#ugh this tournament is just so fun i love it

[larsnicklas]

[231227 FIN VS. GER] germany's julian lutz (ari) celebrates with the penalty box attendant as germany upsets finland; finland had been undefeated in 25 previous meetings between the two nations

#julian lutz #world juniors #wjc 2024 #wjc #wjc24 #team germany #arizona coyotes #green bay gamblers #meg.gif #meg.wjc #meg.germany #meg.all #RAHHHH I LOVE UPSETS !!!!! #fwiw i think the slovaks might make a splash this year too. #ugh this tournament is just so fun i love it

[star-girl69]

As much as I love overprotective Clarisse which believe me I DO😍😍 am I the only one who kinda wants to see a protective reader if something happens to Clarisse or even Ivy?!

I feel like Clarisse may just sit back and be Yh that’s my girl 🤭

Literally kicking my feet and giggling while writing this

Also I love your writing so much it’s so goodddd I check my phone for any new posts all the time and scream when you do

TYSMMMMM BAE ILY!!!!!! been in a writing slump recently. someone else please write a mind bogglingly good clarisse fic to inspire me again. lord give me strength…

forget the fact this is 2 days late. thank y’all 🙏🙏

anyways officially adding danny to the perfect family bc I DO WHAT I WANT!!!!!!!!!!!

ok so imagine this

clarisse is participating in some sort of contest

like

idk roman gladiators LMAOOOO

but basically it’s like a big tournament? and yk she’s destroying eating it up cooking, whatever you will

finally she gets to like the semi-finals and atp everyone kinda knows she has it in the bag

her opponents are scared

(trust an underground betting ring was formed. everyone who bet on clarisse is thanking the gods and everyone who didn’t is shaking in their boots)

clarisse is happy bc you and the twins (danny and ivy)

are sitting right in the front row cheering her on

and she got a wonderful good luck kiss from you

so not only is she happy and thinking about that but also she’s convinced that she’ll win just bc she got a kiss from you

so the fight starts, ivy is genuinely SCREECHING at the top of her lungs she’s so me she can’t be normal about anything ever

and you and danny are just regularly cheering for her 😭

eventually someone behind you tells ivy to shut up

YOU WHIP AROUND BC WTF???

harshest death glare in the universe. like even zeus would be a little scared.

ivy doesn’t even notice she’s chill

the other person quickly shuts the fuck up.

then you turn back to watch clarisse and the fights just starting, the other dude is scared and knows his ass barely stands a chance

she’s having fun pummeling him

ugh fight scenes are hard to write

so eventually she tosses his ass to the floor

“GO MOM GO GO GO BEAT HIS ASS MOM BEAT. HIS. ASS.”

“IVY STOP FUCKING SWEARING”

and this dude, who’s laid on the ground, who knows he’s cooked, decides the best option is to grab some dirt and throw it in clarisse’s face

and no one was prepared for this

like clarisse was standing over him with her spear at his throat, smile on her face, everyone knew he was done for- THEN HE DECIDES TO PLAY DIRTY AND DO THIS???

like everyone thought clarisse had it in the bag

the rules for this competition were that you’re not allowed to use anything but your person and/or pre-approved weapon(s)

NOT EVEN CLARISSE WAS EXPECTING IT

SO SHES DISTRACTED BY THE FREAKING DIRT IN HER FACE

SO WHEN THIS BITCH KICKS HER SHE GOES DOWN

DEAD SILENT!!!!!!!

EVERYONE GASPS!!!!!!!

whispers in the crowd… “oh bro is cooked…”

(sorry i’m obsessed w saying cooked rn)

and he is cooked

but by someone unexpected.

clarisse is wiping the dirt off of her face swallowing her shame she can’t believe she got distracted and let herself fall she should have saw it coming but suddenly she hears someone screaming

she opens her eyes and sees you menacingly walking towards this dude, who’s still on the ground and scrambling away

and what’s funny it you’re yelling at him like a mother would

the crowd is giggling…

“THAT IS AGAINST THE RULES. WERE YOU NEVER TAUGHT MANNERS??? WERE YOU NEVER TAUGHT DECENCY??? SHAME ON YOU SHAME ON YOUR PARENTS SHAME SHAME SHAME”

clarisse is literally sitting there mouth dropped open when you grab his ear and he HOWLS

dragging him back towards clarisse, he’s kicking and screaming and literally CRYING

“HELP HELP HELP ME HELP SHE CANT SO THIS SHE CANT I DIDNT DO ANYTHING WRONG”

“YES THE FUCK I CAN YOU BROKE THE FUCKING RULES NOW APOLOGIZE YOU LAWLESS SWINE”

“I DIDNT DO ANYTHING PLEASE I DIDNT”

one of the apollo kids who organized the event is looking around (kinda enjoying it) but mostly very scared

“technically you did break the rules… sorry pal…”

“PLEASE PLEASE HELP ME”

obviously, this is the hottest thing clarisse has ever seen in her life.

she’s sitting back on her palms, watching in utter amazement, trying not to bite her lip

someone loving clarisse… that gets her going

someone loving clarisse enough to PROTECT HER??? she’s about to explode. EXPLODE. she’s never needed you so bad in her life LMAOOOO 😭

and this bitch is STILL refusing to apologize

like damn it’s not that hard… it’s not like you have any pride left to speak of you just got dragged around by the ear 😭😭 bro you’re cooked just apologize and get out while you can

AND YOU’RE GETTING FED UP WITH IT TOO

“hey, dumbass, why don’t you look at the stands?”

you point, and everyone follows your finger.

ivy is a literal cartoonish whirl of her pink t-shirt and the white shorts with the little trees on them

danny is holding her back (with ease, might i add he’s strong as fuck 💪)

“i’ll let her out.”

“I DIDNT DO ANYTHING-”

“LET HER OUT”

he barely escapes that attack.

when you finally call ivy off of her attack, she stands next to clarisse, literally growls at the dude, before hugging clarisse

clarisse is still on the ground in utter shock.

she can’t keep her eyes away from you and ivy. she can’t get rid of the GLOWING feeling in her chest

is this… what it’s like… to be loved?

WAHHHHHH WAHHHHHHHH BITCH NOW IM THE ONE CRYING NOOOOOOOO 😭😭😭

danny eventually walks over and helps her up

then they all watch as you smile sweetly at this very traumatized dude and ask if he’s ready to apologize

“IMMSORRUOHGOEE IMSORHR ESEBIMS YORUUE”

(i’m sorry oh gods im sorry i’m sorry”

then you walk over to clarisse, rolling your eyes and mumbling about bad parenting, girl she pounces on you.

kisses you so hard in front of everyone

ivy and danny are hugging each other and shielding each other’s eyes, screaming, begging for you two to stop

“y/n” she breathes as she pulls away “you are… the most amazing mother, the most amazing girlfriend, and literally the love of my fucking life.”

literally twirling your hair “omg baeeeee you’re too sweet 🤭”

(y’all don’t end up leaving her cabin for a LONG time.)

after this clarisse definitely sort of realizes a whole new side of your relationship. seeing you publicly defend her like that, publicly care about her, love her, omg she is going crazy for you!!!

after this incident she definitely stops calling you her gf.

gives you a really pretty ring she got one of the hephaestus kids to make, starts calling you her wife

and nobody better have a problem w that lol or else they got two ares killing machines, one feral attack dog, and a literal mother who is not afraid to drag you by your ear.

—-

taglist:

@lvrue @t-wylia @laughingcheese037 @kroumi @urdeadpoet @colezb @rey26 @harmzilla @elliewilliamsbae @amberfreemansburntface @kyuupidwrites @neverwaakeme-up @shark1008 @liballer @heyimadison @nvirskies @pnsteblnme @mar2ss @restellsss @ravisinghs-wife @marsconer @evangelinexo @randomhoex @luvrrish @rebecca37 @saltair-and-palemoonlight @ace-spades-1

#clarisse la rue #clarisse la rue x reader #clarisse la rue x y/n #clarisse la rue x you #pjo tv show #pjo x reader

[thatdeadaquarius]

Harry Potter/Genshin Impact Crossover Fun🎉

for @kiraisastay my beta reader for the big fat Eldritch AU awhile back! :)

“…a genshin/Harry Potter crossover where reader (still fem) comes from genshin (so she has a vision) and tries to fit in at Hogwarts (would love for it to be set around the Goblet Of Fire so the hp characters in that age start maturing and actually understand what happens around them and aren't little kids , plus, y'know, YULE BALL), would also like for the reader to have a more stoic/emotionless personality with tragic past (so like having scars y'knowww) cuz it makes character building a lot more juicy ahah, but you can write it however you want tho!! (this can be funnier to write if you're feeling a lot creative)”

UGH sorry i took forever! im rlly bad at estimating time...

I hope this is a fun read at least, and thanks for much for taking on that eldritch monster fic awhile back lol

☆

Orbit: Long Headcanon/fic-thing (~2k words) - Harry Potter x Genshin Impact Crossover (4th Year)

Sun: Feminine Reader (she/her), Slytherin Reader, Reader is 15-16 year old.

Stars: Harry, Ron, Hermione, McGonagall, Dumbledore, Snape, Viktor Krum, mentions of others.

Comets & Meteors: Content Warnings: Reader has rough past, & Trigger Warnings: vague mentions of scars, Reader has bad relationship with parents.

☆

You’re so fucking happy your Cryo Vision came with you.

You knew you were in a different country, one you definitely had never been to before, but you couldn’t figure out for the life of you where it was at first

Your first guess was Fontaine, but the robes and strange overuse of catalyst weapons (actually, only catalyst weapons??) began to convince you otherwise real quick,

Fontaine was just the closest country you could compare it to

yeah so obviously by the time u realized you shouldn't be waving a sword around, it was too late lmao, u scared the shit out of the potions shopkeeper and had to make a hasty exit

bc for some reason any other weapon than a catalyst is shamed here?? which makes no sense to you, as it seems like their “magic” here could just as easily be channeled into different weapons/items??

u guess not having monsters to randomly fight everytime u just wanna take a walk outside makes for a pretty peaceful world, and specifically this country ”England” or the “United Kingdom”

u had taken a week or so to re-orient yourself to this new world, how only a certain society knew about their magic, how there were no gods here, at least not any u could easily interact with, and that most people your age would be in school still???

while u could choose to pursue higher education or specialize in Sumeru’s Akademiya, basic schooling was still provided in every country in Teyvat up until about 15 years old

but at this point u were willing to do what it took to blend into this world, and u didnt want anyone to be asking how old u were/why u werent in school when you wandered around, so u went to Hogwarts

It also proved to be a good way to acquaint urself with the world/its magic and give u a place to better excuse any social or magical mistakes

But needless to say, u struggled, u had to constantly find some workaround for “magic” from the wands/catalysts in classes

and luckily they took u being a transfer student pretty smoothly, as u were just in time for the “Triwizard Tournament” to be announced and other schools were coming to participate, u easily got accepted in

and the only one who batted an eye at it was the weird old Headmaster, who u already suspected knew more abt u than he was letting on (Dumbledore seemed to have eyes everywhere the more u learned, which made u more suspicious of him too)

you'd been sorted into Slytherin, along with the Russian magical students, (Durmstrang?)

of which you had absolutely no frame of reference for how bad that was, other than being accused of literally being from the Abyss 💀

while the rest of the student body treated u with the basic contempt u learned all Slytherins just seemed to kind of get all the time, ur own house was a little more confusing when it came to you

some were curious abt all the scars, the strange glowing snowflake gem that u concealed on ur hip, what ur country was like and what the magic school over there was like (thank fuck for ur poker face and insane lying skills that made it believable)

(there was absolutely a rumor abt u pulling a sword on Filch at some point, u neither denied nor supported it)

the other half of the slytherins were all uptight about u possibly being a “Muggleborn” and sneered at u every chance they got (some weird blond kid a year or 2 below you??)

or they outright ignored u

tbh u didn't really get much genuine favor between Slytherins just being Slytherins and ur own reputation/cold disposition until Professor Snape saw how good u were at potions a month into this insanity

(it was just basic alchemy? nearly everyone, especially Vision-users, knew how to do it back home? why was it so special here?? u had this kind of question a lot in this world over most things, like the “muggles dont know abt magic” thing, it seem like more trouble than its worth.)

U both got along in the same way a cold-demeanor father bonds with his carbon copy cold-demeanor daughter lol

in which he invited u for tea sometimes out of polite extra teaching for “ur future plans of being a potion master, like myself”

which okay?? u were better than most ur age at potions bc of alchemy (which u learned is taught at higher levels of potion mastery) and its not like you've figured out how to get back to ur world anytime soon

so u just roll with that being ur “future career” for now, it makes the old emo professor happy so u figure why not

And its the first scrap of favor you’ve found here so it works

Tho u did complain at Snape for picking on Gryffindors, saying “ur rlly not helping that Slytherin reputation for tall dark and evil here”

He proceeded to make u clean and reorganize his potion stores for that lol

(Tho he did start to lighten up the more u picked on him abt it, the poor kid with huge round glasses followed you with his huge green eyes for weeks, he seems to be the only one who's really realized ur the one convincing Snape to mellow out)

U begin researching information (thanks to Snape) in the forbidden part of the library abt different worlds/time travel, anything thatd put u close to possibly getting back home

Or, to be honest, a portal would be better, bc youd like to come back here sometimes,

Its not like u have family back home (not any who you'd want to visit), mostly just a few good friends who'd be worried abt u (Childe misses his sparring partner for sure)

Which then leads u to noticing that boy with the black hair and big round glasses (was it smth like,,, harold sculptor? Atp that seems like a feasible name to you bc in this world parents rlly were cruel abt naming their kid “feathery” or smth wild)

Harold and two others, one with fluffy long hair, and the other a redhead,

Were attempting to “spy” on u from behind bookshelves or at tables seated near the forbidden section

U saw them learn the times u came there and how they made sure to match them (tho it seems the redhead got bored easily and begged to eat instead)

You'd actually managed to make friends with some Durmstrang friends in the meantime too

And by that u mean Viktor Krum mostly

Ppl were constantly obsessed with him and he'd managed to escape up the astronomy tower to get some peace and quiet,

Only to run into u reading away, and he'd heard abt ur reputation, and wanted to befriend u

U two got along rlly well, lots of peaceful silences, and chill convos, esp since u guys had some stuff in common

Mostly how ur both foreign to Hogwarts/this country and adjusting still

Anyway that is to say, Viktor teased u abt the ducklings following u around everywhere thinking they were sneaky

And this was a routine u got used to, until it was time for the tournament

You hadnt bothered to put ur name in, u didnt feel like risking ur life for no reason afterall

So needless to say u were pissed when rumors went around abt u putting Harol- Harry's name in the goblet

(u finally learned his name, apparently he's famous for not dying? As a baby?? A powerful tyrant evil wizard wanted to kill him as a baby??? Just,, why)

Not only that but then he was obligated to be in the tournament???

U knew there was smth insane abt this school, bringing back this crazy tournament in the first place, somehow getting Harry's name in the goblet,

but u didn't think they were batshit crazy.

(Dumbledore is not helping his case in your eyes, esp as u suspect he’s got Snape involved in his BS too somehow…)

So needless to say you were going to fix this mess since these seasoned “wizard adults” weren't 😒

You snuck into the Great Hall using a high level alchemy invisibility amulet, and used ur Cryo vision to extinguish the Goblet of Fire 💀

It reset the game, and luckily they were able to resubmit the champions to the Triwizard Tournament and hide away the Goblet before it got tampered with again

Lol u got Harry out of it, and it wasnt until later in the library that u get cornered by the Gryffindor fourth year himself

He admits to seeing u under his invisibilty cloak that night and thanks you for getting him out of that hell, poor kid looks so grateful 😭

But regardless of that, he insists u tell him abt the ice spell u used, how u used it wandless, with no incantation, etc.

You just gave him a small smile (his big green eyes look even more shocked behind the glasses, what, was that old professor right? do u rlly not smile that much?) and tell him he owes u one

He agrees and u go on ur way to the forbidden section

(U dont explain the ice, afterall, who would believe him? You werent even that much older, and only “master wizards” could do what u did)

After that, Harry starts to follow u around a lot more,

much to the annoyance of his redhead friend (Rodrick? Rocky? smth with a R-) and the absolute admiration of the younger girl with big hair

the champions start the first trial, and u help Viktor out with a plan to defeat the dragon and get the egg in one piece (u had lots of experience with monsters after all, and Viktor and Snape, who couldn't keep his big nose out of your business, were simultaneously disturbed and yet not surprised by this information)

it works flawlessly, and that's when you notice the new DA teacher acting suspicious

as the champions gear up for the 2nd trial, u help Viktor try to figure out the egg’s secrets,

Both Harry and Hermione have taken to interrupting ur library research time (u finally learned her name, but not the redhead, he seemed a bit rude tbh so u don't care to know)

after brainstorming (well more like talking at the brick wall that was Snape) with the old potions professor over tea gossip time again, u finally figure out how to get the egg open without screaming, and tell Viktor

Who thanks u by taking u to the Yule Ball, but u only manage the first dance before u get absorbed in the food and the cool decor, and u also convince him to gossip with u in the corner too

(u do appreciate having a reason to dress up at least, as you attempt to imitate the Tsaritsa herself with this dress)

U notice further on into the night that Hermione ran out looking upset, and ur “girl’s girl” instinct kicks in, (regardless of ur neutrality for her, u lie to urself) and follow her outside to comfort her

u talk, and tho ur cold demanour did intimidate her a little, after she realized u were genuinely trying to help her, she took u up on the offer, and asked if u two could be friends since she’s “surrounded by stupid Gryffindor boys all the time”

u agreed amused, and convinced her to join Viktor and u in ur gossip session, which Harry (after humiliating himself on the dance floor), joined in later as well

(You may or may not have iced the floor secretly under the redhead’s and the equally annoying prissy Slytherin blonde’s feet, sending them sprawling on top of each other, so neither would come bother u four)

Over the next week you hear from Hermione’s researching/studying sessions with you that Ron did apologize to her, of which u advised her to get revenge on him anyway lmao

Harry at one point came groaning and complaining to you abt Cedric bothering him abt the egg problem, and u went ahead and gave it to him

Finally the next task was here, something abt rescuing smth underwater that mattered to each of the champions

u were immediately on ur guard when Dumbledore called u and 3 other seemingly random ppl to ur office (but u began to connect the dots after realizing one of them was the little sister of the Fontai- French Champion)

only to deflect the spell that would've knocked u out, and instead pretend to be knocked out

u obv kept ur Vision on u at all times, as always, and realized what was happening as the teachers levitated u all out to the lake

Snape snapped about being the one in charge of you, (and lowkey told u he knew u were awake, did he sound a little,, proud?? no, not Snape surely of all ppl)

Viktor did end up fishing you out, which he said u “looked like a very unhappy drenched old tom cat” while swimming to shore, (u awkwardly pat him on the back for thinking ur the best part of Hogwarts, and then smacked him for getting u kidnapped to go into a freezing lake)

and u also ended up helping Viktor rescue the other girl left behind, and froze some of the mermaids’ tails in the water for their trouble

Fleur was so grateful that she came to hunt you (and Viktor too at the time) for helping her and her sister that she came to thank u two again while at the library

which then led to her sometimes hanging around ur table at the library (everyone avoids it like the plague initially bc of you, but now youve got a gaggle of wizards rotating out all the time, like the younger years Harry/Hermione/Ron, Viktor, and now Fleur)

by the time the third trial rolls around, youve taken to bullying the prissy blonde brat a year below you to keep him from not only bothering Harry and Hermione, but also ur own peace and quiet

The other Slytherins are beginning to warm up to you, or at least not actively ignore you, since you’ve been hanging around Viktor Krum, along with gaining favor from Snape more obviously (he’d plopped a singular towel in ur lap after getting out of the lake, and u might as well have “Snape’s Favorite” written across ur forehead for all that means)

(also some of them may or may not find u roasting the annoying blonde bully kid amusing too)

it isn't until u see the creepy retired Aura (or whatever they call their knights) DA professor milling about the castle more, nearer the Gryffindor tower, that you begin to warn Harry to spread the word among his little lion club to not travel alone, esp in the evenings

(u don't like how his weird rolling blue eye looks thru you, it reminds u of Dumbledore)

by the time the third trial is finally announced, you have ur sights set on that weird old man, and end up following him to his classroom at one point,

in which he cracks open a rattling trunk, tosses some food in, and seems to have definitely stolen what you assume to be the Triwizard trophy

he casts a spell on it, and you put on that same invisibiltiy amulet from alchemy to better follow him, and watch him sneak into Dumbledore’s office to return the trophy

(You break the “portkey” spell you find on it)

(you also leave a note behind on the headmaster’s desk to look into a trunk in the new DA professor’s classroom storage, and to be more careful hiring the next one.)

