#and i'll introduce their careers and such when they get back to the city

[mixtapedoh]

and it was all yellow | y.j.

welcome back to SVTU ! lost your way? refer to our campus map for directions.

pairing: yoon jeonghan x gn!reader with guest appearances from c. seungcheol, h. joshua, w. junhui, and more !

word count: ~5.9k genre: neighbors to friends to lovers warnings: language, intermittent Lore Dumping™ (i have to kick us off into svtu somehow), jeonghan is a little shit, light suggestive themes (heavily lampshaded and perhaps only occuring twice?)

☄. *. ⋆

olive's notes: these individual headcanon sets are going to be very ~stream of consciousness~, so bear with me, here. second, cheol and jeonghan are brothers (and there's a secret third brother i'll introduce eventually, don't you worry), also, thank you for stopping by <3. now here's the content you signed up for.

☄. *. ⋆

now playing... ılı.lıllılı.ıllı. ... ⌜ angel baby — troye sivan ⌟

AND IT WAS ALL YELLOW ☄. *. ⋆

— it all started when jeonghan realized that jun was loaded.

now, don't get him wrong. it wasn't as though he had befriended jun because jeonghan had been looking for someone rich and easily persuaded. it's not like jeonghan used his ineffable charm to win over the quasi-cryptid that was wen junhui because of jun's apparent legacy funds.

not that jeonghan couldn't have done — he clearly had the persuasion and cunning to do it — he just didn't. jeonghan wasn't in need of someone else's money. please. he was very capable of taking care of himself, thank you very much, he was just also, however, very good at knowing things.

especially those things that could be used to his advantage.

— and well... wen junhui was loaded. wealthy as shit. a classic trust fund baby. a walking dollar sign that just so happened to share classes with jeonghan every year since he started SVTU as a political science major (of arts, of course. he hadn't taken latin in high school to not absolutely crush the romance languages in uni).

— you see, SVTU had this fun little program for long-suffering students interested in the government and manipulating it to their will wherein if you took merger courses — lectures that ate up a hell of a lot of your time and money but gave substantial credit hours that counted for both applied and allied course credit — you could get a jump start on your degree, be offered more opportunities for internship, and explore a subject's "many facets" through "multiple lenses."

to jeonghan, it meant working faster and harder so that he might graduate early and get into the actual politics of pol sci quicker — at a more “genius” and “revolutionary” age.

(half of politics, after all, was being appealing enough to make headlines. there wasn’t time to waste, in the long run.)

to wen junhui it had to mean something different — after all, jun was a pre-law student with a completely different career path from the other party involved (though jeonghan had considered law at one point in time — something he’s not above admitting though certainly not pining after). merger courses for him likely meant an expedited process to law school. but that was truly beside the point. an aside.

— what mattered in the end, was that jeonghan and jun had more than enough shared merger courses to go around, and in the process of things, had gone from strangers to acquaintances, then study partners (blame it on the fact that jun — the altruistic leaning bastard he was — actually tutored in his free time. willingly. as in, not a joke.) to committed group project members, and eventually to that nebulous thing called friendship.

ask them both when that final stage commenced and you’d get varying responses — jeonghan always far more generous than jun in such regards, but almost annoyingly so, like he wanted to be the one leaning more on the ridiculous.

— yes, it was quite a ways into their friendship when jeonghan learned that wen junhui, his sweet jun, was loaded. like, living alone off of campus in his own two bedroom apartment on the wealthy side of the city that prospered from the University Living Aesthetic™, loaded. as in, so loaded he could have easily found more than enough willing bodies to become roommates with him and help pay for the exorbitant expenses but simply decided against it because he hadn’t, and i quote “thought about it before.”

“never thought about it? jun. how much does this place cost?”

and jun had to think for a minute. genuinely think about how much he paid in monthly rent. “i suppose for a month’s rent i pay around… [REDACTED].”

and jeonghan was no stranger to dramatics, to be sure, but anyone else would have gaped the same as him. “[REDACTED]??”

"[REDACTED]."

"...shit."

— yes, jeonghan finding out that jun was loaded, living in a (rather well kept) apartment with an empty room, no roommates, and an assortment of (dying) houseplants that needed care, was truly the beginning of it all.

