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lizavet · 13 days

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@heropartnerweek - Day 4: Great Canyon | Hidden Land | Glacier Palace | Revelation Mountain

There was something strangely nostalgic about the peak of Revelation Mountain. Tuft knew for a fact they had never been there before. But even still, they couldn’t shake the feeling that something about it was… familiar.

How they found a massive clearing with a giant forcefield of light surrounding a small pond familiar, they didn’t know. Maybe they had been here before their Pops found them? He did say he found them close to Revelation Mountain. Maybe this had something to do with their past!

“Looks like some sort of spring,” Archen noted.

Poppy rolled her eyes. “What an astute observation,” she drawled sarcastically. “I wonder why Mawile is the head of archaeology instead of you.” Archen glared at Poppy for a moment as Tuft bit back a laugh. The two of them had been taking shots at each other ever since their first mission together when they encountered Entei, and it never failed to make Tuft giggle.

Mr. Nuzleaf walked over to the forcefield, pressing a hand against it, only to flinch back as sparks exploded across his palm, making him hiss in pain. “Right, reckon that won’t work,” he muttered. “Looks like this crystal thingy be protectin’ the spring.”

“Another brilliant observation,” Poppy noted, though this time with notably less heat.

“Must you?” Archen asked tiredly.

“Unfortunately, yes.” Poppy gave a faux sad face, putting a palm over her heart and shaking her head. “It’s a fatal condition of mine. If I don’t point out the stupid things people say or do, I’ll die on the spot. Extremely tragic.”

“Wonder why this is here?” Mr. Nuzleaf mused, completely ignoring the argument in the background.

“Must be important for something,” Archen said without looking away from Poppy. “Maybe we should look around, see if we can find anything that could-”

“Or we look at the obvious stone tablet that’s right there,” Poppy deadpanned. Tuft followed her gaze over to a slab of stone sticking out of the ground, messy writing scrawled across it. Huh, they hadn’t noticed that. Neat.

Poppy walked over to the tablet to read it… only to squint her eyes and frown after a couple of seconds “Great,” she huffed. “It’s just a load of gibberish.” Archen sighed as he made his way over to her, shaking his head.

“If only Mawile had come with us,” he said. “She could have helped us.”

Tuft walked up behind them, glanced at the tablet for a moment, then squinted their eyes in confusion, looking between Poppy and Archen. “I don’t get it. What’s the problem?”

“We can’t read this.”

“Why not?”

Poppy gave Tuft an unamused look, the one she gave them when they made a stupid joke. “Because the writing is chicken scratch.” Three pairs of confused eyes turned to her. “Oh for- it’s illegible. Nonsense. Stupid squiggly lines of nothing!” she yelled, throwing her hands in the air.

“No it isn’t?” Tuft said, though it sounded like a question more than a statement to them. What was Poppy talking about?

“Yes, it is,” Poppy said slowly. “We can’t read a word of this.”

“I can.”

Silence. Poppy opened her mouth to reply, only to promptly shut it, her eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”

Tuft pushed their way past a confused Poppy and Archen, sitting down in front of the tablet. They cleared their throat and started to read. “Should you seek to overcome this crisis-”

“Woah woah woah, hold up!” Archen squawked, flapping his wings and jumping up and down. “You can read this?”

“You can’t?”

“No! It takes Mawile ages to decipher this kinda stuff, and you’re telling me you can just read it? What kind of joke is this!?”

“It’s not a joke,” Tuft pouted. “I don’t know why you can’t read this, but I can.”

“Now listen here-”

“They’re telling the truth,” Poppy cut in. Archen snapped his gaze over to her, but she just crossed her arms and met it head on. “Tuft is too stupid to lie. The second anyone calls them out, they start smiling and giggling. If this was a joke, they’d have cracked already.”

Tuft smiled, nuzzling slightly into Poppy’s side. It was nice that she had so much faith in them.

Archen still looked unconvinced, but Mr. Nuzleaf let out a low whistle, running a hand over the leaf on his head. “Well I’ll be an aipom’s uncle,” he whispered. “Reckon we shouldn’t question this an’ just be thankful!” He gave Tuft a reassuring smile. “Hows about you go on readin’, eh?”

“Right!” Tuft chirped. They turned their attention back to the tablet again while Poppy gave Archen a glare, daring him to interrupt them again. Tuft cleared their throat and started reading again.

Should you seek to overcome this crisis, summon a person. A person will have the power to break the barrier over the spring. And the font of light will breathe life into the world anew.

“…Poppy was right,” Archen noted. “That was gibberish.”

“Hey!” Tuft yelled indignantly. “It’s not gibberish! That’s what it says! It’s not my fault you can’t understand it!”

“Oh yeah? Then what do you think it means?” And okay, Tuft didn’t exactly have an answer for that, but they weren’t going to let Archen know that! They really didn’t appreciate him just writing them off like that. They read exactly what the tablet said, and it obviously meant something! They just… needed a second to figure out what.

“To be fair, it is a bit cryptic,” Mr. Nuzleaf said. “Reckon this ‘Font of Light’ is this here spring, but what’s this ‘bout ‘Breathing life into the world anew’? Sounds a bit too vague for my likin’.”

“More importantly, what exactly is a ‘person’ supposed to be?” Archen snapped, fluffing up his feathers. “I’ve never heard the term before, and it’s certainly not any species of pokemon I know!” Tuft tilted their head to the side. Person… they had definitely heard that word before, hadn’t they? They’d heard it from-

“It means me.”

Everyone turned to look over at Poppy, who was watching the barrier with a strange glint in her eye. Her hands were shoved far into the pockets of her hoodie, pulling it down tight on her.

“Pardon?” Mr. Nuzleaf asked.

“A person,” Poppy explained. “It’s… another way to say a human. You need a human to break the barrier.” She looked back at the group with resignation. “That’s me. This… this is why I’m here. This is why I was brought here.”

Oh, right. That was where Tuft had heard that word. Poppy had spent the first couple of months referring to others as ‘People’ instead of pokemon, confusing the folks in Serene Village. It took a while for her to adjust, and to that day she still slipped and used human terms and sayings every now and then.

But hey, that was a good thing! Not only did they figure out why Poppy had been turned into a pokemon, but they also had a way to get through the barrier! It was perfect!

…so why did she look so sad about it?

“That’s all well and good,” Archen cut in, “But what good does that do for us? We get some water. How is that supposed to help us? We came here to find Krookodile, not sit in a hot spring.”

“Maybe the water is magic!” Tuft suggested. “Maybe it’s the solution to all our problems!”

Archen gave Tuft a dry, unamused look. “Please grow up,” he deadpanned. “I know you’re still young, but you have to realize by now that this isn’t a fairytail where magic is real and will fix everything you need it to.” Tuft felt their fur bristle a bit, but gave Archen a smug look in return.

“Oh, right, sorry, is pokemon getting turned to stone not magic enough for you?”

“You know what I mean! We can’t just hope for the best and expect things to go right! That’s not-” he shut his beak as a beeping sound filled the air. Poppy, Tuft, and Archen all looked over at their packs in unison, pulling out their ringing communicators, clicking them on.

“Prehistoric Ruins expedition team here,” Dedenne’s voice called out from the devices. “Do you read me?”

“Krookodile pursuit team here!” Archen replied. “We read you. Are you alright?”

“We’re fine. We had a bit of an incident with the guardians of the ruins, but it’s all sorted. Anyway, that’s not important.”

“I disag-”

“We have great news!”

Needless to say, Tuft was extremely smug when Dedenne informed them that the spring (which was apparently called The Luminous Water) was indeed the solution to all of their problems, as it could reverse the petrification of pokemon. Archen was not impressed.

It did bring up more questions though. Who put the Luminous Water and the barrier there? The stone tablet was ancient, which meant that this had all been put in place centuries ago. How did the ancient pokemon know this would happen? Who summoned Poppy?

But those were questions that could be answered another day. For now, there was only one thing to do. Break the barrier and get the water!

“…and how exactly am I supposed to do that?” Poppy asked, crossing her arms.

Tuft blinked a couple times, tilting their head to the side. “I mean, the tablet says you can,” they said. “So… just do whatever feels natural! I’m sure it’ll come to you.”

“Whatever feels natural?” Poppy asked incredulously. “What, do you want me to punch it or something?”

“Yeah! That’s how you solve most of your problems.”

“…you want me… to punch… the giant, crystal pyramid?”

“Yes.”

“…and you expect this to work?”

“Yup!”

“…”

“…how many hits to the head did you take on the way up here again?”

Archen scoffed, crossing his wings. “Oh please, as if this isn’t standard behaviour from them.”

“Hey, I’m right!” Tuft argued. “Something goes wrong? Poppy punches it and it stops being wrong. Works every time!”

“No it doesn’t!”

“Yes it does! Pancham is bullying me? Punch fixes it. Ferals attacking? Punch makes them stop. We’re not allowed to join the Expedition Society because we’re too young? Punch stuff to prove we’re good enough. Shopkeeper trying to rip us off? Punch wall to intimidate!”

“Wait you did what?”

“I’m telling you, Poppy’s fist is the solution to all problems!” Tuft said proudly, before looking thoughtful for a moment. “Except pokemon turning to stone,” they amended. “Then the solution is water. Except to get to that water, Poppy has to punch. So once again, Poppy punch is the solution!”

Tuft stood proudly, tilting their chin up and looking very pleased with themself, while Archen and Poppy just stared at her with mirrored long-suffering expressions. Mr. Nuzleaf just looked down at Tuft with a somewhat amused smile. “Ya know,” he said, “I’d pay good money to see what it’s like livin’ in that head’o yours. Figure I’d have some good fun.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty great in here,” Tuft giggled. “One time, I-”

“Oi! You there!” a rough voice yelled, dragging everyone’s attention to the other side of the clearing. Tuft’s eyes blew up wide when they saw who was standing there, glaring at the group with anger and contempt.

“Kr-”

“Kroo-”

“KROOKODILE!”

Krookodile towered over all of them, the shadows of the trees painting his body darker as he loomed, eyes scanning each and every one of them, before landing somewhere at the back and narrowing. He took a step forward, the ground shaking beneath his heavy form, then another, and another, slowly inching closer and closer.

“Finally,” Poppy snarled, cracking her knuckles. “Let’s get this over with.”

“Now hold on there!” Nuzleaf hissed, throwing an arm out in front of Poppy as she tried to move forward. “We can’t go an rush into this! We slip, and he gon turn us to stone!”

Poppy slapped his arm away from her. “Get off me! We literally came here to capture him! We’re not backing down now!”

“Maybe not, but we do need to be careful,” Archen warned. “Nuzleaf is right. One wrong move, and we’re dead.”

“Unless we get that there water,” Mr. Nuzleaf stressed. “Poppy, you need to-”

“I told you, I don’t know how!”

“Guys!” Tuft yelled. “He’s getting closer!”

Krookodile was taking his sweet time, his menacing glare never leaving the group as he stomped across the clearing, completely unafraid. Tuft felt their body shudder under his gaze, the idea that he could end them with a snap of his fingers making their stomach turn to lead. But! They hadn’t come here just to be afraid! They were a fully fledged member of the Expedition Society! They weren’t going to back down.

“Archen!” they yelled. “Help me distract him.” They looked back. “You two get that barrier open! We’ll buy you some time.”

“Like hell you will!” Poppy snapped. “I’m not letting you-”

“HALT!”

“Oh for- NOW WHAT?”

The second the words left Poppy’s lips, a cruel gust of wind swept through the air, sending leaves scattering and nearly knocking Tuft over. The sky above them darkened as storm clouds rolled in from nowhere, blotting out the sun. The wind roared in Tuft’s ears, drowning out the sound of their own screams until-

***ZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

CRSHHHHHHHHHh*

Lightning struck and tornadoes swept through the clearing before dissipating in an instant, revealing two new pokemon, both with canine forms that were all too familiar to Tuft.

“The hell?” Krookodile snarled. “Who are you two supposed to be?” The pokemon both stood tall, holding their heads up high and sneering down at Krookodile like he was a rotten fruit to squash underneath their paws.

“Suicune the Gale!” one declared.

“Raikou the Storm!” the other boomed.

“And you are the one who turned Entei to stone, are you not?”

Krookodile didn’t respond, just narrowing his eyes at the two massive beasts, a low growl rumbling out. Tuft watched the scene play out in awe, trying to figure out what the heck was going on. Everything was moving too fast, and they were having trouble keeping up.

“Suicune and Raikou,” Archen mumbled. “The legendary beasts of water and lightning. They’re Entei’s siblings.”

“They must not be too happy about what happened to him,” Tuft noted.

“Now hol’ on,” Mr. Nuzleaf cut in, keeping his voice low. “This here’s our chance!”

“Our chance?”

“The spring! We can get the water while them two keep Krookodile distracted!”

“He’s right,” Archen said. “Poppy, get that barrier open!”

“I’m telling you, I don’t-”

“JUST TRY!” Mr. Nuzleaf insisted, his voice angrier than Tuft had ever heard.

While Poppy continued to argue with Mr. Nuzleaf and Archen, Tuft’s ear twitched at the sound of grumbling, their head snapping over to look at Krookodile, who was ignoring both Suicune and Raikous, walking straight past them towards the group near the spring. Tuft was about to warn them, until they heard him speaking under his breath.

“-wasn’t part of the deal…”

The deal? What deal? Tuft gave Krookodile a wary look. Was that why he was turning pokemon to stone? Because he made a deal with someone? That… didn’t feel right. Something was wrong. Tuft could feel it in their bones. They were missing something.

“Poppy!”

“FINE!” she yelled. Poppy stomped her way right over to the barrier, rearing back a fist. Tuft couldn’t decide whether to watch her or the approaching Krookodile, head whipping back and forth between them, their nerves on fire. What was going on? Why did they feel like they were missing something?

“We had a deal,” Krookodile muttered lowly. “Where the hell is my money?”

Money? He did this for money? No, no that couldn’t have been it. Krookodile was greedy, sure, but this? And the way he just waved off Suicune and Raikou, despite their demands and threats. They couldn’t put their paw on it, but Tuft knew something was wrong. They just didn’t know what it-

“Where’s my money you hick?”

…no.

“Poppy, wait!”

Too late. Her fist smashed into the barrier, sending fractures racing through the crystal structure, before SHATTERING into shards of light that dissolved in the air. The spring underneath shot a beam of teal light into the sky, signalling to the world that it was free. Hope was alive. But Tuft’s heart sank at the sight.

“There,” Poppy huffed. “You happy?”

“Good work, Poppy,” Archen replied, before turning to glare at Krookodile, adopting a battle stance. “Now that we have the spring water, we can deal with him without fear of being turned to stone!”

Tuft watched as Krookodile’s eyes scanned the group, their heart getting colder and colder as they saw his confused and bored expression. “Spring water?” he scoffed. “I don’t give a damn about that. I just want my money!”

He took a step forward, baring his teeth and pointing a claw out.

“I did everything you told me to! I left those warnings! I let myself get seen! Hell, I even came out here ‘cuz you told me to! And you brought Expedition lackies with you? The hell you trying to pull, Nuzleaf?”

…

White noise filled Tuft’s ears, the entire clearing going dead at his words. The wind stopped blowing, the trees and grass were still, and no one moved an inch. Slowly, ever so slowly, Tuft managed to drag their head to the side to look at Mr. Nuzleaf, fearing what they would see.

It was somehow even worse than they imagined.

Gone was the chill, laid back country man that they knew. Instead, Mr. Nuzleaf had a cruel smirk on his face that looked so out of place. Shadows danced in his eyes, a purple fog coiling around his feet. His body shook ever so slightly, Tuft barely able to hear his low chuckling.

“…reckon it’s time,” he sadistically grinned, an otherwordly echo following his voice that made it sound so wrong. “I don grown tired of all this. The barrier is gone, and now… we’re invincible!”

Laughter filled the air as Mr. Nuzleaf threw his head back, his cruel cackles the only sound in the world. Tuft saw Poppy take a step back, and uncharacteristic look of fear on her face. Tuft found themself at her side in an instant, curling their tail around her back protectively.

Slowly, Mr. Nuzleaf’s laughter faded, and he looked over at Krookodile, giving him a strange smile. “You done good, Krookodile,” he declared. “I reckon… you’ve earned your reward.”

*SNAP

With a snap of his fingers, something dark began to seep out of the air, twisting and coiling around Mr. Nuzleaf’s outstretched hand. It wasn’t shadow, or anything black, it was just… nothing. Nothing at all. Like everything that existed in that space was consumed, destroyed, replaced with utter void. The very sight of it made Tuft’s entire body scream, their brain begging for them to run, telling them what they were looking at was wrong wrong wrONG WRONG! It shouldn’t exist! Nothing can’t exist! But it was there and it was wrong and they had to run!

“The hell are you-” Krookodile started, but his voice was cut off as Mr. Nuzleaf thrust his palm out, the nothingness stretching out and wrapping around Krookodile’s mouth, forcing it shut before dancing over his form. He thrashed and flung himself about, trying to rip it off, but everywhere the void touched his body turned grey, the life draining from his form until…

…there was nothing left but stone.

‘No… it can’t be.’

