#I am going to try to avoid getting into debates with the crazy’s on there

[bohemian-nights]

Because someone decided to use some gif’s I made without giving credit🙃:

(I could care less of it was a reaction gif, but a whole Nettles gifset 🙃)

I now will be using the evil bird app (just to re-post the gifs, moodboards, and stuff I make on here): https://twitter.com/dettlesdaily

To the person and any others who try it, you should know by now any funky crap you guys do I will find out about it😊

[andromeda-nova-writing]

What Makes a Compliment

Fem!Reader Words: 1242

AN: Clearly, this is turning into a series. The last parts are here. I do find these two quite a wreak as they navigate how new this is for them lol

“For someone who claims to be bad at math, you’re quite adept at fractions.” It was neither a compliment nor an insult from Veritas. Just an observation he had picked up as he watched how Y/N had moved around her studio working on a garment replication.

“You must be in a good mood if you’re making jokes.” She spoke as she carefully counted the threads in the fabric's weave, trying to keep an even number as she worked on the embroidery details that had to be placed on the pocket's exterior. “I’m just adding seam allowances together. Nothing compared to the numbers you work with.”

“Three-eighths plus two-thirds.”

“One and one twenty fourths. I thought you were here to avoid listening to construction work not quiz me.”

“You did that faster than entering it into a calculator.”

She worked on sewing a knot into the back of the fabric. “And your point is?”

“You could give yourself a little credit instead of belittling yourself constantly.”

“It’s not belittling myself, it’s acknowledging something I’ve never been good at.” She looked over at her couch where he sat reading over something for the Intelligentsia Guild. “Why are you even bringing this up?”

“I would say you are decent at math.”

“I thought you would be quieter. You said that you would just be focused on your work.” Taking steps back, she was able to better get a view of the jacket that hung on the dress form in the center of the room.

“I was. I only bring it up since you can do fractions better than whoever put this report together. The data here is a mess.”

She frowned. “How much of a mess?”

He tapped the seat of the couch motioning for her to join. A simple request that she didn’t mind fulfilling. On the tablet’s screen lay the data chart Veritas had been referring to.

“How did they get basic multipliers wrong?” The more she looked over the report the more anger she felt. “Even I could do this. This ruins the rest of the report with how it’s supposed to correlate with the data. This was either lazy, sent off too early, or poorly done.”

“Exactly what I thought.”

“I don’t see why you needed to show me as well then. This is your field, not mine. The only fractions I know are related to measurements. I doubt anything I say would add value.” She stood up getting ready to move back to her work.

“That university has truly done a number on you.”

“Excuse me?”

“Yes.”

“What do you even mean by that?” She blinked in confusion trying to wrap her head around that sentence and even the beginning of their conversation. “What are you going on about today?”

“You have shown an odd lack of self-confidence in our conversations and debates. Am I wrong to say it was due to something being said to you at the university?”

“Nothing was said to me there.” She returned to her seat from before. “I think half the people there are scared to have me lay into them and the other half are now leaving me alone just due to me being involved with you.”

“Involved is an interesting way to label a relationship.”

“Unless someone caught us that one time,” the one time being when they had first made out against a whiteboard in a classroom, “I don't think people know. To be fair, I don't think we even had a chance to talk about that. We've been too focused on work.” It had been the first time he had come to her home. Any meetings outside of work hours, they were still discussing work not even taking a second to talk about what had happened.

“I didn't think there would be much to discuss. We clearly enjoy conversing with one another and find each other attractive. I doubt you are the kind to do those sorts of activities on a whim with anyone. I would assume that we were on the same page when you invited me to your home.”

“Of course but I would like to discuss it. You’re crazy if you think I wouldn't want to discuss it. Or do you forget how much you can get on my nerves? Why would I want a relationship built off of only giving critiques?”

“You’re mistaken if you think I only value you for critique.” He placed the tablet down on an end table that had been filled with fabrics. “It’s indeed a thing I enjoy about you but not the only thing.”

She looked away from him. “Well forgive me for being concerned with such when I doubt our abilities even to offer a straightforward compliment.”

“It’s not like I’m known for doing such. You are the only person I know who regularly greets me with an insult while having the confidence and intelligence to face me in a battle of wit. Even so, I did offer a compliment earlier.”

“That was comparing me to others. It's not a compliment.” This was becoming unproductive. Y/N stood up once more heading towards the dress form. “First you don't know how to use critiques properly and now I find out you are horrible at compliments. Maybe I just had a lapse in judgment that day.” She was only half teasing.

“I think your colorwork is impeccable. Something I wish others would take notice of but I wish their discovery of it remains different from my own.”

“You aren’t even making sense. I’m working with black fabric and gold thread. You don’t have to be an expert at colorwork to get that right.”

“I wasn’t talking about your sewing work.” His hand gently trailed from the top of her shoulder towards her hand. She hadn’t even heard him moving away from her couch.

“I know you aren't talking about my clothes and I doubt you have seen any work I've done in the past.”

“I see your work every time you talk.”

She did her best not to lean into his touch when she turned her head to the side to look at him out of the corner of her eye. “You make no sense.”

“What makes no sense is that I willingly listen to insults and critique spoken by someone who has impeccable skills when it comes to color theory being used in makeup.”

Her nose scrunched up. “You know I only wear lipsticks and glosses.” Her words slowed as she thought over what he had said. “Did you just say you like it when I insult you when I’m wearing lipgloss?”

“I said nothing of the sort!”

Her laughter had caused her to fall back against his chest. “I can’t believe it! I have the Veritas Ratio weak over lipsticks and insults. Who could have guessed?”

“I do not understand why you are making me repeat myself. I enjoy that you think for yourself instead of being quick to praise me for what should be the bare minimum. Nowhere did I say I enjoy being insulted. I was trying to complement your use of color.”

“Just say you like my lipstick. It didn’t need to be any more complicated than that.” It was hard not to smile.

“It's not often I compliment a person’s appearance. At least beyond the expected pleasantries.”

“Just say it. Maybe I’ll find myself enjoying your voice more if you say sweet things to me.”

[qqueenofhades]

I'm watching the results come in for the French legislatives first round, and I have been following American presidential race and supreme court from afar. I am depressed. Please say something wise that will give me hope. I never thought to live through times like this.

Anonymous asked: Hey I know you said you’re avoiding posting about politics so absolutely feel free not to reply, but any tips about not getting hopeless? Especially when the fellow young people in your life are all clamoring to talk about how both parties are the same, they won’t vote, etc, etc (😑)?

Welp. It seems that what the people want to hear at this point is some Wise Words From Internet Grandmother Hilary, so... I will do my best to see what I can come up with. It bears repeating, as I have said many times before and will do so again, that I still have heard no better advice for living through The Horrors than the Gandalf: "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us." Because, yeah. That, in its simplest essence, is it. We cannot control The Horrors. Individual people have never been able to control The Horrors, and five thousand-odd years after the invention of documented human history, here we still are, making the same stupid fucking mistakes. That is pretty maddening to deal with, and if you try to think of it like that, it is impossible to wrap your head around and it will only drive you crazy. So, then. What?

I will freely admit that I am scared too. Despite my best efforts, the post-debate furor wigged me out, I had to log off all social media and news sites for most of the weekend, not look at anything aside from one site I trust for two minutes, and try to get myself back in an okay headspace. So yes, rule number one: STOP DOOMSCROLLING. Please get a muzzle on that little voice in your head that says you HAVE to look, you HAVE to read everything, you have to KNOW JUST IN CASE HOW BAD IT COULD POSSIBLY BE. Then you look at stuff that makes you upset, and that leads to other stuff that makes you more upset, and then there you are in a stew of anxiety and anger and everything else that doesn't help. Do not look at the Bird Site Formerly Known as Twitter or news sites or anything else that is liable to have stuff that upsets you, especially in Panic!!! moments like this. It is designed to make you feel worse and it obscures the fact that nobody actually knows. Like, I devoutly hope that the anonymous "adviser to a prominent Democrat" and the NYT editorial board and everyone else screaming about how Biden should drop out right now step on ten Legos a day for the rest of their lives, but they also DO NOT KNOW (and given the NYT nakedly admitting to a personal vendetta against Biden for not giving them an interview, everyone can see exactly what this crass and unbelievably stupid sabotage attempt is, but yeah). Even if they get quoted in prominent publications, they do not know what is going to happen. They are not prophets. The NYT has, as noted, showed its ass 800 times before and keeps coming up with polls that are so ludicrously pro-Trump that it's becoming a cottage industry to debunk them. They are crass and cynical and trash and all that, they have vested interests, they have a platform, but repeat after me: WE DO NOT KNOW "FOR A FACT" THAT EVERYTHING IS DOOMED AND WILL NEVER BE OKAY AGAIN IF WE DO NOT LISTEN TO THE ALMIGHTY NEW YORK TIMES. In fact, the NYT has been so fucking wrong so fucking many times that at this point, I would bet on it being the other way around.

As part of my Bad Headspace Night on Friday night, I did picture the worst-case scenario of Trump winning, American democracy being overthrown, fascists around the world being emboldened, etc. It was a nasty mental picture and I didn't like anything that would come about if it did, but I had to remind myself that even if it did happen, well, the world would still be here, and good people who care about its future would have to do something to make that future happen. It would be ten times harder and it would be the result of another unimaginably evil and cynical fascist sabotage campaign, but... those are not exactly unprecedented in human history. (See: making all those mistakes over and over again.) People in the past were faced with those same exact moments where everything seemed monumentally hopeless and doomed for a generation, and they fought back, and they won. That's the thing. Fascists are evil and awful and terribly unnecessarily destructive, but they are not unbeatable, and they never have been. If we make the choice to resist them, then, well, they can be resisted. It will not happen by posting vaporous screeds on social media, or sitting on your ass and waiting for some miraculous savior/revolution/whatever to swoop in and save you, but it can happen, and it can work. That's what is very hard to remember in the current Horrors, but it's the way it's been for as long as there has been evil. It is not the be-all and end-all of the human experience and never will be.

Likewise: if a la the second anon you're being surrounded with people who are saying stupid things and making you feel worse: just don't be around them any more. It's that simple and you should do it. You can unfollow people who are posting defeatist rubbish, or you can avoid spending time with people railing about how everything is already doomed and voting is useless, etc. You may feel guilty because these people are your friends or you don't want to cut off contact, but you need to do what is best for your mental health, and if all you hear is BS, then, yeah. Pull the plug, cut the cord, do whatever you want. You do not owe anyone else your headspace, your attention, your mental health, or anything else, especially if it is demonstrably idiotic and incorrect. Find ways to do something. Go out and volunteer. Put down the phone (again, this cannot be overemphasized) and stop looking at doomerists on Twitter who get their engagement fix from making you upset and angry. Read a book, watch a TV show, visit a friend in real life, take a walk outside (if you don't live in a furnace, which unfortunately a lot of us do right now). Just sit and close your eyes and meditate. Stretch or move your body. Drink water. Super basic ordinary things that get you away from the increasingly frantic death spiral mindset and put you back in the reminder that things are never over and there is still a lot of time for everything.

As I said: I am doing this myself right now. It is not easy. I know it is not. I wish that we lived in a kinder timeline where this was not necessary, but as Gandalf says, nobody ever wishes for this and yet it happens nonetheless. But we can still control how we react to it and identify the things that are doing their best to make us feel terrible and doomed and hopeless, and make a choice to move away from them. We do not know what's going to happen, no. But we also do not know that everything is doomed, and you know what, it usually ends up not being that way. So that's what I can offer for now. Courage.

[pseudophan]

Hi! I am very very new to the Dan and Phil world. A friend of a friend had a spare ticket to their Oslo show and I went along. This was my very first Dan and Phil experience. I had heard their names, but went in completely blind after all who doesn't love a theatre trip to a foreign country. I had a wonderful time, even if I didn't really understand a lot of the backstory it was so much fun, and i thought i sort of had it worked out. I have come home and binged their content now, but the more I watch, the more confused I am. I watched the Anthony Padilla Dan interview tonight and that was the point where I thought I need help. I was advised head here, pick someone nice and avoid twitter so here I am. When I was watching the show in Oslo, it seemed to me that it was the most married unmarried couple ever, having fun together on stage, poking fun at all the crazy that they had faced together over the years, however the more I indulge in their content the more I am confused as to what is real or not. Is the whole stage couple thing just an act? Were they together but now not? Have I misunderstood the whole show? That Anthony interview Dan seemed to be saying he was very single and ready to find a man, so I am very very lost. Google was no help. I don't want to over step but after watching them perform on stage, they seemed completely infatuated and in love with each other and in recent videos i watched. It is all very confusing. Whatever they are, they know how to put on a show. They have a new fan in me, albeit a slightly confused one. Hope you don't think I am overstepping.

first of all, that's an insane introduction to dan and phil and i love it. i was also at the oslo show! it was a good one

as for your question, well you see the thing is dan howell is chronically full of shit. that time period was a bit weird and he was a bit annoying and he had this "single and ready to mingle" bit going, god knows why cause it wasn't very believable, but.. idk, i think perhaps it was a mix of just that fitting his brand of "comedian" better and him desperately wanting to get away from the Dan And Phil label, but because he couldn't ever fully commit to it it just fell flat imo. like you can't be on youtube and on stage claiming you're single and wanna fuck around while also appearing in your boyfriend's videos acting married as fuck, it just doesn't work. and please no one start up that godforsaken open relationship debate again cause it's just not relevant, he wasn't selling open relationship he was selling single lol, at least in that anthony interview

but like all that said i don't really think he was trying to sell it to the phannies or any of his most hardcore fans, and i think that's exactly why he was willing to appear in phil's videos still showing a completely different, much more real, side of himself. the whole Single Dan On The Prowl thing was for himself and for random people who happened to be watching, more casual members of the audience

there's a looot more to be said about dan and the way he wants to be viewed, he talks about it himself a bit in the new show but you probably don't remember it that well if you saw it as an outsider like it's hardly the most memorable part of.. all of that haha, but basically to answer your question: dan's just kinda like that sometimes. you get used to it. or maybe you won't have to since he seems ready to finally maybe potentially possibly drop some of the pretence and just.... be. or he'll change his mind again and be back to bullshitting in a few months you honestly never know with that guy

but yeah dan in that era... grain of salt is all. it's just a persona and a desperate plea to be viewed as something, anything other than Dan From Dan And Phil. it's just kind of hard to get away from that when the other half of your double act is also your life partner, you know?

[furybymoonlight]

See Me (Now) – Part II

Pairing: Trent Alexander Arnold x OC/Reader

Warning/Genre: NSFW!, Age Gap, Angst, Suggestive Theme, Smut, friends to lovers

Part I

Part III (final)

***

“I don’t want you to dance with other man…and this dress…way too sexy.”

He said slowly, putting emphasize on each word. She could see that he was trying to restrain his emotions, but his words triggered her. Who the hell did he think he was?

***

Why am I such a wuss?

She had been staring at her phone screen for the past hours, endlessly debating whether she should call Trent or not. It’s been a week since the kiss. The new year was around the corner, and she still avoided being alone with Trent as best as she could. Thankfully, this festive season was a busy one for Liverpool with no long period in between matches.

There were of course, instances that required her to interact with him, their parents were best friends after all, and even when things were awkward between them, she wouldn’t pass the chance to support him and watch him played live. So she went to the games, cheered for him in every match, yet every time he approached her, she decided to play dumb, pretending like nothing had happened between them and kept the conversation casual. Surprisingly, the footballer played along with it, didn’t attempt to press her for a moment alone to talk about the kiss. She even began to doubt whether it had been real.

Yet how could it not be? When she could still remember his taste….or how his palm burned the uncovered skin at the curves of her hip as he pinned her to the wall. It didn’t help that now she paid more attention to how his muscles rippled when he played in the field or how his smile made her heart did a double somersault.

She was not blind, she knew that Trent had grown up to be a good-looking man, even good looking was putting it mildly. Tall with lean yet defined physique, skin and eyes in the sweetest shades of caramel, bright smile that never failed to make her life somehow better, even at her less than stellar moments….the man was absolutely gorgeous.

Was she attracted to him? She used to see him just as a younger brother, until at a certain point she simply couldn’t anymore. She always tried to push that notion away though, ‘tried’ being the operative verb. Mainly because after all, they were…well – them. Trent was the first one she called when she had been accepted to her dream uni or when she randomly saw a cute dog on the street. Just like she was the one he first reached out to when he had a difficult game or when there’s a new Drake album coming up. They had always been there for each other, in grand moments and everything in between. Their connection was so precious, she didn’t dare to risk changing it in the slightest. It had never crossed her mind as well that Trent would want their relationship to be romantic, but the kiss definitely proved otherwise, right?

The ringing of her phone snapped her out of her reverie. It was Maddie, one of her close high school friends, asking her if she would want to have a girls’ night out at a newly opened club downtown. Club wasn’t really her scene, but she felt she’d be going crazy if she was alone with her mind for much longer, plus, it was rare than she could hang out with her old friends. So she dressed up, wearing her go-to little black dress that molded her body in all the right places and headed out.

***

“So….how are things with you and Trent?”

Maddie suddenly asked and she almost choked on her dirty martini as her friend raised a knowing brow. They were currently at the bar tables, volunteering to order shots for the others.

“We’re just close friends.” She said as she drank the rest of her cocktail in one go. Seemed like she needed a stronger drink to get through the night.

Maddie tilted her head, looking unimpressed.

“Huh…tell yourself that the next time you two exchange starry eyes across the room when the other side isn’t looking.”

Had they been doing that? Or more importantly, had Trent? She was about to inquire more when her friend spoke again.

“Well, speaking of the devil.”

Maddie’s words made her turn her head, just in time to see Trent entering the room with his teammates, looking devastatingly handsome in a simple white shirt paired with a well fitted black trousers, complimented by a black leather jacket. Her lips reflexively tugged into a small smile, jeez she had it bad. Thankfully it didn’t seem like he had seen her, as she was standing near one of the grand club pillars.

“Just talk to him. I’ll go bring the drinks to our table.”

Maddie chuckled before walking away with the row of shots.

Collecting her courage took a while, but just as she was about to step forward, a flock of girls swarmed around the players. One girl sauntered dangerously close to Trent. She was incredibly pretty, dressed in a red clothing that left none to imagination. She saw them chatted just for a few seconds before the girl smashed their mouths together.

Her belly churned, and she could literally feel her heart cracked. She turned away and returned to the bar, eyes felt hot with unshed tears. She didn’t see that he pushed the girl off of him right away.

A hollow laugh left her mouth. Stupid. She was just beyond stupid. How could she ever thought that Trent wanted her to be his girlfriend now? The kiss must be just a joke for him, such a cruel joke. Maddie was definitely mistaken in her observation.

Trent had changed, he was not the shy sweet boy from the neighborhood that, even though he grumbled a lot, was willing to play girly games with her anymore. He was a top class footballer now, rich and handsome, with pretty girls, most probably models, threw themselves at him anywhere he walked.

It was not that she was unattractive. She was not plain by any means, and had received compliments here and there, but she was not model-like. She always felt her bum was a bit too big, and she often hoped her thigh could be slimmer. She was merely a uni student, taking chemistry engineering for God’s sake. It couldn’t get any nerdier than that…and more unsuitable to his glamorous world. She took a deep breath, shaking her head. She never felt that they were so different than at that moment.

“Tequila, double shots, please.”

She said to the bartender after she was sure she would not break down, at least not then. She just wanted to not think at that moment.

She swallowed one small glass after another like her life depended on it. She didn’t know how many shots she had taken. It was not enough to be absolutely wasted but enough to build a fog around her brain, which was exactly what she needed.

A man suddenly sat right beside her, asking her for a dance. He was good looking, in a neat kind of way, with slick black hair. He was not really her type, but hey, she just wanted to escape tonight, and the man could be a good distraction. Besides, it was just a dance.

She let him lead her to the dance floor. Closing her eyes, she swayed her body in rhythm of the music. The man put his hands on her waist and began to dance as well. Dan was his name if she heard him right, or perhaps it was Dane? She really couldn’t care less. Dan’s hands started to slide to the small of her back, then slid down close to her arse. It just felt wrong. She was about to push Dan away, but someone beat her to it, with a rather unnecessary force at that.

“What’s your problem, man?!”

“Stay away from her. She’s with me.”

Trent’s voice pierced the fog in her mind, and before she knew it, he already dragged her away.

They walked briskly passed his teammates who were lounging on a long sofa, but then Trent continued leading her away. She awkwardly waved at them with one hand. Robbo opened his mouth, clearly wanted to say something, but Trent shook his head. Usually, it would not deter the Scotsman from anything, but something in the Right Back expression that moment managed to shut him up.

She tried to remove her hand from his grip, but he just tightened it, so she just let him. She didn’t want to make a scene and she was kind of grateful that Trent had managed to remove the stranger from her.

Her appreciation died the instance he pinned her into the wall of the club’s exclusive seating space. It was situated at the separate corner of the club. It did not have a door, but had a divider, granting them enough privacy since the guest there had to ring for the server to come.

“What are you doing?!”

His usually warm brown eyes were cold, his tone scathing. He looked like he was up for blood and if she was anyone else, she would have feared him. Yet she knew Trent would never harm her…at least not physically.

“Well, what were you doing?!”

She snapped at him.

“What?”

His expression morphed into confusion. She shook her head, trying hard to tame down the bitter emotion within her.

“Nothing, I… I better get back to Maddie and the girls. Thanks for helping me with the man though. I owe you one.”

She attempted to break free, but the younger man wouldn’t budge. His fingers dug into her shoulder, keeping her on the spot.

“You owe me an explanation.”

“For dancing with a man? You gotta be shitting me.”

“I don’t want you to dance with other man…and this dress…way too sexy.”

He said slowly, putting emphasize on each word. She could see that he was trying to restrain his emotions, but his words triggered her. Who the hell did he think he was?

“Well in this last hour I found out that I don’t want a lot of things to happen to me, but they did anyway. We can’t always have what we want, can we?!”

“What do you want?!”

Perhaps it was liquid courage, or perhaps she was just at her breaking point, but she exploded there and then.

