#If anyone knows the name of the artist that would be appreciated too. I need to credit them

[sterredem]

The Secret of Us

Driver!Singer!Reader x 2023/2024 grid

Face Claim Gracie Abrams

Warnings hate, not proofread, spelling mistakes (prolly)

Summary In the world where Y/n is a racing driver the current grid isn’t always supportive. So she proves everyone wrong that she can do more than just driving cars around.

A/N a little less with the grid then I would like but I still love it. Also as always there will be spelling mistakes.

Also for people that don’t know ‘y/f/n’ means ‘your friends name’ so you need to make that up too! (For the Gracie fans she is basically the replacement for Audrey)

Please comments and repost!! And dead back is also always appreciated🫶❤️!

Instagram

Like by Redbullraacing and 836.837 others

Yourusername Got P3 today! Happy with the results. Also had a great time exploring China. A little 2 week break before Miami. Looking forward to be in the US again. And thank you for the team @Redbullracing for the good calls.

View all 19.836 comments

Y/f/n So proud 💕

LewisHamilton great job 👏

User1 why does the caption look so pr written? Like where is the emotion?

User2 prolly cause it is

User1 huh? Why?

User2 Y/n accidentally posted some things she wasn’t supposed to (a few times) (things like race strategy’s and some other milder things) so the PR team decided that it would be better to have all het social media managed (she can still chose her pictures and some caption and the posts from the off season)

User1 ahhh thanks

User3 Favourite racing driver

User4 she’s so pretty~

User5 I hope she gets control of her social media back soon that was the most fun times with her funny captions and pictures

User6 P3 Whohoo!

User7 does anyone know why almost none of the drivers like it comment on her posts? They always do it with the other ones. Even max didn’t like and he is het team mate

User8 we don’t know but there are a lot of speculations that either the WAG’s Forbit them or that they just don’t like her very much. Maybe even both

User7 why don’t the wag’s and drivers like her?

User8 the wags are prolly jealous and the drivers are just salty white men that can’t handle a girl being successful in motorsports (besides Lewis and some retired drivers they are great friends)

User7 thank you 🙏

User9 🏎️

User10 I don’t understand how people can dislike her

User11 I love her

User12 I love her and y/f/n’s friendship

User13 deserved💪

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Instagram

Liked by SabrinaCarpenter and 1.293.836 others

Yourusername A little trip with friends before going back to work✈️

View all 78.752 comment

Y/f/n Cutie

Yourusername says you

SabrinaCarpenter beauty liked by author

User1 she’s so pretty

User2 it’s so woerd that no one related to f1 in het likes is not even her team only some fans

User3 so true!

User4 I love her friends

User5 I need a friend group like hers

User6 This is why you do so bad in the races

User7 why???

User6 she isn’t training and is doing other things

User7 well all the other drivers are also having a break and are on vacation and she is one of the top driver on the grid at the moment with a team that are on the top at the moment.

User8 you go girl

User9 wait Sabrina Carpenter in the likes and comments?!?! I didn’t know they where friends

User10 I would love to be friends with her

User12 how is it possible to be this beautiful??

User13 not still the or caption😭😭

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Instagram

Liked by user6 and 186.836 others

F1gossip Y/n y/l/n was seen numerous times going to Long pond studios (the music studio where a lot of artists like Taylor swift record their music). The driver has showed before that she has a talent for music. She showed that with the covers of popular songs that she posted in her YouTube. Is she there to make music herself? Or is she helping her artist friends with something?

View all 9.836 comments

User1 OMG?! Y/n music???

User2 wait that would be so cool…

User3 what is it with f2 drivers and their side quests?

User4 more like f1 drivers and music.

User5 huh? Only Charles did that right?

User4 no! Charles did the piano but Lewis also featured on a few songs as XNDA!

User5 Omg? Cool!

User6 if she does it is going to fail. She is t talented enough for that she can’t even drive

User7 said you. With your fortnight videos

User8 besides the point… but she looks so good…

User9 so true

User10 I’m curious how she is going to promote it. Like is she gonna do it on her main insta en accounts? Cause that one is PR controlled but if she does another one than she doesn’t have a large following

User11 wow. You really thought about that huh? But yeah. I’m curious too

User12 I would love music!

User13 it would also be amazing if she would be on rep tv valt teach with Taylor

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Time skip to break between canada and Spain GP

Instagram

Liked by OliviaRodrigo and 1.372.726 others

Yourusername Oops… I cut my hair… also follow @y/nmusic for a suprise on a few hours…

View all 98.836 comments

OliviaRodrigo Beauty (also I followed)

Yourusername says you (yay!)

SabrinaCarpenter exited!!! Liked by author

User1 OMG?!?!

User2 MUSIC???

User3 WE WHERE RIGHT!!

User4 The hair is honestly so cute!

User5 what is that on the street?????? Perhaps a song title????

User6 it’s gonna be bad

User7 stfu with your fortnight

User8 how can one be so perfect?

User9 HOURS???? HOURS?!?!

User10 I followed!!

User11 Already at 1 mill followers?!?!

User12 Is perhaps the TS merch an Easter egg?

User13 So exited!!!!!

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Instagram

Liked by SabrinaCarpenter and 937.836 others

Y/nmusic 💛THE SECRET OF US💛 Comes out July 9th!!! I loved making this album, it was amazing working with the people I love. We had a great time writing all this! While it was great their where also tears. 💛RISK💛 will also be out June 19th!!! Y/f/n and I wrote Risk together on our couch. Aaron also produced the shit out if this! And the amazing Abby shot the cover art. I. Love. You.

View all 17.872 comments

SabrinaCarpenter 💛💛💛

OliviaRodrigo So happy that the secret is finally out😉

Y/f/n AAAHHHH!! So exited!!

Laufey Thank god!!✨

Aarondessner ❤️❤️❤️❤️can’t frocking wait!!!!🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌

Noahkahanmusic can’t waaaaaait

User1 OMG?? A WHOLE ALBUM?!?!

User2 This is amazing!!!

User3 RISK?! WHAT IS THIS SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!

User4 Aaren produced this?!?! This is going to be crazy!!

User5 All these artist in the comments all of a sudden

User6 Untalented, it’s gonna flop

User7 💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛

User8 Still the grid ignoring her

User9 this isn’t race related so I understand it

User8 but with Charles’ album they liked and said that they were happy for him online

User10 THIS IS GONNA SLAP!

User11 she looks so good in this. Probs to Abby!

User12 R U KIDDING ME

User13 AAAAAAHHHHHH

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Instagram

Yourusername and y/nmusic

Liked by SabrinaCarpenter and 827.836 others

Yourusername Some bts shots of me recording this album. This is a little freak before RISK comes out!! Also teach list soon…?

View all 11.826 comments

SabrinaCarpenter You looks so cute while sleep deprived💛

Yourusername awwww thanks cutie

OliviaRodrigo How can one look so cute while working?

Yourusername You know all my secrets baby

Y/f/n I took these🤭

Yourusername yes you did🤭

User1 beauty

User2 does anyone notice that her account isn’t PR controles anymore?!

User3 OMG! Yes! I just notice it that you say it. You instantly see it with the comments amd caption

User4 Long pond studio you say? Where a surten Taylor swift goes??

User5 I love her friendship with other singers

User6 your not cute

User7 she is

User8 I just realised that she wrote and recorded this while also racing and doing all that work

User9 OMG YES! I’m so impressed. I also think she write most of it herself so that also takes quite some time

User10 💛💛💛💛

User11 so exited!!

User12 I love you!!!

User13 still not any drivers

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Instagram

Liked by OliviaRodrigo and 826.836 others

Y/nmusic Risk out now!! The music video will be out tonight at midnight!!!! Also as a suprise Close to you will be out June 28th!!!! Thank you all so much for the support (and the track list WILL be out soon I promise!!)

View all 15.736 comments

Y/f/n I had a great time directing this!!

Y/nmusic And it turned out amazing!!!!

User1 Probs to Y/f/n for making this masterpiece liked by author and y/f/n

User2 MOST AMAZING SONG EVER!!

User3 Still not other drivers

User4 let it go girl they aren’t obligated to like or interact with things that aren’t f1 related and also them it is only max than needs to do that because he is her team mate.

User5 The party part was amazing

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Instagram

Liked by ConanGray and 927.936 others

Y/nmusic Close to you out now!!! Also you can buy some new vinyls!! And now I PROMISE that the next post will be the track list!!

View all 7.636 comments

User6 Bad!

User7 stop being so childish bro you are 18

User8 BOTH AMAZING SONGS!

User9 JUST LET ME BE CLOSE TO YOU!!!

User10 CLOSE TO YOU

User11 CLOSE TO YOUUU

User12 your so gorgeous

User13 💛💛💛💛💛💛

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Instagram

Liked by TaylorSwift and 1.276.286 others

Y/nmusic Finally! It is here! The long awaited track list!! It will all be yours July 9th!!

View all 183.736 comments

Taylorswift Finally! Our little secret is out!!

OliviaRodrigo So proud!!

SabrinaCarpenter Aaaahhhhhh!!

User1 TAYLOR SWIFT?!?!

User2 it’s kind of funny that this is one of the only posts that the drivers like……

User3 I LOVE YOU IM SORRY?!

User4 og y/n fans know I miss you, I’m sorry

Yourusername OMG YOU REALLY ARE AN OG!!

User4 OMG HII!

User5 Charlie?! Blowing smoke?!?! What is this?!?!

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Instagram

Liked by SabrinaCarpenter and 972.826 others

Y/nmusic ‘The secret of us’ OUT NOW!!! Thank yiu somich to everyone that helped to make this possible!! I also took this time to thank my friends with helping me through this. You helped me both mentally and practically. I love you all

Comments are limited

OliviaRodrigo 💛🫶

SabrinaCarpenter love you😘

Y/f/n 😘😍🥰

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Instagram

Liked by Charles_Leclerc and 2.183.936 others

Y/nmusic I had an amazing time playing with you Taylor. It was an honour to play with you on Milan n1!

View all 238.926 comments

Taylorswift always an honour to play with you💛 liked by author

Charles_Leclerc it was amazing seeing you

Landonorris What a great song

User6 not the drivers in the comments😭😭

User7 the drivers are begin for forgiveness now that she is FAMOUS famous

User8 it was rare I WAS THERE!!

User9 it was so funny to see how almost no one knew the text but also so sad cause it is such a good song😭😭

User10 This being at the show where Charles Pierre and a few other drivers where is so funny to me😭

User11 but it could just be accidental

Uset10 it could but they were in the section were all the people are that are invited by Taylor

User12 I LIV ETHEIR FRIENDSHIP!!

User13 best driver fr

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[swolesome]

Transmasc Tumblr, I need you.

I dunno if there's a rallying cry or some kind of ancient incantation I gotta bust out, but HEY TRANSMASC FOLKS AND TRANS MEN, EXCUSE ME PLEASE. I'm a trans dude with a small-ish YouTube channel working on a video about the erasure of transmasculinity, particularly in the wake of the recent debacle involving a former YouTuber who I won't mention directly but his name rhymes with Sames Jomerton. His plagiarism of Alexander Avila and Jes Tom, and outright misgendering of ND Stevenson got me fired up about how often we're overlooked or merely an asterisk in queer discourse, so much so that even those of us in this community need to search high and low for resources on our history and health care. So I'd like to hear from you. If you're comfortable, I'd love for anyone who's part of this community (and not a transmedicalist) to message me directly with something you wish more people knew about us, or an anecdote about one of your experiences (happy, sad, angering, your call.) A paragraph or two is ideal--for longer posts, I will likely not be able to include them in their entirety, but I will quote them where I can. If you'd like to be involved, please let me know if you'd prefer to be anonymous or to have your name dropped and socials linked; I'm hoping for the latter given that the idea is to shout out more artists and creators, but I want to give the anons space to be heard, too. You can also help by recommending transmasc YouTubers (especially essayists) who could use more eyes! I'm looking for more creators to enjoy personally, and I'd love to shout them out if it would help them. If y'all could reblog this, I'd be very appreciative, and if you read all of this, dog bless you. 💙 And an extra special thanks to @socksonat3am for being such a great friend with exceptional meme game. He blindsided me with a compliment so now I'm getting him back because he needs to know how talented and delightful and magical he is. Take that, Socks. Get absolutely treasured.

[scuderiasundays]

chili’s angels

summary: carlos can’t say no to his little girls, leaving him with some explaining to do on media day + a little insta au at the end 🌶️

words: 806

a/n: this one was in my drafts for a while but i brought it out for @thatsdemko and all the dad! carlos girlies out there. i know there are a lot of you! tagging @vamossainz55, @sainzcaleruega, @monzabee, and @diorleclerc just because. feedback is much appreciated as always. hugs and kisses 🫶🏼

When Y/N found out she was pregnant with twin girls, Carlos was over the moon. He had been raised by a vivacious mother and alongside two sisters, who despite driving him mad as a child, had become his closest confidantes. Carlos stopped wearing the Tom Ford cologne you once loved when it started to trigger your nausea. He rushed to a nearby drive-through at midnight solely to satisfy your craving for fries and a milkshake. And when your shoelaces needed tying, he was always there to help.

“I feel like I’m asking way too much of you,” you spoke. He smiled and gently caressed your growing belly. "Never, mi amor. Taking care of you and our girls is my purpose now," he said tenderly. "You're an amazing mom already, and I can't wait to see our daughters grow up with the same strength and love that you have."

You had held off on naming the twins because you strongly felt you owed it to your daughters to meet them and get an actual feel for their energies. Together, you spent an evening brainstorming a list of potential names, Carlos voicing a particular preference for their names starting with the same letter. Labor proved to be more challenging than anyone had ever prepared you for, leaving you drained once it was over. Carlos cradled the newborns in his arms, softly uttering their names, "Melina" and "Mila," while his gaze shifted from one little face to the other.

