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#realizing i really like parentheses
thestrangearchives · 6 months
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putting my stranger things band au out into the world
weve got steve on main vocals/guitar
robin on bass/backup vocals (although there are a couple songs where she takes main)
and max on drums
do they have a specific genre? who tf knows i chose these songs for their lyrics and story but i imagine some would be modified to create a more uniform sound
now for the album in order(please hear me out on some of these):
Dear Reader- Taylor Swift (steves song to dustin)
BNBG- Djo (steve meeting eddie and discovering hes bi)
To Love a Boy- Maya Hawke (robin song!! self explanatory)
Change- Djo (steve reflecting on who he used to be vs who he is now)
Dial Drunk- Noah Kahan (steve gets arrested for xyz and his parents wont answer)
Somebody’s Baby- Sidney Gish (robin song 2!! start of her crush on nancy)
Acolyte- Slaughter Beach, Dog (90% written by steve before eddies death and finished after)
Run the World!!!- Dayglow (written by max! they all call it their fun song but its definitely still more about her ptsd and depression)
Strange Time- Matt Maltese (steve wrote this soon after eddie died)
Coffee- Chappell Roan (duet between steve and robin about their shared ex, nancy. they all ofc still love her and are very close friends but this was written during a rough patch post ronance breakup)
Brother- Fenne Lily (co-written by max and steve about their relationship)
ceilings- Lizzy McAlpine (steve keeps forgetting that eddie has died)
Francesca- Hozier (stobins soulmate song! written by robin because she knows steve feels guilty about dragging her into the upside down but she doesnt regret it because now she has him)
vague storyline is that steve starts getting into music to cope with all of the upside down shit sometime between end of season 1 and season 2. he starts seeing eddie after season 3 and is head over heels for him before eddie (still) dies at the end of season 4 and is (obviously) heartbroken.
after max heals she starts learning the drums to help process emotions better and also around this time robin and nancy start a budding romance. steve learns about max playing the drums and starts having jam sessions w her and later on robin also joins and its just very cathartic for them all. nancy and robin are kinda on again off again until steve and robin write Coffee together which firmly puts them in the past and they remain good friends after. (i love ronance i swear but for whatever reason in this au i just dont see them lasting longterm) (also i feel bad because the story of Coffee feels like it makes out nancy to be a villain and i love her i swear)
after a few years steve, robin, and max decide to start playing local bars and small shows and eventually are discovered and release their first and only album. the album gets wildly popular and they tour for a bit but none of them really wanted fame and decided that they really just preferred making music in their living rooms. they do pop up shows at small venues every now and again and they still consider themselves A Band.
likely they get rediscovered on tik tok or something and everyone is coming up with theories on the story of the album(stupid shit like ‘he said eddie in acolyte right’ ‘no dude he said annie steve isnt gay god some people’ or some weird love triangle involving steve robin and some mystery person) so they all make a video talking about the history of the band and steve comes out and opens up about how some of the songs are about eddies death (which starts another fire once people find out that steves eddie is eddie munson because obviously everyones heard of the hawkins murders at which point steve releases a video basically telling everyone to not talk about shit they know nothing about and to fuck off and leave him alone and after that the band is never heard from online again) happily ever after the end :) i just needed this out of my brain
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bet-on-me-13 · 1 year
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Danny runs for Mayor P.2
kgned3Part 1
Some more snippets of the Gotham Mayor Danny AU!
...
Danny would absolutely try to hire some of the Rouges as his Mayoral Cabinet, I can just imagine Waylon Jones, the Killer Croc, in a Suit and Slacks sitting in a the Mayors Office while awkwardly holding his resume.
Danny: So, Mr. Jones, why do you think we should hire you? Waylon: Well sir, I have something of a reputation and I feel like I would be an amazing Bodyguard. Danny: OK, one question though. What is your opinion on Clowns? Waylon: I don’t like them. Danny: Hired!
...
Danny: Now, Mr Nygma, what do you think you would bring to my office? Edward: Well sir, I am fairly well known for my expert planning and timing skills. Also I can give you fun riddles whenever you want! Danny: Hmmm, that’s definitely a good point. One question, if needed, will you attack a clown on sight? Edward: Yes? Danny: Hired!
...
Danny: Now, I can see that you used to have a very reputable resume Mr. Dent. Harvey: Thank you sir. Danny: I can’t see any reason to refuse your application, but I do have one question. Do you like Clowns? Harvey: Uhm...yes? Danny: I am sorry dir, but I am going to have to reject your application for a job in the Mayors office. Mr Jones, please escort this man out 
...
Danny would absolutely do an amazing job in decreasing the crime rate, just by virtue of the fact that his very presence is destabilizing the Curses put on the City.
But at the same time, his policies are also very efficient, based on Gen Z Humor/Ideas
Danny: As my new Law states, every year the most rich person in the City will be forced to give up 70% of their assets to Charity. You can avoid this by donating as much as possible in the weeks leading up to the Sacrifice Day, whoever donates the most is exempt from the choosing even if they are the Richest, we will then move on to the second Richest, and so on Reporter: Sir, isn’t this just the “Winner Of Capitalisms” Prompt from Tumblr? Danny: Yes.
...
Batman: Why did you just pass a Law that states that all Vigilantes are given the right to kill? Danny: Because I accidentally hired every villain in Gotham, so now there is nobody to try and bribe me. And if nobody tries to bribe me, then nobody realizes that I will only accept bribes if the Joker is dead, like I said in my Campaign. I know that you guys have a no-kill rule, but I know at least one of you who would jump at the chance  Batman: *realizes that Dick has already killed the Joker once, Jason is actively attempting to every day, Tim is chaos incarnate and would do it to feel included, and Damian just really wants to let loose* Well played...
...
Danny: Vlad, I am serious. Leave me alone or I will put you in Soup Jail for 3 months! Vlad: FINE! I’ll just go possess another Billionaire to force them to give me their company again Batman, listening from outside the window: What the f-
...
Danny in every conversation with the Batfamily: I re-respect your decision to not tak-take a life...but I must insist you kill the Joker...for the good of the peephol-People! He is not a good inf-influence on this city and he must be des...troyed. Batman: *Wondering why he sounds like he is reading from a script* Um, I don’t think thats a good idea? Lady Gotham: *Standing behind Batman with some Cue Cards, trying to communicate with her Knights through Danny* *Thumbs Up* Danny: Also I wanted to say that you need to- oh um, ok- to get over the deaths of your parents and grieve in a healthy way instead of adopting every child you see. You are doing a great job kid, parentheses, do not read this par- Oh-Oops. Batman: Hm. I’m not even going to question that anymore.
...
Tag List:
@skulld3mort-1fan @kgne-k @deatlive @alcorbearson @we-ezer @auralykos @dakkapel @alinmenttreasure @lord-of-0blivion @countessdragon @naluforever3 @fylylowo @shadow-otaku20 @dannyphantomphan @heirxofxtime @ourrechte-blog @fantasticbluebirdfan @imnotgrimmjustagrumpyreader @mssagoberattare @elvesandlanterns @space-dreams-world @lizz-blizt @stargirl1331 @totallysmores-blog @screamingtofillthevoid @malice-of-the-sunrise @olivethetreebitch @addie-lover-of-stories @thatonegaybitch68 @asphyxia778 @top7879 @biance-hooks123 @runfromthemedic @dionysuss-big-naturals @the-legal-shipper @icepopstar5105us @
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jwirecs · 5 months
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RECOMMENDED SEVENTEEN FICS OF NOVEMBER 2023💖
hello, hello! here are my recs for seventeen for november! hopefully these beautiful stories get more recognition as well as the writers 💝
** anything in parentheses and bolded are my thoughts that can be disregarded if needed **
🔞smut || 💔angst || 💕fluff || ✅completed || 🔄ongoing || 💯favorite
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Loud Leather & Loud Thoughts || @bitchlessdino💕💔✅💯
↳ Hard to maintain a good acquaintanceship if it started off on the wrong foot, but Wonwoo tries to do just that, no matter how much you resent him from childhood. Now reunited as adults, you’re questioning whether your negative impression of him has stuck since being away or have you grown up just enough to realize how much between the two you have changed?. (bitchlessdino aint gon be bitchless no longer cause honey, i will be on my knees for your fics. biker!wonwoo is my new guilty pleasure.)
Too Much || @hannieehaee🔞💕✅💯💯
↳ after a few weeks of constant overtime work slouching over a desk, you feel as if your back is about to give out on you. fortunately for you, your best friend seungcheol is a professional masseuse! unfortunately for you, you're unsure of how you'll keep your crush on your best friend at bay while on his massage bed, ass up and oiled up. (the last time i had a massage, i swear i thought the masseuse broke my arm cause of a loud pop. scared me and the masseuse LMAO, but we okay. but can you imagine, cheols hands....im just gonna stop there. let the imagination run)
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Always Only You || @honeyhotteoks🔞💕💔✅💯💯💯
↳ the date was terrible, awful even, but you just can't call your brother to pick you up. you have to call his best friend instead. (brb imma need a hot minute to relive this fic. like no joke, my ass will be in the corning if you need me. bottom line, i absolutely loved this one)
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5 More Minutes || @qmrzi💕✅
↳ jihoon is working on a song before your date together and you got impatient. (he really would be the type to say 5 more minutes of work before a date. desperate times calls for desperate measures. i respect the oc's hustle.)
Bedroom Exclusive || @onlyhuis🔞💕💔✅💯
↳ seeing your boyfriend on tv kissing another girl definitely doesn't feel good, but he's got plenty of time to make it up to you. and he plans on letting you know that you're the only one on his mind. (AFTER THAT VID OF HIM IN THAT DRAMA WITH THAT ONE SCENE???? OHHHHHHHHHHHHH CHILD. another fic where i had to take a moment to breathe after i finished reading it. that says a whole lot my friends.)
Just The Tip || @euphor1a🔞💕💔✅💯💯
↳ he tried his best, he really did. but lord, for how long could he control himself when you looked like a pretty, little angel, all his to ruin? (you gotta give it to mingyu for resisting the urge throughout the story. flash a titty and this man will crumble to the ground. i love it.)
Now You're Safe With Me || @thedensworld💕💔✅💯
↳ Seungcheol received several missed calls from you, and he knew they weren't just regular phone calls. (stop this bby boy will drop heaven and earth to be with his boo. lets all pray that i get a man like him.)
Spotted: Woozi At Couples Therapy? || @mphountitled🔞💕💔✅
↳ A kink confession in couple's therapy might just save your relationship (i think its safe to say that this man is lowkey kinky af. lets be real. the dudes prob kinky.)
Sweet Home || @mangocustard16💕✅
↳ Mingyu returns home after a grueling practice to find you asleep on the couch, having waited for him despite his advice not to. He lifts you into his arms, shares a loving dinner, and the two of you cuddle in each other's embrace. (god soft mingyu is cute af. SOMEONE GET ME A MINGYU PLS)
To Be In Love || @daegutowns💕✅
↳ (a lil ol fic of oc's relationship with cheol. ngl oc is literally the mom of the group now. adopted 11 other children once they got with cheol. i love that for them)
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Bloodily Safe || @starlightxsvt🔞💕✅💯
↳ you have a little secret. one you are desperately hiding. yet the boy you have a crush on has figured it out. now a game of cat and mouse has begun. how do you make it out alive? (oooh child. this one. had me questioning what the heck do i read on here, but then again, i fully enjoyed it LMAO)
Clingy || @facioleeknow💕💔✅
↳ Anon Req: hi!! saw that you're taking request!! how about something like jeonghan get annoyed by the reader because he thinks reader is too clingy lately so he decided to put some distance, end up with something bad happens to reader and he regrets everything he did? angst to fluff pls thank u so much 😭🫶 (oooh mean jeonghan is lowkey my guilty pleasure. someone give me some more mean jeonghan which turns into fluff please.)
Creep || @smileysuh🔞✅💯💯💯
↳ “If the roles were reversed - if you were a ghost bound to this apartment forever - you’re saying you wouldn’t watch me get naked every day?” He’s definitely got a point. As your eyes skim Mingyu's perfect form again, that tingle returns between your legs. There’s no reason for him to be as sexy as he is- murders aren’t the only shocking thing this man has under his belt and you can see that now.  (ngl, i hope theres gonna be a second part just about how they would like overcome(????) the hardships(?????????) idk if those are the right words. but like how they would deal with one being a ghost and all that jazz. like down the line how will that work out. BUT other than that, i honestly love their fics to god.)
Driving Lessons For Dummies || @shuaflix🔞💕✅
↳ you've finally passed your written test and gotten your permit after six failed attempts. eager to get your license while attempting to avoid overpriced driving lessons, you enlist the help of kwon soonyoung, who only requires a STIIZY pod as payment. (lowkey got a fear of driving but thats something else LMAO. i respect all of the driving teachers, cause like they risking their life essentially, so i respect hoshi for risking his life with teaching the oc driving. goodluck to my future boo cause imma be the passenger princess in the relationship.)
In Between Notes || @som1ig💕💔✅
↳ after complaining for the hundredth time to your friends, you finally manage to take time to read a book unrelated to law studies. since you can’t borrow it, you decide to leave a note on the page where you left off with a comment. the next day, when you come back to reread it, you surprisingly find a note replacing yours. someone read the same book as you and answered you. then begin an epistolary exchange through notes and book, until it suddenly stops. and no, you won’t give up until you find who your correspondent was. (minghao is such a cutie, stop. connecting through notes through a book is adorable af. literally cinderella)
Love You Twice || @toruro🔞💕💔🔄
↳ in which your extremely hot and sexy one night stand turns out to be your son’s teacher. naturally, chaos ensues, but you might just find love as your life continues to take an unexpected turn. (teacher woo is satan. dont come for me but yall know this man probably has 0 patience. no scratch that, this man has too much patience. he will wait if he has to. step daddy woo. yes pls)
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Accidentally Ditching You On your Bday || @hannieehaee💔✅
↳ (title says it all. i love how i can just put myself in the oc's shoes and FEEL THE EMOTIONS. when you arent in a relationship, you through yourself in the oc shoes and live through them. that being said, them boys who "accidentally" ditch you on your birthday can choke on a piece of rice. with love.)
Petite S/O Trying to Kiss Them || @seokminded💕✅💯
↳ (its the hhu again - im short, most us females are short so we can highly relate to this struggle. LMAO)
Playfully Dodging Their Kisses || @mangocustard16💕✅💯
↳ (its the hhu but, do you hear their pouts??? you can literally hear their pouts. each any every one of them i swear to god.)
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Forgetting Your B-Day || @toruro💕💔✅
↳ (there isnt a summary but - 95 line forgetting your birthday. brb let me go quickly cry, as someone who doesnt really celebrate their birthday as like a big thing since we just aging, but this would hit me hard if i was in a relationship ngl.)
Do check out all of the other seventeen fics that i have reblogged as well!!
** if there is any fics that you guys would like to recommend, please do! i am slowly running out of fics to read **
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milkbreadandtadpoles · 4 months
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soup and stars
˚ ༘ ೀ⋆。˚⋆˚🐾˖°⋆。°🎧•‧.₊˚🐰‎₊˚⋆⭒。⋆୨୧˚˚ ༘ ೀ⋆。˚⋆˚🐾˖°⋆。°🎧•‧.₊˚🐰‎₊˚⋆⭒。⋆୨୧˚
snip: you keep sukuna's favorite after workout drink in your fridge. and no, you don't frequent that store. sukuna looks at you like you hung the moon and painted the sky yourself when you're either on the brink of death or not paying attention (it's only with his eyes, though. he's a certified rbf). the two of you have been hooking up for over a year with little conversation outside of snarky comments and emojis he doesn't get.
and he sometimes takes care of you when you're sick for five hours only.
warnings: suggestive language, sukuna being a parallel of this guy i used to hookup with who was srsly emotionally constipated and really milked my daddy issues, reader being dumb (lol me), probably a lot of run on sentences and weird descriptions but i am not srry ab it, no Y/N here, a lot of parentheses for some reason
authors note: omg hey. i have this a03 and i thought i'd put a tumblr to pair it together cuz i had an old tumblr but i was kinda done w her (may she rest in peace!) anywayyy my name is lillie, hi again. hope u enjoy this!! luv me some sukuna who reminds me of all my bad flings.
˚ ༘ ೀ⋆。˚⋆˚🐾˖°⋆。°🎧•‧.₊˚🐰‎₊˚⋆⭒。⋆୨୧˚˚ ༘ ೀ⋆。˚⋆˚🐾˖°⋆。°🎧•‧.₊˚🐰‎₊˚⋆⭒。⋆୨୧˚
Since when did you get sick like this?
This time, not that time you lied to your boss, you have an actual stomach bug. Stomach thing. Food poisoning from bad sushi. You don't know.
What you do know, however, is that everything smells bad, you can’t stomach anything other than a handful of saltine crackers. You couldn’t even finish your coffee yesterday morning; you’re just coming down from a fever. Everything is hot and cold, nothing feels right on your skin. Noises are too loud, but the silence is making your ears bleed. 
Curled up into the sheets, you shiver. It rocks over you, feeling cold despite your body burning off whatever infection is brewing in your gut. Your skin feels crusty yet damp, scalp itchy and pulled back into two haphazard buns. Stray strands lay over your forehead that twinkles with cold sweat.
