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fangirlprincess-writes · 2 years

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Friends Don't Look At Friends That Way - Chapter 3: Age 15 and 3/4

cw: none

word count: 2.597

read on AO3 || masterlist

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chapter summary: the one where they play spin the bottle

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"The red or the green one?" Aelin asks, holding up two dresses. She is standing in front of the closet in her room, while Rowan is lounging on the bed behind her and scrolling through his phone.

"Hmm… the red one," he says, not even looking up from whatever he's doing.

"You're not even looking!" She accuses, throwing her hands up, the dresses flying dramatically into opposite corners of the room.

"Come on Ace, you're going to a lunch with your parents, not the Met gala." Rowan is still not looking at her.

Aelin crosses her arms. "Well, what's more important than this, then?" Her tone shows more of the hurt she feels than she'd like. It's ridiculous to feel this betrayed over Rowan's lack of interest in her dress, but she can't help it. Ever since he told her about his crush on Remelle a few months ago, he barely talks about anything else anymore. And he even managed to make Aelin promise to help him talk to the girl. She has since found out that she'd rather eat her own hair than listen to Rowan talk about how pretty or how interesting Remelle is.

Rowan finally puts his phone down and looks at her. "I've been invited to this party and I was just texting a few people to find out who else would be there."

That makes Aelin's brows rise. "You've been invited to a party? By who?"

"Fenrys. He's on the lacrosse team with me."

"Oh. So is it a team party?"

"Nah, apparently it's only a few guys from the team, along with some of Fenrys's other friends. Plus a few of the cheerleaders."

Now Aelin knows what's up. "Let me guess: including Remelle?"

The tips of Rowan's ears turn pink. "Yes, including Remelle. I think this party could be the perfect opportunity for me to finally take the next step! Our talks in school have been going really great – thanks for all the tips by the way Ace – but I'm not sure she would be interested in being more than friends."

Aelin tries very hard not to let her face make a grimace, but she isn't entirely sure she's succeeding. Rowan doesn't seem to notice though, so apparently she's doing an okay-enough job. "So you're hoping to what – test the waters at this party?" She really wishes she was not having this conversation right now.

"Yes?" Rowan says, but it sounds more like a question. "I just… I like her, Ace. A lot. Like, I-hope-she'll-be-my-first-kiss levels."

Aelin thinks she needs to be sitting for this conversation, so she walks over to her vanity opposite the bed and sits on the white stool, facing Rowan on her bed. "That's amazing," she says weakly.

Rowan raises an eyebrow. "What's up with you? You're acting kinda weird."

"Oh, nothing," her laugh comes out high and fake. "I just can't believe you got invited to a party before me."

He seems to accept that and Aelin is relieved. How is she supposed to explain something she doesn't understand herself?

"Why don't you come with me then?" He says it suddenly, but she can already tell he loves the idea. "We'll go to our first high school party together and you can help me with Remelle."

"How am I supposed to help you kiss her? Do you want me to smash your heads together like two barbie dolls?" Yep, her voice is definitely shrill now.

"Okay, maybe not for that then," Rowan backpedals. "But come on Ace, it'll be fun. And I don't want to go alone."

"I don't know, Rowan."

"Ple-ease?" He adds, drawing out the syllable into two and looking at her with what could only be described as puppy-dog eyes. He only uses those when he wants something really bad.

Aelin sighs, knowing she can't say no to him now. "Fine," she relents.

Rowan's answering cheer is deafening.

The party is happening the following Saturday at some Lacrosse-players house. Aelin has never met the guy, but the neighborhood is not too far from her own so she's passed the house often. It's a nice, white, two-story building with a balcony that faces the driveway. There's a garden out of sight, judging by the chatter and music that can be heard. Aelin and Rowan walk up to the front door, the chilly January air making Aelin glad she chose to bring her winter jacket, even though it clashes with her outfit. There's a spring to Rowan's step she's never seen before. Aelin tries not to think about that too much.

"So what do we do now? Do we knock?" Aelin doesn't know the proper protocol for parties. She's never been invited to one before, after all.

"No, I think we just go in?" Rowan says and tries the handle. It's unlocked and Aelin can see a few people crowding the hallway. She takes a deep breath and follows Rowan into the house.

There's a ton of people once they reach the living room. A few guys Aelin recognizes from the Lacrosse team are crowded on the light gray sectional, some of the cheerleaders from their grade sitting between them, and in one case on a guy's lap. She can also see a terrace that leads to the garden she guessed was there. Fairy lights are strung up around the terrace, shining brightly in the dark of the evening and some upperclassmen are dipping their feet into a pool that's placed in the middle of the garden. The steam rising from the water tells her it's heated.

It's surprisingly unlike anything she imagined a high-school party to be like. The atmosphere is relaxed and people are just talking while some pop music is playing. Aelin would feel comfortable if she didn't feel so terribly out of place. She's not friends with anyone except for Rowan, she now notices.

"Do you want to drink something?" Rowan asks her, already waving to one of the guys on the sectional. Aelin recognizes him. It's Fenrys, the guy who invited Rowan.

"Sure. Some kind of soda or something. You know what I like."

"Okay, be right back," he tells her and leaves to find the kitchen.

She takes a few steps into the room, unsure of where to go, when the girl next to Fenrys smiles at her. "You're Aelin, right?"

"Yeah."

"I'm Essar. And this grump here," she points to a guy to the other side of her, "is Lorcan, my boyfriend." The guy looks a bit older than them and gives Aelin a nod.

"Oh, yeah, I know." Aelin says lamely. "We have math together?"

"Oh right," Essar slaps her forehead dramatically. "You sit in the front, right? I always take the back row, so I'm probably more familiar with the back of your head." She laughs and Aelin can't help but laugh too.

"I can turn around if you think that helps?" Aelin suggests.

"Oh no, don't worry. Here, sit down though," she points at a place opposite her on the floor. Someone put pillows there to make extra seats, so Aelin happily complies.

She and Essar fall into an easy conversation when Rowan finally returns with two drinks in hand. She smiles gratefully at him before she realizes he's followed by none other than Remelle.

The smile falls off her face when she sees them talking animatedly before Remelle throws her head back to laugh at something Rowan said.

She's never seen Remelle this close and this unguarded. Usually she's surrounded by a gaggle of other cheerleaders. But even though Aelin doesn't know Remelle, she can tell the girl likes Rowan. It's obvious from her body language and the way she looks at him. Aelin's stomach turns.

"Remelle! Nice of you to show up as well," Essar greets her.

Right. How could Aelin forget they were friends?

"Well, it doesn't seem like I missed much," she teases, pointing at the party around them.

Rowan hands Aelin the drink he brought and sits down next to her on the floor while Remelle talks.

"Thanks," she mutters, though she's not sure he's listening.

His eyes are still fixed on Remelle who now says, "How about we do something fun?"

"Like what?" Fenrys interjects.

"Like spin the bottle," she suggests, eyes on Rowan.

Oh god. Is this what Aelin thinks it is?

"I'm in," Fenrys says, a grin spreading on his face that Aelin can't help but describe as mischievous.

"Us too," Rowan says immediately, shooting Aelin a look.

She can't believe he just agreed for her. But hey, at least he thought of her at all, right?

They round up everyone who wants to play, which is mostly people from their grade who aren't there with their significant others, along with one or two upperclassmen.

She's sitting next to Rowan in the circle they formed on the carpet in the living room. The people who aren't playing are sitting on the sectional, watching their game and chatting.

The game starts and the first few rounds are a bit boring, Aelin thinks. Fenrys starts and his bottle lands on a cheerleader. Then the cheerleader's bottle lands on another cheerleader. Some of the guys whoop when they kiss and Aelin rolls her eyes. She's glad to see Essar do the same from the sectional, Lorcan next to her with an arm around her shoulder.

The cheerleader spins and it lands on one of the upperclassmen. He's attractive, with cropped chestnut hair and copper eyes. He and the cheerleader kiss and then he spins the bottle. It turns and turns until finally, it points straight at Aelin.

She's never kissed anyone before and while she knew what this game entails, she hadn't really made the connection that she might have to kiss someone. Her throat goes dry while the guy gives her an encouraging smile.

Oh god, can he see how nervous she suddenly is? Aelin feels like she might die. But then she squares her shoulders and decides to be brave. She leans forward and the guy meets her halfway. She closes the distance between their mouths. It's… okay, she guesses? She can feel the warm press of his lips against hers, can smell the shampoo he uses and it only lasts a heartbeat or two before they pull apart.

When she settles back on her knees next to Rowan, his gaze is on her. She can't quite decipher the emotion on his face, so she whispers a quiet "What?"

He just shakes his head and points at the bottle. Right, now it's her turn. Better get it over with.

Aelin gives the bottle a good strong spin and it turns even longer than it did before. It comes to a stop pointing slightly to the left of her – right at Rowan. She can feel her heart speed up. If she thought she was nervous for her first kiss, it's nothing compared to what she feels now. There's a tingle spreading from her stomach all the way to her fingertips.

She turns to Rowan, whose eyes are locked on the bottle as if he could move it with the power of his mind alone. "You know, we don't have to do this," she whispers, but there's a rushing sound in her ears so she might have spoken louder than she intended.

"Hey, no fair! Rules are rules!" One of the lacrosse dudes shouts.

Finally, Rowan's eyes lift to hers. There's another look on his face that Aelin has never seen. She doesn't really know what to do with that. Usually, she feels like she knows him better than she knows herself. There's nothing usual about this situation though.

"No, it's fine," he just says. "He's right, rules are rules."

Rowan leans over slightly and so does she. Her breath catches and she closes her eyes. She feels the moment his lips meet hers, the soft but insistent press of his mouth against hers. She knows Rowan inside out, but still the smell of him this close is intoxicating.

He pulls back after a second and it's all Aelin can do not to follow his mouth with hers. Rowan turns his face back toward the circle, toward the bottle and after another second, so does Aelin.

As Rowan reaches for the bottle, there's only one thing playing in Aelin's mind. I just kissed my best friend.

Then the bottle lands on Remelle and Aelin doesn't think anything anymore. She watches a shy but inviting smile spread on the other girl's face. She sees Rowan lean forward, the motion looking so eager and Remelle does the same. Aelin watches numbly as their lips meet. The kiss lasts longer than any of the others did, though it's still just a peck. It shouldn't be different than her kisses but Aelin can feel that it is. This is a kiss that is going to change her friendship with Rowan forever. It's ironic, she thinks, that this kiss is what will change things, when she and Rowan just kissed not five minutes ago.

They pull apart and at the soft smile she sees on Remelle's face, a smile that is mirrored on Rowan's, Aelin feels faint.

She waits another two turns, when she hopes no one will make the connection, and stands up.

"This was so fun guys," the cheer in her voice is entirely fake but no one knows her well enough to tell. Except for one person. "But my parents set me a curfew, so I have to leave." There's a few commiserative groans. "I know," she laughs. "But thanks for inviting me. See you guys around school!"

"See you," Essar says, a few others echoing the sentiment or simply waving.

Aelin is almost impressed with herself at how composed she seems.

She turns toward the door and sees Rowan stand up to follow her. He catches up to her and says, "I didn't know you had a curfew."

"Yeah, I'm just tired, but I didn't want to look boring,'" she lies. She's never lied to Rowan. It makes her feel even stranger.

"Oh, okay. Just give me a moment to say goodbye and then we can leave." He looks slightly disappointed by the prospect.

"It's fine. Stay. I can make it back on my own." She doesn't know why she said that. She doesn't mean it. But maybe she hopes that tonight hasn't changed things after all. She hopes he'll walk her home as always, that everything will still be normal tomorrow.

"Really? That would be amazing. I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Be safe." Rowan hugs her and Aelin is sure she must have misheard him. There's no way he just did that. But as he turns his back to her and walks back toward the laughter, she realizes that he did.

"Damn. What a dick." The guy she kissed is standing in a doorway on the right halfway between her and the living room. He probably had a perfect view of their exchange.

Aelin wants to defend Rowan. After all, who is this guy to call her best friend a dick? But she can't really argue his point right now.

"I'm Chaol, by the way," the guy offers and Aelin realizes she's still looking towards the living room.

"Aelin," she just says.

"Well Aelin, I was actually just leaving," Chaol tells her. "Can I walk you home instead?" There's a smile on his face that suits him very well. He really is attractive, Aelin thinks to herself.

"That would be nice," she answers and Chaol opens the door for her.

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thanks for reading!

let me know your thoughts/theories in the comments or reblogs! <3

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tag list:

@yafandomsnet

#my writing #rowan whitethorn #modern au #rowan x aelin #throne of glass fanfiction #friends don't look at friends that way #rowaelin #rowaelin fanfic #throne of glass #sarah j maas

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symeraid-s · 3 months

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2023 Retrospective: TV Shows, Movies and other Music

This is not being ranked. I’m just gonna talk about TV Shows and Movies I watched this year, as well as one artist that released a banger album, which I could not fit in anywhere else. So, let’s start out with:

Other Music

Måneskin

Yeah, the RUSH! Album is really fantastic. I don’t really know what to tell you. GOSSIP was randomly recommended to me, and I couldn’t stop listening to the entire album afterwards. My favourite song of it right now is probably either OWN MY MIND of GASOLINE, but it is a great all round package. If you like rock music, I really recommend you check this out.

TV Shows and Movies

Kamen Rider Geats

Technically this show started in 2022, but it finished in 2023, so I’ll count it regardless. This was the first Kamen Rider Season I watched while airing and honestly? I don’t regret it. It’s probably not my favourite Kamen Rider Season, that title will most likely remain with Build for a while, but God damn, is Ace just a fun main rider to watch. Because I can’t deny it: I love it when a character is an asshole with a heart of gold. He also gives me gender envy. I also really like the design of the rider forms (particularly Geats Mach 2 and Nago Fantasy) and the fact that there are multiple female riders that get a lot of screen time throughout the entire season. The fandom got really weird for a while though, which was not enjoyable. But hey, I guess that’s just normal with Toku shows.

Oppenheimer

Yeah, this might be one of the best directed movies I have ever seen. It’s 3 Hours of talking, but it never drags, and it never feels like anything should have been left on the cutting room floor. Cillian Murphy is also really fantastic as Oppenheimer, and I really hope he finally wins an Oscar for this movie. He would absolutely deserve it.

Barbie

It only feels right to put this one after Oppenheimer. I didn’t like it as much, but it certainly was one of the most movies to ever movie. I wish it had been a bit campier and actually stuck with the commentary they were doing, because it does backpedal at the end, when it gets to Mattel. It’s still their product after all, so you can’t portray them as irredeemable villains, but they really got of way too easy. Just saying. The set and costume design is off the charts though and Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling are fantastic in their respective roles.

Nimona

This movie is just a delight to watch. It’ll make you laugh, but it’ll also emotionally destroy you and leave you weeping in a puddle by the end. According to fans of the graphic novel, it deviates a lot from the actual ending, but I really loved the conclusion, so I can’t complain too much about that. All of the voice actors did a fantastic job and the chemistry between the characters is perfect.

Bokura no Shokutaku/Our Dining Table

The Toku to BL pipeline is going strong with two main riders starring in this show. Both Iijima Hiroki and Inukai Atsuhiro are absolutely fantastic in this show and at this point I don’t know why I’m still surprised with Inukai’s performances. He always gives 200%. This show is really wholesome, but also sad. It explores how trauma can stem from the seemingly smallest thing, which is something that really needs to be explored more in media. It’s probably one of my favourite shows this year.

Heartstopper Season 2

The second season diverges a lot from the Webtoon, but in a good way. It expands the universe, so to say. It also starts to deal with more serious themes yet keeps you in this bubble of queer warmth which is beautiful. There is also a canon asexual character, so that’s also a win. My favourite character this season was Tao. Mostly because every time he opens his mouth I think: “He’s just like me for real.” William Gao really does a great job.

Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Amongst Thieves

This is just a really good fantasy movie, regardless of if you play DnD. I watched this one together with my DnD party though, which was really hilarious, because our DM constantly went: “You are just as stupid as them”. Aside from that, the technical aspects of this movie are also really great. The practical effects are really stunning and the VFX look just as good. Chris Pine is also the best Hollywood Chris.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

I watched this movie together with my colleagues because the company I work for contributed the COVID tests for the filming done in Germany. So, whenever we recognised a set, we would immediately point it out. Some shots from District 12 and the Capitol were filmed in Duisburg and Berlin respectively, in case anyone is interested. But yeah, I wouldn’t have watched this movie, if it wasn’t for that. To be fair, the performances were really good, and I liked the songs, but it does kind off feel… weird. Like, some of the plot advancements seem contrived.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

My father is a big fan of the franchise and Harrison Ford, so he dragged me and my mother to see this movie. It was not the worst, but god, was it a drag at times. The entire opening scene, where they de-aged Harrison Ford was so badly lit, that I almost couldn’t see any of the action. The main villain’s plan doesn’t make any sense. The ending seems purposefully left open, even though we don’t want or need a new movie. I can’t believe I’d say this, but just let Indy die.

#disclaimer: just my opinion #2023 retrospective #maneskin #kamen rider geats #oppenheimer #barbie #barbenheimer #nimona #bokura no shokutaku #our dining table #heartstopper #dungeons and dragons honor amongst thieves #the hunger games #indiana jones #final part

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authorkun · 3 years

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[𝙎𝙪𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙡 𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙖𝙘] (005)

"𝙉𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩'𝙨 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚."

Fushiguro stated. While still cool on the outside, internally Megumi was pleading with himself that it wasn't true. Gojo sighed. "It's starting to look like a possibility." "Why are the Elders here though?" The raven head questioned. "The council are making preparations." Masamichi stepped in. "They're already assuming the worst?!" Megumi snapped. "He's still alive! He's still-!" A hand made a stop motion.

"I think you should leave the matter with us. You and Kugisaki need rest. We'll have Shoko look at your wounds later, for now rest." Masamichi held a commanding tone, although gently said. Fushiguro hesitantly nodded before picking up his peer, and started his way towards the dorms. 'M/n is not dead right? He'll make it-.'

Once more his train of thought was interrupted by the faint yell from the infirmary. "He's crashing! The internal hemorrhaging won't..." The rest became muffled, when the sound of a door slamming shut echoed the empty hallways. 'Please stay alive, I can't lose you too.'

Timeskip

Report:

900 hours. Due to prior events from the day passed; both first year student: Itadori Yuuji, and second year student: L/n M/n (also special grade Jujutsu sorcerer) of Jujutsu tech university have been pronounced dead. "I can't help to think that it was my fault." The snowy haired sorcerer chuckled bitterly. A hand was curled into his hair, as his fingers tugged at the strands. "It couldn't have been. Those incompetent fools are." Nanami reassured from across the male.

The two were seated across from each other in an empty room. Only two couches sat idly in the center. "The fact that the council is filled to the brim of cowardly heathens, has already been established. But hey, what can we expect." Gojo sarcastically answered. "Shouldn't both of us be experts in this?" Nanami held a stoic stature.

"We all knew what we were getting into. Death was just another thing apart of the list of risks." Kento spoke. It wasn't a lie, the two had suffered such losses and learned what the consequences truly were.

