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starrywyatt · 8 months ago

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chapter 3: he let you have his bed? man's in love!

☆ never saw it comin'- a george clarkey story ☆

! THIS STORY READS BEST IN DARK MODE !

intro

chapter 1

chapter 2

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madison pov:

i woke up and my surroundings were unfamiliar and then i remembered i was in george's room... in his clothes. i rub my eyes and sit up, deciding i should probably get back changed before facing the others as i don't want to give off the wrong impression.

i get changed and head to the living room to let george know he can go back to his room if he wants to. i open the door and george is already awake stood over the stove, cooking something. "morning" i say, trying not to make him jump. "ahh good morning, did you sleep okay?" he asks. "yeah your beds actually a lot comfier than mine, i think i need a new mattress" i laugh. "did you sleep okay?" i ask. "the sofa is actually not that bad, but i was awoken by arthur leaving early this morning, so i just decided to stay up and make breakfast" he says and i do still feel bad. "ahh that's annoying. thank you so much again for letting me stay over, i'll probably call abi and then we'll get out of your hair" i say, pulling my phone out. "i promise, it's no bother. you can stay for breakfast if you want, i've definitely made enough" he suggests. "are you sure? i wouldn't mind staying" i smile and he begins to plate up some pancakes and bacon.

we sit just us two at the kitchen island and tuck into the food george had made. "oh wow, it's really good. thanks george" i say between mouthfuls. "that's alright, may as well complete the bed and breakfast status" he says and i laugh.

we make small talk about our plans for the week and i realise just how easy he is to talk to and i can tell he takes a genuine interest when i talk to him. "when are you on tour?" he asks. "well, the proposed dates are in june, so in a couple months but i'm just waiting for my manager to let me know if arthur's confirmed the dates" i say. "ahh okay, going all across europe?" he asks. "pretty much, yeah. europe and the uk and ireland so should be good but scary" i laugh. "i'm sure you'll smash it, i mean how many live shows have you played? probably a fair few and festivals? their crowds are probably 3 times the size" he says, trying to reassure me. "you're so right, will just be weird. probably weird for arthur too" i say. "yeah, i mean i've been to all his london shows and i think the biggest is 1000" "aww that's cute that you've been to all of them" i say. "yeah, i mean of course got to support my friends and it's so nice to have friends that make genuinely good music. you included if i'm being nice" he says, jokingly rolling his eyes. "we're friends? aww" i say sarcastically. "don't try it otherwise i'll never be nice to you again" he says, making both of us laugh. and suddenly, we're interrupted by abi and chris walking out his bedroom. abi was in a tshirt that was way too big for her and what looked like chris' boxers, how did we both end up this way? "sounds like you two are having a good morning" chris says and walks over to the kitchen to begin making drinks for him and abigail. she walks over to me and gives me a side hug from my seat. "you okay?" i ask her. "yeah, tired" she yawns. "you slept all the way through the best movie ever, how are you tired?" george says. "you literally turned it off as soon as chris left" i say. "shush" he says and turns back round to his food.

i finish my food and george kindly takes my plate and puts it in the dishwasher and abi finishes her coffee and has some toast as chris' cooking abilities don't stretch too far. she goes and gets changed and we head back home. "thank you so much for having me, hopefully see you again soon" i say, hugging george, i turn round and see abi and chris chatting away in the corner and turn back to george and shake my head and he just laughs. i clear my throat and they both turn around and hug goodbye before me and abi head downstairs.

"so, did you kiss?" i ask abigail. "no! just cuddled. it was nice but no he didn't make a move" she shrugs. "maybe the boys were right about his bad rizz" i laugh. "you and george? there's definitely something going on" she says, changing the subject. "literally no! i just had no other option because someoneeee fell asleep" i say, nudging her side and she just looks away. "it's fine, i slept in his bed and he took the sofa." "he let you have his bed? man's in love!" abigail says. "shut up! he's literally not... is he?" i smirk. "i'm joking! i'm joking" i say straight after, laughing. "do you like him?" abi, nudges me as we get onto the tube. "i don't know him well enough to like him! but he's good to talk to i don't know. i'm saying no right now. i think we'd just be friends" i say and abigail just smirks.

i get home and olivia finally calls with the final decision from arthur's team. "hellooo" i say. "right, finally spoke to arthur's management and tour is a go! he is free for all the dates and as i'm sure you're aware, very keen to come. someone from the label is making the graphic as we speak and then you can post it tonight" she explains and i'm excited to finally tell everyone the exciting news.

as i'm laying in my bed scrolling tiktok, i receive a message from andrew.

i was planning on bed rotting for the rest of the day, so i suppose it gets me out the flat. i flick through my wardrobe and spend far too long deciding on an outfit but i finally do and decide to tease the tour announcement on instagram...

my dms are immediately flooded with questions and i have to fight the urge to leak it to everyone. as i'm about to leave, i get a notification:

georgeclarkeey liked your story

why does that plaster a stupid smile on my face? i snap out of it and wait on the corner for max and andrew to appear as my flat was on their way to wagamamas. "oh hello" i hear max's voice from behind me. "hellooo" i hug both of them. "you look nice!" andrew says and we pull away. "thanksss" i smile and we head to the restaurant.

"so, did you speak to arthur?" max asks as we sit down. "yeah, it's happening! i went to the boy's flat the other night and told him" i explain. "umm where was our invite?" max says. "sorry! i was just gate crashing abi's plans with chris" i explain. "yeah, what's going on?" max asks and i explain that there's pretty much nothing but they're being very flirty. "speaking of flirty, george told me you stayed over" andrew says. "what? when did he tell you that?" i laugh nervously. "i went to their podcast filming today, he seemed pretty happy with himself for it" andrew raises his eyebrows. "that makes it sound like we slept together. abi fell asleep, so i went in his bed and he slept on the sofa" i shrug. "interesting" max says. "what!" i laugh. thankfully the topic is diverted and we have a nice meal.

"it's so fun being a third wheel" i say sarcastically as max and andrew have a quick kiss. "well, we could've invited george" max says. "right, i'm going toilet" i say, actually needing to go.

we pay the bill and head home, i get in and abi's not here. i pull my phone out and have a few notifications:

💬messages george clarke

i assume abi's already messaged but she's come over to see chris

if you're free after dinner, me and arthur are just hanging out if you want to come over

💬messages abigail <3

just heading over to see chris, feel free to come also after dinner! hope you had a nice meal

the messages were sent over an hour ago and it was now 10pm, so i decide it's probably a bit too late to head over now. i message both of them back.

i take a seat on the sofa and turn the episode on and am laughing within the first 20 seconds. max and george's personalities just fit so well. i make it through the first 15 minutes and then the story begins. i vaguely remember george telling me about this when we were drunk but he didn't explain the full thing. however, after listening to the story i actually just feel really sad for george because from what i've seen of him he does seem like a genuinely sweet guy and that is a really horrible thing for someone to do.

(aware 10pm on a sunday is a random time to announce a tour but for the sake of the story just go with it lol)

george also shared the post to his story...

i answer the call and am met with george's face right up close. "oh, camera's on. hello" he says, making me laugh. "hello" i reply. he turns the phone around to face abi. "oh hello. sorry, i came over to the boy's flat and now we're building lego so i'll probably stay over" she explains. "damn, i've been replaced" i fake cry. "you could've come!" she says. "i know, i know i'm joking. i kinda like having the empty flat" i shrug. "i can't lie watching these two build lego is tedious. i'll probably head to bed soon" george explains, sitting back in his seat. "how was your dinner with max and andrew?" george asks. "yeah it was nice. ended up staying much later than intended because max had a million things to tell me" i laugh. "classic max" george sighs sarcastically. "but it was good. actually, when does the best episode of the useless hotline so far come out?" i ask. "my solo episode isn't happening for a few weeks" george says in joke confusion. "ha ha, i mean my episode bitch" i reply. "oh, i think it's been pulled, callum predicted views to be too low... next sunday" he sighs. "good, give the people what they want" i shrug. "is arthur there?" i ask. "yeah, do you want to talk to him?" george asks. "yes please" he walks into the kitchen and hands his phone to arthur. "hello! oh george george, that hinge girl just messaged you that your penis was really big and she wants to shag again" arthur says pretending to read a notification, looking up at george and i laugh. "shut up arthur, that can't be true because it's tiny" george replies, not appreciating arthur pretending to embarrass him.

"how do you feel about the tour announcement?" i ask. "good! most of the comments have been positive" "yes, people are so happy you're coming! i'll probably come to yours when tickets go on sale so we can be nervous together" i laugh. "yeah definitely. when is that, friday?" he asks and i confirm. "can you guys shut up now, i want my phone and my bed" george walks over and me and arthur say goodbye. "rude" i smirk to george. "well, i'm tired and watching chris and abigail is like watching paint dry" george says. "can i say bye to abi?" i ask and george walks over with his phone. "goodnight guys" i say. "night night, i'll be home tomorrow morning" abi says. "okay, have fun but not too much" i raise my eyebrow.

george walks back to his room. "right i'm gon-" he starts. "wait, have they kissed?" i whisper. "umm, i don't think so. lots of physical contact but chris is a pussy so i don't know if that will happen" george says. "for fuck sake, he needs to hurry up" i say. "he's only got little legs bless him, he probably can't even reach her lips" george jokes. "for fuck sake" i say through laughs.

we wrap up the conversation and i decide it's also time for me to head to bed. "alright, good night george" i smile. "good night madi" he says and we end the call. madi? that's the first time he's called me that.

apologies about the way the text messages are laid out, transferring this from wattpad and tumblr layout is funny

#george clarke #george clarkey #arthurhill #arthur hill #chrismd #arthur hill y/n #george clarkey x reader #george clarkey y/n

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illarian-rambling · 1 month ago

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It's time to get wild with my first character intro for the cast of Wild Type!

