#Sorry I’m just smarter and better than everyone else and I’m always right and I should be mayor of the world

[ciderjacks]

it’s weird how much the watcher situation got under my skin I can’t tell if it’s bc I genuinely like these creators and seeing the sudden cruelty towards them was surprising and upsetting, or because I’m like. Technically an “artist” I guess. And seeing people talk about art like it means jackshit pissed me off. Like I keep wanting to shut up about it but damn bro I’m still mad like what the hell was that.

[qqueenofhades]

thank you for your post i’m doing my best to stay informed on the conflict and i’m very young. i feel guilty being quiet as i understand to uplift voices helps prevent their silencing but this has lead me to not critically think about what i’m spreading

it’s been a long month. i’m only a kid and watching the world go to shit like this has been awful, I always wondered how millennials who lived through post nine eleven imperialism coped and god i’m still not sure how.

I am as a white gentile in a position of privilege and mostly my own person is unaffected by the uptick in violence and evil in the world right now. But my friends who i see every day are in more danger due to this conflict and i feel awful that i cannot ever fully understand or fix the deaths of people.

Right now I’m being a bit too reactionary. I’m doing my best but in the end I am not immune to fearmongering and propoganda, especially in these last couple sleepless weeks.

So thank you and everyone who is keeping level heads and desconstructing what’s happening. I’m sorry and i strive to be better. Thank you.

To anyone living in fear right now i’m so sorry. I will listen when you speak.

Once again I just want to say that I am a busy and uninformed student, and I wish that i had more teachers and authority figures that had objective facts to tell me. It’s suffocating to have fake news everywhere but feel powerless if you don’t know anything

it’s ok if you don’t respond to this

Thank you for your post

Thanks for this message and for taking the time to put it into words and to reflect on your own actions and rhetoric. It takes a lot of courage and self-awareness to admit that you were wrong and that you want to do better, and I'm not going to rip into you or blame you or otherwise shame you for it. So I hope this gives you the confidence to read on without feeling like you'll be raked over the coals for it, and open you to hear some ideas for doing things differently.

First, I do have a ton of sympathy for you as a young person who feels overwhelmed and exhausted by all the evil in the world, and is wondering how to get through it, react to it, or otherwise make some kind of moral response in the face of this soul-crushing trauma. I will say here that I am a little bit older than your average Tumblr user (the majority of this site is in their early-mid twenties), I do personally remember 9/11 and its aftermath when a lot of people here weren't even born yet, and I am an academic historian with a doctorate. That does not mean I am better or smarter or More Perfect or whatever at what I say, but it means that I do have a considerable amount of institutional, formal, and professional practice at analyzing a lot of complex information, putting it into words, breaking it down for less-specialist audiences, pointing out logical fallacies, and so forth.

That is not a skill that everyone has, and in the face of nonstop 24-hour news-cycle social media information overload, it can be incredibly difficult to parse it or understand how you're supposed to respond to it or what your moral obligation in response to this knowledge might be. I wrote this ask the other day in response to someone else asking how to improve their critical thinking skills and be more discerning about what they understood, shared, and analyzed. I strongly encourage you to read it, as it addresses a lot of what you're saying about feeling negative, depressed, panicked, angry, and all the other emotions that are naturally evoked in you from reading this stuff nonstop and feeling like the only thing you can (or should) do is immerse your brain in it at all times. In short, that is absolutely the worst environment to do actual substantial analysis or critical thinking, and it is designed so on purpose.

It has been said before, but it bears repeating: the human brain simply is not designed to be constantly aware of all the atrocities in the world and thus (thanks to social media) feeling as if the only way they can do anything about it is to then post the Correct Opinions on social media (regardless of whether these are informed or relevant or otherwise useful). Especially now, the rush to demonstrate Correct Thinking has warped a lot of otherwise well-meaning young people into becoming eager disinformation mouthpieces. There are a TON of explicitly bad-faith actors and far-right fascists who are posting pro-Palestine content (factual or uh, otherwise) because they know that's an instant way to get an audience of said young left-leaning people who will then be suckered into and exposed to their far more dangerous content and mindset, because that is how radicalization works. Even in the support of an obviously worthy cause, you and everyone else ARE NOT IMMUNE to fearmongering, disinformation, and virulently anti-Semitic propaganda, especially when it's being eagerly and constantly offered in a deliberate attempt to radicalize you further into violence and conspiracy theories, turn you against other vulnerable groups and people, and explicitly disengage you from the electoral/political process, which will harm the Democrats and other liberal establishment parties in favor of more far-right radical fascist theocrats and otherwise make everything, everywhere, many orders of magnitude worse.

I know the feeling that you need to do something, and since you're a long way from the conflict, it seems as if posting on social media is the best and/or the only way to go about it. In that environment, and especially right now, you will make mistakes. I know it is difficult in an online environment where popularity or acceptance by your peers often rests on never being wrong about anything (i.e. saying the same thing everyone else is saying), but it always helps to think about what you're doing, what you're saying, and if you actually need the approval of people who are conditioning you, implicitly or explicitly, into negative and violent ideological nihilism.

The hardest thing to understand is that yes, there is a lot of terrible shit going on in the world; no, you cannot personally fix it and you have to accept that as a limitation; yes, there are many multiple and complex causes and reasons for its existence and there is almost never a black-and-white simplistic moral solution that just hasn't been magically implemented yet; yes, it is always worth it to take the time to inform yourself and consider what you're saying, where it comes from, who it helps and who it hurts, and why you feel the need to say it in the first place. Of course you want to help. Of course you want to stop the needless suffering and death that has gone on in the world for millennia and unfortunately, as long as humans are humans, will continue to do so. But even so, take it away Gandalf:

[mikeyss1ut]

can you do a chad angst/fluff where reader is sam and tara’s sister and thinks that chad likes tara so at the college party reader tries to go upstairs with the guy and chad gets all defensive. then when they get back to their apartment chad confesses and they kiss.

sorry for the lengthy ask

“Hey, what’s your name?” A guy asked, you looked over he was cute. Not Chad type hot but hey he had some class to him.

“I’m y/n.” You said

You both continued talking and then he noticed you refilled your cup.

“Hey! I’ve got some harder stuff upstairs!” He said

“Man, not so sure about that.” You laughed. “Hey, come on I promise it’s good.” He said. And your not sure at what point he fully convinced you to go up stairs.

Anika quickly saw this and went to get Chad.

“Your needed , big guy.” Anika said

“Shit” Chad mumbles and follows Anika. He then turns the corner to see you going up the stairs with a random guy you just meant.

“Hey, Y/ns good do here!” Chad says. And you slowly tumble down the stairs “no, Chad it’s fine I swear I want to go up.” You smile. “Yeah Chad she wants to go up.”

Chad laughs “yeah no, y/n down here now come on.” He holds his hand out but before he can fully put it out the guys dragging you down the stairs as you start protesting and grabbing the rail on the stairs.

“No, what the fuck!” Chad yells and grabs The guy and slams him into the wall punching him as hard as he can.

“Chad!” You yell. And as soon as you yell his name your sister Sam comes in “hey, ok I’m just gonna taze you in the balls real quick.”

“Oh my fucking god I can not believe you did that you embarrassed me!” You yelled

“I was just looking out for you, and that ass hole was gonna take advantage of you.”

“Ok! So? If I want to let some guy take advanced of me than I can it’s my life! Not yours!“ you yelled

“Ok, right sure.” Sam said

“Guys stop, let’s go home!“ Chad says , you sigh and continue speed walking passing up everyone else.

You slam your bed room door and fall onto your bed. You scream into your pillow and yell “go away!” When the door opens assuming it was Sam.

“You sure?” The voice says, you easily recognize the voice. It’s Chad. You get up off the pillow and feel the bed dip next to you, and you look over to see Chads face.

“Hi.” You say

“Hey, I came in here because I thought maybe you might wanna talk? Do you wanna talk?“ he asked

“About what?” You hummed

“What’s on your mind right now?” He asked. “Uhm, honestly sleep” you replied. Chad laughed “you know y/n your really pretty… and your really special too.”

You had a thing for Chad for a while but I mean you always figured he had a thing for your sister Tara. Everyone always did , it was always her she was the prettier one, she was the better one of you, the smarter one. But to Chad, that wasn’t the case it was you who was the special one. The prettier one , the smarter one, everything I mean he saw everything in you, nothing in Tara. Nothing that wasn’t anything more than a friend.

He scooted closer to you, you did the same. And you didn’t realize your lips were touching until after it was over. “You know I really do like you y/n. I do.”

“I really like you Chad, I do.”

[riddle-me-ri]

If you're taking requests is like to requests the riddlers with jealousy scenarios! Thank you

A/N: as much as I don’t like ACTUAL jealousy and try to refrain from jealous tendencies I find in myself…jealousy scenarios are kinda fun to write for rip…is that bad? I feel like that’s bad lmao. Sorry that if some if not most of these tend to repeat the same scenarios (co-worker, waiter, colleague, they’re just such good set-ups asdfgh)

Jealousy Scenarios with The Riddlers:

Arkhamverse Riddler:

Edward was absolutely furious. Why would you ever even begin to comprehend such a thing? Surely, you had to be smarter than this. You knew better than this? From all your time privileged in his presence…

“You would rather be a trembling brain-dead guinea pig than being a productive and useful assistant in a very intellectually stimulating environment mind you!”

“Ed. I just said Jonathan stopped by asking for you…”

“But you let him into my work space!” 

“Upstairs is the living area, not your work space here in the basement or your tracks in the sewers. And his leg was giving him issues, so I let him rest.” 

“Oh please! Our dear, ex-professor has many issues, but that leg isn’t one of them. He moves better with it than when he was in perfect health!” 

“If you’re jealous of another man being alone with me can just say that you’re not comfortable.” 

Edward groaned in frustration. “I’m not jealous of that walking tarp of burlap!” 

You shrugged, but patted Ed’s shoulder and kissed his cheek. “Sure, sweetie.”

Reevesverse/Dano Riddler:

“Wow, he is something, isn’t he?” You remarked at the TV. 

As much as he admired the vigilante another part of him couldn’t stand him.

Ed really should have seen this coming. How could you not be absolutely smitten? He was everything he wish he had an iota of. 

Batman is intelligent, strong, fast, and assertive…

Meanwhile, Edward Nashton is just dull, awkward, quiet, and weird…what the hell did you see in him anyway? 

“Eddie? Everything okay?” 

Your sweet voice knocked him out of his reverie. He was back on the couch with you, watching the news of the Batman’s latest escapades. 

“Oh…uh…y-yeah I’m fine..” 

You quirked your eyebrow, not sure if you were going to accept that answer. 

“He is incredible…” Ed commented as he turned his attention back to the screen of Batman narrowly escaping a gang of thugs in a high speed chase on the highway.

Oh, that’s what it was. For all the admiration one can have for another, there’s still that habit of comparison mentor to mentee. 

“Yeah, he’s all right. But I bet he’s an absolute stick in the mud and not nearly as intelligent as a certain handsome fellow I know.” You scooted closer to Edward on the couch and even sold the comment with an actual nudge into his side. 

Edward noticed you got closer and was confused when you nudged him. Then he took in what you said. He lifted his head up a little with a soft smile on his face. 

“You…you prefer me to Batman?” “I prefer you over everyone and anyone else, Eddie. If I had a choice, it will always be you.”

Gotham Riddler:

The GCPD was full of eligible bachelors. Mostly guys just looking for a good time or friends with benefits. 

You were too good for them, all of them really. Even too good for Edward. Yet he was able to woo you somehow. Despite the two of you being in a very obvious relationship, with approval from Gordon, Lee, even Bullock…it didn’t stop some officers from trying to disrupt what you two had. 

Edward was coming up to your office to take you out to lunch. However, he was surprised to see an overwhelming sight. 

Flowers, cards, letters were strewn all over your desk and overflowing to your floor. 

You looked up at him. Your eyes wide and your skin pale, like you had seen a ghost. 

“E-Eddie…I…I wish I could explain but...I have no idea…w-who these are from? Or w-w-what’s going on?” You looked around looking for any sort of indicator of who sent the gifts. 

Edward’s fists clenched, a snarl growing on his face. He stood there still as a rock, trying to keep his innate reaction to just run amok in the GCPD to find the culprit in tact. 

You noticed Ed was quiet for a long time. You noticed his tense expression and his thousand yard stare into the floor. 

“Y-You…you don’t…like them..do you?” Ed regretted asking it as soon as he grumbled it out through barred teeth. 

You sighed, sympathetically. Walking around the baskets and bouquets and made your way to him. 

“I would have adored them if they were from you, but they’re not. So as far as I’m concerned, these flowers can be re-sent to someone else or tossed. And the cards can go straight into the disposal…you don’t need to be jealous, sweetheart.” You gave him a reassuring kiss on the cheek. 

You smiled as you saw the tension all throughout his body slowly melt away from the kiss. 

Then, as if a lightbulb went off, Edward’s eyes widened in revelation. 

“W-Wait, before you throw anything away!” Edward went to your desk and gathered some of the cards and the bouquet. “While I still have my gloves on anyway…”

“What’re you doing?” 

“...gonna search for prints…” he mumbled quickly, so when you made out what he said he was already too far gone to catch back up with him.

BTAS Riddler:

Something was off with Eddie tonight. However, you couldn’t quite put your finger on it. 

“Eddie…you’ve been awfully quiet tonight…you know how much I love hearing your voice.” Which wasn’t an exaggeration either, and you did miss speaking to him. 

You saw him slightly shuffle his weight on the opposite end of the couch. 

“I’m fine…” 

“Eddie…I know when you’re not fine, sweetie. Please talk to me…” You fluttered your eyelashes at him, and poked out your bottom lip for good measure. 

Edward groaned in defeat. “I hate it when you do that…it’s too effective.”

“That’s why I do it.” You grinned. 

“I just can’t understand how oblivious you are, darling…you clearly couldn’t tell he was…was…”

“He who? Jervis?” 

Edward growled. “Yes…Jervis…”

“Eddie, he was just being polite!” 

“He didn’t have to kiss your hand.” He grumbled, crossing his arms defensively. 

“Aww, Eddie,” you scooted closer to his side of the couch. You wrapped your arms around him and snuggled into his side. 

“You don’t ever had to be jealous, darling. I will always love and adore you, no matter what…you know that.” You looked up at him, smiling reassuringly at him. 

He stole a glance into your eyes, and sighed. Edward knew it was ridiculous, but he couldn’t help it. He wrapped an arm around you and began rubbing your back. 

“I-I know…still doesn’t mean I have to like it though…” 

You snickered into his side as he chuckled along with you.

Zero Year/Capullo Riddler:

“You don’t need to be jealous, Eddie…”

Edward scoffed. “Jealous? Please, I’m not jealous of anyone.”

“So you just threatened my date with a bomb sent to his work place…for funsies?” 

Ed shrugged. “It’s been dull here, lately…and I haven’t been a public menace in a minute.” 

You rolled your eyes. “Well, I’m not stopping you, so stop keeping me from having a dating life!” 

“You don’t need to date anybody…” He grumbled under his breath. 

“Ed, you’re the one that said we weren’t-”

“I’m not going back on my word…I just…” He shrugged. 

“You just want me to focus on you, you needy bastard…”

He put his hand up with his index finger pointed out. “Ah, ah, that’s Mr. Needy Bastard to you…”

“Uh huh, sure…needy jealous bastard…” You smirked as you walked off. 

“I. Am. Not. Jealous! I’m the Riddler! I’m not jealous of anyone! If anything they’re all envious of me.”

“Did you choose to wear green cause you’re just knee deep in envy?” 

“I’m redirecting the bomb. It’s now going to your workplace.”

Twojar Riddler:

“Edward! Ed! Slow down!” You were running to catch up with him as he dragged you by the wrist back to the car parked along the sidewalk. 

He let out a frustrated sigh and let go of your wrist. Edward continued his steady pace as he rounded the car to go to the driver’s seat. You still stood there; confused and somewhat shaken from the sudden action. 

“Can you please get in the car?”

You walked up to the open window and leaned your head in. “Not until you explain what the hell is going on?” 

Ed grumbled. “I just want to go back home–”

“Was it that waiter?” Earlier in the evening a waiter made a couple passes at you while Edward was in the restroom and he walked in on the waiter trying to get your number.

Silence. Edward crossed his arms and sunk in the driver’s seat. 

“Oh my God, Ed…”

Edward rolled his eyes. “Will you, please just get in the car?”

Gotham City Sirens Riddler:

“Oh, hey there, Mr. Nygma. This is Mr. Sale, he called earlier about–” 

Edward barely heard what you said, his brain was too busy taking in the sights of the scene before him. You were sitting, slightly propped up on the edge of your desk. While the presumed, “Mr. Sale” was standing before you mere inches away. Your cheeks were flushed red possibly from laughing and whatever words were just transpired. 

Mr. Sale backed away and walked over to end, holding out his hand for a handshake. “Mr. Nygma! Such a pleasure to meet you!”

It took everything in Edward not to grimace outwardly. He could read this man like an open book. Rental three piece suit. Over-priced cologne. A faint oval outline where the skin was paler around his left ring finger. 

Armed with this, Edward knew his next plan of action. “Ah, well…I wish I could say the same for you, Mr. Sale. But I’m afraid I’m far too busy for your case.” 

Flabbergasted, Sale was gaping his mouth like a fish out of water. “B-B-But, you, you haven’t even heard my case! You can’t just–”

“Oh, but I can…privileges of owning a private firm. And I’m not about to waste my or my assistant’s time…running in circles…because you want to frame your wife of cheating to cover up your own infidelity.” 

“Oh, I can assure you, I’m not wasting your assistant’s time.” Sale stole a glance at you and winked. 

“I’m going to have to ask you to leave, Mr. Sale. Have a good day or not, I don’t care.” 

Sale was about to say something in defense, but growled in frustration instead and took off. He left the office with the slam of the door. 

You came up behind Ed and embraced him from behind. “You’re sexy when you’re jealous.” 

“Oh, please…I wasn’t jealous.”

You squeezed him a little tighter, giggling softly. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

Telltale Riddler:

“What are you staring at?” Ed asked. 

“Huh?” You were knocked out of your reverie with his question. You were looking out the window of your shared apartment. 

“You’ve been daydreaming out of that window for almost half an hour.” 

“Oh, uh, just people watching.” 

Edward looked up from his desk to you. He let out a frustrated sigh when he said, “hm, you could be more productive by assisting me…”

You turned to look at the man; annoyed and confused. “You just told me not to bother you, Ed.” 

“Annoying me and assisting me are two different things. Or you can go and people watch outside…and see what all the troubled idiotic youth is up to.”

Oh…poor Edward. No matter how many times he tried to shield it or ignore it. His age…the age gap between you two was something he was always weary of. 

You shook your head, scoffing in disappointment. You got up from your seat and walked over to his desk. 

“Nah, I’d rather not lose the brain cells, so whatcha working on Eddie?” 

Edward was surprised to see you come to his desk. He was almost certain you were going to walk out the door. 

“Well…for starters…ugh…could you please not sit on the desk! There’s a spare chair over in the corner!” 

You chuckled softly. “Yes sir, on it!”

Young Justice Riddler:

Who was he kidding, he didn’t stand a chance with you to begin with…

No matter how many times you genuinely checked in on him, kept him company, and included him where you could. All those open opportunities that were the building blocks to Eddie’s confidence in a relationship with you was completely knocked down before the foundation could even settle in. Thanks to this new Light recruit you were training. 

“Hey, Eddie!” You called out to him. You ran down the corridor to catch up to him.

“Why such a long face? I’m sorry I haven’t talked to you lately, things have been crazy!” You chuckled nervously. 

“Oh, uh…no worries. I-I get it..” 

“Hey, let me make it up to you! There’s this new place downtown that just opened. Wanna hang out and grab a bite there?” You offered. 

You did feel bad about leaving Eddie in the dark. Despite the increase in the Light’s numbers, training the newbies was taking up a lot of whatever free time you had. You missed talking to Edward, you could actually be yourself around him and not have a care in the world. Plus he was too damn cute for words. 

“Uuhh…umm but what about that newbie? D-Don’t you have plans with them?” Edward asked before he really had a chance to stop himself. 

You grabbed his shoulder to stop him from walking as you turned him around to face you. “Eddie...what’re you talking about?” 

“I-I-I didn’t mean to assume something…I-I-I just noticed that you-you were spe-spending a l-lot of time with th-them and the-they seem to like you..a lot..” 

You put your fingertips up to his lips to seize his nervous panicked rambling. 

“Eddie…” You sighed. “I’m just training them. Yeah, they flirt, but I rebuke them. There’s nothing going on outside of training.” 

“Really?” He mumbled behind your fingers. 

You chuckled. “Yes, really. Besides, I’m interested in someone else. I have been for awhile actually.” You slowly removed your fingers from his lips. 

“W-Wait, really? Uh...who?”

Your eyes widened when you realized he really didn’t get it. Bless him, this absolute dork. 

