of course, your face wraps into a devilish grin as you say in a singsong voice and throw your arms around him (which makes him flush and makes his heart go WABAM), “It doesn’t matter though, ‘cause I got this whole-ass meal right here~”
“Shut up.”
(But you both know he never means it.)
Thanks to Akaashi (and your obliging albeit lazy participation), you two blow the science fair out of the way and get an A. He’s never seen you so delighted about a grade.
“I’m so happy~” you never shut up about how grateful you are for him, not that he’s complaining. “This is probably the highest mark I’ve ever gotten in this class.”
“Don’t over exaggerate. You’re not too bad at Bio,” Akaashi remarks. “You just need a tutor, probably, if you’re struggling.”
(By the way, he is ecstatic that you two are ACTUALLY FRIENDS!!! He’s even met your dog!!)
“Hmmmm…” You eye him warily before shrugging. “Whatever you say, Akaashi-kun.” Your eyes flit around before returning on him, and you start rambling about the newest anime you’ve gotten into and how it’s practically on-par with the manga, and how hot one of their characters are-
(For some reason Akaashi really zeroes in on that part.)
He really feels like he has to contribute something to the conversation, so he puts in, “Wow, [Name]-san, you’re such a fangirl.”
You snort loudly and put two peace-signs to your face like some kawaii anime girl, doing this mock-sweet smile. “Waaaooo, you’re rightttt. I’m Akaashi-kun’s number one fan!! He’s so cute when he’s yelling at me to do my work and super hot when he helps me with homew-”
He swears to god his face is radiating an inhuman amount of heat and he rolls his eyes before shaking his head and jabbing your side lightly. “Didn’t I tell you not to say that?”
“Ummm, maybe.” Your ‘innocent’ grin tells him otherwise. “But you know, you’re right, Akaashi-kun,” you cross your arms and give your cute little smirk again. “I am a genius, and I’m suuuper good at Bio. I just need someone to channel it.” And you lean forward until both your noses are touching, and Akaashi thinks he’s about to explode. “So maybe you could help me out?”
The subtle pleading undercurrent in your voice compels Akaashi to straighten up a little bit without flushing even redder. Keep cool, keep cool.
(He prays that his skill of keeping a poker face will hide the blood rushing around in his dick.)
“Well, what time?”
This time around, he finds himself at your house instead. You both are sitting at your desk, ‘working’ on your math and Bio homework. In other words, just talking.
He’s confident now in that the two of you are close friends. He’s learned that from afar, you were a sweet and confident yet perfectly kind girl. That was the girl he based his feelings off of. During your Bio project, he found the cheeky, sly and vibrant yet chill girl who always teased him but was still nonetheless sweet.
And now, under that facade, you were an anxious mess with a shit-ton of insecurities.
(He thinks it’s funny how you boast that you’re just like Shrek. You have layers.)
Akaashi glances at you, groaning with your head down onto the table. “I hate math..” he hears you grumble.
“Hey, you’re not too bad. You just have to be careful when plugging in your equations,” he counters.
“But what if I can’t remember my equations??”
“We both know you’re fine at remembering them.”
“I’m gonna fail.”
“Have faith in yourself, because I do.” And Akaashi is being completely honest. His confidence in you being just fine and being able to pass all your classes is strong because he’s seen you work (after procrastinating). “You just have to work on not putting things off until the last minute.”
You make a frustrated noise before resting your chin on your propped hand. “Sometimes I feel like I’m just.. destined to be set back, y’know? Like, everything I do is gonna somehow backfire on me.”
He knows the feeling, especially late at night in bed, stressing over what tomorrow might bring him.
“And like… I have this whole thing set up for me. When people know me as a classmate, I’m an average student, right? Then when we’re like… ‘friends’, I’m all weird and tease-y.” You let out a loud sigh. “And to the unlucky people who get to this stage, I’m a mess.”
“Stop.” Akaashi’s surprised at how firm he is. “I’m grateful to have met you and to have become your friend, [Name]. You’re going to be fine, you need to trust yourself more. Because I trust you more than anything.”
(Yes, he is on first-name basis with you!! Yes, he trusts you even more than he might even trust Bokuto!!)
Your lips twitch into a small smile, one that he’s grown to love and adore. He’s confident that he’s so fucking deep in love and he doesn’t know how to move on. “You really think so?”
“Of course I do.” He flicks some crumpled-up post-it at you. “Since we’re not doing any homework anytime soon, what else do you want to talk about?”
Your gaze becomes a little more shy and nervous. “Umm… Weeell, I need help.”
“I mean, why else would I be here?”
“No, seriously, Keiji-kun. Seriously!!” You throw mock-fit, despite obviously looking anxious.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m listening. Sorry.”