— after all, while the chaos settled in a year after the fact when he and joshua would finally move in with jun because of circumstances that aren't truly relevant to the here and now, all true origins start a little before dramatic changes. there's always a gentle precursor, something soft that sets the stage. rumblings of change are necessary forefathers to the strength of revolution; jeonghan learning that jun was a walking line of credit with property to his name and a work ethic that would make any professor blush was necessary groundwork for the events that would follow.

and goddamn, if things didn't follow.

— but i suppose, if we're back tracking all the way to jeonghan and shua moving in with jun on one very ill timed sunday (jun had an exam in his special topics in deviance, crime, & the law course the next day), we are also brushing up against jeonghan meeting you.

another precursor to the chaos that would follow. another tremor that would shake the ground and cause things to tumble.

— you also lived in the terraces on 17th and attended svtu. you lived on the same floor as jun — two apartments down from his, no less — and his first week there, you showed jeonghan the campus shuttle routes that passed right outside the complex (he'd come to learn that the domino route was the one you took most often, as it led right to the heart of the university, but the pinwheel route was also a convenient option for evening courses).

— you and jeonghan weren't friends right away. no, you were always a friendly face around the complex and a decent conversationalist when stuck in the elevator together, but it wasn't as though you and jeonghan became fast friends. you were just neighbors for a while; just another person grabbing mail on monday afternoons, stopping at the in-residence coffee shop on bleak wednesday mornings, ordering pizza on saturday evenings and giving joshua a slice after he weaponizes his big, brown eyes.

— and then came The Series of Fire Alarm Mishaps.

— you see, at some point in the middle of the semester, someone new moved into the apartment building, in the same hall as you and jeonghan. at first, you barely even noticed the change, and then they started cooking.

— which wouldn't have been a problem. if they had been good at it.

the first few times the (incredibly loud and not unreasonably sensitive) fire alarms from down the hall had gone off, it had been unfortunate - a mild nuisance that disrupted what jeonghan had been doing, and nothing more. but then, the first few times became multiple, and from multiple, came a pattern. every other day, at least twice, the fire alarm next door would go off. and it would always be at different times - breakfast, the afternoon, early evening, even sometimes at 1:28 in the morning. the fire alarm would sound, and while it would mostly be no longer than a minute or two, it was still enough to be irritating.

you and jeonghan talked about it every time you saw each other in passing, or just so happened to be taking the same shuttle to campus (which happened quite often, anymore, since jeonghan enrolled in an extra course to help him graduate all the sooner). your neighbor and that damn fire alarm. your neighbor and their inability to cook, yet unnecessary dedication to the craft. you both joked about the inevitability of them actually burning the apartment down.

— and then, one day, the fire alarm went off at 2:19, waking jeonghan up out of a dead sleep (he hadn't meant to fall asleep at his desk, and his neck would pay for it all the next day). he heard it, and immediately decided to ignore it, knowing it would stop soon.

but then it didn't.

at about 3.5 minutes of non-stop alarms, jeonghan was annoyed enough that he left his room and staggered into the kitchen for some water, where shua and jun were already waiting around, likely with the same idea (though it was clear that shua hadn't ever fallen asleep, and perhaps jun was in the same boat, though he'd changed into sweats and a light t-shirt).

at about 6 minutes, jeonghan opened the door to see if anyone else was, well... concerned.

and at 13 minutes, he was standing outside in the brisk autumn air, agreeing with jun as he whispered that if there wasn't an actual fire but just their talentless neighbor attempting to cook in the middle of the night, he was going to kill the bastard himself.

— and there, in the middle of all this stupidity — sleepily rocking back and forth from one foot to another — and on the other side of him, was you.

— and, well, when you offered to buy him and the rest of his roommates coffee at the convenience store that was just down the street, not far, he couldn't do much beyond say yes. what was he going to do? decline your offer?

and so all four of you walked to the convenience store and aimlessly wound your way through the almost neon colored aisles. jeonghan used the opportunity to stick to you like glue and get you to open up — about yourself and your roommates, both of whom had gone home for two weeks for (separate) family vacations (not that you were jealous. clearly the superior option was to stay at the apartment, embroiled in course work and standing outside at 2:00 am because of some loser neighbor who can't cook a singular meal without burning the building to the ground, and yet refuses to have anything delivered).