Vampire Diaries plays in the background, volume loud enough so you can hear where you’re at within the series but quiet enough to give you grace if you wish to take another four hour nap. You don’t even want to get on your phone, ignoring the occasional, silent buzzes and flashing light that draw your eyes away from the fuzz of your blanket.
Time passes in a druken haze, not knowing whether you slept or not, not feeling entirely there at all. You fail to count the amount of times you got up to throw up or sit on the toilet, thankful the walls are snug enough to rest your head on the wall of it to contemplate if it’s worth passing out before you gather your wits and crawl back into bed.
There’s a rustle in your sheets, a distant sound of intro music for the vampire show.
“You still watchin’ this shit?” A gruff voice sounds from above you.
Your brows furrow in your sleepy haze- you don’t have energy to fight an intruder, pulling the sheets over your head that throbs from lack of everything. Horribly big hands paw at the clothed dip in your waist. And you let out a mixture of a whine and huff at the realization that your little fling (if you could even call it that) picked a horrible day to play.
“Sukuna,” You murmur, drawing the blankets higher above the crown of your head before he has a chance to yank it down and see your very unprepared self, “Not a good time.”
Sukuna, an occasional fuck and lackluster addition to your friend group, scoffs a laugh, muttering something about you really being a freak, something about thanking your dad for giving you all these issues that only he can handle as he gropes the flesh of your ass.
And it would feel so lovely if you weren’t on the brink of death.
“Eggroll. All the eggrolls.”
He groans, lifting his hand away from you in agreement to the safe word (because that one time when the two of you didn't have one and you reacted that way actually scared the shit out of him). 
“I’m sick.” You add quietly, urging your body to morph into a tighter ball. If Sukuna were his younger brother, or his younger brother’s friend, you’d ask either of them to cover you with another blanket. Or to refill your water bottle. Maybe even run to the store down the road and grab you some soup. But this is Sukuna, and-
There’s a harsh tug at the blanket covering your head, and you try to weakly grip the fabric in place.
“That’s why you didn’t answer my text? ‘Cause you’re all disgusting and shit?” He questions, giving one more quick tug to reveal your messy hair, the tint to the apples of your cheeks. The way his gaze feels makes the very top of your gut churn, and you scrunch your face as you decide whether or not you need to puke again.
“Mhm.” You nod, begging for the fabric back with a soft tug. Sukuna relents, snorting as you cover your head back up.
His body weight makes your bed frame squeak as he repositions himself to slouch next to you, and you peer at him through the crack of the blanket. He pulls out his phone, typing on it lazily. Through your bubbling stomach, confusion festers simply because he isn’t moving.
“Thought you not replying was you trying to be cute ’n shit.” A hand makes its way onto your lower back, the weight of it making your eyes bulge in silent surprise. With all your strength, you shake your head and whisper a soft sorry. He tuts, like all weirdly immature but mature, rude but nice and confusing older brother types do, dismissing your apology with a little pat on your back.
Another pat, and you’re snuggling into the blankets and letting your eyes close, mapping the way his hand feels and ignoring the way your stomach cramps. You hear the distant sound of a picture being taken, only being able to mutter a humiliated groan. There's a vibration where your phone is, and you know that the group chat has been notified of your predicament. 
“You eat? Take a shower?” Sukuna asks, mastering the art of making his concern dismissive. The silence on your end answers everything he needs to know, humming in acknowledgement. You’re a stubborn little shit who likes to suffer in isolation, he’ll give you that.
He synchs a basketball game to your TV, adamantly rotating between patting and rubbing your back until you’re snoring and curled up next to his lap.
When you wake up, you’re still cold, still sweating off your fever. You peers towards the bed, noticing the empty spot but the basketball game still softly playing on the screen. For a moment, you let your head slump back into the mattress before you force yourself out of bed to pee.
The weight in your body is too overwhelming to be horrified by your appearance when you emerge to make your way into a shared bathroom with your roommate. They’re all gone for work, and you don’t have the wit to ask where Sukuna got the time off to come fuck you in the middle of the day. Or why he was looking at your location. 
“I forgot how much of a bitchy face you have.” He comments, voice a note softer than you would usually hear, as you pad towards the bathroom. You grumble a quiet fuck you, slinking towards the bathroom.
You fix your hair to the best of your ability- standing up too long made you throw up. Your abdomen feels like it’s gone to three HIT classes in a row, hardly having any reserves to help you stand and brush your teeth. So you do it knelt over the bathtub, making sure to lock the door to make sure that stupid person of interest doesn’t see you so weak.
Rinsing your mouth out knelt over a tub is a new low, spitting the globs of toothpaste and water into the drain before you turn it off and brace the sides of the tub to stand and wander back out into the kitchen. Your bones feel like brittle, a bowling ball in your stomach forcing your posture to look horrifyingly old. It's been two days but you've aged thirty years. 
“Hi.” You greet weakly, rubbing your eyes before putting your arms back down as swiftly as you can. When was the last time you shaved?
Sukuna nods back, digging through a plastic bag. It’s only a few seconds before you’re sitting on the floor. The tile makes you twitch, and you wonder how you’re going to get up without looking like a hobbling mess. Maybe you’ll just crawl.
Soup and some electrolyte drinks are set out on the counter- along with your favorite candy. For a moment, your brows furrow, and then your lip wobbles in realization.
“Did you get that for me?”
“Can’t fuck you if you’re all pitiful and disgusting.” Is all he says, but his lip twitches into a bewitching smirk as your eyes well with tears and you sniffle out a sweet thank you. "Of course you’d cry over stupid shit like this." He adds, shaking his head. 
His shoes click bluntly against the floor, and he peers down at you with that devastatingly handsome, horribly mean face.
“You could just go fuck another girl.” You murmur sappily, lip jutting into a pout. And it’s true, you know it. The two of you have established that. He throws it in your face, too, when you tell him you’re busy or you’re too sleepy. Or when you simply don’t want to deal with his attitude.
His laugh tickles your heart, staring at him with wide, watery eyes as he bends down and gathers you into his arms. You squirm, or try to, holding any pride and ego close to your chest like a rabid animal as you let out a faux uncomfortable noise. There’s a familiar tap to your ass that urges you to stop, and you sink into Sukuna’s terrifyingly comfortable embrace as he carries you back to your room. The two of you have hardly cuddled before, the absolute most being him begrudgingly letting you cling onto him after one particularly rough night- only to shove you off five minutes later, giving you a pat on the head as if to say good job, thanks for the head, before leaving.
So this is new, awkward, when your semi friend with semi benefits sets you down with the upmost genteel fashion and retreats back into the kitchen. He comes back with an armful of products moments later. Soup, your favorite cup filled with mystery get well liquid, a straw and a big spoon.
“I don’t like big spoons.”
“That’s too fuckin’ bad because that’s what I got- stop pouting like that, it's disgusting.”
Sukuna sets everything down and defiantly does not grab another spoon for you. You make a noise in the back of your throat when he reaches over and urges you to sit up with a silent look that you’re expected to figure out. He lets you maneuver a pillow behind your back, lets you curl a blanket around your body and change the TV back to Vampire Diaries- he does not let you feed yourself.
When you reach for the bowl of soup (your favorite- chicken and stars), he uses only a percentage of his strength to swat your hand away, giving you another demand to stop sulking like a little kid before he’s crawling (crawling!) across the bed. Bowl of soup and too big of spoon in hand, he sits across from and in front of your view from the show.
He leans forward in a sort of endearing way, brows furrowed in a certain concentration as he scoops the perfect spoonful of soup and stars, holding it to your mouth. And he watches when you open your mouth with furrowed brows, lips closing around the dipped metal so that nothing drips down your chin. The broth warms your mouth, your stomach in an instant, making your face relax and your back slump into the pillow that supports you.
There’s a prickle of humiliation on the apples of your cheeks, something Sukuna would likely make fun of if you weren’t half asleep by the time he finishes spoon feeding you. And yea, there was one singular instance of him swiping away fallen liquid away with his thumb. And yea, you’re going to remember that forever. And most definitely are you going to internalize this as something more between the two of you than just friends who fuck (friend being a huge overstatement).
“I don’t like you.” You find yourself murmuring as Sukuna thrusts your clunky, metal, pink water bottle in your face. Obediently, as you always are, you sip at the liquid, swallowing down any grimace as he stares right at you while you swallow.
“You’re not my favorite, either.” He grunts, picking the cup up as soon as you set it down and representing it to you with a face.
“I’m at least second to your video game console.” Your grumble with pursed lips, taking another measly sip. When Sukuna raises his brows, you take a few more.
“Third. Second is pot. And it’s a PS4- fucking nerd.”
The part of your stomach that isn’t cramping to shit flutters, your fever probably rises, and you smile to yourself as you take a big gulp of the electrolyte solution. You swallow before he says the softest atta girl and takes the cup to set it back down.
Sukuna helps you shuffle under three big blankets, gives you your phone and goes to wash the soup bowl. You text Satoru with sick enthusiasm, to which he reiterates it in your (other) group chat where everyone just starts sending silly fangirlish memes. Shoko isn’t phased, Suguru isn’t pleased, either. But there’s an icky smile on your face, the thought of when it’ll end and Sukuna will go back to, well, Sukuna, gnawing at the back of your throat.
But you’ll pretend for today, like you do everyday.
“Are you leaving?” You ask when he comes back into the room, question answered when the bed dips once more.
He grunts a no, to shut up and sleep as he synchs up another sports game. You don’t mind, turning your head so you’re facing him. His back rests against a pillow with a floral case, one of your weighted stuffed animals squished between the weight of his back and the metal bed frame.
You stare with lidded eyes and hot cheeks, tracing the musculature of his shoulders and the sharpness of his face in the same pattern you do after he’s done making you quiver and shake and cry. The plush of the blanket is a perfect excuse for the sheen of sweat on your face, your stomach still molten lava and convulsing.
But it’s just a little more than a dull ache with Sukuna here, bored face and all.
For a moment, before you fall asleep for a third time today, you feel his fingertips, hard and gruff and soft, brush against your cheek, your chapped lips. You’re too tired to hide or quip at him in the static-like fashion that makes him laugh.
You swear you see his lips twitch when you hum affectionately. There’s a text waiting for your friends, a mental scoreboard to update. Smile number two. Four days apart. From holding a sparkler and ogling at it like a child at Satoru’s New Year’s Eve party to laying in bed sick, purring like a cat as he pets you.
“Stop looking like you’re going to die.” He all but requests, covering your face with a sliver of the blanket and looking back at the game. Grabbing the remote, he turns the volume up a few more notches to ignore your itty bitty, very sleepy laugh.
Seconds away from sleep, Sukuna uncovers it- you. His lingering gaze tingles your nose, all the way down to the tips of your toes. Your infatuation with him might as well be the cure to cancer from the faintest spark of energy it gave you.
He’s not there when you wake up. It could have been a fever dream for all you know if it wasn’t for the refilled hydro flask and oddly neat note scribbled for you to ‘drink the fuck up’ on one of your Sanrio sticky notes. There's a brief look of horror on your face knowing that he looked through your drawers to find one. 
You drink it all and take a gruesome looking picture, sending it to him with a silly caption- your way of saying thank you. Sukuna doesn’t respond, but the read receipts are on. And he doesn’t talk to you for awhile, as if he curates the perfect way to make you stay by letting the bubbling like for him simmer into nothing, only for it to come back in full force when asks if you’re awake three Thursdays later.He asks if he can still use the key you gave him to come by after the gym to shower because his little brother and friends are over and he doesn’t want to hear them blubber while they figure out their alcohol tolerance (or lack thereof).
A pearly, well built increment of yourself hopes it’s so he’ll check up on you, too, after he slinks into your room and fucks you just the way he likes- because he knows you like it, too.
And you say yes, like you always do. Tell him about this new body wash you got that he can use, that you just so happened to get his favorite drink from the store he get his protein powder and supplements from when you went grocery shopping.
you don’t even like that store lmfao
found a new prebiotic there! Saw it on Pintrest
sure
Sukuna is not immune to exploiting your obvious cartwheels to please him. He’ll never say thank you, and you won’t ever ask him to. You do it for all your friends, you tell him. Shoko’s toothbrush brand is in your bathroom cabinet when she sleeps over. Satoru’s moisturizer and favorite tooth-rotting snacks. Suguru’s blanket because he gets cold at movie nights. But Sukuna knows he could have whatever he asked for within the hour.
He’ll never address that he took care of you when you were sick. Both times. Or that there's a packet of your favorite gum in the console of his car. And he'd rather be dead than you, shit, anyone, find out that there's a hidden album of little you's in his phone. 
i’m just a good friend  *ੈ♡⸝⸝🪐༘⋆
we’re not friends.
It doesn’t hurt your feelings. Because you know he’s emotionally constipated, that no one’s ever really cared. Except Yuji, but little brothers always care. That whatever affection and consideration thrown his way will be burnt to a crisp, that he’ll only ever look at you like you hung the stars when no one’s looking, or only think about you at night when the weed isn’t helping him sleep. 
uh huh, we sure aren’t. see you later! make sure to stretch before you lift!!
stop texting me, it's fucking up my music
₊˚🖇️✩ ₊˚🎧⊹♡
?
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wolfjackle-creates · 1 year
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I'll Carry Your Heart with Me (Until I find You Again): Part 1
I'll be posting parts 1 and 2 right now. The rest should be up later tonight, but I'm gonna be tied up the next five or six hours.
As you can see, we have a title for this fic! (I may drop the parentheses. Been going back and forth on that.)
Summary: Danny and Jason meet shortly after Jason becomes a ghost in the zone and become good friends. This segment will cover their first two meetings.
Word Count: 2k words
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Jason sat on the island that appeared around him when he landed in this strange place and stared into the swirling green void. It should have been unsettling, but it felt peaceful. If he closed his eyes, it felt like his dad would be right behind him and Alfred was going to call them in for dinner any minute.
But he was surrounded by silence and all alone.
He screamed just to make a noise and turned away from the void. Behind him a punching bag had appeared. Good. With another yell he went to town on it, practicing all the punches and kicks he’d learned at Batman’s side. Gloves formed over his hands, making him realize his clothes had morphed into his Robin costume.
It just made his punches that much harder.
He wasn’t sure how long he’d been going at the bag when he realized some of the yells he was hearing weren’t his own.
“And fuck Chaucer!”
Chaucer? What could that be about? But the ridiculousness of it was enough to pull him from his anger. Robin faded as Jason, literary nerd, took his place. No one dissed Chaucer in his hearing. Where was the yelling coming from?
He flew up and looked around before shaking his head. He wasn’t alive anymore and his sight wasn’t his best sense here. Closing his eyes, he sent out his awareness. This close to his island, he could tell whenever anyone was nearby.
And there they were! Close, but not uncomfortably so which was why he hadn’t noticed sooner. Following the feeling, it didn’t take long to find a boy with a backpack on shouting and throwing what looked like green fire at pieces of paper.
“Oi!” he called. “Who’re you to diss Chaucer near my lair?”
“Well maybe if he would just make fucking sense, I wouldn’t have to diss him!” The boy’s hands still glowed green, and Jason fell into a defensive position.
“He does make sense! Not his fault if you’re too dense to know it.” Jason cautiously moved closer, keeping a close eye on the boy’s posture to prepare for an attack. People in this world loved to fight, but while the kid remained wary, he didn’t move to attack. As soon as Jason was close enough, he grabbed one of the papers out of the air.
It felt weird. Both more and less solid that normal paper. Where had this come from? He took his eyes off the boy to skim the paper. It was a page from an exam? Completely covered in red ink. Well-deserved red ink, too.
“Are these your answers?” Jason couldn’t help but look up with a raised eyebrow. “You really don’t understand Chaucer, do you?”
“It’s not my fault I don’t have time to study!” complained the boy. He drew up his knees and covered his face with his no-longer-glowing hands. “I’m so tired and it doesn’t make sense and Lancer doesn’t care.”
“Tired? But we’re dead. We don’t need to sleep. I didn’t even know there was a school for ghosts. Where is it? Is it any good?”
The boy pulled his hands away and looked at him with furrowed brows. “You, you don’t know who I am?”
Jason bristled and stood a little taller. “Should I?” he asked. Maybe he should venture out from his lair more. He just felt so uncomfortable anytime he left that he hadn’t bothered. What if someone came and tried to take it from him and he wasn’t there to protect it?
“No! It’s just… Everyone I’ve met has already learned about me from somewhere.” A ring of light surrounded his waist and passed over his body, leaving a living human in his place. Instinctively, Jason raised his hands again and flared his core in warning, but the boy raised his hands and sent out no-harm, peace pulses. “I’m Danny. The halfa. Half-dead, half-alive. Half-ghost, half-human.”
“How…?” Jason didn’t even know how to finish his sentence and let it trail unfinished. Though, he had seen people come back to life when he was Robin. So, maybe it did make sense.
Danny shrugged. “My parents are scientists studying ghosts. They built a portal to the zone and because I was stupid, it turned on while I was inside. Thousands of volts of electricity and ectoplasm killed and revived me at the same time.”
“That’s why the paper feels weird…” Jason grabbed one of them again and ran his fingers along it. “It’s from Earth.”