Flash forward, and your twin daughters thought the world of their dad. You loved getting to see Carlos in a new light, your love for him only growing as you watched him interact with your girls. "Can we go outside and play? Please!" Melina and Mila were like the Energizer Bunny times two on the rare weekends when Carlos was home. Although he rarely said no to them, they were both feeling under the weather, so he shook his head. "How about we stay inside and do some drawing?" he suggested.

"Can we paint your nails? Mamá always lets us," the girls asked, their eyes widening as they edged closer to him. Carlos paused for a moment, thinking, what harm could it do? Eventually, he nodded in agreement. The girls knew exactly where their mother kept her nail polish kit and eagerly fetched the equipment. "We have Barbie pink and Ferrari red, just like our cars," Melina said, holding up the bottles with her pudgy fingers. "Mama wears the red one when we watch you drive on TV," Mila chimed in. He assumed Melina was referring to the little toy LaFerraris he had bought the girls on their birthday. He loved watching the girls as they raced in their garden, a tangible sign they had inherited his passion for cars.

"What's that thing you always say, Papá? For the Ferrari?" Mila looked up at her dad with chocolate brown eyes. "Forza Ferrari, mija," Carlos replied. Before he could even pick a color, Melina grabbed his hand and started painting his thumbnail bright red. The girls both had a hard time staying within the lines, so Carlos took it upon himself to clean up the edges. After they were done, he was instructed to place each hand under the UV lamp. He couldn’t help but wonder if the nail polish would come off easily later, but he soon noticed the excitement of being nail artists had worn the twins out. He picked them up and gently laid them down for a nap.

As Carlos boarded his flight to Hungary, he realized that his red manicure was not coming off without a fight. He absentmindedly picked at his nails, silently wishing his wife had been there to offer him the mini nail file she always carried. With media day approaching, he knew that people would definitely pick up on his vibrant nails.

"Nice nails, Carlos. Whose handiwork is this?" Natalie, a familiar face, pointed at his hands with a smile. Carlos chuckled and replied, "Oh, this masterpiece? My twin daughters painted them. I just don’t know how to say no to those two." He shrugged, shaking his head.

"Well, here they are to say hello.” The TV presenter had organized a surprise Zoom call with Y/N and Carlos' daughters, who had been nicknamed "Chili’s Angels" by his fans.

"Buenos días, mis hijas. I hope you're feeling better," he greeted them, waving at the camera. Melina proudly held up her mom's hand, showcasing her red nails. "Look! You and Mamá match now!" she exclaimed. Carlos winked at his wife, grateful for the little moment of connection despite the distance.

"Forza Ferrari, Papá!" Mila squealed, waving goodbye. ���They really are my angels, all three of them,” he thought, setting off a mental countdown of days until he was back in their arms again.

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

liked by yourusername, landonorris, and 57,575 others

carlossainz55: life is sweeter with my angels. hope i’m making you proud 🫶🏼

yourusername: we’re so lucky to have you! you just had to choose THAT photo of mila scarfing down her pizza? clearly my genes 🍕🤤

fan1: chili’s angels merch when? i swear i will buy it ALL

landonorris: ask melly and milly who their favorite uncle is and i’ll let you by at the start on sunday!

carlossainz55: “come over, uncle lando! we can paint your nails orange.” - melina & mila sainz

anasainzvdec: the most adorable nieces an aunt could wish for ❤️

scuderiaferrari: when mila said “forza ferrari” in an interview this morning! who’s cutting the damn onions?

fan2: carlos and @yourusername are starting them off young 🥹

[jinkookspencil]

superstar | jjk

you, the quiet, lonely achiever, get paired up with the superstar new student at your university for a group project... and he needs all the help he can get

description/tw/tags: ~7.1k words / jungkook x chubby (f) reader / one-shot / fluff with a tiny dash of angst / strangers to friends to lovers / university AU / this is a request, submitted by the lovely @cat123jkbunny / i hope you (all) like it! / fatphobia (details: y/n is insecure and quiet and she gets bullied for her body and is made fun of for it, with someone insinuating she isn't good enough because of her body. There is also a scene where she feels like she is ashamed to eat in a crowded place but jk helps her out of that) / clean except for kissing and swearing / this is for my fellow curvy/chubby/plus girlies, you are all beautiful and i am always here for you and i hope you like this / feedback is always welcome and it's appreciated! note: i have 2 half-written drabbles (AND even some more ideas) that emerged from this fic request, with the same couple! If you guys like this and want to see those - let me know!

┅ ┅ ┅ ┅

Please not Jeon Jungkook. Please God, not Jeon Jungkook. Anyone…. anyone but…

“….Jeon Jungkook.”

Damn it.

His name echoed throughout the gigantic lecture hall and in your skull. Out of every student in your class, did it really have to be him? The one paired assignment you had in your course had to be with Jeon Jungkook. As your professor called out the pairs… there seemed to be no one left but the two of you and the final pair, who were always together, his best friends Taehyung and Jimin. You’d gladly work with either of them instead, or anyone really….

There was nothing wrong with Jeon Jungkook… nothing at all. That was what was so bewildering about your university's superstar. Jeon Jungkook was the school's…. everything. Enigmatically the star athlete, a featured artist, a Dean’s List candidate, and even a band member on the weekends, apparently.  He was the student that transferred to your prestigious university - absolutely unheard of - simply because the faculty were that impressed by him. With a reputation like that, it wasn’t long before everyone knew his name and face and was captivated by him immediately. Even the professors took a liking to him straight away - you’d grown tired of hearing them mention his name during office hours while they seemed to be getting tired of you. Every girl and guy on campus fawned over him - within good reason, you had to admit, considering his reputation and easy-on-the-eyes appearance… though you'd never stare his way for too long. The point remained:

If you went unseen, Jeon Jungkook was seen.

Being paired with him meant that whether you liked it or not, you would be in the spotlight in some way. No matter what - you’d have to talk to him, for God’s sake. You think to bolt out of the hall, find his email address, and just send him a breakdown of your responsibilities for the assignment or even an offer to do all the work yourself. You’d hate to, but if it meant interacting with Jeon Jungkook as little as possible and remaining unseen, you’d do it - what’s a few all-nighters and extra work when faced with the humiliation of talking to the school’s most popular person?

“Y/N?”

Shit.

People hardly called you by your name at university - your one friend had already graduated, so just being called would’ve startled you enough… let alone having heard it from such a hushed, singsong voice. Turning around, you see the enigmatic man standing right above you. Everything made sense in an instant. The love, seeing his kind smile. The admiration, seeing his muscles. The crushes and rumored weekly love letters he received, seeing… him.

“Hi, Y/N. I’m Jungkook,” he says, gesturing towards himself as if you’d never seen him or heard of him. “I don’t know if you know me, I sit all the way in the back? With Taehyung and Jimin?”

“Hi, I know who you are, Jungkook,” you mumble.

“Oh, cool,” he says, still smiling. “I guess we’re together! For the assignment, I mean...”

“Yeah, I guess so. You don’t really have to worry about a thing, though. I can just send you an email later breaking down what each of us should do, or I can just do it all by myself, and we’ll-”

“Oh. No,” he says, quietly interrupting you. “I… can’t have that. I don’t think that’ll work.”

You felt whatever polite expression was on your face fade at that moment… What did he mean by ‘no’?

“I want to actually work on this… I want to work on it together… please.”

You had no idea what to think at that moment, only replaying his quiet, hushed ‘please’ over and over again as he stood beside you, fiddling with his earrings.

“Jungkook, I can take care of it. You really don’t have to…,” you start, but he interrupts you again, shaking his head and sitting down beside you in the now almost empty classroom.

“No, Y/N. I..,” he starts in a hushed tone. “I’m really falling behind in this class and we have the exam coming up…. It’s not just that, it all seems so interesting it’s just that my stupid brain can’t comprehend much of it.”

Jeon Jungkook? Falling behind? Admitting to an unknown fact? Call himself ‘stupid’? Sitting in front of you, he’d finally been looking at you, his wide eyes lowered since the moment he’d approached. It was eerie too see, a look behind the curtain into the life of your community’s local celebrity when you’d been nothing but just another spectator.

“Look, I always want to do things on my own too, so I get where you're coming from...” he continues, “…and that must mean you can try to understand how desperate I am here. It’s hard to ask for help, but… I need it. I’m not lazy, I promise. I need actual… help... please.”

So that’s why.

The shock faded away in an instant. If there was one thing you might've been known for at university, it would definitely have been your grades. Strangers came and went, looking for “the fat girl at the top of the class," as a couple of students kindly called you, never bothering to ask your name. They never got consideration back or even a glance in their direction, let alone your work when they dared to ask to copy it…. but… Jeon Jungkook asked for help. Not to copy the homework, get basic instructions, or an "in" with certain professors. But help. And for the chance to work on it together.

A refusal rested at the tip of your tongue, even then, but that quiet ‘please’ was still on a loop in your mind…

How could you say no?

“Okay..”

“Yes! Good! Great, okay,” Jungkook says enthusiastically. Did he always have a wife, bunny-toothed smile? It was adorable. “Can we meet at the library tomorrow?”

“…Sure, Jungkook.”

“Perfect. Get ready, Y/N. I have a lot of questions. Oh, wait, first of all - what was that song you were humming on your way out of class yesterday?”

┅ ┅ ┅ ┅

You suspected it would be the one study session to get Jungkook up to speed and lay out the work for the assignment. But the one session turned into two, which turned into three, and before you knew it, you and Jungkook would be meeting at the library every single day.

It was… overwhelming to say the least. The workload, definitely, as well as the added time spent teaching him but on top of that… the stares and whispers nearly set you off when other students, even his own friends, Taehyung and Jimin, would murmur ineligible words when they'd spot you together in the library. It didn't slip past you that it definitely must’ve been a weird sight, the Jeon Jungkook sitting next to a nobody like you...  but when you were actually with him, the world around you faded away. All that mattered was the material you knew by heart and the boy who needed to learn it. And boy, did he need to.

After an hour of explaining the material to him one day, he’d continued to stare at you blankly. “Jungkook…. Are you even listening to me?” you resigned multiple times, realizing he had a tendency to space out at random points throughout the day. It was enough to almost tempt you to ghost him and just present him with a finished assignment or a detailed lesson plan.... but when he snapped out of it, he always hit you with an adorable, child-like pout and that irresistible plea: “Can you explain it to me again, please?”

So, you resisted the urge you felt before and after study sessions, to neglect him and stop the meetings altogether. In truth, you could’ve. Jungkook would do well enough to pass... but you couldn't accept him achieving the bare minimum. "I'm trying to steal your crown," he joked on day two, proving one of the many things you and everyone else had heard about Jeon Jungkook.

Finding out something new about Jungkook was to turn the page on the most fascinating book you'd ever read with limitless pages, for it seemed as though he and his talents could be described as such. It - he - was awe-inspiring, new, and enticing in the best of ways. And at times, it felt like it was only yours to hold, for you were the person discovering aspects to him, hardly believing it been you realizing it yourself, up close and personal.

He was definitely a competitive one, that, everyone knew - but you’d realized it went far beyond sports - aiming to rival you and fellow Dean's List candidate Kim Namjoon for the valedictorian spot despite admitting he'd still be behind if he tried his hardest, just thankful to have some worthy competitors. It proved that it was real ambition that Jungkook had in him. In contrast to the rumors that he never really cared about his studies, you saw just how clever and curious he'd been, in addition to his dedication in showing up every day, even when he didn't need to. He loved everything he did and never limited himself, whereas you’d been studying as much as you could in your field only to further advance in your comfort zone of academia. When you'd revealed this to him, he, ever the competitive one, expressed his jealousy at the stability ahead of you, helping ease the countless worries you'd had about your own future.

And, you’d discovered the fact that he’s, surprisingly for an artist and musician, more in his element when it came to logic, numbers, and science - with spreadsheets, calculations, and graphs just to keep track of your progress on the assignment, though he skewed the numbers to work on the assignment further. It frustrated him most as he struggles with words, essays, and theoretical concepts, which never made sense to you, considering he felt so much and made you feel so much in return. It was never stress or anger, even on the hardest of days - he had a surprisingly relaxed attitude for such an accomplished athlete. Rather, he expressed patience and envy when you'd been teaching him, and what got you most - his awe at the subject matter… even though he zoned out often. His eyes lit up whenever he started to understand something… you could swear you almost saw stars in his pupils whenever something evidently clicked inside his brain. And every time it did, every time you felt that damned butterfly in your stomach whenever he smiled… only to leave the study session to see daggers in your direction… you had to remind yourself - you were just here to help him.

He was Jeon Jungkook, for crying out loud. You were just another person who started to like him, as everyone does.

You had to remind yourself that his eyes were ordinary, brown eyes - no matter how big and starry they'd looked on certain nights. That though you’d gotten used to the way his soapy scent blended with that of the books around you, the familiarity of the books’ sweetness on its own was just as lovely. That people were looking. That he asked to study, not to get to know you. And that he had his pick of anyone he wanted in the entire university and beyond... there's no reason he'd want to spend time with you for longer than he had to and for more than you had been spending already. Your mental reminders only worked that hard when you had work to do.

For the first time in your life, you felt like a fool. For laughing at his every joke. For continuing to study with him and not putting an end to it the first time your heart fluttered. For not stopping the crush that you had on Jeon Jungkook. Though you felt like one, you never acted like a fool in front of him - at least, you didn’t think so, holding onto that paper-thin hope to at least ground you in some way. It was just as easy to remember that the sheer impossibility of anything happening, plus the actual studying, were at the forefront. It was hard to kill the butterflies, though. They returned every day, whenever you’d bounce off one another in explanation and conversation, drifting off-topic and sometimes getting personal, when he joked around and tried to convince you that university isn’t actually the end of the world… or even when you simply sat working together in comfortable silence.

That was exactly how it was on a regular Thursday afternoon. Tucked away in your corner of the library, you and Jungkook worked away peacefully when a student you’d never seen walked up to Jungkook. A regular occurrence, seeing as he was so popular.