“You want to know what I want?! Fine!! I want our kiss to not happen because now I can’t keep my feelings towards you in check!! I want you to not kiss the girl in red tonight! I want you to not see other girls at all…”

Her voice gradually got quieter as more and more tears streaming down her face, blurring her vision. She fisted her hands and put them against his chest. She closed her eyes. She was already pathetic enough, she didn’t want to see him pitying her.

“I want you…to see me as a woman…only me. Why can’t you just….see me, Trent?”

She said in a broken, trembling whisper. Her heart was bleeding, and nothing can salvage it.

Trent softly cupped her face, thumbs tracing her cheeks to wipe her tears, but still she cried and kept her eyes shut.

“Look at me.”

He said and she stubbornly shook her head, but then her breath hitched in her throat as he closed the gap between their lips. Unlike their first kiss, which started out quite tentative, this time he didn’t give her a chance to resist him. He plundered her mouth, sinful tongue sneaking through to meet hers. He feasted on her like he had been hungry for months and she let him, because if this was the last time she could kiss him then she would take whatever she could get. She could be gone the next day, back to uni, mending her heart far away from this city, and this man. She just hoped to God that there was still some part of her heart remaining.

She wept inside as the man abruptly ended the kiss, only for him to lift her up. His strong hands on the base of her thighs, he pressed her against the wall. Reflexively, she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her dress now bunched up, baring her thighs, and she bit back a moan as the movement created a delicious friction on their nether regions.

He stared into her eyes, dark toffee eyes lit up with desire, and some other emotions that she couldn’t decipher yet.

“You’re all I can see, damn it.”

He hissed at her. Then he sealed their lips together in a fiery kiss, before moving on to the delicate skin of her neck. Propping her up just with his left hand, he then used his right to push down the thin straps of her dress, baring her shoulder to him. He traced the juncture of her neck with his lips before biting on the sensitive skin. This time, she couldn’t hold back her moan and she felt him smirk against her skin.

He kissed her again while gently bringing her legs that had been crossed at the small of his back down so she could stand up. She wobbled, putting her hands on his broad shoulder to steady herself. God, her insides felt like liquid fire.

“Trent – “

She yelped as his fingers suddenly slid pass her thin underwear, which was shamefully drenched at this point.

“Ssshh so wet….all for me, isn’t it?”

She could only nod and bit her lower lip as long, deft fingers moved inside her, pouring oil to the fire within her. Her eyes started to flutter shut.

“Eyes on me.”

As if under a spell, she instantly obeyed, trapped in his dark eyes, letting him take in every detail of her expression as he pleasured her with his talented fingers. It felt just like seconds, or maybe it really was. At one point, his thumb pressed on the tiny nub at the top of her drenched entrance and she came undone, her cry of release swallowed by his mouth. Their lips clung for a while, and some time had passed before Trent helped her to wear her dress properly again.

“Let’s go.”

Trent said as he took of his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulder, then put an arm around her waist, pulling her to his side.

“Where are we going?”

She asked automatically, though she didn’t really care at this point, her mind still fogged by the release that he gave her.

“My place, not a fan of other men seeing you in this dress at all, definitely not gonna risk them seeing you naked.”

Author’s Note: Ahh, always a fan of the old-age misunderstanding/jealousy trope. LOL. Please don’t sue me. Anyway, this was longer than I had imagined. It looks like it will be three parts instead of two, the next would be the last, I am sure this time. Please let me know what you think and thank you for reading, whoever you are <3

[infamous-if]

Hi! I cannot overstate how excited I am for both chapter 2 and the patreon!! (Not trying to rush you tho, take as much time as you need!)

Nsfw ask: How would the ROs react if they had a nsfw dream about the MC? Probably crushing stage or maybe before they realise their feelings for the MC?

thank you!! I’m still debating whether to release chapter 2 before or after the patreon!

haven’t answered a nsfw ask in a while so! well, my answers are pretty tame!

Orion: probably avoid MC out of the unflinching desire for professionalism. Brush it off as just his brain’s overactive imagination and chalk it up to exhaustion and being around MC too much. Orion will become even worse in terms of being distant and detached, and would probably start speaking to MC through the other members for a time. MC would be completely confused but Orion would need space to get his head on straight lmao.

August: August is half-half and I think it depends on how explicit the dream was. If it wasn’t too bad, then I can see August just telling MC and not reacting much beyond that, especially if this is before realizing their feelings for them. If it’s more explicit and/or August has feelings for MC, they’d probably get really flustered and awkward whenever MC is around and avoid mentioning it. Definitely will try to play it cool and probably fail.

Victoria: Before realizing her feelings, she’d find it kind of funny. She would brush it off as a very natural reaction to being around MC and finding MC a conventionally (and at that time, platonically) attractive and not make a big fuss about it. She’d want to laugh it off with MC if anything. G would definitely find it funny. If she has feelings for MC, she’d blush a lot, I think, and would find a way to figure out how MC would feel about that without putting herself in the vulnerable position of admitting it. 🥲

G: No matter what, G would find it funny. Has no shame at all and would tell MC as a way to laugh about it. I think if G has feelings though they’d be a bit more curious and determined to figure out how MC feels about it and go from there. G is very easygoing.

Sebastian: avoid MC as much as he can out of embarrassment, blush like crazy whenever he’s around MC and probably eventually break and tell them what he dreamt of and then apologize profusely. Would want to make it up somehow and would think he personally slighted MC by dreaming about them even though he can’t really control it. Before crushing stage, Seb would probably just hate himself and his brain for imagining such a scenario.

Seven: Seven would overthink it. They’d ruminate and agonize over it and wonder what the hell their brain is trying to tell them. They’d start acting weird around MC, not wanting to ruin the friendship. Try to find a way to see how MC would feel about *them* not the dream. Fuck the dream at this point 😭 Seven would not care about that because they’re too busy worrying if that dream meant something to them and they’re just unaware. If this is after breaking up then they’d just hate themself for being weak in that they’re still dreaming of MC. Definitely push it down and not think about it.

[wooahaeproductions]

You Drive Me Crazy (But It Feels Alright)

Lee Jihoon (Woozi) x Female Reader

Genre: angst, fluff, smut, fake dating au, 90s au, ex-best friends au, and heavily based off the movie You Drive Me Crazy

Word Count: 15.2k (IM SO SORRY🙃 )

Warnings: language, mentions of terminal illness and death, bullying, drinking, drunken bad ideas, mentions of medicine, cheating, breakups, general college debauchery, making fun of furs in the fashion industry (used only to go with the 90s vibes), lots of feelings and oppressing them, jokes and conversations about sex, making out and kissing, and mentions of vomiting.

Smut Warnings: a little dry humping, semi public sex in a backyard treehouse? and protected sex (honestly the smut in this is pretty vanilla)

Rating: 18+

A/N: After forever, I’m excited to present this fic to you. I have never written anything this long before so once again I am sorry. Thank you to @beomcoups and @mingsolo for hosting the Now That’s 90’s! collab, as a 90s kid myself it was my pleasure to participate. Please go check out all the other amazing writers who joined as well!

Special thanks to Indi @playmetheclassics and Sammie @slightlymore for beta reading this monster for me. You guys are the best and I love you 💕 ~Bee

Network tags: @kbookshelf

With one last glance at your appearance in the mirror, you grabbed your bookbag from the chair in the corner of your room. You headed down the long curved staircase before opening the front door of the sorority house. 

You were almost going to be late, and to make matters worse, you came face-to-face with your enemy at the end of the driveway. Which wasn’t that unusual since he walked this way too, despite living further away, but you tried your best to avoid him anyway.

“Ew, what are you doing here?” Jihoon asks, walking past you at the driveway and lifting his lip in disgust.

“I live at the sorority, remember, asshole?” you spat, hating the fact that you had to walk in the same direction to get to campus. You two had been this way for a long time now, and it had become a habit to be prickly toward him. 

It hadn’t always been like that, though. In fact, you guys used to be best friends, completely inseparable. At least until his mom got sick when you were in junior high, and he started hanging out with some different people and getting into trouble. You then got in with the popular kids, and you and Jihoon have become enemies ever since. 

You two walked stiffly beside each other as you reached the edge of campus, and Jihoon’s friends appeared. Seokmin put him in a small headlock, and Seungkwan gave you a small smile while Wonwoo just shook his head. You actually knew his three best friends as well. You all used to hang out way back when. You smiled meekly back before arms wrapped around your shoulders, and your boyfriend, Johnny, had found you as well. 

“Hey, babe,” Johnny said, smacking a kiss near your ear. You resisted the urge to cringe. He was in the popular crowd too, a football player. While he wasn’t that bad and was easy on the eyes, he was boring, only caring about football and whatever party was next to attend. You missed having someone with a level of intelligence, someone you could debate things with like you used to do with Jihoon. It didn’t matter, though. You were enemies now, and nothing would change that. 

You made it through your first few classes, and you were having lunch in the courtyard with Johnny along with what you considered the entire popular crew, including your best friend, Jennie. You sat at a long table, eating a sandwich while everyone talked about the next football game and a party at Mingyu’s that was happening later. 

Across the courtyard, you spotted Jihoon in your line of vision, his girlfriend pushing him against the concrete wall, practically sucking his face off. You swallowed a bite of your sandwich, trying not to gag. Just as you turned away from the sight, Seungkwan was walking past. Before you could stop him, Johnny pretended to accidentally put his foot out in front of him. Seungkwan tripped over it, dropping the food he was carrying all over the ground and falling forward. The entire table erupted in laughter as Johnny retracted his foot like it had never been there. “Having trouble walking, Kwannie?” Johnny’s best friend, Mark heckled.

Seungkwan looked at Mark and Johnny with loathing. You got up, giving Johnny and Mark a glare. “What? We were only having some fun,” Johnny said innocently. You threw what was left of your food in the trash and walked over to Seungkwan. You stuck your hand out, letting him grab it and helped him up from the ground. 

“Thanks, Y/N. You know you didn’t have to,” he said.

“I know, Seungkwan, but it’s not like I hate you too,” you said softly.

“See you around,” he said, a sad smile on his face before he walked out of the courtyard.

Later that evening, you were getting ready for Mingyu’s party with Jennie because both she and Johnny insisted you had to appear. “So, our sorority ball is coming up…do you think Johnny is going to ask you soon?” Jennie asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure he’s going to. I mean, who else would I go with?” you said, brushing off her question. You were helping plan the entire thing, and he knew it was important, so there wasn’t any reason why he wouldn’t be asking you. 

She nodded, but her face said she was skeptical. “What about you? Has anyone asked you yet?” You turned the question around on her.

“No, but I’m sure Mingyu or Taeyong will ask. It’s not like I don’t have options,” she bragged, and you struggled to hide your contempt. While you were part of the popular crowd, Jennie had always been the most popular. Others were more drawn to her than you.

You escaped the rest of the conversation with Jennie when it was interrupted by a honking sound, indicating Johnny was there to pick the two of you up to go to the party. You both walked outside and as you approached his truck, you heard music blasting out of the open windows. Mark was in the front passenger seat while you and Jennie slipped in the back with Mark’s girlfriend, Miyeon.

Miyeon waved at you and you barely got your seatbelt on before the truck lurched forward, making its way down the road towards Mingyu’s house. “Who’s ready to dominate at pong tonight?” Mark bragged.

“Yeahhhhh,” Johnny enthused, reaching over to bump Mark’s fist with his. You rolled your eyes and looked over at Jennie. She just shrugged at you like it wasn’t as big of an annoyance as you were making it out to be.

The truck swung into the driveway of Mingyu’s house, and as Johnny cut the engine, it was replaced by the louder sounds of the house party. More music blasted from the back of the house where the pool was, and you could hear the sounds of splashing along with the hum of many people conversing at once. 

You followed behind Johnny as you weaved through the house, making your way to the kitchen for a drink. The large island was littered with many types of alcohol and random snacks. The signature punch bowl filled with some sort of pink liquid had also made its usual appearance, but you had made that mistake enough times and knew better enough to stay far away from it. 

You grabbed a red solo cup from the stack on the counter, making a mixed drink out of some random soda and liquor that sounded decent. It looked like Johnny had done the same and was pulling you by the hand to go out in the backyard where Mingyu and the rest of their buddies were. Jennie was already cozying up and dancing with some guy you didn’t recognize, likely from another university.

Meanwhile, Jihoon was on a date with his girlfriend, Shayla at a weird little bar across ton. Well, it was supposed to be a date, but all Jihoon had done was down beers while Shayla listened to some guy on the stage in front drone on about how real furs were being used in the fashion industry.

Jihoon hated how Shayla was looking at this guy, like he was the one single-handedly stopping the usage of real furs. Never mind the fact that she was on a date with Jihoon, her boyfriend. Jihoon scowled as he chugged beer after beer. 

He didn’t even notice how drunk he was until he got up and the room started spinning slightly. Stumbling over his chair, he looked over to find that Shayla had gone to the edge of the stage and was actively flirting with the fur guy. Jihoon needed to go to the bathroom and then he needed to get out of there. 

As he was washing his hands in the bathroom, he stared at his reflection in the mirror and realized he had started to sober up rather quickly, but he had ridden here with Shayla. Jihoon found the pay phone near the door of the bar. The opening and closing of the door created cold rushes of air, sobering him even more. He called one of his best friends, who also happened to be a designated driver for when the popular kids had parties. 

After feeding the pay phone the correct amount of coins and dialing the number, Wonwoo’s voice picked up after a few rings. “Jihoooonnnn, what’s up?” Wonwoo asked.

“Can you come get me from that stupid bar Shayla likes? I drank, and Shayla drove here,” Jihoon explained. 

“And you aren’t coming back with her?” Wonwoo questioned. Jihoon looked back toward the table he had been at with Shayla, only to find her making out with the fur dude.

“No, we broke up,” he said, bitterly. 

Wonwoo sighed. “Alright, I’ll come get you before we head to pick someone up at Mingyu’s party,” he said before hanging up. 

Jihoon hung up the line on his end and made a beeline back to where Shayla was. He tapped on her shoulder, breaking her from the make-out session, and immediately her face turned into one of someone who had been caught.

“We’re done, Shayla,” Jihoon said, rather dryly. He turned on his heel, not waiting for a reaction from her and walked out of the bar to wait for Wonwoo outside in the parking lot. 

When Jihoon was busy drowning in beers at the bar, you were also having an unfortunate turn of events. The party started out fine, you were having a good time dancing with Johnny and it progressed into being his partner for beer pong against Mark and Miyeon. 

Unfortunately, you and Johnny were losing. It started out okay, Johnny was being a bit of a gentleman and was drinking for you, but that was leaving him pretty smashed. It was Mark’s turn and he had gotten the ball in another cup, making Johnny drink yet another cup of beer. 

Johnny stumbled backward, spilling most of the contents of his cup on a girl who was walking behind him. It was like a scene from a movie, you watched as Johnny apologized to her and their eyes met each other’s. Anyone around could have seen the immediate connection. 

You originally tried to brush it off but with Johnny being as drunk as he was, it was apparent that something was bound to happen. Later, when you had come inside to use the bathroom, you would find Johnny and that girl sucking face right next to the bathroom door.

A screamed breakup and way too many drinks later, Jennie had called a designated driver to take you home. You sat on Mingyu’s front porch, sulking and watching the world spin when Wonwoo’s car pulled up. 

“Hey there, Y/N,” Wonwoo said, getting out of the driver's seat and approaching you on the porch. You gave him a nonchalant peace sign before noticing he had another passenger in the car. 

“Oh, great. That’s just the thing to top off my night, being stuck in a car with Jihoon while I’m drunk,” you said sarcastically, letting Wonwoo lead you down the steps and toward the car.

“I know, Y/N, but he called me too, and he is my friend as well. Try to bear with it, and you’ll be home soon enough,” Wonwoo said, knowing full well the relationship, or rather hate-ship, between you and Jihoon.

You rolled your eyes but slid into the seat next to Jihoon as Wonwoo shut the door after you. “Seriously, Wonwoo? This is who you needed to pick up from Mingyu’s party?” Jihoon’s annoyance was evident. Already tired from your rant, Wonwoo just gave him a hard stare in the rearview mirror. 

Leaving the party, the car was silent until Wonwoo brought up the reason for picking you up. “Y/N, you aren’t one to get that drunk at these parties. Jennie may have mentioned something happened..” 

You pulled your sweater around you and grumbled. “Johnny got too drunk, and after some weird drama connection shit, I found him and a girl from another university making out. He claims they ‘fell in love’,” you explained, using air quotes at the end. 

“So you broke up?” Jihoon’s question surprised you, but you were too tired and drunk to actively be rude to him

“Yeah, we broke up,” you confirmed.

“Seems to be the theme tonight,” Wonwoo mused from the front seat.

Confused, you looked over at Jihoon who was picking at his hands and looking at something particularly enthralling on the floor of the automobile. So, he and Shayla must have broken up as well. You felt that was interesting since they seemed attached at the hip, attached at the mouth too. Jihoon looked out the window now, and you saw a hurt in his eyes that he so seldom showed, but it was a familiar vulnerability that you remember from when you were kids. 

“We’re here, Y/N,” Wonwoo announced, and you realized he had pulled up in front of your sorority house. You didn’t know if it was the alcohol or being in an enclosed space with Jihoon that messed with your perception of time, but you were home quicker than you expected.

“Oh. Um, thanks, Wonwoo,” you mumbled, pushing the passenger door of the car open.

“Are you good? Can you get to the door okay?” Wonwoo asked.

“Yeah,” you responded, swinging your heavy-feeling feet out of the car before shutting the door a little harder than you meant to.

Jihoon watched as you stumbled down the walkway and nearly smacked yourself in the knee when you opened the front door of the sorority, a chuckle escaping him. “Was that a laugh I heard?” Wonwoo asked, turning around in his seat to scrutinize Jihoon’s expression.

“No…” Jihoon mumbled and cleared his throat. Wonwoo just shook his head, turned back to the front and pulled away from the sorority house to drop off his friend. 

“So, are you really that broken up about Shayla?” Wonwoo inquired, filling the five-minute drive with conversation.

“Honestly? Not really. I’m more upset about the way we broke up rather than the actual break up,” Jihoon explained, his hand running at his bangs in annoyance.

“Seriously. Out of everyone she could have kissed, it was some dumb activist guy at the bar. Now that you guys are over, I can say this, but Seok, Seungkwan, and I didn’t really think she fit with you. You deserve so much better,” Wonwoo ranted on Jihoon’s behalf.

The car had pulled up in Jihoon’s driveway while they were talking, and Jihoon slapped a hand on Wonwoo’s shoulder as he got up from the backseat. “Thanks, Woo. I know you guys didn’t care for her much, so now it’s ancient history,” Jihoon said, leaving Wonwoo alone in the car and making his way up his front porch steps.

He had barely gotten into the house and gone up the stairs to his room to flop onto his bed when the phone rang. “No, Seokmin. For the final time, we are not adding dancing suns to the music video edit,” Jihoon said into the phone automatically, not even bothering to say a greeting first.

“Uh, what?” you asked, confused.

Hearing your voice on the other line caused Jihoon to sit upright immediately. “Y/N? How did you get this number?” he questioned, surprised. 

“I remembered it..” you said, softly. As much as you hated Jihoon, your memories of your childhood remained, and that included his phone number. 

“Oh. So..why are you calling?” he asked, falling back onto his bed.

“I had an idea. What if...we dated each other?” You stated your idea, twirling the phone cord around your finger.

“What if we what? Y/N, you’re drunk,” Jihoon exclaimed.

“I'm not anymore, just hear me out. Not really dating but just pretending so that we could get what we wanted. I’d get to go to the sorority dance that I worked hard to plan and maintain my status while making Johnny jealous, and you’d get to show Shayla that she made a big mistake,” you blurted out your crazy idea.

“I don't know where you got this insane idea, but you should drink some water and take an ibuprofen for the nasty headache you’ll have in the morning,” he said, sighing.

“I’m serious, just think about it okay? Goodnight, Ji,” you said, his old nickname rolling off your tongue easily. 

Jihoon sighed again, “Good night, Y/N,” and he hung up the phone before falling asleep.

Your sleep was invaded by the sunlight shining in through your window, and as you opened your eyes, the splitting headache that resulted from last night's events made itself known. You sat up in bed slowly, pressing the palm of your hand against your eyes as if that would help when you remembered your phone call last night with Jihoon. He told you to drink water and take an ibuprofen.

You got up sluggishly and made your way to the bathroom, grabbing the cup that you left on the counter for when you got thirsty in the middle of the night. You filled it with water from the sink and found the ibuprofen bottle that was kept in the cabinet, spilling two pills into your palm. You popped them in your mouth and knocked them back, taking a drink of the water to swallow them. 

As you took a second drink of water for good measure, the rest of your conversation with Jihoon passed through your memories, and you spit water all over the mirror in front of you. You knew that you had been thinking how pretending to date each other would be an option, but you didn’t think you would actually ask him to do it. Apparently, drunken Y/N thought otherwise and had straight up called him and asked him to do it.

You smacked yourself in the forehead, making your head feel worse. “Well, it’s been said. And he didn’t agree to it yet, so let’s see what happens,” you murmured to yourself, resigned to the fact that it had indeed been said and maybe he wouldn’t go for it. No sense in being embarrassed about something you barely remember saying.

Which is why you didn’t expect to have Jihoon standing in front of you in the campus cafe on Monday morning saying, “I’ll do it,” causing you to spit your drink out for the second time in three days.

“You’ll what?” you asked, incredulous, as you wiped the coffee you sprayed all over the table in front of you. 

Jihoon sighed, not wanting to repeat himself. “I said, I’ll do it. Let’s fake date,” he repeated anyway, slowly to make his words heard. You blinked and just stared at him, absorbing what he just said. He stared back, his eyes boring into yours, and you saw no sign of his usual pettiness or jokes.

“Okay,” you finally breathed out, “but we should have some rules.”

“Agreed,” he said, sitting down next to you now.

“Okay….” you said, mulling over what those rules would actually be. “Alright, you’ll need a makeover. No one would believe we are together looking like…this,” you continued, gesturing at his overall self.

“Like what, Y/N?” Jihoon asked, even though he knew full well what you meant.

“We need to make it seem like you are someone I’d go for,” you said, trying to make your case.

“Fine, but I will not like it,” he replied with a glare, and you let out a little triumphant smile. “So then the other rule is that we have an easy out clause,” he said, offering a rule of his own.

