#joe fro

[omegalomania]

gang its 2023 can we please please please PLEASE stop tagging images of joe trohman with #ray toro and vice versa. please. im begging you on my hands and knees to stop doing this. i dont care if its funny haha sillee joke because both bands have a curly haired guitarist whos very pretty to look at cause at this point its just kind of exhausting

#*making poasts #id ask 'can we also stop saying every person with curly hair has an afro' #but i wont push my luck there. its 2023 and i still see 'princess fro fro' art because gringos are like that #every white twink in my chem looks like the same boring guy to me but at least i dont mix up ray toro and joe trohman #and you know. if im confused. i can read tags. or a caption. that says TROHMANIA on the bottom.

[candyredterezii]

i made her. she sits in your blog and blinks at you now. forever.

YES!!!!!!!1

YES YES YES YES!!!!!!

#candyredask #lore seekervera #merry april fools my love #you trans'd joe's gender. i put lyra in a saw trap. we come so far fro our roots <3

[deansmom]

God, I would be terrified to meet Fall Out Boy, but I would pay stupid money to get to talk to them and embarrass myself by just crying and gushing about how proud I am of them, and how I hope they’re proud of themselves, and what their music & legacy has done and means to so many people

I’ve been a fan since 2005, so almost 20 years, and they are just… the most talented, passionate, kind, hardworking band that I’ve ever come across. I’ve done two meet & greets with them, and they were just so nice. I know that seems silly, but I’ve met a decent amount of bands, and that is not always the case. Walking into the m&g tent for them was obviously like, medium terrifying, but Andy asked if I was okay because my hands were visibly shaking, Joe punched Pete’s shoulder when I set my thing to get signed in front of him and he wasn’t paying attention, and when I came back through to do the picture Pete came over to me and apologized for being distracted and put me in the middle of him & Patrick, and Patrick told me how much he liked the card I made him, and then we took a picture and I walked into a cement pole as I was leaving and the second I got outside the tent and found my parents I bursted into tears because I was feeling so many things but I was also embarrassed and their security guard came out and gave me a water bottle and said the guys wanted to make sure I was okay and - I cannot stress how abnormal that is. This wasn’t a small venue, this was a big show, and they were so incredibly fucking nice to me.

Their crew, the environment they foster on a tour, is just leagues different from other bands that I saw on tour. That same show I met them, the security let me into the general admission area for their set, even though I didn’t have that ticket. Their security team, their roadies, have always been incredibly kind and welcoming to both me & my parents (my dad went with me to pretty much every show) and other people at the shows and I just - the only band that has ever come close to making me feel that welcome somewhere, was all time low. Something about the four of them just makes people want to be kind. It’s astounding.

I could gush about them forever and compare them to every band I’ve met and how differently they treated the fans and how their security treated us, but I won’t bore you with that. I will just say that it has been one of my greatest honors to get to watch these four boys from Chicago become the rockstars that they are, and more importantly, watch them find joy in their music again. I am so stupidly proud of them, it’s embarrassing.

#I just!!!! will never get over Pete coming to get me from the line so he could apologize and thank me for the card #also Joe laughed really hard when I told him that I loved his hair (it was the fro) and wished mine could do that #i swear they waved to me specifically during that show 😭😭😭 #they’re so kind and wonderful and talented and I just??? adore them???? #personal #the security guards laughing at me crying and handing me earplugs and a signed pick is never going to not be funny #the only person who was nicer was mark hoppus but that’s because we literally just walked into each other at that same show and he #apologized profusely & was amused I didn’t recognize him and he signed my ticket for me and I was so confused lol #it was big Dad energy bc I was like maybe 14 or 15 lmao #he was like ‘this poor kid is so emotional *pats shoulder consolingly*’

[picnicbask3t]

KLAI SAJDKHFAKFS

#joe moment #help #ill answer This soon #after I finish writing to distract myself fro the bpd demons #using this as an excuse to make a pride post

[seospicybin]

VIEWFINDER.

PART I

Seungmin x reader x Lee Know. (s,a)

Chapters: Part II

Synopsis: An accidental reunion sets the sparks fly between you and Seungmin, but the relationship takes a turn at the end of the summer and you seek help from your frenemy, Minho. (13,7k words)

Author's note: I didn't mean to make it long but then I saw the word count and decided to put it into two parts. For the birthday boy, Seungmin x

📼 Viewfinder playlist.

Summer is here.

The sun is shining so brightly on the clear blue sky and the air carries the smell of flowers along with its pollen, good thing that you're not allergic.

Another good thing is tomorrow is the beginning of summer break and you can put a hold on the stress of being a university student.

The bad thing is you don't have any plans on how you're going to spend it.

However, for tonight, you have a plan and you have to go home so you can get ready for it.

Your apartment is only a few blocks away from the university complex, you always ride your bicycle to and fro. You put your bag and books on the basket of your bicycle before unlocking the chain lock.

"Congratulations on getting the highest score on the quiz!" Someone says.

Even from how dark the shadow is and the insinuating tone in his voice, you can tell who it is.

You put both the lock and the chain inside the basket before turning around to see him, "Minho, should I be relieved or scared that I can't hear the slightest bit of sarcasm in the way you congratulate me?"

Minho is an enemy because the two of you are competing to be at the top of the class and everyone knows that. His smirk implies that it's the latter.

"I'm trying to be nice and you should too. Buy me drinks tonight?"

You also consider Minho as a friend since he's the only one who knows the pressure of being a devoted student and a great drinking partner.

"I can't. I have to meet Rina's new boyfriend," you tell him.

Minho knows you well enough that he understands right away. Another common thing you have with him is he also rides his bike to campus.

"Who is she dating this time?" He asks while backing the bike out of the rack.

You do the same and walk the bike out of the station, it's not safe to start riding it with people walking around.

"An artist and that's why she wants me to meet them at an art exhibition," you reply.

It's so nice riding through the warm, pleasant breeze and knowing that you don't have to study for weeks. You're paddling your bike slowly and savoring every second passed in freedom with Minho riding his bike next to you.

"Do you have any plans for the summer?" He suddenly asks.

You keep your head looking straight ahead, "Nope but I know I'll be seeing you in the library."

You glance at him and laugh, "It's the only way you can keep up with me," you add with a shrug.

Minho scoffs and slows down as both of you reach the intersection, "Be careful. Next thing you know I'll be steps ahead of you," he coyly taunts you.

You can't tell if he holds his handlebars so hard or if the veins on his arms are always evident like that when your eyes unknowingly land there.

You sneer and say, "That doesn't sound like a threat at all."

The lights turn green and this is when you go separate ways with him. He's turning right while you're going straight.

Before he makes a turn, he turns at you and says, "Just remember. You still owe me drinks!"

As much as you want to beat each other academically and have the same level of competitiveness, you both keep it fair and clean.

And that's why you consider Minho as the frenemy.

-

The outfit you're wearing is appropriate and appropriate is enough.

There are no limitations in art so seeing the other people dressed for the art exhibition doesn't surprise you at all. What surprises you is how old Rina's new boyfriend looks but you guess it's because of all the facial hair he has.

"I'm Joe," he introduces himself.

"Nice to meet you, Joe," you say with a nice smile.

"Have you looked around?"

"Not yet. I think Rina can show me around," You reply while sending signals at her with your eyes.

"Ah, sure, show her around, babe," he says to Rina, letting her go from his side.

Once you both out of his earshot, you grab Rina's elbow and ask, "How old is he?"

"Oh my God, I'm old enough to date whoever I want," she answers while grabbing two glasses of champagne from a tray.

"No, but seriously, how old is he?"

She hands you a glass and sips her drink, "He's only 31. Relax!"

You have mixed feelings about her dating a guy 10 years older than her but she's right, she's old enough to make a decision on her own.

After one sip of wine, you trick your brain that it's going to help you relax and it works like usual.

"This is his artwork," Rina says with a proud smile.

It's a puddle of mud on a canvas. You're raking your brain for a good minute and still have zero ideas of what it is about.

His boyfriend calls for her from across the room and Rina answers like the good girlfriend she is, "Wait, I have to—"

"It's okay, you can go," you tell her and you are more than relieved to be left alone.

You look at it again and try to make the meaning of this messy piece of artwork when someone takes a stand next to you.

"Do you like it?" The stranger asks.

"Not... really," you doubtfully answer.

Maybe it's because you're a left-brained person, you're more adaptable to logical and orderly things that you can't see what it's all about.

"I understand paintings," you share, quietly tapping the floor as you speak, "but artworks like this..."

You dryly laugh at your incompetence and you know for sure Minho will have a good laugh at it if he knows but not this man, he's only staring back at you, waiting for you to finish talking.

"For example, I understand Dali's Persistence of Memory but The Lobster Phone? That, I'll never get it," you share another embarrassing thing about yourself, unprovoked.

It's better to stop talking and further embarrassing yourself. You look back at Joe's artwork and stare at it hoping to find nothing but to pass the time.

When you thought he would turn away and leave this awkward moment, he asks, "How about photographs?"

"Photographs?"

He nods, "I can show you some."

There's no harm in seeing some photographs, you may not get it but it's better than seeing a puddle of mud. Plus, this stranger seems nice and not judgemental.

"I'd love to see some photographs," you say.

He leads you to the other part of the gallery, walking through two big black curtains to enter a whole different exhibition.

The room is dark. The only source of light is coming from the lamps casting lights on each framed black and white photograph hung on the black-painted wall.

It's somehow atmospheric and intimate, it's quiet except for the low chatter of people discussing these photographs.

You saunter to the first photograph you see while he's there walking next to you, watching you taking a look at it with awe in your eyes.

It's just so pleasant to look at and maybe that's just what art is, it doesn't have to be boxed into one thing. You just meant to feel it, profoundly.

"It's amazing," you say with a dreamy sigh.

He senses that you're being earnest about what you said and smiles. He lets you take a look at it long enough that you start to immerse yourself in it.

"Perhaps, do you know what happened to Sisyphus?"

That gets you completely puzzled because why would he ask about a figure in Greek mythology out of the blue?

"Well, it's safe to say he's still rolling the boulder up the hill," You answer with a soft laugh.

He stays quiet for a while and sweetly smiles at you, a smile that makes him somewhat familiar like you've seen it before.

"I'll leave you to figure it out," he says, walking backward until his figure is engulfed by the darkness of the room.

You start to spiral, going over everything you said to him and trying to guess what triggers him to suddenly lose interest, you come down that it has anything to do with the answer you gave him.

You're greatly familiar with Greek mythology to know that he's condemned to infinitely roll a boulder up the hill for cheating the death twice. Must admit that Sisyphus is a slick guy but what has it got to do with all this? Is this his way of flirting? Is he even flirting at all? Who is this stranger?

To keep your mind distracted, you continue your tour around the exhibition and admire each photograph for capturing not only moments but so many emotions.

When you turn to the last wall, you only realize now that you don't know the name of the artist. You bend down to read the card under the photograph.

Kim Seungmin, it says on it and you swear you heard this name before.

You successfully recollect some of your earliest memories from when you were a kindergartner. You had a classmate named Kim Seungmin, he wears glasses and fluffy hair.

You laugh at it because it couldn't be that Kim Seungmin, right?

There's only one way to find out. You talk to someone who might have known him since she's deep in conversation with someone about the photographs.

"Excuse me, but is Kim Seungmin, the artist, perhaps here? Attending the exhibition?" You politely ask.

She seems to be displeased that you interrupt, she looks at you with eyes widening and says, "I'm pretty sure I saw you walked in with him earlier."

"Oh, you mean the guy—" You stop talking altogether as it hits you.

Sisyphus! The Sisyphus he meant is the name of the rabbit you pet together in kindergarten. This only verified that he is the Kim Seungmin you know.

You look around the room for him but can't find him, you exit the exhibition to bump into Rina.

"I've been looking for you!" She says.

"Have you seen a guy with fluffy hair and he's wearing a leather jacket, cute but also cool at the same time?" You ask while craning your neck to spot him in the crowded room.

"That sounds like my boyfriend but he's not wearing a leather jacket so..." Rina answers.

You hold yourself back from groaning. It's typical Rina in love, so smitten, so all over him, and next thing she knows, she finds solace in a bucket of Ben and Jerry's cookie dough ice cream.

"Let's grab some more wine and have another—"

Rina's voice becomes faint as you keep walking around the room hoping to see him again so you can tell him about Sisyphus the rabbit, that he died one year after Seungmin moved away. Unfortunately, there's still no sign of him.

"Rina,"

"Yes?"

"Is it okay if I leave early?" You ask, "You know how I feel about being in an event like this."

She knows that she's the extrovert and you're the introvert, your friendship is based on opposite attraction. She nods in understanding and says, "Be careful on your way home!"

You give her a hug and mutter, "Thank you!"

You make your way out of the gallery after saying goodbye to Rina's new boyfriend and see a group of people smoking outside and none of them is Seungmin.

The sound of someone revving the engine of a motorcycle startles you as you put on your cardigan. Your head snaps to the source of the sound and see that it's Seungmin.

You walk to the side of the road and open your mouth to call him, immediately refrain as he hands a helmet to a girl and most likely to get a ride from him.

So much for a sweet reunion! You can only watch as he drives away on his motorcycle.

The night takes a turn and you don't want to go home wallowing in this unexplainable feeling alone in your room. You pull out your phone to call someone.

The dialing tone is ringing as you walk to the side of the road and hailing a cab for you.

"I haven't slept yet but my worst nightmare is already calling," Minho says.

You can't see him but you bet he's smirking as he speaks, "I know it's past your bedtime but remember the drinks I owe?"

He catches up on your intention right away and with an exaggerated heavy sigh, he says, "Well, if you insist."

A taxi stops right in front of you and you open the door to the backseat, laughing as you say, "See you there!"

-

This is how your summer break starts: with a hangover.

The moment you open your eyes, you realize that that is not the only worst thing you do. You wake up and recognize that you're not sleeping on your bed.

A nerd recognized another nerd's bedroom from a shelf of books and another stack of them is on the bedside table.

"Ugh," you groan while rubbing your temple.

You can see the owner of the bed you're in standing, leaning against his desk sipping his coffee.

"What did you do to me?" You ask as you sit up on the bed.

He takes a small sip of his coffee and delightfully gasps, "Nothing but taking care of a drunk fellow."

You scoff and brush your hair to the back, can't think of what happened last night, "I mean, how did you get me drunk?"

He crosses his arms together in front of him and calmly responds, "You were the one who wanted to get drunk last night, not me."

The more you try to remember it, the more your head spins and turns your stomach queasy, "Can I have anything you're having right now?"

"We use the magic words here," he says with a sneering smile.

You sigh and put on a forced smile, "Please?"

Minho smiles in satisfaction and heads to the kitchen. You've been here before so you can navigate your way from bed to the bathroom to wash up. One of his cats aggressively meows when you accidentally cover her with the duvet.

"Sorry, cat!" You mutter, not quite remember their names since there are three of them.

Another cat walks past you as you open the bathroom door and you wash your face, not realizing there's a writing on your forehead until you see the reflection in the mirror.

Minho must had some fun writing "loser" on your forehead with a black marker, you rub it over with soap and water to clean it.

"You don't want to know what I would do to you if it was a permanent marker," you scold as you walk to the kitchen.

Minho is chuckling as he turns and places a plate of breakfast on the small dining table, "I may be mischievous but I'm not diabolical," he says.

It surprises you that he also cooked you scrambled eggs with toast when you only asked for a cup of coffee he was having, "This is not what I expected," you innocently comment as you pull a chair and sit on it.

"You asked whatever it is I'm having, right?" He refills his cup with more coffee.

You start with a sip of coffee and you can feel that the caffeine slowly works its magic, "I thought your usual breakfast would be Russian literature and the economic section of today's newspaper because you know...you're boring," you say with a scornful gaze.

Minho approaches you and puts one hand against the table, displaying his veined arms at you again.

"I'm offended that you said Russian literature is boring," he says, taking your eyes back to his face again.

