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#actually a little respective everyone juice
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the whole having to make a disclaimer when you make a joke about like. white people. or allocishets. or just oppressor groups in general is so messed up bc like. i would LOVE a disclaimer before every sitcom episode my family watches (help) like just. jennifer aniston at the beginning of friends like
"hi! this episode contains 3 instances of 'jokes' made targeting the queer community with an intent to capitalize on harmful stereotypes (instituted by the oppressor class with a goal of otherization and degradation) for a ridiculing and unnerving effect! thus delegitimizing queer voices and identities in the mainstream and contributing to subconscious biases and ostracization of minority groups by viewers at home in the favor of "edgy" comedy!! plus a bonus of wlw sexualization at the end :) that's all, enjoy <3"
like ARE YOU KIDDING!?!??! then i wouldnt have to sit there the whole fucking 45 minutes on the edge of my seat waiting for the fucking jumpscare of queerphobia. like, i know its coming at some point every 2-3 episodes but i would like to have some preparation??? like slap a warning label on that thing frfr (*smack* "this baby can fit so much transphobia disguised as light-hearted humor!")
but nOoOOOoO we're the sensitive ones having to sit through EVERY MAINSTREAM MEDIA SHOW ON THE PLANET just WAITING for That One (1+) Gay Joke and knowing you cANT make a big deal about it because its "JUST a JOKE" and we DO. IVE LITERALLY CONSUMED STRAIGHT MEDIA THAT MAKES GAY JOKES FOR 17 YEARS. ALL THE WAY BACK TO FUCKING DISNEY VILLAINS. AND IVE LET U HAVE YOUR FREAKING JOKES BC IM NOT IN A SAFE SPACE TO ACTUALLY SAY ANYTHING
and yet anytime someone dares make a SINGULAR joke generalizing white or straight or allo or whatever people EVERYONE FREAKS THE FUCK OUT like i know karen its not ALL. STRAIGHT. PEOPLE. can i make a sINGULAR joke based on my personal experience and perception of a shared "straight" culture and norms that often benefit the oppressor class and make my everyday life difficult JUST ONE JOKE. JUST ONE. THIS IS NOT A PERSONAL ATTACK. JUST LIKE EVERY FUCKING GAY JOKE IN A SEINFIELD EPISODE EVER WASNT A "PERSONAL ATTACK" RIGHT?!?!?!?!?
stfu. we're tired. you're literally lucky we aren't less depressed or sleep-deprived or you'd be bkjldsjfljfs
#sorry yall i just ABJDKLJVASKLDJF at my LIMIT I SWEAR TO GOD#also side note dont you love those jokes that are like 'that's a trans/gender nc person...... (thats funny!)'#and ur just sitting there like. am i. naturally hilarious??? a bORN COMEDIAN!??!#anyways#LET US MAKE FUCKING COMEDY OUT OF OUR TRAUMA#TRAUMA THAT LITERALLY CAME FROM YOUR 'COMEDY'#i say 'comedy' bc its NOT FUNNy.#GAY PEOPLE ARE FUNNY#POINTING OUT A QUEER PERSON EXISTS IS. NOT FUNNY??? THERES NO CREATIVE THOUGHT????#ITS LITERALLY JUST LIKE 'hey! here's someone different from my norm and i perceive that as weird because im uncultured and uneducated and#trained to perceive anything outside the norm as dangerous and/or lesser than myself'#EVEN THOUGH I WEAR A SHIRT THAT SAYS I HATE MY WIFE AND DRINK BUD LIGHT AND MAKE MY SON WEAR 'LADIES MAN' SHIRTS AND HIT ON 14 YR OLDS#AND NO ONE THINKS THATS WEIRD#like. maybe u need to workshop that one a little bit. idk. just a personal opinion#/j they need to workshop everything about their everything#like maybe splash a little respecting women juice on ur face while ur at it#actually a little respective everyone juice#get ur shit together#like gay people may not have their shit together but STRAIGHT PEOPLE DONT EITHER#ITS JUST SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE FOR THEM??? TO BEHAVE LIKE THAT????#LIKE I DONT NEED TO KNOW UR 'TRYING FOR A BABY' STFU AND GO HOME TO UR LITTLE GENDERED HOUSE U WEIRDO#anways#thats enough tags#sorry yall skldfjklsjfskldkfjdkl#the straights are not okay#the allocishets are not okay#nO ONE IS OKAY#and its okay to not be okay but NOT IN THAT WAY U ABSOLUTE WACKOS#lgbtqia#kiri’s ramblings
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prismatic-bell · 11 months
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HEY EVERYONE
Do you enjoy the idea of Sticking It To The Man, but also you’re fucking tired? Maybe you appreciate the idea of direct action of some kind but ADHD, depression, or physical disability has made it nigh-on impossible for you to actually, you know, do shit?
Well, friends, allow me to introduce you to a small but significant thing you can do to Stick It To The Man while also benefiting your own mental health:
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I haven’t bought green onions in a year.
If you’re sitting here thinking “holy shit, Nina, those look like hell,” you’re not wrong—they’re recovering from some unintended abuse. They survived two weeks in triple digits (that’s upward of 35 degrees for y’all with the weird sciencey math units) while I, uh. Forgot to water them. The outer layers dried out to protect the inner layers and as soon as I watered these thirsty bitches they went
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They literally looked dead three weeks ago. So yeah, they’re not too pretty right now, but you wouldn’t be either, and they’re bouncing back nicely.
So, how to do this simple thing?
1) obtain dirt and a pot. You’ll want to do this first because the next steps go surprisingly fast. My green onions live in a 6” terracotta pot and some gardening topsoil, but you can use potting mix (not Miracle Gro tho, that stuff is trash), dirt from outside if you live in a place where it’s safe to do so, any kind of soil will do provided it’s clean and doesn’t contain pests (although most pests will leave alliums alone because they hate the smell). To be clear, because we love and respect our biosphere in this house, “pests” in this context means “bugs that specifically will attack green onions while providing no benefit to either the onions or any other plants you may have.” The pot is mandatory, however—if you want to do this year-round, you need to be able to move the onions inside/outside as weather allows/demands.
2) buy some green onions. You can skip straight to step 4 from here if you want, but if you’re planning to use them first…
3) cut them only to the tops of the white bits. In other words you ONLY want to use the green part.
4) put the white bits in a ramekin, measuring cup, etc. with some water. I’ve used things as big as juice glasses for this, but that’s really on the big end. Put your container in a window with some sun.
5) 3-5 days later, you should see about half an inch of root growth on the bottoms of your onions, and possibly the beginnings of a tiny green spear at the top. (Maybe a bit more, if they’re overachievers.) Plant them in your pot with just a bit of the white sticking up overtop of the soil.
6) water just a little bit, every other day. You want the soil to always be moist to the touch, but never out and out wet.
7) watch them sprout. This is excellent for your mood, by the way. Science says having and tending green things provides visible benefits to both your physical and mental health. We also know that making tangible things is good for your mental health, and green onions grow quickly, so you get benefits fast.
8) As they grow, you can reduce watering to three times per week because they’ll be able to store more water. The leaves will feel firm and “thick” (you’ll understand what I mean when you get to feel a properly-watered green onion) when they have enough water, much like a succulent’s leaves will get thicker and firmer when it’s well-hydrated, so it’s relatively easy to tell if they need a drink.
9) trim your onions as you need them! I try to never take more than 3-4 leaves in a week—about half a bunch—so it has time to grow more, but if you live with a bunch of people you can get around this by just starting more green onions. Buy three or four bunches and plant them all. They don’t go bad because they literally just grow until you need them. I’ve actually planned meals around “I have not used enough green onions lately and the leaves are bending under their own weight, I need to trim some tops.” Although the ones you see in the grocery store have open tops, you’ll notice closed spears on your new leaves, and these are completely edible. Yes, I regret to tell you they cut off and probably waste the tapered bits just for The Aesthetic. They’re just like any other green part of the onion.
AND YOU WILL NEVER NEED TO BUY GREEN ONIONS AGAIN. Just add a little soil now and again to replenish the nutrients.
Yes, they’re cheap. Yes, this is a small thing. But many small things added together are a big thing. And when you’re confident in your green onions, if you have the desire and ability to do more, there are many other plants you can grow from grocery-store starters.
GO FORTH. ENJOY THIS KNOWLEDGE.
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llamagoddessofficial · 2 months
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As a scuba diver I can confirm how quickly a peaceful dive can turn scary; on a sea dive I was so caught up in the moment that I completely forgot to watch my oxygen gauge. Thankfully my buddy was there to let me use his air supply and take me to the surface.
What would the siren boys do if MC got into danger while diving, such as very low oxygen? Maybe MC was pulled by the current and drifted away from other divers? Would they help her or take advantage of the situation?
Sans: Her life entirely depends how serious the 'trouble' in question is.
He'll save her if it's a very easy problem for him to solve. Like... if she's near the surface but runs out of air, he can rush her up the last couple of metres. If she drifts away from her friends and is struggling hard against the current, he can loop her arms around his neck and swim her back to them. Things that are emergencies to her, but slight inconveniences to him, he'll help with - especially since saving her life is a very easy way to get a LOT of favour with her. He likes the way she looks at him after he saves her. Beautiful, breathless, exhausted, staring like for a moment she adores him as much as he adores her.
However... a more complex issue? He'd let her drown. Maybe she's too far away from the surface and taking her straight upward wouldn't be safe. Maybe she's entered a state of panic and is making things worse for herself and he can't convince her to hold onto him. Maybe, even, she's in trouble but she simply hasn't seen him. If she never knew he was there she wouldn't be upset he didn't help.
He'll watch. It's just a little bit of discomfort. Then? They can be together forever.
Red: Come on. It's our boy. Our respect women juice chugging world champ - of course he'll rescue her, no matter what.
Her dive buddies definitely recount the story to her. Red was goofing off like he always does, nipping and shoving people he doesn't like, making it clear he's the 'alpha' around here. But suddenly, something about him flips... something in his disposition instantly changes. He becomes completely serious, and beelines into the near distance.
... And it's only once he's with her that everyone else notices she's silently struggling. They wouldn't have known to help if Red hadn't drawn attention to her.
He acts silly and stupid. But he's always paying attention to his mate, even when far away, using his incredible senses to keep tabs. He can sense her heartbeat with his electroreception, hear her breathing in the regulator, smell her blood in her veins. He's much smarter than he acts, and if the situation gets messy, there's not much better help underwater than a massive aggressive shark who'll move mountains to keep her safe.
Skull: Surprisingly, he'll do his absolute best to save her.
You'd expect the big lug to be the one actively pulling her down. But Skull doesn't really have a plan, so to speak, with his beloved little diver, he isn't plotting her death like Sans. He just wants to be around her; he wants to court her, show her what a good mate he'll be, show her pretty rocks and gifts, win her love and pull her back no matter how many times she tries to swim away from him. So it doesn't really matter what's happening - if Skull sees her struggling, he just sees his mate in distress, and he wants to rescue her. He doesn't like seeing her in visible pain or terror.
He might be delayed in helping if she's under the effects of nitrogen narcosis, because that just makes you act silly and drunk, so he wouldn't actually know anything was wrong. But as soon as he notices something off (she takes out her regulator, passes out, etc) he'll do everything he can to save her. He's a good boy underneath all those scars and deadly tentacles.
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beanghostprincess · 3 months
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Silly goofy wild and funky idea:
Transman Crocodile who transitioned via Ivankov.
Cross Guild events and Cross Guild Poly where Buggy finally gets the nerve to come out to her two lieutenants and also boyfriends. Mihawk just blinks like "yes? Your Haki is distinctly feminine, so this makes perfect sense. Oh, dear why are you crying, stop that-" meanwhile Crocodile has to bite back every single we traded genders joke and instead just shrugs, going "I quite literally could not be paid to give a fuck. You know I'm bisexual, this changes little, Clown."
Croc does off hand offer to hook Buggy up with Iva if that's smth she's interested in, tho.
Meanwhile Sanji has come out to the Strawhats as a transwoman as well, and the reactions are much more dramatic but no less supportive - if anything, some may be too supportive /hj ((Franky calls her queen and sis and Hawt Mama, Chopper already began working on ways to synthesize estrogen Just In Case, Luffy could not be made to give a single fuck, Ussop is swooning, Zoro informs her that this changes nothing and he'll still kick her ass, Robin offers her congratulations, Nami is already mathing out adding another bed in the girls' room or making a room JUST for Sanji and Ussop to share, Brooke waits 0.006783259 seconds before asking to see undies, just everyone being supportive and stupid))
This leads to Ivankov getting two separate contacts for their services, and so they arrange to meet at a small-ish island to help both, two birds, one stone :)).
Both crews go full Spiderman meme when they come across each other, and Iva handles it with all the gentility of a bull in a china shop, whisking both ladies away while the rest are left just plain gaping and awkwardly avoiding eye contact or completely oblivious to the tension (cough cough LUFFY).
Insert your own silly ideas here, generally.
But when they come back, Mihawk, Crocodile and Ussop are all just absolutely SWOONING for different reasons, full of Respect Woman Juice and I Love My Wife energy, it's adorable and cute and funny.
((Bonus: Luffy calls Buggy auntie without hesitation, and she almost cries even as she punches him over the head))
THIS IS SO CUTE SELJKFNSFLEFNLNDFDLKNSDLK
Okay, so, my thoughts on this. Crocodile having to hold back the 'we traded genders' joke is so damn real and I laughed SO hard. Love him. So true. And transfem Buggy lives in my mind rent free so this is just perfect because I absolutely love her. She's my beloved. She'd be so anxious about it and cry and Mihawk and Crocodile are like-- So done with her because she's acting stupid and dramatic and of course they're going to still want her. And she's crying and they're rolling their eyes and patting her head at the same time. Poor thing. She needs comfort okay??
And,, Transfem Sanji coming out is always so beautiful in my head. She's been battling her gender issues for AGES and now she feels comfortable enough to come out to the crew. She's anxious but she knows she has to do this now or she never will. And it's-- It's so real to me. The way she would explain everything that happened to her back in Momoiro Island and then say that she's actually a girl. And everyone's quiet because they know she's looking at Luffy only right now, expecting an answer from her captain. And Luffy is just like "??? Okay? You're still my cook. So who cares? You seem happier now!" and that is when Sanji starts crying. Because of course she's crying. And of course, Usopp is the one to hug her first because that's his girlfriend and she needs a hug and forehead kisses right now. But they have 0 privacy because Luffy wants hugs too. I mean. Obviously.
Franky is loud af and he's SOBBING while he screams how proud he is of their cook (I've always said Franky feels like a girldad because just look at how he interacts with Nami. And he's sooooooooo loving Sanji right now). Robin would be so so proud too and would say she's happy for her and smile in the sweetest of ways (Robin please adopt me). I think Chopper would also ask a lot of questions before making estrogen, just in case, but then he'd go and try to make it right away. Nami hugs Sanji but the sweet moment doesn't last long because she's already telling Franky her ideas for a bigger, better room for the girls or!!! "Better!!!!!! A room for Sanji and Usopp so we don't have to deal with them!!!!!! But also make the girl's room bigger because I say so!!!!!!". Zoro says he doesn't give a fuck because he will still kick her ass but he's secretly happy that she looks more relaxed and comfortable in her skin. Brook is Brook and he says his Brook thing about panties but I think Sanji would kick him having the best gender affirmation moment of her fucking life. And Jinbe is just the cutest because I think he'd laugh at the chaotically sweet situation and say that strength comes from being happy with yourself and Sanji is the strongest for being so brave and true to herself (he be saying poetic and cute shit like that and he expects me not to absolutely love him. Dad behavior. I am SO sure he would beat the shit out of anybody who misgendered Sanji. But that's what any Strawhat would do, so,,,).
They go see Iva (Iva my beloved) and they're all,, So uncomfortable,, Buggy acts overconfident and says she's perfectly fine and not scared at all of what Iva's going to do to her body (liar. She's scared af and Crocodile and Mihawk know so they keep scaring her even more because it's funny to see their girlfriend crying. Look. The fact that they're soft and dating doesn't mean they're not gonna bully her). And Sanji has smoked like two fucking boxes of cigarettes already despite saying that she doesn't care about it (she has never been more excited in her entire life) and she's holding Usopp's hand so hard she's going to break it at some point. Anyway, Iva is a dramatic bitch and they make Sanji and Buggy come with them to a more private place because they want it to be a surprise for everyone (drama queen. Love them. I would do it too. Trust the process, girls, you're in good hands). So Cross Guild and the Strawhats end up alone and waiting for their girls to come back. And. Yeah. Uncomfortable. Zoro looks at Mihawk at some point and goes:
Zoro: I thought you were gay. Mihawk: I swing both ways. Usopp: Actually, you swing sword- Mihawk: Awful. Shut up. Don't ever speak to me again. Don't even look at my direction, actually. Roronoa, why is your crew like this? Zoro: It was really funny, though. Mihawk: I wish to not partake in this conversation anymore. Everyone just shut up and wait. ............. Luffy: Hey, guys, do you think Sanji's going to have bigger boobs than Zor- Nami: OH MY GOD LUFFY YOU CAN'T SAY THAT Luffy: BUT I'M CURIOUS Zoro: Yeah, she's going to ask for the biggest of boobs only to piss me off because she's annoying like that. Mihawk: Why would you even care about your breast size, Roronoa? Crocodile: Tsk. You care about mine. Usopp: OH MY GOD SJKFNSKDEWKFJNJKSFN
Okay, so Sanji and Buggy eventually come back. Finally. And they were gorgeous before but now they're even more beautiful because they actually look extremely happy with their bodies. I want to describe how I see them but just check @/vongulli's account and see their fem Buggy because she kills me every time and that's the only way I can see fem Buggy now. And Sanji to me looks like @/sibmakesart's fem Sanji. This artist made a nude fem Sanji not long ago and I loved it,, So much,, ANYWAY!!!!!! Getting carried away.. Thinking about women. It's not my fault I'm a lesbian. But they look perfect and they're comfortable and happy. And Sanji's boobs are surprisingly not huge and Zoro makes a comment about that but Sanji is like:
Sanji: WHAT????? YOU ONLY SEE ME AS A BOOB-OBSESSED GIRL OR WHAT? Literally everyone at the same time: Yes. Sanji: Well, for your information- Usopp: She likes thighs more Sanji: Usopp, don't tell them- Iva: And also, my dears, that is not how my power works Zoro: So you did ask for big boobs and you couldn't have them Sanji: I'm going to kill you and wearing heels it's going to hurt even more Usopp: Is it weird that I'm kind of turned on right now? Nami: ...Haha Usopp: Are you okay? Nami: Hey, Usopp, I- Usopp: You can't fuck her Nami: I swear I can't have anything!!! What do you have against lesbians??? Usopp: YOU WANT TO SLEEP WITH MY GIRLFRIEND WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY??? Nami: I dunno, yes??
Crocodile and Mihawk are having... A moment. They will still bully her and they're sure she's going to look extremely pretty crying and whining but right now she deserves to be worshipped because just look at her. Buggy approaches them and she's like "If you laugh I'm going to throw knives at you and then leave Cross Guild and!! And!! And I'm going to be really mad so pleasedon'tlaughireallylikethispleasedon'truinit" and they look at her with the fondest of looks (but gotta be honest, they're so horny right now it's unbearable. Like yes, happy wife happy home happy everything but also happy dick because just look at her). Crocodile is just frowning and genuinely asks "Why would we laugh? You look stunning, dear" and Mihawk follows with "I must say I'm not surprised, since you've always looked beautiful. But you look... More satisfied with yourself." And Buggy has to hold back the tears and that's why she starts saying things like "Pffft. Yeah! I knew I'd be gorgeous like this too! Now I look even flashier!" and y'know, the two men are letting her have her moment because now she looks even better and they can't stop staring at her. So maybe she's right this time when she fakes confidence.