“An easy out clause?” you questioned. 

“Yeah. So we can end the fake relationship at any time for any reason, and there won’t be any hard feelings. Other than the ones we already have for each other, of course,” Jihoon continued.

“Alright, an easy out clause,” you agreed. You let the awkward silence stew between the two of you for a bit before you spoke once more. “We both have classes until 4 pm today and then I have some work for the ball to do…are you free tomorrow night?”

“I think so, but why?” he asked, skeptically.

“So we can take care of the first rule, your makeover,” you replied.

Jihoon grimaced. “Okay, meet me in front of my house at 6 pm tomorrow,” he said, getting up and stuffing his hands in his pockets before leaving for his class. You attempted to finish what was left of your coffee and head off to your next class as well.

The next day at 6 pm, like promised, you were standing in front of a very familiar house from your childhood-Jihoon’s house. While you joined a sorority and lived on campus, Jihoon still lived here with his dad. Not only was it close to the university, but you figured some part of him didn’t want to leave his dad alone. 

You took a deep breath and walked up the front steps, ringing the doorbell. The door swung open, revealing Jihoon’s dad. “Well hello, Y/N. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you,” he said, opening the door further to let you step inside. 

“Hi Mr. Lee,” you said, standing in the foyer rather awkwardly. Honestly, the last time you stepped foot in this house was the day of Mrs. Lee’s funeral. It was also the last time you and Jihoon acted like friends.

“Ji should be down in a minute,” Mr Lee said, leaving you and going back into the kitchen. You looked down at your feet, rocking back and forth on your heels until you heard the creaking of the stairs. Jihoon looked like his usual self, wearing jeans and a band tee. You couldn’t help but smile. However, if the two of you dating were to seem real then he needed to fit in with the popular crowd. And that started with a look that aligned with that.

Jihoon cleared his throat, suddenly standing in front of you, and you realized you must have spaced out. “Ready?” he asked.

“Yeah, we should get going,” you said. He grabbed his car keys from the small table near the door before ushering you back through the front door and closing it behind him. He also opened the passenger door of the car for you, making you quirk an eyebrow at his actions. His only response was a shrug of the shoulders. 

After you were both settled in the car he asked, “So where to?”

“The mall,” you responded with an excited smile.

Jihoon groaned, “Are you trying to kill my reputation as a geek?” You blinked, surprised at his joking tone before letting out a giggle.

“Precisely,” you answered, laughing once more. Jihoon started the car, driving toward the demise of his geekdom, or at least the image of it.

After about fifteen minutes had passed, he pulled into the parking lot of the city mall, also known as the place where all the popular kids shopped and hung out. 

You walked into the large, store-filled building with Jihoon trailing behind you. Pausing at the entrance, you thought about what you needed to do first. “New outfits,” you pondered out loud. You looked over at Jihoon who was mashing his lips together and you grabbed the edge of his shirt, pulling him with you to the first clothing store.

You deposited him in the middle of the store, near the dressing rooms. Jihoon stood there almost in awe as you swirled around the store, picking up different combinations of pants and shirts to create outfits for him to try on. He was already exhausted, and he hadn’t even tried anything on yet.

After what felt like forever, you returned, holding up multiple outfits for him. He sighed, something he was doing a lot when he was with you. “The sooner you try them on, the sooner we can be done,” you said, trying to sound motivating. Lucky for you, he knew you were right and took the hangers of clothes from you. He trudged into the dressing room and shut the door behind him.

You made him come out after every outfit, much to his annoyance. You rather enjoyed it, clapping and smiling for most of the outfits. You were proud of yourself for picking things out that made him look the perfect mix of sophisticated and casual. You gathered all the outfits that worked and brought them up to the checkout counter, once again with Jihoon trailing behind you. 

Coming to stand next to you, Jihoon went to take his wallet out of his pocket, but you grabbed his wrist to stop him. “Don’t worry about it. It was my idea for the makeover,” you said, handing money to the cashier as she placed his new clothes in a bag. She handed the bag to you.

“Are you sure?” Jihoon asked.

“I’m sure,” you confirmed, handing the bag of clothes over to him. As you pulled your hand away, your stomach let out a few grumbles. 

He let out an amused snort and said, “This place has a food court, right?” You nodded, and your stomach grumbled some more. “Let’s get some food then.” 

You led the way toward the center of the mall, where all the food smells were coming from and a few minutes later, the two of you sat across from each other at a table with pieces of pizza in front of you. Another memory with Jihoon crossed your mind as you chewed a piece of the cheesy slice. “You remember the time Seungkwan’s mom specially bought that only cheese pizza for him at your birthday party and when he fell asleep early, we ate it all?” you asked, a smirk gracing your face as you remembered your childhood antics.

“He was so mad. He didn’t talk to us for like a week and then hid his pizza the next time there was a party,” Jihoon laughed. It grew silent again after that, not exactly an awkward silence but not a comfortable one either. You were nearly done with your pizza when Jihoon asked another question. “This makeover doesn’t include other things, like cutting my hair or something?” 

You looked up at him. You looked at his slightly shaggy black hair and his bangs that lightly brushed over his forehead. You didn’t know what possessed you, but you reached forward and grazed you fingered through the ends of his hair. Your eyes locked and instead of the growling it had done earlier, your stomach did flip flops. You panicked slightly and abruptly pulled your hand away.  “No, I don’t think we need to change anything else..” you said, looking down at the table.

Before things could get weirder, you two finished eating and left the mall with your mission accomplished. 

The car was quiet as it sat in the driveway of your sorority and Jihoon wondered why you hadn’t taken your seatbelt off to get out of the car yet. You were struggling, debating whether you wanted to tell him something that you had thought about telling him for ages. What better time than to say it now, a day when you spent the most time with him than you had in years? 

“Listen, Jihoon…” you started in a bit of a solemn tone. He turned to look at you. “When your mom got sick, I just didn’t know what to do or how to feel. Then at her funeral, I wasn’t sure how to comfort you or even if I could. And then you started getting in trouble at school and hanging out with other people. I’m just…I’m sorry.” 

Jihoon gave a wry smile after listening to your whole blurted speech. “It’s okay, I get it,” he said. “I didn’t know what to do or how to feel either, and then eventually we became…enemies sorta?” 

You nodded. “How about we be, uh, frenemies now, I guess?”

He snorted at that. “Frenemies,” he agreed.

Eventually, you took off your seatbelt and opened the car door. Before you fully shut it, you peeked your head in to remind Jihoon of your next plans. “Remember, we should be seen together at the football game tomorrow and then at the diner with my friends after.” 

He cringed but said, “Okay, see you tomorrow then,” and you shut the car door before watching him pull out of the driveway.

A few hours before the football game you mentioned to Jihoon that you were in the journalism room with Jennie, Miyeon, and a few other girls who were part of the ball planning committee. You were trying to finalize the theme so that you could get started on getting the decorations. The ball was held at the same place every year, so you didn’t have to worry about that, at least. Everyone was set on their own idea for the theme, and no one could come to a decision, making you massage your temples in frustration. 

You were really regretting not grabbing that coffee before this meeting when the very thing you wanted appeared in front of you. A iced coffee was sat in front of you and you looked up to find Jihoon, looking nonchalant with his hands in his pockets like always. “Thanks. How did you know I was here?” you asked, surprised.

He shrugged. “I was here working in the editing room on something with Seungkwan and Wonwoo and saw you were still here. I thought you could probably use the caffeine.” You squinted at him before slowly taking a drink of the coffee, wondering if he had some sort of other motive. Then he leaned forward and whispered in your ear, “I’m just trying to make it look like we didn’t, you know, suddenly go from hating each other to dating. So, just go with it.”

Of course, there it was. He couldn’t have really just thought to bring it to you for no reason at all other than just because. You were supposed to be fake dating starting today, so he needed to make it look true. 

Arguing between Jennie and Miyeon brought you back to reality, and you sighed. “Guys!” you snapped, making them both stop midargument. “Look, it’s almost time for the game and we should be there. Let’s try and come to an agreement by next week. If that’s not possible, then I’ll be making the final decision, by myself,” you said. Miyeon looked surprised at your unusual forcefulness while Jennie just looked, well annoyed. 

You grabbed what was left of the coffee Jihoon brought you and him by the arm. “We should get over to the stadium,” you said and left the room with the others, wondering what was up with you, or more importantly you and him. 

“Okay, chill,” Jihoon said, pulling his arm back from you once you were in the hall.

“Sorry,” you said, letting him pull his arm back. You looked up at him, finally noticing that he was also wearing one of the outfits you had picked out the day before. You smiled at him.

“What?” he asked, wondering why the heck you were smiling at him like a weirdo in the middle of the hallway.

“I didn’t think you would be wearing the clothes yet,” you responded.

“I thought that was the deal? Now come on, let’s watch some stupid game and start this dating thing in front of your friends.” Jihoon grabbed your hand, leading you down the hall and out the door to head to the football stadium. Why was your heart feeling funny?

An hour later, Jihoon was sitting next to you in the bleachers complaining in your ear about how “all a football game is, is an excuse for dudes to touch other dudes' butts.” You rolled your eyes but couldn’t help but laugh. 

“Go, Fight, Win!” A chant had started in the stadium and was gaining more people with it. After about the third round of the chant, you joined, smirking at Jihoon. He looked at you chanting with your other friends that sat nearby and shook his head. You nudged him, smiling like a maniac. 

Rolling his eyes, he finally joined with a monotone, “Go, Fight, Win!” and a half-hazard fist pump in the air. Then something happened. Watching the game, feeling the excitement of the crowd, and seeing you sitting next to him, enjoying yourself; he thought maybe this wasn’t so bad, fun even. Next thing he knew, as the chant ended he was taking turns shouting insults at the refs with Mark and high-fiving him. 

You looked at him. It was peculiar. All that fuss and now he was fitting in like he had been a part of the group from the beginning. You couldn’t help but think that it could have been this way all along, as if you and Jihoon never had been enemies. 

After the game, you and Jihoon made an official new couple appearance at the diner your friends often frequented after games. You had barely sat down in the group booth with your food when Jennie pounced. “So after seeing you two together twice today, I need to ask. Are you two like a thing now?” she asked, pointing between the two of you. You nodded. Jennie gave a look of distaste. “How on earth did that happen?” 

“So, remember the night at Mingyu’s party when Johnny and I broke up and I got drunk, you called me a designated driver? Well, Jihoon had also called Wonwoo and was in the car too. It just sort of happened?” you explained. None of that was technically wrong at all, that was what happened. You just left out the part about the drunken phone call later and you know, the fact that it was fake. 

Jennie looked over at Jihoon, who had his mouth full of fries. “Yeah, pretty much,” Jihoon confirmed with his mouth full and Jennie gave a slightly disgusted look. Seeming satisfied with that answer, Jennie left it alone and conversation flowed around the table. Mark, Mingyu, and Jihoon were debating things about a video game and you found yourself smiling once again at the fact that they seemed to be getting along well.

Yet, your smile fell when you looked at the other side of the table to see Johnny and his new girlfriend making out. You didn’t know why, but tears were gathering at the corners of your eyes. “I’ll be right back, bathroom,” you mumbled. Jihoon heard the tone in your voice and the sheen in your eyes and was pulled from his video game conversation. He immediately saw what likely upset you, and decided he needed to do something about it when you came back.

In the bathroom, you splashed water on your face and hoped that would help regain your composure. You took a few deep breaths and made sure there was no trace of your sudden tear-up before heading back out to the table. As you sat back down next to Jihoon, he asked “Everything okay, babe?” He wrapped an arm over your shoulders pulling you close to him and placed a peck on your forehead. 

Babe? Your brain malfunctioned and you were frozen at Jihoon’s side. “Y/N….” he hissed in your ear and you broke from your stupor. “Oh, sorry. Yes, I’m good,” you answered. He must be doing this for show, to make it really look like you were dating and to make Johnny jealous, right? It had to be that, of course.

“So, you’re friends with DD Wonwoo, right?” Mark was asking Jihoon now.

“Yeah, we are friends. And it’s Wonwoo, not DD Wonwoo. Just Wonwoo,” he answered and you could hear irritation starting in his voice.

“Cool, you think he’d be down to be the designated driver for all our parties? We’ll pay.” Jihoon’s body tensed at the question.

“Okayyyyy,” you said the minute Mark finished his sentence, getting up and pulling Jihoon out of the booth with you. “It’s getting late and I’m tired. We’ll see you guys later,” you rushed out before dragging Jihoon out of the diner with you and leaving what was left of your food on the table.

“What the hell was that? Wonwoo has probably saved the lives of half those people in there and what? They just want to continue getting drunk off their rockers and think throwing money at him is compensation for that?” Jihoon was fuming. He was pacing back and forth in the parking lot, tugging his hand through his hair. 

“Jihoon…” you started. 

“Who do they think they are? Do they have no integrity? Did they trade their brains for being popular?” He continued to rant.

“Jihoon!” you said again, sharper this time.

“What?!” he shouted and you flinched slightly.

You didn’t know why, but you felt the urge to comfort him and calm him down. And to apologize even. You came up next to him, brushing his hand with yours, and said, “I’m sorry.” Jihoon’s breathing calmed down and his eyes met yours. “Endure it for me, please? I promise you and Wonwoo can do something mean to him the next time he’s drunk, okay?” you said. 

Jihoon cracked a smile at that. “Fine…” he responded and stalked over to the car so he could get the two of you back home.

You and Jihoon had made appearances at a few other things during the week, but as Friday approached there was actually one you were looking forward to the most. It was starting to get warmer, which meant some days were spent soaking up the sun at the river.

The ball’s committee had also taken your previous threat about choosing the theme on your own seriously and had finally come to a consensus. The theme was Moments in Time and you were looking forward to downtime with your friends before having to plan more for the ball. Maybe you were looking forward to downtime with Jihoon too. 

This time you were all riding with Mingyu in his jeep, floats and picnic supplies strapped to the utility bar on top of the vehicle. He had come to pick you up with everyone else in the car but Jihoon and he would be picked up last. Which meant that when Mingyu honked at Jihoon’s house, the only seat left in the car was in the backseat, squished in the middle next to you.

Squeezing in next to you, you became immediately aware of his bare legs pressing against your own. He was in the swim trunks you had picked out for him and a t-shirt, already prepared for the day's activities. “Ouch,” you said as he accidentally pinched your arm between him and the seat. 

“I’m sorry, is this better?” Jihoon asked, moving his arm over your shoulders so that you could settle next to him. 

You swallowed down the butterflies that were now becoming a common occurrence when you were with him. You were still doing everything you could to ignore them. It was just the proximity and situation making you feel that way. You didn’t actually like him. At least, that’s what you kept telling yourself. 

You didn’t dare speak words out loud, afraid it would come out garbled or as a squeak. You just nodded in response, the warming of your cheeks still threatening to give you away. Throughout the entire drive to the river, you were painfully aware of how much his body was touching yours.

When Mingyu pulled into the parking lot of the River Park, you nearly flung yourself out of the car causing both Jihoon and Jennie to look at you like you were insane. As the others got out of the car, you moved your attention to retrieving your things from the back. You grabbed your bag, which held a swim towel, sunscreen, and a few snacks.

More bags were grabbed, leaving the trunk area empty while Mark and Mingyu worked on getting the other things down from the rack on the roof. You waited until everything had been taken before walking down the path that led to the larger bank of the river. The area was a little rocky but many of the rocks were big enough to lay blankets and towels on. 

You spotted one big enough for multiple people to spread out on and it was also close enough to the river itself, which would make it easy to get in and out of the water. It was decided the girls would take the spot you found and the boys would hang out on the next one over. You spread your towel out, setting your bag near the front and slipping your sandals off on the other end to weigh it down before settling down on it in a cross-legged position.

Jennie and Miyeon put their things out next to you, while Jihoon was helping Mark and Mingyu set their chairs out on the other rock. You leaned backward on your hands, enjoying the sun on your face while chatting about things every once in a while with Jennie and Miyeon. You had tuned them out a little when Miyeon started talking about Mark’s sexual habits, comparing them with things Jennie’s many partners had done. Not only did you not want to know those things about Mark, but you didn’t really have anything to contribute since you and Jihoon obviously weren't on that level.

“Y/N? What about you and Jihoon?” Miyeon asked, bringing your attention back to the conversation. 

“Well….it’s a secret,” you answered, trying to be as elusive as possible so you didn’t have to try and come up with more lies than needed.

“Oh, come on, Y/N,” Jennie goaded. “You cleaned Jihoon up so nicely, I'm sure you’ve had a piece of that.”

You looked at your best friend in annoyance. “Jihoon is a private person, I’d rather not discuss our sex life,” you responded. Miyeon seemed to understand but the look on Jennie’s face was like she took your response as a challenge.

The boys were having a similar conversation over at their rock, with Mingyu bragging about his latest endeavors. Jihoon didn’t really understand the need to boast about the subject as if it were a competition. “But what about Y/N, though?” Mingyu asked, looking over at Jihoon.

“What about her?” Jihoon questioned.

“She’s hot. You’d be stupid not to get a little ‘something, something’ while dating her,” Mingyu continued.

Jihoon narrowed his eyes, “Even if I have, Y/N has feelings too and I’m not going to divulge her sex life without her permission.” 

“Okay, dude. I was just trying to make conversation,” Mingyu surrendered, putting his hands up as a white flag. 

Mark took that as a sign for him and Mingyu to grab some floaties and go hang out in the river. Jihoon had brought his walkman and slipped on the headphones, going into his own little music world. Miyeon and Jennie had grown quiet now and were tanning behind you.

After scooting forward on your towel, you stuck your feet in the cool river water and let yourself relax a bit. You looked over to find Mark and Mingyu having a war on the floaties, both trying to push the other off and into the water. You shook your head at their antics and moved your feet back and forth in the water, creating a calming effect for yourself.

You weren’t sure how long you were all hanging out there but eventually Mingyu mentioned that you should all get home and you started packing things up. You looked over to find Jihoon gone from his previous spot.

Your eyes wandered around the river bank area and you finally spotted him, playing with two younger kids. “Oh noooo, you got me,” you heard him exclaim in mock upset. The two kids were squirting him with water from the super soakers they each had, both giggling the more exaggerated Jihoon sounded. 

He moved, chasing them around and getting revenge with his own super soaker. You couldn’t help but smile at the pure joy you saw on his face as he played with them. He looked so at ease with them. You thought that maybe you really were starting to fall for him, but if you were then you couldn’t keep up this fake dating ruse. You promptly shook the thoughts from your head. 

“Come on Captain Kangaroo, our ride is leaving,” you shouted across the bank. He looked up at your voice and shot you a devastatingly adorable smile that showed off his dimples. He gave the water gun back to the kids and he ruffled their hair, telling them he had fun. 

He jogged to where you were, saying “Okay, let’s get going.” He picked up his things from the rock he and the boys were on earlier and the two of you headed back up the path to Mingyu’s jeep. All the items you had brought had been put back in the trunk and everyone was just waiting for you and Jihoon so you could head back home. You two were squished against each other again, in a similar position as on the way there. However, you weren’t paying attention to that part as much now that the scene of him playing with the kids earlier kept replaying in your head. Before you knew it, you all had been dropped off at your respective residences and it was time to settle down for the evening. 

Jihoon had just walked in the door when his dad appeared holding the house phone. “Ah, good timing. Jihoon just came in, Seungkwan. Here,” he said, holding the phone out for Jihoon to take. 

“Hey, Kwan. What’s up?” Jihoon said into the phone, bringing it up the stairs to his room with him. 

“The Pixies are playing at the bar tomorrow night. Come with Seokmin, Wonwoo, and I,” Seungkwan said.

“I don’t know. I think one of Y/N’s friends is having a party that we are supposed to go to.”

Seungkwan sighed heavily. “I wasn’t going to bring this up, but you’ve changed. You used to hang out with us, you know, your best friends, all the time and now you're always with Y/N and her group of populars. Are we not good enough for you anymore, Jihoon?” 

“Jesus, Seungkwan. No, I haven’t changed. I don’t like hanging out with them, I’m just there to make Y/N happy and somewhat get along with them.” Jihoon explained, annoyance tingeing his voice. 

“Whatever you say,” Seungkwan gave a flippant response.

“Tell you what, I’ll talk to Y/N and see if we can come with you guys to the concert instead. Okay?” Jihoon compromised.

“Fine, let me know later,” Seungkwan conceded.

“Okay, bye.” Jihoon hung up the phone and rubbed his hands over his face. He didn’t think he was changing at all. He wasn’t fitting in with that crowd, was he? He was only pretending so that you two could fake date, right? 

Jihoon picked the cordless phone back up from the bed where he flung it after saying goodbye to Seungwan and dialed your number.

“Hello?” your voice sounded from the other end.

“Hey,” Jihoon said.

“Jihoon? You usually don’t call me first,” you mentioned.

“I know, but I wanted to ask you something.”

“Okay…” you responded, a little confused.

“I know we are supposed to go to another party tomorrow but do you think we could do something with my friends instead? I feel like we only do things with your friends,” he complained.

You let out a rush of air. “Okay,” you agreed.

“Okay?” Jihoon asked, surprised you agreed that easily.

“Yeah, you’re right. And it seems weird for a couple to hang out with only one group of friends. Plus, they used to be my friends too…” you trailed off.

“Alright, then there’s a band we follow playing at a bar we go to. Seungkwan invited us and both Wonwoo and Seokmin will be there too. I can come get you at 5 pm tomorrow,” he told you.

“Sounds good. Hey, today was kind of nice wasn’t it?” you asked, a smile on your face as you remembered.

“Yeah, it was kind of nice,” Jihoon admitted and you both hung up the phone.

Even though it was a Saturday afternoon, Jihoon found himself on campus in the broadcasting room. Seungkwan and Wonwoo were there earlier too but Jihoon wanted to finish editing the music video they had been working on. They had gone to get lunch and would be back later. 

It wasn’t that he was in a real hurry to finish it exactly, but he tended to immerse himself in his projects when he felt unsettled about something. He wasn’t even sure what he was specifically feeling weird about. Was it the fact that he really seemed to be getting along with your friends? Or was it that his heart seemed to speed up every time he caught your eyes yesterday?