“Yep. My latest failed English test. I just don’t have the time to read the books. And when I do, I don’t see the same things Mr. Lancer swears are there! Or I don’t understand them.” Danny sighed and rubbed his face again. “I hate it. I was a straight A student before I died.”
Jason looked between the paper and the boy. “Why has it been so much harder since you died?”
“So many other ghosts are trying to get through the portal to spend time on Earth. And when they do, they hurt people or cause property damage or try and hunt me for sport. I have to stop them. Even if it’s the middle of the night or during class.”
“Oh, you’re a superhero. I was a hero, too, before I died.” He let his Robin uniform replace the civilian clothes and grinned at Danny. “I’m Jason. I’d say nice to meet you, but I can’t like anyone who disses Chaucer.”
“Why do you like him so much?”
“Do you have the book with you?” asked Jason, nodding his head at Danny’s backpack.
Danny shrugged it off and pulled out a book. “Yeah, why?”
“C’mon. I’ll show you.” He turned and headed back to his lair, gesturing for Danny to follow him. On his island was a building, the outside rather plain, like any run down apartment building in Gotham. But the door led directly to Alfred’s kitchen in the manor. He held it open and waved Danny through.
The boy, still in human form, looked around curiously. “You know, no one’s ever let me come to their island before. Or enter their door.”
Jason shrugged. “Well, I need to prove you wrong about Chaucer and no reason we can’t be comfortable as we do. And if I change your mind, then we can be friends!”
“And if you don’t change my mind?”
“I take you outside and we fight it out like proper ghosts.” Jason grinned. “It’ll be fun.”
Danny laughed. “All right, do your best.”
“So, the page I saw was full of questions on the Wife of Bath and her prologue and tale, so we’ll start there. To really understand her, you have to know what women dealt with in the fourteenth century…”
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Jason tried not to worry when Danny didn’t come back right away despite promising to return for more English tutoring. Jason also planned to help him figure out how to balance a civilian and hero life. He looked over the lesson plans for both English and martial arts training that he’d made for the hundredth time.
He was going to start with how to safely fall. Just as Dick had taught him back when Bruce first brought him home. Was Dick happy that he had Bruce to himself again now that Jason was gone? Shaking his head to dispel the thoughts, he looked around for something to distract himself. Bread. He could make bread. Alfred taught him how and kneading was excellent stress relief.
He’d just finished kneading and set the dough in a covered bowl to proof when he felt the unmistakable shiver that meant someone was coming close to his haunt. His Robin uniform replaced jeans and a t-shirt as he flew out the kitchen towards the intruder.
Only to laugh and relax when he saw Danny.
“So, the halfa returns! I was starting to think you didn’t like me.” Jason said it with a grin to prove it was a joke, even as something in his core relaxed.
“Sorry, life’s been hectic. Do you know Skulker? He got through the portal again and it took me three days to get him contained. And as soon as I did, Technus was out. And then my parents built a new defense system for the house that I had to dismantle before it could kill me. Again.”
“Woah, woah, wait. What was that last one?”
Danny paused. “Did I not tell you about my parents?”
“Not really. Just that they study ghosts.”
“Hunt, more like. They build ghost weapons to destroy ghosts. It’s why I haven’t told them about me. They’d accept me, I’m sure of it. But… then they talk about how they’d like to rip a ghost molecule-by-molecule and I can’t get the words out.”
Jason let out a low whistle. “And I thought I won the lottery for terrible birth parents. But at least I had Bruce and Alfred. You should contact the Justice League, get help. I can tell you how.”
But Danny just waved a hand in the air. “A year and a half ago, I would’ve jumped at the offer. But I’ve got it under control now. And I don’t want anyone with powers in Amity. What if they get overshadowed? Then I’d be fighting someone with both meta abilities and ghost abilities.”
“Overshadowed?” Jason wasn’t sure he’d heard the term before.
“You know, when you take over a human’s body and control it.”
Jason blinked. “We can do that?”
“You… didn’t know? How long have you been a ghost?”
Jason tried to consider. It was impossible to tell time in the Realms. The area off his island was always the same swirling green with no sun or moon in sight. And he wasn’t sure how long it had taken to gain consciousness after dying. He didn’t think it was immediate. “I’m… not sure. I died December 1st XX. What’s the date on Earth now?”
“So recently? I’ve never met such a young ghost before. Its only been a few weeks. Today’s the twentieth.”
That wasn’t possible. Jason shook his head. “No, that can’t be. I know I’ve been here longer than that. I know how long it takes me to read a book and how many I’ve read.”
“Time in the zone can be a bit wonky.” Danny clasped Jason’s arm. The gesture made him flinch, though he knew it was supposed to be comforting. Danny’s arms fell to his side again. “Sorry.”
Needing to change the subject, Jason asked, “So overshadowing, huh? What else can ghosts do?”
The grin Danny gave him convinced him he had the right idea. “Oh, you have no idea. How about instead of whatever you were going to show me, I teach you to fight like a ghost?”
Jason got an overwhelming feeling of fun-excitement-mischief that weren’t his own and his eyes widened. “Can I sense your emotions? Is that another ghost thing?”
Danny laughed and it was filled with so much enjoyment that Jason couldn’t even be offended. “Dude, you really don’t know anything. We can project emotions to other ghosts. It’s easy. Think something at me.”
Jason bit his lip as he considered what to do. His eyes lit up and he tapped Danny on the nose as he thought hard game-tag-play-fun before flying away as fast as he could.
Danny shouted after him, “You are so not getting away from me!”
As expected, Danny used the game to show him all the cool things ghosts could do. He could shoot energy beams now! Just like Kori! Or, well he would be just like her once he got a bit better at controlling them.
After who knows how long, they ended up lying on their backs on the grass, exhausted from the exertion. Jason wasn’t even sure who was It anymore.
It had been the most fun he'd had in longer than he cared to remember.
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Next
Have all the fluff. I love them so much.
Not much of a tag list yet since this is so new, but I can add more on if you'd like.
@britcision, @echoednonny
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clangenrising · 1 month
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I always wonder how you write your characters so well — I usually end up running out of plans and then I think of a new scene and dialogue, and then struggle to write said scene and dialogue in a way that doesn't seem robotic. But the exchanges that take place here (and all the pieces in general) flow so well!
It's good to see Mystique slowly coming to terms with what is going on around her. I like that it's not rushed and that we get to see the changes and the realizations she goes through over time.
It means a lot to see the different ways that everyone goes through grief too, how relationships between friends don't always get an instant fix
I also struggle sometimes with having a scene in mind that feels robotic. Usually, I give it a second or third pass before posting though so you guys don't ever see that.
My method may not work for everyone, but what I do is usually I start with an idea of how i need the scene to go in big strokes. I often write down a little summary in parentheses to guide me, and I make sure that I know what NEEDS to be accomplished by the end of a piece. Like for instance, I might say "this piece needs to show Scorchplume convincing Mystique to take her home" and that's my only requirement. I try not to come up with too much more in advance, or if I do have specific dialogue or scene elements, I allow myself to change them if it feels necessary. I try never to get so tied to an idea that it makes the writing suffer.
From there I just start and I let the conversations flow where they need to and usually, if I've put in the right elements to motivate the characters to act how I need them to, they do. Still, I sometimes write a whole scene and say "this isn't going where I need it to" and then trash it and start over in a different direction.
And then I just try to let my characters be people. You mention that you like how Mystique's growth isn't rushed and that's something I definitely care about. People can be really stubborn and change, especially difficult change, can take a really long time. I think that's what makes it so interesting and I think it's really important to show in my art.
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eternalglitch · 7 months
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I want to become a better writer, but something that stumps me is inside voices. Characters when they hear or talk to inside voice is hard to write.
Do you have any tips or tricks on how to write a voice talking or thinking to a character, like how should I write it?
Some say use italics, others say bold or parentheses, but I want others intakes on it, people I love their writings from!
So there's a couple things to keep in mind for my approach to internal monologues.
First up is that only about 30-50% of the human population have consistent internal voices at all according to some sources. I personally don't hear one most of the time, unless I'm intentionally rehearsing what I'm going to say, for example. This might make it worth it for writers to consider what level a character would even have an internal monologue, and adjust their writing style to better showcase another aspect of this characterization.
(If you read my work Like Father Like Son, I intentionally start with fairly active internal monologue and slowly get rid of any internal monologue at all for the character until it starts to come back.)
With that being said, I find it very clunky when writers have a heavy inclusion of internal monologues. I personally like to just interweave the entire POV with the character's thoughts; if something is of interest for them, the descriptions of that item is a lot more exact and focused. This can easily lead into a paragraph connecting whatever nuances are needed to be "clicked together," if that makes sense, without it actually being in a dialogue format.
I'll only use a rare internal monologue line to draw the final conclusion or pose the initial question, as most thoughts tend to not be as neat and clean as dialogue allows.
In the event that I do have that internal monologue, I prefer to show it by standard dialogue formatting rules. Just remove the dialogue quotes and make the thought line of dialogue italic.
Ex. Oh, she realized distantly. Well, I had a good run of it.
Bold doesn't really make any sense for me; it's extraordinarily rare to see bold at all in published fiction. And parentheses tend to be a very disjointed idea that might be almost entirely unrelated to everything surrounding it, or a further clarification of what proceeded them.
In any case, I think it takes some practice to get a good grasp of what reads well as a good mix of direct internal monologue vs. descriptive paragraphs of what the character is thinking. I would read through some books or fanfics that you think did a good job of showing what a character is thinking and feeling and note how much each technique is used to get started on figuring out that balance.
Hope that helps!
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porcelainvino · 12 days
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blaine in tested episode rant i should’ve posted yesterday but i didn’t realize until now :3
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so sometime last year, i’m scrolling through someone’s old glee blog, i genuinely don’t remember who, and they mention the episode “tested” around the time it came out
some random post is talking about blaine eating in the episode, and their first line under the title is “he can eat perfectly with chopsticks (ASIAN)”
……… THAT’S NOT HOW IT WORKS………
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as a filipino american (emphasis on the american, i am so disconnected from my culture—) i love a good filipino blaine mention, i really do, but this is????? not? correct???????????
i am here to say, if you are unaware, that chopsticks are pretty much exclusively only used in EAST asia. people in the philippines (southeast asia) just use spoons and forks to eat, sometimes just their hands, and rarely ever used chopsticks. hell, eden (my sibling) doesn’t even know how to use chopsticks
also one must take into account that by saying “(ASIAN)”, the original poster means like… the entirety of asia. do you know how fucking big asia is??????? do you know how culturally diverse asia is??? you can’t just say chopsticks = all asian cultures like WHAT
i KNOW that random poster from 2014 meant no harm, and i don’t blame them. i assume they were white (as most of the glee fandom is), and assuming they just assumed that the philippines uses chopsticks as their main utensils, i personally am fine with them saying that. they tried to make a point and kinda fell short and that’s okay.
i think what really gets me is how SURE they were about their statement. the all caps “ASIAN” in the parentheses. completely unaware that blaine just knows how to use chopsticks. his use of chopsticks does not prove his filipinoness
at the end of the day, me and my friends took this random post from 2014 VERY UNSERIOUSLY. most of my friends are asian, specifically east asian, southeast asian, and middle eastern. my entire close friend group is non-white, 3/4 of us being asian, and we joke now and then with that phrase, (ASIAN)
there isn’t really a point to this post. i just realized i could’ve talked about the (ASIAN) thing on the tested episode 10 year anniversary and i think it would be funny. that phrase has now become an inside joke with my friends for the past year. if any of us does or mentions something remotely asian, one of us will say “(ASIAN)”. i just think the entire thing is really silly LMAOOOO
i suppose my final message is pay attention to your filipino blaine headcanons because sometimes they don’t make sense 😭💔‼️
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rassicas · 9 months
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(I don’t feel like rewriting it cause it mostly gets across what I’m trying to say but the first paragraph is just a rant stemming from liking splatfest law as an idea, preferring a more malleable understanding of cannon, and how even good non contradictory things the NOA translators do are often discredited for not being simply 100% accurate [cause it’s often more interesting when it’s not imo] so sorry in advance)
I get being the jp translation lore purist and translator is like your entire brand but I feel like some of the “misconceptions” are just popular headcannons or not bothering to check the NOA translation against the JP one for every line. (Revising this it’s literally only splatfest law this gripe applies to I was just feeling ranty) I get really hammering on the “no there aren’t any more mammals” one because that is an important contradiction but when they don’t directly contradict (like splatfest law [again this entire paragraph is just the product of me thinking splatfest law is a fun idea and specifically disliking it being framed as a “misconception”]) it feels kinda weird to treat taking the translation you have at face value as a “misconception.” (Specifically when it doesn’t contradict established cannon or alter characterization in a major way [this has actually just become a mini rant about how treating any information exclusive to translations as non cannon on the simple basis that the JP translation is the only true cannon is something that I personally am conflicted on {wow the mentally ill genderfuck homestuck prefers a mailable and more flexible idea of what is “cannon” who would have known}]) <=(writing these parentheses sets made be realize I’m kinda just spinning a word salad over one specific gripe)
I also cannot view the Frye thread yet so perhaps there’s more of a thesis to it than Frye not being confirmed to be a vampire squid like them being some other species of squid but it seems like a stretch to include that as a “misconception.” Is your underlying argument is that no cephalings inherent traits from specific aquatic ancestors? Is this just to say the art books and interviews have nothing that directly confirm it? (All of that to say what was the reasoning for including it on the misconceptions list?)
Looking back at the list now those two specific ones are the only ones I’d like to know the reasoning for including (this was not well thought through before I started typing it) all of the other ones I definitely get including and have solid sources to back them up and are good to put out there as definitely not backed up by cannon. The list is over all very swaggy and a great resource I’d just like to hear expanded thoughts and reasoning behind these two being it.
The reason for the "splatfest law" inclusion is how often i'd see it brought up among fans, taken seriously, and incorporated into genuine theories about the future of splatoon's plot (i saw this in theories about splatoon 3's plot, and now i see it with side order).
if it's just a localization funny moment then the odds of it potentially having bearing on the plot/worldbuilding of a game made by japanese developers is next to zero. for people like me who put highest importance on the JP side and want to seriously speculate on and understand splatoon's canon, people want to know what is and isn't just a product of localization! funny thing, i was also a hardcore homestuck fan but i am Like this (obsessive over the established Lore) and have always been. i think its my brand of autism LOL Different pieces of media are going to have different standards to how they treat their canon. individuals will have their own standards to how much they want to adhere to that canon and how they define it. splatoon is looser in some places but parts of it less so once it becomes plot relevant. "splatfest law" is objectively funny and if you believe it based on how you perceive what is splatoon's canon i cannot and will not stop you. i personally choose to believe its not actually part of their legal system and something people will say in-universe as a joke. as for the frye thread you should read it before jumping to conclusions about what point i was making with it. I'll go and post it after this. What happened was that right after frye was revealed in the nintendo direct, someone made a thread speculating that frye was a vampire squid, with points of evidence being that she has fangs (all inklings have fangs and weve seen different shapes of them) and long ears (we've seen normal inklings with different shapes of ears), and then the rest of the "evidence" being based on stuff that was intended to be based on her connection to eels or indian culture. this thread blew up and soon after people were stating, with certainty, that frye was 100% intended to be a vampire squid. it is one thing to headcanon something, but its another thing to tout it as fact, which is what was happening.
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stolenslumber · 9 months
Text
hang your head low in the glow (pjs)
In this moment, you’re glad that you’re anchored in his lap, because otherwise you think you might float away into the night sky, on your way to join the stars in the cosmos. Jay is so crushingly sweet; sometimes, you just don’t know what to do with the weight of all his sincerity. For now, you settle for a fervent, “I like you so much.”
OR: A selection of moments in between the parentheses at the end of devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes (some things may not make sense without reading that first, but it's up to you!).
PAIRING: park jongseong x female reader GENRE: established relationship, fwp (fluff without plot), no like seriously this is just straight up fluff and romance and making out with scant narrative WARNINGS: swearing, kms/kys jokes, kissing and suggestive content/sexual themes WORD COUNT: 10k (derogatory)
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to all the boys i’ve fake-dated before (you, jay, sunghoon, yeonjun, chan, vernon, mark, and 5 others)
jay: peace out losers (except for my REAL gf whom i adore and cherish)
*jay has left the chat*
sunghoon: omfg no way???? jay bitchless era no more?
you: are u calling me a bitch
sunghoon: NOOOO i would never haha btw do u still talk to my sister
you: yeah
sunghoon: right so i’m just ur humble liege
chan: congrats, you two! well i guess jay can’t see this
you: i will accept your congratulations on his behalf :DD i’m really happy you guys 
mark: stop i’ll cry
vernon: no rly i’m next to him rn and he’s tearing up
mark: they deserve it so much!!! after everything i put them through 
you: excuse me it was mostly me
you: all jay did was orchestrate an elaborate scheme to get you and mina together (okay so he did a lot)
you: but we ALL participated
you: and i had to pretend to DATE you
mark: only for like two hours!!!!
yeonjun: wait this reminds me i’ve always wanted to know what ur ranking of us as fake bfs would be
you: in first place: park jongseong
yeonjun: and then?
yeonjun: hello??????
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“Can I ask you something?”
Jay turns his head to you. “Of course, baby.”