But there was no denying it. They had seen it with their own eyes. Mr. Nuzleaf was the culprit. The true mastermind. He was the one that turned the pokemon to stone. Tuft should have screamed, should have demanded to know how he could do this, how he could betray them, why he wanted this, or just attacked. He was a grass type! They had the advantage.

Instead, they looked up at Poppy, seeing the life leave her eyes as she shrank in on herself. Tears started streaking down her cheeks, her arms wrapping around her chest, making her look so small. Then, Tuft learned it only took one word to break their heard.

“…dad?”

#heropartnerweek #heropartnerweek2024 #pmd #psmd #pokemon super mystery dungeon #haha guess who forgot to keep posting these #certainly wasn't me #...okay but legit sorry #gonna post the past few days worth over today!

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chaotic-archaeologist · 1 year

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hey i followed u for archaeology but since you seem to be open to sex ed questions i thought i'd shoot haha.

so i'm a trans guy, i don't have bottom dysphoria, i would like to use my vagina during sex for bottoming. but i have vaginismus. real bad. and possible vaginal atrophy. not looking to treat it with advice from this blog, not coming here for medical assistance, but to put it simply there is no way i can use that thang. hole is closed for business. even to pinky fingers. that shit hurted.

i can and have topped, and bottomed for anal sex. so that's not an issue. i'm open to doing those things. but damn it i would like to use my pussy once in a while and just can't. and i have virgin-adjacent prowess / confidence / experience in sex so i'm bad at communicating my needs and wants.

you got any.. i dont know.. tips? advice? for telling a potential partner that the front hole's off limits without making them think im unsexy? the anxiety's so bad i've fully rejected people i really liked for serious relationships, and turned down hookups, because some part of my brain thinks i'm not worth having sex with if my partner can't use my vagina. especially since testosterone has given me "abnormal" anatomy that i only trust other trans people with and being t4t means i get a lot of people who expect vagina from me, who i then have to disappoint.

this is a stupid specific question so i apologise it isn't really general sex ed but i guess i just need some communication tips because i dont even know where to start.

Okay, first off, I'm sorry that it's taken me a while to respond to this, but I wanted to really think about my answer. Also, for the record: this is always the kind of sex ed question that I am willing to answer. I think more people need to be willing to talk about this sort of stuff.

The primary thing I want to address is wherever you're getting your definition of normal, both in terms of anatomy and sexual function. Because the circumstances you describe are wholly within the realm of 'normal experiences' for people who have a vagina. Vaginismus, vulvodynia, and vaginal atrophy are not relegated to trans men. You are not abnormal. There is nothing wrong with you.

A lot of the porn out there featuring trans men does have them receiving vaginal penetration. Porn is not a representative sample of the population. Do not let porn define what sex is for you.

Personally, my advice would be to treat this as a litmus test for potential sexual partners. If someone wants something and doesn't care/is put off that it hurts you, that is not a person you want to be having sex with. If someone is "disappointed" because you won't receive vaginal penetration, that is their fucking problem, not yours. There are so many things you can do that do not involve vaginal penetration—be excited about those!

As for bringing this up with potential partners, I'm a big advocate for early and honest communication. If it looks like you might be getting down and dirty with someone, you can just say something along the lines of "hey, heads up, but I don't do vaginal penetration/front hole is closed for business/etc." If you really want to get ahead of the issue, you could even put this in your bio on various apps.* *You don't owe anyone an explanation, but you can choose to elaborate as to why.

I'll also point out that there's a halfway option here. It is totally valid to say "look, I am into this thing (vaginal penetration) in concept, but not in physicality." You can talk about it. You can text about it. You can do these things while you're doing other stuff! It doesn't have to be all or nothing.

To me, it sounds like you have 100% of the necessary components for having sex: the desire to have sex in the first place, activities that you can/do enjoy, and a willing partner. That's it. That's all you need.

You are worth so much more than what a single part of your body can/can't offer. Sex does not equal any sort of penetration, vaginal or otherwise. Find someone you trust, get creative, and don't be afraid to enjoy yourself.

-Reid

#he speaks #sex advice #sex education #sex ed #transgender

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lifeascaty · 3 months

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I've been away from tumblr for a few months. In October 2021, my Dad was diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroendocrine pancreatic cancer. I felt like my whole world was falling apart. He already followed me on tumblr, so I filled my feed with things he would like so he had something new and interesting (or a cute cat) to see every day. (I was already posting a lot for him, but now my queue was entirely for him.) It was a small thing, but I wanted to do anything to help make him smile or distract him. As it was a neuroendocrine cancer, there were treatment options, and soon he was back to living life as if nothing was wrong. But I still kept my queue running for him. In November 2023, a scan was misread. They told my Dad his cancer was responding well to treatment, and he wouldn't need any more nuclear medicine for two years. Unfortunately, this mistake meant my Dad passed away on January 26th 2024. There's no question that this is the worst thing to ever happen to me. My Dad is the person I am/was closest to in the whole world. I've never felt pain like this. I don't know what to do with my tumblr now. I've had it for over a decade, but I've been posting for my Dad for so long that it feels wrong to post without him. I know that's silly. I just miss him so much.

I'm going to post the eulogy I wrote for him below the cut. I don't expect anyone to read it, but I want it to exist somewhere online. I'm really proud of it. It has mistakes - repetitions of words etc. - but I also think it's the best thing I've ever written, because it's about my Dad.

As a professional writer, I’ve felt a lot of pressure to write a eulogy that does my Dad justice. The problem is, I don’t think that’s possible. Especially without him here to give me notes. My Dad has always given me his opinion on my writing at whatever stage it was at, bouncing ideas back and forth with me and arguing over intricate punctuation but, on this occasion, he can’t. I hope he’d like this anyway.

I could talk forever about my Dad. There are so many things I want to tell people about him, about his love and excitement for the world and his joy in getting to live each day. To quote Marcus Aurelius, as my Dad often did, “When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” This sentiment defined him, really.

My Dad and I have so much in common. We traded books back and forth. He introduced me to his favourite shows and I showed him mine. He showed me his favourite movies from when he was growing up, and we were always first in line to see new releases at the Odeon in Wrexham. I would spend hours hanging out on the couch in his study as he worked and played music, talking me through his love and admiration of various songs and bands, like Led Zeppelin, Genesis, The Jam, The Smiths. We talked a mile a minute over dinner, always excited to share whatever new thing we’d learned that day. We experimented with various recipes and he gave me my love of cooking. We debated politics constantly, always talked about what was in the news, forwarded interesting posts and memes to each other across multiple social media platforms. Even when I lived on another continent we were in contact with each other every day, keeping track of our respective timezones so we could always find time to talk.

My heart aches every time I read a news article about some interesting new archaeological finding or a new discovery in space, because I want to share it with him. There are so many movies we planned to see, upcoming TV shows we wanted to watch, books we were waiting to be released.

I want to talk to him about the new Taylor Swift album and the Grammys she just won. As some of you may know, my Dad was a Swiftie – he was in the top 0.5% of Taylor Swift Spotify listeners last year. He was a fan of her before I was, often falling asleep to her 1989 album on international flights. He bought us tickets to see her Eras Tour together this summer and we were so excited. I can’t describe the pain I felt when last month he told me that I’d have to go and enjoy it without him. Because he should be here to see it with me. He loved stained glass – even taking classes and making his own artwork. He promised to teach me this summer, and now I’ll have to do it without him. But I’ll still do it. Like I’ll still go to the Eras concert – because it’s what he would have wanted, and because it keeps his memory alive.

I recognise how lucky I am that he is my Dad. So many things had to happen to make it so. Various ancestors had to meet and have children. My parents needed to be born, needed to both decide to go to the same university, needed some anonymous admin person to assign them both to the same university halls where they would ultimately meet. All so that one day I would come in to being and he would be my Dad. The chances of that happening, for everything to have gone right, are so infinitesimally small. And yet they happened. How miraculous is that?

I am who I am because of him. As a young man, he reviewed books for The Oxford Times and Interzone, a Sci-Fi and Fantasy magazine. (He was particularly proud to interview Terry Pratchett, his favourite author, and have his quote used on Pratchett’s books for years to come). He fell in love with stories and storytelling, a love that he passed down to me. Without him, I don’t know if I would have become a screenwriter and author. Storytelling is such a huge part of me, and I don’t know who I’d be without it, and without him.

There are so many big, impressive things that my Dad did and achieved through his lifetime, but the things that make up a life are the smaller moments. My parents dancing around his study to God Only Knows by The Beach Boys. His love of all our cats across the years and his special relationship with each of them. The time we went out into the garden, on a freezing cold night in November, to watch the Leonids – shooting stars – falling brightly through the atmosphere. Picking me up from Gobowen station every time I came back from London or undergrad, no matter how late my train was. His specific way of stacking the dishwasher that only I could emulate. Summer holidays swimming in the pool, eating ice cream together, and marvelling over his tan.

The problem with loving my Dad so much is that it’s incredibly painful now he’s gone. One of his favourite Marvel TV shows, Wandavision, had the line “what is grief, if not love persevering?” There is so much grief because there has always been so much love between us. And I am thankful for that. Thankful for him, and everything he has done to build a beautiful life for our family.

My Dad’s last words were beautiful. Something we often said to each other, from childhood to adulthood, was “I love you more than the moon, and the stars, and the wide, wide world”. I started saying it to him, none of us knowing the end was hurtling so quickly towards us. He smiled as I began to say the familiar words, and as my Mum and brother joined in, so did he, still smiling as he said “and the wide, wide world”. And that was it.

'To reference Marcus Aurelius once more, he talks in Meditations about how just a day–just a minute–of happiness, of perfection, of peace, is enough. The same goes for the people we love. That we ever had my Dad in the first place is a wonderful thing, something to be so grateful for. Whatever comes after, whatever fortune has in store for us in the future? It can’t change that. What happens next matters less because of the wonderfulness of having had my Dad at all.'

He is my best friend. He will always be my best friend. Whatever happened, I knew he would look after me. That he loved me and cared for me and that with him I was safe. He would look after our family, always. And he did. Even now we’re discovering things he did and put in place to make sure we were okay.

I know I need to stop talking, although, as I said at the beginning, I could talk forever about my Dad. I will finish with a quote from Terry Pratchett: “No one is finally dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away.” Hopefully my Dad will live forever.

#eulogy

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jkl-fff · 1 month

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do you have any ocs please tell me about them in as much detail as you'd like

Since I'm working on a series I hope to publish one day, I do indeed have OCs. Nothing but OCs in that series. OCs for days and nights and some more days thereafter.

Since the series involves three sets of three characters (with interweaving plot points across a continent-spanning empire), we'd be here all day if I said as much as I'd like about each one. In fact, we'd be reading the book.So I'll give a quick summary: who they are, what they do, and why.

THE BOYS

Domwyn (21), a roving minstrel who goes from town to town performing for room and board and tips at inns. He was born with the rare ability to see and speak with spirits, which would see him condemned as a sorcerer if anyone found out. All he wants is to be free and safe, so he keeps wandering, reluctantly helping spirits when he must. At least, until a handsome abd ecxentric young man discovers his secret ...

Plow (23), a student of archaeology and history working on a doctorate project by excavating one of the many sites of ruins on the Continent. Finding out Domwyn can unlock a magic seal in them (because of his sorcerous abilities) is the most exciting discovery of the century (in his opinion), and he immediately dragoons Domwyn into being his ruin-exploring assistant. What world-shattering secrets will they discover?

Moose (36), Plow's cousin and a member of the local militia that protects the town from bandits and monstrous beasts. Currently, he's on off time and using it to make sure his cousin doesn't get himself eaten by a giant spider or something while geeking out over pottery shards and other artefacts. He'd much rather be playing with his daughter and making kissy faces with his wife, though.

THE LADIES

Maeve (23), Plow's twin sister and a secret agent working for the local princess against the continental empire. Her cover is that she's the lead of a famous performing troupe, which gets her invited into high society locales where she and her team can spy out gocernment secrets. One of the things she enjoys as much as performing ... is knitting. Oh, and also making love to the princess.

Sweets (24), a political hostage taken as a young girl to keep her noble father loyal to the empire, she was practically raised with Maeve and Plow. She now works as part of Maeve's performing and spy group to help both the local princess *and* her father's house ... and especially her best friend, Maeve. One of her talents is makeup and costume design, which makes her a competsnt master of disguise. She can and will kick a bitch through a wall if that bitch annoys her, though.

Agria (24), an aspiring knight, she's a member of the local milita receiving special training for leadership when recruited by Maeve to join her spy ring. Why? Because of her photographic memory, which would allow the spies to take information from documents without stealing them, leaving their targets none the wiser. She agrees to do this to win favor with the princess, advancing her career towards knighthood. She has some complicated religious beliefs.

THE ASSASSINS

Masque (?), a shapeshifting assassin who fears Death itself is after them, and the only way to keep Death from catching them is to offer up others (the more important and social upheaval inducing, the better). They're fascinated by their reluctant partners' weapons, and also their personalities, and also that neither one can leave because Masque has got all sorts of leverage!

Nomiv (20), a former militia recruit (basically cop) who accidentally got himself bonded to a sword capable of cutting through anything (even souls) while trying to apprehend Masque during an assassination of a government official. Now everyone thinks he died while betraying his government, and Masque is extorting him to help with further assassinations. He just wants to do good, but doesn't know what that means anymore as his simplistic, moralizing worldview shatters before him. And it doesn't help that the sword wants him to kill ...

Uma (31), a prisoner indentured out to a rich engineer now on the run after being framed for his murder. She pioneered a new type of firearm (a revolver with prepacked bullets instead of flintlock pistols) which could revolutionize warfare and neutralize the combat supremacy of mages if anyone else got their hands on it. But all she wants is to disappear somewhere she can continue her research in peace and freedom. Unfortunately, that'll be hard to do with the magic collar around her neck. If only someone could cut through it without killing her ...

THANKS SO MUCH!

#blood & aether #original character

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barry-j-blupjeans · 1 year

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2022 Fic List!

This is a compilation of all the fics I've posted on Ao3 in 2022, plus some ficlets I like that I posted here! As always, Journal Pages is still being updated but I'm not gonna put it on this list because I made it last year (I think??)

Memories, Just a Bit To the Left

Being kidnapped was, honestly, not incredibly horrible. It wasn’t a good thing, for sure, for sure, but Barry could deal with it. Was he low on hit points? Yeah, and it was shitty. Did he feel like he was going to die? Occasionally, that’s just something that happens sometimes, you know? But it wasn’t all bad. Some of the gerblins were nice. They gave him some water, kicked him around a bit more, gave him an orange that they refused to peel so Barry just kind of spat the peel out as he went. A solid three out of five stars.

But he wasn’t too worried about the whole thing. Even as low as his hit points got, he knew that Taako would come find him. It was just a matter of if he would find Barry too late.

This was for the 2021 Candlenights exchange and it is killer, I think. I really enjoyed getting to write this and explore the space of this AU.

Archaeology Excavation on My Body

“How do you always know everything?” he asked instead of rising to her bait. “That’s the secret I want to know, ma’am. You’ve got prying eyes anywhere? Listening ears?”

"I run a secret organization on the moon,” the Director said dryly. “I’ve grown accustomed to knowing both everything and absolutely nothing at the same time. If you don’t want me to know, then I won’t know. I’ll never bring it up again. I’m simply offering us a way to, uh-” she glanced at the wall. It had been twenty minutes since the Reclaimers went offline. “Pass the time. And perhaps a way to help manage your pain a little better. No one else has noticed, Angus, but you do tend to limp a bit.”

Fuck, Angus thought.

This one was a pure vent fic, but I'm glad other people could relate to it anyway! I love giving characters I like everything that's wrong with me.

Tedious Familiarity

Déjà vu. Noun. A feeling of having already experienced the present situation. A tedious familiarity.

Barry Bluejeans woke up in a cave, fresh out of a pod filled with green goop, and saddled with an unsettling feeling that he had been here before. If you had asked forty-year-old Barry if he would follow instructions left by a talking coin, he probably would have asked you what type of drugs you were on. But, y’know, fifty… two? Fifty-one? How old was he? Fifty-two sounded right. But, y’know, fifty-two years old Barry didn’t really have that many other places to turn, so this couldn't be all that bad.

Barold my beloved!! I love any take on Barry's years alone and I thought I'd give myself a stab at it! Or several stabs, if we're going by death count. I really like how this one came out!!

Heart-Shaped Stickers

A collection of my blupjeans week prompts for 2022!

As seen on the tin sldkfsd.

Keep Your Friends Close (And the Lich Who Gives You Cryptic Advice Closer)

“There’s a lot you don’t know and I can’t tell you yet,” the Red Robe said. “And I’m genuinely sorry about that, Magnus, but right now, from the Bureau’s perspective, I’m not the good one.”

“From your perspective?” Magnus asked.

“From my- I…” he stopped again, contemplating, as if no one had ever asked him this question before. "I try to be, I think."

AKA: Magnus has questions and no one from the Bureau is giving him answers. He goes looking for the one person who will.

This baby is my pride and joy of this year, I think. It has always taken me Ages to write any chaptered fic but I'm very very proud of this one.

Autumn-Themed Notebook

Prompt fills for TAZ November Celebration 2022.