Usopp and Nami need a second to process everything, I think. Also, they both hit Brook at the same time when he's about to ask Sanji the question™. Nami is having a lesbian moment, but of course Sanji realizes and does her Sanji thing like opening her mouth and speaking:
Sanji: Nami-swaaan!!! Do you like how I look now??? Nami, ignoring her and whispering to herself: Disgusting. I hate this. Zoro: At the end of the day it's just curly, huh? Nami: I was thinking with my dick. Zoro: Yeah. Happens. Been there.
So, Usopp and Sanji finally get their moment together because at least the Strawhats are respectful enough to give them their sweet uhhhh two minutes before they start complimenting Sanji. So that's something! Sanji is confident with her body but is a bit shy and isn't sure what Usopp will think about this. Not that she has changed much, even, but, you know. Just different. In a good way for her! But different. And Usopp approaches her slowly and smiling and he's just so so so happy. And he's like "You look gorgeous!" / "... Really? I wasn't sure whether you'd like it-" / "I will always like you! But more importantly, do you like you?" / "I mean- Weird phrasing, but yes. Yes? I think so. Yes." / "Then that's all that matters." And Sanji really, really doesn't want to cry because she has never cried in front of the whole crew. She just can't help it. But Usopp knows she doesn't like it when others see her cry so he quickly wipes her tears away and when she starts laughing (so so happy and full of love) Usopp just needs to kiss her.
Meanwhile, Luffy is there calling Buggy auntie and asking when she's going to tell Shanks about this. She keeps saying she will never tell him and if he wants to find out, he'll do it through her new wanted poster or whatever, but not from her.
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xoxomireya · 2 months
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🛍️﹒➜﹒how to rebrand yourself as a cher horowitz inspired it girl﹐⇄
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As if!
Why should you settle for less than you deserve, especially with MEN? Keep your standards high and eventually you’ll find the right one. "Searching for a boy in high school is as useless as searching for meaning in a Polly Shore movie"
Everything is a jumping off point for negotiations.
Learn about psychology and improve your persuasion skills. You definitely don’t have to be manipulative, but if you can talk your way out or in of something, do it! Never accept the first offer.
Gotta get those steel glutes!
Try aerobics! It’s a fun way to do exercise and get that pump of dopamine. Remember, don’t just work out to get your dream body, do it for your happiness, wellbeing and health.
Sporadically means once in a while.
Broaden your knowledge and vocabulary by adding a weekly non-school book into your routine. Try to use the words and things that you learn once in a while.
Loving yourself doesn’t mean you have to put yourself above anyone.
Cher always goes out of her way to help people, and that is part of her appeal. She treats everyone with the same level of respect and tries her best to help others.
Your hair is your crown.
Invest in actual great hair products that give life to your hair. Look for what’s best suited for your type of hair, not if they’re expensive or trendy.
You don’t understand, this is an Alaïa!
Quality > Quantity. Buy clothes that are timeless and make sure you’re not being affected by trends. Invest in some basics and see if you can style that piece of clothing multiple ways before you buy it.
Compromise to help the planet.
Just like Cher decided to involve herself in disaster relief charity, search for things that you can do to help that are within your reach.
Shoot that arrow, Cupid!
Everyone deserves the chance to experience being in love, so why not help them by playing matchmaker? I promise it’s gonna feel rewarding in the end!
Learn how to excel at conversational skills.
Knowing how to deal with people it’s one of the most important skills a person can have. Cher also knows how introduce a subject and prove a point, so why shouldn’t you?
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SHOWS THAT CHER WOULD WATCH !
Sex and the City
Gossip Girl
Scream Queens
The Carrie Diaries
One Tree Hill
BOOKS THAT CHER WOULD READ !
Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shephard
Emma by Jane Austen
Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisenbergen
MOVIES THAT CHER WOULD WATCH !
The Princess Diaries
Mean Girls
Grease
Bring It On
Sixteen Candles
PERFUMES THAT CHER WOULD USE !
Sweet like Candy (Ariana Grande)
Pink Sugar (Aquolina)
Mon Paris (YSL)
Burberry Her (Burberry)
Sweet Tooth (Sabrina Carpenter)
BRANDS THAT CHER WOULD SHOP !
House of CB
Moschino
Blumarine
Miu Miu
Givenchy
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THINGS THAT CAN MAKE U FEEL MORE ALIGNED TO CHER:
Drink a glass of orange juice every morning, you need your dosis of vitamin C !
Download a virtual closet app to plan matching outfits every morning.
Search for cute plans (and parties) to do with your Dionne.
Join a debate club.
Keep in touch with your childish side. You can do this by watching the cartoons you watched as a child like Cher!
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🍸 Harry Crosby headcanons
18+ -helluva lot of nsfw under the cut but interspersed with a lotta fluff and domesticity…to me that’s the appeal of this man, cannot be separated one from the other: the unassuming sweater wearing vet at the block party is also a man of hidden depths.
Long promised and woefully incomplete, the word count was getting out of hand so I’m tossing it out, there’s more where this came from. Not edited so, apologies
Entirely co-written by myself and my comrogue @crazymadpassionatelove , enhanced and bedazzled by chats with @ab4eva including special additions from other guests who commented under my announcement post, credit is given at each specific point for their contributions
|screencap cred grabbed from: @hawkinsfuller
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First off let me say it’s been ages since I read A Wing and A Prayer. I remember loving it, loving him and I cannot stress how much I respect and admire the real Harry Crosby and his Jean, the Missus of our dreams.
This is purely for fun, a heavy mix of both Boyle’s portrayal and a tad of Crosby’s real life vibes as taken from his accounts by me. Sometimes you gotta take historical figures’ virtues in one area -say navigation and math- and translate it to the more suggestive aspects of life -say, how to find a clitori- *gunshot*
Because this man’s biography is the most oral-leaning, drink-your-respect-women-juice book ever. Ok, almost ever. For a wwii book at least. Uhem so -I am prejudiced, sue me.
See, sometimes it’s the quiet, stressed ones with a self consuming desire to please who have the cozy sweaters and the attentive appreciation for your interests and the stubby fat schlongs and the propensity to keep you in suburban comfort all your days
The compulsive drive to call you “button” and be on time for church and thank you for your scrambled eggs each morning with eager kitchen countertop oral before waking you children up with annoyingly soft catchphrases they’ll recite fondly at his funeral: “rise and shine” etc
Also back to the perfectly respectable schlong for just a moment -This is a Thing! Justice for the perfectly adequate plug stoppers, not everyone needs a rolling pin, who can resist giving head when the head is the same gorgeous color as his lips?!
Mr Crosby is skipping off to lecture college kids about literature post-war with a pep in his step that you put there without fail, you can’t help it, it’s as essential as the matching “his and hers” coffee mugs you bought during your honeymoon
Cookies slightly burned cuz you’re busy as bunnies in the bathroom while the kids ride bikes in the cul-de-sac is a Crosby staple
This is a man who as husband keeps you well supplied with mixers and microwaves and cute little nighties and also loves your brain -SCORE.
Loves to gift you with bath oil and fun stuff to smell good. He's into lavender. It benefits him in the end, loves to sit on the edge of the tub and just talk with you for ages
Croz’s go-to distresser is to have Jean sit on his face until his vision spots
She knows as soon as he walks in the door. Fixes him a Shirley Temple, takes him by the hand to the bedroom and …..boom.
De—stressed
As for the ptsd nightmares? He just barely starts to thrash in his sleep and Jean is rolling that man over and taking matters into her own hands
You’re Jean now, you do realize that don’t you? It was never ever going to be anyone but Jean
This man leaves love letters on your pillow, in your apron pocket, in the dash of your car anywhere at all that you’re likely to be. All of this even though he’s gonna be home by six that evening.
Also, hear me out: lots of evenings he just lays down next to you for ages, facing each other on your sides, absentmindedly mapping your body with his calloused palms and fingering you for ages while talking about Persuasion.
Actually gives a shit about your opinions too, and not in the way of wanting to argue them. When you make a good point his eyes get even droopier and he grabs your neck and…
“You're one smart cookie Mrs Crosby”
“My clever, wise, beloved…”
Honestly though, deep connections and the ability to go vulnerable, and if those moments are often concluded with little laughs to shake off the moment -it doesn’t diminish it
Can actually talk about dying to you, not in a morbidly preoccupied way, but he can face it and admit it and be vulnerable enough to acknowledge the likelihood
Then get on with what needs doing
He appreciates how well you grow to know him, and he in turn makes a lifelong study of you
Also, this man is so highly attuned to your well being.
Yes you have to put up with his stress but for you? He will man-up repeatedly and without thought. He doesn’t even think twice about just up and leaving whatever situation is tiring you. did you see him hop up to get the fuck outta that bar fight? Yeah so, you’re bored? Tired? Stressed? It’s not even machismo it’s just a homebody not giving a fuck with the subtext of “my wife and I would like to go home and read and cockwarm”
Often gives the shiftiest excuses to army buddies and coworkers just to go home and hang with you, swears he has to repair that squirrel feeder -or that an alligator is in his swimming pool, “sorry guys maybe drinks next week”
Don’t tell the guys but…HE PAINTS YOUR TOENAILS
Maybe some of your high school friends snickered about Harry Crosby way back when. Making googly eyes at you and barely getting out the most stammered greetings? Bookish and a little clumsy at times?
Ha, you won in the end
He comes home in one piece, that beautiful schlong still intact
you prayed for that ok?
“Lord keep my husband safe -- and his girthy manhood in tact as well” …for the babies you’re hoping for of course...just that… kneeling in silk pajamas each night, adding this addendum with a blush but was always faithful to keep it in your prayers
Sometimes you have that thought in church as well...so you has to take a couple deep breaths and calm yourself...it's because you want children...not because you’re already so sprung off this man's dick after only a couple weeks of married life.
weeks that feels like a lifetime ago now, by the way
Prim and lovely Jean Crosby staring off into stained glass worlds thinking of having her tight little hole tugged open and her guts rearranged, it’s even worse than her thoughts prior to the wedding, because she’s had the experience, then suddenly it was ripped away
And she’s empty and scared to death for him
She gets asked to sing at the funeral of a lieutenant who never even got off the ground during a training flight,
work and church and such are hopeless distractions
Wanders through the department store wondering if every other wife misses this way, does everyone feel the same primal ache?
Dear Jean Crosby terribly worried she’s a freak yet entirely unrepentant for it
But ya know what’s probably funny? Across the ocean Harry Crosby is sometimes so direly missing his wife in the carnal way that he just about spaces out too, and god knows there’s zero privacy anywhere and the showers are the showers but like???? it’s just a no-go most times and everyone gets very confused when he’s in this mood?? Not at all suspecting baser distractions are what’s at play. Somehow someone figured it out, maybe he actually snapped a little about having five seconds to himself while reading a letter and they’re like
OH
And somehow there seems to suddenly be five minutes or so when NO ONE but Crosby is in the showers?!
It only takes him two minutes to get there but he needs to stand there catching his breath and clutching at his heart while he thinks of Jean sprawled beneath him
This is probably Douglass’ doing? Because he’s a good dude, he doesn’t underestimate Croz AND he’s a dirty little bastard himself
“Fellas, the man got himself a wife while half of you guys are virgins? Of course he has urges?”
In a quiet, rare moment, Gale bends his ear -Harry is so modest and low key...unlike some folks *looking at you Bucky*- “So, uh, where'd ya say you and the missus went off to before ya came here?“
Gale’s gotta casually open the door for this conversation “Lots of good sights to see? I, um, haven't done much traveling myself”
It takes Croz a few conversations until he realizes just what Gale means, until then there’s a lot bewildered eyebrows at the inquiry and bashful appreciation for the interest: “Major Cleven I-I already told you, sir, we had a little cabin in the Alleghenies for a week?“
He's been telling Jean about Major Gale Cleven, about how she'd really like him. Gale is a good fella. He tells her about all their "travel talk"
Until one day Jean writes back: “Oh honey, that Cleven of yours is a virgin”
Whether Harry divulges to Gale anything he learned about ladies in that little cabin in the mountains writhing before a fire on a bearskin rug, that first time Harry actually didn’t stop and ask if Jean was dying every time she made a noise but instead, kept going until her cried properly built and she screamed…
well, it was probably an abbreviated account that mostly consisted of “wives are just wonderful people, Major Cleven” with a far off look in his eyes
Gale leaves him to it after all- Harry was married for like 3 seconds before he left, It's literally either playback of the last horrific mission or thinking of the curve of her spine
He gets the dreamiest look on his face, eyes all shiny, mouth a little slack
Somehow these two can be so passionate and yet it’s so wholesome and good and angelic?!!! It’s the allure of them
Because it’s all in these gentle and safe and good boundaries? Like it isn’t complicated and yet it’s not simple and it’s neither settling nor is it turbulent. something to be said for “doing it right”
They genuinely thank God for each other, they’re so sure it was always intended to be just them
I have 1k of headcanons just for the homecoming ok? Y’all will have to request those separate
But once home:
The eye contact they make at social events?? It’s a whole language, the most loving and adorable thing ever
He may not be a real gem of a singer but he’s an excellent hummer. so much gentle humming around the house while he’s fixing the stove light or rocking a baby to sleep or-
You know what I mean don’t you? Some men can just humm and you’re instantly wet? No I don’t mean humming a Billie Holliday tune
I mean humming when you make a new reaction to his incessant fingering while he’s reading, makes him look away from the page and arch a brow, highly inquisitive puppy dog look on his face, reading glasses pulled down.
*a new spot? After all this time? Must investigate further*
This man, when in his element, is a goddamn tease, he’s impossible, he’s goofy, he makes sex the joyous sacrament its supposed to be every damn time and he ain’t shy to remain stark naked for ages
Praise kink for miles in that, once you’ve praised him, he will keep doing whatever earned it for the next two hours. Brace yourself
He can recite your favorite literature passages (he knows them and took pains to memorize them by your tenth anniversary) when he’s gently plowing you from the back with his hand on your neck and your ear lob in between his teeth
He’s a biter my friends -gotta keep quiet somehow, can’t scar the passel of children y’all made, after all
So many excuses given to kids about “mama and I need to talk about the mortgage” -very rarely is mortgage even thought of once the door is closed and locked
But that brings us back to the early days, it’s one thing to know someone so well after all those years but the early days?
Two Virgins named Jean and Harry went straight from the chapel to fucking like Bunnies before he went to war
Harry had done his research tho. All that reading…
Harry Crosby totally ate his wife out on their wedding night.
even though he’d never really seen a full vagina before
he’s a bit methodical, yeah? At first? with a hint of overly flustered and terribly delighted
So I’m just picturing him like hunkering down there, tentative but firm hands on your thighs: “to get my bearings, honey pie” as he takes in the lay of the land
because there’s a lot happening down there on a lady, ok? -there’s petals and more petals and slippery slopes and little buttons and a tiny hole that has to be for pee, no way he’s supposed to go in that one?! but, but she doesn’t have another? Well the backdoo- no can’t even think of that. Oh god ok, ok, vaginal opening, -I guess that’s a vaginal opening?! and due north, a little button that makes her squeak when I touch it. ok ok, might as well start there…
I can see him with a metaphorical pencil behind his ear, ready to jot down notes
Jeanie finally sighs and grips him by the ears and hauls him up for a kiss and just grinds against him and insists it’s lovely
“just kiss me, silly.” she says to him after awhile.
“Mmm, I do like kissing you, Jean” he grins back
he’s naturally kissing his way to her boobs and staying there a lovely long time but she starts pushing at his dark head, *hint hint* lower down her belly and lower, and lower and he’s so caught up he doesn’t even realize it until there’s a sweet little patch of curls under his chin and he looks up with the oddest expression of curiosity and doubt on his face only to be met with Jean’s expectant eyebrow
She wouldn’t want me to?—-*ah, she just face planted me in pussy, ok then*
Lapping at it with the biggest grin, there may or may not have been some noise complaints
the whole apartment complex just knows he’s a good husband, never would peg him as a stud if you met him in the hallway but, Jean sure takes forever to say goodbye to him in the mornings so he must do something right
All the neighbors just can't help but be happy for those two kids
They cook them food and leave the casserole dishes on the landing so they can savor each other for as long as possible before he leaves
Next Sunday they show up at church like dutiful little Americans and they’ve got hickies everywhere and his cheeks are a permanent pink, Her knees are red and raw under her church dress
I feel like maybe they get a little adventurous as their time together draws to a close? Maybe they break a dining room chair? She's too mortified to put it out on the curb
*saves it for 50 years*
Some of those wedding china ends up in pieces on the floor. Can't explain to her aunts why they don't have a full set all of a sudden
i really hope he never loses that occasional hair trigger premature ejaculation tendency.
Sometimes it even shocks him, “O-Oh...shoot”
The last day together is a dismal and precious night
The poor man probably laid there on her sweaty boobs after blowing his last load with the saddest *fml* face on as he processed it being, indeed, his last
But HOMECOMING!
and now the war is over they can set up house and make babies
A small breeding kink, after all, these men marched home from war and basically were told "get a job and let's repopulate for all the boys we lost!"
It’s so damn primal when you think about it but under the veneer of the starched and polished 50’s
Croz can't think straight in that tight little hole, let alone think of the ramifications of another baby
“Give it to me, give me another, come on Harry, we've got an empty space in the Christmas card anyway, think of it!! fill me up baby oh godddd Jesus bless your pretty dick-*
it’s the most mundane reasons and he still busts a nut like she’s some filthy vixen and not his sweet and slightly too optimistic wife
frantic love making with a sweater and socks still on, too
Jean is a writher because the longer they are married the longer he lasts and soon she’s come and he just keeps going and she cannot keep quiet then and he’s too big to ignore or calm down between, just thick enough to always be tugging just right and she fully sobs from it sometimes
Often she’s trying to cup herself?!? Fully spasming and shaking and curling in but his strong forearm is over her belly and his lips on her ear
This man is a god at spooning sex
she is so cock feral when she falls pregnant it almost alarms him
The books didn't say anything about this?! He's exhausted and dehydrated and his classes are suffering as a result
Wants to ask Egan if he encountered this phenomenon
His war buddies become a new father support group
"Hang in there pal, only three more months"
They’ll be in the kitchen just chatting before dinner, she wants to tease him. Scoops a little cherry pie filling onto her finger. He licks it and sucks it off -- bites the finger too, in the background dogs are barking and kids are running amuck
As the Crosbys you’re in for a life of very benign but nauseatingly idyllic Christmas parties.
Snow globes, y’all
Sweaters, spiked eggnog and very well thought out gifts
Harry is the sort to carry Jean's purse when they are out shopping and she is trying on clothes. He also has no problem going and buying her sanitary napkins at the drugstore when she's on her period, because it's completely normal and there's nothing for anyone to be embarrassed about. Basically, he is just stupidly in love with her. He's like a puppy who will always follow, but she doesn't take advantage of that fact (credit to:@noneedtoamputate)
He is Harry “Have You Met My Wife?” Crosby back home, too, it’s even worse when he gets tipsy and his confidence grows and good luck shutting him up about how beautiful she is
This is the sorta man whose kids only learn Daddy was a goddamn boss during the war when they’re outta college, a very casual “oh yeah, that was sort of a thing, pass the salt.”
It’s canon this man cut his own son’s hair all his little life, propped him up on a little stool in the back yard and got to trimming -some of the only times the boy ever heard of those devastating missions
Imagine? Same man who used to take you out on the porch into the night air and rock against his sweater when you were a baby and wouldn’t settle is the same man who bombed the hell outta Fortress Europe
He’s the kind of man whose kids are so enamored over how both sides of the coin could settle in the same man, they end up making a documentary about him
Now I also need you to think of this man at bath time in the early 50’s -Shirt sleeves rolled up, top two buttons on his pristine white button up shirt popped with a peak of chest hair showing through, his curls getting steamed by his kids bubble baths
He’s got the prettiest slightly hairy forearms, y’all -according to Jean at least
Gives himself a bubble beard to make his kids laugh, will stay on his knees watching them play for ages, fully participating
His white shirt gets fully transparent with all this splashing and Jean has to really keep her mind on what’s next when she can so easily see his hair and pretty little nipples pebbled in a chill under them. Stops her whining about water on the floor in seconds.