“Hey, Kookie,” you hear, your eyes still fixated on your screen.

“Hey, Jia,” he replies. You can’t tell if he looked up at her or not. Did he? What did his eyes say? Fuck, why should you care?

“Hey, what… what are you doing?” she says with a giggle. If your peripheral sight was to be trusted, she placed her hand on his shoulder. You shouldn’t care, but resist a smile when he shoves it away. “You’re here every day, Jungkookie. Aren’t you bored? Like… what are you doing?”

“I’m working,” he replies.

“What about her?”

Glancing at her direction, you could see it on her - Jia's - face that she definitely didn’t know your name, and you knew the stares you got well enough to know the look on her face was one of confusion or, dare you say it, disgust. Jungkook's eyes flickered down from you, before returning to his notes.

“Y/N and I have that assignment together,” he replies, “the final project for Mr. P’s class before the exam.”

“Ohhhhhh,” she says, nodding in realization. “Okay, that makes sense then,” she giggles. “See you, Kookie. Call me if you want to have some fun tonight.”

To you, it was clear as day what she meant. That makes sense. In a way, she was right. It was the only possible way Jungkook would be sitting here, with you, every single day. He never would have - wouldn’t have even known you existed - if he hadn’t been paired with you. He made sense with girls like Jia - someone he’d have fun with rather than study with and beautiful in every way society wanted her to be, starting with her model-like body to compliment his built one. That made sense, you reminded yourself.

It must’ve been a good minute since you’d done anything on your computer, so focused on making sure the pesky insects in your stomach were dead, that you barely heard your name being called repeatedly until Jungkook waved his hand in front of your screen.

“HELLO?!”

“What?” you jolt, seeing his crouched head peeking to look at you.

“I was asking if you could throw this. The trash can is next to you.”

Jungkook hands you a piece of paper, unfolded, before sitting down and staring back at his screen, this time with his headphones on. You move to throw the paper out in a hurry, almost missing what was scribbled on it.

Jia’s name and phone number.

┅ ┅ ┅ ┅

Before you knew it, the deadline for the assignment arrived, and you and Jungkook were done. After a particularly long night at the library finalizing the paper, you uploaded the document and he hit the daunting blue button titled ‘submit’.

“YES!” Jungkook cheers from behind you, having looked over your shoulder to submit the paper together. With his head right beside yours with his arm planted on the desk in front of you, the veins you’d never noticed before on full display. Just when you realized it had been too close not to get panicked, he forces your chair to spin and face him, sticking his hand out for a high-five. “We did it!”

“We did,” you sigh, meeting his hand, pushing away the feeling of it in your mind.

“Why on Earth do you look sad?” Jungkook asks. “We should be celebrating! Let’s go get fried chicken!”

“Just thinking of the exam coming up and my other paper,” you half-lie.

How could you tell him you’re already mourning the time you spent together? He shouldn’t catch on, though…

“But I guess you’re right. It is a good thing that we’re done with it.” Really, it was. The delusional thoughts would cease. Might as well say goodbye. “It’s been fun… getting to do this and getting to know you, Jungkook.”

You reach out your hand for a high-five, as he had, but instead of going to meet it, he takes two steps back, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You think you’re getting rid of me that easily?” he questions, cocking his brow.

“What?!”

“You said it yourself. We have the exam coming up.”

“Jungkook, you should be fine. You aced that assignment.”

“No, absolutely not.  I want… I need you. Your presence motivates me, and when I’m with you, I feel at ease…. with the material. It’s less scary.” It’s hard to ignore how wide Jungkook’s pupils had gotten as he fidgeted with his lip ring.

“Jungkook, Mr. P's exams are beasts unearthed from the very depths of hell. If I’m being completely honest, I can’t spend all my time teaching you," you say, speaking the truth.

“I’m not even asking for that. Just let me be near or around you. I’ll be quiet and ask minimal questions in the case of an emergency.”

Staring up at him, he had the same pleading and innocent expression on his face when he first approached you after you’d been assigned together. The time you spent together only confirmed that when he bit his lower lip and simultaneously arched his brows inwards and upwards… he was serious and pleading.

“I… might kick you out some days, Jungkook. When I need to focus extra hard.”

“Kick me out, then. Say the word, and I’m gone. And on the flip side, say the word, and I’m there - with anything you need. Like…. iced coffee! I know your order by now. Iced Vanilla Latte with an extra shot of espresso.”

Jungkook retraces his steps, standing right over you. It’s only when his hand reaches out do you realize your arm is upright, your unmet high-five still in the air. His hand meets yours softly, and without a single sound, fingers and palms perfectly aligned. His skin was calloused from his paintbrush and instruments, cushioned against your soft skin, his slender fingers towering over your wide ones… Pulling your hand down, your fingers get caught in his, which slightly curved towards you before your hand slips away.

Taking a deep breath, you notice Jungkook clear his throat. Suddenly, neither of you knew what to do with your hands, but he thinks fast, stuffing them in his pockets before finally looking back at you.

“So, deal?”

“Deal,” you yield, foolishly.

┅ ┅ ┅ ┅

Thank God you were smart as fuck.

Because though Jungkook kept true to his word, it turns out it was extremely hard to focus when your crush was doing one of two things - either quietly sitting beside you in all his glory (with no distractingly helpful responsibility of teaching him) or worse, when he was tending to you. There were the iced coffees, the water intake reminders, the extra highlighters, the space he gave you when he felt you needed it - even checking in with an “I’ll kick myself out for today” on a particularly stressful night before you knew you needed to do it yourself, for some alone time. You rarely wanted it anymore anyways. His questions and interruptions were few, always pleasant, of course, and never took up much of your time. It was worth it, seeing that proud smile of his when he now answered his own questions, just making sure from you that they were actually correct. The butterflies never stopped, especially considering he now sat beside you in the front corner of Mr. P’s lecture hall, abandoning Jimin and Taehyung on the other side of the room... The random, beautiful doodles he adorned your notebook with always made you smile harder whenever you studied - he was there even when he wasn’t.

“I knew you’d still be here,” Jungkook says, walking to your desk in the quiet library. Looking at the clock on your screen, you finally realize the time.

“What can I say?” you sigh. “What are you doing here, Jungkook? Isn't today Jimin's party, or whatever it was?”

“It was, and it might've been the dullest party Jimin ever threw. I know you cruelly rejected my invitation, but honestly... I don't blame you. It was the same old stuff and people and.. here's way more fun," he explained.

"Oh, come on," you reply, rolling your eyes. "Go back to the party, Jungkook. There's no way you think studying is more fun than even the most boring party at Jimin's."

"Hmmm... you're right. I still picked you instead because I missed you." The sentence escapes Jungkook's lips so quickly you didn't have a chance to realize what he'd said before he went on. "I wish you'd come... to give yourself a break. Knowing you'd be here, I decided to come and force you to rest. I also know that you haven’t eaten yet and that we still didn’t celebrate our assignment. We really should celebrate now, anyways.”

“What do you mean?”

“You didn’t check your email?”

You move to frantically get to your laptop before he blocks you. “No, you’re done for the day. Or at least, the hour - you didn't move all day, and I'm worried. Plus, your eyes are too tired. Should I get eye drops?”

“Jungkook... what score did we get?!”

“Only a 95%,” he shrugs, acting cool and uncaring before finally breaking into a wide smile. “We did it!”

A 95% was among the highest scores you’d ever gotten at university - a mark good enough to ensure you'd be the valedictorian instead of Kim Namjoon, who you’d been in competition with ever since freshman year. Not only that, 95% was a fast track that allowed you to possibly get your work published. Shrieking, you jump up from your chair and into Jungkook’s open arms. Realizing your position in the rush of it all, with your head on his shoulder, his tucked into the crook of your neck, and his hands wrapped around your plush waist… your heart only raced faster, which you didn’t think was possible. You quickly unravel your arms from around his back, and it takes a second longer for him to do the same.

You just hugged Jeon Jungkook. Why was he red? Probably ashamed, wondering if anyone saw him hug you.

“I never thought I'd... hear you scream in the library," he laughs, turning to a paper bag he'd placed on the table when he arrived. "I brought that fried chicken to celebrate. Let’s sit a while. You still need a break from all the screens.”

“I’d love to, but I can’t… eat here.”

“Why not?”

“There are some students around. You, too.”

“So? No one will mind the smell of fried chicken. That couple over there is eating it, too.”

"No, it’s…." you sigh, feeling as though you’re finally exposing some sort of unknown truth to Jungkook, despite the fact that he could obviously see you. "It’ll only make people judge me more. Stare at me more. For eating something like this in public. It’s like I…shouldn’t… with everything I’ve got going on. Like… it’s shameful?”

“But there’s nothing to be ashamed about. Nothing at all.” Jungkook looked just as confused as he’d been when he didn’t understand something in the lesson plan, but suddenly, it shifted to his ‘got it’ state. When he finally knew what to do. “Fuck it. Fuck everyone. Sit. Let’s eat. If anyone dares to look at you…. or, God forbid, say anything... You know I'm on the university's wrestling team, right?"

You nod and laugh because everyone knew, but he goes on. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure the whole university does, so I'd like to see some punk try anything."

He goes silent, shaking his head as he unloads the bag he brought and encouraging you to eat until he'd already finished half the bucket. Hesitantly, you grab a drumstick before finally taking a bite with your eyes fixated on Jungkook the entire time. You’d have avoided his gaze, even turned away, but with his raised brows and a closed-mouth smile, desperately awaiting your review… you knew you had to give him an answer fast, and you do so after the very first bite, shooting him a thumbs up. It was really good - sweet, sour, and spicy all at once. With your second bite and his proud smile, you recall another rumor you’d heard about Jungkook long ago. That he went on a tour of all the fried chicken spots in the city to find the best one. Asking him about it, you didn’t expect to find out that not only was it true, but it was also a life-long, worldwide mission of his - “Forget all the shit I’m talented at, this is my life’s purpose,” he proclaimed, saying that the chicken he'd brought had been his favorite so far. "And I wouldn't get you anything less than the best I’ve found, darling."

You felt your face flush, knowing Jungkook must've called you that jokingly. Still, the pet name sent your mind into overdrive, more than the studying did, as you fed your delusions for a little while. Darling.

You could've sworn you were actually living in your delusions later that night when he dropped you home for the very first time. The conversation never stopped, even until you were standing by your apartment building. "Still gonna study?" he asked, staring at your door.

"Maybe," you replied, knowing you'd be too delusional to do so, and if you tried, you would only end up staring at the words and cursing Jungkook for being too perfect and making you this way.

"Well, do you want to eat ramyeon now?” he’d said with a giggle. Catching you off guard, you nearly choked on air at the double entendre coming from him, but rolled your eyes and answered with a simple “Yes” instead, only for his smile to fade quickly.

Your fat ass should not be making jokes like that when you knew damn well you wouldn’t have shot. Especially not after dinner.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Jungkook," you hurriedly say, attempting to dash inside, only for your jacket to get caught on the way in. Looking down, you realize it hadn't been the knob that stopped it but rather Jungkook's fingers, clutching onto the fabric before letting it slip away. "Sorry. Goodnight."

┅ ┅ ┅ ┅

The moment kept replaying in your head, buried in your hands on the desk, agonizing over the humiliation as a break from agonizing over the workload. You had time to agonize today, Jungkook wasn’t there yet. If he saw you like that, he’d nudge you to get out of it.

“Hello?”

Jolted by the sudden voice of a woman, you look up to see Jia. “Hi,” you say, too awkwardly even for you. “Can I help you with something? Jungkook’s not here if you’re looking for him.”

“I can see that,” she scoffs. “I came to talk to you.” In all this time, your first run-in with her had been your only semblance of interaction, though you hadn't ever spoken to each other.

“Oh… Why?”

“What’s going on… between the two of you?”

“Me and... Jungkook? He told you, we had that assignment together….”

“That’s done,” she snaps.

“And now I’m just helping out with his studies.”

“Then why did Nani see him drop you home?”

“We’re… friends, Jia,” you mutter. You’d never called Jungkook that before, a friend, but you can’t help but think it’s fitting to do so... It fit, didn’t it? Weren’t you… friends? At the very least? Or...

“We’re classmates,” you quickly add.

“Friends - that's the funniest shit I've heard. His actual friends, Jimin and Taehyung refuse to tell me anything when he left that party. They were probably concerned and unsettled by it all…. I mean, everyone here can see how much you gush over him, you know? It’s embarrassing. I don’t know how he doesn’t see it and steer clear - especially since you should come with a cattle crossing sign, seriously.”

Was it that obvious?

“We all know he's just using you for that piece of meat between your ears until the exam's over. He's not an idiot, you know? Don’t get carried away thinking anyone outside your league would be interested in you.”

An emptiness grew with the uncovering of a deep fear of yours. Of course. Of course, he was still using you, you idiot... It was just the help he needed. Neither of you could have gotten the 95% on your own... He said he needed the help... the mark... She was right. He wasn't an idiot... but wasn't the Jungkook you knew too kind to use someone like that?

It was then that your phone, lying on the desk, lit up with a message, clear as day for the both of you to read.

[from: jungkook] “i’m on my way to you rn. brought kimbap!! hope you like it. made it myself :) ”

“Pft. He knows how to keep a fat girl on his hook. You fucking whale.”

You fucking fool.

“Heyooooooo!” you hear from a short distance in that familiar singsong voice that tugged at your heartstrings. Jungkook turned a corner and finally appeared from between the shelves. “Kimbap! Wait, what the fuck is wrong?”

Shit. You hadn’t realized tears were streaming down your face. As if you could be any more humiliated. Not even able to glance his way, despite him repeating the question over and over again, mere steps away from you, you stuff your things into your bag and rush out.

The last thing you catch is Jia’s scoff.

┅ ┅ ┅ ┅

Suddenly, avoiding Jungkook was easy. That urge you had long ago, the one in line with you, Jungkook, and the ways of the world…. Your two different worlds.

