#tomorrow i also want to try and finish a full draft of my essay for art history that’s due next thursday | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

tr4sh-hive-3 · 1 year

Text

i need HELP pLEASE (& thank you)

fuck fuck fuck fuCK fUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK

i need help.

I am simply in shambles.

hi! my name’s pan, I’m 13, and I’m failing all my classes. Fuck! I’m so lonely. Everyone’s disappointed in me. I can’t do anything. I can’t do anything. Please help me.

I want to do something. I need to do something, anything. I can write. I can go full fucking Hamilton on this bitch. Like tomorrow won’t arrive, like I’m running out of time, like it’s going out of style, all that jazz. that’s my only skill, but fuck it’s pretty goddamn useful. I can do five (5) things; read, write, think, talk, and love. last one probably wouldn’t be super useful for college.

okay, I think I’ve calmed down a bit. hear me out. I will post something on tumblr everyday. everyday. cause if I can’t do something regularly that actually takes consistent memory and planning and commitment and all that fucking jazz I’m gonna start having suicidal daydreams again. even if it’s a stupid shitpost, I need————fucking something. This post has been in my drafts for, probably, some amount of weeks. I didn’t even finish that last sentence, “I need-“. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.

Yeah, writing is not useful. Theoretically, it should be, right? I should be seducing teachers and colleges and all sorts of academics with essays, but I’m not. I’m not even that good at writing. Mama says I am but she’s fucking lying. She also says I’m beautiful and smart and hardworking. The only reason I don’t have suicidal fantasies is cause of my mama. I love my mama very much. But she’s a fucking liar.

I can’t write. (4).

The only thing I read is fanfiction. I’m just gonna be honest ‘bout that. I’ve read the first 5 chapters of Divergent and Jesus fucking Christ it’s boring as fuck. Hold on: reading test scores. I’m usually in the 99th percentile for reading comprehension/proficiency. And lemme tell you, every time I take one of those silly little tests, it does WONDERS for my ego. But I am unable to read regularly.

I can’t read. (3).

Pretty sure I have severe social anxiety. I’ve always thought I would be able to talk to and entertain and charm people easily. Because I can talk to myself. I’m always talking to myself in made-up scenarios. And I’m always charming and entertaining. It’s so annoying when I’m trying to socialize with actual humans and I keep stuttering and going quiet and covering my face in embarrassment. And at first I thought it wasn’t that bad. That I could make those annoying-ass mannerisms kinda cute, right? And I could lean into it and make “cute’n’shy” the selling point of my personality. I know that sounds super cringey. This whole post sounds super cringey. And my last post too. I’m so scared that everyone else thinks I’m cringey and annoying and obnoxious and too loud or too quiet and not worth talking to. Anyway, that selling point does not work. It just gives me more anxiety. And fuck if I know the impression it makes on anyone else.

I can’t talk (to other people). (2).

I think I might be cupioromantic. I’ve read about romance. I’ve heard it described as butterflies and ecstasy pills. Romantic, sexual attractions are supposed to be strong feelings. Or at least enjoyable ones. And heartbreak is supposed to feel physically painful. I’ve never felt any of those. I thought I was touch-starved, but there’s this guy that I don’t particularly like who says he has a crush on me and we cuddle at the bus stop and sure the cuddles are fine and I don’t mind his company but I am not attracted to him at all. For some reason, I thought cuddling with a tolerable person would be super nice? But it’s not. So now I’m kinda just doing it so he doesn’t feel rejected. Not that I’m leading him on! I’ve been very clear that I am very much not attracted to him. I guess we’re friends. He refers to me as his crush. I don’t like that. This love rant has gotten kind of off topic. Back on track; I keep having these fantasies with a nameless person in which I hold their hand, kiss their forehead, make them pancakes, sing them love songs, write them love letters, give them little romantic gifts, pet their hair till they fall asleep, etc. I’ve never actually felt that way about a real person. I might not ever feel that way about a real person. All this romance stuff is really confusing and annoying. I’ll just stick to platonic relationships for now. But I don’t have any friends. I really hope everyone’s indifferent towards me. It’s so much easier to be unknown than it is to be disliked. I’m not sure which one I am.

I can’t love. (1).

My grandfather patented a medical imaging thingamajig. He was pretty smart. He’s dead now. I’m actually typing this from one of his three phones that I inherited cause my old one got stolen. I always liked the bastard. My dad yelled at him a lot but he didn’t give a shit. He never got upset or offended or quiet or loud back when my dad was an ass to him. Maybe he wasn’t the best parent. His kids (my dad and tia) turned out to be some nasty pieces of work. Actually, just my dad. Tia’s fine—just kinda loopy and alcoholic. She’s really nice. Her husband’s an ass, though. And her son. I can’t really blame the son. His parents are a little subpar. I got off topic again. Sorry. It’s kinda late and I’ve been dreadfully sick these last few days. You’ve got an attention span of steel if you’ve made it this far. Sorry again, back on track:

Following the pattern of this text post, I am now going to prove my state of <no thoughts head empty>.

I overthink things. A lot. I think there’s something wrong with me. Or maybe I don’t. Maybe my thoughts are completely normal. Maybe this is what it’s like inside everyone’s head. But if I’m the same as everyone else, why is it that the average “everyone else” can function as a human being? I can’t function. I can barely brush my teeth everyday. Let alone exist bearably in a school setting. Grades are the only things that matter right now. And mine are shit. So I don’t matter. I can’t even force myself to try. All of it is so fucking boring. AND I’M OFF TOPIC. AGAIN. FUCKING CHRIST. MY GRADES? SHIT. GRADES DIRECTLY CORRELATE TO? INTELLIGENCE AND MANAGEMENT SKILLS. INTELLIGENCE AND MANAGEMENT SKILLS DIRECTLY CORRELATE TO? THINKING. ABILITY TO THINK. ABILITY TO BRAIN PROPERLY. BRAINING. BRAINING WELL. ZAPPING THE FUCKING BRAIN CELLS IN PROPER FUCKING ORDER. ALL THE BRAIN CELLS. FUCKING. BRAIN CELL ORGY. HOTEL? MOTHERFUCKING TRIVAGO.

Think? I cannot. Can’t think. I cannot think. (0).

Okay! That’s all five! I have zero (0) skills! Yay! Shit! I have provided evidence and reasoning. I’m so proud of myself. I’ve finally gotten to the end of this godforsaken text post. This bitch has been in the drafts for weeks. What was even the point of this? Is this what is feels like to finish something? To accomplish a task?

If you’re actually reading this, congratulations. You’re ready to kill god. If you haven’t already. You have the focus of a goddamn hawk.

I. Am. Going. To. Stop. Rambling

I. Am. Going. To. Post. Everyday.

(insert clever sign-off here)

0 notes

fandomscombine · 3 years

Text

Exploding Stink Bomb

Platonic!Weasley Twins x Reader

BG: Chaos ensues when the twins steal your latest prank invention. How much worse could it be when innocent people are caught in the mess?

WC:1744

Entry for @feetoffthetable 's 500 writing challenge. A week late I know-sorry! Cause I lost the initial draft. (Note: Do NOT trust auto save that much) So I had to rewrite it.

The prompts are taken from Random Prompts List No. 4 and No.11. (Are in bold in the text)

4. “…Are they dead?” “I don’t know! Why don’t you ask them!”

11. “You’re being remarkably calm about this.” “Thanks, it’s the shock. Give me fifteen minutes, the screaming will happen.”

>>>MASTERLIST<<<

Fred Weasley, George Weasley and Y/n L/n, also known as 'The Pranksters Trio' of modern day Hogwarts.

It is the winter of senior year, and your stress levels are increasing by the day. NEWTS are to be held in a couple of months and you have managed to procrastinate completing your mock papers. At this rate, you would get a passing grade but in all honesty you know that wouldn’t cut it, you know your abilities. If you actually put effort in your subjects you can bump a level up.

You've made a deal with your parents that if you had completed your practice papers, you could spend the last week of the Christmas holiday with the Weasleys.

Which you are; 3 days in, 4 days left till school.

'What your parents don't know won't hurt them...' You mumble to yourself as you stir the bubbling green mixture clockwise.

See you haven't finished the potions assignment yet. Your parents thought you did last week, but in reality what you were working on was a little fantastic smelling concoction that could contribute to the twins' upcoming new joke shop merchandise lineup!

During the journey to King’s Cross, Fred had come up to you and asked if you could help brainstorm a new product that would blow people's minds away. Of course you agreed, a multitude of ideas already brewing, you would do anything to help out your friends.

That night, it was all you could think about. Naturally you are itching to get started, before the thought flies away. Pushing your potions textbook aside, you got to work. It took 18 hours of no sleep but it paid off. The product was now in your hands.

A shiny burgundy shimmering marble-like sphere. The final product was smaller than the blueprint- the amount of ingredients you had on hand in your muggle household were limited- you do a mental note on raiding the potions supply closet once back in school for dragon hide.

But when you do finally have all the resources, the sphere should be the size of a baseball.

For now, at 30% of the ideal size, this mini test sphere could stink up a small bedroom. Which is enough to do damage but also has a small enough impact that you fix if anything were to go wrong.

BAM! You knew the quiet was too good to last.

“y/n/n, my dear!” Greeted Fred, waltzing into Ginny’s room.

“Are you--” George placed his hand on the door, stopping it from slamming back to his face. “Oi! Why’d you have to kick the door so hard? You could have ruined my handsome face!” He shouted to his twin.

Dropping your quill back into the ink bottle you sighed. “Nooo, how many times do I have to tell you? I’ll be finished when I’m finished. Most likely tomorrow, the earliest.”

“Why can’t you just let US test it though?” voiced George.

“Because I came up with it and it’s the only one we’ve got!” You reasoned. “I wanna see it when it explodes!”

Right then, the boys’ eyes lit up.

“IT EXPLODES?!?!?” They exclaimed in union.

“SHIT!” It was too late to cover it up. The secret is out.

The twins shared a look, you don’t really believe in twin telepathy but in the case of your 2 best friends and mischief, they almost always are on the same page.

You are sent flying sideways off your chair and hit the air mattress. “Offph! George! Let….me….go!” With all your might, you try to push George off you but to no avail. The muscles built up during quidditch training are to his advantage.

In the other side of the room, Fred is rummaging through your trunk, eagerly looking for the mysterious and highly sought after invention.

Although he may not know what it looks like, Fred is still one of your accomplices in sneaking prank items to school, meaning he and Geroge know all the secret compartments in your trunk. As do you with their trunks.

This setup made sense, it was a precautionary method devised so that in a matter of incoming danger or when suspected of something, the others could easily get rid of any incriminating evidence.

The system is perfect! Well expect now when it backfired on you.

“AHA GOT IT!”

Your face snaps to the direction of the voice. Cursing internally, right there, raised high above Fred’s head is the prized Exploding Stink Bomb.

“WICKED!” cried George. While the twins are reveling in their success, you took the chance to push George off you and launch towards Fred.

While George was caught off guard, Fred had the few seconds in which you got up to process what was happening and sprinted towards the door.

“IMMA GET YOU FRED!”

“LET’S SEE THAT SMALL LEGS!”

“GOT YA! AHHHHH--” One moment you had your hand on Fred’s shoulder, next you felt a tug on your waist. “GEORGE LET. ME. GO”

“No can do y/n/n.”

His hold wasn’t enough to hurt you, but it was certainly tighter. “Learned from your earlier mistake eh” You teased.

“Just caught me off guard” George reasoned.

Fred walking backwards, bids his farewell. “See you Suckers!” He shouted, taking a bow. With that he disappears round the corner.

A THUD.

“Ginny!”

You and George shared a look of confusion, what was going on?

Arriving at the scene, you are not surprised to see a sneering Ginny.

“That’s what you get for going in my room!”

What you’re more surprised to see is a frantic Fred. You knew that Ginny is fully capable of being terrifying but this was all in good fun right?

Slowly George walked up to his brother. “Freddie what’s wrong?”

“The ball… it slipped”

Eyes wide, your heart starts to beat faster. “Where…?”

You barely had gotten the question out, the answer is given.

As if on cue, you hear shouts coming from your right, Ron’s room.

Ginny being the closest, beats all of you to the door. When it opened, you catch the faint bit of purple smoke before it completely clears away, no other evidence of the stink ball in sight-you smile at the result, hard work does pay off.

‘Now is not a time to be happy y/n’ you told yourself. Your gaze reached the unconscious bodies on the two beds. “Well that’s…..uhh... new...”

Here are 4 guilty looking teenagers looking at the scene of the crime.

Ginny gingerly poked Ron’s side, keeping a fair distance away just in case he jolts back. “…Are they dead?” she asked, breaking the silence.

“I don’t know! Why don’t you ask them!” George paused his pacing to point his finger at both you and Fred.

“Hey! I am not the one you had thrown the stink bomb into the room!” You said defensively. “Besides I told you to test it when I’m ready! BUT NOOOO… you two wanted it now WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING IT’S FULL CAPACITY AND RESTRICTIONS!”

“I…..I…” When George couldn’t come up with a come back, he changed tactics. Turning to Fred he challenges. “You’re being remarkably calm about this.”

Fred, who was still standing rooted at the entryway, replied. “Thanks, it’s the shock. Give me fifteen minutes, the screaming will happen.”

“What the heck happened anyway?” asked Ginny.

“Yea, I thought it was just a stink bomb that could explode!” added George.

“It is just an exploding stink bomb!”

“Then why are they unconscious?” George’s panic becomes more evident as in addition to his pacing, his voice is now an octave higher.

“I think that the stink bomb was too powerful for such a small room.” Sighing, you gestured to the closed windows. “There’s no adequate ventilation too. Must have cause them to inhale a larger concentration”

“How long will they be out?”

“I don’t know Ginny…really.” You shrug. “It could be hours, one to two at best.”

“TWO HOURS?!?” The twins say in union despite one clearly in utter distress while the other scarily unmoving.

Fred gripped his hair, placed his head in between his thighs and let out a scream that could rival a lion.

George now having lost hope of his brother functioning, took charge. “Mum is gonna be back any second now. What are we gonna do?”

“Well, first…we’re gonna check the boy’s condition again for progress” You suggest, dragging Ginny to check on hair while you check on Ron.

“Then..we’re gonna say..”

“GOT YA!” You 4 shout, finger guns at the ready.

“Wait.. WHAT?!!?? WHAT’S HAPPENING?” George looks at Harry and Ron- who are surprisingly alright and laughing their heads off, to you and GInny looking very smug.

Fred tilts his red face up to the commotion.

“YOU JUST GOT PRANKED! SAY CHESSE!” You announced, indicating to Ginny with the camera.

“Cheeseee” murmured the twins in defeat.

“How’d you do it?”

You knew that they would be back with questions. You keep them on the edge as you finish up your potions essay.

"You lot are predictable."

"Predictable?" George scoffed.

Tidying up the study table you continue "Mhhhmmm hmmm. Predicted that you would test it out on Ron, knew that you would try to steal it from me cause you both are very impatient- especially you Fred."

"Heyy!"

"But how did you wake up Harry and Ron?" Piped George. "We shook them but they were still unconscious!"

"Ah George ever the curious. It's simple really." You lay on the bed with hands behind your head, enjoying this moment of outsmarted the boys. "Your siblings were all very tired of been pranked so when we saw an opportunity to have you taste of your own medicine we grab them chance."

You glance at them.

"The time of you setting off the stink bomb is unknown but we were ready. I've made a nose blocker chewing gum while I was tinkering with the foul smell of the stink bomb."

"No sense of smell, no effect." stated Fred.

"Exactly, the rest I'd just improv and acting! The boys weren't actually unconscious, just a temporary numbing spell which Ginny and I reversed when we checked on them."

Sitting back up, you continued.

"What I didn't predict was how crazy you with react. I've never seen you two gone off the rails scared shirtless like that before." You admitted. "Priceless."

"And now you have a photo of it" grumbled George.

"And video too!"

"WHAT?"

Taglist [All/General]: @gruffle1

HP Taglist: @onlyfreds

#fred weasley x reader #george weasley x reader #fred and george #fred weasley imagine #george weasley imagine #fred weasley #george weasley #weasley twins #harry potter x reader #feetofthetable500writingchallenge #fandomscombine writes #fred weasley fluff #george weasley fluff #harry potter imagine #weasley x reader #ron weasley #ginny weasley

106 notes · View notes

justthehiddleswrites · 3 years

Text

Follow My Lead | Tom Hiddleston x OFC | Chapter 4 | I don’t think you are supposed to giggle at Tolstoy.

A/N: This will update every Thursday. There are 13 chapters. There are all sorts of kinds of D/s relationships. This is the one I choose to write this time.

MASTERLIST HERE

Pairing: Tom Hiddleston x OFC (Vivian Swann)

Summary: Tom and Vivian have both been unlucky in love, searching for something outside of the bounds of a typical relationship. When the two of them connect via a dating app, Tom is introduced to the idea of being submissive to Vivian. Which is the one thing he never knew he needed. Under the firm hand of Vivian, Tom learns what it means to submit and Vivian learns what it means to be in a loving dominant relationship. But not everyone seems to understand what they have and the best intentions can destroy the strongest relationship.

Warnings for story: Dominant/submissive relationship (sub!Tom), lots of smut including but not limited to: vaginal sex, oral sex (male and female receiving), edging, denial, teasing, use of restraints, spanking, multiple orgasm, anal play, use of toys.

Tag Lists Are Open! Let me know if you want to be added. Thank you for reading!

Tom slept like a rock that night. The best night’s sleep in a long time. He dreamed of Vivian, kneeling on his chest, kissing him, teasing him, biting him. And he woke that morning with his cock hard and leaking. He stroked himself as he thought about Vivian. But not in the way he usually did. Instead of fantasizing of her touching him, sucking his cock, jerking him off, Tom closed his eyes and imagined his lips on Vivian’s folds and clit. Her hands in his hair tugging his head where she wants it. Vivian moaning in response to his touch, his tongue. As her pleasure increases, Tom’s motions in real life increased. Tom came with a soft gasp, spurting along his torso. He panted, trying to catch his breath. Once he regained his composure, he headed to the shower to clean himself up and go for a jog.

Vivian rapped her nails on the desk in her flat. Her email open on the screen. She was drafting the proposed protocols for Saturday to Tom, and she contemplated on how far to push him. So far, Tom exceeded all Vivian’s expectations. Which worried her. In the past, all men have been eager to please, at first. But once the shiny new wore off, and the men realized the relationship wasn’t about her fulfilling their fantasies of kinky sex and it was about surrendering to her authority, they ran. Sometimes without further word. It wasn’t the incompatibility that bothered Vivian, but the coldness in which they communicated it. As though she was without feeling or emotion. This caused her to assign the reading at the beginning, to move more cautiously. And she wasn’t sure if her heart could handle a rejection from Tom.

With a sigh, she typed out to Tom:

This is a date for the sole purpose of kissing. No food, no drink, no chitchat, no reading, no hanging out.

In short: Kissing, petting, stroking and all the things come along with that- yes. Talking, sex, orgasms- no.

Here is a list of what may happen, not what will happen. If anything bothers you or off limits, let me know.

- Kissing, obviously. Let me know of any spots that are off limits.

- Shirt off

- Pants off (underwear on)

-Nudity (you, not me)

- Kneeling

- Blindfold

- Light bondage (cuffs- both wrists and ankles, tied to the bed)

- Biting

-Bruises on your body (both in places normally covered by clothing and places it would be visible such as the neck)

- All over body touching (let me know of body parts off limits)

- All over body licking (same as above)

- Roles reversed (you touching/licking me)

- Hands around your throat (gentle not choking)

- Hair pulling

- Fingers in your mouth (not gagging)

- Body-slapping

- Pinching

And I think I covered everything. Wear a button-down (I like when you undo the top few buttons) and jeans or slacks. Send me a photo of what your current underwear options are. I will send you your address that morning. I expect you at 7.

Vivian

She smiled as she re-read the email. She buzzed with anticipation at the possibilities of Saturday night. Vivian was certain she would cuff and restrain Tom, and not just because he had the tendency to squirm underneath her. She suspected it would push a button and was eager to test her theory. She hit click and headed off to work.

Tom was eating breakfast, having finished his morning run when his phone dinged with a new email from Vivian. He read through her email and swallowed hard. The list was extensive. He re-read before finishing up breakfast and heading upstairs and digging through his underwear drawer. Tom had three options laid out on the bed. He snapped a photo of them laid out on the bed. He examined the photo, unhappy.

“Might as well.” he commented to himself as he stripped down and pulled on the first pair, navy boxers.

Tom stood in front of the full-length mirror in the closet and snapped a photo. He hated to admit he may have flexed a bit in the photo. He repeated the process with the white underwear briefs, and the black Calvin Klein boxer briefs. Pleased with the photos, Tom typed back to Vivian.

Wow, that is quite the comprehensive list. I appreciate the thoroughness and the bullet points. I am not scheduled for any meetings until Wednesday, so any marks will have faded by then. My feet are ticklish. Probably shouldn’t tell you that. ;) And I would rather not have my armpits or the inside of my ears licked. Otherwise, I am game for whatever you want.