Dehlus Vorobey: the Clever Coward

"I see you've been redecorating," Leda mused. Dehlus said nothing—if Leda wasn't in residence, why not use the space? "Ah, we had some good times here, didn't we?" "Of course." Many, many good times, usually followed by a cigarette on the balcony. Almost, Leda seemed like she wanted to say something more, only to shake her head in quiet amusement as she took the suitcase from Dehlus's hand. Moving on instinct, Dehlus tucked her girlfriend's hair back behind her ear, savoring the warmth of her skin. It was a rare warmth Dehlus enjoyed, but Leda numbered among that elite list. "I wish you well in Unity," she said. Though she might not have understood why, there was relief on those words. "Tell your brothers hi for me." "I will." Leda gave her a wink. "Have a good night, Dehlus." "You as well." She offered a nod in return. Again, Leda hesitated for a moment, before turning and walking out with a wave. Dehlus watched her go, heard the click of the lock behind her. She listened in on her footsteps as she walked through the hallway and down the stairs, all the way until her heels clicked on the marble of the ground floor, the main door gave a rusty squeal, and then she was gone. Feeling her shoulders slump as a tension she hadn't even recognized bled away, Dehlus rubbed her eyes tiredly. What a godsdamned day…. Shucking off her coat and shoes, Dehlus stared down her kitchen, suddenly feeling as if all the energy had been sapped from her bones. Outside of the window, rain-clouds blocked out the setting sun, and even the street lamps seemed watery and weak. Almost they reminded her of another time, another life where glowing fish had swam past her window instead, a mobile constellation before she'd even known what a star was. Dehlus shook away the recollection before it could take root. She didn't need to go there tonight. Grimly, she lit another cigarette and began to scrounge through the coldbox. The parcel of fresh basil caught her eye, however, her tired hands found a simple slice of cheese and stick of butter instead. Feeling the smoke settle heavily in her lungs, she rustled up two slices of bread and slapped the whole affair together into a passable sandwich, which she ate over the sink. It tasted mostly like tobacco. She washed away the crumbs as she cleaned out her one dirty mug and set it to dry. And then she was left with the night. Dehlus ran through her list of things to do once again: Talk to the realtor? I've done that already. Pick out a route through the Seaward Quarter for Ozzy and I? I can do that at work tomorrow. Prep for the holidays? Not this late in the evening, I'm not. Visit mom? That's not until the day after tomorrow. Clean? She glanced around her apartment and had to admit that there was precious little more she could do. Her eyes met the ivory gaze of Samira the Hearth Mother and she frowned as she noticed the idol was slightly off its base. Leda must've pushed it accidentally. Dehlus frowned as she walked over and straightened the little statuette. Apologies, great one. After a moment of trepidation, she bowed her head in a quick prayer. Hearth Mother, if it pleases you, I pray you bring news of my success to those who deserve to hear it, should their souls be available to you. Let them know that I'll have a fine home soon, with a loving partner, and a job I'm dedicated to. Let them know I'm happy and well-off. Let them know…. Let them know that I'm worth it.

Ah yes, my saddest and soggiest of women.... Dehlus might be a depressed civil servant with a nicotine addiction and an incredibly dysfunctional relationship, but I promise she's got a heroic streak in there somewhere. As well as a turbulent past, if you'd like to read on

Dehlus Aidehrophon was born in the vast undersea empire of Ulahdris, home of the sirens, in the capital city of Seluthena. Her father was a servant at the grand Saryimastra Seat, a temple to the anglerfish god of song and drowned sailors, and her mother cleaned homes - pretty regular folk, considering the empire's reputation for human sacrifice and theocratic dictatorship. Until she was around eleven, Dehlus and her three younger siblings lived a happy enough life, attending school at the temple. Violence was always very normalized in Ulahdris, so the kids saw many a human sailor drowned as they cheered, however, with how indoctrinated they were, such things were seen as a blessed way to serve Lamsara Hedandros, the anglerfish god.

Everything changed the day the Silver Sovereign, the god-empress of the Ulahdrian Empire, was assassinated by a rogue heretic. The empire fell into chaos, each political faction of the church trying to grab a different slice of turf. Dehlus's father assured her and her siblings the Lamsara Hedandros would watch over them, yet such things were not to be. Within a week, there were massive violent riots on the streets of Seluthena. By the time the Aidehrophon family tried to leave, it was far too late. Dehlus's parents were struck down by militants who thought they were enemy combatants and though Dehlus tried to protect her younger siblings, they too were killed before her eyes in the chaos. Dehlus managed to make it out and up to the surface, where she drifted in shock before being picked up by a kind pair of merchant-sailors. These sailors decided to take in the poor traumatized girl and after she managed a song of flesh carving to give herself legs, the three went inland to the sailors' home in the human city of Juntsov.

Thus was born Dehlus Vorobey. Seeing Lamsara Hedandros and her father's faith in him as the reason her family died, Dehlus renounced everything to do with the siren religion, including her vocal magic, and dedicated herself to the human gods instead. She attended a human school and learned surface folk were not the soulless puppets she'd been taught they were, though plenty were cruel to the siren girl with the funny accent. In short, Dehlus renounced everything that had to do with her former people, hoping to escape the ruins of her former life. As an adult, she got a degree in book-keeping and became an inspector for the Republic Department of Scientific Safety, checking out government laboratories for code violations. She now dedicates herself to her work and to 'becoming happy,' so that her life isn't wasted after so many around her didn't get a life at all. All she has to do now is get a partner, a good job, and a house, because that's happiness, right?

Let's take a closer look at this mess of a woman in terms of personality! Dehlus is, as might be predicted, pretty stressed and depressed trying to live up to the expectations she's set for herself. She's majorly burnt-out and tries to keep herself busy all the time in order to not think about how miserable she really is. She can be quite bitter as well - there's certainly a snarky streak in there somewhere, beneath all the exhaustion. Despite it all, she really does care about people. She cares about Leda, her girlfriend she really doesn't love. She cares about her adoptive parents, who rescued her when she was young and lost. She cares about her coworker, Ozzy, who always tries to make her day brighter, and she will in time come to care about Kid, the bat-hybrid child she finds one day in the depths of a government lab. Dehlus has a sense of justice deep within her heart - a desire to protect people and set things right. Hopefully, it gets the chance to shine over her day-to-day tiredness and long-held guilt.

As for her looks, Dehlus is 35 years old and butch as all hell. You'd be forgiven for mistaking her for a 6'6" (sirens are quite tall) man with short blonde hair, pale skin, and large pitch black irises. She has a square jaw and hawkish nose. Attire-wise, she tends to dress in practical gray suits with an overcoat and trilby hat. Her posture is a little hunched, as she's used to looking down at people, however, she's not afraid to throw her height around when necessary.

Fun facts time!

Dehlus is a lesbian and knows this well. She is unaware though, that she's aromantic. Probably why all her relationships that she insists on shoving into the proper romantic box keep failing.

Her main hobby is cooking! She finds it to be a good way to calm her mind, when she has the energy for it.

She has no discernable siren accent anymore, but it comes out a little when she's angry.

To that effect, Dehlus chainsmokes like nobody's business, partly because she's stressed all the time, partly because she's trying to ruin her naturally beautiful siren voice. So far, in the wip, she's averaging one cigarette per 3000 words.

She worships Samira, the Illarian goddess of family, above all others.

I can't even call her a girlfailure because she's 35, this is a whole womanfailure. At least she's hot! Can't wait to see how she deals with approximately one thing going wrong in her life <3

Have a bitchin' day and thanks for reading!

@amandacanwrite @elsie-writes @riveriafalll @kosmic-kore @kaylinalexanderbooks

@bard-coded @carrotsinnovember @patternwelded-quill @somethingclevermahogony @whatwewrotepodcast

@the-angriest-author @mk-writes-stuff @frostedlemonwriter @vyuntspakhkite-l-darling @watermeezer

@leahnardo-da-veggie @mr-orion @televisionjester @ray-writes-n-shit @evilgabe29

@trippingpossum @tragedycoded @halfbakedspuds @ominous-feychild @cain-e-brookman

@wyked-ao3 @thecomfywriter @mysticstarlightduck @rumeysawrites @the-golden-comet

@cowboybrunch @gioiaalbanoart @theink-stainedfolk @sableglass @thelaughingstag

@finickyfelix @mymomsaysbobcipher

#writing #writerscommunity #writblr #my ocs #oc intro

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mickriccenergy · 1 year ago

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Shiver

“But on and on, from the moment I wake, til the moment I sleep, I'll be there by your side. Just you try and stop me. I'll be waiting in line,

just to see if you care” Coldplay

After so many years of pushing and rightfully earning your way to the top, you finally gained a seat as a Formula One driver for Mercedes. Your teammate, who also happens to be your best friend since you were children, has had their own struggles in trying to make a name for themselves in such a cutthroat industry. Both you and Mick Schumacher were at the top of your game - consistently scoring first and second place for most of the current season. But, during one rainy day at Silverstone he had crashed into the barrier, and you had crashed into his car going a ridiculous fast speed. After all, that’s what this sport was known for. Yet, he remained relatively unscathed after the fact.

But you? After many surgeries, procedures, and what seemed like endless poking and prodding… You had amnesia. You couldn’t remember anything. And you certainly couldn’t remember anything about your illustrious career as a female driver in Formula One.

But there is one glimmer of hope. You do remember someone named Mick, and that someone named Mick promises to take care of you until you’re healed… Or just until he can make you fall in love with him. After all, he’s been pining after you since you both were school children and you said a funny word to him he couldn’t quite understand. Forget F1 and forget everything else: Mick Schumacher was going to make sure you fall in love with him, just as hard as he fell in love with you all those years ago.

coming soon…

TLDR; You suffer amnesia and the only person you seem to remember is the boy who has loved you since you first met. And he can’t seem to pass up the chance to see if he can get you to love him back.

Warnings: She/her pronouns, heavy angst, cursing at some point??? Won’t have any defining features, except hair that’s long enough to pull back into a ponytail/braid, will also put tw at the beginning of each chapter, but this is just the intro, uhhhh inaccurate tellings of F1 history/drivers, i can’t think of anymore right now oops

#f1 #f1 fanfic #f1 x reader #formula one #f1 fic #mick schumacher #female driver #angst #hurt/comfort #unrequited love #golden retriver boyfriend #black cat #opposites attract #mick schumacher x reader #mick schumacher angst

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godlygreta · 2 years ago

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god is fair | j. t. kiszka

title | god is fair

word count | 7.7k

warnings | swearing, mentions of alcohol - nothing too terrible... yet ;)

author's note | i've had this in the chamber for some time now, i just lost the inspo to write, which is why i haven't in a long time. this isn't a promise that i'll post more fics as they come to me, seeing as i'm a senior in college who has a fuck ton of other things to do. there will be a part 2 to this fic, but i couldn't tell you when it's coming :)

also, very much so listening to god is fair, sexy nasty by mac miller while writing this & starting the next part, so take that as you will ;)

unedited as hell so pls excuse any mistakes !

You always had this rivalry since the beginning of freshman year. This guy, Jake, would never show up to any of the classes the two of you had together, but always got the highest grades on every single goddamn exam that your Intro to Bio professor gave out. It infuriated you.

You figured that in the spring semester, you would be freed from the disappearing boy, but you weren’t. While the teacher called roll, everyone shouted out here. She landed upon his name, calling out to the class and looking through the rows of students. He had been there for orientation, sitting in one of the middle rows, slouched in his seat.

You planned to confront him the next day you had class together, on Wednesday, but Jake was nowhere to be found. Your roommate and your friends had heard your exhaustive theories as to why he was never in class. “Babe, you sound insane. Just let it go.”

But you couldn’t.

Competition lived deep within your roots, having an entire competition with the second top student in your graduating class in high school. Though the rage held between each other was never taken far outside of the academic realm, the two of you never thought to be friends and encourage one another. Thankfully, the two of you resolved the competition when the two of you realized you would be going into two very separate fields of study in college.