“Uh. Um, so…” You blink and pretend to look focused on doodling on the corner of your math paper. “There’s this dude I like. Like, I reaaally like him, which is surprising even for me.” You laugh a little bit, and as Akaashi feels his heart start to tear in half, he forces out a chuckle to match. “He’s suuuper pretty– I think that’s the word for it? Pretty. And he’s kinda funny in his own way, and he’s really sweet and listens to me all the time even when I don’t deserve his time. And I dunno, I think he might like me back? Also, I really really really like him. But I don’t really know how to confess…
“Because you know, I’m kinda wack like that, haha. I’ll probably screw up the confession and make things worse, and, well, I need help.” You finish your ramble with a loud breath and you collapse your head onto the table, groaning.
“Uh–” Fuck, oh fuck him, fuck his life. “I mean… I think just a heartfelt confession would do? Something simple and sweet that says you really like him, in case somehow your words don’t work.” Akaashi feels like he’s sweating, a lot, and he feels even more frustrated than ever. His heart is crashing against his ribcage, and his mind is a fucking mess.
You frown a little bit, and suddenly a gush of words fly out of your mouth like a stream bursting from a dam. “Oh my god, what if I’m reading the signs all wrong and he doesn’t at all like me back? I mean, I wouldn’t blame him because I’m kinda ugly and have this weird personality thing going on and I’m shit at math and Bio-”
“Stop.” Akaashi forces himself to intervene, mainly because 1) you’re literally the light of his life and 2) he feels like he has to leave really soon after dealing with the news. “Shut up, [Name]. You aren’t ugly at all, and I, for one, enjoy your weird personality. And I already told you, you’re fine with academics.” He makes himself make eye contact with you, peering up from your arm covering your face, and says, “If he rejects you, he isn’t worth your time at all and you should move on.”
(Preferably with me.)
He watches you exhale, like he just unwound a tight spring from inside of you, and your shoulders relax and you melt from your anxious state, just a little bit. “You’re right. If.. if he doesn’t feel the same, I’ll just forget about him.”
“Because you’re a genius.” Akaashi tries to hype you up, but he still feels like crumbling. Falsely checking his phone, he stretches and stands up. “I have to go now, sorry. My mom asked me to pick up my little sister from tutoring.”
“Huh, already?” Confusion flits across your face, and it hurts him even more to just leave you after you confided in him, but he knows he has to leave before he says something he might regret. “Oh, okaayy.. see you tomorrow then. Thanks for helping me out.” You yawn before standing up to hug him goodbye.
“No problem.” He says it casually, but Akaashi feels his mood drop faster and lower than ever. He hugs you back, but he breaks away fast.
After leaving your house and collapsing onto his bed in his locked bedroom (with his 11-year-old sister knocking on the door and curiously asking what’s wrong), he can’t help but feel hurt that you couldn’t even tell him who your mystery crush’s name was.
A week passes by, and neither of you mention the conversation at your house. It doesn’t matter either way, since you two are still so casually best friends. At the same time, he desperately wants to push the matter just to find out who it is.
Otherwise, Akaashi has noticeably been more quiet and moody to the point that he doesn’t know how to control it. Sure, he keeps up the same as he would before your conversation, but he can’t help but feel his heart sink everytime he sees you. His mind is ecstatic every time he talks to you, while simultaneously wanting to tear itself apart.
He’s tried getting rid of feelings for you, in literally every way possible. From avoiding thinking about you (which backfired horribly because he ended up thinking more about you) to focusing on other girls (ew, none of them were even capable of creating the same effect on him as you do), he’s tried it all and it’s all failed.
Akaashi realizes his silent slump has gotten so bad to the point that Bokuto made him sit out a few practice matches in the gym just because Akaashi was nowhere near the spot that any of the team expected him to be at.
After school, he meets with you near the vending machine as always. You buy two cans of coffee, one for you and one for him.
As soon as he takes the can gratefully, you clear your throat.
“Yeah, [Name]?”
Glancing around before staring him in the eye, you start, “Keiji-kun, before you run away, I just…. I just wanted to let you know I really really really like you. Like, a lot.” You start speaking kind of fast, so Akaashi can’t process what you’re saying.
“And I mean it. Ever since the Bio project, you’ve been so nice to me and you’ve been such a great friend even though I made it hard sometimes, and along the way I just caught feelings. You honestly mean everything to me, and I appreciate you so much for everything we’ve been through. I- I think, I love you, Keiji. And I hope you accept my feelings.” You smile, almost nervously but nonetheless sincere, and Akaashi thinks he’s about to explode.
“I- I,” Fuck, oh my fucking god, he thinks to himself. He’s shaking a little bit– that’s how happy he is. “[Name], I..” God fucking damn it, he can’t even express how happy he is. He feels his cheeks blossom and he feels his lips quirk into this goofy smile.
But then he watches you shy away a little bit as you hurriedly say, “I- I mean, sorry. It’s okay if you just wanna be friends-”
“No.” Finally, Akaashi can use his mouth and then he gently takes your cheeks in his hands and closes the gap between you two, lips connecting in a display of pining and affection.