Harry somehow gets sucked into the maze you find out, and you end up sneaking in to save him, using your sword and Cryo Vision to battle him out

(finally, Archons, you didnt realize how much you'd miss fighting monsters)

Aurors descend upon Hogwarts, only just after the trial ends, and Viktor wins (you trained him too well for him to not, and may or may not have viciously sparred with him a little too much for him to not be a little afraid of the consequences of losing after you helped him so much lol)

Just as Harry is taken in by Dumbledore for questioning of how he got trapped in the maze, he runs back to nearly squeeze the life out of you in a hug, he tells you thanks for helping him again (and forced u to promise to teach him sword fighting or “ice magic”)

Then, surprisingly, the entirety of Durmstrang (and some Slytherins??) haul you up into the air with Viktor to celebrate his victory

(You can see Snape snickering at ur misery in the air)

Viktor and Fleur stay penpals, and the “golden trio” (more like “gryffindor triplets”) sticks around your library table

and you think you could start to get used to this, and Harry, Hermione, and Snape had gotten you a Yule/winter gift

(what’s Christmas. and why is everyone obsessed with decorating trees??)

…that is until Hermione looks over your shoulder one day at your usual reading table, and points to a book you’ve chosen for research,

saying “if you need to make a portal somewhere, that’s the book you should be looking in.”

☆

i hope you liked it!! and that it wasn't too much of a clusterfuck/chaos that was barely readable 😅

again, thanks for being patient with me, and here's finally ur payment for dealing with my ass lmao

Happy late new year!!

Safe Travels Kirarisastay,

💀♒

If you wanna join a taglist, DM me what for! "Pspspsss, please tag me for [All SAGAU posts, Only SAGAU Language AUs, diff fandom, etc.]!"

(If you ever wanna drop, just DM me! "No more taglists/[specifically this AU/fandom] please!")

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist / @thedevioussmirk / @the-dumber-scaramouche / @chocogi / @fallen-starr / @areaderofbooks / @devilangel657 / @esthelily / @justinsomniachild / @nanithefuck

If your tag didnt work, idk why!!

Maybe make sure your a "searchable blog", or make sure u didnt give me a side blog?

(Tumblr is against tagging/DMing side blogs, only main blogs usually can)

#genshin impact crossover #harry potter crossover #Genshin x Harry Potter crossover #Genshin x HP AU #genshin harry potter crossover #genshin isekai #genshin imagines #harry potter imagines #hp imagines #platonic #fem reader #happy late new year kiraisastay!! :)

[bonefall]

And not all DC fans are mad! I was happy when Leafpool beat Starfire, and I was pleased with Bumble winning too. (Epilepsy dad here, who is a comics fan, and has 4 kids who love reading the warrior cat books and have the Minifig warriors become superheroes In the Gotham city I hot as a kid) im digressing here: What keeps the warrior cats fandom strong is how you all form up around the cats that were mistreated by the writers, how you bring them into your homes and hearts and make better features for them. My Amuma always used to say if enough people believed in something, then maybe their will can change the world.

Always good to see you around!

This vitriol has been super disappointing, y'know? I feel like I have to keep stressing that DC fans are valid, their frustrations with the comics are well-founded, and Bumble's opponents should also be acknowledged as victims of misogyny

And then we don't get that grace back! Doesn't matter that Warriors is a best-selling kids' series with REALLY harmful messages in it read by millions across the globe. Bumble's "just a cat" and we're "reading too much into it." As if that's not the same shit that gets said about misogyny in media broadly; "They're not real, comics are just for fun, you're reading too much into it"

Now people are like "Oh it was a mistake for WARRIOR CATS to be in this poll" because they're mad our "just a cat" is winning. Like it's not a tournament and that's the whole point. We've got people trying to say that Bumble can't even have misogyny happen to her because the human writers superficially made her a cat, as if she's not a fantasy character like every other fantasy character she's been up against.

But, ugh. I won't let it stop me, y'know? StarClan gives its hardest battles to its strongest warriors ✨✨I will never shut up about the "justa cats," this fandom rocks exactly because of the fact we're so passionate about these issues and how to address and fix them, Bumblesweep FOREVER!

#I'm not a DC fan but one of my best friends in the whole world is #And he's always telling me about what's going on in them #His favorite guy is The Flash! #And me and my friend group have been watching the new superman show together #So like. I don't hate DC and I never have! #And it's not all DC fans obviously. There's just some really loud and nasty ones #But man I can't help feeling like WC fans are getting shit just because there's some sore losers #who are super mad their very prestigious and well-known comic book characters are being beaten by a character they do not respect #Bumblesweep #Vote Bumble #I don't know if I can change the world through my babbles and my passion #But I DO know that I can make some people feel a little better and less alone. #And I can back my girl Bumble and make everyone in this fandom and our surroundings see and acknowledge what they DID TO HER #JUSTICE FOR BUMBLE #bone babble

[mrstsung]

Hc time!

Shang tsung hcs

This is cary hiroyuki tagawa shang tsung. Mk11 and or 95 movie

🐍💚🐍💚🐍💚🐍💚🐍💚🐍💚🐍💚🐍💚🐍

There are Things i feel shang tsung would totally do or is willing to do.,most definitely. However whether or not he acts upon said things. Is context sensitive and depends entirely upon the relationship between you n him.

*An example. Shang i hc,doesn't initiate hugs at first to strangers,he will accept them wholeheartedly if you initiate. But he wont outright hug you,if he doesn't know you. But if you're the type to hug people,he will indulge. Give him time. A least a couple of weeks to get the feel of your vibes soul .

Scenario example. You greet him for the first time. You bow,handshake,and even hug him. He won't initiate a hug. He bows first,then a handshake. As proper greeting. If you hug him he will oblige,but he won't be the first one to outright hug as a greeting. But over time,he may greet you that way.

Hugs and other close proximity forms of affection are kinda intimate. He won't say no per say. But he won't be the one to initiate them until he feels comfortable with you enough. How long is various,who knows with that man. A couple of weeks should be enough. But it could be a few days. Or a few years. Or a few seconds. Who tf knows with that man.

He is absolutely touch starved tho(you can't convince me otherwise). That's why he allows it. But he's awkward ok?*

Again shang tsung is context sensitive as a character. But that's what makes him fun af to write. Endless possibilities,but he has a formula,method to his "madness",etc.

But here is more random hcs of mine of shang tsung:

Shang tsung would totally shapeshift into other characters to try to "sway your opinion of them" to get you more interested in him,joining him,etc. Whether you actually fall for this is all depending on you.

Like i said with the initial reaction to physical affection. He won't say no. But he may be flustered a bit by it. But once the ice is broken so to speak,over a period of time. He will initiate. And oh boy,this man is grabby grabby hands.

Shang tsung loves to pepper his lover in kisses. Especially from Behind.

Shang tsung absolutely CAN'T STAND STAYING DIRTY. like kombat is kombat,blood is blood. And shit happens. And you're gonna be messy. He is no stranger to this. But staying that way? For days?! Hell no. He NEEDS to bathe at some point or another otherwise he'll be grumpy af and not happy at all. A day or two without it,fine but that's the most he will feel comfortable with. Other than that he will be a a foul mood till he showers.

Shang tsung absolutely loves spicy food,but a reasonable amount. Unlike a certain thundergod . His fave spicy meal is a pork or beef noodle soup. He tends to eat it on special occasions,like lunar year or during tournaments.

He lives on an island so most of his diet would consist of seafood,tropical fruits foreign and domestic,and light but flavorful meals. But heavier foods he tends to only eat like i said during special occasions or on occasion. His fave fruit btw is melon,pineapple,mangos and peaches. And coconut. But not just for food but for hair,body care,etc. Very versatile. So if you give him any gifts,fruit is such a simple and sweet gesture to him.

Shang tsung really likes watching you. Not in a creepy way. But in a "i admire you,like a peice of art" kinda way. Like looking at a beautiful sunset,like he genuinely loves watching you. He's a people watcher definitely. But you,he just admires. Both up close and afar.

Shang tsung if he likes you. Like Genuinely loves you,is interested in you or wants to pursue you. NOBODY,NOT EVEN THE GODS WILL STOP HIM! also a surefire way to know. Is he kinda becomes mother hen around you. He starts saying things like "take a coat dear,or you'll catch a cold" or "ugh,let me do that/get that for you. You'll hurt yourself" "ugh so helpless" then proceeds to do it anyways because he care. He may seem nagging to those that don't know. But that's because those that do (more likely raiden) will see that shit and go *poggers* . Another way you'd know is he lets you do things that require "in close proximity" like tending his hair,helping him bathe or put on his armor,making him tea and bringing it to him. Pouring his wine. He trusts you with his well being. So yeah....he likes you. He loves you. Otherwise you wouldn't even be allowed to breathe in his direction that close.

Shang has a slightly softer bed than most that he grew up with(this man is over 500yrs old. So he's old old school chinese. However i feel shang tsung even for his time was kind of a progressive man. So traditional yes but not a bigoted dick ok?). Shang tsung was spoiled by the soft and silk beds in outworld when he got to be able to sleep in them. He has to have a ton of pillows and blankets. But he still prefers a slightly firmer bed. More like a medium firmness perhaps. I see shang tsung overall loving luxurious things. Of course this was all earned from his fights from tournaments past,rewards from his service once as shao Kahn's courtly mage,and even stolen profits that kollector gave him as tribute to offer for both being a mole and to keep his head and soul in tact.

Shang tsung likes soft light ambiance while sleeping. Sometimes he'll have a soul lantern nearby. But if you dont feel comfortable with that. He'll make them something more soothing. Like butterflies or fireflies. And the sounds will be more pleasant. Or he can silence them if that's better. The ocean waves and natural nature that can be heard throughout the island is soothing enough.

I hc shang tsung just has a natural aura of both absolutely calming energy and absolutely terrifying energy. He can either make you feel in absolute danger but too scared to move. Or....he can lull you,calm you,soothe you,and put your mind at ease. If it's genuine,this works wonders if you have anxiety(like moi). If he isn't genuine,and it's a means to an end. All the more to spread his influence. However.....you're special....so it's not likely the latter unless you're an enemy. But you're his beloved...so count your blessings.

Speaking of which,if you're his beloved nobody in their right mind would harm you. Or their souls would be absolutely taken.

Also shang tsung could read me anything and I'd be happy. I feel most people agree. Also i hc he loves books and loves to read. He loves to sniff books. I know weird. But yeah. You ever smell a good book? Like an old book? Good shit right there.

Shang tsung smells like incense,old books and scrolls,and some other indescribable scent. Something that is sort of an aphrodisiac that is very enticing. What that is specifically depends entirely upon the individual. And it can change or vary depending on the person and if he wants it to be something gentle and inviting. Or something horrible and terrifying(he literally smells dangerous) or he will have a smell that will absolutely make you randy. Either way that man's natural cologne is intoxicating af. He doesn't really need any perfumes,those are for you my dear. Not him. Tho he may use them on occasion if he needs to feel...."cleaner" flesh pits,alchemy,and the trials of kombat are no joke honey.

I may write some more,maybe specific things. But for now enjoy.

🥰💚🐍

#mortal kombat #self ship #self shipping #shang tsung #💚heart and soul🐍 #shang tsung mortal kombat #mk f/o #antagonist f/o #villain f/o #villain/antagonist f/o #my hcs #random shang tsung hcs of mine #shang tsung x you #shang tsung x reader #shang tsung x y/n #mk11 shang tsung #mk 95 shang tsung #95 shang tsung #mortal kombat shang tsung #mortal kombat 1995 shang tsung #cary hiroyuki tagawa shang tsung

[carothehotmess]

GENERAL THOUGHTS AFTER HOTD EPISODE 5

Rip Rhea Royce I just know that you were not hetero and tbh you showed up, insulted daemon’s virility, and immediately died and that was a pretty iconic character arc if you ask me

Laenor and Rhaenyra agreeing to have an open relationship and becoming friends and allies! We love to see it!

Joffrey talking about seeing the tournaments when Rhaenyra becomes Queen… oh my sweet summer child you shall never see them for so many reasons

But also I love that we got a little of his and Laenor’s relationship before his death

Ser Criston- bro?!?! Did you really think she was going to marry you?! What drug is this man on and where can I get some

Allicent sweetheart wtf was that skirting around the question? Just ask if Rhaenyra fucks!

But also I was very confused like did she understand that Criston and not Daemon slept with Rhaenyra? Because if so, why was she so pissed?? Like either its just a miscommunication situation, which is so dumb, or she understood that Rhaenyra didn’t lie to her so like… is she just jealous that Rhae slept with anyone?! So many questions.

The entrances. Good GOD they all slayed. The Velaryons win for having a whole ass routine and theme going on, Daemon wins for never listening to his weak ass brother and just showing up to cause chaos, and Alicent wins for badass moment and prettiest dress (well tied with Laena) because I just love that color green okay??

Rhaenyra and Laenor would definitely come across like they are a little in love to anyone who doesn’t realize because their shared excitement over their agreement and future plans was so cute. Like they seemed genuinely excited to be partners in secrets.

The dancing was SO FUN and Harwin just very subtly being the one dancing with Rhaenyra the most was great. She always seemed to be smiling or laughing in the brief scenes of them dancing together, and I’m just so glad she has him!!

The set up for Daemon and Laena was also great! Him clearly still prioritizing Rhaenyra but also noticing and being very much interested in Laena is fantastic development imo

THAT GRIP THOUGH. Like my Queen really taunted him and basically begged him to whisk her away and marry her and the way he gripped her face did not need to be so hot. I said it and I meant it.

HARWIN STRONG I LOVE YOU ugh him literally fighting his way over to Rhaenyra then throwing her over her shoulder like it was nothing was just chefs kiss

Rip Joffrey, you deserved to get to live your dreams of being in tournaments and fucking the king consort. Gone too soon

Fuck Ser Criston Cole. I do like that they made it about his “honor” or whatever as well, but it really mostly gave off the vibes of him throwing a temper tantrum just because he didn’t get what he wanted

I did love that Laena was also fighting to get to Laenor. Their bond is great and I hope we get to see them and Rhaenyra and Daemon grow closer!

Poor Laenor. The gays did not do well this episode methinks

Viserys bro why are you even still alive at this point

#hotd spoilers #hotd ep 5 #hotd #house of the dragon #rhaenyra targaryen #daemon targaryen #allicent hightower #viserys targaryen #laenor velaryon #joffrey lonmouth #laena velaryon #harwin strong #daemyra #rhaenyra x harwin #fuck criston cole #game of thrones #got

[sunflowerandstrawberryspice]

Little redraw of a scene I did for Inktober day 3 (path), I'm autistic so, of course, I immediately thought of my favorite scene from the Garmadon comics!

This gives me the perfect opportunity to talk about them cause holy shit they have a huge grasp on my psyche lol (Remember this is all for fun and the haha sillies so please be nice):

The comic was so genuinely good and captured Garmadon's character SO WELL! Like they made him such a fantastic character (I thought he was before but this just reinforced it) and I loved the way it showed he was impacted by everything that happened and how he feels about himself like UGH it was so great.

Also, I'm sorry but the scene where Other Garmadon is like "Did Wu warn you or did you only wish he had?" Is so sad cause like 1) He wanted to believe someone tried to stop him, that there was someone looking out and trying to save him but ALSO 2) this means that he kinda made himself think it was HIS fault for not listening, which kinda feeds into the narrative of him feeling like there was only one path for him.

I would like to point out there could kinda if you squint be an allegory for like queerness/anyone rejected by society HERE ME OUT! This is obviously a stretch I'll admit but like the demonization of oneself, literally fighting another version of himself until he comes to accept he isn't only the bad parts of himself and can grow and change and is a person! Also, Garmadon is just kinda fruity in general side-eyeing his """"Roommate"""" Vinny Folsen of NGTV News and his WHOLE dynamic with Clouse in Tournament of Elements (Garmadon a Bi icon).

Anyway yeah I love Garmadon and yall should to, fuck crystalized, I hope we get more of Garmadon in Dragons Rising and lowkey I think it would be super funny if the first canonical queer rep in Ninjago was Garmadon an ex-warlord son of god who happens to also be Oni and just Vinny who is literally just A Dude tm.

That's all from me, I am now going to fade into the abyss until I finish the Spinjitzu Brothers books when I will surly return with new opinions! BYEEEEEE!

#ninjago #ninjutsu #spinjitzu #ninjago secrets of the forbidden spinjitzu #ninjago fanart #garmadon ninjago #wu ninjago #spinjitzu brothers #garmadon comics #garmadon fanart #vinny folson #vinny x garmadon #lloyd garmadon #biseuxal #inktober

[erenyeagerssgf]

streamer!silver wolf as your gf

♡ characters: silver wolf

♡ contains: gn!reader, established relationship, fluff, hcs, not proofread

♡ a/n: this inspired me to write again after a long time. i love silver wolf sm and i don't see enough content for her, so here's my piece! requests are closed, but suggestions are welcomed!

silver wolf definitely lives in a house with blade & kafka

they are also probably content creators or something

kafka is kind of her manager because she could care less about pr and sponsors, she just wants to play games!

has a really cool set up (best equipment only) and room but it's messy

always looks for cheats/funny glitches in every game (she gets genuinely amused by it💀)

silver wolf definitely gets so invested with what she's doing that she forgets to eat & drink water when she streams

you've probably encouraged chat to make sure they remind her of water breaks & sometimes you come in with food you've made her

always chewing pink bubblegum tho

silver wolf's membership/special streams are her teaching viewers how to code

i feel like she makes song covers once in a blue moon

she has a nice voice and she knows it, it's just too much work to record the vocals, find an instrumental, and all that!

on another note, she makes u playlists <3

i hc she listens to punk music (punklorde duh) & hyperpop

oh and she def gets u guys matching items! a fur tail keychain (which she attaches to her belt most of the time) & scrunchies/hair accessories

back to streaming, silver wolf's a master at rhythm games (she eats proseka players up)

definitely on leaderboards

hasn't really considered entering a pro gaming tournament, but you encourage her because she's just so good!

silver wolf is a bit hesitant to have you on her streams, but when you are, she LOVES playing games with you

you guys coop stardew valley & are married in game for sure <3

just like she did to the trailblazer, she will force you to pull for characters you probably don't even want

lowkey encourages you to make bad decisions in game, you get so frustrated and she thinks it's sooo funny

she makes up for it though when you're offline

you'll find this really rare item and look at it like ??? when did i get this?

when silver wolf gets tired on stream, she cuddles herself up in the blanket you got her so she could be more comfy <3

her viewers thinks it's so cute omg

she definitely makes fun of the people in chat that are down bad for her, she only wants your affection🙄

as a joke her viewers probs make really "cringy" thirst trap video edits of her (sometimes with you) and she likes to react to them on stream

silver wolf is pretty expressionless most of the time, but she cracks a smile and a few chuckles at the edits, they're too amusing to not laugh at

you've probably saved some edits of her on your phone though👀

randomly goes through your phone one day & is like wtf??? there's a whole album of edits dedicated to me??

actually gets a bit flustered & cuddles with you later <3

omg yk how she likes to pinch cute things? she ALWAYS pinches your cheeks or other parts of your body

ugh i love her <3

unfortunately, i’m giving up the layout i had with the pictures. tumblr just won’t let me format my posts the way i want it to😔 enjoy!!

#💐.cutie #.hcs #hsr x reader #hsr x you #hsr x y/n #honkai star rail x reader #silver wolf x reader #silver wolf hsr #hsr headcanons #hsr hcs #silver wolf headcanons #silver wolf hcs #fluff #hsr fluff #honkai star rail fluff #silver wolf fluff

[ohnoitsjetster]

Howdy Jesster!

I’ve got a fun lil ask if you wanna answer- What’s a Starkid character that you would want to play if you could hypothetically pick anybody?

Ok ty, Have a nice day!

YAY YAY YIPPE!!!!!

…I mean. Hello. Thank you for the ask (!!!!)