“It’s you, Eddie.” You stated, figuring bluntness was the way to go as you sealed the confession by taking your hand in his.

You felt his hand slightly tighten around yours. “Wa-really?” He almost squealed. 

You did everything you could to not bust out laughing. You shook you head, trying to shake the giggles. “Yes, you. Now, about our first date…”

Hush (DCAU) Riddler:

Needless to say, Edward was jealous of everyone. He would never admit it, but he was. Secretly, seething, he despised most everyone. Especially those that had things he didn’t. Strength, power, influence, perfect health. Perfect health…

“Hey, Eddie!” You came through the door, dropping your belongings and stepping out of your work shoes. 

He didn’t deserve you he really didn’t. He wouldn’t blame you if you dropped him and left him for your co-worker at work that obviously has the hots for you. Of course you were too kind and rather oblivious to see that, but he adored you for that all the same. 

“Hey sweetie,” he greeted back half-heartedly. “How was your day?” 

“Oh, same old same old. Although, something weird happened, you know that co-worker I told you about? Scott? The one that’s been super friendly?” 

Through gritted teeth, Edward nodded. “Y-Yeah, I do…what about him?” 

“He asked me out to dinner tonight, it was so random…I thought he was just being friendly…to be friends.” You shrugged as you plopped beside Edward on the couch. 

Edward could feel his fist slightly clench in frustration. 

“Y-You said no…though right?” 

“Edward!” You practically squealed in disbelief. “Of course I told him no! I have you! I’d never do such a thing.”

“I-I know…I’m sorry, I’m really sorry, that wasn’t right of me to ask…” He sighed in defeat. “I…I haven’t been in the best mindset as of late.”

You nodded. “It’s okay, when you’re ready we can talk about it. But for all the questions and riddles in this world, don’t you dare question my feelings for you…okay?” 

You leaned your head on his shoulder and wrapped your arm around his waist and embraced him in a side hug. 

“Okay, sweetie. I won’t, I promise.”

[nereidprinc3ss]

i have such a very unpopular opinion. but have you seen pretty little liars? if not, the show is about four girls who try to figure out the source of anonymous threats messages that attempts against their lives. it even has a criminal storyline going one. one of them, spencer hastings, SHE EVEN SHARES HIS NAME is the smartest one and has a similar storyline to reid. i even believe that her character was inspired by reid.

she dresses like this preppy academy girl, has high iq and she even struggles with her own addiction (sleeping pills) that leads her to having anxiety and other psychological things. she makes more sense than maeve trying to be spencer. if a crossover ever happened to exist in some random universe, i’m constantly asking myself how would spencer deal with someone like hastings, or even fall in love with them because it’s so easy and relatable.

reid was the first male character i could relate to because you know, male gaze. and men in comparison to women don’t face the same amount of pressure when it comes about intelligence quotient which is why i’m always seeking comfort in female characters. specially, smart ones because i feel the same. personally speaking, in dating, i also rely on smart men rather than ‘average’ men which is also what i seek when it comes about intimacy/sexual intimacy. for me it’s not about the looks anymore.

i first learned about hastings before reid and fell in love with her because i relate to her so much, for me it’s about our psychological struggles and our tendency to use our iq to hide our vulnerability which makes it so real because we are so fucked up that we will always choose to hide that side of us to normal people. sorry for my rambling, but i needed to get that out.

# i’m claiming this emoji. ❤️

i love rambling!!! thank you for sharing i have not seen pll but i will go on a related rant about iq and self worth and stuff

first of all this is exactly what my and my friend were talking about the other day but with the show suits!! the character mike ross also is a genius w and eidetic memory and a drug problem who goes to jail!! spencer reid truly is the blueprint i think but you can NEVER outdo the doer!!

as for the iq stuff you are so so right. for a long time i based my self worth on my iq and being “gifted” until i realized it was actually completely meaningless and other people thinking i was smart would do nothing for me in the end. but it was the only thing i had to feel good about myself bc i was NOT attractive in middle school/early high school and i was pretty socially awkward so i made myself feel better by thinking about how much smarter than everyone else i was all the time but as you can probably imagine that actually did NOTHING for me except make me feel further isolated and also rlly amped up my narcissistic defensive tendencies!! which was not good!!! (to clarify i am not a narcissist😭 but in my early teenage years i was definitely developing narcissistic QUALITIES)

and then i realized i was failing all my classes anyway and i couldn’t retain any information and i was a fast reader but had absolutely NO reading comprehension. like couldn’t remember the sentence i had LITERALLY just read. and then i got evaluated and diagnosed w adhd which like thank god for medication because im FINALLY capable of learning again but my point is that intelligence is sooo complex and abstract and essentially a empty signifier that means different things to different people. it’s a terrible thing to base your self worth on because it can fluctuate too, and also speaking directly about iq—there is a threshold with iq where if you get above a certain number of standard deviations of average you are actually predicted to be less successful than people with lower iq’s. iq is much less important than we think it is. it’s about what you DO with your potential, not the amount of sheer potential you have

i was actually thinking about that recently cause like?? spencer reid is obviously a rare case and exceptional in every measure BUT a big part of his genius is just his personality. like there are people with eidetic memories and staggeringly high iq’s who do absolutely nothing with their lives and work in offices or construction or something. and obviously he’s fictional but i think that aspect of his character is so interesting because it speaks so much to who he is a person like he never was inherently going to be so intelligent, he had a lot of potential, but it was more due to his desire to learn and his childhood and probably approval seeking but i digress

and also yeah me too babe i am ridiculously sapiosexual but i also have never been attracted to a man who isn’t pretty objectively physically attractive so i need a male model bf who is ALSO a genius and ALSO hilarious and not vain about his looks. like do you hear how ridiculous that is??? im a 7 on my most attractive day and i can’t do mental math like at all…….. so ig this man also must have low standards LOL

so there was my ramble😁 if you read the whole thing im so sorry

[quodekash]

An Analysis of Soren (and maybe other stuff too)

(sorry for bad photo quality that will inevitably come up)

I feel like people have said/thought that it took his father betraying everything and all the stuff that happened to him in seasons 1-3 for soren to properly be a good person (if no one’s thought or said that ever… I’m here to prove it wrong anyway). But I would like to say that soren has always always ALWAYS been a good person. He just didn’t realise he was on the wrong team.

(ID: A photo of a paused moment in The Dragon Prince. Subtitles say “They’re here” (assassins are here to kill the king). Callum is in the middle of the image, and behind him is Soren, who is holding his shoulder defensively. End ID.)

Assassins came to kill the king, and his immediate reaction? Protect the only person in this room who can’t defend himself in a fight. And I know Soren’s a crownguard so it’s like part of his job, but Callum’s not blood royalty (as Soren often points out) and he still protects him. And I have a feeling he’d do that for anyone at all, he’d see danger, assess the people in the room, and immediately defend those who can’t defend themselves.

soren always felt like his dad didn’t treat him right (one day I’ll make an entire post on this alone cos there’s so much to talk about there), but he probably thought neglect was normal, or made excuses for V*ren.

Soren is kind to everyone, no matter their gender, race, age, social status, whatever. Yeah, he bullies Callum but, as he says, Callum had a good dad and Soren never did (again, I’ll talk about this another time), so Soren projected it on to Callum, which is no one’s fault (except for V*ren). Yeah, he hates Rayla and elves when they first meet, but that’s bc a) he’s been taught all his life that elves are the enemy, b) he thought rayla had kidnapped Ez and Callum, c) they killed his king, and d) he just didn’t know any better. And yeah he annoys his sister a lot but that’s his job and he shows how much he ultimately cares about her (he was ready to flipping k!ll Callum cos he thought he’d hurt Claudia)

he is kind, and good, and noble, and doesn’t get enough credit for it, isn’t appreciated for his pure and lovely heart.

That was the… “Soren is a good person” segment. Now we’re on to the “holy bajoolies Soren is impressive” segment.

and it’s something that I’ve never properly understood. He’s literally a crownguard at 18. He’s above all the guards in Katolis, yet he’s barely an adult. Everyone else would surely be like 25-40 (idk if that’s historically accurate, don’t quote me on that) with years more experience and stuff than Soren has, and he’s higher up than all of them (note: and he still treats them all the same way he treats everyone else: with kindness).

But why is he crownguard? Is it because his dad is influential to the king? Maybe, but he’s a very very skilled swordsman, and it seems like the other guards genuinely respect him. And I can’t see Harrow showing any kind of favouritism, (remember the Lady Justice dream). So that means he genuinely earned that place somehow, and there probably would’ve been more than physical tests but also mental tests to make sure he’s smart enough to like know who to trust and when to expect an attack at unexpected times and everything else being crownguard would entail. Which means Soren is not only more talented and brave and skilled than anyone gives him credit for, but he’s also so much smarter than anyone ever acknowledges.

(ID: Soren from The Dragon Prince. Text says “Soren” and underneath in smaller text, “youngest crownguard in history”. End ID.)

[krispyalpacaduck]

Dr. Morbius x Chubby Reader Fanfic Request Response

@sluttmeoutttt Hi I'm Keiarah & I was wondering could you possibly do a michael morbius x chubby reader with anxiety Maybe Dr. Morbius finds her while she's having a anxiety attack & he tries to help calm her down

@sluttmeoutttt I hope you like it! Please feel free to share and thank you so much again for your request!

Decency

“Hey, hey! Where’s the fire!” Dr. Morbius said, watching you run into the room.

“I’m so sorry I’m late! I hate being late! Not only does it throw me off, I throw off everyone else too! I would’ve been here sooner if people would’ve held the elevator open for me! I mean, how rude can someone be?! I just don’t get it! And all because I’m chubby? Why should that matter in being a decent human being?”

You were trying to calm down, but the staff interns' actions had you riled up. Your breathing was starting to increase rapidly, heart thumping in your chest.

"Great... like I needed an anxiety attack today."

“Y/N, easy… deep breaths.”

“I don’t mean to take this out on you. I’m just…so…ugh!” 

“Deep breaths and stand still.”

You hadn’t realized you were pacing the room, hands fisted in your hair. 

Taking a few moments to calm yourself, you say,  “Thank you.” as you take several deep breaths in and out.

“Of course.”

“I really mean it. No one else here would’ve bothered. It’s way too easy, and fun, to ridicule and make fun of me.”

“Oh, I’m sure they don’t mean anything by i-”

“Look at me!” You yell with more aggression than you had intended.

Michael’s eyes flew open in surprise.

“I’m sorry. I’m so tired of everyone saying that. ‘Oh, they don’t mean anything by it.’ or ‘Don’t worry about them. Just be you.’ I’m tired of being rejected and ridiculed, Michael!”

Morbius looked away and blew out a breath.

“Well, there goes my follow up statement.”

“It’s hard, Michael. It’s hard being a bigger girl. To be the “elephant in the room” in a sea of beautiful, skinny people.”

“Ah I see…” Michael said as he scooted closer to you.

“This is pretty here, right?” He asked, circling his hand around his face.

You nod, still practicing deep breathing.

Pointing to his heart, he said, “But what’s in here? Y’N, it’s rare to meet someone who is both beautiful and kind hearted. The looks they have are all they have. I once knew someone whose sister was always fawned after and all of her classmates would ask this person about her. She was never looked at like her sister was and it led to self-image issues that she struggles with to this day. I’m going to tell you exactly what I told her: they treat you the way they do: call you names, treat you like you’re different and undesirable, etc because they can’t handle you. You scare them because you’re real. Guys like that only want a pretty face. They don’t want someone who is smarter than them or can outthink them. That’s not someone you want, right? 

“That lifestyle might look glamorous, but inside? There’s a lot of emptiness. Those people have their own issues where they feel they have to be beautiful in order to get someone. They feel they’re not good enough to get someone on their own so they have to improvise and become someone they’re not. That, in time, corrupts the sense of self so they believe they are better than everyone else, smarter than everyone else, stronger than everyone else. They forget where they come from and forget who they used to be.

“Given the choice, I’d take the brains. Wouldn’t you?”

Sniffling, you wipe your eyes and nod.

“Come here.” Michael said quietly and pulled you into a tight hug.

As you pulled away from the hug, he grabbed your hand.

“If you’re insistent on looking the way they do, you know what you need to do. Change never came from someone wishing their life was different or they looked different or had a different lifestyle. Change takes work, but don’t change yourself to get some douchebag who only likes you for your looks. Do it because it’s what you want. If you like the way you are, stay that way. You have nothing to prove to anyone and you are amazing just the way you are. Don’t let those degenerates take away your confidence. Remember: people who bully others? There’s something wrong with them. Not you. Normal people don’t go around bullying others.”

Squeezing your hand, he looked straight into your eyes. 

“If you do this, never forget who you are. There are too many of those people and not enough genuine ones. Guaranteed those interns don’t last another 6 months. Once the full scope of the work hits them, they’ll walk and say, “It’s too hard.” 

He said the last part in a whiny voice. 

“We need people like you who actually care and who can tough it out for the good of the patient, not the fame, flashy cars, or social status. I mean, don’t get me wrong, those are nice perks, but they’re not everything.”

“Be like you, you mean. Turning down a Nobel prize? You’re insane.” You said chuckling with a sniffle. 

“What can I say? I have issues. But that’s the point. I could very easily drown in adoration and money and Nobel prizes. I don’t care about any of that. My only goal is to find a cure for the people who are like me. If I let fame, wealth and adoration go to my head, that goal may change and I don’t want that to happen.”

With tears in your eyes, you hugged him again and said, “Thank you, Michael. You always know what to say.”

[haeva]

I don’t want to go to work tomorrow. I want to sleep in and catch the nearest flight to the Netherlands.

Facing this mountain of a book to edit and rewrite, these symptoms the doctors can’t figure out, trying to stay strong with my dad being sick, and now a creep hanging out at the mall catcalling me and my coworker.

I’m probably writing this as a coping mechanism so I can go to bed without such thoughts plaguing my mind. I think one of these days I’m going to break down.

These trials come, but they always seem to go. Even things I thought, and felt, could last forever, faded away. I’ll get through this. It’s just a latest rainy season I suppose.

Few things have remained the last year and a half. Friendships, bonds with family members, my mother’s love. The joy I have with my little dog Watson. My writing. The way the sun shines into my window onto the bookshelf in the evening. My favorite stories that are always amazing every time I reread them. Comfort movies I put on while studying. You. Our bond, tethered by pen pal messages and anonymous love letters, co-bloggers and writers. You’re out there, probably in school listening to some boring professor (trust me love, I’m sure you outshine them all), or in your apartment making earl grey tea. I think it’s breakfast time there, right?

I miss you. I just want to feel your embrace and my worries melt away into nothing. Some days more than others. Tonight is one of those.

I hear the coyotes now, howling and singing their songs in the distance beyond the hills. (Far beyond, don’t worry, they don’t come near houses) I hear crickets as well, and the tick of my clock which I’m pretty sure needs new batteries. It feels so still. Peaceful.

Show up in my dreams, pretty please?

(as a matter of habit, I almost clicked “ask anonymously”)

Oh how I've missed these poetic diary entries. I'm so sorry to hear about your dad. I hope he gets better and if he can't then I hope he finds peace.

I can't say I know exactly what you're going through, no one in my family has ever been sick. But I do know the feeling of wanting to pack up and leave, even if it's just for a little while.

I think about it when I feel like I have no one left in this place who cares for me. I think about it when I'm barely passing my classes and everyone else seems so much smarter than me. I think about it when I realise how my life didn't go the way I planned. I screwed up and it makes me want to cry.

In those moments I imagine what places I would go. The US comes up a lot, New York, Los Angeles, there's so many cities to visit. But whichever one I imagine, I always picture you there.

I have seen myself running into you at the mall. Or us meeting at some airport. I have even pictured you in Amsterdam and even though it's not where I live, I'm there that day. But if you saw me, really saw me, would you still like me? Or would I be better off remaining a fantasy in your head? I can be perfect that way, while the reality is flawed.

Tell me, did I show up in your dreams after all? Because you have shown up in mine.

[thecameronchronicles]

Scavengers Part Five: The Labyrinth (Finale)

Part 1! Part 2! Part 3! Part 4!

TW: Language. Perilous situations. Threats. Mentions of blood. Angst.

SUMMARY: The conclusion brings you to a dance with the devil. 

WORD COUNT: 2400

Scavengers Part 5- The Labyrinth (Finale)

Sarah stared into the dead space as you two continued forward. She had listened to the blackmail tape at least half a dozen times as you made the journey from her dorm and to the agreed upon location. Of course, you felt like a complete idiot for venturing away from anyone who could actually help you and make your way further into the woods for a cryptic text in regards to something that ended up being a potential trap. But for the thought that for even one second you would be able to help Kiara and take down the male Camerons, was worth that risk tenfold. 

“If Rafe is the one behind this…he’s unstable, okay? Everyone in my family has known that since he was like…ten…I think my dad put him here as a way of babysitting him…buying his tuition so they would turn a blind eye to his grades, God knows he isn’t staying here because he’s vying for Valedictorian. But he…I always knew he had a thing for Kie…but…”

“I know it’s hard Sarah…but maybe not thinking of it like he’s your brother right now…It COULD be anybody else…”

“Yeah…Could be Pope…” She shot as you clenched your jaw, stopping at the center of the woods. 

“It could be you. You DID send me those texts-”

“Sorry I was trying to look out for you..”

“You don’t even like me-”

“Doesn’t mean I want you to get hurt!”

“God, do either you ever shut up?” You both looked to each other before looking forward to Kiara, unbound, unafraid, and unabashed as she leaned against the tree near the well house. 

“What the fuck, Kie?!” Sarah snapped. “How are you-”

“Because I know better than to go up against Ward without help.” She explained, looking behind you as the sound of sticks cracking beneath weight forced you to turn around as Sarah lifted the taser. 

“I knew you were in on this!” Sarah exclaimed as your eyes narrowed to Pope. 

“So much for trust…” You said to yourself, shaking your head, as he placed his hands cowardly into his pockets. 

“We don’t have a lot of time…Okay? So I’ll explain quickly. Last year, the last clue sent me to a place they didn’t expect me to find as quickly as I did. I saw your dad threaten some other guy with a gun. The dean was there and the guy got hurt, I don’t know what happened to him, but I know he went missing. Like for real…And I got it on film. Unfortunately, I lost it.” She shot a glance to Pope. 

“I was trying to protect you-”

“So he had to make it up to me. But helping me get other evidence, which was why we planned for this year for him to enter the Scavenger hunt and win it. But someone else got involved…” Kiara now looked at you. 

“But what about that day at the library? You told me you saw Rafe had her-”

“They think they do. That was the plan…To get caught. I kept my phone on me and dropped a pin whenever they moved me. Pope has been helping me all year. Bringing me food and clothes…”

“That’s why you came to my room for the clothing drive…clever, Pope…” He shrugged. 

“Problem is, the evidence you have is dangerous. More than what I had…I can be protected by fancy lawyers by my parents. But you…you’re a scholarship kid, they are just looking for a reason to boot out of here.”

“I’m still so confused.” You confessed. 

“Kiara never went missing. Kiara pretended to. Pope has been helping. Simple enough? God, Pope, you said she was smart…Actually ‘possibly smarter than me’.” Your eyes narrowed at him. 

“You used me…” He paused, clenching his jaw as you now faced Kiara. “So what now? You want the evidence for yourself?”

“You’re not getting shit. You play with people, Kie…and you probably deserve whatever this is. My dad wouldn’t-” She motioned to Pope, a phone conversation having been tapped between The Dean and her father validating the interaction you had come across with Pope in the office. 

“When we were in the office, I bugged his phone. You can get these things online for like-” Your glare made him lessen his pride. “But when you got attacked by Rafe, it all changed. I told Kie we were stopping this…and she lied and agreed and then I got a text five minutes after you left on this little crusade that said she was ending it…’once and for all’...And I saw you and Sarah leave campus, so I followed.”

“So you two are trying to get money out of my family?”

“Sarah, wake up! Your father doesn’t have respect from people, it’s fear! If you weren’t so high on your pedestal all the time, you’d see the reality for what it is. I saw it myself. They are taking money from the school…tuition money…scholarship money…and using it for trips for you. For Rafe. For Rose. Even Wheezie. You are literally taking money out of people’s pockets with a smile…And I have enough to put Ward, Rafe, and Rose away for life.”

“And you think I'm gonna let that happen?” Rafe’s voice came from behind you as Pope immediately moved in front of you, your hand trying to push him away, but he remained steadfast by simply returning it. 

“Should’ve known it’s always a fucking pogue…Good to know about the truth though…I mean…Kinda suspected it…” He explained, drawing the barrel of the weapon to his temple as it suddenly came to view. 

“The new clothes were kinda a tell…props for trying to keep them dirty though…But you’ll always be part Kook, Kie…can’t quite stand the dirt like they can-”

“Fuck you, Rafe-”

“Didn’t you already?” Her jaw clenched. “Oh…They don’t know about THAT…do they?” Sarah and Pope both looked at her with betrayal as you had done in pure shock. It wasn’t THAT unbelievable as Rafe was the typical frat boy, handsome and lively, and yet, your type seemed to be those who stabbed you in the back as you narrowed your eyes at Pope in remembrance of this. 