Harry’s already hushing her and mopping it up with a towel anyway
The Crosby kids will have memories of their idiotically in love and enthralled parents who loved being parents, wrapping their baby selves snuggly into towels and setting them on the counter and just cracking up over how cute they looked with their chubby and shiny widdle faces poking out of terry cloth
Jean and Harry spend a lotta time doing that, they just love their kids, ok?
Brushing their cute little Croz curls
Jean can’t say no to a single one with their sad puppy eyes their daddy gave them
Sometimes they sit the kids in front of the fireplace (they obviously needed a house with a fireplace after that honeymoon) and line them up. Talk about them as if they aren't sitting right there. "Honey, look at those gorgeous eyes -- and his smile! Oh my, who do these cuties belong to?"
But it’s not all placid domesticity. Picture this:
Crosby with a mega phone, organizes a neighborhood Easter egg hunt. He's in charge, his aviators on, taking this so seriously
There are maps, he’s planned this for weeks, some of those traits and skills he picked up during the war come back at the oddest times
this gets even more intense if any of the war buddies are there
Harry writes letters to them strategizing, they all come and bring their own kids
It makes the local paper for being one of the biggest Easter egg hunts the state has ever seen
Night falls, children fall asleep and there are still some eggs left. Armed with booze and flashlights, the boys go out to collect the rest
Harry and Jean don't collect any though, they end up in a bush necking somewhere
Bucky gets very adamant about finding them and Brady is just as adamantly begging him not to
But Major Egan cannot be stopped, he rallies his men, hopping on the kids’ bikes and scooters
Everyone heckling each other in the dark suburban neighborhood
"Ya lost your touch Buck, keep up will ya?"
They all end up in a schnapps induced heap in the Crosby's backyard, long limbs all folded up on too small equipment
Jean and Harry leisurely stroll back up the street under lamp glow to their house where everyone is feral and collapsed and calling loudly for their hosts
Sharing soft little smiles and picking twigs out of each others hair
They tuck these idiot men in on the couches and floor, blankets, sleeping bags and dogs
Hear me out: Jean is the only human able to talk a belligerent Bucky out of his thirtieth beer
She has that sweet way about her that makes every person wanna be a better man for her
When he finally gives in and throws his arm over her little shoulders and swears she’s a good woman, Harry is there with the pan and the aspirin and the blanket
She makes them all the most perfect hangover breakfast the next morning, gingham checked apron stretched over swollen belly
Harry nuzzles her belly when she stops at his plate to dish up the eggs
Everyone wants to gag over how perfectly content these two are but that would be a waste of the best breakfast in the USA
And if Jean happens to make the best baked goods on the block - Croz is making sure everyone knows just who’s muffins those are on the bake sale table. Or if she wants to pursue a career or education? Harry is her biggest cheerleader, doing anything and everything to support her and being sure that everyone knows how incredible she is at what she does. (Credit @blurredcolour)
They may be the sweater wearing, block party and Sunday school couple but don’t think anybody gets away with being snide to Mrs. Jean Crosby -there will be comeuppance, even if it’s just an exquisitely literate verbal evisceration.
There's even more often a roaming band of local kids who kick the shins of everyone who's mean to Mrs. Crosby, because she gives them sweets and feeds them when they're hungry and cleans up their scrapes when play gets too rough and -if Mr. Crosby hands out a comic or two to the boys that "accidentally" tripped some bloke who was harassing his wife, well. All is fair in love and war. (Credit to @promptedwordsmith)
When in the summer of 49 the Crosbies get a swimming pool dug? It might as well be considered public property.
not just the kids who are attached to the crosbies, though. your home is a constant revolving door of visitors - including a bunch of ex-servicemen. if it's not bucky lounging in the pool, or rosie painting the fence in his shirtsleeves because he wanted to be helpful, then douglass is smoking a cigarette in the yard while trying to make you laugh. ev is asking harry to show him how to read this goddamn map bc they're supposed to be taking a trip to the grand canyon in a month, and bubbles is over for dinner every other night. even brady sometimes shows his face, if only to carp at harry for getting them lost over france that one time while working the barbecue because you asked him to. when you and harry bought the house with an extra room you weren't sure you would ever use, you didn't expect it to be occupied as often as a popular hotel. if anyone ever had any bad intentions toward the crosbies, they're definitely rethinking it. those that don't...well. being in the air corps teaches one all sorts of creative ways of getting back at people. (Credit to @fidelias)
Imagine all the different skills the Crosby kids (_and their neighbor friends who never seem to leave_) learn from these guys?
“Oh yeah, Bucky Egan taught me how to swim while wearing his aviators…”
In other words:
Harry Crosby went home and built himself a little Norman Rockwell Camelot and then opened the doors of the kingdom to his buddies and -that’s as it should be.
And that’s not even mentioning how the Air Force and the CIA walked up to his front porch and interrupted a backyard ballgame to ask him for his help
It sucks to be super smart and needed when all ya wanna do is teach literature, go camping and help keep the church life going
But still
Jean sure looked good in Pakistan, the kids enjoyed a new culture and Harry likes to say he may have done some good
145 notes · View notes
peachenle · 1 year
Text
down the hatch
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pairing: park sunghoon x fem!reader
genre: college!au | fratboy!au | fluff, established relationship | some suggestive content at the end
word count: 5k
warnings: lots of drinking, profanity, sexual themes, fake frats, more semi-unhumorous banter, sunghoon biceps
༄࿔˚✧ synopsis: “a collection of moments with sunghoon, shared over meals, snacks, and drinks. a riff off of timestamps. not in chronological order. a continuation/epilogue of captain’s log.”
tagging: @dearhee @ozymandia-s @judeduartewannabe @pokemonpartyworld @thejjrl @end-hyphen
jungle juice
There wasn’t a lot you could do when it came to football game weekends. You knew the drill. Your roommate Yunjin would be pestering you to “Can you please show at least a little school pride?” as she posed you for pictures, dressed in your university’s sanctioned colors. Sunghoon would be off doing god knows what to prepare for the HYB tailgate. However, today’s game was much later in the day, and you were saved from the tragedy of drinking at 8am like last time.
Sunghoon had warned you that he’d be busy that morning, buying groceries for the pre-game, the tailgates, and the afterparty. You decided you’d return to the library, cramming a couple assignments (like usual) before the chaos of the upcoming afternoon.
Not even an hour into your studies, and uncharacteristically, Sunghoon began sending you a string of messages.
sunghoon: is this a good juice brand *photo attached*
you: its orange juice i dont think you can go wrong but yes
sunghoon: is 1kg of strawberries enough
you: why did they let you buy groceries by yourself this time
sunghoon: *photo attached* I’m with riki
you: …
you: remind me to not consume whatever you guys are trying to make
*Sunghoon disliked a message you sent.*
The festivities of the day included a pregame at the HYB house, carpools to the main stadium parking lot for the tailgate, and cheering alongside everyone else at the actual game. Naturally, the night would end at HYB.
You were still shy about letting yourself inside the house, even though you knew they never locked the doors on days like this. Sunghoon once insisted on giving you a key, to make it easier for you when you came over. And though the other guys that lived at the house gave him permission to do so, you - maturely - explained that you had to respect their spaces as a guest. Sunghoon met you with a pout and a reluctant nod of understanding.
I’m outside, you texted your boyfriend, stepping up the stairs to the front doors. You heard yelling and music, and you were surprised the fun had already begun.
You stepped back as the door swung open, meeting your boyfriend’s sheepish smile and Jay’s bright one. Sunghoon grabbed your hand, brushing a quick kiss on your forehead.
“Alright, Y/N, so we fucked up the jungle juice,” Jay stared at you expectantly, his face fully flushed already.
You made a face, “How is that possible?”
Sunghoon laughed, “Just wait.”
Next to the two large tubs of their creation, the kitchen’s island was littered with empty juice cartons and several empty liquor bottles.. and many beer bottles?
One of the other HYB brothers followed your gaze, “We put beer in it to make it bubbly.”
Sunghoon passed you a cup. You stared at the little strawberry floating within an unnervingly bubbling red-orange concoction. Safe to say the beer was not a good choice, the ratio was definitely off - how can something so fruity taste so bitter? “Yeah, it does taste like shit.”
“Okay, but who drinks jungle juice for enjoyment?,” Riki suggested, shuffling through the songs playing from his phone to the speakers.
Jay, sarcastic, stated. “Jungle juice should be treated as a delicacy.”
Sunghoon, amused, replied, “Then why did you defile it by adding cheap beer?”
“I saw it on TikTok, leave me alone.”
Some other guys arrived later and called for help to set up, so you and Sunghoon were left to figure out what to do with the drinks.
Your guys’ solution was to just add more orange juice, which didn’t exactly mask the beer taste, but it made it more tolerable.
The pregame wasn’t eventful, mostly HYB guys and their significant others taking shots before packing everything (and everyone) into a few cars to take to the university stadium.
The parking lot was crowded, different Greek groups mingling with each other. You and Sunghoon sat in the back bed of a friend’s pickup truck, next to the tubs of jungle juice, watching the chaos unfold.
People were grilling meat, passing lettuce wrapped morsels amongst each other. Everyone was decked out in school colors, some holding signs cursing out the other team.
Sunghoon laid a drunken head on your shoulder, taking a hand into his. You felt him shake with laughter as some of the boys wrestled over a football. Other guys were funneling shots and you thought of your boyfriend, certainly the least chaotic (in terms of drinking) out of all of them.
“Hoon, I wish you’d just own up to your true frat potential.”
“The way you tease my friends for being alcoholic fuckboys really holds me back from that.”
You paused, “You’re the exception to the rule. It’s not anyone’s fault Jay has a new flame each week - he’s just embracing who he is - a HYB brother.”
"I think it's time I hang up the frat paddle and just be a wholesome student."
“Dude, you just picked up a Little, what are you talking about?" Riki interjected (the Little in question).
Sunghoon sighed dramatically, “And I regret it everyday.”
Your school’s team won, and everyone traveled back to celebrate appropriately at the HYB house. The daytime festivities (and drinks) left you tired, and you pulled Sunghoon away from the action to selfishly have him help you to sleep.
It was only 9 pm and you knew there were still drinks to be drunk, but it was getting difficult for you to keep your eyes open.
Sunghoon led you to his bed, climbing in shortly after. You two were silent as he took you into his arms, the warmth of his chest lulling you into darkness.
You woke, the wisps of your hair clinging to your forehead with sweat. You were surprised to find Sunghoon’s limbs still intertwined with yours, considering the bass of the party’s music downstairs still vibrated his bed frame. He definitely did not mean to fall asleep. You brushed the loose hairs out of your face, staring at your boyfriend’s features in the glow of his LED lights.
Sunghoon’s sleeping face was so peaceful, and you often took pictures to relish at the image if you missed him. You were so content. You burrowed your face back into the heat of his neck, not minding how his proximity literally made you sweat. Just being able to be with him… you couldn’t care less.
tiramisu
Your third real date - you could not consider invites to his parties actual dates - Sunghoon wanted to take you to his favorite dessert cafe downtown. The last time he took you out, he offered to drive, picking you up right on time, and with a single tulip sitting on the passenger’s seat.
This time, however, he asked if it was okay if you two could just walk and ride the bus together. Sunghoon had his moments of pure charisma, teasing you smoothly, and finding a way to break out a smile from you. There were other times where you were absolutely astonished at his clumsiness. While Sunghoon was in the final stages of crossing over into HYB, some of the things you had to witness him go through… thank god he was handsome.
The midday sun was beaming brightly, a gentle wind passing through your thin layers - not offering you much comfort to soothe the beads of sweat on your forehead. Sunghoon was dressed casually, a short sleeved button down - revealing just enough of his toned chest, and some loose trousers.
“You know, I asked to walk with you today so that I could have more time with you, but I’m kinda regretting it,” he said pointedly, gesturing at the hot spring rays of the sun.
“Wow, are you saying time with me isn’t worth a couple minutes of sweat?” you said, with a blank face.
Sunghoon’s face contorted to one of apology, his lips opening to ramble a sorry, but then stopped and broke into a smile. “Yeah, you’re less cute when you’re sweaty.”
You scoffed as you pushed his shoulder, discreetly swiping a hand across your forehead.
The bus was packed, and you two were left with the option of standing body to body with other passengers. Sunghoon grabbed a hanging handrail for support before the bus took off, but the others in your section were occupied. The bus jolted forward and you stumbled into Sunghoon’s torso, his free hand catching your shoulder.
Your cheeks burned with embarrassment, and you peeked up to see him bite back a smile. After stabilizing your stance, Sunghoon’s free hand traced down your bare arm. He gently grasped your hand and directed it to his bent arm, offering you his bicep to hold for support.
“You’re sly, Park Sunghoon,” you whispered. His arm was toned, and it felt firm under your grasp.
“Hey, I hit a PR at the gym yesterday, this is a reward for both of us. You should thank me really.”
After making it out of the bus, you didn’t bother to let go of his arm. He coolly slipped his hands in his pockets as he led you to the cafe - you stared at his red ears and knew the impact you had on him.
You picked a table in the back corner, the cafe was decorated brightly and had walls lined with bookshelves. You let Sunghoon order for you. He returned with a bright smile, setting the order pager on the table.
“This place has the best cakes,” Sunghoon was beaming with excitement. You laughed, his giddy expression was so endearing it was hard not to reciprocate.
Sunghoon stood to pick up the order when it was ready, and passed you your pink smoothie. He set a green tea cake and slice of tiramisu in the middle, taking a sip of his Americano.
“So they make tiramisu the authentic way.” Sunghoon began to explain how tiramisu is supposed to be made (who knew he was such a fanatic?), and you spared him of the knowledge that you too knew how it was actually made. “The owner says they get imported coffee beans especially for their espresso, so the flavor is super strong!” He used his spoon to point out the different creamy layers.
The cake did look delicious, but the sight of Sunghoon’s eyes glowing staring at his favorite dessert was more satiating. You sipped your smoothie as he finished his ramble.
Sunghoon slowly carved into the cake with his spoon, and held it out to you.
“Are you really feeding me right now?”
He smiled, “I know you want it.” He was right. You did.
The cake was creamy and soft, just as it looked, but you scowled at the clashing taste.
“I don’t think fruit smoothies with tiramisu is a good pairing…” you smiled sheepishly.
He passed you the cup of his Americano to wash the flavor away before scooping another bite for you. Sunghoon smiled as he noted your expression of approval. The taste of the espresso was bitter, but the cream and cocoa melted to coat your tongue with sweetness.
Sunghoon didn’t mind that he traded his Americano with your smoothie. He didn’t mind that the tartness of the fruit totally ruined his favorite dessert. Your happy expression was enough for him.
somaek
Being in a relationship with someone so popular, and so involved with his social circles, unknowingly pulled you into many social events and gatherings. You were intertwined with his organization, and joining some of their philanthropy events led you to become a desired member in some sororities.
You simply explained you didn’t have the time to commit to anything. You had your own orgs, your own part-time job, and your own studies.
Probably the first problem that you two faced early in your relationship had to do with just that - balancing each of your respective responsibilities. Being in Greek obligated him to attend many events, and him living in a frat house didn’t make things easier when it came to alone time.
You loved his friends, and truly saw some of them as your own now, but spending time with your boyfriend in a room right between Jake and Jay drove you mad sometimes.
There was knocking at Sunghoon’s door. You two were sitting on the floor, your laptop propped up, educating your boyfriend with iconic Vine compilations. “It’s Jake!”
Sunghoon stood to open the door and see what his friend wanted. Naturally, Jake pushed inside disregarding Sunghoon.
“Dude, I’m right here?”
“Hey, Y/N, can you explain the post-lab that’s due tomorrow? The summary part seems so redundant… I don’t get how it’s different from the analysis.”
You blinked at him, half-eyeing the soju and beer bottles you and Sunghoon were peacefully sharing just a minute before. Sunghoon sighed and you snorted.
“Jake, can I please just have a night with my girl? You see her like four days a week in class, and could’ve gotten help then.”
Jake made an O with his lips, realizing his brashness and laughed. “My bad! And I’ve actually seen her everyday this week because of supplementary labs!”
Sunghoon basically dragged his friend out, locking the door behind him.
“Sorry about him.” You shook your head, amused, pretty much accustomed to this behavior already.
You refilled Sunghoon’s beer glass, and poured in a shot of soju right after. “If it makes you feel any better, that post-lab was actually due today.”
Sunghoon downed the drink in one shot, his cheeks cherried from the alcohol. “This is why I love you.”
He paused. That was the first time he said I love you to you. You snickered, “That still counts even if you’re drunk.”
He pouted his lips, then smiled, “Honestly, I consider that a win.” He stuck his tongue out at you. “Ha! I said it first.”
suggestive content in the end of this last section - feel free to skip!
peppermint hot cocoa
Sunghoon was always patient with you, pausing to make sure you were enjoying yourself, never hesitating to ask if you were alright. He was gentle and caring, and never rushed.
However, your first time with Sunghoon consisted of a lot of moving parts. Clashing limbs and rushed whispers, you were out of breath before even really starting.
You’d had your share of one night stands, purely lust filled nights: chaptered with drunken exchanges, entangled bodies, and the dreaded walk of shame the morning after. Only rarely were you lucky enough to have snuck out before the rise of the sun.
Since you two started talking, you had access to HYB and hockey club parties, which were at least every other week. It was still fun to party with your girlfriends, before sneaking away with Sunghoon to play pool or some drinking games.
Each night was riddled with ST and for better or for worse, he never advanced anything further than a couple sessions of making out.
Hell, there was one night where you made out for what felt like two hours straight. One of his hands was finally on the inside of your panties, rubbing you expertly, but as soon as you reached for the front of his jeans, Sunghoon stood up. You two were drunk, but even then you could tell that his “phone call from Heeseung-hyung” was nothing more than him pulling up the calculator app and putting it to his ear.
“I just don’t know why he doesn’t want to sleep with me?” You brought up to Yunjin the next day. “He had a girl in his bed and he pretended to call Heeseung.”
Yunjin bit her lip, and looked at you with the most serious expression. “Y/N, that’s so fucking tragic. Me, personally, I’d stop talking to him.”
“It’s not that I want to just have sex with him!” You whined. “I like him. But you know, we just keep stopping right before.”
She continued, “Imagine getting hot and bothered with a girl on top of you and the thing he thinks of to get out of it is Heeseung. Your tongue was down his throat and his best out was Heeseung.”
“Okay, now this just feels like a jab at Heeseung.”
“He ghosted me, Y/N! I was supposed to do that.”
You rolled your eyes at your best friend. “What do I do?”
“You said the only times you’ve gotten close were when you two were drunk right? Maybe he gets whiskey dick.” She grins.
You pause to think about the things you’ve felt, the times where you’ve run a palm down the front of his pants, just to hear a pretty gasp from him. Or the times where you straddled him, and he grabbed your hips to push you further onto him.
“Yeah… I don’t think so.”
“Honestly, he’s probably just nervous. Anyone can tell just how headass you two are for each other. Or maybe he doesn’t want to do it drunk.”
Yunjin then muttered, “Couldn’t be me. Drunk sex is…”
During a lecture - as you and Jake were hunched over his laptop, going over the practice case scenarios together - you saw a text message pop up on Jake’s screen.
hoonhoon bro: should i just ask her out again
Jake cleared his throat and slowly turned his screen towards only him, “Lemme check something real quick.”
You snickered, “Very subtle, Jake.”
He gave you a look, “I could just lie and say you told me you aren’t into him anymore.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
Jake smiled brightly, “Yeah you’re right, I like you guys too much.”