He practically melts into the kiss, he’s never been so happy. He thinks he’s actually about to implode; he’s been dreaming about kissing you like this, against your soft, plush lips. And finally he’s able to call you his, to call you the one. When the two of you finally break away for air, he’s breathing hard and his mind is a mess, which is rare considering his usual stoic state.
Akaashi has also never seen you so flustered and blushy. He murmurs into your ear as he takes your hand, “Feelings are 100% reciprocated.”
“I can tell,” you laugh breathily, and he’s so happy to hear that some of your anxiety has dissolved in that sweet kiss. He’s absolutely infatuated with you in every aspect. He leans in for a soft, quicker kiss on the lips and savors the feeling of warmth he gets. “Dork.”, he whispers.
“Only for you.”
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All the little reasons (so far) why The 1 is my tied favourite off of Folklore
Continuation of 'classic Taylor’ patterns:
The 1 helps to carry on the tradition Taylor has put into her albums since RED where the beginning of the stories actually starts with song three. The first two songs are instead used to heavily allude to the story and themes about to be told but aren’t directly part of them and especially not the beginning of them. 
In RED, we get State of Grace which alludes to the intense love and positive side of “red” emotions with hints of ignoring red flags whereas Red shows the painful and negative “red” emotions and alludes to the themes of heartbreak. 
In 1989 we get Welcome To New York, alluding to trying to get past someone and new beginnings before transitioning into Blank Space indicating that the opinions of others, particularly surrounding her dating, is something that was going to cause issues.
In Reputation we got ...Ready For It, where the verses again show a somewhat satirical take of how people see the both of them in a dark, “edgy” beat that is often used for “angry” tracks mixed with a “softer” tune more used for happier music for the chorus where she talks about being alone with him and doing what she actually wants to. Then we get End Game which serves as a contrast and connecting piece to the “angry/unhealthy” and “happy/healthy” sides of the album. We get the big declaration of love and showy attitude with hints of insecurity because that’s ultimately what Taylor saw as love in the past which contrasts with the quieter moments of love in the later half of the album such as squeezing hands in a cab or building metaphorical fires in locked up houses to keep each other warm.
In Lover we get I Forgot That You Existed to indicate the theme of figuring out who and what’s truly important in life before moving onto Cruel Summer which not only shows the theme of holding onto each other when things are rough, but the importance of communication in a relationship.
And what about Folklore? The 1 and Cardigan brings us into the fantasy world of Folklore by first asking “What If?” and reminding us that life is full of choices and those choices matter in the grand scheme of things. While the rest of the album tells seemingly unquestionable stories relying on how the characters actually felt, The 1 and Cardigan both rely on nostalgia before reminding us right at the end of each song that that wasn’t how the story went and that certain choices were the reason for that... Which leads me to my next point:
One thing being different would not have made everything different today:
As I previously mentioned, one of the major themes of Folklore is that choices matter. Another interlocking theme is that things just don’t happen out of the blue. The choices we make add up and can cause a perfect storm. 
Looking at this through the lens of the love triangle, in order for James to be in the position he’s in in “Betty”, it wasn’t enough that August happened to be there. The guy Betty was dancing with had to ask her to dance, James had to feel insecure about it AND be immature enough to sulk and leave rather than telling Betty how he felt, August had to show up when she did, James had to make the continuous choice to spend the Summer with August, Inez had to tell Betty what happened and finally Betty had to be offended enough to break up with James. The situation the three of them found themselves in could have been prevented at several different points, making it impossible to say if one thing had been different, it all would have been. 
Despite the lyric, The 1 also shows that one thing being different wasn’t likely to have the desired effect of the pair ending up together through several lyrics throughout the song.
In my defence I have none for never leaving well enough alone - This gives the implication that the narrator was prone to starting arguments over topics that didn’t need to be fought over.
If you wanted me you really should have shown it - The narrator shows that the other person didn’t make it seem like a serious long term relationship was an option. Though this could have been a miscommunication, it also implied to me that the other person wasn’t ready to settle down and acted as such meaning that a long term relationship probably wasn’t on the cards.
Rose flowing with your chosen family.... In my defence I have none - So I’m going to go into this a bit later because it relates to a couple of the reasons I love this song, but in short, the narrator impliedly did not make an effort with aspects of the other person’s life, in this case loved ones, that meant a lot to them nor did the narrator have those aspects for themselves.
But it would have been fun if you would have been the one - Connecting this reason with the theme of nostalgia, I find the word ‘fun’ an interesting choice from a songwriter who tends to use intense words like ‘magical’, ‘fearless’, ‘permanent’, ‘wild’ and even ‘really something’ to describe the loves of her life. In comparison, ‘fun’ feels very casual. While not a choice of the relationship, the use of the word along with lack of hard moments shown in the song does imply to me that the narrator has based this ‘what if’ on pure nostalgia and makes me assume that there several reasons things turned out like they did.