“It was one night, don’t flatter yourself.”

“Either way…hand it over…” Rafe motioned to you. “Think I forgot about OUR little run in-”

“Don’t touch her, asshole.” Pope warned. 

“I thought you were supposed to be smart, Pogue…I’VE got the gun here…you’ve got…”

“Enough, Rafe.”

“Dad!?” Sarah asked with tears in her eyes. 

“Sweetheart-”

“Just tell me it isn’t true…Tell me…Look me in my eyes and tell me those words. No excuses. No bullshit…”

“It's complicated-”

“Did you hurt somebody?”

“Sometimes you have to take-”

“Oh my God…”

“Just hand over the phone…and we’ll talk about this…” Ward motioned to you as Sarah walked in a singular circle as Rafe trained the gun on her. 

“It’s your sister.” He clenched his jaw to the reminder before looking back to you and Pope, who had moved closer to you. 

“You’re not gonna let us go.” You stepped out from behind Pope. “But it doesn’t matter. I already sent this to The Dean-”

“Sweetheart…there’s nothing-”

“And everyone on the council’s board. Every professor. Every student. You go back to campus and everyone knows what you’ve done.” Everyone looked at each other with disbelief, “Do you REALLY think I would come here with the one thing that could ruin you? You tossed your phone, “So take it-” Before the device hit the ground, a gunshot rang out. In seconds, Kiara and Sarah were sprinting back towards campus as Pope pulled you behind a nearby tree. 

“Don’t let her get back to campus!” Ward called to Rafe. 

“I'm on it.” 

“Come out, scholarship kids…we can work something out. It doesn’t have to be like this…” As Ward inched closer to your hiding spot, your hand came to your stomach, pulling back a palm of blood as Pope looked to you with horror. 

“No…” His wide eyes brought yours back to your wound. 

“I’ve been shot, Pope…”

“What do you want?” Pope called out as you glared at him, “You gonna kill two kids, Ward?” 

“What are you doing?”

“Making it right.” He kissed you softly, feeling you reciprocate only at the end, looking back in a silent apology, before moving out with his hands up. 

“You wouldn’t. Right? You’re a man of honor, aren’t you? Then let’s talk.”

“Alright, Pope…What do you want?”

“World peace. Think even that’s out of your hands…Even YOU can’t buy that…” 

“Cute…”

“Rafe shot her. That gun you’re holding will now haunt you forever. Both of your fingerprints on it. You’ll always wonder if someone will find it…The echo heard by Sarah and Kiara, where not even Rafe can get both of them. One of them will make it back to campus. One of them will be able to tell the truth. So you kill me…you let HER die…and it’s just another body you gotta move. But I promise you that if something happens to her…I’ll put you through a hell you never knew…”

“Money is it? It always comes back to money-”

“I got here on my own. I don’t want your blood money. I just want HER to be okay. It’s over Ward…Do the right thing for once….Just walk away. Set your private plane and go to…Barbados or wherever rich assholes like you go when they don’t want to get their hands slapped. But either way, I’m taking her to get help…” He returned to you, helping you to your feet as he saw the effects of what his son had done. But as you stood, he raised the gun again. 

“Let us go.”

“I can’t do that…I’ll get her help…I’ll have a doctor-”

“Bullshit! You aren’t going to let anyone-” 

“Pope, I don’t want to do this. But my family-”

“Your family is built on lies. The likes of all you Kooks are the same. Wealthy in everything but loyalty…family…”

“I’m doing this FOR my family, you wouldn’t know a thing-” Pope looked at you before he set you against the tree. 

“Pope…” You spoke his name in warning, your wound reminding you of its existence as you reached for him as he turned back to Ward. 

“You want to help her? I’ll keep her here-”

“Not a fucking chance in hell. I’m not leaving her. Especially with you…”

“What do you think you’re gonna do, Pope? Nobody is gonna believe a scholarship kid-”

“Maybe not…But your own daughter?”

“You keep my daughter-” Pope prompted this reaction so he could get close enough to act. In seconds, Ward was knocked to the ground and straddled by him, punch after punch unleashed. 

“Pope…” You whimpered, your eyes struggling to remain open. 

“You’re never gonna hurt anyone else. I’ll make sure of it…” Pope finalized before racing to you at the exact moment your eyes came closed from the loss of blood taking over you completely. 

“She just needs some rest.” A male voice spoke as your eyes pried open several hours later from within the bed of the hospital. Pope at your side, you noticed how his knuckles had been bandaged and a single line on his lip, having acknowledged that someone had gotten the best of him for a singular strike, had sent your eyes to adjust quickly. 

“Pope…”

“It’s okay…Everything’s okay.”

“Where’s Sarah-Where’s Kiara?”

“They’re giving an official statement. Ward is in custody and Rafe is hiding out somewhere on campus, they’ll find him. He doesn’t exactly have friends…But uh…How do YOU feel…”

You looked down to the bandage on your abdomen. 

“Like I got shot.”

He cocked his head to the side. “I know I don’t deserve anything right now, especially honesty, but I thought I was protecting you. And Kie told me she was done, I thought it wouldn’t matter…Especially after that night…I didn’t plan for us…But she…it doesn’t matter…I’m sorry.”

“You can make it up to me.”

“How?”

“Maybe a proper date.”

“You…you want me to…”

“I heard what you said to Ward…and Kiara on the phone not even an hour ago…Or what I’d guess to be…” His head bowed as he blushed. “You said I was worth all of it. That you were sorry and wish you could take it back. And I also know how I feel with you. But we have to start over. Because I can’t trust anything right now…But I still don’t think you could hurt anybody, Pope…” He lifted up his hands and cocked a brow. 

“You were protecting me. It’s not the same.”

“How’s she doing?” Sarah’s voice called over his shoulder. 

“Doctor’s said it went straight through, and said she was pretty lucky.”

“Yeah…Lucky…” You mentioned with a scoff. 

“They found Rafe…So…I guess that’s that…”

“I’m sorry Sarah-” She held up her hands. 

“Don’t. We’ve all fucked up…said things-SENT things…But we deserve to live after this I think. Maybe just no more grand plans like this? No more of this tension because my entire family just fell apart and if anyone makes even one single comment about any of this…I will be worse than either of them.”

“She means it too.” KIara added as she hit your foot on the end of the bed. 

“You good?”

“I will be.” You answered, unsure how to act with Kiara. She was matter-of-fact and blunt, admirable in her passions, but hard to read. 

“Good. Because Pope needs you. He’s actually not so boring when you’re around.” You fought a smile. “So let’s get you on your feet so he can get off my back…”

“Kie-”

“It’s the closest you’re gonna get to a sorry. Okay? Ward and Rafe are-” Sarah cocked her head. “I’m just saying it’s over. So we can go back to our lives-or even have better ones…”

“Or try to.” Sarah added in a mutter as you nodded. 

“I did want to give you something though…” Kiara explained as she slipped an envelope from her back pocket. 

“What’s this?”

“The winnings of the hunt…it’s in a fund-a trust…split between you and Pope…”

“I don’t want anything from this…” You spoke quickly. 

“Good, because it’s not from this. My parents put it in. A thank you for bringing their daughter back safely…So…Don’t make me have to get mean about it, okay?”

“Kiara!” You looked at the number. 

“You two deserve it. That and….” She motioned between you two. “This…” She looked to Pope. “I am…” 

“It’s okay…” Pope nodded as he looked back at you. 

“Are we?” Sarah, Kie,and Pope focused on you. 

“More than. You still have a date to make up to me…”

“I’d option out of doing a scavenger hunt.” Everyone looked to Kiara, ignoring her remark as you returned to your new normal. Whatever that would be, knowing you had Pope at your side for it all. He was a man in debt, and he intended to make good on it. By any means necessary…

Taglist: @hopebaker @iovdrew @penny4yourthoughts @magnificantmermaid @pickingviolets @lovedetlost @trikigirl271 @maybankslover @slut4starkey @slvtherinseeker @obxiskewl @obxxrxfes @bluesongbird @slut-era @ailee-celeste @rafesbae @camilynn @sweetestdesire @onmykneesforrafe @drews1love

[pierceintyre-hunnihawk]

Moody River

It was relatively early in the morning. I know Trapper had gotten his papers for his departure. I didn’t have a good feeling when I saw his helicopter leave.

Just then, Radar came into the operating room, and asked for everyone’s attention. I could see from his expression that it wasn’t good news. All motions came to a halt. I held my breath.

“I have a message from some officials. Captain John “Trapper” McIntyre’s helicopter was shot down over the Sea of Japan. It spun in. There were no survivors.”

I looked around the room, and no one had dry eyes. A medical instrument was dropped. Henry put an arm around my shoulders, and gently escorted me out, and into his office.

“Hawkeye? Are you okay?”

“N-no. This can’t be. He was so excited to go home. He can’t be dead.”

“Hawkeye, I’m sorry.”

I put my face in my hands, and cried. I couldn’t let Henry see me like this.

“Hawkeye, if you’d like, I could call Sidney.”

“Okay.”

Henry patted my shoulder, and left. I cried harder.

“Sir? I-I’m sorry if now’s a bad time.”

“It’s okay, Radar. What can I do for you?”

“Oh, nothing, sir. I want you to have this until you feel better.”

It was his teddy bear. He never lets anyone hold it for too long.

“You’re special to me, sir. And he’s special to me too. He was from my brother who died in combat. He helped me, so maybe he could help you.”

I smiled, and thanked Radar. I wasn’t allowed to work in the O.R afterwards, Henry’s orders. Frank wasn’t pleased, but Margaret just shut him up. So, I went back to the swamp, and poured myself a drink. I thought back to when we first made the still. We were so happy.

I drank myself to sleep, and missed out on most of my meals. Luckily for me, Radar dropped off some stuff with a note that read, “I care about you, sir. - Radar” I put the note in my coat pocket. He really was a sweet kid.

I ate whatever was on the tray, and opened a magazine that was on my cot. Something that was on Trapper’s side of the swamp caught my eye. It was his robe. It too had a note in his pocket.

“For Hawkeye. To think of me fondly, and to keep me around. You’re my best friend, and I love you. I wouldn’t be around if it weren’t for you. -Trapper.” I quickly put his robe on. It smelled like its owner. I laid back in bed with it on, and slept.

I had a series of nightmares, all revolved around Trapper, so I just made myself some coffee and stayed awake. At least I saw the sunrise.

Henry told me to take the rest of the week off, but I couldn’t help but feel bad.

“Hawkeye, I don’t want you in the O.R distracted or missing Trapper more than you are now. It’s not safe for you, and it’s not safe for everyone else.”

I nodded and sat back. Henry’s office wasn’t that bright so he saw my dark circles and how tear-stained I looked.

“I don’t mean to sound offensive, Hawkeye, but you look like hell.”

“I feel like it too. I couldn’t sleep.”

“Nightmares about Trapper?”

“They always feel so real. It’s like I could touch him.”

Henry nodded, and told me that I had an appointment with Sidney today, and to be honest as much as possible. I agreed, and left his office. Unfortunately, Frank was around.

“Hey, Hawkeye.”

“Hi, Frank.”

“How do you feel being alone again?”

I tried not to get angry, so I just said, “fine, Frank.”

“Really? You had quite an episode yesterday.”

“I don’t want to talk about it, Frank.”

“For sure. You’re just another page in old Trapper’s book. Oh wait, he’s dead.”

Frank started laughing, and I had enough. So, I did what any sane person would do, and punched him.

“You don’t know anything about what Trapper meant to me. If you were any smarter, you’d know to keep your mouth shut about him. Hell, I wouldn’t miss you if you had traded places with Trapper, but you don’t see me telling that to Margaret.”

He got up and left. I didn’t care where he went, but it was probably to talk to Henry. Poor guy can’t get a break.

Unfortunately, I was right. Henry knocked on the door, and asked if he could come in. I couldn’t say “no”, but I did offer him a drink. He declined due to the time.

“Hawkeye?”

“Yes?”

“It’s half past nine. Are you sure that you should be drinking?”

“Yes.”

“Hawkeye, are you feeling okay? Frank told me that you hit him, which isn’t a shock. I just wanted to check up on you.”

“Honestly, no. It was really hard on me to lose Trapper. I can’t close my eyes without hearing his voice, or having a nightmare about the events.”

“I understand. If I could trade lives with him, believe me I would.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but I need the both of you. You remind me of my dad. Trapper reminded of something that I always wanted.”

“What is it, Hawkeye?”

I thought about it for a moment. I wasn’t sure what to say, except the first thing that came to mind.

“Love.”

“Love? You loved Trapper?”

“I did. Hell, I still do, but I can’t tell him that, now. I’ll never be able to. You don’t know just how much this hurts me. I can’t shake the feeling that he’s waiting for me.” I was starting to get anxious due to me telling an official my feelings for another man. I could get thrown out if the wrong person finds out.

“You mustn't tell anyone about this, Not Sidney, not Father Mulcahy, or any other official. I won’t know what to do with myself if they find out.”

“I understand, Hawkeye. Your secret’s safe with me, I promise. Now, finish getting dressed, Sidney’s on his way.”

I nodded, and watched him leave.

Minutes passed, and I was waiting for Sidney. He came in, and greeted me.

“I’d like to skip the pleasantries, for now. I heard about Trapper, and I’m sorry for your loss.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, no it’s not. Tell me what happened after you found out about Trapper’s passing.”

I told him everything. Every emotion that I felt, and every thought that crossed my mind.

“Hawkeye, this bears just one question.”

“What is it, Sidney?”

“Did you love Trapper? I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to. Y’know, doctor-patient confidential, and all that.”

“I know. I guess I might as well be as honest as possible. I did. Still do.” I had tears forming, but I couldn’t let them fall. I’m already weak enough.

“Hawkeye, I don’t say this very often but, I think you’re pretty strong to keep going when you’re in such a strong state of grief.”

“You’re just saying that. I’m doing what I was taught.”

“And that is?”

“Survival. Not everyone lives. You gotta die sometime, even if it means that your best friend goes before you. I won’t come to the swamp, and be able to deal with every day life the same way again. Frank gets on my last damn good nerve, and tap dances on it. It’s like he’s asking for me to hurt him.”

“Frank doesn’t understand basic human emotions at times. Do you want to tell me why Henry talked to you?”

“He wanted to talk to me about Trapper. As well as to why I hit Frank.”

“I can understand hitting Frank, but he did mention you offering him a drink. May I ask why at this hour?”

“I can’t face the day the same way anymore. Without Trapper here with me, it’s back to being miserable again. I just don’t know what to do.”

“Tell you what, we’ll schedule a few appointments a week, and try to make this prison a home. How does that sound?”

“I’d like that. It sounds easier than just forgetting that Trapper never existed.”

Sidney smiled, and noticed Trapper’s robe on my bed.

“He left you a parting gift.”

“If you call it that. I think he knew that he wouldn’t make it home, so he wanted me to keep something to keep him close.”

“An ominous feeling can make us exaggerate more than usual. However, I think he wanted you to have his robe. Did you check the left hand pocket?”  

“No.I only checked the right one. Why?”

“It seems like there’s something in it.”

I reached in, and low and behold, he was right. There was a bottle of Trapper’s cologne, another note, and what appeared to be his dog tags.

“Would you like me to read it aloud, or would you like to read it?”

I handed him the note to read aloud.

“To my dearest Hawkeye, if you are reading this, then it means that the worst situation came true. I’m sorry that I never told you how I truly felt about you. However, I want you to keep me with you at all times. so I gave you my tags (the originals. I took the copy with me), and a bottle of my cologne. It’s to help you whenever you miss me, or want to visit me in a different time. The ring was a gift that I got you while we spent time in Tokyo. I wanted to give it to you before I left, but I wasn’t able to. I hope that you can forgive me, and or find some sort of closure out of this. Love, your best friend, Trapper. PS, punch Frank in the face for me. He insulted me for sounding like we’re dating while I wrote this. (I didn’t realize that he was looking over my shoulder.)”

I looked up at Sidney, who gave the note back to me to hold onto. There was a long silence.

“I think he truly loved you, Hawkeye.”

I knew he wanted to break the silence first, but for once I didn’t have words.

“I-I guess he did.” My voice was strained. Emotions stirred in my brain. I didn't know what else to say.

“I know that I can’t bring Trapper back, but would you like for me to bring back some of those fun memories?”

“I would.”

Sidney left after we made, what felt like, a million appointments, and promised me a scrapbook.

“You okay, Hawk?”

I could tell that it was Henry, making sure that I was okay.

“I think this is as good as I’m going to feel for a while. However, I have to thank you.”

“For what?”

“Everything. It’s going to be hard going back to being alone again, but it can’t be too hard. Besides, there’s always a death in war. Sometimes, it’s just not the one that you want. I’m going to miss Trapper, and I’ll reflect on our fun moments and smile, but for now, he is but a memory. But, I’ll always treasure the fun that we had.”

“I understand, For now, take it easy, and you let me know what I can do. Okay?”

“Yes, sir.” I smiled.

“Good, Now, let’s get a drink, and talk.” Henry finally laughed. I was thankful for his concern, but life’s nothing without a happy Henry.

“Right behind you.”

[sukirichi]

“your hair is really soft” – jjk ver!

ft. itadori yuuji, gojo satoru, fushiguro megumi, nanami kento, ryoumen sukuna, & inumaki toge

ITADORI YUUJI – you’re in the room with Yuuji, who is busy watching the movies gojo-sensei had given him. He holds the cursed corpse in his other side, careful not to let him hit you, while your head lies on his shoulder, eyes drooping close from your long day. Yuuji turns the volume down and brings you closer to him until you’re practically sitting on his lap, his lips making brief contact at the crown of your head while he mumbles sweet nothings, too engrossed in the movie.

You smile at his sweet gesture, gently fisting the front of his jacket while you return the affection, kissing the edges of his jaw softly to not distract him too much. Yuuji’s lips tilt at the soft press of your lips on his warm skin. Soon, your hands rake up to his hair where your nails rake his scalp. Immediately, Yuuji deflates like a balloon as he purrs at the movement, making you chuckle in your sleepy daze.

“Your hair is really soft,” you note, and his eyes practically sparkle. Yuuji was a huge fan of hair gels and hair products, that his desk was filled with different brands all so he could keep his hair perfectly styled – in that somewhat natural, messy appeal. You love it on him and he melts at the fact you’ve noticed his efforts into taking care of himself. Most of all, the feeling of the smooth tendrils running past your fingertips like caressing a field of flowers lulls both you and him to a serene state.

GOJO SATORU – Like Yuuji, Gojo takes his time in styling his hair. You brush your teeth beside Gojo, who scowls as he struggles to keep his hair up the way he likes before he puts on his blindfold. The lanky man groans and adds more product, flattening the strands of his hair between his palms before swooping it up. When it falls down, Gojo whines, leaning forward on the sink counter.

You chuckle to yourself; he could be so dramatic sometimes. Bumping your hip with his, you gesture at him to move, and the big baby pouts before placing his chin on your shoulder as he watches you gargle. “Babe,” he sniffles, arms wrapping around your middle before his nose nuzzles into your skin. You giggle and push him away; the little bastard knew you were ticklish there. “My hair won’t stick up the way I want it to. Now I don’t look so cool anymore. What would my students say? That Gojo-Sensei stopped being attractive?”

That earns him an eye roll and a playful smack to his shoulder. “Ow!” Gojo rubs his shoulder with another pout, although both of you know nothing ever really hurts the strongest jujutsu sorcerer. “You’re mean.”

“And you’re just fishing for compliments.”

When Gojo hides his smirk behind his palm, you know you’ve hit the nail right on the head. Gojo was probably the most self-assured and overconfident man you’ve ever met – the day he thought lowly of himself and worried about anything concerning him that would ruin his “image” would be the day pigs could fly. Nevertheless, you give in with a sigh, extending your palm towards him.

“Give me the gel. I’ll fix your hair for you.”

“You’re a lifesaver, babe!” Obediently, Gojo crouches down so you could reach his hair, but not before muttering “shorty” under his breath. You tug at his hair harshly than you intended as payback, and Gojo only lets out a loud, fake moan before doubling over.

Your laughter and his bubble and echo through the cramped room, but both of you don’t mind. It’s moments like these you cherish with your whole heart even though it’s not extremely sweet or anything over the top. Dating a jujutsu sorcerer, the strongest one at that, wasn’t always rainbows and unicorns. You worry for him all the time and stay up awake all night, only ever finding peace in your sleep when he comes home safely – which he always does.

Still, you don’t stop worrying for him. It’s only natural, after all, and the way Gojo’s eyes soften as you slightly massage his scalp and style his hair for him lets you know he loves small moments like this too when both of you are completely alone in your own worlds, just enjoying each other’s presence and not having to think about anything else.