That’s a fantastic question, man oh man. Okay im gonna like, break it down a bit. Do a sort of a tournament. Tldr at the end if you want to skip my insanity

So lets start in Hatchetfield

Tgwdlm: I think ted just BARELY loses it to Hidgens, and that’s just cause Hidgens gets his own song and Show Stoping Number fucks. Sam would be really fun too tho. And I love Mcnamara but I might throw up if i had to sing Great Again

Black Friday: Ethan. you kidding me? Ethan. Oh but I would easily settle for a Frank Pricely

Nightmare time: kind of a wild card cause this includes everyone, but im not counting characters ive already picked. Ugh do I wanna play Duke or do I just love Curt Mega? The question of our time. Idk man, tinky and ted would both be lots of fun. Ok yeah ig it’s gotta be Duke

NPMD: it hurts to choose, ow, ow, i love them all s o much. Peter, Ruth, and Richie all seem like they would be really really fun,,,,, but not as much fun as Max

outside of Hatchetfield, I think I have only seen Trail to Oregon, Firebringer, and the HP trilogy. (im working on it I promise). uh. lets go with Jack, Ducker, and Ron. NO WAIT. hehe. Voldemort.

overall, ughhhh. I don't know. Ethan's my favorite but I guess its actually between Hidgens and Max. Max I guess

now here's the thing. you said Starkid. but if you had said Starcanwrecked this would not even be a competition. because the number one character ive always wanted to play since watching those musicals. is Agent Curt Mega. (though that'd mean I dont get to sing torture tango, which, huge bummer)

TLDR: Max Jägerman, which I did not expect to be my answer, but if I think about it, it just seems like the most fun, idk maybe it's my residual dead-bully brain from playing Orin Scrivello. But if TCB counts counts then forget about it, Agent Curt Mega all the way!

#starkid #hatchetfield #hatchetverse #nerdy prudes must die #max jagerman #tin can bros #spies are forever #agent curt mega #ethan green #henry hidgens #ted spankoffski #duke keane #voldemort #my beloveds

[theschizotypalsolilquy]

My nephew and I were trashing JK Rowling the other day.

It happens when you're sitting in traffic.

See, he's almost 20, and I'm almost 45, both having read the books as young adults then again with an older mindset.

But still, even as young adults, we realized some things.

Like how fucking manipulative Dumbledore was. He was the Chessmaster and everyone else were his pawns. How he didn't help with anything, like not telling Harry about Horcruxes and leaving the Golden Trio hanging after he died. He was not a good person, and didn't care who got killed. How if he knew about Draco, why didn't he offer help to him earlier? And allowing Snape to teach Harry occulemncy. Raise your hand if you thought that was gonna end well.

And constantly sending Harry back to a family that was abusing him. WTF.

How misogynistic the Pureblood society is, and now you know why. Cuz the author opened her stupid mouth and let her horrible, racist opinions fly.

How she killed off beloved characters for shock value, not to further the plot. Like how she said she had to kill Fred because she had let Arthur live, so a Weasley had to go. She could have killed off Percy or Charlie if she was just making a trade.

And you're telling me that Remus Motherfucking Lupin, one of the best duelists in the HP franchise, got himself killed? Puhleeze....dude was a stone cold fighter. Same with Sirius. What a pitiful death.

These are the ramblings of a person who hasn't slept in four days thanks to no pain meds, so I'm quite loopy.

But are we wrong though?? My nephew also hated the couples that ended up together. And I agreed with him. Harry and Ginny had absolutely no chemistry with one another. He would have been better off with Luna. They would have been awesome together.

Same goes for Hermione and Ron. Ron is such a walking red flag. Insecure, jealous, prone to angry outbursts. Not very loyal (see dropping Harry during the Triwizard tournament and leaving their asses in the middle of the forest). Who else she could have ended up with, I couldn't say. As much as I love Dramione, I know they didn't have enough contact in the books to make that a choice. Fuck, let her have Viktor. Dude knew how to treat her and saw her for who she was. He didn't make fun of her for being a swot or anything like that. Accepted Hermione as is.

Ugh, I need sleep. My chainsmoking ass is sitting outside in 86 degree weather at 630 in the morning. Only time the day is bearable until it hits 100 by 10 am. Fucking Texas.

Comment and let me know if my nephew and I are the only ones who see how fucked up the books are. We are not denying their brilliance, or uniqueness. But the characters and the horrible, racist world she created.

#harry potter #jk rowling #hermione granger #ron weasley

[dialovers-translations]

DIABOLIK LOVERS GRAND EDITION Yoyaku Tokuten Drama CD “A Heated Battle! The Ball-Game Competition’s Preliminaries!?”

Original title: 熱闘！ 球技大会前哨戦!?

Source: Diabolik Lovers GRAND EDITION Yoyaku Tokuten CD

Audio: Here

Seiyuu: Toriumi Kousuke, Katsuyuki Konishi, Midorikawa Hikaru, Kaji Yuki, Hirakawa Daisuke, Kondou Takashi, Takahiro Sakurai, Kimura Ryouhei, Tatsuhisa Suzuki, Kishio Daisuke

Translator’s note: This is definitely one of those CDs which would benefit a lot from visuals. There’s the background noises - of course - but those can be rather vague. During the dodgeball sequence, you can constantly hear the boys making random ‘hah’ and ‘ugh’ noises as they throw the ball. I didn’t actually translate all of it though because at times other characters start talking on top of it and it would just become a mess. ^^;; Overall this was a pretty fun CD though. Personal highlights being Shuu doing a slam dunk and the MC outsmarting the boys not once, but twice. She’ll probably end up regretting it afterwards though, poor girl. 

Laito: Hey, Bitch-chan! Have you decided which event to join at the upcoming ball-game tournament? (1)

You shake your head. 

Shuu: You still haven’t made up your mind? Still the same old Slowpoke, huh?

Subaru: They’re all mixed teams with students across all three different grades, right? So why can’t we just let the people who want to participate do their thing and call it a day? 

Reiji: If this was a normal school, the different classes would be facing off against each other. However, Ryoutei Academy does not have a large enough number of students to apply said system.

Shuu: They should just cancel it already then. What a drag…

Kou: Per usual, you guys lack any kind of motivation, huh? Oh well, that only plays in our advantage, I guess.

Ayato: Keh! Those Mukami bastards…!

The Mukami’s approach them. 

Ruki: What a rude way to greet someone. 

Azusa: Good…evening…

Kanato: What brings you four here today?

Yuma: Isn’t that obvious!? ーー Oi, Sow! You’ll be joinin’ our team for the ball-game competition!

Azusa: I’m sure…you’d have a much better time with us…than if you were to join the Sakamaki’s team…Justin wants you to team up with us as well…

Kou: I’m sure you would want to make the best of the day, right? We’re actually going to try our best so I’m sure you’d be able to enjoy the different events as well!

Ruki: There you have it. If you understand, come with us. 

*Rustle* 

Ayato: Che…Don’t be decidin’ that by yourself now!

*Rustle* 

Ayato: Chichiashi’s gonna be on my team. …Right? 

Kanato: Ayato. She will obviously form a team with me. That was your intention all along, wasn’t it? You’re always so indecisive, so I’m being so kind as to make the decision for you. You belong to me after all. … Right, Teddy? 

Laito: Look who’s Miss Popular all of a sudden! What will you do? The choice is yours~

Shuu: Haah…What a drag…Then why don’t you just participate in all categories? 

Ayato: Oh! Mr. Sloth actually has a decent idea for once!

Reiji: I suppose that would fix the issue. 

Laito: Nfu~ I like the sound of that. I can’t wait to pamper you after you’re all worn-out and exhausted from having to participate in all games~

Ruki: Heh…You guys never change, do you? 

Kou: You should just leave these tyrants and come with us instead! We’ll treat you much nicer, you know?

Subaru: Fuck off…Oi, come here!

Reiji: You should team up with us. …If the message is clear, thenーー

You make a suggestion. 

Reiji: Haah? We should all form one big team together? …Are you out of your mind? 

Shuu: …Hah. You really have a few loose screws. 

Kanato: You really think our families would gladly team up together? You can’t even figure out that much?

Laito: I’m impressed, Bitch-chan! You’re being loved by so many different men! …So, what will you do? Will you choose us? Or the Mukami family?

You frown. 

Azusa: You can’t…make up your mind…?

Laito: You really are indecisive, aren’t you? 

Kou: In that case, why don’t we use the different categories of the ball-tournament to decide on the matter? Whichever team wins gets to have M-neko-chan on their team!

Ayato: A showdown, huh? I like the sound of that!

Reiji: If we’re going based on the ball-game tournament, that would be five different sports in total, being  basketball, soccer, table tennis, softball and dodgeball, correct?

Kou: Exactly! We’ll hold five different rounds for each category with one member of each respective family participating at a time. Whoever wins a total of three rounds first is the winner! The rules will be the same as during the actual tournament. That’s fair enough, right?

Reiji: I see. That does sound reasonable. 

Ruki: It’s settled then. 

Shuu: Pwaah…Whatever. 

Ayato: Hehe…I’ll make you regret challengin’ me!

Reiji: Well then, to keep things fair, let us decide who shall play which sport by pulling straws. 

Ayato: Haah!? I’m goin’ for basketbal, obviously!

Kou: It wouldn’t be fair if you get to choose the sport you’re best at, right? I figured we’d have to decide it this way, so I’ve already prepared a lottery!

*Rattle* 

Kou: Voila!

Laito: You thought of everything, didn’t you. Well then, I suppose I’ll draw first.

Kanato: Excuse me!? Who said you could go first!? I’m going before you!

Ruki: No redraws. You have to settle with whichever event you pulled on your first try. Am I clear?

*TIMESKIP*

Reiji: Well then, let us start with the table tennis competition. Subaru, Azusa. Please get ready.

Subaru: Che…Why me!? 

Azusa: Good luck…

Subaru: Tsk…I’ll get this over with real quick. Hah!

*THUD*

Laito: Wow! Look at that ball go!

Subaru: Hell yeah!

Ayato: Keh…Don’t just send the thing flying!

Reiji: Haah…Subaru. Do you know the rules of table tennis? When you serve, the ball has to bounce once on your side and once on the opponent’s side of the court.

Subaru: Wha…!? O-Of course…!

Ruki: So you were playing without even knowing the rules? 

Subaru: N-No…! I just went a lil’ overboard, that’s all!

Azusa: Well then…My turn next…There!

*Thud* 

Azusa: Ah…It got caught in the net…

Reiji: That’s minus one point for the opponent as well. I suppose that covers for Subaru’s blunder from earlier.

Ayato: Oi, Subaru! Don’t mess up on the serve this time!

Subaru: Fuck off! Just you watch! …Hah!

*THUD*

Ayato: And there you go fuckin’ up again right as I warned you!? 

Azusa: Then…I’ll try one more time as well…There. 

*Thud*

Yuma: In the net again!? 

Ruki: Haah…Azusa as well, huh? 

Subaru: Che…This time I’ll get it right for sure! Hah!

*THUD*

Azusa: This time for sure…I’ll get the ball to the other side…

*Thud*

Subaru: I’m only just warmin’ up!

*THUD*

Azusa: Why can’t I get it over the net…? …There.

*Thud*

Subaru: Hah!

*THUD*

Subaru and Azusa continue to fall to land a proper serve.

Shuu: …Say, what is this sport called again? 

Yuma: Table tennis…I think? 

Laito: Heeh~ I had no idea that in table tennis, both parties just continue to exchange serves forever and ever~

Ruki: At this rate, a winner will never be decided…

Reiji: I suppose that leaves us with no other choice. Let us decide on a winner through rock-paper-scissors.

Subaru: Hah!? Don’t decide that without us!

Kou: What’s the point in continuing at this point? We’re all bored of watching you two, Subaru-kun. Azusa-kun, you’re good with rock-paper-scissors, right?

Azusa: Mmh.

Ruki: It’s decided then. 

Subaru: Fuck…! 

He tosses his racket away. 

*Thud* 

Subaru: Guess I have no other choice then. …Oi, let’s hurry up and settle this score.

Azusa: Oh…Sure. 

Subaru & Azusa: Rock…! …Paper! …Scissors!

Subaru: Fuck yeah!

Azusa: Ah…

Yuma: Azusa lost, huh? 

Azusa: I’m sorry…If this was a fist fight instead…I would have gladly taken the L…

Yuma: No you should win that one!

Laito: Well then…Basketball is up next, right? Let me think…I guess we can make this a one-on-one shooting show-off? 

Ruki: Yes. Each person gets three attempts and whoever lands the most shots wins, okay? …I am up next. 

Reiji: From our side…It’s Shuu. 

Shuu: Haah…Why me?

Reiji: It was decided in a fair manner. Go ahead and make use of your height for once.

Shuu: What a drag…

Azusa: Ruki…Try your best…

Ruki: Yes, I will. …Well then, I shall go first.

*Woosh*

Kou: Wow~! Nice shot!

Ayato: Tsk…That bastard, I can’t believe he landed from far away like it was nothin’! ー Oi, Shuu! Don’t you dare miss now!

Laito: Good luck, Shuu~!

Shuu: Haah…What a drag…

*Woosh*

*Thud thud thud* 

Shuu: …

Laito: …Ah.

Kou: …Ah-ah~ He missed. 

Ayato: What are you doin’, lazy-ass!? 

Reiji: Haah…You’re putting us to shame as the eldest son of this family.

Ayato: Lame-o!

Shuu: Shut up. Why must I even do this? ーー Besides, why would you even try to land from far away? It’d be much easier to just put it straight through the ring, right?

Azusa: Eh?

Shuu dribbles towards the ring and performs a slam dunk. 

*Thud* 

Ayato: Oh…!

Azusa: Wow…

Kanato: I think…this is the first time in my life…I’ve seen Shuu move around this much…

Reiji: I suppose miracles do happen after all. I just hope this isn’t a bad omen for what’s to come. 

Kou: However, Ruki-kun takes the victory here, right? Slam dunks are forbidden according to the tournament's rules after all. 

Ruki: Yes. …Too bad for you, Sakamaki Shuu. 

Ayato: Haah!? That doesn’t matter right now, does it!?

Azusa: We’ll hold five different rounds for each category with one member of each respective family participating at a time….and the rules will be the same as during the actual tournament…That’s what we decided on, no?

Ruki: Breaking the rules leads to disqualification. I am fairly certain we established that beforehand. 

Reiji: We most definitely did. We take this loss. 

Laito: Nfu~ Shuu tried so hard too. What a shame. 

Ayato: Tsk…!

Kanato: I do not mind. We just have to win the next one, that’s all. 

Laito: So, what should we do next? Soccer? Softball? 

Ayato: I’ll go next! ーー Oi, Yuma! Compete with me in soccer!

Yuma: Heh! Ya sure have a big mouth! I’ll crush ya real quick!

Reiji: ーー Listen carefully. You will compete in a penalty shootout and alternate to take single-shots at the goal in a penalty format. Whoever has the most points after five turns is the winner. 

Ayato: Bring it on!

Yuma: Hell yeah! Gimme yer best shot, mate! …Ey!

Ayato: …In your dreams! 

*Thud* 

Ayato: How’s that!? I won’t let a single one of yer shots through!

Yuma: Che…

They switch places. 

Ayato: How’s that!? It’s my turn next! …Ugh!

Yuma: Heh! Ya think ya stand a chance with a weak shot like that!? 

They switch places again. 

Yuma: I’ll show ya what a real shot looks like!

*Thud* 

Ayato: …Ugh! Yours is just as weak!

Ayato: The way you talk like you’re the shit really gets on my nerves!

*Thud* 

Yuma: …Ugh! Ayato…You can kick like ya mean it, ya know!?

They continue switching places and successfully stopping each other’s shots. 

Reiji: …They’ve long surpassed the five shot mark. 

Laito: This back-and-forth is giving me flashbacks…

Shuu: Just having to witness it feels like a chore…

Azusa: Should we resort to rock-paper-scissors again?

Ruki: We already had to rely on it earlier, so it wouldn’t be ideal. 

Kou: In that case…Ah! Look! There’s takoyaki over there!

Ayato: …What!?

Ayato looks away. 

Yuma: Hah! You’re wide open, mate!

*Thud* 

Ayato: Aah…!!

Kou: Goal~!

Ayato: You bastard…Kou!

Shuu: Who is even so stupid to fall for that…? 

Subaru: Oi! Doesn’t that go against the competition’s rules as well!? 

Ruki: There is nothing in the rules which mentions it is prohibited, therefore Kou’s actions are perfectly legal. 

Reiji: Haah…With Ayato’s loss, it is now 2 against 1 in their favor. We cannot afford any more losses. 

Azusa: Fufu…Aren’t you glad, Eve? You should be able to take part in the ball-game competition together with us…

Kou: Pwaah~ I want to go home already…So let’s quickly take the victory home. 

Kanato: Ugh…I do not like this one bit. Whether it’s Ayato’s sheer stupidity…or the way those Mukami’s are acting as if they have won already. Softball is next…I shall turn the tables by winning this one.

Ayato: Haah? Kanato, you can play softball? 

Kanato: It’s your fault for losing! That’s why I have to step up now! So let’s hurry up and get started already! Who is playing from the Mukami team!? 

Kou: That would be me~ 

Kanato: Okay. …Please watch me, okay, Teddy? 

*Rustle* 

Laito: Kanato-kun, huh? …Do we think we have a chance at winning? 

Reiji: It’s not like we have much other choice, do we? 

Laito: I know but…Do we consider it a win for Kanato-kun if he can hit one ball?

Ruki: Yes. The other competitions already took far too long after all. If Kanato gets three outs, Kou is the winner. However, if he can hit one ball, Sakamaki Kanato takes the W instead. 

Laito: You heard him! Kanato-kun, what do you think? Do you think you can hit it?

Kanato: Oh, shut up, Laito! That would be a piece of caーー 

Kou: Here it comes!

*Woosh* 

*Thud* 

Kanato: Ughー!

Ayato: A miss right away?

Kanato: Shut up! I 

Kou: Here comes number two!

Kanato: Wha…!? 

*Woosh* 

Kanato: Ugh…!

Shuu: Pwaah…I guess this competition is as good as over, huh? Which means I finally get to go home, thank god. 

Reiji: What do you mean, ‘thank god’!? Good grief…The Sakamaki house must never lose to the Mukami’s!

Laito: Right? They’ll take Bitch-chan away from us as well. …I suppose I have no other choice. ーー Kanato-kun! Subaru-kun just told me that he’ll throw Teddy out if you don’t hit the next ball!

Subaru: H-Haah…!? The fuck!? I never said anythin’ like that!

Kanato: I won’t let you…lay a single finger on Teddy, Subaru!!

Subaru: But I never said I would!!

Reiji: Not a bad provocation coming from Laito…Kanato! If you don’t want to lose Teddy, you better hit the ball and end this showdown!

Kanato: Hic…Throw away Teddy…Uu…Outrageous…

Kou: That’s three outs for you!

*Woosh* 

Kanato: Not in a million yearsーー!!

Kanato hits the ball.

*Thud* 

Kou: Hah…!

Ayato: Oh!

Laito: A homerun~!

Kanato runs up to Teddy. 

Kanato: Teddy~~~!!

*Rustle* 

Kanato: How foolish of me to leave you alone with that brute of a Subaru, Teddy! Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you are never in danger again…by locking that guy up!

Subaru: For the millionth time, it wasn’t me!

Reiji: We’re not even with two points each.

Ruki: Only dodgeball remains. 

Reiji: How about all ten of us compete in this one? 

Azusa: All of us…? So four against six…? Shouldn’t we get some kind of handicap then…? 

Reiji: Oh dear? Are you implying that you stand no chance against us otherwise? 

Yuma: Haah!? Don’t be spoutin’ bullcrap! 

Kou: Exactly! That sounds a bit unreasonable, doesn’t it? …You agree, don’t you, Ruki-kun? 

Ruki: Like the others are saying, I do question the fairness of it. However…Right. We are willing to compete under those circumstances but if we do manage to win despite the disadvantage, I assume we will be rewarded accordingly? 

Reiji: Very well. If your team wins, not only will she join your team but we will grant any one of your requests. 

Ruki: Hmph. Deal. It’s settled then. 

Ayato: Heh! This time we’ll crush you for sure! 

They start playing dodgeball.

Laito: Ahーah~ Everyone’s totally fired up…

Azusa: Ah…The point of this game…is to avoid getting hit by the ball…right? …That seems really difficult…

Yuma: Oi, Azusa! Don’t ya dare jump in front of the ball!

Ruki: Kou, Yuma, Azusa. We should aim for Sakamaki Shuu first since he is the least likely to try and dodge. The middle triplet is second on the list. 

Kou: Roger!

Yuma: Let’s get this over with and settle the score! …Take this!!

*Woosh*

*Thud* 

Shuu: …Ah. 

Yuma: Hah! Bingo!

Reiji: Ah! The ball’s in the opponent’s hands again!

Yuma: Next!

Kanato: Ah! Teddy, watch out!