You then received a text message.
park sunghoon: Are you busy tonight?
you: yes i’m going on a date
park sunghoon: what
Jake looked up from typing on his laptop. In a hushed whisper, “You’re seeing other guys!?”
You kept your eyes on your phone and continued.
you: yeah i started talking to him from a hockey club party
Jake poked your arm angrily, and turned his screen to show you the texts between himself and Sunghoon.
hoonhoon bro: SHES SEEING SOMEONE ELSE WHAT THE FUCK
me: WTF DUDE LET ME ASK HER
hoonhoon bro: wait dont
hoonhoon bro: THEY MET AT A HOCKEY CLUB PARTY?? IVE LITERALLY KEPT MY EYES ON HER AT EACH PARTY I never saw her speak to any other new guys
You covered your mouth to silence your laugh. Jake was seething, waiting for your explanation but you still typed on your phone.
you: yeah his name is sunghoon
park sunghoon: ???
park sunghoon: oh
park sunghoon: We’re going on a date tonight?
you: aren’t we? you asked if i was free lol
park sunghoon: I’ll pick you up at 6
You heard Jake sigh in relief, “I seriously went through all the stages of grief just now.”
When the lecture finished, Jake turned to you one more time. “If things ever go south… Just let him down easy? I like you, dude, but I can’t guarantee your safety from Jay if Sunghoon comes home crying one day.”
All you could do was gently smile and nod.
That evening, fresh from the shower and loaded with the jitters of the impending date in about an hour, you received a text.
park sunghoon: Are you craving anything
you: you
park sunghoon: huh
you: can surprise me
You laughed out loud at yourself. You saw your roommate stare from the corner of your eye. “Embarassing,” she teased.
When Sunghoon notified you of his arrival, you took a deep breath before exiting the dorm building. This was only the second date - sure you’ve had many hours of drunkenness with him at parties - but it didn’t settle the nerves of a date any less.
He smiled at you when you opened the passenger door, a single pink tulip waiting for you on your seat.
Sunghoon’s car always smelled deeply of him, so clean and fresh. He smelled of soap, or crisp linen, and sometimes, like today, you noticed hints of coffee.
“So, I was thinking, does sushi sound good?”
“It’s not really a surprise if you tell me before we go,” you quipped. “But yes, of course.”
He poked your cheek. Sunghoon shared details about his day, discussing a couple of hours at the rink before class.
He snorted, “It’s always awkward giving lessons to kids who have tiger parents. This little boy today ate shit on the ice practicing his loop and his mom yelled at him from the stands.”
Sunghoon grimaced, “Then she yelled at me…”
Your conversation flowed throughout the drive into downtown. He asked you about your day, and you left out the flurry of texts you read about yourself, courtesy of Jake.
“Another girl dm’ed me asking if I wanted to rush next semester. And then she explained she could guarantee me a bid.”
“They must be desperate if they’re asking you.”
“Yeah, like I don’t know if I’d want to ru- wait. What are you trying to say?” You punched his shoulder as he cackled.
“Don’t hit the driver! Very dangerous.”
The restaurant was packed, but since Sunghoon had called ahead of time, you were seated very quickly.
“What would you have done if I didn’t agree to sushi?”
“I would’ve brought you here anyway. Surprise!”
The sashimi was delicious; and you and Sunghoon, shamelessly, audibly groaned at the taste. You two argued over which fish was best, obviously the salmon, and though he disagreed, he happily scarfed down the last piece of salmon when you offered it.
You let Sunghoon guide you through the streets of downtown for a couple blocks, thinking you were just aimlessly walking, before he stopped abruptly.
“You haven’t been here have you?”
He brought you to the skating rink. Sunghoon followed your hands with his gaze as you gripped the ends of your thin long sleeve.
“Don’t worry, I have a jacket in my work locker!” He took your hand as he led you inside.
His coworkers greeted him brightly, a couple of them squinting at him suggestively when they noticed you were holding hands.
Sunghoon helped you select some skates, before taking your hand again to lead you to the back area to his locker. He grabbed the skates out of your hands to exchange them for his hoodie, grinning as you slipped it over your body.
He balanced the two pairs of skates in one arm, still gripping your hand as he took you to the actual rink.
You sat down at a bench on the outskirts of the stands and stared as Sunghoon squatted down in front of you.
“Here, I’ll help you lace them up,” he said, smiling up at you.
“Ok, dad.”
He rolled his eyes, and you blushed as he took one of your feet in his hands to guide it into the skate. He said nothing as he tightened the laces, and tied them expertly with his long fingers.
You gulped. You couldn’t keep your eyes off of his hands as he put on his own skates.
Sunghoon on ice was a different version of him altogether. He took both of your hands into his, gliding backwards. Effortlessly, he kept his eyes on you, while you stared at the ice at his stable feet and your shaky ones.
“Look up at me; it helps with balance,” he said as he tilted your head up with a finger.
In efforts to hide your embarrassment, you responded, “Ice skating seems like the perfect way for you to charm women.”
He grinned, “Yeah, and judging by the look of you… It’s working, isn’t it?”
If you weren’t so uncoordinated on ice, you’d have grabbed his shirt and kissed him right there.
After freshening up in the bathroom, wiping away the sniffles from the cold and fixing up your hair, you found Sunghoon chatting with his coworker at the skate counter.
“You don’t have anywhere to be early tomorrow do you?”
You thought of the 9 am study session you were invited to go to before class. “… Nope, I’m free.”
“That sounded like a lie, but I’ll take it because I feel selfish today,” Sunghoon joked. You thought of how attentive he was today. He was anything but selfish. “Let’s watch a movie, we didn’t properly use my surround sound last time.”
For once the HYB house was quiet and peaceful. The walls were still lined with funny banners, or old decorations. Each time you were at the house previously, it was at night, the rooms only illuminated by LEDs or strobe lights. This time the front of the house was brightly lit by the chandelier. You noticed the fond remains of a certain poster.
This was the first time being in Sunghoon’s room, without the excuse of tequila or rum or a “loud party” ushering you two inside. You could actually make out the couple trophies that were set on a shelf. First Place Park Sunghoon. Another one reading: Runner Up National Champion - Novice.
“Did you ever think of going pro? Making it your full career?”
Sunghoon smiled softly, “Everyday since I started when I was 9, and until I was 17.”
“Injury?”
“Man, we’re getting into the deep stuff… but no, actually. I think I just started getting tired of skating being the only thing I knew. I had like 3 friends on a good day.”
He sat on his bed, patting the space next to him for you, and continued, “I still skated in comps up until last year before I transferred… But it hadn’t felt the same since high school.”
You placed your hand on his knee in support, saying nothing to let him continue if he wanted.
“Now, I’m just trying new things, learning more about what’s out there. I still skate, obviously, but I think I feel better about just having it a hobby than making it my whole life.”
“You’ve gotta show me your old competition videos.”
Sunghoon frowned, “Too embarrassing.”
“Totally googling you later.”
“I’ll show you under one condition,” his hand shifted onto your lap, and leaned towards you. You could almost feel his breathing.
You nodded slowly, “And what would that be?”
He leaned back and grinned, “You share something equally embarassing of course! Your face is so red… Jeez, what did you have in mind, Y/N?”
You couldn’t take it anymore. The flirting, his suggestive eyes, his teases.
“Kiss me,” you stated. “Please.”
Sunghoon blinked in surprise, his teasing smile fading into one of confidence, of pride.
“Well, only since you said please,” he whispered.
You fluttered your eyes closed and you gripped one of his arms as your lips catch his.
Sunghoon smiled and pulled his lips away for a second, “I can’t believe you ordered mint hot cocoa. I can taste it,” his forehead resting against yours.”
“Don’t like it?” you teased.
He kissed you, before saying, “Normally, never. On you? I guess I can tolerate it.”
You pulled him back in, teeth clashing and eager eager hands reaching for the nape of his neck. One of Sunghoon’s arms snaked around your back, guiding you to lay flat on his bed, his other arm leaning by your head to support his weight above you.
He traced kisses down the side of your jaw and you sighed.
“Please,” you hushed, tugging on the hem of his shirt. As he pulled his top over his head, your fingers eagerly glided up his toned abdomen, over his chest, before settling on his wide shoulders again. He leaned down to brush trails over your neck with his lips, his tongue slipping out to fully taste you.
“Seeing you in my clothes…” he mumbled against your skin. You were indeed still wearing his hoodie from the rink.
A worried thought crossed your mind, which was jarring since your only other thoughts were how good his lips felt on your skin, and how nice his fingers were as one of them teasingly toyed with the waistband of your pants.
“Hoon.” His body stopped moving and he looked up seriously at you with hooded lids.
“Why haven’t we ever … gone all the way?”
Sunghoon leaned back, and then laid next to you on his side. “I didn’t want the first time we did anything more to be when we were drunk. I… wanna really remember it. I’m sorry for not explaining that each time I’ve stopped us…”
“Yeah, not sure Heeseung would appreciate being tangled in a lie.”
“OK. That time, I admit, I don’t even know why I did that. I was so nervous,” he covered his eyes with a hand.
“You’re more sappy and sentimental than you look,” you traced a finger over his lips and kissed him, his eyes still covered.
“Alright,” he finally looked at you, his eyes dark. “What do I look like?”
You smirked, “Someone who looks good underneath me.”
And it was true. Sunghoon looked real good. And he was well worth the wait.
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Himbo!Baratheon!Reader out here just stealing everyone’s hearts and living in their minds rent free. He’s probably the only Baratheon brother who thrives in the Red Keep and is closest to Robert, who insisted that Reader live/stay with him as a trusted strategist (Lets be honest though he just wants to keep having fun with his little brother who’s down to do almost anything)
I can see Cersei absolutely developing feelings for Reader when he is respectful and caring for her and listening to her ideas, even discussing them in detail. These genuine interactions has her wanting take the throne and have Reader instilled as the King with her as Queen consort. Not only that but he’s the best “uncle” her children could ever have. Giving them the warmth and care that don’t receive from Robert and can’t receive from Jamie. Speaking of Jamie, do you think Reader’s open friendly attitude yet sharp skill in combat and strategy awakens something in him 👀 Like at first he’s like “Stay away from my sister >:(“ but after getting to know Reader he’s like “You should come train with me :) Or maybe I can should you around Casterly Rock :)”
Omg what would happen if he managed to meet Dany after everything goes to shit? I don’t think he would have any personal qualm with her (if anything he’d probably only have an issue with the mad king) She’d probably see this big smiley puppy of a man and reconsider her decision to only have her dragons as her children. He’d probably tell her about Rheagar (possible exes 👀) and what he was like if she wanted to know 🍃
Oh, Himbo!Baratheon!Reader is stealing the hearts of both men and women alike, and definitely leaving too lasting of an impression to ever forget so no doubt he’s living in everyone’s heads rent free. Honestly, Himbo!Baratheon!Reader is the type who could happily thrive wherever. He’s terrifyingly good at making friends and allies wherever he goes, with most of those allies/friends wanting more than just that.
I really like to imagine that Baratheon!Reader has a good relationship with all his brothers, just an overall special connection with each of them respectively but Robert is the one most outwardly closest to the Reader (along with Renly) given how the two are similar in their enjoyments of having a good time. I like to think that Baratheon!Reader doesn’t whore around very much, he more so enjoys the company of others in general (especially making people laugh and let go) and of course to indulge in a fair share of wine and ale while he’s at it.
Like, this man has literally done the unfathomable by not only being the only one to make Stannis smile let alone chuckle, but he’s done the same with Tywin (although the Lannister will never admit to it or acknowledge it whenever brought up). Honestly, the stag man has got everyone wrapped around his finger whether they know it or not.
Cersei would definitely have set her sights on Himbo!Baratheon!Reader because he was everything she wished Robert was, especially in how he was with her and the kids. He’s respectful, he’s kind, he’s exceptionally in shape (and maintains it), he actually listens to her when she speaks and doesn’t just disregard her. I really love the idea of Himbo!Baratheon!Reader heavily respecting women, he drinks that respect women juice day and night so much so he’d die by it. Like, Baratheon!Reader totally sees how powerful and terrifying a woman can really be if she just so wanted to or was pushed to her limit, and he’s all for it. Cersei would definitely fall fast and hard for the Reader, especially seeing him be so attentive to her children and interacting with them so openly and warmly. He’s able to do what Robert has never done and what Jaime could never do, and all without much of a thought about it. How could Cersei not become captivated with Baratheon!Reader?
Regarding Jaime, I love the idea of him seething with envy and resentment that not only his beloved sister prefers the Reader over him, but also because of how the Reader is in general. The charisma, the respect, the overall love that the Reader receives from those around him; it makes Jaime feel especially threatened. Not to mention when his father eventually comes to hold some form of favor for the Reader too that certainly doesn’t make Jaime feel an better. It really wouldn’t be until Jaime saw and experienced Baratheon!Reader in the midst of battle that he would see him in a completely different light. All this time he thought the Reader was just an overrated, glorified idiot who was all muscle and a pretty face, that was until he was watching the man he internally labeled his arch nemesis in action. Honestly, Jaime would be in awe (not that he would ever tell anyone, not even his sister). Like, he has to physically keep himself from being slack jawed in front of everyone in that very moment. He would definitely have a new found respect and admiration for the Reader after that, not that he would let that on but he would act much better towards him.
Also, as much as I doubt Jaime would ever tell a soul (except maybe Tyrion, depending) that he finally came to understand everyone’s talk about the Reader and himself now harboring some like for the Reader, I love the thought of Jaime just running to Cersei after everything is said and done and the battle is won like an excited little kid and gushing about how cool and amazing the Reader was when in action. If anything the closet he would get to that would be by forcing Tyrion to listen to him ranting away about the whole thing, being both admiring and jealous in his rambling. It would be kind of funny and interesting to see if Jaime were to actually grow a romantic interest in Himbo!Baratheon!Reader, especially whether he would want to try and steal the Reader from his sister or maybe share with her?👀
When it comes to Daenerys, I could totally see Himbo!Baratbeon!Reader going himself to go seek her out. Especially after Robert said he didn’t want her dead anymore. I definitely think that Baratheon!Reader took Ned’s side when talk of killing off Dany came up. He didn’t see the point of it. I feel like Baratheon!Reader would stand by the idea of how a child shouldn’t have to or be forced to pay for their parent’s words or actions. He has no problem whatsoever with Daenerys, he didn’t share his brother’s disdain for all Targaryens alike. He only had his beef with the Mad King and maybe Rhaegar, but he saw no point in bringing Daenerys or Viserys into it.
Honestly, Himbo!Baratheon!Reader probably leave without telling anyone before he sets off to make things right with Daenerys on his brotherms behalf. There’s a good chance that he may have told Ned of his plans but that’s about it. The Reader would definitely think that going to Dany himself would mean more than sending a raven or messenger. And when he does finally make it to Dany, she wouldn’t know what to do upon being met with the Reader right in front of her. Especially when he apologizes to her, telling her that his brother had called off his want for her assassination on his death bed, that he wanted to ensure she got word that, as far as he knew, the crown didn’t have any ill intentions for her anymore. Given that this would most likely take place after Khal Drogo’s death and Dany getting her dragons, I could see Dany saying she would only accept what the Reader was saying if he married her. Not only as recompense for everything (including the deaths of her brother and father and the loss of their home) but also as assurance that nothing will happen to her or her people. And I have no doubt that the Reader would feel all too inclined to do so just to make amends. Meanwhile, when Cersei gets word she absolutely loses her shit and is completely under the belief that Dany took the Reader hostage and forced him to marry her. It’ll be a hell of a fight between the women, physically, mentally and emotionally for the Reader.
Also, Himbo!Baratheon!Reader would be so kind and understanding towards Dany. She knows only what she’s been told about her father and brother, things that have been either misconstrued or made to shelter both her and Viserys at the time. She doesn’t know the truth or the other side of what exactly happened and the Reader would only be all the gentle and honest in telling her whenever she asked.
Imagine Cersei’s absolute horror upon the Reader getting back to King’s Landing with a heavily pregnant Dany in tow?? She would be utterly livid and enraged. Ooohhh! What if Himbo!Baratheon!Reader became the modern Aegon the Conqueror with Cersei and Dany becoming his Visenya and Rhaenys???? Or maybe instead of Cersei its Margaery who takes her place along with Dany in becoming his wives??
Also, after Renly’s inevitable death, I totally see Loras and Brienne latching onto the Reader as a surrogate for Renly in a way.
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konigsblog · 10 months
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heyy can you please 😭 write a story about princess reader and Konig but he's someone very dangerous in old times like 1458 (whatever) and she's like not allowed to even look at him, ykwim 🥴 (maybe an executor?)
if you actually do this I just love you, thank you ❤️❤️
fallen for your love - villian!könig x f!princess!reader
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warnings; smut, of course. nothing more than that really. maybe corruption kink?
you'd been forbidden to even look at him, you wouldn't dare spare him your loving gaze, atleast that's what your parents thought. you were the princess of the village, kind and adoring, affection and giving. always helping around, smiling at those who showed you respect. but you'd never expected to see that man, him. his name was könig, he was called a villain, described as heartless and evil, terrifying. those who heard of him were told he was a disgusting killer; going around villages, entering innocent homes and leaving them soaked in their blood, his scarred hands stained with the crimson liquid.
his gaze lingered, it never broke from you. you worried you'd become a target, people ushering you into their cozy, welcoming homes for support and safety, yet instead you turned you heel, dashing off into the distance.
the castle's doors slammed shut, a desperate attempt to block out the screams of bloody murder echoing from the village. you could feel as tears brimmed in your eyes, guilt stinging in your chest as you sobbed and weeped by the door, covered by your royal gown. it was overhead by the maids running around your house, dusting off any grey fuz that landed atop of objects, wiping down the kings crown as well as the table. you caught the attention from a few maids - but you were too distraught by the misery filling your ears, and they knew what happened.
the next morning was supposed dreadful, horrible. you expected to wake up in your bed; fluffy bedsheets wrapped around your body, your delicate head rested on a perfectly fluffed pillow. but instead, you turned your head to the side, revealing a monster infront of you. you gasped, trembling under his tight grip, a whimper flowing from your lips, eyes widened with shock and terror. his touches were soft, nothing like the murderer everyone made him out to be. they became lustful, groping your plump tits, hands running under your laced, precious night gown, fingers playing with your slit, kissing and biting at your neck.
you quickly became addicted to the feeling of his hands; your father demanding men to never lay a hand on you, still desperately protecting his little girl. he'd be pissed to know you let a man touch you sexually, let alone the villain of the village. his thumb teased your clit, coating his hand in your juices, slick coating the skin around your thighs. the sound of belt clicking amd rustling could be heard from outside the room, hoping to not wake up your motionless parents, asleep.
his length slowly entered your stretched out hole, mewling at the pain, eventually drowning in pleasure as he bottomed out inside you. your legs twitched, as well as his thick, girthy cock, bottom lip quivering in fear and bliss. könig wanted you to expect delicacy, but the sounds of skin slapping; his heavy, full balls slapping against your tight ass, mesmerized with the tightness. his tip grew red and angry, slamming into you with such force it knocked the wind from your lungs, silencing you with his palm, bumping you forward with each hard thrust. veins dragged out your walls, slamming back instead, cunt growing raw with his aggressiveness.
he adored the suprised, fucked-out expression you wore. grunting and growling as your walls continued to pulse around him, clenching and squeezing him, pulling him in closer. drawing his hips back, rutting back in your cunny, your nipples hardened with pleasure, bucking your hips skywards as your orgasm rapidly built up. rubbing at your clit slowly, teasing you and dragging your orgasm out, your needy, muffled moans attempting to escape, blocked by his hand. he tilted his head, his eyes crinkled behind the mask as he smirked down at you, furrowing his eyebrows, rapidly thrusting into you. it all quickly became too much, intoxicating.
your first time spent with the terrifying figure, looming over your smaller figure, grinding his bare length into you. you squirted against his abdomen, uncovering your mouth as you let out a loud, high and pornographic moan, awakening your parents. he stayed inside you, spurting his potent, thick and hot seed, filling your tight pussy with his sex and cum, scent rubbed off onto you. he leaned down, pressing a kiss to your clit before moving to your lips, making out with your sloppily and slowly, it was affectionate, you could taste his love on your lips.
before you could speak, he ran off. opening the doors to your balcony, jumping out with a swift movement, leaving you naked and full. you covered your body in an instant as your parents grasped the door handle, turning it and swinging it open, worried for your wellbeing and safety. watching your lone, limp form, covered in your soft bed covers.