He’d chased you, easily getting to you and stopping you. Repeating his question again.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” you had let out, staring at the ground. You couldn’t talk if you wanted to.

“Are you kidding? What is it? Tell me…” he says quietly, putting his hands on your shoulders. You shake them off in an instant, walking away, only for him to follow close behind. “What is it? You’re not okay.”

“It’s… stress.”

“Bullshit - I’ve obviously seen you stressed. This isn’t it. I’ve never seen-”

“Jungkook, I’m kicking you out. Keep your word that you’ll stay out,” you snap, finally turning to look at him in the crowded library. If he’d never seen you this way, you’d never seen him that way either. Hurt. You can’t see why. He got what he wanted out of you, plus you’d told him you’d kick him out….

If only it was easy to keep him out. Jungkook had always listened when it came to the material, but it was as if he never knew how to in any other regard. His texts and calls over the weekend went ignored until you finally mustered up the courage to block him. You thought that would be that - Jungkook would go back to his world, and you’d go back to yours - but on your first day back, you find him sitting on the floor at the door to the library at the crack of dawn.

You’d specifically gone that early to avoid Jungkook - who always showed up during the late afternoons or evenings after having just woken up then on his off days. Yet here he was, sitting cross-legged by the glass door you’d walked into together countless times, glancing at the handful of other students with exams and deadlines as they walked in, out, and around him. Even from a distance away, you could see how wide his doe-eyes were. And he jumps up the moment he spots you slowly approaching the door.

“How’d you know I’d be here?” you ask quietly, trying to avoid his gaze.

“You say that as if you don't practically live in the library," he says, almost amused. "If you mean how I knew you'd be here so early - I took a chance. I would’ve waited all day until I saw you… All week, if that's what it took. And I probably would've convinced Mr. P to include a note with your exam sheet if you decided you disliked me until then.”

….Shit. Sure, you’d never end up with him, but he only fidgeted with the loose strings on his hoodie when he was really stressed - a sight you'd only seen once after a supposed tough day at wrestling practice. Now, they'd been undone with a hole at the bottom of the thick fabric. Knowing you caused it...

“I’m sorry, Jungkook. I shouldn’t have…”

“Yeah. You shouldn’t have,” he grumbles before shaking his head. “No, you don’t... You don’t owe me anything. You don’t owe me your time… I should’ve stayed “out” like I promised, but… I just want to know if you were okay.”

“I am,” you barely let out. With tears bubbling in your eyes, you walk into the library.

“I don’t believe it,” he says, trailing you.

“I kicked you out, remember? Stay out. Why do you even care?" you say without turning back.

“I care about you!”

When you finally stop to stare at him, Jungkook doesn't allow you to deny him, immediately grabbing your hand and pulling you deep into the library, through the twisty, student-filled desks, between sky-high bookshelves.

“Y/N, I want you to be okay. You don’t owe me an explanation if you don’t want to tell me anything, but… that's all I want. For you to be okay and happy and... you can't lie to me and tell me that you're alright. You can kick me out as much as you want to, I promised I would let you do so, but I'll always be waiting for you right outside that door. If you'll allow me to... I'll always be here for you."

The tears come pouring out, and without a thought, you rush into him, sobbing into his chest. “Hey, hey,” he says, a hand in your hair and the other soothing your back. "I’m here. I told you I'm here.” You missed his embrace. Had assumed you’d never feel it again. You probably won’t, past this point.

“It’s okay,” he whispers, with his arms wrapped firmly around your waist as you stare up at him. “Is it the stress?”

“No, Jungkook…. It’s.. you.”

“Me?!” he says, gesturing towards himself.

“Well, no, actually… I guess it’s me,” you mumble, staring at his hands, now at his sides.

“I don’t understand, Y/N.”

“Jungkook, we need to stop these study sessions. Not for a week but… I’m permanently kicking you out, and I don't know if I have it in me to ever unlock that stupid metaphorical door again.”

“Exile, huh?" To your surprise, he nods. "At least let me know this… Am I that annoying?”

Out of desperation, you almost say yes, but you’ve been cruel enough - Jungkook didn’t deserve any of it.

“No. No, not at all…”

He pauses. “I don't understand, but if this will make you happier, all I can say in this case is… thank you. I don't about my grades as much as you do, so I'm really just thank you for all this time. I…. I liked…. I liked spending this time... spending this time with you,” Jungkook lets out, his voice breaking.

Looking up at him, you see his eyes red. Was he about to cry too?

“It won’t,” you mumble.

“What?” he asks, looking down at you as if he were looking up, teary-eyed and innocent.

You either tell him, or tell him nothing and risk…. other people telling him, along with their own added commentary on how you weren’t good enough. It would be easier just to let that happen... Letting go of him yourself, despite the pain, would be more merciful on you both. So, you do, breaking away from his embrace.

“It won’t make me happier if we stopped.”

“Then why do we have to?”

“Jungkook, we need to stop because… for the first time in my life... I’ve set myself up for failure.”

“You’re the smartest person in the entire university. How on Earth did you set yourself up to fail?”

"Because I did it by stupidly falling for the best person in this entire university. I... like you, Jungkook," you spit out, hiding your face in your hands as soon as the confession leaves your lips.

“How is that setting yourself up for failure?” he sniffs.

You can’t help but notice a shift in his tone as he pulls your hands away from your face and tilts your chin towards him. He looked as serious as he sounded.

“Jungkook, be real.”

He stares at you, confused.

“You’re.... a star. Everyone here knows who you are - you're the best in every field imaginable - sports, art, music, academia, and on top of all of that, you're the sweetest, kindest, smartest - fucking best person I, well, everyone knows. And... look at you and look at me. I make sense of everything in this world, and this doesn’t make sense. Everyone knows it. They already give us weird looks for even sitting together. I know you just needed help, and I was happy to offer it, but I thought I'd be smarter than this. I think you probably offered to be there for me as a friend. I think we're friends, right? Either way, I think I've been an idiot for even thinking of you in that-"

Jungkook's lips meet yours, interrupting your ramble, train of thought, and your breathing with a kiss.

“You think too much," he whispers against your lips, stroking your soft cheek with the back of his index finger. "You can never set yourself up for failure, genius. I like you too.”

“No.... Stop," you say, taking two steps away from him. "Jungkook, you're being mean."

"Mean?!"

It had to have been a prank. Jungkook being so committed onto getting a good grade, once again.

"You can't use me like this. And what, you'll ghost me after the exam? After all the help? Pretend I never existed?"

"You say that and call me 'mean'? Do you really think I'd do that?" he asks, letting out a huff with his eyebrows furrowed. You'd never seen Jungkook.... angry. "I would never. Not to you, or anyone. If that were the case, if I weren't so goddamn in love with you, I'd be standing ashamed, fessing up in front of you instead of feeling so hurt and angry. The girl I like really thinks so low of me?" Taking a deep breath, Jungkook collects himself. "I wouldn't spend a semester with you if that was the case. I don't know why you'd think... that."

"It doesn't make sense, Jungkook...."

“it makes sense to me,” he says, stepping towards you until he is inches away and you can almost feel the heat between your bodies. “Why does it not make sense to you? You’re clever, aren't you? What’s that theory - every action has an equal and opposite reaction? You like me, and I like you. Equal. Two-ways. Makes perfect sense to me.”

“So… you aren’t just using me for help?” you ask. "You... like me?"

“No, no, I’m not using you for your brain…." he says snarkily before tapping his forehead against yours and letting out a smug laugh. "In fact, I think you’ve been pretty stupid.”

“Stupid?!” you recoil at a word you had never been called before.

“I said pretty stupid. And by that, I mean stupid pretty - in that you're unbelievably attractive - but also pretty kind of stupid, yes. You’re smarter than this, usually…." Jungkook envelops his arms around your waist once again, trapping you. Stunned, all you're able to do is look into his eyes as he goes on.

"Y/N, I want you to think for a second… Did I really need all that help I asked for? Did I really make it onto the Dean's List when I was supposedly doing that badly? Did I really not understand? Did I really need to sit beside you while we both worked? You said it yourself, I'm among the smartest kids in this school. I’ll let you in on a secret… sometimes I used to finish up my work before you and just played mini-games on the computer.”

Jungkook's hands find your face, pushing back a strand of your hair and giggling at what must've been a puzzled look on your face. When your gaze wanders in realization, trying to put all the pieces together, his hand cups your face, forcing you to meet his eyes.

“Sure, you helped me a little bit, but it was... heaven getting you to explain things to me, especially the things I already knew. It meant I could just spend my time staring at you, getting all passionate and excited. Do you know how wide you smile when I act like I 'get it'? Or whenever I actually do. It's why I keep asking you to repeat it - I can never retain any of the new information because all my brain wants to focus on is you.

For God's sake, ask Taehyung and Jimin. Ask them how much I talk about you. Did you ever actually listen to what they say when they specifically see us together in here?"

"I assumed they were making fun of you," you mumble.

Jungkook scoffs. "Yeah, no, Y/N. They tease me for having the guts to fight but not to confess, they kept trying to pressure me to do so."

It's hard to remember that Jungkook was a trained fighter when his embrace felt so safe, you think, staring at his torso in disbelief.

"Still don't believe me? Ask Mr. P how we got assigned together for that paper.”

The sentence stuns you to your core more than anything, jerking your head up to face him.

“I never needed that much help. I just… I wanted to spend time with the girl I'd had a crush on since I got here and didn’t know how to. I like you…. I always have…. idiot,” he says, pulling you closer to him until his lips meet yours in another kiss.

Just this once, you were euphoric to be so stupid.

[ngc7009]

hey kittens, I've got some serious talk to make with you. you see, unfortunately, lately we very often faced with the fact that a lot of good artists and writers do not get much feedback or being simply ignored. it makes me really sad because I genuinely think that their works deserve much more attention... and I've noticed it myself too, sadly, like my own drawings and stories are not needed by anyone. I mean, of course I see all you guys who leaves those kind comments and I appreciate it very much, but mostly — MOSTLY — people just leaving likes.

let me be clear. it's okay just to like posts. but for us, creators of any content, a simple like means "eh, it's fine I guess". which doesn't fill us with confidence, I'll tell you. for example, for me it feels like I did something wrong. maybe drawing I just posted is not so good as I thought? maybe people are just tired of me? am I bad am I annoying? so I immediately starting to hate it and to hate myself. and I'm sure that other creators often feel the same.

ok, now let me be extremely honest. even a reblog without tag (or with some standard tag like fandom name) is not doing much for us. we cannot help it, but it really feels like almost nothing... those reblogs, however, which people tag with screams and expressing their emotions, are golden. these mean a whole world for every creators, fills us with hope and inspiration. and it's not so hard to do, right? we don't ask for money, all we want is reaction. and if you really like what we are posting, please, don't be shy and don't forget to show it to us. this and only this keeps us motivated and helps us not to give up on creating a content.

and so, I would like to take the opportunity and share some accounts which I believe deserves more love and attention. I really hope that it will help them become more popular and find their audience.

@how-very-salty my favorite creator. I'm just in love with her art style and coloring. her Heathers and Jdonica art is gorgeous and her stories melts my heart every time. she's also planning to draw genshin fanart in the future.

@skeletonbeary making adorable and interesting original characters. she's doing TES art, Baldur's gate, Tian guan ci fu and many other. and her style is so soft and squishy, I just love it so much.

@nomadenord posts beautiful photos she's taking herself. also she's such an amazing writer, I love every story she created so far. check out her ficbook account for the most adorable and heartbreaking TES stories.

@assassin-artist doing Elden Ring and Chainsawman art. her original characters are so handsome and art style is simple but really beautiful.

here, check them out! if you'll like their stuff please let them know ❤️ I would like to mention more cool blogs but I’m not very social and don’t know much creators in person, unfortunately….

thank you for reading this.

[mcflymemes]

MISCELLANEOUS SENTENCE PROMPTS *  collection #5

take a nap with me.

please don't go.

you talk too much.

don't bother with any male chauvinistic compliments.

such disdain can not and must not be tolerated.

my handwriting is so bad, sometimes i think i should've been a doctor.

i wouldn't say no to getting lost with you.

we've got the element of surprise on our side.

i had to carry you for a while. it wasn't pretty.

anything broken?

i'm very impressed with you.

drinks all around!

now what is that supposed to mean?

i guess freedom is purely relative.

can you repeat that? i wasn't listening.

i'm not a threat. i won't hurt you.

what sort of trouble are you looking for?

when you're ready, we can get out of here.

i couldn't find your gun.

well, i thought you might be a little angry.

oh don't tell me. let me guess.

keep that thing away from me.

glad you think i'm hot... i guess.

hope that wasn't a family heirloom.

how has work been?

i don't think the world is full of criminals and full of murderers. it's full of nice people.

it could happen to anyone.

is your head clear yet?

will you go find yourself another suspect?

don't ask me any questions. i'm calling my attorney.

i'm trying to watch the game!

that's been known to happen.

i could wait.

can i ask a personal question?

how can i be angry looking at you?

i don't want to cut down on my standard of living.

don't catch a cold out there. wear a jacket.

you sure do know how to work a crowd.

what brought you here tonight?

i don't think you care too much.

that was... unexpected.

are you in charge of this mess or not?

this isn't what it looks like.

i just go where they tell me to.

i hope this isn't a bad time.

do you see something wrong?

here's your scarf. you dropped it.

i miss the way you used to touch me.

that's a stupid idea.

did it rain last tuesday?

can i sit in this?

that's not my problem.

did you have anything specific that you wanted to talk to me about?

i'm beginning to be very fond of you.

i didn't realize i drank that much.

may our enemies never be as happy as we are at this moment.

if you wait a while, we can go home together.

screw the rest of them. make them squirm.

that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me.

i meant to do that.

everybody is a suspect.

it's noble of you to come galloping to the rescue.

i know that. you told me.

you see, artists are very, very delicate.

you'll always have everything.

there's just one more thing i need to ask you...

can i use your phone?

i wasn't snooping.

can i take you out to dinner? my treat.

isn't that peculiar?

thanks for stopping by.

i usually don't drink anything i can't pronounce.

i just don't want anybody else to have it.

mind if i smoke?

what do you think of this?

i really appreciate your taking the time to chat with me.

why do all these people feel that they know me?

i can't tell you what a big help you've been.

as you travel through life, you'll encounter many barriers to happiness.

you're safe. i promise. i'm right here.

over my dead body.

that must have been very hard, losing someone you love like that.

this didn't need to happen.

i must have your name.

what's the matter? did i scare you?

what did you pay for those shoes?

i'm not very good on details, that's why i write everything down.

you didn't have a fight or anything, did you?

i've never met anyone quite like you. can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

are you still with me?

i guess it slipped your mind.

let's go inside. we'll be more comfortable.

do you mind if i grab a blanket? it's freezing in here.

just for the record, i love you.

maybe you should take the couch tonight.

maybe it would help if i knew where i was taking you.