All that could be heard in the room was the clicking of the mouse as he edited, thoughts swirling in his head. He was so distracted that he didn’t even realize that Wonwoo and Seungkwan had come back and that it was three hours later. He was brought back to reality as Seungkwan snapped his fingers in front of his face, literally snapping him out of whatever trance he was in. “Hellooooo, Jihoon,” Seungwan said, trying to get his attention. 

“Oh, sorry, Kwan,” Jihoon responded and turned around in the computer chair he was sitting in. 

“We should probably leave so we can all get ready for the concert tonight with Seok,” Wonwoo mentioned.

“Did you ask your girlfriend? Are you coming?” Seungkwan asked with a hint of bitterness.

“Actually, yeah. Y/N was kind of excited about it, so we’ll be there,” Jihoon said, ignoring Seungkwan’s tone.

Rather than getting into another heated discussion about whether Jihoon was acting like himself or not, Seungkwan and Wonwoo left and so did Jihoon after finishing the last bit of video editing. He went back home to get ready in another outfit you had chosen that day at the mall before going to pick you up. A few hours later, he was waiting in the car outside your dorm like he had multiple times before.

Jihoon drummed his fingers on the steering wheel along with the beat of the song that was on the radio as he waited for you. He was pretty into it and didn’t see when you had come out of the house. You grinned as you slowly approached the car. Jihoon had been into music when you were younger and it was nice to know he truly hadn’t changed much despite everything that happened. “Okay drummer boy, I’m here. We should leave,” you said, making him jump slightly at your voice before he unlocked the passenger side for you to get in.

“So what band are we going to see?” you asked when Jihoon had pulled out onto the road that would take you to the bar.

“The Pixies. Wonwoo found them one time when he was DD’ing and went to pick Seokmin up at the bar one time. They showed Seungkwan and me the next time they played and we liked them too, so we try to catch them every time they play there.” Jihoon explained and you could tell how much he liked the band.

“Hmm, okay. Well I’m excited to hang out with you guys, to see Seungkwan, and to get to know Wonwoo and Seokmin even more,” you said and you really were. You wanted to catch a glimpse of what Jihoon had been like for the period of time you didn’t know him. He hummed in acknowledgment. It was quiet for a few minutes before you spoke again. “Hey, do I..look okay? I’ve actually never been to this kind of thing before..” you asked, feeling a little nervous.

Jihoon looked a little surprised, but then again seeing a girl punk rock band at a hole-in-the-wall bar was not exactly your scene. Eventually, he scanned your outfit, taking in the dark jeans and nice shirt you were wearing. “Yeah, you look nice,” he responded. He was probably just being polite but you noticed he was also wearing something similar, making you wonder why you spent so much time trying to find the right outfit in the first place. 

He pulled into the parking lot of the bar and parked next to a car that was familiar to you at this point, Wonwoo’s. You followed behind him as he walked into the bar and scanned the area for his friends. “Jihoon! Y/N!” you heard someone shout over the band that was already playing. You walked with Jihoon to where Seungkwan had shouted from, in the middle of a crowd standing somewhat near the stage. It got louder the closer you got to where Seungkwan, Seokmin, and Wonwoo were.

“Hey, boys!” you greeted them over the music. 

“Hey, Y/N,” Seungkwan said when you got closer. Wonwoo gave a small wave and Seokmin flashed a smile.

“I’m going to grab some drinks from the bar. Want anything?” Jihoon asked you all.

“Martini for me, please,” Seungkwan said.

“Suprise me,” came Seokmin’s response.

“I’m driving, of course, so just club soda?” Wonwoo asked.

Jihoon looked over at you, waiting for your order. “Rum and coke?” you asked. Jihoon did not expect that from you. He figured you’d want something more fancy like Seungkwan wanted.

“Okay, be back soon then,” Jihoon said and he disappeared into the crowd.

You turned your attention to the stage in front of you that had since grown quiet, guessing that the band that was playing when you walked in was the opener for who you were really here to see. You were making small talk with the three boys while waiting for the main event and for Jihoon to come back. As you had noticed before, Wonwoo was quiet but funny and had quite a knack for video editing. Seokmin was bright, adding a lightness to their group. You talked with Seungkwan about your junior high days when you, Jihoon, and he made up a trio. You remembered those days fondly and definitely noticed how wary Seungkwan was when talking about that part of your shared past.

Before you could address that, the crowd started cheering and colored lights were starting to shine on the stage as a group of girls came on stage with their instruments. They looked amazing. The girl in front had her hair teased in a high pony and wore silver pants that matched the glittering tank top of the girl drummer behind her. She picked up a guitar and started playing a riff that must have been from one of their well-known songs, judging by the howling in the crowd. As the song continued to play, you realized you liked it. The punk aspect was not something you would not have normally picked, but it made you feel something.

Jihoon was still waiting for your drinks over at the bar and was turned around to watch the stage. His eyes were automatically drawn to where you were, finding you with your eyes glued to the stage and complete joy written on your face. He watched as you got closer to the stage, starting to jump up and down with the music. He honestly couldn’t take his eyes off of you. “Here you go,” the bartender said from behind him, setting the drinks on the bar top. Jihoon grabbed them all, balancing them in his hands and set off back into the crowd with an amused smile on his lips.

He wove back through all the people, stopping to give his friends their drinks before moving forward in the crowd to where you were standing. The song was finishing as he reached you and you screamed and clapped for the band, making Jihoon laugh at how much you were actually enjoying this. He tapped you on the shoulder and you turned, the look on your face probably the happiest he had seen recently.

“Your drink,” Jihoon said, passing the glass to you.

“Thank you,” you said, taking it from him and giving it a light sip before turning your attention to the next song. You began bouncing up and down to the beat of the new song, as much as you could without spilling your drink. Jihoon thought you were cute like this. 

He stood there enjoying the music with you, his own drink in hand until you heard Wonwoo let out an “Ah, shit,” somewhere behind you. 

“What’s wrong?” Jihoon questioned. 

“She’s here,” Wonwoo responded.

“Who?” you asked, confused. 

You followed Jihoon’s line of sight before you spotted who and he spoke her name. “Shayla.” She had a guy hanging off her, which you could only assume was the one she cheated on Jihoon with. You watched as they acted all lovey-dovey, making Jihoon look positively miserable. Her eyes crossed paths with Jihoon and you could only think of one thing to do, you kissed him. 

You made out with him to be exact, tongue and all. You couldn’t bear how hurt he looked, couldn’t stand the fact that Shayla was looking at him like she still cared. Jihoon didn’t know how he should respond other than to let you continue kissing him. You kept sneaking peeks at Shayla out of the corner of your eye as you kept making out with him. Eventually, Shayla looked away with a bit of a sneer and pulled her boy toy to another area of the bar. 

You pulled away from Jihoon and said, “Sorry, I was just returning the favor.” He had rescued you in a similar way, albeit a tamer way, that night at the dinner when your ex was there. You took it a little further than intended but you were just making it even, weren’t you? 

“Uh, thanks?” Jihoon responded, a light blush warming his cheeks and he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. This was not a reaction you expected from him or even one you thought he could have. It was actually pretty adorable. You tried not to think about it. You didn’t see it because you were too focused on the boy you weren’t supposed to like, but Wonwoo and Seungwan shared a look. 

“They are about to play the next song,” you said, trying to redirect attention back to the band and the stage. Jihoon only nodded, not knowing what else to say after that. You let the music take away thoughts of whatever feelings you might be starting to have for your fake boyfriend and by the time the concert was over, you had buried them deep in your mind once again.

In the parking lot of the bar, you said goodbye to Seungkwan, Wonwoo, and Seokmin before you got in the car with Jihoon to go home. It was a little awkward again before Jihoon turned the radio on. (You Drive Me) Crazy by Britney Spears came on and he groaned before he reached over to change the station. “Aw come on, Ji. Leave it there,” you whined before starting to sing along to the song. He grimaced at you but pulled his hand away from the dash, leaving the song on. “You drive me craaaazzzyyy, I just can’t sleep!” you sang loudly and badly on purpose. You poked your elbow into Jihoon’s side, trying to get him to sing with you as you continued with the lyrics.

After a few harder nudges Jihoon belted out, “Baby, thinking of you keeps me up all night”. You gasped, putting your hand over your mouth. You didn’t think you’d actually get him to sing it with you. He continued driving with the two of you singing the rest of the song and giggling like maniacs, Jihoon showing a smile genuine enough that the dimples you only saw one other time appeared. You found yourself having fun more often with Jihoon and spending time with him was beginning to feel more and more natural, like you never parted ways to begin with.

Once again, you found yourself in the journalism room working on things for the ball. More specifically, the decorations. This time you were by yourself, there was yet another party happening tonight and the others left you so they could get Jennie’s house ready since she was hosting this time. Honestly, you didn’t mind and felt like you could get more things done without Jennie’s constant nitpicking. 

You were looking at a few different options for string lights when someone you didn’t expect to see walked in. Shayla. “Um, Mrs. Rathburn asked me to bring you the posters you had printed from the big office printer,” she said, showing the large posters she held in her arms.

“Oh, thanks for bringing them. You can set them over there,” you responded, gesturing toward the bigger table next to you. Shayla set them where you indicated and started toward the door but hesitated, turning back around. She looked like she wanted to say something to you. “Was there anything else?” you prompted.

She pondered for a moment before saying,” He seems happier with you.” You were sure what to say when she continued. “He never wanted to go places with me, never wanted to stop by the lab to see me, not the way he does with you.” 

The way she said it struck a chord with you. You knew she was a medical science major and worked in the chem lab a lot but it didn’t occur to you before and obviously, she didn’t know either. “He didn’t tell you about his mother, did he?” you asked. The confused look on Shayla’s face confirmed your suspicions. “His mother died when we were younger…of cancer. So you can imagine why he wouldn’t want to be around medicine and labs.”

Now she had a shocked look on her face, mixed with something like pity. “I didn’t know. Well, I hope he continues to be happy with you,” she said as she turned back around and walked out of the room. For once, you felt a little sorry for Shayla but fake or not, Jihoon was with you now. You sighed and got up from the chair you were sitting in, pulling the posters closer to you so you could examine them to make sure they had been printed properly. They looked good and you were glad that nothing was wrong with them. 

A few minutes later, Jihoon walked through the same classroom door that Shayla walked out of. “Hey, how's it going in here?” he asked casually. 

You shrugged, “It’s going. But, what are you doing here? You didn’t bring me coffee this time.” You grinned, enjoying being able to give him a hard time now without it turning into a big deal. 

“Wow, see if I ever bring you coffee again..” he teased back. “Anyway, I was working with Seungkwan on some AV stuff for the school news show and thought I’d stop by. It was strange though, I passed by Shayla in the hall and she was acting oddly nice to me.” 

“Huh, weird,” you said. There was no way you were going to tell him that you told her about his mother. He must have had a reason for not telling her, although some part of you was relieved he hadn’t.

“So, how do you feel about having dinner at my house before we go to Jennie’s party? My dad invited you. I think he’s noticed how close we’ve gotten again,” he asked, looking a little sheepish.

“I’d like that,” you responded, the corners of your lips turning up at the thought of Mr. Lee making Jihoon ask you over. You gathered all the things you were working on, organizing them so they made sense when you went to work on them again and left the room to go home with Jihoon.

You had really only been just inside of the door of Jihoon’s house since you reconnected. It felt weird going past the dining room threshold as you followed him into the kitchen, even though as a child you had been in every room in the house. It was a reminder of how things truly had changed after his mom died. 

Yet, the sight of Mr. Lee in the kitchen and the familiar smell of his famous Yangnyeom chicken transported you right back to those times when you and Jihoon would get called in for dinner when you had been playing outside or doing homework together. Mr. Lee turned around after plating the chicken. “Glad you could join us, Y/N! I had to practically beg Jihoon to ask you,” he beamed, walking into the dining room to set the large plate on the table.

“Thank you for inviting me Mr. Lee,” you said, politely as you took a seat in one of the chairs at the dining table. 

“At least I didn’t have to drag you two inside from the treehouse,” he said with a laugh and you found it ironic that he remembered that as well. 

Your eyes shifted to sliding doors on the other side of the dining room, looking out into the backyard to see if the treehouse still existed. “It’s still there..” you murmured as you made out the familiar wood walls poking out the only large tree still in the yard.

“Of course it is! Jihoon kept it up all these years and made sure no nail or board came out of place,” Mr. Lee exclaimed rather proudly. You looked over at Jihoon who was doing his best not to look at you. You thought it would have been destroyed by now. Jihoon’s actions lately were already confusing, but the fact that he had preserved the treehouse all this time confused you even more. 

The rest of dinner went well, it was comforting that it felt almost the same as it did when you were young. Well, minus a major person, but you tried your best not to think about that. You and Jihoon were helping Mr. Lee clean up when he glanced at the clock on the wall. “We should think about heading to the party now,” he said.

“I got the rest of this. You crazy kids go have fun at the party,” Mr. Lee said, basically telling the two of you to skedaddle already.

“Don’t wait up,” Jihoon joked, following you out of the kitchen and back into the front room.

Since you were busy enough today, you chose an outfit when you got ready this morning that would translate well from everyday to party. It’s not like you were the host or like it was that special of an event, plus you were willing to bet something would be spilled on it by the end of the night anyway. 

“Let me change into something more suitable and I’ll be right back,” Jihoon said to you. You nodded and sat on the bottom of the stairs to wait for him. Five minutes later, he came down the stairs looking effortless and amazing at the same time. Once again, making it hard for you to ignore the ever-annoying butterflies that filled your stomach. 

“Let’s get going, we don’t want to be late,” you mumbled, turning your attention back to the front door.

The party was already in full swing when you arrived and you narrowly avoided being mowed over by Mingyu and Mark playing some sort of drunk game involving a soccer ball the minute you and Jihoon walked into Jennie’s house. You took Jihoon’s hand in yours as you wove through people, telling yourself it was so that you didn’t lose him in the crowd but you couldn’t help but feel like they fit together.

You made your way into the center of the house where more things seemed to be going on when you caught the sound of the familiar voices of your friends in the backyard. Jennie was already drunk, laughing loudly as she swayed her hips to the music blasting from speakers on either side of the yard. “There you guys areeeeeeee,” Jennie exclaimed, her words sounding slightly slurred which gave a bit of an indication of how much alcohol she’d had so far. 

You stifled a laugh as Miyeon gave you a look that essentially said “help me” as she lightly sipped on the drink she had while keeping an eye on Jennie. Mark suddenly appeared, without Mingyu this time. “Yoooo, Jihoon. Come be my partner, Mingyu got too drunk and I need someone who actually has hand-eye coordination,” he said, trying to rope Jihoon into whatever hair-brained game they had been playing. 

Mark dragged him off before he could protest, leaving you with just the girls. “You know, I wasn’t sure about Jihoon in the beginning, but the makeover he had really suits him well. If you weren’t dating him, I would be all over that,” Jennie babbled, the multiple drinks in her system acting like an unwanted truth serum. You felt a hint of animosity toward her, and you had to keep telling yourself that you shouldn’t be. You weren’t dating for real, but in principle, it was since nobody else knew that. 

To make it easier to resist the urge to strangle Jennie, you excused yourself and went to get a drink from the bar on the other side of the patio that you assumed Jennie paid to be there. Walking up to the bartender, you ordered something that tasted good but wouldn’t get you blasted immediately. A few seconds wait and you thanked the bartender, taking your drink from him. You turned around, maybe to go find where Mark dragged Jihoon off to when you found yourself face to face with your ex.

“Oh, Y/N. I was actually looking for you,” Johnny said. He was just passing by but he was clearly looking for someone. You, apparently. 

“Um, okay…didn’t you come with your new girlfriend?” you asked, confused as to why he was looking for you when he seemed so infatuated with the girl the last time you had seen him.

“Well, that’s kind of why I was looking for you. Let’s find a quieter place to talk,” he motioned to some chairs that sat out off the side of the patio where fewer people were milling around. You sat down in one and he sat in the one across from you.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” you questioned, not exactly interested but he did specifically seek you out.

“I know you are with Jihoon now, but I was wondering if I could take you to the dance?” Johnny asked, with what he thought might be a convincing smile on his face. You choked on your drink. He couldn’t be serious. The very thing you had wanted before everything got messy and he was asking you now?

“But what about your girlfriend?” you inquired.

“She broke up with me, said she found someone new,” he shrugged. You snorted. Ironic wasn’t it? She broke up with him for nearly the same reason he broke up with you.

“Once upon a time, all I ever wanted was for you to take me to the ball I planned. But you know what? I’m not the same person as I was all those months ago and I’m with Jihoon now. Go find some other poor sucker to go with you because I won’t,” you responded and you knew it was true. You weren’t the same person anymore. You could care less about being popular. All you cared about was being yourself. And being with Jihoon.

Johnny looked stunned, “Damn, Jihoon is a lucky guy.” You felt that was your cue to leave and you had to go to the bathroom anyway. So you left Johnny there and went inside to search for the restroom. You walked back into the house through the sliding door and were headed down the hall when you saw it, saw them. 

Jennie was talking with Jihoon when suddenly you saw her lips meet his. You didn’t know what was happening and your face crumpled. Immediately, you knew that the feelings you were trying to suppress for Jihoon couldn’t be covered up anymore. Jennie broke free of the kiss with a smirk, turning Jihoon around by his shoulders so that his eyes would meet yours. “Bitch,” you murmured, a sob trying to break free from your chest.

Jihoon’s eyes widened as they met yours. “Y/N, wait!” he shouted, a pleading tone bleeding into it. You didn’t want to hear it. This whole thing was fake anyway. You ignored him and stormed out the front door, not caring where you were going. You just needed out of there. Jennie’s house wasn’t that close to the dorm, but it didn’t matter. You wanted to walk anyway.

You did eventually make it back to the dorm, you didn’t know how long it took you and you didn’t care. Everything was ruined and you felt the most pathetic that you had ever been. You retreated to your room and the warmth of your bed, wanting to never leave it. You should have never come up with this idea if you knew it would turn out this way. You weren’t supposed to fall for your ex-best friend, your enemy.

Jihoon was also miserable, perhaps on a different and newfound level. He thought he was in a bad way when he broke up with Shayla, but it was nothing like the way he felt after Jennie tricked him. Nothing like the way his heart cracked when he saw your face and the way your chin trembled when you saw the kiss and nothing like when he called out to you, only for you to ignore him and walk out the door. 

He thought he might have loved Shayla when they were together, but he was so wrong. He loved you and it took losing you to finally realize it, to admit it to himself. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do now, but the most immediate solution was to numb the pain. He knew Wonwoo would come get him anyway, and so he drank. He drank a lot. Likely more than he ever had.

He drank so much that he didn’t even know how time moved forward and transported him to where he was now, outside, throwing his guts up in Jennie’s front garden. He must have called Wonwoo at some point, he most certainly didn’t remember doing it but Wonwoo was suddenly standing there in the yard, waiting to see if Jihoon’s stomach was done forcing out whatever contents were left. 

Wonwoo didn’t have much sympathy for his friend at this point. “How does it feel Jihoon? Being part of the popular crowd?” he mocked. 

“Shut up, Wonwoo,” Jihoon croaked, slowly getting up from his kneeling position in the grass to slowly tread toward Wonwoo’s car. Jihoon all but melted into the backseat once the two of them were both in the car, his head already starting to pound. 

“You really screwed up, you know,” Wonwoo said, once the car was on the way to Jihoon’s house. 

“How do you know what happened?” Jihoon mumbled the question

“You know how fast news travels around here,” he responded.

“Considering everyone was at the party, I’m not surprised.” Wonwoo slammed on the brakes, making Jihoon fall forward and smack his nose on the seat in front of him. “Ow, what the hell Wonwoo?!” he yelped, hands moving to his face to touch his now tender nose.

“Everybody was NOT there, Jihoon! Seungkwan and I weren’t there, Seokmin wasn’t there, so no, everybody was not at the party,” Wonwoo nearly growled. 

“Okay, sheesh. Everybody was not there,” Jihoon conceded, given his growing headache and the fact that Wonwoo so rarely yelled. 

“Get out,” Wonwoo said and Jihoon was about to protest when he looked out of the window to see that they had actually stopped outside his house. “Call me when you’ve decided to return back to being the friend I know.” 

Jihoon couldn’t respond, he didn’t have a decent answer for that. He just got out of the car, went into the house, and flopped face-first onto his bed. He did know that Wonwoo was right though, he royally fucked up. The only thing he could think about was talking to you, to see if there was a way to convince you of what truly happened with Jennie. 

He rolled back to his side, reaching his arm out to grab the phone from the nightstand. He didn’t know how late it was but prayed you’d still answer the phone. He punched in your number and waited as it rang and rang. He was just about to give up when a tired “hello?” answered. 

“Please let me explain,” Jihoon said, immediately. 

You sighed. “It doesn’t matter. It was crazy to think we could fake it this long, this is our easy out,” you responded, trying to keep your voice from breaking and giving you away. 

“What about the dance? That was the main goal of this whole thing,” he said. Jihoon knew that wasn’t why he wanted to keep this ruse going but it was all he could think to try.

“I’ll figure something out. Or maybe I won’t go at all. Let’s just go back to how things were before.” Tears were starting to slip down your cheeks now and you hung up the phone before Jihoon could hear the sob that left your chest.

After the party, days and weeks continued on but you and Jihoon were not the same. Jihoon spaced out often, going about his days in a trance. He even ignored Shaya’s renewed and constant advances on him. He didn’t want anyone else but you. Wonwoo had seen how depressed Jihoon was and took pity on him, letting everything that happened between the two of them that night go. You threw yourself into ball planning which was ironic considering you likely wouldn’t even be attending anymore and Jihoon spent more time editing in the broadcasting room, only being pulled out by his friends. 

You had all but stopped hanging out with all your “friends”, only working with them for the ball because you had to. Everything felt like a blur. You had confronted Jennie shortly after the night of the party, her only excuse being “I was doing you a favor.” Maybe in some way she really was, just not in the way she intended. Your relationship with Jihoon may have started out as a fake one but now your feelings were real and you needed to stop before they destroyed you both.

When the night of the ball came around, you found yourself in your dorm room with no date and crying once again. The dress you had picked out long ago to match the tux you had helped Jihoon pick out was hung on the back of your door, mocking you. Maybe you should go by yourself, it would be weird if the planner herself didn’t attend. You brushed the tears from your cheeks and shook your head. That was enough of that, crying and feeling sorry for yourself wouldn’t change anything.