"It was inevitable." The word itself, pissed off Gojo to no end. Inevitable. Such a pathetic word, made by mortal chains who were paranoid of life. It always made him feel small; the word reminded him of how helpless he truly was during situations like this.

It angered him, heck, he was livid in fury. But the more he tried to refuse reality, the more times he ran into the same wall. Helplessness.

Timeskip

"Sukuna's host?" Shoko pointed towards the table, Itadori laid. "And...L/n." She lead the sentence on. Caressing the second-year's face, she clicked her tongue. "Anyways, I can dissect him however I want, right?" She asked referring to Itadori.

"Just make use of him." Gojo asked. "Of course I will. Who do you think you're talking too?"

"..."

"And we have direct instructions from the council for L/n. Those old farts aren't any fun. I was kind of curious of what was inside of that pretty little head of his."

With Fushiguro and Nobara

"He told us to "live long", but all your problems vanish when you you die. Was he your first comrade you've lost?" Nobara asked. Currently the two were sat on the steps of the entrance. "He was the first classmate."

"Hmmph you seem oddly fine. After all that second-year died too." "I could say the same for you." Megumi shot back. "Well I only knew them for about two weeks. I'm not such a soft woman...that would cry over the death of people like them." The female's voice cracked, as her lip quivered.

"It's so hot though." Kugisaki complained, changing from the depressing topic. "Yeah, I wonder when we'll get our summer clothes."

"What the hell? You're more depressing then ever.." Nobara sneered. "Megumi!" A voice interrupted. "Is this a wake?"

"Zenin-senpai."

"Don't call me by my family name. Maki. Maki!" Maki sounded out her name. Suddenly murmuring from behind a tree caught the three's attention. "He really did die too. Yesterday too! Another boy in first-year."

A tick mark formed, as Maki started to sweat. "Say it earlier! I'll seem like a cold-heartless devil!"

Panda and Inumaki stepped out from their 'hiding' spot. "Actually that's exactly what you are, you know?!" Panda yelled back.

"Tuna-Mayo."

"Who are they?" Nobara pointed towards the three strangers. "They're out second-year senpais. Zenin-senpai, she's the best at handling charms out of us students. Inumaki-senpai is a specialist in spells. His only vocabulary is onigiri ingredients. And panda.

There's another, Okkotsu-senpai. Along L/n-senpai, they were the only ones I could openly respect. He's overseas right now." Megumi explained. 'I wonder how Okkotsu's taking it. If he even knows yet. He and L/n-senpai were close.' "Are you just going to leave the panda's introduction at "Panda?" Kugisaki cut off Fushiguro's thoughts. "Oh sorry guys you're also still in mourning too." Panda bowed.

"We know how you must be feeling right now. We both lost L/n and Itadori. L/n was like family." Maki reassured. A small frown though lingering. "Mustard leaves-bonito flakes."

"Through the grief though, we want you guys to attend the Kyoto sister exchange." Panda finished.

"What's that?"

With Gojo

"You know, I have a pretty shitty personality, Don't I?" Gojo asked from his slumped position. "I know." Ijichi sighed.

"I'll seriously slap you later, Ijichi." The threat caused a shiver to go down the male's spine.

"Why would someone like me, someone who doesn't have characteristics of a teacher, take a teaching job at a technical college? Ask me." "Why is that." Ijichi shookenly asked. "Because I have a dream."

"A dream you say?" Gojo leaned back in his seat.

"Yeah, as you know from what happened to M/n and Yuuji, the establishment is the den of evilness in the world of sorcery. It doesn't take much brain power to know that the council of elders are a council of fools, and idiots.

It's a bargain sale for rotten oranges. I'll hit reset on the shithole that the world of sorcery is. I could easily kill those at the top, but they would simply be replaced, and no one would follow someone who'd kill the higher-ups. That's why I chose education. To raise strong and clever comrades. That's why sometimes I dump my missions on my students."

Ijichi gave an unimpressed look. "Not because you wanted to skip out of them?" "They're all extraordinary. Especially that third-year, Hakari and second-year, Okkotsu. They'll become shamen who could even rival me." Gojo's fist clenched as he glared at the table in front of him.

"Yuuji was one of them." Through gritted teeth, his glare downcasted. "M/n...was the only one who could surpass me."

"I'm going to start now." Shoko pulled on a pair of rubber gloves. Ijichi started shaking in fear as he pointed behind the female. "Huh, what's wrong." "G-G-Gojo." An amused smirk formed as he saw behind her. Itadori was sitting up with a mildly confused expression.

"Woah, where's my clothes?!" Itadori exclaimed glancing downwards. "H-H-He H-H-He's a-a-alive!"

"Don't be so noisy Ijichi."

Shoko pulled her mask down a disappointing look sent to Itadori. "That's a shame."

An awkward silence befell. "Ummm this is embarrassing." The pink head nervously scratched his neck.

"Welcome back." Gojo placed his hand out. "Yo! I'm back!" Itadori slapped the outstretched hand. "Good to see you're alive." "It's good to be back. Can I get some clothes though?" Gojo and Shoko nodded at each other before heading out of the room. "We'll be back."

When the two left, Itadori started grabbing the garments from a bag. While changing, his eyes caught an oddly familiar tuft of (h/c) colored hair from next to him. 'That's impossible.' Tugging his shirt on, he inspected further. Pushing back the cloth covering the body, Yuuji's eyes widened in realization. 'No!' "I-Ijichi w-who's this?" He asked pointing towards the male. "That's L/n. He was a second-year here."

From the confirmation of his identity, a feeling of grief and sadness started to form at the pit of his stomach. Tracing along the scars that littered his neck. A worried frown formed. 'What happened to you?'

Although, inside him, where Sukuna sat, the king of curse's 'throne' stood empty. Sukuna watched in horror as Itadori had pulled the sheet back. Something continued to eat away at him. He couldn't die again right? He just saw him again. He never told him of the past.

The same sick feeling filled Sukuna as felt as though he was going to puke. "Not again!" His anguish screams filled the domain, as he threw, and broke numerous skulls that had made up the pile.

"Not again please." Sukuna faintly pleaded, as his kimono and hair dripped with water. Back on the outside Itadori had clenched his nails into his fist. Small droplets of blood seeped from his grasp.

"Why'd you have to go and die already?"

M/n POV

The coldness was the first thing I felt when I woke up. While the breeze was soft, the coldness of it all was unforgiving. It was all to familiar though. That day...

"RUN M/N! DONT LOOK BACK!"

It hurts. Stop.

"Your whole clan is pathetic~"

Stop please. It hurts.

"What are you going to do? You're too weak."

A pain filled scream echoed throughout the darkness, one I could only assume as my own. "What do you want? Please stop!"

"You killed us! It's your fault!"

The voices bounced off the walls from every angle. "What do you want from me?" I cried out.

The echoing voices seem to pause. Silence. A singular figure started to emerge from the snowy ground.

"You're not real. You died 10 years ago." My feet moved, as I started backpedaling. The figure, a woman. A yellow kimono dressed her body. Long (h/c) hair framing her chest, and face. (E/c) orbs which seemed so foreign. "I'm here my love. You're here with me." She reached out a palm towards my face, the only reaction was a flinch which was returned.

"It's me n/n. I'm back." Her soft tone felt deceiving as she stuck out her arms towards me. "It's been so long." Shaking my head, I refused to accept. "You're dead, stop this. Please." Fingers started to tug and pull the messy strands of hair.

"M/n, please." Warmth filled my core, as I was pulled into an embrace. My legs wobbled as we both fell to the floor. Sobs started racking my form as the woman, I've only known as my mother held me in her arms. "M-Mom? Why'd you leave me? I-I'm s-sorry, I was t-too weak-!"

"Hey, shhhh...It's okay. You did everything you could. It's not your fault at all sweety." Coming face to face with her, her thumbs wiped my eyes. "You're the strongest person I know M/n."

"Y-You left though! Y-You l-left and I d-d.." Words started getting choked up as a lump formed in my throat. "And that's one of the biggest burdens and regrets I have to carry." She spoke calmly pushing back a strand of hair.

"You've done so many good things and helped people in need. I've been with you ever since I passed. To think, my own son was such charmer though." She quirked a brow teasingly in hopes of lifting the mood. A small chuckle escaped. "I missed you." A bittersweet sigh left her parted lips before a smile graced her features.

"As have I." A comforting silence filled the void as we sat in each other's embrace. "M/n, although I despise it with all of my heart, you can't stay." Eyes widened, I pushed her body back.

"What do you mean? I just got here?" A frantic expression slowly forming.

"M/n..."

"I just got you back! You can't leave!" She once more stuck out her hand stroking my cheek. "M/n, you are the strongest person I've known my entire life. You've saved hundreds if not thousands. And you have people who love you back there! If you stay, you'll break their hearts." A shaky breath left, as tears started to fall again.

"I know. I'm so selfish! But I can't find the heart to see you leave again." Pushing my head into the crook of her neck. "You have too. You still have so many first's you have to fill though. Get married, live your life. It's not your time yet. I'll be with you every step of the way." She smiled, kissing my forehead.

"I love you M/n."

"I love you too." Her figure started to fade into small cherry blossoms. "It's time to wake up M/n~" With that, she disappeared entirely. A bittersweet smile managed to appear. Collapsing into the snow, I let the coldness finally envelope me as my eyes shut closed.

'It's time to wake up.'

#jujutsu kaisen #seme male reader #jjk #jjk x male reader #jujutsu kaisen x male reader #jjk megumi #jjk sukuna #jjk gojo #jjk itadori #jjk nobara #jjk inumaki #jjk panda #top male reader #male reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jjk zenin

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dragonturtle2 · 3 years

Text

Charting Penny's course, on the eve of the V8 finale.

I just realized that one of the lengthiest essays I ever posted online was never copied or cross posted over here to Tumblr. A huge mistake on my part. For one, as a big fan of transhumanism, I got a kind of enjoyment mapping out the distinctions Penny Poledina’s series-wide arc, even with the flaws. Two, I’m actually kind of proud of the predictions I made at the end. Not because I was correct about one of them; I remarked how I’d LIKE Rooster Teeth to do something, not that they’d actually take the shot. But some of the stuff I thought of was fun, and I do feel a bit of validation for having my thoughts line up with the actual writers; especially in lieu of how heated other people’s reactions were to something sorrowful and unexpected.

Tonight I had been responding to a critique I'd found earlier on Tumblr. They had remarked that Penny's conflict in Volumes 2, 7 and 8 were just recycling the question of whether Penny was a real girl. That doing so was just boring as heck, when the question has been answered firmly with Penny becoming the Winter Maiden. I thought the question of “what makes a person a person, and not just a simulated pattern of behaviors with the instinct to survive?” was broad enough to get a few arcs’ worth of visitation. But I thought just responding with that one lengthy sentence could come off as belittling sarcasm. So tried to offer up an my actual interpretation and clear opinion. I got this monstrosity.

Volume 1 has Penny reaching out to make friends, V2 is finally admitting her robot nature to someone and vocalizing her fears about being a real girl. Volume 3 dangles the upcoming conflict of her wanting to exercise independent action, step away from the national military organization that bankrolled and housed her, and go to Beacon with her friends. But that got cut short.

Volume 7 picks up the thread of Penny’s independent actions. Not just with the ability to disagree with or full-on disobey orders, but her own value system and initiative. Not only is she asking Winter about how to make decisions in life, she is also silently (and not-so-silently) judging whether Winter is morally right, or even truly happy with her own choices. When she takes Freya’s hand, she asks something that no one has probably said to Freya in awhile: “Are you OK?”

Volume 8 is focused on the things being taken from her. Her previous family-unit-facsimile of James, Winter and the Ace Ops have labeled her a traitor and are now hunting her. Being targeted as the Maiden makes her distance herself from her friends, so they aren’t further harmed . In doing that, she also leaves behind her previous dedication, protecting Mantle, to launch Amity Tower and assist in the bigger picture of warning the entire planet. Then in the pursuit of that goal she damages herself, pushes her body to it’s limit, and says goodbye to her father.

Volume 8 might seem to backpedal, and spend much of the season emphasizing how inhuman Penny is. That’s the point. After Freya essentially canonizes Penny as human, with her ‘blessing,’ Penny’s new identity (to herself and the audience) is arrested in the most traumatic ways possible. Her body is peeled back and cut open. Her schematics are passed around and assessed by characters and factions more than ever. The hacking is the Atlas military complex literally claiming ownership over her, exploiting the body and code they created alongside Pietro. (In contrast with the earlier consensual control and teamwork with Pietro, which even then she hardly enjoyed). How much pain can you inflict on a person until they devolve, or abandon rational thought? Little wonder Penny ends up begging the team to end her own life. She’s now taken Winter’s role from Volume 7, her self-esteem having sunken even lower. “My life doesn’t matter!“

When that ghastly moment was (temporarily) resolved with a quick revelation and Jaune’s Semblance, it was a moment of mixed feelings for me in an episode I otherwise loved. But I really came around to it afterword. They have to head to Vault for a permanent fix pretty much immediately, so it doesn’t feel like the writers used Jaune to kick the can down the road until they felt like tackling it. A very direct benefit is that by pausing Penny’s affliction, Penny gains the ability to actually have a conversation with people, to have scenes beyond just desperately wrestling her. It also spared us the repeated dialogue of “I must go to the Vault. I don’t want to! I must - I don’t! - I MUST- I DON’T!” Seriously, that routine was wearing thin.

Whether any fans predicted Jaune’s Semblance being able to help or not, I’m pleased when characters are able to quickly conceive applications of in-universe fictional powers. This is such a refreshing improvement over how CRWBY previously couldn’t bring Ruby to even ASK about the Silver Eyes that put her in a coma.

There were missteps along the way. Ruby really should have reacted more to her friend coming back to life; RT leaning on the Fourth Wall doesn’t fully remove the sting. ("It seems we will have to wait!”) We also never see any of our protagonists outside of Ruby even react to the revelation of a robotic life form. When they meet Penny again at V7′s start, apparently ALL of them, even Oscar, were so acquainted with Penny’s story that none of them had any questions for her the entire Volume. There was no sense of betrayed trust, or trauma from watching one friend be ripped apart by another. These are disappointments, but not deal breakers. Now, I want to talk about how post-Ambrosius Penny may fit in with the rest of the story. Maybe it’s stupid of me to try to get this out by 4 in the morning the day the finale drops, but I’m on a role, and I want to get my ideas out in the open before they’re tainted by hindsight. Otherwise I won’t feel like even finishing this.

I’m not going to launch into a tangent with the metaphysical mechanics on whether Penny’s new body would have ‘logically’ been conjured or not. (For the record I think it works). I just want to talk about the message the show is conveying, and what they could do with it. My base assumption is that Cinder is going to get the Winter Maiden power. It would be great way to coincide with her (GASP) actual character development this volume. But more importantly, if she doesn’t succeed in her goal, and get an upgrade to compete with our leveled-up protagonists, I can’t see how she can be an interesting or threatening villain going forward. A few ways this can end for Penny:

Pietro could give up the last bit of his life to bring her back. He’d probably need to get assistance from Abrosius, since he’s lacking in equipment; he’s a brilliant scientist, so explaining it certainly wouldn’t be an obstacle. Maybe Penny would be back to being a synthetic, maybe she remains organic. Either way, it’s a compromise with having a functional villain, while keeping around a fandom darling. Personally, I think RT needs to evoke the spirit of Volume 3, and make people cry.

Actually killing Penny would be bold and stand-out. By taking away Penny’s function of a core that can be salvaged (as explained at the start of Volume 7), and having her body get incinerated just like Pyrrha, RT can fully signal “This character is dead, and can’t be resurrected.” The heart break would be brilliant, with Penny getting to know the joys of an organic body just to be immediately ripped away from life. This would beautifully parallel with General Ironwood. James clamped down on human emotion because he thought it would give him the strength to stand against the darkness. Penny’s friends made her MORE human in a loving act of rescue, but now have to watch as she dies like any other human. Both characters would be cautionary tales regarding the Atlas Arc’s question of Trust. To leave yourself open.

Alrighty, now that I’ve gotten to feel like an intellectual by making some proclamations of doom, I want to throw out a tinfoil hat theory that actually combines the two previous versions. What’s fascinated me for years, and the show hasn’t re-visited, is the nature of Cinder’s parasite. Can Cinder talk to it? Will it begin gaining sentience? What’s relevant to Penny is what exactly this thing DOES. When it comes to it’s soul-power-absorbing function, we’ve never actually seen it’s full extent. The process with Amber was interrupted, with half the power just zipping over to Cinder after Amber expired. With Raven and Penny’s power, Cinder’s arm only got a little taste of them both, since both of their captures were unsuccessful. What if Cinder’s parasite can absorb more than raw power? Pinnochio is eventually swallowed by a monstrous beast. We were all sure it would be The Whale. But what if it’s Cinder?

I’ll be watching the finale in about 5 hours. The idea that I could be correct about something that takes everyone else off guard (Penny’s death) has an electric feeling, and I totally understand why people can get hung up on the stories they compose in their head. But I don’t want to start thinking any of MY ideas HAVE to come true for me to get joy from whatever happens to Penny or Volume 8. Regardless, reviewing character arcs that preceded wherever we are in the present is always worthwhile.

#reddit #RWBY #rwby volume 8 prediction #penny polendina #pietro polendina #cinder fall #james ironwood #Rooster Teeth

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catradoramma · 4 years

Note

Can we get a Catradora fanfiction where Catra gets sick and tries to tough it out and nobody notices except Adora. Despite Adora's prompting Catra refuses to rest until she suddenly passes out in front of everyone?

Okay, this was a really fun prompt and I’m so, so sorry you had to wait so long!! I’m a slave to writer’s block!! without further ado, here's the fic!!

Fake It ‘Til You Make It

| Rated: G | words: 1,934 | chapter: 1/1 |

“Adora, I’d tell you if I was sick. And I’m fine. Really,” Catra insisted.

Adora sighed then and leaned over to press a soft kiss to Catra’s forehead. “Alright. That’s all I ask,” she relented.

But Adora knew she wasn’t wrong. She’d just have to be extra-vigilant and take care of Catra herself.

Or five times Adora knew Catra was sick, and one time Catra finally admitted it.

| ao3 | buy me a kofi |

Adora slipped out of bed before the sun was even up that morning like she usually did. She pressed a small kiss to Catra’s forehead and tucked her back in, exactly like how Adora usually did. She got dressed and ready for her morning run and Catra stayed sleeping, exactly as usual.

So someone please tell Adora why she felt something was off from the moment she opened her eyes.

This mystery was driving her crazy all the way until she sat down at their usual table at the campus cafe, still a little sweaty from her run, next to Catra, who sniffled lightly as she handed Adora her morning coffee and bagel. Adora knew instantly. Catra was sick.

Catra was sick, which is why her worry senses had been tingling all morning.

“You feeling okay?” Adora asked Catra, accepting her breakfast with a little concerned frown on her face.

Catra blushed (which was a sure sign she wasn’t feeling well!!) and looked away. “I’m fine, Adora. Stop acting like you’re my mom,” Catra complained with a roll of her eyes.