— in the end, the fire hadn't been bigger than something contained in the pan ("thank god," you had said, shaking your hands in lackluster triumph, "i have a physics exam next week. i need those notes more than you know"), but at only 4 months of having a new neighbor, someone new moved in within 2 weeks at most. and, after being neighbors for almost 7 months, you and jeonghan were decidedly friends.

after all, you bought him a triangular gimbap, ice cream, and convenience store coffee. jun had slipped away with just a banana milk (which he promptly paid back the next day), and shua nearly bought out the whole store once the two of you got to talking about the best midnight (and hours after) snacks lining the walls. at the least, he was indebted to you, which could only be solved by more trips to the convenience store with more mindless conversation, and more time for the both of you to endear yourself to the other.

and the way jeonghan saw it, friendship at that point was inevitable. especially when, at the start of the next semester, you and jeonghan both had an early morning class and used the domino route to get to class via campus shuttle.

(and sure, jun had an early class, too, and drove himself to campus everyday, meaning jeonghan could have easily just gotten a ride, but he didn't. for no particular reason, really, he just never did; but one frost bitten morning after a snowstorm, when jeonghan was waiting at the shuttle stop and you stood beside him, bundled up in a thick winter coat and rubbing the tips of your fingers to keep them warm, you turned to him, the cord of the wired headphones the both of you always shared swaying from the movement (a streak of yellow against all this white, the sun in the middle of stark winter), and smiled, "i'm glad you're here with me." and maybe — just maybe — that was reason enough.)

— and thus, for reasons above explained, in the end, it all started with jeonghan learning jun was loaded. if it weren't for that simple knowledge, he wouldn't be anywhere near where he currently stood.

— which was the open doorway of jun's apartment, garbage in hand, falling in love with you.

"what?"

and you at least had the presence of mind to be flustered by it.

jeonghan could laugh, really. "is that my jacket?"

it totally was, and perhaps the way you fiddled with the sleeve of it and scoffed awkwardly, refusing to meet his eyes, was the true giveaway that you knew it most certainly was. "i don't know, is it?"

you were met with smug silence, so of course, you'd elaborate.

"i thought it belonged to my ex. i just chose what looked the warmest. it's storming out there — you might want something more than a sweatshirt if you're taking that all the way to cans." you gestured to the garbage bag — a detail jeonghan had almost forgotten at the sight of you in his clothing.

"you think your ex would have bought that?"

of course he wasn't going to take your bait in changing the subject. that would make things easy. you rolled your eyes, spinning your key ring and making it jingle. "hoseok has great style. it's just different from yours."

"and that jacket is more my style than his."

"it is," you conceded. under jeonghan's gaze you stuck one half of the jacket out, towards him. "do you want it now? you'll need it out there."

"i don't think i will. not when i'll have your sunny presence to warm me."

and for a split second your eyes narrowed. you had just come in from the storm — that much was plain to see from the wet of the jacket to the reusable grocery bag in your hand, full of pantry odds and ends. there was no need to go back out, and you and jeonghan both knew it. and not to mention that the invitation (thinly veiled) was unattractive — stay inside where it was warm or brave the stormy weather once more, all for a garbage run?

"race you to the elevator."

— and see, the truth of the fact was, it wasn't as though you made it difficult to fall in love with you (though even if you had, jeonghan would have liked the challenge, perhaps. there's fun in plenty of things). you were generous, a good conversationalist, you bitched about people with jeonghan but still tried to see the best in them, you were knowledgeable about the most random yet oddly applicable things, and for all of his teasing, you put up with him. perhaps enjoyed him.

— it certainly confused seungcheol, to say the least (but don't such things always confuse brothers).

"as someone who's had a lifetime to cherish your personality, there has to be something wrong with this y/n if they're willingly spending time with you. i'm trying to save my soul, putting up with you on the daily. they have no excuse."