I have attached photos of the underwear, per your request. And if there is anything else I can do to be of service, please let me know, ma’am.

Your sunshine boy,

Tom

He attached the photos and sent the email and then returned to dressing for the day, flopping on the bed to return the last two books on his list before starting his essay.

Vivian was pleased Tom modeled the underwear rather than just lay them out of the bed. She probably would have directed him to model them. She wrinkled her nose at the first pic and flicking through the rest.

Black boxer briefs. Burn or throw away the tighty whities. If I find a pair in your home, I will punish you. Let’s change our night time call to 9:00 p.m. from now on. I hate keeping you up so late.

She placed the phone down on her desk. It buzzed almost immediately.

Consider them burned. 9 p.m. works for me, although I don’t mind waiting up if it means I get to hear your voice. :) I shall wait with bated breath until Saturday.

The rest of the day seemed to fly by for both of them and before long, Tom was settled into bed with both his books of collected poetry and Anna Karenina. He called on time and Vivian asked for him to read more of Tolstoy. He started doing voices of the characters, in particular an exaggerated Russian accent for Levin and Vronsky.

“I don’t think you are supposed to giggle at Tolstoy.” Vivian commented after one particularly dramatic passage.

“I’m a full service entertainer. Comedy, drama, action, romance.” Tom teased back.

“What about erotica?” she teased right back, her voice low.

Tom paused. “For you? Without question.” She could hear the hesitation, fear, and excitement in his voice. She hoped it would remain.

Vivian sighed. “I think it is enough reading for tonight. I want you to get a good night’s rest for tomorrow.”

“Yes ma’am.” he responded.

“Goodnight, Tom, my sunshine.”

“Goodnight, Vivian.”

They ended the call, and both drifted off to sleep.

Vivian attended her weekly blowout appointment, not realizing Tom spent the day as a bundle of nerves. He ran ten miles hoping to burn off excess energy. It didn’t work. The only thing he did was finish the last of the books from Vivian’s list. The fastest ever read through anything in some time. He was too distracted to write his essay, thought swirling in his brain. Tom wants it to be perfect. He wants everything to be perfect for Vivian.

Tom must have tried on at least six different shirts, each discarded on the bed as unsuitable. He settles on a soft, well worn light blue shirt. One of his favorites. The collar is fraying at the corners, which is why he doesn’t wear out as much anymore, favoring instead newer but less comfortable shirts. He grabbed a pair of jeans only to notice a hole on the inside of the thigh and discarded them also on the bed, grabbing a different pair. Tom left the top two buttons undone, a calculated air of casual. A quick dab of cologne and then he waited, not wanting to arrive too early.

After her morning errands, Vivian ate a light lunch and set about preparing her flat for Tom. She made up the bed with fresh linens and double checked the restraint points on the posts. She hadn’t decided on a leg position, so Vivian placed straps on all the corners as well as the point in the middle. Vivian opened the nightstand and retrieved the cuffs, adjusting them and placing them prominently in the foyer on a table. Cuffing Tom would be among the first things she did that night. In addition, she laid out a blindfold on the nightstand and put a bottle of water there too. After bathing, she slipped into a simple silk tank and striped shorts. She wore the same wedges as before. Vivian enjoyed looking Tom in the eye while standing and kissing. A quick dab of perfume behind the ears and settled on the couch, watching some TV waiting for Tom.

He knocked on her door, ten minutes early. Acceptably early without fear of being so early that he disturbed preparations.

“I couldn’t wait any longer.” Tom commented.

Vivian giggled. His eagerness was endearing. “I’ll allow it. Come in.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He stepped into her flat, looking around in wonder. Vivian grabbed him by the chin and kissed him hard.

“Do you still remember your word, sunshine?”

“Yes.” Tom is already breathing hard. “Sushi.”

She smiled and slid her hand down around Tom’s neck. His Adam’s apple moving underneath her palm. His eyes widened in fear. Vivian kissed him again. He leaned forward when she stepped back. She walked around him, fingers tracing the planes of his body, his broad shoulders, defined pecs and abs. Vivian gave his ass a playful swat. Tom yelped and staggered forward.

“Such a nice ass, sunshine.” She growled in his ear, grabbing it with her nails.

“Thank you, ma’am.” his voice shook. He wasn’t used to being manhandled, and his cock appreciated the rough touch.

“Shirt and pants off.” She stepped back to watch him undressed.

Tom’s cheeks blushed. He had been nearly nude in a room of strangers before, but under Vivian’s glare, he never felt so exposed. Tom tugged his shirt over his head, not bothering to undo the buttons this time. He folded the shirt, placing it on the nearby table while he slipped his shoes and socks off, and slipping his jeans down his lean legs. Vivian licked her lips at Tom in his underwear. While the man appeared fit clothed, he was something carved from marble without the clothes. He flashed a lopsided smile as he placed his jeans on top of his shirt and folding his hands in front of him, obscuring his crotch.

“God, you are beautiful.” Vivian hissed as she stepped forward to kiss him again. Tom hummed back at the praise, his body growing warm. She nipped at his lower lip, nibbling rather than biting, sending shocks through his body. “Wrists, please.”

Vivian moved to the table. Tom’s arms shot out. She grabbed the leather cuffs and put them on. Tom jerked back his arms.

“What are those?” His brows furrowed.

“Cuffs. Wrists.” Her tone sharp. Tom hesitated, his mouth opening to protest. “Sunshine, wrists.” she snapped.

“Yes, ma’am.” He reluctantly held out his wrists. She tightened the cuffs, making sure they wouldn’t chafe.

Tom twisted his wrists back and forth, testing out the weight and listening to the rings thudding against the thick leather. Vivian kissed him again, hands sliding down his torso. His cock jumped. She grabbed the back of his neck and led him towards the bedroom. Tom gulped at the blindfold and straps.

“Ah…” he started before being cut off by Vivian’s lips on his neck. “Oh!” he moaned. She laved and sucked hard, removing her lips with a pop, satisfied at the dark mark already formed.

“On the bed, sunshine. On your back.” Tom scrambled onto the bed, lying flat on his back. As Vivian slipped the cuffs on Tom’s ankles, he jerked back. She raised an eyebrow.

“Sorry, ma’am.”

“Good boy.”

She slipped her shoes off and then hooked his ankle cuffs to the straps in the middle of the bed. As Vivian strolled to the head of the bed, she ran a nail up Tom’s leg. He jerked against the restraints. She grabbed his arm and clipped it onto the strap before crawling onto the bed, reaching over to clip in the other side, her breasts grazing Tom’s body. His hips bucked.

“So squirmy, sunshine. Best I did tie you up.” Vivian straddled his chest, pushing him into the mattress. “I can’t let you get away just yet.” She pressed against his lips softly, earning a sigh. Her teeth worried his lower lip.

“Ow.” he mock protested.

Nevertheless, Vivian let go of his lip and trailed down his neck. She licked the bruise from earlier before moving down to his collarbone. Vivian sucked and nipped, leaving the twin to the neck’s bruise there. She smiled at her handiwork. Tom struggled against the restraints.

“They have held stronger men than you, sunshine.” Vivian dragged her nails down his sides, leaving faint lines. As she settled by his hips, Tom’s cock pressed against her. Tom huffed and puffed as she kissed his Adonis belt, scraping her teeth along his skin from time to time. Her hands stroked along his thighs and he flexed under her touch.

She slid off of Tom’s body, and he whined at the lack of contact. Vivian rolled back on top of Tom, lying along his full body like a blanket. Tom sighed at the weight and contact. She pressed her cheek to his chest, listening to his heart race. She snaked a hand to the back of his head and jerked his head sideways before kissing him. Tom met her lips with hunger and he whimpered each time she pulled away, only to tug him towards her again. He strained against the restraints, desperate to touch her, to pull her tight against him and rut against her. His tongue slipped into her mouth, needy, exploring every inch. He moaned as Vivian’s grip tightened on his hair, hurting, but he wanted more.

Vivian could sense Tom coming close to overheating, making a mess and complicating the hell out of this. His cock strained, hard and weeping. She pulled away, holding his lower lip between her teeth as long as possible, stretching it.

“Ow.” Tom muttered.

Vivian slid down to press against Tom’s side. She cupped her cheek before gently kissing behind Tom’s ear. Tom moaned softly from the back of his throat. Her fingers twisted into his hair and she massaged his scalp. Tom’s shoulders relaxed and his hands loosened from the fists. As she scratched and petted him, he leaned into her touch, his breath slowing to a deep and even pace. He closed his eyes, enjoying the soft touch.

“You are so beautiful, my sunshine.” She cooed at him. Her other finger tracing his jaw and cheekbone. “So pretty.” She kissed his cheek and stroked his chest.

“Thank you, ma’am.” His voice breathy and floaty.

Vivian reached over and unhooked Tom’s wrist. She turned and unhooked his other wrist. Tom didn’t move. She stood to unhook his ankles.

“Legs up, please.” Tom lifted his legs into the air. Vivian undid the cuffs, rubbing the skin and massaging it. She kissed the top of his feet and Tom giggled and squirmed. “You weren’t joking about being ticklish.”

“No, ma’am.” He slowly floated back to reality.

“Sit up, please.” Tom rocked up, his hair a rumpled mess, and held out his wrists. Vivian smoothed out his hair and held the back of his neck while she kissed his cheek and lips a few more times. She released him and unbuckled the wrist cuffs, rubbing his wrists and kissing each one and placed them on the nightstand and grabbed the water bottle, handing it to Tom.

“Thank you.” He opened the bottle and took a large swig. Vivian smoothed his hair back one more time.

“Let’s go get dressed, sunshine.” He sighed, taking another swig of water before standing. Vivian slipped her wedges back on and walked beside Tom, rubbing his neck the entire time. “I was a bit rough on you. Are you okay?”

“Yes, ma’am.” His voice quiet while he grabbed his jeans and tugged them on before pulling on his shirt, tucking it and zipping up.

“How did it feel? I imagine you are used to being treated with kid gloves.”

Tom pulled on his socks and shoes, working on finding the right words.

“I don’t quite know how it felt.” Tom replied, a hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth. “But I know I didn’t want it to stop. I didn’t mind the pain. I wanted to touch you and make you feel as good as you made me feel.”

Vivian smiled and pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tight. “Sunshine, I feel good. I received great pleasure at teasing you.” She kissed him. “With my mouth. And watching you squirm and hearing you purr.” She petted the back of his head. “But I appreciate your desire to please me physically. And you will when the time comes.”

Tom stared at her with his endless blue eyes. “When will that be, ma’am?”

“When you’re ready, Sunshine.” She kissed his cheek. “You still haven’t finished your homework first.”

Tom’s hands fidgeted, twisting in front of him. “I finished all the books. I plan on starting the essay tomorrow.” He stared at the floor. “I want it to be perfect.”

“As long as it is from your heart it will be, my sunshine boy.” She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “I don’t ask for perfection, just effort.”

Tom nodded and squeezed her hand back. “Yes, ma’am.”

She walked him to the door, kissing him one more time. “Call me in the morning when you wake up.”

Tom nodded. “Thank you for tonight.”

“You are welcome. The pleasure was mine.”

Tom smiled and kissed Vivian’s cheek and headed out. She clicked the door shut and set about cleaning up the place. Tom came home and ate a sandwich before turning in early that evening, his brain still fuzzy.

As requested, Tom called in the morning, still in bed, to check in with Vivian. It pleased her that outside of the marks on his neck and collarbone, Tom was no worse for wear. Tom left out the part of the dreams he had or the fact he woke up with a raging hard on which Tom took care of in the shower, skipping his run for thirty minutes on his long neglected rowing machine.

Tom lazed about for most of the morning, having something akin to a hangover without the benefit of being drunk beforehand. As he sat down at this computer to start his essay for Vivian, there was a knock on the door. He groaned as he trudged to see who would dare disturb his lazy Sunday.

A smiling Benedict greeted him at the door. When he saw Tom in workout gear, he frowned.

“You’re not dressed!” he complained.

“For what?” Tom blinked back at him. He didn’t recall making plans.

“Lunch!” Benedict stepped in the foyer. “We made plans weeks ago. I’ll wait for you to change.”

Tom was ready to protest, but Ben crossed his arms and it was clear he wasn’t leaving without Tom. With a huff, Tom discarded his clothes into the bedroom which now had a small pile of discarded and dirty clothes, and grabbed an old gray v neck t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Shoving his feet into a pair of boots, Tom stomped back to Ben, pushing past him.

“Let’s go.” Tom grumbled.

Tom’s mood improved once he ordered some food and got half a pint into his system. Benedict stared at him, squinting.

“What?” Tom asked, still irritated.

“What is that on your neck?” He pointed at Tom’s neck. Tom twisted it, and then Ben spied the second mark on his collarbone. “And your chest? Were you attacked?”

Tom touched his collarbone and remembered. He blushed. “It’s nothing. Forget it.” He gulped down the other half of his pint and stood. “Let me go get another round.”

Benedict held out his arm to stop Tom. “It’s like you were bitten by someth… Oh… OH!” The lightbulb went off. “Things going well with Vivian?”

Tom rolled his eyes. “Yes.” He sidestepped Ben’s arm and grabbed another pint before returning to the table.

“Care to share?” He prodded.

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Moving on.” Tom grew more homicidal by the second.

Benedict clapped his hands together. “Remember how Sophie wrangled me into serving on the children’s hospital charity board?”

“Yes.” Tom saw the Cheshire Cat grin on Ben’s face. “No. No! I went last year and got cornered by that old lady who kept calling me ‘Henry’.”

“It was endearing.”

“It was ridiculous.”

“There’s an open bar.”

“Hard pass.”

“I have two tickets. You can bring Vivian.”

Tom stared at his friend. “I am not introducing you to Vivian.”

“Why not?”

“Because I like her and I’m afraid you will scare her off.”

Benedict scoffed. “I have never…” He clutched his chest in dramatic fashion. “… never scared anyone off.”

“Alice, Catherine, Eva…” Tom counted off on his fingers. “… I can go on.”

“None of them met my high standards. Please come.” he begged. “Sophie will kill me if you don’t come.”

“The thought of your death is tempting.”

The waiter set the food down.

“Tom…” Benedict dropped all pretense. “… please come. I promise I will be on my best behavior.”

Tom’s head dropped. “Give me the details. I will check with Vivian tonight when I call her.”

Benedict’s lips pursed. “Really? I can’t wait to meet her. Especially someone who leaves marks like that on you. Sounds like she is yours for the taking.”

“Yeah.” Tom mumbled as he took a bite of his food.

Tom called her at 9 p.m. like always.

“Sunshine, how was your Sunday?” she asked.

“Speaking of that…” Tom started, and she noticed the nerves in his voice. “What are you doing next Friday evening?”

She thought about it for a moment. “I believe I’m free. Do you have any ideas?”

Tom exhaled sharply. “I’ve been invited to a charity event by Benedict and I have two tickets, and I was wondering if you would like to come with me.” He blurted it all out in one big run-on sentence.

Vivian paused before laughing. “Wow, you were really nervous about that, weren’t you?”

“Yes, ma’am. Everything is still so new and I don’t… I don’t want to mess this up.”

“You are just the sweetest, sunshine. You know that right? Beautiful and sweet. Yes, I will go with you.”

Tom beamed. “How would everything work?”

“Like any date would. We go, we drink, we dance and mingle.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know, darling. We can set some rules that work for both of us. okay?”

“Okay.”

“Now, read to me please.”

Tom grabbed the book.

Tom and Vivian agreed he would pick out three outfit options, but Vivian would come over ahead of time and make the final choice. They would not use pet names and instead would do what is natural. Tom asked that she still rub the back of his neck.

“It calms me down.” he commented.

“Of course, sunshine. I like when you are calm. You are more attentive that way.”

It was now the day of the event and Vivian sat on Tom’s bed, noticing the clutter. Tom was modeling the second outfit.

“I don’t like the tie. Let’s see the last one.”

Tom undid the tie and shirt and grabbed the last option. It was a double-breasted blue pinstripe suit with a blue shirt and navy tie. He did a little spin.

“That one.” Vivian stood and straightened his tie and petted his neck before squeezing his ass. “Your ass looks amazing in those trousers.”

Tom blushed again. “Thank you, ma’am.”

She kissed his cheek, wiping away her gloss. “Remember, no names, now let’s go.”

Tom was more at ease with Vivian by his side. Her reassuring touch at the back of his neck or even his shoulder grounded him. Not to mention, she dazzled everyone she met. Now for the big test.

“Benedict, Sophie, meet Vivian Swann. Vivian meet Benedict Cumberbatch, notorious troublemaker, and his queen of a wife, Sophie Hunter.”

Vivian shook each of their hands, holding tight to Tom’s but leaning in for a kiss on the cheek by Ben. Tom tightened his grip. She suppressed a giggle.

“Charmed. Thank you so much for inviting me. I have been looking into getting the firm involved in more charity work and the children’s ward is an enticing option.”

“Firm?” Sophie questioned.

“Watkins, Price, and Forbes. I work in their corporate law division.”

Benedict let loose a low whistle.

“Tom, you didn’t tell me you were dating a pit bull.” Sophie commented. “Impressive.”

Vivian smiled. “I prefer the term ‘velvet hammer’ but pit bull works. “

“How did you and Tom meet?” Ben interjected.

Tom paled, but Vivian didn’t miss a beat.

“The Bloomsbury Club. We bonded over a shared loved for Macallan 18-year-old aged whisky.”

Tom cleared his throat. “Right. Why don’t we take a seat?” He gestured at their reserved table.

“Your feet must be killing you in those shoes, Vivian. After having kids, I just can’t stand wearing them, but if I want to see eye to eye with this one.” She gestured at Benedict.

“Guilty.” He shrugged. “Although not as tall as the Frost Giant over there.”

Tom paused as he pulled out Vivian’s chair for her.

“I don’t mind the heels.” Vivian responded. “It is all what you get used to. Besides, I enjoy towering over people.” she giggled.

“Champagne?” the waiter offered.

“No, it makes her sneeze.” Tom commented.

“Get me a glass of white wine, please?” Vivian gazed up at him.

Tom smiled down and kissed her cheek. “Yes, of course, darling.”

“Sophie?”

Benedict and Sophie blinked at the two of them.

“Uh… yes a white wine sounds fantastic. Thank you, Tom.”

Tom nodded and headed off to the bar. Sophie elbowed Benedict in the ribs. He shuffled to his feet.

“Tom, let me help you with that!” He called after his friend.

Sophie waited until both men were out of earshot.

“How did you… I don’t want to know. You’re not like Tom’s other girlfriends, Miss Vivian Swann.”

She smiled. “I’m not sure if that is a compliment or an insult. So I will say thank you.”

“Definitely a compliment. There is something different about Tom when he is around you. He seems…”

“… happy?”

“Yes, but the word is content.” Sophie added. “Content, at peace. After that last nasty breakup, the man could use a little peace and quiet.”

“Hopefully not too quiet.” Vivian smirked.

“Are you two gossiping about us?” Benedict teased.

“I was just telling Vivian how happy and content our dear Thomas looks with her.” Sophie quipped.

Tom blushed as Vivian smiled and reached out to rub his neck. “I am. Thank you for noticing Sophie.”

The evening wound down. Tom for once enjoyed the event. Vivian won over Benedict and Sophie, so much so that Sophie invited her to go shopping tomorrow afternoon while she wrangled Benedict and Tom in tearing down a shed in Ben’s yard.

“Leave them to grunt work while we shop.”

“I would love to.” Vivian sipped at her wine.

The two couples said goodbye while waiting for the valet. Benedict hugged Vivian tight and kissed her cheek. While Sophie and her exchanged numbers. Benedict pulled Tom to the side.

“There’s something different about you, man.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about. I’m still me.” He shrugged his shoulders.

“No,” Ben folded his hands in front of his face. “there is definitely a change. And I think it has something to do with that enchanting woman over there, who I am sure is being tortured with baby pictures by my wife.”

“Perhaps.” Tom replied cryptically.

“Don’t fuck it up man. You will never find another girl…”

“Woman.” he corrected his friend.

“… Woman like her. You deserved a little happiness.”

“Tom?” Vivian placed her hand on his back. “The car’s here.”

“Of course. Ben.” He shook his friend’s hand and then hugged Sophie before opening the door for Vivian and then getting in and driving off.

“I’m going to head home.” Vivian stated when they got back to Tom’s home.

“Okay. I had a lot of fun tonight. It wasn’t nearly as dreadful with you there.”

“Your friends are a delight. They really do want the best for you, sunshine.”

Tom smiled at the name. “Yes, ma’am.” He fell back into the old pattern.

She grabbed the back of his head and tugged him into a kiss. Tom wrapped his arms around her and did his best to hold her tight. She pulled away, and he whined.

“I’m ready to take this to the next step, Vivian. I want to please you.” His hands ghosted over his shoulders. “In all ways.”