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insomniakisses · 1 year
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Being Twice’s Omega
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General hcs;
- they fight over you
- well, bickering mostly
- only cause momo is possessive af and wants u all the time
- literally growls at them id they try to take u
- u just learn to live with it
- jihyo has to give her THAT look
- the look that says “share our gf or i take our gf”
- literally works for about a minute before momo is pouting and making grabby hands
- why is she so clingy and possessive?
- 1) she just loves you so much
- 2) you know that moment she got eliminated from 16 and thought she was never going to see you again? Yeah thats why
- it hurt so much and was such a scary feeling she never wants to feel that again
- thats why the girls put up with her behaviour
- they never want her to feel like she doesn’t have you
- usually u wait till momo is sleeping and sneak into another members bed
- nuzzle into them or lay kisses to there skin till they wake up
- face goes from confusion to the brightest smile in seconds
- so happy to finally cuddle and kiss you
- then scents the heck outta u
- HOWEVER
- Momo will wake up the next morning and yank you outta whoever’s grip and scent u with a smirk before pulling away
- after long talks and easing out of behaviour momo calms down
- everyone gets cuddles in
- momo still hogs u a little
- You have the MOST respectful alphas
- always checking in on you and if your okay
- they know when there being too much for u and will back off
- never come into ur nest uninvited no matter what
- they don’t even go near it when they need to talk to u opting to call or text u since a nest is a personal safe space and should smell and feel as u like it not of them because they barge in
- always have their arms around you in public
- SO IN LOVE (with u and eachother)
Heats + Ruts;
Nayeon
- likes contol
- fucks you from behind
- mostly over furniture
- the second she smells u in heat shes gonna fuck u right then and there
- slaps ur ass
- fucks you in doggy with ur hands tied and legs pinned
- loves that u trust her enough to take complete control of u
Jeongyeon
- subby baby
- your in control
- you spend heats either riding her and milking her for all she has
- or sitting on her face making a mess of it with your juices while your jerk her off
- likes when u do this and either overstimulate or edge her
- when shes in rut then she also likes it if u peg her or play with her ass.
Momo
- POSSESSIVE
- if shes in rut ur hers till she says so
- fucks u for hours
- scent marking
- bites
- scratches
- spanking
- knotting over and over again
- in your heat she is such a tease but eventually gives u what she wants.
Sana
- soft dom
- rubs her cock against ur clit for SO long
- gets it all red and leaking precum before pushing into u
- ur a whimpering mess by then
- just how she likes it
- fucks into u slow and deep
- or hard and fast
- there is no between
- thick cum but not alot of it.
Jihyo
- average in roughness
- definitely nit the roughests
- wants u to get pregnant
- purely for her lactation kink
- 🤫🤫🤫
- also cause no one thinks shes gonna actually get u pregnant and if she does she can rub it in their face
Mina
- she gets hard ALL THE TIME
- highest sex drive
- always down to fuck u
- lowkey has a thing for fucking u in public
- jerks of on lives and outside all the time
- probably subtly fucks u on live too
- cums ALOT but its not all that thick
- growling and quiet moans
Dahyun
- service top
- kinda a shy baby tbh
- lays ontop of u, face buried into ur neck as she thrusts into you softly
- kisses and nibbles at ur neck
- face hot and blushing
- less thrusting more humping tbh
- best for pre heats and after heats when u dont need rough sex
Chaeyoung
- rough and kinda needy?
- she litterally just wants to fuck u every second
- isnt too focused on breeding u or mating u
- just on the pleasure you can both feel
- low key isnt fussed about u getting pregnant or not
Tzuyu
- shy 90% of the time but when it comes to her rut or ur heat
- then she is relentless
- fucks you into the mattress for HOURS
- relatively quiet moans
- but she curses ALOT
- scents the heck outa u
- lowkey kinky af
628 notes · View notes
ohmyeyesmyeyes · 3 months
Text
MARTHA'S IS PRETTY ROMANTIC - CHAPTER TWO: JEALOUSY, JEALOUSY
summary: a lot can happen over two days, but the stand-out event just had to be that time you went to that restaurant and discovered that you didn't really enjoy seeing tyson flirt with other people. also: who the fuck is jamie?
warnings: awkwardness, mentions of anxiety, swearing, alcohol consumption, meddling, sexual tension, jealousy (both parties), tyson kind of being a dick
word count: 9.9k
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Mat and Toni, respectively, were on a mission. Oddly enough, neither of them had actually discussed their missions, because neither one was aware of the other’s mission. Mat didn’t know what Toni had been chatting about with you, and Toni didn’t know what Mat had been talking about with Tyson on the boat the day before.
But they each had a plan.
Both involved leaving you and Tyson alone at any possible opportunity. Take now, for instance, Toni was completely set on wringing the truth out of Mat about you and Tyson – but only after she’d insisted that she and Mat have a wander around some shops by themselves. That way she could kill two birds with one stone: talk to Mat and leave you and Tyson alone. (She had every intention of talking to Mat after tea, but as soon as the door shut…)
It was how you found yourself sitting at the window of yet another cute cafe, Tyson’s hat askew on your head after he kept complaining about it itching his forehead (he’d patted you rather condescendingly on your cheek when he placed it on you), the man himself at the till ordering your breakfast. There was a gift shop opposite, and it had taken approximately three people to walk out, all bearing paper bags for the idea to come to you.
“A cappuccino with pancakes, milady.” The tray was placed in front of you, as was a glass bottle with am orchid poking out of the top, and you looked up to come face to face with a grinning Tyson, who, after sitting down opposite you, rubbed his hands excitedly, “Fuck me, I’m starving.”
Your eyes wearily scanned over the heads of people in the near vicinity, a little worried that some kid had overheard, but everyone seemed consumed in their own company – no children in sight. You sat up a little straighter.
Martha’s was pretty romantic, wasn’t it?
You swallowed, trying to clear your mind, and almost as soon as your eyes landed on the food in front of you, you felt your stomach rumble loudly, “Me too.”
Tyson nodded, mouth full of his own stack of pancakes, and you stifled a laugh at his impatience, taking a sip of the coffee. 
It had been less awkward than you’d initially expected – waking up next to Tyson – considering the comments you’d so thoughtlessly said. He’d actually not even been in bed when you’d woken up, and it took you getting dressed and wandering downstairs to find him also dressed, sitting on the porch swing with a glass of juice as he watched the water peacefully.
(You would have gone back inside after finding him, had he not spotted you and patted the place next to him – but you decided the extra time with him couldn’t hurt. And anyway, you’d both mostly just sat in silence, not really having anything to say.)
It wasn’t until you’d finished eating your pancakes, both your cups of coffee half-empty that you started talking, his eyes instantly snapping to yours, “I think I’m going to get something for Mat and Toni as a thank you for letting me crash their vacation, d’you want in on it?”
Tyson nodded, “Sounds good. You got any ideas?”
You shook your head, “There’s a gift shop across the street, I thought we could start there?”
“That’s fine by me.” 
You offered a small smile, wondering if you were imagining the tension as Tyson averted his eyes back out of the window. 
And you also didn’t know if he noticed your lingering stares, or if he purposefully chose to ignore it altogether. In fact, you were sure you’d rather it be the former, but you weren’t exactly being subtle. It was always pretty easy to notice when someone had just looked away from you when you looked straight at them – and each time Tyson caught you, you could almost draw the look on his face as he pressed his lips together to muffle a smirk.
“You done?” Tyson leant forwards across the table, peering into your empty coffee mug.
“Yeah.” You nodded, grabbing your bag from the back of your chair, a little distracted by something as your eyes scanned every person sitting at the table.
There were flowers on each table, as well as a few candles, and above the door were more flowers, and everything seemed to be a shade of pastel. The entire cafe seemed…lovey. Ribbons were wrapped around the cakes, and when you thought about it, even your pancake had a heart drawn out in whipped cream.
You hadn’t noticed you weren’t paying full attention to your surroundings until Tyson’s hand shot out to move a chair out of your way, knuckles protecting your leg from an inevitable bruise.
“Are you okay?” He mumbled, and you met his eyes, nodding a little overwhelmed.
His eyes were flickering across your face, no trace of a smile on his lips as he opened his mouth again. You waited for him to say something, but instead he stayed put and silent. It wasn’t until he raised his brows, more out of concern than amusement, that you remembered he’d asked you a question and you hadn’t answered.
“I’m fine.” You said weakly, flashing a tight smile.
He clearly didn’t buy it, but he nodded and continued the winding journey around the tables to get to the door, you at his heels, where he held the door open for you.
It was almost a relief to see the pavement and breathe in non-baked-treat air. It seemed to calm your raging mind – from where that little thing had come from, you didn’t quite know, but it was weird. 
It wasn’t until Tyson was stepping up next to you, a strange look on his face that you realised quite what it was.
It was panic. 
What for?
You didn’t quite know.
“You sure you’re good?” He asked, “You look a bit shaken up.”
“I’m fine, I just didn’t realise how…cutesy everything was here.”
He tilted his head, “What do you mean?”
You swallowed, looking right to avoid his stare. It felt insignificant and a little embarrassing to be admitting it out loud, but this was Tyson.
You’d passed him neon dino undies last night.
“Martha’s is pretty romantic, you were right.” You mumbled, crossing your arms protectively.
His face didn’t waver one bit, and you were glad, “Thought you said you weren’t allergic to romance?”
Your shoulders shrugged before you could stop it, “I wouldn’t really know.”
Tyson swallowed, a little confused by your words. You still looked distracted, eyes bouncing everywhere, cheeks a little red. If he didn’t know better, he’d have assumed you were about to bolt back to the house, but you stayed cemented to the concrete beneath your shoes, completely unmoving. 
And he was about to inquire as to what you meant by that, because his mind was running around pretty quickly.
You wouldn’t know if you were allergic to romance? He had some serious questions, and if his hunch was right, he was about to get pretty pissed with some specific people that you—
Your eyes had settled. They were still moving, but the motion was less hectic and stressed. He followed your gaze, mouth parting at what you were looking at. It was an elderly couple walking down the other side of the street, hands clasped together, and bright smiles plastered on their faces as they conversed with each other.
Oh.
“You…” He started, trailing off. If he was being honest, he wasn’t quite sure where to start that conversation, or if he should start it.
But he knew what you were trying to say.
You turned to him, brow raised and a sigh leaving your mouth, “The gift shop?” 
He just nodded.
***
You and Tyson were the first ones back at the house, feet sore and legs a little achy, immediately seeking out the comfort of the soft sofa cushions, deep sighs of satisfaction released from your very souls. Neither of you said a word to each other as Tyson took one end of the sofa and you took the other, feet stretched and overlapping in the centre, eyes glued to the TV screen.
There were much better views to be had in the house alone; the porch swing you’d both sat at earlier was wonderful, but once you’d walked through the front door, all of that logic had just vanished the moment the sofa was in your eyeline. It was comfy – much too comfy to even consider the thought of having to haul yourself up and walk back outside.
By the time the front door opened and the sound of Mat and Toni’s voices travelled through the corridor, Tyson was asleep, head resting uncomfortably on his shoulder, and you were blinking sleepily, the bags by the side of the sofa just out of reach.
“Oh, they’re here–”
You widened your eyes, a finger pressed to your lips as you pointed at Tyson’s sleeping form. His arms were folded against his chest, and it took Mat to lean over his head to see his closed eyes for him to believe you. He pulled a shocked face, disappearing into the hall where Toni was lining up their own bags at the bottom of the stairs, and dragged her out into the living room to laugh at Tyson.
“He’s gonna be so sore when he wakes up.” Mat whispered, once again eyeing Tyson’s positioning, “What did you do to him?”
You shrugged, “Nothing, we just walked around all day. We actually got you guys something, but I’d wait until he wakes up first.”
Toni silently cooed, a hand over her heart as she rounded the sofa to get a look at Tyson, “How long has he been asleep?”
“About twenty minutes.”
“Can I get a photo of you two?” Toni asked, already pulling out her phone, and you hesitated, eyes drifting to the way Tyson’s curls seemed to hang over his eyes with the low angle of his head. 
He looked kind of adorable, actually. It wasn’t until Toni was encouraging you to look at the camera that you realised it was the first time you’d actually seen him asleep – he’d woken up earlier than you in the morning, and you’d both slept back-to-back in bed, limbs almost hanging off the edges because you were both too conscious of accidentally touching each other.
In fact, now that you were thinking about it, you weren’t sure he even slept a full eight hours. You’d both gone to bed pretty late, and he’d woken up early – you thought at the time the puffy-eyes were because he’d only just woken up, but now you were looking at him so completely out of it, that it had you wondering if he actually got any sleep at all.
You smiled as best as you could, though after Toni had lowered her phone, it dropped instantly. Mat fidgeted from the doorway, bringing bags of groceries through into the kitchen and shooting you a questioning glance.
“Should we wake him up?” He asked, wandering back into the living room, something else hidden in his eyes. It felt like you were missing something, but you weren’t well-versed enough in the ‘looks’ of Mr Barzal to catch onto what he was trying to ask.
You shook your head, “I don’t know if he slept properly last night. He went to sleep after me and he’d been out of bed a while by the time I went downstairs.”
“When did you wake up?”
“Eight-ish.”
Mat nodded, swallowing, before nodding, “Leave him until we’ve done dinner.”
You agreed, your attention going back to the TV until Mat and Toni had left the room. Then you turned to Tyson, where his feet were by your head, him pressed into the back of the sofa and you on the edge. If you moved or got out, you weren’t sure if he’d wake up at the lack of warmth, or if he’d be disturbed by the sofa dipping. 
So you decided to stay put until Mat and Toni started cooking. Then, and very carefully, you peeled yourself off the cushions, cringing everytime Tyson seemed to twitch or move in his sleep – which was more or less successful, especially when you dared to risk putting a cushion between his head and shoulder, attempting to alleviate the inevitable neck cramp he’d experience when he’d wake up later.
And even though none of you were trying to be quiet, pottering around in the kitchen or conversing (the TV was also still on), Tyson still didn’t wake up. In fact, he seemed to slip further from the arm of the sofa until he was laid horizontally on the cushions, rolling over at one point to face the back. 
It would have been endearing if you weren’t so worried about him.
And even after all the food had been cooked, and even after you’d filled him a plate up, not even the smell could wake him up.
“You gonna wake him up? Yeah, thanks.” It was Mat, escaping quickly out of the back door and joining Toni on the patio, leaving you alone in the kitchen, your sole focus still glued on the curly haired brunette curled up.
For some reason you’d expected Tyson to snore.
You stood at the front of the sofa, arms crossed. Waking people up was always a tricky thing to do, especially because it was always strangers you had to rouse; people were fussy and mardy about being woken up, but some people were impossible.
And you had a feeling Tyson belonged in the latter group, with the way he’d slept through the noise and commotion.
“Tys?” You asked, rather awkwardly trying to avoid touching him.
Nothing.
You sighed, reaching down to his jean-clad knee and shaking it. When that didn’t work, you contemplated tickling his feet, but the risk of getting kicked in the face was a little off-putting, and then you found yourself poking his cheek. Judging by the warmth radiating off him, you gathered he was pretty snug.
You threw a cautious glance over your shoulder, checking to ensure no one was watching through the window into the back garden, before kneeling down in front of the sofa, by Tyson’s head, and – rather nervously – reaching a hand into his hair. If nothing else worked, head or back scratches were always a pretty good shot.
“Tyson?” You murmured, nails gently scratching his scalp (his hair was softer than you’d imagined), and getting caught in his curls.
It took you using your other hand to flick his earlobe for a sign of life: he hummed, rolling onto his back and simultaneously forcing your hands off him. His eyes were still shut, face half-screwed up, and you held back a small laugh at his sleepy state.
“Tys,” you started, voice soft, “dinner’s ready.”
He slowly blinked awake, eyes immediately squinting at the lights above, before yawning and rolling his head towards you and scratching the beginnings of his facial hair on his chin, clearly a little confused.
“What?” He mumbled, a crease between his brows as he pushed himself up onto his elbows.
“Dinner. We’re eating outside.” You stood, pointing to the back door, where you knew he’d be able to see the outside lights from where he was laying.
“Already?” He asked, swinging his legs over the side and lifting his bare wrist up to his face, “What time is it?”
“Six.” 
His eyes widened, and he stood up next to you, stretching and groaning at the relief in his joints. A rough palm cupped the side of his neck and he frowned at the dull ache, “How come no one woke me up?”
“We weren’t sure how much sleep you got.” You said, a little uncertain.
He nodded, though, but didn’t say anything else on the matter, “It takes a day or two for me to be able to sleep in a bed that’s not mine.”
You nodded, your gaze sympathetic as you led him to the back door, where Mat and Toni were sitting at the outside table opposite each other, drinks in hand and pasta bowls full, two empty seats next to them. When Tyson followed behind you, Mat cheered and Toni made a joke, but Tyson only shrugged, taking the seat opposite you, immediately digging into his food.
You snuck glances at him throughout the meal, noticing he had a little more colour than earlier – which wasn’t something you immediately noticed – and that the bags under his eyes looked less severe. Letting him sleep had clearly been the right idea.
“Right.” Mat clapped his hands together, before pointing to the conservatory behind Tyson and Toni, “Pool tournament anyone?”
You froze, mid-sip of your G&T, a pebble of dread settling in your stomach. Automatically, your eyes flickered to Tyson opposite, hoping he’d provide you with some reaction, but he was looking straight at Mat, a competitive gleam in his eye as he grinned, “I’m down. What’re the teams?”
And because you were still looking at Tyson over the top of your glass, admiring his almost childlike excitement, you missed the look Toni shared with Mat.
“Me and Tyson?” Toni spoke up, twirling with her earring as her attention focused on you.
In fact, after you’d swallowed another mouthful of your drink, all three pairs of eyes were on you, and you hastily turned to Mat, finding yourself nodding before you could even dare to protest.
You’d expected Mat to go with Toni considering their relationship and all, but you were probably in pretty secure hands if Mat was your teammate too (besides, you got the impression he’d probably be a little more honest with you than Tyson).
It was how you found yourself in the conservatory thirty-seven minutes later, holding a pool cue and dreading your turn. 
You hadn’t played pool in ages, and your skill wasn’t that great then, so you’d prepared yourself for a game of failure and maybe a little embarrassment, but the alcohol would hopefully give you the confidence to embrace that fact.
Only, it seemed you didn’t have to worry too much about your ability, because everyone else was a little too inebriated to concentrate on hitting the ball accurately, and by the time it got to your turn, the only thing you couldn’t play off as the alcohol was actually holding the cue in your hands. You placed a hand on the table, mindful of the nearby balls, and lifted your palm onto your fingertips, slotting the cue between the crevice of your thumb and pointer finger. 
Now for the aim: you looked down the cue, lining it up with the cue ball, which was also straight on and in line with a solid ball. If you slammed the cue ball into the solid ball, you’d knock it against the side and…more or less near a pocket.
In your peripherals you could hear Mat and Toni muttering to each other, shoulder to shoulder – clearly no love lost even despite the competition – and you inhaled, steadying your hands, before pulling the cue back and smacking the cue ball; only your angle was a little off, and the ball landed…just shy of the pocket.