[miningroseakira]

! Do not repost, edit, steal, NFT, claim as your own, and so on and so fourth ! [Reblogs and Comments help the artist and are very much appreciated!]

Hi. I'm alive and I'm gonna forego updating my artblog and just post this bc it took. too long, and I'm done having the "my artblog needs to have everything on it chronologically" mindset on here

I've fallen face first back into my mcyt/life series/hc obsession, and specifically my helsmits. The title of this file is "drawing other people's hels as a warmup"...... .....needless to say that warmup escalated and I've been drawing on these for like two or three days-

~~~ 1. The two in the bottom left are my own fallsmits (= helsmits with extra steps, lol) for Bdubs and Tango, Sleepless and SwingTek the beloveds- Swing has an inbetween of his natural and his "I'm totally TangoTek guys" hair colors in this doodle, because I said so.

2. Top left is a Hels!Stress named AnxiousBeast, who belongs to @square-milk. the possum thing is so creative, and I love her grian-esque unhinged vibes, so I just had to draw her 3. Top right is a Hels!Grian concept by @daffodily that I had my eye on when I first got into helsmits a year or two ago, but I don't think I ever ended up drawing him. No name given, as far as I could tell. Super dark with the stitches and everything but I love it. Totally different vibes but he does remind me a tiny bit of my falls!grian, Gregory, and I'm all for that - it's probably mostly the sweater color though jhdfkjgh but still

4. Bottom right is Foxtrot, a Hels!Tango with a very cool name, posted by @neoflames. I love the ice+siren powers this one has, plus the hair is very cool (no pun intended)

5. Central to this doodle page is Iota, a Hels!Grian design I saw and immediately became obsessed with. what the hels. who comes up with this stuff. (the answer is @rhapsoddity. rhapsoddity comes up with this stuff.)

6. And last but most certainly not least! At the center of the top is a figure that people on my art blog will have seen before, and that anyone who's browsed the helsmit tags will recognize - the beloved Limbo Lag by @galaxygermdraws. what a guy. what a little guy. he needs a hug someone hug him NOW this is an order. I'm sure my boy Swing would be glad to hear he's not the only blue tango counterpart giving off sad little guy energy

~~~

I'm gonna post this on this mcyt blog first and then reblog it to my artblog because I feel like it. this took so much more time and effort than I meant for it to fjhgkjf please I'm super tired so let me know if I made any errors with tagging people or names of characters

[Closeups under the cut]

[maniculum]

Bestiaryposting: Holghras Results

Now for what everyone -- or at least a certain percentage -- has been waiting for: the results for the Holghras! Anyone who found that sentence confusing can catch up by checking this page: https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting .

This time around, they should all fit into one post, as the response was a little smaller. I see how it is: everyone wants to draw Spooky Corpse-Eater With Magic, but nobody wants to draw Horny Bird With Problems.

I kid, of course. The Wutugald had some pretty clear visual elements that people could hook onto, but the Holghras entry is mostly about its behavior and doesn't give much information on what it looks like beyond "it's a bird". So it's pretty clear why people might have a harder time drawing artistic inspiration from that one. (And I really and truly appreciate those of you who took a crack at it anyway.) The level of physical description is going to vary a lot entry to entry, I'm afraid -- to some extent I think it's about whether it's an animal the reader is expected to be familiar with, but there are definitely a few detailed visual descriptions of animals most medieval Europeans would have seen because the author wants to do some symbolism. So it's a toss-up. Anyway, here's the link to the description people are working from:

And the results, again roughly in order of appearance. If yours isn't here, let me know -- I saw one post that said something about Tumblr eating their original attempt, presumably out of Bird Homophobia. I'm happy to reblog any that I missed due to Tumblr's functionality.

@bruncikara (link to post here) gives us our first interpretation. I really enjoy the medieval bestiary style, including the use of the Generic Medieval Plant that always reminds me of mutant asparagus. I think the border is designed to evoke the thorns in which the Holghras nests, which I also appreciate. The bird's pose, flat on its back with its neck curved up, is great, and it's shown performing its signature Hide With Dirt move. I think at least some of the inspiration comes from quails here, judging by the head... feather... thing... [Wikipedia break] ... okay, apparently it's just called a "plume", which I should have guessed. This is the first example of the common (and correct!) assumption that the Holghras is a member of the order Galliformes.

@jamiethekeener (link to post here) gives us this one, also posing with its signature dirt clods. I'm reminded of a cardinal, personally. The artist provides a brief comment on their design, noting that they are not a bird expert. I think this is a pretty cute juvenile bird, and the way it holds the dirt comes off as kind of playful.

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) has produced another very naturalistic drawing, which (in my non-expert opinion) manages to look very much like a real bird without specifically looking like any bird in particular. They apparently do know birds, because they specifically name-drop Galliformes in their description of their design decisions. I like the decision to also include one of the bird's Signature Behaviors, i.e., the mother carrying her chicks.

@pomrania (link to post here) has given their Holghras a selection of striking features, which they explain in their post. There's a lot in that post, actually, and I really enjoyed reading the whole journey of this particular drawing. You should go read it too -- the post linked above also provides a draft version, a link to a series of progress sketches, and a link to an explanation of their design choices that includes rumination on how to make a bird look "slutty". Go check it out, we'll be here when you get back.

@sweetlyfez (link to post here) describes her design choices briefly, indicating that her goal was to pick Bird Attributes that could look unsettling in combination and suggest that the bird depicted has a "terrible sex life". Mission accomplished, I think -- that bird does not look trustworthy. Also now we know that thing on its head is just called a plume, so good for us. I really like the effect the -- watercolor? I think? I don't know art -- provides, and that seagull-esque spot on its beak really is a great touch.

@rautavaara (link to post here) has done another beautifully stylized drawing with a very pleasant color scheme. They provide a brief explanation of their design decisions in the linked post. I'm particularly struck by the fact that this version of the Holghras apparently carries its young in the same way that the folkloric version of the stork carries babies: in some kind of cloth wrapping held in the beak. I also like that the chick's feet are sticking out.

@mobileleprechaun (link to post here) apparently had some trouble posting this, but I'm glad they got it through, because it's delightful. I like the little bird on the right with its feet sticking straight up, and the other one under its mother's wing/arm. When I first saw this, I was briefly puzzled why the drawing contrasted male and female birds, because they looked quite similar -- then I noticed the tailfeathers -- then I looked more closely at the male's tailfeathers and cracked up a little bit. The linked post provides a brief explanation of the design decisions, including why the wings look so much like arms. It also has a couple tags that I find funny.

@karthara (link to post here) provides this excellent image as well as a brief explanation of their design choices. I love the over-the-top tailfeathers on the extremely-sexy purple male Holghrases, and the babies dangling from under the female's wing, and the fact that the clod of dirt being held up by the juvenile is at least as big as the bird holding it. Also, those ridiculous tailfeathers are apparently inspired by the Onagadori rooster, which means we're back with the Galliformes.

@embervoices (link to post here) did this adorable drawing of the juvenile Holghras. I particularly like that she's taken a different route than having it just hold up the dirt: this one apparently has a little hidey-hole like a trapdoor spider. This is just very cute all around, I like it.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) provides this excellent and action-packed depiction, along with a wonderfully detailed explanation of their design decisions. (I love reading those.) From their post, it's clear that they also know more about birds than I do, and also name-check the Galliformes as the most likely category. Apparently the bird-people of Tumblr have this critter's number. Also, that is a masterful depiction of a bird running off with an egg, I have to say.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) has done another medieval-styled rendition, which I really enjoy. This is also, I believe, the first appearance of a human in any of these drawings. (Well. Live human, at least.) I enjoy the depiction of the female bird doing her fake limp to lead the human away from her nest while the males engage in their weird drama up in the right. They provide an explanation of their design choices and inspiration in the linked post.

@scarlettbookworm (link to post here) has given us a drawing that showcases several of the odd behaviors described in the entry. The linked post also provides a description of their design process and an explanation of their decisions. I think this is another very cute picture of a bird holding up dirt, and I enjoy the one at the top shouting "HOLGHRAS!" The egg-stealer over in the bottom right is very good also.

@moustawott (link to post here) has drawn this very vulture-like Holghras in what I have to say is a very well-done bushy area. I had to look twice to realize the background was actually cleverly-arranged splashes and blobs of color that strongly suggest that we're in a bush. Very good art, love the style, and that fuzzy baby Holghras is cute as hell. The linked post provides an explanation of the design decisions.

@strixcattus (link to post here) gives us this rendition of the Holghras, which they describe as being inspired by a prairie chicken and a potoo. Prairie chickens are, of course... Galliformes. Another tally mark in that column. I'm particularly delighted by the giant mouth on the chick in the bottom right. As they did last time, the artist has provided a detailed modern-naturalist interpretation of the animal, which is of course in the linked post. I recommend checking that out; maybe it's just because I'm the kind of huge nerd that I am, but I think these are great.

@treesurface (link to post here) gives us a Holghras that they describe as a cross between a bird of prey and a bird of paradise, which I think is a pretty good idea that fits both the aggressive behavior and the mating behavior described in the entry. I enjoy the fact that multiple artists have decided this bird Likes Big Tailfeathers (and it does lie, but about different things).

@ashfly (link to post here) gives us this picture of a juvenile Holghras holding up its clump of dirt. They also indicate that they have an idea of what it is, which I really hope they'll share now that it's posted and the bird's out of the bag, because I was 100% certain nobody would guess this one. The fuzzy bird is cute, of course, and the rainbow legs are really striking. (Pride legs, perhaps?) I also like that it's clearly looking over at the "camera" to see if we're buying it.

And finally, the official medieval depiction:

... hm. Yeah, some absolute bastard apparently cut out a bunch of the miniatures in this manuscript at one point. Luckily, we have the Ashmole Bestiary over at the Bodleian Library, which is extremely similar, so we can get an idea of the image that was here:

And also, this entry in the Aberdeen Bestiary comes with two images. Here's the other one:

I'm going to assume the choice of coloration was up to the individual artist and the missing Aberdeen illustration was also brown, because the Ashmole version of the egg-stealer also has the more colorful pattern:

Anyway, in case you haven't recognized it from these helpful and very accurate images, this is the partridge. Now you know what's going on in those pear trees.

I don't actually have anything else to add about that. I was frankly a little surprised there was even an entry for "partridge".

[kurenai-works]

Hello everyone, today is my 29th birthday.

With that in mind, I figured it would be the best time to talk about this, so I'm proud to present to all of you 東方雷秘儀 ～ Strike in the Holy Apex, my very first Touhou Project fangame!

The game's story will be centered around a mysterious thunderstorm that's raiding the entirety of Gensokyo, so it's up to a group of heroines to investigate the situation and save the day.

As some of you may know, around November of last year, GameMaker has become free to use for everyone, which prompted me to take the opportunity to create an engine that looks roughly similar to ZUN's original Touhou Project games. I showcased it in greater detail on YouTube sometime around late February and I was very pleased by the generally positive feedback it got.

Taking that into account, I continued to expand the work I've done and it has grown a lot during the past four months; menus function properly, game settings can be modified, controller support has been added, several gameplay tweaks have been implemented, and so on. There's still a number of things that need to be ironed out by the time I'm writing this post, but considering the progress I have done on it so far, I have faith that a trial version for the game will be ready for release soon. This has to be the biggest project I've worked on... by a country mile. Speaking of the trial version's release date, that will be disclosed at the very end of this post.

GameMaker being free to use has given me a joy I genuinely can't describe, and I bet my inner child would’ve been happy too by hearing those news. After all, I've had experiences with GameMaker for well over 15 years, basically almost half of my entire life!

So, what should you expect by the time the trial version is released? First things first, it'll obviously consist of only three stages.

Secondly, you'll be able to play this adventure as the usual duo; Reimu and Marisa. More playable characters will be available in the full version.

Thirdly, the game's main mechanic. It's called the Brave Gauge, and it has functionality almost similar to the Season Gauge found in Touhou 16: Hidden Star in Four Seasons. It's not the most original idea I've had, but for the record, and coming back to my familiarity with GameMaker ever since my teenage years, this system was taken from a very old draft which dates all the way back to 2014, while making some adjustments to it. Here's a little bit of proof:

I'm going a bit off tangent here, but seeing these filenames kinda makes me feel embarrassed. The game has "Ascii" on the name because all of the graphics in there were made using ASCII characters, which was done during a time when my artistic talents were non-existent, so they looked quite messy and overall made the game have a goofy aura to it, haha.

And lastly, considering that I'd like this game to be played by a wider demographic, it's gonna be available in three different languages: English, Spanish (my native language, hooray!) and Japanese. These can be selected anytime via the options menu.