Camren, who knew she was going to be a chemist from the time she first learned about chemistry, had told you she loved the competition – made it fun and kept things interesting. And there you were, going to school for Pre-Med with the same feeling. The two of you kept in contact, updating each other on the strive for greatness in college as well.

You kept a close relationship with a lot of your teachers, making sure to get on their good side before classes had really begun. You emailed most of them, especially your Anatomy and Physiology professor, Dr. Sahnya Heinz.

She was incredibly skilled in her field, leaving the active medical field to teach the new and future minds of medicine. It was a cliche line she delivered on the first day, but it encouraged that familiar competitive fire that dwelled within you.

You don’t quite remember how you came to figure out that Jake was ahead of you, but you had found out somehow from your professor, although it was an accident.

It made everything in you burn with anger and frustration. Anytime someone mentioned him, or mentioned the fact that you were second, you clenched your jaw and your teeth gritted together. Your friends had an inside joke that you were only mad because you had a huge crush on him.

“I barely even know what he looks like, Mel! I fucking hate the guy. Don’t start shit.” You’d plead, beer can in your hand in the lounge of some fraternity floor.

Over the next few semesters, you kept trying your hardest, spending most of your free time in the library, reading everything that you could to prepare for every exam. You wrote papers early, having them done at least three weeks in advance. As soon as you would be told about a new one, you’d immediately start finding sources.

You sauntered around campus, thinking that you would be way ahead of him. He still never showed up to any classes, aside from orientation and exam periods. You’d stare at him for a few moments while the teacher passed out the exam, looking over his face as much as you could.

His long hair would obscure your vision on occasion, making it hard to catch any of his features at all. From what you could see though, he had nice, full lips. His nose was something you could have stared at the entire exam period.

You watched him as he licked his lips, whispering a thank you to Heinz before grabbing his pencil from his desk and getting to work. You looked away from him as soon as Heinz put your exam on your desk, offering her a small smile and a quick thank you before getting to work.

It was almost spring break, meaning some of your assignments had been slowing, some of them had been increasing. A group of your friends from different majors told you about one of the lounge parties a fraternity on campus was throwing. “Sigma Tau has the worst lounge parties, Tamia. You know this.”

“They’re joining forces with the Delta’s though, so it’ll be better than normal! You have to come, you’ve always got your nose in a book. You haven’t drank with us in so long, I forget what you’re like when you’re drunk.”

“I don’t know… I need to work on this Midterm paper I have in Kainz’s class, it’s due next week.”

“Babe, it’s been done for weeks! You just keep editing it trying to find mistakes and there are none! I’ve literally read it five times. Please, go out with us, just tonight?”

You looked between Tamia and Mel, knowing in the end you would give into them anyways. “Ugh, fine! Tonight, and tonight only, just this once. If I don’t like it, though, I’m leaving and going to bed early.”

“You’ll have so much fun, I swear!” Mel and Tamia looked between each other, sharing expressions of excitement and happiness on their faces. You rolled your eyes, standing up from your chair.

You let them raid your closet, trying to throw something together quickly. Most of the time, Tamia and Mel never obeyed the dress code for the lounge parties, hating the idea of giving into the male gaze of the fraternity brothers. Tonight, however, was a bit different. The theme was Western, meaning it was cowboy hats and very tiny shorts.

You looked over the outfit that laid out in front of you, straw cowboy hat that Tamia had bought from Amazon (one for each of you), a pair of short shorts that may or may not show your ass a bit, and a red bandana top that Mel let you borrow last semester that you forgot to return. “I don’t know about this. I don’t even have the right shoes.”

“You forget we wear the same size, bitch, you’re going. No backing out.” They joked, tossing you a pair of white boots. “Just put that shit on while we heat up the curling iron, okay?”

“Fine, fine, okay.” You peel off your shirt, throwing on the one they picked out. Next to go were your pajama pants, which were replaced by the shorts. You kept the same socks on, knowing that nobody would see them anyways with the boots going up to the middle of your calf muscle. “I look fucking ridiculous.”

“You look fucking hot, now sit down while we do your hair and makeup,” Mel spoke, pulling out your desk chair while Tamia smiled wickedly with the curling wand in hand. You were nervous, looking at the both of them, but the good kind that settled under your skin and was left hidden behind the smallest smile.

You talked about upcoming exams with them while they did your hair and makeup, much to their dismay. They attempted to fill you in on the various drama situations going on around campus while you had been heavily plugged into your textbooks. You gasped often, finding shock and awe in some of the things they had been telling you about classmates.

They spoke about Jake, letting it slip that he had been planning on attending the party, joined at the hip with one of the girls he had been rumored to have been dating. One of the many. “Ugh, he just sounds like a douche. Gives me even more reason to hate him.”

“We’re not feeding into your delusion that he’s some douchebag. Dropping it.” Tamia spoke, putting her hands up in a surrender. Mel laughed, pulling away from you with an eyeliner pen in hand. “Maybe we’ll get you drunk enough to admit you like him.”

“I don’t like him, and I thought we were dropping the topic.” You looked at Tamia in the mirror, watching her face deadpan as she looked back at you.

“I have something hot in my hands, don’t be rude to me.” The three of you laughed, getting back into the rhythm of getting ready. You let them do their thing to you, curling the last bit of your hair and putting the finishing touches of highlighter on your brow bone.

You looked at yourself in the mirror, marveling at the job they did. You thanked them for getting you all dolled up, watching them change into their outfits. It was mostly just them taking off the sweats they were wearing, throwing them over the back of your desk chair. You took a few pictures with them in your mirror before finally deciding to head out.

The party had started a half an hour ago, walking into the party late like most people did. The three of you got in easily with matching the dress code, immediately looking for the drinks table. The boys in charge handed the three of you a free shot of anything you wanted. Mel chose for you, starting the night out roughly with a shot of Svedka.

You grabbed a Sprite from one of the boys in one hand, the shot of Svedka in the other. The three of you tapped your glasses together before downing the shot. The alcohol burned as it slipped down your throat, trying to soothe it with the taste and coolness of the Sprite. You shook a bit, throwing the cup away in a nearby trash can.

“That was fucking gross, I hate you so much for choosing Svedka.”

“I could’ve chosen something even more nasty, like Jack.” Mel laughed, leading the three of you over to a section in the lounge where you could stand a decent enough distance away from one another, instead of being piled on top of one another.

“I would have rather taken a shot of Jack, Mel.” You spoke, sipping more of your Sprite. Tamia pointed out a few of the people they had talked about earlier, letting you put names to faces.

In the midst, two of the Sigma brothers decided to start a dance battle, capturing the attention of those around them. Everyone joined in, gathering around the two guys. Mel and Tamia joined too, but you had slipped out of their grasp by telling them you had to use the bathroom.

You were happy to escape the party, sneaking out with a bottle of Smirnoff the boys had left unattended. You walked outside, taking a deep breath in. You were thankful to be met with the smell of fresh air, not smelling sweat and booze everywhere. Your peace and tranquility was ruined by someone’s voice, “Well, don’t you look adorable.”

Your head snapped towards the voice, seeing Jake sitting up against the bike rack with a cigarette between his fingers. “Shut up.”

“What? I can’t compliment you?”

“No,” you started, crossing your arms with the bottle still in your hand. “No, you can’t.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I hate you.” Jake looked at you, up and down, taking a drag of his cigarette. You screwed off the cap of the bottle, taking a pull. You tried your hardest to not make a face, looking away slightly when the familiar sting settled in your throat.

“Why do you hate me? I’ve never spoken to you before.”

“Do I have to have a reason?” You asked, walking closer to him.

“Suppose not. But if I knew why you hated me,” he tossed his cigarette butt on the ground, stomping on it with his boot. “Then maybe I could find a way to make you not hate me.”

“Unless you flunk your next exam, I guarantee that won’t happen.”

“Oh, I get it.” He chuckled, standing up from the bike rack he was leaning against. He grabbed his cigarette butt up from the ground, tossing it into the nearest garbage can. He turned towards you, staring at you with his brown eyes. “You’re just mad because I’m smarter than you.”

“You’re never in class. You shouldn’t be ahead of me.” You glared at him, lips moving into a frown.

“Just because I’m never there doesn’t mean I’m not getting the information. I work five, sometimes six days a week. We only have class three days a week. Typically, I gotta work those days. Heinz sends me the powerpoints and the assignment notes so I never miss anything.”

“Oh yeah? Where do you even work then?” You asked.

He chuckled, fingers brushing yours that were wrapped around the bottle. “Now if I told you that, it would ruin all the fun,” he looked you up and down once more, licking his lips slightly. “Well, maybe I’ll see you and your bottle inside.”

You waited til the doors closed behind him to roll your eyes, and huff outwardly. You took the bottle of Smirnoff, turned on your heels and walked towards your dorm hall. You hated Jake. You really hated Jake.

—

Your midterms came and went. The stress decreased slightly, but only to be raised again as the end of the semester loomed around. Assignments started piling up, various papers and presentations due all around the same week. Since the end of Spring Break, you had been holed up in your room, left to your mountains of homework.

Your Microbio class had a presentation due that coincided with the research project you had been working on all semester long. Human Anatomy and Physiology (or affectionately known as BIO 312) had a major cumulative exam on the entire semester, which stressed you out more than any other homework assignment or exam you had.

Thankfully, your school held an all day event that attempted to boost the morale of the students on campus. Filled with a bunch of free things, you took advantage of everything offered.

Lined up on tables were various student organizations set up, with their own little games and prizes. A few of them had speakers that played the music they wanted to listen to, all speakers attempting to outman the other. However, the one that ended up winning was a tie dye station located in the lawn, handing out free t-shirts to dye.

One of the guys at the tie dye station had a wide smile on his face while his hands were dripping with dye. Setting your prizes down at a table where Tamia and Mel had put their things, you walked over to him. He welcomed you over with a smile, “Hey! Lookin’ to tie dye?”

“Yeah, I’m a medium.” You smiled at him, blocking the sun with your hand. He called over to Benny, asking him to pull a medium out for you. Benny handed you the shirt with a smile. “I’ve never dyed anything before.”

“Never?! That’s a crime against mankind, darlin’, let’s get this shirt dyed.” He spoke, talking you over the colors in each of the buckets. He explained to you some basic color theory, although you had remembered that from your high school painting class, you didn’t stop him; he was pretty when he spoke.

The curls on his head stuck out from the shaved sides, the gold of his earrings stood out underneath the blistering April sun. He licked his lips often, using the back of his hand to wipe sweat from his forehead. He helped you pick out the style you wanted, making sure the rubber bands were placed exactly where you wanted them. “I’ll dip them in the bucket for you so you don’t get your hands dirty.”

“Thank you. I could’ve managed on my own, but I definitely appreciate it.”

“Of course. What’s your name?” You offer up to him, before he lets out a chuckle. You question him with a pull of your eyebrows. “Jake talks about you.”