You forget about what he said once you have a spoonful of the breakfast he made you, it's just egg but it's so good.

Another one of his cats jumps onto the table and nuzzles its head at Minho, asking to be petted and purring when he finally gives what it wants. He checks the time on his watch and says, "I'm afraid you have to finish your breakfast quickly!"

You bite your toast and glance at the clock on the wall, "It's summer. The library won't be open until 10."

He picks up his jacket from the coat hanger, "It's the first day of my summer internship and I can't be late."

Your mouth is full of food to properly speak but you don't want to skip the chance to tease him, "What? You have a Zumba class?"

He dryly laughs and puts his coffee cup into the sink, "I'll be working as Kim Edison for the summer."

"It can't be Kim Edison the columnist who recently won the journalism prize, right?" You ask with an uneasy smile.

Minho doesn't answer but gives you a suck-it smile that is a combination of smirk and evil smug and you hate it so much.

"I give you five minutes!" He shorty says.

With the little time he gives you, you shove as much food as you can and take a long gulp of steaming hot coffee, almost getting your tongue burnt in the process.

You regret having breakfast as Minho rides his bicycle fast as you sit on the back. You get queasy again from the bumpy ride as your hands hold onto the cardigan that you're using to cover your head.

Most of the students are away for the summer break but you don't want to risk being seen riding a bike with him while wearing last night's clothes.

"Stop fidgeting!" He scolds in front of you.

"I almost fell off to the back!" You scold back.

He makes a harsh turn and sends you tilting to the side, you reflexively holding on to his waist from letting that happen.

"You look faint," he cheekily says as he stops the bike right in front of your apartment building.

You can't feel your legs once you get off the bike, "ugh... thank you," you mutter, too nauseated to respond to his teasing.

He checks his watch again and grips the handlebars, "I have to go. Bye!"

Minho doesn't wait for your reply but paddles his bicycle as fast as he can. Guess, he's serious about the internship thing, and that makes you one step behind him.

New plan for the day besides curing your hangover: Find a summer internship.

"It's too late to find one," Rina says, breaking your spirit as you ask her if she knows anyone who needs an intern or something. She's very well connected in the social scene well, that's what an extrovert does best.

"Why are you still dressed in last night— oh, are you...?" She squints her eyes at you.

You would love to deny it but then you would have to tell her where you slept last night, keeping quiet is the best option.

"Why are you packing?" You shift the topic, seeing her packing her clothes into a suitcase.

"I'm going on a trip with Joe," she says with that stupid grin people in love have.

"You've been dating him for only a week, Rina!" You try to put some sense into her.

"So what? Things are going great and it's not like we have a plan for the summer anyway," she says.

"Then what about our movie marathon, having ice cream by the pier, and feeding ducks at the pond?" You list the things you like to do together besides hanging out in your shared apartment for the summer.

"Feeding the ducks is your thing," she says while rolling a folded towel.

She's right and when you think about it again, you can do those things not only in the summer. You should get on your laptop and find a summer internship because who knows?

"At least, tell me where you're going?" You ask as a good friend.

"We're going on a road trip and you know how it is with an artist, we're going to figure stuff out as we go," she gives you a concerning answer.

You bite your tongue to hold yourself back from saying harsh things with good intentions and choose to step back, "Well..." You think of something cheerful to say instead, "Take a lot of pictures and have fun!"

Rina smiles at you as she shoves her makeup into a pouch, "Thank you, babe!"

You're about to leave her bedroom when she remembers something, "I think I know a friend who needs a cat sitter," she says.

Your spirit descends again and before you can make it to your bedroom, the doorbell rings. You drag yourself to open it and are still surprised by his bushy facial hair.

"Oh, hi Joe!" You put on a smile.

"I came to pick up Rina," he says with a fatherly smile or maybe it's because you can't shake the thought that he's ten years older than both you and Rina.

"She's still packing in her bedroom," you open the door wider to let him in, "Come in, please!"

He steps inside and looks around the room, probably scanning for any artsy pieces in an apartment occupied by two college students.

"Coffee? Water?" You offer.

"I'd like a cup of coffee before hitting the road," Joe replies.

There's coffee left in the pot and you pour a cup for him, bringing it for him as he sits on the dining table. Something pops in your head as you hand him the coffee.

"Thank you," he says.

"Hey, Joe..." your palms are already sweaty even though you haven't asked anything.

He looks up after sipping his coffee, "Yes?"

"Do you perhaps know any of your artists' friends who needs... uhm, like an assistant or an intern for the summer?" You sound so awkward but he already gave you a weird look once he saw you're still wearing the dress from last night.

"Oh, I'm not sure but," he pauses to look at the contacts on his phone and scrolls down fast, "I'll ask around."

You hold your hands up at him, "Oh, no, no, no, it's okay if you don't know any I'm just..." you catch someone's name flashes on his contact list.

"You have Seungmin's phone number," you naively blurt out.

"The photographer? Yes, of course, we held the exhibition together," he says.

You hesitate to ask for his numbers and awkwardly smile at him.

"Do you know him?" He asks.

"He was a friend of mine. We went to the same kindergarten but he moved away, well, he and his family moved out of town, and last night, we met again after years and—" You stop yourself from rambling on and on.

"That's so sweet. Here, let me give you his numbers so you can reconnect," he says, giving you his phone so you can send it to your phone.

"Thank you," you mutter while handing him his phone back.

After almost an hour and an impromptu make-out session by the doorway of her bedroom, Rina and his boyfriend finally leave the apartment.

She's dragging her big suitcase with her downstairs and you watch from upstairs as she waves at you before getting into the car.

"I'm leaving. Don't miss me. Don't forget to get out of the house," Rina knows how to embarrass you and make you feel sentimental all at once.

"Okay, Mom," you playfully respond and return her hand kisses.

-

The cold shower helps with the hangover but it doesn't help with the internship search.

Is everyone going out of town in the summer and leaving their pets because there are a lot of people looking for someone to take care of their pets?

For this once, you have to admit that Minho is one step ahead of you. He's deep in your head and you blame it for getting drunk last night.

You know what? You'll do what Rina told you to do and get out of the house to feed the ducks. You get up but sit back down on the chair as you glance at your phone.

You've been contemplating whether to call Seungmin or not. If you call, what are you going to say to him? Tell him that you asked for his numbers without his consent.

There you go again, overthinking things when you can tell him what happened to Sisyphus. You hit the call button right away, not leaving a second for your anxiety to slip in again.

Your heart is pounding while you're listening to the dialing tone... then it clicks and you hear the rustle of someone picking up the call.

"Seungmin?" You call his name right away just to confirm it's him and not the man with the same name as him.

"Sorry, who is this?" It's a voice that you don't expect to hear: of a girl.

"Oh, I must've called the wrong—"

"No, you're right. It's Seungmin's phone but he's currently busy," she explains.

You should be happy that you are calling the right number but your spirit deflates instead, "Oh, that's okay, I'll just— have a great day!"

You abruptly end the call and decide to settle on texting him about Sisyphus, he can use that information as he pleases. Well, you'd be disappointed if he didn't call you back but you try not to put too much hope on it.

Maybe you should have chosen to get out of the house and feed the ducks.

-

Something is weighing your chest as you get awakened by the sound of your phone ringing. You stare down and see a book resting on your chest, you must've fallen asleep while reading.

The room is dark, you're too lazy to turn on the lights so you grope around your bedside table for your phone to pick it up.

"Yes, hello?" You croak.

"It's me," Seungmin says.

Your eyes instantly snap open and you lift yourself to sit up on the bed, your fingers brushing your hair as if Seungmin were there and could see you.

"You called me earlier," he says.

"I hope you're not mad that I got your numbers from Joe, he's a boyfriend of my friend, he—" You shut your eyes to keep your mind on track.

"I'm sorry I called you," you apologize even though you're not sure why.

"No, I'm glad you called and I'm glad you asked for my numbers," his voice sounds light and airy through the phone, pleasant to the ear.

You think of something to say without getting awkward, "You were busy when I called so... not sure if you're happy with that."

"Yeah, I was in the middle of doing a photo shoot," he explains with a low sigh.

"I'm sorry," you sincerely say. You were too focused on the girl who answered the call than the real reason why Seungmin couldn't pick up the phone himself.

"Stop apologizing," he says with a low laugh.

"Okay," you say with a smile.

"Can I pick you up for dinner?"

The offer comes so suddenly that you don't know how to respond to it. Frankly, you would say yes right away but you don't want to sound eager.

"I'd love that," you say.

"Send me your address and I'll pick you up."

Unlike you, Seungmin is not afraid to show how eager he is. "Now? Like right now?" You ask for confirmation.

"Yeah. Why?"

You check the time and it's 20 past midnight, you break into laughter because it means one of you is disoriented, "Seungmin, it's late."

There's a pause and then he lowly gasps, "Ah... I've been working all day and didn't notice the time."

"I mean I would love but you've had a tiring day already so..." you hate to reject him but you only need to be the one with initiative.

"How about tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow sounds great," he shortly replies.

"Do you still want me to send you my address?"

"Yes, that would be helpful."

He sounds sweet that your head is already filled with daydreams, "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"See you tomorrow," he repeated.

"Okay."

"Okay."

A part of you don't want this to end but you have to leave room for him to fill himself.

"Goodnight, Seungmin."

"Goodnight."

Technically, the day has turned into tomorrow and you can't go back to sleep knowing that in mere hours, you'll meet him again on a summer day.

-

It's dinner so you have planned out what time you should shower, and do your make-up and hair, you already picked a dress to wear so that's one less thing to worry about.

Except that Seungmin came earlier than you thought and you were in the middle of doing your hair when he called, telling you that he's outside your apartment building. You dash to the window and look for him.

There he is, standing and holding his helmet in one with the afternoon sun shining down on him, making him look like a dream.

You awkwardly wave at him from the window and Seungmin smiles as he looks up at you.

"Come upstairs!" You tell him on the phone.

"Okay."

Did he grow a few inches since you met or... he just that tall and you only realize it now as you find him standing there behind the door.

"You're ready to go?" He brushes his hair that's already messy yet somehow it's only making him more attractive.

You snap yourself out of it and look away, "I just need to change."

"Okay," he says, sounding calm as usual.

You let him wait inside as you excuse yourself to change in your bedroom. You're already in the dress you planned on wearing but it's most likely that he's taking you on his motorcycle, you change into jeans and a peasant blouse for the sake of comfort.

"Okay, I'm ready now," you announce with a smile.

It will be the first you're riding a motorcycle, it doesn't have that much difference with riding a bicycle, right? Except that the other is with engine and not eco-friendly.

Seungmin hands you a helmet, the same one he lent to the girl that night at the exhibition but you are a grown-up and not going to act petty by refusing to use it.

"Let me help you," Seungmin helps you clip the straps together under your chin.

He fixes the hair covering your face and tucks it inside the helmet, "Safety is sexy!" He says with a flirty smile that flashes at you.

Seungmin gets on the motorcycle and turns on the engine, sending it roaring alive. He offers his hand as support as you climb on the motorcycle behind him.

It's like riding a bicycle, you remind yourself but all that is running through your head is of Minho giving you a ride home that morning.

You almost fall off to the back as Seungmin launches the motorcycle forward, only slowing down when there's an intersection ahead.

"You might want to hold on to me," his voice is muffled by the helmet he's wearing.

"Yeah," You can't hear what he says with the helmet wrapped around your head so tight and the sounds of traffic.

Seungmin takes your hand and puts it around his waist, "Hold on to me," he says louder.

"Okay," you nod to let him know that you can hear him this time.

With how fast he rides and your hand is fisting the front of his leather jacket, the gap between your bodies is close to nonexistent. Sitting behind him, letting you adore his square shoulders and you wish you could just rest your head on his back.

Instead of that, your helmet hits his as he brakes hard at the traffic lights, sending your body crashing into his back. You hurriedly scoot farther to the back.

Seungmin holds your hand before you can let go of your hold on his leather jacket, he holds on to it as he waits for the light to turn green.

He slows down as he rides through the suburban area, taking you somewhere you've never been even though you have lived in the city for years.

It feels nice to ride on a summer afternoon with the air softly caressing your cheeks and the sun feeling warm on your skin.

"I am gutted to know that Sisyphus died," Seungmin says in between bites of dinner.

"The homeroom teacher brought a rabbit that looked like him but I knew that it wasn't Sisyphus," you share and shove a spoonful of mashed potato into your mouth.

"Because he had that black dot on his nose, right?"

You cover your mouth to not let him see you talking while eating, "oh, my God! You remember!"

"Of course," he coyly says, "He was our child. How could I forget our child?"

Our child? Seungmin remembers that too. You and he used to play parents for Sisyphus. But you're going to blame the summer heat for making your cheeks heat.

"So uhm... how did you become a successful photographer?" You shift the topic or else your cheeks are going to explode.

"I sort of... going into it by accident. I was studying abroad for law then I joined the photography club and everything happened," he concisely explains with the always calm yet cool facial expression.

"Everything happened," you repeated with a low laugh.

He takes a sip of water and reclines on his chair, "Just like we happened to meet again."

There is the smile again. It's sly yet nice, flirty yet sweet. He makes you all kinds of things with just one smile.

"I'd love to take your pictures," he says out of the blue.

You shake your head and shyly laugh, "I don't think that's a good idea."

"I think it's the best idea," he makes it sound like it's not a request but an order.

The early dinner you had allowed you two to spend the rest of the night walking in the park, enjoying the sunset from the top of the hill and catching up on each other's life.

Seungmin didn't finish his law school, he went on trips around the world to take pictures and do exhibitions. It's compelling listening to him talking about photography, well, he is at his most attractive talking about the thing he's passionate about.

When it comes to your turn to talk about your life, you realize you have your nose tucked in books instead of exploring the world like him.

"Compares to your my life sounds so boring," you say with a sneer.

"You can't compare your life to mine," he says.

He stops on his track and leans against the railing on the edge of a parking building, looking at you, "You get to finish your school and that's a win for you."

"I'm not there yet," you say, standing next to him and looking at the sun sinking lower on the horizon, leaving the day in a beautiful burst of golden rays.

The sunset passed in a comfortable silence, it's like watching the sun slowly tucked in for the night. You turn to the side and see Seungmin basking in the warm glow of the last slivers of sun.

"Ready to go home?" He asks.

Honestly, you don't want to go home yet but what can you say? Seungmin is working during the summer unlike you. The night air is cool and it's helping you relax on the bike ride home. You're holding on to the side of the jacket instead of his waist to stay appropriate.

Seungmin realizes it as he stops the bike at a traffic light, he pulls your hand and puts it inside the pocket of his leather jacket. You can feel his gloved hand but he looks over his shoulder, "Don't let go!"

You nod instead of verbally answering him against the noisy city sounds. Not sure if you're slowly forgetting your way around the city but Seungmin is heading nowhere near your apartment building.

It's when he takes his bike into a different apartment building that he's certainly not taking you home. After taking off his helmet he helps you take off yours in the dimly lit room of an empty parking basement.

"I thought we were going home," you fix your hair quickly with your fingers.

He puts the helmet on the handle of his bike, "But I didn't say which home," he says.

It's only right for you to get nervous, not only that you in Seungmin's studio slash apartment but he wants to take pictures of you too.

"This is a bad idea. I–I'm awkward," you stammer, clasping your hands together in front of you.

He takes your hand and leads you to the sofa, telling you to sit while he walks to a big collection of cameras from analog to digital and dozens of lenses in various sizes.

"Just relax," he says as he finally settles on his choice of camera.

"Act normal, you know, get comfortable," he picks a lens and carefully attaches it to the camera.

That's the problem. You're not normal in the first place and you're not confident unless someone is talking about your favorite books but weirding him out with your book talk is not the way to charm him.

He takes a practice shot and you suddenly shrivel up, turning rigid on the sofa.

"Relax those shoulders," he says while taking steps closer to you and keeping his finger busy clicking the camera.

You're trying to relax but knowing that the camera is taking pictures of you at every angle. It's so obvious that Seungmin puts down his camera and walks up to you.