Again, as seen on the tin!

Now onto the Tumblr Ficlets!!

This list would not be complete without this ficlet about Magnus, Carey, and Killian discussing Magnus's top surgery or this one about a heart-shaped locket Barry picked up. Some other favorites from this year include:

Voidfished Taako interacting with Red Robe Lup and Barry (x)

June/The Temporal Chalice finding Barry's worst memory (x)

Merle and Hekuba talking post Story and Song (x)

Lucretia and Magnus talking about emotions and the stars (x)

Lucretia discovering the umbrastaff broke early (x)

Barry and Lucretia forming a truce to fuck over Governer Kalen (x)

Lucretia trying to discover who's stealing from the Fantasy Costco (x)

Taako taking the fall for all of Lup's deaths (x)

The Starblaster Crew stealing Magnus's shirts while he's dead (x)

Taako, Kravitz, and the mafia - Werewolf edition! (x1, x2, x3)

I gotta stop there or else this will go on forever sldfksdf. Let me know if you have any particular favorites from what I've written this year :D! It'd mean the world to me. My writing tag is #ise cube writing as always and my ao3 is IntrovertedHappiness if you wanna go check me out there!

#taz #taz balance #fic list #i am speaking #:D!!!!

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wretcheddthing · 1 year

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7 Comfort Movies

i was tagged by @cuteallo and i’m Watching you.

1) The Mummy (1999): We Know. If you know me you know this. Hold on I’m going to go take a picture of my bumper sticker (you know the one)

I have a poster hanging up in my room. It’s my all time most favorite movie Ever. Plus it just feels like a love letter to classic Universal monsters which I didn’t really Get until my good buddy Jamie got me interested in the history of it while I was doing research for my old radio show. Some of the creative choices and definitely the horror elements were so precisely implemented to mimic classic horror set tropes, like how the moon is always huge and bright and a little too big. And it’s SO quotable. RIDDLED with problems, but Roger Ebert said it best, “There is hardly a thing I can say in its favor, except that I was cheered by nearly every minute of it. I cannot argue for the script, the direction, the acting or even the mummy, but I can say that I was not bored and sometimes I was unreasonably pleased.“

2) Howl’s Moving Castle: I don’t think I need to explain this one. It’s a movie that Radiates comfort. I watched it at least a couple times back to back the last time i got sick.

3) Atlantis: The Lost Empire: This movie is directly responsible (in conjunction with The Mummy and Uncharted) for a full cast of OCs. This movie is part of the reason I’ve taken so many archaeology courses and helped out at a dig site last summer. also in conjunction with the mummy and uncharted

4) Mamma Mia: it reminds me of my mom ;-; i grew up with ABBA because of her, she took me to see this in theaters when it came out. she lives a couple states away now and is currently utilizing her retirement to spend a month abroad and i miss her very much. will probably watch this later

5) Brave: I made myself sad bc i miss my mom. This is one I took her to see in theaters, and let me tell you were there not other people in the theater i would have been openly sobbing. Also it’s just a damn fine movie. It came out around the time I was deeply interested in archery and i am partially Scottish so on the surface it seemed right up my alley. but then the story got me and i cannot watch it without crying

6) Zombieland: Stealing this one from Teagan because hard same. Found family, zombies, reminiscent of Left 4 Dead. Good memories with that game playing it with my older sibling on their XBox 360 whenever they came up to visit :) Also it’s SO HARD to find decent zombie shit now!!! no one gets it! nobody gets it anymore they’re all like “the people are the real monsters” NO. THAT’S NOTHING. THAT’S NOT INTERESTING. USE ZOMBIES AS THE METAPHORICAL TOOL THEY ARE TO ELEVATE HUMAN STORIES. COWARDS.

7) The Martian: It’s my favorite book of all time and as far as movie adaptations go I really don’t think it’s that bad. Mark Watney’s gotta be one of the characters ever made. I read this book every single year now because I related to it at a time I really needed to (see: high school) and the movie is pretty faithful imo. Look I have a drawing for it

anyways i think i made this post too long and i would say it’s bc i’m a film minor but i didn’t say anything really insightful about any of these movies i just like to talk i’m tagging @gilarroyo @olliesaurus-rex @prioriincantatemx @elliewilliams @adairable-dirks @jamiechanga and whosoever wishes to participate

#personal #tag games #tagged as me #friends #long post #also i see your tags teagan you are absolutely correct i would GET YOU for including before sunrise #*pointing* linklater stan

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fromchaostocosmos · 1 year

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Home

Tell me please, what is the time limit

How long does it take for home to long be your home

The places you built to be determined not have been built by you, decided by a council of your murders

How long after you stolen from, beaten out off, take in shackles from, your home. A home you return time and time again. A home you haven't left ever and home you couldn't return because to so would cause the death of everyone you know and everyone you love.

How long after they have taken your name and call you something else and you stop fighting back and go with.

How long after they have stolen the your tongue, your language, the words passed generation to generation. Until you clawed it back from its death rattle.

How much time passes that you considered to longer belong to your no matter what history says, science says, your DNA says, archaeology says, what you have said for thousands and thousands of years.

How much time must pass when determined that enough has passed and you are long indigenous and native to your land. Your home. That you yearn for. You cry out for. You dream of. Where ancestors are buried, where your bones wish to buried too. Your soul aches for.

At what point is it decided that now you are the colonizer. You are the same as those you stole you, beat you, raped you, used you, took you, abused you, took everything you held dear, took your name, took your family, and left nothing, but pain, chaos, devastation, destruction, and death wherever they went.

And who gets to makes this decision. Who gets to decide these things. About you, without your say so, without your consent, and without any care for the deep lasting scars they have left gouged in you.

So I ask you again, please tell me what it the time limit and who decides?

When you have your answer I must ask why? Why?

#jewish pain #antisemitism #jewish diaspora #diaspora mood #jewish feelings #jewish things #poetry #sort of #just feeling things

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blessphemy · 2 years

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Thinking about the time me & a couple friends walked into a screening of Jurrassic World.

It was spring, and we were staying at a near-empty timeshare/hotel in the middle of nowhere, Vermont, a ski town or something, having taken a lot of trains and 1 taxi from a man that my friends were convinced was a serial killer. I tried to tell them that no, he was okay probably, I got along with him (I sat in the front seat and friends in the back, and because he was talkative this meant it was my duty to keep the driver in a good mood), to which my friends said, “but you would get along with a serial killer.” It was probably because I made a joke about people being Reaped and he laughed.

I had spent the early morning walking alone through the woods and mowed-down-woods of the ski mountains. Grasses and low-growing plants. Pathless trees with little undergrowth — spring on the calendar but not yet spring in the forest. Films of ice over ice-cold puddles that I cracked under my fingertips. I do not remember the actual soundscape but in the feeling of that memory it is an eerie silence. The sky is enormous when I walk up the clear-cuts, staring down at me until I reach the cover of trees.

We spent that week of Spring Break subsisting off the spicy cheese they sold in a gift shop (gift shop?), instant meals, macaroni, and soft apples from the tiny town store that was the only thing in walking distance. We did nothing but walk the empty ski-runs and trails, roll down the hills by the local graveyard, play board games, puzzles, watch movies that were stocked at the timeshare.

I don’t remember the name of this rural jurisdiction of Vermont and don’t know if it would be possible for me to unearth the information without a great deal of personal archaeology, if it is possible at all. Of those two friends one is now an ex that I do not speak to (too awkward, we were too close before we broke, I broke both our hearts by not wanting to carry us on) and the other moved home, international and far enough away that our overlap of time zones and sleep patterns were mostly incompatible. They were never great at e-correspondence anyway. They were a delight to meet in person, but almost impossible to keep a hold of at a distance, even to make plans. I worry about them sometimes, but try not to dwell. I could reach out to their sibling. But it’s been 6 years silence, which feels like too much ice to break.

So one day on Spring Break we walked to town. It took so long. We accidentally walked into an old persons home. There was little cell service, plus taxis were expensive and staffed by possibly-serial-killers. So we walked the long way back too.

By the time we returned to the timeshare/hotel it was night, and there was a showing of Jurassic World in a conference-room-made-theatre. We missed the first bit and watched thr movie though. We were the only ones in the makeshift theatre-room at the end, so we figured out how to get the DVD player to start the movie over, to see the beginning. Upon seeing it, my friends agreed that Chris Pratt’s character had been more likeable before they had seen his introduction scene in which he was established to be the usual Masculine Love Interest making jerk-off hand motions at his uptight ex.

This says something about framing a story, and chronology.

#cyborg lifeblogging

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zawazawanightmares · 2 years

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Nathan Drake & Chef Anna

You, Nathan Drake, are connected to Chef Anna Your partner selected the 18+ server.

Chef Anna: Hello

Nathan Drake: Hey there. How's it going?

Chef Anna: I am doing well, how about you?

Nathan Drake: Doing pretty good, thanks. Feeling kinda famished though.

Chef Anna: :P

Nathan Drake: So, what's on the menu?

Chef Anna: Hmmm, how about sushi?

Nathan Drake: Sushi...haven't had that in a bit but sure!

Chef Anna: Anyway, do you have any interesting hobbies?

Nathan Drake: Oh, some. I like archaeology, globetrotting, treasure-finding...and some linguistics.

Chef Anna: That's really interesting

Chef Anna: What's globetrotting? Not familiar with that name

Nathan Drake: Just traveling the world, doing stuff, trying the local food, killing the occasional merc, you know.

Chef Anna: Oh, that's wonderful!

Nathan Drake: It's a living!

Chef Anna: You mentioned linguistics, so I've got a question that could use your expertise if you don't mind.

Nathan Drake: Shoot! Probably gonna be stumped if it involves reading Mandarin or speaking in Arabic though.

Chef Anna: Nothing that specific. When borrowing words from another language, which language's pluralization should I use? For example when borrowing a Japanese word when speaking in English, do I keep it the same for plural like you would do in Japanese or use the English rules?

Nathan Drake: Since Japanese and English operate by ENTIRELY different structures...seriously, we actually have more in common with Arabic than we do Japanese...you can just keep it the same for plural since that's how it works in its native language. If someone asks for clarification, just tweak it accordingly until they get it.

Chef Anna: I see. Sometimes when using terminology from Japanese I keep thinking if I should add the "s" at the end for plural so it wouldn't cause confusion.

Nathan Drake: Conjugation will always be the biggest hurdle when you're trying to translate things for people.

Chef Anna: Yes. Especially when that term either doesn't exist in English, or can have other meaning so I need to use the Japanese word to prevent confusion.

Chef Anna: Though sometimes people in other countries use the term differently, so you need to consider the audience before choosing the word.

Nathan Drake: Ah, ya gotta love the untranslatable terms...or the ones that have separate meanings depending on where you are. I remember getting punched in the face in West Africa for giving a guy double thumbs up.

Chef Anna: That's really cool to learn, because it opens the mind into different though patterns that might have not developed without learning of that part of the language and culture. Also didn't know it was rude to give thumbs up in West Africa.

Nathan Drake: Apparently it's the middle finger over there. I know that now though!

Chef Anna: That's interesting, but I guess it makes sense that cultures that developed separately would develop different gestures just like they develop different languages.

Nathan Drake: You're telling me. Coming back to your own place can be quite the culture shock.

Chef Anna: I know, I lived in Japan for a few years and when I moved back I got a reverse culture shock.

Nathan Drake: Oh, Japan is a huge adjustment period especially for people from the west. Different way of viewing society, different views on how to celebrate their culture, get really uppity when you bring over guns...

Chef Anna: Hahaha. I never lived in a country where guns were a part of the culture, just something people get if their jobs requires it or they collect antiques. But yes, there were a lot of things that I never noticed about my own home until I came back.

Nathan Drake: For one thing, assuming you're American, over here we encourage individualism. We respect lone wolves and self-made men despite neither of those really being a thing. But in Japan, everything you do has to be for the group. That means you always have someone looking after you...but if you're different, you're screwed and it's always your fault.

Chef Anna: While I am not an American, I live in a western country, and we value individualism. And Japan is indeed more of a collective society (if that's the correct terminology?), I remember receiving an interesting lecture about it there from a historian and anthropologist (forgot his name), he explained how the geography and frequency of disasters contributed to the formation of this kind of society

Chef Anna: It was a while ago, so I forgot a lot of the details.

Chef Anna: Though these days, younger people in Japan are slowly adopting western values of individualism too.

Nathan Drake: Oh yeah...remember that Eartquake that happened decades ago and the news over here were confused by how the Japanese banded together to help each other and there were no looting or rioting because of it?

Chef Anna: Exactly!

Chef Anna: Also the lack of natural resources contributed to a society that is less consumerism (although after the westernization of Japan post WWII and the economic boom in the 70's that changed).

Chef Anna: Kimono(s) are especially easy to recycle and upcycle.

Nathan Drake: Love those things. I like that you brought up westernization though because it reminded me of one of my trips to Japan where I noticed something...not much national pride outside of the old and the middle-aged.

Chef Anna: That's true. A lot of people are very much aware of the flaws in Japanese society. Especially the lack of work-life balance in corporate Japan.

Nathan Drake: Exactly. Then there's the whole "the higher political figures refuse the war crimes" thing (Though I still think MacArthur could have handled the Emperor's apology better...)

Chef Anna: True. Though historical schoolbooks were very much hiding the severity of the Japanese war crimes, people are still aware of it. I also think that patriotism has been declining in most of the western world as well, which has direct influence on Japan.

Nathan Drake: Oh hell yeah, definitely. Did anyone even notice the Fourth of July this year?

Chef Anna: I am not an American, but I do follow American news and politics closely. America is very divided, there are groups of MAGA radicals who call themselves super "patriotic" though I would argue that they don't value the constitution, so they can't really be patriots.

Nathan Drake: I am so sorry for the fact that I keep assuming you're American. If you're from the UK, I suppose a more relevant example is Brexit, the fallout of that and what's going on with Boris right now.

Nathan Drake: Or you could be Canadian...and there's some stuff going on with indigenous folks over there...'course, there always were but...

Chef Anna: No worries, with how much I follow American media, I could easily be mistaken for an American. And while I am not British either, I do keep an eye on it too. I currently live in the Netherlands.

Nathan Drake: Ah...I've heard nothing about that country except for the minorities disproportionately arrested. Otherwise, not bad...aside from the usual "treat different people different" that's everywhere.

Chef Anna: That does happen, but not nearly as much as it does in the US or the UK. There are certain parts of the country where there is more discrimination, but I think it is generally going in a good direction (as a long term trend).

Chef Anna: Although I do notice an increase in massive American pickup trucks that are too big for the streets here, which is not a good sign.

Nathan Drake: Oh trust me, no one's gonna beat the US and the UK there. It's literally the only thing bad I hear about the Netherlands and it's worse everywhere else so don't be too worried about it.

Chef Anna: Yes, though it is good that it is being mentioned, because the more awareness of the problem, the more likely it will be mitigated.

Chef Anna: There is a pretty big controversy about a Dutch Christmas tradition which some claim to be racist and others say it is not. I think it is racist, but it would be easily solved by modifying that tradition in a way that wouldn't be.

Nathan Drake: Ah yes...the infamous "Black Pete".

Chef Anna: Oh, so it reached international news?

Nathan Drake: It's been well known for a while. I saw it once on a trip but I've seen it referenced on humor sites like Cracked, shows like Robot Chicken and Atlanta and you know every once in a while, someone on social media is going to show a picture of a person in blackface in Netherlands and use it as a "gotcha!" when another person notes how progressive the country is.

Chef Anna: Makes sense. I think it also depends on where you are in the Netherlands, bigger cities are a lot more progressive than smaller and older communities, which is probably true in most of the world.

Nathan Drake: Seems to be a constant rule because bigger cities get more attention and see more tourists so easier for them to absorb different cultures.

Chef Anna: Also conservatives are less likely to leave their hometown, so they are less likely to meet many people outside of their community, but when you live in a major city, there are people from all over the country and the world there that you interact with daily, so it is much easier to leave that racist mindset (though some biases stay subconsciously).

Nathan Drake: Gotcha. Easiest way to get rid of prejudices is to travel as some racist guy said.

Chef Anna: Exactly. The more you interact with people who are different, the harder it is to keep these ignorant views.

Chef Anna: There was an American black guy (a musician) forgot his name, who befriended many KKK members, and eventually they left the KKK and got their friends and family to leave the KKK. It is really hard to be friends with someone and still believe they are lesser humans.

Chef Anna: There is* he is still alive

Nathan Drake: I've heard of him. Daryl Davis. Pretty cool guy.

Chef Anna: Yup, that's his name. To me, this is the closest we can get to a real life super-hero.

Nathan Drake: There are so many ways to do what he did wrong and he pulled it off in the most spectacular way possible.

Chef Anna: Exactly. It could have easily ended in tragedy, he could have been killed at so many points. He has the patience of a saint, and the charisma to make people like him despite their racism.

Nathan Drake: Trust me, charisma can get you far in a lot of places...and so can luck, actually. I gotta jet but you're really fun to talk to.

Chef Anna: True. Good bye! I had a lot of fun!