*Thud* 

Kanato: Guah!

Ayato: …The fuck, Kanato!? Why did you let yourself get hit to protect that stupid bear!?

Reiji: We’ve lost two members because Shuu failed to claim the ball…I cannot believe he allowed himself to get hit so easily. Pathetic…Good god.

Ruki: It’s four against four now. We’ve evened the playing field. …Let’s go!

*Woosh*

Azusa: …Woah. That was close…

Reiji: Hah…!

*Woosh*

Yuma: Wait, you little…!

*Woosh* 

Shuu: Pwah…I’m sleepy…

The remaining eight boys continue playing dodgeball. 

Kanato: Nobody’s getting hit…It will be morning soon. Just how much longer until this is over with?

Shuu: You really think there will be an end to this? 

Kanato: There better be! We can’t even return to the manor like this! …You feel the same way, don’t you? ーー Ah!

Shuu: Hm? 

Kanato: …She’s gone!

Subaru: Hm? What’s wrong, Kanato?

Yuma: …!! The Sow’s gone! What’s going on!? 

*Thud thud thud* 

Ruki: This is…? 

*Flip* 

Ruki: A letter?

Ayato: ‘...I’m sorry. I just can’t.’ ーー Chichinashi! She made a run for it! 

Ruki: Kou, Yuma, Azusa. Split up and search for her. 

Reiji: You lot as well. Hurry up and find her!

Subaru: Don’t tell me what to do!

Yuma: Che…Who does that damn Sow think she’s dealin’ with, huh!? 

*TIMESKIP*

Laito: Haah, haah, haah…Bitch-chan! We finally found you!

Yuma: Sow! Explain yourself!

Azusa: Haah, haah…Exactly…I tried so hard…to stay in the game…and not let myself get hit by the ball…

You explain. 

Ayato: Haah!? You already decided to join the girls’ team!? 

Ruki: …!? 

Reiji: What do you mean!? 

Azusa: So…We can’t get hurt together at the…ball-game competition…? 

Kou: No, I don’t think that was ever the intention…

Ruki: I see…If she has already submitted her application to the school, then there is nothing we can do about it. Let’s go home. 

Yuma: Tsk…I can’t believe we got played like this…

Laito: Ah-aah~ I never thought you out of all people would do this to us. I guess today was just a wasted effort then. I better get plenty of blood in return to make up for it, okay? So, Bitch-chan, why don’t the two of us ーー Hold up…She’s gone again!? 

Subaru: Where did she go!?

Shuu: Guess she ran away? Actually doing the smart thing for once. 

Reiji: She sure has some nerve to run away from us not once, but twice.

Kanato: Kuh…I can’t forgive her. I better punish her thoroughly after this!

Ayato: Fuck! You best believe I’m suckin’ you dry next we meet, Chichinashiiiiーー!!

ーー THE END ーー

#diabolik lovers #dialovers #shuu sakamaki #reiji sakamaki #ayato sakamaki #kanato sakamaki #laito sakamaki #subaru sakamaki #ruki mukami #kou mukami #yuma mukami #azusa mukami #diabolik lovers translation #diabolik lovers drama cd #drama cd

[chaos-and-ink]

15 questions for 15 friends

Ahhh thxs for the tag @lavenderpanic :D

1. are you named after anyone? Nah, I have the most boring and generic name ever. I absolutely hate it. My chosen name I'm not really named after anyone but I do share it with one of my favourite characters so I got that going for me.

2. when was the last time you cried? Like 4 hours ago while driving and listening to music and thinking about the person I love. It was weird to have a happy cry but it felt really nice.

3. do you have kids? Oh god, no. I have a dog. I want some cats. I honestly don't have patience for kids and I don't really see myself having any, they scare me lmaoooo.

4. what sports do you play/have you played? I did karate for 3 years. I also absolutely love badminton, I was amazing at it and won several tournaments in my PE classes lmao. Also volleyball. Never played soccer but I always wanted too. Unfortunately, sports just aren't great for me anymore but I really wish I could play again, I miss them.

5. do you use sarcasm? Not really, I don't think? My humor has been described as reallllly dry though. So like sarcasm but with less heat lmao.

6. what’s the first thing you notice about people? How they move/their presence lol. I don't even know how to describe it. But like, just how a person moves in an environment.

7. what’s your eye color? Boring brown lolll. My eyes are definitely the thing I hate the most about my appearance.

8. scary movies or happy endings comedies? I'm absolutely awful at scary movies. I literally get such paranoia and hallucinations and I think I once triggered myself into a psychotic episode because of a PG13 'scary' movie. And it lasted for a week so likeeeee.. comedies 100%

9. any talents? My joints are my only talents lmao. Bending my thumbs to my forearms. Bending my elbows and knees backwards. Folding my arms backwards in front of me. popping my joints continuously. Subluxing my hips and shoulders on command.... thats it lmao.

10. where were you born? Chongqing, China.

11. what are your hobbies? So ill lately I kinda forget I have hobbies sometimes. I like to draw when I can. I love making stickers and prints and stuff. I like doing crafts and activities and stuff. I also like to write but I've been in a huge slump as of lately. I love reading too but also haven't been able to concentrate long enough to do that :/ I used to write and make music too.

12. do you have any pets? I have two dogs! A Welsh Terrier and a Poodle x Old English Sheep Dog. Love them both.

13. how tall are you? 5'1. (155cm) Though I might be taller if my bones knew how to stack correctly.

14. favorite subject in school? Biomedical science is my biggest passion. Especially diagnostic and treatment aspects. I loooooovveeee human body science and my favourite thing is learning about all the things that go wrong in it, why they go wrong in it, and how it can be managed. I read textbooks for fun lmao. If I weren't chronically ill and disabled I would absolutely go into the medical field. I remember doing gel electrophoresis tests and cadaver labs and dissections and stuff and it was just ugh. I loved all of it so much I wish I could've gone farther in it.

15. dream job? I'd loved to have been a primary care physician/family doctor or to work in the ER. Realistically, I really want to illustrate medical textbooks or infographics and stuff for hospitals or medical facilities.

Gently tagging @bucky-boychik-barnes and @ace-bucket

#chaos #just me rambling a ton about myself #tag game #questions

[eleanorose123]

brother and i finished rewatching zexal- time for the second half thoughts lol

there is a LOT more this time around, so it's under a readmore

right off the bat, Zexal II gives off major sailor moon energy in terms of "haha you FOOLS! the power you used to defeat last season's antag is USELESS now!"

ah yes.......gilag's design.............

brother and i have a long running joke that the barian emperors as a whole are just doing a group project and constantly struggling with the basic shit that people face when DOING group projects (infighting in particular)

also fun fact, my brother DESPISES the sound effect they use for the barian door opening during the chaos xyz summons

i want to say that 85% of shingetsu's shenanigans were planned. he wanted to put yuma through so much hell

furry coach duelist, never forget

TAKASHI TODOROKI MY SWEET BOY

ah rio "i will not be used as a shield to my brother" kamishiro.....we were so hopeful back then

alit remains to be a raging bisexual, we love that for him

though it does raise the question- since gilag couldn't recognize alit initially due to them not seeing human forms until then, could vector tell who they were or did he just hear their names be mentioned and go "wait wtf"

the friendship tournament ep remains to be one of the best one off eps of season 4 i swear to god

remember when the barians were supposed to come and collect haruto? yeah me neither

mizael is peak theater kid. i love that he and kaito fight on equal grounds and then by the end of the series you're hit with "btw mizael is like 15 and kaito's still 18"

rio may have unexplained (at the time) prophecy powers, but shark's got "i can tell yuma is in danger" senses

WE LOVE SHARK BEING A LONGING DUMBASS IN THE HOSPITAL

god i know that like- yuma's already gone through 3 seasons of shark-related emotions, but i wouldn't be surprised at all if it was alit who made yuma first go "wait, do i like guys?"

shingetsu also did a number on yuma with the same emotions, but for much different reasons

"im here to help astral" "yay!" "but don't tell him about me" "ok!" yuma we gotta teach you what a red flag is. though you are 13 and have already gone through a lot of red flags (ex. giving haruto to a stranger)

you think vector had like, a bazillion questions for yuma after seeing no96 for the first time, or did he zip his lip

we establish that kaito has global surveillance and satellites that can just- fire lasers anywhere. tenjos man

takashi and tokunosuke are canonly some of the biggest shippers in the series which is peak hilarity to me, i love that for them

im surprised anna even bothered with the uniform considering she just barged into the tournament regardless. then again, zexal rly loves putting characters in these middle school uniforms

also season 4 is filled way too much with underaged fanservice ugh

SARGASSO DUEL MY BELOVED

mizael refusing to use the lighthouse card cause it was cowardly is hilarious cause durbe is just right there like "hey"

yuma and his very bad no good day

RUIN ARC TIME

my brother was analyzing every second of each ruin tbh

he has.............a lot of thoughts on alit's backstory in particular

why is durbe's ruin in columbia of all places tho

yuma and co skipped so many days of school, you think the rest of the numbers club were just there like "where'd they GO"

we love kazuma desecrating ruins by adding markers and leaving behind coins that future teams will assume to be part of the ruin's treasures (like it did for gilag's)

also they really REALLY never fucking explain WHY kazuma knows all this shit fjdkhdfjkhfd

vector cannot sit still at all

they rly did no96 so dirty in the series. i love that he's a character fandom decided to flesh out beyond what canon gave us, he deserved that much

i rly thought there was more mutinyship moments than there really were jfdkhfdhjdfkhk ah well. they're full of potential

HEHEHEHEHEHEHE YUMA DEPRESSION ARC i know that sounds fucked up to get excited over, but it's also FEARSOME FOUR TIME

ill never understand why they bothered to go be like "heartland took a picture with esper robin" unless they just didnt want us to forget that's a character

"how'd you get your barian crests back?" "with the power of science!" is still SO funny

numbers club trying to be helpful only to get punished is foreshadowing for their fates the rest of the show

you know, you'd think kurage would've realized ryoga was one of the people he killed considering like- he knew his and rio's names. and their faces. but ah well

tokunosuke building a grave for astral is not talked about enough imo, that's like, one of the strongest scenes of the numbers club characters

kaninja you continue to bring me pain, you wouldve won your duel if you didnt say you poisoned kaito

ngl chris, you abusing kaito for a week straight for the sake of "training" was pretty fucked up

i hate the eliphas duel, i hate the eliphas duel, i hate-

"time to be with your REAL allies" durbe plz stfu

they never really do explain how nasch died. we just assumed he did himself in after seeing vector go down which is uh. hm

ahhh toku......the first casualty of the war.........

i wouldve liked more heartland backstory but THATS JUST ME-

jkfkfdhjdkf i love that it rly was just kaninja who was the reason kaito was becoming blind. messed him up even in the afterlife

astral/yuma remains to be so tender

i feel like if you ever want to make vector peak uncomfortable, just stare at him in silence until he breaks

i know that's the point, but once ryoga unlocks "nasch", his drama levels go through the fucking roof

also fun fact, between eps 122 to 143, something like 23 prominent characters die (tokunosuke, heartland, tetsuo, anna, fuuya, droite, gauche, roku, yamikawa, iv, iii, v, alit, gilag, durbe, rio, orbital 7, kaito, vector, mizael, eliphas, don thousand, shark)

"ryoga, my best friend" iv, i rly feel like that's a onesided sort of situation

alit/gilag deserves more attention ffs

GILAG DESERVES BETTER IN GENERAL TBH

i remember being numb by the point of durbe/merag's deaths. that hasnt changed

KAITO'S death tho, that still hits. mainly cause of the music

i love that obomi's affection for orbital only kicked in cause akari....kicked her

akari who was still trying to be in the plot, bless her for trying

haruto is going to need so much therapy tbh

numeron dragon's story is still so sad, love that dragon

it took mizael like 5 eps to get to the moon and another 3 eps to get off it

shark watching vector's performance and just going "........." the whole time is still hilarious. you know that'll always just be their dynamic even post canon

don thousand...........your design is so good but you are still so lackluster......

nasch vs yuma tho- THAT'S a real satisfying boss battle djfkhdfkj love that finale to pieces

aaaaaand now it's just pain and smiles all the way until the end :'3

the growing up storyline of zexal just really, really hits you by those last episodes ugh

there's so much to work with with the finale, and i love it to this day

still the best ygo series, i will not take notes on that fact

if you read all this, thank you

kattobingu <3

#zexal #WOO FEELS

[bluesofawriterwithcoffee]

She is like a shot of espresso.

Michael's pov 

"Victoria please don't be mad, i just thought you won't be interested in this event hence why i didn't invite you" I say calmly as I hear her monotone voice respond "alright, have fun then." She hangs up. 

I stand by my desk, shaking and unable to think or understand anything that happened. Tori and I never fight because we always work together for everything but this event for my skating rink wasn't as important as i thought so i didn't invite anyone not even my parents not they would even show up. It's just Tori isn't doing well, I didn't want to be a burden which of course upset tori that i even thought of myself as a burden. That feeling exists. I just feel like I'm gonna break down. 

It just feels like I'm gonna lose her. I can't do that. 

I bike myself to the spring household, ring the bell and see Charlie open the door "hi Michael, is everything okay? You don't look good" i have been crying as i biked my way so no i don't look like i usually would. "Is tori there?" I ask 

i try to smile and chin up as i see Tori's dad 

"She is in her room" He says "come in" He looks concerned. I don't think he has ever seen me like this so it's a first. "Thank you" I walk in and remove my shoes, i quickly walk past the family having lunch as i go upstairs to her room and knock. 

"Go away Charlie, i don't want to eat" she responds. I'm shaking, she sounds hurt and i did that, i slightly punch the wall, "fuck" I say under my breath. 

"Michael?" 

I freeze. 

Tori's pov 

We don't fight, well we do but not really. Fighting isn't our thing, we disagree and have opinions that aren't similar but we i mean i never get upset by Michael and his decisions, rather i am curious about them. 

I know he isn't the perfect guy, and I'm not the perfect girl. So we match pretty well and get along as we both know our weaknesses and strengths, it's weird thinking like we are a couple, well we are but it's always been this unspoken rule. People know it but also don't, i know it but also i don't. I don't know why he's not inviting me to the tournament. It just hurt me, I didn't understand myself and I tried to be civil about it but my anxiety got the best of me and I just attacked Michael or lack thereof. I completely ignored him like an idiot. That's what i am a fucking idiot. 

The doorbell rings. I don't bother getting out of my room to open it because I don't care who's at the door. I'm playing lorde in my room and maybe cry silently because I'm an idiot who ruins people's lives. 

Before I could resume my sad autumn girl lifestyle, I hear someone breathing heavily by the door and I see a text from Charlie. 

Charlie 

Michael is by your door.

Fuck. I don't understand how he can just- ugh 

I just wanted to be alone. That's what I deserve. 

"Michael?" I ask.

I open the door, and see him standing frozen. I caught him off guard. "Sorry" He says "can i come in?" I nod 

My room is a mess, there is laundry everywhere, some toys of oliver. Charlie's laptop and mine, the bed is unmade and bottles of diet lemonade are almost everywhere. 

He shrugs nervously and sits by my bed. I sit on the floor, not making eye contact because I'm too embarrassed for everything. 

"Michael, I'm sorry i don't know what happened to me it just felt like you were gonna leave or something I'm sorry i ignored you i just i don't know anymore" I didn't realise that i started to cry but he holds my hand as i just sob and then hugs me tightly. 

"It's gonna be okay, we are gonna be okay tori." He says in a calm tone and holds me as i hide myself in a blanket and he wraps both of us in it 

"Wanna watch something?" I ask. 

"Sure, Star Wars?" He says. 

I smile, truly he is one of the best people i know and i guess I'm completely in love. 

He smiles back. 

Michael's Pov 

I open her laptop and start playing Star Wars, she rests her head on my shoulder, i kiss the top of it. 

She yawns, I'm guessing she couldn't sleep at night. 

 

I sigh, as I see tori falling asleep in my arms and I think to myself. 

She is like a shot of espresso, just amazing and fantastically awesome. She is the perfect person for me even if we aren't perfect human beings. 

#michael holden #tori and michael #solitaire book #solitaire alice oseman #alice oseman #osemanverse #solitaire #tori spring

[effortandmore]

the restitution coefficient | ksj x knj (18+)

summary: seokjin has everything going for him. he was one of the youngest people to make VP at his company, at the top of his class in college, is a bit of a racquet sport savant, an excellent cook, and good-looking. like, really good looking. according to people other than his mother, thank you very much. so, when things around him start to crumble because of one stubborn and annoyingly attractive client, he finds himself looking for vindication in a place he's sure he can’t be beat—the annual office ping pong tournament.

pairing: seokjin x namjoon

rating: explicit (18+ please)

genre: office/co-worker au, enemies (seokjin thinks so, anyway) to lovers, smut, fluff, minor angst

warnings: smut, swearing, mentions of alcohol, seokjin is bad at communicating, bad puns (at least i make myself laugh). here are the specific smut tags: kissing, oral sex, they're soft and annoying and seokjin talks too much

word count: 15.6k

a/n: hello! if you know anything about me, you know i love namjin v much, so here is my first namjin fic. it's my contribution to the Catch of the Century collab to celebrate jin's birthday. i had fun writing it, i hope you have fun reading it. thank you so much to @ugh-yoongi and @the-boy-meets-evil for reading this over for me—and to @hot-soop for the banner! you're all so lovely and i am grateful. you can read this on ao3 if like me, you prefer it for reading

There is a Kim Seokjin who still feels, most days, like a nervous kid. This Seokjin wears his coziest hoodies on the weekends and plays video games until his eyes burn and sometimes forgets to eat and shower. He is an introvert, he is insecure sometimes, he is just trying his best.

But there is also a Kim Seokjin who thinks, “never let them see you sweat,” who is quick to a one-liner, and who has, for his whole life, been faking it until he makes it. And, he supposes, by most accounts, he has made it (for better or worse).

For this version of him, there’s no question that Seokjin is the best. It's an indisputable fact, on par with universally known truths like gravity and… Well, he can’t think of too many more right this moment, but suffice it to say that his (put-on) superiority is well-known within his circle of friends, around the office, probably to passers by on the street, even.

He was the youngest person to make VP at his company (except for his boss, Min Yoongi), at the top of his class in college, is a bit of a racquet sport savant, an excellent cook, and good-looking. Like, really good looking. According to people other than his mother, thank you very much.

But her, too. Obviously.

And this is true for all the different versions of him: it’s all come relatively easy. Sure, he works hard sometimes—he studied in school, he has a diligent skincare routine, he devotes weekends to the gym and to his gaming hobby, he takes tennis lessons and plays table tennis nearly every day. So, it’s not like things have just been handed to him. Maybe they’ve been made easier because of his looks, a little natural aptitude, a lot of charisma… (And the ability to convince himself and everyone around him that he’s doing great). It’s just that even when he’s had to try, he hasn’t had to try that hard. He’s never struggled, not really. This persona he puts on, it works for him. It’s helped him get more than he ever thought he deserved.

And as anyone would, he likes it this way.

And he really doesn’t like it when things don’t come as easily as he’s used to.

Because that makes him feel like the other Seokjin, the one he doesn’t really want anyone else to see and who he doesn’t want to see reflected at him when he looks in the mirror.

It’s the feeling of things not clicking for him that has him down in the basement of the tall, gray office building he works in, grunting and sweating, frustration coming out of him by way of a series of steady thwacking sounds.

“You’re scaring me a little today,” Jungkook pants, face flushed. They’ve been at it for over thirty minutes and Seokjin’s usually done by now, ready to flash a brilliant grin, straighten his tie, and ride the elevator back up to his office to close another deal.

“Just—thwack… so—thwack… annoying—thwack…” Seokjin isn’t in the same shape as Jungkook. He’s leaner, less muscle, but has a little more stamina for cardio like this. He wouldn’t dare challenge the other man to a lifting contest, but at this, he’s sure he can win.

He always wins.

Jungkook sighs when he misses his next shot just wide of the blue table. Seokjin can’t help the satisfied smile spreading across his face when he wins again, just like he does every day. He makes sure to wait until Jungkook’s paying attention before he throws his arms up in victory and shouts something unintelligible about being the greatest of all time. This win is exactly what he needed today.

“Congratulations,” Jungkook says, softly as always, which is a little funny because Seokjin knows he’s a confident kid; good at his work, strong, attractive, smart (reminds Seokjin a little of himself, if he’s being honest). “Another ping pong victory must feel good.”