You stood up, unable to help beaming to yourself. It wasn’t as bad as you’d initially predicted. 
“Boom.” Mat stepped forward, knuckles bumping against yours in celebration.
“You can do the next one.” You mumbled, taking a step towards the shelf on the wall and drinking a mouthful of your drink.
When you turned back around, the first thing you saw was Tyson. He was standing on the opposite side of the table, both hands clasping his cue, and his eyes were trained on you. He caught your stare, pointedly glancing back at the table before mouthing ‘you’re going down, fucker’.
You stifled a grin, and if it were months earlier, you’d have probably teased back something along the lines of ‘on who, you?’, but this was now, and something had admittedly changed the entire dynamic of your friendship – probably for the worse, because as much as you tried to deny it, with all the odd tense moments, there was something beginning to nag at the back of your mind that nothing good could come of it, and you were downright petrified of even the thought of not having Tyson in your life.
So you stuck your middle fingers up at him in playful competitiveness, a dead serious look on your face, ‘in your fucking dreams’.
The smirk and adamant shake of his head in response did nothing to change the fact that you and Mat absolutely thrashed Tyson and Toni. So much so that Tyson pushed you into the pool after teasing him too much, though not before you could grab his shirt and pull him in after you.
You both went to bed with aching cheeks after that.
***
“Hey.”
“Hi,” you looked up at the owner of the shadow that had darkened the printed words in your book significantly – not that you needed to look at him; you would have recognised his voice through a fucking whisper – and faced an extremely familiar silhouette, blocking your strip of sun on the lounger. His chest was heaving a little and his entire upper body seemed to be glistening with sweat, even to the edge of his curls as they caught the sunlight, and he stood before you with his hands on his hips, looking undeniably and frustratingly attractive, “where were you this morning?”
You blinked, finding some semblance of safety and solace behind the dark lenses of your sunglasses, eyes secretly roaming…everywhere. You weren’t aware of the phenomenon of someone getting unbearably more attractive by the day, but you were absolutely certain the person standing in front of you was experiencing it in real-time.
Like the day before, you’d woken up by yourself in bed. The sting of disappointment was still there, but you’d managed to get yourself used to it; your expectations were lower and a part of you seemed to acknowledge the fact that his hockey schedule had his internal clock waking up about two hours earlier than you. According to Toni, the same went for Mat, too.
His broad shoulder shrugged, “I went to the gym with Mat and then we both went on a run for a bit. Why, d’you miss me?”
“I just haven’t seen you before ten in the morning, yet.” You excused, moving your hand to shield yourself from the onslaught of the sun – to say it was late morning and the back garden at the house Mat had rented was facing away from the sun, it wasn’t half blazing.
Tyson raised his brows, his cheeks still a little red from the exercise, “You mean you want to see me before ten?”
In truth, somehow you felt as though things between you and Tyson had eased a little – despite the fact this was the first time you were even interacting with the man since last night; something had just been sorted. It felt as though a squeaky joint had been oiled, though you felt partially that it was the buffer of one day separating you from the awkward comment you’d made about dressing him.
Nevertheless, you welcomed the previous ease with a smile and a fluttering heart. After all, he was standing in front of you perfectly tanned and sweaty and with a glorious smile on his face as he looked straight at you. There wasn’t really anything you could complain about.
“I mean,” you started, “I’d like to at least wake up with you in bed.”
He swallowed, “Oh, really?”
“It’d make me feel less like a lazy-ass.”
“Is that the only reason?”
“No.” For some reason, you were gripped by a sense of boldness that had never really shown itself, “I bet you look cute in your PJ’s.”
Even in the ensuing silence you didn’t take your eyes off of him. It felt like a pointless exercise at this point.
Except, what he answered next seemed to just blow your mind into smithereens.
“I only wear boxers.”
The shorts he’d gone jogging in weren’t all that long compared to the usual sports attire you’d seen him in and the tease of imagining him in only boxers – like the night you’d made that god-awful comment – sent your mind spiralling and your cheeks heating in misplaced anticipation. You knew he looked good in boxers; anything that highlighted the bulk of his thighs and the muscles in his chest and abs seemed to do the job, and knowing that each night so far he’d been sleeping in so little couldn’t help but render you into speechlessness.
Still, you feigned indifference, “I stand by what I just said.”
“I wear a PJ-based outfit nearly everyday,” he excused, swiping a hand across his face, “I’m gonna go shower and then I’ll come back out. Where’s Mat and Toni?”
“Toni’s wandering around and Mat’s in the shower I think.”
“In that case, I’ll be back down soon.”
“‘Kay.”
And Tyson remained true to his promise, returning not even ten minutes later wearing a pair of swimming trunks and a smile as he plopped down on the empty bed next to you, a bottle of sunscreen in his hand. Your eyes remained loyally on the book in your hands, even as he began lathering himself in sunscreen, his skin almost shimmering in the glint of the sunlight.
At least, you didn’t look until his struggle became a little obvious.
“Do you think you could get my back? Please?” He asked, twisting from where he was sitting, the bottle still in his hand but within reachable distance.
In all honesty, you never even had the thought to say no. Why would you?
“Sure.” You tucked your bookmark into the crease of your book, placing it on the bed before swinging your legs over the side of the lounger, choosing to spray the suncream onto the palms of your hands first instead of straight onto his back.
It was no secret that Tyson, along with the general hockey population, had broad shoulders. It was hard to miss; sometimes the seams on his t-shirts stretched a little too much for comfort, or sometimes the seams just simply weren’t aligned with the angles and joints of his shoulders. It wasn’t something you hadn’t noticed before, but it was a whole other thing to experience when your hands were touching him.
He was warm, and his skin was deliciously soft. 
It was actually the first time you’d ever touched him skin-to-skin, and he seemed to remember that fact entirely when he shivered, bending his head to his feet to hide the planes of his face from your suspicious eyes. Only, once you’d touched him, it seemed to leave an uncomfortable tingling in your palms.
“Hang on, I think I missed a spot.” You mumbled, squirting some more lotion into your hands.
The relief seemed to kick in when your hands were back on his skin once more, and the confusion of that realisation seemed to send your heart hammering so forcefully against your ribs that it was almost painful.
Tyson’s back was so covered in suncream by the end of it, you’d be shocked if he even got any tanning done in the first place. 
He cleared his throat when you clicked the lid back on the bottle, but when he turned back around, there was a little extra something in his eyes when he looked at you. His eyes usually were softer with you, but there was something else hidden in the depths of the dark pools; something you couldn’t quite translate, because you’d never exactly seen that specific kind of look directed at you.
Ever.
You swallowed, trying to ignore the immediate and instantaneous flush of your cheeks as you ducked your head, tucking some hair behind your ear just to give your hands something else to do to distract yourself from the dissatisfaction at not touching him still.
You thought the idea of losing Tyson was the most terrifying thing you’d ever imagined, but it was nothing compared to the devastation you could experience if it meant you’d never be able to do…that. 
And that seemed to send you spiralling a little.
Until, of course, he intervened.
“Do you want me to do your back?” He posed, an empty hand held out.
You nodded, swinging your legs over the other side of the lounger. If anything it gave you time to stall and reorganise your own face so that when you inevitably looked at him again, you’d at least appear somewhat normal.
This is what Tyson had meant when he’d told Mat your relationship was complicated.
His hands were like an antidote to the thoughts swirling in your mind, and for a brief moment, everything went silent. He took his time, hands even smoothing under the strap of your bikini, yet not straying into disrespectful territory. You wondered if he was having the same internal monologue as you, but even though you tried to ignore it, there was a small part of you wondering if this was something he had come to terms with a while ago – especially if he’d told that to Mat so long ago.
Nothing seemed to quieten your mind when, not even five minutes later, you turned back to your book. Your eyes were skimming pointlessly over the words, but nothing was quite registering, the main voice heard being the one in your mind, practically screaming mindless and senseless theories at you whilst Tyson laid peacefully next to you.
***
The rest of the day seemed to go by like someone had held in a fast-forward button: nothing but a blur of light and colours or a cacophony of sound. You knew nothing extensively productive had been done; mostly just relaxing by the beach and pool respectively, trying to recuperate the energy everyone had burnt and spent yesterday.
And naturally, after a full day of lounging around, you’d all pretty much agreed dinner out was the best way to go: you’d yet to go to a local restaurant, and no one could really be bothered actually cooking after the barbeque yesterday (there was also the washing up, and absolutely no one was willing to stick their hands in a scalding tub of water in this hot weather).
It took about ten minutes to decide on which restaurant to choose that’d cater to everyone’s tastes, and you were pretty glad at how it had turned out. The place wasn’t too busy, and by the time you’d all sat down at the table and already managed to work your way through two rounds of drinks, the role of ordering the next round had miraculously fallen to you.
It was how you found yourself leaning against a sticky bartop, forearms aching slightly at the pressure of leaning against the wood. The drinks you’d had so far hadn’t kicked in yet or provided you with some relief to get away from Tyson’s burning gaze and dim the sharp awareness you seemed to have developed in the last twenty-four hours, but even so, you didn’t notice the figure next to you until he’d shuffled close enough for you to smell his cologne and feel the material of his shirt against your bare upper arm.
“Woah.” You muttered, taking a sidestep to avoid getting shoved into.
Luckily, the guy didn’t follow your movements, but when you turned to see what had happened, he was wearing a friendly smile and holding his hand out for you to shake – not only was it a little creepy, probably trouble, but it was entirely inconvenient considering the fact that you could still feel Tyson’s searing stare on you from the other side of the room.
Your skin prickled with it, and you felt kind of glad you’d been told to get the next round because at least it was an excuse to get some fresh air without feeling so on edge all the time (and it wasn’t even like Tyson had done anything – that was all you, which made it all the more difficult to deal with).
“Sorry, I tried getting your attention but I don’t think you heard me.” The man explained politely, his hand still suspended between you both, “I’m Jamie.”
You tilted your head, taking him in. There was something about him that was vaguely familiar, like you’d either met him before or he just had one of those annoying faces that reminded you of someone you couldn’t put your finger on; he had thick blonde hair that curled under his ears and seemed to fall in layers on the top of his head, and very clear sea-green eyes. There was a rugged handsomeness about him, and whilst you pasted a polite smile on your face, you shook his hand.
And almost as soon as you made the move to do so, his face seemed to crumple as his brows furrowed and his lips parted – all attempts at possibly flirting flying right out of his head.
“Do I know you?”
“Have we met before?”
You spoke at the same time, both now wearing equal expressions of confusion, and unable to help laughing a little awkwardly, minds racing.
You introduced yourself, wondering if your name might ring a bell, but he shook his head, the creases on his forehead deepening. 
“Nothing.” He said, “I do know you, though.”
It was a blunt thing to say to a stranger, and if it weren’t for the way your brain seemed to also be spinning you’d have probably run the opposite way, but you felt glued to the spot. It was like your brain wouldn’t let you move until you figured out just what significance Jamie had in your life.
“Where did you grow up?” He asked, tapping his fingers against the bartop, his eyes momentarily leaving you to flicker to the front of the line.
No one had budged: there was only one bartender, and apparently everyone ahead of you in the queue had also been designated to buy the next round and was ordering drinks for their groups, because each person was taking a while to be served. 
“Minnesota.” You answered, “You?”
This was fucking weird.
“Fort Mac. College?”
“Penn State.”
“UBC.” He sighed, scratching the scruff on his chin and letting out a sound that was somewhere between a frustrated huff and a psychotic cackle.
It made you smile a little.
“Where do you live now, if you don’t mind me asking?” You asked, raising a brow.
He could be a friend’s ex? Or an old work colleague? A family friend? A neighbour?
Jamie swung his gaze back to you, and there was a flicker of something that seemed to click in your mind. A fragment of a memory – it was a split second of a frame of something, but the face in it was younger: his cheeks were a little fuller and he didn’t have any facial hair.
But before you could grasp onto it, the flicker of recognition seemed to dissipate completely, leaving you just as clueless as before.
“Fuck.” You groaned, “I thought I had it, then.”
Jamie laughed, it was a deep, gravelly sound that seemed to resonate in your bones, and from where you’d put your hand against your head in frustration, you turned to him.
He was actually quite pretty for a man. It was a realisation, sure, but with that also came the knowledge that when you thought that thought, you felt…nothing. There was nothing. 
Oh no.
You swallowed, risking a glance back at your table to see Tyson chatting to Toni about something, and almost instantly the symptoms seemed to kick in: your hands got clammy and your pulse picked up. Your eyes caught Mat over all the customers, and he flashed a concerned thumbs up, clearly hinting at Jamie, and you offered a smile, repeating his action, before turning back to the man at hand.
You must really like Tyson.
Like a lot.
You cleared your throat, trying to distract yourself from the way your thoughts seemed to take a spiral down and remove you from your present being, but before you could even conjure up something to say, Jamie had gasped – as far as a man of his stature could do such a thing.
“I know.” He stuttered, pointing a finger at you with a wild look in his eyes, “I live in Vancouver right now, but you live in Buffalo, right?” He asked, talking quickly as though he was afraid he’d lose his train of thought mid sentence.
All you could do was nod.
“We met before at a hockey game in Vancouver, it was against Buffalo, and you were in the drinks line with a friend and you guys overheard me tell my buddy about something–”
Tyson felt off – only he knew the sole reason for the off-feeling and also knew what the off-feeling was: it didn’t take much guessing or analysing on his behalf. All he had to do was sneak a glance at you out of the corner of his eye (Toni was still talking to him, but every so often he felt like his eyes were just pulled in your general vicinity), and the reason for the prickle of his jealousy was staring right back at him.
There was a guy talking to you. Tyson wouldn’t have minded at all if it didn’t look like you two knew each other, or the fact that as the line grew shorter your conversation seemed to get more animated. You’d been laughing, the guy had been laughing, and Tyson wasn’t unaware of the fact that he was attractive.
No, that was a fact he was painfully aware of.
And he knew the whole jealous thing wasn’t necessarily a possessive spirit, because instead of feeling the need to walk over and interrupt, all he felt was a vague swell of panic that had been slowly building under his sternum and had spread out across his ribs. He felt his heart rate pick up and his mind disconnect itself from Toni’s conversation (she wa a little tipsier than everyone else, and Mat was involved in the conversation too, so he assumed Toni wouldn’t be able to pick up on his lack of presence), and he had to swallow the rising lump in his throat.
He’d never been affected by you like that before, and a part of him knew it was because whenever you two would see each other outside of hockey fixtures, it’d just be the two of you, which meant he was blissfully unaware of other people’s intentions with you. In fact, when he thought about it, he didn’t think he could ever remember feeling threatened by someone else that could hurt his chances with you – although at the time he hadn’t had any kind of hope that you’d reciprocated his buried feelings, so things were a little different.
Even so, he still wasn’t sure about how you felt, and he was far too much of a chicken to outright ask you.
Something drove against his shin under the table, pulling him out of his thoughts. He turned straight to Mat, who was shooting him a pointed glare and subtly nodding his head in Toni’s direction and Tyson had the horrid feeling as though he’d just been caught ignoring her.
He cleared his throat, turning to Toni with an apologetic smile, “Sorry, what were you saying?”
Toni took a sip of her drink, trying to hide the knowing smile on her face. Tyson might have unintentionally not heard what she’d said, but one glance at his eyeline gave her all the answers she could ever need, and for that, she rather found Tyson getting distracted amusing (even if she repeatedly said his name to get his attention – Tyson could do little wrong in her eyes, ever).
“I was asking if you had any ideas on what we could do tomorrow?” Toni repeated gently.
Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow. Tyson was thinking, but his mind was blank. All he could picture was the word and Toni’s face as she waited patiently for an answer.
He cleared his throat, “I don’t know, what’re you guys thinking?”
“We were thinking we all do our own thing and then have a movie night?” Mat proposed, shrugging as he kept one arm over the back of your empty chair. And like there was some magnetic pull towards you, Tyson flickered his attention over to you.
He wished he hadn’t. 
The guy was scribbling something down on a piece of paper, and you took it from him with a smile.
Tyson ducked his head, staring into the bottom of his empty beer glass, a little despondent, “Yeah, that sounds fine by me.” He mumbled, completely missing the shared look between Mat and Toni.
“You okay, Tys?” Mat asked, and though he was somewhat amused by his friend’s lovesick symptoms, he was equally as concerned for his quietness. Tyson wasn’t usually so silent; most of the time he was always engaged in some kind of enthusiastic conversation – and it was pretty rare that he wasn’t smiling.
He just nodded, changing the subject, “Why don’t you guys use those spa vouchers we got you for tomorrow?”
“Oh,” Toni hummed, looking at Mat, “That sounds like a nice idea.”
“Yeah, we can do that.” Mat agreed.
“Sorry it took so long, the queue was pretty slow.” You retook your seat, the previous conversation coming to an abrupt end – causing you to raise a curious brow.
Your eyes swept right over Mat and Toni, both of whom eagerly took their drinks off the tray muttering their thank you’s, and came to rest on Tyson. He took his drink all the same, but there was a weight and heaviness on his face – it looked like concentration with the way his mouth had twisted to one side, but he hadn’t even acknowledged your presence.
“Is everything okay?” You directed the question to the group, but your eyes slipped unintentionally to Tyson, who shrugged.
“Yeah, we were just talking about tomorrow. Mat and I are gonna use those spa vouchers you got us.” Toni explained, and you nodded.
“Sounds like a plan.” 
And with that, the conversation started flowing again – but your attention was still somewhat tied to Tyson, who still hadn’t said anything.
You tried to get his attention by sneaking unsubtle glances at him in the hopes he’d look back, but it worked to no avail. 
“I need the bathroom.” He excused himself quickly, not making eye contact with anyone at the table before he’d turned on his heel to make his way to the bathroom. There was a patterned divider screen paving the short corridor before his figure completely disappeared from view as the door shut behind him.
When you turned back to Toni and Mat, the question of whether he was alright or not died on your tongue at the way they were both looking at you.
“What?” You questioned, your hand immediately going to rest against the cool glass of your drink. 
They were both looking at you with identical expressions of something on their faces, but you couldn’t quite place the meaning of it.
It was Mat who took the liberty of answering your question, “He saw you talking to that guy at the bar.”
Oh.
“So?”
Toni laughed softly, “So he got jealous.”
You felt yourself pull a face at her words, almost scoffing in disbelief, but no words came to mind. 
“You two did look pretty cosy.” Toni continued, arching a brow in your direction as she elegantly took a sip of wine, peering at you over the top of her glass.
“We weren’t flirting.” You excused, shaking your head as your eyes went back to the divider near the bathroom.
“Josty didn’t know that.” Mat said, “But he did see you guys laughing–”
“And he saw the piece of paper he gave you.”
“There was a piece of paper?” Mat’s eyes widened, before he winced, “Ouch.”
You sighed, rolling your eyes, “His name is Jamie and we met a few months ago at a Buffalo-Vancouver game and he gave me his number, yeah, but it was because he mentioned his company had a position in his Buffalo office–”
“He offered you a job?” Mat tilted his head in your direction, shock clearly written across his features.
You shook your head, “He told me about a job; it pays better than my current one and it doesn’t involve a fifty-minute commute. I think I’d be pretty crazy not to consider it.”
They were both silent.
“So he really wasn’t flirting?” Mat double-checked, and you sighed, a little frustrated.
“He tried to, but I told him I wasn’t interested.”
“Why?” Toni shot back, interest in her eyes.
You huffed, and maybe if you weren’t already a little tipsy, you’d have said something about not knowing why, but the alcohol currently in your system as well as the sips you’d taken from your new round made you a little less self-conscious of being honest…at least to a certain extent, “Because he’s not my type.” You shrugged.
“And your type is what, exactly?”
And then you went silent. The hand clasped around your glass seemed to react before you could register what you were doing, but you raised the glass and took a mouthful.
Mat, however, seemed to have the opposite reaction. He slumped comfortably in his chair, a lazy smirk on his lips, “Your type is Tyson.” 