You left the chat

#nathan drake #uncharted

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momentsbeforemass · 3 years

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Yes

(by request, my homily from Sunday)

Today is the Solemnity of the Assumption. In the middle of Ordinary Time, the Church throws in a seemingly random thing about Mary. Very on-brand for us as Catholics.

If you’ve been to the Cathedral, the mosaic behind the high altar? That’s the Assumption.

You know why this isn’t a holy day of obligation? This year, the Assumption falls on a Sunday.

And when it comes to papal infallibility, the Pope has infallibly declared only two doctrines in the last 200 years. The Assumption is one of them.

So it’s kind of a big deal. But what exactly is the Assumption?

Pope Pius XII put it simply, “when the course of her earthly life was finished, [Mary] was taken up body and soul into the glory of heaven.” Translation: you can visit the tombs of Peter and Paul, but there is no tomb of Mary.

This puts Mary in elite company. Only two others have been assumed bodily into heaven, Elijah and Enoch.

Even though the Assumption wasn’t an official teaching of the Church until 1950, the Assumption is nothing new. Writings about the Assumption go back to the 200’s. Traditions surrounding the Assumption are even older.

Outside of Ephesus (home of the church that the book of Ephesians is addressed to), you can visit the House of the Virgin Mary. Archaeologically, the little stone house dates to Apostolic times. Tradition holds that it’s where Mary lived in the care of St. John at the end of her life, and where the Assumption occurred.

Today, the main room of that house is a shrine dedicated to the Assumption.

The main font in the center aisle here includes holy water from that shrine.

And you’re thinking a couple of things. First, “this guy is really into Mary and Marian pilgrimages.” Right. Don’t get me started about Fatima (it was awesome).

Second, “this is interesting, but it’s kind of like Catholic trivia.”

Okay, let’s talk about why we make such a big deal about the Assumption, and about all of the Mary stuff.

Today’s Gospel shows us what happened to Mary, right after the archangel Gabriel told her about God’s plan for her life. And she said yes.

The thing is, that’s not the whole story. There’s a lot more going on right after that happened. Not all of it’s in the Bible. But no one had to write it down for us to know. Because people haven’t changed much in 2,000 years.

Think about it for a minute. Think about where things are, in that moment right after the angel leaves.

Mary’s young, she’s still living with her parents. She’s engaged to marry Joseph. And now she’s pregnant. But Joseph isn’t the father.

Think about the people who weren’t there for the glorious moment with the angel. Mary’s friends. The people next door.

What does this look like to them? And what are they saying about it? Nothing good.

Maybe they’re saying it to her face. Maybe they’re saying it behind her back. Either way, they’re saying it a lot. Because people haven’t changed much in 2,000 years.

Mary knows all of this. This has got to be weighing on her.

She’s got to be thinking, “No one will ever believe me. How do I tell my parents? How do I tell Joseph?”

Even without all of the stuff that other people are saying about her, with all that she’s facing, it would be so easy for Mary to be negative about it all. And herself.

To tell herself, “My life is ruined. This will never work. I can’t do this.”

And yet, that’s exactly what we don’t see. The reason that we don’t?

The reason why we don’t see that, the reason why we make such a big deal about Mary?

It has everything to do with Mary’s “yes.” Mary’s yes to God’s will for her life. And Mary’s yes to God.

What today’s Gospel shows us is that Mary’s yes doesn’t stop with the angel. It’s not a one-time thing, where Mary says yes to God. And then goes on her way.

Mary says yes not only to God’s will for her life. Mary says yes to God. And keeps on saying yes to God. Every day. And throughout the day.

Because Mary knows something. Mary knows that her friends and neighbors who have nothing good to say? The part of her that wants to go negative?

Everything that’s telling her things like, “this will never work,” and “you won’t make it.” All the voices that the Enemy wants her to listen to?

They don’t determine her destiny. They’re not pouring out grace upon grace into her life. They don’t have the final say. All of that belongs to almighty God. And God alone.

Even when the only way out is through.

Mary knows all of this. Not just in her head, but in her heart. Which is why she lives it.

When Mary hears the Enemy say things like, “you won’t make it.”

All Mary says is, “excuse me, did someone who got thrown out of Heaven just say something?”

And then goes right back to saying yes to God. Putting her focus where it needs to be, on the God who loves her. And on His plan for her life.

Which is where the joy of the Magnificat (the back half of today’s Gospel) comes from. And when you think about a life lived saying yes to God like hers, the Assumption makes perfect sense. That is why we make a big deal about Mary.

Because Mary shows us how to do it right.

Mary shows us that the people around us who have nothing good to say? The parts of us that wants to go negative?

Everything that’s telling us “this will never work” and “you won’t make it.” All the voices that the Enemy wants us to listen to?

They don’t determine your destiny. They don’t have the final say. That belongs to almighty God. And God alone.

Today, follow Mary’s lead. Don’t waste your time on all the other stuff.

Say yes to God. And keep saying yes to God. Every day. And throughout the day.

Put your focus where it needs to be, on the God who loves you. And on His plan for your life.

The more you do, the more you’ll find your heart filled with that same joy.

Even when the only way out is through.

Today’s Readings

#Yes to God #Mary #God #Jesus #Catholic #Christian #Church #Assumption #Negative #Kind of a big deal #Focus on God

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damselofblueroses · 3 years

Text

Bambi, Ch. 2, Ghost

You are my Bambi, girl, I am your candy, tell me what are you waiting for?

Summary: As an archaeologist who works on the Ancient Greece, you were on the verge of excavations’ session. While you have been preparing your team, you learned that your institute decided on your team has to work with another team as they wanted the outcome as a collaboration. The head of other team was your biggest rival, a scumbag in your eyes: Byun Baekhyun.

You two were supposed to work together for three months, in a Greek Island, Chios.

Could you manage to not kill Byun Baekhyun for three months?

Chapter Summary: Byun Baekhyun and the Reader remember the day they spent in UN Village together while they are heading to Chios. (Guys, this chapter, which is dedicated to the beginning of their relationship, is going to be two parts, otherwise it is going to be more than 20k lol)

Word Count: 11k

Content: AU, heavily Greek mythology, enemies to lovers.

Warnings: Well, the story contains NSFW/Smut, please minors do not continue.

Note: This story will be 7 or 8 chapters if I will not change my mind in the meantime. It is inspired by my major; however, I do not have a complete knowledge on archaeology, I am a historian. If I will make a technical mistake, please let me know. I am willing to receive any kind of feedback; you are more than welcomed to drop a message.

Series Masterlist

Chapter 2: Ghost

5 years ago, Hannam-dong

Even if I want you so much it drives me crazy

You ghost

Even if I want and call for you all night long

You came to me and left without a word

You ghost, you ghost

You want to go crazy all night, you plead

You ghost

You disappeared again without a trace

“What type of sadistic and sick person could say that we have to work here?” you cursed between your teeth, you jaw clenched because of pure anger. “How do they expect us to do our job in the middle of fucking super-ultra-rich people?”

“Get used to it.” Junmyeon flinched your forehead, but his frustration was oblivious, even though he was doing definitely better than you. “Where is Baekhyun?”

“I do not know.” you recklessly pointed to the expensive cars on the road. “Maybe he was looking for a sugar mommy.”

“As your sunbae,” Minseok hit you. “I would like to remind you to hold on your manners.”

“Someone has to give a speech on manners to him.” your eyebrows knitted together. “Not to me.”

“Both of you,” Kyungsoo nonchalantly spoke. “need a really good beaten session, since both of you have no idea on how to behave.”

You threw the book you were holding to Kyungsoo, but he was too quick and easily saved himself from your unexpected attack.

“I am here, right?” you hissed. “Where the heck is that bastard? He always disappears when it comes to work, why do you hold me in the same esteem with him?”

“Because you are definitely a copy of Baekhyun.” Chanyeol laughed at your god-fucking-damn-it-so-horrible face expression. “Let’s face with the fact, Indy. Everyone knows that Baekhyun is a disciplined student, just as you are, badmouthed, just as you are.”

“Are you talking about me?” Baekhyun popped out of nowhere. “I heard you are praising me less than the way I deserve.”

Your face could be described as disgusted, but this would be the kindest way of telling how your appearance was. Actually, you wanted to punch his narcissistic self-perspective, to shake his cage in order to give him the lesson he deserved, but you did not want to be scolded by Junmyeon again. You just walked away from him, needing to put a safe distance between yourself and Baekhyun.

God, if you could run away to space, you would do it in order to not infuse with the same air with Baekhyun.

You disliked him, you disliked the way of his well-being, you disliked his velvety voice, his lame jokes, his sharp remarks, you disliked everything about Byun Baekhyun.

And you hated yourself because of finding him very handsome. Sometimes, you caught yourself, staring at Baekhyun, forgetting how to breath properly. His face was like a gift of God himself; his body ratio made you to say oh-my-fucking-god.

Thank God, he had the most annoying character, because if he had a good personality, you knew that you would fall in love over the heels with him.

“What kind of idiot chained us here?” Baekhyun asked to Junmyeon. “Fuck’s sake, what the heck we are going to here? Digging beneath the Richie riches’ villas?”

Chanyeol bite his lips before looking at you, silently reminding your own words and his remarks about being very same with Baekhyun. You did not back off, staring at Chanyeol with all frustration went through your veins, causing Chanyeol to laugh. Baekhyun hit his head, then walked towards Junmyeon to take his own tool bag.

You hated him for this, too. He was acting like he was a superior, like he was better than any of you, and what got your nerves badly was no one scold him as they would scold you if you would do the same things.

“Yeah, I am like this scumbag who does not carry even his own stuff, huh?” you literally sizzled between your teeth, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo heard your annoyed voice, but they preferred to keep their silence. Your hate was not a secret for the team, everyone was aware of the fact that putting you and Baekhyun was a dangerous decision since he also loathed you.

But to your dismays, you were the brightest students Sejong could always play on.

“Seriously what we are going to do?” Baekhyun repeated his question because he really did not have a single clue.

“Didn’t you read the mail Sejong sent us?” Jongdae asked him, raising one eyebrow. Baekhyun shrugged his shoulder, you bit your lower lip in order keep your frustration under your control. What a bastard!

“We have to visit UN Village, there are seven neighbourhood where we have to go and collect the permissions of the residents.” Junmyeon run his hand through his hair. He was already on the verge of cracking since he was the one who had to deal with a lot of capricious upper-class members in order to complete this fucking task. He wished nothing but changing his path, he started to think like the field was not his cup of tea, but before resigning from leadership, he wanted to find a good candidate who could lead the team.

He wanted you to be that leader. You and Baekhyun. Heretofore, Junmyeon laid his eyes on both of you and your abilities persuaded him to nominate your names when he could propose an election. He did not want to be a fieldperson, he wished to stay in his office, but at the same time, he could not inherit his legacy, Godfuckingdamnit Junmyeon’s did his best in order to engrave his name as one of the most successful captains, to anyone but the best. Yet, Junmyeon had no idea how to put you in good terms, since you were like a cat and dog, and Chanyeol, that giant idiot, used every opportunity to fan the flames, even that silent Kyungsoo enjoyed watching intangible scuffles between you and Baekhyun.

Junmyeon has been sensing that the team was becoming aware of the situation and camping as two different poles. Jongdae, Shinhye and Minseok were setting off closer to you while Chanyeol, Kyungsoo and the newbie, Jongin have been shifting to Baekhyun’s side. Damn, Junmyeon could not let it to be happen. He needed all of you under the same umbrella, especially you and Baekhyun had to stay together. He was seeing a great potential of you, if you could combine your powers, you were going to be the perfect team. Period.

“Let’s split into teams.” his eyes wandered around all of you. “We are eight, if we can divide ourselves into four teams, we will finish the job easier and quicker.”

“Yeah, you are right.” Kyungsoo approved. “I am going to take Chanyeol.”

“Are you my superior, dumbass?” Chanyeol hit his shoulder, but he was laughing. “I am with Kyungsoo.”

“Good.” Junmyeon inhaled. “Shinhye, you are with Jongdae.”

You automatically stirred next to Minseok, however you shuttered after hearing Junmyeon’s next orders.

“Indy, you and Baekhyun are together, Minseok, let’s go.”

“What?!” you immediately stopped and hissed at Junmyeon. “Am I with who?”

Jongdae realized the storm before seeing the clouds, clever as always, he disappeared while dragging Shinhye with him. You even did not notice, but Chanyeol’s smile widened, Kyungsoo smirked, and they rushed to their own direction.

Only four of you were standing on the pavement, you were throwing daggers to Junmyeon with your eyes. Baekhyun was nonchalantly looking at Junmyeon, while Minseok could not find a way to break the tension.

Junmyeon was cool as a cucumber.

“You are with Baekhyun.” he repeated his words, sounding like he was condemning you with execution. “What? Do you have a rejection?”

“Yes!” you exploded without thinking. “Why shou-

“Believe me,” Baekhyun interrupted your words, he was indifferent to your frustration. “I did not beg for being in the same team with you.”

“Did I claim that?” you swiftly turned on your tiptoes. “Did I say you are eager to be with me?”

“It would be the greatest joke you could make.” Baekhyun winked to you. “But you are not so into the entertainment, right?”

“Baekhyun,” Minseok noisily cleared his throat. “I am not sur-

“What do you know about me?” you heard your own voice. “This is why we cannot work together, you always make assumptions out of your ass, instead I work as organized, with the facts and tangible proofs.”

“What do you know about me?” Baekhyun coldly smiled at you, you could not describe its impacts on you, that smile had you wanting to punch him at the same time ignited some fires in your lower stomach. “We barely talk, have you been watching me all the time?”

“You wish.” you took a deep breath. “You are not worth my time.”

“Oh,” his eyes glimmered with a menacing luminescence. “I am deeply wounded.”

“If you are done,” Junmyeon raised his hands to the air. “We have to work.”

“Jun-

“Young lady,” Baekhyun barged on. “They did not teach you this, so it’s up to me but we are not in kindergarten anymore.”

You had to admit, no one could get your nerves till now like Baekhyun did.

You had to admit, you hated being called as a kid. Junmyeon’s eyes blown up when Baekhyun labelled you as a kid, before he could open his mouth, you stared at Baekhyun.

“I can see why we could be a team.” you took the directional instructions from Junmyeon’s hand. “A kindergarten kid has to take care of a cry baby while the adults have to work.”

Baekhyun’s eyebrows furrowed, but you wholly ignored his visible annoyance, and started to walk. Junmyeon was looking at your back with a little bit concerned face, but he knew that he did what he had to do.

You were going to scold Junmyeon in the following hours of the day, however, now your job was teaching a couple of lessons on manners to this scumbag who has been walking beside you.

You spent the first hour in a total silence, talking only if the occasion called for it. The tension between you and Baekhyun was solid, someone could cut it with a knife without any problem. Baekhyun was bored to death, he never plan to have a day like this, he wanted to enjoy everything he did, he thought he could be with Chanyeol or Kyungsoo, having fun to death.

Instead, he was trapped with you.

The only girl he loathed to the bits.

He could not endure to hear your voice, even though you talked with the residents very kindly and respectfully. He had to admit that you were doing a good job, but it did not change anything he felt for you. He had been cursing Junmyeon since he put you two in the same task, however, he knew that if Junmyeon wanted something from Baekhyun, he would do it without question. Baekhyun could be many things, but he was loyal to his friends, and Junmyeon had a special place in his heart.

Also, behind the curtains of his hate, he could see why Junmyeon gave you to him. Although you were an abominable bitch, an obnoxious creature, a walking blasphemy, and a hate crime, Baekhyun did not think you could be an offspring of a lovely or healthy relationship, he was sure your parents were diabolical beasts, to his disappointment, you were reallyclever.

He wished you could be more reliable person, so he could work with you.

Baekhyun did not like to confess, yet he was aware of the fact that he desperately needed his own Evelyn O’Connor. Someone who could play the game with him, as his trustable partner in crime. He was extremely close to Chanyeol and Kyungsoo, but they were not equal to his wits and ambitions. Sometimes he was brassed off the conversations, time to time he found them boring and lame. His logic was faster than his mates, actually he was longing for nothing, but someone was equal to his high-speed brain.

You could be the one he was searching for, but you were made of poison, greed, and wickedness. Even if he would be blessed by the Heavens, he could not agree to work someone with you.

“Your Highness,” he heard your fucking voice. “We have to visit at least twelve houses more; do you mind hurrying up?”

“The only thing I mind is your fucking attitude.” he gritted his teeth. “Give the plan to me.”

“So, you can destroy everything I organized properly?” you smirked. “I do not think so.”

“Organized?” Baekhyun cocked his eyebrow. “Organized, my ass. Didn’t you lose Park Sangwan’s house? Twice?”

“Look who is talking.” the red of embarrassment slightly painted your cheeks and ears. “The one who had no idea about today’s plans.”

“At least I did not lose my fucking way and circled around the same house almost for half an hour.”

“And the award goes to Byun Baekhyun for his greatest achievements.” you gave back the wink to him, grinning like a Cheshire cat. “Oh, breaking news. No achievement no award.”

Baekhyun took it personally since you two competed to each other as the finalists of last academic year. Your project was accepted as the winner while Baekhyun received only a certificate. You hit the lotto, he had to watch you, walking to the stage with a bright smile tugged on your lips.