“Word, Adora,” Glimmer said with a little playful quirk of her lips. “Ever since you two have gotten together, you’ve become like, significantly more overprotective.”

Adora rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “Oh, come on guys. I’m not that bad. Bow’s way worse!”

“Uh, yeah, but I’ve always been a worrier,” Bow said. “You once told me to take a Halls and have a power-nap when I had Strep.”

Adora winced. “Alright, okay,” she glanced over at Catra worriedly. “I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you,” Adora said to Catra, sending Catra a painfully earnest look that Adora knew she was weak to.

Just as expected, Catra melted, some of her defensiveness sliding off her shoulders. “Look, Adora, I’d tell you if I was sick. And I’m fine. Really.”

Adora sighed then and leaned over to press a soft kiss to Catra’s forehead. “Alright. That’s all I ask,” she relented.

But Adora knew she wasn’t wrong. She’d just have to be extra-vigilant and take care of Catra herself.

Adora picked up Catra from her last class before lunch, as she always did with a smile. “Hey, how was your morning?” She asked as she linked their fingers together, leading them both to the campus cafeteria.

Catra shrugged. Her hands were freezing. Another point of evidence leading to the Catra Is Sick conclusion. “It was fine. My last class was freezing though. It’s like they just leave the AC on all year in there. I swear I’m gonna get hypothermia some day,” she complained as she shivered again.

Adora frowned a little and grabbed both of Catra’s hands, warming them between her own warmer ones. She leaned in and breathed warm air onto them. “Better?’ Adora asked.

Catra’s cheeks darkened and she nodded. Adora smiled up at her and placed a small kiss to Catra’s knuckles.

“Hey, I think my soup punch-card is almost full. How does chicken noodle sound?” Adora asked as they got to the cafeteria.

Catra sent Adora a suspicious look, “This isn’t about the fake me being sick thing is it?” Catra asked, her voice sounding a little rough until she cleared her throat.

Adora’s worry spiked, but she pushed it down before Catra could see it. “It’s about the punch card and the free soup,” she said with a playful roll of her eyes.

“Oh, I see, it’s your day to buy, so you’re trying to get a discount,” Catra joked back dryly, but gave into the soup idea.

“Oh, unapologetically,” Adora said as she started spooning soup into two tiny to-go bowls. “Plus, it’ll help you warm up. From your freezing last class.”

Catra smiled softly and Adora cherished the look. “Alright, I guess if you’ve thought it through.”

Adora had thought it through. And as they sat across from each other, their feet tangled under the table and Adora’s jacket around Catra’s shoulders, Adora knew it was the right choice. Catra was sick, and even if she wouldn’t admit it, Adora ould take care of her.

Catra was already waiting for Adora in the lecture hall of their last class of the day, her jacket in the seat next to her, saving the spot for Adora, as she usually did. However, the closer Adora got, the more clear it became that Catra’s condition had only worsened. As Adora sat down, she could clearly see the bags under Catra’s eyes and her red nose.

“Hey Adora,” Catra greeted, her voice obviously raspy, and her nose obviously plugged.

Adora’s worry was clear on her face. “Hey sweetheart,” Adora said softly, reaching up to feel Catra’s forehead. “You feeling okay, darling?”

Catra blushed darkly and looked away, moving her forehead away from Adora’s grasp. “I’m fine, Adora. Gosh, what’s with all the pet-names?”

Adora just kept frowning in worry. “Catra, come on. Are you really gonna keep this up? You should go home.”

Catra rolled her eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m really fine.”

Bow and Glimmer took this opportunity to sit down right behind them, as usual. “Is Adora still on Catra about this sick thing?” Glimmer asked Bow as they sat down and got situated.

“Yes! And it’s driving me crazy! Tell her I’m fine!” Catra said, turning back to Bow and Glimmer.

“Yeah, Adora, she looks fine to me,” Bow said after a few beats.

“Word. If you wanna skip class with Catra, just say that. No need to make us all worry,” Glimmer said as she pulled out her laptop.

Adora groaned in frustration. “You guys! I’m really not exaggerating. Look at her! She looks ill!”

“Ouch,” Bow winced as Catra shot a cutting look to Adora.

“You saying I look bad?” She asked, her eyes narrowed dangerously.

“Double ouch,” Glimmer agreed.

Adora shook her head and started backpedaling. “Catra, come on, you know that’s not what I meant! You look great--”

“Oh, perfect, so you admit I’m not sick then,” Catra cut in.

“That’s not what I said!” Adora objected.

“Oh, so you are saying I look bad. Alright I get it,” Catra said and turned back to the front of the lecture hall, completely ignoring Adora.

Adora sighed softly. She really just couldn’t win today.

Catra still wasn’t talking to Adora at dinner. She sat on the other side of the table instead of beside her, and hasn’t even looked at her once since the end of the lecture. Adora caught the look that Bow and Glimmer shared before they sat down on opposite sides as well.

Adora really couldn't stop alternating between being worried for Catra, and hurt by her snub. Especially considering ever since they sat down at the table, Catra had been rubbing her temples secretly as if trying to chase off a headache. Adora knew any help she tried to give would be brushed off, but she needed to help Catra in some way.

So, Adora placed an Advil on the table between them subtly before looking back down to her menu. She knocked her foot against Catra’s softly under the table to get her attention, then gave a lowkey glance to the pill before going back to her menu. Adora watched Catra look at the pill and then back up at Adora out of her periphery. Catra clearly hesitated, before deciding not to take it.

Adora sighed softly. She couldn’t make Catra do anything she didn’t want to do. Even if it was in her best interests.

Adora sulked all through dinner, trying to keep an eye on Catra to make sure she didn’t over-extend herself without making it obvious. Adora was probably not very good at this because conversation at dinner was extremely awkward. Bow and Glimmer tried everything they could to make dinner enjoyable, but even their cheerfulness had an end.

It wasn’t until the end of the meal, when everyone was paying and readying to leave that Catra reached down and grabbed the Advil. She took it while Bow and Glimmer were facing the server. Adora sent a thankful smile over at Catra and she rolled her eyes.

That right there was as good as a verbal confession of illness.

Adora stood and held out her hand for Catra. She looked at the hand, then at Adora and took it.

“Alright Princess,” Catra started, leaning a little into Adora. “Let’s go home.”

Adora smiled and pressed a small kiss onto the top of Catra’s head. “Let’s go home,” she agreed.

All four friends made their way to the train station. Adora could tell Glimmer and Bow were extremely thankful Adora and Catra had made up. They both let out twin signs of relief when they caught a glimpse of their hands intertwined.

Adora and Catra didn’t talk the entire way to the train station, and when they sat down, Catra laid her head on Adora’s shoulder, the day’s activity having clearly drained her of all remaining energy. Adora turned her head slightly to press a kiss to the top of Catra’s head. She didn’t say anything as Catra fell asleep.

Bow and Glimmer who were sitting across from Adora and Catra had twin looks of worry on their faces. Catra rarely sat down on the train, usually opting to stand and hold onto the rail above wherever Adora was sitting. To see her sitting down, let alone sleeping, it was, frankly, worrisome.

Adora smiled at them in a way she hoped was reassuring. “It’s okay, guys. I’ve got her,” she turned to Catra with a soft look in her eyes. “She always does this. Tries to hold on and just push through when she should just take the day off. After the third time she collapsed in High School, I just learned to recognize the signs and catch her before it happens.” Adora smoothed some of Catra’s hair aside, hoping to make her a little more comfortable.

Bow was looking at Adora with that soft, watery look he got sometimes when he saw cute things and Glimmer had her combination grossed-out-but-charmed look. Adora smiled at them. “I’ll get her home safe. But I don’t think we’ll be coming to class tomorrow.”

+1.

The next morning, Adora woke at her usual time, but instead of slipping out of bed and getting ready to go on a run, she just rolled over and wrapped herself around Catra, using her body as a sort of heated blanket. She stayed like this until Catra opened her eyes much later. The sun was already shining through the blinds above their head, spreading cool, golden morning sunlight across their bed spread.

“Feeling alright?” Adora asked softly as she absently stroked along Catra’s side.

Catra sighed softly in defeat and closed her eyes again with a small smile. “No,” she finally admitted.

Adora smiled softly and pressed a kiss to Catra’s shoulder. “Want me to make you some tea? Maybe some oatmeal?”

Catra sighed again, this time more charmed than anything. “Yeah, that might help,” she agreed, her voice raspy and her nose clearly plugged. “Maybe a cough drop and some Vaseline too? My nose is driving me crazy already.”

Adora smiled, happy to finally be allowed to take care of Catra properly. “And you’re warm enough?”

“With your furnace body on top of mine? Yeah. I’m sweating,” she joked dryly.

Adora’s smile turned fond and a little playful. She leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll be right back then. Try not to freeze to death.”

“You got it, Princess.”

#She-Ra #She Ra #shera #catra #catradora #catra x adora #adora #adora/catra #karleecatradorafics #sick fic #tumblr prompt #fluff #domestic fluff #5+1 fic #5+1 things

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sunnytwst · 3 years

Note

Saw this blog through a shout-out via Pasta who keeps denying Malmal. Anyways. Could I request headcannons of the first years finding out MC and Azul are dating but they didn’t find out via MC telling them but by catching them cuddling in Ramshackle or the Mostro Lounge? Also if you see a bunch of requests going around of the first years’ reactions to MC dating one of the dorm leaders. It’s a fun headcannons.

hello!! thank you for requesting!! ah yes mac,,i love their blog and honestly getting a shoutout from them shook me to my core. also sorry this took a little longer than i expected,, i struggled with writing epel’s portion a little so sorry if it seems out of character sodfuhsdofh

relationship: azul ashengrotto x gn! reader (romantic)

format: headcanons

genre: fluff

warnings: none :-D

grim:

this clown cat is still so shook even though he literally spends practically all his time glued to your side and sees you with azul abnormally often for “just friend” status

insists that he didn’t figure it out before because you “kept it so well hidden”

probably startled the two of you out of your cuddling time with an excessively loud “NANI??”

might try to give azul the “if you hurt them we’ll have to have a talk” spiel but it’s.....not as effective as he may think

ace trappola:

this man has zero respect for quiet cuddle time and is practically YELLING

will not stop telling you that he totally called it and you can’t even argue because he has in fact been bullying you for weeks about constantly making heart eyes at azul

is forcibly escorted from the lounge by the tweels

rest in peace ace you’ll be missed

deuce spade:

honestly gets so embarassed when he catches you cuddling with azul because he feels bad for interrupting what seemed like such a private and intimate moment

apologizes profusely despite your reassurance that it’s okay and promises to keep his lips sealed if you’d prefer that your relationship remained private

if you give him the go-ahead, however, he’d definitely update his mom about it because you’re one of his best friends and he likes telling her happy things about his time at nrc

jack howl:

probably already figured out you were in a relationship with azul because you lowkey kinda smelled like him all the time

if he catches the two of you cuddling he probably wouldn’t say anything and would just quietly leave the two of you alone

honestly such a good boy and would later pull you aside to tell you that he saw and a) confirm that the two of you are in a relationship b) check if you’re comfortable with others knowing

epel felmier:

ok unpopular opinion but i headcanon that epel knows a lot of tea because he’s so used to listening to the grannies back at home gossip and just naturally tunes into conversations by accident

if y’all did a really good job of hiding your relationship he might blurt out a “what?” solely because he’s surprised that he didn’t learn earlier

he is however a “mind your own business” kinda guy though and would probably just leave the two of you alone

sebek zigvolt:

UNPROTECTED CUDDLING?? HOW SCANDALOUS!!

bad at taking social cues and might chop his hand between the two of you and prepare himself to defend your honor

when you frantically explain that it’s okay, you and azul are literally dating, poor guy gets so embarassed and backpedals the hell out of there without another word

you might have to catch up to him later on and explain that it’s okay, you’re not mad and you know that he was just looking out for you

supports your relationship but would start yelling again if you ever perform pda in front of him or his waka-sama

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland imagines #twisted wonderland headcanons #grim #ace trappola #deuce spade #jack howl #epel felmier #sebek zigvolt #sunny skies

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xpuriity · 4 years

Text

GOLDEN SKIES BECOME BLINDING IN THE MIDST OF A SETTING SUN, shimmering blankets of gold now pierced by anchors as a whale of a ship halts at the port of a quiet island, seemingly empty of inhabitants ——– A world of overgrown ivy crawling along stone walls and rotting wood resembling what looked to have been a sign now much too obscure to decipher the use for. Perhaps a world untouched in many decades; abandoned for reasons unknown to the group of pirates freely roaming the site today.

It had been perhaps, months in the making since discovering the vacant island. Having embarked solo on a journey one day, the Fire Fist stumbled upon the potential fruits the island could provide him, that is to say, had the right person decided to plant the seeds and put in the labor.

A vision was formulated and put into action in secrecy. Days he would keep from his beloved hummingbird as he ventured off with a select few others when the need of assistance caught up with one ever so typically determined to work independently on his project ——– Physical work he was always more than capable of, but what could one man achieve within a set deadline and without the tools and brains required to make his vision come to fruition?

❛❛ I’ve got you, Rosa. ❜❜ he speaks softly whilst guiding the hand so much more softer and smaller in comparison to his own. Doe-eyed indigo blues ensured to be blinded temporarily; petite digits having been instructed to hold in place the tilting of his signature hat over delicate features until given a signal.

A pathway was cleared prior to this special day, ensuring it to be nonhazardous for the very person he bothered creating this for at all ——– but useless it was, really. Especially when impatience got the better of him quarter of their journey through overgrown green. Ace backpedals in a manner quite abrupt, releasing of her hand momentarily before sweeping the petite off her feet entirely ——– and readily, after giving a quick word of warning, the male springs through the forest with quick ease, holding tightly onto his princess in arms, of course.

It is only once he slows ( which doesn’t necessarily take long considering his speed ), that the birthday girl is carefully placed back onto her own footing and that the very hat serving to conceal of her sight was finally retrieved by the owner.

❛❛ You.. like this sort of thing, right? ❜❜

Before indigo irises, there stood a bridge of stone above a running river, as if a scene stolen from right out of a fairy tale. One leading out to a clearing, contrasting the messy forest behind them.

Beyond the bridge was where the magic truly began ——– Soft lights of pink and redish hues decorated the scene. Few shipmates caught enjoying the little wonderland in the distance, having already prepared a banquet of sorts ( including a grand table of luxurious desserts for hers truly ) and awaiting for the rest of the party to arrive; particularly the princess of the very world Ace worked so hard to create ——– but the most brilliant, most magical of the scene? There stood in the very center a carousel of vibrant colors, emitting music so nostalgic, so similar to what you would so often hear from a music box.

❛❛ I found it abandoned a little while ago.. It was in rough shape, but for some reason I couldn’t leave it alone out here. ❜❜ A heartfelt smile is presented to her, speaking as if the ride itself was alive. The truth being he couldn’t so much as ignore it when the vision of her smile had followed him everywhere just simply entertaining the possibility that he had he could actually bring it back to life.

A hand swiftly catches her own, wanting to simply join her across the bridge before she proceeded on her own towards the scene resembling the pictures inside the fairy tales he always knew his girl loved so much.

The others merely observed in delight when the couple made their way towards them. A few cheers towards the birthday girl before it was her partner that gingerly, however swiftly seats her upon the back of a glowing hummingbird. One not originally there, but crafted just for hers truly.

❛❛ It’s a little stubborn, this one.. Hold on. ❜❜ He explains, half circling the carnival ride of restructured and repainted animals. The mechanics behind it having been inspired, and therefore similar to his Striker. Meaning a line of wild fire would be needed to be lit so as to propel the acceleration of the carousel itself ——– it quite irritated Ace initially to learn it couldn’t so much as run without his flames, thus a brief, disappointed frown is visible across freckled features at the reminder before brushing such off once the ride began.

Lights danced, as did the animals of various colors. To witness of any expressed happiness from his beloved delighted him immensely. In fact, the pace of which the carousel spun was dependent on the strength of his wild flames. And during the fun, he would be laughing, either accelerating the ride or the complete opposite, simply for the birthday girl’s entertainment.

Sooner or later, after the first ride, the rest of the party would join in on the fun. Some either complaining of the nauseating spinning or thriving off it. Eventually, as the golden skies transformed into a night of glowing stars, the crowd finally dispersed, leaving the two alone once more.

This time, the male spent his first and Rosa’s final ride right along with her. Both perched upon the back of ��the hummingbird with his arms laced around her petite waist protectively, as though she were treasure. And tiredly, his chin would lean upon a crown of strawberry blond curls whilst a soft tune follows the couple, his tamed fire visibly glowing as they propel the carousel from beneath.

❛❛ Never thought I’d ride something like this, even as a kid. ❜❜ Being that as a child, he didn’t have the luxury to do so. Nor did he ever want to entertain the thought due to the ride being deemed only for girls by a ten year old boy ——– To think, several years later, that same aggressive child now a grown man would willingly rebuild one for the sake of a woman’s smile.

Cue a loving smile of his own, silver irises ever so gentle beneath the moonlight as a hand gingerly guides feminine features to one side, himself moving in ever so slowly to place a kiss upon what was deemed the softest, most delicate and most heavenly touch he’d ever been given the luxury to taste.

❛❛ Happy birthday, Rosa.. ❜❜

VACANT LAND BATHED IN WARM TWILIGHT HUES, light bouncing off the stone walls resembling picturesque images straight from worn out pages of ancient fairy tales and stories from untouched worlds of fantasy — an enchanting view but one which is as quickly taken away from mesmerized and blinking indigo blues as instructed by her most beloved to temporarily conceal of her vision.

His signature hat he entrusts the petite with and she clings to it protectively over strawberry blonde waves, not daring for a moment to steal a single peak —— all the while digits interlock with the one she trusted to always keep her safe and guide her way, a promise she knew to be as true as the ring he adorned around her finger.

Peacefully they march together, when an abrupt halt draws confusion, his name echoed through the vast space in question. ❝Ace?❞ she softly inquiries but the answer is given before she could even ponder on it —— in swift movements, the ground is taken from below her feet, instead replaced with the feel of strong arms securing her tightly within their hold prompting a loud squeal to escape in surprise, however, almost instantly it is followed by timid giggles and ecstatic laughter.

Rosa had been no princess and her man no royal prince, rather both but mere pirates yet in his arms, she could almost swear she had been one —— rather more than any princess, she had been certain, no girl in the history of time had ever been as blessed as she is, simply to have him be the love of her life.

A short journey it had been, but finally indigo hues are granted their sight again, and they couldn’t have possibly unveiled to a more breathtaking view; a gasp escapes glossy lips, clumsily losing her footing in all her awe as she clings to him for support. ❝Ace, it’s… — ❞ lost for words, she turns to freckled features and the stunned expression upon her own delicate ones say it all as she vigorously nods to the query voiced.

❝I do —— ❞ more than simply like ❝It’s like a fairy-tale —— I love it so much❞

For long months, days in and out would be spent occasionally deprived of her firefly’s warmth with no hint nor clue where his adventures would take him, only that it had been far away from herself — perhaps a cause for concern when particularly seeking the company of a select few individuals but never her among them, however, Rosa had not been of little faith for her man and any worries which may arise are almost instantly forgotten the second he is back safe into her loving arms.