And if you were being honest, the thing that stung you most wasn’t necessarily the truth: that perhaps the pinnacle of ‘your type’ was Tyson after all, but the fact that other people had caught on. You weren’t entirely aware your recent not-so-subtle crush on Tyson had been obvious – mostly considering it was a realisation that you’d come to within the last few days.
“Come on, you guys have liked each other for months–”
What. The. Fuck.
“What the fuck.” You breathed, unable to help the comment slip out of your mouth in shock, “No.”
Mat frowned, his brows knitting together as he shook his head in your direction, an adamant expression on his face as he seeked out Toni for reassurance, “Yes.”
You inhaled sharply, hand now pressed against the table, “No, I didn’t figure that out until literally two days ago. I’m only now realising that I’ve been crushing on him this entire time. Some fucking denial…”
Once more, a shroud of silence seemed to envelope the entire table. Mat remained frozen, crazy eyes fixated on you (not that you blamed him, you weren’t entirely sure you weren’t making this entire conversation up in your own head at this point), and Toni’s mouth had dropped in shock.
Then, something seemed to crawl across your skin. It was a prickle of foreboding, something that could have been easily mistaken for anxiety had you not had the displeasure of experiencing said emotion firsthad, but this kind was unfamiliar.
Again, like your body was trying to tell you something, your eyes circled back to the divide near the bathroom.
Something sour immediately seemed to collect in your stomach, and you swallowed harshly, tearing your eyes away from the scene with a curl of displeasure fogging your brain, “Looks like you were wrong on his behalf, though.”
In his defence, Tyson was ambushed. He was wholly and honestly ambushed right from the second he stepped out of the bathroom door. He hadn’t seen it coming; though who could? She’d been blocking his path back to the table completely and he couldn’t even say he’d ever seen her before, and the second she introduced herself with that sultry smile he knew what was about to happen. It was something that had happened numerous times before, and not something he could say was exactly convenient in that exact moment – especially if you were to look straight over, because from your seat he knew you had a pretty solid view of the doors, kind of like how he’d had a pretty solid view of the bar not even ten minutes ago.
Perhaps it was karma. Maybe it was a coincidence. Or maybe it was an opportunity to get back at you, to see just how you’d act when he sat back down at the table. If you were completely normal, he’d know for certain you weren’t even the slightest bit interested, but if you weren’t? Well, he’d definitely take note and then have to ask Mat how to proceed because he wasn’t that good at stuff like that.
Though, he tended to be good at it when you were involved, but that was riding on a major ‘if’.
It was why he (rather cruelly) entertained himself in the conversation with the lady clearly waiting for him. She was bold, he’d give her that, but she wasn’t you – could never be you.
“Are you liking Martha’s so far?” She asked, tilting her head seductively in his direction, and Tyson physically restrained himself from sneaking a glance in your direction.
“Yeah, it’s pretty incredible. Good views, and all. What about you, you having fun?” He couldn’t ever say he was good at talking to people he didn’t know, because if he did he was sure he’d be branded some kind of world-class liar, but he attempted it, at least for appearance’s sake.
“I mean,” She laughed, placing an unwanted hand on his bicep that he’d luckily kept covered with a blazer, “I could be having more fun, if you get my drift.” She raised an eyebrow, and to be polite, Tyson shuffled out of her grip subtly, and although she dropped her hand, the smirk on her face remained pretty steady.
He laughed a little awkwardly, something between a grimace and a smile on his face, “I do, but I’m taken.” He lied easily, this time momentarily making direct eye contact with you for a brief second. He couldn’t decide if his heart simply stuttered or actually stopped beating, but he swore when you looked away he’d never felt so aware of what he was doing.
He was being a dick just to get a reaction out of you.
“Oh.” The girl’s expression dropped and she took a respectful step back, “I apologise.”
“No need, I...” Tyson shrugged, trailing off pathetically.
Then she turned around, clearly able to focus on exactly who had stolen his attention for that brief moment, and when she looked back at Tyson there was a gleam of understanding on her face, “She’s beautiful.”
“I know.” There wasn’t even a debate about it, the words had just flown so freely out of his mouth that he couldn’t ever really imagine saying anything with such confidence in his entire life.
The girl flashed a soft smile, the kind that had Tyson wondering if she ever really had the true intention of really flirting with him, and simply wandered into the ladies bathroom next to him.
He remained rooted to the spot, his mind reeling. Really, he was flattered, but other women flirting with him had never felt so uncomfortable. He felt the awkward desire to apologise to you for some reason; it wasn’t as though there was anything tying him to you on any kind of level. There’d only been a  few moments but not enough for him to hate it when it wasn’t you flirting with him. Surely?
He cleared his throat, hand over his chest as he looked up. Straight in your direction. The food had arrived, the plate in his empty place steaming, but it was the look on your face that had him moving. You’d bitten the inside of your cheek and there was a thoughtful, vacant look in your eyes – something was up.
Only, when he’d returned to his seat, you ignored his questioning glance and instead offered a tight, clearly irritated smile.
And something dropped in his stomach: it felt an awful lot like guilt.
***
Somewhere along the lines it was decided a walk back to the house would be a good way to end the night. Mat and Toni were walking ahead of you and Tyson, hands intertwined and hushed conversation flowing easily. It couldn't have been more opposite than yours and Tyson’s current situation.
There was at least an arm’s length between you both, and neither of you had spoken a single word since the restaurant. 
It was awkward.
He had still given you his jacket, though – but even that went without words other than your concerned glance to his bare arms (he shrugged), and a muttered thank you.
You wanted to ask if he was okay, there was just something nagging you in the back of your mind, but you pushed it down. It wasn’t even fair of you to be a little pissed at him, but you were. In fact, you were more pissed at yourself. Perhaps if it hadn’t looked as though you were flirting with Jamie, Tyson wouldn’t have flirted with the gorgeous girl outside the bathroom.
Then again, you had learnt a lesson from tonight, so you’d chosen to take that presumption with a pinch of salt, because if you didn’t, you’d be a whole hypocrite.
You just needed a breather, and the only way you could process everything in your head and everything your body was telling you about the man next to you, was to process it in silence. In your own head and on your own terms. 
Hopefully the processing wouldn’t last too long, though.
“Excuse me.” You stopped, twirling around at the sound of a soft, delicate voice. Your arms immediately uncrossed from against your chest, coming to rest at your sides as you flashed a polite smile at the elderly couple that had stopped you.
Your eyes automatically flickered down to their chained arms, and that slow sense of panic from yesterday began to tease at your insides again.
“Is everything alright?” You asked.
The sound of footsteps getting closer registered somewhere in the back of your mind, and your skin seemed to erupt in goosebumps when a subconscious part of your mind registered it was Tyson that had pressed himself closer to you. Again, he wasn’t touching you, but you could still feel his presence and warmth.
You’d never really been this in-tune with him before.
The man smiled back up at you, and you ignored the way his wife’s curious eyes slipped to Tyson behind you, “It is, but we’re just a little bit lost, and we were wondering if you could point us in the right direction?”
You nodded instantly, automatically turning to Tyson, who’d already read your mind and was pulling up maps on his phone, “Where do you need to be?”
The man – Eric – answered, and you nodded in understanding, curling your head to look down at Tyson’s phone. You felt your heart start to race at the closeness: he was still standing a little behind you, but he’d placed his phone in a position you could also see his screen, so all you had to do was turn your head a little to the right, his curls ticking the top of your head. 
Neither one of you made a move to inch away.
“I’m really sorry if I’m overstepping here, but you two make a lovely couple.” The lady – Freda – said a little sheepishly.
The breath in your chest seemed to still, and you felt your mouth form a shape, but no sound came out. Luckily, Tyson seemed to take the lead, his media training and prep for keeping a straight face and calm demeanour (all of which you were failing ridiculously in) being used to–
“Thank you.” 
You inhaled sharply, head snapping back to him in surprise. Of all things you’d expected him to say, a simple thank you was most definitely not on the cards – at all. In fact, you’d fully prepared for him to shoot it down with a smile, but here he was, accepting it with a smile.
And you misjudged exactly where he was, because in all the heart-stopping seconds you’d just experienced, it hadn’t even occurred to you that he’d also turned to face the couple. So when you turned back to him, chest aching with something that had recently come into fruition, you turned into him.
The proximity of your faces was so close that even with a small breath you could feel it fan across your cheeks. His nudged your cheek, and almost as though it was rehearsed, both of your gazes instantly went to the other’s mouth.
Before flicking back up to the eyes, and when you did, something seemed to crack. Or click. You couldn’t quite determine which, but there was a heavy vulnerability written there clear as day: he was just as taken aback by the sudden closeness as you were, though he seemed to have mastered the ability to hide the rest of his emotions pretty well.
As for you, you were sure he could see just about everything on your face.
Before the moment could be ruined, you took one daring look back at his lips, suddenly struck with the strength of the magnetism between you both. You felt compelled to kiss him then. The thought had the corner of your mouth twitching up fractionally and your breath hitching in your chest, because that idea wasn’t at all as petrifying as you thought it would be.
You wanted to kiss Tyson in a way that if you did, it’d just screw you both up.
He must have been on a similar wavelength, however, because his cheeks seemed to colour and his tongue darted out to wet his lips, almost testing you, a hungry glint in his eyes.
And then it was over as quickly as it had happened.
The couple got their directions and you and Tyson all but speed-walked home in the exact same situation as before the interruption: maintaining a safe distance and in an awkward silence, though this time for a slightly different reason.
“I’m going to bed.” You announced immediately after walking through the front door, needing to sit in silence in the dark for a while longer.
Tyson.
Your brain just seemed to scream his name, and although you knew exactly what it meant, it didn’t mean you weren’t a little intimidated by the prospect of it. Only, when he came upstairs twenty-minutes later, you were laid on your side facing the window, and he didn’t bother to be quiet, probably assuming you weren’t asleep anyway, and threw a piece of screwed up paper onto your bedside table with an audible, resigned sigh.
You felt him hesitate, and you cracked your eyes open a little to see him with his hands over his face before they fell down to his sides in resignation. There was a hardness to his jaw and he looked…devastated.
It wasn’t until he’d gone into the bathroom that you unfurled the piece of paper, nerves haywire at what exactly could have caused such a dramatic change in demeanour.
Fuck.
Jamie’s number.
You placed the paper back where he put it, anxiety crushing through your system when there was a muted sigh from inside the bathroom, followed by a muffled bang.
75 notes · View notes
Tamaki, Shoji and Bakugo:
Domestic Life with Their Wives
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Tamaki Amajiki x wife! Reader; Mezou Shoji x wife! Reader; Katsuki Bakugo x Wife! Reader
Warnings: pure fluff
A/N: This is a request from tendou anon!
Tamaki Amajiki
Most insecure husband award goes to 🏆
Seriously this man does not understand how he pulled a beauty like you
But he legit thanks the heavens above every single day he gets to be in your presence
You don't have to ask this man to help you with anything
Dishes ✔️
Laundry ✔️
If you have kids ✔️ ✔️
As a pro-hero he works alot of nights so he knows you shoulder alot of the responsibilities in the home
For instance, you've just given birth to your second baby and you're exhausted
Your two yesr old toddler is also teething which means that not only are your nights miserable but your days as well
You've been texting Tamaki all night because you are just exhausted
Man feels awful having to return to work so soon after the baby came but unfortunately crime doesn't wait for paternity leave 🥺
However, as his sift comes to an end at 5am, he will drive through your favorite coffee place, pick up your beverage and bring it home
He walks in to hear the TV on and you sound asleep with your newborn on your chest
Your toddler is happily watching cartoons while mom rests her eyes
First thing he does, takes a picture 📱
New wallpaper 🥰
You're toddler is so excited to see your husband
They scream and you jolt awake, full mom style
"IM AWAKE, IM AWAKE WHERES THE EMERGENCY?!?!"- You 😳
Your husband just laughs as he lifts your newborn from your chest and kiss you
"Go grab a shower baby, I bought you some coffee! Then I figured I'd make breakfast and we could eat then all take a nap"- he said
You 👉🏻😐😳🥺😫 marry me!!!!
Tamaki 👉🏻 we are already married by ight 🤨
Seriously 10/10 husband material 😘
Mezou Shoji
This man... THIS FREAKING MAN 😫
Literally such an angel I can't
He drinks women's respect juice on the daily and he's an all star husband
Having multiple appendages is so helpful around the house let me tell you 👏🏻
Mans is cooking and washing dishes at the same time
He's vacuuming and dusting
And let me just say, when your first baby comes... UGH
He's an all star dad!
It's the middle of the night and you've been struggling to get your little one to sleep for hours
You've gone into the living room because your husband works the next day
And you are an amazing wife 🥰
You are dead tired and you've all but worn a hole in the floor walking the baby back and forth
Your husband has been laying in bed awake for a while, he wants to help but he also knows you are capable
However after an hour he's done
Mans has been patent for too long
"Honey let me rock the baby, you go to sleep"- Shoji
"Love its OK! You have to work! And baby is almost asleep"- you, lying to yourself and everyone 🙄
Shoji doesn't listen to you, he just walks up, grabs the baby in one of his arms and stars rocking
Baby 👉🏻 instantly asleep 😴
You 👉🏻👁👄👁
Your husband 👉🏻🥰🥰🥰
Please YN that's all it takes sometimes
"Go to sleep babe, I got them"- Shoji, now sitting on the couch and cuddling your baby
You 👉🏻 running 🏃‍♂️ to bed
YN get all the sleep you can
Your emaculate husband has got your back 😍
Katsuki Bakugo
Oof- you pulled this YN 🥵
I'm so freaking jealous
Honestly tho, I'm sure you deal with enough of Bakugo's crap on the daily to sometimes think twice about your decision 🤣
He's a great husband but sometimes he's an actual child himself 🙄
For instance, you have a 3 year old son who looks and acts exactly like your husband
You and currently pregnant with your second baby and ready to go any day now
Your husband works his butt off but he always has time for you and your son 🥰
However, there is never a lack of entertainment in the Bakugo household
Oh no no no
"Daddy! Did you get any bad guys?"- your son yells
"Hey buddy! Not tonight, I was doing paperwork most of the day"- Bakugo says ruffling your sons hair
You are cooking supper and getting it ready when your son sayd the unthinkable
"Uncle Deku got some bad guys today"- your son
You 👉🏻😳😅 crap-
Bakugo 👉🏻😃 whet-
"Uncle Deku came to my school and told me about how he put a bad guy in jail this morning!"- Your son
"Well Uncle Deku can stick it-" Bakugo ready to lay down the law
"KATSUKI"- You, yelling at your husband
Your husband rn 👉🏻😠
You 👉🏻😐😑
Your husband sighs, coming up to you and giving you a kiss
"We need to transfer our kid to a different school. I don't want that nerd influencing him!"- Bakugo
"Katsuki really?"- You 🙄
Please YN, your husband had never been more serious in his entire life 😅
818 notes · View notes
sspidernaut · 9 months
Text
.e-42 Miles Morales relationship hc's !!
people aren't nearly as obsessed w this man as they should be and that shit needs to change ASAP!!
sfw + gender neutral (i hope?) reader , use of 'princess treatment' once
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i feel like people be forgetting that 42 Miles is also a version of Miles??
bro is NOT some hyperdominant fuckboy w 10 years of experience CMON
baby has never had a spouse, he's never even had his first kiss and this is the hill I will die on
anyways, Miles meets u, Miles falls in love, y'all start to date, yada yada mkay?
42 is fucking WHIPPED
and he's so shy about it i tell u
you're so attractive and good to him and effortlessly charming and you just have this aura about you and he cant believe ur his
bc Miles has zero rizz in every universe
you could look at him for just a second longer than usual and the boy would melt inside
will keep up his usual 'cool, calm, collected' act yk, he's the man!!!
but we all know that bro is dying inside whenever he sees u
ur the most important thing to him, ALWAYS
has to suppress the urge to propose to u right then and there when he sees u getting along w his momma Rio
she would love u! so happy that her baby finally has someone who treats him right yk??
ur the only person besides momma Rio he allows to touch his hair
bro is the little spoon and i will fight everyone who says otherwise
Miles loves to settle between ur thighs n lay his head on ur stomach or rest his head on ur shoulder or bury his face in ur chest when y'all are laying down, cmon, he needs the feeling of comfort
he absolutely has a picture of u in his wallet/phone case and as his wallpaper
would not let you touch any bags ever again, would not let you pay for ur shit every again, would not let u struggle w ANYTHING ever again. 42 is carrying all ur stuff (including yourself if you're tired, though he will pretend to be annoyed) and paying for whatever the fuck u want without question
insists you leave your wallet at home, will pout if u don't
princess treatment all the way
anyways
calls u 'ma, mami, chiquita' etc.
he's a mad dry texter (will not use punctuations for the life of him) but will text u all the time nonetheless
"u good ma"
"u need sum from the store"
"u eaten anything yet"
honestly I do feel like he can be an ass at times, its 42 after all, but he does his best to make it up to u every time
he's sooooo protective, will always ask where u at and wyd out of simple worry, would probably (politely) ask for u to share ur live location w him 24/7 and would share his w u
42 wouldn't even check ur location once he gets it, he would still opt for asking u directly, it just gives him a sense of comfort that he can (and will) find u immediately if he needs to
bro cannot lose another person dear to him
would absolutely grill people with glares if they look at u wrong
ur his, he's not sharing
he's not overly possessive tho, will keep himself in check
Miles drinks his respect ur spouse juice every day, he will let u live ur life smh
he really trusts you anyways
still asks (ASKS!!!!!) to go everywhere w u, trails after u like a lost puppy
all grumpy w his rbf but his eyes will never fail to soften around
he smiles the sweetest, dorky smile if u play ur cards right
not a big fan of pda but will let you touch n kiss him if u want to touch n kiss him and throw a protective arm around u, always has a hand on ur lower back in public
all over u in private tho!!!
he's addicted to ur kisses and will ask before kissing u every. single. time
once he gets his lips on urs you will not get him off of u again, 42 is an addict and ur his drug
scary dog privilege all day everyday
also does his best to make a good impression on ur parents and they love him!
once y'all have been in a relationship for longer he will honestly ease up around u so much and be less shy yknow
actually starts to tease u back, blushes less and does that tiny amused smirk instead
y'all playfight every two seconds (42 will NOT let u win under any circumstances, bro is a lil bitch and smug asf about it)
will also beat ur ass at mario kart
42 Miles ain't showing u no mercy w that shit, he's too competitive
he buys u new flowers every week
extremely expressive through actions, less comfortable to do so through words but will tell u that u mean everything to him on a regular nevertheless bc he's a sweetheart and in love w u
you would watch every single one of his (basketball) games and eventually he'd give u one of his jerseys (w his name and number on it and everything!!)
bro has to hold himself back so bad whenever he sees u in it
bonus points if its oversized on u
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he's so JIDFUHIGEYFUERFV I will simply pass away
constructive criticism and reqs are welcome!!
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wen-kexing-apologist · 10 months
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Going Out
Whether you loved, liked, were neutral, or outright hated today’s Step by Step episode, I want to talk about one of my most favorite (and poignant) moments of today’s episode.
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This hand holding scene. 
But, wka, there are so many other scenes for you to focus on! You say. But, wka, there were multiple spicy scenes you need to do body language break down on. But, wka, last week you wrote a 20 page deep dive in to Pat’s psyche. Why are you hyperfixating on this four minute sequence???
BECAUSE THE SOCIAL COMMENTARY TEE AND THE REST OF THE PRODUCTION TEAM IS GIVING HERE IS BEAUTIFUL, BRILLIANT, AND LOWKEY MAKING ME EMOTIONAL GODDAMMIT. 