“You know Jake?”

“Yeah, he’s my twin.” As soon as the word left his mouth, you could see the resemblance; you almost scolded yourself for not realizing it sooner. They were similar, especially in their features and their eyes, although the two of them had very distinct color differences. Josh, as he told you after dropping the bomb on you, had warmer eyes, filled with caramel colored hues of brown in relation to Jake’s colder tones; his eyes were a darker shade of brown, with the occasional gleam of flirtation laced within the reflection.

He spoke quite differently from Jake, mostly just with the sound of his voice. It matched their eyes, their personalities. Josh’s bright, bubbly stature followed in his voice, almost theatrical as he spoke. “I guess that makes sense, you two do kind of look alike. Minus the hair, of course.”

“Well, of course. Mine’s better,” you liked that about him - how kind his tone was. You attempted to grill him about what Jake was saying about you, curiosity flowing violently through your bloodstream as if it lit your body on fire. “He just says that you’re second in the Bio class you have with him, and that it makes you mad.”

“It does, Jake’s never there. I’ve seen him three times, and two of those times were for exams.” Josh wrung out the part that had been soaking in the dye for a bit, watching the water fall back into the bucket.

“Yeah, it’s cause he’s working all the time, if I’m honest. Jake stays home during the week to work at the nursing home in our hometown. We don’t really have a large CNA population, most of the people who work there are highschool kids, so Jake’s really been their guy. Especially since high school, as soon as he graduated he moved to full time. All the old ladies love him.” He snorts, dipping your shirt into the blue dye.

“I didn’t know that.” You thought he was lying about where he was, which is why guilt started to eat away at you. You felt terrible for making assumptions, but you couldn’t take any of that back now.

“Jake doesn’t talk to a lot of people, but we love him anyway.” You chewed at your bottom lip, rethinking your opinion of Jake. “You goin’ to the concert later tonight?”

“Hadn’t decided. Mel and Tamia want to, so I’ll probably end up going. Are you?”

“Yeah, I think I’ll probably go.”

“Do you know who’s playing?”

“Some local band I think? I’ve heard a lot of the girls think the frontman’s pretty handsome.” He spoke with a smirk. You promised him you’d go, just to see if the girls had been right. He handed you your t-shirt to hold while he grabbed you a plastic bag. He also handed you a piece of paper with instructions on how to take care of your new tie dye.

“Make sure when you wash it, you wash it by itself. Otherwise, you’ll dye all of your other clothes and believe me, you don’t want that,” he chuckled, as if he was speaking from experience.

You thanked him with a warm smile, waving to him before returning to your room. As soon as you got back, you opened your window, allowing the air flow to travel inside. It kept you cool, allowing you to walk around comfortably with a t-shirt and shorts on. You put your plastic bag in the closet of your room, writing on your white board to remember to take it out and wash it tomorrow.

You texted Mel and Tamia, knowing that Mel would probably have some smart comeback about why you want to go to the concert. It wasn’t that you didn’t join them on nights out, you just had a lot riding on your academic success. Not only because you were the first one in your family to go to college, but also because of your mass of scholarships that only continued to flow if your GPA was at a suitable level. Anything below a 3.2, and you would lose almost all of them.

To: The 3 Dumb Sluts

Are we going to the concert tonight?

From: The 3 Dumb Sluts - Mel

Are you offering to come with us without us needing to beg and plead for you to join?

To: The 3 Dumb Sluts

Don’t make me take it back, Mel

From: The 3 Dumb Sluts - Tamia

We’re absolutely going. Come to mine whenever you want to get ready :)

To: The 3 Dumb Sluts

The doors open at 8 right? I’ll be over about 5:30-6ish. Gotta finish up this paper for Heinz real quick

You locked your phone before they could scold you for doing homework on a day that was designated for relaxation and recuperation. You pulled out your Anat and Physio binder, pulling out the sources you printed off in the library. You ran through the last one with a blue highlighter between your teeth.

You set an alarm on your phone for five o’clock, saving enough time for you to shower. You were about halfway through the last page when your timer went off. You silenced it, attempting to hurriedly finish highlighting the page. The article was placed onto your desk, highlighter returned to the cup on your desk filled with various writing utensils.

You pulled out your shower caddy, putting it on top of your dresser before pulling out your robe. You laid it over the edge of your bed, removing all of your clothes. You threw them into your hamper and put on your robe. You slipped on your slides, grabbed your caddy and traveled to the bathroom.

Underneath the uneven streams from the showerhead, you thought about Jake.

Maybe your first impressions of him were wrong. When Josh told you about the nursing home back in their hometown, you felt instantaneously bad for assuming that he just never showed up. You knew from what Jake had told you, that he had work, but you figured that was just an excuse.

You bit at the skin of your lips, hands on your shoulders as you soaked the warmth of the water in. You were pulled out of your thoughts very quickly as someone flushed the toilet, making the water fade in from super hot to super fucking cold. You hated the school’s water system.

You finished your shower quickly, drying off with the towel slightly before putting your robe on and throwing your hair up into your towel. You walked back into your room, locking it behind you. You set your caddy back where it originally was.

You threw on a pair of jean shorts that hadn’t seen the light of day since early October, pairing it with a long sleeve shirt that you had gotten back in high school for Christmas. It was plain, brown, but hugged your body well. The sweatshirt debate lasted a few seconds before you remembered how hot it was going to be outside. A record temperature for mid-April, almost 80 degrees outside.

When you checked your phone getting back from the shower, it was just barely five thirty. You texted the groupchat again, asking if it would be cool to come over a half an hour earlier than you had originally said. You knew it was a dumb question, you would always be welcome in their room. You chuckled at Mel’s response of, “Are you fucking dumb? Of course you can come over. Bring wine if you have any left! No carry-in’s allowed at the concert.”

You put your phone down for a second and slipped on a pair of shoes that were comfortable enough for you to stand in for a long time. They used to be white, but had gotten progressively dirty from the years of use. You shoved your phone in your back pocket and slid a few different bottles of wine into your backpack, separated by extra clothing so the bottles didn’t clink together.

You walked down the stairs, out the door and over to the other dorm building across the walkway. You scanned your keycard to get into the building, walking through the hallways waving to the RA on duty, McKenna. She had been in a few of your classes and was always incredibly nice.

Her room this year was actually a few down from where you were living. McKenna was a great RA, knowing exactly how to handle the rowdiness of the floor while still keeping the resident’s respect. She didn’t bother them unless she needed to, and they didn’t bother her unless needed. She kept it underwraps about the underage drinking that would inevitably happen, mostly by telling the floor they could do what they want, as long as they were quiet by quiet hours (which was around ten thirty on the weekdays, and one in the morning on the weekends).

You took the elevator to the second floor of East Sunderland, getting off as soon as the doors opened. The booths that had previously been up had begun to dissipate, bringing the plastic tables back into the buildings they belonged in. You took a last glance at the people cleaning before heading into Mel and Tamia’s dorm building.

You knocked on the door, coming as soon as you announced yourself to Mel and Tamia. The girls laughed as you walked in, looking at a picture of Mel from when they were a kid. The two of them showed it to you as you settled your bag onto Mel’s chair in the corner of their room. “Your buck teeth! Oh my God, you were adorable, Mel.”

“Oh shut up, I bet you didn’t look any better.” Mel spoke to Tamia, making the three of you laugh. “Anyways, what wine did you bring?”

“The Barefoot we didn’t finish the other weekend, and then I still had some Rose, so I brought those over too. I wasn’t sure what we were feeling.” Tamia pulled some glasses from her shelves, passing them out to the two of you. You filled their glasses with the Rose you brought.

The three of you talked specifics on the plans for tonight, hitting up another fraternity party as soon as the concert ended. There were two separate ones going on at the same time, so the two of you weighed your options over which one to go to. “The Sigs are throwing one, but I’d rather die. Delta’s throwing one, too, we’ll go to theirs instead. And maybe see if anyone’s at the Sig party that we like and stop there before heading back to the dorms.”

You walked down with them to the Athletic Department, hoping to have gotten there early enough to get a good spot. As soon as the doors opened, you were filtered through the doors, making sure that you were students with the college. The three of you half ran to the barricade, settling yourselves against it on the right side, although still somewhat in the middle.

The show wouldn’t start for quite some time yet, the three of you talked amongst yourselves about upcoming finals, what you had to do for various classes. You also found a few people around you to chat to while you waited, hearing laughter roaring through various parts of the crowd.

A few students from the Admissions Office had taken the stage, playing a random playlist of music that matched what the band was going to be playing. Rock thundered through the speakers, filling audience members with anticipation. Rochel addressed the student body, “Hello everyone!” welcomed by the sounds of cheers and screaming.

“We’ve got about fifteen minutes before the band comes on stage, so help us warm them up to the stage!” Everyone clapped, although some of the girls around you looked unenthused as they stared down at their phones. You checked yours for any text messages from any family members. You had nothing, so you put it back in your pocket.

Around four songs played before Rochel turned the microphone on again. Everyone shouted before she talked. “Well, it’s that time! Please, give a warm welcome to Greta Van Fleet!”

Rochel and the two other students walked off the stage, passing by what you had assumed to be one of the band members. He sat behind the drums, smiling and waving off into the crowd. You cheered for him along with Tamia and Mel, cheering just as loud when their bassist walked onto the stage. Both of their hair was longer, goofy smiles on their faces as they got situated with their instruments.

Your mouth hung open as you watched the last two boys walk on stage, seeing the twins. Jake’s eyes scanned the crowd as he slung his guitar over his shoulder. He found you after a moment, sending a smirk your way. You closed your mouth, glaring at him. Mel laughed at you, noticing your demeanor shift. “How we doin’ tonight everyone?”

Everyone cheered. “A lot of you might know me and Jake, seen us on campus and stuff. It’s wonderful to see all of you here, coming to support us as we celebrate the onslaught of spring! It’s been a particularly warm one today, so make sure to drink water! There’s plenty to go around.”

Jake started them off, pick between his fingers as he strummed the beginning chords to one of their songs. Some of the girls had begun to scream, shouting at Jake’s response to Josh’s little speech before he began playing. His signature smirk formed, watching the girls go crazy, eyes scanning the crowd before he found you again.

As Jake continued to play, he looked over to you any time he could. It was hard to tear your eyes away from him, enthralled by the way he looked on stage. You tried your hardest, truly, to look at any of the other boys on the stage aside from Jake but you just couldn’t. He fit the stage just right, bringing the attention away from Josh and demanding to be seen by the entirety of the crowd. He belonged up there.

Jake went to the center of the stage during his solo. Josh lingered around the drummer, keeping to himself, drinking whatever was in his cup. They kept on playing as Jake took the spotlight, everyone cheering and screaming for him. You kept silent, wanting to hear him play. His fingers worked against the frets of the guitar, not before sliding down and up it quickly.