She smiled. “Send me the essay and we will talk. How about lunch tomorrow?”

“I will send it as soon as I step inside. I could cook you lunch here.”

“I would like that, sunshine.” She kissed him one more time. “Sleep well.”

“Yes, ma’am. You too.”

She smiled and walked to her car to head home. Tom stepped inside and rushed to his computer. He did a quick spell check on the essay he had been tweaking over the last week and clicked send.

“There.”

Vivian laughed as her phone beeped before she even left Tom’s driveway, knowing it was Tom’s homework.

“So eager. I like that.”

#tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston fanfiction #tom hiddleston fanfic #tom hiddleston x ofc #tom hiddleston imagine #tom hiddleston fluff #tom hiddleston smut #hiddlesfic #tom hiddleston series #follow my lead

90 notes · View notes

livesincerely · 4 years

Text

it’s so easy (too easy) to love you, ch. 1

Also on Ao3

00000

Davey’s just gotten out of class—literally just walked out the door—when his phone starts ringing.

“Davey,” Tony says the moment he answers, not even giving Davey time to say hello, “can you swing by the apartment real quick?”

Davey sighs. “Are you locked out of the house again?”

There’s a guilty silence. Then, “Or maybe I just wanna see you, huh? You don’t know.”

“Tony.”

“Charlie’s the one that lost the spare,” Tony capitulates immediately, there’s an indignant “Hey!” somewhere in the background, “and I left my keys in my locker ‘cause I thought Charlie had his—”

There’s a scuffle of noise, then Charlie’s voice breaks in, “—don’t listen to him Davey, I asked him before we even got on the subway if he had his keys and he said he did but he didn’t even check—”

“—well, I thought you had yours, didn’t I?—”

“—and he was twenty minutes late picking me up from band practice because he was too busy making out with Spot Conlon to come help me carry my stuff—”

“—that was supposed to be a secret you little shit!”

“—you started it!”

Davey pulls the phone away from his ear as the other side of the line descends into a mess of indistinct yelling. He thinks about trying to get their attention, but he decides to just start heading towards the apartment, muting his side of the call while he waits them out—they’ll remember him eventually.

In the meantime, Davey sends a quick text:

Tony and Charlie locked themselves out of the house again

He’s not expecting a response, but Jack must be in-between projects because he gets one almost immediately.

jc again?

And you’re going to have to get a new spare made

fuck okay i’ll take care of it. are you heading over?

I’m walking there now

ur the light of my life dave

Davey can’t help but smile at this, a soft feeling fluttering in his chest. Before he can write back, Jack sends another text:

how did ur midterm go?

I feel good about it! Def did better than I thought it would!

duh youve been living in the library all week ofc ur gonna do great. ill swing by the grocery omw home and pick up some ice cream to celebrate. do we need anything else while im there?

Get a bell pepper and some tomato paste, I’m going to make spaghetti for dinner. And we need more laundry detergent.

fuck yes im starving! can we do garlic bread too?

Come home on time and we’ll see.

u drive a hard bargain. kerian owes me a favor so he can stay late tonight lol

“Davey?” The sound of Charlie’s voice, tinny and muffled, prompts Davey to lift his phone back to his ear; it seems like he might’ve been calling Davey’s name for a while. “Are you still there?”

“I’m still here,” Davey confirms.

“So are ya comin’ or what?” Tony cuts in, ever impatient. “I’m roasting out here!”

“Well, I was thinking about leaving you to ruminate on your poor life choices,” Davey responds dryly, “but I guess I can come let you in, since you asked so nicely.”

“Thanks, Davey,” Charlie says.

“I’ll be there soon,” Davey confirms.

“Hurry, will ya? Much longer and I’m gonna get heatstroke and die,” Tony declares.

Davey rolls his eyes. “Goodbye, Tony.”

00000

When he arrives at Jack’s building some twenty minutes later, Davey finds Tony and Charlie right where he expects them: crowded together in the little bit of shade the roof’s overhang offers, wearing identical grumpy expressions that brighten immediately when they spot him approaching.

"Finally!" Tony exclaims, shooting to his feet. "What took you so long?"

“Stop losing your keys and you won’t have to wait for me,” Davey counters, slotting his key into the deadbolt and hefting open the heavy exterior door. He props it open with his hip and lets Tony and Charlie scurry past him into the AC. “You couldn’t get anyone to buzz you in?”

“Old Man Davis hasn’t gotten his hearing aid replaced yet,” Charlie explains as they climb the stairs up to the second floor, “and Mrs. Ikeda isn’t home.”

“She joined a new book club,” Tony adds. “She won’t be back till late.”

“Oh, I’ll have to ask her about it when I see her next,” Davey muses.

He gets the apartment door unlocked and the boys pile inside, tossing their backpacks down with dramatic groans of relief. Charlie makes a beeline for his bedroom; Davey expects Tony to do the same but he takes a seat at the kitchen table instead, booting up his laptop with a couple of keystrokes.

“I’ve got a paper due in English tomorrow,” Tony explains. “Can you look it over once it’s finished? Maybe later this evening”

“Of course,” Davey replies. “What’s it on?”

“Lord of the Flies.”

Davey’s nose wrinkles up. “Oh, I hated that one. What’s the essay prompt?”

“Identify Golding’s argument about human nature as proposed in Lord of the Flies,” Tony reads off the top of the assignment outline. “Then make an argument agreeing or disagreeing with his assessment, using evidence from the text.”

Davey rolls his eyes. “Good to see that high school literature classes haven’t changed much in the last few years,” he says with a sigh. “How much have you written so far?”

“Oh, I haven’t even started it yet,” Tony casually rebuts.

“Is everything going okay?” Davey asks, frowning slightly. “If things are getting worse we can make an appointment—”

But Tony waives his concerns aside. “Nah, this is regular old procrastination, not ADHD procrastination. Like ya said, Lord of the Flies sucks ass, so I just didn’t want to write it.”

“Well, let one of us know if you start having trouble,” Davey says.

"Okay, mom,” Tony agrees, somewhat distracted. He’s already got a blank document pulled up on his laptop, a battered and thoroughly dog-eared copy of the book laying open beside him.

Davey looks at him for another moment, then he shrugs and continues making his way into the kitchen—he figures there’s no need to worry unless Racer starts actually missing assignments. And he’s right: Lord of the Flies does suck ass.

By the time Jack gets home they’re each fully entrenched in different activities: Davey’s washed a sink full of dishes and is working on drying the last few pieces of silverware, Tony is still posted up at the kitchen table, carefully hammering out a draft of his paper, and there are the familiar sounds of Charlie working through different musical scales on his oboe in the back bedroom.

“Honey, I’m home!” Jack calls jokingly as he enters. There’s a rustle of plastic and soft thunk of the front door closing behind him, then he comes around the corner into the dining room with an armful of groceries.

“Hey, Jack,” Davey greets absently. He starts rifling through the bags almost before Jack can finish putting them down. “Did you get the tomato—?”

“I got the tomato paste,” Jack says, kicking off his shoes and leaving them in the entryway with all the others, “and I picked up some more of that fancy coffee you like from the place around the corner, even though it’s expensive as all hell.”

“Don’t judge me,” Davey replies, gathering up an armful of vegetables and carrying them further into the kitchen. “You spend a semester grading 'Intro to Shakespeare' homework and tell me how much caffeine you consume.”

“I’m just saying, the rest of us schmucks drink regular coffee and do just fine,” Jack continues. “You can feed your crippling caffeine addiction just as well with Folgers and it’ll cut down on the grocery bill.”

“Watch it, Kelly,” Davey says, pointing a finger teasingly in Jack’s direction. “Smartasses don’t get dinner.”

“‘s that so?” Jack asks with a grin. “Then why the hell are we still feeding Tony?”

“I heard that,” Tony grumbles from the kitchen table.

“Yeah, you were supposed to,” Jack says, moving over to Tony and slinging an arm around his shoulders, pulling him into a side hug. Tony bats at Jack’s hand but makes no real attempt to get away. Then Jack says, “So, I hear you and your brother lost another set of keys.”

Tony throws Davey a look of the deepest betrayal. “You told Jack?”

“Of course he did,” Jack says. “Someone’s gonna have to get new ones made, and it sure ain’t gonna be either half of the dynamic duo.”

“Charlie lost the spare,” Tony says, mercilessly throwing Charlie under the bus while he’s not in the room to defend himself. “And I didn’t lose my keys, I just left them in my locker.”

“Uh huh, save it for the judge,” Jack responds, ruffling Tony’s hair. “Just know if I end up having to change the deadbolt, it’s coming outta your subway money.”

“Jackie, leave Tony alone,” Davey comments mildly over Tony’s spluttering protests. “He needs to work on that paper and you’re distracting him.”

“Yeah, Jack,” Tony repeats, a little smug. “You’re distracting me.”

Davey turns to look at him, one eyebrow raised. Tony quickly busies himself with his homework.

Davey makes quick work of washing a green pepper and peeling an onion, then starts dicing both into small, neat pieces. He feels more than hears Jack sidle up behind him: the familiar weight of his gaze, the solid presence at his back. He stands there quietly, leaning against the counter-top and just watching Davey cook; unbothered, Davey leaves him be for the moment and moves to the stove, scraping the chopped vegetables off the cutting board and into a pan to start softening.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Davey glances over his shoulder at Jack and says, “Are you just going to stand there or are you going to help me with this? You know there’s no loitering in my kitchen.”

“Well, I’m nothin’ if not a law abidin’ citizen,” Jack drawls in answer, the corner of his mouth quirking up. He rolls up his shirt sleeves, exposing the long, muscular line of his forearms, and washes his hands in the kitchen sink. “Where do you want me?”

Davey licks his lips. “Think you can handle browning the hamburger?”

“I’m sure I can manage,” Jack responds with a smirk.

Davey steps out of the way, letting Jack take his place in front of the sauce pan while he gets a pot of water set up on a different burner, salting it so it boils faster. They settle into their familiar dinner-routine, moving around and past each other with ease as they work on getting everything ready, chattering idly all the while.

“I’ve gotta head back out this evening,” Jack says at one point, as he sets the tray of garlic bread in the oven to toast. “Johnson’s got me working a night shoot and I have to be downtown by 9.”

“How long is the session?” Davey asks. “Here, will you open this?”

“We’re scheduled for five hours, but we might get to wrap it up early if everything goes well.” Jack’s hand brushes against the small of Davey’s back and they trade places again, Davey stepping back up to the stove-top and Jack rifling around in one of the drawers for a can opener.

“Are ya spendin’ the night or are ya headin’ back to campus?”

“Depends on how much help Tony needs with his paper,” Davey replies, shaking his head. He takes the can when Jack hands it back to him and empties it into the saucepan, then gives the whole thing a good stir. “We might be at it a while.”

Jack huffs out a laugh. “Well, if you do spend the night, go ahead and take the bed. The extra blankets are in the usual place.”

Davey sets down the spoon he’s holding, crossing his arms across his chest. “Jack,” he says warningly.

“Davey,” Jack echoes back in the exact same tone of voice. In the background there’s the faint sound of Tony muttering, “Jesus, not this again.”

“Jack, I’m not gonna kick you out of your bed,” Davey says, rehashing the same old argument for what feels like the millionth time. “I’m perfectly fine taking the couch.”

“Or you could do the smart thing and just take the bed,” Jack counters as he always does. “I’m not even gonna be here to use it.”

“You’ll want an actual mattress when you get home, especially if you’re out late.” Davey argues. “I don’t even have class tomorrow, it’ll be fine.”

“If you don’t take the bed I’ll just carry you in there once I get back,” Jack says, as if that's a perfectly reasonable course of action. “So you might as well save me the trouble.”

Davey sputters. “That’s not— You can’t just— That only happened a couple of times!” he finally gets out.

"Well, actually, it's been more like four or five times," Jack says with a smirk. "But hey, who's counting?"

"That trick won't keep working," Davey grumbles, feeling the back of his neck start to heat up.

“You sleep like a fucking rock, Dave,” Jack says, rolling his eyes. “Why wouldn’t it keep working?”

“No, see, that’s exactly why I should take the couch,” Davey insists. “It’s not like the sound of you coming in will wake me up—”

Jack turns to face him. Davey cuts off, slightly startled—he hadn’t realized they were standing so close to each other.

“Just take the bed, Davey,” Jack all but orders, and those dark eyes with that low voice are a heady combination. “Please?”

Davey bites at his lower lip, suddenly flustered. “Fine,” he reluctantly concedes, hoping Jack will attribute his flushed face to the heat of the kitchen. “Just this once.”

"Thank you," Jack says with a dramatic heave of his chest, looking much too pleased with himself. "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"

"You're letting the garlic bread burn," Davey answers tartly.

"Oh shit—!"

00000

Later that evening, after they’ve all finished eating and have cleaned up, Davey, Tony, and Charlie are still gathered around the table, working on various assignments.

Davey is finishing the readings for his Monday lecture in between helping Tony finalize the exact wording of his essay. Charlie sits opposite him, working through his geometry homework and every so often there’s a huff of breath and the rubbery scratch of an eraser—Davey makes a mental note to swipe some more pencils and notebook paper from the grad lounge when he’s there next.

Davey notices the time and frowns. “Jack,” he calls out, “it’s already 7:30. If you don’t leave soon you’re gonna be late for work.”

There’s a clamor of noise from down the hall, then Jack appears, freshly showered and fumbling to put on his socks and button up a clean shirt at the same time.

“Fuck, Johnson is gonna kill me,” Jack grumbles. He pats down his pockets, then groans. “Christ, has anyone seen my—”

“Your wallet and keys are on the counter by the microwave,” Davey says, pointing. “And take a jacket, it’s supposed to rain later.”

“Great, I’m sure the models will love that,” Jack says with a groan. “Hopefully we’ll be able to get through everything without getting rained out.”

He meanders his way over to the table, peering at Charlie’s homework from over his shoulder. “If Tony is still busy and ya get stuck, text me,” Jack tells him. “I probably won't be able to answer right away, but if ya send me a picture of the problem I can probably talk ya through it between shots.”

Charlie hums his acknowledgment, still scribbling furiously. Jack turns to Tony.

“Listen to whatever Davey tells you about your paper,” he advises. “The only reason I got through undergraduate writing was ‘cause Davey proofread all my shit before I turned it in.”

“I thought I was s’pposed to always listen to Davey,” Tony says distractedly, tongue poking out between his teeth as he types.

Jack pauses, considering. “Yeah, just do that.”

“Jack—”

“Oh, and Dave cooked, so you shitheads better do the dishes, get me?”

“Jack, you’re gonna be late,” Davey cuts in firmly, holding out Jack’s jacket for him.

“Alright, I’m going,” Jack says, shrugging it on, and he finally starts making moves towards the door.

He gives Charlie one last pat on the shoulder and cuffs Tony lightly across the back of the head in a slightly rougher, but no less affectionate goodbye, which is per usual. Then he turns to Davey, tips his chin up, and kisses him right on the mouth, short and sweet.

“Lock the door behind me and don’t forget to—” Jack stops mid-sentence, then turns bright red.

“Um,” says Charlie.

“Holy shit,” says Tony.

Jack’s mouth opens and closes soundlessly. Finally, he stammers out, “I u-uh— I-I d-didn’t mean—“

Davey doesn’t respond. He couldn’t, even if he wanted to—he’s frozen in place, his mind a sudden wash of static. For a moment, they just stare at each other. Then Jack blurts, “gottagoseeyoulaterbye,” and bolts out the front door.

Davey’s not sure how long he stands there, staring blankly into space, utterly dumbfounded.

“Davey?” Charlie asks hesitantly. “Are you okay?”

There’s a strangled, choking noise. A split second later, Davey realizes it’s coming from him.

"...What just happened?"

#newsies #javid #jack kelly #davey jacobs #*final cut #*the writing desk #*editor's note #the one where it's domestic #oof this was a long time coming #this au might become its own series #the javid coparenting vibes are REAL and i NEED them #btw there will be a couple more chapters of this so stay tuned

52 notes · View notes

therainroguefanfiction · 4 years

Text

🎾 Announcement; Kunimitsu Tezuka (Sportember #009)

📑 Table of Contents | ⚾ Challenge Post

Genre: Slice of Life, Fluff, Friendship, College AU

Word Count: 3,960

Pairing: Reader x Tezuka

World: Prince of Tennis

Prompt: Announcement

Sport: Tennis

━━━━━━༻🎾_🏀_🏐༺━━━━━━

The ticking of the clock echoed in the quiet dorm room, distracting you from your studies. Not that you had been able to concentrate anyway. It’s been almost an hour and you still haven’t gotten through the first paragraph of your essay but, thankfully, you still had a few days before it was all said and done.

You flicked your pen absentmindedly, eyes on the dark screen of your phone. It was starting to get late and your boyfriend still hadn’t called you as he did every night. You understood, of course, but that didn’t mean you couldn’t still miss him. Hearing his voice before bed had become a staple for you and on the rare occasions that he was too busy to call, you found it harder to sleep.

Tezuka Kunimitsu was a tennis player, drafted to the German national team when he was in his third year of middle school. He’s returned to his home in Japan many times over the course of the past three and a half years and, during one of these trips, you were able to meet him. At the time, you were in your third year of high school and your friend, Fuji Shuusuke, forced you to join him at a Halloween party hosted by his friend, Atobe Keigo. The party was to celebrate Tezuka’s return and the fact that he would be staying for three months.

Fuji was the one to introduce you, being friends with the both of you.

For you, it was love at first sight. Despite the monotone voice and expression he had kept up without fail, he was still polite and kind, his deep voice soothing to you. In the sea of people that had been at the party, everyone’s face was a blur to you but his. You remembered every detail, from the green flecks within his brown eyes to the way his brown hair was parted. He was a gorgeous man.

For Tezuka, he never had any interest in dating, focused only on tennis and his friends, but when his eyes first landed on you, he suddenly wondered if you were single and what it would be like to date you. So, when he noticed you sneaking out into the back garden to get some air, he didn’t hesitate to join you. The two of you spent the rest of the night just enjoying each other’s company, talking about everything under the sun. When it was time to part, he admitted that he wanted to see you again and, from there, the two of you started to date.

Even now, nearly three years later, both of you are still so in love with one another, even being more than five thousand miles apart. You just wanted to hurry up and finish college so you could move to Germany in order to be with him, but that seemed so far into the future.

You glanced at the time on your phone. ‘It’s nearly ten-thirty and I have a class at eight. The professor is a real stickler for being on time, too. I should really get some sleep…’ You closed your notebook, packing it into your school bag along with everything else you’d need for class so you wouldn’t have to rush to gather your things come morning time. You turned the light off, crawling under the covers before pulling up the Happy Color app on your phone.

It was the best way you’ve found to relax and destress before attempting to sleep. It was almost like magic how easily the app could help release the day’s tension. Plus, there are achievements for you to work toward, which enhanced the experience for you.

Your eyes were beginning to droop, so you decided to close the app, reaching for the charging cable when the phone started to ring, showing off the picture of your boyfriend looking at the sunset, a picture that you had personally taken the last time he was at home. You did your best to shake off your sleepiness, pressing the phone to your ear. “Hello?”

“Y/N,” came Tezuka’s deep voice, slightly strained from his practice. “I’m sorry for calling so late. I couldn’t get away from practice.”

You smiled, bringing one of the pillows to your chest. “It’s okay, I figured it was something like that. You’re not pushing yourself too hard, are you?”

“I promise you, I’m not.”

“You’re staying hydrated, right? And getting plenty of sleep?”

He chuckled softly, a sound he reserved only for you. “I’m taking care of myself, love. What about you? How is school going?”

“Mm, I’m struggling with my literature essay and I have a math test tomorrow that I’m not really looking forward to,” you sighed heavily. “I’m keeping up, though.”

“Do your best,” he encouraged gently. “You’ll be fine as long as you don’t let your guard down.”

You laughed at his typical line of advice, but it came out as more of a tired puff of air. “I’ll make you proud, Mitsu~”

“I always feel proud of you, Y/N,” he responded with earnest, making warmth settle within your chest. “You should get some rest. Text me when you wake up.”

“Mkay,” you stifled a yawn. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. Goodnight.”

“Night.”

As soon as the call ended, you fell into dreamland with a smile on your fae, dreaming of the man that you loved so dearly.

━━━━━━༻🎾_🏀_🏐༺━━━━━━

“Y/N~”

You paused, turning around to give your best friend a smile. “Hey, Fuji! Do you wanna join me for lunch?”

“I’d love to!” He tilted his head to the smile, giving you his infamous closed-eye smile as he fell into step beside you. “How did your test go?”

“Ugh, the test.” Your nose wrinkled as if smelling something foul. “If by some miracle I manage to pass, it’ll be just under the wire.”

“I’m sure you did just fine.”

“I hope so. If I fail, Mitsu’s going to be so disappointed in me, ugh.” You frowned, carefully pushing the glass door of the cafe open, hearing the little bell above jingling as you held the door open for him.

Fuji chuckled in response. “He’s not capable of being disappointed in you. He loves you too much.”