"Shoulders down," he says with his hand on your shoulder and gently massages it.

"Sit as you like, make yourself comfortable."

You look up at him and nod as he speaks, helping you to loosen up by rubbing down your eyes. But it's the way he looks at you that convinces you that he means no harm.

"You can put your legs up if you want," he encourages.

You shake your head and shyly laugh, "I can't do that but can I borrow one of your magazines?" You point at the stacks of magazines and newspapers on top of the cabinet.

Seungmin must have taken a hundred of pictures already but that won't stop him. He puts his camera so close instead of using his expensive lens to work, making you giggle at how he leans so close.

His hand reaches your face to tuck a hair behind your ear and calmly, he says, "You have beautiful eyes."

"Oh, no, it's getting ridiculous now," you bashfully say as he goes to the back of the sofa to take a picture.

You're following him, tilting your head to the back while covering half of your face with the magazine you're hardly reading.

Seungmin puts away his camera and then leans down as he pushes the magazine away from your face. Then the next you know is his hand caressing your face and slowly he leans in.

It's as simple as putting his lips on your lips but inexplicably it feels like something you've done a million times already. It's easy, pure but the urge in the way he brushes his lips over and over again also makes it feel like such a long time coming.

You close your eyes as his hand slides down from your jaw to your exposed neck and it stays there until he slowly pulls away from the kiss.

Seungmin smiles as you foolishly stay there and stare at him with your mouth parted open, still reeling from the kiss. He continues taking pictures as if nothing happened.

You compose yourself as fast as you can and look down at your lap once Seungmin is done taking pictures, carefully putting his camera back in its place.

The city view at night reminds you that it's getting late and you might have overstayed, "I'd better—"

Again, Seungmin is ready with his hand outstretched at you to help you get up from the sofa. Once you're on your feet, he puts his arm around you and pulls you close so that you can feel his warm breath fanning your cheek.

"You'd better what?" His eyes are piercing right into yours.

He makes you nervous but in a good way, "I'd better—"

Seungmin kisses you again and he doesn't hold back this time. His tongue skillfully pries your mouth open and slithers in the second you let him in, invading your mouth to taste more of you.

The kiss is fiery and sets your body ablaze, explosive.

Even though your lungs burning for oxygen, you let out a whimper when he breaks the kiss. You didn't think that he would hear it.

He puts his other arm around you and asks again, "Is there anything you'd better do than this?"

It's amusing to him asking you a question that he damn knows the answer to.

With your lack of knowledge and the sex expertise on a road trip with her older boyfriend, you're left with no choice but to figure things out as you go.

You do the same every time Seungmin takes off a piece of his clothing until they're all littering his bedroom floor. The only thing that's left on you is the white underwear you're wearing, it's not a flattering one but for an unplanned sexy time, you hope it will do.

You hugging yourself while Seungmin keeps kissing you with his hands roaming your body, guess he's trying to make you calm but you're just so aware of yourself and your appearance.

Seungmin sees that so he holds your face in his hands and presses a soft peck on your lips, "Don't hide from me."

He glides his hands down to your shoulders and his eyes are following them as they take your hands away from covering your bare chest.

His one hand is straying from the course and goes down your chest, splaying his hand on your sternum then softly sighs.

"Your heart is beating so fast," he speaks so low yet it's echoing in the dark of his room.

"Are you scared or excited?" He asks as he shifts his eyes back at you.

You swallow air and answer, "Both."

Seungmin smiles in response. Keeping the hand on your beating heart, he presses another kiss on your lips, long and lingering.

He then continues the kisses down your neck, collarbone, chest, and the valley of your breasts and keeps going until he kneels on the floor.

Seungmin looks up as he places a kiss on your abdomen, his lips take a right turn, and kisses your waist and down to your hips. His other hand is hooked on the elastic band of your underwear and he's pulling it down as he places kisses down your inner thighs.

"You're so beautiful," he says while still kneeling on the floor, looking at you with wonder in his eyes like he's seeing of divine.

That inexplicably makes you feel like a goddess and he's on his knees worshipping you. Your hesitant hand makes it to his cheek and he keeps it there, pressing on it then kisses your wrist.

You offer your hand for him this time and help him get up from the floor after getting a boost of confidence from the way he's looking at you.

Taking a step closer, you embrace yourself and this moment, letting him in and take you places.

The kisses he planted all over your body are searing and you feel hot all over especially when he kisses you close to where you wanted him to be.

Both of you wanted it so much and your bodies can't hide it anymore. Without looking, you know you're drenched and his erection is hard to miss.

He pulls a condom out of his bedside drawer and you take it from him, wanting to do him this favor just so you can say it back to him once you roll the rubber down his length.

"And that's why safety is sexy," you say with a sly smile.

Even with your lack of experience in the sexual field, you can tell that it's not always about the performance. Not that Seungmin has problems with that, he's doing it very well, he's fucking you so hard that your body shakes with every thrust but it's the way he softly gazes into your eyes.

You don't even try to make your brain work, you just gaze back into his eyes and all of a sudden, he hastily kisses your open mouth.

"What are you thinking?" He asks with a tender caress on your cheek.

"Nothing," You shake your head and then blatantly say, "It just feels so good."

You don't even try to impress him, your brain is shutting down so everything you say is unfiltered, and that only amuses him more.

Seungmin takes both of your hands and interlaced them together, pinning them on each side of your pillow. With or without him picking up the pace, you're already on the brink of your climax.

"I think I'm—" You barely finish your sentence when you get hit by waves of pleasure.

You're whining against his lips as he keeps holding your hands tightly in his and puts them around his neck so you can hold him as you relish your orgasm.

A few kisses later, you have Seungmin spooning you from behind and his hand is freely exploring your body while he keeps your mouth busy with more kisses.

"Can I have you again?" He softly asks and you nod without thinking.

The sight of his member makes you feel intimidated at first but you surprised yourself at how well you took him earlier. The intimidating feeling is now being replaced by the craving to have him inside you again.

Seungmin holds your thigh still as he pushes his cock from behind and you whine as you feel him entering you little by little.

"Oh, you're so hard," you mindlessly blurt out again.

Seungmin tolerates you so much but instead of getting offended, he brings his mouth close to your ear.

"That's how much I want you," he shamelessly admits at the same time he launches his cock deep inside you.

"Oh!" You moan and muffle yourself with the back of your hand.

He takes your hand away from your mouth, "Keep making those noises for me, baby."

-

It's like a dream or maybe it is and the worst part of dreaming is that it stops the moment you wake up.

If it wasn't for the morning sun that forces you to wake up, you'd still be living in your dream. Alas, you prepare yourself to be disappointed but when you open your eyes, you realize that it's not a dream.

You're naked under the cover and you're sleeping on his bed,

It happened so that means Seungmin is... you roll to the other side to find the space next to you is empty except for the crumpled sheet.

"I'm here," Seungmin must have seen you looking so disoriented on the bed.

You smile out of embarrassment and lift yourself while clutching the duvet close to your chest. You watch as he makes his way to the bed carrying two mugs of what you assume is coffee from the heavenly smile of it.

He sits on the edge of the bed and sweetly greets, "Morning!"

You're about to say it back to him when he presses a quick peck on your lips. It takes you a while to reel yourself back from the kiss and finally reply, "Morning!"

He finally hands you one of the coffee mugs and you take it with both hands, inhaling the heavenly smell of it before taking a small, careful sip.

Seungmin brushes your hair away and puts it behind your ear, placing a kiss on your bare shoulder before taking a sip of his coffee.

"What do you usually do in the morning?" He asks.

"Not much. Just breakfast, coffee, check emails, reading the news," you regret telling him your boring mundane things and stop yourself from embarrassing you more.

"How about you?"

"I wake up, toast and coffee. I go back to sleep when I don't have work to do," he calmly answers with his hair looking fluffy and inviting you to touch.

"Are you working on something?" You curiously ask since he seems so laid back or maybe it's just you who likes to keep yourself busy at all times.

"Not really but I'll be working on a few things this summer," he replies and puts away his coffee mug, "It's summer break, isn't it?"

"Yes," you shortly reply.

Seungmin places his hand on your back shoulder and draws lazy circles on the skin with his finger, "Do you have any plans for summer break?"

You stall by taking another sip of your coffee before embarrassing yourself again, "No."

His fingers trail down your spine as he softly sighs, "Then you're going to spend the summer with me."

You are usually opposed to a spontaneous idea like this. You need plans, you need orders yet you turn your head to the side to look at him, then say, "Okay."

"Okay," he repeats and leans in to kiss you.

And just like that, a plan is made.

-

Time is relative.

When you spend the day on your own, it feels like forever but when you spend the summer with Seungmin, a month passes by so quickly.

In conclusion, Albert Einstein was always right.

With Seungmin, you're living the dream life. You're wearing his clothes, living in his place, sleeping on his bed, riding on his bike to explore new places together, you're spending your time with him in your wake and you still miss him in your sleep. Gosh! You're getting loopy in the head.

Seungmin has work to do today, he offered to take you with him but you have to check your place, you're responsible for taking care of it while the other occupant is away on a road trip.

He drops you off outside your apartment building, taking off his helmet just so he can properly kiss you before letting you go.

"I'll pick you up later," he says.

"Okay. Be careful!" you place a long kiss on his lips for the last time, watching him ride further away from you.

The good news is the place is still intact and tidy just like the last time you see it. You clean up the place knowing that it's collecting dust, packing some clean underwear and clothes for you to take to Seungmin's place.

Not sure what time Seungmin will be done with work but seeing a stack of books abandoned for weeks, you decide to return them to the library before getting fined for it.

It feels strange not coming to the library for weeks and the smell of books hits you with a wave of nostalgia. You take your books out of your bag to the librarian lady who's just as surprised to see you when she usually gets sick of seeing you.

"Haven't seen you in a long time," she says while fixing her glasses.

You politely laugh and keep it low remembering that it's a library, "I suddenly have a different plan for the summer."

You're waiting by the desk as she thoroughly checks if there's any damage to the books when someone injects himself into the conversation.

"And the so-called plan is slacking off the whole summer?" Minho says, carrying a stack of books in one hand that makes the veins on his arms pop on his skin.

You turn around and sneer at him, "I'm trying this new thing called 'Get-A-Life' and I think you should try it too."

Minho puts the books down on top of the desk with a low thud, "I'm actually on this thing called 'Get-A-Summer-Job' and I think it works wonders on me."

You look away from him and secretly make a mocking face. The librarian lady pushes a form for you to sign and your phone beeps with a new message.

She glares at you for forgetting to put your phone in silent mode, "I'm sorry."

You hurriedly open to check a new message from Seungmin that he'll be done in two hours and you write a quick reply telling him you'll be waiting for him.

"You know I started to get concerned that you may have decided to give up," Minho says as he keeps the door open for both of you.

The stinging rays of the sun greet you as you step outside, reminding you to stay indoors or look for a shade to shelter in.

"I may be slacking off but once the summer ended, you know that I have never left my place," you tell him with eyes squinted from the bright sun.

Minho slings his backpack on one shoulder, "and that is behind me."

You sigh and shield your eyes with your hand, "It's summer break and you meant to be slacking off on summer break."

And you have two hours to spend on your own before Seungmin can pick you up, unless...

"You're supposed to have fun, you know and I can show you how," You suggest an idea with a grin.

He unlocks his bicycle from the rack and backs it out, he's probably analyzing your intention with his piercing stare, "What do you have in mind?"

You blank out for a moment from being under the sun for too long, "You and me, cold beers?"

"You mean, 'you and I'," he fixes your grammar.

You hold yourself from snapping at him and exhale air, "You know what, I'll just—"

"Okay. But you're paying," he immediately changes his mind.

There's a dive bar nearby where students usually go whenever they need to hit the snooze button on stressful university life and it's way cheaper than the other bars in the area.

You're having a sandwich aside from the cold beers while Minho settles on a tray of chips for the snacks.

"You can just tell me you need someone to accompany you having lunch," he says.

As expected, he's too smart to miss a thing. Not that you're afraid to have lunch by yourself, he happened to be there so why not?

"You can have a sandwich for lunch too," you tell him.

He shakes his head and pulls out a book from his backpack, "I had lunch."

You shrug and take another bite, "Then order as many cold beers as you want."

Minho starts reading his book, sticking his sharp nose in between pages and taking a sip of his beer once in a while.

"Where have you been though?"

You look up from your meal and wipe your mouth with a napkin, "Pardon?"

"I thought I'd be seeing your missing poster on the morning news," he says as he flips a page.

You know he's joking but his calm expression tells you otherwise, "Oh, my God! You're officially diabolical," you shriek.

He puts his book down and looks at you, "Have you ever thought I'd be most likely the one being asked about your whereabouts?"

"I've been going around the city with someone and I know that you don't care but he's an old friend of mine," You recline on your seat and cross your arms together in front of you.

"You can stop worrying about what you're going to tell the police if I went missing," you tell him with a smirk.

Minho takes the information for a moment as if it were a piece of information that needs to be thoroughly processed before going back to his default setting of being a nonchalant being.

He rests his back on his seat and picks up his book to continue reading.

After receiving a text that Seungmin is on the way to pick you up, you paid for the food and beers. The day is warm with the sun almost disappears for the day.

"Do you need to 'Get-A-Ride' too?" He pokes fun at you as he walks his bicycle.

"You must have waited hours to say that back to me," you say with a sigh.

"I can give you a ride home. Just like that morning," he smirks as he gets on his bicycle.

"No, thanks, Minho. I'm getting myself a ride home," you tell him.

He stays on his bicycle with his hands on the handlebars and looks at you, "Do you want me to wait with you?"

Minho actually knows how to be a gentleman, he just chooses to act snobby and cold around you.

"No, it's okay. He'll be here in a minute," you assure him.

He contemplates for a while before putting his foot on the paddle, "Okay, then. Thank you for the beers!"

You smile and wave your hand at him as he rides his bike in the direction of his apartment building.

A few minutes after Minho leaves, Seungmin appears with the sound of the roaring engine of his motorcycle. You're smiling as you're seeing him getting closer and closer.

He takes his helmet off and stays on his bike, watching you walk up to him.

"Hey," you say with a smile.

"I'm sorry, I have a girlfriend," he jokingly says.

You stop on your track, but seeing the sly smile on his face, you know he's playing with you, "Well then, can I get a ride?"

He gestures for you to come closer so he can whisper into your ear, "Oh, you'll get a ride for sure."

As the bike stop at a traffic light, Seungmin would either hold your hand or bring it close to his mouth to kiss it. Tonight, he chooses to rest his hand on your thigh with his gloved finger rubbing the skin.

When the lights about to turn green, he puts both of your hands around his waist. You hold him tight with your head resting on his back as he speeds up, sending the bike gliding through the city streets.

The ride gives you a new kind of high.

Seungmin knows how to get the engine hot and ready, using his hands or his mouth to get you even wetter than you already are. His touch is searing and firm, calculated to make you roar in pleasure. His mouth is hotter than the sun on a summer day, setting you ablaze every time his lips touch your skin.

He knows when to slow down and to speed up, he knows how to brake before sending you to your high early. When he knows that you're close though, he accelerates, he's going all in and freely riding on your body.

Faster and faster, knowing no limits, not stopping until both of you crash and break into smithereens, floating in immense pleasure.

The rush, the adrenaline, the ragged breath of life and death. There's nothing like it.

The ride is worth the high.

-

When Seungmin isn't working you spend the days exploring new places together.

He's been lending you one of his cameras so you can take your own pictures on the trips you take together on his bike. He taught you how to develop films in his little red room, he's patient enough to teach you every step of the process and not let you touch dangerous chemicals without him watching.

Seungmin also takes your pictures at every chance he gets, doesn't matter if you've just woken up or in the shower, sleeping, or eating a toast on the bed. Pretty sure he's running out of films just taking that kind of picture of you.

It's only fair that you take pictures of him too.

The first thing Seungmin does in the morning is make coffee and he takes his coffee seriously. He grinds the coffee beans himself, he boils the water until it hits the perfect temperature of 205 Fahrenheit before pouring it and he lets the coffee drips into a glass pot.