Then your phone rang. ���Hello?” you answered.

“Y/N? Hi,” spoke a voice that was vaguely familiar but not one you’d heard over the phone.

“Seungkwan?” you questioned.

“Yeah, it’s Seungkwan. Listen, I know you probably don’t have a date to the ball anymore and I think it would be a shame if you couldn’t go. You deserve to see your event finished so, how about I take you?” Seungkwan said.

For the first time since the night of the party, a genuine smile crossed your face. Seungkwan had always been the sweetest person you’d known, even after you all had parted ways as kids. “I’d like that,” you responded.

“Okay, cool. I can come pick you up in an hour. Will that be enough time to get ready?” he asked 

“Sure, see you soon,” you said, hanging up the phone and scrambling to start getting ready. That gave you an answer to your earlier thoughts of just going to the ball by yourself. You were much happier going with Seungkwan, someone you knew you’d have some fun with. You pulled your dress from where you had been glaring at it earlier, glad that it was no longer going to waste. You grabbed shoes that went with it from your closet and got ready as efficiently as you could.

You were smoothing out the bottom of your dress and making sure the last strands of your hair were in place when one of your dorm mates called up the stairs to let you know Seungkwan was there. You picked up the light sweater and small purse you had set out on a chair and walked down the stairs to meet Seungkwan. 

He smiled as he spotted you and said, “You look great.”

“Thanks. You don’t look so bad yourself,” you said back. His simple black tuxedo made him look handsome. You reached the bottom of the stairs and he pulled something out from behind his back, showing it to you.

“It was short notice, but this is for you,” Seungkwan said, holding out a pretty wrist corsage. 

You let out a pleased laugh and held out your wrist so that he could slip it on, the white rose simple but pretty. “Thank you, that was sweet of you.” 

“Of course, I can't let my best girl feel left out,” he said with a chuckle. 

Immediately you were thankful for at least one good thing that came out of all of this. You had a good friend in Seungkwan once again. “Let’s go,” you said and you headed to the dance.

Walking in the doors of the venue you rented, you took in everything. Seungkwan was right, you shouldn’t miss how everything you planned had come together. From the centerpieces on the tables to the twinkle lights winding around the beams in the ceiling, everything you had imagined and planned out. It looked perfect. There was only one thing missing, but there was nothing you could do about that anymore.

You and Seungkwan sat down for a little while at one of the tables, talking about different things and people watching before he asked you to dance. He got up from his seat, holding out his hand for you to take. You took it and he led you to the dance floor. Stopping at an empty spot toward the edge, he placed his hands on your back and you wrapped your arms around his neck. You began swaying to the music the DJ was playing. It was nice and comfortable but of course, it was only platonic with Seungkwan.

“Jihoon really likes you, you know,” he said eventually. You sighed, knowing this topic would come up eventually. Seungkwan cared about both of you. “And I know you like him too.” He continued, recounting how bleak the two of you had been in the past weeks.

“I know Seungkwan, but everything is all messed up now,” you said. 

“Well, now is your chance to fix it,” he suddenly said, looking up at something or rather someone.

“What?” you asked, confused.

“May I cut in?” A voice asked from behind you. You let out a small gasp. Jihoon?

Seungkwan’s hands left your back and he pressed a light kiss to your cheek, leaving you and Jihoon on the dance floor. You looked at Jihoon. He was wearing the tuxedo you picked out to match your dress and looked as handsome as ever. He approached you, gently placing his hands around your waist and you let your hands rest at the nape of his neck. Your fingers lightly brushed at the ends of his shaggy hair that you liked so much.

You danced a bit to the slow song that was on before you broke the tension between the two of you. “Why are you here, Jihoon?” you asked.

“Because I missed you. God, I missed you so much,” he blurted, pulling you closer to him. Your heart panged at his words. You missed him too and you knew that you didn’t want to pretend your feelings for him didn’t exist. 

“I missed you too,” you murmured.

“I’m so sorry about what happened with Jennie. I swear she tricked me but that’s not what matters. I like you, Y/N. I think I’ve always liked you, before everything got so messed up.” He was on a roll now, telling you all that was on his mind and everything he should have told you from the beginning when you both agreed to that stupid fake dating plan.

Your face broke out into a grin. “I like you, too.” Jihoon must have been holding his breath, because he let out a rush of air in relief at your response. “I asked Jennie why she did what she did and she told me she was doing us a favor. I guess in some way, she really did.”

Then Jihoon reached out a hand to cup your cheek, his eyes looking into yours before he leaned forward to press his lips against yours. There were no fireworks, but something much better as you kissed him back. Warmth. A warmth that radiated through your entire body and you couldn’t have imagined anything better. 

You broke away after a few minutes, becoming aware that several eyes were on the two of you. Specifically the eyes of Jennie, Johnny, Mark, Miyeon, and a few of the others. “Who are we making jealous now, Jihoon?” you laughed.

“Everyone,” was his response and he kissed you again, making everything around you disappear. 

“Wanna get out of here?” you asked.

“I have just the place in mind,” he answered, cheekily and the two of you left hand in hand.

After the dance, you came bursting through the gate to Jihoon’s backyard, giggling like you were little kids again. The only difference was now Jihoon kept pausing to kiss you every few minutes as he led you to the treehouse. He pulled you with him up the ladder and into the familiar house. Except that instead of just the pillows and the small table that you remember being there before, there were blankets and lit candles set out in the corners.

“Did you plan this?” you asked, suspicious.

“I had hoped?” he responded, innocently. 

You shook your head, “You’re lucky I like you.”

“I am very lucky.”

“If I knew you were going to be this cheesy-” He cut you off with another kiss and led you over to the blankets that were laid out in the middle of the wooden floor. He sat down, pulling you to sit with him. He initiated a make-out session that began innocently but was now starting to get heated. He leaned backward, laying back against the blankets and making you lay on top of him.

His kisses moved to your jaw and to your collarbone making you let out a gasp and thread your hands through his dark locks. All the pent-up feelings and chemistry that had built up between you was finally reaching a breaking point, in your childhood hangout no less. Your hands made work with his clothes, taking off his jacket and working on the buttons of his shirt. He pulled the straps of your dress down your shoulders when you finally managed to rid him of the annoying button-down.

To make it easier for him, you straightened your back so he could pull the entire thing up and over your head. You were left in just your underwear and Jihoon paused to look at you before taking off his dress pants. “You are gorgeous,” he whispered, pressing light kisses to your shoulders. You closed your eyes, reveling in the feeling of being loved on by him.

Soon you both had been rid of all remaining garments, leaving you completely naked and hands roaming each other's bodies. Jihoon’s length pressed against your thighs, making you moan at the skin contact and buck against him. He hissed in pleasure and bit his lip, the action increasing the arousal at your core. He moved to grind his head against your sensitive nub and you let out a whine. 

After a few minutes of that, you couldn’t stand it anymore. You needed him inside you. “Jihoon…” you breathed out.

“Yes?” he asked.

“Please,” you whimpered.

He reached over to his discarded pants to get the little foil packet from the pocket. He opened it and slid the condom over his cock with a hiss. He steaded your hips and ran his length through your folds a few times before he slowly slid into you, letting you adjust to his size.

“Fuck,” he let out a groan as your heat engulfed him. He began moving slowly within you. Your sacred childhood treehouse was now filled with lewd slaps of skin against skin and moans filled with pleasure. You established a rhythm that had you both slowly chasing your highs together. Your moans had turned to mewls as the coil in the pit of your stomach was stretching to its limit. 

“I’m close, Ji,” you whimpered. The use of Jihoon’s nickname drove him to the edge as well and he pumped into you that much harder. The coil snapped and you orgasmed, hard enough that your thighs shook. Your walls contracting around him made Jihoon hit his high as well. His hips stilled and he let out a groan, emptying his seed into the condom.

He slowly pulled out of you and you both collapsed next to each other on the blankets with heaving breaths. After a few minutes and your breathing had returned to normal, Jihoon turned to look at you, his head resting on his shoulder. “So, frienemies?” he asked with a chuckle. 

You reached out and smacked him in the chest. “Jihoon!”

“Ouch, I’m kidding. I know we are more than that. So much more than that,” he said, tugging you closer to him and leaving a kiss on your forehead. 

“Yes, absolutely more than that,” you agreed. Jihoon drove you crazy, but you came to the conclusion that you didn’t want it any other way.

©️wooahaeproductions

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[lightdancingwords]

Crossroads of the Heart - Part Six of ?

Pairings: CJ Braxton x Y/N Female reader

Series Summary: Y/N is a psychology major assigned to shadow CJ at The Stand, unaware he's the one who basically saved her life four years before. CJ is unaware that she's the one who left a notable impact on him over the phone four years ago. As they navigate the work at The Stand, they develop a spark that demands revelation and connection.

Word Count: 3,257

Tags/Warnings: Fluff, so much fluff

A/N: Comments, Likes, Reblogs, Kind feedback are always highly appreciated. Please let me know if you want to be added to the tag list! Evidently my muse won't shut up, so here we go! A new story in a new setting! I hope you all enjoy!

Dividers: credit to @saradika-graphics

Chapter Six: Snow On The Beach

The Stand had become Y/N’s sanctuary. The once-intimidating calls now felt manageable, and she found herself more confident with each passing week. The people she worked with weren’t just colleagues—they were family. Gabby was the vibrant little sister she’d never had, Miles her constant sparring partner in sarcastic debates, and Priya the warm, wise older sister she never knew she needed.

And then there was CJ.

Y/N couldn’t pinpoint when her admiration for him had turned into something more. At first, it had been professional respect for the way he handled calls with such ease, how he could connect with anyone, no matter the situation. But over time, she found herself noticing things that had nothing to do with work. The way his voice softened when he offered encouragement. How his smile, small as it might be, could make her feel like she’d done something right on her toughest days. The quiet strength he carried, as though no matter how heavy the weight of the world was, he could bear it.

Y/N had hoped her feelings weren’t obvious, but Gabby, as always, had a way of seeing right through her.

“Admit it,” Gabby said one afternoon, her voice teasing. “You’ve got a thing for CJ.”

Y/N nearly choked on her tea, her cheeks immediately heating up. “What? No! That’s not—what are you talking about?”

Gabby smirked, leaning back in her chair with the kind of satisfaction that came from catching someone in the act. “Come on, Y/N. I’ve seen the way you look at him.”

Y/N fumbled with her notebook, trying to avoid Gabby’s gaze. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Gabby raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really? So you’re not constantly glancing his way during shifts? Or finding excuses to ask him questions you already know the answers to?”

“I do not,” Y/N started, but Gabby cut her off.

“And let’s not forget the way you get all flustered whenever he talks to you. It’s cute, really.”

Y/N groaned, burying her face in her hands. “Gabby, stop.”

“Why?” Gabby said, grinning. “It’s true. And for the record, he likes you too.”

That got Y/N’s attention. She looked up, her brow furrowing. “What? No, he doesn’t.”

Gabby rolled her eyes. “Y/N, trust me. I’ve been watching him too. The guy is always finding excuses to check in on you. And have you noticed how he’s always the first to offer you advice or help with something? He doesn’t do that with everyone.”

Y/N bit her lip, her heart fluttering at Gabby’s words. “I don’t know. He’s just kind. That’s how he is with everyone.”

“Not like this,” Gabby said firmly. “He’s different with you. And don’t even get me started on the way he watches you leave at the end of the day.”

Y/N’s cheeks burned, and she shook her head. “You’re making that up.”

“Am I?” Gabby leaned forward, resting her chin in her hand. “Look, you don’t have to believe me. But I’m telling you there’s something there. And you’d be crazy not to explore it.”

Y/N sighed, her fingers tracing the edge of her notebook. “Even if you’re right—and I’m not saying you are—what am I supposed to do about it? Just walk up to him and confess?”

Gabby grinned. “Exactly.”

Y/N groaned again. “You’re impossible.”

“And you’re adorable,” Gabby shot back. “Seriously, Y/N, life’s too short to sit around wondering. The worst that happens is, well, I don’t think there’s a worst. He’s not going to reject you. The guy is practically screaming ‘I like you’, but in CJ language, which is, like, super subtle.”

Y/N laughed despite herself, shaking her head. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Maybe,” Gabby said with a shrug. “But I’m not wrong.”

Gabby’s words stayed with Y/N longer than she wanted to admit. As much as she tried to brush off her friend’s observations, a part of her couldn’t help but wonder. Was Gabby right? Did CJ feel the same way? The thought made her heart race and her stomach twist with nervous energy.

It wasn’t just about the way CJ made her feel safe, supported, seen. It was about the way she admired him, how deeply she respected the man he was. He wasn’t just someone she worked with; he was someone who had quietly become a constant in her life, a presence she found herself looking forward to every day.

As Y/N sat at her desk that afternoon, watching CJ from the corner of her eye as he leaned over to help Priya with something, she felt a quiet warmth settle in her chest. Maybe Gabby was right. Maybe it was time to stop holding back.

Maybe it was time to take the leap.

The break room was quiet except for the faint hum of the coffee machine and the occasional clink of mugs. Y/N and Gabby sat at their usual corner table, sipping their drinks as the conversation shifted, as it often did, to CJ.

“I’m just saying,” Gabby began, her voice playful but insistent, “you’re overthinking this. CJ clearly likes you. What’s stopping you from just, I don’t know, telling him?”

Y/N sighed, setting her mug down and tracing the rim with her finger. “It’s not that simple, Gabby.”

“Yes, it is,” Gabby said, leaning forward with a grin. “You say, ‘Hey, CJ, I like you.’ And then he says, ‘Wow, I like you too, Y/N.’ And then you both live happily ever after. Boom. Simple.”

Y/N rolled her eyes, but a faint smile tugged at her lips. “It’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one putting your heart on the line.”

Gabby softened, her teasing tone fading. “Okay, fair. But seriously, what’s stopping you? I mean, I know you’re nervous, but why not take the chance?”

Y/N hesitated, her gaze dropping to her mug. “Because he’s rare.”

Gabby blinked, confused. “Rare?”

Y/N nodded, her voice quieter now. “Like snow on the beach.”

Gabby tilted her head, her curiosity piqued. “What do you mean?”

Y/N let out a soft laugh, shaking her head. “It’s hard to explain. But you know how in life, there are these moments, these rare, almost magical things that you never expect to happen? Like snow on the beach. It doesn’t make sense, but it’s beautiful. It’s unforgettable.”

Gabby leaned back, her expression thoughtful. “And CJ’s your snow on the beach?”

“Yeah,” Y/N admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “He’s different. Kind and steady and thoughtful in ways most people aren’t. And that scares me, because… what if I mess it up? What if I ruin this rare, beautiful thing?”

Gabby reached across the table, placing a hand on Y/N’s. “Y/N, I get it. Really, I do. But rare moments are meant to be savored, not feared. If you keep holding back, you’ll never know what could happen. And trust me, CJ? He’s not going to let you ruin anything. The guy practically worships the ground you walk on.”

Y/N looked up, her cheeks flushing. “You think so?”

“I know so,” Gabby said with a grin. “And you deserve this, Y/N. You deserve to have your snow-on-the-beach moment. But you have to take the first step.”

Y/N smiled faintly, her chest tightening with a mix of fear and hope. “You really think I can do this?”

“I don’t just think, I know you can do this,” Gabby said, her voice full of conviction. “And when you do, I’m going to be right there cheering you on.”

Y/N laughed softly, some of the tension easing from her shoulders. “Thanks, Gabby.”

“Anytime,” Gabby said, squeezing her hand. “Now, go get yourself another cup of tea and think about how you’re going to confess to CJ. And if you chicken out, don’t worry, I’ll push you in the right direction.”

Y/N rolled her eyes but couldn’t stop smiling. As she got up to refill her mug, Gabby’s words echoed in her mind. Maybe she was right. Maybe it was time to stop being afraid and take the chance. After all, snow on the beach was rare, but it wasn’t impossible.

It was late in the day at The Stand, and the hum of conversations from the other staff members had faded as the shift wound down. Y/N stood near her desk, her notebook clutched tightly to her chest as she glanced toward CJ’s office. Gabby’s words from their earlier conversation echoed in her mind, and though her nerves felt like a storm raging inside her, she forced herself to move.

She knocked softly on CJ’s doorframe. He looked up from his desk, his expression immediately softening when he saw her. “Hey, Y/N. Everything okay?”

Y/N nodded, stepping inside and closing the door behind her. “Do you have a minute? I wanted to talk.”

“Of course,” CJ said, gesturing to the chair across from him. “Have a seat.”

Y/N sat, but in her nervousness, her movements were jittery. Her hand bumped the edge of CJ’s desk, and before either of them could react, the picture frame perched on the corner tipped over, landing on the floor with a soft thud.

“Oh no! I’m so sorry,” Y/N said quickly, leaning down to pick it up.

“It’s fine,” CJ said, half-rising from his chair. “I’ve got it.”

But Y/N had already grabbed the frame, her fingers brushing over the glass as she inspected it for damage. Her eyes caught on the contents of the frame, a carefully clipped poem, aged slightly with time, but still intact.

Her breath hitched as she read the title. Snow On The Beach.

She froze, her thumb brushing over the edge of the paper as her heart began to race. Slowly, she looked up at CJ, her voice quiet and trembling. “This… this is my poem.”

CJ stilled, his hands resting on the desk as he stared at her. “What?”

Y/N swallowed hard, her eyes darting back to the frame. “This is my poem. I wrote this. I submitted it to the college newspaper four years ago. Why… why do you have it framed?”

CJ’s chest tightened, and for a moment, he couldn’t find the words. He leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his hair as he exhaled slowly. “Because of a phone call.”

Y/N’s brow furrowed. “A phone call?”

CJ nodded, his voice steady but laced with emotion. “Four years ago, I got a call late at night. A girl who was struggling. She told me about this poem she’d written, Snow On The Beach. She said it was about something rare and beautiful, something that didn’t seem possible but still happened.”

Y/N’s hand tightened around the frame as she listened, her breath shallow.

CJ continued, his gaze fixed on her. “That call… it stuck with me. She was hurting so much, but there was this strength in her, this determination to hold on. And that poem… it was like a window into how she saw the world. It haunted me in the best way. When I saw it in the newspaper the next morning, I clipped it out and framed it. I’ve had it on my desk ever since.”

Y/N’s eyes filled with tears as she processed his words. Her voice was barely above a whisper when she spoke. “That was me. I was the girl who called you.”

CJ nodded slowly, his expression softening as the weight of the moment settled over them. “I was beginning to think it was you… but I wasn’t sure. Until right now.”

Y/N let out a shaky breath, her hands trembling as she set the frame carefully back on his desk. “You saved me that night,” she said, her voice breaking. “I don’t know if I ever told you that, but you did.”

CJ leaned forward, his voice gentle. “You saved yourself, Y/N. I was just lucky enough to be the one who picked up the phone.”

They sat in silence for a moment, the weight of their shared history filling the space between them. Finally, CJ spoke, his voice quieter now. “I’ve never forgotten you, Y/N. Not the call, not the poem, not the way you fought to hold on. And seeing you here now, knowing it’s you, it means more than I can put into words.”

Y/N met his gaze, her tears spilling over as a faint smile tugged at her lips. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” CJ said, his voice steady but full of warmth. I’m just glad you’re here.”

The air between them was thick with emotion as Y/N brushed away her tears, her hands still trembling slightly. CJ sat back, his steady gaze on her, waiting patiently as she tried to collect herself.

“I still can’t believe it,” Y/N said finally, her voice soft but tinged with awe. “That it was you. All this time.”

CJ smiled faintly, his voice low. “I’ve been thinking the same thing since I figured it out.”

Y/N laughed softly, shaking her head. “You must think I’m such a mess right now.”

“I think you’re amazing,” CJ said simply. The sincerity in his tone made Y/N’s cheeks flush, and she looked away for a moment, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her sleeve.

“Thank you,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

CJ leaned forward slightly, resting his forearms on the desk. “I’m just glad you’re here, Y/N. That we’ve crossed paths again.”

Y/N’s eyes met his, and for a moment, she forgot why she’d come to talk to him in the first place. Then, like a switch flipping, her earlier determination returned. She straightened slightly in her chair, clearing her throat.

“Actually,” she began, her voice a little shaky, “there’s something I wanted to talk to you about before all of this.”

CJ raised an eyebrow, his focus entirely on her. “Okay. What’s on your mind?”

Y/N hesitated, her pulse quickening. Just say it, she thought. Just tell him.

“I—” she started, then stopped, letting out a nervous laugh. “This is harder than I thought.”

CJ smiled softly, leaning back in his chair to give her space. “Take your time.”

Y/N took a deep breath, her hands resting on her lap. “The truth is… I’ve really enjoyed working here. More than I ever thought I would. And a big part of that is because of you.”

CJ’s brows furrowed slightly, his head tilting as he studied her. “Because of me?”

She nodded, her voice trembling but steady. “You’ve been so supportive, so thoughtful. Every time I feel like I’m drowning, you show up with some small gesture or some piece of advice that makes it all seem manageable. And it’s not just that. It’s everything. The way you care about people. The way you listen. The way you make everyone here feel like they matter.” She paused, her cheeks flushing as she avoided his gaze. “It’s made me realize I like you, CJ. A lot.”

Her confession hung in the air, and for a moment, she didn’t dare look at him. But when she finally did, she found him staring at her, his expression equal parts surprised and something else. Something warm and soft that made her heart flutter.

CJ let out a slow breath, his lips curving into the faintest smile. “Y/N,” he said, his voice quiet but steady. “I’ve been trying to keep my feelings in check since the day you walked into The Stand. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel the same way.”

Her eyes widened slightly, her breath catching. “You do?”

He nodded, leaning forward again, his elbows resting on the desk. “I do. But I didn’t want to say anything because… well, I wasn’t sure if you felt the same. And I didn’t want to make things complicated for you.”

Y/N let out a soft laugh, the tension in her chest easing slightly. “Guess we’ve both been overthinking this, huh?”

CJ chuckled, the sound warm and familiar. “Yeah, I guess we have.”