Still, he could vividly remember the little smirk you gave to him that night when they announced your name.

“You did it consciously.” his jaw clenched. “That night. When they called you as the winner. You immediately turned to me just to annoy me.”

“It seems, I achieve my goal.” your smirk widened, a glistening layer of fun covered your face. “Were you disappointed?”

“Yeah, of course.” he did not miss a single second. “I was disappointed of the professors, I was believing they were cleverer than me, but their choice showed me they were nothing but idiots.”

“Could you smell the air, Baekhyun?” you asked with a serious face. He was confused for a second, you never ask a question to him or call him by his name, but before he could register, you tucked the words in his throat. “Oh, jealousy, my favourite.”

“Darling,” Baekhyun swallowed hard. “There is no single living soul who can be low enough to jealous you in this universe.”

That was not quite truth, because Baekhyun not only remembered your revengeful smile but also how you were looking like that day. He could paint you on canvas by closed eyes, and he would not miss a single detail.

And he was a little bit jealous on that day. Not only because he lost over to you, but also because of the people around you. You annoyed him not only with your award, but also with your closeness to the other men.

Despite of your usual oversize clothes or no makeup policy, you chose to present yourself in a different style. Your hair was perfectly combed, your makeup highlighted your face features, and you were wearing a little light blue dress which tightly caressed your body. Baekhyun, or none of your classmates knew that you had curves for example till that night and to Baekhyun’s dismay, you had a really good body. You were a minion, your beauty was very soft and although he really hated to admit this, you were a view for the spectators. Maybe not the prettiest, but you had something had people looking at you, liking you, desiring you.

You had an aura which was enough to make your biggest enemy to silently acknowledged that you were attractive.

“Maybe, there is no one.” you shrugged your shoulder. “But youwere eager to low yourself, huh?”

You did not forget the look on Baekhyun’s face when Professor Kim called you to the stage. You were sure as fuck, he was cursing you but also there was something else, glowing in his eyes. Something you could not describe, but you could see the same emotion in your reflection when you saw Baekhyun with that crowd of girls.

Rarely.

But still you knew that feeling.

That ceremony was hard for you, of course you were over the moon because of your achievement, that project opened you some fresh opportunities and proved that despite of being a junior, you were more than a bachelor student. You proved your talents and abilities to yourself by winning the first place, you completed a step, made your first goal come true.

And you nailed Byun Baekhyun’s coffin. It was worth of every minute you spent sleepless, your tears and sweats, the hours in library, the hours in front of the plan of Gyeongbokgung Palace and search for the most logical and safest ways of conducting an excavation around the palace.

Your ideas were chosen over Baekhyun’s ideas, and you were aware of the quality of the solutions he proposed.

You were proud of yourself.

It was the bare truth that Baekhyun’s face were singing to you just as your favourite band could sing, seeing his face just like someone fed him with cucumbers was equal to being accepted into your dream field, Chios’ excavations, as the chief archaeologist.

But you were annoyed.

You could not happily taste your success. You could not feel its flavour on your tongue buds.

Because of that bastard looked fucking magnificent in that bloody black suit.

You have been told about the dress code you had to follow, however no one, not a single soul managed to catch his level of looking good in a suit.

You were annoyed because your taste in men was exactly equal to Byun Baekhyun. He had everything you could ask for, he was devilishly charming, there was even no need for words to describe him, he was beautiful.

And he was the only one you hated the most.

Every girl in the room was drooling over him, to your dismay, just like you. You felt that feeling in your stomach, a pain which was spinning, spinning, and spinning, causing a tornado inside of your stomach.

Was it jealousy?

“I already noticed your ignorance about the feelings.” Baekhyun could not control himself anymore and grabbed your shoulder, turning you to the opposite direction. “We have to follow this fucking street, or we will be lost again.”

“Have you been observing me, Baekhyunnie? That’s so cute.” you ignored the second part of his words, just starting to walk on the direction he instructed to you.

“Observing you takes a minute, baby girl, since there is nothing to see.” he answered but he found it interesting when you called him as Baekhyunnie. “You are a spoiled brat.”

“Hop, that hurts.” you pouted, pressed your fist on your chest, faking a whimper. “Would you like to tame this spoiled brat?”

You started to think that you went nuts.

“In your dreams.” Baekhyun laughed, but he literally lost himself in the fucking possibilities you could be tamed by him. “You have to wait a couple of centuries for someone who can be willing to be with you.”

You chuckled but preferred to keep your silence after his words. Damn, your sudden quietude caught Baekhyun’s attention more. Why didn’t you not attack to him? Why didn’t you give him a sharp answer as you should have?

Why you chuckled like there was a line at your door?

Was it?

Baekhyun pondered that instead of the fact that you were generally with a small group of friends, to both of your dismays your common friends, he did not see you with strangers, so there could not a queue for your hand.

Could it be?

And why the fuck he should have care if there is a crowd for you or not? No one could want someone like you if they did not lose their mind.

But he cared. Fuck, he cared more than he wanted.

Because to his disappointment, he knew that there was a real cavalcade of knightly candidates for you.

“Okey,” you checked the time. “After this one, I am going to have lunch.”

“We are going to have lunch.” Baekhyun gritted his teeth. “I hate eating alone enough to endure your presence.”

“Didn’t you tell me there is no one who could want to be with me?” you snickered. “But you have no reservations about having lunch with me?”

“Imagine the situation I am in.” he grumbled. “The day gets better and better.”

You decided to annoy him, pushing him to the edges as much as you could do. The first response that came to your mind refusing him, but the other option was funnier. You could play with Byun Baekhyun, you could take your revenge by being a pain in the ass.

He said that he could endure your presence.

You could make him regretful of his words.

There was a very little smile tugged on your lips which you were not aware of, however, to his dismay, Baekhyun realized it.

Her lips are rosy and plump, he thought to himself. Even though he called you a spoiled brat, he was not sure of if you were a brat or not. Kiddos have not the type of lips, calling people for the kisses, like you. There was something, even during your cocky performances when you tried to beat the life out of him, although you always kept that dull and bored expression and acted like Baekhyun was not worth of your time, but there was something just in you.

Baekhyun swallowed down his own vomit when he admitted it to himself, and you have caught his glare.

“What?” you purred. “Can’t you take your eyes off me?”

“Who the hell wants to watch you?” he quickly collected his thoughts and put them in a fucking trail. “I am looking for a restaurant where we can have good food.”

After a permanent mutual ignorance session for years, his next words caught you off your guard.

“You like local foods, right?” he asked. “I guess the second shop on this street is famous for jjangmyeon and tteokbokki.”

Well, you had to admit that his questions made your brain a little bit foggy. How could he know that?

“Yeah.” for the first time in history, you did not come up with any sharp answer. “How about you?”

“As long as there is no cucumber or extremely sweet cuisine,” he started to walk. “I am fine.”

You heard that Baekhyun is really not in good terms with cucumber.

“Feel you.” you murmured in your mouth because you hated cucumbers as much as you hated Baekhyun. He swiftly look at you, you accompanied him on the street.

“We should celebrate.” he teased. “I said something, you just answered, and we did not have a fight.”

“This is a privilege for cucumbers.” you shrugged your shoulder, but you also felt that he did not buy your nonchalant tone. “I cannot stand them, mum loves it too much, I mean what type of person can love a cucumber? If I need water, I prefer to drink it.”

Your observation made him tilted his head back in that rumbling laugh of his, you were unwilling to join, but the corners of your mouth turned up slightly.

“Here we go.” He, as a gentleman, opened the door for you, you responded with the most neutral expression you could muster. “Oh, no thanks?”

“Thank you.” you rolled your eyes, however, despite of your strongly negative feelings against him, you do not like rudeness. “Sorry, that was insolence of me.”

“Your apology is fully accepted.” he winked, you hated that cocky tone, you hated yourself for falling into his trap. You passed him, went to a distanced table where it placed in the corner. You did not want to be seen as having a lunch with Baekhyun by your teammates.

Corner was fine.

“Oh, no.” he grabbed your arm, manhandled you to the tables of the center. “I will not let you escape. If they see us, let them to see.”

Your eyebrows knitted, your lips pressed to each other enough to form a thick line on your face, you could almost taste your growing anger. But at the same time, you realized that feeling his hand on your skin increased your heartbeats, you wanted to scream with self-hatred, but you bite down on your tongue as his hand quickly wandered to down, to your waist. He directed you to the most visible table from outside while you were fighting yourself in order to control your fucking pace of breathing.

Please, this could not be true, I could not be excited because of his touch, you thought.

This was not happening, what the fuck was happening?

Baekhyun was not so different from you, even though his face expression was not changed for a bit. He forced himself to take control, but it was really hard for him.

Your hate was reciprocated, right? You guys could not spend even a bloody minute in peace, the only thing you had was annoyance.

So, why you perfectly fit in his embrace just like you were made just to be under his arm?

Why Baekhyun wanted to tight his arm around your waist?

Why could you not say anything even though Baekhyun was literally holding you?

Why you felt like you were in the only place where you had to be for the rest of your days?

“Hi.” you heard the waitress who was a really beautiful girl. “Welcome to Sung’s String. How can I help you?”

Even though finishing her sentence, she begun to eye Baekhyun. You rolled your eyes and reached to the menu; to be honest, this show was not funny after seeing it for the million times. Every time, Sejong Team went outside for a drink, for a gathering or even for a museum trip, girls and sometimes boys gazing the members of Sejong Team just like they were idols or actors because of their good-looking. Eh, they were not wrong, you had to say that the Sejong Team included really, really, and really handsome boys from Baekhyun to Chanyeol, from Kyungsoo to Jongdae and these boys’ superiors were Kim oh-my-godJunmyeon and Kim lord-help-us Minseok.

Well…

You were already got used to the reactions coming from all around when Sejong Team showed their faces. You knew that both of insiders and outsiders of Sejong Institute called your team members as the Flower Boys or a shitty nickname like that.

“I would like to have a jjangmyeon without cucumbers, and a tteokbokki.” you turned the menu off. “With a light coke.”

“Coke?” Baekhyun mimicked you like he could not believe his ears. “Are you kidding? Everyone knows that you have to drink jasmine tea in order to help digestion.”

“Have you been majored in nutrition?” you gave him your bitchy resting face. “Shut the fuck up.”

“No coke.” he wholly ignored you and turned to the waitress who was watching him as drooling. “Please, we want two bowls of jjangmyeon, two tteokbokki, also please we would like to have kimbap and kimchi as the garnitures and of course a pot of jasmine tea.”

“Yeah!” she sounded weaker after Baekhyun conducted all power he had in his eyes to her. “Anything else?”

“I guess we are fine for the time being.” Baekhyun smiled to her, causing a flush of redness on her cheeks.

“I will be back as soon as possible.” the girl literally purred, Baekhyun’s eyes shined after her reaction. Little bastard. You did not want to think about it, but his visible joy had your stomach churned. You inhaled and took your book out of your bag.

“What are you doing?” Baekhyun glanced up at you, reached to take the book from your hands. “Having lunch together means conversation, are you going to read?”

“Give the book to me, Byun.” you kicked his foot under the table. “I know you do not know how to read and enjoy but that’s a good habit to have.”

“Yeah, I know that habit of you gives nothing but lonely hours in library.” he had no limits of shooting his arrows. “Have you ever tried something different for a change?”

“Like what?” you tried to get back your book. “Following your great example and dedicate my life to your favourite sport? Sorry, I have no interest in running after women by lolling my tongue out of my mouth.”

“Baby girl,” Baekhyun put your book in his leather bag. “You have no idea whose tongue lolls out of the mouth.”

You could not decide on what you hated the most. Baekhyun or the girls after Baekhyun? You concluded as both of them were equally horrible in your eyes.

“I am sure your stories are incredible.” you inhaled. “But I really do not like to hear the anecdotes of miserable women. Could you give the book back before I gauge your eyes off?”

“Nope.” he grinned. “I can bet on you are still a virgin but tell me if you have an affair or not, I would like to pay my condolences to your partner.”

He was already written as the first name in your list of most-hated-people, but suddenly became the first man to be written as the first enemy of a lifetime.

“Did you finish your own list of dead partners?” you raised one eyebrow. “Thinking of its length gives me chills.”

“No dead.” his grin widened from one ear to the other. “They just had some temporary heart problems due to the performances I gave to them.”

You opened your mouth to slap his face with the words, but the waitress came back to your table with a huge tray. She was placing every bowl and plate, actually fucking Baekhyun with her eyes, you literally hardly suppressed your instincts, telling you to warn her immediately.

But you were not honest with yourself about why you wanted to warn her. In the deep of your mind, but in very deep, you had been starting to realize that you disliked when the girls threw themselves to Baekhyun because you wanted them to stop. You did not like the scene because you did not want to share Baekhyun’s gaze with another person.

You were lying to yourself without realizing what was the real problem of you.

You loved Baekhyun from the beginning, even though he was a fucking tease and a bloody smartass. There was no other man for you, if someone could cut your chest, the only thing would be seen in your heart was his name.

But that would be the heaviest self-enlightenment, and you were definitely not ready for such as a thing. That’s why you unconsciously continued to trick yourself by disguising your own feelings from your own eyes.

You got the chopsticks and decided to have your lunch instead of burying yourself in the maze of thoughts. Baekhyun realized your discomfort, but he had no idea what the real reason of your mood was, whatever made you unhappy was more than okey for him. He could be happy as long as you were sorrowful.

“You still not give an answer to the question.” he was persistent on pushing your limits. “Do you have a relationship?”

“Why are you curious?” you took a mouthful amount of jjangmyeon. How much you wanted to stuff these noodle strings into his throat, suffocating him to death. “If you want to send a bouquet, please note that I love blue roses.”

“You are really a virgin, huh?” Baekhyun diabolically grinned, you could swear on you saw the red halo over his head.

“Darling, you cannot make me angry by stating what is obvious.” you smiled back, there was no reason holding it back, you were always open on these issues, and a sick part of you wanted to tell him to see his reaction. “Yeah, I am a virgin.”

“Do you conservatively follow a church?” his chin dropped a few inches. “How could it be possible with all the boys who try to seduce you?”

Well, you did not expect to hear this.

“Come on,” Baekhyun continued. “I always see you with a bunch of men, do you really think they are following you only for friendship?”

“On the contrary of you and your limit-does-not-exist type of libido, people can build the bonds of affinity.”

“Only when they do not search for an open door to sneak in.” Baekhyun pointed his chopsticks to your face. “Telling you, I can name at least six permanent names in the waiting room.”

You did not see the hidden meaning of his words, however, Baekhyun was already became regretful, he silently prayed for your ignorance and blindness were going to keep him safe. Because he gave you the biggest clue of his interest in you by stating he could give even names.

He still did not understand how he could know everything about you or why he always put a brick on the ways of the candidates for you, but he did. Hell, he was unapologetically finding a way to prevent the boys who liked you and no one could understand it was Baekhyun. He always came up with a solution in order to intimate them, put them back off. You were not aware but Baekhyun always appeared around you when he thought a candidate was close to you more than he supposed to be.

He already put his stamina on you as his girl, but he was not aware of his own actions. He was not aware of what he has been doing, how he was persistently looking for you, searching for your face in every class or harmoniously living with your voice. It was like your breathing was singing to his ears, and he was dancing with your melody.

Baekhyun did not understand but he was yours.

“I am not sure what you think,” you sipped from jasmine tea with self-confidence. “But there is no such a fucking waiting room.”

“You are really blind.” Baekhyun chewed a rice cake, generously dipping it into the gochujang sauce. “Don’t you think Oh Seunghwan is acting like more than a friend? Or Jang Jeongbun? Jesus, even you really cannot be that much idiot.”

Baekhyun was right for the first time in history. You were nothing more than a retard because you really did not understand the behind the scenes of his words. He was unconsciously giving you the signs of his interests in you, but you were so naïve to see.

“They are my friends, Baekhyun.” you rolled your eyes back. “I know grasping the nature of different relationships is hard for you, but people can be nothing but friends. No need to add tensions or searching for hidden meanings.”

Every time you vocalized his fucking name, Baekhyun felt its impact went straight to his dick, and he hated himself for that.

You were not the type of people who could be okey with the target of teasing. You wanted to play, you wanted to be enhanced by it, sinking into the waves of the game.

And even Baekhyun did not admit it in his head, he believed you were the most attractive girl he has been known because of you always corresponded to his moves and cards.

“How about you?” you immediately played your reverse card, grinning like a Cheshire cat. “I heard that you and your gorgeous looks which made entire school swoon and fantasize about you? Are you really called as the sexiest human being on the country?”

Your voice was the strongest indicator of your disbelief, he could be the biggest moron on planet Earth, nothing more nothing less.

Also, you were aware of those comments on Baekhyun more than you wished for. You kept everything you heard about him in your head, in the safest and the most secret file of your brain, refusing to think but keeping on unconsciously think about those speculations. You found them very suspicious, but not because of Baekhyun did not deserve to be called as the sexiest human being, you found those fantasies as unlikely because of Baekhyun had not that macho man stuff people were somehow attributing to him.

You had grown so sick from all of these dreams and comments, coming from every corner of school since Baekhyun was like a star.