For you, Seungmin looks the sexiest when he's putting on a serious face. His jaws tensed, making his facial bones more defined and his mouth is slightly pouting without him realizing it. You have taken, at least, a dozen pictures of him looking like that in your camera.

As he waits for the coffee to be ready, he will come to the bed for some cuddles with you or discuss which part of the city you're going to explore today.

Today his routine slightly changes after handing you your coffee, "I'll be away the whole day for work."

"Another photo shoot?" You wildly guess.

He blows over his coffee before taking a sip, "Got invited to a photography club," he vaguely says.

Seungmin invited you when he wanted you to come with him but he didn't today so you guess he wanted to go by himself. It's time for you to get some clean underwear anyway.

"Okay," you answer with a smile.

"How are you going to spend the day?" He asks with a soft caress on your cheek.

"Well, there's not much to do without you," you say with a pout, "I think I'll just go home and get a few things."

Seungmin smiles and presses a kiss on your lips, "Don't bother packing any underwear. You're hardly wearing one around me."

You break into laughter, "Well, thanks to you."

"Are you going to wait for me?" He softly asks, twirling a strand of your hair around his slender finger.

"Always," you answer without a beat.

"I'll pick you up later?"

"Yes, please."

The photography club is doing an outdoor session and it's in the neighboring city, Seungmin leaves after taking a shower and kisses you while you're still snuggling in bed.

You leave Seungmin's apartment in the afternoon, waiting until the day is a little cooler before getting out. You take a taxi to avoid the heat and come home to find that someone is in the apartment.

Taking a cautious step, you peer inside Rina's bedroom which you always left the door closed at all times is wide open. You spot the bathroom door is open as well and decide to check it by tiptoeing until you're right next to the doorway.

Slowly, you peer inside and find Rina in the tub. You barge your way inside and shout, "Rina!"

She's just as surprised as you that she's sloshing water out of the tub, "Fuck! You scared me!"

You hurriedly put a towel for the puddles of water on the bathroom floor, "why are you here?"

"I live here," she innocently replies.

"Yeah, I know but there's still a week left on the summer break," your eyes shift to the box of macaroons on the side of the tub and you can tell right away that the answer is not going to be good.

"Joe and I broke up," she says and shoves a whole macaroon into her mouth.

You kind of saw it coming but you don't want to be in her face saying I-told-you-so. You choose to be a good friend and sit on the closed toilet, "Oh, no, what happened?"

She shakes her head and stuffs her mouth with more macaroon, "That jerk dropped me off in the middle of nowhere!"

"Oh, my God! He's the worst!" You say while disgustingly looking at the crumbs of the macaroon floating on the surface of the water.

Rina has always been the brightest and the most confident out of you two. It's saddening how miserable she looks right now when she can get any man who's twice better than Joe.

"Why don't we get drinks tonight?"

Rina gives you a puzzled look, "You once said it's a bad idea to turn to alcohol in times like this."

You meekly nod because you did say that to her but that was coming from the you who hasn't met Seungmin, "It's true but... why not, you know? As long as I'm there watching over your alcohol intake, I think we'll be okay."

Rina can't get out of the tub faster than this, she doesn't even bother putting on a towel and walking to her bedroom naked.

"What happened to you?" She asks after taking three shots of Jägerbomb as a starter.

"Nothing happened. Just met a guy, not much," you nonchalantly answer and take just a tiny sip of your first shot.

"Met a guy? That means a lot coming from you," she says, chasing after her tequila shots with a glass of coke and rum.

You would be offended if she wasn't a friend but she's always been an outspoken person, "I'll introduce you to him someday."

That reminds you to send a text to Seungmin telling him you'll be sleeping in the house tonight and most likely take care of Rina's hangover the next morning.

"For your information, this guy drives a motorcycle," Minho appears out of nowhere carrying his drink in his hand, and plops down next to you.

"Oh, Minho! I miss seeing your pretty face," Rina half-heartedly says.

"And I miss seeing you drunk," he says back.

You elbow his side and stop him from spoiling more about Seungmin, not the right time to tell Rina about him when she's heartbroken and halfway drunk.

"What's going on, Rina?" Minho coyly asks, ignoring your warning glare.

She lets out a heavy sigh and stacks her hands on the table before resting his chin on it, "Never fucking date artists," she gives him an irrelevant answer.

"They're cocky, they think they're mighty and right and know the world better," she rambles on and on.

Rina gulps her drink and not even wince at the bitter aftertaste, "Fuck them and their free-spirited shit."

Minho holds his drink with one hand even with the drops of the condensation rolling down his hand, "Once the free spirit has taken hold of a man, there's no way of getting it out of him."

Rina looks at him with unfocused eyes then raises her glass at him, "Damn right!"

It doesn't mean that all artists in general. Even though Seungmin is an artist, it doesn't mean that he'll act the same as Joe. He's kind and caring, he's intuitive. He may be spontaneous to the point of almost impulsive, but he's great. You don't know why you should feel called out with what Rina has said.

Minho kindly offers his help to walk Rina up the stairs until you get her to her bed. You take off her shoes and cover her with the duvet.

"Want a glass of water?" It's the least you can do for him after helping you carry drunk Rina.

"Yeah, please," he still catches his breath when he answers to you.

"How do you know the guy I'm seeing drives a motorcycle?" The question just sort of pops into your head.

Minho drains the glass of water before answering, "I saw you and him at the intersection the other day."

Seungmin has been giving you rides to and fro, it'll be impossible if Minho hasn't seen you on the street once. You walk him to the threshold and watch as he walks out the door.

"Thank you for the help," you mutter.

"No problem," he coyly says.

A moment passes just you and him looking at each other as he stands there with a line drawn in between.

"Goodnight, Minho," you say for the last time.

"Goodnight," he says back with his voice low.

-

Rina's words are lingering in your head after not getting a reply from Seungmin the whole night.

Maybe he forgot or his phone died. There are so many possibilities but he is your Seungmin, you knew him from kindergarten, he may have gotten rid of the glasses and the braces, but it's Seungmin.

One thing for certain is to avoid talking about Seungmin, especially his profession when Rina is still in this state, a mix of hangover and still completely heartbroken.

"I bought you soup," you murmur as you brush her hair while she's still sleeping on her bed.

Rina is slightly stirring in her sleep and snuggling to her pillow.

"Heat it before you eat it okay? It'll help with the hangover," you tell her again.

She hums in reply and clutches at her duvet even though the day is warm since it's almost noon. You quietly leave the apartment to go to Seungmin's place.

You smile the second you see him standing next to his camera collection while cleaning one of them with a small cloth.

"I miss you," you murmur as you hug him from the back.

Seungmin carefully puts down the camera, then pulls your hand, turning around on his feet to see you. He looks at you up and down, then flicks his eyes back at you.

Oh, you forgot how meticulous he can be. He probably notices that it's the same dress you were about to wear on the first date.

He cups your jaw in his hand and compliments, "You're beautiful!"

Oh, that's not what you expected him to say but it's good. Maybe it's because you've been wearing jeans a lot with him that he finds you looking different in a dress.

"Now, give me a twirl!" He orders as he takes one of the cameras.

"You want me to–" you ask for confirmation before you're embarrassing yourself as usual.

"Yes. Spin for me!" He has his camera ready and aimed at you.

You take a step backward and spin on your feet for him, sending the hem of your dress floating around you. You keep spinning as he endlessly takes pictures without stopping.

"I'm getting dizzy," you tell him while half laughing.

Seungmin is also laughing and he finally stops taking pictures, he walks up to you to wrap his arms around you. He stares into your eyes for a moment, then softly kisses you on the lips.

"I miss you too," he says against your lips.

You don't want to sound demanding but seeing Rina going through her heartbreak reminds you to be cautious about who you're giving your heart to.

"You didn't reply to my text," you tell him with your hands on his chest.

"I'm sorry," he simply apologizes.

That should be enough. He knows he's at fault and he apologizes for it, that should be enough to put your mind at ease. Or so you thought.

"I have something for you," he takes you to the bedroom and sits you down at the end of the bed.

Seungmin is rummaging inside his backpack to pull out something, it's something familiar, a pack of jelly candies. You can confirm as he opens it right in front of you and he takes one of the ring-shaped jelly.

"Do you remember this?"

You stare at it and remember this is how you and him became parents to Sisyphus, you got married at the playground with him putting on the same jelly ring on your thumb because your fingers were too small for it back then.

You nod as the memory is playing in the back of your head, "Of course."

Seungmin smiles and puts the jelly ring on your ring finger, kisses it after. You and him look at each other and somehow it feels like you're getting transported back in time to when you were both still five years old.

"I'm happy that we meet again," he intertwines his hand with yours on your lap.

"Me too," you say with a gentle squeeze on his hand.

Meeting him again feels like fate and for once, you're not going to search for any logical reasons behind it. You want to let go, you want to set yourself free.

You close your eyes and lean in until your lips meet the softness of his lips, melting them together into a kiss that breaks your heart open.

Seungmin lays you down on the bed and then he lays down next to you, his hand trailing the side of your body while his lips endlessly brushing over yours.

"It's crazy how I can't stop kissing you," he mutters with his lips glistening wet and red.

Hearing that only makes you want to kiss him more. You overlap half of his body with yours, your leg is hooked around his leg as his hand now resting on the arch of your back.

He draws his hand back to the nape of your neck to find the zipper of your dress, then he pulls it down slowly. The zipping sound echoes in the room that is now flooded with the afternoon sun.

After parting it open, he wastes no time to slip his hand and touches your skin. He reluctantly lets go of the kiss and props his elbow against the mattress as you stay lying on your stomach next to him.

With only his fingertips, he lightly touches your skin before replacing them with his lips, making a trail of kisses down your spine.

You lowly moan for every wet kiss he plants on your skin and moan as he crashes his lips on you again, kisses you so hungrily. When you think his hand will stop where the zipper ends, it keeps going until it stops on the back of your thigh, right where the hem of your dress is.

"Gosh! You're so soft..." he speaks so low it's almost like a whisper.

Seungmin puts his hand under and gently squeezes on the flesh on the back of your thigh, his finger is teasing the lacey fabric of your underwear.

Your hand makes its way to the collar of his shirt, popping the buttons open by yanking at it while trying to keep up with his kisses.

He's palming your ass cheek in his hands long enough until he can't help himself, he parts your legs open to make a space so he can touch you there.

You're moaning into his mouth as he slides his finger inside you, he pulls it out only to add another finger into you. You feel full with two digits inside you but that's because he knows what to do with them.

"Oh, Seungmin..." you sigh with your eyes fluttering shut.

You have to actively tell your brain to drag your hand down his bare chest and touch him there, doing the same favor for him.

His semi-hard cock sprung out of its confine the second you pull his underwear down, wrapping your hand around it and slowly stroking it, up and down as slow as the way he kisses you right now.

With the bright daylight, you can see that his cock is red and veiny, pulsing with so much desire in your hand. Using your thumb, you rub the tip in slow, circular motions.

"I can feel you clenching around my fingers," his lips brush yours as he speaks.

You giggle in response and that only exhilarates him more that he tugs at your lower lip and gently bites at it, "I'm so impatient to be inside you."

You hastily kiss him with tongue and all, "Want you inside me too," you whine.

Sex used to be something that makes you anxious and falls apart from the inside. However, with Seungmin, it's so easy and natural, that you're not afraid to ask for what you want, where you want to be touched, and how you want to be touched.

Most times you believe it's not the sex itself that makes the whole experience good but it's the way he treats you during and even after the sex.

Seungmin turns to your neck, littering the sensitive skin with hot and wet kisses. Each kiss is longer than the previous until he pulls away with a low gasp.

"I have to tell you that we run out of sexy," he suddenly shares.

You look at him in confusion, "Huh?"

He softly kisses your jaw and then your lips, "We're running out of condoms."

With how often you have sex, it's no surprise that the two of you blow a big budget on condoms. But you're always taking your birth control even when you're not that sexually active and you trust Seungmin to do it without the second layer of protection.

"We can do it without," you tell him.

Seungmin looks like he has just received a piece of news that's hard for him to comprehend. He only looks at you with eyes wide and filled with unexplainable glints.

"Are you on birth control?" He asks for confirmation.

"Yes."

"Is it okay with you?"

"I trust you," you earnestly tell him.

Seungmin softly smiles hearing your words before leaning in, kissing you ever so softly like he's kissing the wind.

Taking his position by hovering above you and you're still lying on your stomach under him, he lifts the hem of your dress, then pulls your underwear down.

He throws away his shirt and takes his time to tease your entrance with his cock, either he does it to prepare you or himself.

You look over his shoulder to see that Seungmin is putting on a serious face, "We can take it slow."

He leans down to capture your lips in a kiss, "I like slow."

The speed is not the issue here, a raw groan rips out of him as he pushes his hard cock inside you. Without the layer of protection, his cock becomes sensitive and he can fully feel you, how your walls wrapped so tightly around him.

He curves his hands under yours and buries his head in your neck, taking a moment to adjust himself inside you. You guide his hand to fondle your clothed breasts together with him.

"You feel good inside me," you mewl as he plants his mouth on your shoulder.

His cock feels incredibly good and hard, you can feel it throbbing as you said those words to him. It's like having sex for the first time again.

"Oh, you have no idea," he sighs with a haste kiss on your lips.

Seungmin is thrusting into you just as he promised, slow and steady. You crumple the sheet under you as you're cumming already around him, not sure if he knows as he keeps the motion of his hips going.

He pauses to change positions, turning you over to lay on your back this time, and this way, you can see how magnificent he looks under the sun.

The broad shoulders, the tousled hair, the clenched jaws, and the muscles on his body, oh, Seungmin is just perfect.

"You're perfect..." you say with a dreamy sigh.

He can see the admiration in your eyes as you stare at him with your hands turned up on the bed, he softly smiles and leans in to kiss you.

"No, you're perfect," he says back with his face only inches away from yours.

Seungmin knows how to take control as he adds speed to his thrusting, sending you close to your second orgasm. He loses control a little after you cum, holding your hands by the wrists and pinning them on each side of your head.

"Mmh, yes, yes..." you moan, getting closer and closer to your climax.

From the way he's throbbing inside you, you reckon he's close to his high as well. He's not stopping even after you're cumming for the second time, he keeps chasing and chasing...

"Oh, fuc—" his curse falls short as he collapses on top of you.

"You're cumming inside me, mmh?" Your hand is tangled deep in his soft locks.

That reminds him of what he should have done, pulling out of you as he planned but you stop him, holding him close as he's coming down from his high.

"Stay inside me," you say as you hold the side of his face and let him crumble into your arms.

The two of you spending the rest of the afternoon nestling on the bed, cuddling and talking, passing time like this with him feels even more intimate than sex.

Seungmin takes your hand and makes a trail of kisses down your inner arm, stopping when his lips meet your knuckles. He takes your finger adorned with the jelly ring and puts it into his mouth, taking the jelly ring with him and chewing on it.

"You eat our wedding ring!" You blurt out.

He pecks your lips, "I'm hungry. Let's order something!"

There's only one week left to summer break and you want to enjoy every second you get to spend with Seungmin, even though you have to lie to Rina about the guy you're staying in with, you're not going to let anything get in the way of your happiness.

After dinner, you both take a shower together. Seungmin offers to wash your hair for you, his fingers applying gentle pressure on your scalp and meticulously washing the suds off your hair before moving on to wash your body for you.

He stands behind you, one hand holding one side of your waist while the other is slowly lathering your skin with a bar of soap.

Even though you're taking a cold shower, it doesn't stop the temperature from rising inside the shower. His lips taste cold and warm when he kisses you, his hands are slippery yet firm, and the heat his body is emitting seeps into you as he holds you close against him.

The second both of your naked bodies hit the bed, it's instant coziness. You feel snug and content lying so close to him under the cover.

"I don't want summer to end," you sadly tell him.

"Me too," he seconds your remark.