You tried to hide the awe you were in, but your friends knew. They saw it written all over your face. The frustration and annoyance you felt when you first spotted Jake on stage dissipated the second his guitar solo began. You swallowed thickly, watching as his attention turned from his guitar to you, pointing it in your direction. Your cheeks flushed, and your thighs pressed together.

This was going to be a long night.

The second the concert was over, Josh thanked everyone for coming. His smile was wide as he waved goodbye to everyone, walking off next to Jake who had his guitar by the neck before he passed it off to one of the stage hands. Josh put his hands on his shoulders as they walked off stage.

You stuck around mostly waiting for the crowd to die down before trying to leave the building. Mel and Tamia talked about the show, saying that it was fucking dope, commenting on how excellent Jake’s playing was. You didn’t speak about Jake’s playing, mostly praising Josh for his spectacular performance. “I never expected that voice to come out of him, how heavenly.”

“Talking about me?” Jake cuts through your conversation, walking over to you with Josh not far behind. You roll your eyes. Tamia and Mel congratulate him on such an amazing performance, gushing about how sweet his guitar looks. “Why thank you, ladies.”

“Mel! I didn’t think you were going to be able to come.” He gushed, wiping his hands on the sides of his khaki shorts he had changed into.

“Yeah, well, Miss Quiet over here wanted to see her archnemesis, didn’t you?”

“I-I–” You turned your head slightly towards Jake, who had an amused smirk written all over his face. “I did not, Mellie, stop lying.”

“By the redness of your cheeks, sweetheart, I’d say she was telling the truth.” You had barely noticed that Mel, Tamia and Josh had slipped away from the two of you, leaving you alone.

“I didn’t even know you were playing.” You admitted shyly, hiding underneath a guise of innocence.

“Even if you did, you looked pretty hot and bothered by my playing.” You held the back of your arms, trying hard to maintain eye contact with him. You looked into his eyes, they were staring straight at you.

“Yeah, sure. I actually came because Josh said he was going. He neglected to mention that he was going to be singing,” you looked at Josh who wore a smile that read ‘guilty as charged’ before patting you on the shoulder.

“Hey, you didn’t ask. You just asked if I was going.” You rolled your eyes and chuckled slightly. “Anyways, Sam and Danny are gonna spend the night in my room, so I’ll have to find somewhere else to be tonight. Are you guys going to either of the frat parties tonight?”

“We’re going to the Delta party. The Sigs’ reputation is not the best, and I don’t feel like seeing whether or not it’s right.”

“That is completely understandable. I shall see you ladies there then. You coming, Jake? We still have a lot to put away.”

“Yeah, in a second,” he turned towards Josh who had begun to walk away, waving him off before turning back to the three of you. “I hope you guys enjoyed the show, maybe I’ll catch up with you at the party.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“Yeah, actually, I would.” He smiled at you before joining the other boys cleaning up their amps and cords.

“Jesus Christ, the two of you just need to fuck or something. I don’t think I can handle another interaction like that,” Mel joked, making a gagging face when she finishes her sentence. You pushed at her arm, turning around and walking out of the gym.

Tamia and Mel giggled profusely about your and Jake’s rivalry. The two even started making bets on when the two of you would finally ‘get it on’, as Tamia put it. You just rolled your eyes at the conversation, changing the subject to something different.

—

The party, though filled with lots of fun and drinking, was a bust. While Josh had shown up with his younger brother and his brother’s friend, as you learned, in tow, Jake was nowhere to be found. You thought to ask Josh why he wasn’t there, but he was too busy dancing with Micah. Through the grapevine, you learned that Micah and Josh had been together since high school.

You stayed around the party for almost two hours before you wanted to go back. A small part of you had wished Jake had actually come. You wondered if maybe the two of you would get along if you put your competitive nature aside. You tried not to dwell on thoughts of Jake’s absence for too long, wanting to enjoy the rest of the night with your girls. But when you had enough of the party, you shouted in Mel’s ear to let her know you wanted to leave.

Mel and Tamia had made sure you got back alright about two hours into the party. Your legs were tired and your feet had begun to hurt. The two of them stumbled with you back to the door of your building, making sure you were inside before leaving to go back. They almost came in with you, until you insisted otherwise.

Laying on your bed with your head pointed towards the ceiling you started thinking about Jake again. What was his reason for not being at the party? Did he just make those comments beforehand just to rile you up? It seemed like the only valid reason your impaired mind could come up with.

You grabbed your phone, almost dropping it on the floor. You sluggishly opened Instagram, and searched for Jake’s profile. You scrolled through, looking at the few photos he did have on his page. Most of the pictures he had were of his guitar, or places he’s traveled. You were sent into a panic when you realized you had accidentally liked an older picture of Jake’s, one from freshman year of college. Hurriedly, you unliked it and immediately locked your phone.

That had been a few days ago.

Now it was Wednesday and your first final exam was here. It was for the class you shared with Jake, BIO 312. It wasn’t exactly final exam time, but Professor Heinz was going to be away at a conference for a week starting Friday. You didn’t mind, though, since it spaced out your other finals enough to have a decent amount of time to study for them.

You sat at your desk, looking over your notecards one last time before the exam began. A frequent look around the room and you noticed Jake walking in, going to a random seat a couple rows in front of you. He set his bag down next to him, before bending down to grab his laptop. He noticed you watching him and sent a wink your way.

You looked away as you tried to hide the rush of rosy skin that fanned over your cheeks and heated up your ears. You tried to ignore him again until at least when the test started, embarrassed that you got caught looking at him. Your phone pinged and you pulled it out of your bag to look at it, as well as turn it on silent.

jacobtkiszka wants to send you a message.

You swallowed and hit the notification taking you straight to the message.

“Person who turns their test in last pays for coffee?”

Your lips curved into a small smile, feeling your fingers type the first thing that comes to your head.

“Hope you brought your wallet with you, Kiszka.”

You put your phone on Do Not Disturb and shoved it back into your bag. The professor walked through the door, setting her things down on the desk in the front of the room. Her coffee mug still had steam coming from it, freshly poured. A quick look of her watch after getting settled and it was time to start the exam. “Okay, everyone. It’s time for class. Take out your laptops and begin your exam. You may leave when you have finished. Thank you for a great semester, and good luck.”

The questions on the exam were all ones that you knew and had studied for for weeks. It was strenuous, trying to remember everything on the cumulative exam. You had hoped it would go quickly and you would answer them faster than Jake could. Occasionally, you turned to look at Jake, seeing if maybe he was trying to look at you too.

With one question left of your exam, you click the answer and press submit after a minute of debate. You had a bad habit of second guessing yourself occasionally; it was actually the bane of your testing experiences. You hated when you felt confident about an answer, until you really sat with the other possible answers it could be.

You put your laptop back into your bag, zipped it up and noticed that Jake had already left. You cursed to yourself, knowing that now you had to buy Jake a coffee. You waved goodbye to your professor with a smile and walked out the doors. Jake sat outside of the classroom at one of the tables they had throughout the building. “Whatcha reading?”

“Josh recommended it to me, but I’m going to be honest, I fucking hate this book.” He laughed, shoving it into his bag. “You know any good coffee shops around here? I’m kind of tired of Starbucks.”

“I just so happen to know the best coffee shop in town, but it is a bit of a walk, if you don’t mind that?” You asked, walking through the door that Jake was holding before muttering a thank you to him.

“I could also drive, if you’re okay with that.”

“I’m more than okay with that,” you chuckle, letting him know that your dorm building had enough stairs; any chance you could get to use an elevator, or get driven somewhere, you would take that opportunity in a heartbeat.

The drive was short in comparison to the twenty minute walk it would have taken to get to the shop. Jake tried to offer the radio to you, but you let him play what he wanted to listen to. You didn’t know exactly who was playing, but the blues music that played through the speakers was a breath of fresh air.

Your typical shuffle had a plethora of music from differing genres, whether that be rap or old country. You hadn’t known much when it came to blues music, especially the difference between good blues music and bad. Eventually, you got the courage to ask who was playing and Jake answered, letting you know that the song was by Buddy Guy. “It’s called She Suits Me To A T. I tried for weeks to learn this song when I first started playing music more seriously.”

“This is the coffee shop, at the next corner.” You watched his hand as he made a right turn, noticing him steering with just the palm of his hand. Letting the leather steering wheel glide back to its original position in his hand, elbow propped on the door with the window rolled down.

It’s all you thought about on your way into the coffee shop, completely relying on autopilot. Your responses to Jake were almost textbook, one word sentences that could continue the conversation without much effort. “What’re you thinking of getting?”

“Oh, um, I’m not sure. I usually have them surprise me,” you admit, shoving your hands into your jacket. “Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s not. That’s the gamble you take.”

“I like that a lot, actually. I think I’ll have them surprise me too, if you don’t mind.”

“No, not at all.” You smiled at Jake before he went to order for the two of you. You found a place to sit in the meantime, offering a spot towards the windows so you could watch people come and go, each on their own paths of life.

By the time Jake sat down, both of the coffees were in his hand. After a few questions, Jake set the iced drink down in front of you, and the hot drink in front of himself. “Yours is an iced chai, with brown sugar syrup and vanilla. Mine is some sort of tea, I wasn’t really paying attention to what she was saying. I just wanted to remember what she put in yours in case you liked it.”

“Oh,” you spoke, bringing the cup towards you. “Thank you, that’s really sweet. Do you like your drink?”

“You know, it’s really not bad. I wouldn’t have gotten it otherwise, but it’s really not bad.”

“You hate it.”

“I hate it. It’s not good.” The two of you chuckled before you offered him a sip of your drink. “Mhmm,” he moaned. “That’s good, oh my God.”

The two of you continued small talk, whether it was over the classes you had previously taken, memories of parties from past years – anything. You shared previous high school experiences, mostly about the ridiculous things that were considered parties in your teenage years.

Conversation with Jake was surprisingly a lot easier than you thought it would be. Especially since you’ve hated him pretty much your entire college career. You figured he’d be stuck up, aware of his academic achievements and ready to flaunt them in front of anyone who’d listen.

He was the opposite. His sentences were wrapped with kindness, and the reflection in his voice seemed nothing but positive. His voice was like silk, he could’ve talked you into damn near anything as long as his voice sounded like that. It hurt when the conversation slowed, spending a few moments to take in the scene around you two, as well as finally being able to drink more of your drink (which was very delicious, it was almost like crack).

“How long have you been playing guitar?” You asked after the silence became almost uncomfortable to sit with.

“Oh jeez. I’ve been playing since I was… like three? Yeah, three.” You stared at him with eyes slightly wide, mouth agape. “What?”

“N-Nothing, that’s just a really long time. You’re what, 21 now?” He clarified that he was only twenty, his birthday roughly a week away. You poked fun at him, mentioning how you were older, even if it was by less than a year.