“Your hair is really soft,” you muse, unaware of the way Gojo’s closed his eyes as he lets your hand do the magic. When the familiar scent of vanilla and flowers wafts into your senses, you lean down closer to him to sniff his hair, stopping in your movements. “That’s odd. You smell like shampoo, but I haven’t bought that scent in a week.”

“Well, I may or not be the one who emptied it the last time,” he sheepishly chuckles.

“Gojo! That shampoo was really expensive!”

“Yeah, but I wanted to smell like you,” he coos, gently peeling your arms off him so he could hug you. Because of the height difference, you face plant into his bare chest where his skin is still warm from the shower. You keep feigning your irritation, but really, you squish your cheek above his heart, and Gojo’s chest rumbles as he laughs – he knows you can’t resist him. “Sorry about it babe, let’s go grocery shopping tonight when I come home, yeah?”

“You better buy your own shampoo,” you grumble, but Gojo only laughs.

  FUSHIGURO MEGUMI – Megumi is hunched over his desk, eyebrows pinched together while his hands move at an extreme speed. He’s studying while you scroll through memes on your phone, not wanting to disturb your boyfriend. Megumi is studious as ever, and it’s not that you aren’t, but you’re definitely a lot more relaxed than he is. 

You often tease him that you’ve got amazing memory by tapping your forehead whenever he tells you to study with him, which only makes him huff, but in reality, you refuse to study with him because he’s so distracting.

The way he bites his lip when he’s concentrated on something has your stomach erupting with butterflies, and it doesn’t help when his dark blue eyes pierce through the pages like the poor textbook committed a crime he couldn’t forgive.

All in all, Megumi’s beauty tripled tenfold when he was dedicated to something, and it was this fact that had you keeping your distance from him while he studies, because the last thing he needs is to have you jump him when he’s got an exam to prepare for. Unbeknownst to him, you’re angling your phone upwards until his beautiful side profile comes to view – and it’s so unfair his lashes are longer and thicker than yours – and you take a silent snap.

You take a few more pictures with a silent giggle, making sure to set it as your lock screen later. Nothing better than waking up to Megumi’s face every time your alarm went off, but your daydreaming is halted when Megumi drops his pen with a loud sigh.

“I know you’re taking pictures of me,” he side-eyes you with a glare. You squeak before hiding your phone behind you, knowing that it’s not out of the picture for Megumi to steal them and delete his precious photos. It didn’t help he knows your password either (duh, it’s his birthdate) so you take the extra mile by offering him a sickeningly sweet smile, an apology ready to leave your lips when – “If you wanted my attention that badly, you could’ve just said so. I don’t mind taking a break or something.”

Although he sounds annoyed, the way he avoids your gaze to hide his reddened cheeks and ears say otherwise. Megumi’s back faces you as you wait patiently on his bed. You don’t want to bother him – you really don’t – so you stay put, and Megumi sighs for the hundredth time that night before spinning on his chair, arms stretched out wide open. “Come. Want hugs.”

He keeps his gaze on his lap to swallow the embarrassment of using baby-like words, which was a huge contrast from his quiet and cold persona. You don’t mind though. Deep down, Megumi is like everyone else who wants constant affection, so you leap out of his bed and jump into his arms. Megumi relaxes with your weight on top of him before he squishes his cheeks against your boobs – one of his quirks that you found endearing – a sign that he just wanted to relax for a little while.

Megumi isn’t really that huge on touch, so moments like this where he allows himself to be physically intimate with you has you floating on cloud nine. You hear him sigh between you, and you hide your grin by pushing his hair back to reveal those pretty eyes of his, beckoning him to look you in the eye.

As expected, his cheeks flush a beet red at the intensity of your gaze, but what really catches your attention is how his eyes just brighten even though they’re lined with dark circles. 

This precious boy means everything to you, and you cup his face until your noses are rubbing. “Love you, Gumi,” you whisper, the boy’s breath hitching when your eyelashes flutter against his skin. Megumi tsks, a faux scowl on his face because both of you are painfully aware that he just melts around you.

“Stop teasing me. You know I don’t like that.”

“I’m not teasing you,” you lie, brushing his hair back in a soothing manner to help him relieve the headache he gets when he studies too much. “You know, your hair is really soft. Can I keep doing this?”

Megumi hates it when people touch his hair, so you expect him to say no – and you’ll gladly respect it – but instead, he pushes you closer and murmurs, “Don’t stop doing that.”

You smile so wide you fear your face would break.

  NANAMI KENTO – You’ve always been fascinated with your co-worker. You don’t know what it is about the sharp-faced and stoic Nanami Kento that somehow makes him stand out from the rest. It’s not like he was smarter or better than anyone, although you do admit Nanami overworks most of the time.

It’s kind of pathetic you’ve been crushing on him ever since your first day of work. Maybe it’s because he worked with virtue and wishes to actually be honest instead of just sucking the money out of others. Maybe it’s because seeing him visit a bakery every after work makes him seem softer and a lot more human than his seemingly unapproachable nature. Whatever it was, you can’t explain why you’re so enamoured with the blond, or why you have the audacity to suddenly card your fingers through his hair at his desk that time.

You were told by your boss to give him this folder – quick, easy, and simple. But Nanami has this effect on you that he makes your brain go brr every time you go closer to him. You blame it on the fact both of you are alone at the office right now for OT, but when Nanami freezes under your touch, you realize the grave consequences of your actions.

As if you’ve touched something boiling hot – and he kind of is – you retract your arm and bow so deep you feel a vertebrae popping air. “I’m so sorry!” you begin to blabber, bowing repeatedly to the point your hair has become a mess. You can’t even look him in the eye – what were you thinking?! “I didn’t mean to, it’s just your hair looked really nice and soft and I couldn’t help myself! If you want to tell the higher-ups about this harassment and get me fired, I promise I won’t mind. In fact, I’ll take this to my grave and even offer my firstborn child as an apology—”

“Y/N.”

“because I’ve done something so horrendous and oh my gosh, I was just eating donuts and I probably got crumbs in your pretty hair—”

“Y/N,”

“And that’s really so low of me. Uh, actually, I may or may not have spent last month’s salary to buy my niece a huge ass dollhouse, but I’d gladly schedule a hair appointment for you—” you stop your words when you feel huge, calloused hands squishing your cheeks together until your lips are puckered out like a fish. Nanami stands before you, looking as handsome as ever, and that thought only has you panicking more and withdrawing. “I’m so sorry.”

Nanami sighs, pulling away to give you some space. You try to fight back the whine because not only did you look ridiculous under him, but also because you actually missed his touch.

“It’s fine. I don’t mind,” he takes the folder from you, pauses, then tilts his head to the side. “You think my hair is soft?”

“Uhm,” you blink rapidly, “Y-yes. Your hair is really pretty too. In fact, everything about you is pretty, like your hands when you type in paperwork but – I’m talking too much aren’t I?” you laugh nervously, scratching the back of your head. “I’m sorry. I tend to ramble when I’m nervous.”

“I make you nervous?” Nanami doesn’t sound like he believes it.

“Yeah,” you confess, switching your weight from one foot to another. At this point, you’ve given up on asking him out for coffee this weekend because you’re sure he’s labelled you as an idiot now. Not that it’s surprising though; not only does Nanami keep to himself out of social aversion, but you’re also pretty loud and awkward, a huge contrast to someone as well-put as him. “Anyways, uh,” you clear your throat, gesturing to your cubicle. “Now that you’ve got the file, I’m gonna go do my part. See you later, I guess. Or not. You can go home first you want. I’ve got quite a lot on my plate.”

“I’ll wait for you.”

“Sorry?”

Nanami organizes his desk one last time before following you to your desk. “I’m done with my part and it’s late. It’s not safe for you to walk home alone,” he glances at his watch, “I’ll wait for you until you’re done and walk you back home. That way, I don’t have to worry about your safety tonight,” he plops down on the empty seat next to yours, crossing his arms on his broad chest. “Take all the time you need. Just wake me up when you’re done.”

Just like that, Nanami dozes off, exhausted from a long day of hard work. You, on the other hand, are more energized than ever as you suddenly find a strong wave of motivation you’ve never had before.

Maybe you don’t mess up everything, after all.

  RYOUMEN SUKUNA – He groans when you giggle at him, using your small, dainty hands to brush it through his hair. Sukuna liked to sleep in and it was only seven in the morning, meaning he’s supposed to be still lost in dreamland with thoughts about you and your cute little face. But because you’re an annoying brat who’s an early bird and way too cheerful as a morning person, you’re wide awake when the sun shone through the windows, and you’re gently coaxing him awake by rotating your fingers through his hair.

“Your hair is really soft.”

“Stop that,” he complains, but doesn’t really do anything to push you away. “It’s too early. Go back to bed.”

“But I’m already awake,” you tease, proving your point by taking off his covers and patting his chest. “Come on, let me make you breakfast. Maybe we can go out today and go see a movie, what do you think? It’s my day off so we better make use of it!”

“Exactly, it’s a day off,” he growls the last part, surprising you when his strong hands grip your thigh and drag you beside him. Soon enough, Sukuna has you trapped in his muscular arms until you can’t move anymore. “Let’s just stay the whole day in bed. Plus, I’m the one making breakfast. There’s no way you’re still cooking for me on your day off.”

“But I love cooking for you.”

“I know, but it’s my turn now,” he huffs through your hair. Sukuna’s grip loosens around you a bit to give you room to breathe, but he’s taken aback when you only snuggle closer to him to the point your legs and tangled and your body is warm from his heat. You don’t have to say it out loud to tell him you’ve conceded to his wishes.

As always, Sukuna is right. It feels much better to just let go of time and enjoy this moment. And he smells so good, feels so warm, that you’re unable to stop yourself from burrowing closer onto his body until you’re sure you’re about to start smelling like him later.

Of course, Sukuna likes the thought of that, so he sweeps one arm behind to tug the covers back over your bodies. He kisses your temple, and with a low, husky voice, grumbles, “Let’s go back to sleep, then we’ll do everything you want later, okay? I just want to stay in bed with you a little longer.”

For a guy who was considered heartless and barbaric, he sure turned into putty in your hands.

  INUMAKI TOGE – The platinum haired boy lays on your lap, the wire of headphones dangling beside you both. You’re thankful Inumaki has his eyes closed, because the last thing you want him to see is how embarrassed and giddy you are at that moment.

You and Inumaki have been friends for years, meaning you’ve been hiding your crush on him for a painfully long time. He’s recently made a Spotify playlist with an innocent text of, “I made you a playlist of all the songs that reminds me of you,” which leads you both to your current predicament. It’s a rather lazy weekend and Gojo-sensei isn’t around to bother any of you, so you’re in Inumaki’s room, careful not to bounce your legs out of habit to not give the poor boy a headache.

You snap back to life when Inumaki squeezes your thigh, and you’re met with azure eyes looking back up at you. “Mustard leaf?” he points to your face, which has been previously constricted and heated from his close proximity. It isn’t the first time you and Toge have cuddled, but it’s been too long and you’re standing at the edge of a dangerous cliff with the desire to tell him you like him.

Inumaki must’ve thought you’re uncomfortable with his weight on you because he begins to sit up. “Oh, no, no!” you coax him back down despite his questioning eyes, a wide grin replacing your flustered state to conceal it. “Its’s fine, really. I was just vibing with the songs.”

He hums, not completely believing it, but he doesn’t want to push either. Soon, he settles into your lap again and makes you lose your mind when his breath starts to tickle your kneepads now that he’s facing behind you.

Your heart just about combusts, and before you know it, Inumaki has fallen asleep while the theme of Howl’s Moving Castle plays. Once his breathing regulated into a steady rhythm, you reach out to brush his hair back and lightly add some pressure for better sleep. You know Inumaki lies that, and you smile to yourself when he leans into your touch even in his slumber.

“Your hair is so soft,” you say mostly to yourself, leaning down to kiss his the crown of his head, making Inumaki sigh contentedly. Gosh, you love him so much.

Now isn’t the time but...hopefully, one day you could tell him how you feel. Even if he rejects you, you hope you could still be friends even after that awkward encounter –

You freeze as the next song comes on. I.F.L.Y by Bazzi comes on, and just as you cover your mouth to silence your gasps, you hear the faintest snickers coming from Inumaki before he goes back to “snoring.”

“Toge! Were you awake the whole time?!”

[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

Imagine being Azula’s friend but secretly dating Zuko behind her back

One of the first things you and Azula bonded over was your annoying brothers. Azula told you how her brother had stolen one of her best friends away from her and you related to that. Your twin brother was none other than Sokka of the water tribe, who was also very popular with women. Most of the women you knew liked him, from Yue to Toph to Suki to Ty lee! It sometimes felt like you were the second attraction in a friendship and so you and Azula quickly became close over your shared frustrations.

Then....you betrayed her.

Well, betrayal is a bit dramatic but maybe not given how upset she'd been when Mai and Zuko started dating. You knew that had been hard for Azula to process.  How difficult it had been wondering if her friends really liked her or just wanted access to her brother. So when you started liking Zuko you didn’t plan on acting on it at all. Then Mai broke up with him. 

Zuko was around at yours quite often, whenever he visited the water tribe he stayed in your home and when you visited the fire nation he extended the same hospitality. So throughout the years, you just naturally got closer and closer until....it happened. You started hanging out just the two of you and these occasions felt very date-like until Zuko just outright asked you out. You liked him and told yourself one date was fine, what harm could a single date do? But then as you kept seeing each other and one date soon progressed into many many more you knew your time to do the right thing and tell Azula you were dating her brother was approaching. 

However the idea of doing that idea terrified you. You guessed Azula wouldn’t take it well and didn’t want to lose your friendship with her because of your relationship with Zuko. You wouldn’t break up with Zuko just to make her happy but you also didn’t want to lose Azula’s friendship, so when Katara’s birthday arose you were fairly nervous. There was going to be a large party and all of Katara’s friends were coming...which included Zuko and Azula. You hadn’t been together with everyone since you and Zuko started dating so you had no idea how it would feel. The whole time you and Zuko would have to convincingly act like you weren’t a couple and not make anyone at the party suspicious of the two of you. So when Zuko’s ship got in you fixed your eyes on Azula and tried not to stare at him any more than usual. You greeted him formally and didn’t admire him as you usually would. You fell in step with Azula and decided just to focus on her. It wasn’t hard, you were best friends and very close...however fate was not on your side. You got seated across from him at dinner which felt like some sick punishment and struggled not to get lulled into conversation with him. It didn’t help that Zuko was in a playful mood. He kept making comments about the things you’d done on your date and then sending you sly looks across the table. When you met his eye he smirked blatantly and you lightly kicked him under the table. That only made Zuko chuckled and look adorable so you sighed and decided to just keep your eyes down the whole time to survive dinner. 

However, Zuko had no intention of stopping his teasing. After dinner you set about preparing the party for Katara tomorrow and having sent Sokka, Aang, Suki, Azula and Toph on their assigned jobs turned to your job of decorating. You were hanging streamers in the living room when you felt a hand curl around your waist. “Need some help there?” Zuko asked moving closer and he leaned up over you to hang it. “I could have done that myself” you smiled turning to face him and Zuko shrugged “I know you could’ve, but then I wouldn’t have been able to do this”. Zuko gently kissed your neck trailing down to your collar bone making you sigh. “Zuko...stop” you said faint heartedly and Zuko sensed that smirking "I don’t want to and you don’t want me to either, I can tell by how softly you said my name" he smiled "it’s been so long since we’ve had any time together". Your skin erupted in goosebumps and a shiver went down your spine as Zuko pressed closer against you. But you knew how badly this could end if literally anyone walked in. So swiftly you grabbed Zuko’s hands and twisted your way out of them. You held them tightly in one hand so he couldn’t try and slink around you again and used the other to make him look at you "Zuko we can’t okay, not on this trip. God knows i want to, i’ve missed you too but there’s too much that could go wrong i’m sorry". Zuko sighed but nodded his head "don’t worry i understand". Zuko’s shoulders sagged and you knew your insistance on keeping this quiet was difficult for him. "Thank you for understanding" you said hugging him quickly "i know it can’t be easy for you and I appreciate the effort you're going to for me". Zuko smiled resting his head on top of yours "it’s fine, i’d do a lot more for you if you asked but promise me it won’t always be like this....we will tell everyone soon?". You gulped but nodded pulling away "i promise, i will tell Azula...soon!". Zuko nodded “I believe you” and let his hands drop away from you. Not a moment later Sokka and Aang appeared in the room making the two of you jump. “Zuko just the man we need! We were thinking of making an ice sculpture, fancy some fire bending?”. Zuko nodded “sure” and with a last glance to you left the room. 

Hours later the party preparations finished you returned to your room which you were sharing with Azula for her visit. “Sokka made me blow up balloons” she said angrily “something about fire benders being full of hot air”. You smirked at your brother’s nerve when Azula’s next sentence wiped it off your face.  "Also I think Zuko’s dating someone again" Azula said softly and you paused. "Ow really?" you asked and she nodded "he’s been spending a suspicious amount of time in the southern water tribe lately. Lots of visits which he claims are diplomatic but I can’t work out what he actually does here! He doesn’t know that many people and so it got me thinking, y/n do you think your brother and mine....". "No Sokka's still with Suki" you said shaking your head. Azula sighed “and it’s obviously not Katara, she and Aang are basically married, have you seen him hanging around anyone else? He doesn’t know many people so it should be easy to spot". You paused pretending to think but were really just trying to buy yourself time. "Honestly i don’t pay much attention to him when he visits" you said cleverly covering your back "but i will from now on and let you know". "Thank you y/n" Azula smiled. You smiled back relieved Azula didn’t suspect anything and let out a large breath you’d been holding for this entire conversation. You were now more than ready for sleep and got into bed hurriedly. You laid your head on your pillow and closed your eyes utterly exhausted. 

"Goodnight y/n" Azula called and you nodded. You were very sleepy and after a long yawn smiled "good night Zuko".

You realised the name you’d said seconds after it came out of your mouth. 

You froze

As did azula.

"Did you just call me Zuko...". You blinked "did i? I’m sure i said Azula". Azula was quiet for 2 seconds before she shot up "it’s you!" she cried "you're the one my brother’s dating!". "No Azula that’s crazy!!! We'd just been discussing Zuko, that’s why he was on my mind!". Azula shook her head "you're lying! I can tell by the tone of your voice! You’re the new girlfriend aren’t you?". You sighed "Azula i’m sorry i was going to tell you...". "I can’t believe you" Azula yelled and suddenly the door opened. "What’s wrong?" Sokka and Zuko asked bursting in “we heard yelling” and Azula glared. "You! Couldn't just have Mai huh? Had to take another one of my friends? How about when you’re done with y/n you try things with Ty lee?". "Ow she told you...." Zuko frowned awkwardly. "No i worked it out!” Azula spat “Y/n accidentally uttered your name because she’s so lovesick" Azula cried "you both make me sick" and she strode away slamming the front door hard as she exited the house.

After Azula left you all looked at one another unsure what to do or say next. "So...you two are a thing?" Sokka asked and Zuko paused "yes...is your reaction going to be as bad as Azula’s or can i go deal with her?". Sokka shook his head "go deal with her before she burns the village down”. Zuko went to move past Sokka when your brother put a hand to his chest "but come back and see me after, me and Katara will want to talk to you about dating our sister". Zuko surprisingly looked intimidated and nodded "I'll be right back". "Zuko wait i should come too" you called "this is as much my fault as yours". Zuko nodded "let’s go" and led you outside into the cold night after Azula.

You found Azula trekking in the snow and as she wasn’t in proper shoes you gained on her quickly. “Azula!” you called and she jumped. She looked around and glared “ow look the happy couple, how nice of you to grace me with your presence”. Zuko rolled his eyes “only you’d be so attention-seeking to make this about you”. “Attention seeking? Who’s the person who can’t form his own friendships or respect boundaries? No always have to date my friends, is it some weird way for you to gain power over me? A sad way to boost your ego?”. As Zuko and Azula went to square up to each other you stepped between them. “Alright enough the both of you! Zuko please go back to the house, i’ll handle this”. “But she...”. “Zuko please” you said sharply and he nodded “fine” and with a glare left. You watched him go before turning back to Azula. You’d been about to suggest you go home given that Azula was surely freezing out here in the middle of the night but Azula broke into a rant. "Everyone leaves me for him" she cried "Mai! My uncle! Mother! Even my father...after i was smarter, a better fire bender, more loyal and younger he still gave Zuko every little chance and only crowned me after Zuko literally ran away! When will i be good enough people don’t just choose him without a second thought for me?". "Azula i didn’t choose Zuko over you! Just because i like Zuko doesn’t mean i don’t like you still". "That may be true but this changes our friendship completely, it did with Mai! People always prioritise their partners over their friends so i’ll be second best once again". "Are you kidding?" you asked "Azula now i need you more than ever! Relationships aren’t when you ditch your friends, they’re when you need them the most! Who else are you going to go to for a break or a nice getaway? Who else is going to support and love you in only the platonic way a friend can? Who else can i complain about Zuko to when he annoys me or we fight?" you asked "they’re all things you need your friends for! Desperately and that’s going to be the same for me". "But when Mai dated him...". "But i’m not Mai" you smiled softly "Azula we are good friends, i won’t sideline you because of this. You mean just as much to me now as before i started dating Zuko". Azula huffed but you could see her melting. "So...how about we go inside, get some warm milk and talk a bit more about this huh?". You offered Azula your hand and she took it but she didn’t stop there. Azula threw her arms around you and hugged you tightly. "I’m partly doing this for the cold but thank you" she said softly "nobodies ever tried to make me feel supported when they've chosen Zuko, they just tell me to deal with it but you’re the first to try and reassure me and so i know you mean it, to still be my friend". "Of course" you smiled "you're my best friend!". Azula smiled and linked her arm through yours "i like that!”. 