Its links with other songs on the album:
Anyone who knows me knows that my favourite aspect of an album is feeling like I got something out of listening to those songs in that order together that I couldn’t have gotten from listening to the songs alone. Often this comes from contrasts in songs like how I mentioned End Game’s production and lyrics contrast the back end of Reputation, relatability like how 22 is in between All Too Well and I Almost Do because that time with her friends is merely distracting her from her pain or hearing how the same things can be seen differently like how WANEGBT, Stayx3 and The Last Time come one after another to show the relationship was on and off, why she stayed in said relationship and those same traits that kept her staying were now why she was at the end of her rope with said relationship. Really in general RED as an album is a brilliant example because while a lot of people don’t get it, the whiplash of positive and negative songs really does represent what it’s like to be in that kind of toxic relationship.
But I’m not here to talk about RED or Reputation, I’m here to to talk about Folklore. While many people would probably say that the love triangle songs are the best representation of what I’m talking about, I honestly think The 1 and Peace are the two songs that most benefit from the context of the other songs in the album. Specifically, The 1 benefits in the following ways in my honest opinion:
The 1 serves as the other side of the same coin to Invisible String. The 1 discusses a relationship where circumstances didn’t line up to make it work whereas Invisible String describes a relationship where the stars aligned and it all did work out. Further, The 1 asks the question ‘what if things were different and this one relationship worked out?’ and Invisible String answers with ‘well thank goodness it didn’t’.
You know the greatest films of all time were never made versus I think I’ve seen this film before: the automatic assumption and link that the love in Exile was not either of their greatest loves.
If you never bleed you’re never going to grow links so well with But now I’m bleeding and Peter losing Wendy from Cardigan.
Though it’s not connected with other Folklore lyrics, the little links of things like never leaving well enough alone being in The 1 and past songs (in this case ME!) and the Sad Beautiful Tragic vibe that the second prechorus of The 1 gives always brings a smile to my face.
And finally, my favourite parallel of this whole album:
In my defence I have [no chosen family] and its link with Family that I chose now that I see your brother as my brother from Peace. To me, this parallel brings together everything I have said so far. It brings the album together and once again reinforces that a theme in Folklore is how choices dictate our lives. The fact that somewhere along the lines the narrator realised that there didn’t have to be a ‘his loved ones’ and ‘her loved ones’ and made the effort and choice to incorporate themselves into their partner’s life and found that to be an important part of why they are working out in a way they didn’t with their past partners lives rent free in my mind, heart and soul everyday, not going to lie. Like I don’t know how to explain it, but that link alone just added so much to both of those songs for me personally.
Other little things:
This song is beyond relatable. Like I could not tell you one person who doesn’t have that one past thing or relationship, romantic or otherwise, they wish could have been different and fantasise/romanticise what that would have looked like.
The 1 and August are the two funnest songs to sing to from Folklore and even though both are relatively sad lyrically, always give me a good boost of serotonin when I sing them.
Relating to the two points above, singing “In my defence I have none” loudly when you don’t have family and feel like none of your wishes like me ever came true feels like free therapy lmao.
While I know Taylor didn’t write The 1 from a fully autobiographical point of view, the idea of her seeing one of her multimillionaire exes at the bus stop makes me laugh every time.
It’s a grower. While it was always in my top six, as I mentioned in the title, it’s in a three way tie with August and Exile as my favourite song from Folklore right now.
All in all I just really love this song and all the tiny little details that make it amazing and honestly think it’s a very underrated song in Taylor’s discography.
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obeymematches · 4 years
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AAA, hi I'm that first anon ( /w\)
I'm glad you're doing well ❤️ Thank you so much for the content you're making. I've been kinda losing interest in Obey Me but I'd like to request a match-up, maybe it'll help me rekindle my love for the game.
So, hmm. I'm 18 and a bit of a short gal, 4' 11 since I last checked (aaaa, Asian genes. But hey, cute size difference).
I'm an INFP-T, so I kinda suck at socialising hahah. But I make up for it by showing a cheery exterior. It always feels good to leave a good impression.
I usually like to try keeping a soft image, but will also be a loud memelord if I ever get comfortable enough.
I'm about to study HUMSS next school year, dreaming of becoming an arts teacher or prof, if I can manage. But I struggle with anxiety, which kinda clashes with my dream career, since a teacher requires confidence ,w,)
I tend to put others' needs before myself, I always want to make sure my friends are happy. The world is... horrible, so I really try my best to ensure they're smiling. It just gives me good serotonin if I know I made them feel happier.
My brain is horrible at keeping stuff, meaning I'm really forgetful. And oof, not really the smartest tool in the shed. No thoughts, head empty. Only love and escapism✌️😔 My dumbass brain is another thing that clashes with my dream job.
I like drawing, listening to music (distracts me from bad thoughts), video games (my most favs are rpgs and open world), horror stuffs, and crying whenever I see frogs and dogs. I also like plants. Ohh, and shiny rocks, heck yea.
Tho, I'm not really taking care of any at the moment, but I dream of having my own garden. I love the cottagecore aesthetic.