“Josh is throwing us a birthday party, if you want to come. Since it’ll be our 21st, we’re having it at our parents cabin on Lake Michigan. You’re welcome to bring Mel and Tamia if you’d like. Sam and Danny are going to be there, even though they’re underage, but we’re gonna pretend like they’re older.” Jake spoke with one last sip of his drink, letting the empty cup echo on the table as he set it down.

“I will let Mel and Mia know. I can’t make any sure decisions without talking to them first, but I’m pretty damn sure that they’ll say they would love to go.”

“Yeah, I don’t think they’ll say no either. They seem pretty adamant that you have a little crush on me or something,” he said, putting your cups inside of a bus tub to be picked up and washed.

“I don’t have a crush on you,” you laughed, walking out of the coffee shop with Jake. “I actually hate you, remember?”

“You may say that you hate me, but you’re not really good at showing it.”

#jake kiszka fanfic #jake kiszka fanfiction #godlygretawrites #godlygreta #pretty boy #jake kiszka x reader #jake kiszka x y/n

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mushroomfic · 4 months ago

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Hasan Piker Midwest Princess Chapter 2, A Tumultuous Brunch

This is the second chapter of a fic I've been Frankenstein-ing from a non-related series of one-shots I never intended on posting, but once it reached fifty pages, I was like, I feel like it's more psycho if I don't post it? Mad respect to all of the work Hasan does; fanfic is a coping mechanism. Sorry to this man. If I didn't see that podcast episode of him telling the TikTok edit people he doesn't care I would not have posted. I'll post a (y/n) version of each chapter eventually as well. My first slow burn! (allegedly)

My second warning is that I had to split this chapter in half because the first half could stand on its own, and the important part of the second half remains completely unwritten. So, chapter 3 might take a while.

Warnings: Slight homophobia, bad date, swearing, references to family drama, x OC

Word Count: 2775

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Day Two, Continued.

Hasan had successfully gone on with the following hour in normalcy. Well, the call was made, but the intention was to continue to be normal. Just calling his best friend, (Caroline’s boyfriend,) Will to invite them to dinner. Both of them seemed really excited about it and were going to try to move some things around to go.

“That would be so much fun! Will is gonna love Vivian. She works in movies, I think. We hung out the other night. Plus, she needs a redo date, anyway.” Will coos in approval, but Caroline’s use of the word date is like the first rock in a landslide. At least that's how Hasan’s insides started to feel.

“What do you mean?” He asks without really thinking. “Oh, well,we only ended up meeting Vivian that night because she thought she was having a drink with this gay co-worker, but he was actually just some demanding, horny, idiot who didn’t know what The Abby was. So she had to run over to our table. Thank god we were there. Austin didn’t even know she was in town before that.” Will’s laugh makes Hasan’s phone buzz against the counter. He wasn't sure if the increased happen-stance of last night made it more comforting or not.

“Hasan, why weren’t you at girl’s night? You could have been her knight in shining go-go boots.” Will’s tone is caked in all-knowing sarcasm, he’d realized as soon as the follow up question about their meeting was asked. Hasan groans, displeased. Caroline, on the other hand did not have the context, but giggled anyway before bidding the both of them adieu to continue her kitchen stream across the house.

Once the door closed behind her, Will took him off speaker for a moment. “You good, dude?” Not sincere, chuckling as he asked. Hasan paused, but eventually decided it would be worth it to discuss. “Do you think Austin is going to make it awkward?” That was not the question his friend anticipated from him; he hesitates for a second before choosing to answer lightheartedly. “In a different way than usual?” a grunt from the other side of the phone. “You know what I’m talking about.”

“Oh, that? man, I think you’re fine. Austin is devious, but he cares about her meeting his friends and he has since before you did that. I won’t make promises in the long run, but Austin wants a smooth intro, I think. Why do you care so much all of a sudden?”

Will did not seem to be worried, almost discomfortingly unworried. Even when reminded of Austin’s muttering and the state himself when he’d met the woman, so that must be a good sign. It was definitely perturbing to be this anxious about something that normally he is almost too unbothered by. It feels… prolonged, maybe? For no real reason, he reminds himself. The lack of control over their meeting wasn’t really helping either.

After Will hung up with the promise of a solid “probably,” Hasan became easily irritated just sitting there, stewing, waiting. He would feel a lot better if there were more people at dinner to up the distraction factor. As if on cue, Austin’s muffled voice started travelling through the vents. It’s barely decipherable but it sounds like he’s telling Vivian that QT and Ludwig are busy tonight. It doesn’t stop there but Austin must have moved; he became too quiet to hear. Knowing that he could be saying just about anything right now worsened Hasan’s state.

Fortunately, nothing could serve as a better distraction than working and preparing for work. He felt like any contact with Austin before this dinner could cause additional concern, so he resigned himself to researching in his bedroom. His laptop held a welcoming, but monstrous pile of open tabs that he kept for that day and just dove in after locking the door. It took a second for the eerie feeling to subside and allow him to lock in, but it thankfully happened not too long after he began.

Thirty minutes or eight hours could have passed for all he knew. The only thing that was ever worthy of lifting his head for was Austin’s iconic doorslam and subsequent goodbye text, indicating that it was time for brunch and he could move into his office. The clock had kept ticking in spite of all signs pointing to limbo. It had actually been about two hours but this bullshit article muddled time like no other. Sitting at his PC, preparing to start the stream, as compared to his bed, did anchor his reality a bit more.

While he continued to fight unnecessary and frankly, uncharacteristic turmoil with the news, Vivian, Austin and Ava reunited, hugged, and the prying began effective immediately.

“So how did that business meeting go with that guy? Anything good?” Vivian was too busy thanking the waiter for their drinks to give her sister’s question a prompt response, so Austin fixed it.

“Noooo, It was terrible!” His friend scoffs, and Ava looks smug.

“Yeah, yeah, it was bad. He wasn’t gay, just a fucking idiot who had like, heard that the Abby was a good place to get laid and didn’t process that he heard that from an out-of-towner baby gay who’d heard it from another, definitely gay man? But Austin was there so, like, it's fine.” She puncuates her sentence with a long sip of water, long enough to indicate her disinterest in this conversation.

“Hm. I’m choosing kindness, so I won’t say “I told you so,” but speaking of multiple men, Jason will get you the list next wednesday.” Ava’s gaze shifted to Austin, speaking silently. But Vivian just snorted, amused and unaware. His face lit up. “Ooooh! a list of men for Vivian?” Now she was aware. “Of groomsmen, Austin… This is great, so many more opportunities to cold email.” We’re doing damage control; she does not want to have this conversation. It persists anyway. “It certainly should open up “opportunities.” I think it's obvious that we should be taking this list very seriously, Ava.” She slams her palms down on the table in delight, frightening off the waiter who could’ve offered distraction and reprieve.

“Oh my gosh, it's like you read my mind! We have an incoming list of eligible, pre- approved bachelors, Viv. I’ll send you their pictures with the list.” Everyone shimmies their shoulders, but the victim in question folds into herself. She takes a moment to mask her upset and keep riffing. “Already covered, I’m just gonna marry Austin after he returns to the light of God, just like grandma always wanted.” She grabs his jaw and puts their temples together, smiling too widely for anyone’s comfort.

“That is so sweet!” He leans into it, but the sister is not impressed. “Austin you figuratively and literally cannot play both teams like this, your straight passing relationship is sick and twisted and I’ll never be an aunt at this rate.” As funny as that was, Austin pings this as a potential problem, watching Vivian go to speak but ultimately choosing to shut herself up and recollect. He puts his arm around the chair and squeezes her forearm knowingly.

“We are aunts.” It was colder, but pretty manageable all things considered. Ava rolls her eyes. She walked into this, but it’s just not fair. “Yeah, but their mother hates me. I’m not even allowed to send them christmas gifts anymore.” Vivian holds eye contact. Under the table she digs her pinky nail into the denim covering Austin’s thigh. He hooks it with his own.

“Subject veto.” Was all she could say. Before Ava could respond, he clears his throat and buds in. “Adjourned. Ava, what are you and Jason doing later?” Table-wide relief occured. “Yeah, do you guys want to come to dinner tonight?” The perpetual olive branch. Vivian can tell it was reciprocated by her facial expression. “I can’tttttt, I’m flying back to Michigan to help dad and figure out who's an acceptable invitation to the wedding. It sucks that I can’t be there, though. We've wanted you to be in the group for so long now.” Now that peace has been restored, the not-a-couple un-entangle themselves and Vivian’s shoulders un-tense as she comments jokingly: “Too much pressure, they could hate me.” Her sister waves her off.

“Sure.” Austin laughed at Ava’s blatant disregard, rubbing his eyes the way a dad does after a fight and waving over the waiter.

—---

Hasan had long already gone live and was completely dropped in at the time of the three ordering. Vivian was the only one who knew this after checking her notifications, but said nothing, enjoying her pancakes and her secret.

The next two hours flew by for everyone involved. It seemed almost too fast when Austin and Vivian arrived back at Hasan's together, but she was just thankful she’d managed to pay for her own bill between the overly-douting company she held. The quietness of the house, save for the muffled, rumbling sound of Hasan explaining something to chat, was immediately noticeable to her. The contrast between this vibe and most of Vivian’s life was palpable.

The homeowner in question only blinked an eye when he happened to have heard the patio door open a bit later, realizing Vivian must already be there, and she must have been the one to close the front door. He listened in, debating whether or not to go out there for a moment, but the two guests had started a rolling conversation so quickly that he didn’t want to interrupt. Instead, he announced that the end of the live was incoming, and continued to eavesdrop carefully. Not very secretively, though, as the chat was intermittently filled with people guessing what was going on in the house that had Hasan so distracted.

Outside the office, Austin gave the grand tour of the house he has become so acquainted with to Vivian, making up various lies on the way to add some variety. Once they’ve made their way upstairs and finished Austin’s room’s portion, they discover the master bedroom’s door was left open. So obviously he busted in. The woman with him chose to stand respectfully in the doorway, feeling a bit surreal. She laughed at his antics nervously. From her planted spot she didn’t really see much, but it was easily noted how clean it was. Care put into it.

Under their feet, Hasan began to actually wrap up the last topic of the day once the sounds of footsteps on the second floor pointed back to the stairs. Vivian couldn’t quite make out what he was saying but the tone was quite familiar, the stream was over. He pressed the end button literally just in time for the door to slide open and both of their heads to pop in, ridiculously.

“Are you done yet?” Austin whisper-yells. Vivian holds back a laugh and sticks her hand through the door, waving. Hasan is left wondering where his nervousness went. He waved back, in a rather cute way, one might add, and confirmed. Hasan was so busy with his wave that he had forgotten that the tour wasn’t over yet until: "And last but not least,” with much pizzazz, Austin slides open the door. “with special guest Hasan Piker himself!” He guides Vivian inside clumsily, pointing at his friend. “This is where the magic happens baby! Look at the paint job, the decor, the wood grain, it's just fantastic!" Hasan cannot stop himself from commenting on something he clearly found so shocking.