Coming from anyone else, it might have come across as sarcastic, but not from Jungkook. He’s almost always earnest. Seokjin can’t relate; he moves through the world by keeping anything too honest tucked deep down inside. But he envies his coworker for it a little (and will never, ever admit that out loud).

“It does,” he says, unrolling the sleeves of his button-down. “Even though it’s called table tennis. How many times do we have to go over this?” And then more to himself than his companion, “I needed that.” It’s as transparent as he cares to be.

“Do you want to talk about the deal?”

Seokjin scoffs. “No. It’ll be fine, I’ll make sure it gets sorted out.”

And he means it. He will. He’s Kim Seokjin—he always wins. Maybe this one will just take a bit longer than it should have.

The deal is big. It’s really big; that’s why he’s involved in the first place. Usually he’s overseeing things these days; it’s a perk of being the VP of sales. He assigns his team to deals; doesn’t take the lead on them anymore. Jungkook, with his wide eyes and easy smile, is one of his best sales directors and gets most of the large contracts assigned to him. But this one was too important, so Seokjin took the client on himself, confident he could close in the first quarter.

Except it’s about four in the afternoon on 31 March, and he hasn’t closed the deal. He won’t today. For the first time in recent memory, Kim Seokjin needs to admit defeat. Which is why he really needed to at least win that fucking table tennis game.

When the elevator doors open on the top floor of the office tower, he’s sure he’s got everything under control. He’ll march into Yoongi’s office with all the quarterly sales numbers and explain that while yes, this deal was Very Important, certainly closing it in the second quarter won’t be a problem—his team has met their goals for the first quarter. In fact, it’s possible that Seokjin is really doing the company a favor by postponing this deal… It will help to pad April’s figures, which is usually a slow time for new contracts.

Yes, he thinks, this is all plausible, reasonable. Foolproof.

The smug smile on his face withers, however, when he passes Yoongi’s office on the way to his own and sees the CEO of the company already has a visitor. His assistant clears his throat, just loud enough to get Seokjin’s attention. “Yoongi-ssi asked to see you in his office when your meeting with Jungkook was done.” And then he adds in a hushed tone, “I think you’re in trouble.”

Taehyung smirks when he says it and it’s enough to sap all of the remaining joy out of Seokjin’s body. Why does he keep such a shithead assistant around, anyway? He’s the Kim Seokjin—he doesn’t deserve to be mocked by someone who works for him.

“You’re in trouble,” he retorts, immediately regretting it. It’s weak and he knows it. He’s too distracted to come up with anything better, though, so before Taehyung can give him another smartass comment in return, he continues. “Who’s in there with him?”

Taehyung just shrugs. “Some client, I think. You could ask Jimin if you really want to know. But they’re waiting for you.”

“You know,” Jin says as he straightens his tie and starts walking toward his boss’ office, “he’d hate knowing you called him Yoongi-ssi.” Yoongi tends to be casual with them in the office, which always throws Seokjin off a little—he prefers to draw boundaries between work and his personal life.

“Ooh…” And Jin can almost hear the smirk on Taehyung’s lips. “What do you think he does to bad boys?”

“You’re disgusting,” Jin calls over his shoulder.

His assistant lets out a giggle and Jin rolls his eyes even though he’s trying not to laugh, too. He’ll never let Yoongi’s assistant, Jimin, see him smiling as he passes toward Yoongi’s office. He’d have to admit how much he loves Taehyung. Not going to happen.

Observing through Yoongi’s floor-to-ceiling glass walls, Seokjin is sure that his assistant is wrong about the man in there with his boss. Because Seokjin would remember this client. He can only see the back of the man’s body, but it’s enough of a look to know that it’s a figure Seokjin would have committed to memory if he’d ever been fortunate enough to encounter it in person. The man is broad across the shoulders (but not as broad as Jin) and his honey brown hair skims across his neck in a manner that’s meant to look haphazard, but probably cost as much as one’s of Jin’s own haircuts. Or more.

Maybe it’s that the man is less gifted when it comes to his facial features and that’s why Jin doesn’t remember.

He knocks on Yoongi’s door with a couple quick raps and then pushes it open and steps in. He should bow, probably, he should say something, but he sees the client’s face and he is… uncharacteristically speechless. There is nothing wrong with the client’s face. Except that it’s pretty close to fucking perfect. The man stands, and oh… he’s tall. Big. Big everywhere, Jin thinks.

The perfect man, which is what he is now known as in Jin’s mind, reaches his hands out and gives a wide, dimpled grin.

It takes all of Jin’s years of practice in presenting a careful image for him to smile back professionally—although he’s pretty sure he’s the color of a tomato, and about to just say “dimples” instead of anything coherent.

“Seokjin-ssi, it’s so nice to finally meet you. I’m Kim Namjoon!”

And, oh… That is… a problem.

“Kim Namjoon?”

“Yes?”

And god, he’s being rude, he realizes. He shoves his hands forward mechanically and shakes the actually-not-perfect man’s hands and bows his head. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Namjoon-ssi.” Because Namjoon is a client. He is the client; the one who won’t close this fucking deal with Seokjin—the one who is causing him to lose beauty sleep and eat hotteok outside of his cheat days and has possibly caused not one, but two stress pimples to appear on Jin’s face in the last month. The client he’s only ever spoken to exclusively on the phone because he doesn’t know how to use his webcam. He’s the single most infuriating person Jin has never met. Until now. When they are meeting. And Kim Namjoon is unfortunately gorgeous and tall and apparently nice even though Jin wants to shake him by the shoulders and start begging for him to sign the contract already.

“Have a seat, Jin,” Yoongi says in a calm voice that Jin very much wishes did not have the undercurrent of amusement in it that it most definitely does.

So, he sits next to Namjoon and gathers himself for whatever it is that’s happening here. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees that Namjoon is still smiling, and Jin can’t decide if that means he’s not about to be fired in front of their most important potential client or that Namjoon is taking pleasure in the fact that Jin is about to be fired in front of him.

“You’re not in trouble,” Yoongi says, mercifully.

Seokjin lets out a high-pitched, nervous cackle, snaps his mouth shut immediately after, regrets most of his life choices, and then swallows any dignity he has remaining and nods. It’s a long three seconds. “Of course not. Thank you for the reassurance.”

A few more mildly torturous seconds pass where no one speaks, and Seokjin starts to sweat like he’s in the middle of another table tennis game with Jungkook. It’s not quite his worst nightmare, but having his most difficult client sitting less than a meter away from him on the day he failed to close the biggest deal his company’s had in the pipeline in a long time comes… pretty close to the top of the list.

“So…” he starts, hoping he sounds slightly more composed than he feels inside, “What brings you here Namjoon-ssi?”

Kim Namjoon straightens up in his chair before leaning unfortunately closer to Seokjin. He looks positively pleased to be in Yoongi’s office, dimples more prominent than when Seokjin walked into the office and eyes bright. “Well, first, I should apologize.”

It isn’t at all what Seokjin expected to hear and he doesn’t hate it, but it certainly seems like it’s going to be followed by a second thing that he strongly suspects he may not like quite as much.

“Not at all,” Seokjin replies, although there’s a small (large) part of him that does think his client should apologize for being so difficult to work with (and a little bit for not knowing how to use a webcam).

“I know working with my company hasn’t been the easiest for you,” Namjoon continues. And fuck, he’s got this bashful sort of grin he gives like he’s embarrassed and contrite and so fucking handsome Seokjin might forget to breathe a little bit. And forget to respond. When he stops staring at his client, he sees Yoongi watching him expectantly with a smirk on his face.

“Oh, that’s not necessary,” Seokjin finally says. It comes out in a bit of a rush as he waves a hand in polite dismissal. “You’ve been a pleasure to work with.” He hates the words as they come out of his mouth, because he’s a lot of things, but he’s not really a liar. Not like this. Kim Namjoon has been a complete pain in his ass to work with. To reiterate: he can’t use a webcam. And that’s not all! He asks for the most minute changes to every single document Seokjin and his team provide. He takes forever to make the smallest of decisions and then proceeds to change his mind about them quite literally hundreds of times before he finally settles.

“I’m glad you think so,” Yoongi chimes in, “because you and Namjoon-ssi are going to be working together much more closely for a while.”

Seokjin looks between Yoongi and Namjoon waiting for more explanation. He’s not sure how he could possibly work more closely with Namjoon. This project has been his entire life for months. He has been eating, sleeping, and breathing this deal and the only thing that takes up more of his time than closing the deal lately is wondering why a grown adult who is the Vice President of Operations for a fairly large company can’t use Zoom.

He chokes down every pained, sarcastic comment couched in a joke he might want to make and gives his most winning smile to his boss. “That sounds great,” he says. He’s almost sure it doesn’t sound like he wants to cry.

But he does want to cry. Especially when Namjoon beams in his direction and nods, excited like a retriever. “I think so, too, Seokjin-ssi! I’m looking forward to this so much.”

Swallowing the large lump that’s forming in his throat, he smiles back. “So, so great…” he mutters. “So… exciting.”

***

Over the weekend, he sort of has time to process the drastic turn his work life is about to take. Kim Namjoon, Vice President of Operations for one of the country’s most prominent seed and soil companies, is coming to work out of his office. Not the building, mind you, but Seokjin’s very own perfectly-curated-to-his-own-tastes-and-not-big-enough-to-share office.

It’s enough to make his face break out with a third pimple.

Yoongi and Namjoon had dreamt up some ridiculous theory that Namjoon’s boss, the CEO of the seed and soil company, might be willing to sign the deal with just a few more adjustments to the contract and a well-constructed pitch video. Namjoon says he wants the software that Seokjin has to offer, says he knows it will streamline work for his front-line employees, but his boss is apparently… particular. Hard to please.

Theoretically, it should make him feel better that Namjoon claims to have not actually been the blocker to getting this deal signed. He says he’s nothing more than a middle-man; trying to convince his boss that Seokjin’s software will be a win for them. Theoretically, he should have laughed when Namjoon said he’d been spending the last few months “planting the seed” about how helpful the software would be with his boss. Seokjin loves puns. But loves them most when he’s the one making them; loves them a little bit less when they’re delivered by his nemesis and then immediately followed with a bashful grin and two impossible to ignore dimples.

As he gets ready for work on Monday morning, he still can’t laugh at Namjoon’s bad joke, and he doesn’t feel better about having to share his space. He feels inadequate and annoyed (and he knows at least Yoongi will be able to read it on his face—probably Jungkook and Taehyung, too. This makes him vulnerable, like a gazelle in a Richard Attenborough narration. He can’t think of anything worse) and he hates those feelings almost as much as he hates the circumstances.

It doesn’t help that it’s one of those mornings where nothing is going his way. He did get that third pimple over the weekend (and a fourth if anyone’s counting—Jimin will be), and he accidentally squirted concealer all over his bathroom mirror when he was trying to cover up said pimples. He must’ve made his coffee in too much of a rush because there are grounds in it, and he missed his first alarm so he’s now forced to drink the sludgy coffee because he would have had to sacrifice his skincare routine in order to make a new pot, and he couldn’t bring himself to do that with the rough state of his chin.

After missing his usual train, he dashes through the wet, gray morning streets to the office from the later train. He spends the jog hoping he beats Taehyung there, because the last thing he’s in the mood for is taking shit from his own assistant for being late. It’s far more entertaining to be the shit-giver, and Taehyung and Jimin are easy targets—both usually late on Mondays, conspicuously arriving together with one of them in the same clothes they wore on Friday.

It’s not his lucky day.

“Hyung is late!” he hears a sing-song voice call as he emerges from the elevator. So many things are wrong with this scenario, the first being that Tae knows he’s not supposed to call Seokjin his hyung when their other coworkers can hear, and the second that Tae and Jimin are sitting atop Taehyung’s desk, pointedly not working and looking a little too pleased for a Monday morning in their bleak office building.

“What’s got you two so enthused?” he asks, setting his bag down by Tae’s desk, ignoring the use of the informal honorific, and adjusting his running-tousled necktie.

“It’s moving day!” Jimin replies cheerily, gesturing over his shoulder in the direction of Seokjin and Yoongi’s offices.

“I don’t see what there is to be excited about,” Seokjin mutters. Namjoon is in Yoongi’s office, gesturing enthusiastically as Yoongi watches him with that familiar half-amused grin on his face.

Taehyung reaches up and puts a hand on his shoulder. “Now, hyung, maybe this will be good for you. Help you loosen up.” He’s giving Seokjin a shit-eating grin when he adds, “I hear he’s really good at ping pong, too.”

Seokjin definitely should have scolded him for the hyung thing the first time.

Instead, he grabs his bag and takes a step back from the two assistants. “Table tennis. And don’t you have work to do?” he tells more than asks as he heads past them to his office.

“Try and have an open mind, hyung!” Jimin calls as Seokjin shuts the door.

Kids these days are so disrespectful.

In his office, another desk has been added. It’s not yet full with paperwork and photographs like Seokjin’s desk is, and he wonders for a moment if Namjoon will even bother. It’s not like he’s here permanently; there’s really no reason for him to get attached to the space. To Seokjin’s space.

There’s not much time to think about it before the door swings open. No one just comes in without knocking except Taehyung, so Seokjin doesn’t even look up from his screen before saying, “You need to knock it off with the hyung stuff when we’re in the office, you know?”

And Taehyung is generally unpredictable in his replies, but silence is never an option he indulges in, so when there’s no response, Seokjin knows something is wrong.

“Tae?”

He hears a throat clearing in response and just from the tone of the sound, he knows it’s not his assistant.

“Seokjin-ssi?”

“Oh, it’s you.”

“If by ‘you,’ you mean Namjoon, then yeah. It’s me. Do you think you could give me a hand?”

Namjoon is in the doorway to the office with a large box in his arms. Seokjin knows the box is large because Namjoon is large, one of the facts he’d managed to retain from their first in-person encounter, and the box conceals most of the upper-half of Namjoon’s body. All Seokjin can see above the box are his behind his glasses, and the stupid, stupid dimples on display.

He realizes that he hasn’t actually responded to Namjoon yet, a moment past when it turns awkward. Oops.

“Sure, what can I do?” he asks, standing from his desk.

“If you could just grab Ponyo, that would be great. Thanks Seokjin-ssi.”

“Ponyo?”

Namjoon gestures with his chin to the glass bowl stacked carefully atop the box he’s holding. “Ponyo. My fish.”

“Clever,” Jin says as he grabs the fishbowl.

“Ah, not really. But thank you. She’s a good companion, doesn’t talk back. And I’ve had her for a long time.”

“So you like the strong, silent type?”

When Seokjin looks up, Namjoon is staring back at him, wide-eyed, and he could swear there’s the hint of a flush on his cheeks. “Not exactly,” Namjoon mutters as he turns and sets the box down on his new desk.

“It was a joke, Namjoon-ssi.”

“Right. Of course.” Namjoon straightens his tie and won’t make eye contact. “Well, thank you for your help. I’ll leave you alone now. Well… not really alone. But…”

It’s going to be a long few weeks, Seokjin decides. He may not be Namjoon’s biggest fan, but it would be better for both of them if it wasn’t this awkward the whole time they’re sharing an office. So he extends an olive branch. “I’m going down to get some coffee. Would you like anything?”

Namjoon brightens immediately. “Thank you, Seokjin-ssi. Iced americano, please,” he says as he starts to pull his wallet out.

“My treat,” Seokjin replies, waving him off. “A ‘welcome’ gift, I guess.”

Namjoon smiles again—wide and really very pretty, Seokjin admits to himself reluctantly—as he gives a quick, shallow bow.

He’s so polite. Infuriating.

Seokjin can’t explain why getting out of his own office feels so much like a relief. This is the first time he’s found so much solace in an elevator ride. So far, Namjoon’s really not at all what Seokjin had made him out to be after months of tedious back and forth. But it’s best to exercise caution in these situations, he thinks. You never know when people are waiting for you to show your vulnerable side. And it’s only been five minutes of Namjoon being polite compared to months of him being the most difficult client Seokjin had ever had.

“Good morning, Seokjinnie!”

Seokjin assesses the lobby of the building quickly, making sure no one he knows heard the nickname. What’s with people not just using his name today, anyway?

“Morning, Hobi.”

“The usual, hyung?”

Hobi is a saint in a man’s body, this is something Seokjin knows for sure. He used to work in the office on the software development team, and about a year ago decided that the money wasn’t worth it. Seokjin envies him if he’s being honest, walking away from security in exchange for a chance at happiness isn’t a risk he’s ever been willing to take. But it worked for Hobi; he owns the small cafe in the lobby of the office building, and he does well for himself without working the grueling hours that he used to—the hours that Seokjin still works. Supplying all the office lackeys their daily caffeine dose suits Hobi, too, even if he does get flustered when the line is longer than one person.

If Seokjin was really interested in the highest quality drinks, he’d go a block down the street to the hipster shop where all the baristas are hot, but dicks. What Hobi provides is a different kind of comfort. He’s everyone’s friend—even someone sort of closed off like Seokjin can’t help but open up a bit to him. They’ve known each other for a few years now, and while he’s not sure he can call anyone his best friend, Hobi is pretty close. Countless movie nights and talks over chicken and beer have sort of cemented that.

Seokjin nods. “The usual and a large iced americano, too.”

Hobi pauses and lifts an eyebrow over his ridiculous glasses with yellow lenses.

“For the new guy,” Seokjin explains. “Just this once.”

“Oh! For Namjoonie! I should have known.” Hobi gives Seokjin a smirk and sets about making the drinks.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

As soon as the question comes out of his mouth, he knows it shouldn’t have. It’s inevitable that he’ll regret asking.

“Nothing,” Hobi says, “he’s just… you know.”

“Yeah, I do,” Seokjin replies automatically, then realizes he sounds a little dreamy. “I mean… he’s fine. It’s polite to do something nice for the new guy. That’s all. It doesn’t mean anything, obviously.” He’s definitely rambling now, and he can feel the tips of his ears turning pink. “It’s just coffee. And he’s a client,” he adds in spite of himself.

How the fuck does Hobi always do this? It’s a waste that he owns this coffee shop. He should be a fucking Interpol agent or something.

“Mmhmm.” It’s obvious Hobi sees right through him. Of course he does.

“He’s mostly insufferable,” Seokjin continues, trying to act nonchalant. “How do you know him, anyway?”

“Oh, Jinnie… I know all the cute boys in the building.” Hobi sets two drinks down on the counter next to the espresso machine. “Anything else on your mind?”

“I have to share my office with him.” This comes out of his mouth as a full-blown whine, far more plaintive than he’d meant to be out loud.

Hobi just laughs. “I heard. Well, should be interesting, at least.”

Grabbing the drinks, Seokjin pouts. “That’s one way to look at it.”

“Movie night this week?”

“Yeah, but I get to pick this time.”

Hobi grins as Seokjin turns to head back to the elevator and his office. Maybe he’s right. Maybe it won’t be so bad.

***

It is very bad.

The first day is fine. Namjoon is quiet (mostly), he puts his things away and organizes his desk while Seokjin works. They make polite conversation at appropriate intervals and Namjoon leaves promptly at five in the evening. Probably a husband or wife to get home to, Seokjin decides.

On the second day, Namjoon arrives at the office first, and there’s a steaming flat white waiting on Seokjin’s desk for him. It’s a little surprising, but appreciated, and Namjoon gives a trademark shy smile when Seokjin thanks him. It’s infuriatingly cute.

Then Wednesday happens. Wednesday is table tennis day. Everyone in the office knows that. It’s when he and Jungkook head down to the basement before lunch for their “Wednesday sales meeting” and Seokjin proceeds to destroy him for an hour before buying him lunch.

So, on the third day, Seokjin heads to the elevator just before eleven in the morning. Namjoon’s been gone for a while, said he had a meeting earlier, so he’s relieved that he doesn’t have to explain himself to anyone when he heads out. But Jungkook isn’t by the elevator waiting like he usually is. Maybe he’s taking some initiative, Seokjin thinks as he steps into the lift. When he gets to the basement, he loosens his tie as the elevator door opens and stops dead in his tracks after he turns the corner. Because Jungkook has taken some initiative. He’s in the middle of what looks to be a contentious match already.

With Kim Namjoon.

“What’s going on down here?” He means to keep his cool, for it to come out as a question. But it’s more of a squawk. Mortifying.

“Oh!” Namjoon is breathing heavily and his eyes widen when he notices Seokjin. This, in turn, makes Seokjin finally notice that instead of just rolling up the sleeves of his shirt like a civilized person, Namjoon has removed his shirt, leaving him in only a white undershirt. A tight, white undershirt that moves with his arms and his chest when he moves and is unfortunately quite devastating. Seokjin is definitely staring, which he only realizes when Namjoon begins to speak again. “Seokjin-ssi! Jungkook was just showing me the ropes. He mentioned you two play and that there’s an office tournament in a few weeks.” He pauses and breaks out his stupid, dimpled smile, because of course he does. “I just love ping pong,” he says brightly.