A thing I should add I guess is that I used to be a total weeb, so my behaviour and speech is heavily influenced. I'd sometimes casually drop a 'hai?', 'nani', 'nande kore' and etc. in convos. Kinda makes me cringe, but dang I can't stop.
Even if I don't enjoy watching anime as much as before, I do like anime movies. All ghibli films, Kimi no Nawa, Weathering with You and A Silent Voice are my favs.
I just love the soundtracks so much qoq
My worse flaws are I'm hella sensitive, a huge procrastinator, childish, and easily jealous.
But despite me being a lazy dumbass, if I put my mind into something, I will not stop until I finish the thing. Which means I also tend to overwork myself.
I know it's unhealthy but it really keeps me motivated, aaa-
I also seem to like acting as if I know a lot? I mean, I come across as that but my real intention is I just thought to share my knowledge of the subject.
I just say a lot of stuff because I tend to blabber and jumble my words.
I guess my love language is words of affirmation. Compliments, I love you's, heart memes, cheesy pick up lines that my sleep-deprived self thought of at 4am- all of em!
These are the weapons I torture my friends with o(○`ω´○)9
But ahh, the thing is I've never dated anyone before. I find it so difficult to fall for someone irl, or even gain crushes. Mostly fictional. So I have absolutely no experience in the dating business.
Something to do with my self esteem and trust issues, ekk-
Oof, that's long. I hope that's not too much. Again, thank you so much if you happen to get to write this. Take your time, hun ^w^ ❤️💕 AAAA, and congratulations on reaching 100 followers!
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Hi! 
Noooooo i’m so sorry it took me so much time to write this ;; I hope you like the result though! thank you for your patience!!  💕 💕 💕 
I decided to match you with Mammon! 
Here is why: 
Okay so obviously there is a bit of a height difference, I mean he is not even near to being the tallest but thats exactly why he thinks you are the best height - it makes him feel taller and that is good for his confidence. 
Mammon is known for going out and socializing a lot - even if more often than not he ends up in some kind of unusual situation. He is good at taking the initiative in case you have trouble. Just don’t always follow through his ideas he suggests to bond, because most of the time it will end up getting both of you in trouble. I mean it’s not like Lucifer would punish you too badly because of something stupid Mammon got you to do (besides you having to listen to a lecture about why the thing you two did was dumb), but poor friend of yours is not so lucky.  :(
  I like to think of him as a positive, rather optimistic, maybe naive person but I think your cheerful attitude goes well with that. I mean think about the aura you two would spread! 
He would definitely be surprised to learn about your loud memelord side, but that would fascinate him so much because you can open up to him sooner than to his brothers and that also makes him more proud to be with you! I think that would also help him grow some real deep feelings for you
 I think you’d be a great influence on him to help motivating him to put some more energy into his education. Although the only reason he would care more about that is the study times he can have with you, and it is up to you to decide if those sessions are actually studying together (read: you tutoring him and him staring at you in awe when you don’t look but can’t grasp the material) or if there’s an attempt but a couple minutes later he is talking about how to earn money fast and both of you try said method.
Helping him study sometimes would definitely help your self-esteem! I think he can come off as rather confident, so hanging around with people like him would definitely boost your confidence!
I think he would literally melt if someone put his well-being before themselves. Theres no going back now he is lovesick. I mean just think about all the times his brothers make fun of him. 
 I’m prettysure he is the best at making people laugh! He has no care in the world even if he has to do something dangerously dumb to make you smile!! 
He can be rather forgetful too so thats something the both of you have to work on if possible, but relationshipwise that should not cause conflicts. Sure he might forget about some stuff but it’s never your bday or a date with you because both of you are in love. 
I think he can try your hobbies to impress you or just to have another topic to talk about, but he will probably never be the best at drawing. I think the amount of music you listen to would drastically decrease as he is very good at occupying your mind - with positive thoughts! 
It is confirmed that he alsp enjoys videogames and he is good at them, so thats something you two can do together when you don’t really feel like going out. 
If you show him horror movies he will scream and will not be able to sleep well for 2 weeks but he is going to deny that with his life so good luck! 
 I think he would find it cute that you like frogs and rocks and stuff, he might tease you a bit about it at first but if he sees a frog on sale he will spend his money to give you a surprise frog! it will probably be some live magical frog (either poisonous or some weird demon magic frog that will have everyone in the house of lamentation end up in a comedic situation). So that was the last time he got you something he has no idea about without asking you first.  
Oh he would definitely tease you a lot about your vocabulary, but Levi would catch on you because you might not actually be a normie... And thats how Mammon gets too jealous to ever tease you again about something like that - how can he allow Levi to hang out with you :( 
And that brings us to both of you being easily jealous. In some cases that might end in conflicts because one person gets annoyed but in this particular case you just need to have a conversation about it. Set some boundaries both of you are okay with, and no issue! 
I think to make sure your time alone with Levi is more limited he would totally watch anime movies with you! 