The comment brought a goofy smile to your face as the two of you sat down at a small table near the window, ordering some boba tea and a couple of sandwiches. The sky outside was slowly beginning to darken as grey clouds rolled in, thunder rumbling in the distance as if chasing them down.

“By the way, Atobe is throwing a small get together on Saturday,” Fuji commented before taking a sip of his tea. “He asked me to invite you.”

“Nothing that man does is small.” You rolled your eyes. “I think I’ll skip out this time. Staying at the dorm and binge watching some TubeYou videos sounds a lot more pleasant.”

He frowned, brow furrowing in thought, but you were too focused on your sandwich to notice the change. Fuji Shuusuke wasn’t considered a genius for nothing, however, and a plan quickly formed within his mind. “I could really use the help, though.”

“Eh?” You glanced up, meeting his cerulean eyes, which he rarely opened, so you knew whatever he was about to tell you had to be quite serious. “Help with what?”

“Well, it seems I’ve recently acquired a stalker. She won’t take no for an answer no matter how many times I say it, but she seems to be intimidated by you.” He lied smoothly, offering you a fake, worried expression.

“Intimidated by me? Really?” You couldn’t help but snort at the ridiculous notion that anyone could be afraid of. You thought it was more believable for a hamster to be intimidating than yourself! And it made sense because you didn’t like violence, preferring to resort to kindness above all else and try to talk through any problems you had. You were also a firm believer of walking away when people couldn’t be reasoned with.

“She never comes around when I’m with you.”

You chewed on your lip thoughtfully before sighing in defeat. “Fine, I’ll go with you. You’re lucky I love you so much, Fuji.”

The brunette laughed, his eyes sliding closed once more. “I love you too~”

━━━━━━༻🎾_🏀_🏐༺━━━━━━

The phone buzzed on the bed and you stepped out of the bathroom to check it. It was a message from Fuji, letting you know that he was waiting outside of the dorms. You quickly messaged back that you were on the way before slipping the phone into your pocket and grabbing your keys. The first thing you noticed upon exiting the building was how dark it was.

It was only just now noon, but the grey clouds covering the sky made it appear to be around eight at night. Lightning streaked across the sky, thunder roaring loudly seconds after each strike, and the rain was falling in steady sheets to the earth. To you, it was a beautiful sight, though you understood most people felt quite melancholy when it rained.

Fuji held out the umbrella so that it covered both of you, sending you a smile. “Ready to go?”

“As ready as can be,” you answered, forcing a smile. While the current weather did lift your spirits a bit, you were still feeling quite sad. You missed Tezuka so much that it was starting to physically hurt you, plus you were stressing out because you knew that you had done poorly on the math test. The last thing you wanted was to be surrounded by a mansion full of people you didn’t even know, constantly being checked on by waiters and butlers.

It wasn’t your lifestyle, but you wanted to support Fuji if you could, just as he had always done for you.

Stepping through the gate that surrounded the campus, you noticed the sleek black limo sitting down the street and you were unable to hold back the groan of annoyance. “Fuji~”

The brunette laughed, patting your back. “Atobe insisted because of the weather.”

‘Of course he did,’ you held back your sigh, following him to the vehicle. The driver jumped out as soon as you got close so he could pull the back door open for you, as if you couldn’t do so yourself. ‘He doesn’t even care that he’s getting wet. What if he gets sick? I feel bad for him, but… at least he gets paid well.’

The man sent you a kind smile as you slid into the back, taking the umbrella from Fuji so he could slide in beside you. He shook the umbrella before climbing into the driver’s seat and starting the engine.

Silence settled over the vehicle as it started forward, the tinted windows streaking as the window forced the drops of rain to slide at an angle across the glass. The closer you got to the Atobe manor, the more uncomfortable you felt, but you did your best not to let that show on your face because you didn’t feel like being hounded all night about what was bothering you.

When the limo finally arrived, you stuck by Fuji’s side for most of the night, speaking only when spoken to directly, which was more than you were currently comfortable with. It’s not that you were an introverted person or anything – normally, you had no problems with social interaction, but for some reason, you were just feeling so… down and you wanted to be left alone.

The only person you wanted to talk to right now was more than five thousand miles away.

You waited patiently for Fuji to finish his conversation with one of his old schoolmates before you called out his name to grab his attention. “I’m gonna head to the bathroom. Be right back.”

He nodded before turning back to the other male, laughing about some tennis match they had years ago.

You honestly felt pretty guilty about lying to him, but if you didn’t get a chance to breathe soon, you felt like you were going to go insane. While the hallway leading to the bathroom still held a few party-goers, it was a drastic down-size from the large ballroom that was so packed with people that it was hard to move.

Glancing around the hall, you were thankful that no one was paying you any mind, and you slipped through the side door that led out into the massive garden behind the manor. Rain still felt softly from the sky, but the thunder and lightning had already moved on, leaving only the soft pitter-patter against the walkway.

You stuck to the stone path, following it towards the very back of the property where a large hedge maze sat. With a pause, you glanced over your shoulder, but the garden was empty because of the rain, so you continued into the maze, following that familiar path that led straight to a dead end. At least, that’s how it appeared to most, but you knew better.

With a bit of prodding, a small crack in the hedge appeared, allowing you to slip into a small area hidden by the towering bushes. A willow tree sat in the center of the clearing, probably older than the manor itself, its branches long and gnarled, covered with stringy moss that formed a sort of blanket around the area.

You took a deep breath, soaking in the peace and quiet around you. The grass at the base of the tree was damp, but not soaking wet thanks to the moss, so you plopped down with your back against the trunk. You checked your phone, but Tezuka still hadn’t responded to your message, which only made your mood drop further. With a sigh, you pulled your knees up to your chest and rested your head atop them, eyes sliding closed.

━━━━━━༻🎾_🏀_🏐༺━━━━━━

Fuji frowned as he scanned the ballroom, looking for any sign of you. You should have been back by now, but you were nowhere in sight. He certainly hadn’t missed your reluctance to join him tonight, either, and now he was starting to feel worried. Surely you wouldn’t have left the manor without telling him.

Atobe weaved his way through the crown toward the brunette, his phone held within his hand and a frown upon his lips. “Tezuka’s plane was delayed. It’ll be another twenty minutes before we can get him here!”

“I think Y/N decided to ditch the party,” Fuji added. “They really didn’t want to be here, to begin with.”

“You were’t supposed to let them out of your sight!” Atobe huffed in annoyance, running a hand through his purple locks. Tonight was supposed to be perfect, but it seemed as if everything that could go wrong was.

“Hm, they said they were going to the bathroom. We may be best friends, but I doubt they would appreciate me joining them,” he chuckled.

Atobe quickly dialed a number on his phone, pressing it to his ear. “Michael, we have a problem. Our guest of honor is in the wind. Find them immediately!”

“Y/N isn’t going to be happy about this~” The brunette quipped, earning a glare from the host.

“I promised Tezuka that tonight would be perfect and it will be, no matter the cost!” And the purple-haired male turned on his heel, heading farther into the manor as he barked orders into his phone.

━━━━━━༻🎾_🏀_🏐༺━━━━━━

Tezuka stepped out of the limo, readjusting his suit as he looked up at Atobe manor, feeling very jet lagged and a bit nervous, not that his monotone expression betrayed this. He wasn’t entirely sure how this night had even come to be. He had simply mentioned returning home to surprise you, but Atobe had run with it, insisting on making a huge deal out of it. Why had he thought it would be a good idea to mention proposing to you? It had been a fleeting comment that he hadn’t even meant to speak aloud, but Atobe had latched onto it with a vice-grip, refusing to let go.

Fuji was waiting outside the large double doors with a warm smile upon his lips, cerulean eyes shimmering under the lights of the porch. “Welcome home, Tezuka.”

“Thank you,” he nodded in reply. “Where is Y/N?”

“About that -”

The doors suddenly swung open and Atobe strode out with a female butler at his side, his usual smirk upon his lips, but Tezuka could tell that something wasn’t right. “Don’t worry, Tezuka. I’ve gone ahead and purchased the airline and had the pilot fired for his lack of professionalism.”

“That wasn’t necessary,” Tezuka resisted the strong urge to sigh, used to the man’s actions after so many years. His dark eyes scanned the crowd through the open doors, but he saw no sign of the one person he craved the most. “Where is Y/N?”

Atobe exchanged a look with the genius, which did little to boost Tezuka’s confidence. Clearing his throat, the host held his arm out toward the entryway. “Fuji will go get them for you. Come along, let’s get you a drink and you can get changed out of that cheap suit. I’ve had one made for you, the very best that money can buy!”

But Tezuka didn’t budge, his eyes shifting between the two men. His annoyance levels were quickly rising, along with his worry for you. Had something happened to you? The thought had his heart tripping over itself within his chest and he folded his arms, fixing his narrowed eyes on the brunette. “The truth, Fuji.”

Although Atobe shot him a warning look, the brunette paid it no mind, his cerulean eyes locking with hazel. “They didn’t want to be here so they ditched me. We haven’t been able to find them.”

Tezuka’s eyes widened a fraction behind his glasses and, without a word, he brushed past the two men, determined to find you himself.

Atobe followed him closely, his hands swiping through the air as if trying to shoo away a fly. “My men have already checked the cameras. They were last seen going out of the side door, but the rain short circuited the cameras outside. They were supposed to be waterproof! I’m already going through the process or purchasing the company so that I can fire their CEO and the imbeciles that installed them here.”

Tezuka paused at this new information, realizing instantly where you had gone, but he certainly didn’t plan on telling the other male that. Instead, he turned toward him, his voice firm. “Call your men back. Y/N won’t come out for them.

Atobe’s eye twitched. “There isn’t any place they can hide from -”

“Atobe,” his eyes narrowed, hands fisting lightly at his sides. He was already tired of his friend’s over the top nature.

“Fine,” the host huffed in annoyance before storming off, pressing his phone back to his ear.

Tezuka then headed for the garden door, following the left path around the manor to the back garden where the hedge maze sat. It had been such a long time since he had last visited the small area hidden within the maze, but he remembered the path to it like it just yesterday.

He remembered the feeling of your hand in his as you attempted to find your way to the opposite side of the maze only to find a dead end. As if you were meant to find it, you had spied a small gap in the hedge when you went to turn around.

He remembered asking you what you were doing, advising you to be careful of the sharp branches as you tried to part them. He remembered how your face had lit up when you stepped through the opening, finding the hidden area that was cut off from the rest of the garden. You had fallen in love with it the moment you saw it, he knew, and he was positive that was where you had escaped to.

By now, the rain had come to a stop, leaving behind puddles and damp grass as a reminder that it had been there, shimmering under the bright lights that were scattered across the garden.

When he finally stepped through the small gap in the hedge, his eyes immediately fell upon you, curled up against the trunk of the tree as you slept, phone held tightly over your heart. Waiting for his reply, he knew. The thought made him smile softly as he kneeled in the grass beside you, feeling the wetness seeping through the cloth, but he didn’t mind.

His hand gently rested upon your shoulder. “Y/N, wake up.”

You stirred after a moment, blinking as the fog of sleep slowly lifted off of you and then your eyes snapped to his, wide with disbelief. Without a moment of hesitation, you threw yourself at him, knocking him off balance and onto his back with you on top, clinging to his neck as if he would disappear if you loosened your grip even a hair.

“Kunimitsu,” you breathed out, fingers curling around the back of his neck and the collar of his suit jacket. “I missed you so much.”

He smiled, bringing his arms around your body, breathing in the scent of your shampoo. “I missed you, too.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that you were coming back?” You frowned into his neck, playing with the soft strands of hair at the base of his neck.

“I wanted to surprise you,” he spoke softly, wondering if he should foil Atobe’s elaborate plans. Ever so gently, he coaxed you into releasing him and you pulled back just enough to see his face. He didn’t miss how your hands clutched at his shirt, as if afraid that this was some dream you didn’t want to wake up from. “The plan was to announce my return at the party.”

You deadpanned as the pieces of the puzzle started to fit together within your mind and you groaned. “That damn Fuji, he totally knew! And he made up that stalker story to lure me here.”

Tezuka’s eyes closed as he held back an exasperated sigh, not even wanting to know what this stalker story was about. “I apologize. I should have known better than to trust them with something so important.”

“Important?” You tilted your head at the comment. He had returned home dozens of times before since going pro, but Atobe had only thrown a party for him once, and even then, it was no comparison to the gathering tonight. So what made this time to special? You didn’t understand.

“Because,” he chuckled, reaching into his jacket so he could produce the ring that his grandmother had given him for this very occasion. “I returned home to ask for your hand in marriage.”

“You -” your breath caught in your throat as you looked at the ring being held between his fingers. It was the most beautiful piece of jewelry you had ever seen and, despite how hard you tried, no words would pass your lips. This was what you had dreamed of so many times before, spending the rest of your life with this man, this man that you would destroy the world for if he so desired.

“Y/N,” his eyes met yours, full of love and warmth. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes!” You managed to squeak out, hand shaking as he slid the ring onto your finger before setting his palm against yours, fingers lacing together. “I love you so much, Kunimitsu, I – I -”

“I know,” he responded softly, his thumb gently brushing away your tears before bringing you into a deep kiss – a silent promise atop the declaration of love.

━━━━━━༻🎾_🏀_🏐༺━━━━━━

32 notes · View notes

slapshot-to-the-heart · 4 years

Text

Flatbush & Atlantic: part iv

And here’s part iv! I’d love it if y’all would reblog, this is a work I’m really proud of and the more people it’s shared with the better! My inbox is always open, and I’d love to hear your thoughts, even if it’s just “AAAAAH.” Enjoy!

part i part ii part iii

part iv

December 12

Cass grimaced, looking over at the tab on her laptop that had the Islanders game open. They were down 3-1 late in the third, and it didn’t look like they were going to be able to pull it off. It was the last game of a ten day roadie, and they had lost all but one against the Red Wings right at the beginning. And the Wings were 10-21, so it wasn’t even a confidence booster. To make matters worse, Mat was on a points drought; he hadn’t gotten an assist, let alone scored, since the first game of the trip, a 4-1 loss to the Blue Jackets. They also were playing a few players down, an MCL sprain and the ever-vague “lower body injury” kept the team from being at full strength.

As the game came to a close, she didn’t even know if Mat wanted to talk to her. His relentless dedication was one of her favorite things about him, but it also led him to take things way too personally and be way too hard on himself even when — especially when — the situation didn’t call for it. He was probably beating himself up as the boys headed back into the locker room, being short with his teammates and trainers and whatever poor sports reporter had been sent to ask “how they planned on snapping this unfortunate streak” in the post-game interviews. He’d never be deliberately mean or unkind to anyone, but just like anyone, her boyfriend got stressed and overwhelmed and didn’t always know how to deal with it. I saw the game, she texted him, I’m proud of you. Call me if you want.

Dec. 15 (wed)

Mat had barely spoken to her since the return from the roadie, and it was starting to get on her nerves. Texts were responded with single words, if they were answered at all. They were supposed to have visited the Met yesterday , but that hadn’t happened either. He had cancelled, saying that “some team thing came up” and he wouldn’t be able to make it. Barely apologized. And what pissed Cass of more than almost anything was that she wanted to help, she wanted so badly for him to just talk to her, she wouldn’t judge him or make him feel like he was a shitty player or a shitty person, but she couldn’t do that if he wasn’t even picking up her damn calls. Who do you talk to when there’s almost nobody in the world who understands the position you’re in?

Maybe that was just it. She’d go to the people who did understand. Paige had added her to the WAGs Whatsapp group the week prior, and from everything she had gathered so far, it was exactly the sort of place to go for advice. Cass pulled up the chat, torn between not wanting to seem like she was oversharing but not really sure what else she could do. Hey, guys, she started. Mat’s been taking the losing streak pretty personally (as I’m sure a lot of your guys are) and seems to be pulling away. Any advice? I don’t want to push him but I know it’ll get worse if he just keeps it all bottled inside. Clicking send, Cass sighed, leaning back in her desk chair and trying desperately to study for her Environmental Law final.

At some point after midnight, she closed her books and laptop with frustration. The test wasn’t until next week, but she wasn’t going to get anywhere trying to study as distracted as she was. She grabbed her phone, heading to the bathroom to brush her teeth and check the group chat. No fewer than six of the women had written back, some of whom she hadn’t even met, with long, sympathetic paragraphs overflowing with advice. She read them all, touched by the time, effort, and care that everyone has put into making her feel just a little less anxious. But the overwhelming message was clear. Find balance, but don’t let him blow you off. Be a support system, but you’re not his therapist. And repeated again and again, Talk to him.

She tapped out a message before she turned her bedside lamp off, hoping that with morning would finally come a proper response from Mat. Can we meet for coffee tomorrow morning? You know as well as I do that we need to talk. I’ll be at Donahue’s at 8.

Read: 12:23 AM

Dec. 16 (thurs)

Her foot tapped nervously, hands clasped tightly around the cup in front of her and beanie pulled over her head, curls poking out from under. He had read the text, but Cass had no clue if Mat was actually going to show up or not. He hadn’t responded. It was ten past eight, and Cass was just about ready to give up and head to school early. She had just put her laptop back in her bag when she caught Mat out of the corner of her eye. He gave her a small smile, equal parts nervous and almost — bothered? “Hey,” he said softly, unzipping his puffer coat and sliding into the chair opposite her. “You said you wanted to talk?”

Suddenly, the whole elaborate speech Cass had prepared, about letting her in and supporting him and communication, left her mind. “Yeah.”

“So, talk,” Mat said, with a slight edge to his voice.

She looked down at her cup. “I get that you’re disappointed about the losing streak. I get it and I’m sorry that you’re not doing as well as you hoped —”

“I don’t think you do get it, Cassidy —”

She cut him off. “Let me finish, Mathew. I’m sorry that you’re not doing as well as you hoped, and I do get how shitty it is when you know you’re putting in the time and effort and practice and it doesn’t seem like anything’s working, but you’ve barely talked to be about any of it.”

“‘Cause I don’t want to,” Mat mumbled.

Cass leaned back in her chair. “And I get that. I get if you don’t want to talk to me. But you’re not talking to anyone. You’re not talking to Tito, I asked him and he said you’ve been just as closed-off with the team. You’re not talking to any of the other guys. And I’d bet you’re not talking to your parents or your sister either.”

No one gets it!” Mat said in frustration, a little louder than was necessary. “I go through so much shit and have so much pressure on me and…” He trailed off for a minute. “I don’t want to disappoint the team, I don’t want to disappoint the fans. I don’t want to disappoint my family. I don’t want to disappoint you.”

“Everyone had their ups and downs,” Cass started.

“And I get that,” Mat said, holding his head in his hands and looking down at her coffee cup. The same white-and-blue one he had gotten her two months earlier. “But it’s hard. It’s hard when I’m feeling like the fans aren’t getting what they deserve when they come to games, and like I’m not worth what they’re paying me right now. I know you want to, but you don’t get it.”

Cass looked away, turning her eyes to the street. The sidewalk was dusted in white, turning to slush every time someone walked past. It was the first snow of the year. “Then help me to.”

He breathed out, finally relaxing a little. “It’s not that easy.”

“I want to help you,” Cass said, leaning over the table and clasping his hands in hers. “But you can’t keep freezing me out like this, chou. It’s not fair to you and it’s not fair to me.”

Mat closed his eyes, leaning into her touch. “I just don’t want this to become your thing too. You shouldn’t have to deal with this. I know right now kind of sucks for me but that’s just how it is sometimes, you know? It’s just how it is and I have to get over it. I have to get over myself.”

“Mat, your well-being and mental health isn’t something you can just ‘get over.’ Or even something you should. I’m not a professional, and if you need one that’s something we can find,” Mat wrinkled his face, and Cass was pointedly reminded how often men’s mental health was ignored, “but I’m here for you to talk to. Whatever you need, I’m here for you.”

He ran his thumb over her hand. “But you didn’t sign up for this.”

Cas shook her head. “Mathew Barzal. This is exactly what I signed up for. I’m pretty smart,” he cracked a smile, “and I knew what I was getting myself into. Dating someone with such an unconventional job and schedule can be stressful, and frustrating, and confusing for everyone involved. But I chose it, Mat. I chose you.”

Dec. 21 (mon)

For once, Cass wasn’t headed straight home after work, or headed to a game, or — God forbid — back to the library to study. Her last final had been that morning, and she was free for three blessed weeks until the New Year. Which meant that she didn’t have to worry about turning in another essay or memorizing another case, which meant that she was more than free to go to the team Christmas party with Mat later that night. He had somehow been coerced into hosting, and Cass had promised to get to his apartment early to help set up. He was mostly done by the time she got there, so “setting up” turned out to mean setting up the bar and putting out snacks, Cass mixing up an enormous pitcher of her favorite sangria, a signature standby from her sorority’s Wine Wednesdays.