Keeping your head still with his hand holding your chin, he slowly kisses you with his eyes closed, "Goodnight," he softly murmurs.

You give him a long peck on the lips in return and say it back to him, "Goodnight."

It's almost 1 a.m. The summer night is peeking through the windows with the stars winking at you and the warm breeze slipping through the cracks of the windows caresses your cheeks. You can't sleep. You are happy.

-

Support my blog by kindly reblog, comment or tip me on my ko-fi!

taglist: @svintsandghosts @abiaswreck @septicrebel @cursed-mars-bars @ppiri-bahng @drhsthl @tangylemonade @bluenights1899 @thisisnotstraight88 @elizalabs3 @avyskai @is2cb97 @simeonswhore @marvelous-llama @linovely @jisungsleftcheek @hanjisbeloved @luvsskzs @knowleeknow @army-stay-noel @djeniryuu @bigsobs4skz @toplinehyunjin @channies-luv @foxinnie8 @biribarabiribbaem @dalamjisung @moasworld @sherryblossom @fawnpeaks @lukeys-giggle @obeythemasters @primoppang @devilsmatches @skz-streamer @freckleboilix @idkluvutellme @laylasbunbunny @cherry-edibles @cutiespaghetti @yourmercibeaucoupsblog @warren-thedarkangel

#stray kids smut #skz smut #lee know smut #seungmin smut #skz x reader #stray kids imagines #skz imagines #stray kids scenarios #skz scenarios #skz fanfics #skz fics #kpop smut #kpop fics #kpop fanfics #seospicy smut

[nonsensical-pixels]

another hair in @antoninko's afterglow hair system, requested by anton himself! it is @hellagoodsims' a.d. taper fro hair for ts4, now for ts2. i really like this one, and hey, you can never have enough male hairs! 🕺🏽

it is 5318 polys, for tm-em only. nothing much else to say, except that it's unanimated. i think dirk and joe are both enjoying their new 'dos very much.

DOWNLOAD: SFS | MF 💇🏽‍♂️

credits go to @hellagoodsims for the amazing original ts4 meshes & textures! 💞

as always, if there are any issues that you find with this set, please don't be afraid to let me know! happy simming, and when you download this, do keep in mind,

#sims 2 download #the sims 2 cc #ts2cc #s2cc #sims 2 cc #the sims 2 #sims 2 #4t2 #4t2 conversion #4t2 cas #requests #sims 2 requests #sims 2 hair

[dontbesoweirdkira]

Mafia Trilogy !Yandere¡

Ranked On Insanity

A/N: This is purely my opinion on them. We all interpret their characters differently so don’t come at me if you don’t like their placements. I’m trying to be kind of accurate to their characters but also do fan service…I’m stressed so plz 😪

Requests open: 24/7

Warnings: Yandere and toxic themes.

Masterlist

I’m ranking them in three different categories…

Delulu to not as delulu

Batshit and completely delusional

These are the men who are at the point of no return….They are willing to do anything to get you at any cost. I do not say this lightly like I mean they are willing to do anything

My boy John has the entire c.i.a. at his very disposal and you think he won’t use it to find you??? He’s going to get you. Sam will too,, He’ll send out multiple men to come hunt you down if you even dare to hide from him. They do not give a flying duck if you don’t even have romantic interest in them, you are their darling. That’s the end of discussion.

Whatever they want you to do, you’re going to do it. There’s no rationalization with these two. Lincoln and Tom give them all the talks they want but they will not listen. Pushed to the brink enough and their friends are not safe either from their delusional thinking.

You already saw what Sam did to Paulie…imagine what he’d do for his darling. Not the ideal men for normal girls. You will be tormented every single step of your relationship with either one of these men.

No effort is made to hide their sinister behaviors and your eyes will bear witness to their horrific atrocities. If you push them too far they might even harm you eventually. There is no escaping or telling what their insanity will make them do.)

Sam Trapani

John Donovan

Pretty fucking crazy but is in a weird gray area between the other two

They are in the middle. Paulie is already an irrational brute and Vito is a traumatized Soldier, so they are definitely operating weirdly.

They both have similar desires of wanting a partner but have been dealt an unlucky hand when it comes to dating so when you came along…they couldn’t let you go. Their obsession comes from a place of codependency..they need you sooo badly and they cannot go back to their old cold life without you.

They really do care about their darling, truly. They’ll do whatever they can to organically win over your love and trust. Sure they will be super touchy, maybe a little too bossy or over protective of you but they mean well… they truly want to be the “chill bf” but who are they kidding??? They are cray cray in the membrane.

At any moment they can and will snap…their delusions will get the best of them if pushed to that point. If they feel like you’re going to leave or are constantly rejecting them, they will do a full 180 and turn into the previous bunch. They are extremely accusatory and feel like you’re constantly trying to cheat or leave them. Tons of arguments and unsavory punishments.

I can’t say they’d do exactly all the same things as the previous much like they’d never physically hurt you or make you watch their crimes but they are damn near close to being like them…

Paulie Lombardo

Vito Scaletta

Average Mafia Member

These men are still very much Yandere and are willing to kill and fuck shit up for you but aren’t as delusional as the rest. Like on average people terms they are very yandere but in comparison to other members of the mob…eh.

I know this is going to piss hella people off but I can’t imagine any of these three holding you against your will or being overly passionate about their darling.

Your safety comes first and they are more go with the flow kind of men. Especially Lincoln and Tommy, despite their desires, your wishes come first. Joe is just Joe, he cares a lot about you but on average he’s like fuck it…it’s your life girl-. Forced intimacy and everything isn’t their thing.

If you really weren’t romantically feeling them they’d just become platonic yanderes and make sure you’re safe from a distance. If any moment you changed your mind they’d be right there waiting to give you the world but if not they really won’t do too much about it. These men would have to have been romantically invested in you for years for them to snap and become like the rest .)

Tommy Angelo

Lincoln Clay

Joe Barbaro

#headcanon #yandere imagines #yandere headcanons #mafia trilogy #yandere sam trapani #sam trapani x reader #john donovan #John Donovan x reader #paulie lombardo x reader #vito scaletta x reader #tommy angelo x reader #Lincoln clay x reader #yandere mafia #mafia 2 #mafia 3 #mafia definitive edition #mafia ii #mafia iii

[bqluvr]

On Set - (1/2)

Warnings: none!

Words: 1.7k

Summary: You work on the Impractical Jokers crew, and you can’t deny your feelings for Q despite knowing how wrong it is.

—————

“Y/N, can we get you on the left side?” Pete, the director, called out. You swiftly scurried to the left and adjusted your chunky headphones along with the sound equipment, trying to get everything in order as quickly as possible. The headphones were admittedly too big for you but that hadn’t been dealt with yet.

You watched as Joe, Murr, Sal, and Brian all situated themselves on their marks. Brian and Murr swapped places and filming began.

The job you had was simple. You were in charge of audio; you made sure the mics weren’t rubbing against anything but still invisible to the public, you recorded audio and cut it accordingly, and so on. You were good at your job, and being in the presence of the Impractical Jokers for hours out of a day made your job that much more fun.

After around 20 more minutes of filming, Pete called a break and everyone left their equipment to grab a bite to eat and stretch their legs, you included. You preferred filming in warehouses rather than having to hide in the bushes in public because the warehouse was always stocked with food. Pete would get the interns to run out and make sure that all of the crew, as well as the Jokers, were well fed.

Today was no different. There was a large table with an even larger spread of food on it, and you didn’t know where to start. You weren’t hungry enough to grab a wing out of the bucket of chicken, but you also were not in the mood for vegetables.

“Have you tried those sandwiches?” You heard from your right side. You looked over and smiled when you saw Q who was holding a plate just like you.

“Are they any good?”

“Not the chicken salad one,” he grumbled, pointing with his thumb to show you which sandwich he was talking about, “turkey and cheese is alright. But the ham and cheese? Haven’t lived ‘til you’ve tried it.”

“But ham and cheese is so boring,” you giggled which in turn put a smirk on Q’s face.

“Can’t beat the classics, darlin’. Ham and cheese never let a man down,” he gently bumped your shoulder with his. You laughed again, your face turning a bit red at his casual pet name. You knew it wasn’t odd for him to call the ladies on the crew pet names, but when they were directed to you, you felt special.

Brian Quinn had always been the Joker that caught your eye. That wasn’t an uncommon occurrence among the crew, of course. You’d often be involved in conversations with the other women about Q’s handsomeness, or his puppy dog eyes, or his general flirty demeanour.

“So, are you gonna try the ham and cheese?” Brian’s accent cut through your thoughts. You shot him a look and he grabbed two sandwiches, holding one out to you.

“Fine. But if it’s bad,” you warned teasingly, taking the sandwich from his hands and ignoring the way you felt butterflies when his skin brushed against yours.

“If it’s bad, I’ll let you tie me up and put spiders all over me.”

You both laughed at that, but your mind immediately went to tying him up. You couldn’t lie, that episode was difficult to film for you just because you kept getting distracted by the way he looked so helpless when he had handcuffs on.

“I’ll let you know if I like it,” you lifted the packaged sandwich in the air as a silent ‘cheers’ with a slight nod and a smile towards Q. You wasted no time in turning on your heel and abruptly walking away from him, trying to contain your thoughts and not cross any professional boundaries.

You sat and ate the sandwich near a couple of your coworkers, who were chatting away with full mouths. One of the disadvantages of working in the warehouse was that it always grew unbearably stuffy after the first hour or so, due to the cameras and dozens of bodies moving to and fro.

You decided to take the chance when you could and slip away from the productions, making your way outside and taking a deep breath of fresh air. You were alone so you reached into your pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, feeling as though your smoke break was well overdue.

The cigarette hung between your lips waiting to be lit, but you couldn’t find your lighter. You patted down your pockets and sighed when you didn’t find anything, leaning your head against the wall and taking the dart out of your mouth in defeat.

“Need a light?”

You turned your head towards the voice and slapped yourself mentally when you saw Q standing a few feet away. He looked adorable; his hair was down and covering his forehead, he had his signature scarf on, and a lost-puppy sort of look plastered on his face.

“Yes, please,” you agreed against your better judgement. You knew you should minimize your time spent with him, especially alone, but you had been craving this cigarette for the past two hours.

Brian approached you cautiously, as if he was afraid he’d make a wrong move and you’d run away. His worrying was reasonable, though. You never tried to hide the way you avoided him. Though you knew he noticed that you’d never talk to him for more than a minute at a time, he never mentioned anything (you assumed) out of fear of making you more tense.

You placed the dart back in your mouth and leaned towards him when his warm body was only a few inches away from yours. He sparked the lighter with one hand and protected your cigarette from the wind with the other hand, allowing the smoke to finally fill your mouth and give you a small sense of relief.

“Why do you have a lighter?” You asked. You knew he smoked weed occasionally, but that was very rare. You had never seen any of the guys smoke cigarettes, and you couldn’t think of any other reason why he would have a lighter handy like that.

“I smoke,” Brian looked at you, “sometimes.”

“Would you like to share?” You offered, knowing it was a bad idea. He nodded and you handed him the cigarette, watching as he held it between his thick fingers. Your eyes trailed down his right hand, passing the ring and tracing a vein that was popping out slightly.

“Everythin’ okay?” He mumbled, giving you the dart. Your gaze snapped back to his and he smirked a little, huffing out the smoke he inhaled while he watched you take a drag.

“How did I not know you smoke?”

“I don’t do it all the time. Just when I’m feelin’ stressed and need a quick break,” his brown eyes stared into yours, “why do you smoke?”

“It feels nice.”

He laughed at your answer and accepted the cigarette again, his eyes scanning the bit of lipstick that you had left on it. After he took a deep hit, he glanced back over at you, his eyes dropping down to your lips.

“I like that colour on you,” he rasped out, clearing his throat a bit. You felt your face heat up at his compliment. He had never complimented you like that, especially not on something as insignificant as the shade of lipstick you were wearing.

“Uh, thank you,” you replied. You took another drag and sighed when you saw that the cigarette was almost out. You were sort of grateful, though, because it meant you could get away from Brian and recollect your thoughts.

“Why do you always run from me?” Brian whispered, and you would’ve missed it if it wasn’t for the fact that the space around you was deathly quiet.

“What are you talking about?”

“I feel like I’m always havin’ conversations with the crew, but never with you,” he looked at you but you looked away, too embarrassed to make eye contact with him, “do I make you uncomfortable?”

“No, it’s not that,” you sighed, not exactly lying to him but trying your best to avoid answering his question. You couldn’t tell him how attractive you found him. How his smile always made one appear on your face. How his laugh was the best thing you had ever heard, and sometimes you’d rewatch certain episodes just to hear it over and over. You’d cross every line, breach every boundary. It’d ruin your professional relationship.

“What is it, then?”

“I don’t know, Brian,” you huffed out, growing frustrated. It was hard bottling up what you felt, but you didn’t have a choice.

“I think you do, sweetheart,” he quietly murmured. You shot your eyes to him and watched him drop the cigarette to the ground, lightly stepping on it to put it out before turning to face you.

He stood in front of you now, his tall figure intimidating you slightly. Your heart was racing, and you felt like you were going to throw up, but you also couldn’t help the way your hands moved to grip the lapels of his jacket until your knuckles turned white.

“Is this the reason you never look me in the eye properly?” He teased, his right hand engulfing one of your wrists as you hung on to him for dear life. Brian leaned in a little more, his nose bumping into yours. His left hand travelled down your side until it attached to your hip, giving you a light squeeze that left your knees weak. It felt like you were winded and you couldn’t think straight. You wanted to kiss him, but you knew you couldn’t.

“Brian, we shouldn’t -fuck- I can’t,” you stuttered, using your hands on his chest to push him back slightly and give yourself room to breathe. He looked confused but backed up, his face flushed due to embarrassment.

“I’m sorry, did I read that wrong?” Brian quickly apologized, looking at you with concern.

“No, I mean yes, but no,” your words came out randomly, desperately trying to form proper sentences but your mind was too scrambled to do so. The proximity between you and Brian was too close.

“Y/N, are you out here?” You heard Pete call out your name as he turned the corner and you didn’t dare to give Brian another glance before responding to the director and hurrying in his direction.

If Pete saw anything at all, you’d be absolutely fucked. You had to stay away from Brian to prevent anything like this ever happening again.

God, you hated him in that moment.

#brian quinn #brian quinn imagine #brian x reader #quinn x reader #q x reader #sal vulcano #joe gatto #james murray #impractical jokers #the tenderloins

[hotcheetohatredwastaken]

BDOR Prologue: Ballrooms and Buffoonery (1/1)

Partially inspired by @cutthroatcarnival's discussion of whether Twilight would know how to dance the Cotton Eye Joe.

The answer is yes.

And with that review, Twilight began to sing: “Buh dap duh dap uh, good ol’ man Joe! Something, oh crap, I don’t know the words—where didja come from, where didja GOOOOO?”  Twilight howled it to the rooftop of the house. Wild screeched back, "Twilight, shut UP!” with one hand planted firmly over his ear, the other pressed into his own shoulder. He tried to pull out of Twilight’s grip to no avail. “Stop, stop, STOP!” Twilight paid him no mind, launching them into a spin connected at the elbows. “Where did you come fro—oow!”  Twilight let Wild go and raised his arms over his head to escape his barrage of light, if not well-aimed, slaps. “What?” he asked sweetly, “don’tcha like my singin’?” “NO! Stop it!”