Baby. Hearing it still makes you all silly and giddy, though it’s been four days since you started dating him for real and hearing it all the time. Baby, doll, Cinderella, mine. He sure has a way with words. You clear your throat, hoping that your voice won’t crack when you say, “Why were you so weird about the fake-dating thing in the beginning?”
He makes a face at you. “What do you mean, weird? You’re telling me you thought I was weird about it, even after you had to endure Sunghoon?”
“Sunghoon was just awkward. Really awkward, but still. You stalked me to my front door—”
“Your front door is, like, 90 seconds from mine.”
“— and walked with me to Nat’s at a glacial pace, while not saying a word. And then we talked for an hour about random stuff before you promised to help Mark with Mina, even though you weren’t sure you wanted my help. Why were you so weird about it all?”
“Pretty girls make me nervous?” He offers you a winning smile.
“Flattery won’t get you everywhere, Park Jongseong.”
“Yeah, but it’s getting me somewhere, isn’t it?” He rolls all the way over to hover above you and then dips so low that the pendant on his necklace swings in front of your face. The two of you had escaped the party in the frat’s basement after it had gotten too hot down there; Jay said he “knew a spot”, which made you laugh when it turned out to just be his bedroom. But then he pushed open his window and coaxed you out onto the flat roof, and that’s where you had settled on your back, gazing up at a cloudless sky, scattershot through with faint stars. 
Well, you were gazing up at the stars— now, Jay occupies your line of sight, and he’s all smiles and hearts in his eyes. It’s not an unwelcome substitute.
Your hand slips between your bodies so you can rub your fingers over the pendant on his necklace; you laugh when you realize what it is. “J as in Jay? Like T as in Troy?” 
He huffs, rolling off of you to sit back on his heels. “No, J as in Jopping. Yes, J as in Jay!”
You hold your hands up, still laughing as you sit up to face him. “Okay, okay, sorry! Didn’t realize my boyfriend was also a preppy high school girl.”
He rolls his eyes even as he pulls you into his lap. These days, he’s hopelessly afflicted with must-be-close-to-my-girlfriend syndrome. “I have layers, Cinderella. Like an onion.”
“... Are you paraphrasing Shrek?”
Jay flicks at the tip of your nose. “You know, it reveals just as much about you as it does about me that you caught the reference.” 
“You’re not helping yourself in the high school girl category,” you tease, but it’s all syrupy sweet fondness, punctuated by a playful tug at his reddening ear. 
He turns his head to kiss the inside of your wrist. “Do you want to hear my answer or not?”
You nod and straighten your spine with your hands folded neatly against your chest; the picture of propriety, if it weren’t for your legs straddling his waist as he leans back on his hands. “Yes, please.”
“I was… sussing you out, I guess. You know why I wanted to bring someone to my parents, but I couldn’t just bring anyone. I wanted to get to know you a little better, to see if you were someone I could actually see myself wanting to be with, because anything less would be a disservice to my parents. I didn’t want your help if I couldn’t confirm that you were the real thing. And then I saw how patient but also no-nonsense you were with Mark, and how quickly you were willing to help with a frankly crazy plan, and you just… felt right. You felt right to me; you felt like the real thing.” Jay blushes, ducking his head to avoid your gaze. Everything he said is true, of course, and he doesn’t regret telling you any of it, but saying it out loud like this makes his heart feel like it’s going to fall out of his chest.
In this moment, you’re glad that you’re anchored in his lap, because otherwise you think you might float away into the night sky, on your way to join the stars in the cosmos. Jay is so crushingly sweet; sometimes, you just don’t know what to do with the weight of all his sincerity. For now, you settle for a fervent, “I like you so much.”
Jay’s confidence comes back like a boomerang. He leans up and catches your hands in his, draping your arms around his neck before gliding his hands up and down your back. “Who’s flattering who, now?” 
You shrug. “Where’s it gonna get me, gorgeous?”
“Well, only because you called me gorgeous.” And then he’s kissing you, lush and lovely. 
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Fall trickles into winter, and there are final exams and goodbyes to your friends before you and Jake leave on a two-week trip to see your family in Australia. You and Jay FaceTime almost every day; he complains about getting pasty staying indoors in the cold while you’re out tanning on white sand beaches. 
“Should I fly out there?” he muses one day close to the end of your trip. “You could be, I dunno, in danger! Because of the sun. No one to help you put sunscreen on your back… or check that you’ve applied enough on your legs… or your chest… It’s really important, you know. Skin cancer awareness.”
You laugh. “Thanks for the PSA, baby. I’m coming back in a few days, though, so I think I’ll be okay.”
Jay sighs mournfully. “I’m not. I miss you.”
“I miss you, too,” you confess. Living across the street from each other at school and seeing him in person almost every day for the past few months has spoiled you. 
“I miss you, too,” Jake mimics beside you. You’re in an Uber on the way to dinner with your parents, so you can’t commit much physical violence against him, but you do punch his shoulder.
Jay pipes up with, “Was that Jake’s voice I heard?”
You glare at your twin before popping out your earbuds to put the call on speakerphone. “Unfortunately.”
“Yo, what’s up, my man!” Jake cheers, shoving his face into view of the camera.
Jay and Jake chatter about some game they started playing with Heeseung, and you have to admit that you’re really happy about how well you and Jay have integrated into each other’s lives and communities. Of course, Jake had never been a big concern; secretly, you think he loves that his best friend is dating his sister. You’re two of his favorite people in the world, though he’ll only admit it when he’s four shots in. 
Soon, you approach the restaurant, and you have to say goodbye to Jay. He encourages you to keep sending videos of Jake falling into the ocean while surfing, which prompts a loud bout of complaining from Jake.
“You better not have shown that to anyone else,” Jake grumbles.
“Yunjin loved it,” you remark casually, just so you can laugh loudly when he jolts in his seat and turns to you with panicked eyes.
He whisper-shouts, “Why would you say that word? And why the fuck would you send it to her?” 
“What word— love? Oh my god, grow up. And she asked for updates on you.” Your eyebrows furrow. “I think she missed you, or something.”
“She did?” Jake beams; he’s entirely a different man now. “What else did she say about me?”
You point at him accusingly. “You have a lot of questions for someone who claims that they’re just buddies with my girl Jen. Which, again— grow up. Anyways, Jay, we have to go, but we’ll see you soon! Love you!”
“Love you, baby. And you, too, Jake,” Jay adds, before Jake can whine. 
A few days later, you’re finally reunited with Jay at the big New Year’s Eve party his family throws every year. The Parks always get to host the last party of the holiday season; you’re excited to experience it with Jay for the first time. 
An hour before the party is set to start, you let yourself into the Park estate and make your way surreptitiously to Jay’s room. His back is turned to you when you open the door slowly, and you stop for a moment to just drink in the sight of him, comfy and cozy in a cable-knit quarter zip sweater— the definition of huggable. Quickly, you sneak in and wrap your arms around his waist. “Hey, handsome.”
Jay cranes his neck around to look at you. “Hey! You’re here early.” 
You let go of him so he can turn around and hug you back properly. “Couldn’t wait to see you,” you confess. 
“Thank god.” He drops his head into the crook of your neck and inhales deeply. “Mm, the world is finally rightside up again.”
You laugh softly. “We are so dramatic.”
“Unavoidable for hot people,” Jay reasons. He pulls back up to wink at you; it’s so cheesy that you have to hold your hands up to his face to avoid looking at him. He laughs outright, and the return of that sound so close to your ears— as opposed to through the phone across an ocean— makes you smile uncontrollably wide.
“I really missed you,” you murmur. Finally, finally, he leans in and kisses you. It starts as something innocent and comforting, then quickly gets subsumed into fire and passion. You fist your hands into the collar of his sweater, hauling him closer to you with an enthusiasm that makes his fingers dig into your waist.
“Missed you so much. Missed this so much,” he says, right before sliding his tongue against yours. Soon, he transitions to sucking your bottom lip into his mouth, breathing a litany of love you, love you, love yous into you. The kiss is so deep it makes you go lightheaded, and when you separate for air, the sound of your mouth parting from his elicits a faint pop that makes you shudder. He’s considerate enough to back off briefly for you to catch your breath, though he doesn’t make it easy. “Pretty, so pretty,” he whispers against your cheek.
You have to close your eyes to calm yourself down. Right now, you think you could power a whole city with the desire that vibrates underneath your skin. “As much as I want to keep going,” you begin, already doomed with how hoarse your voice is, “I think you have to start getting ready.” The way your fingers pull at the zipper of his sweater is wholly unconvincing. 
He sighs and straightens up to rest his chin on the top of your head. “I should really learn how to reconfigure the time-space continuum. Time needs to stop when I’ve got my girl with me.”
You hum in agreement, curving around him slightly to scrape your teeth over the birthmark on his neck and grinning when he hisses into your ear. “You’re a smart guy; I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” you offer, continuing to tug at his zipper until you’re met with the end of the quarter zip. A frustrated sound escapes your throat at the obstacle.
“What’s your new year’s resolution?” Jay asks suddenly.
“What?” You blink hazy eyes at him; he has to pinch his own wrist behind your back to fight the urge to kiss you again.
“Just trying to kill the mood so I don’t go out there with a hard-on,” he explains, half bashful and half serious. “I have to make a speech, you know.”
“Thanks for coming, everyone! Hope you had a great last year, and here’s to an even better new year. There, speech done.” You withdraw your hands from his sweater to make jazz hands at him. “Wow, I’m such a speedy speechwriter! With all this extra time, we should keep going.”
“Brilliant,” he says dryly. “But you were right before; I do have to get ready.”
You frown and rest your cheek against his chest. “Past me was such a cockblock.”
Jay chuckles. “So, tell me, what is your new year’s resolution?”
Your eyes drift to the offending sweater in your peripheral vision. “Throw out all of your sweaters.”
“Very noble of you.”
“And get into grad school,” you say, more serious now.
“They’d be crazy not to take you for the Rhodes, baby.” Jay presses a final kiss to the top of your head. “I, um. I already asked to start in the London office of the company.”
You whip your head up so fast you almost give yourself whiplash. “Really?”
“Really. I want to be wherever you are.” He smiles so tenderly at you that your heart breaks and then mends itself back together in an instant; shattered and restored all at once by the strength of his devotion.
Sadly, there’s only so much time you can spend swooning at your boyfriend (Jay’s right; you do have to learn how to reconfigure the time-space continuum). He truly does have to give a speech soon, so he starts getting changed, pulling his sweater over his head and swearing when it gets stuck on the wire frame of his glasses. 
You laugh a little breathlessly at him, distracted by the strip of toned stomach revealed by his current position with his arms stuck above his head in his sweater. “My last new year’s resolution is to close the gyms,” you announce, finally moving into action to help him unspool the yarn of his sweater from his glasses.
“All of them?” His voice comes out muffled from inside his sweater before it’s over his head at last, and he’s shirtless in front of you. 
You drag your fingertips from the top of his waistband to the warm skin of his sternum. “Especially the ones you go to. You’re too tempting like this.”
He shivers at your touch but still manages to smirk when he says, “Just for you, doll.”
You groan. “Seriously, don’t call me that if you want to make it out there in time for your speech.”
“We should get rid of speeches, too,” he declares. He eyes the top of your fingers against his chest forlornly. “But I guess I’ll have to give the last one. Now, for real, tell me something extremely unsexy.”
You quip, “To help you get flaccid?”
He wrinkles his nose. “Excellent work; we’re headed in the right direction.” 
Your phone vibrates with a barrage of texts at that moment, which you check as Jay disappears into his walk-in closet to get dressed. It looks like your friends have arrived, and they’ve brought your outfit with them (you had come straight from the airport, dressed in leggings and a sweatshirt from high school). You tell Jay just as much, raising your voice slightly to be heard in the other room. “I’m gonna go get my stuff and change!”
He sticks his thumb out the door of the walk-in closet, pointing it upwards in assent. He assumes you saw it when he hears the door close, and then his phone goes off as well, inundated with a flood of texts from his newly arrived friends. 
hsm 3’s most underrated song: the boys are back (heeseung, jay, jake, sunghoon, jungwon, and sunoo)
jake: alright i have to k*ll myself
sunoo: why r u censoring all of a sudden
jake: i don’t want my fbi agent to take that seriously. although i do wanna kms
jungwon: why what happened
sunghoon: oh it’s HILARIOUS
jake: stfu
jake: so there’s eggnog being passed around right? and i see yunjin so i go to hand her a cup to be nice
heeseung: ~to be nice~
jake: kys
jake: anyways then i realize that the cup was really hot so i go and blow on her drink, like a fucking weirdo, and then i blow on SUNGHOON’S drink to make it seem less weird, except he’s drinking a HIGH NOON like an absolute idiot
sunghoon: hey i got the bartender to put it into a nice glass at least
sunoo: that’s my big (derogatory)
jay: perpetual bachelors jake and sunghoon! who’s surprised
sunghoon: NOT true i’m pretty sure the student government’s social media chair was flirting with me in the library before finals
jungwon: ??? wonyoung is a lesbian
jungwon: and she was just asking u to get out of the way bc u were spacing out in front of the printer
heeseung: L + me personally i’d kms
sunghoon: oh i know YOU are not talking
sunghoon: lee “the only time i feel the touch of a woman is when i go to yoga class at the university gym once a week” heeseung
heeseung: THE WOMAN WHO TEACHES IT IS HOT OKAY
sunghoon: oh heeseung mommy kink era?
heeseung: SHE IS MY AGE
sunoo: shouldn’t u be more concerned about breaking ur back every time ur there, grandpa?
heeseung: uncalled for wtf
heeseung: also tbh i wish SHE would break my back
jake: okay i’ve recovered from my earlier embarrassment. upon seeing what heeseung is texting, i’m thinking what i did wasn’t that weird
sunoo: bffr
jungwon: jake why don’t u just ask her out? instead of being emotionally constipated
jake: ew why would i ask her out i don’t want to be in a relationship that’s for pussies (respectfully) (i love women)
jungwon: yeah that’s definitely super emotionally mature of u
sunghoon: it’s 2023 pussy is a gender-neutral term
jay: you rly just say whatever the hell you want don’t you
sunoo: oh hey i see felix flirting with yunjin
jake: WHAT
jake: suddenly i have to go
sunoo: u r literally so pathetic
jay: btw i’m coming down now but if any of you see my gf before i do can you tell her she can change in my room
jake: gross
jay: GROW UP + stay single + kys
heeseung: GET HIS ASS
Jay’s idiot friends aside (he loves them so much), he actually is looking forward to seeing a bunch of his classmates and their families at tonight’s holiday party. Senior year seems to have crept up on him unannounced, and now he’s feeling slightly (a lot) sentimental about the idea of not living down the hall or at most across the campus from all the people who have made the last few years so formative (and entertaining as hell). 
He’s still thinking about how much he’s going to miss that place and those people when he hears your voice floating down from the top of the staircase. It sounds like you’re arguing with Kazuha about how many jello shots is too many for the after-party of the next phase of new member initiation at your sorority, which makes him chuckle quietly to himself. With four humanities and fine arts majors between the two of you, neither of you sound like you have the correct math. 
He opens his mouth, ready to give his two cents, but then he freezes at the sight of you descending the stairs. Vaguely, he processes the fact that Kazuha seems to have stopped arguing and even stopped coming down the stairs herself, just so she can give you two this moment.
This moment, which is making his brain short-circuit, because you are incandescent in a slinky, silvery dress that reflects all the candles that he’s now glad his parents made him light around the place. Countless points of light impart an otherworldly glow upon you, and you’re smiling at him; Jay thinks he must have saved the country in a past life.
When you reach him at the bottom of the stairs and he still hasn’t said anything, you tilt your head quizzically. “Jay? Everything alright?”
“You look like you just stepped out of a fairytale,” he breathes out. He moves on autopilot, bending at the waist as he takes your hand and kisses the top of it before straightening up to simply look at you some more.
“And right into the arms of my Prince Charming,” you respond, only half-joking. Right now, the dreamy look in his eyes makes you want to believe in happily ever after, as if it’s something he could forge with his own two hands. You kind of think he could, with the force of all his ardor.
Multiple phone cameras going off breaks the two of you out of your spell; you turn towards your nosy friends, who hold up variations of thumbs-ups and finger hearts. 
“Sorry, you guys are just too cute,” Yunjin says, not sounding sorry at all.
“Your parents would never forgive me if I didn’t get that on camera,” Sunghoon insists.
“Speaking of, I gotta go find them to make sure everything’s set.” Jay kisses your cheek. “See you later, Cinderella.” His fingers hold onto yours until the last second; your arm and his stretch out absurdly, as if you were parting for years, not minutes. 
“So dramatic,” Kazuha teases, joining you at the bottom of the staircase. 
“Unavoidable for hot people,” you explain wryly. You turn your attention to your gathered friends next. “I’m so glad you’re all here!”
“In 50 years, you could be hosting this party,” Sakura quips. Secretly, you hope it’s a lot sooner than that. 
“New Year’s Eve on Mars?” Jake suggests. 
Heeseung groans. “I’m scared of heights; can we not?”
“How many times do I have to tell you, dude, that’s not how space works!”
Half an hour passes happily like that, chatting and joking with some of your favorite people in the massive foyer. You don’t know exactly where Jay went off to, but the answer to that becomes clear when the music goes low and Jay clears his throat into the microphone set up at the front of the foyer. 