I don't know any people who are fluent in Japanese, and the few friends that I have don't seem to know much about the language either, so that translation is gonna be handled 100% by myself using tools like DeepL. I know that translating all the stuff in one go can lead to heavily mistranslated results, so I'll be making sure to convert my game's text as meticulously as I can. If there's anyone out there who understands Japanese fluently and is willing to translate the text for me, please hit me up because that'd be really appreciated. In case that happens, I won't be able to reward the translation financially, but I will be adding your name to my game's end credits.

So yeah, I don't have much else to say. The game's trial version will be available on Itch.io this August 30th.

The game has a long way ahead from being completed, so anticipating a release date for the full version is not feasible, at the moment. Regardless, I'll make sure to update on that once I have made abundant progress on it.

Both versions of the game will be released as pay-what-you-want. In simpler words, they'll be available free of charge with the optional choice of depositing a sum, in case you're feeling generous. After all, not to brag, but it goes without saying that I'm handling every detail in the game; not just the programming, but also the art, music and writing. While I have used some code libraries to facilitate the inclusion of certain aspects in my game, most of the heavy lifting is carried out by me, so it'd be really appreciated to have some compensation for the work I have been doing for almost half a year. It's not by any means mandatory, so it's fine if you can't for whatever reason, hahaha.

Anyway, I hope you look forward to this game of mine as much as I do! See you then!!

[hughiecampbelle]

Baby Roy Becoming A Singer Would Include:

Requested: i know you’ve been having a rough time lately, so get to this whenever you can!!! no worries or rush my dear ❤️❤️ i’ve been thinking about your version of baby!roy and how much i love them, but what if they never joined the waystar company? like the version of baby!roy that lives in my head never joined in & instead became a very sad and angry indie singer who used their music as a way to vent out their anger lol. idk i just think the idea of the youngest roy kid being an edgy little indie singer all the gay teens run to is funny & cute to me - anon

A/N: I know this wasn't a request but omg the more I kept thinking about it, the more I fell in love!!!! I hope you don't mind!!! I love this Baby Roy with my whole entire heart!!! Feedback is always appreciated 💜💜💜

Succession Masterlist

You're a classically trained musician. Not just with your voice, but piano, violin, cello, and flute. If you were going to be interested in music, it was going to be Logan's way

He made you play every party, every gala, putting the money he invested to work. It was your party trick. You could play some of the toughest pieces of music with your eyes closed and your hands tied behind your back, but this wasn't your type of music. You liked it more indie, more grungey and grimey

You had band posters all over your walls, records and CDs and all your storage on your computer filled up by songs. You had a notebook you were constantly writing in for song lyrics

"What a cute diary!"

"Fuck off Rome."

Instead of sneaking out to go to parties or see partners, which you do too, you mostly snuck out to go to concerts. You bought the tickets without anyone knowing, seeing your favorite artists

All your clothes were band shirts from said concerts

You definitely have your hair dyed with tons of piercings, all of them diy just to spite your father. You got into it when you were a young tween and it just escalated from there

"Is that a tongue piercing?"

"Don't say anything, Shiv, please."

You always have your headphones on playing as loud as it can. Your father hates it. He's stopped telling you to take them off during mealtimes, but it used to be one of his biggest triggers

Your fights were brutal. Where Connor tried to disappear and Rome shrank, you only grew more fiery, more stubborn and passionate. Kendall and Shiv knew it would get you into deep trouble. Ever since you were little you'd decided every battle was a good enough one of to pick. It was like having two Logan's in the room

You sing often, all the time. You have a beautiful voice. Logan has even called it angelic, ever since you could sing you have been

But you use to to scream and sing all these horrible songs he would never let you listen to if he had that power. He calls it a waste of talent, you a waste of talent

When you're home alone, the place shakes from the speakers, your music playing so loud. Then you really feel like yourself, like you can belt it out

You start your own band when you're a teenager. You find the equally gifted musicians stunted by their parents and make your own beautiful music

The bands name changes so often, but eventually you find one both catchy and to the point

You have an artist friend make t-shirts for all of you and then a few extra, knowing Connor will proudly show it off

"This is amazing, kiddo. You should be really proud."

You use one of your fathers many garages, moving the car out for practice. It's angry and sad and your drummer wears too much eyeliner and your bassist needs a haircut, but you sound good. Really good

You get the word out at school talent shows and battle of the bands and play at people's parties basically for free. It's all about exposure

You become pretty popular. Everyone knows you for your music, not for your name or blood or even your siblings who went to the same school. It feels good, really good

When you're not practicing in the garage late into the night or playing at parties, you're singing at open mics and trying to get out there

Years you spend lugging your equipment and instruments and playing for a bunch of drunk teenagers/college students. It's what you love, even if Logan outwardly disapproves of it

Finally someone picks up on your sound, someone in the business, and it gets your career started

You get a manager and a record deal and suddenly you have tons of fans. Your social medias have never had so many followers, Connor being the first follower for all of them

Your shows are massive. Your fans love you, adore you, and you're sent in huge amounts of letters and art

You open for some of your favorite artists, artists you've looked up forever

You become a household name under a stage name, though everyone knows you're really a Roy. It can't not come up

As far as Logan's concerned, he only has four children. Because you're not fighting for his affections like the others, you don't really matter to him. Connor tries to make up for it, but it's not the same

When you sign up to go on tour you don't tell them, instead going out one day and not coming back for a few weeks/months. It's not like they'd notice

All of this hurt and anger is just fuel for your career, your songs

It's silly, to still want his approval, but you thought the fame and recognition would spark some sort of respect or love or something, but it doesn't. As far as Logan's concerned, your silly music is just a waste of time. It's a hobby, nothing more

You definitely have a song called Fuck Logan Roy. You have songs dedicated to all your siblings. Fall of Rome. Daddy's Favorite. Big Brother Always Watching. Sister, Sister. Even a few about Tom and Greg, though they don't know it and the titles are awfully mean lol

Connor tries to go to as many of your shows as possible. All your siblings have seen you perform live at one point or another. They all have different reactions

Connor couldn't be prouder. Truly, you are the light of his life, his little pop star

Shiv can understand the anger and hurt, but she doesn't love that you're airing out all their dirty laundry for all your fans to hear

Kendall definitely listens to your songs secretly. You're always blaring through his headphones. Only a Roy would ever understand what it's like to be him, summing up the situation perfectly. No other artist could ever get it more right. He pretends not to know, though

Roman goes once and decides it's too loud, leaving halfway through. He loves you, but he still remains skeptical, that this is one massive phase or tantrum that you'll grow out of. It's one big fuck you to Dad and that's all fun and games, but you'll have to grow up eventually

You don't care what they think. You've got what you've always wanted. It still feels totally surreal. Your fans are the nicest people alive. They're so kind and supportive and v against your father, even when you dedicate shows to him

The song writing and adapting never stops. You're always trying to get out the next best thing

It's never been about money or fame, though those are nice perks. It's about reaching an audience and proving them all wrong. It's not a fantasy, it's not something you should give up on

Going back to those coffee shops and all those nooks and crannies you used to play in, playing for them again, singing for them again

No matter what you do you know you will never have the respect of your father or his peers. The more your siblings fight, the more they become him, the more you lose

I definitely hear them sounding something like ANIMALS by PVRIS / Worms by Ashnikko / Black Sheep by Metric / anything by Grimes all mixed together lol. I only listen to female musicians sorry abt that!!!

[hotxcheeto]

Hi!

I was wondering if you could write something with Ellie x fem reader where reader is like an actress/film director who's passionate about just filmmaking and acting in general, maybe her and Ellie met because they're jobs crossed over or maybe Ellie was a fan of reader or something.

━ 𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐓

𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜(𝙨) - Ellie Williams x Fem!Reader

𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 - Cursing, fluff, mention of crappy dating??,

𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 ? - Yeah/Nope/a lil

𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧'𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙚 - so sorry this took months, I'm so behind but I was going through some shit lmao, thank you for the rq!! <3 ALSO making these banners here and there cause I'm running out of good gifs and got a lot of good screen shots and photos.. :)

REBLOGS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED AND NOTICED!

"Don't you understand, she was my daughter too.."

You muttered your lines to yourself as the artist did your makeup, brushing over your eyes as she captured an old timey look. Using so many reference photos that the entire table was filled when you walked in, giving you both something to talk about at first.

That was until a comfortable silence filled over, Mia having become a close friend of yours on set. You felt excited every morning to come and get done up for whatever scene you had as the duchess you played. Knowing she'd capture every dated detail on your skin.

But today your mind was filled with other thoughts than just the make-up. Stressed to all hell for the next few days, knowing you and the director needed to perfect both your acting and the shots that would make your performance come together.

And that was just it, you needed to be perfect.

"Nervous?" Mia asked with a smile, taking a hint from your shaky, silent nature, backing up to grab a different brush.

"Extremely." You responded with a light laugh, looking at yourself in the mirror. "You got this, you're being nominated for, not one, but multiple of the most prestigious awards in media. If anyone can pull off such an important scene, it's you. Especially with how pretty I'm making you everyday."

You nodded with a small smile, but still felt like you could pass out at any moment in time. Clutching onto the papers like they'd disappear while letting out a shaky sigh.

"I know, but-" "But you still act like you've never been in front of the camera every time they're ready for a big shellshock to be filmed. Mind you, the scenes start filming tomorrow, not today."

You winced at the very clear truth to her words.

"Too loud Mia." She laughed, continuing on with your makeup, ignoring the door opening to reveal your favorite stage manager, smiling too brightly for the fact that it was six in the morning.

"The painter is ready when you are, ready to be photographed Y/n?" You sighed in response, looking at the clock as Mia applied an old looking lip color to your mouth. "I'm ready to look like a renaissance portrait, that's for sure."

"She said she might need you for the sketch too, just to make sure she's got the best outline of you that matches, but other than that, you should be done quick and have some free time before shooting starts."

The stage manager spoke, looking down at the tablet in her hand while speaking. Mia pulling away to look at your face, turning your head lightly with her fingers.

"What's her name?" "Don't remember, all I know is that she's good and the directors favorite prop guy really likes her." Mia took the cover off your costume, allowing you to stand up in your long, olden style dress.

"Ready to be renaissanced?" You nodded, leaving the makeup trailer and telling Mia you'd see her later. Walking off towards one of the nearby buildings labeled for set creation and prop design.

The place was decked out too, even more so since the last time you'd come inside. Pieces from every time period hanging about complimented by posters on every wall. Familiar drawings and items from some scenes of your favorite shows displayed out to remind everyone that these people had made them.

They liked showing off their stuff where they could, most of the workspaces and offices a bit more boring depending on who you were talking to. But other than that, the entire building was the best on set.

"Miss Y/l/n?" An assistance appeared behind you, wearing pajama-like clothing making you wish you were them just because of how early it was. "That's me." "Right in here." They led you to an office room, though there was only a desk covered in papers and the walls lined with movie and TV art and décor.

The rest of the room had easels and different sized canvases against the walls and laid on the ground, tarps on the floor with paint covering every corner. Jars of different colors and paint brushes laid about on different carts and shelves.

"She had to leave but she should be back in a moment. She said though, you can sit there while you wait."

The person pointed at a stood that was set up across from an empty easel, a very dim light pointed at the stool.

"Alright, thank you." They nodded and left, closing the door behind them leaving you alone in the silence to admire the painters area.

Spaceships hung from the ceilings in one of the corners, little figurines and action figures on the walls and done up to look cool instead of just sitting there. But some were still in boxes making you wonder if she collected them or would eventually sell them. Judging by the room though, collector for sure.

You sat down with a racing mind, messing with your fingers while you waited. You liked the warmth the office brought, it was like a child's daydream and it made you smile.

This person definitely had an eye for the arts.

"Shit, I'm so sorry." A girl then stumbled in through the door, her black tank top covered in colors that were probably not there when she bought it, as well as her blue jeans and shoes.

Her grown out mullet pushed back from her face that only showed stress. Arms lined with paint and markings, some of it even looked like dry clay making you wonder what kind of things she'd made besides paintings.

"Fuck, I shouldn't cuss. Sorry." You laughed, finally catching her attention but not her eyes.

"I don't mind, everything alright?" "You know, it's early, people are tired, you might accidentally drop something. But a perfectly good fucking vase someone spent hours making should not be one of them."

You clenched your teeth, feeling familiar with her frustration while watching her grab a few things from her desk drawers.

"Yeah, I agree. But I've also broken bones this early in the morning, so, I should not be talking." The girl laughed, rummaging for something and then grabbing an expensive looking camera and opening the bottom of it.

"How long you been doing this?" "Uh, couple years now. Fresh out of college." She stood up turning around but not looking up. "Something that I liked besides playing video games." You giggled. "Same. But with acting and you know, the other stuff."

Finally she looked up, meeting your eyes and then seeing your smile. The morning sunrise reflecting off your irises and skin, making you glow more than you already were before the window had assisted you.

She found herself at a loss for words as you continued to talk.

"I'm Y/n, by the way, but I mean by slight chance you don't already know that. I do hate saying that though, makes me seem like I've got a big head."

The girl didn't respond for a moment, suddenly nodding and humming.

"Yeah, no, I know you. Dina- my friend- loves you. Big 'Walking Dead' fan." Ellie felt stupid in the moment, thinking you probably thought she was an idiot especially when you chuckled, covering your mouth lightly with your hand.

"Aw, that's sweet. Tell her I love her too." You winked, Ellie still struggling to speak. "Yeah, for sure. I'm Ellie by the way! Probably should've said that when I walked in."

Ellie whispered a few curses under her breath while switching the settings on the light, trying to avoid your stare that was still on her.

"Heard you were one of the best at creating stuff like this." "Really?" She choked, making you laugh with a shake of your head. "Yep. Inclined to agree, you seem cool and cool people are talented. Even if they don't know it."

"Thanks, just doing my job."

Face palm, Ellie, c'mon get it together.

"So, anything you need me to do?" Ellie stood back, hanging the camera strap around her neck while stepping in front of you.

"Just, turn this way." Her hands brushed your shoulders while you positioned yourself, noticing how close she was when she knelt down. Adjusting your limbs to look as perfect as possible.