They fell into a brief silence, the weight of their mutual confession settling between them like a quiet reassurance. Finally, CJ spoke again, his tone softer now. “So, what happens next?”

Y/N tilted her head, a small smile tugging at her lips. “I guess we figure it out. Together.”

CJ smiled back, his eyes warm. “I like the sound of that.”

For the first time in weeks, Y/N felt the weight of uncertainty lift from her shoulders.

The quiet warmth of the moment lingered between them, the weight of their shared feelings settling into something light, almost hopeful. Y/N felt her heart racing, but for once, it wasn’t from nerves, it was from the thrill of finally being on the same page as CJ.

CJ leaned back slightly, a small smile playing on his lips as he watched her. “So,” he said, his voice light but tinged with nervous energy, “since we’re figuring this out together… how about we start with a proper date?”

Y/N blinked, her cheeks flushing. “A date?”

“Yeah,” CJ said, his tone softening. “Something outside of The Stand. Somewhere we can just… be ourselves, without calls and chaos in the background.”

Y/N bit her lip, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “You mean somewhere where I’m not constantly taking notes and you’re not rescuing me from tough calls?”

“Exactly,” CJ said with a quiet laugh. “No notebooks. No headsets. Just… us.”

She tilted her head, teasing him slightly. “So, what kind of date are we talking about here? Fancy dinner? Walk in the park? Skydiving?”

CJ smirked, his eyes twinkling. “As much as I’d love to see you try skydiving, I was thinking something a little more… low-key.”

“Oh?” Y/N leaned forward, her curiosity piqued. “What do you have in mind?”

“There’s this little diner not too far from here,” CJ said, his voice growing warmer. “It’s nothing fancy, but they’ve got the best pie in the city. Thought we could grab a bite, maybe talk about something other than work for a change.”

Y/N smiled, her heart fluttering at the thought. “Pie, huh? You know the way to my heart.”

“I figured,” CJ said, grinning. “So, what do you think? Tomorrow night?”

Y/N nodded, her smile growing. “I’d love that.”

CJ’s shoulders relaxed slightly, and the smile he gave her was one of pure relief and happiness. “Great. It’s a date.”

For a moment, they just looked at each other, the tension that had been building for weeks finally dissolving into something softer, easier. Y/N couldn’t help but laugh lightly, the sound breaking the silence.

“What’s so funny?” CJ asked, tilting his head.

“Just… us,” she said, shaking her head. “I spent so long overthinking this, and now it feels so simple.”

CJ chuckled, his expression gentle. “That’s the best part, isn’t it? It doesn’t have to be complicated.”

“No,” Y/N said, her voice soft. “It doesn’t.”

As they stood to leave the room, CJ held the door open for her, his usual steadiness now tinged with something new, a quiet excitement that mirrored her own.

“See you tomorrow night,” he said as they walked back into the main office.

“See you tomorrow,” Y/N replied, her cheeks still warm as she returned to her desk.

And for the first time in what felt like forever, Y/N wasn’t nervous or unsure. She was just happy. Because CJ wasn’t just a rare and beautiful moment, he was someone she could see herself sharing many more moments with. One step at a time.

Want to be a part of this tag list or others? Come check out my master Tag List and sign up! And check out my other stories that are currently being written!

[vamp1reheart]

WONDERLAND 02

Hoseok x f!reader

Notices: Explicit sex! Mentions of abuse! Murder! Mental problems! Schizophrenia! Obsessive themes! I tried to have a big focus on psychological horror! Distorted reality! Use of drugs, strong medicines and other doping agents!

Synopsis: You always thought that Wonderland was just a childish delusion, the consequences of a terrible accident. But things change, and maybe Wonderland is more real than you'd like to admit. Especially when an old friend goes out of his way to convince you to stay in the wizarding world.

People have always made a point of reminding me that my head is defective.

Always calling me crazy and saying that I have no right to speak because my head doesn't work.

Apparently they think that because I have mental problems I am dysfunctional.

But I never cared. I know my own capabilities.

But even I can tell when something is out of whack.

When I showed the scribbled letters to Seokjin, he started acting strangely.

Even though he told me that I had written it myself in my moments of panic, he was sweating a lot and seemed more tired than I was.

Before, he would talk to me about the situations in my dreams, trying to make me reflect and justify them, and then he would give me the medicine.

Nothing has changed, except that now he doesn't try to justify and reflect on my dreams, but he still gives me medication.

But it's getting worse and worse.

My hallucinations are stronger, and I can physically feel much more than before.

Clearly the medicine isn't working, but even if I tell Seokjin this he gives me others with the same effect.

But I'm tired.

Tired of all these hallucinations, tired of these crazy dreams and most of all, tired of that man.

He's always in my dreams, no matter where he is, he'll appear at some point.

I'm currently heading towards a drugstore.

I need stronger medicine. My thoughts aren't even the same anymore, nothing around me seems to make any sense.

When I push open the door of the drugstore, a little bell echoes in the empty space. The inside of the drugstore is impressive; its milky-white walls are nothing like the outside of the store, with dirty stone streets and dark corners.

"Can I help you?"

A very pretty girl asks me with a friendly smile, her white clothes match the place. Her smile almost seemed to tell me hope.

"I need your best antipsychotic"

I confess that I was unsure about buying medicine alone, I thought I would need at least permission from Seokjin. But to my surprise, the smiling woman in front of me didn't care and handed me the medicine. Her smile never wavered and her eyes never left mine.

And I thought I was the weird one.

I don't say anything to the woman, I just hand her the money and take the medicine. I try my best to avoid her constant gaze, which has gone from being cozy to being psychotic.

The path to my house is silent, I can't even hear my thoughts, and my steps are automatic.I quickly unlock the door and enter the apartment, relocking all the locks.

I look at the medicine box in my hands, debating whether I should actually take it.

"No..."

There it was. The man's hoarse, stressed voice in my head.

"Don't do that..."

The voice in my head kept saying, getting deeper and more irritated. My vision was starting to blur.

I needed to stop this madness immediately.

And without thinking twice, I run to the bathroom. In the toilet, I vomit even what I hadn't eaten.

My God, am I going to die? That man is going to kill me...

In front of the mirror I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, and place three antipyretic pills in my hands.

"I'm warning you not to do this honey, you better listen to me..."

The man in my head mutters amid voices and hisses. But as soon as my vision starts to blur again, I put the medicine in my mouth and swallow it, lowering my head I drink the water directly from the tap, feeling the medicine go down my throat.

And like magic, the voice stopped, the hissing stopped, and my vision returned to normal.

Wow, I didn't think it would be effective immediately.

Lifting my head and looking at my face in the bathroom mirror, my dark circles were huge and my tired look was evident.

When suddenly. The bathroom mirror takes on a slightly strange, bluish hue.

But before I can question anything, two arms come out of the mirror, now as liquid as water. The strange hands grab the sides of my head before I can react.

I quickly let go of them, who are still trying to grab me, I take two steps back, still in shock.

When the arms lean on the wall around the mirror and push whatever, or whoever, was inside it out.

Again, that man comes out of the mirror. His torso and head were outside the mirror.

It was him. He was coming out of the mirror in front of me.

When his head lifts, I can see his eyes as dark as night.

He stretches out his arms again and holds my shoulders tightly. "Enough of this, let's go home my love..." He says in a strangely slurred tone, and as fast as I can blink he pulls me towards him, as if I weighed no more than a towel.

I feel nothing, I see nothing. Is this what it's like to be dead? Wait, do dead people think?

Blinking a few times, I start looking again. The slightly orange blue sky, covered by clouds, is the first thing I see. Could it be paradise?

"You look so beautiful in the sunlight." The man's voice is present, and I quickly stand up.

He was beside me, sitting on the floor with his knees bent. He had a warm smile on his face.

"What's up dear? Surprised to see me?" He asks with a smile and bright eyes. I don't answer him, I just sit further away from him and look at the environment around me, trying to figure out where I am.

It was an open field, I could see tall trees in the distance, looking up I realized that we were sitting under a tree that was smaller and thicker than the pine trees that surrounded us. The tree was filled with small, pink flowers that swayed in the light breeze.

"You're still as beautiful as the time you disappeared"

At the sound of his voice, I turn to face his serene face again.

"What are you? What do you want with me?"

"It's a shame you don't remember me, or the times we had together..."

He says with his smile faltering at some point.

"But don't worry, my dear, I won't let them take you away from me anymore."

He stands up, stops in front of me and gently holds the sides of my face.

"What do you mean? You're the one in my head, I'm sure this is just another one of my delusions"

His gaze remains intent on my eyes, he says nothing, not even his expression shows anything that I can identify.

"It doesn't matter what you believe, love. The important thing is that now I have you, and I want to see who will take you from my arms again"

He brings our foreheads together, taking my lips in a long kiss right after. I don't have enough strength to separate him from my body, I just close my eyes tightly, hoping it will end soon.

When he separates our lips, he brings our foreheads together again and gives me a sinister smile.

"See... do your hallucinations kiss you all the time?"

He laughs, as if mocking my attempts to rid myself of my hallucinations.

"So, my dear, answer me. Did the great medicine that you needed so much have the effect that you wanted?"

It was as if all the memories of my therapies with Seokjin, and all the medicine I took, had flashed through my head.

"You did something, didn't you?"

I face him, as I watch him walk away from me and take my hand, leading me somewhere.

"And what can I do? After all, I'm just a hallucination..."

He says in a drawl, with a damn mocking smile. I didn't know where he was taking me, or what he had done. But I needed to find out, and most importantly, I needed to find out how to get out of this place and how to get rid of him.

Enough is enough, he's making me hot-blooded. It's obvious he controls this whole fucking place.

Damn...I have no idea how I'm going to get out of here. After our little chat in the tree he dragged me to some part of the forest, we didn't walk for five minutes before a staircase appeared that led to a house on top of a hill.

How did that shit get there?!

Okay, never mind, I'll find a way out. I can't lie that the first thing that crossed my mind was to beat him until he was as big as my sanity, but what would I do then? He seems to be much stronger than me.

"ladies first..."

He was holding the door of the house open for me to go through, I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't even realize that we had already gone up the stairs. Oh no, I can't go into this house, how am I going to get out of it after?!

With my delay, his face darkens, the smile he had disappears, and I can tell he is getting irritated.

"Get into this damn house s/n... You don't want to see me angry"

I let out a "tsck" with my mouth, and turn my head to the side. I can see his irritated face in my peripheral vision.

Then before I can do anything, he wraps his arms around my waist, and lifts me off the ground as if I weighed nothing.

"What?! Put me down!" I say, punching his back with all my strength, but it has no effect on him.

"I hate having to do this. But not even you will stop me from getting my love back."

What? What was he talking about? I can see the rooms of the house we passed through. The sun was setting, so few rooms had enough light for me to see anything.

Damn. What does he intend to do to me?

I can hear him opening a door, but before I can do anything, he throws me onto a big, soft bed. Of course I don't have time to feel where I am, he climbs on top of me and holds my hands next to my head, leaving his face very close to mine.

"Welcome home... darling"

[ineedtotouchgrassrightnow]

GUESS WHO LOST THE REQUEST YET AGAIN? LUCKILY I SS THEM

Requested!!

Percy X Reader Fluff!!!

My head was pounding. It was a long week with all the tests and trying to get accepted into colleges. And let me tell you, getting into college with ADHD and dyslexia is NOT for the weak.

I had stupid ELA homework. I was practically pulling out my hair. I hated ELA class; it was the WORST. I sucked at spelling, I couldn’t read. I tried so hard, but the letters would spin, do 180s, and fly off the page. I could not focus at all. I was debating burning the paper with my fire, but decided against it when I heard a buzz from my side.

My face lit up when I saw my boyfriend texted me. I threw down my pencil and opened his message. “Hey Y/n, wanna go to the new aquarima that opened?” I couldn’t help but laugh at his misspelling of aquarium, but I knew what he meant. “Yeah, I would love to?”

Nothing could cheer me up faster than my boyfriend, and even more so when it's a date. “Awesome! See you then?” “Sure, what day and time?” “Today, 1 hour?” “Wait, today?” “Yeah?” “I’m doing homework though.” “You’ll probably give up soon enough.” “Excuse me?” “See you in an hour, princess.” I couldn’t help but scoff. “Wow…” I said out loud to nobody and got up to get ready for my date. I grabbed cute yet comfortable clothes and went to take a shower, smiling that dork knew how to cheer me up anytime.

I did my hair and put on my shoes when I heard knocking at my door. I practically ran to the door and smiled when I saw the handsome boy behind it. “Hello, princess,” he gave a genuine smile. “You look amazing.”

“I’m not even dressed up?”

“You still look amazing,” he smiled and leaned down to my lips, giving me a kiss with his soft lips that had a hint of sweetness, probably from cherry coke, his all-time favorite drink.

“Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, let me grab my keys.” I grabbed my keys and locked the door. “The aquarium is pretty big. There is a food court there too,” I mentioned as we walked towards the car.

He opened my door, smiling. “Ladies first.” Before jogging to his door, he was always going the extra mile for me. It was crazy. He held doors, made me breakfast in bed, all the cute stuff. In all honesty, I don’t know how or why I got so lucky to have him in my life, but he was genuinely one of the few things I am grateful for.

The drive there was normal. We talked about the aquarium, our schools, our home life, any crazy stuff we found on the internet. We tried to keep our other lives separate from our normal lives as much as possible, and we did a pretty good job at avoiding it most of the time.

“You know Annabeth wants to get back in touch with me,” he said at one point.

“Really?” I couldn’t help but chuckle. “As friends or does she still have a crush on you?”

“Not sure. I told her I was taken, but she seemed panicked, like something was wrong at camp.”

“We should just leave it be for now. We can check up on camp tomorrow. We are on a date tonight.”

“Right, sorry, love,” Percy sighed, rubbing my thigh.

He pulled into the parking lot and smiled softly. “We made it alive?”

“I couldn’t tell?”

“Shut it,” he laughed before jogging over to open my door.

“You know I can open my doors, right?”

“I’m just making sure you don’t slam my car doors,” he teased.

“Wow,” I nudged him and laughed. “Let's go, seaweed head.”

“Of course,” he grinned and held open the door of the aquarium entrance. It was beautiful inside. The rugs were dark blue, the walls were light blue, and all types of fishes were painted over the walls.

“Woah, that fish is pretty,” I pointed over to one of the painted fishes on the wall.

“In case you couldn’t tell, my dear Y/n, that's a painted fish, not a real one.”

“I’m not dumb!” He smiled and walked over to the cashier, who was a sweet older man in his 60s.

“Two tickets, please,” Percy requested.

“Of course, that's 28 dollars,” the cashier replied.

“Thank you,” Percy handed him the money and handed me my ticket.

“So, you like older men now?” I teased.

“All I said was thank you!” He pouted.

“Yea— Woah, that's a big shark!?” I dragged Percy along to one of the shark tanks.

“Yeah, they are meant to be big.”

“Quiet,” I rolled my eyes at his sassiness. “What would happen if you asked it to do a backflip?”

“Why would I ask it—”

“I mean, you can talk to animals, can’t you?”

“No.”

“Wow, you are boring then.”

“Oh, is that so? And what can you do, princess? Make a sword? And heat up your hands?”

“Yeah, I can. And what can you do? Fall 600 feet into an ocean?”

“Actually, yes, I can.”

“Try hard.”

“Always,” he grinned and kissed my cheek.

“Look at that one right there, it's pretty like you.”

“So you're saying I look like a fish?”

“You always have something to say, don't you?”

“Yes, I do.” I smiled and kissed his cheek.

[nomsfaultau]

Daily ask №23!

Random/cursed edition!

What if I were to try and tell Fault!Wilbur where babies come from?

So. Phil has said that Tubbo's problem is not having blood in that one famous shitpost which got me into Fault in the first place. So. What if they did have blood though? Like what if some of the wax cells were filled with blood? Just spontaneously. For blood-letting purposes, yk.

I think I saw you mention somewhere that Fault!Tubbo either has or could potentially have memories from different alternative versions of themselves. Explain please?? Also does that mean that they potentially have memories from my personal au where most of my ocs and headcanons live? Btw my first reaction at that thought was "AAHH FUCK NONONONONO BITCH CHEESUS CRUST". It's not that bad though I promise I'd just be embarrassed either way.

What if. What if the Fault crew + the scp researchers got spontaneously teleported into a gacha reaction videos where they had to react to your shitposts, animations and drawings. Also throw a couple of 2018 style gacha vids in there for good measure. (While writing this I checked the lyrics of Devils don't fly and realised that it's actually a pretty serious song. Which like- damn.)

What role would the Fault crew characters get in the soldier poet king test? I do love that test a little too much maybe- here's the link to the quiz! https://uquiz.com/quiz/MYLbZ3/are-you-a-soldier-a-poet-or-a-king

This one has heavy spoilers!

1. Probably depends on how you do it, but I think he’d just take basic notes on sex-ed. Doesn’t have much puritan context of taboo or embarrassment on the subject. Fairly indifferent on the whole sex thing because he doesn’t think it’ll ever come up in his lifestyle of avoiding humans and knowing only 4 people. Probably a little irritated that its theories were so wildly off base, grumble a bit about how its own ideas about making Faustian bargains with dark entities and trading organ: [womb] for power make far more sense but whatever. He thinks pregnancy is stupid because how are you supposed to run like that? And your food is SIPHONED off by the fetus? Why can’t they get their own? And at the end you get a human. Terrible process all around. 3/10 Tommy has less ammunition to tease it now and that’s IT. 

2. Probably smell bad. Maybe they could do things like blush? Mosquitoes would go crazy for them. If this is ‘a previously weren’t a blood fruit gusher’ situation, Tubbo would be freaking out about 1. Who the muffin’s blood is this and 2. Starving 2 death babyy. Cause they really need that honey to operate. A bunch of baby larva are going to die even if all the workers can go into overdrive to feed the Hive. I think it would be very funny if Tubbo tried to break into a blood bank to donate it all. Shhh don’t worry about where this blood came from. Or what happened to the security cameras. It’s for a good cause trust trust. 

3.Heavy spoilers. The plan was that Tubbo and Wilbur get dunked through the near apocalypse via dissolving of the narrative due to SOMEONE being so depressed it fails to keep the void in check/potentially interpretable as being suicidal, thus exposing the two to pure void madness and realizing everything is a story. Which would entail having some familiarity/confusion about the source material of the dsmp, some vlogs, etc. but not necessarily AUs. But then SOMEONE turned out to be an abusive ass, and that plot point got very icky to me. I’ve been debating it for months, but realized I’m sexy and do what I want so am going to limit it to pure awareness of being a story, but not necessarily a fanfic. Still has the existential crisis of it and the philosophical implications that are going to so beautifully deal with themes of attachments, the purpose of narratives, and parallel whatever the hell trauma Tommy is dealing with during that section. But won’t actually deal with having any true awareness of stuff outside of Fault. Except maybe for realizing “Lawrence killed our muffining husband?!” because that scene was funny as hell to write. I dunno plans change. I’ve tried not to let outside events change my artistic vision, but it’s inevitable. 

4.Oh goodness they absolutely despise me for all the jokes about the horrors they’re going through. Probably think they’re being drawn ‘cute’ given they’re probably a lot freakier looking irl, and slightly distressed about being chibis. I think most would even consider it ‘out of character’ given their self perceptions don’t tend to be the most accurate. Current Wilbur is hissing and vehement about being constantly called an it because his character development is very far off from when that happens. Philza is a little disappointed that his bloodthirsty moments gets so much emphasis since he’s so chill 97% of the time. Tommy is absolutely chuffed to bits to realize he’s the main character, though trying to do damage control cause haha I’m fine guys this crazy internet person just made me seem edgy and depressed. 

Webb is going to strangle me for the Philza/Webb post tho. And the haha poor alcoholic divorcee doormat jokes. Dr. Blake assumes the blog is an anomaly and starts trying to torture it…?

5. I took the quiz sitting in the heads of all of them. 

Tommy: The Poet. “So I wait for you like a lonely house till you will see me again and live in me, till then my windows ache.” “The one who hurt you haunts you. In your nightmares, they say I am disappointed in you” literally happens in Fault. With Philza. “What is a sin? Inevitable” is pretty much something he tells Tubbo word for word. “What is hell anyway? Barren” "how can you love me with all that I've done ?"

The Blade: The Soldier. “if you were to wear a crown it would be covered in blood. The one of the guilty.” “The sword is at your side. It bore your name long before you did.” is rather literal both for his name and The Blood God. “but how can I sleep with the world in my head?" “What is hell anyway? Doubt”

Wilbur: The King. “Despite all your attempts, you have never been a healer. You hurt people and they leave and you are alone in a room full of silence. You sing to try and forget, but it does not work” everything about this. Trying to heal but being made of destruction, his fears of devouring his family, singing, memory loss, everything everything it’s so Wilbur. "come and be human with me" “The one who hurt you haunts you. In your nightmares, they say I love you." <literally Phil’s last words when Wilbur killed him in the Whumptober au. "but how can I sleep with the world in my head?" why it has insomnia.

Philza: The Poet. “There are rules. How many? One, and you will follow it.” For his Collected. “Fear: You did your best and it wasn't enough. You tried and failed and kept trying and it wasn't enough. You had the power to change things and it wasn't enough.” For all his dead children. "you’re trembling, but he reaches over and he touches you, like a prayer for which no words exist" it's him reaching out. I love the reverse imagery with Phil, a god worshiping his mortals “anger is a strength in a world of apathy.” He feels no shame or burden for his anger, knowing well the good it can do. “Who taught you about guilt? The silence” 

Tubbo: The King. Absolutely perfect as a foil to The Blade btw. “What is duty? Undeniable” “The throne looks golden, and covered in flowers” “Fear: You did your best and it wasn't enough. You tried and failed and kept trying and it wasn't enough.” Saving people from Philza. “The one who hurt you haunts you. In your nightmares, they say I forgive you” Rosaliiiiiind. “Who taught you about guilt? God”

[tenebraevesper]

Sonic Cyber Revolution, Entry 57: Heat Wave

''There's no time to be standing still, because there's something to be chasing after tomorrow. Nor to regret in that time, for night will soon fall. Living is like an unending race. It's the goal you can't see within your heart! Becoming the radiant wind, creating a storm that runs past the world! Gotta keep on running! You know I'm SONIC!''