As someone with strong, deeply rooted beliefs in empathy, in connection, in harm reduction, I can firmly and sincerely say there are people who I consider a part of my community, who I care for deeply, who are my friends who are homeless, who are drug users, or who are homeless drug users. And having worked in harm reduction before let me tell you how truly wonderful and enraging it is to provide people basic services and treat them with basic goddamn dignity and respect and how genuinely surprised, uncertain, or overjoyed my unhoused and/or drug using loved ones are to have someone who actually cares about them. 
SO, I present those pre-emptive thoughts and personal background as proof of concept for what I am about to glean from this whole scene. 
The scene transitions from flirting to community service when Jeng asks Pat if he wants to come with him to give food to the homeless, and I don’t remember this but @bengiyo did but this is something Jeng has been doing since Episode 1, and it shows in the reception Jeng receives when he arrives to this spot under the bridge.
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The people who live here know Jeng, the people who live here like Jeng, he comes here often enough that he has established a rapport with their community and it is so so wonderful for me to see this nepo baby raised on rich bitch juice feeling comfortable and at ease with a group of people that society (at least Western society) almost always ignores, belittles, or downright dehumanizes. 
And if I wasn’t already impressed with how Jeng and Step by Step as a whole was handling its portrayal of cultivated relationships with unhoused people, Jeng takes this even further, when he hands the woman the rest of the food bags: 
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Now, this is a brief scene and we don’t get a lot of information at all about the people who are living here, but in my mind, or rather the indication I have for this interaction is that Jeng has identified a community pillar, trusts that community member, and is recognizing and valuing the autonomy of the community to distribute the rest of the resources they have been given. 
Most everyone Jeng handed food to wandered off and went about their night, leaving Jeng and Pat alone to sit and talk. Under a bridge. With homeless people nearby. Rather than leave. This is SO IMPORTANT TO ME. It is SO SO SO important to me that Jeng and Pat don’t just show up, hand out food, and immediately return to Jeng’s fancy car to drive back to Jeng’s fancy condo but that they stay and they talk here under the bridge, maintaining a respectful distance since Jeng and the rest of the people in this scene do not appear to have built a strong enough relationship to join them directly, but sharing space nevertheless.
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(I will not talk about barriers, I will not talk about barriers, I absolutely, positively will not talk about how Jeng has spent most of the show with a vertical line between him and Pat, and Put spent most of Episode 7 with vertical lines keeping him out of Pat’s world, and now that Pat and Jeng are an item, they are sitting together inside double barriers, boxing themselves in having a discussion on cruelty because they are still in the phase of their relationship where the two of them are in their own little world and hiding from the world at lar... FUCK I talked about the barriers) 
ANYWAY, I absolutely will not talk any more about the barriers and will instead begin my descent into madness in the form of The Proffering of the Hand. 
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The build up to this moment starts when Jeng and Pat settle down to talk. They are sitting as close together as they can be without physically touching, they are openly flirting, they are making prolonged eye contact. Basically, they are being very obviously gooey, and the community member who appears to be the closest to Jeng (this is the person who hugged Jeng when he arrived) comes up to him and Pat, and points out the drawing that he made and the similarities he sees between that drawing and the two of them. 
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The drawing is two stick figures of an undetermined gender (or if you want to read it this way, of a visually similar build [ie both people have triangle chests and short hair, no obvious breast tissue, no differentiation in color, they their faces are a little different but they are nearly identical] so you could call this a drawing of a same sex couple and it wouldn’t be wildly off-base, especially not with the original artist here telling Jeng and Pat they look like the drawing). For the sake of making me feel even stronger about my love for this scene, lets say this is a drawing of a same sex couple. 
Now the two lines this person says to Jeng and Pat are particularly striking to me: 
“This picture was drawn by me, you look the same” 
“It looks like us.”
Both of these lines are said by the artist. You can interpret that “it looks like us” line however you want to, but baby that’s queer to me. 
The artist walks away, leaving Jeng smiling softly to himself, thinking about it for approximately three seconds and then proffering his hand. 
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Now, Jeng and Pat have not…how you say….been particularly careful about maintaining appropriate distances from each other anywhere since they started jumping each other for sport, but the touches they give to each other in the workplace are secret, are hidden. Hands held between them on the computer in a cubicle where no one can see, arms pressed up against each other so they can be mistaken for just being cramped, footsie under the table away from prying eyes. 
Here, now, is the first time since they got together that Jeng overtly, publicly extends a hand to Pat in a move that cannot be mistaken as anything but romantic. Pat is, rightfully all things considered, a little apprehensive. 
“What is it?” he asks “It’s like the picture that he drew,” with a smile and a soft nod to his hand.
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Pat’s brow furrows, he looks to his right, where the people they visited are sitting, he looks to the left his eyes scanning for any other potential witnesses. Pat, who has been the person consistently approaching this relationship with the most caution, is initially hesitant to take Jeng’s hand; Is initially hesitant to confirm their relationship to one another with other people around. 
“No, people will see”
“No one will see” Jeng says, and I want to make it clear here that this is not a situation where Jeng is saying that the unhoused folks sitting nearby aren’t people. 
I interpret it more as there is no one around who would be unsafe for us to be visible to. 
Pat takes Jeng’s hand. Right here, out in the open, with people around him, he takes Pat’s hand in his outside of their houses, outside of Jeng’s car, outside. Outside. OUTSIDE. 
So why is this such a monumental occasion for me? 
I feel like I always say this, so eventually I have to make it happen, that I need to familiarize myself more with Thai social issues, because  I don’t know much about Thai homelessness, and which populations of people are disproportionately represented there. So when I saw this scene, the only way I could approach it was with a Western lens. And  I am comfortable running with my thoughts here using that Western lens because Pat references American homelessness in his conversion with Jeng. 
Which means, dear readers…
The first thing that came to mind for me when Jeng and Pat were visibly queer here was the disproportionate rates of homelessness in the queer community in the United States. 
Let me give you some quick (and very unfun) stats about homelessness and queerness in the United States:
40% of homeless youth are queer
Queer youth are 120% more likely to experience homelessness than non-queer youth 
In one survey, researchers found: 
8% of transgender adults surveyed had experienced homelessness in the past 12 months
3% of cisgender queer adults surveyed had experienced homelessness in the past 12 months 
1% of cisgender heterosexual adults surveyed had experienced homelessness in the past 12 months. 
All this to say, that there are close ties between queer people and homelessness. 
And there is something extremely, extremely powerful in Tee and co. recognizing and affirming that queer people can be safer sharing space with homeless people than they might be sharing space with salarymen at a corporate office. 
For a number of reasons, Pat and Jeng cannot come out at the office, even if that closet is glass. In huge part because a boss and subordinate relationship is a gross imbalance of power, but also because homophobia is rampant in that office. We saw it all the way in the beginning of the show, when Pat was asked if he was a top or bottom. We see it now, when Pat is overhearing his colleagues, his coworkers, that spent the beginning of his time at this office exploiting him to do their labor, saying awful, gross, disgusting shit about him and to him. 
“I didn’t think he’d be working on his knees” 
“Lick until you get your bonus”  These are things Pat is seeing, Pat is hearing in this place full of “people contributing to the betterment of society”, people who have stable housing, and cash to spare, and food to eat. People who aren’t looked down upon by society, people who reflect society’s current ideals and mindsets. The other queer people in the office clocked Jeng immediately, but Pat didn’t and neither did any of the straight employees in the office until Pat and Jeng started hanging around
each other more unable to turn off their heart eyes. Because Jeng is in a position of power, he dresses in traditionally professional clothing every day. Collared shirt of mild color, suit, tie, brown loafers. Compare him to Chot or Pat and you can see how Jeng blends in as straight to people who aren’t trained to clock that shit. Look at Jeng when he’s out of the office and hanging out around Pat, he is in denim, he is in white tank tops, he is wearing a chain. Jeng is putting armor on when he goes to the office. Pat and Chot don’t have that luxury. 
And as a result, Pat and Jeng can only be out and open at home. Until now. Until this moment.
Step by Step definitively established in this one scene, in under FOUR MINUTES that Jeng and Pat, two queer men were made to feel comfortable enough and free enough in this place in this space around people who are often villainized, who are often deprived of human rights, people who are often seen as deserving of their poverty and the treatment they get from others as a result, people who are frequently spoken about as being a negative impact on society (WHICH IS BULLSHIT BY THE WAY HOLY FU- *I am forcibly removed from my pedestal*) because queer people are often villainized, deprived of human rights, seen as deserving of the terrible treatment that they get, and are frequently spoken about as being a negative impact on society. 
And considering the statistics on how many homeless youth are queer, there is something to be said for the way the person who appears the youngest, or who at least is acting the youngest, is the person who initiates the interaction that signals to Jeng that they are safe here. That helps Jeng and Pat realize they can engage in a public display of affection here amongst people who understand. 
And that is one hell of a fucking statement to make if I do say so myself. 
Side Note 1: I was already leaning towards this show being a For, By, and About Queers show. This scene solidified that for me. 
Side Note 2: I am thinking about the BL trope of the BL Bridge, I think this was something that @absolutebl wrote about once, but please correct me if I am wrong. If you are new to BL or otherwise unfamiliar with the trope, it is essentially just a repeated theme in multiple BL shows where one of the couples kisses in front of famous bridges in Bangkok. It is notable that in a show like this that is For, By, and About Queers (and boy do I have more thoughts on when and where and how the connection between Jeng and Pat deepens over the last couple episodes in relation to the workplace and homophobia (see @bengiyo’s quick thoughts which will hopefully become bigger thoughts on queer people and corporate culture)) that Jeng and Pat’s first openly public display of affection happens not on the surface, not lit up by bridge lights, not where the whole world can see them. But underneath a bridge, hidden away with the rest of the people that society has shunned, looked down upon, dehumanized, ignored, and failed to support. 
(tagging @neuroticbookworm who is waiting patiently and @waitmyturtles because if I know one person on this website who is gonna add something incredible to a discussion of homelessness in this scene, it's gonna be my bestie.)
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thealogie · 11 days
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Just stumbled into a twitter discussion trying to shade/lowkey cancel DT for joking about playing Kilgrave. In the clip he was asked what he liked about his character and he said: “I just like that people do whatever I tell them to do, it's kind of intoxicating. What's disappointing is when they say cut and everyone starts having their own willpower again". Apparently he should have said that he liked to participate in raising the issues of power and consent, no funny business. Then I remembered that a certain faction of GO fandom says DT and MS can’t joke in character out of character without becoming queerbaiters, and can’t flirt on zoom without actually fucking irl because that would make them homophobic, and we know they’re huge allies ergo they’re fucking. I don’t understand anymore where media illiteracy ends and maybe my own social illiteracy starts… My immediate reaction to all of the above is “aww, they’re so funny and interesting, I wouldn’t be able to be that quick and charming, actors eh?” But maybe I’m wrong and backwards without realizing it?
I can’t even make little off hand jokes on tumblr dot com without getting a minimum of 4 asks or comments that make clear the person is just not getting what I’m saying and I’m literally nobody and no one on an irrelevant site so I can’t even imagine how famous people breathe. I think the only way is for them to really not be on social media
I have to say the Kilgrave joke is only cute if you know DT’s whole vibe. Like if a douchebag actor made that joke it would be 🙄 but because everyone knows he’s the most polite guy who drinks his respect women juice it’s funny
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hellmouthcity · 11 months
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QUICK FIX - Nebula x Reader
details: fluff oneshot , fem/nby reader. this is somewhat of an AU where nebula sticks around after yondu’s death for a bit
summary: you’re an electrical engineer temporarily hired by the guardians for ship repairs and general weapon tinkering. nebula’s cybernetic arm has been acting up a little lately, so it’s a good thing you’re around to help! if she’ll let you.
You never thought being on a spaceship for not even a month would drive you this insane.
A few weeks back, you got a request to stay on a ship for a little while to be around for emergency repairs, since this band of weirdos seemed to always be having emergencies. When you saw it was the Peter Quill who wanted to hire you, you immediately accepted. Who hasn’t heard of them! It isn’t every day you get to hang out with the Guardians of the freakin’ Galaxy, even if you were just the repair guy.
Unfortunately, the crew here was just as unstable as their ship. It was a wonder how they didn’t blow the whole thing up from impromptu ‘weapon tests’, which consisted of the guardians firing blasters at each other in some twisted game of tag. They were a little rowdy for your taste, but you all got on well enough.
Peter, despite his douchery, was actually a pretty normal guy. He even liked to joke and have fun like your friends back home. He cared a lot about his ship, which you found a little respect in. He’d instruct you on the problems, and you’d find a solution. That always earned you a high-five or a pat on the back. The others seemed to tolerate him, especially Gamora. Your interactions were short and sweet, but she was kind. You noticed her get a little looser whenever Quill was around. It was gross in a sweet way.
On the other hand, Gamora’s sister was as far as you could get from social. She hasn’t said a word to you the entire time you were here. Sometimes you forgot she was even part of the team. On the rare occasions she’d leave her room, she was never around for long. You’d look at her as she passed by sometimes, wondering what she was like under her intimidating black eyes and cold shell.
You didn’t think about that for too long. You could tell her friendship had to be earned, like a wild animal that you had to let come to you. She seemed to be having a few problems lately. Technical difficulties. You heard from Rocket that her cybernetic arm [which you still think is insanely cool] has some problems shifting to weaponry mode. You wondered if she’d approach you about that.
Right now, you were fixing an airlock malfunction at the main port. It was having a problem with sealing properly after it closed. Yet another emergency. With oxygen escaping, and all that. At this point, you were used to all the high-pressure and near life-threatening circumstances. You just worked with your space visor on, which was coming in more and more handy these days. Everyone was in their respective rooms. You were alone out here at last!
There was one little problem though - your blowtorch was fresh out of juice. If only there were someone on this ship with a blowtorch arm modification! And if only it WORKED!!!
You exhaled through your nose at the thought of Nebula suddenly turning up to offer her help. It was the most unlikely thing in the galaxy, probably. No way that would happen. Just as you stood to go inform Quill about you issue, you nearly bumped directly into the girl you least expected to see.
“Ah- geez! You snuck up on me!!” You exclaim, surprised that she seemed to have indirectly read your thoughts. Nebula just looked at you, black eyes seeming to pierce right through you. You shivered. Looks like you had to do the talking. “Um. I’m trying to fix the air lock, but my blowtorch just ran out,” you explained, pulling the trigger to demonstrate. No flame came out. “...and last I checked, there’s no fuel for this on the ship. So, I kind of hit a dead end.”
Still, Nebula said nothing. For a moment, you wondered if she was even capable of speech. Then you heard a weird kind of… grinding sound. Both of your attentions drifted down to Nebula’s arm as it sparked and jittered in an odd way. She grunted, smacking it with her other hand. It sparked even harder, and eventually stopped moving altogether. She couldn’t even move her fingers. She let out a noise of rage, shaking the immobile part. You couldn’t hold in a little giggle. Her head snapped up to face you, and you instantly went silent.
“Is this funny to you?” Nebula demanded, voice deep and serious. You hadn’t heard her voice before. It was powerful and threatening. She meant business, and it felt like you wore pyjamas to the interview. You took a step backwards, a little worried for your own safety. She may not have a functional arm blaster, but she could still knock your lights out.
“No, no, sorry. Very serious.” You said quickly, avoiding her glare. She let out a short sigh, now more closely examining her malfunctioned part. You looked, too. If only she’d let you get in there, you could fix it… “You know, I could try and help you out with that.” You offered nervously, hoping she wouldn’t just turn around storm off.
“What makes you think I need your help?” The luphomoid snapped, jerking her head at you. You dropped your gaze a little. You kind of expected this reaction.
“Well, it’s just… it could be a little hard to repair one-handed, if you planned on doing it yourself.” You tried to reason. She looked at you, eyes narrowed like this was a trick.
“I’m perfectly capable of doing this on my own.” She told you firmly. You nodded, stepping back a little further in surrender.
“Right, understood. Just keep in mind I’m here if you ever need help.” You hoped she’d change her mind, but she wasn’t there with you yet. She just strode past you in the direction of her room, on her way to independently repair her own arm like the badass she is. You smiled to yourself, finding this cyborg a little silly. You crouched back down and decided to take a break. You’d continue in a little. And who knows? Maybe Nebula would change her mind.
Not even 15 minutes later, you heard footsteps heading in your direction. You looked up from the wrench you were adjusting to see Nebula had, as predicted, made a return. It seems she had no such luck in making the repair on her own. She was purposely avoiding looking at you, [working] fist clenched. She was embarrassed!! You decided to pretend like you weren’t expecting it.
“Oh? Back so soon? I would’ve thought you were going to fix your arm yourself!” You teased from where you sat, a little smug. “After all, you’re perfectly capable of doing it yourself.”
“Quiet!” She shouted, making you flinch. Okay, so Nebula’s not a fan of playful sarcasm. Noted. “You offered a service free of charge to me. I would be a fool to decline it.” You looked up at her, nodding in agreement.
“Yeah, that’s true. Glad you came to your senses.” Carefully, like you were trying not to spook a feral creature, you stood. “I knew you couldn’t resist me.” You joked, and Nebula scoffed. She tried to roll her eyes, though it wasn’t exactly noticeable.
“Just do your job.” She spoke bluntly. You offered a smile and started to reach for her arm so you could examine it. She instantly jerked back and you retracted your hand.
“Well, I kind of can’t if you won’t let me see what’s up.” You tried to explain. Nebula’s eyes darted between your eyes and your hand, and she relaxed her shoulders just a little, almost an apologetic look drifting over her face before it was replaced with her signature cold neutrality. Slowly, she approached you and raised her arm, almost defensively. You cautiously reached out and started feeling for some sort of seam where a section could be unscrewed, but this was an odd piece of machinery. It was segmented in a lot of different ways in a lot of different places, so you weren’t really sure how to get a peek inside.
Nebula seemed to notice your confusion, so she sighed and rotated her arm so that her palm was facing upwards. On the underside, you saw a larger rectangle that stood out a bit from the rest of the metal. You quickly bent to collect a tool from your set, then stood to pry the covering off. And wow, was it even more complicated on the inside. You were used to things like this, though. Artificial automation is your jam. It didn’t take long to find the issue.
“Found your problem! Your hydraulic springs have popped out a little. I’m guessing these are what enable your arm to transition so smoothly to different physical states. If these springs undergo a lot of winding up then unwinding in a rapid manner, they can accidentally pop loose and you have to reset them.” You explained, motioning to the issue as you described it. Nebula watched intently as you spoke. “And as for the lack of movement, one of your circuits got tripped. Too much power started flowing through it, I’m guessing when you tried to force your arm to shift. Maybe don’t do that again, for future reference.”
“I see. Can you fix it?” She demanded rather than asked. You went down again to get another tool, returning with a thumbs up upon standing upright again.
“I sure can. This won’t take long,” you went quiet as you went into focus mode, recoiling the spring and even tightening a few loose bolts in other areas. You flipped a breaker off and back on again, and her arm jolted back to life. After applying a little mechanical lubricant, you closed her arm back up. “All clear!”
You confirmed you were done with a little finger-gun motion. Nebula looked at you, then flexed her fingers, which all responded accordingly. Her eyes snapped back up at you in disbelief, and you grinned.
“What did I tell you? I’m good at what I do.” You decided to toot your own horn just a little. But now it was time for the real test. Could her arm shift successfully? The panels and segments started to shift around and change, rounding where her hand was into a little cylinder-like structure. She twitched, and a small, blue flame sprouted from the tip. You looked up at her with wide eyes.
“You were trying to help me this whole time..?” You asked, stunned. She looked away from you, like she was checking if anyone else was near. The coast was clear.
“Guess we’re even.” Nebula said in a different tone that her previous harsh words. Your face crackled into a smile.
“Aw, thanks Neb-”
“If you let anyone one know I won’t hesitate to throw you into space myself. Understood?” She glared directly into your soul, making sure you knew she was serious. But you didn’t feel so threatened anymore. You kept smiling.
“Understood.”
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