“Austin, you are literally the one who started the set complaints, what are you talking about?” Vivian giggled. He looked up and noticed she's been covering her mouth, trying not to get involved. Like she knew it was coming. “It has its ways.” He rolled his eyes at this response, but chose amicablity, watching Viv look around the room, seemingly in genuine interest instead.

"In the flesh... The camera makes it look so different." Her fingertips trace the top of each chair as she looks around at the complete mixed bag of wall art, posters, and decor, amused. Vivian was so enthralled that she’d unknowingly admitted to something alarming. Hasan, who was struggling to disguise his urgency, questioned it immediately. "You watch the podcast?" Shit. Is that embarrassing? It feels really embarrassing.

"Yeah, of course I do. Since Austin told me about it.” Blame everything on Austin. Vivan had sworn that Hasan’s face held a look of concern but in a millisecond it was gone. “Yeah, she’s my biggest fan.” Austin went to wrap an arm around her shoulder for the bit, ignoring her disgusted face, but his phone buzzed before he could land it. “Oh wow, Will and Caroline are actually available for dinner tonight! We're on a lucky streak for plans. Oh god, I have to go change the reservation." He shuffles out, sliding the door closed behind him out of habit.

Vivian meandered over to Hasan’s desk, where his streaming setup was anchored, smirking at the cardboard cutouts she had definitely never seen on camera before. Hasan followed. "So how would you rate your tour experience?" She glances over her shoulder at the door and puts on a little show like she’s really contemplating hard, tapping her chin, hand on her hip. "I'd give it…. Annnnnnn.. 8.5 out of ten." He feigns offense. "What??? That’s bullshit." She turns her attention to shelves on the back wall, shrugging her shoulders. "Well, you’ll have to give me a new one then, because I’m pretty sure half of what he said was a lie." It evokes a laugh, and he a little sheepishly responds, “Maybe.”

Vivian started browsing the shelves in more detail, trying to think of something to say to continue the conversation that's not weird. Hasan watches, doing something similar. It does not take them too long. “Oh, is this one from the show QT hosted?” She pointed at the award, looking back at him over her shoulder. He gets closer to see which one she’s pointing at. The table’s proximity to the shelf forced his arm to be grazing her back. “Yeah, best Just Chatting 2023, no big deal.” She scrunched her nose, giggling. “Only if you say so… What about this one?” He scoffs, more comfortable now. “It's the goddamn queen of England, no further questions.” She touches his forearm in fake apology, then has to pretend that she still can’t feel it on her fingertips as she pulls away. “Oh, god bless.” They keep playing this game, her pointing to an unfamiliar or silly object and laughing at his responses. Her continued, real curiosity made him a bit shy.

There is a pause as she looks for another item she doesn’t have context for, so she fills it without really thinking. “This is good lore for me. Austin is not a consistent news source.” After saying that she became afraid it would sound like she had been hounding her friend for facts and news about Hasan, but if he felt that way he definitely didn’t show it. “No, literally because he doesn’t fucking tell me anything either.” She tilted her head back, laughing. Perfect timing; from this angle she can see Austin’s silhouette approaching the door.

“I had to push it back an hour but we could go grab a drink or wait and have them meet us here first?” The implications of that sentence alarmed Vivian. She knew what he was doing. No medium-scale restaurant would have to push the reservation for two chairs. She turns to him, her back brushing up against Hasan’s chest in doing so. “Is this place fancy?” Her eyebrow was raised, her tone accusatory, and everything she needed to know was revealed when both boys answered in tandem.

“No.” Mischievous.

“Yes.” Firm, to override Austin. It echoed above her head from behind.

She turned back to Hasan, looking up almost to a ridiculous degree from their proximity, pointing at him. “I trust you, I knew he was going to do this to me. Is there a bathroom I can use to get ready?” He grinned, feeling complemented. “Yeah, you can use mine. I have to change too, but I’ll go in the closet.” Hasan moved out of her way and headed out of the room, but waited for her at the door. As she ducks under his arm she can’t help but think that this is the type of thing that would only happen at the beginning of a rom-com. Or at least it would be if Austin wasn’t following them up the stairs.

#fanfic #fanfiction #hasanabi #hasan piker #hasan fic #hasanthehun #romance #slow burn #austin show #will neff #qtcinderella #friends to lovers

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mrcaffeinatedisopod · 3 months ago

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Caffeinated Masterlist

Hello, I'm MrCaffeinatedIsopod, but you can just call me Isopod for short!

Here's an Intro Post with some info of what I do in this fandom and my Masterlist.

I grew up watching the 2012 version of the turtles and I am currently obsessed with drawing and writing about them and just the entirety of this show, I write fanfic and I like taking requests for drables, short stories and headcannons, so don't be afraid to ask! I am a bit of an ass sometimes, but I don't bite, promise >:)

I am new to the fandom since I recently picked up the show again, so I'm looking for mutuals and friends in the fandom! Don't be afraid to send me a DM or an ask, I love discussing this show, I also like Rise and Bayverse, and I'm thinking of getting into other versions

I am mainly obsessed with my boy Donatello but I love all of the turtles and I also love all of the character relationships in the show, not only do I write fanfic but every once in a while you will catch some fanart, a character analysis or a rant post from me. I'm a natural yapper when it comes to this show.

I have an OC for the 2k12 show called Maxine Santos. You'll catch art of her here and there, but I usually don't talk much about OC stuff unless specifically asked about it

I also have my own tmnt AU, but I'm debating whether to post about it or not still— I still have Undertale AU PTSD

Dancing rise Donnie because I love him too

Started: February 26th, 2025

Last Updated: May 1st, 2025

Requests: Open

Important Reminders

I'm an adult that grew up with these characters, there might be 18+ stuff here, like darker themes explored in these fanfics, not just possibly smut, but whumps, torture, Major Character deaths, major injuries described in detail, etc.

I'm not your Dad/Mom/Guardian, stuff is always tagged so read at your own risk

Characters are aged up to 18+ unless specified. Don't be weird.

As of now I only write for the 2012 version of the turtles.

I take requests, but I don't promise to finish all of them, eventually I will make a full rules post but as of now just don't ask for anything non-consensual between a reader and the turtles, T-Cest or Poly, I think mostly everything else is good to go.

The status of my asks are posted in my blog description, if it's open, I'm taking requests, if it's closed, well, you know how it works. So please don’t ask to ask, if you're not sure if I will do it just send your ask, if I'm uncomfortable I'll tell you over DMs whether I'll do it or not. If you’re not comfortable with sending it through your blog, send it as an Anon ask.

This is kind of important to me because I will not answer, "Can I send an ask?" type of asks if they're coming from an Anon.

I mainly write for the guys, but I am not against writing for other major characters either like the Shredder's henchmen, Bishop, Karai, Irma, Casey and April! Just tell me your idea and I'll see if I feel comfortable doing it, the only ones I can think of the top of my head that I don't feel comfortable writing for romantically are Splinter, the Shredder, and the mutanimals

Rules

No TCEST

No poly

I only write x readers, not character x character

I don't do incest and non-con, pedophilia or any of that stuff

I don't write about pregnancy or parenting stuff. Uncle/aunt type of stuff is good to go, though

Idk I'll keep adding to this as I think of more stuff

I reserve the right to decline any request for any reason

Please do not mention Apriltello or Leorai to me if you like those ships, I will go on an insufferable rant about how much I dislike them, and I am blunt and bit of an ass about it :[

My Writing

All

Coming soon...

Leonardo

Coming Soon...

Raphael

Coming Soon...

Donatello

MultiChapter Fics

Statistical Improbability - Donbot x Reader

Part 1 | Part 2

The Secrets we inherit - Donatello x Stockman's Niece!Reader

Part 1 | Part 2

Michelangelo

Coming Soon...

#tmnt 2012 #caffeinated thoughts #caffeinated isopod masterlist

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spider-ghoul · 1 year ago

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The Pain of losing him (Pt. 1?/Intro)

Summery: After Luke left, his girlfriend is alone to find herself. And as the years pass by, the girl with pretty hair becomes the Son of death.

FYI: This is part one of a fic I'm also posting on Ao3 and this is gonna serve as a background for the actual story (starting in chapter two) I'll be posting soon.