– Just Call Me SONIC ~Mabushii Kaze ni Nare~ by Sonic X

xXxXxXx

''I can't believe I hadn't realized this before,'' Dr. Starline said, a little baffled by the conclusion he just came to. He walked over to the computer, typing something on it and scrolling through the displayed data. Behind him were purple-coloured Motobugs and Egg Pawns, all of them reprogrammed to serve him as he took over Egg Base Sigma without Dr. Eggman's knowledge, to the point of even painting his own logo on the wall.

He completely ignored his two companions who were standing at the entrance, leaned against the wall. Ferra and Metal Sonic exchanged glances, having brought Starline here and were now watching him slowly descending into his mad scientist era. Ferra had a good idea of what Starline was up to and decided not to interfere. She and Metal Sonic gave him a chance by saving his life, and now they would probably be watching him as he was slowly digging his own grave. Admittedly, it was possible that he could avoid his own fate, but that was up to him.

'We need to leave now. Dr. Eggman has requested our presence.' Metal Sonic looked up to Ferra, reminding her of their obligation.

''Yeah, I know,'' Ferra muttered, sighing. ''I really don't want to go outside, though.''

Metal Sonic understood her sentiment, as he knew that the weather outside was completely merciless, but he also knew that they couldn't leave the Doctor waiting.

xXx

Sonic took a deep breath, feeling the cold breeze as he was sitting right in front of a fan as it slowly swayed from one side to another. Tails was sitting next to him with a bucket of mint-flavored ice-cream, while Lucas and Warren were sitting behind them, with Warren trying to fix some kind of gadget.

''Honestly, I don't know whether you can even finish working on that cooling device,'' Lucas said, giving Warren a look of concern. ''It feels too hot to even think.''

''If I install this into the fan, it will blow cool air. Besides, I need to take responsibility for not paying attention to the weather forecast, since I would've known about this heat wave and finished it before it hits.''

''You can keep yourself cool in different ways,'' Tails pointed out, eating another spoonful of ice-cream. As much as he wanted to help Warren, he simply couldn't move due to how hot it was. He was certainly at a disadvantage by being covered in a fluffy amber pelt.

''Tails, you barely slept last night and we couldn't open the window due to the hot air. This is the least I can do,'' Warren replied. Tails smiled at him, happy that Warren cared so much about him, as well as feeling guilty that he couldn't do anything.

''When they said that there would be a heat wave, I didn't expect it to be this bad,'' Sonic said. ''It's too hot to even run around.''

''It must be driving you crazy to be unable to go anywhere during this heat,'' Tails said, giving Sonic a sympathetic look. Sonic just waved him off.

''Don't worry, little bro, I can handle staying in one place to cool down. Even though I am the coolest person around,'' Sonic said, rubbing his nose as he smug look formed on his expression.

''Shadow begs to differ,'' Lucas commented, with Sonic getting startled for a moment, only to give Lucas a sly look.

''That's still up to debate,'' Sonic told him, lifting his head to give off an air of superiority. ''But, I'll admit that Shadow is a close runner-up.''

''I think you're the coolest, Sonic,'' Tails said, him and Sonic fist-bumping. Lucas just sighed, deciding to not make any further comments. He knew that Sonic was being his usual self, showing a bit of his own ego, although he also suspected that the hedgehog secretly wanted to admit that Shadow was just as cool, but refused to do it so in public. It certainly amused Lucas a lot.

''Speaking of which, do you guys think Dr. Eggman is going to launch an attack?'' Lucas asked.

''Seriously? During this heat wave? He'd have to be mad to consider anything,'' Sonic said, quite confident that Eggman would lay low.

''Well, about the 'mad' part…'' Warren trailed off, with all four of them suddenly realizing that Eggman would be capable of doing something like that, imagining him doing a mad laugh as he destroyed Neos City. All four of them lowered their heads in exasperation.

''Let's hope that we didn't just jinx ourselves,'' Tails said.

''Yeah…''

Lucas, Sonic and Warren quickly nodded in agreement.

xXx

''Thanks again for having us over,'' Minami told Lily, with her, Amy, Makoto and Silver having been invited over to Lily and Knuckles' home, which had an air conditioner, keeping everyone cool. ''Honestly, I have no clue how we made it from Westoru to Eas without getting a heat stroke.''

''I guess you were lucky,'' Lily said, sipping the cold soda that had been served to everyone. They were currently at the living room, sitting and talking while enjoying the chilling air.

''I don't think it was that bad,'' Silver said, enjoying his drink. ''I experienced even worse heat waves back at my own timeline.'' There as a moment of sudden and uncomfortable silence, with everyone staring awkwardly at Silver. The grey hedgehog looked worried, glancing at his friends. ''D-Did I say anything wrong?''

''Don't worry, you didn't,'' Makoto assured him. ''We were just thinking how this is probably nothing compared to Neos City in the future. If one puts it like that, then there is no reason to complain about this heat wave considering how in the future, the city would be engulfed in fire.''

''Well, so far we're avoiding that from happening. Who knows, maybe there is no fire in the future,'' Amy said, giving Silver a kind smile.

''I hope that's the case,'' Silver replied, a bit relieved by their comfort.

''We don't know for certain,'' Knuckles spoke suddenly, drawing everyone's attention. ''However, as long as we eliminate Mephiles, things should be fine.''

''Right,'' Lily agreed. ''Speaking of which, do you know where they'd gone after your fight over the Chaos Emerald?''

Makoto and Silver shook their head, with Makoto adding, ''No, we just left the moment the Chaos Emerald was gone. We knew it would take a while to make it to Cosmo River, where the battle against Perfect Chaos would be, so we didn't really pay much attention to those two.''

Silver hummed, his eyes narrowing. ''I wonder if Mephiles was right, if it really was possible to use Dual Chaos Control to travel through space and time.''

''Even if it was possible, I don't think you should be taking advice from someone who destroyed your future,'' Knuckles pointed out. Silver just nodded in agreement.

xXx

''…but, thankfully, due to he intervention of a Good Samaritan, the toddler was saved from dying from a heat stroke,'' Midorikawa finished her report, the amateur footage of said rescue behind her vanishing. She then pointed at the car behind her, with Kero opening the door and taking out a thermometer. ''As you can see in our experiment, we had put this thermometer in the car only 10 minutes ago, and the temperature has already climbed rapidly past 40⁰C. Imagine being a little child, a baby or a toddler, or even a pet, and be left by your parent or owner in the car during such a heat.''

''It would be the same as being slowly cooked to death,'' Kero commented.

''Indeed. This is why the police is issuing a warning to everyone who decides to leave their child or pet inside the car during the summer months – you will get arrested for child endangerment and animal abuse. It doesn't matter if you decided to go for a quick run to the store or even your own house, nothing excuses leaving a helpless being in a vehicle that practically becomes an oven when left too long in the sun,'' Midorikawa added.

''Unfortunately, there are parents and pet owners who disregard that, thinking that it possibly couldn't happen to them,'' Touka commented. She and Shadow were at Club Rouge, sitting at the bar along with Rouge and Omega and watching the news broadcast on TV. The club had it's shutters pulled down, keeping the place dark, and the air conditioner was running, keeping it cold enough. Touka then continued, ''Kisaki had told us that she already had two cases of toddlers being rushed into the ER because they were dehydrated, overheated and suffered from a stroke, and she's furious because she knows that there will be more of this in the upcoming days.''

''Oh, my… You'd think parents would be more responsible,'' Rouge commented, taking a sip of her drink.

''Apparently, the father of one of the toddlers fought the police officer over this, only to get arrested,'' Shadow added.

''Justice was served,'' Omega concluded, only to add after a moment of pause, ''Allow me to rephrase – the father should've been locked into the car permanently. Then, the car should've been blown up.''

''You're absolutely right, Omega,'' Rouge said, smiling slightly. Despite being a former Badnik created to destroy everything in sight, even Omega knew that human life was fragile enough to be aware that this was an awful situation, even if he decided to go a bit too far in his idea of justice.

''Well, the good thing is that in these kinds of cases, one would be allowed to smash the window without getting into trouble, so long as the cops are told about what's going on,'' Touka pointed out, taking a sip of the soda. ''In any case, there isn't much to do. Even Solar Stadium had been closed for the day because of the heat wave.''

''It sounds to me like this is going to be a rather calm day,'' Rouge pointed out.

''Disappointment due to lack of action rising,'' Omega complained, sounding quite annoyed.

''All three of you should watch out what you're saying, or you might jinx yourselves,'' Shadow pointed out. ''The next crisis might be right around the corner.''

''You would be fine with that,'' Touka said in a snarky tone.

''Hmph, you know well that I had been trained to deal with extremes. I'd be fine fighting in this heat,'' Shadow replied in a confident tone.

''Right, and that's why you dragged the fan out of the closet downstairs and put it in our room this morning,'' Touka said, giving Shadow a knowing look.

''Tch, I was just looking out for you… Why are you giving me that look?'' Shadow narrowed his eyes, glaring at Touka, who just kept up the knowing look.

''It's nothing,'' Touka replied in a casual tone, acting innocently.

''I know there's something you want to tell me, so be honest,'' Shadow replied, only to grow more annoyed when Touka just shrugged.

''I have no clue what you're talking about,'' she replied, her plain tone irritating Shadow, as he knew that she was up to something. However, he decided to ignore her.

''Hmph…''

Rouge and Omega exchanged glances, a little confused by Touka's grin and Shadow's irritation. ''Do you have any clue what's going on?''

''Negative,'' Omega responded.

xXx

Ferra and Metal Sonic practically ran into the Egg Base, escaping the afternoon heat, with Ferra taking a deep breath of relief. ''Man, it's crazy hot outside. What the hell is up with today's weather?!''

'Despite the heat, you were summoned here,' Metal Sonic pointed out. 'Dr. Eggman refuses to take a break.'

''Yeah, unfortunately,'' Ferra sighed. ''Honestly, I'd rather be at home and take an nice and long nap. Oh, well… Duty calls, I guess. I wonder what the Doctor is up to this time.''

''Hello, Ferra, Metal Sonic. How are you doing?'' Orbot greeted the two at the entrance towards the main control room.

''It's too hot to do anything,'' Ferra replied. ''I just hope that Dr. Eggman won't be sending is into a battle at a day like this.''

''Well, I don't know what the Boss is up to, but he's waiting for both of you,'' Orbot said, pointing them into the nearby room. Deciding not to let their boss waiting, Ferra and Metal Sonic walked inside.

''Ah, Ferra, Metal Sonic, you're here just in time,'' Dr. Eggman said, having been checking something on the screen.

''So, what are we supposed to do this time?'' Ferra asked, placing her hands on her hips. ''Should we attack Team Neos directly or do you have a different kind of plan?''

''Actually, I have something else I wanted to do. In fact, I believe that Metal Sonic is due for an upgrade,'' Eggman told her. Ferra and Metal Sonic gave him a confused look.

''An upgrade? What do you mean?'' Ferra asked. Eggman pressed a button, showing off a video of Super Sonic.

''That blue rodent and his friends are growing stronger and stronger. Obviously, Chaos Surge won't be enough in the future, so giving Metal Sonic an upgrade that would allow him to get ahead of Sonic would be beneficial in the long run,'' Eggman explained. Ferra exchanged glances with Metal Sonic.

''Would you really be fine with going through it?'' Ferra asked.

'So long as it allows me to defeat Sonic, I'm ready,' Metal Sonic replied. Ferra nodded and turned back to Eggman.

''Metal Sonic is fine with it, although I would like to know what this upgrade actually is,'' Ferra replied. Eggman smirked, snapping his fingers, with the monitor showing the image of Metal Sonic, but having a new appearance.

There were several distinctive traits with his base form, such as black eyes with red irises, a similar torso with a rocket engine in the center, and the primary blue color with red shoes. However, there were also several differences that gave this form of Metal Sonic a distinct appearance. His head had five long quills as opposed to his regular three, with white stripes and markings around his eyes. The yellow color in his ears had been replaced with red and his once grey nose was now black. He also possessed more pronounced body armor, with black and curved shoulder plates, larger gauntlets and leg armor with pointy kneecaps that had white outlines, a plate covering his pelvis and elf-like shoes. He also sported a spiky belt with a black cape that protruded out of the back of his waist.

Ferra's eyes widened in stunned surprise. ''Hey, that's…''

''Neo Metal Sonic.'' Eggman kept grinning, pushing his glasses back as they gleamed. ''I'd prefer to have Neo Metal Sonic on my side this time rather than get imprisoned.''

Ferra snorted in amusement, knowing well aware what Eggman was referencing. She then smirked. ''Having Metal Sonic transform into Neo Metal Sonic would give us a necessary boost in power.''

'Would it be a permanent transformation?' Metal Sonic suddenly asked.

''Huh, a permanent transformation? Well, I don't know…'' Ferra trailed off.

''It won't be permanent,'' Eggman said, understanding the nature of their conversation. ''This form would need to be manually triggered, but it would provide you with a lot of power. I was currently working on a way to ensure that you would be able to trigger the transformation on your own.''

''Great,'' Ferra replied happily, with Metal Sonic nodding, only to turn to Ferra when she had an additional question. ''Wait, what about Metal Overlord?''

''Unfortunately, Metal Overlord requires very specific data for it to occur. To grow stronger, Metal Sonic would obviously need to the data of strong opponents, and while we know where to find that, it would still be too much of a hassle. Although, I will make sure that, if Metal Sonic does attain the data, he would be able to trigger the transformation immediately,'' Eggman explained.

''I see… Then, let's go for it!'' Ferra said in a confident tone.

'Sonic won't know what hit him,' Metal Sonic added, feeling just as confident.

''However, it will take a while for me to complete this task,'' Eggman told the two. ''Especially since I had been planning on launching an attack on Team Neos.''

Ferra groaned. ''I should've seen that coming. Look, Doctor, it is way too hot to be doing anything right now. Could we at least wait until the heat wave has lessened in the evening?''

''Don't worry, you won't have to do anything,'' Eggman told her, feeling a little irked, with Ferra and Metal Sonic looking genuinely surprised. ''As a matter of fact, I wanted to take advantage of this heat wave and use a new robot I had been working on.''

''If that's so, then go ahead. They probably won't be able to fight due to the heat,'' Ferra said.

''That's the point,'' Eggman replied.

xXx

''I think this should work,'' Warren said, connecting the device to the fan, with Lucas, Sonic and Tails enjoying the cool air flowing through the fan. ''There, this feels better, doesn't it?''

''Yeah, it is much better,'' Lucas said, glancing at Sonic and Tails, who inched closer to the fan, agreeing with the sentiment. He then opened the holographic screen on his AR Visor.

''What are you doing?'' Sonic asked, leaning over as he looked curiously at the screen.

''I was just checking whether there are any news about aggressive Irregulars or Eggman attacking,'' Lucas told him. ''Frankly, I don't believe that Eggman wouldn't try to do something. After all, I'm sure that he is somewhere in Neos City.''

''What do you mean by that?'' Tails asked.

''Lucas actually wanted to figure out where Eggman's main base is and he believes that it is somewhere in Neos City,'' Sonic explained, turning to Lucas. ''However, so far, you haven't found any trace of his whereabouts.''

''I know, but that doesn't meant that I should stop searching. It would be much easier if we knew where exactly Dr. Eggman is,'' Lucas replied.

''I'm fine with not knowing,'' Sonic replied in a blunt tone, much to everyone's surprise. ''I mean, Eggman launches an attack, we defeat him, he runs off, we celebrate. I don't think there is any reason for us to know where he's hiding and go after him.''

''You're too relaxed about this,'' Tails commented in a dry tone. Sonic just waved him off casually.

''Nah, Eggman's just predictable,'' he replied.

''That, and you have plot armour,'' Lucas added in a snarky tone, with Tails and Warren snorting at the comment, only to start laughing.

''Yeah, that makes sense,'' Tails said, still laughing as he glanced at Sonic, who also found the whole thing amusing.

''I don't have plot armour, I'm just the best at the thing I do,'' Sonic bragged.

''SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, COME OUT RIGHT NOW AND FACE YOUR DOOM!''

''What the- Eggman?!'' Sonic leapt on his feet and quickly dashed outside, only to feel as if he got punched by the heat, the air around him feeling heavy. To his amazement, the quiet suburban afternoon was interrupted by a huge mech piloted by none other than Dr. Eggman. Sonic sighed, with Lucas, Tails and Warren joining him. ''You know, I had been hoping he wouldn't try to fight us in this heat. I guess he's just that mad.''

''That's the Death Egg Robot, but it kinda looks different,'' Lucas pointed out, recognizing the mech, albeit with a blue and silver colour scheme. ''I have a bad feeling about this.''

''So do I,'' Sonic said, stretching his arms. ''Let's destroy it before the heat gets to us.'' He then rushed ahead, trying to ignore the heat as best as he could and stopped right in front of the mech. ''Yo, Egghead! Why are you here? It's a bit too hot to fight right now! Can't you come back some other time?''

''Oh, don't worry about me, you pesky rodent! The new and improved Death Egg Robot is equipped with a cooling system that keeps the temperature quite pleasant, so I can fight however I want regardless of the heat outside,'' Eggman bragged, with Sonic frowning. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he did envy the Doctor, considering he could feel the heat radiating from the pavement he was standing on.

''Luckily, I'm capable of keeping a cool head at all times, so- agh!'' Sonic leapt to the side, almost getting hit with a huge snowball from one of the Death Egg Robot's arm cannons. ''Dude! I wasn't done with my speech!''

''I don't care!'' Eggman snarled, with Sonic being forced to avoid more snowballs. ''Now stand still, Hedgehog!''

''Not a chance!'' Sonic dashed around the street, only to feel a sudden sense of dizziness overwhelming him, followed by a headache. He really wanted to end this fight as soon as possible, but it felt like someone was hitting his head with a hammer constantly. He slowed down, realizing that his own body was shutting down, only to get hit by a snowball.

''Ha, I got him!'' Eggman gloated, watching the pile of snow on the street, with Sonic popping his head out of it, shivering and hugging himself.

''S-So cold… Achoo!'' Sonic sneezed, his body feeling as if a truck hit him and dropped a tank of icy water all over him. He could feel his arms and legs growing numb, only for someone to grab him and drag him out of the snow.

''Are you okay?'' Lucas asked him, with Sonic feeling the temperature suddenly change from freezing to hot once more as he was pulled onto the heated pavement.

''Honestly, I don't know whether Eggman wants me to die from heat exposure or cold exposure,'' Sonic replied, still shivering. He then shook his quills, getting the snow out of them and tried to warm up, only to feel faint.

''You should take it easy,'' Warren told him.

''Unfortunately, I don't have the liberty to take it easy,'' Sonic replied, trying to ignore the pounding headache. He then rushed towards the mech, curling into a ball and spin attacking it, with the Death Egg Robot taking a direct hit, even getting pushed back, only for Sonic to uncurl as he felt a searing pain in his back.

''Agh, hot, hot, hot! How long did that thing stand in the sun?!'' he cried out in pain, quickly flopping over into the melting pile of snow to cool down.

Eggman rose an eyebrow, having to admit that he didn't expect for the casing of the mech to get heated so fast, but then he grinned. If that was the case, then Sonic couldn't touch him at all. ''How the tables have turned! You are too fatigued due to the heat and cold, and now you can't even attack me without seriously burning yourself. Defeating you will be easy!''

Sonic's eyes widened when a claw grabbed him and lifted him up. Fortunately, the claws weren't as hot as the outer casing, but it was certainly uncomfortable being held like this.

''Hohoho, now you're at my mercy!'' Eggman continued to gloat, bringing Sonic closer to the window, where the hedgehog could see the Doctor's victorious expression. ''Any last words before I turn you into an popsicle?''

''Actually, I do,'' Sonic said, giving a confused Eggman a nonchalant gaze. ''If you turn me into a popsicle, what flavour am I going to be? I hope it's a chili dog flavour.''

''Your big mouth won't save you from this-'' Eggman suddenly stopped when he saw Tails fly up to the claw, his eyes now glowing and amber energy sparking around him. He placed his hand on the mech's arm, causing it to malfunction and release Sonic, whom he had grabbed.

''You're right, Egghead! Maybe I can't rely on my quips, but I can always rely on my friends!'' Sonic replied, with Tails chuckling, while Eggman just growled furiously. He was about to fire another snowball at them, only for the whole robot to suddenly stop moving as a pulse of energy covered it, shutting it down.

''What? How?!'' Eggman tried to frantically turn on the robot, only to see Lucas and Warren flying past on Lucas' hoverboard, with Warren still being powered up thanks to the Chaos Surge. Both teenagers just waved at him in amusement, leaving the Doctor seething. Apparently, one could cook an actual egg on his bald head due to just how angry he was. He started rummaging through the consoles, trying his best to get the robot back online, or at least turn the manual controls on. Unfortunately for Eggman, things weren't as easy as he thought, and he could feel the heat rising inside the mech, wiping the sweat off his forehead. Finally, he slammed the console in anger. ''Damn it!'' He then pushed another button, opening the top of the Death Egg Robot and flying out in the Egg Mobile, only to get hit with a heat wave the moment he as outside the mech. He then quickly started typing, grinning as the Death Egg Robot finally started to move. However, just as he got his hopes up, he heard the dreaded shout of ''Chaos Surge!''.

Eggman's expression fell when he saw a blue streak slamming through the Death Egg Robot, leaving the mech in pieces. Despite wanting to curse the hedgehog, Eggman could feel the heat getting to him, and realizing that things were over, he flew away.

''Huh? I'm surprised that he just up and left,'' Sonic said, de-powering as he joined Lucas, Tails and Warren. Fortunately for him, the Chaos Surge did allow him to handle the heat a little better.

''I guess that once the Death Egg Robot's power system was down, even Eggman couldn't handle the heat,'' Tails said, with Sonic giving him a thumbs up.

''You know, maybe the attack wasn't such a bad idea,'' Sonic said, kicking the snow he was standing on. ''The temperature is just right now.''

''Yeah, but I'd rather go back inside,'' Tails replied.

''Agreed.'' Sonic nodded, with the group leaving, hoping that the afternoon would pass without more conflicts.

xXx

Blaze the Cat slumped in her seat as an assistant brought over more papers to the office she and her partner, the imperial princess Sana Jai, had been sharing. Sana picked up the papers, quickly reading through them.