Zuko stared in awe as you and Azula returned grinning. "How did it go is everything okay?". You nodded "your extremely cool sister is fine with it". "Yes i thought this would be a great way to have an inside scoop on you zuzu". "She’s kidding i won’t talk to her about you...a lot". Zuko blinked "okay if everything's okay then i should go speak to Sokka and Katara, they’re waiting for me in the kitchen". Azula smiled "that’s a good idea, when you come back zuzu find me, i have some threats about what will happen if you hurt my best friend". You smiled at Azula and stepped to Zuko "good luck but don’t worry Sokka’s all bite, Katara’s the one to look out for but she has a big heart, just tell her how good a time we’ve had and you’ll be fine". "Good tips, any for my sister?". You smiled "Azula is one i have not worked out yet" you grinned "but i’m sure you’ll manage, you are the firelord after all". Zuko smirked and you patted his shoulder "after your appointment with my brother and sister and then your sister....you could always come find me in your room?". Zuko smiled "is that my motivation for surviving this?". You shrugged "you can think of it as that" and stepped away from him. Zuko watched you before sighing "alright let’s get this over with” he said loudly and strode towards the kitchen.

You turned back to Azula who raised an eyebrow at Zuko’s sudden confidence and she frowned. "Do i even want to know?" Azula asked and you shook your head "no". “Ow and don’t worry if I’m not in our room tonight”. “Euch Y/n!” Azula cried and you shrugged “what? I didn’t say why”. “I know why” she sighed before she smiled “at least I can have your bigger bed”. “Be my guest” you smiled, you had a firelord to get reacquainted with. 

[sensitively-taken]

%&% nerd!soobin headcanon

pairing: nerd!soobin x gn!reader wc: 1.1k warnings/contents: swearing/e2l a/n: nerd!soobin has been on my mind since like forever and this post by dori ( @odxrilove ) literally just made that brainrot worse so here is the result!

                                                        ***

if we were to be vvvv honest with ourselves soobin is more of a dork than a nerd

from what i remember he actually hates studying LMFAOOO but it’s ok

we’ll manifest a different academic approach for him now

ok but like imagine nerd!soobin but like unapproachable kinda tsundere but not really because he’s actually a big goof  “i’m smarter, prettier, & just better than you” nerd

& not even in a condescending manner it’s just the truth and there’s nothing that can be done about it

he bumps into everyone & everything in the halls but it’s because he always has his head either buried in his phone, journal, or schedule trying to find his next class or trying to remember what he has to do for the day

tbh it wouldn’t be very surprising if he’s walked all the way to a different wing just for him to realise he was in the completely wrong wing when the bell goes off

and when he bumps into someone he’s just so zoned out that he doesn’t apologise 

and it’s not because he thinks he’s better than anyone else even though he is 

it’s just cause he’s SO focused on getting to the right class & staying on track that he literally processes the bump as “oh, something just hit me” and he keeps it pushing

and this is where you come in !!!!!!

you’re a vvvvv busy person

student council head, captain of [insert popular sport here!] team, & involved in a couple other clubs too

basically you have a lot on your plate ok?

and you do NOT need to have the stack of forms you’re holding in your arms knocked over and—

here comes soobin—the big dork—racing to get to the chem lab because he completely forgot it was this period and now he has to go all the way to the lab wing which is like 2 entire wings away and OH–

there he goes, bumping into you & knocking all your forms out of your hands

and you’re like STRESSED ok?

those forms need to be handed out to all the athletes on your varsity team stat! so you’re all able to go to the tournament this weekend

and you’ve been planning so many school spirit events and there’s ANOTHER student council meeting being held after school today

and you still have an MUN conference to prepare for and

it’s just A LOT OK?

so when those forms go flying out of your hands all you can do is stare at them with a slack jaw and glassy eyes

& then those eyes get very angry when you notice the culprit, mr choi, is just sprinting towards the lab like literally nothing just happened

like HELLO? he just knocked your dreams, hopes, and aspirations to the ground like it was nothing????

so you stalk up to him and tug on his lab coat 

tug may be an overstatement because you’re not in the emotional state to even hurt a fly right now. you just want to lie down & sleep for a very very very long time

and he turns around all confused

eyebrows drawn

frowning

tapping his foot against the ground

TAPPING HIS FOOT AGAINST THE GROUND???? 

you’ve had it!

“choi, what on earth is your problem?”

if your voice cracks, the 2 of you ignore it because there are more pressing matters at hand

he raises an eyebrow & rips his arm from your grasp

“my problem??? who’s the one who went & literally YANKED on my lab coat? hmm?”

and, look, you don't really appreciate the sass in his voice right now

especially when the forms are still on the floor & his dirty vans are getting dangerously close to one of them

so you roll your eyes as dramatically as you can & point at the forms on the ground

“i am so sorry, choi, that i dislocated your arm from its socket. pardon my overreaction to you literally knocking over all of my forms!”

now look

soobin is nearly never wrong

except for when he seriously thought the world was going to end in 2012 & locked himself in his room because he didn’t want to see his parents die... but that’s besides the point

but as he glances between the forms on the ground and your eyes

(which he is slowly starting to notice are bloodshot with huge, massive shopping bags underneath them—oh, no! is that... sympathy he feels?)

he realises he may have been slightly mistaken

immediately he drops to his knees, avoiding your eyes, & picks up all the forms on the ground, stuttering apologies all the while

“oh—oh, my god, i’m so sorry i completely didn’t notice and—fuck, i was being such an asshole. i’m, like, so sorry. like, really.”

and yeah your eyes are still red & your blood pressure is still abnormally high for a high school student

but his eyes are currently very wide & pleading & sorry & & & he’s actually... kinda... sorta... a bit cute and—

“how can i make it up to you??” he asks

and he’s still on the ground

you’re half convinced he’s gonna bow to you at this point

gazing up at you with SUPER wide eyes

(like, can someone’s eyes even get that wide??)

& your heart does this really like weird thing where it just like... doesn’t beat for like a second and like, like, like—

you roll your eyes, trying to hide a smile

“first, get up off the floor, choi. i don’t want anyone thinking i’m bullying you or anything, sheesh”

he gets up, slowly

and well, like, you KNEW he was tall

(i mean, he isn’t on your school's basketball team for nothing)

but, boy, is he TALL

you swallow slightly and avert your eyes to the forms in his hands

“oh, i know! how about you help me pass some forms out since you feel so bad??”

he pauses for a second, those strong brows coming back & you anticipate a no for a second

then he asks

“and how long will this take?”

you’re about to chastise him cause hey! he’s the one that bumped into you and scattered all your papers

but patience is a virtue as they say

so you say

“i don’t know, maybe a period? depends on how fast you can move those long legs of yours”

he smiles, boyishly, cheekily and your heart does that weird thing again

“yeah, sure, i don’t really have anything better to do anyways”

you eye the lab coat he’s wearing for a second & he catches where you’re looking and snorts

“it’s from last period, don’t worry. i just didn’t really have time to remove it in between classes”

as he says it he stares way too hard at you, the ghost of a smile on his lips

all tell-tale signs of lying

but you ignore them cause hey! now the work’s gonna go by in a jiff and you'll have a cute tall guy to help you with the work!

you shrug

“ok, choi. c’mon, this way”

and soobin smiles again when you turn your back because i mean hey!

he’s never really liked chem all that much anyway

[solemnly-mischievous]

rivalry (d.m. x reader)

You and Draco Malfoy have a rocky relationship, at best. It'd be better to describe it as a rivalry. But all it takes is a bit of fire from your end to finally make him snap.

(AKA: I just really wanted to write an enemies-to-lovers trope for my first fic.)

A/N: Hi! First fic. Hope you like it. :)

Contains: Degradation, slight edging, d/s elements, slight dub-con (but not really; full consent is clearly given), light humiliation

Word count: 3.9K

-----

Normally, Defense Against the Dark Arts would be your favorite class. The spells you learn are fun and useful; Professor Lupin is always a plus, and most importantly, you’re good at the subject—so bloody good, you’ve bested even Hermione and Harry multiple times.

But lately, you’ve been finding yourself dreading the lessons. So much, in fact, that you were half-considering asking Hermione to hex you just to get out of your afternoon class.

Why? It’s a pretty easy answer when you got down to it.

Draco Malfoy.

You’d had an ongoing rivalry with the git since third grade. He’s been terrorizing you and your friends, mostly because of Harry, but along the way the two of you had begun building a personal vendetta.

(He probably hasn’t quite yet forgiven you for hexing him so badly he’d had to stay in the Infirmary for weeks, and you certainly haven’t forgiven him for causing your friends so much grief over the years.)

This year, you’d thought you could try your best to avoid him, with your upcoming N.E.W.T.s and all. But DADA had other plans.

Professor Lupin had begun experimenting with mixing up partners for class—it was, after all, a very hands-on class—and had apparently decided that cross-house interaction would build bonds and skill. His exact words were, “If they’re your friend, you’re gonna go easier on them. In the real world, you never know who you’re fighting with—or against.”

So he’d randomized the name list. You, being Gryffindor, knew immediately you wouldn’t be with any of your closest friends—but you hoped that perhaps you’d be paired with Cedric, or Luna, or anyone but—

“Your partner is Draco Malfoy,” Professor Lupin informed you when he got to your name, and you immediately make to protest.

“Her?” a voice came just as you complained “Not him”, and the students parted to reveal Draco himself, glaring daggers at you and Lupin.

“Yes, her,” Lupin replied, unruffled. “Now, pair up, everyone. We’re practicing Stunning today.”

That day, you’d fucking limped out of the classroom. Not to say Draco had gotten it easier—he could barely stand after you Disarmed, Stunned, and hit him with a nasty stinger hex just for the sake of it. (You’d gotten detention, but it was worth it.)

Today’s your second class with Malfoy, and you’ve never wanted more to be able to commit violent actions in your life.

“Please,” you whisper to Hermione as your group enter the DADA classroom. “Just one hex. I won’t even go to Pomfrey. No witnesses. You could just Petrify me, if that’s more to your liking.”

She sighs. “I’m not going to Petrify you.”

“’Mione,” you say, scandalized. “I thought we were friends.”

“Pair up, everyone,” Lupin calls out. Your friends shuffle away and you close your eyes, already getting a headache from the thought of—

“Well, well.” That fucking smarmy voice. “If it isn’t Potter’s little friend.”

“If it isn’t Daddy’s boy,” you snap, opening your eyes and glaring at Malfoy, who already has his wand out. “Bugger off, Malfoy.”

“Afraid I can’t do that.” Draco’s eyes narrow. Clearly, he’s as displeased with the situation as you are. “What are we doing today, then? Can’t wait to knock you down a few notches. Star of the class, my—”

“Patronuses!” Professor Lupin announces from across the room, and your heart soars—Patronuses, you could do that. Harry, months earlier, had taught you how to perfect a corporeal form in exchange for tips on his Astronomy essay. He isn’t here today—maybe you could be the only one in the class to do it.

Lupin continues, “Yes, the Patronus—an essential in the world of Defense magic. We’ll be starting with just the simple basics of it. A strong flick of the wand, and the words ‘Expecto Patronum!’. Say it with me, everyone.”

You chorus the words obediently along with the class, Malfoy’s snort of derision not going unnoticed.

“Good. Good, good, now—the key to the Patronus is to think of a happy memory. It has to be strong. Remember, Dementors feed on misery—it’s the only way to keep them away. Now, go practice. I’ll be walking around to see if there’s any problems.”

“Expecto Patronom,” Malfoy repeats in a mocking voice once the classroom starts filling with the chants of fellow students. “Doesn’t Potter know how to do that one? Heard he can do a deer. Pretty weak animal if you ask me—”

“A stag,” you correct. “And it’s Patronum, not Patronom.”

He glares at you again. “Think you’re so smart, don’t you?”

“Certainly smarter than you are.” You glance at him. “Though that’s not saying much, is it?”

You give Fred Weasley, who’d circled around to hear the conversation, a not-discreet fist-bump.

“Alright then.” Malfoy spits out your last name, trying to provoke you. “Let’s see you do it.”

“You try,” you suggest, hiding your smirk. “Unless you’re too scared.”

Draco grits his teeth. Unwilling to back down from a challenge, he brandishes his wand. “Expecto Patronum!”

A thin, wispy light appears at the end of his wand—weak, but clearly visible. Classmates around you murmur as they notice it, and Professor Lupin beams as he sees Draco’s doing. “Very good, Draco! A fantastic start.”

Draco flicks his wand smugly and the Patronus charm dissipates. He smirks, shooting you an expectant look.

You take out your wand, feeling its familiar grip, and you close your eyes. You recall the memory of a weekend in Hogsmeade with your friends, drinking Butterbeer as you stroll through the snowy village, pointing out the shops and people. Unconsciously, you smile.

“Expecto Patronum!”

Light blazes so bright you can see it under closed eyes, and you open them to find a glowing golden retriever prancing out the end of your wand. It bounds around in the air joyfully, leaving a trail of light where it leaps, and circles the classroom, eventually coming back to you and wagging its tail.

Professor Lupin is grinning, utterly delighted as he takes in your Patronus. Calling your name, he exclaims, “That is phenomenal—you’ve learned fast. Very impressive job!”

You smile back, and your Patronus glows lighter in response. You quickly call it off, the light being a bit too much, and the rest of the class passes by in a haze of awed murmurs and classmates asking your advice on their spellwork. You become so preoccupied, you don’t even notice Draco’s unrelenting stare on your back.

The class ends fast, the bell tolling to signify the start of what would be a study period for you. As students trail out of the classroom, chattering happily, Professor Lupin calls you over.

“Listen, I want you to know that what you did today was truly impressive,” he says, seriously. “I assume Harry laid out the groundwork, yes?”

You nod. He smiles. “You and Harry both are very accomplished students, then. But truly—I doubt many Aurors could’ve managed what you did today.”

“Thank you, Professor.” Your words are sincere.

“My pleasure.” Professor Lupin shoots you an apologetic look. “Now, I’m terribly sorry, but I have off-grounds business to attend to—would you mind setting the classroom to rights? I’m afraid I had to push the desks and chairs back for our class, but I don’t have time to put them back. I’ll write you a note, if you—”

“Oh, no, Professor, don’t worry, it’s a study period. I’d be glad to help.”

“Thank you,” he says, relieved, already heading out the door. “Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow, then. I’ll bring chocolate to compensate!”

“Goodbye, Professor!” you call, and he echoes it, and then he’s gone. You look around the classroom, seeing all the desks in the back, and you crack your knuckles. Time to get to work.

“Well. Quite the teacher’s pet, aren’t we?”

Merlin’s fucking beard.

“Bloody hell, Malfoy,” you mutter, turning around to find him leaning against the classroom doorframe. His blond hair glints silver in the sunlight, and his entire outline—his uniform, his stance, his dark gaze—is just… honestly, unfairly attractive.

So maybe your first impression of Draco Malfoy, years ago, wasn’t that he was a self-entitled git. Maybe, just maybe, you’d thought he was the prettiest boy you’d ever seen.

And maybe that feeling never went away.

Not that you’d let him know that.

“What are you doing here?”

“Study period.” He starts walking towards you, shutting the door behind him. “Couldn’t help but be curious as to what Lupin wanted with you.”

“What’s it to you?” you snap. Malfoy doesn’t reply.

“Why do you insist on being so difficult?” he asks instead, and you blink.

“Me?” you splutter. “Difficult? Fat lot of sense that makes, with you fucking insulting me at every move I make—”

“As I recall, our first interaction was you hexing me in third-year.” Malfoy sounds amused.

“You pushed Harry into the lake,” you snap at him. “You bloody well deserved it.”

Draco laughs. “Good times.”

“Malfoy, what the bloody hell are you doing here?”

“You’ve got quite a mouth.”

“My mouth is also capable of jinxing you three ways to Friday, so I suggest you leave me alone, yeah?” Your fingers twitch towards your wand in preparation, and he only looks on with derision.

“I’m just frightened,” Malfoy sneers. You barely notice him slipping off his rings, pocketing them. “Potter taught you that Patronus charm, didn’t he?”

“What’s it to you?”

“Nothin’. Just wondering what else he taught you.” A vengeful mood seems to have taken Draco. “You seem to hang out with him an awful lot.”

“It’s called having friends,” you snap right back. He looks as though he’s about to retort, but you push on. “Unfamiliar with the concept? Wouldn’t be surprised. Crabbe and Goyle don’t seem like the best conversationalists, are they? Just a couple of goons. Wonder why you don’t have better friends. Friends you can actually talk to who operate with more than one braincell.”

“Shut—”

“Maybe it’s because no one wants to be near you,” you continue, years of pent up frustration spilling out in a vitriolic spiel. “Because you’re a miserable bastard who doesn’t know how to be happy, aren’t you? You drive everyone away and then you go after more because you’re lonely and sad and fucking pathetic—”

“Shut up,” Malfoy repeats with a vehemence.

“—and it’s too fucking late to repair the damage you’ve done—”

“Shut up,” Malfoy snarls, and you stare into his narrowed eyes.

“Fucking make me,” you snap back, and he lunges.

You’re pinned against the wall of the classroom, Malfoy’s wand to your throat and a hand fisting your robes to render you immobile. Draco flicks his wand, ever-so-slightly, and you hear the classroom door lock with a wordless spell.

“Malfoy,” you whisper, but he cuts you off.

“Shut the fuck up or I swear you’ll bloody regret it,” he hisses.

“Draco,” you begin, and he curses.

“Fuck it.”

Gripping your robes, he leans in and kisses you.

It’s rough and demanding and you think he’s trying to hurt you, with how much his teeth scrape against your bottom lip and bite down gently, but you’re not pulling away, he’s not pulling away, and you find yourself leaning into the kiss, arching up to meet him—

He breaks away and looks at you, smirking.

“If I’d known that’s what it would take for you to shut your bloody mouth, I’d have done it years ago.”

“Let me go, Malfoy,” you say shakily, but even as he loosens his grip slightly, you show no sign of moving.

“If you’d wanted to leave you’d have Stunned me long ago,” he states, truthfully. Your wand is fully in reach. You know how to do wordless spells. And yet you let him kiss you.

“Shut up,” you grumble, still not moving.

“I think, perhaps,” Draco murmurs, glancing down at your body, “you’re enjoying this.”

“No,” you argue, and his wand digs into your neck—not enough to hurt but enough to register.

“Shh,” Draco hushes, almost condescendingly. “Be quiet, now. That’s a good girl.”

Involuntarily, you shudder at his words. They made your legs weak, and you fight off the urge to audibly whimper—what the hell’s gotten into you?

Maybe he won’t notice. Maybe he hasn’t noticed.

Of fucking course he notices.

“Oh?” The shit-eating smirk on his face is enough to make you glare absolute daggers at him. “Don’t give me that. You shivered. You liked it.”

“Shut up,” you say again, with no real strength.

“Don’t you want to be my good girl, sweetheart?” he teases cruelly, and you have to close your eyes to fight off the blush. It doesn’t work, and your face grows hot with embarrassment and arousal.

“Dear me,” Draco says mockingly. “What happened to the spitfire from minutes ago, hm? Still feeling like saying those words to me? Still feeling like being bad?”

Inadvertently, you shake your head.

“Who’s pathetic now?” he mocks, grinning, letting his wand trail a cold path down your neck, over your collarbone, until it rests on the top button of your uniform. “May I?”

The question sounds mocking, but he meets your gaze and you know he’s honestly asking for permission. And you give it to him, nodding, even as your blush deepens. Draco undoes your buttons, one by one, with tiny flicks of his wand, until your shirt is fully unbuttoned and you’re exposed to his gaze.

Draco shoves his wand into his belt and pushes your bra out of the way with an almost laughable urgency, getting a full, appreciative look at your breasts. “So fucking pretty,” he murmurs. “Shame they belong to such a fucking headache, hm?”

You grumble some sort of an insult, and Draco pinches a nipple, which shuts you up effectively. “That’s what I thought.”

His hands trail down to your skirt, and instead of undoing the button he leans down and scoops the fabric up. “Here, be good and useful and hold this for me.”