Sorry if this is bad lmao

No major content warning xx

~~~~~~~~~

When Luke Castellan was 19, he left. It was only three weeks after his birthday, the last week of july. He tried to take me with him, he really did. At night, as I toss and turn in my sheets, I can still hear his sweet voice filled with venom.

“Darling, Please. Whoever Your Dad is still hasn't claimed you? Don't you think we could-”

“Stop it luke. You’re crazy. I’m getting Chiron-”

“Y/N, Darling, don’t.”

And as i broke into a run, Something stung my ankle. When I woke up in the medic cabin hours later, he was gone. And a uncouncus Percy Jackson was beside me, his body turning in his unwanted sleep.

I was fifteen then. My own birthday was coming up. I spent it at camp Half-blood without luke. Without knowing who my godly parent was. The Hermes cabin wasn’t the same without Luke, but I couldn’t leave camp. I attracted monsters like flies to honey. I didn’t know what else to do. I spent my nights in Luke's empty bed, any of the Hermes kids could have tried to take it from me. They didn’t. They missed the ghost of their brother just as much as I missed the ghost of my boyfriend.

I was sixteen, when I went with the son of Poseidon to receive the golden fleece. It was supposed to be me, Percy, and Annabeth. And grover, after we rescued him. Clarisse tagged along. I hadn’t spoken to her, not since Luke. Believe it or not, they were friends. Despite the bickering and arguing, they were close.

Talking to her again made it impossible to not think of him.

Then, there were the sirens. Despite my better judgment, I tied myself up with Annabeth to hear their song. The first thing I saw was Luke. Then I saw myself. The scrawny girl was long gone. In her place, a boy. A boy with dark hair and eyes that matched mine. He looked like the boys in my old pinterest boards, in the stories with the morally gray characters. He looked like me.

When Percy freed me from the ropes, and received Annabeth from the deep, which was horrifying. I asked Annabeth for her dagger. They were both horrified as the hair fell over the side of the boat, but as I ran my hand through my new hair, I smiled.

When I went back to camp with Grover and the golden fleece, I went back to the Hermes cabin. And I still slept in his bed, but I felt so much better because not only was I a different person, I was myself. I talked to Chiron, and got a proper chest binder and then everyone knew I was a boy.

I was still sixteen when My hair went from blonde, to brown, then to an inky black. The change in my hair was something I didn’t know how to feel about it. But it looked like me. And then, when I woke up from the nightmares of Luke, and I went outside to escape the restraints of his cabin, the grass died under my feet. I didn’t tell anyone.

Percy Jackson was fourteen when his mom drove Grover, Thalia, Annabeth, Percy, and I to a boarding school. Me and Thalia had become quick friends and her anger towards Luke made me feel so, so much better.

That was when I met two kids with the same dark eyes as me. I felt some uncanny urge to protect them. When the quest was put forward, I wanted to go. I didn’t. Not until a disheveled looking Percy Jackson found me that night.

Percy promised Nico something that I didn’t quite hear.

Percy Jackson Held up the sky. So did Annabeth Chase. And so did I.

The cosmos weighed nothing compared to having to tell that little boy his sister was dead. I held his hand, and he said it, not to me, but to percy.

“Where’s my sister?”

I hugged him tightly as Percy handed him the last thing his sister wanted him to have. And the ground split open underneath me.

As Nico ran, the dark blur over my head told both me, and Percy Jackson about my father.

#luke castellan x reader #Luke castellan x trans reader?#Percy Jackson #pjo x reader #Hades!reader #nico di angelo

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i-drink-paint-waterr · 1 year ago

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hello

didn't realize intro posts were a thing but i figured i should do one

please do not send me any donations/ gofundme asks. i cant help you and i cant tell which ones are scams.

heres the link to my pronouns page, it will tell you what is okay to call me etc.

side blog for writing - @and-ill-watch-atlas-bleed

hello!!! im teddie/any nicknames are normally chill

he/they - transmasc - gender neutral or masc terms are preferred (im not too picky tho unless it explicitly calls me a girl)

im in the marauders fandom (fuck jkr, i dont consume any of her media in a way that benefits her) marvel, pjo, plus a bunch of other books and movies

i like a shit ton of music lol. to name a few: david bowie, chappell roan, one direction, noah kahan, taylor swift, billie eilish, lorde, gorrilaz, green day, mcr, artctic monkeys, oasis, girl in red, boygenius/phoebe bridgers, hey, nothing, conan gray, olivia rodrigo, sabrina carpenter, hozier, queen, and many more!!! link to my airbuds if you wanna check it out

a quick run-down of my opinions on marauders ships. i will never show any hate to anybody shipping anything, so please dont show any hate to me or others

i am definitely some flavor of neurodivergence but i am not diagnosed

i love my friends, my family

i go to church and i'm christian and also gay af, we exist.

only thing keeping me from committing is guilt of leaving my siblings 💪💪

you can always dm me, send asks, or tag me, just so long as you arent being creepy or mean.

i cant promise i'll always respond to tag games, but i'll try my best.

i check my dms pretty regularly so i'll most likely get back to you

if you wanna be friends or moots literally just ask me tbh as long as youre not mean or creepy i'll probably say yes

i literally dont have a sleep schedule but if you do send me anything while im sleeping i will respond as soon as i wake up

anyways! follow me or whatever? im cool, i swear

#intro post

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men-i-find-attractive-yaps · 1 month ago

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A Silent Voice: A Story About Hope

Intro

So ik this is different from my usual posts, but I recently rewatched A Silent Voice. I rewatched it because when I first watched it, I didn't watch it in good faith so I wanted to watch it again like 5 years later with fresh eyes. What were my thoughts on it, you may ask? Well, it's making me pull out the MLA style header so you decide what I thought about it.

In all seriousness, A Silent Voice was absolutely beautiful and it really resonated with me (for reasons I'll get into later) and I wanted to talk about it because I see a lot of people say that A Silent Voice is a depressing story, which I fundamentally disagree with. Maybe it's just because of the point of view I'm coming from, but despite it's heavy topics and a story that doesn't shy away from said topics, I believe that at its core, A Silent Voice is meant to be a story that speaks to those who have dealt with what the characters have and tell them that there is hope.

⚠️‼️Suicide, depression, bullying, disassociation, and social anxiety will all be discussed in the following analysis. If you are uncomfortable with any of these topics, do not read any further‼️⚠️

The Story of A Silent Voice

So the story of a Silent Voice follows two main characters: Nishimiya Shouko and Ishida Shouya. The story starts with a high school age Ishida crossing off days on his calendar until his "final day". He quits his job, sells everything, and plans to jump off of the bridge to kill himself. He decides not to, crossing off his "final day" on his calendar.

The story then cuts to when the two are in elementary school and Nishimiya is new to the class. When she introduces herself, she tells everyone that she is deaf. The class is hesitant but nice at first, but they soon get tired of Nishimiya. Ishida is especially tired of her, even from the beginning, and soon begins to tease her, which eventually evolves into bullying. It gets progressively worse until Nishimiya doesn't show up to school, and Ishida gets blamed for all of the bullying, even though others participated. Ishida is bullied for it and becomes a social outcast.

Back in the present, Ishida's mom found out about his original plan to commit suicide, and burns the money he left her while making him promise not to try and kill himself again. He does, and he heads to school where he's always alone. Ishida doesn't see people's faces, and instead sees large "X"s over their faces. After school, he runs into Nishimiya again after years had gone by and asks her to be friends.

Through out most of the rest of the film, we watch Ishida gain friends, try to push them away after it appears to go wrong, and grow closer Nishimiya and her sister. In the "climax" of the story, Ishida, Nishimiya, and her family go to watch the fireworks at a festival. When Nishimiya's sister, Yuzuru, takes their mom to go get tamoyaki, Nishimiya excuses herself to go home, claiming that she has to study. Yuzuru comes back and sends Ishida to get her camera at home, where Ishida finds Nishimiya about to jump off of the balcony to commit suicide. He ends up saving her, but he falls over the side instead.

Ishida ends up in the hospital in a coma, and Nishimiya vows to "fix what she broke". She talks to all of the friends that Ishida tried to push away, and eventually finds herself at the spot where her and Ishida would feed the fish. Ishida also wakes up, and he stumbles out to the hospital to where Nishimiya. They had a conversation, both apologizing for the past and vowing to move forward.

The conclusion of the story is a culture festival where Ishida tries to conquer his fear of others. After hearing others talking about him in the hospital though, he runs away to the bathroom. His best friend, Nagatsuka Tomohiro, finds him there, and he makes Ishida promise not to go away again. When they leave the bathroom, they find Ishida's other friends. They all apologize to each other, and Ishida asks if they can walk around the festival together. The story ends with the "X"s falling off of people's faces and Ishida uncovering his ears, signifying that he's no longer afraid of others.

(I MISSED A LOT IN THIS SYNOPSIS SO PLEASE IF YOU HAVEN'T GO WATCH THE MOVIE)

The Story of Ishida

"The only thing harder than forgiving someone else is forgiving yourself"

Ishida is a character that is not only about redemption, but learning to forgive yourself. He goes from the bully, to the bullied, to the outcast, and finally to the accepted. He starts out bullying Nishimiya, but he grows and eventually they are able to be friends. But, even though the story is clear that Nishimiya forgives Ishida, Ishida cannot forgive himself.

Ishida is a character that has extreme social anxiety due to a traumatic experience, and that hinders his life. He beats himself up over his treatment of Nishimiya far longer than it takes for Nishimiya to forgive him. He deems himself unworthy of human connection, leading to the Xs that cover people's faces. He hates himself, and he takes everything everyone else does as confirmation that they hate him too. But, that's not where the story ends.

The story is one of hope because that's not where the story ends. Ishida saves Nishimiya from committing suicide. Ishida faces others, even if he can't look at their faces. One of my favorite lines of the entire movie is signed by Nishimiya when she tells Ishida, "it's okay to look at the floor." It shows that, even if you can't face people directly, as long as you face them it's enough. And, in the end, when the Xs fall off, it shows not only that Ishida can face others, but that he's finally forgiven himself so he can move forward.

The Story of Nishimiya

Nishimiya's story is mainly one of forgiveness, but I think we lose depth if we discount the role of change in her story.

Most of Nishimiya's childhood, it is shown that she is ostracized for her disability. Despite the bullying however, she still keeps a smile on her face and tries to make friends. She even forgives Ishida, despite him being the worst offender. Though, despite her smiles and forgiveness, it's clear that it still takes a toll on her. After she becomes friends with Ishida, she thinks that she's the reason that he pushed away his newfound friends. She decides this because of her childhood experiences, which have convinced her that she is the reason. The situation leads her to believe it'd be better if she was gone, which leads to her suicide attempt.

Now, where does change come into this? Well, I think it's highlighted perfectly in her conversation with Ishida after he gets out of the hospital. She tells him that this happened because she refused to change. Change what exactly? You may ask. Well, I believe that she's talking about her refusal to find value in her presence. Because of her childhood experiences, she learned to not really find value in her presence with others. Her "change" was to no longer ignore that people loved her and valued her presence.

So why is this a story about hope? Well it's quite simple. Nishimiya was not only able to forgive Ishida, but she learned how to grow past her trauma. It's a story about hope because she survived the change.

My Connection to Both of Them

If you wish to not hear anything personal about me and/or just frankly don't care (which I fully understand, no judgment here) then you can skip this part. Thank you for reading!

Now, I'm going to try to sound coherent while I explain this, but bare with me because I'm not used to posting anything sad and depressing about myself lol.

As a child, I wasn't always different from my peers. I was a lot like child Ishida. I had a lot of friends, a steady social circle, and probably a bit too much of a tendency to tease others. I would never say that I bullied others, but I certainly wasn't the kindest, especially to this one girl. She was a social outcast, like Nishimiya, and I thought she was weird. She thought she was a vampire, and I liked to tease her about it.

Flash forward to sixth grade, I switched schools to go to middle school, and suddenly I was the one who was the social outcast. And though I wouldn't say I bullied the girl, I certainly was bullied. I had rumors spread about me, people complained to the teacher when we got put in group projects together, I was teased endlessly for the things I enjoyed, among other things. Although I took pride in my resilience back then, I wouldn't say it didn't effect me.

Much like Nishimiya, in my recent years I have forgiven some of the people that used to bully me, but I have learned to not find value in my presence. Sometimes, on trips with my peers when I'm off to the side for whatever reason, I feel a crushing loneliness. I don't blame them for me being once again pushed to the outside, yet I still wish that someone would find an interest in me being there. Sometimes, I think that nobody would even notice if I was gone.

Now, don't get me wrong, I would never consider myself suicidal, as I've never thought about killing myself, but these thoughts do plague me. These thoughts lead me to occasionally self-isolate, never blaming the hand that doesn't reach out but still hoping for the one that does.

Now, I'm sure you can find some of the similarities to Ishida's and Nishimiya's stories that I didn't point out in my story, but this is why the story of A Silent Voice resonates with me so deeply. It speaks to me, a person dealing with both Nishimiya's and Ishida's issues (although I didn't mention it, I also have anxiety and Ishida's tendency to disassociate by covering his ears), and shows someone like me a story about two people who go through this and get out the other side not only okay, but better.

TL;DR: A Silent Voice shows that after all is said and done, it's gonna be okay, which is inherently a story about hope.

#I'm so sorry if this is barely coherent it's 2 in the morning I'm trying my best #I just had to get my thoughts out before I went to sleep 😭#a silent voice #analysis #movie analysis #anime analysis #personal stuff

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