Read the rest here! BDOR Prologue: Ballrooms and Buffoonery

And read the main fic here! Blood Drops on Roses

#linked universe #lu #linkeduniverse #bdor #cheetowrites #wild linked universe #wild lu #lu wild #twilight linked universe #twilight lu #lu twilight #blooddropsonroses #i wonder if I should tag the prologues seperately tbh #cotton eye joe #thanks for the inspo cutthroatcarnival #linked universe fanfic #linked universe fanfiction #lu fanfiction #crack #crack treated seriously #fluff #domestic fluff #dancing

[rockintapper]

the um

te sec2ond one

ok so basically i say whar i think about rhythm heavem chatacters. starting with Tengoku brcuase why nawt

readmore ebcuase this posr long as hell!!!!! please work this time

uh

karate joe: hi kasper the he <3 i wana hug him,

hair vegetables: what Thr fcuk

sarge: idk. attention march

squadmates: petar

air batter AIRBATTERR 💕💞💕💞💕💕💞💕💞💕💕💞💕💞💕💞💞💕💞

space umpire: perpetual smiler

the clappy trio: your sequel stinks!!!! /sillay i love your wigs

sneaky spirits: get bow and arrow'd l plud ratio /j

samurai steve: hi sage hes really cool actual6 #chilling

yokai (the thingies the samurai slices): pe uliar little cratures. up to no good

rats: thr cheese

ms. whiskers: THE FIRST CAT EVER!!!!!!!!!!!

sick beats doctor/dr. cutlery: hes vibing ong. why do you hsve an endless game

thr viruses: leav that litlle guy alone >:(!!!!!!!

yellow organism (sick beats): little guye :) dj yelo

the donpans: theyre all dating your honor

yagura-chan: spiteful luttle child i love her. may she grow up and pan

mahou tsukai: hi rocket The WIZARB!!!! magic autism

ojou-chan: flowers autism

the monster (wizard's waltz): STOP EATING MY PLANTS

pengiuns (showtime): yhe dillays i love them they deerve the worl

monkey (showtime): i just read about him. gonna make him explode now

rabbit: boing boing boing boing boing b

tram and pauline/poline: hi cheese THE FOXES the foxes ever hth foxes ever the

space gramps: i widh he was my grangpa 💔 /j

space dancers: pa-pa-pa-PUNCH! put some respect on my boys plea

q maou: AAGH. AAH. AAHHG. AG

contestant: hi 56 hes. hes jist like me frfr /hj

play-yan: hi sunny i really liek. his uh level. minigame. wharever it s called its like. really calming. unless im Going for a Perfect!

mini chounin (power caligraphy): the dancing dancers

akai mono (polyrhythm): i uh. i dont have anything about these thangs. what

RAPMEN: YO. SANJI DESUKA

urakata aki to ki (bouncy road): my children. i love them. i would Kill for th

spheroids (bouncy road): you have a page? on the rh wiki? what?

ninja and the lord (ninja no shison/ninja bodyguard): augh

toss boys: hi ninety The toss bous. they hehheeh3he hugs ao-kun

yuka: YIPPR YIPEEE YIPEE YIPEEEE YIPEEEOEIRIRJ HI T YUKAIEJEBE ^_^ totally isnt dating a tall tapper shes totally not dating a tall ta /lie

giraffe: dont fucking look at me like that

tanaka (ninja reincarnate): AAHHHHHAHAHAEHRHDSHSHEHD /VPOS I LOVE HIM IDK WHERE THIS LOVE FOR HIM CAME FROM BUT I LOVR HIM

kanojo: ypure in good hands. mostly. (cant get the fast part of ninja reincarnate)

waru mono (ninja reincarnate): w,,ario?? w

soshiSOSHIIIIIIII SSOHIIIIII SOSIIOOII SOSHIII EOSBSISI SHSOHSHSIJSSOSHUSII SHSOOSIUSHISJS SOOHSIIII SOSHIII SSOSHISJEOWSHIWJEOWJWJSJSSJEJESK SOSHSISB SSOSHHS

cosmic girl: Rude™ (/hc). may also be the commander in amrching oerders 2,

cosmic dancers: space dancers HATE THEM! /silly

TH RAPP WOEMNEKENENNE kan sbejebdjeTHR RPA WOMRN THEJEBR YURIIIIIIIII JRIIII YUEIII YUIII!!! YHRIIII hi cheese

MAN-K: mN i lovr him hes so cool dud e whaha

biribiriuo (night walk 2): STOP ELECTROCUTING PLAY YAN 💔💔💔💔

usamimi maki sensei: i love the face she makes whe n i press a button too earlu/late. may also be cosmic girl

space rabbits: ive seen you in waroiware.... pets yu

buta-san (tengoku remix 7): pigy :]

barista: i hc his voice is jasmine wright's from the rh iceberg

people at the café: only (canon) black person in the entire series helooo

neko machine: meow. meow. meow.meow owah owah mah? mah? o-mah? m

honse machien: wha,

love-san: suki (cheering)

mr. upbeat: hi tomano tucking him in giving him a goodnight kiss and a glass of milk <3

mannequin; i wonder what game yoyll be in the futue

anata: hi 56 i love his goofy ass smile go girl give us everything

drum girls: wait whered they come fro

samurai drummer: no way. it Tsunk

samurai drummer's band: i did not know you existed hello??

oba-chan: protect. protect. protect.

pwner: Kill. Kill. Kill Kill. Kill. Kill. Ki

producer: who tf are you? what? wait lemme rrad about yo7 furst

im back. music autism

ok thats all the characters in rhythm tengok!!! thanks for Did yiu read all of tjis? zamn!! congrats dude /gn

#long post #rhythm tengoku #rhythm heaven

[amorhedera6]

as someone who watched and loved season 1 of flash, and someone who watched tolerated all the way up to season 5 and half of season 6, i decided to sit down and watch the flash finale. and boy do i have thoughts.

most of them are what the fuck is going on.

i watched all of once upon a time, so i’ve been burned by shows losing steam and obsessing over the main ship instead of the interesting plot before. when i saw the signs in the flash, i pulled back. i didn’t wanna go through it again. honestly i should’ve before i did, but i have a crippling crush on grant gustin.

1) khione

i like dc comics, but it spans infinitely and there are lots of things i don’t know, so correct me if i’m wrong. but i did a little research and it doesn’t seem to me that khione was a character in the comics. so (if danielle panabaker was staying on the show) why not just let her be caitlin? have they just decided against the character they have been writing since season one? khiones plot of understanding her powers, of of coming to terms with who/what she was all could have easily transferred to caitlin. it got her well when they first began to integrate killer frost into her story! they could have continued, once frost died, by having caitlin regain some of frost’s powers. while having her mourn her sister, she adapts to having powers again and how to be herself with them and not frost. an echo of the plot that she was already going through when the writers decided to just jeckyll/hyde her. it would have worked incredibly well! plus, it would give caitlin a fulfilling end to the question she’s been asking since season one: who is she on her own? in season one, it was without ronnie, in season two she was battling discovering these powers, and by season three she was battling becoming the super villain she knew her doppelgänger was. making her another new character with the same plot that caitlin, then frost had just defeats caitlin’s purpose. when the original core characters of your show keep leaving (cisco, joe, any version of wells) why kill of another just to replace her with such a similar character played by the same actress?? it truly baffles me.

2) the time wraiths

i’m sure i’m not the first one to say this, but why introduce the time wraiths if you want to have barry keep time traveling to and fro. “but they’re creatures of the speed force, so obviously wouldn’t attack the avatar!” okay fine. NORA IS NOT THE AVATAR. WHY DOES SHE NEVER FACE CONSEQUENCES FOR HER TIME TRAVELS. SHE HELD HERSELF. AS A BABY. THAT SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED.

i may be biased bc i don’t like nora.

3) bart

i know he wasn’t really mentioned much in the finale, but i wanted to understand things i’d missed/forgot so i looked into him for this. why did they make bart a part of the show. i understand he’s a big character in the comics, but if they wanted to have another child for barry and iris be introduced, why not use the tornado twins? why use his grandson and just change it? any create nora at all?? (again i’m probably just biased against nora, but still)

it just doesn’t make any sense to me to take an established character and change their lore just bc you like it better than using the established characters, since that conflicts with your original characters. JUST FOLLOW THE SOURCE MATERIAL ITS NOT THAT HARD.

4) eddie

bringing back eddie thawne, when his sacrifice already didn’t achieve its purpose, completely cheapens the finale of season one. especially by making him an uncle villain who wants to destroy the timeline because his fiancée (who he knew was destined to be with barry in the future) denied him because she already had a husband and family.

eddie didn’t like barry in season one. he rightly thought that he was into iris and came in between the two of them. but he tried to be his friend because he was friends with joe and he loved iris. he was a good guy and he wanted good for the people in his life. he loved iris, and if it truly made her happier to be with barry than him, he would have stepped to the side, the finale completely changes his character for the wills of the plot, making him hate barry for “stealing his life” when he sacrificed himself so iris could continue to live her life happily.

5) iris’ labor

for two and a half of the four episodes of the finale, iris is in labor. and because they’re being attacked by the negative speed force, everyone rallies together to fight, and she is left alone in the hospital in labor.

WHY DID NO ONE CALL JOE???

i get he has jenna to look after or whatever, but that’s his daughter, she’s in labor, the father of the baby he also calls his son, and yeah it’s weird, but we don’t talk about that. his daughter is in labor, all alone, worried about wether or not barry will survive, and no one thinks that he would be helpful to the situation at all. so fucking stupid. i understand if maybe the actor didn’t want to come back for it, but he was already in the finale episodes anyway!! he was a major point in the first episode, and he was there when she finally had the baby in the end!! why couldn’t he just be there for a little bit longer??

6) cisco

okay, carlos valdez has said that he had scheduling conflicts, and that it was heartbreaking for him not to be able to return for the finale. i understand that. i am not at all criticizing that.

they couldn’t even name drop cisco? be like, ciscos picking up the cake at the party scene? have caitlin be in the phone with him instead of her mother at the end? they were best friends, you’re saying when she came back from the dead she didn’t even call him? or say i called cisco, he has blah blah blah going on so he can’t come help buuuut he gave us this vital piece of information!!

come one people. throw us a bone.

7) chester

i did get to chester in the original series, but it was like right as i was losing interest in it, so i didn’t care to research him at all, but i did for this! why did they make him diet cisco?? internet he comics, because he has a vortex inside of him, chester is fat. why was he played by a skinny guy? why did they not utilize his character to its full extent instead of just being a replacement once they found out carlos was leaving the show??

okay that’s all i have, i wanted to complain bc it made me angry. i liked the flash originally, i think it had a lot of good potential, but like so many shows, it was dredged on too long, got convoluted, the writing prowess diminished instead of flourishing, and it ended after too many seasons. sorry to the flash, you could’ve been so good.

#the flash #cw the flash #barry allen #westallen #iris west #caitlin snow #killer frost #khione #cisco ramon #vibe #tornado twins #nora west allen #bart west allen #bart allen #impulse #dc comics #eddie thawne #eobard thawne #joe west #chester runk #chunk #the flash finale #rant #ollie rambles

[la-fille-en-aiguilles]

Deadmen Got No Luck

Steve Harrington x Henderson!Female!Reader 

With your eyes set on killing Vecna and protecting the ones you love, you’re a woman on a mission. But - of course - everything spins out of control when you come face to face with Henry slash Vecna slash One, losing more than you bargained for. Inspired by Saint PHNX, “Deadmen” and by the wonderful human being that is Joe Keery. 

Warnings: Angst. A/N: Look at me, hashing out 2 fics in one week? This is 100% an AU and a product of my crazy imagination. Also a bit of a rewrite of the end of Season 4 with the reader inserted. There’s going to be more parts that nobody asked for - it’s happening anyway. Thank you for reading in advance!  Gif not mine.

When you auditioned for the cheerleading squad 3 years ago, at the final round of selections, Chrissy Cunningham asked you a question.

“What’s your weakness, Henderson?”

An easy enough question, which didn’t take you more than 5 seconds to answer.

“I’m too stubborn for my own good”, you said, without batting an eye.

Even now, as you’re pouring kerosene in one glass bottle after another, passing the half-finished weapons to Steve to seal, there is an unyielding stubbornness about you that doesn’t allow you to be scared. As Robin mentions Vecna’s-slash-Henry’s-slash-One’s name, a wave of courage rises inside your chest against all common sense.

Who wouldn’t be afraid of an inter dimensional psycho - who has probably been dropped often as a child - on a warpath against the entire world as you know it?

“I have this terrible, gnawing feeling… That it might not work for us this time”, Robin says, her deep blue eyes emanating nervousness that doesn’t shock you anymore - it has long since established its home there. Her gaze switches between you and Steve, and while Steve puts down the bottle he is holding, you continue pouring kerosene into the Molotov cocktail, the stubbornness winning, yet again.

“You think we shouldn’t be doing this?” Steve’s expression grows concerned, as he frowns at Robin, before stealing a quick glance at you.

“I think we’re mad fools, the lot of us”, Robin speaks slowly, looking between you and Steve, as she picks up the bottle and stuffs a piece of cloth in its neck. “But if we don’t stop him, who will?”

She bites down on her bottom lip and turns away from Steve and you to put the bottle on the ground.

“We have to try,” you voice what’s on everyone’s mind, in a tone that doesn’t warrant a discussion. Instinctively, your gaze drifts to Steve’s face, and your eyes lock.

There’s something heartbreaking in those deep brown irises as he nods; the sound of Eddie’s shenanigans and kids’ amused chuckles wrapping around the two of you like thick fog. Your own eyes soften as you catch Steve committing your every single trait to memory; he doesn’t blink as he studies your face, the stray hairs that escaped your messy bun framing your cheeks. Your heart aches at the sight of his stare turning glassy.

“Yeah”, he manages, still unblinking, his voice breaking. Before you can realise what you’re doing, you find his hand with yours and squeeze it, even just for a fleeting moment.

The knowing look Robin gives the pair of you is entirely lost on you and Steve. Her lips stretch in a saddest of smiles as she drops her head; it’s Harrington’s voice that invites her into the little safe space Steve and you have created for yourselves; even just for a minute.

“To killing Vecna”, he says, a ghost of smile adorning his full lips. He stretches out a bottle, leaning over to you and Robin, so you can join him in a celebration of a sinister common purpose.

You don’t waste a second to respond, your eyes burning with resolution.

“Slash Henry”, you click one of the bottles you’ve filled against his.

“Slash One”, Robin adds, completing the ritual with a bottle of her own.

If only the actual deed was that simple.

“Uh- I don’t mean to freak anyone out, but I swear I’ve seen this tree before.”

Robin looks like a wounded rabbit, jumping from one foot to another, avoiding the vines littering the dead, dry ground. You heart almost stops every time her shoe brushes too close to the Upside Down’s monotonous flora, and you make an effort to tear your gaze away from her dance, just to save yourself from a heart attack.

“That’s impossible”, you reassure her, looking ahead, narrowing your eyes to better study your surroundings, with dust, or whatever the hell this is, floating around you in flakes.  

“That would suck, right?” Robin parries in a taut voice. “If Vecna destroyed the world because we got lost in the woods?”

“We’re not lost, Robin”, Nancy counters in a tone that’s a tad too harsh, but you don’t blame her. Everyone’s on edge, you all just have different ways of expressing it.

Robin, for example, lets out an obnoxious, but also hella nervous laugh and speeds ahead between the trees, the Molotov cocktails attached to her hip swinging back and forth dangerously.

Your eyes grow wide and your breath catches in your chest.

“Robin, hey!” You call after her, albeit in vain. “Watch out for the vines!” You resist the urge to run after her and smack her ass just for the hell of it. “Hive mind, remember?”

“Thank you!” Robin yells back, without slowing down. You sigh. You’re pretty sure that by the time you get out of here - if you get out of here - it’ll be with 30 more years on you.

Nancy eyes both you and Steve for a second. Something you can’t quite decipher crosses her expression, but before you can really pin down what that was, she holds her DIY gun tighter to her chest and says: “I’ve got her. Hey, Robin, wait up!” She jogs after Buckley, careful not to put her feet where they shouldn’t go.

This leaves Steve and you walking together. Close. Closer still, when both of you avoid a vine on the ground, bumping shoulders, your fingers brushing against one another’s.

“Jesus”, you exhale a breath you didn’t realise you were holding. “Robin’s like the definition of a super klutz. You search the word in the dictionary, there’s her goddamn photo under it!”.

Steve chuckles softly at your words, both of you moving steadily forward and stepping further away from each other as you search for a safe place to step on.