And now, you had him seemed quite displeased with your tease.

“Only on the country?” he raised one eyebrow. “Shit, it seems I am not doing well.”

“Baby, you are coming after Park Chanyeol.” you sighed in joy of dancing on your tiptoes. “That’s a quite achievement, when you think.”

“Chanyeol?” he sighed in annoyance; you knew that you trapped his ego in a small box. “Coming after Chanyeol?”

“Yeah.” you gave the most nonchalant look to him. “Well, I can tell that’s quite unfair since Flower Boys includes really strong names such as Kyungsoo or Junmyeon but… Poor girls, they have to be lunatic to put you after Chanyeol.”

“What do you think about these extremely distorted images of us?” Baekhyun angrily took a mouthful of jjangmyeon.

“Do you ask my list?” you crossed your hands over your chest, cooing with gleamy eyes. “I cannot believe that Byun Baekhyun, asking me, a poor peasant, for her list.”

Baekhyun’s eyes darkening, and you were not sure why your mood was changed from the pure need of mocking him to an excitement which you could not ignore. His voice was really screechy and boyish when he asked your list, and his voice giving you a different kind of pleasure. Not the pleasure of scolding him, but the delight of toying him, pushing him to the edge.

But you did not analyse your current feelings, instead, you rushed to deliver your actually-not-existent list.

“We are talking about physical features, right? But I am going to rate everyone also with their characteristics.” you smiled. “For me, the first name is Chanyeol. I mean, look at that face he has, and his body ratio is excellent, but he has a golden heart. Then, of course Kyungsoo, he is fucking handsome, therefore, he is a great guy.”

“I really pity your tastes of men.” Baekhyun’s discontent with your made-up list was palpable, and the dissatisfaction of his tone was like honey left out in the morning sun.

“The number 3 is Junmyeon as always.” you wholly ignored his comment. “No one can say anything against to Kim Junmyeon, he is the definition of aesthetic. Minseok and Jongdae shared the same number in my list, and that’s all.”

“You forgot me.” Baekhyun snorted, his voice made you lifted your head. He was so tense; you never see his jaw clenched at this expand. What’s up his ass? you silently though in your head.

“I did not.” you were cool as a cucumber. “You are not in the list.”

Till now, you guys always ate each other, digging the graves for each other, always fighting always scolding always throwing invisible daggers to each other. However, you have never ever seen those dangerous lights, dancing in the pupils of Baekhyun after your words.

It was difficult to wrap your mind around the fact that you found this Baekhyun as more attractive than his usual-self and unfortunately you already found Baekhyun very desirable. Even though you would never even let yourself to think about being intimate with him, his eyes stirred something inside of you, ignited some fires close to your lower stomach.

“I am sorry to hear that.” you also never heard this cold voice tone of Baekhyun, and you heard almost every negative version of Baekhyun’s voice which he spared only to use against you. “Let’s finish the meals, we have to be back to work.”

“Yeah.” you nod, lightly smiled. You managed to make him mad, you achieved your goal to annoy him so bad.

Why did you feel bad?

Why did you want Baekhyun to continue on the game?

Why did you feel regretful?

Why did you want to cry?

When Baekhyun’s phone started to ring, you almost completed every house in the list Junmyeon gave to you.

And you spent the last two hours in a total silence. It was eerily, Baekhyun’s lips firmly presses into each other like he sworn on not to talk again. You were not so different, but inside of your mind, something was gnawing your inner peace.

You were not happy, even you coped with the most difficult task, shutting Baekhyun’s mouth.

But you were not happy. You did not feel like you got the prize.

Instead…

You were extremely sad, and you felt like you let the trophy to slid between your fingers.

You had to feel like you hit the jackpot, but quite opposite, you were miserable.

You were especially afraid of losing Baekhyun’s attention, your own heart was aching at the way you told him off.

Still, you were lying to yourself and trying to conceal what made you afraid, you were not honest to your conscious, however despite of your efforts, you knew something was wrong with you after his transformation after you showed him the door.

You were a coward; you were not accepting the solid fact that you were in love with Byun Baekhyun and what made you afraid was nothing but losing him.

However, you were also sure on Baekhyun had a place in your head, making you shutter, had you shaking in your shoes. You could not name where to put his name, but you knew he had a place in your life.

And you were horrified by the possibility of losing the chance of hearing his voice. Even if his cocky remarks were the only words you could rip from him.

“Yeah?” Baekhyun answered to the call, for a second, you were happy to hear his voice again, but he walked towards to the last house you had to visit without waiting for you. He did not do this, even in the beginning of the day. You took a deep breath, you did not know why the heck you were really sad for his sudden coldness, godfuckingdamnit didn’t you hate and always despise each other? You mentally slapped yourself to gather yourself up, but it was pointless, you rushed to catch him.

You were aware of there was a painful squeeze in your chest, but you could not understand the reason of its presence or how you could get rid of that.

“Junmyeon told us to retreat.” Baekhyun informed you without looking at you. “After this house, we have to run back to the meeting point.”

“Okey.” you nod, hated the meek voice tone you produced but your mind was not on the case, you were questioning your own feelings and firm beliefs about Baekhyun.

Baekhyun was not better, to be honest, he was worse than you.

When you nonchalantly told him he was not in your list, he wanted to puke everything he devoured during lunch even though tteokbokki was his favourite food. He wanted to punch himself on the face when you counted the members of your fucking list, he wanted to smack his head into the table.

Chanyeol? Kyungsoo? Damnit, even Junmyeon found his way to sneak into your list, but Baekhyun was not there.

He was always sure of he would be landed in every list, but he never think that being in your fucking list was the most important for him.

Why did he care if you were not seeing him as a man or not?

This question swirling in his head had his mind shattering.

As much as he was happy to see you wiggling like a worm under the fires, he could not control his reactions against the problem. When he saw you trembling over a case, he was the first one always popped out of nowhere to fix the problem in the darkness and never let you learn that it was him. He did not let even Junmyeon to help you, putting aside Chanyeol or Kyungsoo.

Baekhyun was the one who had been saving your ass like he was your invisible rescue call.

But you did not name him in your fucking list.

It drove him into crazy. The lack of your attention. He never mean that alerting you on his helps or care for you, but at the same time, he never think that his efforts would be equal to nothing.

He hated himself as much he hated you.

While you were walking back to the meeting point, both of you were lost in your own darkest thoughts. You were carefully paying the attention in order to not to have immersed each other, however both of you wanted nothing but screaming to each other, enough to have the fiercest fight till now.

You wanted to lose yourself in Baekhyun just like he was dying to bury himself into you for his dear life. However, both of you were very good at muting the voices of your hearts and minds.

“Indy! Baekhyun!” you heard Minseok, turning to his voice. “It is going to be a blizzard; we have to find a shelter.”

“Ha?”

“The forecast was clear as fuck.” Chanyeol pointed Junmyeon who was glued to his phone. “Jun is looking for a hotel for us since we could not go back.”

“We can take the cabs?” you were puzzled, a blizzard would be bad, but it did not mean that you had to spend the night here. “I mean, we are not living in a different city.”

“Yeah, you are right.” Shinhye crossed her arms over her shoulders, trying to keep herself warm. You had to admit, although you did not feel it till now, the weather was really cold. “But the cab drivers refused to drive into the city center. They advised us to stay here.”

“How about using metro?” you asked. “It is not so hard.”

“If you want,” Junmyeon hissed at you, holding the phone over his shoulder for a second. “You can try your chance, Indy. However, we are going to spend the night here. Safe and warm.”

“He is right.” Kyungsoo smiled at you. “I prefer to be warm and dry, sorry.”

You took a look at the team, and everyone was approving Kyungsoo’s words like they were bloody zealots.

“Okey, dumbasses.” you sighed in annoyance. “But we do not have even fucking pyjamas.”

“You can always take your clothes off.” Chanyeol winked at you. “Who says you need a pair of pyjamas to sleep?”

“Shut the fuck up, Chanyeol.” a sudden blush spread over your cheekbones, Chanyeol could not help but burst into laughs.

Baekhyun was determined to ignore you, but he could not help himself.

“Yeah, number one.” he muttered between his teeth, enough to be heard only by you. “Golden heart.”

Your chin was dropped for a few inches after hearing his annoyed voice tone and vindictive comment.

Could it be the reason of his unexpected coldness?

Could he be jealous of your invalid expressions and your fake list?

No way.

He could not be.

Your heart skipped the order of beats.

“Okey,” Junmyeon interrupted your thoughts. “We are going, if we are lucky, we will be in the hotel before the bloody snow will sweep down on us.”

“Let’s go!” Shinhye grabbed your hand, dragging you beside of herself. You submissively followed her footsteps; however, your mind was distracted by Baekhyun’s last words.

Could it be?

“This is heaven.” Jongdae rubbed his tummy. “Thank you, Jun!”

“No problem.” Junmyeon smiled and looked at all of you, to be honest, after a really good and delicious dinner, everyone was knocked out over the table.

Except you and Baekhyun.

“If you want you can go to your rooms.” Junmyeon said. “Since we were fortunate to find a single room for each of us, I do not think we have to play rock-paper-scissor.”

“Ah, having a room for myself.” Minseok laughed. “I do not have to hear your snorts, Junmyeon.”

They were sharing the same flat, everyone laughed after his teasing, Junmyeon too.

“Look who is talking.” he beamed. “I am so happy that I am going to have one night without your damn showering rituals.”

“Tell us about it.” Jongdae whined. “Pleeeassse.”

While Junmyeon and Minseok had been giving details of their flatmate stories to the team, making everyone to enjoy the environment, you were deeply sink into the pool of thoughts.

What a day, you thought. And why I feel like I am desperate?

Also, Baekhyun was not enjoying the unexpected banquet, instead he was quite enough to draw attention to himself. Chanyeol was on the verge of asking what the heck was wrong with him, but Kyungsoo kicked him under the table, pointed you with his eyes. Chanyeol’s wit quickly grabbed the matter, and he devilishly grinned.

You gave a hard day to Baekhyun, and he had no intention to change a thing between you and Baekhyun.

He always believed that you were secretly liking each other, but as you were nothing but stubborn bastards, you concealed your feelings towards each other.

Chanyeol definitely had zero motive to interrupt the fight between you, if it meant you would understand your mutual feelings.

Junmyeon also sensed the tension between you and Baekhyun, but he was not the type of persons who could wait on his corner.

“Baekhyun? Baekhyun!” Junmyeon called out him, waking him up. “How was your day? Why you guys are silent as dead?”

“We completed the task.” Baekhyun answered sourly, the corner of his mouth jumping downwards faintly. “As you assigned me and her.”

Baekhyun deliberately avoided using the pronoun of us.

“And it was a hell of task.” he continued. “I am so tired.”

“Even if you are fucking tired,” Jongdae raised a rejection. “You never shut your mouth, tell us what the heck is gnawing you?”

The bloody girl who sits next to you, Baekhyun thought but he was clever enough to keep the filter between his mouth and brain as valid.

“The girl I gave a promise for this night.” he forced himself to beam. “Because of this fucking weather, I have to arrange another meeting with her.”

Your heart churned, his reply had you wanting to slap your face. Harshly.

And you thought that he could be jealous because you named Chanyeol!

You were nothing but such an idiot.

An idiot who did not know a single piece of shit but acting so superior.

You were a goddamn idiot.

Chanyeol’s eyes narrowed after hearing Baekhyun’s shitty words, Kyungsoo wanted to punch Baekhyun’s face so bad, Junmyeon’s dislike of Baekhyun was obvious but he did not say anything, just sighed in desperation.

You felt nothing but another flash of pain as someone hit your abdomen.

“Are you okey, Indy?” Jongdae leaned over to you, whispering. You shook your head positively, smiling slightly. “You did not throw yourself into even desert.”

Your love for deserts was not a secret amongst your friends as Shinhye, sharing Jongdae’s concerns, handed you a bunch of cloudy puffs, filled with lemon cream. You took one of them, although you had no appetite, you forced yourself to eat the puff in order to put your friends at ease.

He was your biggest enemy and rival, right?

Why you were so devastated, almost on the verge of being hysterical?

You were not aware of you had been hypocritical with your feelings, and you were running away from your own heart. That’s why your hands were shaking, your heart was drumming into your ribs and aching as hell.

You were not ready to face with your heart, but you were also too naïve to save yourself from the pain it caused.

“Was he really harsh on you?” Jongdae murmured, his eyes was nothing but full of worries. “I am sure you could put him in his place but still…”

“He was not.” you said. “And you know me, nothing cheers me up but kicking his ass.”

“Glad to hear that.” Jongdae inhaled but the worries did not leave his face. “So why are you so down?”

“I am really tired today.” you sighed, tucking another puff into your mouth as you mentally punched your face in order to take the fucking control of yourself. “But if I will eat enough amount of these pastries, I will be like a bomb.”

“You are already like a bomb.” Minseok joined into the chat. “You look like on the verge of exploding.”

You unwillingly laughed at his damn right assumption.

“You know what?” you sniffed. “I am dying for a good drink. Would like to join me for a soju break?”

There was no single soul who could oppose to propose of grab a drink in your team. Jongdae jumped out of his chair, Shinhye was born ready and Minseok was the strongest drunkard.

“We are heading to the bar.” Minseok happily announced. “If you guys want to join, perfect, if not, good night to all.”

You were always impressed by the eagerness of Sejong Team to jump into any opportunity for a drink. Everyone, every single soul of this team, had a strong will to consume a respectable amount of alcohol. Less than a minute, everyone gathered up and headed to the elevators in order to visit the terrace of the hotel.

You had been wondering how rich Junmyeon was, even though he was a senior in college, or which kind of relations he had under his belt.

Jesus, you could not pay your attention during the dinner, however the hotel you had been staying was nothing but a touch of luxury. You had a strong guess on the payment bill of this place, however you preferred to keep it to yourself as you knew that Junmyeon did not like talking about the wealth lies beneath his fingertips.

But the bar was intimating.

Minseok, Jongdae and Kyungsoo were having a fierce conversation about the administrative offices of Roman Empire, Shinhye were with Junmyeon as they were talking on the next project that they aimed to present for the Head of Department. Chanyeol, only God knew how the heck he found that, was playing a guitar and you, as dwelling in an extremely comfortable armchair, tucked yourself into a blanket like a sushi roll, were enjoying the sudden calmness around yourself. The dim lights, from the chandeliers dangling from the ceiling, casting mirages across the hall, showing the wooden tables scattered between the chairs and beautiful, fresh cut flowers in their elegant vases.

It is not Korean but Chinese or Japanese, you thought, however with your bad eyesight, making an observation about the porcelain and its design was impossible. Also, you were a little bit slothful at the very moment to move your butt, you wanted to indulge in the soju you were holding, not anything else.

You felt a hand on your shoulder, warm but unfamiliar, your head jerked to face the owner of touch.

Baekhyun was looking at you, however his eyes were different from his usual self. There was no intention to mock with you, his eyes were clear as the snow drops that covering the streets right now.

“May I sit?” Baekhyun asked to you, catching you off guard with an unexpected kindness. You nod, feeling a sudden increase of the level of excitement, but kept your mouth shut. “Thank you.”

Thanking you? Byun Baekhyun?

You perked up, starting to prepare yourself for the fight, despite of the considerable amount of soju flowing in your veins, you were ready to guard yourself.

His elbow brushed your forearm when he was rolling his body in order to adjust the chair next to you.

You were shocked by the reaction your body gave to the moment, the only thing he did was sitting on a fucking chair, but your cheekbones were on fire.

His hips, damn his hips your inner voice was hysterically whispering in your head.

“May I ask to which muse I owe this honour?” you searched Baekhyun’s eyes for a glint of dismissiveness, however this was the very first time you have been the target of sincere, chocolate brown and deep irises.

“I have a question for you.” Baekhyun quickly ignored your offensive joke. “Why I am not in your list?”

He may as well have tossed you inside of a volcano, kicking you into the pool of lava, the impact would be the same. Your heart prompted to your stomach, they churned together, your throat and lungs tightened so bad, enough to cut your air by yourself.

You open your mouth, but nothing come out, just a bubble.

“I do not know how to translate that.” he sneered however you were at a loss. You could expect a lot of words from Byun Baekhyun but questioning the reason of his absence in your fucking list was not one of them.

“There is—” you bite your lower lip to stop yourself, you were on the verge of confessing that there was no list, you just tried to poke his ego, but thank God, you still had a piece of sanity to hold on. “I do not understand. Why do you care my list?”

Do I look like I fucking know? Baekhyun wanted to shake your cage, he wished nothing but screaming at you with all power he had in his lungs. He had no idea why he was mad at you, but he was out of rage and the only reason was you.

“Because I am curious.” he leaned his elbows onto his knees, cocking one eyebrow to you. “And what I hate most is being ignorant to a case.”

“I know.” you spoke without thinking, your mind was delving into the current problem you had in order to find a balanced answer, so you did not realize what you exactly said.

Unfortunately for you, Byun Baekhyun did not become your biggest rival by being blind or deaf.

His lips slightly curled upwards.

But the gentleman he could be, he did not corner you for the time being.

“So?”

It did not mean he would not try to push you in order to get what he wanted.