"Chin up, like this." Her finger went under your chin making butterflies erupt in your stomach. You weren't going to lie to yourself, she was attractive, very attractive. Somewhere inside your head hoping to all that would listen that this wouldn't be your last time seeing her.

"Just like that." She muttered, making the nervousness you felt in the tense room even worse than it already was. "Better?" "Yeah, perfect."

Ellie then adjusted your outfit and look, backing up to make sure it was perfect.

To her, with the lighting, you already looked like a portrait.

"How do I look?" You questioned, eye flickering up to meet her green ones. "Good.. good, yeah." "I mean in terms of beauty on this Monday morning, c'mon. Am I just, 'good'?" Ellie froze up, grabbing her camera to distract herself.

"I guess you're pretty."

"Wow, I'm so getting your ass fired."

You both laughed, Ellie getting down to the level she wanted for the picture while aiming the camera at you.

"Just stay still." You heard the camera click a few times, wondering to yourself if she ever got sick of looking at some ones face for hours on end. She then stood up, looking down at the photos.

"Perfect, stay like that though, just wanna make sure I get the-"

"Outline?" "Yeah."

"Ever get sick of staring at the same picture?"

"Not if it's you."

It just slipped out, Ellie panicking as soon as it happened. Her face burning red while she grabbed the canvas she had set aside for your portrait. Swallowing hard when you breathed a laugh.

"I knew you thought I was more than just 'good'. Was that an attempt at a flirt? Because if so, it definitely landed."

"Good to know I've still got it." She picked up her pencil, smirking at you when you giggled, trying your best to keep your pose.

"What's it like being you?" Ellie then asked, beginning to draw the shape of your head. "Eh, not all it's chalked up to be. Scary sometimes. Awesome most times. Lonely.."

"All the time?" You shook your head slightly making your earrings move. "No. Dating fucking sucks though."

Ellie snorted, quickly following up with a quiet 'sorry' making you grin.

"Especially when you like girls, it's an even smaller pool of fish, maybe like a puddle." "Puddle o' fish?" "My favorite dating app."

You could hear the pencil against the white surface, going both quickly and precisely, her eyes moving to you and back to the work in progress.

You shifted just barely, eyes scanning over her desk once again, admiring her green rolling chair. It looked kind of like yours at home, the color just different, but the design all the same.

"I get it though, sometimes I even wonder if the light is too bright." You laughed to yourself, Ellie even chuckling at your words.

"I just don't like paparazzi because I know I look like shit on camera." Ellie then said, making you snort and barely cover your mouth before returning to your pose.

"I beg to differ." "Trust me, you wouldn't differ if you seen some of the photos my friends have." You giggled again, hearing her pencil moving slower now against the the sketch.

"They're idiots though." "Just like mine, my dorks are a hivemind of morons." Ellie nodded in agreeance, smiling. "What's it like being you?" You questioned, Ellie erasing something from the sketch.

"Eh, probably a slower life compared to yours. I get a lot of freedom. Get to do shit on my own time. I like making stuff, art." Looking around the room you realized a lot of the décor was her own, by her hand.

"I wish I could do that." "You do, in a different way." "How poetic, Ellie."

She wished she could hear her name pass your lips again and again. Something about the way you said it, like a sickeningly sweet hum.

Your eyes danced to the clock, noticing the time was becoming less and less, the sinking feeling of your departure creeping up your back.

"You gotta go?" Ellie asked, noticing your stare on the two hands pointing at their respective digits. "Not right this minute, but soon." "Might need you again."

No she wouldn't, not actually. But seeing you again was definitely on her bucket list.

"If I'm not on set, I'm available. Usually. For you though, I'll make time." You joked, copying her flirtatious nature from before. "Fuck me." She whispered with reddened cheeks, unheard by you, or at least she hoped.

"Yeah, I'll make sure to hunt you down." "Is that a promise?" Ellie felt like a school girl talking to her first crush, hoping the canvas hid her face well enough. "You bet it is."

You glanced at the time again, more minutes having passed.

"Times up Michelangelo. The camera needs me." Ellie felt a pang of disappointment, finishing up the near perfect outline of your upper half. "Alright, alright. I'm done with you, for now."

"Make me look pretty, 'kay?" "Can't fix what's not broken."

You picked up the bottom of your dress with a grin, standing up from the stool. Dusting off the long skirt as if anything had gotten on it.

"See you later?" You practically asked, walking towards the door with little happiness. "Door's always open."

"I'll take that as a yes, I'll be back to check on the painting."

"I'm counting on it." "Better be."

A/n: Argh ( in pirate )

[24-7-testing]

The end of the year gets tough for a lot of people, especially the last few years. Because of this, I am once again excited to announce the return of…

The Portal Holiday Spirit Initiative!

To try and lift people’s spirits up this year, I will be making and sending out FREE Portal-Themed Holiday Cards to anyone who asks for one! The cards are customized to match any December Holiday of your choice and mailed to you physically or emailed digitally!

This will be the fourth consecutive year I have run PHSI, and features the return of the nifty Postcards from last year! But don't worry: All physical cards will be mailed in themed envelopes this year, so your postcards should arrive in much better condition! :)

These postcards are are also special and unique, because they feature new artwork made by eight different artists from the fandom, specifically for this event! The design of the postcard you receive will be based on what you select in your Card Request. I can’t express the amount of thanks these artists deserve for volunteering their time and talents to make PHSI 2022 special!

If you would like to receive a Portal-Themed Holiday Card:

Visit bit.ly/portal-holiday-spirit-initiative …

Answer the questions on the form…

Wait for your card to be made and sent!

It’s that simple! Card Requests are now open, and close on December 20th in order to give me enough time to make and send all the cards before the end of the year. Please submit sooner rather than later so I have time to finish them all!

Also, please don’t be afraid to request a physical card if you don’t live in the US! It might take a bit longer for you to receive your card depending on what country you live in, but they do get mailed to whatever address you provide, whether domestic or foreign. Last year I mailed/emailed a total of 141 cards to Italy, Australia, Canada, Colombia, The Czech Republic, Germany, England, Finland, France, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Russia, The US, The United Kingdom, and Vietnam!

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Answers for common questions and concerns under the cut:

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[starlight-bread-blog]

"Generally I'm just.. really confused? Why wouldn't she credit one of her artist? What does she have to gain? I don't get it. It takes me back to KenDraws, why wouldn't she credit her friend? This shitty repeated behavior is unacceptable. But let's accept that Viv is willing to do shitty stuff. What would be her reasoning?" I feel like all of us are wondering this lol. We can only speculate of course, but it kinda seems to come down to Viv just being a dick about it? (From what we can see.) This isn't the first time Viv has gotten in trouble for not crediting someone properly. Such as not crediting Dollcreep for JayJay's design in her infamous Die Young video, where instead of crediting Dollcreep for JayJay's design, only put Dollcreep in the Special Thanks section IIRC. (She also had some drama with Dollcreep generally, I can't recall if it aligned directly with her not giving full credit or it didn't and she just made a poor choice, but I digress...) Gathering context clues from Squid's tweets about how they WERE properly credited before, but seemingly after speaking about their experiences working for them (which, btw, as far as I've seen Squid never named names, you had to connect the dots through context clues) crediting stopped, and at some point Viv blocked them (also don't know if Squid had already blocked Viv at that point or blocked in return.) I'd also add while generally either employee or company can terminate their agreement at any time, I'm pretty sure the employee still needs to be credited for their work? At the very least if their work was used and not completely tossed? From KenDraw's testimony I got the impression much of Viv's upset came from over-protectiveness of her project/characters. The idea that someone else might "own" a piece of them got her riled up. She called KenDraw's additions "nothing of value" and refused to credit them for any of their involvement despite them contributing a lot of their time and ideas. I feel like she wanted to be free from owing anyone anything or being "held back "or "held down" by other people sharing a piece of her work. While those are valid and common feelings, you don't get to take advantage of friends OR volunteers OR employees without making it clear to them what the terms are, and when you mess up on that there are professional ways to resolve them that don't involve demeaning them or giving legal threats. Combining all that... overall VivziePop seems to give and take credit based on how she feels towards people. She might be afraid that connecting someone she gets in a fight with to her work will lead to them trying to take her down, hold something over her, or trying to "steal" her project/characters/ideas from her--and again while that's a valid fear it's not fair nor professional and she needs to educate herself on what her rights are instead of burning bridges. And I'm pretty sure cutting people out of credit is another legal issue anyway...but it's one no one seems to know how, or have the energy, to fight. But this way Vivzie ensures she holds the "power" over her work that she wants to keep. !! THIS IS ALL SPECULATION !! But reaaaally shitty if true...

Quote taken from here.

That's just me but I don't really like speculation, I don't know the people. With that being said, I appreciate that you decided to share that with me and it's a good read.

I think at some point I saw AyyLmao out of all people, cover the Dollcreep/JayJay thing. If she had beef with Dollcreep, and considering she did remember them, but put them in "Special Thanks" – then yeah it'd be kinda ignorant of me to brush it off as an accident.

Squid's page is 18+ so I didn't want to spend too long there, but in the little time that I did I found this:

"Another"? To me this confirms that Viv and Squid aren't on good terms. Taking into consideration that Squid isn't suprised, it's likely to be the motive for the lack of credit.

But great news from Squid:

Super happy they're getting the credit they deserve and the massive support💕

I don't know a lot about the relationship between VivziePop and Ken, I don't know if I should say anything. I did read the document, but they were friends. It could be protectiveness. Which makes sense to me if we accept that Viv's go-to when having beef with people is to stop creditting them.

Like you said, at the end of the day Viv's motive could be spite, protectiveness or anxiety – but she's an adult working on a serious project with a lot of people involved. She's the boss and gained a lot of power over people (just a fact yk). Non of this makes it okay to refuse to give credit to their work. That's all, thank you so much for the ask and have a nice day💗

[milksockets]

i recently had a very heartwarming exchange… about a typo.

to start at the beginning, at some point during my first couple of weeks at this job, i stopped by my supervisor’s office to mention that i’m very good at spotting typos if that’s something that would ever come in handy. i was referring both to the blizzard of daily emails as well as the information system program we use for documentation. he laughed and said he appreciated it, but also that a lot of people - including himself - are writing emails and whatnot all day and don’t necessarily have the time or ability to catch such errors. i remember thinking “yeah, that’s something i hadn’t really considered” and went on my merry way. note: his office door was open during the exchange because the discussion was not super private or confidential so why the fuck wouldn’t it be.

so the next day, i am summoned into his office, with the door closed this time. turns out some lurking busybody cunt with nothing better to do was hovering around and overheard the conversation, and decided to report it to both him and the supervisor above him that it was inappropriate and “who is this nurse who just started here talking about typos.”

i was flabbergasted at the time, but since then, it’s become apparent just how many things of that nature happen in offices (or mine at least; i’ve never worked in one before). when it comes specifically to pointing out a panoply of constant typos, i am not doing so in a manner that translates to “you’re a fucking idiot and i want to make you feel bad about it.” i guess i foolishly thought people might be open to hearing about ways they could improve their writing to avoid miscommunication.

there have been other instances of this ilk, namely that this woman moved into the office with a door next to me (the rest is an open plan type deal) and never has her door closed, whether she’s screaming into her phone, having an irl meeting, or blasting a podcast. like go figure, that’s sort of distracting and wearing headphones is not a solution because then i can’t hear if someone is trying to get my attention (or sneaking up behind me while i’m online shopping). it soon became very apparent that simply asking this lady to close her fucking door because other people do work here - but in nicer words - had the potential to cause a dramatic upheaval in office politics. i also had said that i would hope anyone in the office with a similar issue with me or my team would feel comfortable simply bringing it up for resolution.

it’s insane to me that these instances of direct communication about practical matters affecting other people are almost taboo and that i’ve been considered “inappropriate” on several occasions for relaying such remarks. also don’t say you value feedback if you actually don’t. let’s not play pretend here.

anyway, yesterday i passed a piece of street art that said “fight facism” and the artist tagged their IG handle so i just messaged them to say i thought they might like to know it’s misspelled. they were so fucking grateful, and said they’re glad someone pointed it out so nicely so they can fix it for the next batch. truly the antidote to the fragile, wretched office bullshit and evidence that i am doing god’s work.

so the moral of this story is that i need to find a way to get paid for finding typos. i mean, i spot them in just about every published book i read, too. and, friends, there is a solution: me.

[tonberry-yoda]

I Work Alone - Viktor

notes - PLEASE I LOVE THIS MAN SM OMFG. He stole my heart faster than any man has ever before. I love him sm. And like omfg arcane is so good like what?!?!?!?!? so my arcane fans, where you at??? I hope you enjoy!! Sending lots of love <333

word count - 2,531

Growing up in the under city didn't just make you an outcast. It made you something worse. It made life harder for you. Whenever you would even think about setting foot up top, no matter how much you tidied yourself or how much you made yourself look presentable, somehow they would always know. They would always know that you just didn't belong.

But that didn't stop you from anything.

You were going to change the world and you were going to make the under city nothing but just another side of the bridge.

And no one was going to stop you from that dream.

---

"y/n! How long are you going to be in there!!!"

Music blared in your room and you took a step back, appreciating your work.

"y/n! Open this goddamn door or I'm gonna break it down myself!!!"

Everything was coming together, you could feel it. Just one more-

"Y/N!!!!!"

You jumped when you heard your name being shouted from the other side of the door and you quickly turned off your music. You threw open the door, your face red with embarrassment to find Mel standing there, her arms crossed.

"I have been screaming your name for five minutes too long, y/n. What the hell are you doing?"

"I was just..." you rubbed the back of your neck and pointed to a mechanical piece on a desk that looked like a puppy.

"What is it?" Mel tilted her head and walked into the room. She reached toward the piece, but you stopped her quickly.