He definitely adores your determination! If you ever ask him what he likes about you, he will probably mention this as one trait.
 Hmmm as I elaborated before, you knowing more stuff about things will probably prevent situations that would be caused by Mammon not being informed about some stuff.
Okay so he is definitely one who sends you memes at ungodly hours and you can’t stop him. He is awake, lying in bed, too in love to do anything besides think about you and smile and face the issues of being the local tsundere. And then you send him a meme full of love and he can not fall asleep for the rest of the night, feeling butterflies and imagining soft things with you like he did with nobody else before. 
Okay so I’m not sure about his dating experience, but as far as a know he doesn’t really have much either? in that case both of you could explore this new feeling together! 
So in conclusion this boy is very much in love and he can only hope that you feel the same. Both of you are a good influence o the other and that helps the two of you to grow together. He might have slightly more experience but that’s okay. I see no conflicts here, maybe the only exception being the fact that he can be rude towards you and you are sensitive, but he is quick to stop being rude once he sees why he is so wrong. And that will be the best decision of his life so far because not long after that he is very much in love for the first time in forever. Both of you are loyal to the other and jealousy means no issue. Well, after some conversation, that is. Both of you experience life together and theres always something to do, to see! 
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losmonteslejanos · 3 years
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The guilt of relief.
The last part of the main trilogy of guilt is a bit different. I don’t carry the same guilt for Madrina as I do for Duli and my grandma. While my grief for Madrina cuts deeper, it does not weigh heavily on on my conscience. I am grateful for that.
My guilt with Madrina stems from two very specific things I did: not going to her when my gut told me I should and for wishing her dead. Let me explain.
I NEVER wanted her to die. I wanted her to be free from herself, from who she had become, even if that meant I had to lose her. She was a prisoner and she desperately needed to break free. That was very evident. But I need to make it very clear that I never actually wanted her to die. I wanted her to be free. She deserved that.
Prison began around nine to ten years ago. There wasn’t a set date that her sentence began and we didn’t exactly know what was happening as it happened, but it’s easy to recognize now. She’s about 86 years old at this point and has only been retired for a couple years (she was actually insane, I know). Retiring took a toll on her. After she left her workplace (where she had worked for the same family for about 45 years) she slowly began to change. The change in her routine must’ve been too much for her. It had kept her sharp but now she was getting duller by the day.
It was absolutely terrible at first. She was hyper aware that she couldn’t function like she used to and she couldn’t stand it. Her entire life she had been super independent and the slightest feeling of incompetence frustrated her to no end. I had always heard that Madrina was cold; that she was mean - but I had never experienced that. Alzheimer’s made sure I met that side of her.
She became a different person. Looking back, I know she was just hurting. She couldn’t understand why her body and mind were failing her - they had carried her for such a long time. She hated herself; that part was clear. But she took it out on me. I was an easy target for her and she said some pretty nasty things to me during that time. That was the first time I wished her dead.
This version of her was ugly. I hated her. I hated that I lived with her. I pleaded with my mother on several occasions to move out. I hated how she made me feel. I resented her but I knew this wasn’t who she really was - I knew her, and this wasn’t it. But I wanted my suffering to stop. Removing her from the equation would do that.
This phase of her illness lasted about a year. She put me through a lot that year, but looking back I can’t recall a single hurtful thing she said. It didn’t matter in the long run. It was never about hurting me, anyway. It was her cry for help when she needed us most.
Things got better after that. Her personality changed again but this was bearable for me...though not so much for my mother. She had been okay during the mean and hurtful phase of Madrina because she hadn’t been the target, but BOY, did she get her day in court. At this point Madrina had a problem with authority. Her independent self could not handle being told what to do and taking orders was not in her vocabulary. My mother only wanted what was best for her so this caused CONFLICT. I often tried to mediate, for I probably understood Madrina better than anyone else, but had the same goals my mother did. This didn’t always end well for me. But I did it anyway because I loved her so much. I spent many meals in tears at the table alone with Madrina feeding her like she was a toddler who refused to eat...and I’d do it all again.
Then came the best and the worst part. The part where I couldn’t have been more conflicted. The part where she surrendered. She eventually gave in. She allowed us to take care of her. She was super sweet...like, more than ever before. It was a new version of her and we loved it. She was funny, she was playful, she was loving, she was kind. She was still difficult at times (some things never change) but she was gracious about it. Most of the time she was just lovely to be around. Some things she just wouldn’t waiver on, but that was to be expected with her. Those times were frustrating but completely bearable. I could live with this version of her forever.
But then came the ugly part, because you can’t have rainbows without a little rain. Her memory was shot. She remembered her childhood but not what happened five minutes ago. None of it made sense. Every time she was reminded that a loved one had died was like a fresh wound for her and, as someone who has known grief, that KILLED me. I couldn’t bear to see her live through that pain over and over and over and over. So we lived in an alternate reality for a long time. One where people were out at the store instead of six feet underground. We kept her happy this way. I wished her dead so she could be free of the confusion. I can’t even imagine what went on in her brain. What she remembered was like a box of chocolates - you never knew what you were going to get. But at least she remembered us.