“Thanks for coming, everyone! Hope you had a great last year, and here’s to an even better new year.” Jay pauses to chuckle. “My girlfriend and I were joking earlier about me just saying that and calling it a night, but unfortunately for all of you, I am much more verbose than that.” Another pause for a light round of laughter from the gathered crowd. 
Jay works the audience like a pro as you watch with unbridled pride. A few minutes later, he winds down to the end of his prepared remarks, which you only know because he has asked you to proofread the speech weeks ago. You’re expecting him to wrap up with a final Happy New Year!, so you’re surprised to hear him keep going. 
“A couple of last things. To my parents, and everyone at the company, thank you for putting your trust in me.” Jay bows deeply. “I won’t let you down next year.” He straightens and looks right at you. “This year has been nothing short of wonderful. I’ve been so lucky my whole life, but the last few months have been particularly special to me. I’ve gotten to know people who I want to continue knowing for the rest of my life, who make me feel like my heart is too big for me, because I couldn’t possibly fit all of the kindness and love they give to me in the confines of my chest. I don’t know what I did to deserve it, but I do know that my life would be bereft without it.” Jay has to tear his eyes from yours because he knows he’s liable to cry if he sees you do so. “Bereft without you,” he continues, sweeping his gaze across the foyer. “All of you, who I’m so glad to call my friends and family. So, please stay healthy and happy this year, and I hope the new year treats you as well as this year has treated me. Happy New Year, everyone!”
Champagne glasses clink around you and people applaud, but all of it sounds far away. The only thing you can focus on is Jay, who’s making his way slowly through the throng of well-wishers to get to you.
When he’s finally in front of you, you have your misty eyes under control. He drops his hands to your waist and smiles gently. “Hi, pretty lady.”
“Hello, my favorite hopeless romantic.” Your palm goes to the sharp curve of his jaw. “You just had to go and say such sweet things. What’s gonna happen to my cool and unbothered reputation?”
“Right, your reputation.” He leans into your touch. “I can think of other ways to ruin your reputation,” he remarks, low and rough.
You roll your eyes, although you can’t stop your other hand from curling into the lapel of his suit jacket. “Romantic and horny! Duality of man.” 
“I meant what I said, you know.” His eyes soften at you. “You’re the best thing that’s happened to me this year. Maybe ever. I have a lot of great people in my life, but only one you.”
“I know. You always mean what you say, and I love that about you.” You lean in to press a quick kiss to his mouth. He chases after you, tipping your chin up with his hand to kiss you deeper. Sadly, it doesn’t last for too long; you’re both aware that your friends and their parents are nearby.
But later, Jay makes sure to kiss you from this year into the next one, and you hope that you never forget what it feels like— fireworks exploding above your head and in your veins, lighting you up from within. Radiant, in the glow of someone who loves and is loved.
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girlbossing soooooooo close to the sun (you, yunjin, chaewon, kazuha, and sakura)
yunjin: do u think it’d be weird if i got jake something for valentine’s day
you: yes extremely
sakura: don’t ask me i’m gay
yunjin: ???
yunjin: okay thx guys this was super helpful!
chaewon: i thought you weren’t dating?
yunjin: WE MIGHT AS WELL BE. i’m sick of waiting for him to actually ask me out
you: jokes aside, i think he’s really into you, like genuinely. but his head is so far up his ass he will never make the first move
sakura: boooooo emotionally repressed playboy how cliche
kazuha: omg u should try to do something romantic
yunjin: absolutely not i can’t be a SIMP
sakura: boooooo emotionally repressed maneater how cliche
yunjin: WHATEVER
yunjin: more importantly, what are we doing for galentine’s!!!!
kazuha: spa day i thought?
you: yes but i have to leave a little early :(( sorry ladies the community kitchen is doing a pre-valentine’s day dinner and jay and i are signed up to help
chaewon: i can’t even be mad at you that is SO CUTE
Jay gets sick in the week leading up to Valentine’s day, which puts a spanner in the works of his grand plans for your first Valentine’s together. You tell him that it’s not a big deal and he should just focus on resting and getting better, but that doesn’t stop him from moping about it. 
mother is mothering (you, niki, and jungwon)
you: can i just say that this gc name is not helping to put to rest the joke that jay and i are ur parents
you: also i Don’t think u guys know what this phrase means…
you: but anyways what’s up… children
niki: pleaseeeeee fix jay hyung
jungwon: fr we’re desperate
jungwon: he’s been playing sad john mayer songs for like three days straight I CANT LIVE LIKE THIS ANYMORE
niki: he called the coffee shop yesterday to see if we could set up a valentine’s day surprise for u
niki: we can’t, so i’m not ruining the surprise
niki: but he literally had such detailed plans for the surprise like WE R JUST PART-TIMERS
you: omg… my bf is so cute :(
jungwon: that is SO not the point actually that’s like the exact opposite of the point
you: dw i was gonna come over today after the community kitchen’s pre-valentine’s day dinner anyways
jungwon: THANK GOD
niki: YAY can u ask jay to help me with research material for my history paper btw
you: ask him urself?
niki: i’m scared he’s going to rope me into some other crazy plan to make it up to u for ruining ur valentine’s day plans
niki: which sounds like a HIM problem??? why is he getting ME, a CHILD, involved
you: oh so ur a child now but not when u want to sneak into frat parties
jungwon: omg SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PPL IN THE BACK
you: jungwon i know ur the one who helps him sneak in
jungwon: haha. love u mom :)
you: IM NOT UR MOM
you: btw i’m bringing back extra vegetables from the community kitchen and i expect u to eat them! jay mentioned u were stressed lately and not eating well
jungwon: okay ty… not-mom
It’s almost 10pm by the time you get to the frat house, bundled in your winter coat and weighed down with containers of food. You leave one in the fridge, labeled with a note that says “for jungwon— eat this or niki will forever be taller than you”. You take everything else with you to Jay’s room, pausing at the door when you realize you don’t even know if he’ll be awake or if he’s still sleeping off his illness.
The door swings open before you have the chance to knock, and you’re met with the sight of Jay in a bathrobe, shower caddy in hand. “I must be hallucinating,” he mutters. 
You hold back a laugh. “Nope, you’re still in the land of the lucid. I brought you some food, and I figured we could watch something while we eat. Go shower; I’ll set up.” 
Jay blinks rapidly. “Oh my god, you’re really here?” He drops the shower caddy to the floor carelessly, moving forward to hug you before he halts abruptly, inches away from you. “Wait, no, you shouldn’t be here. I don’t want you to get sick, too.”
“It’s been, like, five days. I don’t think you’re contagious anymore,” you argue, sidling past him to drop your stuff into his room.
“Really?” The hopefulness in his voice makes your heart melt.
“Really. I’ll ask Heeseung to ask his special friend to confirm, if that will make you feel better,” you offer.
Jay's eyebrows furrow. “We should probably stop calling her that, but yes, that would make me feel better. Ask while I shower, but seriously, I’m not touching you if she says no.” 
You salute him. “On it, captain.” Heeseung’s special friend is the girl who teaches one of the yoga classes at the university gym, and she’s also a nursing student. She has a name, but Heeseung refuses to tell any of you what it is. Truthfully, it wouldn’t be hard to look her up, but you think it’s kind of cute how nervous Heeseung is about whatever liminal space he’s in with her.
you: hey can u ask the love of ur life if it’s okay for me to be with jay rn?
heeseung: first of all DONT CALL HER THAT second of all why tf would she have an opinion on that
you: i wouldn’t have to call her that if u would tell us HER NAME
you: and jay came down w/ that nasty virus like five days ago remember
heeseung: oh my goddddd yeah he wouldn’t stop whining about how his valentine’s day plans were ruined
you: ur special friend is in nursing right? so can u ask her
heeseung: i’m starting to think i should tell u her name just so u stop coming up with new ways to refer to her
you: that’s what I'M saying
heeseung: but yeah sure anything to get jay to stop being so annoying
you: thank uuuuu i’ll leave u some cookies in the kitchen so give some to her okay?
heeseung: omfg u made COOKIES i am so glad jay is dating u
Ten minutes later, Heeseung texts to let you know that you’re probably in the clear. More specifically, he says that his friend says it’s ultimately best practice to stay away from Jay for another couple of days, but she thinks the two of you are so cute and she gets why you’d want to be with him, and you’re outside of the most contagious window now, anyways. 
You figure that’s close enough to a yes, which is what you tell Jay when he returns from his shower. He’s at your side in an instant, hugging you like his life depends on it. “I’m sorry,” he whispers eventually.
“What on earth for?” 
“Our first Valentine’s is going to be so lame, just because I got sick.” He sighs deeply. “I wanted to make it special for you, especially because you’re always running around helping everyone, and instead you’re here, taking care of me.”
“Jay.” You pull back from his chest to look at him. “Nothing is lame, and nothing is ruined, okay? It’s literally just a day. And you always make me feel special. Being with you is like— ahem.” You cringe at the words that are about to come out of your mouth; Jay is always effusive and free-wheeling with his declarations of affection towards you, but it doesn’t come as easily to you. The way you feel about him makes you want to try, though. “Being with you is like Valentine’s Day every day.”
He smiles gently at you, one dimple carving a crescent into his left cheek. “You deserve it, baby. And even if you didn’t, I’d still want to give that to you.”
The two of you stand like that for a while, swaying underneath the unattractive lighting in Jay’s room. His hair starts to drip onto your shoulder, though, and you remember that you need to go back down to the kitchen to set aside the cookies you promised Heeseung.
“Why does Heeseung get to have some of the cookies you made for me?” Jay pouts.
“Troll bridge toll I felt compelled to pay, all because you wanted a second medical opinion,” you respond dryly.
“I’m supposed to believe you were the first? And I’m telling Heeseung you called him a troll.”
“Keep that up and you won’t be getting any cookies, Park.” 
Of course, you feed him a cookie as soon as you’re back in his room. Jay has changed into his pajamas while you were away, and he points to another set he’s laid out for you after he’s done eating the cookie. Once you get changed, you settle on the rug in front of Jay’s bed and start an obscure history documentary together while eating the food you brought him. You warn him that it won’t be as good as what he makes (you are a far better baker than you are a cook). Undeterred, he makes an exaggerated effort to fawn over every dish and praise your skills.
Afterwards, you sit on the edge of his bed and let him lean his head on your lap as you blow dry his hair. “I heard you were being a pain in the ass this week about Valentine’s Day,” you mention. 
“That… is a distinct possibility, for sure.”
“Seriously, I think you scared away all of Niki’s coworkers. He wants your help with research for his history paper, by the way. Oh, that reminds me— what’s the name of your group chat with Niki and Jungwon?”
Jay grimaces. “Glucose father slay.”
You suppress a snort. “That’s… creative, if unsubtle.”
He hums contentedly from the just-right warmth of the hairdryer and the just-right softness of your hands. “We’ll get to have lots of Valentine’s Days together, right?”
"Of course, baby."
When it hits midnight, you’re curled up together in his bed, with his laptop still playing the credits of the history documentary. You enter February 14th like that, tucked under his chin, exactly where you want to be.
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On one of the first randomly hot days that pop up in late March before the weather actually gets warmer, you’re holed up in the library, eyes aching after staring at the tiny text in ancient manuscripts for too long and shivering in the temperature-controlled special collections section of the library. While the rest of your friends are out at the college’s golf course enjoying the warm weather at a joint charity tournament, you’re stuck here, beholden to the block in your calendar which says “manuscript time :/”. The rare manuscripts you need for your thesis are only available to be looked at during certain times, but today’s research session has proven to be less than fruitful, given how often your eyes wander to the door to the exit and how empty your notes are.
You can feel yourself dozing off for the umpteenth time when suddenly, warm hands land on top of your shoulders, and a smooth voice murmurs in your ear, “Working hard or hardly working, Cinderella?”
Jay. You turn your head to meet his gaze; crescents of affection reflect back at you. “How’d you get in here?” Appointments are usually required for the rare manuscripts room.
He flashes you a smirk. “Charmed the librarian.”
“Wow, I didn’t know you pulled with the 40-and-up demographic like that.”
“Yeah, I told her I missed my girlfriend so much I’d cry if I couldn’t see her today.” He drops a kiss to your cheek, then maneuvers the chair next to you sideways and backwards so he can sit as close to you as possible. He crosses his arms on top of the back of the chair and rests his chin against his arms to stare at you, soft and beckoning. “You look like you want to leave.”
You sigh and turn fully sideways towards him, letting his long legs bracket yours while your knees push up against the back of his chair. “You look like a reason to leave,” you admit. It comes out breathy in a way that you hadn’t intended, but who can blame you— Jay is dressed for the golf tournament in a navy blue polo and crisp white slacks, and as always, his clothes fit like they were made for him. 
In the back of your mind, you make a note to ask where he gets his tailoring done. In the front of your mind, your attention roams from the clean line of his shirt sleeves against his biceps, to the inviting curve of his mouth, to the planes of his chest that peek out behind the top two undone buttons of his shirt. All these months later, looking at him still hasn’t gotten old; truthfully, you don’t think it ever will.
“Whatcha thinkin’ about?” Jay inquires, peering closer at you with a sly grin on his face.
“Like you have to ask,” you grumble, reaching out to pinch his cheek in retaliation for the teasing question.
He grabs your hand before it reaches him and gently bites the tip of your index finger, laughing when you make an offended face and pull your hand back. “C’mon, let’s get out of here, yeah? We should at least make an appearance at the tournament we organized.”
You glance back at the heavy tomes you’ve pulled out today— pages and pages of dense Middle English to get through. Then, you look at Jay, who has chosen that moment to skate his fingertips up and down the top of your right thigh. The decision is almost comically easy to make. “Yeah, fuck this. Let’s go.” 
You dutifully return your books and say a polite goodbye to the librarian, who coos at you both. Jay waves your joined hands at her. On your way out to the main section of the library, goosebumps form on your arms from the change in temperature: arctic vortex to plain old frigid, both of which are wholly inhospitable environments for the sleeveless golf dress you’d worn today in hopes of eventually getting to the tournament. 
“Cold?” Jay halts you both and sweeps his hands across your shoulders and down to your wrists, frowning at the chill he encounters on your skin. Normally, he’d offer you his jacket or sweater or something, but he just has the shirt on his back today. “This won’t do,” he murmurs, and then he’s pulling you in the direction of the secluded stacks.
It’s dark and shadowy there, with not a single soul occupying any of the carrel desks spaced in between the rows of books. Your heartbeat picks up despite yourself; you think you have a good idea of where this is going. This is also something that hasn’t gotten old yet and likely never will. “You know, I’ve always thought it would be kind of hot to hook up in a library,” you comment.
Jay trips over air, then quickly rights himself and shakes his head as if to clear it before looking at you again. “You would, you nerd,” he says, but it comes out low and contemplative. 
As soon as you reach the carrel desk located in the most isolated corner of the stacks, he brings his hands to your waist and lifts you up to sit on top of the desk. Happily, you hook your ankles behind his legs and draw him in to stand between yours. “You can’t tell me you weren’t thinking the same thing.”
“I just wanted to kiss you for a bit, so you could warm up,” Jay insists. He leans in closer, until your chests are pressed up against each other. “But now that we’re here…” 
“Now that we’re here,” you agree. Then you’re tilting forward to kiss him, and the tension in your body from a long morning at the library dissipates into the heat of his mouth and the softness of his hair.
Jay kisses you long and luxuriously, like he was born to do nothing but stand around and kiss you. “You did so well with planning the tournament,” he tells you in between kisses, smothering the words against your mouth. 
“You did, too,” you reply, dispensing the compliment in airy gasps against his ear as he moves down to your neck, feathering open-mouthed kisses against the skin there. A whimper escapes from your throat when he bites down at the juncture of your neck and your clavicle, transforming into a breathy moan as he soothes over the sting with his tongue. His name slips out of your mouth in a dragged-out whine: “Jongseong.” 
He shudders against you. “Warn a guy before you do that, will you? I don’t actually want to come in my pants in the library.”
You giggle, tugging his head back so you can look at him. You’re met with shiny lips, slow-blinking eyes that drag up and down your body, and tousled hair, messed up from Jay’s meticulous styling by your wandering hands. Temptation, personified. “Fuck,” you breathe out. “What if I do?”
“You’re not wearing pants,” Jay points out cheekily. His demeanor switches to sultry in an instant when he presses down on your bottom lip with his thumb, and he groans when your tongue darts out over it. “God, you’re so hot. C’mere, doll, let me sort you out.”