Mat had even put up a proper Christmas tree, and Cass smiled at the piney scent as she headed down the hallway, bag in hand. “Cool if I change in your room?” She shouted down the hall at Mat, who was currently engrossed in pouring a bowl full of chocolate-covered pretzels. “Yeah, go for it,” he called back. Cass didn’t have a lot of excuses to dress up, but liked taking advantage when the occasion called for it. Her dress was short, red satin with a slit on one side and silver embellishment on the other. She used his bathroom to touch up her makeup, swiping her burgundy lipstick on and double-checking her brows. Cass shoved her work clothes back into her backpack, tossing it onto the plush armchair in the corner of his room.

She walked down the hallway, which was pretty much bare save for a few pictures of his friends from home and one with his family on the day he was drafted. She was kind of surprised that Mat owned a single picture frame. Cass sat on the couch in his living room, looking at the Christmas tree. There were one or two Islanders ornaments, a paper Santa that she assumed had been a kindergarten art project, a photo of his family around the fireplace that looked like it had been taken a year or two earlier. Mat wrapped his arms around her, hugging her from behind. “Whatcha looking at, babe?”

She smiled. “Your ornaments. They’re really pretty.”

“Not as pretty as you.”

The door rang, Mat kissing her quickly before walking across the room to open it. A group of the younger players piled in, mostly rookies and call-ups from Bridgeport. One of them had brought along a keg of beer, and Cass had to fight back a laugh while showing him to the kitchen and setting it on the counter. He was just out of college, she’d stake her life on it. By the time she’d secured the keg and started getting people set up with drinks, the living room had started to fill up. “What can I get you?” She asked Paige, who had left Tito with the boys by the tree and made her way over to Cass.

“What are my chances of getting a Moscow mule?” Paige asked. “I don’t want to be a difficult guest, but,”

“Very good,” Cass said, turning around and grabbing the vodka and ginger ale. “We don’t have the proper mugs though, so don’t be complaining.” One shot of vodka. Half a can of ginger ale. Squeeze a lime. She had bartended for a little over a year when she first moved to New York, and it was still one of her favorite things to do for friends. Mixing herself a whiskey sour, Cass wandered back over to Mat and Tito.

---

It was well past eleven and the party was nowhere near stopping. While everyone was conscious of the noise level — for the most part, she had seen a few of the guys being reminded to use their inside voices — the conversations were still going and the drinks were still flowing. Cass had passed the tipsy point somewhere around 10:30, though she was nowhere near as hammered as some of the team. Or their dates, for that matter. She was cuddled up against Mat on the couch, heels long having since been abandoned and nursing what she was pretty sure was a vodka sprite with way too much vodka and way too little sprite. Whatever, Cass thought ruefully as she tipped the last of it back. It gets the job done.

Mat was a touchy drunk, Cass had learned, and one hand seemed to have taken up permanent residence at her waist while he sipped a beer with the other. “What do you think Christmas will be like for you?” Cass asked softly, tilting up her head to look at him. “Since you won’t be with your family.” Mat knew it was a possibility, but he was still pretty upset when he looked at the schedule and realized that his family wasn’t going to be able to fly out to spend the holidays with him, and he didn’t have enough time to go back out to Vancouver.

Her parents had extended the invitation for Mat to spend Christmas with them when she had been back up for Thanksgiving; he couldn’t make Christmas Day, but was able to carve out two days to visit. He smiled at her, leaning down and kissing the top of her head. “You’re cute when you’re worried, y’know that?” Cass scrunched up her nose. “It’s not like I’m going to be alone. I’m doing Christmas with Beau, since Paige’ll be out of town too, and some of the guys usually plan a nice dinner thing for anyone who’s not with family.”

“That sounds nice,” Cass noted, still feeling a pang of guilt.

“Hey,” Mat said, noticing her distraction. He sat up, turning her face to look towards him. “I’ll be fine. I’m a grown-ass man.”

Cass cocked an eyebrow. “Sure about that?”

Mat giggled. “Okay, okay, fine. Point taken. But yeah, it would be nice to have my family, but I kind of do, y’know?” He said, nodding around to the guys. Cass could have sworn that in that moment, her heart melted. “And I want you to spend time with yours. I’d be kind of a shitty boyfriend if I didn’t want you to.” Mat leaned in, and his lips brushed against hers so that they were almost touching but not quite, hesitantly. Cass pressed against him, her fingers finding purchase in the baby hairs at the nape of his neck. She loved that he was letting his hair grow out. He tasted like whiskey and tequila and some cheap beer that she was pretty sure was Natty Light, but she couldn’t have cared less, just like she ignored the not-so-subtle wolf-whistles from the teammates.

Everyone started clearing out around midnight, a few staying to help stuff cans and bottles into trash bags that were left unceremoniously in the kitchen to be dealt with the next morning. Cass yawned, rubbing her eyes. She had sobered up some, but was still well past the legal limit. “Whatcha doing?” Mat asked, seeing her about to order an Uber.

“Calling a ride?” Cass questioned.

“Why don’t you just stay?” Mat asked haltingly. “If you want.” Cass had obviously been over to his place before, multiple times, but hadn’t stayed the night yet. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him, because she did, but it was something that was a big step for her. That meant a lot to her. But it was late, and she was sleepy, and Mat did make a really good pillow. “Okay,” she conceded.

Mat smiled, taking her hand and leading her back to his bedroom. He rummaged through his dresser, grabbing an old Thunderbirds t-shirt and athletic shorts and handing them to her as she walked into his ensuite. “I don’t have stuff to get your makeup off, but there is soap?” He offered.

Cass laughed. “I brought some wipes, but thank you. That’s really sweet.” She changed and took her makeup off, finding a spare toothbrush in one of the drawers and brushing her teeth. She popped out after a few minutes. Mat was already changed, dressed in pyjama pants and a comfy-looking heathered grey top. “The red toothbrush is mine now.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he responded, cracking a smile. A few minutes later, she had claimed the left side of the bed and he had come back from the bathroom. They were lazily kissing, Mat’s hand just barely brushing the skin on her waist from where the shirt had ridden up. Cass was still tipsy and she knew Mat wouldn’t try anything, not like this, but God, it was nice just to feel close to him. After a few minutes he pulled back, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear that had fallen out of the loose messy bun she had thrown together. “What’s running through your head, babe?” He murmured.

Cass looked down, biting her lip. She was usually good with emotions, good with communication, but something about Mat made her heart skip a beat and brain go into overdrive all at once, and somehow she was convinced that it was the best feeling in the world. “I’m just really happy right now,” she breathed. “It’s Christmas, with our friends, and you...It’s everything I could want.”

Mat gave the softest smile. “You, with me, right now? That’s all I could want, Cass.”

Dec 22. (wed)

Cass zipped her suitcase shut, double-checking that she had everything she’d need for her two weeks in Connecticut. It wasn’t a big deal if she forgot something, there was probably some stuff left in her old dresser, and her little sister Eliana was about the same size. Mat had just texted that he was almost there. Cass grabbed her backpack and suitcase, stopping for a moment to pop out the final few chocolates on the Advent calendar her mom had sent down. She closed her bedroom door, wishing a harried goodbye to Ryanne and Stella, and ambled down the stairs as fast as her bags would allow her. She didn’t want Mat to have to double-park and risk getting a ticket.

True to his word, Mat was just pulling up when she came out of the building, waving one hand and double-checking the street was clear before flipping his hazards on and hopping out to help her put her bags in the trunk. Kissing him on the cheek in thanks, Cass slid into the passenger’s side, giving Mat a very pointed look when she saw that the first song on his playlist was Justin Bieber. “Don’t make fun of me,” he mumbled, blushing.

“Who said I’m making fun of you?” Cass said lightly, trying and failing to hide her smile.

They had decided that Mat would make the drive, since he was only staying two nights they had figured it would make more sense. The directions had been plugged into the Bluetooth system, and they had just made it out of the city when Mat looked over at the passenger’s seat, furrowing his brow when he saw Cass’s expression. Something was bothering her. “What’s up, babe?”

She bit her lip. “Nothing.”

“C’mon, we both decided we weren’t going to do this anymore. You don’t have to tell me if you really don’t want to, but I think you want to talk.”

Cass looked down at her lap. “I got a letter from the company that’s handling my student loans.”

“I thought you didn’t have any debt?” Mat asked quizzically.

She let out a single, humorless laugh. “That was for undergrad, and that was only because I was really, really lucky. I got some money from the school and I worked some, but that only covered about half of my costs? A little less?”

“Which leaves you with how much?”

“A hundred and ten thousand dollars, give or take. They were sending me the payment schedule, I have to start paying it back late next year.”

Mat breathed out. He knew that Cass didn’t come from money, but being from Canada and not having gone to college himself, he wasn’t really aware of just how debilitating student debt could get. “Do your parents know?” He asked gently.

Cass picked at a loose thread on her scarf. “Yeah. They helped as much as they could, but there’s three of us and they’re not made of money. “I, uh,” she paused briefly, “I told you I went to private school, yeah?” Mat nodded. “Catholic school doesn’t come cheap, so I was actually on work-study at my high school, which helped a lot. But I hated it.”

“Your school?” He questioned.

She shook her head. “No, I loved my school. It was great. I just hated feeling like a charity case. My school’s in a pretty well-off neighborhood, so most of the families there had money, and some were like proper ‘old money’ New Englanders. I had some great friends and nobody ever really outwardly was an ass about it if they knew, but still…” She trailed off.

“You felt like you never quite fit in.” Mat finished.

She nodded. “It was hard and it sucked sometimes, but that’s just how it is, I guess,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.

Two hours later, Mat pulled into Manchester, following Cass’s directions down the winding roads and corners of her hometown. “Do you think they’ll like me?” He asked nervously, eyes flitting between Cass and the road in front of him.

Her brow furrowed. “Who? My family?” Mat nodded. “My family’s going to love you. You’re kind and you treat me with respect. That’s all they’ve ever wanted for me. And my brother already worships the ground you walk on, practically,” she added with a smile.

“He’s a junior, yeah?”

“Mhm,” she responded. Cass’s younger brother Noah was a junior in high school, and one of the best players on his club hockey team. Hockey didn’t run cheap and he had been lifeguarding the past few summers to pay for it, but it was all starting to pay off and he was having some interest shown by college scouts.

Mat pulled up beside the curb in front of her house, killing the engine and shoving the keys back into his pocket. Cass popped the trunk and took her backpack, while Mat got his duffel and her suitcase. She reached for his hand as they walked up the driveway, giving it a reassuring squeeze as she rang the doorbell.

“Cass!” Eliana squealed, hugging as much of her sister as she could manage around the bags. “Put your bags by the door, Dad’s grilling out back and I think Mom’s making your bed.” Mat had had an afternoon game and the two had left not long after, so it was dinnertime and Cass was ravenous. “Grilling in December?” She questioned.

Eliana shrugged, closing the door behind them. “You know Patrick, you go be the one to tell the man he can’t make burgers in the winter.” She turned to Mat, also greeting him with a hug. “You must be Mat, Cass talks about you a lot.”

Cass swatted her. “El!”

Mat chuckled. “Yeah. Mat Barzal, nice to meet you. Good things, I hope?”

“Only the best,” Eliana said, leading them through to the back porch, where her dad was grilling on the patio while Noah was doing sprints up and down the lawn. He almost fell when he spotted Cass and Mat, causing Mat to have to hide a laugh behind his hand. Her dad turned around, setting the spatula down when he saw them. Mat swallowed, sticking out his hand for a shake. “Mat Barzal, sir.”

“Call me Patrick. Good to meet you Mat, go get settled and we should have dinner ready in a few, okay?” Mat nodded. “Noah, pick your jaw up off the floor and go help them with their things, okay?” Noah ducked his head, brushing the dirt off his shorts before jogging over to where Mat and his sisters were on the porch.

“Do I hear my Cassidy?” Cass could hear her mom inside, walking down the hallway with Noah and Mat before she ran into her by her old bedroom. “It’s me, Mom!” Cass said excitedly, hugging her mom. Mat initially went for another handshake, but she shooed it away, embracing him. “We’re huggers in this family,” she said by way of explanation, pulling away after a moment. “Ysabel Cabrera, so nice to finally meet you, Mat.”

Mat smiled. “It’s great to finally meet you too.”

Ysabel pointed down the hall. “Noah’s got bunk beds, so you’ll be with him in there, it’s the last door on the left. Cass, I trust you still can find your room.”

“Yes, mamá,” Cass said, rolling her eyes. “See you in a few, chou.” He kissed her on the cheek, under the watchful eye of her mom, and followed Noah down the hall.

---

Two hour later, Mat and Cass were cuddled together on the living room couch, his arm slung around her as they half-watched reruns of Parks & Rec. “D’you just want to do presents now?” He asked, looking down at her. “Because I know we’ve got plans tomorrow, and I don’t see how it really matters if we’re not going to be together Christmas Day.”

Cass looked up. “Uh, sure, if you want?”

“Meet you back in a minute,” Mat said, hopping off of the couch and disappearing down the hall. Cass rolled her eyes, walking into her room, grabbing the envelope, and returning to the living room. Mat got up when she entered, proudly handing her a surprisingly well-wrapped present.

“You look very pleased with your work,” Cass noted, laughing.

“I watched a Youtube tutorial,” Mat admitted, “but did you know that there’s so much that goes into folding neat corners? It’s practically an art!”

“I’ll take you word for it,” Cass said, handing him his envelope. “Open yours first.”

Mat sat back down, running his thumb through the flap and pulling out a coupon. He looked at it quizzically for a minute. “Beer delivery?”

“Craft beer delivery,” Cass corrected pointedly. “Because I don’t want you to have to resort to Natty Light ever again. I saw your fridge, it’s actually the worst. You need taste, babe.” Mat snorted. “And they deliver to Canada, so you don’t have to worry about missing out on the offseason.”

“I love it, pretty girl,” Mat said, kissing her. “Now open yours.” Cass carefully popped the corners open, unfolding the wrapping paper. My Beloved World - Sonia Sotomayor. “You said once that you really admire her, and I didn’t see it on your bookshelf, so I thought you’d like it.”

“I do, I love it. I love that you remembered even more,” Cass added.

But Mat wasn’t done. “Open it,” he said expectantly.

Confused though she was, Cass opened the cover of the book. “It’s...signed? She said softly, reverently tracing her fingers over the inscription.

“Yeah.” Mat went on, explaining, “I found it in this little bookstore in Brooklyn, and knew I had to get it for you. Knew what it would mean to you.”

“It’s incredible. You’re incredible. I can’t believe you’d do something like that for me.”

Their foreheads touched. “Why wouldn’t I?” Mat whispered. “It’s for you.”

And in that moment, there was nothing anyone could do to take away how happy that made her feel. How happy he made her feel.

#hockey imagine #hockey writing #nhl imagine #mat barzal imagine #hockey smut #mat barzal #nhl smut #nhl writing #nhl imagines #nhl fluff #hockey imagines #hockey fluff #islanders imagines #islanders writing #new york islanders #islanders

45 notes · View notes

svtsweet · 6 years

Text

Don’t Change

A/N: Ahhhhhhh so sorry!! I wanted to take a nap yesterday before posting it but it turned into a full on slumber (. - .) I’ll still try to post tomorrow but it’ll most likely still be late...

Joshua X Reader

Summary: There’s something about the way Joshua acts around you that peaks your curiosity. When the opportunity presents himself, will the truth be worth knowing?

Warnings: Kidnapping, Stalking

Word Count: 5412

There is nothing stronger than your hatred for literature. All your life it’s been a pain, ever since the first word you couldn’t read out loud. College was supposed to be a break from it, everyone told you that you get to pick your own classes but no, it has to be a core class you have to take. You avoided it your first two years but you don’t want to spend your last year having to worry if you’ll pass the class or not. That stress is specifically reserved for graduation.

You heave a sigh as your professor goes on about rhetoric and the principles of what would make an A worthy essay. Rolling your eyes, you land on anything other than the projecting screen. The backs of the heads of those sitting in front of you is the first thing you see. It’s mostly freshman but from the first week of introduction, sophomores also introduced themselves, yet you were still the only junior in the class. Looking around, a corner of the class where a spare desk is propped catches your eye. Joshua, the class TA sits happily, his full attention on the stack of papers he’s reading. You wince, knowing that he’s not holding just any papers but the in class essay your professor threw at you from last class. Essays are hell, in class essays however are the Devil himself.

Not realizing that you’ve been staring at him for too long, he glances up at you but the second his eyes meet yours, his head drops. To anyone else, it might seem like a common awkward exchange but ever since you first walked in through those doors, you knew Joshua has something against you. Your first day, you noticed that he stared at the floor whenever you talked. All your attempts to lock eyes with him ended in him hanging his head, his bangs covering them like a curtain and the straight line of his lips causing you to frown.

“This is the first major essay of the semester so I hope you’ll put your best effort and come and ask for help if you need it.”

Your professor’s notice breaks you of your trance and you catch the last slide. An essay? You sigh, knowing that you couldn’t have hid from it for long. Now the time has finally come for you to come clean to your professor and beg for extra credit.

Meeting your professor at the front of the classroom, you take a deep breath and run through the speech prepared in your head. “Hi Professor. I wanted to let you know in advance that I’m not a very good writer but I really want to pass your class so is it possible to work on some extra credit to add to my grade?”

She blinks at you but smiles. “That’s alright! You’d be surprised how many people struggle with writing but I’d rather you have some extra help for your essay instead of giving up on it by doing extra credit before you hand it in. I’ll tell you what.” She waves her hand to Joshua who walks over. Your brows knit together and you can feel your intestines twist with displeasure. “Joshua is just an amazing tutor as he is an assistant. He could help you write your essay if the both of you are okay with it?”

You don’t have to move your eyes to him to know he isn’t looking at you. Does she not know that the person she’s saying could help you is the last person that would even look to you? How in the world is he supposed to talk to you if he can’t do that? But you have to admit, getting tutored by Joshua could help you in figuring out why he’s so set on ignoring you. “I’m okay with it.”

To your surprise, he speaks. “I don’t mind either. We could start tomorrow at this same time.”

“Great!” you professor chimes. “Then I’ll see the both of you on Wednesday.”

With everything settled, you walk back to your seat to pack your things. While stuffing the handouts from earlier into your backpack, you hear Joshua ask if he can finish his work in the class, and she agrees. “I see nothing wrong with it,” being her response. You slow down your actions, carefully watching your professor from the corner of your eye. Once she leaves, it’ll be just you and Joshua, and your palms sweat thinking of it. You need to get on his good side if he’ll be helping you write your essay, also if he’ll spill the beans on why he thinks looking into your eyes will turn him into stone.

Joshua pulls out a pen from his pencil pouch, no sign of acknowledging you whatsoever. You sigh through your nose and walk up to him, clearing your throat when he doesn’t look up.

“Need any help?”

His pen stops moving, his mouth opening slightly but otherwise he remains unmoving.

“I’m not good with words but I can help organize some things.”

The silence is thick enough to cut with a knife but you stick with your plan. He’s going to need to talk, even if it’s to shoo you away. His hand travels to a separate pile, one that you recognize as the homework that was due today.

“You can split these according to the prompt answered.” His voice is delicate, as if he could shatter if he were a decimal louder. He pushes the stack towards you and it’s with a small grin that you grab the nearest chair and sit across from him. That’s one small step for you and a bigger step for your essay quality!

You grab the first paper, putting it to the side as you begin a pile. The scribbling of Joshua’s pen and ruffling of your papers is the only noise inside the room. A feather dropping would be the equivalent of an explosion with how quiet it is, and it disturbs you more than Joshua’s attitude towards you.

“So,” you start, almost startling yourself with the relatively loud volume of your voice, “what year are you in?”

“I’m in my fourth,” he answers quickly.

You nod. At least it’s something. “That’s cool. Are you going to graduate next semester?”

“Yeah.”

Another short answer. “What’s your major again?”

“English.”

“Oh, well that makes sense why you’re a TA for this class.”

He nods, the slightest curve of his mouth causing you to halt. “I guess so.”

You go on like this, you asking him simple questions while he gives you short responses. It’s not much, but from the small conversations, you realize that Joshua is somewhat of a nice guy for someone that only stared at in-class essays for a duration of almost twenty minutes. Yet, you can tell that he’s hiding something as well. Why else would he act strange around you? Dragging on the stacking for as long as you could, you place the last paper into the third pile.

Rising from your seat, you grab your bag and declare, “Okay my work is done.” Joshua inches his head up, the smallest glint in his eyes. You lose your breath for a second, mesmerized by how deep they are. “Um, I’m not really good with this stuff, but I’ll try really hard tomorrow.” Those beautiful eyes are sinking you deep into him, so deep that you start to feel yourself drown in the chocolate pools.

He offers a smile that causes your knees to buckle. Is it hot in here? “I appreciate that, and thank you for helping me.”

Your bag becomes heavier as he finishes, and you have to force yourself to stand up straight to keep him from knowing. Okay it really is hot in here now. “Uh yeah,” you mutter, slowly stepping back to the door. “So I’ll, um, tomorrow!”