"if i'm going to respond to that, you'll have to give me five minutes to run first."

and it ended with jeonghan quickly pushing away from the table, trying to duck out of seungcheol's grasp; but of course, the older brother and president of the boxing club would get him anyway, and through laughter, attempt to knock some humility into jeonghan (it wouldn't stick).

— but no need to focus on all of that, now. after all, this deep into the semester, jeonghan was busy enough without Crippling Thoughts of Romance.

— the worst damage you wrought thus far was making him choke that day you wandered into karaoke club and he was in the middle of a duet joshuji had managed to cajole him into doing on the spot (you swore up and down that you didn't know he was even in the club to begin with, but something about your flustered behavior and shua's glee at the whole affair made him consider otherwise); while it had been a (minor, he claimed) blow to his pride, it was easily pushed aside. jihoon, the bastard, might bring it up on occasion — the one (1) time angel voice yoon jeonghan chokes, and it's all on camera — but other than that, jeonghan? cool as a cucumber.

the last thing he'd do is be awkward around a crush. jeonghan was cool; jeonghan was suave; jeonghan was speaking in the third person because joshuji had been on a self-love bender a few months back and had said daily affirmations into the mirror every morning, and after finding out and teasing him relentlessly for it, jeonghan unfortunately picked up the habit.

AND IT WAS ALL YELLOW (CONT.) ☄. *. ⋆

— and now that we've gotten this far, i suppose it's time we bring up Jeonghan Habits™ because there were many, the closer you and jeonghan got to each other, strings of fate drawing you ever nearer, joining you at the hip.

— for one, it seemed that ever since that first unfortunately timed run to the convenience store at hours after-midnight, jeonghan felt comfortable just showing up at all odd hours of the evening, all messy hair and too-big hooded sweatshirts (most stolen from seungcheol, he'd reveal to you one day when you were confused as to just when jeonghan had picked up a love of coton de tulear puppy conventions — enough to get a commemoriative sweatshirt, no less), with the oh-so-enticing offer of going to grab a snack.

he even called it a date, once, when you were wrapped up in three blankets and your fuzzy house slippers, weakly try to convince him to just rummage through you're cupboards instead

"you're so cold you're going to cancel our date? and here i thought we had something real."

(you'd been so flustered by the whole exchange you simply ended up going to the with him, hoping that the act of Just Doing It would buy you time against his rapid fire machine gun comebacks — probably exactly what the fucker had planned in his 4d chessboard of a brain — and jeonghan took the opportunity to file away in his mind the cute expression that crossed your face in the split second that the words hit you fully in the chest and you floundered, wide-eyed into recovery)

— another, of course, was his habit of casually leaving things at your place whenever the two of you hung out; the first few times he left something — his jacket, a pair of sunglasses, necklaces that you don't ever quite recall him taking off to begin with — you promptly returned it with the naive belief that it was a one-off mistake not like to happen again. but it just kept happening, and so eventually, you just stopped returning.

if it were important, jeonghan would have texted you about it — he texted you about all kinds of random things, anyway, his lost socks would be no more strange than texts of ootds or how particularly sparkly his eyes looked that day.

and he never did...

until you started to wear the things he left, of course.

'should i get two of these?' the text came in while you were walking to your next class, taking your sweet time since the weather had cleared up nicely and the campus shuttles were running smoothly — not a single one hand been late all week, a sure change from usual. a moment later your phone chimed again, and jeonghan had sent a picture of a silver ring with a greek key styling. it was cool enough, and fit in nicely with jeonghan's usual style of accessory (not that you were particularly knowledgeable of such things... haha.)

'sure, but why 2?'

'so you can have one of your own instead of stealing it.'

'???!?'

'look at your outfit right now. you're wearing MY necklace. it's been missing for weeks.'

'YOU LEFT IT AT *MY* APARTMENT??????'

'you still have necklaces of your own; didn't have to be mine.'

'😑'

'so what's your ring size?'

'stfu'

— in your defense, you didn't think it was an issue, borrowing the things he'd randomly leave at your apartment. it had started off innocuously enough — seonghwa and momo (your roommates, bless them) needed you to go grab a few last minute ingredients for dinner (they were the ones cooking, so charitably you offered to do the grunt work) and when you couldn't find your own sunglasses, there were jeonghan's, just sitting on your dresser and waiting to be used.

and after that, well... jeonghan had nice style, okay? you were not immune to convenient and accessible clothing. if jeonghan wasn't so forgetful of his own articles of clothing, it wouldn't be the case that you steal his favorite sunglasses and borrow his usual rings and get a little too caught up in the way his cologne lingers on his jackets and night shirts, a smell all-too comforting and somehow tempting...