Now before her, stood in luminous vibrant colors the source of her king’s distraction and absence all this time, emitting melodies so soothing to the hummingbird’s heart which had been about to burst in joy, unable to quite contain its excitement.

❝That’s.. that’s where you’ve been going, all this time — ❞ she speaks softly as realization slowly sunk in — indigo glistening with love, touched beyond words. ❝You fixed it up.. all for me?❞ the hand she is holding is given a gentle squeeze before her gaze is redirected to the ride he had worked hard to prepare, just for her.

Grateful loving words would undoubtedly follow had the petite not been too taken by the scene to rush on with innocent enthusiasm —— so much she resembled no more than a little girl, the very same one to spend years coped up inside her small room keeping busy with picture perfect fairy tales yet now they paled in comparison to the real thing surrounding her.

Cheers of their loving family drew shy giggles from the musician as she hides of embarrassed rosy features in her lover’s chest but it is not enough to conceal of her happy giggles and laughter, evidently thankful for everyone’s love and hard-work, before she is but swiftly carried away by her prince again, this time guided to her throne, or rather what resembled it to her —— a seat evidently made just for her.

❝It’s a hummingbird..❞ she states the obvious in awe, soft digits gently touching of its glowing surface as she did not for a moment believe this particular seat could have been here out of mere coincidence —— a realization prompting her to lean in and greedily steal a loving kiss then another from his lips just before his flames could bring the wonderland to life.

After that it had been nothing but innocent laughter bubbling through the clearing all the ride long —— her heart held by none other than him as though through his flames not only did he control the carousel but her happiness as well, at which at some point she’d clearly voice. ❝I feel like a princess..❞ one riding in her own kingdom — or rather the little piece of heaven her prince had constructed for her.

With the royal couple of the day left alone, basking in the starlight, Rosa rests her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat in the silence of the night, only pulling away when hearing of what had been deemed the most adorable confession. It prompts the softest smile to her lips. ❝Me neither..❞ she confides slowly; growing up to sounds of gunfire and explosives, it had been difficult for her to so much as believe in the possibility, but she could only ever fantasize about a better life, one of bright colors and happiness as the one he showed her today, or rather every day of her life since coming into it. ❝— I never thought it could be possible.. but I’ve always dreamed of it… every day reading those stories..❞

Captivated by the beauty of silver brighter than the moonlight above, she gently leans into his touch, welcoming the delicate kiss of the only lips she’d ever touched yet forever the only ones she’d ever crave —— deepening it further until he could taste her overwhelming emotions of rapture through tears of joy.

❝ Ace, YOU were my dream come true.. ❞

#xpyre #long post #( EVERY YEAR ROSA GETS SO MUCH LOVE AND SPOILING FROM ACE ON HER BIRTHDAY ;O;#IT'S UNREAL ALL THE EFFORT AND LENGTHS HE GOES TO TO MAKE MY BBY GIRL HAPPY #YOUR DESCRIPTION OF HER AND HOW HE WANTED HER TO SMILE JUST HAD ME SO *SOB* ;O;#their love is so pure and HIS love for HER is so gentle and wholesome ;o;#she feels like a real princess i s2g #only he can do that )#♪ | whispers of the wind ( ic. )#♪ | v: losing grip on sinking ships . you showed up just in time ( main. )#♪ | otp: you gave me wings to fly . painted embers in my skies ( acero. )#♪ | love in every letter written . hope that gets me through the day ( save. )#♪ | she's in the crowd and everybody sings . like it's her birthday ( 11.03. )#submission

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eidolonlathi · 4 years

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Sokabe’s wider Role in the Story

Taken it’s been many solid chapters since he has disappeared from the manga, I thought it fitting to have a closer look at the role Sokabe used to have in the story.

I miss Sokabe. As long as he was still around in the manga, the dynamics in Team Tosaki (and the fractions bordering next to it) were still uncertain and it was always fun to witness how they would develop next. Since Sokabe is gone this energy has become kind of... stale. If you have a great antagonistic character don't make them leave too early.

What makes a character an antagonist in this manga’s mess of motivations and ambitions set on the grey scale though? I always viewed him to be the different side of the same coin as Tosaki: Just as much driven by ambition, just as ruthless in his approach. All while showing to have enough patience and foresight to plan in a long time manner, thus becoming an element one couldn’t dismiss in its potential to bring in unexpected positive or negative dynamics that carry gravity. And yet: Despite his wish to win over Tosaki’s position of job, Sokabe proved himself to be reliable, the messenger link keeping Tosaki connected to his position once his place on the hit list had forced him into hiding. Gradually Sokabe earned his part in the story and the periphery of Tosaki’s team: For a long time he kept providing support and information despite Tosaki’s fall from favour in the eyes of their superiors.

Proving to stay useful like this might have been fuelled by Sokabe’s own ambition, but Tosaki never made a secret he viewed him with contempt, letting this bias influence his treatment of him. Yet he had no hesitation using him whenever it was convenient – demanding him to participate in risky tasks like digging up information about Sato’s background (that at this late stage of the manga might prove to be crucial). Sokabe openly stated it would bring him into trouble should it be known that he had shared this knowledge. So, motivation aside, Sokabe deserves respect and at least some recognition for remaining this patient when constantly getting confronted with this kind of capricious whims.

I also have the impression he genuinely felt supportive towards Tosaki’s goals up to a certain point. Because that’s it: Sure, he had a rivalry dynamic with Tosaki going on, but once matters got serious and counted, Sokabe always proved to be reliable. Yet Tosaki made the impression he was not only taking Sokabe’s help for granted but at the same time acted dismissive towards him. Everyone would grow tired of that at some point.

Chapter 53 reflections: Tosaki getting a call from his mysterious secretary, speaking with them. Once upon a time, I was hoping for mystery secretary to show up for real in some panels. It felt like they could have been an interesting addition to the plot, bringing all kinds of fresh dynamics into it. Because given the fact Sokabe later explicitly pointed out that he hired one, instead of just getting a nebulous phone call informing him about what Tosaki had done to the secret data, it didn’t seem random. I could only assume their presence had gotten introduced for some kind of reason.

But, with this plot thread leaving left hanging empty and leading to nowhere since many chapters, I guess we won’t hear any more concerning that subject. Which would be a missed chance, really. With Sokabe framed in the position of an antagonist towards side Tosaki, it would have been interesting to see him humanized a bit, by showing that despite his unapologetic approach and motivation he still had people in his life caring about him –like a subordinate he got along well with- instead of going the safe and convenient route and showing the baddie is liked by none. It would also have added an interesting layer on his repeated comparisons with Tosaki (them looking vaguely alike is no coincidence), showing that both men might be able to commit heinous deeds but at the same time are able to care for people in their lives. Proving like this that the capability to commit evil acts wears no easily recognizable face (but that it sometimes may wear glasses).

Sokabe pointing out Tosaki’s inability to let go of the wish to return into the familiarity of his old life despite already having wilfully committed heinous deeds is framed as him being the antagonistic part here. But honestly, keeping in mind the atrocities we already saw Tosaki commit: Sokabe has a point here. With the manga speeding on Tosaki’s redemption in his final chapters, instead of following the more time-intense path of the gradual betterment he already had started walking -even going so far as to retcon his repeated threats towards Izumi as holding no weight- the story also tried to make a point that Tosaki is supposed to be the lesser evil than Sokabe. Which he really isn’t. Both were willing to use the suffering of ajin used for experiment for their personal gain, with the difference that Tosaki tried telling himself he did it for a good reason, using the illness of his fiancée Ai as an excuse, even though she once told him explicitly she didn’t wish for him to go down an questionable path should he ever feel pressured to do so. Sokabe on the other hand uses no such excuse, ironically appearing as the one staying more true to himself here by not explaining away his readiness to go down dark paths for the sake of reaching his own goals.

Soon after the glove panels the action in the main timeline intensified fast and Tosaki suddenly saw the need to kill Sokabe, getting wounded deadly himself in the process. All this for the sake of trying to prove that Tosaki never had been a real threat to Izumi and had been on her side all along. Frankly? It would have been more impactful if Tosaki would have been on Izumi’s side despite him intimidating her in the past, despite him holding data about her able to reveal her status as an ajin should she ever stop standing in his favour. That would have been a meaningful redemption. Tosaki already showed potential for change and even regret – seeing him earn a change would have felt more rewarding than seeing him being forced by canon to backpedal on his past flaws entirely, on top of this being allowed to find a quick solution in death, escaping any incoming conflict caused by his acts for good. Through the story he proved ready to act ruthless for the sake of reaching his own goals many times. On a more complex note, this also made it more meaningful once he lessened his harsh treatment towards Izumi, him starting to treat her more humane: Implying that though he stayed ready to keep using other ajin, interacting on a daily base with her wasn’t letting him stay unaffected. This slow redemption and thus humanization of his was one of the more engaging parts of the manga, and I’m disappointed that after a strong start it got rushed, letting it end in a manner not feeling true to what we encountered at the beginning.

What we got instead was a rushed solution for the sake of redeeming Tosaki quick. During the Iruma base arc, we’ve seen Sokabe imply he knew about Izumi’s status as ajin and that he would have been ready to use this as a threat to keep her in line, once Tosaki would have been out of the way. So, in other words, we’ve seen him do the exact kind of intimidation Tosaki used against Izumi. But instead of acknowledging Tosaki’s past flaws, it was retconned as him never having possessed intentions to reveal information about her at all, his threats supposed having been empty all along. More, Izumi no longer was allowed to hold conflicting feeling towards the man who gave her a second chance at a point life had already robbed her of everything (at that time out of purely self-serving motivations, not because he cared about her personally, make no mistake) but at the same time had the habit to threaten her into compliance: The manga lets her claim she “knew all along” about his threats being empty, letting her thank him instead for everything he “did for her”: Thus reducing her struggle to stay safe in an hostile environment that could turn on her any time as her playing along in a connection of mutual convenience she never had the need to feel in danger. All of this for the sake of rushing the final confrontation between Tosaki and Sokabe into a quick solution: Reducing Sokabe from skilled schemer to moustache twirling cartoon villain who is suddenly wielding a narcotic gun, oh so heroically getting taken out by Tosaki, who went from ruthless opportunist who slowly experienced a change of mind to a player only holding a bluff of cards in his hand, never having needed the redemption he already had started earning. For the sake of protecting sudden damsel in distress Izumi (female characters only allowed to act badass when convenient) who is no longer allowed to hold her own complex motivations and grievances, but now got reduced to another prop supposed to support Tosaki’s softened origins. (Sadly the story isn’t giving us time to dwell on this, as she is already kept busy again with having to cater towards demanding and ungrateful manchildren who are making no secret they’re taking her for granted.)

I can only assume letting the started redemption of Tosaki -his mending of his relationship with Izumi- letting reach its organic end would have taken too much development. Time the manga wasn't willing to give this plotline, so it got speeded along by simplifying and outright retconning already established circumstances. These three characters would have deserved better. But sadly it is unlikely we’re getting much more on that front: Tosaki getting wounded deadly erases the question how his and Izumi’s complicated relationship might develop further. (Him letting his fiancée join in death also erases the question what she would have said finding out her boyfriend went against her wishes to not engage in questionable actions should circumstances ever pressure him. On top of this him justifying his actions by stating he committed them for her sake only.) With Sokabe also dead he no longer poses an uncertain force towards what is left of Team Tosaki – be it as a potential threat or as source of unexpected support, making the final showdown between these manga’s two opposing sides less uncertain and thus sadly much more predictable.

#ajin #sokabe #tosaki yuu #shimomura izumi #tosaki yu #eidolonlathi writes #lathi writes ajin

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holdharmonysacred · 4 years

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Actually fate moriarty being aro/ace would be super fun, since while it would mean once again Villainous Aro/Ace Character(TM), Fate Moriarty is at least an emotional goofball who actually does have people he cares about VS the standard Coldhearted Monstrous Ace Villain Who Can’t Love bullshit most aro/ace villains end up being. It would also explain why every single instance of Love Redeems that happens with him is some form of familial or platonic love, like how he immediately adopts Fran as his daughter or treats the MC like they’re his student or kid. This is something I could get behind, even if the textual evidence is just that one mangaka going “moriarty doesn’t like women” only to immediately backpedal with a “no homo though”.

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kpopfanfictrash · 5 years

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Poets and Parties (M)

Author: @kpopfanfictrash

Rating: 18 + (explicit sex)

Word Count: 5,037

Prompt: “I’m trick-or-treating with my kid and you answered the door and oh - fuck me, you’re seriously the hottest thing I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

Summary: As part of the campus little buddies program, you’re bringing Abby trick-or-treating. When she runs up to the GOT (Gamma Omega Tau) fraternity house though, and Jaebum opens the door - everything that once was sensible flies out of your brain. [ this is a repost ]

“Trick or treat,” Abby yells, holding up her hands.

The man and woman at the door – a young couple, late twenties – break out into smiles. “Hello, there!” the woman says brightly, bending down to reach eye level. “What a beautiful – ballerina, yes?”

Abby nods, clearly pleased that they understand. “That’s me!” she giggles, then spins.

You stand behind, watching the exchange. When the man looks up and sees you, he smiles. “Is this your daughter?” he asks happily.

Eyes widening, you nearly choke on the words. “I, uh – nope. She’s,” you swallow, struggling to control your annoyance. Of course, people assume she’s yours – parents bring their kids around,trick-or-treating. “Abby is my buddy, part of the Little Buddy University program,” you explain.

“Ah,” the guy nods, understanding dawning. “I see. Well, what kind of candy do you want, Abby?” he asks, reaching for the bowl in their entranceway.

Abby becomes serious, picking thoughtfully through the layers of multi-colored candy bars. “Hm,” she whispers, standing on tip-toe.

“The buddy program,” the guy asks, bringing your attention to him. “That’s Lewis Elementary school, right?”

You nod, lips tightening. “Yep.”

Lewis Elementary school isn’t in the best part of town. Many of the families are single-parent households, working multiple jobs just to make ends meet. This becomes complicated on nights like tonight – Halloween night, a holiday meant for fun and laughter, not the stress of trying to get off work.

That’s why you’re here. You and the other buddies bring the kids trick-or-treating, going door-to-door in the costumes you bought for them. It’s something you love, being around the kids and tonight is no exception. You smile at Abby, at the pure, unadulterated joy in her expression.

“Thanks!” she yells, grabbing a Snickers bar and turning down the sidewalk.

“Thanks,” you laugh. When the couple nods and wave – you follow. Trailing Abby’s skipping down the driveway, moving on to the next house on the block.

“Abby,” you laugh, adjusting the tiara she forced you to wear. “Wait up!” A tiara, paired with your black tunic and jeans. The most chill princess in existence, but Abby insists that you’re a princess nonetheless.

Veering around the corner, she does a pirouette before sprinting down the street. Your eyes widen when you recognize the street sign: Knight Avenue. Home to much of the University’s campus Greek life. Fraternities, sororities, all of them lined up in a row. An impressive strip, one you rarely frequent. Greek life is something you couldn’t care less about. Most of the guys and girls there are toxic, people you’re better off without.

It’s only four ‘o’clock in the afternoon, the sun just sinking towards the curve of the horizon but already you know the houses will be preparing. Readying themselves for tonight’s booze, drinking games, ping-pong balls and folding tables. They’ll be stringing tiny lights over half-cleaned floors – all in the hopes that their members will lure some semi-drunk person up to their room tonight.

Not that you’re bitter, of course. Rounding the corner, you spot Abby’s pink tutu already halfway up the lawn to GOT – the top fraternity on campus. GOT, or Gamma Omega Tau. You groan out loud at this, breaking into a jog and hoping you reach the house before she rings the bell. No way those boys will have candy – what’s more, they likely won’t look kindly upon some random child ringing their doorbell.

You reach her, just as Abby presses the buzzer. Almost swearing – you catch yourself just in time – you bend to grab Abby gently by the wrist. “Hey, munchkin,” you smile, at eye level. “Let’s go over to the next street, huh? I hear this house has awful candy.”

“Well, that’s just rude.”

You look up, surprised – only for your words to die on your lips.

Fuck, if you’re not staring at the hottest guy you’ve ever seen. He’s on the taller side, lean build with dark, almost black hair. Almond eyes, straight nose and two, adorable moles over his left eye. The guy is dressed in a black t-shirt paired with jeans, eerily similar your own. You straighten quickly, almost knocking the tiara from your head.

“Is that your kid,” the guy asks, nodding at Abby.

Abby stares upwards, her mouth a perfect o. “He’s pretty.”

The guy’s eyebrows lift, trying to stifle his laugh.

Blushing fiercely, you bend to grab Abby’s hand. “No,” you mutter. Somewhat worriedly, you appraise your outfit. Noting with defeat that apparently, this blouse makes you look thirty. “I’m part of the campus buddy program. Abby and I are trick-or-treating tonight.”

“O-h,” the guy nods, breaking out into a smile. The corners of his eyes crinkle, making him look much less threatening. “I was part of that program, freshman year. Then I joined GOT,” he waves his hand at the house behind him, “and things kind of spiraled.”

“Right,” you arch a brow. “I imagine party planning up takes a lot of time.”

Staring back, the guy’s lips tighten. “Actually,” he corrects, tilting his head. “I’m the president of GOT. It does take up a lot of time.”

Oh, fuck. Shifting your weight, you frantically try and backpedal. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean – ”

“I know what you meant,” the guy interrupts, eyes darkening. “I don’t blame you, really. It was my impression of the Greek system before I joined. Since then though, I’ve doubled our charity outreach, implemented three campus-wide initiatives and organized a fundraiser for a local organization which raised over five thousand dollars. The fraternity isn’t just fun and games,” he smiles, the gesture terse.

You stare at him, eyes wide. “I guess… I never really thought about it before. I’m sorry.”

The guy exhales, pushing himself from the frame. “Sorry, that was sort of preachy. I guess I should be used to it, by now.” He exhales and, upon looking down, sees Abby staring back at him. His face changes, brightening as he drops his knee. “Hi, there,” he grins. “I’m Jaebum. Are you a ballerina? I love your tutu.”

When you arch a brow, Jaebum looks up and shrugs. “My sister,” he explains, glancing over his shoulder. “HEY! JINYOUNG!”

You blink, unsure what he’s doing – until a tall, messy-haired guy appears behind him.

“Oh, Jinyoung,” you nod, recognizing his face.

Jinyoung was in your Calculus class, freshman year. The two of you often studied together, but you didn’t know he rushed GOT. Jinyoung was quiet back then, and you never really pictured him as the frat boy type – but then, Jinyoung is quite attractive. You suppose it’s not out of the norm.

When he reaches Jaebum’s side and sees you standing there, Jinyoung breaks into a smile. “Hey, Y/N. Long time, no see.”

Jaebum looks back and forth between the two of you. “You two know each other?” he asks, slight furrow to his brow.

“Yeah,” Jinyoung nods, stifling a yawn. “We were in freshman Calc together, with Professor Mooney. Y/N saved my behind multiple times. I’m hopeless at that kind of thing.”

“Behind,” Abby giggles, prompting Jaebum to wiggle his eyebrows.