Twenty minutes later, you’re slipping out of the back door of the library and into the parking lot. You shoot off a quick text to Yunjin, asking her to hold down the fort for a little while longer at the tournament, and then Jay is tugging you into the backseat of his car with an urgency that makes your heart pound. Now, you get to sort him out, and it’s so much better than staring at old books.
yunjin: what is taking so long i sent jay to get u like 45 minutes ago
you: sorry be there in a bit love you babe!
yunjin: woooooooooow remember when i said i would never betray u for dick
yunjin: guess u DO NOT FEEL THE SAME
yunjin: ah well have fun don’t do anything i wouldn’t ;)
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to all the boys i’ve fake-dated before (you, sunghoon, yeonjun, chan, vernon, mark, and 5 others)
you: were any of you fuckers going to tell me that jay’s birthday is TOMORROW?!
you: help!!!!! what do i get for him!!!!!
sunghoon: believe me that man wakes up every day thanking god that ur his gf. u don’t need to get him anything
you: as much as i appreciate the reporting of his simp behavior, i am IN A PANIC his birthday is in 12 hours why the fuck didn’t anyone say anything sooner?!?!
vernon: i’m gifting him a new speaker for the basement
chan: bro you’re getting that gift for ALL of us bc you BROKE the speaker in the basement
vernon: and jay is one of the many recipients of that gift!
you: FOCUS on me and MY problem please
mark: yooooo u could write him a song? i still owe u a favor so i’d be down to help
you: and make him listen to me perform it? i’m trying to keep this relationship going, not obliterate it
yeonjun: mans has one single move in his arsenal
mark: HEY it worked out pretty well for me
yeonjun: only bc u had like a million ppl helping u
sunghoon: i got jay tickets to that japanese singer he likes
you: FUCK that’s such a good idea why didn’t i think of that
sunghoon: bc u didn’t know his birthday was coming up
you: thanks genius
sunghoon: but anyways jay never makes a big deal out of his birthday
sunghoon: it’s mostly like a sentimental thing for his parents bc they tried for so long to have him
vernon: strictly speaking, they were trying to have ANY of the sperm inseminate ANY of the eggs so like it didn’t have to be him specifically
mark: dude wtf
chan: i’m sure jay will love whatever you get for him! maybe you could paint or draw something for him?
you: okay yes yes i can bang something out real quick in the studio 
vernon: that’s what she said
yeonjun: this is why ur still single
you: the sperm and egg comment didn’t give it away?
vernon: guys stop ganging up on me wtf
you: okay thank you ONLY to chan the rest of you were useless
you: chan u could start a business. like a gift-giving idea business
mark: like santa claus but without the actual gifts?
yeonjun: ghost santa claus
chan: none of you should ever be allowed to start a business
It’s 5am by the time you’re finished in the studio, and you know your sleep cycle is going to be all sorts of messed up for the next few days, but it’s a small price to pay so you can slide into Jay’s bed and mold yourself against his body, knowing that your painting of the scene of your first date is leaning safely against the wall across from you. 
Unfortunately, the swift arrival of sunrise and birds chirping outside of Jay’s window leave you unable to fall asleep (not to mention the energy drink you’d chugged at 2am). You give up on it quickly, comforted by the fact that you don’t have any classes today and can afford to sleep in when your body eventually gives out on you. 
Staring at Jay is not an unenjoyable way to pass the time, so that’s what you do. Sleep smoothes out all the muscles in his face, but the sharp angles of the underlying bone structure turn him into marble; idly, you wonder how many sculptors would kill to be able to craft something this beautiful, this timeless and exquisite. You’ve tried to sketch or paint Jay multiple times yourself, and you’re still trying (that senior portfolio is going to be the death of you), but to date, you’ve been left unsatisfied. Something about Jay is just too expressive, too lively, too attentive; you haven’t been able to nail down the exact way he moves through the world, much less the way he looks at you like nothing else exists. There’s so much love to give in those steady hands, and so many meanings to divine in those familiar eyes—
Oh.
Jay’s eyes have flipped open, displaying his least endearing habit: sleeping with his eyes open. It unnerves you to no end, even though it makes him look kind of silly, so you have to flip around with a small grin on your face. “You’re lucky I love you so much,” you whisper, mostly to yourself.
His arm tightens around your waist. “Tell me something I don’t know.” The words come out slightly slurred, and the movement of his lips against the back of your neck makes you shiver. 
You flip back around to meet his now closed eyes. “You’re awake?” Jay usually sleeps like the dead.
“I’m trying really hard not to be,” he drawls. Eyes still closed, he tugs you closer to press his lips to your forehead. “Go to sleep, doll.”
You hum tunelessly and fidget with the pendant of his necklace. “Happy birthday, Jongseong.” You can feel his lips curve into a smile against your skin, but you’re quick to nip that in the bud. “Or should I say… traitor? Why didn’t you tell me your birthday was coming up? I had to find out from Jungwon.”
“Typical mama’s boy.”
You giggle, even as you admonish him with: “Seriously, that joke needs to die. One of Riki’s coworkers actually thinks I’m his mom, and I just have a really good Botox supplier.”
Jay’s chest rumbles in amusement underneath your ear. Afterwards, it’s quiet for a long moment before he finally opens his eyes to peer blearily at you. “Are you upset I didn’t tell you about my birthday?”
You give him a tiny shrug. “Just curious, I guess. Plenty of people don’t like to celebrate their birthdays. Sunghoon said it’s usually more of a thing for your parents than it is for you.”
“Yeah, that’s about right.” Jay rubs his thumb over your cheek. “I’m spending the day with them, actually. We go to the same place for brunch every year, and then we just kind of walk around until dinner, which I’ve been cooking for the past couple of years.”
You smile automatically at the thought of his parents. They adore you, and the feeling is mutual— how could it not be? 
Jay’s thumb halts its movements as something occurs to him. “Well, hey, do you wanna come with us?” 
Quickly, you shake your head. You can spot Jay’s Mr. Nice Guy gestures from a mile away. “Nah, you should keep up your tradition with your parents. We’re still getting lunch with them this weekend, right? So I’ll get to see them soon, anyways.”
“My mom said she loves the insoles you sent her, by the way.”
“Right? Super comfortable. I can stay on my feet in the studio all day in those.” Just then, you’re hit by a yawn. “I guess I did the equivalent of a full day last night.”
Suddenly, Jay sits up straight, making you whine about the loss of coziness. “Wait, yeah, why are you here so early? Not that I don’t love waking up next to you, because I really do, but you weren’t here last night, and… oh my god.” He cuts himself off when he spots the painting against his wall.
You sit up as well. “Don’t freak out,” you begin. “I had fun making it, okay? And I don’t have class today so I can sleep alllllll day and if you’re not tired after dinner we can hang out afterwards, and seriously, Jay, light of my life, apple of my eye, etcetera, etcetera— let me do something nice for you without you feeling guilty about it, okay?” You draw in a deep breath. “I know I’m, like, afflicted with a chronic need to be helpful, but c’mon. Pot, kettle.” You point to yourself and then to him. “I love that you’re humble and kind and you know how lucky you are, but there’s nothing… to prove. You hear me? Just because you’ve had a good life doesn’t mean you have to give 110% of yourself to everyone else to deserve it. Please don’t make yourself feel bad because you get to take something from me for once instead of giving.” At the end of your rant, you blink in surprise at yourself. “Sorry, I don’t know when that turned into a lecture. All I’m saying is that you told me once that you’d want to give me Valentine’s Day every day, even if I didn’t deserve it, and I want to give that to you, too.”
Jay’s eyes flick between you and the painting and back to you, staring at you like he’s never seen you before. He’s speechless for so long that you count to 33 in your head in Mississippis that are definitely longer than one second. Finally, he crushes you to his chest in a hug that has your arms flailing around him with the force of it. “I feel like you just crawled into my head,” he says against your ear.
You make a face that he can’t see. “Didn’t need that visual in my head, but okay, baby.”
“I mean… I’m just feeling very perceived; that’s all. And I don’t really have anything else to say except that I love you so much, and thank you, and you’re my favorite person in the world.” He sniffles, and then preempts you with a, “Shut up.”
“Noooooo, I made you cry,” you coo at him, leaning back in his hold to swipe under his eyes with your thumbs. As you continue to fuss over him and he pretends to bite at your fingers, he hopes you know just how much he’s affected by your words and just how much you mean to him. Golden boy Park Jongseong, the prodigal son, the miracle child— he doesn’t think it could fairly be called a burden, because how could it be a burden to be so lucky, to be so loved, to have never truly suffered? But somehow, you get it. Maybe because you’re cut from the same self-sacrificing cloth, or maybe because you just understand him at an atomic level, but you get it. You get that he has dedicated his life to deserving his life in the first place; you get that he tries so hard, all the time, because he wants to be worthy of what he’s been given; you get that he gives, and gives, and gives, and he never wants to take, because he feels like he hasn’t done enough to pay back the gifts with which he was born, let alone take anything else from this world. And here you are, giving him your heart on his birthday— a day he doesn't think is anything special except for the joy it gives his parents— because you love him. Because you're just glad that you were born in the same timeline. He has never dared to ask for a gift like this.
Pathetically, all that he can get out is a simple, “I love the painting, by the way.” He nudges your nose with his. “I’m going to have it framed for our place after we graduate.”
“Our place?”
“Oh, yeah.” He clears his throat awkwardly. “I guess this is me asking. Do you want to live with me next year? Wherever it is that we end up. It would be, you know, economical.”
“Right, because we totally didn’t just have a conversation about your hang-ups with being born with a silver spoon in your mouth. And mine, too, I guess.”
Jay tsks at you. “Okay, or maybe I just want to wake up next to you every day. And make you food when you forget to eat, and listen to your horrible true crime podcasts while we clean up around the place, and hold your hair when you get sick because you forgot to take your Lactaid, and make sweet, sweet love to you every night—”
“Okay, okay, stop!” You’re laughing uncontrollably now, putting your hands up to stop Jay and the obnoxious kissy-face he’s making from coming any closer to you. “I didn’t need that much convincing, although I’m not sure how effective your convincing is when you’re just listing my bad habits, Mr. I-Sleep-With-My-Eyes-Open.”
“Yeah, but aren’t I lucky that you love me so much?” Jay smirks at you before tackling you down into his bed.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” you repeat to him. Sunlight slants in through the window behind his head, haloing him in a light so ethereal that you could be convinced the sun shines just for him. Like this, your words fade away from you, until all you’re left with is a quiet, heartfelt, “Yes.”
“Yes?”
“Yes, I’ll live with you after we graduate.” Softly, you stroke through the hair at his nape. “Stop wondering, by the way.”
Jay’s eyebrows furrow. “Wondering what?”
You reach up to smooth away the crease in his brow. “Wondering if you’re allowed to be this happy. I just told you, like, a million times. You are. The heavens have decreed that Park Jongseong shall be happy for as long as he lives, and a long time after that.” Dramatically, you tap each of his shoulders, as if you’re knighting him. “It is thus decided.”
Jay swoops down and plants a chaste peck on your lips. “Well, since it’s thus decided. Let me add something to that decree, though: I’m going to make you happy for as long as I live, and a long time after that,” he promises. 
And you know he will.
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(London is overcast and dreary when you touch down at Heathrow; typical, for a mid-September day. You and Jay still carry tans from a summer of island-hopping around Asia and the Mediterranean, but you’re sure those will fade soon. Still, there’s nothing you can complain about when Jay’s arm is snug around your waist and he looks like a dream in a light wool coat and admittedly unnecessary sunglasses.
You tease him about the sunglasses all the way to the doorstep of your new, shared apartment. But then he kisses you across the threshold and whispers about how much he loves you and how excited he is to be with you for the rest of his life, and you are so, so happy. Unbelievably happy. Beautifully happy. 
Happy, forevermore. This, the heavens have decreed.)
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ldhluvr · 1 year
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☆ drunk on you — james x reader
info: gn!reader. can be interpreted as friends to lovers, but there isn't any real trope involved, so you can imagine whatever relationship you want. there's no actual alcohol in here, but firewhisky is mentioned (idk if i needed to bring that up.) also i use parentheses like four times which may be annoying idk.
“i love you.”
your voice rings in james’s ears for hours after your confession. as he walks from class to class, people call out his name, worried about how disoriented he looks. he walks like he’s drunk, and in a way he is – he’s drunk on you. (the second he thinks that, he sees a mental image of you slapping him for how cringy that thought was.)
he looks so drunk that when he enters his potions class (the one where you conveniently sit next to him), slughorn pulls him aside, asking him if he’s had any firewhisky. james simply responds with a dopey smile, and slughorn, unable to detect or smell anything unusual, lets him go back to his seat.
unlike james’s lovestruck self, you remain in your seat, silent and cold. while your words have been playing nonstop in james’s head, he’s never voiced his thoughts on your confession with you. 
“did you drink before coming here?” you ask with a grimace. you realize you tend to be rather mean when you’re hurt.
his smile widens once you speak to him, but he seems to recognize what you’ve asked and “sobers up.”
“what? oh, uh, no. why would i drink before class?” james starts smiling again and moves closer to you. you bite your lip to hide your reaction to his proximity, but james catches it, and his eyes train on your mouth.
“wh-what are you doing? you’re acting like you’re drunk. can you please just open your textbook?” you forget your bashfulness and become exasperated at the way he’s acting.
he seems to remember where he is and cracks open the potion book to the potion you’re meant to make: draught of the living dead.
as you both work on the potion, there are many moments where you catch james unashamedly staring at you. he’s also touching you more than usual, and throughout the process of the potion’s creation, there have been at least two times when you both are close enough to kiss.
you successfully brew the potion, and slughorn brings everyone’s attention to your well-made potion (which brings a scowl to snape’s face, making you quite proud of yourself). after class, james follows behind you like a little puppy.
you drag him to a more secluded part of the floor, and when you stop and look at him, there’s a smirk on his face. “wanted to get me alone, huh?”
“can you not do this?” you plead. james frowns and looks confused. “can you not lead me on? i mean, i told you that i love you and you didn’t say anything, you just walked off, and now you’re being all weird and clingy and whatnot and if you’re doing this to screw with me, you’re much worse than i thought.”
realization hits james like a semi-truck. “oh my god, [y/n], i’m so sorry. i completely forgot to respond, i was just so— so happy when you told me that i forgot to respond and skipped away or whatever. i love you, i really do. been in love with you since third year.” his hand reaches to cup your cheeks and you feel yourself melt at his touch. his thumb rubs your cheek, and he chuckles as he feels them heat up. “god, i’ve been waiting to call you my partner for ages now.”
“you haven’t asked me to be your partner yet, james.”
“oh, right.” he gets down on one knee, and you feel extremely embarrassed even though no one else is remotely near you two. “[y/n] [y/l/n] will you make me the happiest man in the world and be my partner? and go on dates with me and shit?” he holds his hands in front of him as if he’s holding a ring.
you laugh and roll your eyes. you grab the hands he’s holding out to lift him up. he gets up with a groan and laughs too. as he stretches, he looks down at you with a big grin. you cup his cheeks and pull him down to finally bring his lips to yours.
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Hail To The End Of The World~
(1-?)
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Short story # 18
✨Fandom(s) - The Expendables (Movies) & The Walking Dead (Series)
💍Pairing - Gunnar Jensen X Reader
🕯Summary - While traveling with Gunnar in search of the rest of your team, you cross paths with a survivor group, who upon seeing your equipment practically beg you to stay and help them.
⚠️Warning(s) - None really. Except for an age gap between you and Gunnar if that's something that should be warned? And like zombies dying but that's to be expected.
📝Note(s) - This just kinda popped into my head the other day, so here we are. So firstly Tool is your dad in this story, and your described as having a bunch of tattoos, and quite a few scars, including some facial scars. Other than that I don't think I go much into detail about anything else to do with you, other than a troubled past. (But that comes with the territory.) oh and you can draw now, like really well because I thought of something cute like 3/4th of the way through this. Plus you're Tools kid, so it's fitting.
🗝Key information - Text in orange parentheses (EXAMPLE) is the translation google gave me for the quotes written in Swedish.
🌬Year posted - 2023
📖Reading Time - Roughly 23 minutes.
🙈Rating - SFW/NSFW
◈Pt. 1 | ◈Pt. 2 |
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"Come on." Gunnar muttered quietly to his partner, (Y/n). Who was swift if advancing as he had instructed her, her rifle snug in her arms felt so natural, like a another part of her. "Knives only." He reminded her, despite not actually needing to, as they crept up on a small cluster of five walkers. They dispatched their targets without a hitch, and continued on their way, slowly carving their way through Atlanta. "Five minutes." (Y/n) tossed over her shoulder to Gunnar, before she slipped into the old tech store, Gadgets 9000. Stupid name for a store, but that didn't matter. Gunnar scanned the surrounding area once more before following the younger woman inside. She'd killed the one walker that was inside, and was scowering the shelves and floor for the items she needed. "Bingo." She muttered and quickly shrugged off her bag, tossing the necessary items into the bag, along with a few simple items that would be good backups. "Times up." Gunnar called as he neared her, tapping her shoulder with two fingers to signal that she needed to be on guard again. Wordlessly she finished up and slung her bag back onto her back, readying herself for a potential fight as she picked up her rifle.
"Through the back." Gunnar instructed, on the off chance someone might have followed them, and would be waiting to ambush them out front. (Y/n) nodded her head and took the lead, per the usual. Once outside and they'd started to make their way down the alleyway, (Y/n) spared a quick glance back to Gunnar. "Where to now?" She questioned quietly, knowing they couldn't go back to their old camp, which was now overrun by a hord. "West." Was all he said as he pointed the barrel of his rifle in the direction. (Y/n) nodded in understanding and kept moving, now to the west, realizing quickly that it would be the quickest way out of the city. The realization making her smirk a little, as impressed as always with Gunnars tactical observations. Wordlessly Gunnar tapped two fingers against her shoulder once more, having taken notice of another set of footsteps approaching them, precise steps of a living person. (Y/n) instantly dropped to one knee in front of him, bringing her rifle up and aiming at where he pointed to the source of the sound. Gunnar also quickly trained his rifle, taking a sturdy stance behind (Y/n) and waiting.