— you attempted to give the necklace back later that week when you and jeonghan met up to take the domino route to university, but he just shrugged it off and told you that you might as well keep it. he already bought himself another.

and besides. it looked good on you.

— and as for the last of Jeonghan's Habits™ (certified and trademarked, of course, everything jeonghan did was protected by common law)... well... the discovery of this one came later, at a time you weren't expecting it, and so perhaps that explains why it makes you as flustered as it does.

— see, it's of no surprise that yoon jeonghan is clingy in a very positive sense.

being friends with jeonghan is always being kept in the loop, having an ongoing dialogue about most everything, doing lot of Things together and always knowing that if there's something you're even thinking of doing, jeonghan has already cleared his schedule in anticipation of going to do said thing alongside you.

— what surprised you, but really shouldn't have (so perhaps the right word is simply astonished, flustered, made giddy by the realization of), was that he was also very cuddly. and very hard to be talked out of, no less.

— and like, okay, sure, it was kind of hypocritical of you to be taken aback when you'd been indulging jeonghan of his affinity for physical touch for quite some time, now.

the surprise hugs whenever he caught you waiting for the campus shuttle or simply Minding Your Own Business, his inclination towards taking your hand to make you walk a little faster when the two of you were going convenience store diving (yes, again), the quite literal poking and prodding whenever he was attempting to get you to change your mind and agree with his worst impulses... it was all pretty damning, in retrospect. but it never really fazed you: jeonghan's cuddly sort of behavior.

though you had gotten a smug kind of glee whenever you initiated contact and jeonghan's cheeks would warm to a beautiful shade of pink before he'd counter his own seeming embarrassment with a comment like "aaahhhh y/n, you're so familiar, what would others think if they saw you?"

randomly touch jeonghan's forearm, whether to pull him closer for some reason or another or just to softly massage the skin while you absentmindedly scrolled on your phone (instagram scrolling was sacred time you and jeonghan shared — then you didn't have to send him the reel with your comments, you could just tap him on the shoulder and show him). they way jeonghan would get all shy at the touch — like maybe he felt some of those butterflies that perpetually fluttered about in your stomach whenever he was around — was all the satisfaction you could ever need.

— so yes, you were quite used to clingy jeonghan. but cuddly? you had never quite strayed into full cuddle territory... until you did.

— that fateful night, you had lovingly been given notice via a very abrupt group text that you would not be able to return to your apartment for the evening (someone was going to have company over, doing... things that familiar company do) and when you had told jeonghan of your plans to join seonghwa in his trip to the computer rooms at crescent hub (they were open 24 hours and while it was based on reservation, you were almost always able to get a seat), he offered you come to his apartment instead.

either that, or i guess you could spend your time watching the gaming club host whatever tournament they had going on — apparently jun was planning to be gone for Quite Some Time (as a senior member of the club) and shua was there... for moral support? that part was unclear, to be quite honest, but it wasn't as though shua ever needed a reason to be Busy and Outgoing, so it didn't quite matter much, in the end.

"why aren't you at crescent hub with your roommates, then?"

"and encourage them? ah... don't make me look soft."

and you're sure that the way you roll your eyes can be heard through the phone.

"i had an assignment to finish." / "you had work to finish."

"but! it's all been submitted now."

"then i'll meet you."

— after all, it's not like you were a stranger to jun's apartment — you'd hung out there plenty of times as your bond with jeonghan deepened and your friendship to shua and jun grew — and they did have a rather comfy couch... you were almost certain jeonghan's offer implied and unspoken 'you can at least get some comfortable sleep on our vertiable cloud of a couch when i'm done prying at the finer details as to just who momo decided to bring home.'

you both, after all, had a deep-seeded delight for gossip.