He then looks at Jinyoung. “Hopeless at what? Numbers?”

Jinyoung punches him in the shoulder. “Calc isn’t numbers,” he gripes. “It’s letters, disguised as numbers. Honestly, it’s a small wonder you aced it,” he adds, looking at Jaebum.

“Why?” you ask, even as Abby tugs your hand.

“Jaebum is a poetry major,” Jinyoung explains. “Such a show-off, good at everything. Anyways, why did you call me over?”

“Right. Do we still have candy leftover from the last chapter meeting?”

Jinyoung nods. “Yep, why?”

“Abby,” Jaebum looks down, grinning at Abby. “Would like chocolate. I aim to please.”

“Oh,” Jinyoung blinks, as though just recognizing the child on their doorstep. “Right! Hang on.”

He turns, disappearing into the gigantic house as you stare. Jinyoung passes several boys on his way, all of them in various states of cleaning. Another guy – Jackson, you think his name is? – carries orange-colored pumpkin lights out to the backyard, with another guy fiddles with the speakers.

“We’re having a party,” Jaebum announces, noticing your gaze. “A party which, I suppose did take up a lot of time planning.”

Your cheeks flush. “I’m sorry, really – I didn’t think.”

His eyes are bright though, and you realize he’s joking. “I’m kidding, really,” he waves his hand, then looks at Abby. “Not to worry, fair lady. The candy is on its way!”

Abby frowns. “What kind of candy.”

Jaebum’s lips twitch. “What kind is your favorite?”

“Kit-Kat bars.”

“What a coincidence,” Jinyoung declares, striding into view. “We have a bunch of Kit-Kat’s right on top.”

When Jinyoung bends to show Abby the bowl – Jaebum looks at you. “You were in Calculus with Jinyoung?” he asks, voice quiet.

“Yep,” you nod, watching Abby and Jinyoung interact. She frowns seriously, taking her time. Picking up each bar independently to turn it over.

“Y/N is an Engineering major,” Jinyoung coughs, from his spot by the ground. “It’s why she basically saved my life in math. She’s crazy smart.”

Jaebum nods. “Ah, that’s amazing.”

“Not really,” you shake your head, cheeks warm. “Poetry, though – that’s a major you don’t hear every day.”

Jaebum shrugs, one shoulder rising and falling. “I suppose it’s not.”

He falls quiet, while Abby grabs a Kit-Kat bar. “Thank you, Gym-young,” she chirps, turning away.

You laugh, at the look on Jinyoung’s face. Slight outrage, without the proper avenue to express his concern. “Sorry,” you apologize, straightening your expression to normalcy. “Anyways, I better go catch up with her. You guys were nice, sharing your candy – but I doubt Epsilon Chi Omega is as accommodating.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Jinyoung shrugs. “They’re pretty good guys. Just – oh, shit. YUGYEOM!” he yells, seeing the freshman teetering awkwardly on top of a ladder. “THAT’S NOT HOW YOU HANG THE HOLIDAY LIGHTS! Must I do everything myself,” he mutters, before walking away.

Jaebum laughs, watching him go. “So,” he turns back to you.

“So,” you say, intending to leave – but finding your feet rooted to the floor. “Thanks for the candy.”

“No problem,” Jaebum watches you a second longer, then clears his throat. “I know this doesn’t really seem like your scene but, if you’re bored tonight, you’re more than welcome to come to our party. After dropping Abby off, of course,” he adds, nodding at the sidewalk.

Abby stands at the bottom of the porch, frowning with concentration while counting her candy. You look back at Jaebum and before you can think twice about it, nod. “Yeah, that’d be nice.”

Jaebum’s eyes brighten. “Great. I – well, I should go. Need to make sure Jinyoung hasn’t killed Yugyeom,” he adds, dropping a wink while turning away. “See you tonight, Y/N,” he calls, voice fading as he walks down the hallway. “Don’t forget to wear your costume.”

Fuck.

Later that night you stand, transfixed on the sidewalk. It’s amazing, the transformation that’s occurred in just a few hours. Walking up their driveway, you almost don’t recognize the GOT house. Windows and doors thrown wide open, light and music spilling out onto the lawn. Pumpkins and lights sprinkle the porch, crowds of people milling in between.

Somewhere inside must be a dance floor since even from here, you can hear the loud thumping bass and catcalls. Games are located out on the side lawn – beer pong, flip cup and slap cup. None of which interest you, so you wrinkle your nose and move on.

“Wait, wait – Y/N,” your roommate, Chelsea tugs on your sleeve. “I want to play!”

“Chels,” you groan, turning to look. “Do you really want to suffer through the embarrassment of chugging beer, flipping a small, plastic cup and likely getting wasted in the process?”

Chelsea purses her lips, thinking about it. “Yep, I do. See ya!” she yells, bounding across the lawn.

You laugh, shaking her head when you see her join Bambam’s game. The two are close, always pretending to study in the library while getting absolutely nothing done. ‘Working on a group project,’ is their usual response, whenever someone deigns to ask.

Looking beyond, you continue up the hill. Stuffing both hands into your pockets and wishing you’d thought to bring along another person. You don’t know what you were thinking, coming with just Chels. Jaebum is the president of GOT, which means he’ll likely be busy all night. He probably only invited you from pity, or just because he’s a nice guy.

It’s just as you’re thinking this, someone taps you on the shoulder. You whirl quickly, coming face to face with Jaebum. “Oh,” you blink, the air rushing from your body. “Hi.”

Jaebum smiles at your surprise. “You came.”

Nodding, you scan his frame. He’s dressed in a tan, three-piece suit tonight. A white button-down underneath this, red tie loose around his neck and hair slicked back. He looks, in summary, nothing short of amazing.

But – you have no idea who he is. “What’s you costume?” you ask, frowning.

“Sebastian, from La La Land,” Jaebum shrugs. “I thought about lugging the piano around, but then thought that might be overkill.”

You snort, despite yourself. “Clever,” you nod. “I loved that movie.”

“Same,” he agrees, voice softening. He scans your body, coming to a stop on your face. “And you are… Daria,” he announces, nodding to himself.

Your eyebrows lift, surprised. “Bingo. How did you guess?”

“Please,” Jaebum grins, then waves a hand. “Give me a challenge, why don’t you?”

At this, you do laugh. “Of course, the sarcastic expression was a dead giveaway. It’s a great party you have going on,” you offer, glancing around.

“Mhm,” Jaebum raises his cup, sipping from its red, plastic rim. “I guess so.”

Arching an eyebrow brow, you smile. “You guess?”

“It’s better now,” he says simply, watching you blush.

“That’s – I,” you falter.

“Would you like to go for a walk?” Jaebum asks, lips lifting in a smile.

Nodding jerkily, you don’t trust yourself with words. “Don’t you have to stay here, though?” you ask, glancing back at the crowd. “As the president of GOT?”

Jaebum shrugs, following your gaze. “I’m sure they’d prefer it if I disappeared, actually. The less I see, the less I must yell at them for tomorrow. Already, Mark is on my list.”

“Mark Tuan?” you ask, recognizing his name.

Jaebum nods. “He invited both Youngjae’s ex-girlfriends, then forgot to tell him. The poor guy was in for a shock, when he came downstairs.”

You laugh, pushing a strand of hair behind your ears. “Rough night for Youngjae.”

“Yep,” Jaebum admits. He drains his cup, then exhales. “For sure. Even worse without alcohol, though – want any?”

“What kind?” you venture, hesitant. “Anything pink-colored, containing grenadine or that has the word ‘panty” in the title, count me out.”

Jaebum grins, turning to walk up the hill. When you follow, he glances sideways. “Odd,” he frowns. “Does that mean you don’t want a hearty cup of our Pink Panty-Dropper Punch? It’s delicious,” he wiggles his empty cup at you.

You groan, shaking your head. “Please, no. And you best keep your panties on, mister.”

Jaebum laughs, pushing open the side door and leading you into the kitchen. “Noted. How about a beer, instead?” he calls, opening the fridge. “I know, not exciting – but at least there’s a cap on it.”

You nod, accepting the bottle he hands you. “312?” you read, turning the bottle in your hands.

He nods. “My personal stash. Sh, don’t tell the others.”

Miming zipping your lips, you nod.

Jaebum moves past, walking out the same door you came. “You coming?” he pauses, looking glancing back.

You nod, barely considering anything else while you step outside. Out on the lawn, the party is in full swing. Laughing, dancing college students everywhere. To your right, two guys stand arguing about dibs and the rules; nearby, some girl yells that if Monster Mash doesn’t play, Halloween is officially canceled. You start to giggle, listening. Quieting quickly, when Jaebum turns and grabs your hand in his.

He looks down, then back up. “Is this okay?” he says, uncertainty in his eyes.

You nod, then whisper, “Yes.”

When you follow, you’re unsure why you whispered. Only that the butterflies in your stomach seemed to demand as much, choking your volume with fear and excitement.

“Good,” Jaebum smiles, before tugging you along. He continues to walk – past the beer pong, past Chelsea and Bambam. Past the members of GOT until reaching a break in the bushes. Lifting both brows, Jaebum ducks through, smiling back before sipping his beer.

“Ouch,” you grumble, as a branch nearly smacks you in the face – Jaebum almost drops his bottle, catching this to push it aside.

“Sorry,” he winces, starting to laugh. “That was my bad.”

You just shake your head, pushing forward to clutch his hand tighter. “Don’t worry,” you grin, brushing his hips with yours. “I’m used to rougher stuff than that.”

Jaebum’s eyes darken, following your body. He walks beside you, letting go of you long enough to touch your waist. Sliding his hand around you, the tips of his fingers brushing your abdomen. You let him do this, inhaling shakily when his hand comes to rest on your hip – nothing more than that, but it’s enough to make your heart flutter. Your breath catches, quickening in anticipation.

As you walk, the houses change to gardens. This turns into a golf course, which becomes the campus grounds. The University is a beautiful place at night. The trees arch overhead, heavens breaching the branches to dot your face with moonlight. Jaebum turns to look at you, scanning your profile.

“What?” you ask, slightly breathless. Turning free of his arm to walk to the nearest bench, gently lowering yourself to sit.

Jaebum remains standing, looking at you. “Just… wondering why you came tonight.”

“You invited me,” you remind, drawing your legs up cross-legged, taking a sip of your beer. “Or did you forget?’

“Oh, I remember,” Jaebum smiles, then tilts his head. “But you could have come for any number of reasons. Maybe you needed a place to wear your Halloween costume,” he muses, holding up a finger. “Or maybe you’re the world champion of flip cup, and wanted someone to play.”

“Oh, yes,” you laugh, taking another sip. “That’s it. I can’t believe you dragged me away from all the games I was playing.”

“Or maybe,” Jaebum continues. “You have a secret crush on a member of GOT, and desperately wanted to see him.”

Instead of answering, you take a sip. “Interesting.”

Jaebum’s eyes darken, sparking. “Oh? So, number three?”

Shrugging, you look down at the bench beside you. “It’s plausible, that’s all I’m saying.”

Chewing the inside of his cheek, Jaebum takes a step closer. “Alright, so let’s say you were crushing on a member of GOT.”

“A wild assumption, but go on.”

“Right,” Jaebum clears his throat. “I could help, you know.”

Stomach sinking, you look back up. He could help – meaning he doesn’t like you? You’ll admit, you thought maybe he did. When he held your hand, asked you on this walk. You thought Jaebum was making his move on you. Maybe not, though.

Taking a sip from your bottle, you let your lips linger on the edge. Watching Jaebum’s eyes follow. “Wait a minute,” you sigh, shaking your head. “I never admitted to having a crush on anyone here. This is all conjecture. Maybe,” you muse, eyes gleaming, “I came because I wanted to hear you recite poetry. You ever think about that?”

Jaebum nearly chokes, swallowing the wrong windpipe. “I – what?”

“You’re a poetry major,” you remind, swinging your legs out from under you. “Maybe I wanted to listen to some Halloween poetry.”

“I,” Jaebum stops, repressing his laughter. “You thought a frat party would be the place for this? Open mic at midnight, where I spit out my rhymes?”

You nod, expression innocent. “Is that not what frat parties are usually like?”

Jaebum stifles a grin, dragging his hand through his hair. “No, no – you’re right. This is exactly what happens, I just got confused. Right then,” he claps his hands together, serious. “What kind of poetry do you want to hear? Scandalous? Sensitive? Some combination of the two?”

“Acrostic,” you deadpan. “Halloween themed.”

Jaebum groans, dragging both hands down his face. “Are you serious?”

“Deadly serious. Ha – get it?” you grin, chuckling. “Halloween, dead. Wow, I crack myself up.”

Jaebum peeks out at you. “It’s good you crack someone up. Hold onto that feeling.”

You frown, tapping your foot against the bench. “I’m waiting,” you sing-song. “An acrostic, using the words Halloween Time.”

This beer must be going to your head, since you feel slightly fuzzy. Overly warm, watching Jaebum struggle. Either you’re getting drunk, or it’s a combination of several things – the guy before you, the chilly night air, the warming drink and spiraled excitement.

Jaebum squishes his eyes together, then sighs. “First syllable?”

“Ha.”

He opens one eye. “Haunted by ghosts of past beer, am I.”

You grin at this, holding up a finger. “Lo.”

“Lo and behold,” Jaebum throws out both arms, “my cup has run dry.”

Stifling a laugh, you lean back on your hands. “Ween!”

Jaebum shakes his head. “WEENED,” he declares, spinning to set his beer down on the ground, “from the bosom, of our dear mother night.”

Your lips are pressed firm together, trying to hold in your giggles. Setting your own beer down, you arch a brow. “Time?”

“Time,” Jaebum drops his head to his hands, “for your fears to up and take flight.”

“Bravo!” you cheer, bursting into laughter as you launch yourself to your feet. “That was beautiful, it was amazing, I – oh.”

Jaebum has caught your arms in his. He stands suddenly centimeters away, his gaze dark, moonlight bright and your breath caught tight in your throat. A strand of hair falls into his gaze, searching your expression. “Did you really come for the poetry?” Jaebum asks you, his voice soft.

“That’s not all I came for.”

“Oh?” he smiles.

“No, I – ”

Jaebum kisses you. Wrapping both arms around you, pulling you into him. His hands slide up your body, cupping your face with his fingers. Jaebum inhales, drinking you in briefly before pulling back to rest his forehead with yours. “I’m sorry,” he apologizes, voice ragged. His eyes shine, dark in the night. “I … you barely know me.”

You interrupt this by kissing him again, lifting to tip-toes and wrapping both arms around his neck. Jaebum stumbles backwards, catching you around your waist. His lips tangle with yours, tongue pushing into your mouth. His lips hot, welcome, tasting of mint and beer. You draw him into you, pressing your body everywhere you can reach. Jaebum is warm, solid. When he kisses, it’s both fierce and gentle, melting you straight to your core. You feel liquid, molten in his grasp and when he pulls away – you understand why he’s gasping.

“Do you…?” Jaebum hesitates, then looks over his shoulder.

You nod. Not saying more, just lacing your fingertips with his. Jaebum smiles, turning around. The entire way to his house, you’re giddy. Half-giggling, smiling when Jaebum pushes you up against a tree, his lips finding yours in the dark. His kiss hardens, hands trailing up your sides. Tangling in your hair, probably making you look ridiculous – but you find you don’t care. You’re just as excited as he is, ruining his perfect gel with greedy fingers.

When you reach his lawn, you break apart. Jaebum moves behind, keeping his hands on your hips while walking you back to the house. “Hey,” he nods at Jinyoung, voice deeper than usual.

Jinyoung’s lips quirk, though he says nothing – merely returning to the person he’s deep in conversation with. When you glance behind you, Jaebum’s gaze is steady. His eyes bright, crinkled when you look his way. “Just a little bit farther,” he whispers, reaching out as soon as you’re inside and tugging you towards the stairs.

No one pays any attention, when Jaebum leads you upwards. Pausing on the landing to pull you to him. Jaebum kisses you roughly, body molding to yours. “I,” he breaks off, kissing down your neck. “Just tell me what you… I mean, if …”

“Jaebum,” you interrupt, smiling. “Which one is your room?”

His eyes widen and he nods, turning back around. Leading you down the hallways, pushing open a door at the end. When you step inside, Jaebum’s room is what you would have expected. Messy, but in a way which suggests organized chaos. Piles of clothing by color, stacks of paper and pens strewn about on his bed. Jaebum crosses to this hastily, sweeping them aside.

“Sorry,” he bites at his lower lip. “I wasn’t thinking about – I, well didn’t expect this.”

Walking closer, you come to a stop before him. Without another word, you kiss him. Jaebum groans, pulling your lower lip between his teeth. Walking the two of you backwards before sitting down on his bed. He tugs you with him, your legs falling to either side at his hips. As you continue to kiss, you move above him. At first, just in small motions. A pressing of bodies, trying to get closer than you already are.

Then it’s Jaebum’s hands, anchoring you to him. Pushing upwards, while you grind against him. “Ah,” you gasp, moving down to his neck. “Jaebum.” Your lips trail to his ear, bite down. Taking care to be gentle with his multiple piercings.

Jaebum groans, bucking his hips upwards. You’re wearing a skirt, as part of your costume and Jaebum’s hands slide beneath it. Moving further up your legs, revealing skin while you shrug from your jacket. Letting this fall to the ground, even as his thumbs brush the tops of your thighs.

Jaebum’s eyes are dark with longing, fingers sliding until he feels how wet you are. His eyes widen. “Shit,” he groans and when you blush at his words, he kisses you again. “That’s so fucking hot.”

As you kiss, his fingers trace the front of your underwear. You tug insistently at his tie, undoing with practiced fingers, flinging this sideways to shove his jacket entirely off. Jaebum pulls back long enough to remove his vest and you’re midway through unbuttoning his shirt when he flips you over. Jaebum pushes your shirt upwards, kissing a heated path down your body.

You gasp, when he tugs your panties to your knees. His tongue replacing his fingers, tracing circles which quickly become needy, messy movements. His lips hot and insistent, one finger sliding in from below. You gasp, arching against him on the bed. Unable to stop the noises your making, nor the way your legs clench around him.

“Jaebum,” you groan, eyes shut tight. “Fu-ck.”

He smirks, pausing to look at you. “Mm,” Jaebum agrees, lowering back down. “You sound so beautiful when you moan.” He returns to your clit, beginning to tease. Drawing you close to the edge, body hovering on the brink of an orgasm before his fingers and mouth abruptly stop. “I,” Jaebum groans, suddenly unsure. “Do you want to – ?”

You’re already reaching for his pants though, already undoing his buttons. “I want you inside me,” you whisper in his ear, listening to Jaebum’s relieved groan.

“Fuck,” he mutters, reaching for the nightstand. He yanks open a drawer and pulls out a condom. Kicking his pants aside, along with his underwear, shoes and socks. Watching you with greedy eyes, as you remove everything else.

Taking his condom, you bite down on your lip. Jaebum is hard, erect between his thighs and he shudders, when you slide your hands over his tip. Watching his eyelids flutter, a groan slip past, you wonder if you’ve ever seen anything hotter. Jaebum opens his eyes when you’re done, sliding his hands up your thighs and lifting you higher. He lines you up to his cock, lowering you onto him.