''We have more and more pirate sightings, some of which are ARNavs and others which are… robots?'' Sana rose an eyebrow. Normally, her parents would handle such matter, but considering how she was the partner of the Blazing Guardian, the protector of the Surya Empire, she insisted on helping Blaze as much as she could. That had also included her investigating the pirate raids, mainly those caused by Irregulars as their navy could handle the human ones.

Blaze sighed tiredly. ''I need to call Marine and ask her whether the ship had been repaired. We'll have to head out as soon as possible to deal with this.''

''Right,'' Sana said, with Blaze giving her a hesitant look, only for a look of confidence to appear on Sana's expression. ''We both agreed that we would work together to stop the raids, didn't we?''

''We did,'' Blaze muttered. ''I still can't believe that you had actually managed to learn how to use Chaos Surge.''

''It's because I have a partner I can trust, as well as friends who gave me advice on how to use it,'' Sana replied, only to pause for a moment. ''Honestly, I kind of wish they were here. We could really use Team Neos' help with this.''

''Didn't Minami and Amy send us a message about fighting a water deity named Chaos, which left part of Neos City in ruins?'' Blaze brought up. ''I'm sure they're busy with their own problems.''

''I guess, but still, asking them whether they'd want to visit us wouldn't hurt,'' Sana pointed out. ''If they're too busy with protecting Neos City, they can decline.''

Blaze sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. ''If you want to do that, go ahead.'' She then looked up. ''Normally, I would be against it, as this is our duty and we shouldn't be dragging anyone to do our work, but knowing how capable Sonic, Lucas and their friends are, we might benefit from their help.''

''I'll send them a message immediately,'' Sana said, rushing off.

Blaze smiled, leaning back in the seat and taking a deep breath. Despite her reservations, she was looking forward to seeing Team Neos again.

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#Sonic Cyber Revolution (Masterlist)

[theshippingqueens-blog]

im back and with a new dnf fic! along with the help from alex one of my partners in crime colabing with him is always a pleasur. Georges pov~

The soft glow of the moon light peaked into the kitchen as i scanned the pantry for something to eat. I huffed taking out a pack of instant ramen grabbing a bowl and filling it with water sticking the ramen in there and putting it into the microwave. I glanced at the time it was 3 in the morning. My sleep pattern has been crazy in order to avoid Dream and the feelings that came along with seeing him. Suddenly I hear soft footsteps approach me from behind as I look at the microwave timer. I feel a familiar presence behind me when I turn I see his handsome face. Dream standing beside me looking at me with heavy eyelids. Dream says softly “What are doing here so early?” and I avoid his gaze. The timer went off as i reached for the handle Dream grabbed my wrist Our eyes met. "Why are you avoiding me?" He asked his voice raspy from sleep "I'm not" i said as he let go of my wrist so i could grab my food. He huffed crossing his arms over his board chest. my eyes linguered for a second before meeting his gaze again. "i'm sorry if it seems like i am but im not." I said mixing the noodles around. Dream sighs and puts a hand on the counter that’s behind me “Tell me the truth, you been avoiding me every single day” he says and looks at me with a gentle but intense gaze. I could feel myself melting for him every second I look into his green eyes. I look at him “I just been having some, problems” I say softly while trying to avoid his eyes. I take a small bite of noodles swallowing as dream stared at me. Finally he hummed his eyes holding some unknown emotion in them. He pulled his phone out the soft sound of music dirfting out of the speakers. He came closer taking the bowl from me he held my empty hands a warm smile on his face. "You know you can come to me for anything?" I nodded "good" he said placing a soft kiss to my forehead making me blush a bit as he handed me my bowl back.. Dream notices the blush on his cheek “Are you blushing?” he says, making my eyes widen and I quickly say “n-no” before any questioning. Dream hums in amusement, I finally finish my noodles and put it in the sink “I think I’m g-gonna go back to bed now, uh bye” i said rushing back to my room. I slam the door sliding down huffing i can deal with Dreams teasing but these feelings are getting out of hand already. My phone buzzed

Snapmap: I heard u slam the door whats wrong?? Me: Just…issues nothing to worry about Snapmap: about Dream??? I look at the phone for a minute, debating whether I should tell him or not. I finally text back Me: Can….can you come to my room? Snapnap: Sure, I’ll be there

I hear the door open and soft quiet footsteps enter, seeing Sapnap. I see him look at me with concern and he says “Whats wrong?”. I run to hug him tighty and say “I love him, I love Dream, I’ve been avoiding him everyday but it’s getting worse”. Sapnap looks at me and wraps his arms around me “Just tell him how you really feel, I bet he will understand, besides I been seeing him flirty with you” he says, making me blush more then I already was. "Yeah but how do you know he wont reject me?" I said worried. "He wont i promies now go out there i saw him in the kitchen." I smiled heading into the kitchen the music still playing. "Hey i thought you were going to sleep?" i sighed. "Couldnt sleep." "Dance with me then." He said taking my hands as Perfect starting playing. I took his hands as he pulled me close and his hands went to my waist, making me blush, this point blushing for every single thing. Dream chuckles then suddenly pulls me in for a gentle kiss making me gasp but still returning it. I can feel dream smirking in amusements as I return the kiss, and I pour all my hidden feeling into the kiss. Dream breaks the kiss and looks at me, with a vulnerable love. I say “I love you, dream” I confess as I look into those loving eyes. Dream smiles and said “I love you too, I been loving you for a long time, I just…. didn’t know how to tell you” I smiled as well. Both of us were obvious that Sapnap was watching from the hallway in amusement then went back to his room. While I was lost in the moment, dancing with dream as the song began to end and fade into the background. "You know your perfect right? More than anything in the world." Dream said making me smile. I put my head on his shoulder relaxing. We stood there for god knows how long but it was simply perfect just me Dream and our love for eachother

~the end~

A/N short little fic did with the help of alex this one was fun and done in between school work and teasing but we got it done anyways thanks again guys for your love and sapport and as always i'll take requests and feedback

[transfrogrified-in-the-void]

Hey 18-20 year olds? You’ve only just started the hardest part of growing up: learning how the hell to do that and how to be an adult. And yeah, I��m in the same boat, here’s some things that have helped me so far

- a friend who is older than you

My best friend is 7 years older than me, and he’s been able to give me so much advice on personal philosophy, how to work on personal issues, etc.

- a friend who holds you accountable/is very honest with you

having a friend who will take you aside and tell you “x thing you’re doing is actually making y hard/unfun/stressful/etc.” is more valuable than yes men friends. These are the friends who will question life decisions if they seem to make you unhappy, in the pursuit of making sure you’re exactly where you need to be.

- learning how to make accountable apologies

Here’s how I structure my apologies now, and I’ve had not only good reactions and conversations afterwards, but I’ve had to use them in various ways. “I’m sorry about x. Y was happening, and instead of doing x thing I should have done z thing. Again, I’m sorry.” It not only has removed the loathed “but”, but it also allows for explanation and a plan on how to avoid it. I will also sometimes add “I’ll try my best to do z thing” if I know I’m going to need some time to fully erase the mistake if it was a habit, but in general that helps a lot.

- start trying to find who is a small dose person and who’s a large dose person

What is a small dose person? For example: I know someone who I can only be around for maybe an hour when with other people before I become irritated by their presence. Is it their fault I’m irritated by them? No, and they’ll never know I am. Because I’m only around them for around an hour once every few months. That’s small dose. It’s the “you’re not a bad person I just cannot be around you for long periods of time”.

- if things you read on social media/the internet make you emotional, restructure how you spend your time

Here’s a really hot take. For those who were tuned in for the dungeons and dragons drama, I’m about to tell you guys something crazy. The draft that was leaked was actually incredibly lenient (I can’t remember what it was called haha). How do I know this? I could tell I was getting a little heated and sent it to a friend who knows way more about that sort of stuff and asked for his opinion, and he told me about other examples of it that were more harsh but not lambasted. If you read a headline or a post or tweet and get up in arms, take a step back and take a breath. You don’t have the time to get emotional about every little thing, you’re too busy growing up.

- make friends or acquaintances who don’t believe the same thing as you

My best friend is a centrist who leans more right than left. I am more left leaning than he is by a good amount. We both have very enlightening conversations because of that. Here’s the funny thing, I do hold some right leaning beliefs anyways because that better supports the area I live in. I don’t want the government grabbing the land around me because they’ve proven to be incompetent. I’m fine with looser gun control because there have been times where mountain lions just. Appear in my city. We have an overpopulation of wolves right now. A few other ones I don’t feel like sharing. My friend has changed how he views certain issues and so I have I because we talk about what we disagree about. If they respect you, they’ll debate but not argue

- not everything is about you

Building off that last point, not every counterpoint is an attack on you. It can feel like it, because you’re still expanding the telescope you see out of into two working eyes (I’m still getting there too), so being able to say to yourself that this is either a) bigger than you or b) not about you at all can help you get through more conversations more levelheaded

- you’re in puberty

Final thing: your body is still a hormonal war zone. Emotions are heightened, thought processes are everywhere, you are still growing up. Give yourself time. And grace. And kindness.

[perspectivestarters]

Perspective's Sentence Starters; Who You Selling For by The Pretty Reckless (Part II)

WHO YOU SELLING FOR

In the middle of a dream, on the darkest night...

Woke up in a scream.

Thought I'd lost my sight.

Who you selling for tonight?

Pack my bags, time to fly.

Don't be sad.

I'm not that high.

Who you selling for?

Tonight, it's alright.

I can see the tunnel at the end of these lights.

When __ called, I didn't even answer

Know-it-all.

I was building a wall.

I've been waiting a long time.

I think I'm right.

BEDROOM WINDOW

I see the chaos that's calling me.

The wind blows wherever it will go.

It's all too much for me.

It never comes when I want it to.

I can be anything I've forgiven.

All this time that I've spent just wanting to know.

Now that I've seen it all I want is to go.

Is it all real or just fantasy?

I have lost touch with what makes me human.

I have lost touch with reality.

LIVING IN THE STORM

There's something wrong with all of my friends.

Empty heads and violence.

I'm trying to pretend that it's not me.

I can be anything I want to be.

I'll try to ignore it.

I'm living in the storm.

But it's not me out on the streets.

I don't know who any of you people are.

I'll try to avoid it.

I try to avoid this.

I know I'm alone.

I'm already dead and cold.

They're killing brains in all of my friends.

When I look inside of 'em, there's nothing happening.

I can think.

ALREADY DEAD

I was nice to the people that I meet.

Inside there was hate,

Can you relate to the feelings that I preach?

I know the way to go.

I'm sure it's all in your head.

I'm cold.

I saw in the distance.

It was rolling right at me.

I smoked me to death.

I can feel it all.

You died so long ago

I'm alone up here on this stage.

THE DEVIL'S BACK

Remember when you didn't worry?

Remember when you didn't care?

That's when you were living.

You were alive.

I don't know what's happened to me.

I guess the devil's back.

I hate what I've become and now I cannot breathe.

Anxiety is killing me slowly.

What happened to youthful carefree?

When did I get so old?

MAD LOVE

Your love ain't got nothin' on me.

It's just a fantasy.

I got none of the friends.

I was alone until you came and went.

There's someone inside me.

I think it's you.

I am through with your love.

All of these voices debate in my head.

One thinks I'm crazy, one thinks I'm dead.

I am alive when I battle with you.

You think you amaze me?

When you come around, I lose my mind from the sound of your voice and your laughter.

I'll come right after your love.

Love got nothin' on me.

[kierancampire]

Just to say in advance, I played a fair bit of this game ill and tired, I still am currently ill and tired, and I struggle with spelling, names especially, at the best of times, so please excuse any misspellings of characters and places, I will try my best, I just can't be bothered to keep repeatedly Googling each one to check if I have it right. Anyway, with that said, here is my experience/thoughts on God of War Ragnarok, major spoiler warning as I'm going over everything:

I was smiling like crazy at the beginning, it was such an awesome opening and really captured the changes in all the characters. Though I immediately was said as it just started fighting Freya and I thought, I don't want to kill her, I actually got into a lil debate with a friend who hated Freya and wanted to kill her due to her threatening you after killing Baldur, so I was dreading it.

I literally cried when Fenrir died, like, had genuine tears come down my eyes and was sniffling, I know we never knew him but god it got to me.

While it was awesome finally seeing Odin after GoW and all the stories on him, I felt conflicted. In my mind I was picturing a sorta Zeus like Odin, maybe slightly muscular cause it's GoW after all, but just the beard, taller, a more powerful presence. I was kinda taken aback by this smaller, meaker man without the epic voice, but at the same time, that made me realise how deceiving and manipulative he could be/appear. I should say right now, outside of what is said and shown in GoW and maybe the odd popular thing, I know nothing of Norse mythology.

I thought the game was so incredibly beautiful! I am playing on my PS5 with a 4K TV and it is just gorgeous! It truly is such a beautiful game! I also loved how large the worlds were! There felt like there was so much more to them this time! While I tried to avoid everything about the game, some things did slip through, like knowing you go back to the same realms, and I was apprehensive but they are like whole new worlds, and the actual new worlds are incredible! Svartleheim was such an awesome first world, I loved it!

When you first play as Atreus I was freaking out so much! I had no idea there were Atreus sections of the game, so I lost it! Although his gameplay isn't perfect, it is fun, and obviously him transforming with rage makes it so much better! (I did suspect he was the bear at the start, one of the exceptionally few things I know about Norse mythology is Loki can transform)

The jelly fish creatures in Alfheim were so beautiful! Once I released the first I just sat there watching it "swim" in the sky, so pretty!

It was *SOOOO* awesome going to Jotunheim and seeing more of the world and the Giant side of it! I loved going there and getting to explore more of the actual world! It was so awesome seeing Angrboda and her grandma too! Just learning more of the Giants and their story was so great!

I couldn't believe we got to visit Vanaheim! After hearing so much about it, it was so cool getting to actually go there! I must admit, the plants drove me fucking crazy, but I loved the rest of it!

Hearing about then seeing that Freya had a brother was so cool! Though him being called Freyr and it being pronounced the exact same way was confusing, very handsome though! Their own things of Yngvi I forget Frayas was a lot easier to tell who was who.

I absolutely loved getting to break Freya's curse and how it was done! It was sad that the ancient creature had to get sacrificed for it, but I loved finally setting her free.

Finally getting to actually visit Asgard was so awesome! I must admit, it woulda been cool to get to explore it more, and I was expecting something grander, but I did love finally going there and seeing it!

Seeing the Nonir people was awesome too, like knowing they even existed was cool, but seeing them was cool! They were insufferable know it all's but I guess that was the point! The Kelpie was so beautiful!

I was really sad you had to kill Gorm, the Hel wolf, as he was only just freed. So I love that Atreus not only found a way to save him, but to keep Fenrir alive! That was lovely!

It was SOOOOOO awesome finally seeing, ah, I think it's Skal and Hati? The wolves that chase the sun and moon? I was expecting more celestial type things, but it was awesome meeting them!

The Heimdall fight was really bittersweet. I found him insufferable and wanted payback for all his shit, but at the same time, he didn't deserve death, and Kratos repeatedly says how much he doesn't want to kill him or return to his past life, so it was sad it happened anyway.

Atreus seeing the Aesir really conflicted me. On the one hand, the whole time in GoW you hear these horrible stories of them and the atrocious things they've done, Thor and Odin especially, and you want to bring them down to avenge all the fallen, like Thor was to the Giants as Hitler was to the Jewish. But then you kinda can't help but get connected to them, see their human side, and see that they all are being used and manipulated by Odin, and Thor has suffered. I especially never wanted to harm Thrud, she was just a child and a pawn of a pawn, but then harming the ones she loves is harming her.

One of the biggest moments I lost it was Brok/Odin. I had *NOOOOO* idea Odin could transform too, and had no inclination that he was really Tyr! Do when it did the huge reveal that Odin was really Tyr all along, I lost it! And immediately my mind was racing like, did the dwarf set us up by giving the location of "Tyr", Odin knew that whole time with Atreus, everything with Freya was bullshit. But then I had no time to think as he just instantly kills Brok, I kept expecting something to happen to save him, but then he was really gone, and I just couldn't believe the game did that! Though I do love how in his final moment, what Brok did was stand up to Odin by himself and caught on before anyone else.

So playing GoW twice before this game, I was looking forward to so many things the game said would happen around Ragnarok (though the wolves never ate the sun and moon?), and one of those things was seeing Surtr! It was so awesome finally meeting him! And that area where the realms meet was SSSSOOOO beautiful and pretty! I loved it!

So like, I thought Ragnarok was an event, I had no idea it was a "person" so seeing a physical embodiment of Ragnarok was bizarre.

I felt so conflicted on Thor! On the one hand, I wanted to kill him for all he had done in the stories and just who he was, an abusive, dead beat dad who was an awful person. But at the same time, he is so easily manipulated, besides Odin, Atreus is able to manipulate him, then immediately after his wife manipulates him against Atreus, then even Kratos sorta manipulates him, but then you see he realises Odin used him and sacrificed his family, and Thrud loses her dad, so it was so conflicting when Odin killed him.

So I didn't like that Odin's soul was being kept alive in a ball, so when Sindri smashed it I was very happy, also, yeah, everyone in that room had a right to kill Odin and I am glad Sindri did. Though with his anger, the blood and dirt, torn clothes, you can see how much he has lost it with losing Brok and I hurt for him. Like he hates Atreus, blames him, and has been so nasty to him, and that just isn't Sindri.

So I had no idea the game ended with Atreus leaving! It really made me wished I finished side quests and stuff with Atreus that felt more fitting! I also was so sad he left! I was happy for him, but sad for me/Kratos.

I really enjoyed doing optional stuff, all the side quests were super fun! And just exploring the lands and getting optional locations/labours was really fun! Though I did find trying to get to some locations really confusing and tedious at times, but doing the Crater in particular was great!

So when Atreus put the soul in the snake and Angrboda said it was growing like crazy, even after only recently playing GoW twice, I thought that meant the snake was transforming into a giant Giant and thought nothing of it! It wasn't until Freya practically spelled it out in Midgard in a conversation that I realised it was the great snake! I had my mind blown!

I am glad I finally eventually managed to kill all the Valkyries, including the queen, as yeah, they are all so plot important that it woulda felt odd never having done it on my save file, so the story was more cohesive because of that.

So I still have Gna, the Beserker King, a few Ravens and the odd lore/loot to get, otherwise I think I have done pretty much everything? I also still haven't really touched Valhalla, so I need to do that, I just don't massively enjoy that style of game.

I really loved the more detail and life this game had over GoW, like the insects and lizards on the walls, the birds and other creatures in the sky, the animals and such around the world, I loved all the little touches to bring more life and realism into the world.

I really liked how we see a more emotional Kratos finally. Even through everything, the only emotion he ever really shows is anger, and he speaks of sadness and heart break but never really shows it. So having multiple scenes where his voice breaks and he's clearly really emotional, I really loved seeing that finally. I guess I should add here I also loved finally seeing Faye, seeing her as a living character, and then hearing more about her past and who she was.

So one thing I struggled with a lil was combat. For like the first half of the game, fighting felt really tedious and boring, enemies were just unpleasant to fight, and I never really felt like I struggled, but the repeated respawns of enemies just felt like it went on for too long, this did all eventually improve/stop though. Another thing I struggled with was difficulty. I played the game on normal, but it just felt all over! I would say a majority of the game felt way too easy, I never really struggled, and staying on top of health, breaking and avoiding enemy attacks was super easy. But then there were random points were it would just get really difficult out of nowhere, or, even if it wasn't "difficult", you'd be stuck in multiple forced battle encounters, or bosses that went on for ages, and I would just die from not having the skill to keep dodging and attacking for the length of time the game required me to do so.

Another thing I struggled with was the game itself. So even though at points I had only been playing for like, 15-30 hours. I think where I did so much in every world, I felt a lot deeper into the game than I was, so the story kept going and I just had no idea where I was in the game! Like I had no idea if I was near the final mission or if I still had 8+ hours left! And even though it is called Ragnarok, due to this timing issue I kinda was expecting the big battle to be in a third game! So it was odd eventually doing it.

In GoW I felt like I had no real glitches, but this one I had a few. Like, with Atreus (and this only happened with Atreus, never had this issue in any other game either), if I would hop over something/get down from a ledge, occasionally he had this issue where my controller would sorta stop working, and he just glided and wouldn't move correctly, I'd have to give it a minute before he we fine again. There also was another issue that in Asgard, it kept repeatedly showing I could pick up items I already picked up in the closet even though nothing was there. Also with Kratos, sometimes either the compass would disappear entirely and I just had to wait for it to randomly appear again, and no, I wouldn't be in a fight or even near enemies, or other times the compass would be motionless and not show me where to go, or it would take me down routes I couldn't go down, so I spent many areas blindly trying to find my way around which is awful when you have my sense of direction!

But anyway, yeah, here's what I "finished" the game on. Unlike GoW I felt no need to wear a matching armour set, and I know that the curass I have on has no perks, but it's stat buffs to everything was insane! Also, even though I had done everything to get all the Chaos flames, including the Beserker and Muspleheim, I am one short from fully upgrading them and I have no idea why? As the rest are story ones thus I can't miss them? So no idea why I couldn't fully upgrade the blades! Gotta be honest, never touched the spear beyond using the R1/R2 abilities, I found I took more damage than I dealt trying to use it, I greatly preferred the blades and axe. But yeah, the exploration and combat options were great either way! Over all I loved the game and had such a great time playing it! I just am sad I will never get the experience again of the Tyr, Brok, and Atreus plot twists for the first time again! Though I guess when I replay it I can maybe experiencing things in a new way knowing these twists!

Oh just editing on, the writing in the game was fucking great too! There was so many deep and complex lines, so many that struck with me and got me kinda emotional, like, the writing was great! But there were so many hilarious lines too! Like Mimir was fucking hilarious the whole game! "Chuck me at him brother, horns first!" "All-Fucker!" "What the fuck is an olive?" and so many more, but other characters had great and funny lines too! There just is too many to quote! Some entire conversations are great, like I love when Mimir and Freya roast Kratos over Lunda's orb :') Also I am quite sure that Thor does a Will Smith reference during his final fight!