“Is there a rule saying that every human being has to be interested in you?”

You were not aware of it, but your voice was cracking, and your breathing became heavier, quickened and there was a sheen of sweet on your forehead.

To your dismay, Byun Baekhyun did not unconsciously mark you as his girl without studying you to the bits.

“Humanity is a different topic.” he widely smiled. “I wonder about you, sweetheart.”

Your breath stuck in your lungs because of the endearment, even though you were aware of his teasing of you.

“You are not my type, Byun.” you dead serious.

“Ah, your type is Chanyeol, right?” he smirked, turning his head to the tall brunette who indulged himself into the guitar. “Should we alert him to your interest in him?”

“Goddamn, no!” you hissed at him. What kind of trouble he was aiming to knit on your head? “Do you know the definition of privacy? You are invading personal boundaries, dumbass.”

“I do not think so.” Baekhyun shrugged his shoulder. “If you like Chanyeol, Chanyeol has the right of be aware of your interest.”

“Okey, even a scoundrel like you cannot be crossing the limit of respect like this.” you moved to stand up, giving the most dangerous look to Baekhyun. “I do not have to lis-

“Hey, Chanyeol!” Baekhyun called him with a high-pitched voice. Chanyeol lifted his head, distracted by the unexpected scream of Baekhyun.

“What?”

“Nothing!” your hand immediately tugged onto Baekhyun’s knee, squeezing it tightly in order to warn him. “You are playing so good, keep going!”

Chanyeol laughed at your words.

“You do not have to scream like that, Goddamnit.”

“Tell it to your friend.” you rolled your eyes back, fuming with anger but covering your face pretty well. You turned to Baekhyun, your eyes telling him that he was in serious danger if he was not going to shut his fucking mouth up.

Baekhyun did not care your silent warning, but your hand on his knee was a real distraction for him.

“I know that he is not your type.” he murmured, watching your hand, small, pale, and soft, Baekhyun did not want to confess but he wanted to latch your fingers to his. “Is it Kyungsoo?”

“Do I interrogate your preferences of girls, damn?” you literally gritted between your teeth. “Leave it.”

“I have no intention.” Baekhyun turned to Kyungsoo, narrowing his eyes. “Let’s ask if you are Kyungsoo’s type.”

“What the fuck are you, cupid?!” you grunted, and your hands moved without your consent. You grasped Baekhyun’s jawline, your fingertips were brushing his ears. “I said, leave it.”

“If you want to shut my mouth,” Baekhyun beamed, ignoring the fact that your touch meant for a lot than he could expect, he was going to think about it later. “Tell me why I am not in your list.”

“No one can desire someone like you!” you exploded. “An arrogant, dandy, selfish boy who does not know nothing but bringing trouble to others. That’s why you can never be in my list, even I have to choose between you and an octopus. For the records, I hate octopus, but I would go for it, if it means the other option is you.”

“Oh, you hurt me.” Baekhyun’s eyes glimmered with the sparks of unnamed feelings. He leaned forward, enough you to feel his breath fanning your lips. “You know what, sweetheart? You are so aggressive only when you have a secret which have to stay only in your head.”

“W-what?”

“I am definitely in that list.” Baekhyun claimed it with confidence, but it was just the appearance. Inside him, his heart was definitely shuttering, cracking into pieces, he had no control over himself, he could not understand his sudden behaviours. “I am in your list, if there is a list.”

Your eyes widened, and pupils blown up.

“Jesus.” you snorted. “When you lost your fucking mind?”

“You are a pretty bad liar.” Baekhyun was making assumptions out of his ass in order to get a reaction from you, he was not fucking sure if he was in the list or not, but everything he said actually rang the true bells.

“And you are a lunatic.” your intense eyes pinned him down, and the frowning lips caught your attention, but you forced to came back to your senses as soon as possible. “You will never be anything more than a lunatic.”

You attempted to stand up, but he was incredibly swift to catch your wrist, pressing you back to the armchair.

“Tell me, sweetheart.” he held your wrist for his dear life, caging you and to your disappointment, coming closer to your face, causing your ability of speaking to be faded immediately.

His godfuckingdamnit lips.

“You have been having doubts on me since the day we met, your driving force is giving me hard time.” his breathing was fanning your cheekbones. "Confess now, why are you pissed at me all the time?”

“Hell, you do talk like you are so different. Aren’t you the one who always finds a way to be trouble for me?” you raised one eyebrow, letting him to realize the game was reserved for two people. “If it means liking someone, since when you have been fallen in love over heels with me?”

“You have no idea how much I want to place your heels over my shoulders.”

Your chin was dropped, his words had you turning into a mummy who was trying to register into his remarkable sentence without a single brain cell.

You had to come up with the best answer you could give. You had to find the best response to him, and it had to be a perfect balance of sharpness, cockiness, and matureness as it had to be said with the resting bitch face.

And you heard your own voice.

“Ha?”

“You heard what I said.” Baekhyun intensively gazed at you, the proximity between your bodies had your body quivering and trembling at the same time and his fucking knee slightly, almost insensibly pushed your legs apart.

“You are really nonsensical, Baekhyun.” you inhaled, doing your best in order to ignore all the jolts all over your body, numbing your mind but also setting the skin on fire. Every time you said his name, Baekhyun felt something turning in his lower stomach. “What the fuck you want from me?”

“You did not name me in your list.” You could not believe your fucking eyes, more importantly, you could not believe you were still listening his gibberish like a kindergarten kiddo. “But, I am better than everyone else here.”

His voice dropped the slightest, making you shiver.

“Would you like me to prove it to you?”

#baekhyun #baekhyun fluff #baekhyun x reader #baekhyun smut #baekhyun fic #baekhyun fanfic #baekhyun exo #exo baekhyun #byun baekhyun #byun bacon #baekhyun angst #exo fanfiction #exo fic #exo scenarios #exo smut #exo fanfic #exo x reader #exo x you #exo x y/n

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wh0re-4-techno · 3 years

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12. Lipstick ((PROFESSOR TECHNO))

Description: After a quick makeout session in his office before class started leads to someone finding out about the two of you. Now, will your friend keep it a secret or not? Should you tell Techno?

Warning(s): Nothing too much, just making out and you sitting on his lap.

Words: 4110

Last part :: Next Part

Kissing him was like you were in a fire, you felt hot and tingly whenever his lips connected with yours. Slowly growing into a flame you couldn't resist

Your hands twist and tangle themselves in his hair carelessly. And before you know it he has you in his arms carrying you to one of the side sofas he has, letting himself sit down as you placed rather nicely on his lap.

You continue kissing him, his hands playfully wander down your body. His fingertips pressing against your skin as he starts lifting up your shirt.

Breaking off the kiss, your lips softly kiss his cheek. Going down towards his jaw and down his neck. Not hard enough to cause hickeys, but enough for him to breathe heavily to steady himself. Going slightly more down, a tad of your lipstick gets on his white collar. You didn't worry too much about it, in fact, it slipped completely out of your mind once it happened. To focus on the flame growing inside of you.

Techno didn't care to take notice, just you on his lap and kissing him up and down was enough to make the world disappear.

But then it came to him, lifting his arm up to see his wrist and looking down at his watch. "Fuck." He mumbles quietly, which you didn't think too much of as other than he was enjoying your touch. As his hand stops and slowly pulls you away you realize, what time is it? The look on his face was the answer to what you were asking.

"Class started a few minutes ago." He grunts, clearly an annoyed man. You quickly kiss him to calm him down, then getting off his lap and sit beside him on his sofa. His hands straightening his white button-down and stark black vest that matched perfectly with the slacks to his loafers.

You watch him try to fix his hair into the right places and without a mirror, it was obviously not looking so good.

Standing up from the couch you take a step in front of him, he slowly stops doing what he was doing. Looking up at you with admirment. Your hands reach to his hair, fixing it from your own work. As you do so he places his arms around your waist and pulls you closer. You softly giggle at his actions but continue to fix his messy hair.

He watches silently as you finish doing his hair, you were his. "We should just stay here, I could cancel a class you know." He lifts himself up, now it was you looking up at him with admirment He wiggles his eyebrows with a goofy smile as he truly thinks of that as an option that he doesn't teach today. "You and I both know I would love to stay here and continue what we were doing but, no. No, you should have class." You breathe out, pulling back down your sweater. He nods in response, realizing that might not be the best thing to do. "And I like hearing you talk about ancient history. You look rather handsome when you do so." The smallest hint of blush flashes on his cheeks as you compliment him. He smiles at you, "Good to know that Y/l/n." He winks down at you, you start walking toward the door where your bag was laying.

Turning back as you grab your book bag, you spot something on his lips. "You have a little bit of lipstick." You point out with your own lips, gesturing that he had it. It was slightly smudged and mute color from your own. His thumb comes to his lips and starts swipping away the residue, getting rid of the evidence you were with him.

And while you're at it you finally spot the kiss mark on his collar, you also point out that. Which he tries to remove but it inevitably smudges even more into the white-collar. "Hopefully no one will notice this." He somewhat awkwardly says while bending over behind his desk.

"So, how do you want to do this?" He questions while grabbing his own bag for class, which was a brown leather side bag almost like a briefcase, which was behind his desk. "What?" It took a few seconds for you to realize what he meant. "Do you want to go to class first or me?" He elaborates his question. "I could walk in first." You contemplate that was the best option for the two of you, not wanting anyone to suspect either of you.

He grabs a coffee cup that was on his desk, he didn't look like the person who would drink coffee he was more of a tea drinker. "You go in first, I'll come in a few minutes with this coffee cup and pretend I was late." He walks up to you, both of you looking at each other. "Sounds like a plan Mr. Blade." You smile up at him, he smiles down at you. Sounds like a good damn plan.

Hand on the door, you lookout to see if anyone was also late to class or would spot you. Seeing as no one was in the hallway you were in the clear. Walking out in a rush, acting like you were late to class as well.

Opening the main doors to the lecture class, you step in fast. With a fast pace, you reach your seat in no time.

The three boys you'd come fond of are already sitting in the same row as you would normally, waiting for you to come in and chit-chat. All had a smile waiting for you too, quick greetings from them all. "How's your morning going so far for you?" Toby asks, he sat in-between Wilbur and Tommy, where Wilbur sat right next to you.

"So far good, just a few minutes late to class." You tell him, reaching down in your book bag for your class notebook ready to take notes of the presentation today. "Well that's good, Tommy didn't want to get out of bed this morning, I had to physically drag him out." Toby chuckles at the remembrance of this morning, where Tommy just scoffs at it. "Never have him as a roommate," Toby confesses to you and a little to Wilbur as well.

The two of you laugh at Toby's expression. "Wait, Wilbur who's your roommate? You've never told me." You turn to Wilbur, he softly chuckled at your question. Toby and Tommy now look at Wilbur too, you soon learn that they also don't know who is Wilbur's roommate. "Why do you want to know?" He asks, looking at the three of you. "What if we go to your dorm to hang out and your roommate is there and we don't even know how name?" Tommy speaks up for the rest of you and Toby. But it wasn't a bad argument.

Wilbur sighs at you all, admitting his failure to avoid the answer. Muttering a "Fine." before telling you, "His named Sam, I haven't really gotten to know him that much. But he seems really nice so far." He says while communist hair with his fingers, but before you can speak more to the subject Techno slams open the door in a huff.

"Sorry, I'm late class! Needed something to get me through the day." He lifts up his coffee cup in hand, gesturing to the class. Which a couple of students, including you, chuckle at him.

Techno, already knowing where you normally sat looks over to you, just a quick glance. But seeing as those boys were already sitting next to you, he looked away and back to his desk.

-----

It was already 20 minutes into the presentation on Archaeology and Tommy is already "super bored" in his own words. You sit silently, listening to every word that comes out of Techno's mouth. Writing down some simple notes of the subject ever so often.

While Toby was dealing with Tommy's annoyance, Wilbur also takes notes but would look over at you.

He would steal glances, seeing what you wore or what make out you wore for the day. Today was a soft red. But what caused him to also look at you was how to stared at the Professor.

Everyone does it to look like they were listening to him, but you did more than listen. You and he knew that at this point. Wilbur must have thought this was a simple and careless crush on a teacher as most people have had that thought about a teacher before in their life. But as he continues to see how you react when he was near and how you slightly changed. He thought maybe you were trying to impress the Professor, trying to act on the crush you might have had.

That when he spotted it.

His eyes broaden as comprehends the thoughts. It couldn't be, it shouldn't be. There was no way he could be correct about the allegations that were filling through his mind, mere seconds. Slightly parting his lips as he continued to go back and forth it started to connect, all the time you went to his office for getting help with assignments or any other excuse you came up with.

He looked back to you and to Mr. Blade. No fucken way, he thought to himself.

Now with that red lipstick smudged on his color bone, from where you seat it was clear that he at least tried to get rid of it, but it still was bright compared to his white button-down. It matching the same color on your lips.

It felt as the world was going in slow motion, turning himself towards you. Concern forming on Wilbur's face by the seconds, he leaned in slowly, still looking at his Professor. Wishing what he was about to ask you was ridiculous and would never become true. So slowly that you didn't even notice till his head was right next to yours. Slightly jumping in your seat, "Holy shit, you scared me, Wilbur." You whispered yell at him, your hand pressed firmly on your chest. At least it broke your hyper fixation on your professor. "Oh, I scared you?" He huffed out an airy chuckle, which confused you of what he meant by that context. For some reason beyond your control, he was acting strange. Turning your head ever so slightly to look at him. A questionable face was clear to him, "You and the Professor?" He simply says, once of the words flying from his lips he regrets saying it altogether. These allegations he found in his mind were clearly not true, was it?

Your eyes shoot open.

How. Does. He. Know.

Turning fully toward him, "What?" You say angrily, that was a good sign to see from Wilbur's point of view. Of course, you would get mad or upset by his allegations. "Excuse me? I think I misheard you?" How the hell does he know? How the hell did he find out? There was no possible way he could figure this out, but somehow we did and now he was asking questions.

"You and the Professor, correct me if I'm wrong. Which I hope I am because you know... Isn't that like a huge issue?" He still implies that you and the professor are together, but you sit there in shock. Words weren't forming to correct nor deny him. Still confused at his conclusion.

He places a hand on your arm, "I promise you that I won't tell anyone if it's true." You breathe out scared, "But I do think it's a little funny- Wait! Where you the one that left that jacket on the floor in his office?" He questions quite loudly, pulling Tommy and Toby out of their conversation. Giving Wilbur the death glare to shut the fuck up before you punch him right where he sits. He hunches his back up as he cringes at how loud he got and your expression. "Sorry. But was it?" He raised his eyebrow in a question still. "How the hell do you remember that, that happened like a few weeks ago." You finally give him an answer, which he looks down at his lap, it was true.

"Holy shit, you're actually sleeping with your Professor." He slowly whispers down, conflicted on what he just found out, which happened to be true compare to him think it was fake."Will you shut up Wilbur. I don't want anyone to find out." You slap his shoulder. Even hearing him whisper it was loud enough for you to hear for another human, it was embarrassing enough to hear it from a friend.

At this point, Techno is glancing at the whole interaction going on between the two of you.

"How did you find out?" You look away from Wilbur, you were still somewhat scared that he knows your affair with your Professor. Swallowing harshly as you turn back to Techno. Who is still presenting to his class, but kept his eyes on you? You give him a fake reassuring smile that he can see right through, hoping that he does suspect anything. "I saw the lipstick on his collar, you two should be more careful." He breathes out, he was shocked by the revelation. You close your eyes, how could he spot that minor inconvenience. You mentally curse at yourself. "Fuck." You place your hand on your face, fuck fuck fuck fuck.

You felt like crying at this moment, how could you not cry right now. Scared shitless at your secret coming out, shaking in your seat. Gripping tighter on your pencil as you come to terms that Wilbur knows your hidden unofficial affair.

Wilbur watches you in such dismay, "I swear I won't tell anyone Y/n." He awkwardly places his hand on your arm, trying to calm your state of mind and somewhat of his too. Breathing slowly as you were gently coming from the realization of the intensity of your relationship between you and the Professor.

"So how long have you to been together?" He asks politely, not in a rude not mean way, the way you thought he was going to ask in disgust. But he was genuinely asking like it was a huge difference between the two of you. "I rather not talk about that now." You say quietly, "Not here." Wilbur nods, knowing it was probably not the best to talk about his out loud.

The tension in the air was thick enough to cut through, it felt so different between the two of you now. It was just a regular secret the two of you could laugh about, this was way more serious and now he could get in trouble because he knows about the two of you.

It was going to be impossible.

He rubbed his hand on your arm, drawing your attention towards him. "Y/n do you consider you and me friends?" He questions, you didn't really know where he was going with this conversation but you followed him anyway. "Yes, would you?" You follow him up with the same question. "Yes, and friends tell each other secret now and then. Friends don't tell other people their secrets. And being your friend Y/n, there are no worries that I will do that. I won't tell anyone about this." He confines with you, which really puts you at ease from the situation. Glad that it was Wilbur to figure it out rather than Toby or Tommy, knowing that they couldn't hold a secret at best.