“Yeah, hyung. Namjoon-ssi loves ping pong. Just like you!”

Seokjin turns to face Jungkook, who seems to have forgotten that he is Seokjin’s employee.

“I think it’s so nice everyone here is so close,” Namjoon says earnestly before Seokjin can remind Jungkook that they’re in the office and that he is Jungkook’s boss. “You can call me hyung, too, Jungkook-ah. If you want. I feel like we’re becoming friends already.”

This draws a snort of disbelief out of Seokjin, and a starry-eyed, nervous smile from Jungkook. “Hyung…” Jungkook whispers, seemingly to himself, trying out the word. Then he nods enthusiastically. “I’d like that, thanks, hyung!”

“It’s called table tennis,” Seokjin interrupts. “Table tennis, not ping pong. And on Wednesdays, Jungkook and I play.” The words come out in a rush as he rolls his sleeves up and moves to stand next to Namjoon. It’s not that he means to be challenging, but this is his day.

“Don’t tell me you wear pink, too.”

Seokjin just glares (even though under normal circumstances, he would probably laugh). This is his table, his basement, his office, his Jungkook.

Namjoon backs down quickly. “I didn’t mean to overstep,” he says politely, handing his paddle over.

“You didn’t!” Jungkook chimes in. “I had fun playing with you, hyung.”

“Me too, Jungkook-ah, thank you!” Namjoon starts to put his shirt back on and Seokjin hates that he feels conflicted about it.

“You can stay, if you want,” Seokjin offers in a moment of pectoral-induced weakness. “You know, to get some pointers.”

“Namjoon hyung doesn’t need pointers! He beat me twice already. But I was about to come back, I swear.” There isn’t even an attempt on Jungkook’s part to disguise his adoration.

It’s disgusting.

“I can always improve,” Namjoon chimes in as he sits on the old folding chair they’d dragged down from a supply closet. “Plus, it would be nice to get to know you both better.”

Jungkook flushes and Seokjin rolls his eyes. This guy just cannot be for real.

When they play, Namjoon calls out encouragement to both of them in between scrolling his phone. Something on there must be interesting because his thumbs are flying pretty frequently. It’s unfortunate that Seokjin notices this, because it means that he’s not paying as much attention to the game as he should be.

The unthinkable happens.

Jungkook lets out a loud whoop and Namjoon claps enthusiastically from his chair. “Good job, Jungkook-ah!”

Seokjin loses table tennis that day. As he stands on his side, motionless in disbelief, he can’t help but wonder if this is some sort of sign.

“I have to go,” he mutters under his breath, not even bothering to roll his sleeves back down or straighten his tie before he gets on the elevator.

Wednesday makes one thing clear: Kim Namjoon is going to be a problem.

Over the following weeks, things continue to get worse.

First, Namjoon buys their lunch. On the surface, this is fine. Nice, even. A gesture that most people would appreciate. Especially considering that Seokjin has… maintained a professional distance between them to say the least. They barely talk after the table tennis incident, and when they do, it’s entirely about work. Namjoon, to his credit, tries, but Seokjin isn’t really sure why. It’s obvious he was trying to prove something in that basement.

Things go downhill when, after lunch, Seokjin begins to feel itchy. Really itchy. Itchy all over like poison ivy or nettle stings. The sort of itchy that’s also warm and makes you feel like your skin is just some sort of scratchy wool sweater that your grandmother won’t let you take off because you look “cute.” He tries splashing water on his face and hands, but it just keeps getting worse. It’s almost like… it’s almost like an allergy.

“Kim Namjoon!”

Namjoon whips his head up from his computer when his name is shrieked into the office.

“Is everything okay, Seokjin-ssi? You look flushed. Are you feeling okay?”

“Garlic!”

His officemate just stares at him blankly, clearly unwilling to admit to his sabotage.

“You put garlic in my lunch!”

“Uh… I mean… I didn’t make the lunch, but there could have been garlic in there, yes?” He phrases it as a question. Still playing dumb, apparently.

“I can’t believe this,” Seokjin complains. “Look at me!” He sticks his arms out, pink from the scratching and probably also from the rash that’s taking over his entire body as he speaks. “I can’t work like this.”

“I think I’m missing something…” Namjoon says softly.

“Sure,” Seokjin says. “You didn’t know I was allergic to garlic.” He rolls his eyes. “Did Taehyung put you up to this? Jungkook? Is this some sort of joke you’re all in on? You think this is funny, Namjoon-ssi?”

Namjoon’s brow lifts. “You’re allergic to garlic?”

Seokjin scoffs as he snatches up his suit jacket, and his laptop. He types out a quick message to Yoongi on his phone letting him know he’ll need the rest of the day off to recover from the horrible prank that’s been played on him.

“First table tennis, now this,” he says on his way out. “I hope you’re happy!”

Before he shuts the door—definitely not a slam, even though he really, really wants to for the dramatic effect—he thinks he hears Namjoon mutter, “I’m mostly just confused…”

Needless to say, their progress on the pitch video for Namjoon’s boss is slow. Seokjin miraculously recovers from the garlic incident, which everyone swears was not a prank, but Taehyung and Jimin do nothing to ease his suspicion when they snicker while he interrogates them. It wasn’t even a good prank, because all it does is set them behind schedule. Well, it does, and the arguing.

For the pitch, they’re supposed to be working together on supplemental materials, but they just can’t seem to seem to see eye to eye. Namjoon wants everything spelled out—so much detail, so many… words. It’s not Seokjin’s style. He’s better with visuals—charts and interactive videos and talking his clients through them. It’s proven. It’s gotten him this far. Namjoon’s not a marketer, not a salesperson. He’s a… Well, Seokjin isn’t quite sure what Namjoon is. But Seokjin is definitely a sales guy. The best sales guy. So to have this seed-man arguing with him (politely, of course, and it’s maddening) about how to properly make a pitch video is absurd.

In the end, they agree to make two separate videos and let Yoongi choose which one to hand over to Namjoon’s Board of Directors.

Namjoon looks a little confused when Seokjin offers Jungkook’s assistance. “Are you sure?” he asks, “Jungkook-ah is your best, you don’t have to do that.”

“Well, you need someone who knows how to operate a video camera, don’t you?”

Namjoon nods dumbly, like he’s still confused, but accepts the help. Good, Seokjin thinks. He wants this to be a fair fight. It’ll be more satisfying that way when he wipes the floor with them.

One day a week or so later, Seokjin shows up to the office, and he’s optimistic. He and Taehyung have been making good progress on his work for the seed company and Namjoon’s been gone with Jungkook a lot working on his own. They haven’t had to interact much, and it’s been good for Seokjin’s focus. It’s curious, though, that Namjoon remains friendly when they do see each other. It has Seokjin on edge, like the other shoe will drop any moment.

When he walks into his office, it’s clear that the shoe has indeed dropped.

“What in the…”

Plants. Plants everywhere. This was supposed to be a good day.

Namjoon’s head pops up from behind his desk, which is covered in small pots. So are the windowsills, all the empty spaces on the bookshelves, parts of the floor, and Seokjin’s own desk.

“Good morning, Seokjin-ssi!”

“Plants,” he says. He’s having a hard time wrapping his head around what he’s seeing.

“Seed starts,” Namjoon agrees. He sounds… proud. “They’re from my personal collection, but I thought they would work for the video Jungkook and I are making.”

“Your personal collection?” Seokjin finally stops scanning the room to look at the other man. “These are yours?”

Namjoon lets out a soft laugh. “Yep. Well, they’re only part of my collection. I was worried there wouldn’t be enough… Actually, do you think I should bring more? Jimin and Taehyung said more might be better. This is only a third of what I have on my balcony… Hobi seemed to think it would be enough, though, when I asked him…”

Seokjin isn’t sure if Namjoon is speaking to him anymore, or to himself.

There are a hundred questions floating through his head about what exactly is happening in his office, but he doesn’t get a chance to ask because the door opens and Yoongi peeks his head in.

“Looks like you two are getting along,” he notes, scanning the room.

Namjoon looks to Seokjin, and it’s clear he doesn’t know how to answer, that he’s waiting for Seokjin to respond.

It’s not like he can tell his boss that their client is actively trying to sabotage him. Not in front of Namjoon, anyway. There’s no other option than to lie through his teeth. “We’re doing great,” he says, and plasters on a giant (fake) smile. He feels a little off-kilter because when he says it, Namjoon positively beams. But he has to know it’s not true—he’s the one causing all these problems, anyway.

“Good, good…” Yoongi murmurs. “Well, I’ll let you get to it. Just wanted to check in on your progress. Only about a week until we need to deliver the pitch. We’re on track, I’m assuming?”

They both nod in agreement, but neither of them makes eye contact with Yoongi. Namjoon’s staring at Seokjin and Seokjin is staring at the dozens of five centimeter paper pots covering his desk. On track is one way to put it, he thinks.

Yoongi hums his approval and backs out of the doorframe, closing the door behind him with a soft click.

“I have to go,” Seokjin says curtly.

“Oh… Is something wrong?”

Seokjin thinks if he lifts his eyebrows any higher, they’ll take flight. And he’ll get wrinkles. Which is unacceptable. “Is something wrong?” he repeats back to Namjoon.

“You sound upset.”

“Oh. Of course not. Of course I’m not upset that my whole office is being taken over by a table tennis prodigy who spreads manure pots everywhere and steals my friends and gives me garlic poisoning and thinks he can do my job better than me!” His voice rises higher and higher as he goes on and he knows his whole face is flushing down to his chest. Namjoon starts to protest, but Seokjin cuts him off. “No. I’m leaving. You can have the office—Taehyung and I can work from the conference room. Congratulations, Namjoon-ssi. You win today.”

He tries to ignore the fact that Namjoon looks thoroughly confused and, if he’s not mistaken, more than a little bit hurt.

On top of everything, he’s a good actor, Seokjin thinks.

Of course.

This point is proven when later that day, Seokjin begrudgingly realizes he needs some paperwork out of his office. He really doesn’t want to give Namjoon the satisfaction of… well, of anything, but he needs those papers, so he heads back to his office. When he opens the door, Namjoon is at his desk, surrounded by his annoying plants, talking to someone. It’s weird, because Seokjin doesn’t see a phone in his hand or earbuds in… Maybe Namjoon is talking to himself.

Then he hears another voice. Tinny, like it’s coming through… a computer speaker?

Namjoon notices Seokjin and freezes. Caught. Caught on a video call. Which he told Seokjin he “never did.” Told Seokjin he thought his “webcam must be broken.”

Kim Namjoon is a snake and a liar and Seokjin doesn’t even care anymore that he’s got pecs and dimples and really nice thighs—his slacks look stupid anyway hugging his thighs like that—it’s inappropriate. No one this shady is attractive. Not even people who look like Namjoon.

Seokjin storms out of his own office and straight to the elevator.

“Seokkkkkkjinnnnie!”

All he can muster in response is a grumble. Even for Hobi.

“I hate him.”

Hobi, infuriatingly, just laughs. “The usual?”

“Yes, please.” Seokjin paces in front of the counter while Hobi makes his drink. “He’s a liar,” he whines, “and he filled our office with plants.”

“Not plants!” Hobi gasps, showing the appropriate amount of shock at the distressing news, but then when Seokjin looks over at him, he’s laughing again.

So much for friendship.

“It’s the last straw,” he says as he takes his drink from the counter. A large hot chocolate with extra whipped cream. One of his favorites. “First there was having to share an office, then the fact that he took over my Wednesdays with Jungkook. Then the garlic, and the terrible ideas he kept pitching, and now the plants…” He pauses to lick whipped cream off of his top lip. “And he lied about the webcam, Hobi. He knows how to use the webcam!”

Hobi looks at him above the rim of his glasses. The look is more stern than the ones he usually gives. It’s the same one Seokjin gets when he’s being obnoxious about a video game or when he doesn’t let Jungkook have the last piece of chicken.

“What?” Seokjin asks flatly.

“Nothing.” Hobi raises his hands defensively and shakes his head.

“Just say it, Hobi.”

His friend pauses his work wiping down the milk steamer and tilts his head before he speaks. “I know you see things one way, but have you considered that there might be another side to all this?”

“No.” He’s sure he’s pouting now, but is it so much to ask for Hobi just to agree with him?

“He’s a nice guy, Jinnie. He thinks you hate him.”

“Maybe I do.”

“I think you should give him a chance. Maybe there’s an explanation for all of this, you know. You could just… try.”

“Hmmph.”

“We’re going out on Sunday. He’s coming. You should come, too.”

Seokjin’s eyes fly open in disbelief. “You’re hanging out with my archenemy? On a school night?”

“Don’t be dramatic. And yeah, we all are. Jungkookie, Taehyung, Jiminie, and me. We’re taking him out. It’s hard to be the new guy, Jinnie.”

Seokjin scoffs. “Yah, especially when you’re a saboteur.”

“Stop that.”

“Make me.”

“I’ll switch you to decaf.”

“This is hot chocolate, Hobi.”

“That’s what you think!”

Seokjin can’t help but smile. “Fine. I’ll give him one chance. But I don’t like it.”

Hobi smiles broadly. “Good. I knew you’d come around.”

Seokjin waves him off and crosses the lobby back to the elevator. “Just make a note for the history books that I’m being the bigger person here!”

“Sure will.” He can hear Hobi laughing at him even when the elevator door closes.

***

They make it through the rest of the work week with no “Namjoonings” as Seokjin has started calling them in his head. Namjoon rearranges the office to get almost all of the seedlings out, apologizing for causing Seokjin any inconvenience and bringing him an “I’m sorry” bonsai. When Seokjin says he barely remembers to give himself water, Namjoon just grins and promises to help care for the delicate tree himself. It’s kind of sweet.

On Wednesday, he even gets Jungkook to himself for the first time in weeks. Without Namjoon watching them play, it’s much easier to focus, and Seokjin wins table tennis that day. All three times they play.

He and Taehyung wrap up their pitch video on Friday, final edits made, adjustments inked in the contract, and he delivers everything to Yoongi for review feeling good. Of course, he’s curious about what Jungkook and Namjoon have delivered, but he feels good enough about his own pitch that he’s not letting it bother him. He’s the expert, and he taught Jungkook almost everything he knows, so he feels confident that even if Jungkook and Namjoon did a good job, Seokjin did better.

It’s the best couple of days he’s had at work in weeks.

Sunday night, he finds himself still in a good mood, crowded into a karaoke room with his best friends, a beer in hand and one Kim Namjoon sitting next to him, fidgeting with his sleeve nervously.

He’s different outside of the office, and Seokjin notices it right away. Namjoon is clearly uncomfortable with him, and it’s strange, even to Seokjin, that if Namjoon had been trying to ruin his career this whole time, that he would feel nervous around his victim. So that, combined with the apology plant and the daily drinks he’s found on his desk with cute doodles drawn on them make Seokjin think that it’s possible Hobi has a point with his whole “two sides to every story” thing.

Maybe.

Taehyung and Jimin are in the middle of a passionate duet of “I Got You, Babe,” when Seokjin decides he could, under the influence of two beers, be bothered to at least try and clear the air.

“Namjoon-ssi?”

Namjoon practically chokes on his beer. “Oh! Uh… me? Yeah?” He looks surprised that Seokjin is even speaking to him. It’s pretty cute. It’s the first time Seokjin has seen him outside of the office, and he looks like a different person. Even more attractive, which Seokjin resents. He’s got shorts on, (no one should have legs like his—it’s rude) paired with expensive sneakers and a soft-looking, oversized hoodie. His hair is apparently freshly washed, and it’s fluffy under the hood he’s had pulled up most of the night. He looks cozy. As someone who’s practically always cold, Seokjin likes it when people look cozy, when they look like they could wrap him up and keep him warm… Even his enemies. Or, alleged enemies.

“I thought… Well, Hobi thinks we should talk things out.” As cute as Namjoon is, and maybe because he looks so cute, Seokjin can’t bring himself to look the other man in the eye.

Namjoon smiles. “Hobi thinks?”

“Maybeiagreeitwouldntbesobadforustotalk.” God, he’s a mess. The words just tumble out. Why is he nervous about this?

“Yeah, I think that would be good, too.” Namjoon removes his hood and leans in closer to Seokjin—it’s loud and so it makes sense that if they’re going to talk he wants to hear a little better, but the proximity is making Seokjin a little woozy. He even smells good. It’s devastating.

He clears his throat. “Well, it’s come to my attention that I may have made some assumptions… And that it’s possible that you didn’t actually try to give me garlic poisoning on purpose.”

At that, Namjoon comes very close to spitting beer out in laughter, a hoodie-covered hand flying up to contain it.

“Yah, it’s not funny, Namjoon-ssi!”

“Sorry!” Namjoon wipes his mouth and then gives Seokjin a very serious look. “I would never, ever try to intentionally give you garlic poisoning. I had no idea you were allergic. I swear.”

“You promise?”

“I swear,” he repeats. He doesn’t look like he’s lying, but Seokjin’s been fooled by him before. Probably been fooled.

“Okay… What about Jungkook? Why are you turning him against me?”

Namjoon’s eyes go wide. Wider than wide. “I really… I don’t think I could if I wanted to.”

“What does that mean?”

“Jungkook is crazy about you! When we play ping pong, he’s always talking about ‘sunbaenim’ this and ‘Seokjin hyung’ that. It’s overwhelming sometimes.” Namjoon looks across the room to where Jungkook and Hobi are laughing with each other. “When we made our video, he kept saying things like, ‘Seokjin sunbaenim would want it like this.’ He never shuts up about you. I could never replace you, Seokjin-ssi.”

“Oh…”

“I’m sorry if I’ve given you the wrong idea about me or my intentions here.” Namjoon’s looking at him earnestly, tilting his own head down to try and meet Seokjin’s gaze, which has settled somewhere on the floor. “I respect you, I’ve always liked working with you, and I’d like it if someday, we could be friends, too.”

“Friends,” Seokjin mumbles, trying to think about what Namjoon’s been saying.

“You know, friends. Like where one of us doesn’t hate the other?”

And that’s it for Seokjin, because Namjoon looks hesitant and cautious and soft and cozy and not at all like the villain Seokjin’s made him up to be in his head. “That could be arranged, I think.”

Namjoon’s dimples make their first real appearance of the night. “Yeah?”

“But you need to teach Ponyo some manners.”

“Huh?”

“She’s always chewing with her mouth open.” Seokjin hollows his cheeks and does his best fish impression, which results in Namjoon doubling over in laughter, his hand flying out to Seokjin’s knee to steady himself. Because Namjoon is his client, technically, he tries really hard to ignore the immediate flush he feels at the contact.

“You’re funny, Seokjin-ssi,” he says as he catches his breath.

“Hyung. Seokjin hyung. Outside of the office, anyway.”

“Yeah?”

Seokjin nods and gives his attention to the singing, trying not to show how pleased he is that Namjoon is pleased, but when he glances back out of the corner of his eye, he can’t help but feel something funny in his stomach at the sight of the dopey grin Namjoon is giving him from behind his beer bottle.

Even he can admit that, this one time, Hobi was right.

He probably drinks too many beers that night. He’s not drunk drunk, but he’s warm and flushed and even giggling when they stumble out of the noraebang a couple hours after his newly forged friendship with Namjoon takes root. They divide into taxis, everyone calling it a night fairly early so they can show up to work in the morning without having to be on the receiving end of Yoongi’s “what the fuck were you thinking?” face.

Somehow, as he watches Jimin and Taehyung pile into a taxi, then Hobi and Jungkook, it doesn’t occur to him that he’s left with Namjoon until he feels a hand on his shoulder and hears, “Hyung, want to share?”

He thinks his brain must leave his body for a moment, because without even thinking about it, he replies, “Want to come over? One more beer?”

There’s almost immediate regret when Namjoon doesn’t answer. Seokjin can’t even bring himself to turn his head to look at the man standing next to him. He’s sure he’s crossed some sort of line—a line he’d probably been the one to draw in the first place.

He barely hears Namjoon’s answer. “Yeah, okay. One more drink.”

It’s a surprise to say the least. But a good one. Seokjin takes a couple of deep breaths and lets himself sneak a glance at Namjoon. Those damn dimples are back. But instead of being annoying, Seokjin thinks they’re beautiful. Something about how happy Namjoon looks tilts Seokjin’s world on his axis. Just momentarily, anyway. Then he remembers that they’re barely friends and he’s been objectively horrible to this man for weeks—this man who is technically his client. As they get into the taxi to go back to his apartment together, he takes more deep breaths and tells himself to get it together—this is just what friends do.