The indifferent praise and the degradation combined has you obeying immediately, hoisting your skirt up and baring yourself to him, which only adds to an eddying swirl of shame and arousal pooling in your gut. Draco looks at you, stares, really, and it’s with a predatory grin that he reaches over to caress you through your panties.

“Soaked,” he observes, sounding both amused and satisfied. “You always get off this much to being treated like a right slut, then?”

“Draco,” you whine, bucking your hips up into his almost phantom touch. “Come on.”

“Is that how we ask nicely?” Oh, this bloody git. You’ll never be able to look at him again—he’s going to be so fucking smug around you.

When you don’t answer, he withdraws his touch completely, and you make a sound of protest. “No, no, please.”

“Go on.”

“Please touch me,” you try, but it’s hard to focus when you’re so goddamn wet you’re soaking through your panties.

“Not quite,” Draco muses. He’s palming himself through his trousers, and the sight turns you on impossibly more. “Come on, then—convince me.”

“Draco, please touch me,” you beg. One of your hands drift down to your panties but he slaps it away immediately, shooting you a warning look. “Please!”

“Touch you where?” He wants you to say it.

“Touch my cunt, please, Draco, fuck, I’m so wet it hurts,” you beg, and it’s true—you’re aching with arousal, and if he doesn’t touch you within the next few seconds you think you really just might combust. “Please, please touch me, I’ll be good, I’ll do whatever you want, just touch me.”

“If only the school could see you now,” he sneers, but even he seems to break his self-control and he tugs your panties down harshly, all but ripping them off. “Baring yourself to me and begging to be touched like a whore.”

“I’m not—oh,” you gasp, his fingers pressing into your cunt immediately and his thumb working on your clit, sending waves of pleasure so potent you almost double over. His fingers are long and thin, which is why he can press two in without preamble, and the stretch is barely noticeable.

“You’re not what? A whore?” Draco laughs. “Please. Look at yourself.”

“’m not,” you insist, but you clench around his fingers at his words and he raises an eyebrow.

“I think you’re lying.” He presses a third finger in and you whine, little sounds of pleasure escaping your lips as he works you open. “Quieter, now, or I’ll have to gag you.”

You bite your lip, and Draco thumbs your clit as a reward and incentive. “Now, tell me what you are. Be truthful, or I won’t fuck you. I’ll leave, leave you here with your shirt hanging open and your skirt up, the doors wide open. Maybe the next bloke who stumbles in might help you.”

Your eyes widen—he wouldn’t. But his gaze is dead serious. “Say it.”

“I’m a whore,” you breathe, and he thrusts his fingers into you, hitting that right spot. “Draco!”

“Say it louder,” he orders, angling his fingers and curling them.

“I’m a whore,” you moan out, bucking your hips upwards—you’re close, you’re so close. “Draco, I—”

He stops moving, and his other hand pinches your clit harshly. “No.”

You let out a gasp of shock and hurt, reeling from the denial and pleasure. “But—”

“You’re not fucking coming until I say so,” Draco hisses, undoing his belt and pushing his trousers down. “And I’m not saying so until I properly fuck you into a bloody wreck.”

His cock is already hard, and he positions himself right at your entrance. You can feel him, his tip pressed against your wetness, but not pushing in. “Draco—”

“I think,” he muses, and you want to scream, “one day I’ll drag you into a broom closet. Fuck your throat so hard you won’t be able to talk for the day. You’ll look pretty, don’t you think?”

“Please—”

“Or I’ll bring you back to my dorm, so I can fuck you until you’re screaming yourself hoarse,” Draco says thoughtfully. “Your dorm works. So long as I can ruin you.”

“Malfoy—”

“Because it’s just so—” and he pushes into you in one swift movement, fucking into you immediately with a fast and rough rhythm, “—fucking nice to see you being a slut for me.”

“Fuck!” You grind your hips along with his rhythm, feeling the tightness of your cunt around his cock, and you clench as he hits your sweet spot with the right angle, almost shaking with the pleasure that it gives you.

Draco groans your name, fucking you brutally as he chases his own release, already pent-up from the teasing and the sight of your wrecked state. “’m gonna come on your tits, would you like that? Get it all fucking messy, maybe get some into your mouth, get you fucking ruined?”

“Please, please, fuck, please let me come,” you plead him, feeling your impending orgasm barrel towards you—you couldn’t last, you can’t fucking last—

“Fucking hold it,” Draco snaps. “Hold it like a good fucking girl, you understand?”

You let out a mournful sound, but you nod—yes, I’ll be good, I’ll be good, please—

“Salazar, I’m fucking close,” Malfoy breathes into your ear, his voice rough and strained. “You feel so good, love, so bloody tight.”

“Please,” you whimper, not even sure what you’re pleading for at this point. Draco exhales shakily and curses, pulling out and pushing you to your knees with such a force that you drop down, your skirt being the only padding.

“Wh—?” you try to ask, but Draco is already pumping his cock and then he’s coming all over your face, some of it dripping down to paint your breasts as he’d promised. Draco leans down to gather some release on a finger and pushes it into your mouth, eyes darkening as you suck and swallow around it.

“Good girl,” he praises, and you almost come right there.

“Draco, please,” you beg, still on your knees and still absolutely fucking desperate for release that he’s been denying you for the past half hour. “Please let me—”

“Alright, spread your legs, c’mon,” Draco guides, and you obey and then he’s there, thumb rubbing steady circles around your clit and two fingers pushing inside you once more. You whine and grind into his fingers, his touch, hips following his movement as he pushes you closer—closer—

“Fuck!” you sob as he senses your impending orgasm and stills his hand. “No—no, why?”

You sound like a petulant child and Draco laughs at you, and it’s an unfair move and a mean sound but it somehow turns you on even more. “I’m just messing, sweetheart.”

Fuck you, you badly want to say, but somehow you feel like that won’t get you what you want.

Draco starts moving again, his fingers gaining speed, and the sound of them pumping in and out of your soaked cunt sounds delightfully dirty. You’re quickly pushed to the edge again, and amidst your pleasure you eye Draco distrustfully.

“Please,” you whisper, and he smirks at you.

“Well, since you asked so nicely.”

And he thumbs your clit and you’re coming, gasping with the pleasure and shaking as he eases you through it. His fingers don’t stop moving, even after your orgasm has faded, and you squirm in discomfort as he overstimulates you.

“Stop—please—”

“Promise me you won’t be a bloody pain again,” Draco levels at you, and you want to glare back but his fingers curl inside of you and you yelp with pleasure and pain. “Promise me, or I’ll keep going.”

“I—I won’t be a pain,” you mumble, trying to squeeze your thighs together to get rid of his touch, but he perseveres, flicking your clit mercilessly.

“Say you’ll be good.”

“I’ll be good,” you manage, so close to sobbing from the frustration. “Please, Draco, I’ll be good, be good for you, please stop.”

He relents and you feel him draw his hand back. You close your eyes and you hear him tug his trousers back on, buckling his belt. You feel strangely empty without him—without his fingers, his cock, his touch.

Draco produces a handkerchief from his pocket and wipes the sweat, drool, and cum off your face, helping you button your shirt back up as well. “You alright?”

“Never better,” you reply, opening your eyes to see him staring at you in concern, all traces of the cruel tease earlier gone. Outside, the sun is setting, casting orange hues into the classroom, and you suddenly remember. “I—oh, bloody hell, I have to arrange the desks for Lupin—”

“I’ll do it. Stay here.”

Draco stands up and takes out his wand, flicking it twice in quick succession. A wordless spell. As you watch, the desks and chairs slide back to where they used to be, neatly arranging themselves in rows.

You’re impressed as he comes back. “What spell is—hey!”

He’s flicked his wand once more and torn your panties clean off your legs.

“Draco—what in Merlin—”

“A souvenir.” Malfoy smirks, stuffing your soaked panties into the pocket of his trousers. “And payment for the desks.”

“You’re a bloody prick,” you say, leaning your head back against the wall.

“Careful now, love. Remember what you promised.” Draco’s tone is playful, but warning. “I’m a man of my word, so you should choose yours carefully. Next time I won’t be as gentle.”

Caught off-guard, you can only nod obediently, which seems to please him. But you can’t promise you won’t slip back into old habits the very next day. Whatever the case, one thing was clear—there would almost certainly be a next time.

------

Requests & asks are open! Here is the guide on requests, if you'd like to check that out first. Hope you enjoyed!

[ssadumba55]

Damsel In Distress (Velma Dinkley X Reader)

Request: how about something with Velma where the gang is investigating some odd happenings at an abandoned amusement park? everyone splits into pairs to explore and she and the reader are paired together, and they eventually end up with the culprit chasing them and reader gets really protective of her. the gang catches the guy but Velma asks why reader was being so defensive, and reader accidentally blurts out that they love her and don't know what they'd do if anything ever happened to her. thanks! :)

“Alright, everyone! Let’s split up and look for clues!”

There was a loud groan from Shaggy and Scooby as the blond male said his signature line. Most of the group didn’t mind being split up, but the two ‘fraidy cats almost always ended up with the monster chasing them. Splitting up was the worst part of investigating mysteries for them by far.

“Don’t worry guys, the sooner the monster chases you, the sooner we can get out of this creepy place,” you grinned, hands on your hips. There was nothing like a good mystery for you and ever since you’d run into the gang, they’d become more frequent. Something that Shaggy and Scooby also liked to complain about.

Shaggy crossed his arms over his chest in a show of annoyance, but didn’t say anything else as Fred began splitting the six of you into teams.

“I’ll go with Daphne to check out that creepy coaster Scooby thought he saw something earlier, Velma, (Y/n), why don’t you two head over there?” Fred jerked his thumb in the direction of the other side of the abandoned amusement park. There weren’t many structures still standing in that part of the park, but there was an antique carousel that had you intrigued.

There was something about carousels you loved, and even better, this was a mysterious carousel!

“Like perfect! Scoob and I will check out the abandoned restaurant!” Shaggy volunteered himself. If there was one thing that could get the two reluctant members moving, it was food. Even possibly stale food.

The group split up into the three teams, each wandering off in their own direction. Even though the lot of you knew this would only last for a short while, until Shaggy and Scooby were inevitably chased out of their food comas by some monster.

“You think those kids really saw a monster out here?” You asked Velma, climbing onto the abandoned carousel and moving through the horses with practiced ease. Something about the carousel made you nostalgic, even though you hadn’t really rode them much as a kid. Maybe it was the amusement park as a whole that was making you nostalgic.

You went to plenty of those as a kid.

Velma adjusted her glasses, looking up from her laptop screen with an indignant snort. “You and I both know that monsters don’t exist, (Y/n).”

You shrugged. She was right. In all the time you’d been mystery hunting together, not one had turned out to be a real monster. It was always just some weirdo in a costume. You supposed in a way that was a cruel irony, humans were after all the biggest monsters out there.

Velma went back to studying her laptop screen, she carried that thing everywhere. Even, apparently, abandoned amusement parks. You took the time while she was distracted to study her.

A lot of people would argue that she wasn’t really attractive, but you begged to differ. Sure, she didn’t dress up like Daphne or put on loads of makeup, but the brunette was charming in her own way. She was the smartest in the gang, even smarter than you. You had always loved the way her eyes lit up when she was onto something, how excited she got when she realized she’d solved the mystery.

She was usually the first one too, because she was so smart.

Yeah, okay. So maybe, just maybe you had a crush on Velma Dinkley, but what’s so bad about that? She’s attractive! Her hair is really nice and her eyes shine so bright behind those glasses and the freckles…

“(Y/n)? Are you listening to me?” Her voice shocked you back to reality. Oh god, had she been telling you important information pertaining to the case? And had you missed it because you were too busy thinking about her freckles?

You opened your mouth to respond, already trying to form an excuse for why you hadn’t been paying attention when a massive shadow formed behind Velma. It was huge, twice or maybe even three times the size of you both, with glowing red eyes and long snaking arms that were reaching….

Reaching for Velma!

There was no hesitation from you, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards you, just out of reach of the monster. The long limbs collided grasping onto nothing but thin air, as for Velma she was startled and dropped her laptop. She made a move to go back and grab it but you pulled on her hand, leading her away from the monster.

“No time! We can circle back and grab it later!” You called over your shoulder, eager to put distance between you and Velma and whatever that thing was. Admittedly, you felt foolish as you ran from the exact thing you’d all been searching for since you’d got here. You’d never taken yourself for a runner, which was a good thing because Shaggy and Scooby pretty much cornered the market for that in the small group dynamic you all shared.

Still, here you were running. It was so out of character you almost wanted to turn around and go back. But you needed to keep Velma safe, that was the top priority.

The yells and screams you and your friend were making as you ran must’ve alerted the rest of the group. Fred, Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby came running (of course, once they saw the monster, Shaggy and Scooby quickly joined you).

There was a lot of panicked screaming and yelling, at one point Velma and Shaggy ran smack into each other, causing her glasses to fall. She immediately went down for them, bringing you down with her because your hands were still intertwined. You grabbed her glasses and she gratefully put them back on, the two of you laying breathless on the ground as the sounds of Scooby, Shaggy, Daphne and Fred’s panicked voices filled the air around you.

It was unspoken that neither of you wanted to move. So you just waited until the yelling stopped, then the two of you climbed to your feet and walked over to where Fred had successfully managed to catch the monster.

“Like, what’s with the hands? You guys aren’t still scared of the monster are you? Fred’s got it all tied up!” Shaggy pointed to you and Velma’s joined fingers. Immediately, the two of you flushed and separated.

In order to distract the group from the awkwardness, Velma stepped forward and unmasked the culprit. Who turned out to be the two kids who had told you guys about the amusement park. They explained their plan to the group, but you were barely paying attention.

“We would’ve gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for your meddling!” The taller boy huffed after realizing they’d been caught and would be in a lot of trouble for this.

The gang made their way back to the Mystery Machine. Another successful mystery in the bag, Shaggy and Scooby are furthest ahead, ready to get back to their precious Scooby Snacks. Not far behind them, Daphne and Fred walk, laughing to each other about something you can’t hear.

You and Velma bring up the far rear, walking a ways behind everyone else.

“Were you doing that on purpose?” She asked as the two of you walked, finally breaking the slightly tense silence between the two of you. It had settled there after Shaggy had pointed out your hands and hadn’t left the entire time.

You were slightly confused about what she was talking about, then realized. “Oh! The hands- no. I’m sorry, I forgot we were-”

“Not that, (Y/n). You were purposely shielding me from the monster back there,” as the two of you walked by the carousel, she bent down to pick up and dust off her laptop that had been laying there forgotten the entire time, “I don’t know if you know this, but I’m not some damsel in distress. I can handle my own out here, I’ve been doing this a long time, you know.”

You were taken aback by her words. Of course you knew Velma could handle her own, that was one of the reasons you liked her so much. She was the smartest person in the room and she knew it, there was nothing that could get past her. She was also the toughest, not tough in the way Fred was but she was definitely her own kind of tough.

“I know that, I didn’t mean anything by it… I-”

“You don’t take me seriously.” She put the words in your mouth and you felt your face heat up, that was not what you had meant at all!

“Velma, no, I-”

“Then why don’t you do the same thing for Daphne. Or Fred. Or Shaggy.” She crossed her arms over her chest. She was sure she had you figured out, so sure she had gotten to the bottom of this mystery. You almost wanted to agree with her just so you could see that light shine in her eyes as she pulled you back to the van to tell everyone else. Then they’d all never let you live it down.

As you were thinking this through, she took it as an opportunity to keep on rambling. You were tired, it had been a long night. It’d surely be an even longer night, because you probably wouldn’t be stopping again any time soon and Shaggy and Scooby would be hyped up on Scooby Snacks-

“I LOVE YOU, VELMA DINKLEY!”

You cut her rambling off, the words echoing through the abandoned amusement park. Up ahead, Fred, Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby froze, turning back to look at the two of you.

For once, Velma was speechless, so you decided to continue.

“And I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if I let something happen to you. I know we just met less than a year ago and I know that mystery hunting isn’t a very romantic setting, but despite that I fell in love with you. You’re right, it’s different when Shaggy is being chased by the monster, because I don’t love him. If something happened to you, my world would shatter, it would be MY fault. If something happens to Shaggy that’s just another day out mystery hunting.”

Tears were burning your eyes, threatening to fall. There she had made you say it. She had made you say it all.

You didn’t even realize your hands were balled into fists at your sides until something nudged one of them and you realized Scooby had made his way back to the two of you. He’d seen you distressed and was offering his comfort. You placed your hand on his head to let him know you were okay.

“I had no idea,” the girl dressed in orange said softly from across you.

The amusement park was dead silent. Not even the other members of the team dared to speak and risk another outburst.

After a few tense moments, where everything you’d said hung weightily in the silence, Velma reached out her hand and took the empty hand of yours that wasn’t occupied with petting Scooby. She smiled softly, squeezing it gently.

“I’m sorry you thought that I thought you were a damsel in distress,” you smiled awkwardly as the two of you walked to join the rest of the gang, Scooby at your side.

“I’m sorry I thought you thought I was a damsel in distress,” she smiled guiltily, “I should’ve had more faith in you.”

As the two of you approached the other three, Daphne rolled her eyes.

“Will you two just kiss and make up already, we need to get back on the road or we’re going to miss that show Fred got us tickets to!”

“We can’t miss that! Like, I hear the food there is out of this world!”

“Reah, rout rof rhis rorld!”

You felt your face heat up, looking over at Velma. She shrugged and leaned over. Inches from your face, she stopped leaning forward quickly and pecking your cheek before bolting the rest of the distance to the Mystery Machine. Fred and Daphne climbed in the front as you pushed Shaggy out of the way to follow Velma in.

“Hey! That wasn’t a real kiss! You owe me another one!”

“(Y/n), we’re dating you can have as many as you want.”

[itsamejin]

easy || jungkook angst/fluff

Summary: Date you, win a bet, get his rent paid off. Sounds promising enough, right? Jungkook should’ve known that his ambitions would end in disaster, but even if he did, that still wouldn’t have stopped him from pursuing you.

Warning: cursing, crude humor, fuckboy talk

Genre: college!au, fuckboy!au, bet!trope, angst, fluff

Pairing: Jungkook x female!reader

Premise: In which Jungkook accepts a bet from Taehyung to date the first girl that walks into the lecture hall and realizes that he bit off more than he could chew when starts to catch feelings. Now, he has to suffer the consequences of being an idiot.

Commission Request: @altus-gens​

Word Count: 9,203 words

—

It's not like Jungkook planned to be one of the most sought after person in Yonsei University, but it somehow turned out to be that way. Truthfully, he basks in it, loves that so many people idolize him for doing the bare minimum. He was handsome after all and had a level of charm that surpassed the need to have a good personality. 

He got into such a prestigious school through an athletic scholarship for Taekwondo, managed to convince his professors to pass him when he put in minimal effort, and there was no shortage of girls to call when he was feeling lonely for a night. He was the stereotypical 'it' boy on campus and maybe if he was a little bit smarter, he'd have a better choice of friends than the six idiots he always hangs around with.

"How about this," Taehyung starts, gum in his mouth, "the first girl who walks in, you have to successfully get in her pants."

Jungkook rolls his eyes. They were in a damn lecture hall and yet Taehyung had no shame bringing up sex. Typical.

“This again, bro?” Hoseok sighed. “Aren’t you sick of bribing us to do weird shit for you?”

Taehyung smirked.

“Not at all, actually.”

"For how much?" Namjoon cut in, probably curious for the price point Taehyung would arrange this time. He was fired from his job just a week ago and could really use the money. "I'll do it if it’s enough to pay for my rent this month."

Taehyung scoffs, although knowing full well he could pay for all of the boys’ tuitions combined if he wanted to. He was the resident rich bachelor on campus after all.

"I'll pay it for a full year and your utility bills too if you're really down," Taehyung flaunts. "You just gotta have proof you actually managed to do it."

"Dude that's gross," Seokjin chimes in, "No one wants to send you proof of us doing it with a random girl."

Taehyung shakes his head.

"No, no, no," he says, clicking his tongue. "I phrased it incorrectly. I’m not a fucking pervert."

“You got us fooled,” Jimin mutters. 

Taehyung leans in closer to the six boys and even Jungkook finds himself getting intrigued. Admittedly, he was a little curious considering he hasn't had a proper meal in weeks. He could really use having some extra cash for food without worrying about rent.

"You have to date the girl for like three months," Taehyung says seriously, "and I'll consider that as enough proof that you managed to actually do it since I know you guys are too horny to wait any longer than that to fuck."

They all look at Taehyung in disgust, Jimin even opting to hit him in the back of the head for being so vulgar. To be fair, they were all thinking of accepting Taehyung's bet regardless. It's not like they were new to leading girls on anyway.

"You gotta pay me more than that to fuck just any girl," Yoongi says, yawning in the process. He seemed the least likely to take up Taehyung's offer, but he was still game depending on the person.

"Then how would you feel," Taehyung starts, "if I told you guys that I could get you priority registration for next quarter."