“God,” you gasp, when he fills you. Burying your face in his neck and wrapping your arms tight around him. His hands are firm on your ass, stretching you slowly, pushing you down those last, final inches. “Jaebum,” you whimper, clutching him tight.

He stays like that for a moment, chest flush to yours. Holding you gently, feeling himself inside you. Then his breath hitches, and he looks up. “Baby,” he murmurs, shifting slightly. “Can I move?”

You nod, inhaling when he slides you off. Hovering briefly, before thrusting back up. “Ah,” he gasps, repeating the motion. Disappearing inside you when you whimper, dropping down with equal enthusiasm on his body. Jaebum moves slowly at first, each thrust purposeful – movements which quicken, as your body tightens around him.

Jaebum’s thrusts become harder, faster while he grabs your hips. Fucking upwards, slamming you down while you gasp in approval, hands fisting in his hair. You’re barely able to contain yourself when he finds your nipple. Teasing the hardened peak with his lips while fucking into you from below. You lean forward eagerly, greedy for more.

Each stroke is punishing, your body wet and sinful in the dark. Your body tightens around him, unable to do more than gasp out his name. Jaebum grunts, fucking harder – until you come apart above him. Body shuddering while Jaebum thrusts into you one, final time. He gasps, emptying himself and clutching tighter. His breath is labored, sweat beading on his brow as he looks at you.

As you come down from your high, you stare back. Body flushed, exhausted by pleasure. “I,” you start to say, stopping when Jaebum captures your lips with his.

“Will you spend the night?” he murmurs, into your mouth.

Heart lifted, you nod. Unable to think of what to say when he grins, pulling out and rolling to his side of the bed. Jaebum walks into his bathroom, cleaning himself off. When he returns, he pauses at the door. “Even if you didn’t come here because you were crushing on a member,” he grins, arching a brow. “I invited you because of my crush on you.”

Then, barely able to contain his smile – he joins you in bed.

Author’s Note: Thank you for reading! Please read @iwonchubebe ‘s installment, here and @rude–jude ‘s installment, here. Enjoy!

#jaebum smut #jb smut #got7 smut #jaebum fanfic #got7 fanfic #jb fanfic #got7 au #jb au #jaebum au

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golgoterror · 4 years

Text

Alright, this is ungodly long, but I just wanted to talk about something regarding Jake.

A lot of this fandom -- at least, from what I’ve seen -- label Jake as stupid. Some may even say Jake and smart are antonyms. This could not be further from the truth. It almost irritates me how much the fandom places this mischaracterization on him. Also, I get to talk about The Lad™ for about ten pages worth of words on Google docs, which is always very, very fun for me.

Well, first things first, let’s talk about the child genius and multi-billionaire polymath that is Jake English.

Puzzle Modus.

Let’s begin with something small. Jake’s modus is of puzzlekind! This is described as:

It's quite a handy modus, allowing you to captchalogue objects of any size, as long as you can fit them all in a finite space by maneuvering the cards around like a big game of Tetris. You like it because it keeps you sharp for solving any puzzles you might find when you go out raiding hallowed tombs, which is never. (x)

He likes puzzles! This is a huge headcanon I absolutely adore that has a basis in the comic: He’s a puzzles guy! This is just sort of a neat little fact about him that I adore to the moon and back. Just the idea of Jake fiddling about with a Rubik’s Cube is kind of adorable.

This is how he goes about doing everything every day of his life. I think that’s just amazing! And incredibly smart of him, I might add.

Skaianet.

Jake is shown in the credits to take over Skaianet after the game ended. For those unfamiliar, Skaianet made many things for the game, including but not limited to: the interstellar travel we see, transportalizers, the lab by Rose’s house, all Jake’s fancy-schmancy computers, and Sburb itself. In the beta timeline, Grandpa Harley founded Skaianet. In the alpha timeline, Grandma English did. I know Jake didn’t start it up and trying to pass off his alt-timeline self as him is a bit far-fetched at best, but he had the spoons to take it over. I think that speaks volumes for Jake’s intelligence -- this implies, at the very least, he can understand mathematics and physics at a high level. Remind you of someone we already know?

It is also important to note that Jake does, in fact, build the company back from the ground up, because it went to shit before his grandmother died:

GT: Pretty sure her company made a tidy fortune til it went belly up. At least i still have a few of her knickknacks for keepsakes. (x)

So he built an interstellar company back up -- using what his intelligent grandmother had once used -- to being very useful and practical once again.

As someone with a degree in mathematics and about to finish a degree in physics, I can say this sort of work would for sure require at the very least a decent understanding of quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, electrodynamics, calculus (vector and differential forms), ordinary and partial differential equations, and perhaps other things like topology. I don’t know about you -- and I’m probably tooting my own horn a bit by saying this -- but I think that’s pretty nifty, if I do say so myself.

Actor.

Once again, I’m reaching into the credits to show that Jake has become a movie star after the game ends. Memorizing all those lines, slipping into characters... Being an actor is no easy feat.

( Side note: This leads into my headcanon that Jake can imitate accents and voices on a whim. No more arguing about whether he has a British, American, or Australian accent -- you’re all right! )

And I would like to add he has two jobs! Skaianet and being a movie star! This guy’s a fucking polymath for Christ’s sake.

Reading People.

Let’s start of simple: Brain Ghost Dirk. I can hear the outcries now of Dirk’s powers being the cause for this. And, yes, I can’t ignore Dirk’s influence in this, but Jake’s hope powers were also needed for the projection to come alive. And the fact he was able to make such a startlingly accurate projecting of Dirk in his own mind is astounding -- even BGD himself thinks so!

TT: You could view me as a projection of the real Dirk within your mind, as expressed through all of your thought patterns about him. TT: So I'm kind of a splinter of his corporeal self who happens to live in your awareness. TT: I'm a startlingly close approximation to the real thing, for all intents and purposes. GT: Just how startlingly close are we talking? TT: I'm not going to give you a bogus percentage like the glasses cause that's not my shtick. TT: But pretty damn close. (x)

A very deep understanding of the other is needed for Jake to do this. That is pretty fucking incredible. He can clearly read people really well -- he had a few times where he was cluing in on Jane and Dirk have feelings for him:

TG: its one of those things jane likes about u so much GT: It is? TG: which TG: errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr im not supposed to talk about 2 u evr so nm GT: Talk about what? TG: nope GT: You mean how um... GT: Well a way in which i suppose... TG: no nope GT: Jane is prone to looking upon me with what i fathom to be more than just friendly affection? (x)

TT: I guess call it an extra birthday present. But instead of a present that's awesome, consider it more like a weird confession that may change the way you feel about me. GT: Whoa uh... GT: Dirk are you... uh... GT: Saying what i think? (x)

He’s not completely clueless on people! In fact, he seems to have a really good understanding of his friends. That’s something a lot of people seem to forget because of the incident that I will be getting to later on.

Fending For Himself.

I’ve already written quite a bit on this, but I’ll sum it up here: Jake is exceptionally good at living in the wild and taking care of himself. Sort of like a wild garden; he doesn’t need to be taken care of. Survival skills, especially around fighting and fending off things, aren’t something everyone has. This, once again, counts in his favour, even if it doesn’t line-up with “book smarts”.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

That’s five things! It’s clear Jake is, in fact, a polymath and incredibly intelligent. So, what’s with the fandom painting him as being dumb? What’s with people actually thinking he’s stupid? I think we can all take several wild guesses as to why that’s the case.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Takes things literally.

This is something that plagues Jake quite a lot. Case in point:

GT: Wow like the epic kevin costner film? TT: Almost exactly. Especially by the same degree of shittiness. GT: Oh man does that mean you have to drink your own pee?????? TT: You get used to the taste. Welcome it, even. TT: That takes about 15 days in a row of hard piss drinking though. GT: Ewwwwwwwwwwww no dude. No ew. :( TT: Relax, I don't drink any goddamn piss, ok? GT: Oh ok. Whew. (x)

But, well, let’s address the elephant in the room. The chat I laughed so hard at when I read it the first time due to pure, unadulterated second-hand embarrassment: Jake asking Jane if she had feelings for him.

Let’s analyze this, shall we? Jake starts off by being vague as all Hell, and I’ll spare those details, until finally...

GT: Just come out and say it. Do you fancy me? GG: No! GT: I see. GT: Very well then. GT: Jeez i mustve really misread that one! I feel like kind of a bone head now. (x / x)

Okay, she says no, and he backs off. That’s fine and dand--

GG: No!!!!!! GG: Oh my God, what am I saying here? GG: Jake, I didn't mean it! I didn't want to make you feel that way! GT: Now jane lets not backpedal here. GT: Youve spoken the truth and i greatly appreciate and respect you for that. GT: But now that i think about it you know what? GG: ... GG: No? :( GT: Please dont take this the wrong way but your answer is actually kind of a relief! (x)

... Oh, right. Yeah. It keeps going. It just keeps--

GT: Actually since youve made your feelings apparent and only see me as a friend that makes it a lot easier! GG: Haha, yes! GG: Friends!!!! GT: Maybe you could help me sort out some stuff that has been weighing on me lately? GG: Well what are friends for Jake!!!!! (x)

Sweet Jesus, Jake.

GG: Me? GG: HOO HOO HOO! GG: I'm just GG: Terrific! GG: I'm feeling so... GG: Friendly!!! GG: I clearly just want to be a good friend and bring all my AMAZING FRIENDLINESS to bear on your problems. GG: Friendlystyle! Ahahahah? GG: Shit I mean GG: Ahahahah! GT: Thats aces. Jane youre a sweetheart. (x)

Alright, alright, enough! You all remember the fucking chat.

Regardless, it’s very apparent Jake takes things at face value. I also will cite him talking to Jane before her birthday, but not list examples, because what happened above will just happen once again.

Okay, so he takes things at face value. What’s wrong with that? He trusts people to not lie to his face -- to not sugarcoat things or beat around any bushes. Perhaps I’m projecting a bit, but I do the same damn thing. I think a lot of people do! I don’t think reading things as fact over text is a good measure of someone’s intellect. All it does is show he has issues with communication. Okay, so he struggles with one thing. Sue me.

Doesn’t catch things right away.

Yeah okay I’m just gonna dump a few examples of this.

GT: Haha wow. Must have been a hell of a guy. TT: So... TT: You're not making any connections there? GT: Where? Huh? TT: Famous comedian, about the age of your grandma, inheriting the family name of the Baroness... TT: Not ringing a bell? GT: What are you talking about! Dirk stop speaking in riddles and keep telling the story i am on tenterhooks here! TT: Ok, well it's not like it's that important. Just a super obvious thing that'll probably occur to you later when you're looking in the fridge you don't have, at which point you'll feel like an idiot. GT: Oh my god you can be one opaque motherfucker just clue me in bro! TT: Nah, it'll be funnier this way. GT: STRIIIIIIDEEEERRRRRRRR!!!!! TT: Moving on. (x)

GT: Whats going on? TT: Took you long enough to figure it out. TT: Pages really are a slow burning class. Damn. GT: Figure what out! TT: You're asleep. (x)

This leads into the point above. His mind doesn’t work that way -- but that doesn’t mean he’s not intelligent. He needs everything laid out in front of him so he can make the connections and understand what’s happening, but there’s no real harm in this, and it certainly doesn’t dictate whether the guy is “intelligent” or not.

There are many, many more examples in canon depicting Jake as having difficulties with communication and you all can open most of his pesterlogs and probably find one. I’m not going to list anymore. But, hold your horses, I swear I’m getting to a point!

Difficulty reading.

A lot of the media Jake consumes is picture-based. Movies, comics, even the puzzles are most likely spacial and probably not riddles. It’s not far to imagine Jake might not be a terribly good reader, considering nobody was really around to make him read. Of course, his grandmother was around when he was little, so he can read -- and he can read just fine. But he probably isn’t very good at it simply from lack of practice. He also has terrible grammar, something Jane picks on him for, so it’s entirely possible that’s a contributing factor. He may just have trouble reading and writing.

Speaking from experience, I have dyslexia. As such, reading and writing are incredibly hard for me. I never read the books in my literature classes -- both in English and French -- but I did get the gist of the books (enough to get a decent mark in the class at least) by watching a movie adaptation of the novel. I don’t think it’s that far-off to think Jake may, indeed, do the same thing.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

NOTE: This next part is a bit hard for me to write, because I don’t want to vilify any of you. It might not have clued in on anyone or maybe you just saw Jake as a sort of comic relief and meant no harm by it. And I hope shining a light on this will make you all think twice about the guy. However, I can’t really avoid this next part, and I may get a bit emotional in it. Just a bit of a warning.

All of the above points are just me trying to say Jake probably has undiagnosed learning disabilities and perhaps autism. I don’t think I need to go into detail about how those don’t make someone “stupid”. If you think that’s the case, fuck you. I can’t argue with ableists, much less do I actually want to.

NOTE: I wrote a thing on his speech impediments. That may be of interest too. I don’t really know, but here it is nonetheless.

My take-away message here is: just because someone struggles with socialization or other things doesn’t mean fucking anything in terms of their intelligence. Jake is very clearly smart and has the ability to read people incredibly well -- to the point of making copies of them! Perhaps it’s just a bit easy to underestimate the guy compared to other characters, though.

There are other things that muddy this up a bit, unfortunately.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Trolling.

Jake is such a fucking troll. Jesus shitting Christ, does he get a kick out of acting stupid just to make the other person look silly. Or perhaps even to make himself laugh in the process. Case in point:

uu: I WILL JUST BE YOUR PATRON DUDE. uu: OR MAYBE. YOUR PATRON MANBRO. GT: Sounds pretty gay. uu: WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? GT: Whats what? uu: GAY. WHAT'S GAY YOU IDIOT FUCK. GT: Oh right. GT: Forgive me i forget you arent familiar with all of my earth lingo. GT: Its like... GT: How do i explain. GT: You know. Its a rather old fashioned term for being jolly and festive together. GT: Like "that rollicking time we had scrumming the other eve sure was gay." uu: I SEE. uu: THEN YES. YOU ARE CORRECT. uu: THIS IS GOING TO BE GAY AS HELL. (x)

Look at his goddamn face during this exchange:

That little bastard knows exactly what he’s doing.

And these aren’t stand-alone events! Jake is very, very silly and will use the fact others see him as stupid to have a little fun. May as well, right? And, in the process, he makes others look pretty damn stupid.

But sometimes it’s a bit hard to tell when he’s acting stupid against when he’s genuinely not getting something. I think he even fools himself sometimes! So you have to be a bit careful about fake-outs. I’m sure even the other alphas have trouble deducing when he’s doing this -- which only adds to the myth of him actually being “stupid” when viewed on first-glace.

He probably also does this with crushes, purposefully ignoring the signs because he doesn’t want to deal with it or may not believe anyone could like him that way. After all, if he’s wrong, he may think himself to be conceded and having a big head. So, he ignores the signs, thus convincing himself the feelings aren’t there. Then he gets absolutely fucking bamboozled beyond belief to find out they actually do like him. But that’s just a little side-note.

Thinks he’s stupid.

This one is just a bit... Sad. Very sad. Jake genuinely does think he’s stupid. Quite a lot, really.

GT: I shoulda asked where he fit into the picture if you were raised alone. I can be dumb as a bag of penny candy sometimes. (x)

Just... Man, he’s been called and treated as stupid so many times, he’s at the point where he believes it. If you asked him, he’d say Dirk is a genius, Roxy is always smart and sassy, and Jane is brilliant. (I don’t have a source for that last one but... Come on. She lectures him about grammar. Don’t fuck with me.) But when it comes to himself? He can’t say the same. Of course he then acts that way. He sees himself as a burly adventurer who is also a gentleman and tries to live up to that. No where along those lines does he think he’s intelligent. And that’s just... a little heartbreaking, really, all things considered.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Can’t believe this blog is just me going, “Wanna see how fast I can talk about Jake?”, and a shit-ton of people all nodding before I talk for six hours straight. Anyway, take-home message is: Jake’s smart. Jake’s very, very smart. He’s also a himbo, but he’s incredibly smart. Just because he has learning disabilities doesn’t mean fuck-all.

Thank you for coming to my TedTalk. There are drinks and refreshments in the back. Have a safe trip home. Remember to tip your waiters and waitresses. Jesus fuck can I run this gag any harder into the ground? Giving me language was a mistake. No but, really, if you read this whole damn thing, thank you! I hope this was as fun to read as it was to write.

#ooc.#headcanons.#about.#ableism tw #and i hate to do this but after the speech impediment post i must:#dont steal these headcanons.#(unless youre a jake rper then by all means thats fine!)#yes these arent exclusive to jake but this took a lot of time and effort #id appreciate it if youd all respect that #tia! <3

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mxliv-oftheendless · 4 years

Note

Eyyyy! Your turn for number 15!

(OHHHH BOY HERE WE GO! I’m putting this under a cut for length, because as usual for me, when I have a good idea I tend to get carried away and write too much lol. Enjoy!)

15. “Did you spike the eggnog again?”

Demon knew he shouldn’t have let his guard down.

Okay, maybe he didn’t know it at the time, but he definitely knew it now.

He knew from the start inviting the Motley Crue to the holiday party was a horrible idea. But he was assured by Starchild that they would be on their best behavior—plus, Ayesha was there, which meant even more insurance that they would behave. And after about an hour of everything going fine, he made the foolish mistake of letting his guard down.

Then Ayesha bounced over to Vinneketh and asked if she could try the eggnog. And seeing how there was no alcohol in the eggnog, neither of them saw how that could be a problem. So they let her have the eggnog. Two glasses of it.

About thirty minutes later, the party seemed to be in full swing. Most people were drinking the eggnog, and seemed to be having fun. Though Demon did think it was rather odd that Starchild was practically in Ace’s lap; usually he was never that forward. And he was having a glass of the eggnog himself, and it had a funny tinge to it. But he was willing to brush that off.

Then there was a tug on his sleeve, and a weak voice. “Baba?”

Demon looked down. There stood Ayesha, and although she looked rather cute in her blue dress, there was a distressed look on her face and one of her arms was holding her stomach. “What is it, Ayesha?”

“I don’t feel good, Baba,”

Demon promptly set aside his own drink and knelt down to her height. “What is it? What’s the matter?”

“My tummy feels weird,” Ayesha replied. She suddenly swayed a bit, and Demon’s hands shot out to steady her. “And I’m hot. Am I sick, Baba?”

Vinneketh came over as Demon felt her forehead. “What is the matter?” he asked, looking concerned.

“She doesn’t feel well,” Demon informed. “Her stomach hurts and she feels warm, though she doesn’t have a fever.”

Vinneketh knelt down beside him. “Oh no… Did you eat anything, darling? Or drink anything?”

“No,” Ayesha said, rubbing her stomach. “I just had the eggnog, Aiutu.”

Vinneketh frowned. “Well that makes no sense. The only way you could be ill is if something was…”

He trailed off. And then it clicked in Demon’s mind. He grabbed his glass of eggnog and took a sip, and he finally recognized what that funny tinge to it was.