Two men then rounded the corner, both of them freezing at the sight of the rifles pointed at them. "Woah h-hold on." The shorter of the two instantly holds his hands up in surrender, even with the bat still in his hands. "Don't shoot." The second guy also held his hands up in surrender, a crowbar in his hand. "Who are you?" (Y/n) asked, her voice stern and stoic. "I-I'm Glenn t-this is T-dog." The shorter male explained. "You never saw us." Gunnar stated tapping at (Y/n)'s shoulder to signal their retreat. "W-wait!" Glenn called out a little louder than he intended, jumping when the pair quickly spun on their heel, guns trained on him again. "W-we have a group." He started, looking increasingly nervous about having guns pointed at him, which was fair. "We could use your help." T-dog cut in, having realized like Glenn that these two strangers were far more equipped for this new world they all found themselves in. (Y/n) and Gunnar shared a look. "I could focus on fixing the transmitter more with a group of people looking out for the geeks." (Y/n) stated casually. "Yeah." Gunnar nodded his head, the thought having occurred to him as well. "Let's go." He stated as he looked to the others, who both nodded then turned to lead them back to their camp by the quarry.
----
Initially when Glenn and T-dog showed up with next to no medical supplies, Shane was beyond annoyed, at least until his eyes cast to the newcomers. Now he was annoyed for another reason. "Deputy Shane Walsh." He introduced himself as he approached the two, the rest of the group crowding behind him to observe the new faces. "(Y/n)." She introduced herself before nodding her head back towards her partner. "That's Gunnar." She wouldn't offer their last names, what was the point in last names anymore anyways? Shane took in the sight of their gear. "You guys military?" He asked what everyone else was thinking. "Something like that." Gunnar stated without offering an explanation. "We just need somewhere to lay low for a little while, then we'll be out of your hair." (Y/n) explained as she propped the butt of her rifle against her hip. "We can offer a hand with setting up some defenses." She added, as she looked around observing that they had no defenses. Shane internally bristled at her words, hating that he hadn't thought of setting any defenses up in the first place. "Alright." Shane agreed with a nod of his head, stalking off to sulk about being shown up by the newcomers.
The rest of the group was quick to welcome the pair, well aside from the degenerates in the crowd, and the pair was quickly bombarded with questions. When (Y/n) realized they had originally sent Glenn and T-dog out to get medical supplies, she offered a helping hand to look at the minor injuries a few of them had sustained while doing odd jobs. "Thank you (Y/n)." Andrea smiled warmly, as (Y/n) finished tending to the burn Andrea had sustained to her hand. "You're welcome." (Y/n) smiled back, though it didn't reach her eyes like it had Andreas. "Who..." She started as (Y/n) was packing up the little supplies she hadn't used. "Who exactly are you guys?" Andrea asked in a soft tone, clearly nervous about asking that question. "Ghosts." Was all (Y/n) offered before walking off to assist Gunnar with a quick perimeter check. "Their gonna get themselves killed." Gunnar stated as they slipped into the woods. "Probably." (Y/n) agreed with a shrug. "This world isn't what their used to, not even that deputy." She added, her words making Gunnar chuckle. "He doesn't like us." The Sweed pointed out. "I have a feeling he doesn't like many people." She snickered softly.
"You met the rednecks yet?" Gunnar asked as they continued their task. "Can't say I have." (Y/n) shook her head, recalling that she'd seen them, but she hadn't met them. "Avoid the older one, he's trouble." He stated casually, and (Y/n) simply nodded in agreement, trusting her partners judgment. Once they'd finished their patrol they made it back to the camp, going over some ideas of defense plans with a few of the group members, the few who seemed competent enough to offer input. "Honestly your best bet out here would be to just set up noise makers." (Y/n) concluded, knowing it would take far to long to set up proper defenses in such a large place. "Noise makers?" Dale wondered aloud, pulling an almost inaudible sigh from Gunnar, but (Y/n) had heard, she always heard. "Yeah just some tripwires attached to something that'll make a bunch of noise, so if a walker as you all call them trips over the wire, you'll all be alerted to the noise. They're easy to make, and convenient." (Y/n) explained, and the older man nodded his head in understanding. "Right. Sorry." Dale chuckled softly. "Don't apologize, questions are good." The younger woman waved him off before casting her gaze to Glenn.
"I assume you all have a designed place you take your trash?" She asked him, and he quickly nodded his head in agreement. "Good. We need to gather all the cans and bottles we can, and we'll need fishing line, a lot of line." Dale quickly perked up at that. "I've got a bunch of extra fishing line in the rv." He stated. "Perfect." She nodded before turning to follow Glenn, only to stop when Gunnar placed a hand on her shoulder. "You go deal with the lines, I'll deal with the trash." He instructed, making (Y/n) smile softly. "If you say so." She mused before following Dale. As Gunnar and Glenn rummaged through the garbage pile Glenn couldn't help but glance at the larger man from the corner of his eye, unsure of how to feel about the brooding behemoth of a man. "So (Y/n)." Glenn tried striking up small talk, and Gunnar simply grunted in acknowledgement. "Is she... Single?" Glenn asked. "No." Gunnar deadpanned. "Oh." Glenn swallowed nervously, understandably intimidated by the older man. "You guys?..." Glenn wondered aloud before he could stop himself, mentally scolding himself as soon as he did. "Yep." Gunnar hadn't even spared the young man a glance, which Glenn was admittedly grateful for, he was already anxious enough.
"S-she uh... She mentioned something about a transmitter?" Glenn tried changing the subject. "Doesn't concern you." Gunnar quickly shot him down, and Glenn took that as a sign to just stop talking. Gathering what they could into a few boxes, Gunnar lugged the majority of it back, while Glenn carried what he could. "Perfect timing as always." (Y/n) mused at Gunnar when he placed the boxes by her feet. When he straightened his back he allowed (Y/n) to tug him down to her height by his vest, smirking when she planted a quick peck to the side of his mouth. But before she could pull away, he quickly pulled her back, kissing her properly, his large hands splayed out on her lower back. (Y/n) chuckled softly as she pulled away from the kiss, staying close enough that when she spoke their lips brushed. "Someone askin' 'bout me?" She wondered with a playful glimmer in her eyes. "Just making sure they all know what's mine." The large Sweet murmured back before pecking her lips once more and straightening back up. A ghost of a smirk tugging at his lips when he noticed just about everyone was staring at them.
"You're impossible." (Y/n) mused before snatching up the first box, setting to work on making the noise makers part of the trap. "Probably." Gunnar shrugged casually before moving to assist her. By the time they'd finished that, and properly set up a perimeter with the noise makers, the sun hung low in the sky. "I'm gonna go down to the quarry and clean up a little bit." (Y/n) informed Gunnar, patting his shoulder affectionately before walking off. "Hey." He called to her before she could get to far, smirking when she turned to him without argument. "Yeah?" She tilted her head a little. "Just in case." He stated before tossing her his knife, still in its sheath she caught it with ease. "Careful." He added. "Always." (Y/n) mused before walking off, tucking the knife into her back pocket, after popping the safety strap in case she needed to grab it quickly. Satisfied Gunnar turned his attention back to her rifle, having offered to clean it for her a short while ago. Lori, Andrea, Amy, Carol and the kids tagging along with (Y/n) as she made her way down to the quarry.
----
"So you and Gunnar huh?" Carol asked with a smile as the group of women huddled knee deep in the water, cleaning up a bit as best they could while the kids played on the bank. "Yeah." (Y/n) mirrored her smile. "How long?" Lori asked kindly. "Since long before this all started." (Y/n) shrugged a little. "Maybe five years, give or take." She thought about it for a moment, shrugging again with a small chuckle. "How did that happen?" Amy asked, the others all perking up at that question. "Oh well I've known Gunnar for, hell half my life. He and my father worked together, well he worked for my father on occasion. Eventually my dad got me in the same line of work, and when the team noticed how much I mellowed Gunnar out they'd team us up all the time. My father pushed us to get together, and well eventually we took his suggestion, and we've been inseparable since." (Y/n) smiled fondly. "The first time I realized I loved him, he'd saved my life for the first time, he nearly..." She cut herself off realizing she was about to reveal more than she intended. "He what?" Amy pried, completely enraptured by her story.
"Doesn't matter now, that was a long time ago." (Y/n) shook her head with a small smile, going back to the task at hand. Amy was about to pry further until Andrea nudged her side, her younger sister taking the hint she bit her tongue. "It's sweet." Carol mused aloud, the others all nodding in agreement. "You have an awful lot of tattoos (Y/n)." Lori stated casually, her eyes raking over the ink covering a good deal of the skin (Y/n) was now showing, after having striped down to a tank top and her underwear earlier. "Oh yeah my father was also a tattoo artist, he'd been tattooing me since I was sixteen." (Y/n) smiled fondly as she looked to her arms. "Sixteen!?" Andrea gasped in surprise. "Yeah... Um well something had happened when I was sixteen... I was left with a whole bunch of scars because of it." (Y/n) licked her lip, lightly tracing the scar that ran over her lips. "My father felt guilty... Because... Well because in a way it was his fault. And he saw how insecure I had become because of the scars, so he offered to start tattooing over them, to make them beautiful, to make me beautiful. And well... I took him up on that offer." (Y/n) shrugged a little, the others feeling rather saddened by her story.
"They are beautiful." Lori smiled, despite never really being one for tattoos, or really understanding why anyone would want any until now. "Thank you." (Y/n) hummed with a small smile. The group quickly turning to the bank at the sound of approaching footsteps. "Hello ladies." Merle smirked as he waved his fingers at them, an anxious atmosphere washing over the group aside from (Y/n), who simply observed him. "Get out of here." Andrea hissed at him, the kids running into the water to be shielded by their mothers. "Well that's not very nice." Merle mocked with a small frown. "I suggest you listen to her." (Y/n) moved to place herself between the women and Merle, who shamelessly looked her up and down like she were on display for him. "Or what sweetheart?" He wondered tauntingly. "Or I'll crush your fucking windpipe you creep." (Y/n) hissed, her threat making him chuckle darkly. "Oh you're feisty." Merle grinned. "I ain't playin'." She stepped onto the bank, Merle hadn't noticed the sound of rapid footsteps.
"I don't believe you." He got in her face, still grinning. "Can't say I didn't warn you." (Y/n) hummed before suddenly headbutting him. Merle cried out in pain as he fell to the ground, clutching his bleeding nose. "Merle!" Daryl called out, him and half the guys all rushing down the hill, Gunnar included. "Fucking bitch!" Merle hissed as Daryl pulled him to his feet. "I'll fucking kill you!" He yelled as he fought his younger brother to let him go. "You can try." She taunted defiantly, feeling even more confident with Gunnar at her side. "You stupid bitch." Merle hissed, having broken from Daryl's hold, only for Shane to snatch him by his coller. "Fucking let go of me!" He shouted. "You need to cool it." Shane shoved him back. "She broke my nose!" Merle hollered. "You're lucky that's all she did." Shane shot back, fully aware she could have done far worse. "Let it go." Daryl muttered to his brother, who shoved him away before storming off. "You all okay?" Shane asked, looking to Lori. "Yeah." She nodded her head, and most of crowd that had formed retreated.
"Vill du att jag ska döda honom?" (Do you want me to kill him?) Gunnar asked in his native language, making (Y/n) grin softly. "Nej." (No.) She shook her head, kissing his cheek before walking off to get properly dressed. "Thank you (Y/n)." Lori embraced her after they'd all gotten properly dressed. "Of course." (Y/n) patted her back, and smiled softly as they broke away. "He's going to have it out for you now, you know?" Andrea pointed out as (Y/n) moved to walk beside Gunnar. "Doesn't matter, I've dealt with far worse." She shrugged before leaning into Gunnars side, while he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "He has no idea who he's dealing with." Gunnar mused aloud, his words only making the others that much more curious about the pair. Once back at the camp, Gunnar led (Y/n) to the main fire, sitting down first then pulling her down to his lap. "Eat." He instructed as he passed her the MRE he'd prepared for her earlier, chili and macaroni. "What about you?" She questioned, taking note that he hadn't made two like he normally would.
"Just eat." He instructed before kissing the side of her head, more interested in taking care of her than himself at the moment. "Är de borta?" (Are they gone?) She wondered softly, knowing he wouldn't want the others to know what they were talking about, even though she doubted any of them spoke Swedish. "Nej." (No.) He rest his chin on the top of her head, his hands encasing her waist. "Okej." (Okay.) She accepted his answer, knowing better than most just how odd Gunnar can act at times, especially when he feels the need to protect her. So she did as he instructed, and ate the food, though only about half of it. "Here." She offered it to Gunnar, who glared down at her softly. "You need to eat as well big guy." (Y/n) pointed out, turning around in his lap as she stuck the spoon down into the bag. "Open." She instructed as she held the spoon out for him, he rolled his eyes playfully but complied anyways. Biting down hard enough to keep hold of the spoon when she tried to pull it back.
"Don't be like that." (Y/n) scolded playfully, giving the spoon another small tug, and smiling when it came lose. "Atta boy." She hummed softly, a giggle escaping her when Gunnar snatched the bag from her hands. Turning back around in his lap, (Y/n) reached for her bag, which lay beside Gunnars. She retrieved her precious leather bound journal, and charcoal pencil, then flipped to an empty page. "What are you up to?" Gunnar wondered as he watched her from over her shoulder. "The usual." She mused as she began drawing the sight before her. The warm fire, surrounded by some of the folks of this little survivor group. Lori, Carl, Shane, Andrea and Amy, Carol and Sophia, T-dog, Glenn, and Dale. They seemed happy in the moment, and (Y/n) wanted to commit this moment to memory. Who knows how long they'll stick around, or how long these people will survive. But tonight the world feels normal, calm and safe, and she didn't want to forget that feeling.
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←Previously | Next→
*I had thought about writing this one with Joel Miller, but ended up deciding that he's getting enough attention, and my baby Gunnar needed some so I went with him instead. (^_^) And it's admittedly playing out better that way anyhow.
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jwirecs · 7 months
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RECOMMENDED NCT FICS OF SEPTEMBER 2023💖
hello, hello! here are my nct recs of september! hopefully these beautiful stories get more recognition as well as the writers 💝
** anything in parentheses and bolded are my thoughts that can be disregarded if needed **
🔞smut || 💔angst || 💕fluff || ✅completed || 🔄ongoing || 💯favorite
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Body Language || @badalivie💕✅
↳ You and Donghyuck have been dance partners for the past 6 years. When he gets into an accident that costs him a competition and substitutes himself with another dancer, he realizes he’s not so open at all to having you dance with someone else, especially having their hands in the places he considered his.
Forget Him || @smileysuh🔞💕✅💯
↳ “What if… what if I helped you out a little?” His words hang in the air, and your room feels thick with tension. You’re acutely aware of the toy still pressed between your thighs. “Look,” Hyuck says, voice softer, “I hate seeing you cry- but seeing you cry about something good might make us both feel better.”
Getting Even || @ofjunemoment🔞💕✅💯💯 (pt.2)
↳ Haechan is notorious for his pranks. Who can forget about the one time the campus fountain was bleeding red? You were weary of never getting on his wrong side, but when you get to know him better, it seems like behind all that front he's a sweet and caring guy. That is until you get a bucket of water dunked on you straight after he promised he wouldn't pull something on you. You're not only pissed that he had fooled you like this, but that he chose such a simple prank.
Inseparable Friend || @lovesuhng💕💔✅💯
↳ johnny was your best friend and platonic love during his high school days, but he left without even saying goodbye. 10 years later, you meet again at the class of 2013 reunion. do you still feel the same way about your former best friend? how about giving him another chance?
Operation Rizz || @acescavern💕✅
↳ In an attempt to teach Donghyuck how to get a girlfriend, Jaemin helps him make a list only... that list seems awfully familiar.
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34 + 35 || @karinasbaby🔞✅
↳ in which jaemin decides to finally return back home after spending an entire day at practice (with a surprise).
Glitter || @kyufessions💕✅
↳ you walk in on your daughter giving your fiancé a makeover
Good Morning, Baby || @daydreamingyuta💕✅
↳ waking up with boyfriend!mark
The Bottom || @donkey-hyuck💕💔✅💯
↳ getting into a relationship when you were at the lowest point of your life dragged you down to the bottom. but it dragged the ones you loved as well.
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(♥️) || @nctsplug02🔞💕✅💯💯
↳ (dilf!johnny next door is a sin. a wonderful 6 foot sin.)
Animal Instinct || @onyourhyuck🔞💕🔄💯
↳ You are a marine biologist. You should be able to understand animals and their way of living. When you encounter a new society in a bar under the name ‘Sour Grapes’ you find yourself in a troubling situation with seven different men. Seven different animals.
Cookie Jar || @neopuppy🔞✅
↳ (there wasnt a definite summary, but i dont really read any stepcest au's....however....this one...casually...slipped....in. PSA if you arent comfortable with reading any like stepcest type of fics, then this might not be for you, BUT if you dont mind reading one stepcest fic once in a while, then...i recommend you casually...read this one.)