“It’s just… It did take her longer to walk then most babies…” Steve shrugs, waiting for your reaction as he looks at you from a corner of his eye.

“Not helping, Harrington,” you fire back through gritted teeth, trying to stay alert between stepping in all the right places and keeping an eye on Robin in the distance. Nancy has now caught up with her, and both of them are marching forward hand in hand.

“She’s in good hands with Nance”, Steve speaks, as if reading your thoughts. When you raise your glance to look at him, he is focused on the pair in front of you, gentleness enveloping every syllable that leaves his mouth. “Whatever level of klutz she may be”. You smile at this small sign of affection in Steve’s demeanour. Something tugs softly at your heart when your eyes meet again, and the gentleness is still there, even multiplied by a thousand.

You walk in a comfortable silence for a minute or two, stealing not-so-discreet glances at each other, making sure the other one is careful about where they’re placing their feet.

“Uh, I actually, crawled backwards”, Steve suddenly says, scratching the back of his neck. “When I was a baby, I mean”, he adds, cocking his head to a side, as his eyes travel to your face. “Pushed my hands kind of like this”, he stretches his arms forward and makes the shrillest of sounds, “Beep Beep”.

You cannot fight a smile that blooms on your face, nor the giggle that escapes you, as you don’t take your eyes off him.

“Always in reverse, you know?”, you can’t tell whether you imagine it, but you can almost catch Steve’s cheeks growing rosy in the dimness of the forest.

“Let me guess,” you press your lips together for a moment, as if pondering over something. You decide to hold him out a helping hand in trying to diffuse the atmosphere. “Until you reversed your baby Harrington butt down a flight of stairs, right?”

Steve stops mid-step, his head snapping to face you with awe in his eyes.

“Yeah, actually”, he responds slowly, before marching on. “And thumped my head real good.”

You can’t help but chuckle wholeheartedly, throwing your head back in joy.

“Oh”, you manage through a grin. “That explains so much”.

Steve actually joins in as you chortle in delight. His eyes are almost glowing with warmness and comfort. You realise he’s completely at ease with you making fun of him - while on a killing mission in Upside Down.

“I think it kind of does,” he smiles at you, not missing a beat. “I think, right out of the gate, like, I’m super confident. But I’m also, like, an idiot”, the two sentences clammed together in a phrase make you laugh softly again, covering your mouth. Steve is rambling now, which is just hella cute. Has always been. He rambles on. “Which is just… I mean, it’s a brutal combination”, he agrees with your unspoken words, before correcting himself. “Was a brutal combination. Until something - or rather, someone - landed a blow on my head, like, of nuclear proportions. Changed my life.” Something changes in the air - and it has nothing to do with where you’re at. Without even realising it, both you and Steve have come to a halt under a massive tree, it’s dry branches throwing shade on you both. You don’t know why, but you can feel your heart hammering in your chest, as your stomach grows hot, knots forming in the pit of it.

Steve feels no pain; he looks at you like you’re the only thing worth looking at in the world. His eyes are big and warm and tender, and completely serene, as if you weren’t standing in the middle of Upside Down and he weren’t about to change your life forever.

“It was you”, he says, his voice soft, and passionate, all at the same time. "The first time I saw you. You were wearing that summer red dress with small black flowers on it and a matching red lipstick. And you had to repeat your question like three times, because I was just… Struck. I could barely breathe. I-” “Steve”, your entire body shakes as panic engulfs you. You can’t breathe. You can’t, you just. Can’t. Take. A damn. Breath.

"I guess what I’m trying to say in a stupid, roundabout way is… I want- I want to do everything with you. I want to marry you, and have kids with you and grow old with you… And I want- I want to die before you do, so I never ever have to live without you, because I…”

“Steve, don’t!” you practically shriek, cutting him mid-sentence, with your chest feeling like it’s collapsing on itself. Your breathing is frantic as you cover your mouth, feeling the hurt that flashes on Steve’s face, like a shot of fireworks in the dark. A beautiful disaster - of your doing.

“I can’t do this right now,” this is the smallest your voice has ever been, as you plead him with your eyes to just stop, but also to forgive you for your tunnel vision.

There’s no way you would be able to stay focused on the mission if Steve actually says those words. Those three little words that are going to change your life forever, make you switch your priorities and always look over your shoulder to make sure he’s there and safe.

As if you weren’t doing it already, a small, nagging voice, sounding a lot like Robin, actually, rings in your head.

You see Steve open his mouth with his brows furrowed, an aftertaste of hurtful expression still creasing his forehead, when Robin suddenly jumps in front of you.

“Hey guys - awesome news!” She’s breathing heavily, but there’s something like a smile stretching her lips. “Looks like we weren’t going the wrong way after all!” Robin notices that something is off as Steve grinds his teeth on an exhale, looking away from both of you. Her eyes dart to your face, but you’re just standing there, not uttering a word, your expression is that of a lost puppy. “Are you guys coming?” Nancy pops up her head from behind Robin’s back, and a realisation that something has just gone down dawns on her face almost immediately.  

“Yeah, okay”, Steve finally says, his pace quicker as he thrusts his body forward. “Let’s go, let’s go!”

“Geez”, Robin’s eyes grow wider at his reaction, but she turns on her heels and follows him, running. Nancy gives you a sympathetic look, which you pretend you do not notice as you stare ahead, moving your feet in the direction of Vecna’s hide-out.

Two hours from now you’d be wishing you let Steve finish his phrase. Two hours from now, you’d have given your life just to hear him say those three words, so that nothing else could change your life the way they could.

It all happens too fast. Too fast for you to keep track. Between the vines choking you, Steve smashing their tentacles pinning you to the wall with his bat again and again and again, him getting choked too, and your bruised and weary bodies hitting the floor, you realise you do, actually, get scared. All of your stubbornness and courage disappear the minute you clock Steve pressed against the wall, the Upside Down squeezing the life out of him by pressing hard, harder still on his throat. If you had any air in your lungs at that moment, you would scream, scream bloody murder, but even that, you cannot do. All you’re permitted is watch, watch the love of your life being choked to death.  

When the four of you are lying on the ground, and then scrambling to your feet, you don’t have it in you to ask yourself why the Upside Down gives you a free pass and lets you walk away. You are more than ready to finish the job. You’re tired, low key panicking and absolutely pissed, pissed out of your mind.

Nobody fucking touches the people you love and gets away with it.

“I don’t believe in higher power - or divine intervention” Robin croaks, barely breathing. “But that was a miracle”.

“Then we’d better not fucking waste it”, you hiss, bending forward and snatching a blade where it’s been attached at Steve’s hip. He eyes you questioningly, but you don’t give him any kind of explanation as you start up the stairs, praying to God that you’re not too late.

That Max, and your brother, and Eddie, and the Sinclair's - are all okay.

“Phase four,” Steve says from behind you, always close, always covering your back. “Flambé”.

As you reach the attic and step onto the rotting wood, your entire body shudders at the sight. Vecna, putrid grey, slimy and smelling like decay, hangs above the floor, pumping energy through long, bony tentacles attached onto his back. He looks like a deadly heart of the Upside Down, and the scene is as terrifying as it is disgusting. But you are a woman on a mission. You have no time to be scared. Neither does Steve.

As you spot a flick of light to your left, as if in slow motion, you turn your head to watch Steve send a burning Molotov cocktail flying square into Vecna’s chest. The light reflects in the pupils of his eyes, the bottle spins once, twice, three times in the air-

The moment it hits Vecna’s body, the four of you are thrown back in a wave of shock, sparks flying in all directions and burning at your skin. Vecna’s body is suddenly alight, every single part of him on fire; the flames eat away at his flesh like at the pages of an old, dried out journal. He throws his head back, still in trance, and screams in pain, his cry piercing your brain.

His tentacles fall apart and push back, disconnecting from his body; you swear they screech all on their own, rearing back, leaving Vecna to fend for himself as his body hits the ground with a spectacular thump. He falls face forward, bare meters away from where the four of you stand. When he jerks up, lifting his head, he’s growling, surrounded by fire, the stench of his burning flesh enough to make your stomach twist. The sound of his flesh sizzling doesn’t help; it’s sickening to the bone.

On fire and panting, Vecna manages to stand and take a step towards you. Robin suddenly spurs into action, lightening up another Molotov; you swear you never saw the determination like that on her face before. She’s focused, she’s riled up, she’s fantastic as she throws another bottle full of kerosene right at him, forcing him back five steps. The hot wave hits your face again, harder this time. You blink twice, perfectly aware of your eyelashes having taken a heat punch; and the next thing you hear is shots.

There’s assertiveness in Nancy’s gait that tell Vecna one thing and one thing only. He’s dying tonight, and there’s absolutely nothing he can do about it. Fire dances in Nancy’s eyes as she fires one shot, two shots, three shots - forcing Vecna to retreat, further and further-

But the fucker is still standing there, in the middle of a raging fire.

And then he’s suddenly moving towards the four of you again.

Nancy’s breath is all you can hear as she whips her head to meet your eyes; there’s panic in her stare, and you realize that it’s going to take more than bottles filled with kerosene and 3 inch bullets to take out the fucker.

You turn your head to face Steve; you can’t help it, you have to see those chocolate eyes one last time. Your gazes lock, and it only takes him a moment to realize what you’re about to do.

As you step forward, Robin grabs him by his shoulder, pulling him back. You’re pretty sure he’s screaming, but you can’t think about that right now.

You are a woman on a mission.

Vecna’s screaming too as you run towards him; he’s barely moving, but he somehow meets you halfway. With a howl that rips into your throat, you swing the blade you took from Steve earlier and plunge it right through Vecna’s heart.

Two things you realize almost simultaneously as your chin touches his burning sizzling shoulder.

Your blade exited through Vecna’s back.

The fucker’s claws are dug into your chest, up to his fingertips, and the heavy-smelling blood - your blood - is cascading down your stomach and onto the floor.

You let go of the blade and come face to face with Vecna’s shocked expression, as he eyes you slowly, before dropping his gaze to his chest.

You can’t move - your body feels like it has been filled to the brim with lead. A cough escapes your lips, and you feel blood coming out of your mouth with a shuddered breath, narrow red flow speeding down your chin and dripping - drip drip drip - on your shoes.

“Steve”, you exhale before you collapse onto the ground; only the hit never comes.

“Oh my God, oh my God!” You can hear Steve’s voice, cracking and sounding a lot like he’s getting cut in two, but it’s really far away. Your body feels like it’s wrapped in cotton now, your skin hot in some places, and very cold in others.

Steve is holding you in his lap and you realize he caught you, slipping under you on the ground.

“Oh my God,” he rocks you back and fourth, tears leaving clear trails on his soot covered face. “Please, don’t- Don’t close your eyes, sweetheart, stay with me, stay with me!”

“Steve”, your voice is no more than a breath, as you’re struggling to keep your eyes open. “Steve, I…” an entire mouthful of blood escapes your lips and your eyes roll back.

“No!!” Steve screams and screams and screams like a wounded animal. “No, please!!” He yells into the roof, into the sky, to whatever God who’d listen. “Please,” he sobs, burying his face in your hair.

You don’t feel your body anymore. And the rest is a blur as you slip into impenetrable, silent darkness.

“Love?! Shit, love, are you okay?!”

Your entire body feels like it’s been put through a meat grinder, but the worst of it is the furious throbbing in your head. Your brain feels as if it’s on fire, and you can’t open your eyes, the pain so strong, it forces them shut.

You feel like you’re going to faint any second now, but then another voice rings above all the commotion and worried chatter, surrounding you.

It’s Steve’s voice.

“What the hell happened?!” Steve sounds distressed, and you moan in attempt to let him know that you’re somewhat okay; at the very least, you’re alive.

“Jesus Christ!” the first voice with a funny accent you only spotted now is back. “Come on, help me get her up. Fucking hell, scared the shit out of me”.

“You and me both”, you hear Steve mutter under his breath, and you’re pretty sure he didn’t mean to be heard by anyone.

Then you feel somebody tugging at your limbs, holding you up no doubt… Your head drops back and it eases the pain in your brain just enough to let you open your eyes. What you see next makes you almost want to die for real this time around, right there, on the spot.

A scream - hoarse and blunt, an attempt at a scream really - resurfaces from your chest as you stare into Vecna’s ugly mug, nose missing, skin slimy and the same putrid grey, and oh your god, he’s got his hands on you. There is no way you’re surviving this.

Some kind of a survival instinct kicks in, and you push your palms into his chest with whatever strength you have left - and - by some miracle, as Robin would say - Vecna lets go, his face twisting in surprise.

“Let go of me!” you rasp, pushing further back from him, creating distance. Only your legs don’t hold you up like they’re supposed to, and your pivoting back to the floor-

When somebody catches you. Strong hands wrap around your waist, and there’s something so familiar and comforting about them, you almost break out in tears of relief.

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay”, Steve whispers in your ear… and surely enough, the vannes open up and tears stream down your face as you turn around and smash your body into his, burying your face in the crook of his neck, your shoulders convulsing with sobs.

“I’m sorry, love, I didn’t mean to scare you”, Vecna says behind your back, and his voice is all sorrow, sadness and palpable guilt.

Wait a fucking minute…

“It’s alright, Jamie, it wasn’t your fault”, a voice sounding a lot like Robin chimes in, “She just.. collapsed”, she shudders at the memory, and her voice waivers. “Joe, we should take her to the hospital, call an ambulance or something. She might have a concussion… Jesus, she’s shaking, I think- I think she’s having a panic attack.”

“Just breathe with me, love”, you feel Steve caress your back in soft, gentle motions. “In and out. In and out.” You feel his chest expand against yours, and peacefulness settles in the pit of your stomach as you actually manage to breathe. “You’re okay, everything’s okay”, you feel him cup your face, but your eyes are closed, scared of what else you might be able to find if you open them.

“Look at me, love. Just look at me”, Steve coos, and you can’t help but oblige.

It’s him. It’s really him. The eyes, the nose with a slight bump, the freckles, partly hidden behind a generous layer of soot.

Relief crashes into you, a sentiment so overwhelming, your knees buckle - but Steve is there to catch at your waist, again, and to quickly scoop you into his arms, bridal style. He doesn’t smell like fire or dirt or Upside Down though. Steve smells like some spice, and musc and sugar?…

“Shit, I am so, so sorry, love,” your vision is blurry as you spot Vecna’s hand appear from behind Steve’s dirty, yet still magnificent hair. You follow the waving hand all the way up to his face, your head filled with cotton, your mind high.

It’s when your eyes catch the head of a blond, ruffled, handsome man attached to Vecna’s body, that your brain finally shuts down, and you fall back into an embrace of the dark and silent oblivion.

#steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x henderson!reader #steve harrington imagine #Steve Harrington x female reader #stranger things imagine #steve harrington angst #steve harrington au

[jerzwriter]

Choosing You

This is in response to this ask. How is Kaycee, a bonafide Swiftie, coping with the sad news? And how is Ethan coping with Kaycee?

Book: Open Heart Post Series

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x MC (Kaycee)

Rating: Teen

Words: 1,200

Category: Fluff

A/N: Participating in @aprilchallenge Music, Hug, Love

I did this really quickly without a lot of time to check it, be kind. lol

It almost hit sixty today. For April in Boston? A virtual heatwave! So it made perfect sense that the Esplanade was packed with people, Ethan Ramsey being one of them.

Unlike most others, he jogged there daily, regardless of weather conditions. Because of that,  he tended to be a bit territorial. But spring fever must have caught him, too. He had yet to utter a single curse, and he hadn’t once fantasized about frightening away the slowpokes who stepped in front of him. It was an unusual feeling, and only one thing would have made the day better… if Kaycee had joined him. But despite the beautiful weather, her mood didn’t seem as bright, so she chose to remain home.

 She was shuffling into the living room when she heard his key in the door. Ethan could tell that her mood hadn’t improved with just a glance. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun, and her ratty old NYU sweats adorned her body. He knew her “comfort food look” and, boy, if this was ever it.