The boys, even the ones who weren't interested, were now listening to Taehyung's every word.

"You mean," Hoseok gulps, "I could finally get that fucking Organic Chemistry class I need to get out of this hell hole?!"

Taehyung shrugs, an ominous smile on his face.

"Just the perk of having parents who have connections," Taehyung replies. “I’ll only accept one of you guys to do it though. I don’t wanna have you all fucking the same girl- that’d be weird.”

Hoseok rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, that’s what’s weird about this,” he grumbles.

“So are you guys in or not?” Taehyung asks, his patience growing thin.

He lays back on his chair, a smoldering look on his face when they all nod. They were desperate for money after all.

"The next girl that walks in will be the subject of this bet and whoever calls dibs on her first will be the one to woo her,” he says with a stretch of his arms. “Good luck boys.”

They all turned to look at the door and Jungkook watches silently as guy after guy walks into the lecture hall. No girl yet. 

Jungkook was hoping, from the bottom of his heart, that no familiar faces would walk in. If he had to deal with a past fling, he’d have to back out immediately. He never dealt with exes very well.

The guys are at the edge of their seats, praying for a cute girl to walk through that didn’t already know about their horrible reputation. They were looking for an easy target, someone that could fall for their charms almost immediately.

And then, you walk in. You were clad in sweats with earphones on, rushing toward the front row seats of the lecture hall. You were chatting with your friends, yawning several times throughout your conversation with them. Jungkook couldn’t help but smirk. There was nothing special about you to point out, in fact, you were just like everyone else. Strangely enough, he found that the most intriguing part about you.

"Nope, nope, nope," Jimin shakes his head repeatedly. "Can't, won't, never will. Sorry, Tae."

They all stare at him in confusion.

"What the fuck, what's wrong with her?" Yoongi asks, crossing his arms over his chest. Jimin faces away from you, not wanting to look at you any longer.

"No, nothing," there seems to be a blush forming on his face. He was hiding something.

“Bullshit,” Taehyung furrows his brows. “Bro, if she’s crazy and one of us gets our dick bitten off, we’re all blaming you, so spit it out.”

Jimin just sighs.

"She's been giving me Professor Kwon’s notes for the past few weeks,” he starts, much to the confusion of his friends. “Her name is [Y/N]. It'll be really mean if I go after her, especially since she and I are kind of friends. Plus, I really need to pass this class. I failed last quarter..."

The boys groan. Jimin was no fun.

"She's not my type so I don't think I could really get into it either," Seokjin states, no longer interested in the prize after Jimin’s confession. He’s been banking off of your notes from him too. 

"Aren’t we all old enough to know not to mess with people’s feelings?" Hoseok sighs.

They roll their eyes at Hoseok’s statement. Who was he trying to fool with the nice guy act? He probably fooled around with girls just as much as the other guys did.

"Yeah, I’m backing out," Yoongi agrees, "and she hates me so there's that."

They all look at him questioningly and he puts his hands up in the air from their gazes.

"What? I just realized who she’s talking to down there.”

He pointed at a girl discreetly, but no one seemed to recognize her.

“Her friend and I dated,” Yoongi continues, “and I broke up with her over text and blocked her without letting her respond. That whole friend group is pretty much pissed at me. I'd rather not have to deal with them again."

The guys look disapprovingly at him. Breaking up over text was harsh, but probably not the worst thing Yoongi has done to his exes.

"You're actually a piece of shit," Namjoon sighs. "I really do need my rent paid though..."

Jungkook nods in agreement. It's been almost impossible to balance Taekwondo practices, college papers, and working a part-time job all at once. If he could somehow find a way to quit his job for a while and get priority registration for classes, then he doesn't mind getting his hands a little dirty in the process. Plus, you were cute enough and he's sure you weren't too difficult to befriend as long as he doesn't mention Yoongi in any conversations.

"I'm in," Jungkook chides, finally saying something after such a long period of silence.

They all look at him with disbelief in their eyes. Jungkook was never the one to partake in Taehyung's bets. In fact, he was the one usually ridiculing them for participating. He must have been really desperate if he was willing to do it.

"I mean, it's all yours if you want," Namjoon replies, "I don't wanna turn it into a competition.”

“Don’t worry dude,” Jungkook fist bumps Namjoon, “I’ll quit my job and refer you for it.”

They nod at each other as if they were on the same wavelength. 

“I knew I could rely on you,” Namjoon says, faking tears from his eyes. The boys groan in response.

“Alright,” Taehyung claps his hands. “In exchange for providing me some mindless entertainment and going out with [Y/N], you will get your rent paid for the rest of the year and get early registration for next quarter. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me.”

Jimin shakes his head.

“I don’t know about this, guys...”

Jungkook doesn’t hear him and instead takes one last look at you. You catch him in the corner of your eye and you can’t help but feel flustered at his serious expression. 

“Should be easy enough,” he mutters to himself and turns his gaze back onto his friend.

“So we have a deal?” Taehyung asks.

He smirks, shaking the outreached hand Taehyung held out for him. He steals another glance at you and he finds you staring right back. He gives you a wink.

“Deal.”

—

Jungkook slid into the seat next to yours in the campus canteen, his eyes filled with determination. His posture was laid-back, but it was a little too obvious that he was trying to act like he didn’t care.

“Hi,” he greets you in a breathy tone- girls loved it when he spoke with his breathy tone.

“Hi?”

You’d been sensing that someone was staring at you during the lecture, but you thought that was just the paranoia that came from being near such an intimidating group of guys. Turns out, you should always trust your instincts.

Jungkook had a boyish grin on his face that made you want to smile back but also stare at him in disgust.

“I heard you help Jimin with Professor Kwon’s notes,” he whispers mischievously. “I’m struggling myself, actually...”

Not really, but you know. This was the easiest tactic to approach you- tackle your similarities. You nod understandingly at his words, not quite getting that he was flirting with you.

“Yeah I can send you the Google Drive folder,” you comply, taking your phone out. “But you can’t let Professor Kwon know or else he’ll flip out. He doesn’t want people to have the notes for some odd reason...”

You trail off but Jungkook just scoffs. You seemed clueless.

“That’s not what I necessarily meant,” he says, a little shy this time. “I need a tutor.”

You furrow your brows at him.

“Yeah, you’re gonna have to pay me for that,” you say seriously. The last time you offered to tutor someone for free, they ended up blaming you for their failing grade and screaming about it all over social media. You needed money to compensate for that emotional trauma. “Microeconomics is hard to teach.”

“Well thankfully I’m a good student,” Jungkook teases. You stare at him with a deadpan face.

“You wouldn’t need my help if you were a good student,” you say blankly, standing up from your seat. “My hourly rate is 20,000 Won. Take it or leave it.”

Jungkook’s eye twitched. He had to spend his money to get Taehyung’s money? Well, the payout would be worth it in the end anyway. He reaches out a hand to you.

“If you’d have me,” he says cheekily, looking up at you. You take his hand in yours and maybe for a second you felt your heart skip a beat, but that was soon over when you let go of him.

“You have sweaty hands,” you say straightforwardly. You wipe your hand on your shirt and he coughs awkwardly at how unresponsive you truly were. Didn’t Jimin say you were a nice person? 

You take your barely-touched lunch tray and walk away from his pensive figure.

“Wait, can I get your number?” he yells. You don’t look back.

“Alright, whatever,” he mumbles to himself. “I’ll just ask Jimin, I guess.”

Without even a second glance, you disappear from his sight. He sits back on his chair, heaving out a deep sigh. Sure, this wasn’t the first girl that didn’t care much for his advances, but you didn’t even crack a smile or anything. This is going to be harder than he thought...

—

“She hates me,” Jungkook whines to Seokjin as they walked down the university halls to their next shared class. “Yesterday, I went up to her to get her number and I left with a fucking debt. Does that make any sense?”

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t have taken on the bet,” Seokjin yawned. “Namjoon would have wooed her with his poetry by now or some shit.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, I’m sure she’s interested in a dude who can’t even put on a hat without causing an earthquake.”

Seokjin smacked him on the back.

“At least he’d have the guts to say no to having a fucking tutor,” Seokjin replies. “You dug your own grave, man. Now roll around in it.”

“Do you want me to succeed or not?” 

“I want you to not be a fucking dumbass, Jungkook,” Seokjin sighs. “Do you really wanna make your reputation worse than it already is?”

Just as Jungkook was about to reply, he catches a glimpse of you walking farther ahead in the university courtyard. You were a bit far but he’s sure he could make it if he hurries. He smacks the binder he held in his right hand onto Seokjin’s chest.

“Yo, can you cover for me,” he asks hastily and Seokjin stares at him with a concerned gaze. He watches as Jungkook takes off his backpack and leaves it on the ground. Jungkook looked about ready to break out in a sprint.

“What the fuck, why?” Seokjin questions.

“Just tell the TA I’m out for a bit,” he says in response, already running ahead to catch up to you. “I’m winning this fucking bet or I’ll die trying.”

Jin stands still, mouth agape. Jungkook really left him with his backpack and binder just to talk to you. He shakes his head. ‘I need to make new friends,’ he thought to himself, picking up the discarded backpack and walking in the direction of the class Jungkook was planning to be late to.

You were walking with your earphones on, not noticing someone sprinting at you in record speed. You only turn your music off when Jungkook stops in front of you, his hands on his knees. He was panting heavily.

“Hey,” he says through deep breaths. You nod at him awkwardly.

“Why are you running?”

“I wanted to... catch up to you... and I thought... you were closer... but the run here... took... fucking... forever,” he says breathlessly. “Water. I need water.”

You take out a bottle from your tote bag hastily, handing it to him. He took it into his hands, grazing your fingers a bit. As he was about to start chugging it, you halted him.

“Waterfall,” you say curtly- you were still planning to drink out of it later after all. 

He nods in response, a drop of sweat cascading the side of his neck. After he was done, there was practically no water left anyway. ‘I’m gonna have to refill it myself,’ you thought begrudgingly. You stuff it back into your bag and wait until his breaths become more even.

“A bit out of shape, huh?”

He scoffs and gives you a glare, clearly offended.

“I actually have a Taekwondo scholarship, you know that? I just wasn’t warmed up and I’m naturally sweaty so it’s not like-”

You laugh a little.

“I’m joking,” you say, a smile adorning your face. He feels his face turn red and he can’t help but purse his lips out of embarrassment. Jeon Jungkook couldn’t take a fucking joke.

“O-oh,” he says shyly, avoiding your gaze. Why was he acting more like an idiot than usual? You hear the chiming bells of the university tower and stare at your phone to check the time.

“Don’t you have a class?” you ask him. His eyes widen and soon he was dashing off again. He turns around mid-run, jogging backward to face you.

“My number is 06-1313-9197,” he yells, loud enough for the other late students in the courtyard to hear. Most of them roll their eyes, knowing that Jungkook was flirting with another girl yet again. You’re embarrassed by the amount of attention he’s getting, but punch his number on your phone anyway.

“Text me,” he shouts. “I’ll always respond to you.”

Now it was your turn to be flustered.

—

"That’s wrong,” you say, reaching over to Jungkook’s notebook and marking a large ‘X’ on his paper. “You’re not supposed to apply that function for this problem...”

Jungkook stared at you with a tired face. He didn’t think he was too bad at the mathematical aspect of Microeconomics, but it seemed like it was your life’s mission to make him look like an idiot. Of course, you caught every mistake that he made- even the ones he made on purpose just to see if you were really paying attention to his work and not bamboozling him.

“My bad,” he mutters, copying down the same problem on a different sheet of paper. He didn’t even get a chance to make a move on you today- not like he could make any big developments in the campus library anyway.

“Is it like this?” he asks, tilting his notebook to face you. You take a hard look at it and nod.

“Yeah, just make sure you know the difference between these two formulas, or else you’ll mess up on the midterm,” you say thoughtfully.

This was your fourth or fifth tutoring session by now? Truth be told he wasn’t really counting. Each moment he spent with you kind of blended together and he didn’t quite know if that was a bad thing or not.

“You know you’re not even struggling,” you say, your nose buried deep in your textbook. “It’s not like you’re completely clueless like Jimin. It seems like you’re wasting money on stuff you already know.”

Jungkook laughs heartily, getting shushed by the people around him. He really was stupid, wasn’t he?

“Yeah, well, it was just an excuse to hang out with the pretty girl in class, you know?” he says as nonchalantly as he could. You stare at him for a second and he swears he feels his body freeze over. If looks could kill...

You just shook your head with a click of your tongue and got back to reading.

“The pretty girl in class is most definitely not me,” you grumble. “If you wanted, I could’ve given you Soobin’s number without all the added hassle of you trying to come talk to me-”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Jungkook stops you from saying anything else. He looked worriedly at your face. “I don’t even know who the hell Soobin is, why would I want her number?”

You look at him and finally, you chuckle. ‘She really does have a nice smile,’ Jungkook thought to himself. It would be nice if he could make you laugh more often and not just on rare occasions like this.

“You’re saying you don’t know Yoongi’s ex?” you tease slightly. You were finally letting your guard down with him and Jungkook smirked. One wall down, another million more to go.

“Bold of you to assume that I know any of Yoongi’s exes,” he says and you scoff. “He’s an asshole when it comes to dating.”

You roll your eyes.

“Isn’t that your whole friend group?”

He pouts. You knew of his reputation after all. Jungkook thought he could get away playing a nice boy act, but it didn't seem possible considering your knowledge of him. A little white lie couldn’t hurt in the end.

“Not me,” he replies. “I choose my relationships pretty carefully.”

You take a glance at him before jotting down a few more words in your notebook.

“Well,” you start off, a little shy to admit what you were about to say, “I guess we both have that in common.”

He tilts his head rather cutely out of confusion.

“What do you mean?”

You cough awkwardly, adjusting yourself on one of the library’s notoriously squeaky seats.

“I’ve never really had a boyfriend before,” you say quietly. His eyes bulge out from their sockets.

“You’re lying.”

“No, I’m not,” you say, a hint of amusement in your voice.

“Like, you’ve never been on a date or what?”

“I have,” you say hesitantly. “I’ve been on a few but they just never led into anything serious. I was pretty focused on studying in high school so there weren’t really any opportunities to get involved with someone. Plus, the guys who pursued me weren’t very... attractive.”

Jungkook laughs loudly again, much to the dismay of the other students in the library. He liked that you didn’t beat around the bush- it was easier to talk to you that way.

“And me?” he asks teasingly, laying his head on his arm that was atop the desk. He looks up at you with that boyish grin of his that gave you small butterflies in your stomach. You stare back at him, but only for a second. You ignore his watchful gaze and continue to flip through your textbook, trying to find the passage you last read. He keeps his eyes locked on you and you just couldn’t resist.

“What about you?” you ask, feigning ignorance.

“Am I attractive?” he replies as bluntly as he could. You stop your movements and he chuckles.

“You’re... cute,” you settle on that word. Cute. It was safe enough to not be misinterpreted too much. He sits up straight with a satisfied smirk. He takes his pen and draws a heart on the side of your notebook. He winks at you when you stare back at him, puzzled by his actions.

“You are too.”

—

“Tell me you’re lying,” Soobin whines disappointingly, shaking your shoulders. You were trying to eat lunch undisturbed in one of the campus cafes but your two friends seem hell-bent on making you suffer. “There’s no way you’re friends with Jungkook.”

You sigh, attempting to rid yourself of Soobin’s grasp but to no avail.

“He’s an asshole, [Y/N],” Gaeun sighs disappointingly. “I thought you were a feminist, why the fuck do you even tolerate him?”

You glare at her for a split second before going back to prying Soobin off you.

“Jungkook has no respect for women or himself. It shows in how many shitty friends he has,” Soobin chants, still clearly bitter that Yoongi dumped her.

You shake your head, rolling your shoulders back when she finally lets go of you.

“Jungkook’s not even as bad as you guys describe him,” you reply. “He’s actually been really sweet.”

The girls take a glance at each other and burst in a fit of laughter.

“You must be out of your damn mind,” Gaeun cries. You cower slightly at their words. It’s not like you said anything that controversial, did you?

Soobin slaps Gaeun on the shoulder when she realizes how your face had soured. It wasn’t right to judge you for your choice of friends so harshly, no matter how horrid said person was.

“As long as it doesn’t go past friends,” she says soothingly, but that only made you feel worse.

“Why?” you ask a little hesitantly. “Does Jungkook sleep around?”

Gaeun nods, a worrying glimpse in her eyes.

“He's not exactly the type to kiss and stay...”

You nod understandingly. You weren’t too clueless to believe Jungkook when he said he was “careful” on who he dated. As long as you knew the boundaries that came with being his tutor, everything should be fine... right?

“Don’t worry guys,” you say with determination. “I’m not the type to get played-”

“Of course you are!” Gaeun sighed. “Guys gravitate towards girls like you who lack experience. Jungkook’s a fucking weirdo, of course, he’s gonna try and-”

“[Y/N]!” a shout from across the cafe screams. That distracted you from the various insults Gaeun was spewing from her mouth. You get that she was being critical of Jungkook, but did she have to speak ill of you too?

You look around and catch Jungkook waving frantically at you. He stops at your table and takes a mere glance at your friends before setting his focus on you. 

“Do you have time to help me out today? One of the papers for my writing class-”

“You tutor him in writing now, too?!” Soobin exclaimed, mouth agape. “[Y/N], what the fuck.”

You try to ignore your friend’s overreaction, a little disheartened when Jungkook looked hurt at their words. He had started to shy away from them as if he didn’t feel welcomed.

“Nevermind, I’ll just ask you later-”

“Actually,” you say standing up. “I’m free now.”

The two girls look back and forth between you and Jungkook, noticing the stars in your eyes when you looked at him. They did not like the thought of you two together at all.

“But [Y/N]-” 

You ignored their words and start to walk away, hoping Jungkook would come catch up to you. You didn’t quite know why their insistence on him being a bad person had made your blood boil. It wasn’t like you weren’t aware of his flirtatious tendencies, but hearing from your friends that you shouldn’t pursue a guy that you liked-

You stopped in your tracks and feel heat climb up your face. Like.

No way you admitted that just now. There’s no possible way you actually like-

“Hey, wait up,” Jungkook pants, his hand touching your shoulder. “Why do you walk so fast for-”

He sees your shocked face and turns you towards him, his hands on your shoulder similar to how Soobin had shaken you just earlier. Except this time, it felt comforting. It made your whole body feel warm as if you were coated with a weighted blanket. Was he always this gorgeous?

“What’s wrong?” he asks, inspecting your face closely. “You look like you just saw a ghost.”

“N-nothing,” you swipe his hands away and rush out the door of the cafe. He smirks at how flustered you look, maybe he did have an effect on you after all.

Jungkook takes a last glimpse at the two girls who sat in their seats, staring at him disapprovingly. He raised an eyebrow at them and shoved his hands in the pocket of his jeans, following after you. ‘They’ll try to get in the way,’ Jungkook thought to himself, ‘but they’re already too late.’

The girls clenched their fist out of annoyance. He was definitely trying to get on their nerves.

“There’s something strange about what’s happening,” Gaeun mutters.

“They’re up to something,” Soobin agrees. “I don’t trust him at all.”

—

It’s been a week since you last spoke to your friends, not really wanting to read the messages they bombarded you with about how you should stay for away from Jungkook. It was hard to take any of their advice seriously when they were just badmouthing him without reason. They based all their opinions on him from rumors around the school and Soobin always felt the need to compare him to Yoongi even though they both had very different personalities. Well, at least to you they seemed very different.

Frankly, you were sick of their nagging and just turned off notifications from that group chat altogether. Instead of sitting next to them during Microeconomics, you opted to sit with Jungkook in the back of the lecture hall instead of at the front with them. Jungkook had abandoned his own rowdy friend group to sit with you and flashed them quick smirks and winks whenever they’d stare at him. 

Slowly, Jungkook had started to become a constant in your day to day life. You walked to class with him, ate with him, played video games with him. It was sort of strange how used to you were of his presence, like you had known him your whole life. Jungkook snaps you out of your thoughts when he starts humming a little tune.

He draws a heart in the corner of your notes- which you find he has a habit of doing whenever he wanted to say something stupid.

“I don’t get what he’s saying,” he pouts cutely. “It’s like he’s speaking a foreign language.”

You shake your head, not paying him any mind.

“Well maybe if you actually paid attention,” you mutter softly. He scoots closer to you and you feel yourself stiffen.

“But you’re tutoring me later on anyway,” he says teasingly. “I get more bang for my buck if I know less.”

“Bang for my buck,” you scoff. “Who even says that anymore?”

He points at himself nonchalantly and you can’t help but crack a smile as you continue to focus on the professor’s words. You don’t even cower under his gaze like you usually do when he stares at you with those puppy dog eyes.

“What do you want?” you ask, finally caving when Professor Kwon adjusted something in his PowerPoint slides. He smiles.