It was alcohol. Ayesha had drank alcohol.

Demon and Vinneketh glanced at each other, then turned back to their daughter. “Ayesha,” Demon said calmly, though inside he was raging, “do you see Uncle Fox over there on the bench?”

“Uh huh,”

“I want you to go over to the bench and lie down, alright?”

Ayesha nodded. “Okay.”

As soon as she was gone, Demon and Vinneketh were on their feet. Demon stormed across the room to Vince, who was chatting up a woman, grabbed him by his shirt, and pulled him off into an empty hallway. Meanwhile Vinneketh, who looked just as angry, headed over to wherever Tommy was.

“Hey, what the fuck—” Vince began, but Demon lifted him up and slammed him against the wall.

“Now listen to me very carefully, Anarchy,” Demon hissed at him. “You are going to answer my question with the truth, or so help me Gods you will not see the dawn. Understand?”

“Y-Yeah, whatever, now the fuck’s your question?”

Demon thrust him against the wall for effect. “Did you or one of your Crue spike the eggnog again?”

“U-Uh… I dunno what you’re talking about—” Demon’s eyes flashed red, and he backpedaled. “Okay, yeah, it was Tommy! He said he was gonna do it! I don’t see why it matters, we were just havin’ a little fun—”

“And while you were having a little fun, my daughter drank two glasses of it!”

Vince, satisfyingly, now looked worried. “Oh shit, really? Fuck, I’m sorry, Demon-man…”

“You had better be sorry!”

“Beloved,” Demon turned to see Vinneketh approaching behind them with Tommy. Although Vinneketh was shorter by quite a bit, he was still doing an impressive job of dragging Tommy along by his ear. “Tommy has confessed to spiking the eggnog.”

“I was just jokin’ around!” Tommy protested. “I didn’t know the kid was gonna drink it—ah fuck, you’re hurting my ear!”

“Oh quit your whining,”

Demon let Vince drop to the floor. “If this ever happens again, I am personally telling Starchild—” Demon suddenly froze as something else clicked in his mind. “Oh Gods below, Starchild. He’s had far too much.”

“Beloved, why don’t you see to Starchild?” Vinneketh suggested. He smiled far too sweetly at Vince and Tommy. “I will handle these two.”

Demon smirked and nodded, then went back to the party.

Meanwhile, over on the bench, Ayesha lay with her head in Fox’s lap. “You all right, sweetheart?” Fox asked, idly running a hand through her hair.

Ayesha shrugged. “I think so… Is eggnog bad for you, Uncle Fox?”

Fox shrugged himself. He personally had only one glass from the bowl of the drink, the funny tinge to it turning him off another. “I’m not sure,” he replied, watching Demon reappear and go over to where Starchild sat with Ace, practically in Ace’s lap. “Maybe it was just bad.”

Ayesha turned her head, and giggled as she watched Demon haul Starchild up, and Starchild stumble into him. “Uncle Starchild’s acting funny,”

Vinneketh came back into the room, and went over. “Are you feeling better, darling?” he asked Ayesha.

“A little,”

“Wonderful. I will go get you something to eat, but for now, stay where you are.”

“Okay. Aiutu, where did you and Baba go?”

“Oh, we were simply…” Vinneketh trailed off and looked up as Tommy and Vince reentered the party, both of them looking incredibly shaken. He smiled, satisfied, and looked back down at Ayesha. “… taking care of a problem.”

#lol this was a hilarious idea #thanks for enabling me shandi #so yeah that happened #Ayesha accidentally drank alcohol-spiked eggnog #on a side note it was vodka but I wasn't able to incorporate that in #ankh mom and demon dad #they are pissed as all hell #lol I really loved writing this up #Shandi's KISSteriaverse #christmas prompts #my writing #cosmicrealmofkissteria

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chatnoirmari-blog · 5 years

Text

Marinette totally ends up tutoring Adrien in Maths: a concept

“Adrien, you cool bro? Rose was just telling all of us that Kitty Section got booked for Saturday, I thought you’d be psyched, something up?” Marinette flitted her eyes covertly from her open schoolbag to the report card Adrien was folding in his lap as she passed his row. She bit her lip, eyes flitting back to Tikki this time before she took her seat behind him.

“It’s nothing…I guess I just…I just wish Lila hadn’t told Nathalie about my grades. My dad’s got me working until I get my A- in Maths back up so I can’t even be at the concert—don’t feel bad about it though, I’d rather you go anyway and video call me so I can at least watch—I was hoping I could get Mme Bustier to change my grade with my retest this Friday but between piano, fencing, and Chinese lessons I’m not sure I’ll have enough study time to ace it,” He didn’t meet Nino’s softened eyes as the boy scooted down the bench to pat his friend’s slumped shoulder.

“Sorry, dude, you know I’d help but you’re bet—“

“It’s ok, Nino, really. Don’t worry about it,” He turned away towards the aisle in the middle of the classroom, reaching down to put the slightly-crumpled report card back in his bag. “I’m just disappointed that I’m letting my friends down…it would’ve been fun.”

Marinette’s heart swelled, and although Lila was to blame, for once damage control seemed the best option. She glanced at her notebook filled with fabric measurements and inspiration taken from Parisian architecture. There was only one person in the class who had gotten an A+ on last week’s trigonometry test. Not that anyone knew, since an akuma had struck right when the tests had been handed back, but if he needed his grade back up by Friday, he’d need a tutor for his optional retest, right?

“Hey, Adrien?” His eyes were glassy as they continued their path from his bag over his shoulder. By the time they met hers the vulnerability was blinked away. She leaned forwards with an encouraging smile. “If you want help, I could go over trig with you after school? It’s kinda my thing,” Her nervous laugh was accompanied by a flick through her notes to reveal her test peeking out for a split-second, the ‘100’ clearly visible, even when reading it upside-down. “Plus, I still owe you one for covering for me the day we got the tests back, so we’re just making it even,” She covered her tracks with a wink, wagging her index finger somewhat playfully.

The reality of what she had just done settled in when she saw him beam from ear to ear and turn completely around to hug her. “Woah, would you really? Thank you so much Marinette!” She froze as her pen clattered to the floor. His lurch across her desk had sent it flying as her notebook was pushed aside, and it took her moments to regain her bearings before she spotted a gobsmacked Alya in the doorway as he pulled away, hands still grasping her upper arms as his eyes visibly twinkled. She still felt squeezed by his embrace. That, and entirely speechless.

How was she supposed to tutor a boy she couldn’t speak to if they were closer than a couple metres?

“Awesome, Marinette! If you can get him to the gig on Saturday we’ll all owe you one,” Nino went in for a high five as Adrien let her breathe again, and Marinette hardly managed it as Alya made her way to her seat.

“What’s all this about then, hm?” Marinette slouched down in her seat in an attempt to hide from the interrogation, still processing the implications of her momentary wave of confidence. Nino began to fill in the blanks, but only got as far as her result before stopping to point it out. “Yeah, I remember that trig test. Yikes. Didn’t know you got a 100 though girl! You should be proud of yourself!” Marinette could only squeak and sink lower in response as visions of her and Adrien huddled over a textbook page flashed in her mind.

“Yeah, she’s so smart. I’m so lucky that she’s doing this for me,” The gratitude that his fleeting gaze expressed was too much for the girl, who turned to Alya with backpedaling jazz hands.

“For the band! We couldn’t do it without you, Adrien,” Her insecure laughter was crushed by the mischievous glimmer in Alya’s frames.

“Doing what?” Then, in a more hushed tone, “Marinette, are you finally gonna—“

“Tutor Adrien for his Maths test? Yeah! You can come too if you want help with trig so bad!” Her voice drowned out Alya’s insinuations. She recoiled, her profuse head shaking becoming her non-verbal apology.

“Well, actually, I’m not sure if my dad would let more than one person in if I’m supposed to be studying,” Adrien rubbed the back of his neck as he guiltily turned back to her. “It’s tenuous as is…Lila sorta ruined my friend privileges. I’m hoping his memories of your incredible hat will get you through!”

“Let…in?” Marinette gulped.

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” His eyes trailed off. “I thought we’d talk timings after school. Between all my extra classes my study time at home is 7-8. If it’s an issue I could ask if you could stay after for dinner? It’s the least I can do. I can’t give you a ride there because Chinese is coming from the opposite direction to yours, but you know the way, right? I’ll let you in if I’m allowed,” He seemed unsure, as if this proposition would lead to his hopes of an A+ getting dashed. Marinette stumbled to find her words.

“She’d love to,” Alya shook Marinette’s shoulder. She nodded. Twice. Three times—“Wouldn’t you, Marinette?”

“Yes! Yes, that’s fine!” She reigned herself in as Alya stifled a giggle.

“Fine for every night this week?” Alya was pushing it now. Adrien’s hopeful look was messing with her.

“Fine…fine for this week,” Marinette shook her off, before hyping herself up and extending her hand decisively for the most awkward handshake of her life—until Adrien, who had looked confused at first, shook it vigorously with a grin and turned back around. Her feeling of triumph melted away to leave admiration at his optimism, which she knew she had to match. She wasn’t gonna rest until he got his A+, that was for sure.

“Just wait ‘til we start geometry,” Alya whispered with a smirk as she settled back into her seat. Not even the thumbs-up from Nino brought her soul back into the room. How was this gonna work again? She half hoped she wouldn’t be let in, at least then they could try video calling instead?

“Dinner with the love of my life, when I’m back to…this. Great. I wonder how this is going to go?” She grumbled regretfully to Tikki and facepalmed as she reached down for her pen.

“Don’t worry, Marinette! I’m sure you’ll be just fine.” The kwami retreated into her hiding place as other classmates walked past. Marinette picked up her pen and tapped it on her notebook, staring at the back of his head absentmindedly as Mme Bustier walked in for the start of class.

#mine #ml writing #ml spoilers #ml season 3 #oni-chan #excuse her season 1-ness canon is giving me whiplash with her characterization so i’d rather start out with secondhand embarrassment-nette &#make her tutoring make her more comfortable around him as friends? since a more consistent & regular 1-on-1 activity is perfect for that imo #i tagged this as spoilers since it’s based off an identification of his academic weakness (well Hardly but) from onii-chan or however you #spell that anyway i’m extremely self-conscious of my writing but also. i hope this may lead to them sharing a love of astronomy??? since hc #adrien is a whole physicist & space is a major source of inspiration for designs/lyric input for Kitty Section/marinette’s other endeavours?#oo i wonder if she’s ever considered doing concept graphics for video games! ok now i’m straight up using the tags to find new ideas hhh i #better stop. but yeah. just a small idea. because sometimes going after lila isn’t constructive to help a situation in the moment! no salt #or hot takes here idk what i think of canon but here’s a nice alternative to straight up killing her in fic #oh & one last thing: i need to find that post that was explaining how marinette would be good at maths because of the way she figures out #her lucky charms because that also lead to this #also i hope french troisième (i think that’s year 9 here?) does trig because that’s what i remember doing at 14 but idk i need to research #i feel like she’s in 2 minds about it at this stage but gets much more pragmatic when she realises what she’s signed up for & how everything #is riding on it with the band & stuff like idk if i have social anxiety & i can’t get myself to do sth i assign importance to it so i detach #me being social with The Thing. i don’t think marinette is like this in general. just with adrien at first. she can overcome that by +ve #reinforcement!

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bucky-at-bedtime · 6 years

Text

Familiar

Summary: Steve wanders into a record shop looking to make a dent in his to-do list. He doesn’t expect the owner to make a dent in his life.

Pairing: Steve x reader

Warnings: Guess what? more fluff.

Words: 2,800

A/n: So, I wasn’t planning on posting this but... here it is?? Thanks, @averyrogers83 - you gave me this idea and I really like how it turned out... Please give me feedback! I know this is kinda cheesy but I liked writing it. Love u all. seriously 💛💛💛 I might make this a multi-chapter thingo if it gets a good response... what do you guys think?

ALSO I only have one person on my Steve taglist so, like, feel free to shoot me an ask to be added to that?? Or any of my taglists tbh

Masterlist

The record store was in a quiet part of town, and in turn, the store was pretty much empty, aside from the clerk whose head was resting on her folded arms - possibly asleep at the counter. The shelves were covered in a thin layer of dust, occasionally broken by a fingerprint or some sign of the products being moved, and records in cardboard sleeves were scattered, almost randomly, across every surface. Many of the corners were worn and many images were faded, but there was a shelf of brand-new records to one side - records still covered in plastic wrap with vivid artwork and photography. A bell chimed quietly when he pushed the door open, but the girl sitting at the counter didn’t budge.

It felt like a place out of time - something that shouldn’t have survived so long - just like him.

As soon as Steve entered, a feeling of comfort washed over him. The familiarity of a record store - rows upon rows of vinyls and posters with torn edges - it even smelled the same. He inhaled deeply, surveying the shelves around him and looking for anything familiar. There wasn’t much, but that’s okay - he wasn’t here for his old music.

He dug into his pocket, pulling out a tattered notebook and flipping to the page with his to-do list. He let out a sigh as he stared at the list, he was pretty sure he would never catch up with the modern world, not with the amount of entertainment in the world. Not after so much time had passed.

He wandered down one isle, his fingers lightly tracing the tops of records, searching for ‘Nirvana,’ one of the bands on his list. After what felt like a very long time, his fingers finally came to a halt, drifting over the title of an album - ‘From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah’ by Nirvana - and he quickly pulled it out, studying the cover.

“I wouldn’t go for that album,” a sweet voice interrupted his perusing and he flinched slightly at the sudden noise breaking the tranquility of the record store.

“Sorry, you just, don’t seem like you know what you’re looking for and that-” you gestured to the record in his hands, “-is Nirvana’s worst album.”

He blinked lamely at you, confused by your sudden appearance. You ignored his silence and began to flick through the record yourself. “This, is their best album.” you smiled, holding up ‘Nevermind,’ Nirvana’s second album, gesturing for him to take it.

“Uh– I didn’t realise it was so obvious. My cluelessness, I mean.” he had finally collected his thoughts, and stuttered out a response, placing the first record down and taking the one from your hands.

“Well, you were frozen in ice for 70 years or something - I connected the dots.”

“Ah, so you did recognise me,” he mumbled, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

“Yeah, I watch the news every once and a while.” you chuckled, picking up a few stray records, intending to sort them into their proper space.

“Right, of course,” he mumbled, a small smile gracing his features as he followed you down the isle, intending to buy the record and leave. “You uh, seem to know a lot about Nirvana. They a favourite of yours?”

“Not really. I just know a lot about pop culture. Working in a place like this - you learn a lot about music. Plus I have a lot of spare time.” you glanced back at him, watching curiously as he read the back of the record.

You assumed the conversation was over, and turned to continue working.

“Hey, wait, would you– would you be able to help me? I uh… need to try and catch up so if you have any suggestions…”

You turned immediately on your heel, grinning towards the tall blonde man. “I thought you’d never ask,” you said, excitement lacing your voice as you immediately starting to make a list in your head. “I’m y/n, by the way.”

He chuckled lightly at your excitement, a sweet smile reaching his cheeks as he watched you filter through the records in your arms, dropping the pile on the counter in front of you and pulling out two records.

“Ok, we have ‘Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band’ - The Beatles, I’m sure you’ve heard of them.” You looked up to gauge his reaction and he nodded his head in confirmation.

“Already heard a few of their songs,” he mumbled, taking the colourful record from you and adding it to the Nirvana one.

You held up the next record, a single. He stared blankly at the plain white cover, reading the title out. “Spice, Wan-abe?” His face was set in a grimace, immediately judging a book by its cover.

“The Spice Girls - Wannabe,” you corrected, laughing at his pronunciation. “It was really popular in the 90s, everybody in the world knows the lyrics to this chorus,” you mumbled, piling it on top of his other records.

He was still staring at the cover, suddenly unsure about your judgement, but he followed as you began to rush down another isle. “This place is like a maze,” he murmured, eyes trailing over the tall shelves in alarm, “How do you know where everything is?”

“I’ve been in this place pretty much every day since I was born - my dad owned it,” you explained, tracing your fingers across the spines of a few records. “I know this place like the back of my ha– here it is!”

You pulled out another record, briefly showing him the cover before thrusting it into his arms. “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John - Really popular in the 70s, Elton John is one of the greats.”

He nodded along, slightly overwhelmed by all the information, but glad to have someone who knew what they were talking about, rather than Tony’s bias towards ‘AC DC’ and Sam’s strange addiction to 90s boy bands.

“Oh! This is what’s playing now.” You pulled a black and white album cover from a nearby shelf and pointed up, gesturing to the speakers. “The Rolling Stones - Exile on Main st.”

A breathy laugh escaped his lips as he watched you shake your head from side to side to the rhythm of ‘Casino Boogie,’ squeezing your eyes shut in enjoyment.

“You really know your stuff,” he chuckled, adding the record to his pile.

You opened your eyes and he watched as they glistened with your passion for these records - the music, the artists, the store. You were at home here, and he found himself wishing he had something like that.

You added another couple of records to his pile - Michael Jackson, Prince, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston - before heading towards the shelf of modern music.

“Alright, there is a lot of good modern music, but there’s also a lot of bad modern music that’s really popular anyway - so I’ll try to be gentle.”

He laughed at your words and turned to watch as your fingers hovered over album titles and artists, your bottom lip pulled into your teeth.

“Uhmm, we’ll go with this.” You pulled out a dark record, holding it up to show him.

“Macklemore and Ryan Lewis - The Heist,” he read out, taking the record from your hands and studying the back of it.

You moved closer, so that you were standing next to him, your shoulder brushing against his own as you explained. “It’s rap, but some of the stuff on here is really powerful. Same Love is an amazing song about equality and homophobia and Wing$ is all about materialism and violence…”

He had stopped listening, distracted by the way you moved as you explained passionately. Your eyes had that look in them again, and he couldn’t tear his own eyes away. Your hands gesticulated, pointing to the tracklist as you directed him towards the best songs as he could see the excitement, the passion, in your movement.

He blinked, subtly shaking his head as he tuned back in.

“Oh, and ‘Cowboy boots’ is a bit of fun - good to sing along to.” you confirmed, pulling your hand away to look up at him.

“I’d like to hear that,” he mumbled, eyes widening as he realised what he’d said. He frantically tried to come up with a way to backpedal out of his statement, and he could’ve sworn he saw your eyes widen slightly, but you took it well.

“Oh trust me, you wouldn’t - I sound like a dying cat when I sing.” you laughed, taking a step back and picking up another album. “But, get a few drinks in me and I become the absolute queen of karaoke. Now that’s something you’d like to see.”

He laughed along with you, running a hand through his hair, already forgetting his awkward slip-up.

“Alright, last one.” You reached up to a higher shelf and pulled down a bright orange album. “Ed Sheeran’s first mainstream album - it broke the world back in 2011 when it came out, he’s probably the most popular male artist of recent history.”

You placed the final album gently on top of his pile, sending him an accomplished smile.

“Wow, this is a bit of a to-do list” he chuckled, staring down at the massive, colourful pile in his arms.

You laughed. “You asked, buddy.” You patter him gently on the shoulder and he could’ve sworn a shiver ran through his entire body at your touch.