"Pinky promise me you won't tell anyone." You stick out your hand, a raised pinky waiting. "Picky promise, really?" He blinks at the thought of this elementary way of holding secrets. "Please?" You look at him, with pleading eyes for him to do so, which he does.

Your other hand that held your pencil reaches for his. Patting his hand, "Thank you, Wilbur, really." You tell him. Truly you were glad that you had Wilbur as a friend.

-----

After the lecture finishes Techno speaks, "Alright students. I know that we start Thanksgiving break on Thursday, please be safe if your traveling in or out of state." He looks out at the class, with a smile on his face. Ready to tell them, "No assignment over break either." Which most of the students audible thanked him for the no work as others silently thanked him. Then there was Tommy who stood from his seat and whood out that he didn't give us homework.

The class laughing at his antics, which seemed to put a smile on his face, full of pride.

Then Techno's phone started to buzz, signaling that it was time that class ended and was time to kick everyone out beside you. "Go have fun on break and please don't do anything stupid!" Everyone starts walking out, "Especially you Tommy." He calls him out as he passes the Professor, putting his hand to his chest acting as he was deeply hurt by his words. Which Techno laughs at.

You walk with Wilbur slowly starting to stop, he looks at you. "Text me later, okay?" He asks nicely. You nod, "Okay." He continues to walk out with another look over at the two of you.

Standing next to Techno and waiting for the clear.

And once it was he went behind his desk, sitting in his chair. You let go of your book bag and place it in front of his desk. Walking closer towards him, "Now, where were we?" He speaks seriously and somewhat sexy. You giggle softly, a little confused about what he meant, but soon to realize what exactly he meant.

His hands-on his lap, patting for you to come to sit on his lap once again.

You strut beside his desk, which he turns his chair to face you. Following his comment you go and sit on his lap, slowly throwing each one of your legs side highs, softly sitting on top of his pants. Face to face. Leaning in ever so much for him to follow-up, lips connecting with ease. It felt as the flame came back to passion the kiss, but you really didn't want to get that heated right at this moment. It hurt to break it off with him, almost painful for the both of you. Techno could tell something was off and you weren't exactly in the mood.

"I have to tell you something Techno." You pull out of the kiss, resting your head onto his. "What is it darling?" He questions, where you actually going to tell him that Wilbur knows about this relationship, what would happen? Could you even face up to it and tell him? There was not a way to could...

Taking a deep breath, "What are you doing for Thanksgiving?" You pass in the opportunity to tell Techno about Wilbur, you didn't have the courage to. "That's more of an ask than tell." Techno chuckles at his own response, still clueless on your own thoughts which were eating you from the inside out. It was inevitable that it would come out actually, but not today.

"I know, just my words getting mixed up." You slightly shake your head, trying your hardest to get those thoughts of everyone to know that you're sleeping with the Professor. You lift your head up and look at him directly. "I'm going to have my father over at my house, that about it. Why do you ask?" He tells you honestly, but still questions as to why you ask. But as he continues to think upon it becomes clear to him. "No particular reason." You somewhat lie to him, it wasn't obvious, or hope it wasn't obvious to him.

He smirks as he thinks he knows why you ask, "Do you want to have Thanksgiving with me? Is that what you're asking me?" He presses on the question, watching how you react to his bluntness.

Your lips parted, "Techno, I-" You struggle to get your words out. Of course, you thought of having Thanksgiving with him. The thought of you and him in his kitchen cooking and baking, finally meeting his dad, which he talks very highly about. Sure you've seen photos of him and his dad together but that was pretty much it in his family just the two of them. Maybe you wanted to know where he gets his traits from or maybe meet his dad was a way to make it official with the two of you.

"I shouldn't have put you in that spot. You probably have plans don't you." Techno knows what did, he really shouldn't have put you there. Feeling sorry that he has, he kisses your cheek.

Leaning in for another kiss on your cheek you pull him into your lips. Softly sighing in contempt. "I do have plans with my friends. I'm sorry." Breaking it off once again. "There is no reason for you to say sorry to me." He smiles at you, "Maybe next Thanksgiving." You smile at him brightly. He has this way to lighten the conversation so easily, you wished you could do that.

Laying your head on his shoulder, "Next Thanksgiving it is then." He says while his hands go up to your back, gently and slowly rubbing you up and down, it was very calming. Just the both of you in each other touch and comfort.

"By the way, I have your bra that I left on my desk. Here." He says quietly as to be careful not to ruin the moment, he leans to the side and pulls out a drawer of his desk, the very bottom one. And there it was, laying on a couple of papers was your bra, you felt your face getting hot from embarrassment. Bearing your head into a shoulder, how could you forget that? Mentally cursing at yourself.

He knows that you were embarrassed by that, his other hand pulling your face from his shoulder to look at him. Your face was flushed with pinks and reds. "Nothing to be embarrassed by darling, I just want you to have it before the break." You thanked him and took a hold of your bra.

"Now I don't want to keep you for too long, I'm sure you have lunch with Minx." He's correct, you did in fact have another lunch date with Minx on the grass field to talk about the break. And knowing Techno, he didn't want to purposely take you away from that. "Go on, I got last assignments to grade anyways." He reassurance you that you could and most likely should leave him.

Kissing him one last time, you get off of his lap. "I'll talk to you later Techno." You grab a hold of your bookbag, ready to leave. "You better Y/l/n." He winks at you, smiling at him you walk out.

-----

As you sit down, criss-cross in the same checker plaid picnic blanket as you always do when eating or hanging out at the grass field.

Minx hands you a brownie, that was the snack she packed for today's lunch. It was the famous cosmic brownies by Little Debbie.

"So I a huge announcement to tell you, super important for the Thanksgiving break." She throws up her hands in excitement, the excitement from the anticipation from telling you. You take a bite of the brownie while nodding your head, eager for her to tell you as well.

She grabs your free hand that rested on your thigh, taking it in her hand. Her eyes filled with joy. "We're going to New York!" She shakes your hand, you continue to chew through the brownies before speaking.

"New York, huh." You sit a little puzzled as it wasn't a huge thing like Disneyland, but you can see the excitement around it. But you nor Minx has ever expressed the arousal for New York so you were a little confused as to why she choose that. "Schlatt used to live there for a little while so he knows the perfect spots. He also says it would be fun for us all!" Minx smiles at you, letting her word sit in for another few seconds, realizing what she said.

"Who's all of us?" You question her.

Taglist:

@roygbivvie @alexandrium @aplainart @sadassflatass @sugarcoated44 @taylorsmakingfuckingmacandcheese @sammyxn @bbnoloves @l-O-ser @elly-isabelle @fudrudy

#mcyt #mcyt fic #mcyt fanfiction #technoblade #technoblade x reader #techno #techno x reader #professor #professor technoblade x reader #x reader

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ohmyasmodeus · 4 years

Text

𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘮 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 ❖

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

♡ 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘳 ; 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘵

✧ Sure, Lucifer is looking forward to appreciating art and the history behind each piece, but he finds himself much more excited to spend more time alone with you. History can be preserved, but every moment spent with you is simply irreplaceable; he ends up surprisingly spending more time gazing at you than admiring the artwork.

�� You make him feel young again. In between displays, he sneaks kisses, mischievously pulling you away from the crowds just to hold you in his arms for a stolen moment. Lucifer adores the way you fall into his arms with soft laughter, and it makes him cradle your face between his gloved hands while he whispers about the way everyone looks at you like you’re a work of art.

“But do you?” You ask softly.

“I always do, ______.” Silhouetted by the gallery lights, he pulls you into a tender kiss full of emotion; a moment that no doubt belongs among the displays of beauty and immortality that surround you.

✧ Lucifer is the kind of person to actually read the little plaques beside the pieces that go into detail about the artist and the intentions behind their art. It takes a while for him to take it all in, but you don’t mind— it’s very cute to see him have to bend down and squint to read them.

✧ Your day hardly ends there. Even as he takes you home, he very much enjoys discussing your opinions on the works included in the gallery and the artists behind them. It’s Lucifer’s way of getting closer, trying to decipher how your mind works, how you view art pieces that are open to multiple interpretations. It’s his favourite part. He loves you and your brilliant mind.

♡ 𝘮𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯 ; 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 / 𝘢𝘳𝘵

✧ Your demon is the definition of a kinaesthetic learner. Mammon fits right in with the kids that run around the place, tugging on your hand as he begs you to come play these games with him! He never wants to do anything without you and you end up being basically dragged around the museum. But it’s okay because he’s cute!

✧ While surrounded by so many people, it’s even easier for him to get flustered about affection. His cheeks flush red whenever he thinks too hard about holding your hand, whether it’s to bring you somewhere, or just to hold your hand for the sake of it. The back of his fingers brush against yours, making you smile.

“Hm? What do you want to show me?” you ask as you take his hand to intertwine your fingers with his.

Mammon fidgets with his free hand before shoving it into his jacket pocket, looking away with a brilliant blush. His voice is quiet as he mumbles, “N-nothing, I just… wanted to hold your hand. Or whatever.”

✧ He’s much smarter than people like to give him credit for at times, and surprises you with bits of information he picks up that you couldn’t understand. At the same time, it’s hard to stop him from gushing about how cool it was to see that chunk of sodium explode when dropped in water and how he wants to watch that over and over again.

✧ Mammon runs wild in the gift shop, especially at those little archaeology or mining kits that let you dig through hunks of sand that claim to contain a piece of gold. Of course, there are a million things the both of you want to buy for yourselves, but so little money to do so with. He settles for something small in the end, because he wants to be able to buy something small for his brothers too.

♡ 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 ; 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦

✧ From the beginning, Leviathan is absolutely fascinated. The calming atmosphere of the museum and being completely surrounded by his element makes Levi relax, even if he’d normally panic and try to hide from the people that walk along the exhibitions with you. But even then, you make sure to hold his hand just to reassure him a little more.

✧ Just like he rants about pretty much anything he has an interest in, Levi rants about the equipment on display and compares weapons or ships from different eras to each other, as if he’s talking about mere video game stats. It’s actually kind of hot to see him act like the Grand Admiral of hell’s navy is supposed to.

✧ Treat him like a Grand Admiral, actually. His brain totally short circuits when you lean into him and put a hand on his chest and gasp about how knowledgeable and strong he is.

“Oh captain, my captain!” you sing as you pepper his face in kisses, making him squirm in your arms. His face is beet red as he attempts to cover it with his hands.

“People are- they’re going to see us!” Levi whines.

You laugh and kiss him properly, arms wrapped around him tight. “That’s the point, baby! I like it when people know I’m yours.”

✧ He actually gets a little sad when he sees the bones of massive whales or the various preserved remains of sea life on display. They all feel like a part of him. At times, he feels like sea animals understand him much better than people do, and he has to give your hand a squeeze as the two of you through the section. At least he brightens up when you tell him that most of these specimens die a natural death or were cared for during their life.

♡ 𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘯 ; 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺

✧ His choice of museum goes without explanation. Humans are frail creatures that are essentially doomed to make the same mistakes again and again, despite a new era or millennia, but Satan still finds their history remarkable. He’s fascinated with seeing the butterfly effect ripple through time, sparking wars and conflicts. It makes him wonder about the universe’s decisions— especially the ones that brought you to him.

✧ Satan has always been more fond of reading the ancient texts on display or translating archaic inscriptions on bronze age charms, but when he’s with you, he finds himself more drawn to the elegant gowns and elaborately crafted jewellery on display. You always find his emerald eyes lingering on you, imagining what you would look like in something so grand. Your beauty stuns him in every way, especially with the way you smile at him while framed by the display’s lights.

✧ “I thought you wanted to learn,” you mumble with a quiet laugh into the kiss that Satan pulls you into. The two of you are wrapped in each other’s arms in the back of a crowded amphitheatre, making an attempt to watch a historical film.

In the darkness, Satan’s blush goes unseen, but you feel it in the heat of his face as you kiss him back eagerly. “I’ve learned enough about humans, ______. I want to focus on my favourite one now.”

You close your eyes, and so does he. History couldn’t matter less, not when it feels like the two of you are the only beings to exist, the only people that matter.

✧ Despite wanting to learn, Satan finds himself getting dragged into shenanigans with you as you voice historical figures with the goofiest accents and clown around with some of the interactive props. He laughs along and snaps a million pictures of you to keep, and he supposes that humans aren’t the only ones that make recurring mistakes. After all, he lets you loosen him up and lets you force your way into his heart time and time again, but he still can’t force himself to complain about it.

♡ 𝘢𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘶𝘴 ; 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘰𝘯

✧ Beauty in its different forms has always mesmerised Asmodeus. Museums have never been his thing, but with a fashion museum, you might just be able to change his mind. He goes between gushing about the textures and layering of different pieces to gushing about you and how amazing you look today!

✧ Asmo is always on top of the latest trends, but there’s something that always brings him back to the ostentatious allure of baroque and rococo dresses. He loves reading about the rise of these styles, but he would rather pull you along into a waltz as the quiet ambient music plays around you, the both of you giggling and referring to each other as ‘lord’ and ‘lady’.

✧ Or ‘your majesty’ and ‘my consort’...

✧ You, as always, expect him to pull you away somewhere quiet to make out and be general public nuisances, but Asmodeus surprises you this time. He’s far too busy taking pictures of you together and of just you alone, his amber gaze so soft as he contemplates your beauty. He ends up leaning in serenely as the two of you find yourselves alone together in a gallery.

“You’re gorgeous,” Asmo mumbles with a smile, delicately tucking a lock of your hair behind your ear. “There’s just something so magnetic about you, I can’t look away…”

“I don’t have to say it back because you know you’re handsome and your ego is big enough... but there’s nothing that can compare to how lovely your soul is.” You chuckle softly, resting a hand affectionately on the side of his face. Asmo rests his forehead against yours, wrapping his arms around the back of his neck with a delighted giggle, delighted in knowing that you see him beyond his superficialities and flaws.

✧ He buys you a set of jewellery from the gift shop, and not one of the cheap ones either. He splurges on one of the most expensive professionally made vintage sets because he really wants to daydream about you dancing with him in those rococo dresses, the most gorgeous royal couple in the world…

♡ 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘻𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘣 ; 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘵

✧ Delighted by the more colourful and almost bizarre applications of mixed-media art (think Yayoi Kusama), Beelzebub enjoys contemporary art the most. He’s easily fascinated with the elaborately abstract displays, and quietly wraps his arm around your waist as the two of you gawk at stunning larger-than-life works that probably get him a little hungry.

✧ He’s a respectful visitor and likes to stay silent so he doesn’t disturb the quiet atmosphere for everyone else appreciating the art. It ends up in him having to lean down and murmur softly in your ear when he has something to tell you, his warm arms pulling you into an embrace that you never want to leave.

✧ Workshops! Please bring Beel to the workshops because they’re his favourite part of museums. No matter how hungry he gets while putting in so much effort, he’ll sit still and work hard to make you something you can treasure.

“Do you like it?” he asks with a smile as he presents you with a little figurine version of one of the sculptures featured in the exhibition, hand painted by him. It’s easy to notice how the colours he picked out match your features. “It’s yours.”

“I love it, Beel! Oh, it’s wearing my coat and everything!” you gasp. The elated smile he gives you is absolutely priceless, and you can’t help but tiptoe to kiss him in thanks for his hard work.

Beel lets out a soft laugh and nuzzles his cheek into yours. “I really liked the art, but it felt like something was missing… Maybe the exhibition would’ve been a lot more beautiful if you were an art piece on display too.”

✧ Bringing him to a museum like that just might inspire him to create art by himself. After creating something for you, he feels hooked on it! You find him doodling a lot more on his homework and giving you the most endearing drawings of things you like, or his own hilarious renditions of what Lucifer looks like when he’s about to burst a blood vessel. Beel definitely has a hidden talent for caricatures.

♡ 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘳 ; 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺

✧ Humans? Belphegor has had enough of them for a lifetime and can’t be bothered with learning more about them, but natural history is something that captivates him. There’s a kind of innocent wonder in his eye as you lead him around the exhibitions, marvelling at the displayed remains of the massive creatures that came before, wondering how they evolved into the tiny little animals of today. (But it’s probably also morbid curiosity with the way he looks at preserved carcasses and skeletons.)

✧ But you’re an exception to him. He's tired of humans but never of you, even if he jokes about it at times. Even if he knows about most of the things on display, Belphie is still asking you to tell him about them because he just loves hearing your voice. Coupled with the soothing silence of the museum, it almost puts him to sleep.

✧ “Don’t fall asleep! You paid to watch this!” you whisper when Belphie rests his head on your shoulder. You want to pay attention to the dinosaurs beating the shit out of each other in the surprisingly well-rendered 3D documentary, but you can’t help but gaze at your boyfriend instead, and the way he looks in those dumb 3D glasses.

“I won’t,” he mumbles, rolling his eyes. “You’re warm.”

“You’re a little leech, you know that?” Despite your snarky tone, you lift up the partition between the theatre’s seats to let Belphie snuggle into you. Just like a leech, he’s immediately all over you with his arms wrapped tight around your waist, chuckling as he buries his face in your neck.

✧ You wouldn’t expect it, but he’s also the kind to go wild in the gift shop, albeit in more subtle ways— like staring really hard at something or carrying something only to put it down for you to get the hint. He ends up getting the both of you a big plushy to cuddle and name on the way home.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

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