Seokjin keeps a tidy apartment, so there’s no apologizing for the mess or explaining himself. If anything, it’s sparse, because he spends so much time at work and rarely entertains at his own place, except for movie nights with Hobi.

It should be weird to have Namjoon there, but what’s weird is that it’s not at all. Namjoon slides his shoes off, settles in the living room and doesn’t waste any time asking Seokjin to talk more about himself, to tell him about the friends and family members in the photos around his apartment. He’s a good conversationalist—he asks interesting questions and laughs at Seokjin’s bad jokes and really listens when Seokjin speaks, making a lot of eye contact and nodding along at all the right places.

And he’s funny, too. Self-deprecating a little, but it makes Seokjin more comfortable around him, like he doesn’t take himself too seriously. Seokjin learns a lot about Namjoon while they both drink another beer—he has a younger sister, he loves plants in a way that wasn’t already apparent (sings to them and names them and it’s just about the most endearing thing Seokjin has ever heard in his life), he “dabbles in poetry,” likes to go to museums, and claims to only make friends with people who can cook, because he’s a self-proclaimed disaster in the kitchen. More than one of his stories of near-catastrophe has Seokjin in a riot of laughter, and it’s not long before Seokjin is wondering how he’d let himself miss out on this person for so long.

They talk until neither of them is doing a good job of keeping their eyes open, and he doesn’t think twice about offering his spare bedroom when Namjoon says he should probably get home. It’s late, they’re both tipsy, he reasons. Tells Namjoon to just set his alarm a little early to go home and change before work. They have their pitch meeting with Yoongi at 9am, so it’s not like either of them needs to be there early, anyway. “Unless you have someone waiting for you at home,” he tacks on.

Namjoon ducks his head and grins. “No, no one at home. Just the plants and me. But are you sure, hyung?”

He shouldn’t feel the small bit of giddiness he does upon hearing that Namjoon is single. “Yah, it’s nothing. Bathroom’s on the right, guest room is just past it. Sheets are clean and there’s a spare toothbrush for you. Let me find you something to wear.”

He shuffles to his own room and digs around for something that will fit Namjoon. He’s taller and bigger, but Seokjin has broad shoulders and wears baggy clothes around the house most of the time, anyway. He finds an old black t-shirt and some joggers and gives them to Namjoon, who is impossibly even cuter when he’s sleepy. Seokjin needs to get to bed before he says something he shouldn’t like, “can I touch your hair?” or “want to cuddle? Your chest looks comfy,” (It does) or “can I please kiss you?”

It’s confusing, the way he feels. His whole idea of this man has been flipped upside-down in the course of a day.

“Hyung?” Namjoon’s eyeing him curiously, one side of his mouth turned up in a soft smile.

“Sorry… Spaced out. Need anything else?” He swallows down the weird sensation he feels in his chest and smiles at Namjoon.

“No, I’m all good. See you tomorrow. Thanks again. I had a lot of fun talking with you.”

“Goodnight, Namjoon-ah.”

“Goodnight, hyung.”

Sleep. He’ll feel better once he gets some sleep, he tells himself.

***

In reality, what ends up happening is that Seokjin feels much, much worse.

It’s possible he had more to drink than he thought. He wakes up in the morning to sunlight, and this is the first bad omen. Bad because he should have been up before the sun came up if he wanted to be to work on time, and Namjoon should have been up even earlier.

Namjoon. Shit.

Seokjin rolls out of bed, his headache hitting him almost immediately.

“Oh, fuck,” he groans, as he pulls a shirt on and grabs his phone. Things go from bad to worse almost immediately. It’s 8:45 am and he is late. Late, late. Completely screwed late. Late for the most important meeting he’s had at work in months. The only solace is that if he’s late, then Namjoon is late, too. He scurries down the hall to the guest room, only hesitating for a second before throwing the door open. There’s no time for modesty, he thinks, they have to get moving.

“Namjoon-ah!”

But his call is into an empty room. Namjoon is gone, and the clothes he borrowed the night before are folded up neatly on the end of Seokjin’s guest bed.

Fuck.

By the time he’s on the subway (still so, so late), he finally has time to think about the situation. And he’s mad. Really, underneath that, he thinks he might be hurt that this man who he wanted to kiss so badly the night before is really trying to screw him over. And for no reason that he can think of. He let his guard down with Namjoon for one night, and this is what happens. It was probably Namjoon’s plan all along: get Seokjin drunk, decide not to wake him up, let him show up late to the meeting so that Yoongi will have no choice but to choose Namjoon’s ideas.

He’s so stupid for letting this happen. He knew Namjoon was bad news. He should have never listened to Hobi. All the good-looking ones are evil. Except him, of course.

“Morning, Jinnie!” Hobi calls brightly as Seokjin dashes through the lobby.

“No time, Hobi. I have a seed-man to take down.”

It’s probably the fastest he’s ever made it from his bed to the office. Of course, he knows he’s made some sacrifices in order to get there sooner—he hasn’t moisturized, his tie is crooked, and he’s sure his socks don’t match—but it’s all going to be worth it when he gets there and can plead his case to Yoongi.

When he gets off the elevator on his floor, he sees Yoongi alone in his office, no Namjoon. This is good. Maybe they rescheduled the meeting. It’s only 9:20, there’s no way they’re already done. He sprints across the floor, pausing briefly at Yoongi’s door to catch his breath, and then he knocks and pushes the door open a crack.

“Yoongi-ssi?”

“Oh, you decided to show up.”

He’s about to launch into an apology-slash-explanation when Yoongi speaks again, holding his hand up to gesture for Seokjin to be quiet. “I don’t want to know. I know you all went out last night, Namjoon told me.”

Kim Namjoon, Seokjin is now one hundred percent sure, is a rat.

“I’m sorry,” Seokjin says, bowing slightly. “It won’t happen again.”

Yoongi laughs. “It probably will, just don’t make it a habit.”

“Of course.” There’s a pause where neither of them speak after that. Seokjin decides to just go for it. “So, about the meeting…”

“We had the meeting.”

“You had the meeting?”

“Namjoon and I met at nine.”

He wants to be mad, and he is with Namjoon. Not with Yoongi for having the meeting at the scheduled time.

“Oh, I see.”

“I’ve made a decision, and I’ll submit everything to the Board today for their Wednesday meeting.”

“Okay, thanks for letting me know.” He wants to cry. Seokjin closes the door to Yoongi’s office and makes his way to the bathroom as quickly as he can. There’s no way he’s going to cry out in the open where anyone could see.

Years and years of hard work down the toilet because of one night of karaoke. Because of Kim Namjoon being a rat who didn’t wake him up. He can feel the pressure building in his head, worse than the hangover headache he woke up with. There’s nothing he can think of worse than failure, and now he’s failed in the biggest way. His dongsaeng and his client beating him at the one thing he’s always been the best at. It’s the worst feeling. Like he’s let Yoongi down… Like he’s let himself down.

He leans against the counter and fights the tears back. He’s Kim Seokjin. He doesn’t cry at work. The door to the bathroom swings open while he’s splashing cold water on his face. He didn’t bother with concealer that morning, so there’s nothing to mess up with the water.

“Seokjin-ssi?”

Of fucking course.

“Namjoon, I’m not in the mood.”

“Oh. I uh… Just wanted to see if you were alright. I was worried when you didn’t come to the meeting this morning.”

Seokjin laughs, loud and bitter. “Sure you were.”

Namjoon stands in the doorway, a surprised look on his face. “I was, yeah.”

“You don’t have to lie anymore, Namjoon. You win. Yoongi told me everything was decided. Congratulations. I don’t know why it was so important to you to do this to me, but I hope you’re happy.”

Namjoon’s voice is soft when he speaks, and he takes a cautious step closer to Seokjin. “You have to believe me when I tell you I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I don’t have to believe anything you say, actually.”

“I’m not sure why you’re upset with me, hyung.”

Seokjin stands up straight. “Hyung rights revoked, Namjoon.”

Namjoon looks like he wants to laugh. Insulting. Seokjin pushes past him out the bathroom door. “Seokjin-ssi, wait, please.”

Seokjin does not wait. He strides to Yoongi’s office (Namjoon two steps behind), tells him he needs a personal day, and gets on the elevator to go back down. He’s done with Namjoon, done with this office, and done with being a fool.

He makes it home without any fanfare and sleeps most of the day. When he wakes up to make himself some food that evening, he sees chat messages from Hobi and Taehyung, asking if he’s okay. They offer to bring soup in case he’s not feeling well and both ask for him to let them know if he’s alright. He ignores them. Instead, he leaves Yoongi a voicemail, telling him he’s taking the next day off as well, stomach bug.

It’s not far off from the truth—he feels awful. Prickly and queasy and bad all over. Every time he closes his eyes he sees Namjoon standing in his living room, looking soft and innocent and kissable and happy and he hates it. It’s the feeling of insecurity he’s tried to battle his whole life, now creeping back in. He shouldn’t have let himself think a pretty boy with nice dimples and a couple of good jokes really wanted to be his friend—maybe even wanted something more.

There were a couple moments, like when Namjoon shuffled closer in the karaoke room, or when he laughed at every single one of Seokjin’s worst jokes, that Seokjin thought there might be a spark there. That maybe Namjoon’s chest felt like it was full of firecrackers when they made eye contact, too.

He feels like a fool.

He ignores his friends that night and all the next day, plays video games until his thumbs hurt, and calls his mother. By the time Tuesday night comes, he’s feeling a little better, a little more capable of putting his protective shell back on and showing up at the office. Plus, the next day is the annual table tennis tournament, and Seokjin never misses that. It was his idea to begin with, and he wins every year.

Kim Namjoon may have won the pitch competition, but he’ll never beat Seokjin on the blue table.

That night, he tells himself reaffirming statements in bed: he’s smart, he’s talented, he’s attractive, he’s Kim Seokjin and he can do anything. He only believes approximately half of it, but figures the more he repeats it, the closer it gets to true.

He sets no fewer than eight alarms for Wednesday morning. In the interest of showing everyone that he is, in fact, not to be fucked with, he wakes up extra early and makes sure his hair and face are both perfect. He puts on his nicest suit and packs his lucky table tennis clothes—a navy blue and white Fila outfit that he’s never lost tennis, squash, or table tennis in. He makes himself an Ediya latte and adds a little extra sugar. He deserves it.

Because it’s a big day, he packs a lunch instead of relying on cafeteria food or a pastry from Hobi’s shop. He needs the nutrition. He hasn’t seen the tournament bracket yet, but he’s sure he’ll be playing Jungkook, who will keep him on his toes.

At the office, everyone regards him carefully. He expects to have to ignore Namjoon in their shared office, but when he enters, Namjoon is nowhere to be found. Ponyo mouths at him from Namjoon’s desk—she’s always watching. When he asks Taehyung about it, casually of course, Tae just points to one of the conference rooms. There’s a “do not disturb — call in progress” sign tacked to the door.

So the first half of the day is quiet. He doesn’t see Namjoon, but he does notice his name listed in the tournament bracket that’s been posted in the lunchroom. He’s on the opposite side from Seokjin, which means they wouldn’t play until the final, and Seokjin’s pretty confident Namjoon won’t make it that far, anyway.

Part of him wonders if he’s going to hear back from Yoongi about the deal with Namjoon’s company today. Their board meeting is happening, and they should be making a decision about whether to give Yoongi and Seokjin their business. It would obviously be a huge relief, even if Jungkook is now entitled to a large chunk of the commission. Money doesn’t really matter, because being done with the deal means Namjoon will go back to his own office, and Seokjin will be rid of him. It should be a weight off of his shoulders, and he shrugs off the small voice in his head that doesn’t want to go back to not seeing Namjoon every day.

Well, he thinks sarcastically, maybe he will see Namjoon now that he’s miraculously discovered how to use a webcam. Asshole.

After he eats lunch, he changes into his workout clothes and heads down to the basement. It’s finally his time to shine.

The elevator is crowded, and he has to ignore the looks he gets from workers who get on at other floors. No one looks better than him in a track jacket, anyway, they’re probably just jealous.

Or, that’s what he thinks until he makes it to the basement and sees Namjoon. Dressed in a familiar outfit. Familiar because it looks exactly like Seokjin’s.

The universe is a cruel place.

Once again, his stomach is a muddled mess of horny rage. No one should look that good with a sweatband on. No one that terrible should look that good, period.

He falls into conversation with Taehyung, Jimin, and Jungkook, who collectively look like they should be on the cover of some high-fashion sports magazine. He’s not sure he’s ever seen so much lycra in one place. Jimin gives him a wry smile when he notices that Seokjin is looking. “Like what you see?” he teases.

“Just surprised you think you can play in that,” he retorts.

“Oh, we can play,” Taehuyng chimes in with a greasy wink. It’s made worse by the fact that he can’t see where Taehyung’s hands are. No doubt attached to Jimin’s body somewhere. They’re disgusting.

“You don’t have to be that gross,” Seokjin whines.

Jungkook shakes his head. “I really think they do.”

Hobi, their official tournament referee, blows an obnoxious whistle, getting everyone’s attention. Well, almost everyone. Out of the corner of his eye, Seokjin sees Namjoon staring at him. He can’t tell what kind of look is on the other man’s face. Probably smug. Which is fine, for now. Seokjin will have fun wiping any smugness right off his pretty face later.

The first match is easy, some guy in IT who looks like he’s never stepped out from behind his computer in his life. Then he beats Jimin in the second round and observes that Namjoon seems to make it easily through his first two rounds, as well.

In the quarterfinals, Seokjin has to fight a little harder to beat Taehyung, usually an easy win made more challenging when he notices Namjoon watching from the other side of the room. If he’s not wrong, it even looks like Namjoon is cheering for him?

Probably another one of his tricks.

Seokjin has to face Jungkook in the semifinals, and on the other side, it’s Namjoon and Yoongi. Yoongi is objectively bad at this, but he’s competitive, and he’s also the boss of most of the people currently in the basement, so no one ever wants to play him. Seems like Namjoon is this year’s sacrificial lamb, on the receiving end of Yoongi’s shouts and cheating accusations when he loses point after point. Good.

Jungkook has learned a lot since he started at the office. He’s gotten better at sales and a hell of a lot better at table tennis. He’s beat Seokjin before, and they both know he can do it again. But sometime in the second match of three, it’s almost like he gives up.

“Yah, put up a fight, will you?”

“I have a cramp, hyung.” Jungkook bends down to rub at his calf dramatically, and if Seokjin is suspicious, he pushes it out of his mind and takes the “cramp” as a gift. He easily beats Jungkook to take the best two of three and make it to the final.

The final against Namjoon.

He takes some time to adjust his wristbands and drink some water before the match starts. Namjoon seems to be keeping his distance, but every time Seokjin looks over at him, he’s looking right back. He looks sad, almost. Finally, with a minute or so left until their match time, Namjoon approaches him.

“Seokjin-ssi… hi.”

Seokjin looks him up and down with his best competitive glare. He absolutely does not let his gaze pause on the muscles in Namjoon’s thighs. “Well, maybe we can settle some things today, Namjoon-ssi.”

Namjoon furrows his brow. “I still don’t think I understand why you’re mad at me.” Then he whispers, “I thought we were becoming friends.”

“Does it really matter?” Seokjin adjusts his own sweatband and rolls his shoulders back. He steps past Namjoon and toward the table before Namjoon can reply. Faintly, Seokjin hears him say something. It sounds an awful lot like, “It matters to me.”

But he won’t let his guard down this time.

Except he does.

The first game goes fine; he cruises to an 11 to 6 victory easily. Something happens in the second game, though. Jungkook is talking to Namjoon between points, and it starts out fine, and then he asks if Namjoon really has to leave the office to go back to his actual job, to which Namjoon replies, “I’ll never leaf you, Jungkook-ah.”

It’s stupid. And it’s hilarious. Plant puns from the seed-man.

Seokjin misses his shot as he tries not to laugh. Namjoon notices that he’s trying to hold in a chuckle, and this causes a triumphant, deeply-dimpled smile to appear on his face.

“You like plant puns, Seokjin-ssi?” he asks as he serves the ball.

“No,” Seokjin lies.

“What did the cactus say to the other cactus?”

“No idea,” he grunts out as he returns a surprisingly good shot from Namjoon.

“You’re looking sharp.” Namjoon delivers the punchline with a killer backhand, and Seokjin misses the ball again.

“I hate you and your stupid jokes,” Seokjin announces. Even if he doesn’t hate them at all. In fact, he’s struggling to hate Namjoon, too. It’s actually the worst.

“But I’m just pollen your leg,” Namjoon riffs.

Seokjin misses another shot as Taehyung and Jimin fall into a pile of laughter on the floor next to the table. Even Yoongi is giving a snort.

“You’re all the worst!” Seokjin shouts as he sets his paddle down. He’s lost the game to Namjoon. 9 to 11. So embarrassing. “Hobi, can we institute a ‘no puns at the table’ rule for the final game?”

“No,” Hobi says, his tone light. “This is way too entertaining.”

“Fine.”

He’s so annoyed, he’s practically shaking. Kim Namjoon with his dumb jokes winning everyone over while Seokjin just suffers. It’s unfair, it’s enraging, it’s… well, it’s actually really cute, too, which just makes him more angry. Why does his nemesis have to be funny and attractive?

What’s apparent, as the third game begins, is that being mad is not helping his game. Neither is having to look at Namjoon’s face across the table. He could swear Namjoon’s mocking him every time he smiles.

How dare he.

Thinking about it just gets Seokjin more worked up, and he misses more shots. Then thinking about missing shots causes him to miss even more shots. He’s barely hanging on until he’s not actually hanging on at all, and shouts from Jungkook announce Namjoon’s victory.

For the first time in a very, very long time, Kim Seokjin is officially a loser.

It doesn’t sink in right away. Not until Namjoon says, with convincing sincerity, “Wow! I can’t believe I won the ping pong tournament…”

“You did it, hyung!” Jungkook is clearly excited. Traitor. “You won ping pong!”

And something in Seokjin snaps.

“It’s called table tennis, you assholes!”

He shouts it, and everyone in the room freezes.

He would be embarrassed if he thought about it, but instead, all he can think about are all the things that have gone wrong for him over the past few weeks, all tied back to Kim Namjoon.

Before anyone can move, he stomps to the elevator and slams his fingers into the buttons repeatedly until the car finally makes it to the basement and the doors slide open. It’s overwhelmingly silent in the room as he leaves—and if Taehyung and Jimin are quiet, he knows he’s probably crossed a line. He just doesn’t care. When he steps onto the elevator, he keeps his back to everyone until the door closes. When he’s finally alone, he slumps against the wall and sighs.

He’s probably going to need to find a new job.

Back in his office, he’s packing some things into his bag, hoping to avoid the rest of them. He figures if he can sneak out in the next few minutes, maybe take the stairs down, he’ll miss them all making their way back up to the office.

Of course, he figures wrong.

The door to his office opens carefully, and he can see a flop of brown hair appear in the crack.

Against his better judgment, he says, “You can come in, Namjoon.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” No is what he means, though. But he’s tired. It’s exhausting to fight all the time. He doesn’t have it in him anymore, he’s pretty sure.

Namjoon slips into the office and pulls the door closed, leaning back against it. “Can we talk?” he asks.

“Talk if you want.” Seokjin crosses his arms and waits.

“The board approved the deal today,” Namjoon says. He looks happy. His eyes are bright and hopeful. “I wanted to be the one to tell you.”

To rub it in, no doubt. Namjoon is such a jerk.

“Congratulations to you and Jungkook, then.” It comes out pretty harsh, but he figures it won’t really matter anyway.

“Huh?”

“Your pitch, it worked. Congrats.”

Namjoon shakes his head. “I think you’ve got some things wrong, Seokjin-ssi.”

At that, Seokjin huffs. “I’ve got some things wrong? Me?” He steps closer to Namjoon. “I think you’ve got some things wrong thinking you can some in here and lie about not knowing how to use a webcam,” he sticks a crooked finger out and points at Namjoon’s chest, “and fill my office with plants to drive me out and almost kill me with garlic and purposely make me late to that pitch meeting and think you can get away with it because you’re funny and smart and hot!”

Seokjin is practically in his face now, but instead of backing down, Namjoon grabs his finger. “You think I’m funny and smart and hot?”

“Not the point!”

“You want to know why I lied about video calls?”

“No.”