She barely glanced up at him as he stepped into the room, her eyes only shifting when he tossed a small paper bag onto the coffee table before her.

“What’s this?”  she asked glumly.

But her fiance merely smirked and walked away, returning moments later with two spoons in hand.

“Cherry Garcia,” he replied, and the slightest of smiles began to show on the corners of her lips.

“Fro yo?”

“Nope,” he grinned. “Ice cream! The good stuff!”

He clanged his spoon against hers as if it were a toast, then ripped the lid off the pint. Both spoons dug into the frozen delight at once.

“Mmm,” Kaycee hummed as the chocolate and cherry flavors burst on her tongue. “This is just what the doctor ordered!”

“Well, I am a doctor,” Ethan deadpanned, “and I did order it, so….”

Finally, what his heart had hoped the ice cream would help accomplish... a smile.

“You’re such a cornball,” she snickered, plunging her spoon back into the container for another scoop. “How’d ya know what I need?” she asked with a full mouth.

“Wow! I almost understood that,” he smiled, bopping Kaycee on the nose with his spoon. “I’ve paid attention to you the past few years… I know when ice cream is required. And… I know when that ice cream needs to be Cherry Garcia.”

“It was go big or go home, I see?” Kaycee chuckled. “Good call.”

Ethan threw his arm around her shoulder, taking in the scent of her lavender shampoo as he pulled her in close. She was happy to be in his arms but even happier because she had the remaining ice cream in hers.

“So, when were you going to break it to me?” He asked as Kaycee looked up at him with questioning eyes. “Don’t give me that look. I already know.”

“How’d you find out?”

“It’s sort of all over the news,” Ethan replied, “Plus, I believe a group of young women on the Esplanade were holding a memorial service.”

“Shit!” She snapped. “I knew I should have gone along with you!”

“I take it you had a eulogy planned?”

“No,” she frowned. “I had a toast ready for the engagement party… not this.”

“Uhm, for their engagement party or ours, dear?”

“Ethan!” She shoved him gently. “It’s too early for jokes.”

“Fine,” he chuckled. “But seriously, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I knew you’d think I was being ridiculous.”

“Slightly,” he agreed. “But you think I’m being ridiculous at least eighty percent of the time, and you still seem to love me?”

“It’s ninety.”

“What?”

“I think you’re being ridiculous about ninety percent of the time, but I love you one hundred percent.”

“That’s good to know… I think.”

“Ethan!” she whined. “I’m so sad! Taylor and Joe were the cutest couple. How do you go from an album like Midnights… to this!”

“I don’t know,” he scratched his head. “Although I think You’re on Your Own, Kid may have been an Easter Egg.”

Kaycee looked up at him with amusement. While she hadn’t decided if it was appropriate yet, given the solemn occasion, she allowed herself to burst into laughter.

“Ethan Jonah Ramsey! You know what an Easter Egg is?”

“Sure, you said you wanted to dye some later… it is Easter, after all.”

“You’re funny, but the song reference! You know, she wrote that one with Jack Antonoff. But it could still be a clue. I’m looking at things through different eyes now… was Midnight Rain telling us something? I don’t know, maybe it was, I just think....”

“Kaycee…” he interrupted.

“Yes?”

“You need to slow down. I gave you the one song reference I had…, and I overheard the term Easter Egg at the mourning service, and I wanted to impress you. But if it’s time for the deep dive into recent song lyrics… I think Sienna may be your go-to.”

“You’re right,” she nodded with a smile, “but you have no idea how much I appreciate your effort.”

Her face turned glum again, and her eyes fell toward the melting treat in her hands.

“It’s sad, though,” she whispered. “I hate seeing love end… how do we… no….”

Ethan caressed her cheek, lifting her chin to face him.

“What did you want to say?”

“How do we know that won’t happen to us? No one ever thinks it will happen to them. Most people in love… they think it will be forever, and the truth is, for most, it’s not.”

“Come here,” he whispered. He took the ice cream from Kaycee’s hands and placed it on the table, then pulled her onto his lap. “I don’t think we can choose who we fall in love with,” he smiled. “Sometimes pain in the ass interns just walk into our lives, and we can’t help but give them our hearts.”

“Don’t you hate it when that happens,” she teased.

“May I finish?”

“Of course.”

“I don’t think we can help who we fall in love with, but I believe we can choose to stay in love. Love, relationships… marriage… it’s like anything else. All I know is every morning when I wake up, I choose to be with you, and I will keep making that choice. I don’t think marriages are always easy; I’m sure there will be hard times ahead, but as long as we wake up every day and choose in our hearts to be together… I have no doubt we’ll be OK.”

Kayee ran her fingers through his hair, tears welling in her eyes.

“Ethan,” she muttered. “When did you become this sweet?”

“I think you had something to do with it,” he grinned.  “You and probably all of Taylor’s lyrics that are swimming around in my brain now, whether I like it or not.”

“You like it!” she giggled.

“I like anything that comes along with you.”

She placed a quick peck on his lips and then another.  The next few moments were spent silently reminding her just how loved she was.  Then, when the last kiss broke, he looked into her eyes.

“I love you…. but you need to analyze every song on her last album now, don’t you?”

Kaycee eyed the clock and nodded.  “I do. I absolutely do. Sienna is off shift in five minutes.”

“Invite her over,” Ethan said, gently nudging Casey off his lap.  “I’ll start dinner for the three of us.”

“You… you don’t mind?”

“Not at all.  I choose to be with you… this craziness and all.”

Permatags: @a-crepusculo @animesuck3r @annoyingmillenialnewbie @crazy-loca-blog @doriopenheart @differenttyphoonwerewolf @fayeswiftie @gryffindordaughterofathena @genevievemd @inlocusmads @jamespotterthefirst @jennieausten @kingliam2019 @liaromancewriter @lucy-268 @onikalover @openheartforeverinmyheart @potionsprefect @quixoticdreamer16 @rookiemartin @secretaryunpaid @socalwriterbee @sophxwithers @tessa-liam @trappedinfanfiction @jerzwriter-reblogs-asks @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

More tags in reblog.

#open heart fanfic #open heart choices #choices open heart #playchoices fanfic #choices fanfic #ethan ramsey #ethan ramsey x mc #ethan x kaycee #taylor stuff #fic reqs

[sapphicstone]

𝒟𝒜𝑀𝒩 𝒮𝒯𝑅𝐼𝒫𝒫𝐸𝑅 / BASEketball.

Fandom: BASEketball (1998)

Parings: Doug Remer x Stripper!Reader ; Joe Cooper x Stripper!Reader

Summary: You lead a double life. By day, you are a tactical analysis specialist for the Beers baseketball team. But at night, that's when everything really happens.

You are a stripper.

NOTES: I have to be honest with you all, I've never seen any fanfic of Remer and Cooper with the Reader Stripper... Anyway, the idea came up after reading some interview with Trey Parker about him liking strippers.

By day, you are a tactical analysis specialist. What exactly do you do? Well, you study games, analyze the opposing team, suggest strategies, evaluate player performance, and so on. It's kind of a fun job.

You enjoy working with Cooper and Remer, the main stars of basketball. They put a lot of effort into coming up with distractions so that everyone can score in the game. But it's not like Joe and Doug really need it; after all, one of the things you like about them is their charisma and sense of humor.

"Good job, guys," you said as you watched them enter the players' prep room.

"Thanks to you," Cooper replied, pointing his finger in your direction with a sincere smile on his face. Your cheeks flushed at Joe's compliment.

"But you guys need to work on your strategies," you pointed out as you approached the guys. Doug frowned as he downed a bottle of water.

After you finished your shift, you said goodbye to each of the guys individually and wished them a good night. They said goodbye back and you hurried to your second job.

''Black Flamingo.''

That was the name of the place where, from the moment you walked in, you peacefully bid farewell to the tactical analysis specialist working for the Beers team and said a rough "hello" to the club's most sought-after stripper.

JOE COOPER

Cooper doesn't usually go to these places, even though it goes against his personality. But Squeak and Remer convinced him to go.

He hesitated a lot, but finally went.

When he arrived, he felt at home. And even though the bright lights hurt his eyes, Cooper couldn't help but look at the stage filled with scantily clad strippers, sensually making every subtle move. It instantly soothed his eyes.

Cooper wasn't sure if he should focus on the other ladies who worked there, serving drinks and dancing on the laps of the guys who accepted the drinks, or on the dancers on the stage.

He accepted a drink and was excited when the waitress in black, low-cut clothing blew him a kiss in the air. He took a sip of the drink and things started to heat up when they announced the show for the night.

Cooper started to get excited.

The one who doesn't sleep with any of her clients. The one who steals the attention of both men and women. The golden goose of the Black Flamingo...

...You

Your steps were mesmerizing; you definitely knew what you were doing and were fully aware of the power you had over those drooling men. The lace mask covering your face was the main attraction. Who could this bitch be? No one would have the privilege to find out.

"Holy shit, man…" Cooper muttered to himself as he watched you slowly fiddle with your own clothes.

Remer and Squeak watched in fascination. Cooper screamed and, with the effect of alcohol on his brain, started throwing some dollars on the stage.

But even as professional as you were, you couldn't help but miss a step when you saw Joe Cooper in the audience.

''What the fuck is he doing here?'' You tought.

DOUG REMER

"Shall we go to the 'Black Flamingo?"

"Right away," he said.

Remer definitely can't keep his dick in his pants.

The ladies are all around him, serving drinks, but he doesn't even wait for them to offer. He gives them a comically sensual wink and turns his eyes back to the stage. He enjoys tucking dollars into the ladies' cleavage, smiling as their breasts sway to and fro.

Remer doesn't drink too much because he wants to enjoy the situation sober. He doesn't want to forget this day.

Remer feels confident in this club with all these hot women around him. "There's a little bit of Remer for everyone" he says, as if they really want him, but they are just doing their damn jobs.

But after the announcement of the night's show, one person in particular catches his attention.

The stripper who took the stage was different. It wasn't just the lace mask covering her face; all of her subtle and well-crafted movements justified why she was in such high demand.

She was radiant, gorgeous and most of all: very hot. Dollars rained down on the stage as the damn stripper began to strip. One by one.

Remer found himself mesmerized by the sequence of lace falling onto that stage, he was thirsty for more.

Soon he was screaming for you along with the desperate crowd and managed to find a place on the edge of the stage to get closer to you, even though he knew you were the Untouchable Stripper.

But he didn't care.

His eyes quickly fell on the red-haired guy in the audience. ''It had to be a joke.''

You knew that Doug Remer was willing to get the attention of many girls, never wanting just one. But you felt happy when you realized he was just staring at you.

Please excuse my poor English and any other mistakes i made. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!

byee

#matt stone #doug remer x reader #joe cooper x reader #joe cooper #baseketball #fanfic writing #fanfic south park #south park #trey parker #doug remer #movies #coop x reader #remer x reader #coop and remer #strip club #orgazmo #trey parker x reader #matt stone x reader #y/n #x y/n

[danger0uswham]

one thing that will always irritate me are the people who think that the paternity of michael's kids matter. some of these same fans will accept bigi but not paris & prince.

They all have a similar hair type and skin tone -- but they've all admittingly straightened their hair. It was a way for Michael to protect their identities when younger, too. Hence why he bleached Prince's hair as a child.

Not only that but Prince Jackson has vitiligo. Not as severe as Michael's case but he has it. It's been confirmed by family friends and relatives (Taj) but Prince wishes to not speak about it because it shouldn't matter. Vitiligo doesn't just happen out of the blue, either.

And Paris - she definitely looks so much like her mother but her facial structure. Her smiles, the way her eyes gleam, always reminds me of her dad.

Do they have what are considered "typical" biracial features? Not necessarily but they do look like their dad. And even if they weren't related to him, why does it matter so much?

Here are some examples of Mike's kids reminding me of him

PARIS JACKSON

PRINCE JACKSON

BIGI JACKSON

SOME MORE FACTS:

-- Joe Jackson's (Michael's father) side of the family has some mixed heritage; one of his great-grandparents was a slave, who had a child with his owner's daughter (they fell in love, I believe??) so mixed heritage is in the Jackson blood.

-- There are other Jackson relatives that are mixed and share similarities to PK, PJ, and BJ!

Janet's son, Eissa

Taj's Daughter

There's many more but I hit the limit of images LOL but Jackie Jackson has twin boys that are both mixed -- blue eyes, olive skin, and they don't have fro-textured hair as many expected; it's wavy!

#paris jackson #michael jackson #michael jackson fan #moonwalker #mjj #mjj fan #mjj innocent #mjj forever #mj forever #mjfam

[mariacallous]

Just days after people gleefully posted their Spotify Wrapped, bad news came for the music streaming giant. Spotify announced today that it would cut 17 percent of its workforce, a chunk that equates to an estimated 1,500 people. It’s the third time the world’s largest music streamer has cut jobs this year.

The news came after Spotify posted its first profitable quarter since 2021. In a memo to staff, CEO Daniel Ek said the company had expanded its workforce and offerings significantly throughout 2020 and 2021, thanks to lower-cost capital, but is now bumping up against the same problems startups across industries are facing, like high capital costs and slowed economic growth.

Ek said the cuts may seem “surprisingly large given the recent positive earnings report and our performance,” but due to “the gap between our financial goal state and our current operational costs,” Spotify would take “substantial action.”

Despite its popularity (Spotify held 30 percent of the music streaming market by late 2022), the company has long struggled to turn consistent profits. The layoffs wrap up a bad year: Spotify cut 6 percent of its workforce last January, followed by another 2 percent in June as it slimmed down its podcasting business. Even as the world’s most recognizable music streaming service, Spotify is plagued by an unreliable business model, one in which record companies sit back and rake in royalty payments while artists can struggle to bring in enough cash.

“Investors are increasingly impatient in 2023 for tech firms to start making money,” says Phil Bird, head of rights and royalties at the software development company Vistex. Spotify isn’t alone—tech companies have slashed jobs throughout the year, with more than 250,000 people losing jobs worldwide in 2023, according to layoffs.fyi, a site that tracks job cuts in tech.

Many major tech companies that overhired during the pandemic have taken steps to rightsize—and that’s what Ek says Spotify is doing now. But Spotify’s high cost to license music adds to its financial strain. “The cost of doing business is huge for streaming companies,” Bird says.

Spotify gained momentum in the third quarter of 2023, earning €32 million ($34.6 million) in operating income. It now has 226 million subscribers and 574 million monthly users. “On the surface, it looks great,” says Simon Dyson, senior principal analyst of music and digital audio at consultancy firm Omdia. “It’s [those] nagging costs that it can’t get on top of.”

Spotify and the recording industry have a deeply entwined and sticky relationship: Spotify is seen by some as a savior of the music industry, which flailed after Napster upended music downloading in 1999, but artists earn wildly different incomes based on how Spotify pays. According to a calculation from Billboard, Taylor Swift may have earned nearly $100 million from streaming on Spotify so far this year. Smaller artists earn far less, and music streaming models have long been accused of exploiting them.

Like Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music are each charging $10.99 per month for premium subscriptions, and each give access to 100 million songs. But unlike Spotify, Apple and Amazon have massive streams of revenue elsewhere to fall back on. So Spotify has spent the past few years looking for that standout content. It spent more than $1 billion building its podcast world and acquiring exclusive deals to shows like The Joe Rogan Experience. This fall, it began offering paying subscribers in the UK and Australia free audiobook access for 15 hours each month.

The music streaming fight isn’t like the streaming wars, where Max, Netflix, Hulu, and others can each lure in subscribers with a combination of classic and original movies and shows. If Spotify were to charge more for music (it already increased monthly prices from $9.99 to 10.99 in the US this summer), it would risk losing people to comparable services, where people can find the same songs. But unless it can convince people to pay more for music, it might continue to struggle.

“It’s too cheap,” says Dyson. “To have access to every single piece of music that’s ever been released—and ever will be released—for $10 a month is just astounding.” The same is true of Spotify today as was true when it was founded 17 years ago: It’s a business that’s good for listeners and labels but bad for both streamers and artists.