“Wow it’s actually almost closing time,” you mumbled, noticing the sun going down outside and checking your watch. “I’ll ring those up for you and then close up shop.”

He followed you to the counter, watching as you carefully placed the record in a brown bag and hummed along to another song that was playing on the speaker system.

“So I’m curious,” you mumbled, pulling him from his trance, “you want to catch up with the modern world, why buy records? I’m assuming you have a phone and iTunes.”

He laughed gently at the question, the corner of his mouth twisting up. “I guess– I guess it’s just nice to have something I know. In the middle of everything so… so foreign and new, it’s uh comforting to have something… familiar.”

You felt a smile pull at your lips as you pushed the bag across the counter to him, your eyes meeting for a moment. His eyes were full of wistfulness as he looked back at you, a grateful smile on his lips.

“Well, the door’s always open,” you tilted your head towards the door, attempting to send him a comforting smile. “I mean, in a metaphorical way, not literally, I’m actually about to lock up”

He laughed, but thanked you gently. He knew it was strange, but he wanted to stay, to keep listening to you talk. your passion was exhilarating and it made him feel warm, as sappy as that sounded.

His head turned as if he was about to walk out, but he suddenly turned back to you, his mouth open as if he wanted to say something but he wasn’t sure how.

“You alright there, captain?” You smirked, organising the last few things on the counter.

“Can I walk you home?” He blurted the words out, unsure of how else to phrase it and your head flicked up in surprise, your eyes wide.

“I’m sorry - that was weird, I’ll just… go.” He turned on his heel, brusquely trying to escape his awkward moment.

“No!” You flung your backpack over your shoulder and rushed around the counter to meet him. “I’d love for you to walk me home,” you stated confidently, grinning up at him.

He smiled down at you. “Alright. Alright, let’s go.”

He pulled the door open, allowing you to walk out in front of him and you smiled thankfully, brushing a hair behind your ear. He held his arm out to you once you locked the door and you looped yours underneath, chuckling lightly at his old-fashioned, gentlemanly actions.

“I have an idea,” you stated, digging your hands into your pockets and pulling out some headphones and your phone. “I’ll show you some music while we walk - some of my favourite stuff, not world-famous like the records I gave you.”

You reached up and slipped the headphone into his ear, putting the other one in your ear and scrolling through your iTunes library, clicking on your favourote song by Rex Orange County.

‘Loving is easy

You had me fucked up,

It used to be so hard to see

Yeah, loving is easy

When everything’s perfect

Please don’t change a single little thing for me’

The song started playing and you began to him along instantly, knowing it off by heart. He sent you a smile and nodded his head along to the rhythm.

“This is nice,” he mumbled, his arm falling down and his fingers subconsciously intertwining with your own, he realised what he was doing, but it was too late, and he felt a blush spread across his cheeks when you didn’t pull your hand away. “Better than anything Tony tried to show me.”

You laughed at that, tapping your thumb lightly on the back of his hand. You were a little shocked when his hand grabbed yours, but of course Steve Rogers had some moves.

‘When you can’t even hide it

And it didn’t take forever to find it

I was all on my own

Almost glad to be alone

Until love came in

On time, on time’

He felt like he was floating and he couldn’t pull the smile off of his face. His heart beat in time with the song and he felt your thumb tapping lazily on the back of his hand he watched you in the corner of his eye, trying not to get caught.

Your hair fell loosely in front of his face and if he listened closely, he could hear your voice as you quietly sang along. He didn’t think you sounded like a dying cat at all.

He’d only just met you, but he knew he wanted to keep you around.

‘So, loving is easy

You had me fucked up,

It used to be so hard to see

Yeah, loving is easy

When everything’s perfect

Please don’t change a single little thing for me’

You glanced up at him, catching his eyes as he was already looking at you. You smiled, pulling your bottom lip between your teeth.

It was strange. A few hours ago, Captain America walked into your shop, looking for help with his to-do list. Now, he was walking you home, holding your hand and listening to your music. This was the kind of thing that happened in rom-coms, and suddenly it was happening to you in real-life.

His hand squeezed yours gently and you felt a blush rush across your neck, threatening to flood your cheeks. You averted your eyes, looking down at the pavement.

‘So listen girl,

When you can’t even hide it

And it didn’t take forever to find it

I was all on my own

Almost glad to be alone

Until love came in

On time, on time’

He pulled the headphone out as the song ended, and you looked back up at him, raising a brow inquisitively.

“That was... amazing, do you have his vinyl?”

“Of course I do,” you chuckled, “you’ll have to come visit me at the store sometime.” You said the words in a light-hearted tone, but you hoped with everything you had that he would come back.

“Trust me, I will.” he murmured, forcing you to smile again, the blush finally reaching your cheeks.

“Alright well, this is my place.” you gestured towards the apartment building and he nodded his head slowly in recognition.

You looked down at your connected hands and slowly released his fingers, letting your hand fall to your side.

“Thank you, for the records, and for teaching me about some of this stuff,” he mumbled, lifting the bag slightly.

You knew this was where you were supposed to say goodbye, and hope to see him again at the store, but you couldn’t just leave it at that. You had no idea where this new-found confidence came from, but you reached forward, pulling a pen out of your bag and lifting his shirt from his wrist. He was an old-fashioned guy - you decided to do something a little old-fashioned, and wrote out your number on his wrist.

When you were done, you glanced up at his shocked face, leaving towards him and pressing your lips gently to his cheek, as close to his lips as possible.

“Call me, Steve,” you whispered into his ear, brushing your fingers across his shoulder as you pulled away.

He nodded gently, a blush spreading across his cheeks. “I will, doll.”

You felt a shiver run down your spine as you turned away, entering your building and leaving Captain America on the side of the road.

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Permanent Tags: @srgtsprout @thevillainway @redstarstan @just-add-butter @wildefire @dewy-biitch @emilia-dawn @helloitsrhys @twtwmm @comfortablenihilist @averyrogers83 @kittykat101ary @chameerah @obliviousocietea @vodkasindream @ciarawriitesmarvel @lauxeyson @mylovelymarvel @breezy1415 @xxashy999xx @movie-dates-and-choccy-shakes

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ambivalentangst · 6 years

Text

I’m Suffocating in This Head (Literally)

We all know Keith is a furry but who better to celebrate than his furry loving boyfriend, Lance? In honor of this knowledge and as my gift for @issacups for the @voltronsummergiftexchange I present a few words of klance, involving dragons and low hanging bars in bars. It was a pleasure creating for this event, and I hope my giftee enjoys! Thank you to @constellationrose for betaing!

Keith was not sure how Shiro had coerced him into playing furry for his dumb bar, but he was already putting on the stupid, clunky head of the costume with a resigned sigh, so there was no backing out now.

Black Lion Bar.

Keith made a mental note to tease Shiro about the name later. How? Truth be told there wasn’t anything wrong with it so he wasn’t sure, but he was gonna do it. Currently, he was sweltering under the heat of the suit he was in, fluffy mane spread around his face while he peered at the world through big, yellow eyes. For the love of God, he hoped that the world couldn’t stare back.

He stepped out of the staff bathroom that served as his dressing room, feeling just as ridiculous as he was sure he looked. The temperature difference between the poorly air-conditioned bathroom to the fan laden main area was startling, but not unwelcome. If it wasn’t Matt’s birthday, who had specifically requested that the mascot be out—the bastard, he had to know Shiro would blackmail Keith into doing it—he would’ve told Shiro to go fuck himself. It was far too late for that blessed course of action at the moment though, so he did nothing but throw his shoulders back and try to at least walk like it wasn’t completely ridiculous to be making cat ears a fashion statement.

Lance and Allura had told him before that his normal jacket and variety of fanny packs apparently weren’t cute either. Still, when Lance tripped on his way home after a night out he gushed every time over the Finding Nemo band-aids Keith kept on hand in them specifically for such occasions.

For as lithe and powerful as Lance was in the water, he was an absolute disaster on land. Keith was unswervingly convinced that he would’ve been a national title holder if the flu hadn’t seized him the day before he boarded his plane for the comp and Blaytz hadn’t let him go. It was still a sore subject, but on the bright side, he was the only one in his marine bioengineering class to ace the final.

Keith had brought him cup after cup of coffee—loaded with nauseating amounts of cream and sugar like Lance liked it—while he pored over his notes and books for hours on end. Lance was letting nothing else concerning water escape his grasp. That kind of bull-headed determination was part of the reason Keith loved him so damn much, and he tried to remember that when Lance cooed at the sight of him walking into the actual bar and took a burst of photos on his phone.

Keith tried to shove the camera down, but he was pretty sure Lance caught that too and didn’t relish the thought of what he could photoshop with the image of his angry, lion-ed self. “You are the worst,” he groused, to which Lance tousled the synthetic mane framing the apex of the suit. It only made Keith grouchier to feel that, and not his warm hands on his actual head.

“Yeah, but you’re adorable in that thing, and it gives you better hair!” Keith did his best not to show his amusement, but Lance’s teasing remarks about his hair were an ongoing joke between them. Keith had briefly gotten self-conscious over it, but the second Lance heard the buzz of a razor he knocked it from his hand like it was poison and pressed a thousand kisses all over Keith’s face. Keith hadn’t been too bothered by it since.

“The worst,” he reiterated.

Lance merely laughed and grabbed his paw. “Ceci, Emil, come look at Black!” he crowed. Keith braced himself, every muscle in his body going tense. He loved Lance’s family, which was just as loud and chaotic and beautiful as Lance himself, and secretly hoped he could one day be a part of it, even if only by marriage. He’d yet to tell Lance. Pidge said he had no balls. Keith pointed out that neither of them had money. She told him that it didn’t change the fact that he still had no balls. Two masses shot across the room in blurs of curly brown hair and flung themselves into Keith’s chest. If they’d been bullets, Keith would’ve been dead.

As it was, he just fell on his ass.

This appeared to utterly delight them. “Soft!” Ceci cried, petting Keith’s cheek fascinatedly. Emil had busied himself with the paws, which he shoved against his forehead to apparently check the assessment for himself. Keith would tell Lance to tell Veronica that they needed a thorough bath later. The suit had seen far too many boys in bro tanks come through the place, and though Shiro claimed to wash it, Keith knew that sort of horror wasn’t something easily cleansed by soap and water.

Emil giggled. “And warm. Like Keith’s warm!” he declared loudly, curling up on Black’s, ergo Keith’s, chest. Ceci rubbed his ears between her little fingers instead. Keith glared at Lance through the massive eyes of the suit. He hoped he got the message.

Lance grinned. “I may have let it slip that you were taking over for Black tonight since it’s a special occasion for Matt. Ceci, Emil, have you told him happy birthday yet? I’m sure he would love to hear your super special song.”

Two heads shot up, brown eyes gleaming with interest. “Matt!” they cried and rushed off Keith to go give Matt the worst, most purposefully off key and grating rendition of the birthday song to ever burden the world. Keith, stuck in an amalgamation of cheap, kinda itchy fabric, was feeling vindicated.

Lance offered his hand to Keith, who took it gratefully. “As excited as ever,” he told him while brushing dirt off the white belly of the costume. Lance smiled fondly, blue eyes melting as he stared off in the direction his niece and nephew had gone. Keith lived for when that expression was directed at him.

“Yeah, but it’s part of what makes them so fun to have around. They’re such kids, they’re the best.” He’d yet to let go of Keith’s hand—paw? The lack of distinction was frightening. He tugged him towards the main party with it. “Come on babe, they’re all excited to see you. Matt made a special request for Black to be here, you know.” Keith rolled his eyes. He could imagine how pleased Lance looked, lips spread deviously into the shit eating grin he wore far too often for comfort. He let him lead him regardless, smiling like an idiot behind his suit.

“Matt, Black’s out!” The boy turned, rainbow glasses balanced on the tip of his nose while Ceci and Emil hung off his arms. He mimicked Lance’s smirk faultlessly.

Matt rushed forward, one second by the tables with everyone else, and the next swamping Keith in a crushing hug. “Black! You’re as fluffy as ever.”

Keith snickered, and after wishing him happy birthday quickly, responded to his good-natured mocking with a very deliberate pat on the back. “Someone spilled Mike’s on this last weekend.” Matt’s expression twisted in revulsion. He’d had a bad experience with that his freshman year, and nobody let him live it down.

He pulled back, eyebrows furrowed with his displeasure. “You are the least chipper birthday mascot I’ve ever seen, and we hired a dragon for one of Pidge’s parties.”

Lance cut in with his cheerful opinion. “Dragons are cool!”

Matt shook his head. “I mean, yeah, but Pidge made him give her piggyback rides the entire afternoon, and it was raining.”

Lance frowned while one meticulously plucked brow arched. “Couldn’t you guys have just taken things inside?”

Another shake of Matt’s head. “She wanted it to be an adventure.”

Keith shuddered in sympathy, murmuring, “Pidge really has always been a demon.”

“My mom gave the dude a really good tip.”

Keith wondered how much he’d have to pester Shiro to get the same. The conversation likely would’ve continued—Lance liked dragons almost as much as sharks and was always hungry for details—but Hunk waved and Lance was far more interested in that. Keith watched him bound over. Lance was likely elated at the idea of sharing the recently gathered information with his best friend. His enthusiasm was endearing to Keith when he wasn’t harassing him about his current predicament.

If anybody asked later, and Shiro did with no small amount of mirth in his voice, he blamed the suit.

Lance, lithe, selectively observant Lance and the love of Keith’s life, ducked out of the way of the low hanging bar with ease. In his defense, Keith had been telling Shiro since he opened the place to fix it, and he was occupied trying not to trip over the tail nestled awkwardly over his ass.

Keith’s head slammed into it with a resounding thud, and he backpedaled while the world blurred for a few seconds.

Keith vaguely saw a shape wearing something green turn to face him with a lowly murmured oh fuck and then there were arms on his shoulders, steadying him while the green person came up and cupped his face in his hands. “Keith? Babe? How many fingers am I holding up?”

Keith blinked a few times and stared, saying with unwavering certainty, “Four.”

The person in green, who turned out to be Lance when his vision cleared, let out a sigh of what Keith hoped was relief. “He’s fine,” Lance announced, and Keith felt the hands on his shoulders let go of him. He stumbled a little, into Lance’s arms. “Probably,” he amended quickly. He didn’t remove the support again, and Keith allowed himself to sag onto a familiar broad shoulder.

“Keith, are you okay? Do you feel alright?” Lance fretted.

In the background Keith could hear someone, likely Veronica or Lance’s mom, shushing Ceci and Emil, who were very concerned for Black slash Keith. “Yeah, I’m good,” he told him, and mostly that felt true aside from a bit of lingering dizziness that Keith felt fading quickly. “Let’s just sit for a bit?”

Lance nodded, and Keith cursed the bulky head he wore not for the first time for prohibiting him from giving Lance a kiss to reassure him. “Sounds good.” He turned to face Allura, who had crept up on them fast with her hands planted on her hips. She dealt with dumb, vaguely injured boys a lot with her physical training thing for the school lacrosse team. Lance turned to her while helping Keith walk back to the break room. He felt like protesting that he’d just left it, but refrained.

“I’m gonna’ go with Keith and give him a breather. Tell everyone he’s fine and not to worry, he just needs some ice for a bit.”

She nodded as she scrutinized Keith through his hideous garments, and didn’t argue. “Of course. Feel better soon, Keith. Don’t try to power through it if you’re not alright. We don’t need you fainting on us again.” Specifically, she dealt with a dumb, vaguely injured Keith a lot with her physical training thing for the school lacrosse team.

Keith waved her off and allowed Lance to escort him out of public view, though not without some of his usual, token grumblings. “We could’ve sat outside. I didn’t even get to see your mom. Or my mom.” Their friend group and the accompanying relatives had gotten tangled up in one another throughout their college experience, with several instances of plus ones that families latched onto with vigor. The plus ones from before got official invites the next time, and the few friends originally tagging along turned into the seven of them going together everywhere. Families mingled, and it was with that that the kid-friendly celebration was scheduled for this afternoon, and then the seven of them had decided they were going to drive to the lake for something more, literally, intoxicating later that night.

Lance would be complaining of bug bites for days afterward, Keith was sure, but as his boyfriend settled him onto the couch gingerly he found that he didn’t care too much. “For someone who is as clumsy as you are outside of a pool, you’re being really gentle.”

Lance’s chest all but puffed out in pride. “Course. Anything for you, babe.” Keith did his best not to blush at the title. Lance used it casually and it didn’t really make Keith pause most of the time. Even so, on occasion, he remembered that woah, they were dating and Lance called him babe and it got him all flustered.

Lance had already lifted the head of the ensemble off, but when he went for the rest Keith shook his head. “It’s cold back here. Shiro has too many fans running,” he explained, and so the admittedly horrible get up stayed put. Lance hummed and rubbed his hand, something he did often because he almost always was craving contact, but it wasn’t always appropriate. Keith liked the feeling a lot, and not just because Lance was almost always warm. A comfortable silence fell while Lance stared him down and Keith ignored the pounding ache forming from his head. It wasn’t a surprise by any stretch of the imagination, but still annoying.

He frowned. “Can I still drink tonight?” Lance’s brow furrowed. Keith was genuinely concerned. There were few things better than kissing Lance on the beach while the sun went down, soft lips melding with his own perfectly to let Keith have a taste of Lance’s momentarily forgotten Summer Shandy.

“Shit, I don’t know. I’ll text Coran? This is definitely a weird enough situation for him to have expertise on.”

Keith laughed, ignoring the sizable lump rising smack dab in the middle of his forehead. “Sounds good.”

A few moments of quiet, again, and Lance giggled under his breath. “Hey, can I call your welt Yorak?”

Keith tensed. He hated Krolia for telling that story. “No.”

Another laugh from Lance and Keith found it hard to stay mad when that sound sent him up to cloud nine. He remembered the look Hunk and Pidge had shared a few weeks ago as Keith’s eyes dutifully followed Lance as he walked out of the room.

He’d become aware of their smug judgment, and heard Pidge’s resultant snort. “Whipped,” she’d said then. Keith almost wished he could deny it.

Lance pecked his cheek. “Kidding, kidding. I wouldn’t do that to you.” Regardless of the reassurance that he wouldn’t harass Keith any further about Krolia’s failures at naming him,

Lance continued to examine the swelling before he sat up with a start. “Oh! I forgot your ice. Be right back, babe.” Lance shot over to the freezer squeezed into the corner of the room, grabbing a Ziploc from on top of it and filling it up. It wasn’t the first time someone had gotten caught across the head at the place. Lance grabbed a few paper towels to wrap around it in order to dull the sheer shock of cold and brought it back to Keith.

He pressed it to his skin gratefully, smiling at Lance. “Thanks,” he told him and, after a moment of hesitation, tacked on, “love you.” Lance absolutely beamed, and sent butterflies in Keith’s stomach erupting. There was no holding back the flush that settled across his cheeks.

“I love you too,” Lance told him. Keith was too happy to be mad when Lance looked pointedly at the costume still adorning his form, sprawled across the ratty couch. “Even if you are a furry.”

#keith #lance #klance #whump #voltronsummergiftexchange #ambi exchanges #ambivalentlangst

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