“Because I looked you up on Naver and saw your picture when we first started emailing. Because I couldn’t even talk to you on the phone without blushing. Because you are the most attractive person I’ve ever seen and I was nervous, hyung. I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep it together if I had to look at you while we talked.” Namjoon gives Seokjin’s finger a squeeze. “I know it’s not appropriate, and I’m your client… So I never said anything.”

Seokjin squeaks. Honest to god squeaks. It’s such a far departure from what he expected Namjoon to say, he doesn’t even have a good response.

“And as for the garlic, I think we’ve already covered that. And the meeting? Hyung, I tried to wake you up when I left, but you yelled at me to stop being ungrateful and then you rolled over and started snoring.”

“I don’t snore,” Seokjin says weakly.

“Okay, sure.” Namjoon gives him an affectionate smile. “I thought you must have had your alarm set. I didn’t know that you didn’t.”

“Oh…”

“And the pitch we sent the board was yours.”

Seokjin finally snaps to attention at that. “What?”

“It was the best one. I watched them with Yoongi and told him to send yours. So you got the deal done, hyung. It was all you.”

“You really did that?”

Namjoon nods. This is all… a lot to process.

Maybe Seokjin was… not exactly right about Namjoon’s intentions.

“And you think I’m the most attractive person you’ve ever seen?”

The almost giggle Namjoon lets out is the cutest thing Seokjin has ever seen, so maybe they’re even. “Yeah, I do.”

“You’re the worst,” Seokjin says, but this time, he’s smiling, too.

“Mmhmm. I’m the worst, but I’m technically officially your client, so you have to be nice to me.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yep.”

And it occurs to Seokjin that instead of wiping the smug grin off Namjoon’s face, he wants to kiss it off. So with very little consideration to what that might mean for his career, he leans in to do just that.

Except Namjoon beats him to it.

And thank god, he is way better at kissing than he is at sales pitches. He’s careful with Seokjin, lips moving cautiously. It’s sweet and soft and Seokjin hears himself sigh into the kiss as it deepens, as Namjoon drops Seokjin’s finger, and moves to hold his jaw instead. He takes the lead, tilting Seokjin’s head just so to deepen the kiss, and then smiling when he pulls away to catch his breath and sees Seokjin chasing his lips.

“Was that nice enough?” Seokjin teases when he finally gets a hold of the thoughts spinning around his head.

“Mmhmm… Very nice. Wanted to kiss you since the first time we met…” Namjoon barely finishes his dreamy, murmured response before he’s pulling Seokjin back in, connecting their lips again. It’s possible that Seokjin has wanted this more than he’d been admitting to himself, because he’s almost sure he’s too eager, licking along Namjoon’s plush and perfect bottom lip in hopes he’ll find space to change the kiss from sweet to heated. It’s probably only been seconds, but he’s already impatient, wanting more, more, more.

They kiss and kiss and kiss with Namjoon pressed up against the office door… The office door. Seokjin pulls away abruptly. “We shouldn’t do this.”

Namjoon looks like almost every possible emotion passes over his breathless face as he registers what Seokjin’s just said. He lands on something like disappointment. “Oh… I must have…”

“No, no! You didn’t. But…” Seokjin leans over to his side to peer out of the glass, “We shouldn’t do this here. Everyone will be back any minute.”

A strong arm wraps around his waist, and he’s tugged into Namjoon’s chest before he knows what’s happening. (And he was right, for what it’s worth. It’s very comfy, even though it’s shaking with Namjoon’s gentle laughter).

“What’s funny? I’m going to get fired,” Seokjin whispers into Namjoon’s shirt.

“I think if you were going to get fired, it would have been when you called everyone in the office ‘assholes’,” Namjoon says gently.

“Hmm… Points are being made.”

“Plus, Yoongi sent everyone home.”

Seokjin looks up. “He did?”

“Yeah… He thought it might be best after… You know.”

“Me.”

“More or less,” Namjoon agrees.

Seokjin groans into Namjoon’s collarbones. “That was embarrassing,” he whines.

Namjoon hooks a finger under his chin and tilts his head up. He’s giving Seokjin a completely enamored smile, and Seokjin’s almost sure he’s been on the receiving end of that look before, but he’s just now recognizing it for what it is. “I thought it was cute,” Namjoon whispers.

“Cute? Hah! You’re a liar, Kim Namjoon.”

“I’m not,” Namjoon says, still grinning when he leans down to place another delicate kiss on Seokjin’s lips.

“I don’t deserve this…”

“No, you really don’t,” Namjoon readily agrees. “You’re lucky I like you a little mean.”

“Oh?” Seokjin feels his ears turn red at the insinuation.

Namjoon kisses him again and then nods. “I just really like you, hyung. You’re passionate, funny, and really good at table tennis.” He’s smiling now, teasing a little, but it feels really nice to hear someone say those things, especially someone who seems like he really means them.

“Of course you do,” Seokjin teases. It’s one of his nervous tics, joking to take the pressure off, to turn the attention to something else. But when he does it this time, he realizes he doesn’t want to brush this off or make a joke out of it. “I really like you too, Namjoon-ah.”

“Good.” And Namjoon’s breath is warm against the shell of his ear when the word is whispered into his skin. It makes Seokjin’s whole body tingle. It’s not helping that Namjoon’s hands are wandering, fingertips pressing into his waist, sliding along the bottom of his shirt. “Is this okay?” he asks.

Seokjin nods, and he’s immediately manhandled so that he’s the one backed up into the door, Namjoon looking him up and down, then leaning in to press open-mouthed kisses up over his jaw and down his neck.

“So pretty, hyung,” he whispers between kisses. “Want to see more of you.” Namjoon slips his hands beneath his jacket, playing at the sensitive skin above his waistband.

“Here?” Seokjin is a little breathless, a little surprised. The Kim Seokjin who likes to be the best (and who works very hard every day to make sure that’s always the case) would never do this in the office, never take the risk… “Yeah, okay,” he agrees.

Maybe it’s time to be a new version of himself.

He’s quickly shed of his jacket and shirt by Namjoon, who whispers praises into the skin of his collarbones and chest. He’s getting hard with little assistance, and normally it would be somewhat embarrassing, but worse things have happened in the last hour—he might as well lean into it. So, when Namjoon asks if it’s okay to touch, he nods immediately and is rewarded with a single, teasing finger dragged over his shorts along his length and sending a shudder down his spine.

His head falls forward onto Namjoon’s shoulder as the other man softly bites and kisses across his skin. At this point, he’s prickly with anticipation and getting painfully hard, but when he looks up, all he sees is…

“Ponyo,” he says quietly.

Namjoon lifts his head from Seokjin’s pulse point, where his lips have started to become a semi-permanent fixture. His eyes are dark, cheeks flushed, and his lips are kiss-swollen when he answers, “You want to talk about my fish right now?”

Seokjin points to where she sits on the desk. “She’s watching…”

“She’s a fish.”

He can’t tell if Namjoon is endeared or exasperated.

“Both,” Namjoon says.

“I said that out loud?”

“You say a lot of things, hyung.”

That earns him a slap on the shoulder. “Can we turn her around?” Seokjin asks.

Namjoon lets out a deep laugh and smiles fondly. “You know she could just swim in any direction, right? It wouldn’t matter.”

“I would feel better.”

Namjoon lifts an eyebrow and mumbles, “Can’t believe I still want to suck you off after all this.” At least he’s still smiling.

“Fair,” Seokjin replies as Namjoon goes to move the fishtank. “Me either if we’re being honest.”

With Ponyo’s innocence maintained, Namjoon comes back to a shirtless Seokjin and resumes landing soft kisses across Seokjin’s jaw. It’s so nice, and Seokjin really can’t believe that this is happening—he meant it when he said he didn’t deserve this, but he’s so glad it’s finally real. The moan he lets out when Namjoon drops to his knees probably says enough, but he wants to make sure it’s really clear. “This is like a dream,” he says.

Namjoon looks up at him from where he’s untying the knot holding up Seokjin’s shorts. “Hmm… You have interesting dreams.”

“They’re usually not this good,” Seokjin says, his eyes falling closed as Namjoon slides his shorts and briefs down.

“Hyung?”

“Yeah?” he whispers.

“Stop talking.” Namjoon emphasizes his words by finally taking Seokjin’s cock in his hand, squeezing a little too carefully before licking along the shaft.

“Okay, I’m stopping,” he agrees, voice pitched higher as Namjoon wraps his lips around his cock. He can feel when Namjoon chokes back a laugh. “For real now,” he adds on in a whisper.

And he keeps his promise. It would be hard to formulate words even if he wanted to with the way Namjoon is working him over with his tongue and lips. His cheeks are hollowed as he takes Seokjin deeper, eyes watering, and he looks devastatingly good like this. If he didn’t want to see how far this could go, he’d be worried that the next thing Namjoon chokes on won’t be laughter.

When Namjoon reaches to squeeze his balls, Seokjin groans and his head thuds against the door behind him. It’s so overwhelming. Moreso when he brings himself to open his eyes and looks down to see Namjoon’s lips spread wide around his cock and one of his hands down his shorts stroking himself.

“You like this, Namjoon-ah? Like it so much you’re touching yourself for hyung?”

Namjoon just moans around him in response before he pushes further down Seokjin’s cock and swallows around the head.

“I’m close…” Seokjin whispers, and there’s no hesitance—he’s met with more encouraging hums as Namjoon moves faster.

He tries to reach down to pull Namjoon off of him before he comes, sure that it’s too much for a first time, but Namjoon just squeezes his thigh and then holds Seokjin in place, not letting him pull back.

When he comes, he thinks his legs might give out, it’s the best orgasm he’s had in ages—the only one he’s had with someone else in longer than he’d like to admit—but Namjoon keeps a steadying hand on his leg and holds him tight while he swallows and slowly pulls off, licking Seokjin clean.

“Okay, hyung?” he says, voice a little gravelly. It’s incredibly sexy, makes Seokjin wonder what he sounds like in the morning, wonder what he’d sound like when someone was taking him apart instead of the other way around.

“So good, Namjoon-ah.”

Namjoon stands and lets Seokjin pull him in for another long kiss. He tastes like Seokjin and it’s one more thing added to the list of surprisingly hot experiences that have happened to him today. They hold each other for what feels like an hour, but really can’t be more than a few seconds before Namjoon pulls away and looks down between them. “I should.. Uh…”

“Can I help?” Seokjin asks.

“Oh, uh… No, thank you. This is… Well, it’s my turn to be embarrassed, I guess.”

When Seokjin looks down, he sees a dark patch on the front of Namjoon’s shorts. “Oh, you really did like that?”

Namjoon’s cheeks turn even more pink. “Stop, hyung… I swear this isn’t a thing that happens to me usually.”

It’s Seokjin’s turn to be reassuring. “It’s fine, Namjoon-ah, I think it’s kinda hot.”

“Now who’s the liar?” They both laugh into each other's shoulders until Seokjin shivers. “Cold?” Namjoon asks.

Seokjin nods, and Namjoon grabs his clothes for him from their pile on the office floor. Since Namjoon needs to get out of his dirty shorts, he puts his suit back on while Seokjin gets dressed. They look like quite the pair with Seokjin in a tracksuit and Namjoon in an actual suit—it’s even more of a relief that Yoongi sent everyone home, now.

The longer they’re quiet, the more he worries that things between them are going to be awkward. They probably should be given what just happened.

“So, uh…” Namjoon looks as nervous as Seokjin feels. “We did that.”

“We did. Yep. And you’re still my client, so…” He really hopes Namjoon isn’t about to tell him that this was a mistake, something they should pretend never happened.

“So, I think you should give my account to Jungkook. If you want.”

“Okay… That can be arranged.” It’s hard to control the grin that’s blooming on his face. “What do you want, Namjoon-ah?”

Namjoon smiles and grabs both of their bags, handing Seokjin’s to him. “I want to take you out to dinner.”

***

They do go out to dinner, and after, Namjoon comes over. Seokjin gets to confirm that the sounds Namjoon makes when he’s at someone else’s mercy are just about as perfect as any he’s ever heard. In the morning, Namjoon wakes him up carefully with warm kisses even though now that the project is done, he can go back to working from home or his actual office, and Seokjin is the one who actually has to get out of bed.

After a shower and breakfast, Namjoon rides the subway with him to his office, holding his hand the whole way. They barely let go when they enter the building, just in time for Hobi not to catch them. He thinks, anyway.

“Ah, Jinnie! And Namjoon! Good morning.”

“Hi, Hobi,” they say in unison.

“The usual?” he asks.

They nod in unison, and then Namjoon whispers, “Hyung, I’ve never told him my “usual,” but I can’t tell him no. He just makes me something different every time.”

“Oh, same for me,” Seokjin agrees. “That’s what he does to everyone.”

“How does he stay in business?” Namjoon asks, wide-eyed.

“Never underestimate the power of a smile,” Hobi chimes in as he sets their drinks on the counter.

“Or the fact that he’s the closest coffee shop for the hundreds of people in the building,” Seokjin counters.

When they get to the elevator bank, Seokjin knows it’s time to say goodbye, at least for the day. They’ve already made plans to meet after work to play table tennis together—Namjoon says that couples who have hobbies together are happier. Seokjin’s just happy that Namjoon wants to be in a couple after everything that happened, so he promises to be on his best behavior during any competitive scenarios. He’ll try, at least.

While they wait for the next elevator, clearly dragging out their temporary good-bye for as long as possible, Seokjin says, “I had an idea.”

Namjoon lifts an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

“Maybe next year’s tournament could be doubles.”

Even though Namjoon won’t be working from their office, won’t have the opportunity to beat him next year, nothing really sounds better to Seokjin than to win with Namjoon by his side, as dumb as it sounds when he’s tried to say it out loud. Fortunately, Namjoon doesn’t make him.

“Sure, that’s a good idea, hyung. Who’s gonna be your partner?”

“Well, even though you won’t really be around the office much, I was thinking you would.”

Namjoon just gives him that same bright, dimpled grin as he did the first time they met. “Of course I will. We’ll be unbeatable.”

“Yeah,” Seokjin says, returning his smile. “I think we will.”

#seokjin fic #namjoon fic #catch of the century #btswritingcafe #seokjin fanfiction #seokjin smut #namjoon smut #namjoon x seokjin #bts fic #bts fanfic #bts smut #bts imagines

[acatinafancyhat]

Watched Chess Netherlands today because... well, I can 🙃 It was surprisingly not all horrible. Definitely flawed and problematic but it had some parts I really liked! Of course I had lots of thoughts again so here is me venting them. 99% sure no one else cares about Dutch Chess but what the hell, tumblr is for screaming into the void right? ✨️

Act I

- You can instantly tell this is a Dutch production because the championships take place in what looks like a school gym. I mean we do our rubiks cube tournaments there. Is fine for chess, no?

- Explaining chess to the audience bc that's what the show is really missing

- Many Svenska Vibes

- Anatoly with an i is the most Dutch Soviet Russian i've ever met. Just, no nonsense. 'go take care of my children woman.' Calling each other names is how we show affection <3

- I will say the boys (Anatoli's kids) playing chess during the opening is a nice touch

- Story of Chess also has very to the point lyrics. "chess requires reticence so u don't kill each other" see now this actually sets up the show real well :)

- Awkward humor no one laughs at ✅️

- Anatoli's kind of a downer

- Freddie's sort of charming but his relationship with Florence is gonna be garbage i can tell

- strike 1: ableism

- (honestly he just reminds me of every Dutch white guy on tv)

- strike 2: assault

- Florence is already so done with his shit good for her

- also "with me there, he is brilliant" tru tru

- Singing Nobody's Side while random people have a lil party behind her?

- oh it's an excuse for karaoke ONIB

-Are they really gonna do the whole song though do we really need that

-lol Freddie pushes karaoke guy off stage so he can finish the song. honey this is a little early in the show to be getting this drunk what are you doing she hasn't even left you yet

- Arbiter leads morning exercise... ok well why not

- No dancing during the chess game. It's cool we can just watch two guys play chess from a distance for a couple minutes. Fun times.

- Freddie sticks his gum under the table real subtle like he hasn't got multiple cameras pointed at him right now

- Actually on second thought i think the chess game might be better without the dancing. Characters are doing interesting things. The contrast between Anatoli sitting stiffly at the table while Freddie is prancing around fistfighting the cameras is Most Amusing :)

- Did he just try to make Anatoli's move for him omg 🤣

- Freddie @ arbiter "uh it might be time u keep things under control around here" and off he runs HE'S SUCH A LITTLE SHIT ngl i kinda love him here

- However Florence's defense of him just seems completely unreasonable considering toli literally just. sat there. the whole time.

- Anatolyi gets the 'i'm ridiculous' monologue like in Svenska

- 'Hey my people killed your people oops now let me sing a song in the language you probably don't remember and it's somehow romantic and not creepy or overstepping any boundaries at all :)'

- Running away from Molokov in a shittier version of Svenska. Meh. But again they are aware of the lack of embassies in and around Merano which I do appreciate bc i'm pedantic like that

- Freddie: hey what's she doing with that Russian

Freddie: hmmm idk

Freddie: they're definitely talking abt me tho 🤨

- Flo & toli have a healthy conversation about the fact that he just left his kids behind i support that!!

- However this timing/setting for Anthem sucks. He's just singing it to Florence. And it's literally about how he misses his family? Weak. This needs to be an epic declaration of love for his homeland to all the world not whining to your girlfriend. Ugh can't believe they fucking ruined Anthem!

- So far all of this strikes me as discount Svenska but without the investment in Flonatoly and the only thing it's really got going for it is a handful of good lines BUT we'll see about act 2...

Act II

- Why the fuck would you start your second act with Merchandisers?

- Nice audience interaction though, it doesn't completely not work

- But following it up with Heaven Help My Heart is hmmmmmm really not ideal pacing-wise.

- Freddie's woman verse is even more cringe in Dutch i can't accurately translate it but it's so..... yikes..... The word he uses instead of "woman" ("popje") literally means "little doll/puppet" (but with slightly different connotations). It's sometimes used as a term of endearment but in this scene it is very much derogatory and ew.

- "here I stand wondering / if I ever knew you / have I ever really known who you are?" I like this translation!

- Pity the Child pulls no punches (does it ever?) He's so pathetic, he's such an asshole, and as a teacher I weirdly feel this one (at one point he talks about how no one ever noticed him at school either and just... oof don't get me started). Also the desperate rapid-fire chess game he plays against himself in the musical break and during the final verse--that needs to be in more versions holy fuck go watch this bit it's GOOD!!

- The Deal but without a political angle. Fascinating.

- No

- no. no no no i hate this i hate this Freddie wouldn't sacrifice his game not even for Florence NO. CANCELED.

- Interestingly instead of honey/parner, Freddie uses the same word as in the woman verse when he's talking to Florence during The Deal but this time it's the endearment variant. That's a little bit problematic.

- Molokov's plan is still to bring Flo and Sveta together even though Anatoli is now supposed to win 🤷‍♂️

- Anatoli casually downs several shots of liquor (vodka?) during Soviet Machine. not sure this will help him win the game but at least he sleeps through Russian Guy screaming that final whoooooooo high note in his ear

- Florence tests Freddie's chair... demands they bring a different one... is she still working for him? idk. I'm guessing it's meant to be sweet but it just looks silly to me idk

- Fuck reverse I Know Him So Well honestly. "he wants me / no he wants me" boo fucking hoo. You two deserve each other.

- Oh! Oh! Talking Chess, yay! 😁

- Gosh this is actually really cute?!? Freddie literally just came to discuss this random chess gambit he came across and thought was interesting? Nothing even to do with their current game just 'hey found this thing i thought you might like and i like and can we be friends now i really like chess 😶'

- Unlike in Svenska and RAH, I actually don't know for sure who is going to win this game. They do a good job of making this really about chess in the end. I like it.

- Freddie reminding toli it's about chess even during their match now that is the freddie i came to see!

- He calmly sips his water as Sveta and Florence are physically removed from the premises

- It is Quite Unfortunate that this production hates women...

- Really they seem to only be here to get in the men's way. Ugh.

- I don't support any of the relationships except Freddie and Toli being pen pals and playing long distance chess for the rest of their lives.

- Ending feels a little OOC but still nice to see some healthy Freddie & Flo interaction for once 😌

tldr; not the worst production out there, worth watching if you've already seen Svenska and don't mind Freddie being the most likeable character. (okay likeable is not the right word he sucks but, you know. He reminds me of RAH Freddie but slightly more yike.) PTC and Talking Chess are highlights!

#chess musical #thoughts #long post #was thinking of making a translation/subs for this maybe but idk if anyone would be interested..?