In my mind I had grieved her already. She was such a shell of herself that I had mourned that part of her that I had already lost and her physical body didn’t seem as important. I was so wrong about that. She was such a security blanket for me that losing her physically destroyed me. I feel so guilty for asking God to take her, to release her. I had to have known what I was asking for, but I didn’t understand the repercussions of getting it.
It was never with malicious intent that I prayed for this, and boy did I pray for this. It was never to make my life easier or free myself from her. It’s because she was miserable. Even when she didn’t say it, I could tell. She never wanted to live this long or age this much. This was never her intention. She never wanted to be a burden on anyone - and even if she didn’t believe it, she never was. I know she loved us and wanted to be with us, but she had been ready for a long time.
April 26, 2019 she gave some signs. She was in Spain at the time and I had called my aunt to see how she was doing. My aunt made it clear that she felt Madrina’s days were numbered. That didn’t completely faze me because we’d had that thought several times over the past few years. But then, something felt different. Something told me to go to her. I contemplated quitting my job and spending the rest of her days with her. I thought about buying a plane ticket to go see her for a long weekend. But then I thought logically. The old her would’ve been pissed if I quit my job. I didn’t have the money on hand to just buy a plane ticket that day. I decided to wait it out. I went to PetSmart, impulsively bought two gerbils to boost my serotonin, and went home. It weighed heavy on my mind but I tried to continue living my life and made plans to try and visit her over the summer. I’ve lived to regret that decision. She died two weeks later. I feel that guilt for not going to her, when my gut told me I should. I know she died knowing she was loved and cherished and that gives me a sense of peace. I feel the guilt of not seeing her one last time but I know we did right by her.
We laughed, we cried, we fought; but most importantly we loved and the memories we have with her we will carry with us forever. After all these years of good times and bad times, she can rest now - we can all rest now. (3/3)
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“Guilt is toxic. Reliving the same mistake over and over again is torture. Constantly criticizing and blaming yourself is bullying. Break free of this cycle. Reflect. Learn. Grow. Love yourself. Forgive yourself.”
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angel-deux-writes · 4 years
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for the fic meme thing, and here I hope no one has asked this: 1, 17, 26, 28 :'D
I had barely any time yesterday for this, so I’m finishing these off now! Be prepared for a long one!
1. Describe your comfort zone—a typical you-fic.
My comfort zone is probably Season 8 canon divergences, at this point. The easiest things I’ve ever written for this pairing have been my “we should kind of forget about season 8″ series stories. They always flow the best, and they’re the quickest to finish once I actually get rolling. There’s a certain amount of bitterness still left in me after Season 8, and so it’s easy to take little jabs at it and keep the tone light and fun even when I’m working with some angsty plots. 
I also never thought I’d say this, but: high school/college AUs for Jaime/Brienne are really comfortable for me, too. I mean it’s a tested and true formula: ugly girl and handsome guy. Except Brienne is actually ugly and not just “cute but weird” or wildly unpopular because she has glasses and slightly frizzy hair? I love playing with that!
17. Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?
Start to finish, absolutely. I tend to flesh out the plot beforehand, so I don’t even do much rearranging once the story is actually done!
26. Do you beta yourself? If so, what kind of beta are you?
Does this just mean do I edit my own works? Because yes lmao. I’m very self-critical. I’m an editor irl (technical editor, so like the most boring form of editor), so I tend to be really rigorous with my editing. I write on my phone, so the formatting is all wack and I’m not super careful with typos (especially since I just got a new phone for the first time in 4 years, so my typing is all off!!). My editing schedule is therefore: 
1st Pass: format in Word, fix super glaring typos from my clumsy fingers typing on my phone
2nd Pass: content edit. This is typically the most intense edit. This is where I fix story issues or add scenes when I realize that I’m not clear enough with something/want to add more detail. This typically adds a LOT of words to my process (HCM was 197k at the end of the first draft, and it got to almost 300k during the second pass)
3rd Pass: Phone Edit. I typically download the whole story onto Word on my phone (or, with HCM, a few chapters at a time, because otherwise the scrolling is impossible because it’s sO LONG). I’ll read through the chapter and add MORE detail, MORE content. Usually this is just spicing things up a little bit, adding some variety or some humor or more details. Or jazzing up my sentences/rewording things that feel stale or boring. The brief flashback scene in HCM where Robb thinks about he, Sansa, Theon, and Jon playing in the godswood was a Phone Edit addition. I’ve found that editing it on my phone helps because I typically read fic on my phone, and sometimes the change of medium does wonders for my edits (this is why I typically print out drafts of my novels to read them on paper after I’ve done a computer edit, but i’m not doing that for fic! So the phone it is). 