“I want to hold your hand,” Jungkook replies and you could feel your palms clam up. His flirtatious comments increased as time passed and you didn’t really quite know whether he was just teasing you or if he was genuinely interested in you. You weren’t very good at taking a hint.

“I’m writing right now...” you reply, slightly skipping a beat in your note-taking. He really was the ultimate distraction, wasn’t he?

Jungkook pouts sadly, but you can tell an idea pops up in his mind when his eyes start to glimmer. He sits his hand on your thigh and you jolt back from the touch of his hand on the material of your jeans. He pulls away slightly, scared that he had made you uncomfortable.

“I just want to put my arm around you,” he asks innocently. “Are you okay with that?”

You calm yourself down and nod. For goodness sake, you weren’t a child- why did a hand on your thigh make you so nervous for?!

“Yeah,” you say, a little more confident despite your nerves. “Go ahead.”

He smiles softly at you and connects his hand to your waist, pulling you a little closer to him. It was comforting, not at all meant to be more than just a public display of affection. He finds himself getting lost in the lecture along with you, his hand playing with a loose thread on your shirt through it all. He didn’t even look at his friends who were teasing him on the other side of the class or your own friends shooting daggers into his being.

At that moment, it was you, him, and Professor Kwon giving out a lecture that had half of the students already asleep. He smiled at how diligently you worked and how your breath would quicken when Professor Kwon switched the slides without a warning. It was the little idiosyncrasies like this that caught his attention, the kind of things that made him wonder where you’d been all his life.

The smile on Jungkook’s face disappeared when he came to that realization.

Fuck.

—

Jungkook rolls around the grass while you sit on the picnic blanket you two had set up. Midterms were over and grades would soon be announced. He wanted a much-needed distraction from the monotony of constant studying and you had suggested a small picnic in a nearby park. Of course, he agreed. 

“We’re free,” he groans. “Finally free.”

Jungkook stares hungrily at the assortment of food you had laid out for the two of you. He tries to reach a hand out to grab a bottle of lemonade but ultimately fails in the end. You giggle at his silliness, popping a grape in your mouth.

“You’re welcome by the way,” you say jokingly. “Don’t think you could’ve done it without me.”

He sits up to face you, bowing deeply as if you were a traditional empress.

“Thank you,” he says, imitating a Joseon accent. He was watching far too many historical dramas recently.

“You’re embarrassing me,” you say, attempting to straighten him out. “Sit up.”

He complies, only after a few pulls from you, with a toothy grin on his face.

“Seriously, I don’t think I could have gone through the first few weeks of Professor Kwon’s class without your notes,” he sighs, opening his mouth to signal that he wanted to be fed. You roll your eyes but placed a grape between his teeth anyway.

“You have hands, you should know how to use them,” you mumble shyly.

You move to take another grape for yourself, but he grabs your wrist before you could. He intertwines his fingers into yours.

“Why should I when my hands are holding yours~,” he says in a sing-song voice. It made you want to throw up at how cheesy he was, but you couldn’t help but laugh along as he cringed at his own words. When was it so normal for him to hold your hands like this?

“You can’t go one sentence without flirting, can you?” you sigh, feigning annoyance.

“Not when it comes to you,” he replies, but you could feel sincerity laced between his laughter. “I can’t resist flirting when it makes you all giggly like this.”

You purse your lips to prevent yourself from smiling too brightly. Jungkook and you were somewhat past the point of being just friends by now, but you were too much of a coward to label what you had with him. What if there was a chance that he was just leading you on?

Jungkook saw your furrowed brows. He rubbed circles on your hands with his thumbs to ease you.

“Am I making you uncomfortable?” he asks softly, about to let go.

“No-” you say a little too quickly, clasping him closer to you. Your faces were inches apart now, much nearer than they were before.

“D-don’t,” you attempt to say but you’re tongue tangled as you looked at his lips. He certainly does have nice lips...

“Don’t what?” he asks in a lowly voice. You start to look around you- anywhere that wasn’t him. The park was relatively empty but it still felt embarrassing to say anything too loud.

“D-don’t let me go,” you say, your eyes on the picnic blanket rather than on him. His gaze was too intense to look at. Jungkook feels his heart clench. You were cute, too cute. 

He shouldn’t be feeling this attached to you, but he couldn’t help it. Everything you did, every word that came out of your mouth- it had him wanting more from you than he could possibly handle. It was dangerous to feel this way.

“Why don’t you want me to let you go?” he asks nervously. He too was anxious for the answer. If you were to confess to Jungkook right now, he’d get the first part of the bet done, but there’d be no turning back after your confession. He would have to lie to you from now on. 

Jungkook closed his eyes, chanting to himself that it’s okay to like you for a little while, just as long as he doesn’t get too attached in the end. He needed the money, he really did.

“Because,” you start off with a sigh, staring at him now with glossy eyes. “I like you.”

Jungkook feels like he could do ten backflips in one go and it wouldn’t even drain him of energy. The smile on his face was huge, his eyes curling into that half-moon shape that made you swoon. 

Jungkook was relieved and if the boys asked, it was because he’d only have to date you for three months. He’d die before he’d admit to them that he caught feelings because Taehyung, as generous as he was with his bets, would never give Jungkook the money unless he cleanly broke up with you. It was one of his unspoken rules.

“I like you too.”

You smile at him and he can’t help but pull you close, his lips hovering over yours.

“Can I?”

You nod.

His lips graze yours slightly but he pushes a bit closer when he feels you lean into his touch. He kisses you again, and again, and again, but you pull away when his tongue had started to prod at your lips. Your face was flushed,  embarrassed to be doing this in such a public place.

“Maybe later?” you say, panting slightly. He gives you a cheeky grin and nods.

“At my place?” he asks with a wink.

You hesitate, letting go of his arms, twiddling with your fingers. You wanted to set clear labels on what your relationship was. You didn't want to accidentally get caught up in a friends-with-benefits situation and be all shocked when Jungkook ends up breaking your heart.

“So we’re dating now, right?” you ask cautiously, looking at him with a worried glint in your eyes. 

Jungkook’s mouth opens to speak but no words come out. He thinks a little harder about the whole situation... He was getting good grades, spending some quality time with a girl he’s clearly attracted to, and having his rent paid off all in one? He was killing three birds with one stone. It shouldn’t be too big of a problem to catch feelings for now, right? It’s not like any of his relationships lasted longer than a couple of months anyway.

He nods, cupping your face lightly.

“Yeah,” he hesitates. “We’re dating.”

Jungkook wasn’t aware, as he gives you another light peck, that it wasn’t possible to have his cake and eat it too.

—

It happens naturally. You coming in and out of his apartment that he shared with his friends, you tangling your legs with his underneath the sheets of his bed. It was hard to imagine a life where you didn’t wake up with him by your side. You were so wrapped up in his touch, so wrapped up in the sweet words he would whisper into your ears, that you spent most of your time with him. 

You weren’t really up to date with your friends anymore and he didn’t really hang out with his either. Jungkook shared an apartment with Seokjin and Hoseok, and so the only contact he had with the other boys was when they visited those two. He should’ve known to take you back home when all the boys bombarded into his living room, where you sat with him watching TV. 

“The lovebirds are at it again,” Taehyung coos, a mysterious glint in his eyes. “The honeymoon stage hasn’t passed quite yet, has it?”

Jungkook chucks one of the sofa’s throw pillows at his friend, obviously annoyed. What the fuck did Taehyung think he was doing?

“Quit it,” he mutters. You were sitting next to Jungkook, his arm around your shoulder protectively

“Why?” Yoongi yawns. “Anyone can see how incredibly in love you two are.”

You didn’t quite like the smirk he gave the two of you. This didn’t feel like regular teasing... it felt like he knew something that you weren't aware of. It made you curl your toes out of fear.

“Guys,” Jimin says calmly. “Stop it.”

The boys shrug their shoulders as if they said nothing wrong.

“We’re just pointing out how cute they are together,” Taehyung noted, “It’s not like we’re lying to her or anything-”

“Yeah, or leading her on or anything like that-”

“I think I should go,” you say hurriedly, uncomfortable at how tense the atmosphere was. Jungkook was clenching his fists, about ready to start a fight any second. Knowing his strength, you didn’t want anyone to walk around with a bruised eye because you couldn’t handle a few jokes- if that’s what Taehyung and Yoongi think they’re making. Harmless jokes.

“I’ll take you home,” Jungkook announces, standing up with you. Namjoon pulls him down back on the couch.

“Let someone else take her,” he says sternly. “We need to talk.”

Jungkook was about to protest until you spoke up.

“I can get home by myself just fine.”

“Hoseok and I can take you,” Seokjin insists, pulling the unassuming man up with him. “We don’t mind.”

Hoseok gives you a lopsided smile and you return an equally awkward one.

“Okay, that’s settled,” you say, clapping your hands. You walk over to Jungkook. “I’ll text you later okay?”

He nods, grabbing your hand and kissing it lightly. Yoongi scoffs and Taehyung glares at Jungkook. The dirty glances they were giving each other... You didn’t like it at all.

“Let me know when you get home, okay?”

“Okay.”

—

The walk to your apartment was unnecessarily awkward, Hoseok and Seokjin were talking too much and you talked too little. You tried to respond to their every quip, but you weren’t in the mood for chatting after that whole mess.

“You okay, [Y/N]?” Hoseok asks worriedly. “Don’t think too much about what those idiots said back there, they’re like that all the time.”

You nod, keeping your eyes on the ground. There was something chipping away at the back of your mind, something you wanted to get out of your chest.

“Would you say Jungkook and Yoongi act similarly?” you hesitate to say, “like with relationships?”

The two boys exchanged nervous glances at each other.

“Well, it depends,” Seokjin starts, choosing his words specifically. “What about relationships specifically?”

“Does he...,” you start off, not knowing the right phrase without sounding too harsh, “play around with girls? Like how Yoongi played around with Soobin?”

Hoseok looked at you with a raised brow.

“Who’s Soobin?” he asks before getting punched in the arm by Seokjin. “What the fuck bro!”

Seokjin clears his throat.

“What Hoseok meant to say,” he starts, glaring at his friend a little too harshly, “is that Yoongi never really introduces us to his girlfriends. You, on the other hand, are one of the few girls Jungkook actually took the time to invite over.”

“Yeah,” Hoseok chimes in. “He’s not exactly the most chivalrous, but he wouldn’t ghost someone like Yoongi did.”

Somehow their words weren’t enough to satisfy you. There was still something off in the conversation that transpired between the three boys- as if they were all keeping something from you. You stopped abruptly in front of your apartment complex, finally making eye-contact with the two boys.

“Do you think...” you start, a slight quiver in your voice, “that Jungkook is cheating on me?”

The two boys let out a deep breath that you didn’t even notice they were holding and laughed joyously together. They cackled as if what you said was the funniest thing they had ever heard in their life. Seokjin wipes a stray tear from his eye.

“Y-you think Jungkook’s cheating on you?!”

You nod, a little embarrassed at their reaction. Hoseok shakes his head, sighing out of his laughter.

“Trust me,” Hoseok starts, his breath evening out. “Jungkook would never cheat on you.”

You start to giggle along with them until a serious look suddenly takes over Seokjin’s features. He faces you fully.

“But listen [Y/N],” he starts. “If Jungkook hurts you, just know that he does love you. Like, undeniably. He does.”

“And we’re not just saying that as his friends either,” Hoseok continues. “We know how he’s like and we can tell that he really does like you.”

You smile at the two, feeling a small sense of comfort at their words.

“Thank you, guys. I mean it.”

They pat you on the back.

“Anything for Jungkook’s girlfriend.”

—

You walk through the campus cafeteria, eyes searching for a free table that you can sit alone in. Jungkook had Taekwondo practice so there would be no lovey-dovey feeding time with him. 

He’s been a lot tenser since the living room incident (which was already a week ago) and it seemed like he got more agitated as the days passed. Not towards you directly, but he’d always mutter slight insults whenever Yoongi or Taehyung passed by. It made you worried that you had done something to possibly drive a wrench into their relationship without even knowing it.

‘Whatever,’ you thought, ‘I’ll talk about it with him when he comes over later.’

You aren’t able to find a seat, though, when you feel dainty fingers wrap around  your elbow to pull you back lightly.

“[Y/N],” Gaeun says in a low voice. “We need to talk.”

It wasn’t like you had been ignoring them deliberately, though that was definitely the case at the start. You just couldn’t find the time to really hang out with them as much as you used to since you were with Jungkook most of the time. It was like that too when Gaeun and Soobin were in relationships, so you never really felt bad about doing it yourself.

“Yeah sure. I miss you guys,” you smile at her, but she doesn’t return it back.

“Come with me.”

Gaeun leads you to a table near the back of the room, where Soobin was sat up against the wall with her own tray of food. You sit down in front of her and Gaeun takes the seat next to Soobin.

“Good, you’re here,” Soobin says, apprehension laced in her voice. “We need to talk about Jungkook.”

You roll your eyes.

“Not this again-”

“[Y/N],” Gaeun warns. “Listen.”

You keep quiet, a little intimidated of how scary their expressions were.

“It’s all a bet,” Soobin says sternly.

You furrow your brows at her. She tends to speak vaguely when you needed her to be specific the most.

“What?”

“It’s a bet, [Y/N],” Gaeun repeats for her. “Jungkook’s only dating you because Taehyung said he’d pay his rent off if he did.”

You clench your fist on the table. How could they sit there and spew lies so easily?

“What are you guys-”

“Those dicks do this all the time,” Soobin rambles. “They play stupid games with girls just to fucking break their hearts later on and-”

“I don’t believe you,” you say confidently. “Jungkook would never do that to me. Besides-”

Gaeun didn’t even wait until you stopped talking to play a recording on her phone. The voices were familiar enough to recognize.

“So you’re telling me that Jungkook’s just fucking around with [Y/N] because he wants priority registration? You have to be fucking joking...”

You could tell from the sound of the person’s voice that it was Soobin. It sounded like she was putting on her clothes.

“Of course not. He’s doing it for priority registration and his rent getting paid for the rest of the year. I’m not joking when I say Tae goes big with his bets. He likes to flex his money on us like that.”

Your jaw drops at the sound of the man’s voice. It was Yoongi. You were sure of it.

“And you guys don’t feel bad? Like at all?”

“Why should we? Jungkook’s planning to break up with her next week anyway so she doesn’t catch feelings for too long. It’s not like they were gonna last past the three-month deal...”

Gaeun paused the recording when she sees you bite your lip so harshly that blood starts to surface. This didn’t feel right. It didn’t feel real.

“I hooked up with him last weekend,” Soobin admits, shame written all over her face. “He was spewing stuff about Jungkook spending all his time with you and not really hanging out with the boys like he used to.”

“You still hook up with Yoongi? After all he did to you?” you ask, not meaning to come off aggressive but undoubtedly did.

“Look,” Gauen starts, taking the heat off of Soobin. “She was just drunk and looking to have fun. I was with her that night and I was talking to Namjoon. He...”

Gaeun trailed off, but you were sick of it. Sick of being kept in the dark from something you should’ve known all along.

“What?”

“H-he told me that all the boys were getting tired of him playing around with you,” she says, twiddling with her fingers. “He’s supposed to break up with you today. Some of the guys think he’s just prolonging it to fuck with you and they’re getting really annoyed-”

You bite back the tears threatening to spill over any minute now.

“Hoseok and Seokjin told me to trust Jungkook. They said he wouldn’t hurt me-”

“Did they also tell you that their rent gets paid too if Jungkook pulled through with the bet?” Soobin replies angrily. “Because they live together, don’t they?”

You open your mouth but no sound comes out- just a small whimper. Your lips start to quiver and you bite your lip again to calm yourself down. When you had collected your thoughts, you glared up at the two girls.

“And you didn’t tell me this earlier?”

Soobin scoffed.

“You were fucking ignoring us too, how were we supposed to tell you?”

“Still it wouldn’t have killed you to-”

“Don’t take your anger out on us,” Gaeun warns, her finger pointing at you. “Jungkook is the one to blame. We told you from the start that he was bad news.”

You pursed your lips and Gaeun put her finger down, feeling guilty that she lashed out on you when obviously you were just processing the information.

“Hey, I’m sorry-”

“Why me?” you ask with teary eyes. “What did I even do to them to deserve this?” 

They glance over at each other for a long while before Soobin breaks the silence. You had the right to know, but at the same time, they knew it would break you.

“It’s a sick game that they play where they just choose someone randomly...” Soobin starts off gently handing off the next few words to Gaeun, “and you were just the first girl to walk into Professor Kwon’s lecture hall. He thought you’d be...”

“Easy,” Soobin finished.

Just as they predicted, you had burst out in tears.

—

Jungkook opens the door to your apartment, using the spare key you had given him a month earlier since he tended to visit often. It was more convenient that way. 

He was freshly out of his Taekwondo garb, still sweaty, but otherwise clean from taking a shower at the campus gym. He found it strange at how dark the room was, but he knew you were on the couch from the noticeable lump of a blanket on it.

All Jungkook wanted was to cuddle with you and fall asleep in your arms after such a harrowing day. Lord knows he needs your warmth right now.

He smiled as he made his way towards you, but stops in his tracks when you sit up from where you laid. He couldn’t quite see you in the darkness so he walked to the light switch to turn the lights on. His heart broke at the sight of you.

Tears stained your cheeks, your eyes red and puffy from all the crying. You looked a mess and his blood boiled at the thought of someone hurting you. 

“What happened?” he asked, rushing over to you and cupping your face in his hands. You push him away.

“You don’t have to act anymore,” you say softly. “I can handle it.”

He looks at you with furrowed brows.

“What are you talking about-”

“I get that you really need the money,” you say through bated breaths, “I get that financially, it would have really helped, but did you really have to hurt me to do that?”

Jungkook’s breathing stopped. Everything was happening too quickly, his world crashing down when you uttered those words. He knew what this meant, knew that now you would see past his lies. Jungkook couldn’t have you finding out this way. 

He kneeled in front of you, attempting to wipe away the tears from your eyes but you push him off.

“[Y/N] no-”

“It could’ve been anyone,” you whimper, trying to look up at the ceiling to prevent any more tears from falling down. “Anyone could’ve walked through that door and you would’ve been okay with it.”

“That’s not true-” he interjects but you stop him.

“A-and you flirted with me all the time ‘cause you knew that I wasn’t used to it,” you say, your voice quivering. “You took advantage of me.”

Jungkook shakes his head rapidly, eyes pleading for you to let him speak. It hurt seeing you refuse to even look at him, to have your eyes so filled with sadness because of what he did to you. He fucked up, he fucked up so bad.

“No, you have to listen-”

“They told me not to trust you,” you whimper somberly. “They told me and I didn’t believe them because I... I was delusional or something. I thought that someone like you could actually like someone like me-”

His heart broke. It wasn’t you that didn’t deserve him. It was him. All him.

“Please don’t say that-”

“Did you come here to seal the deal? To finally break up with me?” you ask sadly. “Are you happy you’ll get the classes you want next quarter, Jungkook?”

He clenches his teeth. Jungkook knows you’re mad, knows you have a right to be, but it feels like he’s being cornered by you. Why won’t you give him the chance to speak?

“[Y/N], no,” he says sternly, “You have to trust me when I say that it went past just a bet. I like you. Genuinely, I like you.”

There was no point in lying any longer. You deserved to know the truth, but he needed you to know all of it- not just the information your friends cherry-picked to fit their narrative. He tried to speak again, but you wouldn’t let him.

“How could you,” you whimper. “How could someone be so cruel?”

Jungkook’s heart breaks at the words. He should’ve seen this coming. How could he delude himself into thinking he’d be okay if you find out- that he’d be fine seeing you heartbroken? He was disgusted with himself.

“I’m sorry [Y/N],” he whispers. “I’m so sorry.”

You shake your head, your vision getting blurry from the tears. He clasps your hands in his, knowing that it used to soothe you whenever you felt worried over something, but you just wailed harder at his touch. He didn’t know what to do, he didn't even know where to start.

“Stop pretending like you care,” you cry. “Please. It hurts.”

“It was a bet,” he admits and he breaths through the words to prevent himself from getting too emotional, “but I promise that my feelings are genuine. You have to trust me.”

“Trust you?” you ask crudely.

You stare at him, slowing your breaths to ease the crying. There was a certain emptiness in your gaze and it scared him. It was awfully frightening having you looking at him with a certain animosity that was not there before. Like he was a stranger.

“I can’t do that anymore, Jungkook,” you say softly, “because I hate you.”

—

A/N: Gasp A double update?! Say it isn’t so... I had so much fun writing this!!! Probably one of my favorite fics I’ve written in a while because I love this trope. How do y’all feel about Jungkook? Forgive or forget? Let me know!! Thank you @altus-gens​ for requesting this story, I hope you like it :)

Please leave any comment, critiques, or just random thoughts about my story! I’m planning my murder mystery series rn and I’m so excited (I might... do an album giveaway along with it...) I really love the direction I’m taking this blog in and I hope you guys are excited for the stories to come~~ 

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