Stumbling out the door, you latch a hand to your frantically beating heart. He actually looked at you, and- was that a smile? The heat on your cheeks gives no sign of going away soon and it has you frantically thinking of how to make them go away before-

“Hey Y/N!”

Oh great. Dowoon grins brightly at you and hangs an arm around your shoulder when you get closer to him. Tzuyu trudges along, punching your shoulder playfully as she catches up.

“What took you so long? Dowoon and I were beginning to think you died from boredom on top of your desk.”

Rolling your eyes, you let the younger duo lead you out of the building. Now you have to tell these two that you won’t be able to hang out tomorrow on account of your tutoring session. On the bright side, you seemed to have gotten on Joshua’s good side. If you’re lucky, the time will breeze by and you’ll make yourself a new friend in the process. Maybe even get over how awestruck you were because of a simple smile. It shouldn’t be too hard to get a small draft done right?

….

It’s hard, so very hard.

Joshua is great, but this essay is on a whole other level. What was your teacher thinking having you use three class articles and two outside references for your first major essay? You’ve barely gotten down a basic thesis and all it took was….forty seven minutes. You groan and flop your head down to the table in the second floor of the library. This is going to be impossible. The only thing that might get you through this session are Joshua’s constant praises. Seriously, the man has a way of boosting your self esteem. Only it wouldn’t be as concerning if he managed to maintain eye contact with you for more than ten seconds.

“Almost there Y/N. How about you give me one more quote from last week’s article we could use and we call it a day?”

Lifting your head from the hard surface, you give him a small nod and go back to the article in front of you. You scan the pages, pencil tapping the edges and hand clawing at your scalp. “What about this one?” you ask pointing to a small section on the second page.

“That’s a great one to use!” His eyes flick to yours suddenly but just like how this session started, they land somewhere else. You wouldn’t think much of it if it weren’t for the forced smile on his lips. It’s nothing like the smile he gave you yesterday and makes you wonder why he’s so intent on hiding behind the wall he built between the two of you.

The pencil in your hand twirls in your hand as you debate your options. Joshua is right there sitting next to you, so you could easily answer the question of his strange behavior around you. On the other hand, it would seem rash to ask him something like that when he’s not even an acquaintance. Biting your bottom lip, you shove the queasy feeling in your stomach and turn in your chair.

“Joshua.” His eyes flutter up to you but fall back down in a second. You can’t back down now. “I’m sorry if this is weird to ask but, why do you act so weird around me?” There, you said it.

Joshua liks his lips tensely, his back hunching and shoulders closing him in like a cage. It has you keening to hug him tight and let him pour his troubles onto you, but you hold yourself back. “I didn’t think you would notice Y/N.” You almost regret asking him, the pain on his features evident and wailing at you like sirens. “I’m sorry if it makes you uncomfortable.”

Shaking your head, you give out your response quickly before he starts thinking badly. “No it’s not that! I’m only asking because I want to fix whatever it is that I did wrong.”

Suddenly, his gaze is on you, serious yet afraid. “You did nothing wrong Y/N.”

“Then what is it?”

He brushes a nervous hand through his hair and sucks in a troubled breath. “You remind me of someone I used to know. We used to be good friends but something changed and then we had to part ways. Seeing you just brings those memories back.”

A silent oh escapes your lips as your chest aches with guilt. So that’s what it was. You lean in closer to him, the smell of his detergent invading your senses. “I’m sorry that I bring up those memories Joshua, but you don’t have to worry about things changing with me.”

Joshua tilts his head enough to peek at you from beneath his bangs, a delicate smile forming on his lips. “That means a lot to me. Thank you.”

“Any time Joshua.”

“Then, is it okay with you if we become friends?”

Nodding gently, you give him a promising grin. “That would be amazing.”

….

“Alright class, for this exercise, you’ll be pairing up every fifteen minutes to go over the themes of this article,” your professor instructs.

Immediately, you turn to look at the girl sitting next to you. She does the same, that universal glance pushing away all the jitters that come with finding a partner in a roomful of people you can barely remember the names of. You scoot closer to her, introducing yourself in the small chance she forgot your name (and she could give you her’s).

“So what did you think of the article?”

You shrug. “It’s interesting but it was difficult to follow along with-”

“Everything okay over here?”

You both look up to see Joshua leaning towards you, a hand planted firmly on your table. “Uh, yeah everything’s good.”

“Do you need any help?”

Lisa, your partner, shakes her head. “No I think we’re-”

“Are you sure you don’t need help, Y/N?”

Joshua is stern, eyes completely locking you down as he ignores Lisa. You can feel your head hurting with his duality but end up nodding, shock filling your system. “Yes.”

Then, the clouds in his eyes clear, a bright glow returning to his face. “Then let me know when you need me.”

He walks off, going around the classroom but something about it has you on the edge of your seat. It could be that it reminds you of how a predator stalks its prey before pouncing on them that gives you chills. Or the fact that the only time you don’t see him staring right at you is when he blinks. You try to shrug it off, mostly because you don’t want to things between you and Lisa to get stale. You get through talking about the themes of the article just in time for you to find new partners, only this time, your second partner is hesitant to agree. You can’t help but think that it’s because he probably saw how Joshua reacted with Lisa. Even then, you manage to get through the whole fifteen minutes without being disturbed. It in your third and last conversation that Joshua returns. You and your partner are having clashing ideas about the theme, it’s a friendly argument but with the way Joshua barges in, it’s as if the both of you were seconds away from tearing each other’s hairs off. “Hey guys, don’t fight about this, it’s really simple. The author makes it clear in their third paragraph what the theme of the article is.”

“Uh thanks.” Your partner shifts in his seat uncomfortably though it should be the other way around with how close Joshua is standing next to you.

“And if I heard you two correctly, I think Y/N is on the right track. Carry on.”

He gives you a small pat but you lurch forward, his touch burning on your back. It’s difficult to continue your conversation with your partner after that and the professor announcing the exercise being over is a blessing in disguise. For the first time this semester, you keep your gaze away from Joshua, being focused on making it out of class in one piece before he turns the rest of the students against you. Once you’re allowed to leave, you head straight to the door. Maybe Tzuyu and Dowoon would know what to do in this situation.

Like always, they wait for you in the hallway only this time their smiles are replaced with frowns.

“Hey Y/N, what’s wrong?” Tzuyu asks.

You piece your words carefully. It’s not like you want them to think badly of Joshua since he could have been acting on good intentions. “Um, there’s this guy in my class.”

Dowoon smirks at you, a devious shine in his eyes. “A guy you say?”

You shake your head at him, trying to get back on track. “Yes but that’s not the point.

He’s been acting really strange around me lately and-”

“Oh, does he have a crush on you?” Tzuyu suddenly interrupts, hands on your shoulders

swaying you back and forth. “He could have a crush on you,” she sings.

Dowoon takes your hands and swings them back and forth along with Tzuyu. “Y/N has a secret admirer!”

You’re about to tell them to knock it off when a voice rips through the hallway, stunning the three of you.

“Hey! Stop touching Y/N like that!”

Joshua stomps to you, a hand grabbing your arm and yanking you to him. You can feel the heat of his body but in a way that has you recoil, wanting to tug your hand free and find a way to cool down. “Y/N are you okay?”

His grip on your arm lessens and you’re able to pull yourself free, drawing back to the comforting presence of your friends. “Yeah, they were just playing around, nothing serious.” Joshua’s hard stare doesn’t falter, remaining unyielding until you muster enough energy to curve a corner of your lip up. “Really, I’m fine Joshua.”

He breathes a quick sigh, his shoulders relaxing and your heart automatically slowing its fast pace. “Good. Listen, I know that we have tutoring tomorrow but what do you think about throwing in a quick session to refresh yesterday?”

Your mouth twitches with the need to drop your faux happiness, sweat gradually starting to form on your forehead. “That great but I already made plans with my friends so I’ll just meet up with you tomorrow, same place same time.”

It’s uncanny how Joshua remains still, that same glint possessing your body as his eyes fixate on you. “Alright then, have fun.”

Dowoon and Tzuyu haven’t said anything throughout the entire conversation, their bodies staying limp and mouths gaping at you. Grabbing their arms, you drag them out of the building, as far away from Joshua Hong as you can possible get.

….

The pins fall with a loud clack as the bowling ball hits them with all the frustration you have bottled up. Ever since that conversation with Joshua, Dowoon and Tzuyu let you properly explain your predicament with him. It’s safe to say that they think he’s crazy, and not in a fun and spontaneous way. Then again, they throw that word around like a beach ball almost every day so it could just be them being the rambunctious kids at heart they are. Yet, there was something about Joshua’s behavior in class today that has you siding with them. The guy went from painfully shy sweetheart to scary possessive freak. You plop down on the brightly colored seat by Dowoon as Tzuyu takes her turn, grabbing a yellow bowling ball from the rack. You lean back in your seat, trying to get your muscles to relax from the tension you were getting just thinking about Joshua. You definitely need to bring this up tomorrow during your tutoring session, maybe even talk to your professor about cancelling them altogether.

A sudden poke from Dowoon has your mind reeling back from it’s deep thoughts, a wave of worry making its way up your body when you catch the way his jaw drops. Following his finger, You almost fall out of your chair seeing Joshua standing by the entrance. He saunters in and takes a seat at a table near the food stand, a seat that’s right behind your bowling aisle.

“Did he follow us here?” Dowoon harshly whispers.

You shake your head, nails digging into your scalp. “I don’t know, maybe. But that’s not

good, right?”

He moves his head up and down like a broken bobble head. “Right!”

The both of you return to Tzuyu who only managed to get a split, an angry frown dancing

on her lips. Dowoon calls her over, a wave of his hand indicating she should get closer to the two of you.

“Tzuyu, we need to leave.”

She scoffs. “Why? Because I’m beating both of you by thirty points?”

“No, because that guy you thought has a crush on me followed us here and we need to leave.”

Tzuyu stares at you wildly, obviously not believing you. However, her eyes grow wide when you jab a thumb behind you.

“Holy-”

“Yup, so let’s go right now.”

Neither of them disagree despite there still being another round that you paid for waiting for you. You maneuver them through the empty aisles and run up the steps to the upper level, eyes downcast as to not get sucked in by those dark brown eyes. Your heart is hammering when you get past him, feet pounding against the tacky carpet floor with the urge to sprint out but you can’t, not with those stupid bowling shoes that are still on you. The three of you basically throw your shoes at the worker behind the counter to get your missing pair back. You tap your fingers rapidly on the counter, the slow and steady pace of the worker getting on your last nerve. He’s right behind you and he could walk up to you at any second! You should look back, just a quick glance to see if he’s staring at you. You shake your head out of your wild thoughts. How could you be so stupid to pull a classic horror trope move? The blood is rushing to your head by the time you get your shoe back, awkwardly shoving your foot inside so you can run out of the building. Dowoon and Tzuyu aren’t far behind you, practically pushing you out the door and towards your car. Yet, you can’t help yourself, you need to look back.

You crane your head back, hesitant but eager. There he is, still in the same position you first saw him. His hands prop his head, an intense gleam in his eyes that dig inside you, having you suppress a whimper. Before scurrying inside your car, you catch what could be the smallest hint of a smirk.

….

Your palms are sweating a river on your lap. You can’t begin to raise your head knowing that Joshua would be searching you with those eyes of his. You can hear him scribbling down on your article, which one, you’re not too sure. He’s been doing most of the work for you ever since you sat down with him about an hour ago. From there, you tried bringing up yesterday, his insistent barging on your conversations, him following you and Dowoon and Tzuyu, and most importantly him never releasing that powerful hold of his eyes on you.

“This should work for your body paragraphs. What do you think Y/N?”

With your mind worked up, you don’t even hear what he asked but you nod just in case. “It’s good.”

Joshua smiles at you and you’re reminded of yesterday, that smirk.

“Um, Joshua.”

He hums, putting his pen down to give you his full attention and you shiver beneath your jacket. No going back now.

“Yesterday, did you follow me off campus?”

His smile widens and you can feel your stomach flip at the action. “Yeah, what’s wrong with that?”

“A lot Joshua. It’s not okay to follow someone around.” Your words spill from your lips, unfiltered. The regret is instantaneous but you can’t help it.

Joshua’s smile flattens, his shoulders drooping and those eyes reverting to your article. He’s back to how he used to act around you. Guilt gnaws at your sore stomach, drawing you place a hand on his lax shoulder.

“I-It’s not a big deal! I wanted to let you know so you don’t do it again.” Why does it feel like you’re lecturing a child? His expression remains unmoving so you sigh and tilt in your chair to face him. “Can you tell me why you’re acting like this? I don’t want there to be bad blood between us.”

He breathes a sigh, the tiniest glance making you melt. “That friend,” he starts, voice cracking, “they were very close to me but then they started hanging out with other people. Then, they talked to me less and less until they all they would do is push me away.” You can hardly catch his words since they’re so low but they still cause your heart to shake. “It all happened so suddenly I didn’t know what to do. All I remember was being alone for the longest time because of them. Nobody would talk to me because rumors would spread about me and I knew it was because they were things only they knew about me. They did that to me.”

Shame is all you can feel. You were really calling him a creep just yesterday because he wanted to get close to you. Before you know it, you’re wrapping your arms around his falling figure, holding him tightly as you push out your foul thoughts about him.

“I’m so sorry Joshua, I didn’t know.”

His arms fold around you, trembling and ghosting over your body.

“I’ll try to be a better friend to you.”

You can feel him shake his head on your shoulder, strands of hair tickling your cheeks. “No, it’s me that should be saying that. I didn’t want to lose you but I ended up pushing you away.” He lets go of you and you pull back from the embrace. “I’ll be better.”

You give his shoulders a last squeeze. “Thanks.” Packing up your articles, you stand and look down at him, his eyes softer and back to how you first saw them. “I’m heading back to my dorm, want to come with? We can keep talking.”

Joshua follows, his chair scratching the carpet in a way that makes you wince. “That’s perfect.”

You lead the way, asking more about his past, what he wants to do with his major, and the like. The air between you is warm, inviting and you can’t help but let your worries ease away with every gleam of his eyes. Soon, you’re in front of your building, playing with the straps of your bag as you face him to give him a goodbye.

“So this is it?” he asks.

“Sure is. My dorm is that one in the corner,” you respond by pointing at the unlit window on the third floor.

He sighs. “I hope your roommates aren’t the type to keep you up all night.”

You shake your head, a sly smile making its way. “No, I live in a single so no roommates for me.”

Joshua’s brows rise. “Wow, it must be great living alone.”

You chuckle, one foot toeing towards the building. “It really is. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow Joshua.”

He waves a goodbye, taking one step back. “See you soon.”

You step into your building, a cold wave almost knocking you back but you press forward, taking the elevator to your floor. You flop onto your bed, euphoria taking over your body at having the conflict finally resolved. Joshua and you are on good terms now and you can’t wait to see where this friendship leads to. With a groan, you get up from your bed to change into your pajamas and go to brush your teeth and wash your face in the bathroom. Your bed never looked so inviting as when you walk back in and you quickly get under the covers. Your mind immediately goes to Joshua as warmth spreads to your limbs. How is it possible that someone would push him away? Sure he does seem to have a few rough edges but he would never hurt a fly. Whoever that friend of his was surely doesn’t deserve him now. They’re better out of his life anyway. Still, you need to thank them for being a complete douche because otherwise, Joshua wouldn’t have stumbled into your life.

You close your eyes, letting this thought drive you to your slumber. It won’t be much longer until you wake up to get to class and see him once more.

….

Heavy. You feel heavy. And you head. It also feels heavy, but also light. What’s going on with you?

You open your eyes, the lids irritatingly pushing down to keep you in the darkness but you force them to let in the light. They remain lidded, but from the small gap you can see through, hints of dark green and grey make up your sight.

Where are you?

You roll your eyes back and forth like a rusty seesaw and it’s to your right that you catch the movement of feet. They’re awfully close to you and their footsteps echo loudly in your rattling skull.

Why do you feel so tired?

Your senses slowly come back to you, your fingers twitching to move but falling back to their sleep-like state. The pad of your palm is against something. Fabric? And your arm, it’s raised, like you’re being held up by it.

What’s going on?

Your thighs tense as you realize you’re not wearing your pajamas. Sneakers cover your feet which drag on the ground, the sound of gravel and rubber scraping against each other causing your back to chill with sweat.

The heat to your right vibrates and it’s when your body is adjusted with a jerk that you feel a hand grip your waist tightly. You want to scream but all you can produce is a strangulated groan. Why is your throat so closed up?

“Oh are you awake?”

Why does that voice sound so familiar? You arch your head as much as you can, but it sags back down like a bag of sand. It hurts.

A quiet laugh enters your numb ears. “It was difficult to change you out of your clothes Y/N.”

That voice.

“But not as difficult of convincing the guy at the front desk that you were someone that drank too much and wandered into the wrong building.”

Is it?

“Breaking into your room was much easier. It’s a good thing you live by yourself or else things would have gotten a lot messier.”

Joshua? You’re too sleepy to push him off, then again, you can barely keep your eyes open. What has he done to you? You focus on moving your hand but all you can do is bend your finger.

He clicks his tongue. “It’s too bad you can’t walk right now, it would move things a lot faster.”

Where is he taking you? Your heart can’t even pump faster to get your adrenaline going. All it does is beat slowly, almost sag against your ribs.

“We’ll be home soon Y/N.” Home? What does he mean? You eyelids droop, a flicker of pitch black causing you to panic and you force them open before your drowsiness induces you to fall asleep. “Then things will go back to how they used to be. We’ll be good friends just like before and you won’t leave me this time.”

No. No, he can’t be serious. Your eyelids dangle dangerously close together. You need to stay awake. Don’t fall asleep now.

“Nothing will change this time. I’ll keep you with me, I’ll protect you. You will be by my side from now on and you will continue to be like the friend I used to know. You’re not going to change. Not this time.”

You want to scream for help but you can barely open your mouth. The black clings loosely to you. Your head sink further into it, bathing you in the darkness as Joshua’s warmth cages you in.

Your eyes close.

#seventeen #seventeen scenario #seventeen angst #joshua #seventeen joshua #joshua angst #october special #its finally up!#now i can finally binge watch big mouth #its a lot shorter than the other two which i'm not happy about #but i didn't want to stretch it into something more #se la vi

58 notes · View notes

pink-chevalier · 5 years

Text

57 Facts

Rules: Post 57 facts about yourself and tag at least ten people. When posting include the tag “57 facts” in order for people to find out more about you and perhaps find a kindred spirit to talk to. :)

I was tagged by @esperilla to do this, and now I need to think real hard on what I want you guys to know about me. Now, I tag @jupidella @enniewritesathing @99simproblems @bloomtart @rebellious-sims @aboxfullofocs

1. I own an annoying yet adorable 12-year-old Shih Tzu.

2. I am an only child.

3. I tend to wait until the last minute to start working on a homework assignment or an essay. (I’m supposed to be working on one right now, but motivation has left me.)

4. I used to go to an all-girls high school, and I was part of their marching band. I used to play the snare drum, and still remember some of the songs.

5. I love baking, and whenever I go to my best friend’s house, we tend to make cupcakes, brownies, cookies, or cakes.

6. I tend to watch a lot of cartoons. I do watch those serious adult shows, but I still like watching some cartoons from my childhood or decent cartoons that are pretty good.

7. I also love watching anime. My favorite ones are Tokyo Ghoul, Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, Hoozuki no Reitetsu, Kids on the Slope, and Free!

8. My phone has more rock music and a couple of Vocaloid/anime songs.

9. I own a Batman onesie that has a cape and everything.

10. I probably should’ve put this as the first three, but I just turned 24 years old, and I feel really old because of that.

11. I really need to start working on my queue soon, but school decided to sucker punch me or something.

12. Because of watching TMNT when little, I used to know how to do a handstand and always wanted to do it on a skateboard. (I blame some pictures of Mikey.)

13. My awkward guilty pleasure is replaying Resident Evil 7 over and over again in the hardest level as I bitch with Ethan about Mia.

14. I almost have 100% flowcharts in Detroit: Become Human. (I had no life over the summer.)

15. I’m currently single, and not really seeking out a relationship because I want to focus on school and passing this stupid statics class.

16. Once upon a time, I used to beta read fanfictions, and I would also write my own from time to time.

17. I love watching Disney movies.

18. I have an intense fear of roaches. I don’t care how small or how big they are, I will run away screaming or hide like the coward I am.

19. My queue is completely empty while my drafts are almost full since I’m still editing these pictures along with writing dialogue.

20. I can tell you everything about Silent Hill. I’m a huge fan of the game and still cry when I remember about P.T

21. I sadly don’t have a Halloween costume this year.

22. I don’t know how to drive.

23. I always scream that I have nothing to wear meanwhile I have a closet full of clothes, but can never decide what to wear.

24. I’m always running late for something, I try to get there on time, but damn it’s hard.

25. It’s hard for me to make friends online. I can make friends in real life, and always have someone to talk to, but online I can never make any friends.