"D-Don't touch that. It's not done yet. I wanted to show it to Professor Heimerdinger first but-"

"Don't worry, y/n," Mel placed her hand on your shoulder and smiled at you. "I'll leave it be. The reason I bothered you though was because I wanted you to meet someone."

"Meet someone? Mel, you know I don't really like meeting new people. Plus I'm busy and-"

"I think you'll like him, y/n," Mel put her hand on your shoulder and smiled at you. "He wants to change the world."

"Change the world," you scoffed. "Don't they all?" Your tone was mocking, but honest. Everyone who grew up up here wanted to 'change the world' but nobody knew the world they needed to change. No one knew what the people in the under city had to go through. They did all this change for people to still suffer. You hated it.

"He's different, y/n. Please trust me."

You took a deep breath. "Fine. I'll go with you. But don't expect me to work with anyone, okay?"

The two of you stepped out of your lab and you walked out.

"You know," Mel giggled. "I don't really see how a mechanical puppy is supposed to change the world. You know, since you're so keen on doing that."

Your face flushed red. "Sh-Shut up, Mel. I just had a block and didn't want to change the world with my mind full of crap, so I wanted to do some... artistic freedom."

"I'm just teasing you, that's all."

Mel led you to a room pretty far away from your own. Another lab, it seemed. There was nothing you hated more than working with others though, so Mel was simply just wasting your time.

"Jayce?!" Mel called out. "Jayce, I brought that scientist!"

"What?!" Jayce was under some giant device in the middle of the room and slammed his head while trying to scoot himself out. You couldn't help but laugh.

"Damn." He stood up, rubbing his head, and walked over to you with a smile, sticking out his hand to shake yours. "You must be y/n, right?"

You smiled slightly and took his hand. "I am. You're Jayce?"

"That's me! Professor Heimerdinger has showed me some of your work. You're a very talented scientist, y/n."

You blushed a bit. "Oh, you think? Thanks. It's not much but you know..."

"Not much? Are you kidding?!" Jayce looked surprised. "This is nothing?!" He pulled out a picture that apparently the Professor had given him. Something that you made years ago. One of your best projects.

"Well, not nothing nothing.... but like... Thank you."

Jayce smiled at you. "I want you to work with me."

You looked shocked. "Work with you?" You turned to Mel and she just smiled.

"Yeah! You're super talented and the more the merrier!"

"Oh, I don't work with people." You admitted.

"Why not?" Jayce sat in a nearby chair, rolling it closer to you.

"It's just not how I like to work, thanks though."

You went to walk out, but Mel grabbed you on the shoulder and hissed in your ear. "y/n, this is a huge opportunity. Why not take it?"

"I work alone." You hissed back.

"Just please try for a while, y/n. You're giving up perfect opportunities. I want you to do something with your life instead of being cooped up in your room waiting for change that won't happen unless you get the help you need."

You exhaled sharply and turned to Jayce who was looking at you with a soft smile.

"Fine." You said quietly. "I'll work with you. But if it's all for nothing, I'm out. You promised change, now show me some."

Jayce smiled at you widely and shook your hand. "You won't regret this, y/n. And with your help, that change should come in no time. Now let me grab Viktor, he's gonna be so excited!!"

Jayce quickly ran off and you turned to Mel. "Viktor? Who's Viktor?"

"Your other partner, y/n. I want you to get along with these boys. I'm sure you'll make the change you desire."

Honestly, as much as that feeling inside of you wanted to hate the idea of working with other people, you were actually excited to work with Jayce. He was a very talented man who had made magic and science work together. And maybe he really was the missing piece you needed to make the change you desired so heavily.

Or maybe that missing piece was... him.

Your face flushed a bright shade of pink when Jayce dragged in a boy that looked no older than you. He had scruffy hair and deep cheekbones and held a cane.

"What's this all about, Jayce?" The boy asked with a thick accent. "I was working!" He fixed his hair and cursed at Jayce under his breath, but froze when he saw you.

"Viktor, I want you to meet y/n! Our new business partner."

Viktor limped forward and smiled at you. "I'm excited to work with you, y/n. Now come, I want to show you something." He immediately turned around and walked to where he came from. You turned to Jayce and Mel, who just shrugged at you.

"Are you coming, y/n?" Viktor asked. "And what about you, Jayce?"

You hurried over to Viktor and Jayce chuckled. "I think I'll keep working on this monster," he gave the giant device he was working on earlier a smack that echoed a metal boom.

"Fine then," Viktor scoffed. "More for y/n then. Come now."

While walking behind Viktor, you couldn't help but blush a little. He was just so.... you didn't know, but something about him stood out to you.

"You're from the under city, aren't you?" Viktor asked, not looking at you once.

"How did you know?" Ever since you somehow got into school above the under city, no one had recognized you were from down there in a long time.

Viktor chuckled. "I am from there too!"

"Really?!" You didn't know why that excited you so much. Maybe it was just nice to have someone with a familiar backstory who wanted to help with the same cause as you.

Viktor pressed his index finger onto his lips as if he were shushing you. "Don't tell Jayce though. I still want it to be a secret. It's more fun that way, no?"

You laughed. "Then I guess we'll keep each other's little secrets."

Viktor led you into a smaller lab where there was scattered papers and bits and pieces of mechanical parts spread across a large desk.

He walked over to a area covered in papers and swept them away before pulling out a bright blue shard of some sort. He threw it at you and you struggled to catch it, but luckily you did.

"What is this?" You eyed the piece for a moment before looking back up at Viktor.

"A Hex Crystal. Get used to it. This is what you'll be working with."

The luminescent blue crystal held your gaze for a long while. So this was how he was doing it? You were amazed. This little thing could do so much more than what it looked like it could do.

"Cool, huh?"

You smiled like an idiot. "Super cool."

"I cannot wait to work with you, y/n."

"I can't wait to work with you, Viktor."

---

Hextech was one of the most successful businesses in the world. Years of work paid off, and honestly, you made some great friends out of it.

The kid you were years ago begging for food on the sides of the streets of the under city would be ecstatic.

"Giving another speech today, Mr. Handome Pants?" You asked Jayce, pulling on a nice jacket to wear at another ceremony of many that you've already been to this week.

Jayce rolled his eyes at you and slicked back his hair. "Yes, I'm giving another speech today."

"Well, good luck out there!" You smiled and gave him a pat on the back that almost sent the man flying forward.

"Jesus, y/n. Maybe you're a little too supportive, don't you think?" He rubbed his back that definitely had a red mark in the shape of your hand.

You laughed and gave Jayce a hug. "Seriously though, good luck out there, Jayce. Thanks for everything."

You pulled away, and Jayce smiled at you. "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you and Viktor. Thanks so much for joining us."

You smiled warmly and tightened Jayce's tie. "Don't be late."

"I won't." Jayce hurried out of the room and you just sat playing with a mechanical dog you made years ago. Mel told you it wouldn't change the world, but it sure made you happier, so it was one of your best inventions.

You heard a soft knock on the side of the door and looked up to find Viktor leaning in the door frame. "Jayce is giving the speech now."

"Not out there drinking or partying, Viktor?"

Viktor laughed out loud. "Imagine me partying. No. I'm working on something right now."

"When are you not?" The mechanical dog you were playing with ran to Viktor and laid on his feet.

"You act like you're any better, y/n."

"Hey! I'm actually not working on anything right now! I'm actually relaxing."

"We'll see how long that lasts." Viktor chuckled and walked over to where you were, taking a seat next to you as the dog found a little corner to lie in.

"You're awful, Viktor." You nudged him on the shoulder and he just giggled quietly.

"Am I now?"

"Yes."

The two of you sat in silence for quite a while, just enjoying the sun that was pouring into the room and the quiet before you both had to go out there and be representatives of Hextech. You didn't mind the chaos, but after a week of doing it, it could get quite exhausting.

"I'm glad I met you, Viktor." Your voice was quiet, but sincere.

"Where did that come from?" He matched your volume, a slight laugh behind his words.

"Just take the compliment."

"I'm glad I met you too."

"You're a very talented man." You turned to look at Viktor. He was so much paler then he used to be, and his cheekbones caved in even more, which you didn't even know was possible. Oh god, the least he could do is get some damn sleep.

"I think that's enough with the compliments. You're too full of flattery." Viktor set his hand on the leg that caused his limp and didn't look towards you at all.

You moved his hand and replaced it with yours. He finally looked over at you, shock painting his face. "y/n, I-"

You interrupted him quickly, pressing your lips to his. He was in shock for a few moments, but pulled you closer, a groan slipping out from the back of his throat. You pushed yourself into the kiss more, but didn't realize that would cause the both of you to fall flat onto the floor.

You both pulled your lips away from each other and he giggled, cupping your face. "What are we even doing?"

You just shrugged and fell onto Viktor's chest before laying next to him on the floor. You two stared at the ceiling, hand in hand for a while just listening to the sound of cheers from outside.

"I want to fix the under city." You said, your tone softer than it's ever been before. "I love helping up here, but what about them?"

"I know how you feel. I want to help too. I just don't know how."

You sighed. "Neither do I."

"But we can figure it out together, no?" He squeezed your hand and turned on his side, his nose inches away from your own. "We're smart and we know what it's like down there."

You smiled and cupped Viktor's face, placing a small kiss onto his nose. "I think we can. It might take time, but with you by my side, we can do anything."

"We can kick the world's ass."

You laughed out loud, making Viktor sigh lovingly. He loved that laugh.

"Yeah, Vik, we can kick the world's ass."

He leaned forward and pressed his lips to yours, sighing into the kiss. You pulled yourself over so you were on top of him and the two of you smiled into the kiss.

Viktor pulled away, his lips sticking to yours for a moment and he chuckled, the breath from his nose dusting your face. "I think I love you." He whispered.

"You think?"

He just laughed and pulled you in for another kiss.

"Ahem!" You both nearly jumped out of your skin, finding Jayce standing at the door with a stupid smile plastered on his face.

"Oh, what are you looking at?!" You scoffed, getting off of Viktor and helping him off of the ground.

"I didn't mean to interrupt this romantic moment," Jayce said. "But I would love to see you guys at the party downstairs. This is your company too, after all." He winked at the two of you and left.

You turned to Viktor with a smile. "Sorry about that."

"Please don't apologize," he placed a small kiss on your cheek and grabbed his cane. "We can do this another time. Maybe somewhere more..." he brought his lips mere centimeters away from your ear. "private."

And just like that, he left.

That bastard.

You were gonna get him back for that one.

~~~~~

arcane masterlist | pinned post

2023 @tonberry-yoda – do not repost or claim ANY of my work as your own! likes, reblogs, and comments are not only welcome, but appreciated

~~~~~

[mikeysbride]

Welcome Back to Trench

When our kids introduced us to the world of the twenty one pilots fandom a couple of years ago, we were initially full of corny parent jokes:

Why are they called twenty one pilots when there are only two of them?

That's way too many pilots.

They're gonna need a bigger cockpit.

Why, for the love of God, don't they capitalize their name!?

That's not to say we don't still say those things sometimes (thank goodness our teens generally find us amusing), but it's also wild to see how big a part of our family dynamic this duo has become over these couple of years...so much so that I've even suggested that when we finally get a dog, he should be named Clancy. [T.O.P. fans will understand.] They are in regular rotation in our home and in our cars. Last year, they were one of my top 5 most listened to artists on Spotify! And last night, at last, we all went to see them perform live on the aptly-named Clancy Tour. It was the first time seeing them for all 5 of us - our family of 4, along with my 16yo's...um, favorite boy, we'll call him. I don't think she's been quite this happy since maybe when we first surprised her with AJR tickets. But as much as she loves AJR (we all do now!), twenty one pilots is HER band as Living Colour is mine, and Genesis is her dad's. Now we are all along for the ride.

And last night, much of Orlando was also along for that ride, having sold out the Kia Center pretty much immediately when the tickets went on sale months ago. I had a feeling their show would be high energy and that the crowd would be super hyped, and I was not wrong about that. But after being as impressed as I was by AJR (twice!) this year, I wasn't 100% sure what to expect. Tyler and Josh did not disappoint, though, and I have to say I am also quite impressed with THEM...not that I didn't think I would be. We've watched enough of their music videos and live performance clips (full concerts, even) on YouTube for me to know this, too, wasn't going to be just an ordinary concert.

To the point, Tyler and Josh have a way of immersing themselves into the crowd (literally) that makes them feel like they are right there with you - because they are - spending quite a bit of time out amongst their fans instead of on the stage. They are seemingly everywhere at once, making it feel like an intimate performance even with thousands of people in the audience. And the fire. There was a lot of fire, which I rather appreciated because, being prone to being cold, I was chilly in the arena, and it was nice to sometimes be able to feel a bit of warmth from the flames, all the way up our cushy club level seats!

We heard so many favorite songs of theirs last night, including my newest favorite from them, the super catchy "Lavish," but I have not stopped playfully pouting yet that they didn't do my O.G. favorite of theirs - the one that really stuck out to me when I first heard them, and that is "Lane Boy." I love that one so much that I have a bit of a reputation for it at this point. With a catalog as extensive as theirs is, they can't be expected to play everything, but man, hearing that one live would've made the night absolutely, undeniably perfect for me. Here's hoping they'll add it back in on a future tour.

Also on the subject of their music, I couldn't help but giggle thinking that Tyler doesn't really even need to know his own lyrics because that arena full of fans was more than happy to sing every line for him. From the first notes of every song, they were READY. If anyone knows the assignment, it's T.O.P. fans. Apparently, my kids aren't the only ones who can recite their songs like the Pledge of Allegiance. This is a thing I know now.

And finally, a huge thank you to Tyler for actually telling those of us in reserved seats to sit and rest for a few songs. Not to be the old lady in the room, but I'm long past the age of wanting to stand for an entire show, in most cases preferring to sit and truly hear the music and watch what is happening on the stage - or in this case (also) in the middle of the crowd somewhere. It was a bit of a reprieve when he said that.

Eh, so maybe I'll let that "Lane Boy" thing slide after all.