4th/5th pass: sometimes only a 4th is needed, but on occasion I go for a 5th. Most HCM chapters get a 5th pass, because anxiety, and I think Two Halves had a lot of 5th passes as well. 5th pass is typically if I’ve received feedback for earlier in the story, and I read the Phone Edit and realize that I “need” to incorporate the feedback into the 4th edit. So I add/alter whatever scenes I need to, and then I give myself a few days and then re-read the chapter for a 5th edit so I can make sure it’s fine. Whichever is the last edit, I read aloud to myself, and then I post it when I’m satisfied. The Robb + Jon scene at the end of the last chapter was altered due to feedback, so it only went through the 5th pass, and I think it definitely shows. I was eager to get the chapter up and announce the hiatus so I could relax lmao. 
28. Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.
Oh god, okay
@agirlnamedkeith writes stories that I’m always almost immediately invested in (usually because she mentions them ahead of time, so i’m already frothing at the mouth for them by the time she posts!) We also have a lot of the same vibes and a lot of the same opinions, so sometimes it’s like “oh wow she’s writing this SPECIFICALLY FOR ME SOMEHOW”
@slipsthrufingers, despite bullying me about the one time I made the best of a horrible choice between two men, and despite having read my old fic 10 years ago, is another one of my faves. She excels at both humor and softness, which are my two favorite things, and I get sucked into her chapters so easily, and can picture everything so vividly! I’m not even usually a “visual reader”, if that’s even a thing, but with her stories I always am. 
@ddagent‘s longer fics are genius, and the speed and gut-punching quality to her prompts means that I can read them quickly at work and get a quick boost of that serotonin. One thing I like about my own fic habits in this fandom is that I’ve covered a lot of different AUs, so imagine how much I love the variety of her catalog! There’s something for everyone there. Lord Commander Jaime is a particular favorite, but I will never shut up about those Secret Santa kids.
ask me questions! 
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Hello there! Omg your handwriting is sooooo pretty! Mine is so bad lol, I’ve been told I have doctor handwriting so many times :P
Anyways how are you? I don’t have any plans for this weekend and I’m a little bored ngl- Also, maybe this is too much out of the blue but, have you ever had doubts about any of your fics? Because I always write fics for myself, for my own enjoyment and for what I want to read but I have a feeling my new fic is gonna be so niche to the point that no one will read it? And I usually don’t care that much about the views and the kudos but I’m putting so much effort on it and I’m a little bummed out 🙁 idk
Soooorrrrryyyy all I’ve been doing lately is talk about depressing stuff lmao, let’s switch it up a little bit. Since we were taking about 1d, which are your fav songs?? And your fav album? Spill me some unpopular opinions while you’re on it 👀 lol -☁️✨
Ohh thank you! I think mine is a little sloppy but everybody seems to like it whdbwbbd you should definitely do it after you’re revealed! I’m tagging you now! Lol. I’m doing alright! Got to see some people from my work today that i haven’t seen pretty much since i quit which was so nice. Big serotonin boost. I miss them all so much and i can’t wait for the vaccine to be more available so i can actually hang out with them again soon.
I always have doubts about my fics. Which could be due to my anxiety and constant overthinking and low self confidence. But! I definitely understand where you’re coming from. I never write and post for the views/kudos/comments, but i always have doubts and insecurities about certain things in my fics. But! There are a lot of fics that are very niche, ex. the formula 1 fic i rec’d, it’s got hella views but i mean. Formula 1 racing/racing in general isn’t a popular trope. I’ve only read the 1 fic. There are many fics that are pretty niche and people still read and love them! I know that i would definitely feel the same if i were in your position, i’d be scared people wouldn’t want to read. But i think it’s still worth sharing because you never know who will read and absolutely love your work. And it will be worth sharing<3
Ohh no these probably aren’t my actual fav favs but they’re My Bops and i’d rather never listen to music again than skip these 😭 okay so in order of release: up all night, moments, magic, irresistible, don’t forget where you belong, something great, fireproof, clouds, home (!!), what a feeling, walking in the wind, a.m. Favorite album is Four i suppose. (I’m bad at choosing “favs” because that feels like it’s finalized and my favs can be fluid). But! After years and years of getting over my crippling fear of finality, i’ve decided that Home is my Favorite ! 1000000/10 for sure lol.
I feel like loving Moments is an unpopular opinion. I’ve only ever known one other person who loves it as much as i do. Most other ppl in the fandom hate it for some reason which makes me sad. Another one is story of my life. Listen, i LOVE that song and will sing along to it until my lungs give out. But idk i don’t understand why it’s their most streamed stong? (Edit: i looked on spotify and realized that drag me down has more streams which i absolutely LOVE seeing at least one song from made in the am in their top 5 but that still doesn’t explain why soml got so much more global/non-fandom hype than bse). And why it’s been their most popular song after wmyb. 🤷‍♀️ it’s a bop but i don’t get the global hype. Okay and one more, i do tend to skip another world a lot. Like i can vibe with it but. Eh 🤭
What about you 👀 i want your unpopular opinions as well
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