26. I am a psychology major and a French minor.

27. My math skills are horrible, I don’t even understand how I’m so bad at math.

28. I don’t really know how to draw because it takes me such a long time, but once I commit to drawing something or someone, I go full out.

29. I have a test tomorrow, and I should really be studying for that, but you know what? Let me have some fun with this.

30. All I want from my life is to be happy, even though it feels like sometimes the world is against me.

31. The book I’m currently reading is Dante’s Inferno.

32. As embarrassing as this might sound, I have a lot of pictures of a certain Vocaloid on my phone.

33. I live In New York City.

34. You know that one friend you have in the group that you can’t take with you anywhere? I’m that friend.

35. I tend to bump into my dog because she’s always in the way.

36. I’m super excited for Devil May Cry 5 to come out and ignore all my responsibilities as I play it.

37. When playing video games with my best friend, I tend to take the sniper position since she sucks at it.

38. I am an awkward sleeper. It takes me hours to fall asleep, but once I do, I’m out cold until the morning.

39. The game that my best friend and I like to currently play is Dead by Daylight.

40. I love Kit Kats, and I once bought a bag that I ate in like two days. It’s my favorite chocolate, but I love candy in general.

41. I made Simblr for fun, I didn’t expect to get followers or for people to give a damn about my sims, but it’s really nice. I love the people here even if we do have our problems, but what family doesn’t?

42. I don’t eat breakfast at home, I tend to buy cereal or some yogurt at school and eat it in my classes.

43. Because of what happened before, I email myself my save files just in case because I can always download CC.

44. I’m still giving my sims makeovers since the great CC purge of 2018.

45. I am too excited to do Alex’s wedding along with just showing the twins off as teens.

46. I can’t build for shit in the sims 4, but I can decorate like there’s no tomorrow!

47. I’m awkwardly shy.

48. I wholeheartedly believe in the supernatural because there’s a lot of things in life you can’t explain.

49. Whenever I see a bee, I will go out of my way to avoid them because I don’t want to be anywhere near them.

50. Even though I’m not confident with my body, I own a lot of crop tops and high waisted jeans, shorts, or skirts just to hide my tummy.

51. In my head, Zenon and Vlad are like an official couple in the sims, and whenever I see Vlad without Zenon, I catch an attitude.

52. I want to start doing more legacies, but I’m so scared that I’m going to start a plot and then it’s just going to be a lot of work taking care of these other stories.

53. When I used to be a fanfiction writer, I was more into the horror aspect?

54. It’s taking me a really long time to finish this Fun Fact thing.

55. I have more boots than any other shoes.

56. I have a collection of gel pens.

57. Some days I like laying in bed and just listening to music as I enjoy the day away in such a lazy matter.

#nonsimblr

12 notes · View notes

sapphstudies · 5 years

Text

100 Days of Productivity (19-24/100)

Fell off the wagon a bit this week because I’ve just been SO tired but recapping nonetheless

Day 19: Saturday. My friend was still visiting so we spent the day walking around the city to different museums and stuff she wanted to see. We were pretty tired from the day so we stayed in for the night and i showed her the first couple of episodes of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Unfortunately I didn’t get much sleep that night and then woke up at 7:30 the next day.

Day 20: Sunday. Woke up super early at 7:30 and my friend had to get ready to go so I did few errands while she got ready (went to the pharmacy, dropped off laundry etc.) Since we were both ready early we did a couple last minute stops for bagels and souvenirs on our way to the bus stop. I got back home around 2:30 and did a bunch of cleaning aired out the apartment etc. and then I had to rush to eat dinner and get to D&D at 5! D&D was super fun as usual we met our newest party member who also seems nice and we’re a full team now! The game is really starting to take off and I think everyone is having a good time. I had to take an accounting test when I got home which I ended up doing really poorly on which was a bummer. I was certain I understood everything since I had done really well on the homework and quizzes but there was a lot of material on the test we hadn’t covered before and I got confused by the wording of some of the questions. Luckily I was not the only one to do poorly so our professor is giving us a chance to earn bonus points! Now that I see the mistakes I made I’m going to do a notes review of the chapters which will hopefully help me do better on the next test and final.

Day 21: Monday. I turned in my final draft of an english essay and we got the assignment for the next essay. During my break I signed up for next semesters classes. I was able to get a couple of online ones which is great! And that night I set up a work schedule for the week. Unfortunately random things plus exhaustion keep getting in the way and I haven’t been able to stick to it that well and I’m little freaked about how much time I’m losing.

Day 22: Tuesday. Tbh I don’t remember exactly what I did on Tuesday and I didn’t use my planner much that day but I woke up a little late and went to therapy and then did homework for accounting homework for 3ish hours before getting ready for a alumni cocktail party that night. I ran into a couple of kids I knew and we had a good conversation. I got some info on a school I might try to transfer too. I got home around 10/10:30 and was feeling pretty drained overwhelmed I think I just vegged out w/ The Good Place for a while. Not ideal. And then went to bed kind of late. Also not ideal.

Day 23: Wednesday. I spoke to my english professor during my break about transferring and got a lot of good advice and encouragement which was great! I got a small amount of accounting studying done during the remainder of the break but not a ton and I didn’t have access to my test results yet so I couldn’t really write up a notes review without knowing what I needed to clarify. After school I picked up a book at the library and went grocery shopping and cooked and had dinner with my sister. After she left I did some research on schools and made a checklist of admissions requirements and deadlines and then had a little self care night (took a bath, did a hair mask, shaved, etc) and read some MHA but I wasn’t paying attention to the time and all of that meant that I suddenly realized it was nearly 4am and I still hadn’t slept. whoops.

Day 24: Thursday/Today. I didn’t wake up until 11ish today cause of being up so late the night before and then went to therapy. I started writing this post and then had my massage appointment, which may seem a frivolous use of time but it’s a key part of my pain management, I came home had dinner and now I’m finishing this. This week has really gotten away from me in terms of studying because I’ve been so tired, and time consuming events and such keep coming up which leave me drained and unable to study. And tomorrow I’m going to a transfer student information for most of the afternoon and going afterwards to help my sister with some stuff at her apartment so I’m kind of freaking out at how little time I have but I’m going to do my best to get home at decent time so I can get a bit of work done in the evening and tonight I’m going to try to go to bed very early and get up very early so I can get a good bit of work done in the morning.

Most of the things that took up my time this week still had value even though they were not school related but I also haven’t gotten a lot of what I need to do done. I am re-resolving to get back on the productivity bandwagon and get as much work as I can done this weekend.

#100 days of productivity

1 note · View note

risrielthron · 6 years

Text

Sky and Risri “borrow” some books

(written with @skystoneseat)

The two entered the ruins once known as Eldre’thalas, Dire Maul most recently. "I don't know what all we will encounter. Some of the magics from the Shen'dralar are active and some of their defenses might still be about."

Sky had shrugged and waved Risri onward, “No problem for me.” As a brief movement from Coffee as the imp settled in her bag.

As they stepped through the archway, Risri spoke quietly, "It is sad how this has fallen to disrepair, they had locked themselves deep inside here for years, you know." She paused and looked out at what once had to have been a thoroughfare for the elves who took refuge within the former city’s walls. They paused to watch a patrol of treants. Risri noting the pattern and escorting them across to the center courtyard when the way was clear.

“You get stuck in a rut.” came Sky’s thoughts as she let out a low whistle.

“I imagine it was much like your book time.”

“Ya, that was a shitty time in a bad read. At least they had something to look at.”

The crystal pulsed within the courtyard. Risri wandered close examining it. “The records I found mentioned disabling these crystals to lower the library wards. Any thought about how?”

Sky looks up and pulls out a notebook as she sniffs at the air, “Ya it's some sort of ward... not magic I am familiar with but...betting there is a key stone or something.”

They made their way further in. Dodging patrols of treants and errant ghosts.

“I will say the place is full with corruption.....can you feel anything?”

“It's feels off a bit from a nature perspective. They had a demon fueling them for years... I am sure that has something to do with it.” She paused as they began to walk down a ramp. At the base stood a rather large treant, pacing within a confined courtyard at the bottom. She gasped and grabbed Sky's arm pulling her back. "He's not friendly."

Coffee pokes her head out and agrees with Risri.

"Do you think we can lead it off?"

“Maybe, Hey! You!” Sky called out looking at the tall manlike tree unsure but clearly trying to think of something better. “We can make a dash for it.” She says before darting across the yard slamming into the door opening it.

“Wait!” Risri calls as she watches Sky run across in horror but ready to shift to defend her friend. Luckily, the treant seems to be ignoring them. Risri runs to catch up with Sky and just shakes her head as she catches up with her friend.

Preceding deeper into the ruins, avoiding more ghosts and magical traps as they find their way within. Finally, they find the room they have been searching for. As they enter the library Risri let’s Sky wander off a bit, knowing she will be engaged. She eyes the room wondering how much might still be kept here and looking about for any guardians that might question their presence. Content that whatever or whoever guards the room is not present, she wanders over to where Sky stands before asking, "Anything in particular I should be looking for?"

“Well anything that has your father name on it...and here,” she hands her a list of names. “These are scholars your father referenced in relation to corruption.” She continues pulling books down and lovingly looking at them.

Taking the list, she looks over the names. "Okay. Happy hunting. I think there are more downstairs."

Moments or hours had passed when Sky found Risri looking over a shelf near a table downstairs. She clears off a spot and starts to lay out some books.

Risri started looking through the stacks. She pulled books and flipped through them before putting them back on the shelf. With a gasp she pulled four books, "My father!"

“Found something?"

She set the books down in front of Sky, "Just books by my father. Even if they have nothing to do with anything let's take them okay?"

"Take them? Big Bear you sound like you could work with me regularly borrowing books. IF i did that....still" she smiles.

Risri laughed, "Well, perhaps you are rubbing off on me. We'll be the best book borrowers in Azeroth."

They continue their search each going to different shelves. Suddenly, Sky called out, “Hey look at this!"

"What do you got?"

She points up and Coffee scales the shelf "two of your fathers references.”

"Oh, grab that one to the left too Coffee."

Coffee tosses down the two books to Sky and then carries the one that Risri had asked for down handing it to her. Sky holds the books in her arms and then looks over at the one Big Bear has, "What’s that one?"

"It has that marking that my father had on his books. Look." She held the spine so Sky could see better, "Isn't that the same mark?"

She nods "So it does...open it up what's the title?"

Opening the cover she read the Darnassian words aloud then translated, "A treatise on Druid forms." She looked up, "I wonder if this is what he wrote from those notes we have."

"Here" Sky holds out her hands.

Risri hands over the book.

Sky walks over and starts to flip through the book. She pulls out a notebook and starts to compare her own notes with some of the essays. "Here...see...this is where this quote on rage and bears comes from...we must have had a draft in his notes...think you found it Big Bear.”

Risri nodded, "Well, let's take it." She smiled. "How many of those scholars did you find?"

"About 3 and maybe some books that may or may not help us?"

"Let's see if we can find anymore."

Sky scans the shelf and starts to pull books down.

Risri looks over the list and then reaches up to grab one of the books, "Here this is by Ranthelis."

Sky lights up. "Now he seemed to write on corruption in blood"

"Oh?" She flipped open the book but then handed it off, "It is over my head."

"Oh but cant you see the finer points of.." Sky stops and looks at Coffee. Coffee chits something and Sky starts to roll her eyes but stops as she notices Risri’s eyes a little wild. "She wants to know if your alright?"

Risri looks at Coffee then at Sky, "Maybe we should head out? I feel a little off."

"Ya...lets go"

Rubbing her arms a little, "Do you feel the corruption?"

"I know its there ya but you have to block it out...I can show you some meditation tricks"

They gathered the books into their bags working quickly, as they finished Risri looked at Sky "So...if my mother asks these books came from Stormwind. We are here to get my mind wards back up."

"She be alright with Coffee? Also what will she do send you to your room?"

Risri laughed slightly off-key, “I do not want a Kaldorei inquisition on where these books came from. But let’s go. We can stay the night at my home then head back to Stormwind tomorrow.” Risri looked at Coffee, "I am sorry Coffee, you may need to stay in the bag."

#risri #sky

6 notes · View notes

prevariicator-archive · 6 years

Photo

As I have mentioned countless times, but in a less official post, I need to take a hiatus for the next week or so. My workload for finals week is piled up high and, with very disoriented mind and energy due to a cold, I am having trouble doing just about anything.

Currently, my workload includes:

-Ch12 reading for Japanese (which I haven’t even printed out) -Study for a test that is tomorrow over CH12 -The ch12 test tomorrow (Monday, Dec 4th) -Japanese speaking assignment due Dec 4th -An essay rewrite due Dec 6th (maybe 12th if my sensei is kind?) -A 6page essay over King Lear or Macbeth due Dec6th at 10am -An 8-page essay for Philosophy due Dec9th -Study for final exam for Japanese which is on Dec9th -An 8-page formal essay for Shakespeare due Dec 12th (I think/hope) -A poetry revision due Dec12th (just one of them I hope because I lost the rest >.>) Aside from that, I have to return books as well. Library books due: Dec 8th Rental textbooks due: Dec12th.

So, naturally, I am in finals week panic even though we do have classes until the 7th. Luckily, one of my classes ended last week so I get some time to either sleep or study, or finish essays, in that time. But I am seriously lost with these essays and regret taking East Asian philosophy and Shakespeare-especially since the teachers suck ass.

I made the end date Dec. 13th just in case something pops up and because I plan to be traveling that day.

I should be going home (against my wishes) for winter break. I don’t know how that will work out because I’ll be frustrated and pissy most of that time due to not having a bedroom or privacy, or even anywhere to store my things at my parents' house. TBH I would prefer staying at my apartment until Dec 24th or so, but mom wants me home to save money.

Still, I think I should have a say in where I stay for winter break considering all of those things and the fact that I have to share a room with two children under 10 years old, the house is full with 7 people, not including me, and 4 dogs, plus my cat. My cat also has asthma, and the house is a bad environment for her. She has more attacks there than she does here. But to home, I must away.

Anyways, I love you guys and I know I have drafts from like October, but please bear with me. Only two more semesters of this shit and then I can find some way to be a NEET-hopefully. I’d rather be a NEET than anything else tbh.

If you still want to talk or do very informal short things, you can message me here or on DISCORD - BloodofHurog#4169- just tell me your URL so I know who is who. To my Jewish friends/followers, have a happy Hanukkah when it begins on Dec.12th.

I’ll see you guys when I am better and all of this is out of the way and I can finally try to relax a little. (Not much considering the family situation but I want to be on here more)

-<3 Ninji

#long post #hiatus notice

19 notes · View notes

xjiang16-blog · 5 years

Text

AX3002: Animation Production and Professional Awareness (January-February)

21/01-25/01

At the beginning of this semester, all of us showed the process that we have done during this Christmas vacation. We also had feedback about something that we did last semester.

I need to finish the practical project this semester, but there are lots of deficiencies in my animatic. There are some feedbacks from this Thursday.

Firstly, my main character- the stone, I need to set a target for him. Why he wants to travel? He needs motivation. So, this is should be presented at the start of the film. Secondly, turning to a smooth stone is a long term process, but in my animatic, I haven’t shown it in the correct way. The background needs to change. Thirdly, probably I can do some changes to my animation’s style. Don’t do everything in Maya, combining 2D environments with 3D characters together. It can save much time. Fourthly, I should think more about my camera movement, because I had some same shots in my animatic, it must be boring for the audience.

Actually, I also want to do a little change to my main character, he is the hero in this film. he needs more emotion and expression.

According to Pete’s advice, I also need to do some researches on a short film, which is called ‘the monk and the fish’(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2u96bMm0Os https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jrz4AAq-izA) I am not sure if it is called the brush line animation. it is quite simple but cute. There are also not too many colors, but it presents what we have and where is the character. This might be one method that I choose to design my environment.

And there is not only the film that I need to finish this semester. I need a plan because there are much more works to do. The action plan, the CV, essay, poster and the art of the film. So, I will talk about the changes in my film with Pete, Mario or Mark, decide what should I do next and draw up a detailed plan until the final deadline next week.

28/01-01/02

Tuesday: About the motivation that why the stone wants to be more smooth. I think he has to see something which attracts his eyes. The following picture is a draft of camera movement.

I want to show that the stone that lives on the wall which is surrounding a house sees an amber through the window. He thinks it is beautiful, and he is upset because he is dirty and full of moss. And the camera zooms in and shows the stone’s dirty body. He thinks if he becomes shining, he will be proud of himself. So he tries to escape from the wall. After he falls down from the wall, he gathers some small stones to be his arms and legs.

PETE said that there could be a person who put the amber on the desk so it can make everything seem logical.

About the way of how to present the time goes by, I think I can show it by turning the forest into a small village and then turning into a modern city.

PETE said maybe I can show the forest and the stone together, or let the camera moves between the forest and the stone.

Thursday: Because I haven’t decided which parts will be drawn, so I keep modeling until the answer is out. I try to practice the rigging, painting the skin weight in Maya, it brings a lot of problems to me. The percentage of one joint should occupy on the skin is hard to control.

So I need to find more reference and data and try more times.

So I restart rigging, this time the legs can move better but I haven’t solved the problems with the arms.

And about my main character- the stone, I show two kinds of stone to Mark, the left one’s eyes and mouth are separating from the body.

I think it may be more difficult to rigging. But Mark’s feedback is that the eyes and the mouth are more like having been made by people, it is not natural at all. So I need to redesign the stone. And Mark gave me some advice about some stones with natural faces.

https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2016/11/the-japanese-museum-of-rocks-that-look-like-faces/

It provides a good example because maybe I can use the irregular bumps on the stone to be its feature. Also, Mark’ s feedback includes a movie called GALAXY QUEST. There is also a good example of a stone monster.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=rock+monster+galaxy+quest+youtube&FORM=HDRSC3

It is a monster that is bigger than human and it is comprised of many stones, so it is not as same as the stone in my film. But it is a good example of a stone monster.

On the way of how to show the time passage, my idea is to show the changes from a large forest to a small village and then to a city. Also, there is some research on different ways to show this change.

LAVA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh4dTLJ9q9o

ONE FROGGY EVENING: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Full+Cartoon+One+Froggy+Evening&FORM=RESTAB

These two methods also tell the time passage by the change of the environment. But one is about the natural environment, and another one is about the human building. I prefer to choose the natural environment.

There is feedback from Mark, it is about the different shots of how this stone rolls in the river. It should be more fun with more different angles. And also, there is something have been changed about the script. Such as maybe I will insert a waterfall in my script.

About the script update, maybe the appearance of the factory breaks the balance in my film. Maybe it can be better than everything is natural without man-made. So my idea is to change the factory to a pipe, and then the pipe inhales the stone. The stone rolls in the pipe and then is transported to a beach.

Setting sun a shadow of the child picks the stone. one night passes The stone appears in a beautiful garden. The light let it look more shining.

So I will keep drawing the new animatic and redesign the character this week.

Saturday: animatic update

In order to make sure that there are no other big problems with doing the formal film. I need to redraw some shots in the animatic.

In some scenes, it is a little hard to draw the correct perspective angle. So I only provide rough positions. After the animatic is all right, I will find reference pictures when I start to draw the final environment design.

I have different ideas about some shots, so I need to talk about these next week. And if I need more details and sound in this new animatic, I will finish it before the first milestone.

04/02-08/02

Monday: main character- stone redesign

In order to show a natural stone, the eyes, and the mouth are redesigned by some irregular shapes. So I will show it to Pete or Mark tomorrow, if it is OK, I will model it this week. I got this idea from this picture.

I like this style rather than that stones which have three shallow holes on it. Because this kind of rock is more shape. The stones with three shallow holes are usually smooth. I think they have been washed for a long time. So I like this shape nose and eyes.

So, this is the process of rebuilding the stone model, but I am not sure how to arrange the line. I need to rebuild again.

Tuesday: FEEDBACK OF ANIMATIC FROM MARIO

There are shots that can be presented in a better method.

1. After the stone falls down to the ground, changing the camera to look down shot until the stone walks into the grass.

2. Show the stone and the time passage in one scene, after the time passes, the stone will be hit and drop to the bottom of the waterfall

3.cancel the zoom in when the eagle is catching the stone

4. Walking out of the grass by the stone’s view. And then using the shot that as the same height as the stone.

5. Simplify the pipes underground and keep the city building when the stone is crossing the city.

6. When the light hits the stone's eyes, the stone needs to show the feeling of being unable to open its eyes. And the effect of light doesn’t look like light.

Also, after this shot, there is a shot that needs to show the shining amber. Don’t need to zoom in, just show the amber directly after cutting the shot before.

When the camera comes back to the stone, show more expressions that should be aiming to show he likes to be more beautiful and smooth.

So these following pictures are the changes in some shots.