Do You like It, Dr. Lee? || @revehae🔞✅💯💯
↳ haechan, jaemin, and jeno are some of the brightest, most accomplished students in your class that never fail to make high marks on the exams. but when they approach you one day in your office, your perspective of them changes dramatically. (oh heaven have mercy istfg)
Mark Me In Your Heart || @ohmytyong🔞💔✅
↳ when a sensitive and broken heart meets another one of the same nature, their instinctive reaction is to seek comfort in each other, and in order to heal themselves, they both need to be equally strong and willing to put all their broken pieces back together. but sometimes, some hearts aren’t strong enough to be saved; the only way to save them is if the stronger heart of the two is willing to take the risk and try for the both of them, whatever it takes.
Neighbor || @jaehyunssi💕✅
↳ after breaking up with your boyfriend, you spent hours crying in the middle of the night. your loud and nonstop cries made mark knocks your door to find out what’s going on
Persimmon Problems || @starsstuddedsky💕💔✅
↳ fantasy crushes are all fun and games until it stops being a fantasy and he’s really talking to you. but what are you supposed to do when he invades every part of your life?
Ric Flair Drip || @jnnul🔞💕💔✅💯
↳ HONESTLY, NOTHING ABOUT JUNG JAEHYUN IS REMOTELY APPEALING TO YOU. you hate the perfect boy act he puts on, you hate his need to impress everyone and everything, and you really fucking hated his dick.
Shoplifter || @augustinbluex🔞✅
↳ when you got caught stealing in a sex shop, you thought you'd earn another lecture from your stepdad. however, the lesson was not what you’d excepted
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NCT Dream Texts || @nctstar💕💔✅
↳ you overhear them say you're clingy
NCT Dream Texts || @marklease💕✅
↳ dreamies texting that you forgot something at their place
NCT Dream Texts || @marklease💕✅
↳ throwing up in their car after a date (stop, jisung would be the one to sympathy gag with you, i cant. where is the lie to that)
NCT Dream Texts || @xrenjunniesx💕✅
↳ when you get lost (as someone who sucks with like maps and following/reading maps i can relate.)
Do check out all of the other NCT Fics that i have reblogged as well!!
** if there is any fics that you guys would like to recommend, please do! i am slowly running out of fics to read **
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rosalind-hawkins · 3 months
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Euroshipping Musings
Footnotes are below the cut because my parentheses were starting to look ridiculous.
I have this headcanon/recurring trope in my fics(1) of Ryou being Mokuba's not-babysitter. I've figured out where this came from. When Mokuba gets his soul back in Pegasus' castle, Ryou is the one holding him when he wakes up, and I guess I always imagined our Baby Kaiba imprints on Ryou like a duckling. Kaiba doesn't want his brother spending so much time alone only with KC employees or household staff, but Mokuba's a little old for a babysitter(2). Kids his own age aren't too much of an option for one reason or other(3) and most of the dweeb patrol are insufferable to Kaiba, but Ryou is one that's never once tried to lecture him or expressly criticized him, so Kaiba picks him as a companion/caretaker for Mokuba. Ryou thinks of it as being a nanny, but would never use that word around either Kaiba.
Ryou starts spending a lot of time at the Kaiba Mansion, and since he reports directly to Kaiba, he gets a peek at his more personal side, and all of his bad habits: insomnia, caffeine addiction, workaholism. He starts out by doing little things for him, like sneakily switching out his coffee for decaf in the evenings. The more comfortable he gets with Kaiba (who acts unexpectedly chill when he's not in a combative situation and feeling threatened), and this comfort results in him actually scolding Kaiba for his bad habits, trying to correct them and save him from himself. In his mind, he's taking care of both Kaibas now.
Seto starts to really take notice of Ryou a little while after this starts, and he tries asking him why Ryou is doing these thigs for him. It's not part of his job. He gets to the heart of the issue and asks why Ryou is acting like he cares, and Ryou says it's because he does care. Seto just asks why(4) and Ryou struggles to explain. Confessions for these two are never easy or smooth, it takes a little awkwardness and discomfort to be completely honest about feelings and say what they're really trying to say. Kaiba doesn't necessarily reciprocate right away, not externally, but they do get together because Ryou is a calming, caring presence in a home that didn't see a lot of that for a long time, and because Seto realizes how nice it can be to let yourself be cared for, and that he'd miss Ryou if he ever left.
It's not a fiery passionate love (though they do grow into the passionate stuff) but it starts out as something very domestic, very simple. It's two hurt people recognizing each other and approaching with caution and care, and finding a way to fit into each other's lives. Learning how to lean on each other, just a little bit at a time, until one day they wake up and realize they can't imagine a life without the other person there. It's Seto realizing how cold his life would be without giving Ryou's bedhead a goodbye kiss in the morning and the scent of his tea in his office and a lint-roller full of long white hairs dusted off his suits sitting on the bathroom counter. It's Ryou realizing that he's found a new family for himself and how dear it is to him, and how he hopes this never ends because he found a place where he feels safe and loved and doesn't know if he could do this all over again.
My very first Euroshipping story(5) was based around this whole idea of Ryou babysitting Mokuba, and it just snuck its way into my other stories too.
I even put this trope in Rock Bottom where Ryou is Mokuba's babysitter, though the circumstances there are wildly different
or not, I play with the age difference for the Kaibros sometimes
either Mokuba is homeschooled, or he's just as suspicious of friendship as his older brother is, or he just gets into fights at school anytime people talk shit about his big bro (that's another trope of mine), so true friends are a little hard to come by
I swear I have three different scenes for two different fics (one is a deleted scene) of someone confessing their feelings to Kaiba and him asking them why because this boy can't understand why someone would like him on a personal level. It comes with the territory of being generally bad at emotions; it also comes with the territory of every version of Kaiba I write being traumatized to some degree, but that's gonna get its own post.
That fic is only posted on FFN, where all my oldest stuff is. I didn't think it was good enough to cross-post to AO3.
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sweet-citrus-candy · 1 year
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airport crush ft. lev haiba
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summary: at the airport you spot a cute silver haired boy and you absolutely must get his number! but as you walk run away you realize you forgot to ask for it :(
warnings: none! but i do sometimes add little comments in parentheses- i can’t help it lmao (also this is during high school era!)
this is another silly little fic based off a dream i had (in my dream the lady at the gate’s desk had a vision of the plane crashing but it never did thankfully)
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*beep beep*
“eurgh what’s that sound? it’s so loud and annoying,” you think to yourself groggily.
fumbling your hand around with your eyes still closed, you find the source of the irritating noise. instead of opening your eyes to press one of the buttons on the phone screen, you silence the alarm by clicking the power button.
turning onto your side and adjusting the blanket, you sigh and then mutter to no one in particular, “five more minutes.”
you doze off once more until,
*beep beep*
you wake up again, but this time you begrudgingly sit up even though the comfortable bed calls to you and urges you to stay asleep.
“man, how do morning people exist??”
as you sit there wondering why in the world you would choose to get up at 8 in the morning, you realize that you have a flight today. wait a minute… you have a flight to catch?! at 8 am?! no wait- the flight is at 12 pm, so you have plenty of time. your heart calms down; no need to panic (too late for that lmao)! although getting ready 4 hours early seems ridiculous, you want to make sure there’s no chance of you missing the plane (which is some sort of phenomenon that seems to overtake dads- someone should do a study on this behavior…).
opening your phone, you read through your notifications and double check that the person dropping you off at the airport and the other person picking you up are still available. rolling out of bed and putting on cozy slippers, you trudge over to the bathroom to do your morning routine. washing your face helps you wake up, and you feel more ready for the day’s events.
when you walk back into your room, you put on the outfit you decided to wear to the airport. sweatpants and a t-shirt will be comfortable to wear during a long flight, and you make sure to have a sweatshirt as well in case the person next to you decides to blast their ac. perhaps it isn’t the most fashionable, but it doesn’t really matter as many other people also dress for comfort on long trips.
grabbing your phone, you head downstairs to the kitchen to eat breakfast. when you finish, you double check to make sure you have your ticket and passport, and that your suitcase is entirely packed. the few items that aren’t packed yet, like your toothbrush, will go into your carry-on.
your friend drives you to the airport and hugs you goodbye with promises to keep in touch until you see each other again.
inside the airport, you check in with the airline and go through security. now you have a little over two hours to explore before having to board the plane. as you ride the moving walkway, you wonder where you should go to pass the time. in the distance you see an array of stores, ranging from selling souvenirs to books and magazines. you don’t feel the need to buy any souvenirs yet, but you still want to look around. there are a lot of fun trinkets to look at and play with, and it’s always a fun game to see if any of the keychains have your name on them.
as you look at the variety of magnets to consider adding to your collection, you notice something bright red out of the corner of your eye. you turn your head, curious as to what caught your attention. the thing in question turns out to be a jacket. a sports jacket to be more specific. the back reads “nekoma”.
you wonder whether or not you have seen that name before. after pondering for a good minute, you remember seeing a section in the newspaper mentioning the school. something about a “garbage war”. or was it a “trash fight”? “dumpster battle” maybe?
sneaking another glance at the person wearing the red jacket, your jaw drops. he’s so tall! and his legs seem to go on for miles! “he must be an olympian or something” you think, amazed by his height.
you turn to look back at the magnets after admiring his tall figure when you do a double take. how did you not notice his hair the first two times you stared at him? it’s a beautiful silver color, making you wonder how you could have missed a detail like that. not a lot of people have entirely silver hair at a young age.
your staring must have made the person feel like they are being watched, because the next moment he looks up and tries to figure out who was looking at him with such intensity.
you don’t react quickly enough, resulting in your eyes meeting. you can feel your face heat up instantly, but the person only smiles and waves. not only that, he starts walking in your direction?!
“hi, my name is lev! were you looking at me?”
“uh yeah haha,” you say a bit nervously because you got caught, “i’m y/n.”
your breath is taken away as you notice his mesmerizing emerald green eyes and sharp facial features. “damn is he a model or an olympian? or both?” you mutter to yourself.
lev heard you and laughed; “neither actually! i do play volleyball at school though! i’m a first year!”
“WHAT? FIRST YEAR? NO WAY!” you exclaim. more calmly you add on, “i’m also a first year”.
“so what school do you go to? i go to nekoma high in tokyo!” lev says excitedly.
“oh, i go to ________ (any of the other schools besides nekoma),” you respond.
“no way! their volleyball team is really good! i’ll make sure to beat them though as soon as i’m nekoma’s ace!”
“woah you must be pretty good then! the only times i played volleyball was in gym class hahah. must be more fun to be on an actual team, right?”
“sure is! i’m what they call an outside hitter, or a spiker. a lot of people prefer to be called outside hitters, but i don’t mind either one. they both sound cool!”
“oh wow that position is really admirable! i would love to see it in person sometime!”
“you should definitely come to one of my games! we have one coming up pretty soon actually. i’ll send you the details as soon as i get them. here’s my numb-”
“LEV! are you in here?! come on we’ve got to go now or we’ll miss the plane!” someone calls out from the entrance of the souvenir store.
“oh shoot, that’s right! nice meeting you, but i’ve got to go! bye!” he waves smiling.
“have a safe flight!” you respond cheerfully.
remembering that you also have a flight soon, you pull out your phone to check the time. oh no, they’re going to start boarding soon! as you exit the store and run towards the gate, you realize that you didn’t get a chance to exchange numbers with lev.
there wasn’t anytime to worry about that though, since they had begun boarding the passengers. the best solution you could come up with at the moment was to just keep an eye out for any upcoming matches via the internet.
you reach the gate which luckily wasn’t too far away, and pull out your ticket and passport.
“will group c please board the plane. group c. thank you,” comes a voice on the announcement intercom.
this is your group. group a is for priority flyers such as first class whilst group b is for business class. groups c and past are for economy.
you give your ticket to the person scanning them and show them your passport. they confirm your registration and tell you to have a safe flight.
you take a seat near the back of the plane and turn your phone on airplane mode. you rummage around your carry-on looking for a book before placing your bag on the ground under your seat. you decide you’re going to read and listen to music for a bit before putting on a movie to entertain yourself during the long flight.
the flight attendants begin to make their mandatory safety announcement, so you close your book and place it beside you on the empty seat.
as they’re nearing the end of the buckle demonstration, your line of sight is interrupted by a silver blob in the seat a few rows ahead of you. you blink a few times. it’s still there. you lean forward a little to try and see what it is. wait… why does it look familiar? lev? no it couldn’t be. could it? you decide to wait until the light indicating seat belts must be worn turns off before investigating.
when you’re allowed to get up, you start moving towards the silvery blob, pretending to go to the bathroom. you can’t see the person’s face well from the angle you’re at, so you tap the person’s shoulder.
“excuse me, but-“
“oh sorry am i-“
“it’s you!” both of you say at the same time.
you didn’t recognize lev at first because he had changed out of his sports jacket and into a cozy sweatshirt.
“i can’t believe you’re on my plane! it’s like fate since we didn’t get a chance to share numbers,” he says beaming.
“yeah! i’m really surp-“
“hey kiddos, sorry to interrupt but you’re hogging the aisle,” says a sweet old man.
“oh i’m so sorry! i didn’t notice!” you respond hastily, “come sit next to me lev.”
“won’t we get in trouble for switching seats?” he asks while getting up (no hesitation whatsoever- head empty. he’s ready to do whatever you say).
“not on this airline. don’t worry i’ve flown with them before and they allow it.”
“can i have the aisle seat? it’ll be easier for me to get up if i need to go to the bathroom or something.”
“yeah sure. i don’t mind at all,” you say.
you place your book back into your bag and sit in the previously empty seat.
“thanks for keeping my seat warm,” he teases.
“anything for you, your majesty,” you joke back.
you continue talking to lev and cracking jokes for a good hour or so. honestly, you’re not sure how much time has passed, and you don’t really care. the two of you eventually put on a movie, and although you don’t usually fall asleep during them, you start to feel your eyes close. it was a busy day today, and you’re exhausted.
“can i lean my head on your arm?” you ask.
“hm can i hold your hand if i let you?”
“mm yeah,” you say as your face heats up.
you’re glad that you decided to browse the souvenir shop before boarding the plane. meeting lev was definitely worth waking up incredibly early.
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anonymousreader4d7 · 1 month
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Species headcanons for rmau?? I love hearing everyone’s different interpretations and headcanons!
Yee!!! I'm so excited people are interested!!!
I've had these percolating for a while now - like, 2 years, actually!!! I keep adding onto and adjusting specifics of the different species, or adding new ones, but I'll list the my shortlist of Hermits/Lifers and their species here, and then I'll start posting the details for species individually, before making a masterpost with links to all of them and this!!!
But yeah, here's my list, under the cut!!!
(Edit: I just realized I forgot to mention what the names in parentheses are - that's in reference to another aspect of the AU, called Code Bonding - which will get its own post after the species. The names are their Code Bonded partner! Also, if someone has a question mark next to their species, it means I haven't solidified my headcanon for them yet, and I'm welcome to suggestions! I'll edit this as I solidify or add ideas!)
Hermits:
Bdubs - Time Deity - (Etho)
Cub - Vex Hybrid - created via Vex Deal (ConVex)
Doc - Playerborn Creeper - Born Moderator
Etho - Unknown - Kitsune - (Budbs)
False - Avian - Eagle
Gem - Fae - Animal/Shapeshift Magics
Scar - Fae Hybrid - Shapeshifting Magics - activated via Vex Deal (ConVex)
Grian - Watcher - Created - (Mumbo)
Hypno - Human
Jev - Slime - Blue, humanoid
Impulse - Demon - Telluris - (Skizz)
Iskall - Code-weaver
Joe - Unknown - Just a Guy™ (or Herobrine?)
Keralis - Primordial
Mumbo - Shapeshifter - (Grian)
Pearl - Moon Deity (Ascended Alien)
Ren - Playerborn Dog
Skizz - Angel - Earth - Fallen - (Impulse)
Joel - Minor Chaos Deity - (Lizzie)
Stress - Fae - Plant Magics
Tango - Pb Blaze/Demon Hybrid - Ignis - (Jimmy)
Beef - Bull/Cow Hybrid
Wels - Human
xB - Guardian Hybrid/Voidwalker Descendant
Xisuma - Voidwalker - Admin
Zed - Playerborn Sheep
Cleo - Mobborn Zombie
TFC - Primordial (maybe Steve? Or Herobrine if Joe's not?)
Non-Hermit Life Members:
Scott - Starborn
BigB - Primordial
Martyn - Listener - Created - Taught Moderator
Lizzie - Fae - Animal/Shapeshift Magics - (Joel)
Jimmy - Listener - Created - (Tango)
Bonus:
Pixlriffs - Watcher - Created
Ollie - Avian - Songbird
Shubble - Witch - not the mob kind…
CaptainSparklez - Celestial
PeteZahHutt - Slime - Green, humanoid
Technoblade - Mobborn Piglin - Blood God - (Philza)
Philza - Admin - Void-glider - (Techno)
I have a few more (including ones for other DSMP members from back when I was really into it) but I'm just leaving this list to these, and my examples for species will be limited to these guys too.
If people have ideas/suggestions for the other Empires members I haven't listed here, feel free to let me know, because I haven't watched as much of those guys and I'd be happy to include them!!!
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