Thursday: FEEDBACK OF ANIMATIC FROM MARK

We discussed a lot of things that need to be changed. The most common problem throughout the animatic is that the shot doesn't show what I need to express myself. Will make the audience feel very confused. At the same time, a lot of camera shots in my film are not necessary, which cause a lot of waste. In some scenes there is also a lot of space, making the picture very empty. According to Mark, when making the whole animation, not only the direct connection of the lens should be considered, but also the audience should be able to understand the meaning of the picture. Therefore, most of the modifications were made on the lens structure. Through the adjustment of the angle, as far as possible to reduce the inharmonious elements in the picture. From the beginning of the film to the plot of falling stones, have been greatly modified. The rest of the plot, scene, and perspective have been modified. Because the formal scene and character production have not yet started, so the modification is relatively rough. Before next week's milestone was originally planned to start the final design of the characters and scenes after completing the animatic. But the animatic modification took a long time. After the feedback of the new animatic next week, there must still be some changes to be made, but it needs to be carried out together with the character and environment design.

11/02-15/02

Tuesday: I start to think about the character re-modeling and the environment design. It is not easy to model an object that I can’t find around myself. So, I need many references. today, I am forced on the remodel the eagle in my film.

I also think something about how to build the wings could make the rigging easier. I searched some pictures in these following links that I need to know how many parts do one wing divided into.(https://www.google.com/search?sa=X&rlz=1C1GCEA_enGB814GB816&q=bird+wings+without+feathers&tbm=isch&source=univ&ved=2ahUKEwjOlsfqjrbgAhXjUxUIHSe4BmYQsAR6BAgCEAE&biw=1920&bih=1040 https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1GCEA_enGB814GB816&biw=1920&bih=1040&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=_KFiXLmXPJSW1fAPoK6diA8&q=bird+wings&oq=bird+wings&gs_l=img.3..0l10.865596.873010..873201...3.0..0.76.593.13....3..0....1..gws-wiz-img.......0i67j0i5i30.17ziqR2XCJ0#imgrc=IVFyKXl84J7LmM:)

I have modeled two types of wings at the left corner in this picture. one is made by extruding(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPZ_vhjxHS0), the other way is pieced by every single feather.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xThiBnEyPs

this link is about how to rig the birds’ wings, but it starts with the feathers that have been bind skin. so I try to control one feather in the same way that can be chosen to rig the human’s fingers. to add an attribute and then connect them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S870qa7gu0c

this the link is to teach how to create and connect the finger controls. I don’t know how to duplicate the feather like the man did in the former video. but if I use the duplicate special to copy the model only, when I rotate the handle of the first feather, all the feathers can move together. but the spread levels of the wings are different, so I think if I can do it by more handles. but I am not sure that if it is the correct way to rig, so I need to ask my tutors about this question.

the eagle isn’t the only one object, the head, the body, the tail, the wings, and the legs are all separated from each other. so maybe there will be some problems when I start to paint the skin weight, but I hope it won’t be a serious problem that I can’t use this model in my final film.

18/02-22/02

a model update

I have started rigging the eagle this week, and I want to finish it this week and finish some environment drawing. I am studying how to rig in the video in the following link.

https://www.lynda.com/Maya-tutorials/Rigging-Winged-Animal-Maya/166505-2.html

the summary of this week

25/02-01/03

I am still working on the rigging of the bird. and there are only the bones of wings without rigging. I have no idea about it. to be honest, I cannot understand how other people did in those videos.

so I am looking for some other video to refer.

to save time, I am drawing the environment now. I am not good at drawing, in order to keep the angle in each scene is alright, I build a rough model of the environment, and then take pictures from different angles that I need to use in my animation.

these following scenes are those which have nearly been finished.

at first, I was worry about the color, although Mark suggested that I can draw in Sumi-e style, I have not tried this style in the past. I drew in the color that is a little grey, but my animation is easy, not melancholy, so I tried to use some lighter color. I think next I should consider the moving parts of the scene, such as the river. Of course, these scenarios are not completely finished, and some details need to be added or modified.

#AX3002

0 notes

synthaphone · 7 years

Text

A POST FOR SELF MOTIVATION

hello and welcome to a public diary entry that is not interesting or useful to anyone but me, but is being posted publicly so that i maybe Do A Thing that i need to do

goal for tomorrow: full rough draft of paper for history of animation, that is the Focus of The Day tomorrow

this will involve:

coming up with a functional thesis (i’m going to write about the internet as a platform for short animation and how it differs from more traditional means of creating + distributing an animated short film)

citing my sources (i have a bunch of books but not nearly enough web sources, part of tomorrow is going to be reading a bunch of stuff)

writing the dang thing (new strategy i am going to try, since i’ve been hitting a block with every essay i’ve had to write since i started going to college: i am going to just start writing a bunch of stuff, sort of casually, and then organize it the way i want my paper to go. then i will go through and check sources and whether or not the stuff i said actually works with the sources and try to turn it into a working paper from this point. this is my goal)

i’m gonna actually see if i can find the due date anywhere for this dang thing, because i don’t even know when that is exactly, i’m just guessing Tuesday. also i will look up the requirements for the paper since i’m actually... not very clear on those either.

There’s also an extra credit assignment where you write a thoughtful 1 page review of a film released in the past year, so i’m gonna write about double king because i absolutely loved it. this will be easier than the full paper

things to not do tomorrow:

get sucked into repetitive chore-like games (magikarp jump, animal crossing, any other app games i have on my phone, neopets battledome grinding, hatching a billion axew eggs in pokemon)

these are my goals, i have written them out to inspire me to actually work tomorrow

reasons to do this thing

i’m actually interested in writing this paper, and i hate that i haven’t even started yet because I ACTUALLY AM INTERESTED IN WRITING THIS PAPER

a bunch of stress off of my shoulders

if i write a nice paper, i will feel more confident in my ability to write papers, and this will help me with the two writing classes i will be taking over the summer

Doing well in school will make me feel better about myself

i will be able to relax guilt free over the break

if i am successful in school i will feel more confident in my ability to get a job, which will help me look for job opportunities and internships

i want these because then me and my girlfriend can start being more independent, i want to be able to pay for the rent and utilities and groceries myself instead of relying on my parents for money and feeling guilty.

IT WILL FEEL GOOD TO WRITE THE PAPER

i will be motivated to do other things i’ve been putting off, like emailing the intimidating animation department head about the class that i need to take to graduate that is already full, and replying to all of the nice people who offered to help on my film, and finishing my final animatic for Senior Project 1 with finished backgrounds

#-#--#---#----#-----#personal #long post

4 notes · View notes

immabewriting · 7 years

Text

Five Teachers Walk Into A Bar... -Chapter 8

A/N: Holy crap on a catapult!!! I updated again!!! Ah!!!! LOL anyway heres another update, as always read and review and let me know what you think! And for those of you wondering when we’ll see Henry and Penelope again don’t worry, they’ll come next chapter! ;) Anyway heres the next chap!!

Mahira sighed as she cataloged the findings into the computer. It was a slow day, she had finished her analysis of the findings, ate lunch, cleaned a storage closet that was slightly dusty, and now she was cataloging everything. And it was only 1:30! She groaned and slumped in her chair. What else was she going to do? She was here till 4 and there was nothing left to do!

“Bored?” a voice asked her. She turned to see Dr. Cho standing behind her smiling.

“A little sorry,” she apologizes. He laughs and shakes his head, “Don’t worry I like my job and I still get bored sometimes.” He pulls out a chair and sits next to her, “I actually wanted to talk to you about something.”

“What is it Dr. Cho?” she asks sitting up.

“I told you, call me John. Dr. Cho is what my students call me.”

“Right sorry! What was it you wanted to talk about?”

“Well, I wanted to know if you were interested in a project I’ve been working on.” He tells her.

“What is it about?”

“Well, the department wants to do a sort of cultural exchange thing especially considering what’s going on in the world today. And I thought well we already have a cultural festival every year so why not do something different right? And I thought maybe if we all brought a stranger or someone we didn’t know as well into our lives and showed them our cultures and kind of broadened their horizons it would be a cool, academic way of getting to know one another.” He explains.

“That sounds really cool! It would be interesting not only for white people but people of other ethnicities to experience other cultures. I sort of feel we all are in our separate bubbles and need to sometimes expand our reach and our view.” She tells him.

“So, would you want to do help me with it?” he asks.

“Yea I’d love to! But um, what exactly do I have to do?” She questions.

“Oh right! Well first, you need to find a subject or someone to share this experience with. Next, I wanted to debut this whole project in September, when we usually hold our historic seminars with the museums and important people so this project will span a couple of months. But I think six months is a good enough time for immersive experience. What do you think?” he says.

“Six months sounds good, It’s kind of perfect because my sister is getting married and Ramadan is happening soon too.

“Perfect! Now all you need is someone to take to these things.” He says. “And I don’t count.” He adds.

Her smile fell. Crap, how was she supposed find someone so quickly? Sana couldn’t help because she was Indian and while they had different religions, they had been friends for years. She knew everything about Mahira’s life. She couldn’t ask anyone at work because she hated everyone at work and she was going to quit. Wait! The guy who always came to the bar! What was his name? Tom!

“Mahira? Did you hear what I said?” John asks snapping her back to reality.

“Huh?”

“I said I just want weekly reports/interviews about what you guys do. You can’t be just taking them to these things and not write anything down got it?”

“Oh! Yea of course! Um, would other teachers count?” she asks.

“I don’t see why not, you’re not a student.”

“Great! I think this project will be fun!” she gushes. They chatted about a few quick things like deadlines and reports before she headed over to the English department to find Mr. Hiddleston.

“Alright Andy take care, and don’t forget to indent your paragraphs please!” Tom called as the student rushed out of his office. He sighed and went back in to grade papers. It seemed all he did was grade papers and they weren’t even the good ones by his Classics students no he was grading the English 100 papers. The terribly written English 100 papers. Why were they so bad? Why didn’t these kids know how to spell? And why did Bridget feel the need to turn in everything a day late with the excuse of getting sick? He was a college student once, getting sick meant being drunk or hung over! And he still turned in his essays on time! There was a knock on his door interrupting him from his thoughts.

“Come in,” he murmurs. The door opens and—oh my god. It was her. Mahira was here. In his office! Was this a mistake? No, it couldn’t have been! Right? “Mahira?” he says befuddled.

“Hi, um is this a bad time?” she asks.

“No no! What is it?” he asks. She closes the door behind her and takes a seat. Taking the extra few seconds to figure out what to say to him.

“Um, so uh,” she stutters out. “So, Dr. Cho is doing this project and I wanted to know if you’d like to help?” she explains.

“What is it about?” he inquires. She explained the project in full detail as Dr. Cho—John—had told her. At the end of her spiel she looked at him and asked, “Would you be interested in being my partner for this?”

“It sounds amazing, I would love to be your partner. But, I thought you hated me.” He says.

“I don’t hate you! I just… I think you have some interesting qualities.” She said. That was a stretch.

“Interesting qualities?”

“You’re a serial womanizer who hits on women half your age and doesn’t stop talking.” She confesses.

“Serial womanizer?!” he exclaims.

“You hit on a different girl every week with the same ‘Ooh look at me I’m a suave British man! I’m so interesting!’ when really all you do is talk with your hands to make it seem like you’re interesting.” She retorts.

“Do you have something against British men?” he asked confused.

“Your people took over half the world and then left it in shambles when we rebelled against you, I have a bit of resentment.” She quips.

“Okay so you do hate me.” He states.

“No no! I—“ she sighs. “I don’t hate you, I just haven’t gotten to know you that well. And that’s what this project is about isn’t it?” she responds.

“Yea, I guess you’re right.” He replies. He smiles at her, “Okay, I’ll do the project with you.”

“Really?” she says amazed that even after that attack on his character he’d still want to work with her for six months.

“Yea, it sounds really cool and I’d love to learn how to belly dance.” He adds jokingly. Oh god, he was doing so well up until now.

“We don’t belly dance. That’s Morocco.” She says.

“Oh right sorry.” Goddammit Tom.

“Um, its fine I’ll come back tomorrow for our first interview and then we can talk after that. Sound good?” she asks. He nods and she stands up. “Well see you tomorrow Tom.”

“See you tomorrow Mahira.” He says. “Oh and Mahira?”

She turns around and looks at him, “Yes?”

“Don’t fall in love with me.” He replies cheekily with a grin. She rolls her eyes and mutters, “Bewakoof.” Under her breath and leaves. Tom sits back in his chair and sighs. He was going to be spending six months with her. God, it was going to be a trip.

Nancy looked at Chris from her spot across the table where he was reading book reports at her home. She was editing a draft or trying to when he asked her, “So, what is this?”

“What’s what?” she asked back.

“You know this,” he says gesturing to them both. “What are we?”

“Well I’m pretty sure we’re human unless you have something you want to tell me.” She jokes. He laughs, “No no I mean our relationship.”

She paused and looked at him, “Oh that.”

“Yea.”

“Yea,” she agreed. She closed her laptop, editing would have to wait. “Well um, we’ve been going out a lot these past few weeks.” She replies. 10 dates to be exact according to her calendar, every free lunch, every free after school afternoon, they spent together it was kind of insane how in such little time they had been together for ten dates. 10 dates! In 10 dates she learned about his family—two sisters and a brother—he learned about hers—no siblings, just her mom, Kaylee who they kind of adopted after she came out as bisexual and little May—she found out they both liked Disney movies, he found out she liked to plan out everything and making lists, planning out her weekly schedule, she even taught him to meal prep and he was forever thankful for that. She also found out he was a great kisser.

She had kissed men before mind you and they were all great. But either it had been a long time or Chris was some kind of god of kissing in another life because holy crap he was a good kisser. The way he leaned in and paused just before kissing her, as if he was planning out how he was going tease and torment her with the way he’d kiss her. And it wasn’t just his lips that tormented; oh no no it was the way his hands travelled her body, exploring every inch of her skin. His beard rough against her neck but it was rough and wonderful and she wondered what his beard would feel like against more sensitive parts of her body and then she had to bring her thoughts back because oh god she was thinking about him doing very dirty things to her and he was staring at her wondering what this relationship meant to them both and great she was probably drooling. Dammit.

“I’m sorry you were saying something?” she says coming back to reality.

“Um, well I was just saying that I really like you.” He answers.

“I really like you too.” She responds.

“I was um thinking that maybe I could um call you my—“

“Wait!” she interrupts. He looks at her, dammit Chris moving too fast.

“S-Sorry sorry I just, I thought this was going somewhere and I wanted to be sure.” He apologizes.

“What? No Chris I…” she sighs and gets up and walks over closer to him, sits in his lap. “I really like you too.”

“Then what is it? What’s stopping you?”

“…You’re May’s teacher.” She whispers.

“What?”

“You’re May’s teacher! I mean some of the moms know and they haven’t been mean but I’m scared if more of them know and they find out and they might make May’s life miserable and I just don’t want that for her.” She confesses. He looks at her for a moment and then bursts out laughing. “What’s so funny?!” she asks confused and slightly frustrated.

“The moms are stopping you? Nancy this is kindergarten.” He says.

“It’s more political than you think! PTA moms are scary.” She retorts.

“If the school doesn’t have a problem with it, the moms shouldn’t. Nance I really like you. I like your lists, and your meal preps and how you talk about books and movies.” He says. She smiles a little and he continues, “I like how wonderful of a mother you are to May. I like your laugh; I like the way you gasp when I kiss that spot on your neck.” She blushes and scrunches her nose. He laughs, “I like how you scrunch your nose when you’re nervous or embarrassed. I like you a lot. And I really can’t wait to see where this goes.” He finishes. She smiles and kisses his cheek. “I can’t wait to see either… Boyfriend.” She replies. He grins, “Oh so I’m your boyfriend?”

“Yes. And I guess I’m your girlfriend.”

“Mmm, maybe.” He says. She makes a face and he laughs, “Of course you’re my girlfriend! I’m the one who brought up the conversation didn’t I?”

She giggles and kisses him. And they kissed again, and again, and again…

A/N: What did you think??? Let me know!!

Tag List: @notsomolly, @linzinator, @boxfullofcats, @blown-transistor, @seattlite09, @shhiminmybluecastle, @emarich7, @othersideofforty, @laughing-baubo, @nerdmom42, @lilydale-chicken, @theshortbuthappyone, @survivingstudentlife, @pretty-sexy-silly-mismash, @toc1985, @lokilockedcougar, @reblogiwill, @msblofled, @ladyvic3, @barnes21cz, @big-bad-wolf

6 notes · View notes

shikastudies · 5 years

Text

Being productive can be very hard because of all of life’s daily distractions whether it’s your dog, your annoyingly loud sibling, or your phone because let’s be real, we’re addicted. So when trying to study or do work, it’s harder to focus, so I have a couple of tricks and tips to start the semester off with a bang!

Locations: Where do you study has a significant impact on how you consider, so wherever you are studying at a coffee shop, friends house, library, or your room. Try to stay far away from a bed if you’re genuinely trying to retain and comprehend information. If you study in groups, make sure your group is small, I’d say no bigger than 5 people depending on the topic such as if there’s an English essay, you and your friends can discuss what to write about and review each other’s article, so 5 people are okay for that type of environment. For math and science, I’d recommend 3 and four people to help teach each other anything that you might not have caught in class.

Your Desk And Area: The area that you are working is critical to how well you’ll work. Keeping a clean desk can allow you to spread your work, so you’re not working in a corner, and then after you have finished one task, you can clean up your area a bit and switch to the next job. A quiet area is vital for you to be able to focus and really what you’re working on, which leads to my next point of removing distractions.

Remove Distractions: If you want to get any work done, I would suggest removing any distractions, your phone, your dog, your family! Personally, my dog and phone are my biggest distractions, so whenever I’m in my room studying. I plug in my headphones and play some lofi music or music box/piano kpop playlists where it’s not distracting to the point where I can’t hear my dog come in and out of my room. Usually, I through my phone on my bed because I’m too lazy to get it if it’s far away. Or if you have one of the noise-canceling headphones, which is just the best type to focus, those can help so much

Pomodoro Method: This method is used for many centuries, where you do some intense focus work for a certain period of 25-30 minutes and then take a short break of 5 minutes and repeat four times then after it you make a more extended break for 15-20 minutes. This method is how I prefer to study during school days, but I tend to extend my time because I want to make this method fit my schedule. And it’s okay to extend the time because sometimes specific tasks take longer than 25 minutes. But this method is used to make sure the functions that you’re doing, you’re allowing yourself a certain amount of time to do those tasks efficiently.

Set Small Goals: When you have a lot on your plate, make sure to break them down into smaller goals, so it’s not a daunting task that you most likely won’t get done. Like if you have an essay, break it into brainstorm, find quotes, write your introduction and conclusion, rough draft your body paragraphs, using the Pomodoro method for longer tasks such as an essay is a good idea, so you’re using your time efficiently. Using a planner or some formatting for what you need to get done is another way that you can format these tasks into smaller goals.

Don’t Use To-Do Lists: Honestly, if you go and ask different billionaires or successful people such as Elon Musk, he will tell you that he doesn’t make to-do lists, now I will use to-do lists from time to time but what you’re supposed to do, is that arrange them from recently due to due farther away. Which is why I use a planner with a monthly calendar where I will write when everything is due, and if you’re in school or at work. What is due tomorrow at 9 am, then Monday at 1 pm: using this helps me understand what is more urgent and helps to prioritize my life in a first due first done.

Hunger and Thirst: Keep hydrated throughout your study session because for me, when I get stressed, I will eat or excessively drink water. Might just be me, but keeping water or a small healthy snack nearby is so you don’t get distracted by your hunger or thirst and go downstairs or to the kitchen and get distracted there. Plus whenever I’m tired I’ll take a sip of my ice-cold water which is quite refreshing as it’s a booster. Your brain is highly motivated by water as when you’re dehydrated and studying your mind is less likely to truly absorb the information and dulling your brains performance in general. If you want to learn more about waters effect on your body, click the word link.

Study Reasonably: Your brain can only honestly give its full attention for short periods, so studying for 8 hours for a test is counterproductive. If you play a sport, you have practices, you don’t continuously practice at a game level the entire time, I make my best reg sprints, take a short break, and then I get back to my erg sprints. It’s just like studying, by giving your brain a small break, you’re going to be able to continue at the same rate for a longer time. If you would also like to read up on how studying for extended frames of time is counterproductive to your studying, click this link

Here are some tracks in my “Study with me” playlist:

(my playlist is also linked if you click study with me in case you want to see everything that’s on there)

The Best of BTS | 2 Hour Piano Collection for Studying

BTS Piano Collection for Studying and Sleeping

BTS Love Yourself 轉 ‘Tear’ Piano Album

NCT Piano Compilation for Studying and Relaxing | scoupsmol

Stray Kids Music Box Compilation | Sleep Study Lullaby | Soft Playlist

Relaxing NCT Kpop Music Box for Sleeping and Studying

P.S. credits go to everyone that put together those videos

Studying is something that you have to build your life and school around because of how critical it is to truly comprehend the material that you’re being taught. Using these few steps are the stepping stones to being able to be productive indeed, and there are so many other ways that you can learn to be productive, I’m still figuring out my way in fact, so don’t feel pressured to have it right in the first go!

0 notes