— and when you got there, it was exactly what you expected: jeonghan had seemingly raided the pantry finding ingredients so the two of you could make dakdoritang — excepting the carrot, of course.

despite his seeming love for convenience store runs and general lazy attitude toward preparing his own meals, cooking together seemed to be something jeonghan enjoyed lately — or at least, that's what you surmised. to you, it seemed that one day jeonghan woke up and chose cooking as a new hobby.

if you were to ask jeonghan, he would brush it off, of course, probably saying something about his mom visiting and praising jun's affinity for cooking and there was no way jeonghan could let the bastard win — but really all it had taken was one (1) absentminded hand on his chest from you and a "hannie, can you pass me the garlic cloves?" for him to make cooking with you a new personality trait of his. go figure.

— and so the two of you made your stew while debating which movie you should watch when you were done. you ended up compromising on some drama that you'd seen people claim was so bad it was good, and it really was. the cringe,,,, the mutual yelling at the tv,,,,,,, threatening the lives of fictional characters,,,,,,, talking over whole dialogue scenes because you had a brilliant rewrite in mind and jeonghan simply couldn't resist the way you looked when there was an earnestness in your eyes and an opinion on your lips,,,,

it was quite late, indeed, before you even knew it. and when you switched the tv to a music video you really wanted to show jeonghan, the autoplay sort of took over, and your mind sort of shut down... drifted off to sleep.

— you woke up at some point in the early morning; the sound of the lock clicking and the door opening wasn't the sound you were used to, in your apartment two doors down, and it was just enough to snap you awake momentarily, still half in dream yet with one foot in reality.

it was just shua and jun, and they whispered an apology before padding off to their respective rooms (jun his own, shua his shared room with hannie), clearly worn out from their gaming activities.

— but that little push to semi-wakefulness was just enough for you to take stock of where you were, and you noticed belatedly that jeonghan had never left to go back to his room. you were both sleeping on the couch, legs intertwined; jeonghan was resting his head on your shoulder and your hands were reaching out, as if almost to give him a subconscious hug.

— the embarrassment ran through your nervous system almost instantly, and when you made to slowly and gently move your limbs so you were less... interwoven, jeonghan stirred and, still sleeping, pulled you back towards him. perhaps even closer than before.

you couldn't help yourself. a giggle escaped you; perhaps half nerves, mostly endearment. jeonghan stirred again and the sound and you covered your mouth, not wanting to wake him.

he stilled soon enough, and before drifting off again, you kissed him on the forehead.

— when you fully woke up the next morning, jeonghan had already began his day, but he didn't even try to hide the fact that the both of you had unwittingly unlocked a new feature in this friendship of yours. he sort of just... took the night prior as a confirmation that cuddling was on the list of approved actions and refused to let go of you, after.

not that it bothered you, of course.

it just seemed that the butterflies in your stomach were given wild energy at this new development; all your strategies for calming them suddenly ineffective.

AND IT WAS ALL YELLOW (CONT.) ☄. *. ⋆

— so.

if you had asked jeonghan at any point in his life if he were good at manipulating, his answer would be an unequivocable yes.

deceit? of course.

scheming? obviously.

lying? naturally.

blackmailing? most assuredly.

gaslighting, gatekeeping, girlbossing? undoubtedly.

changing criteria? yes.

moving goalposts? clearly.

hiding the apparent? well...

— see, the thing is... you get so good at the others that concealing the obvious isn't exactly necessary. everyone might know to be wary of the scheming, cheating, self-serving yoon jeonghan, but it didn't change the fact that he was so astute at the rest of it, image didn't exactly matter.

and besides, why save face when it was so fun to see people accuse him of what they were all very aware?

— so yes, jeonghan was quite skilled at all manner of deception. the one facet he was not so adept in was hiding his feelings toward the matter.

— thus, it should be no surprise that everyone and their mother knew jeonghan had a crush.

and it was only getting worse.

— don't ask jun when he put the dots together — he was more emotionally intellectual than he let on most of the time — and don't ask joshuji when either — that fucker had this quirk where he joked about something before it had real honest basis, but in some way only attributed to the gift of clairvoyance, he always seemed to be right. if you were to ask joshua, he'd likely recall the first time he had looked at jeonghan and wiggled his eyebrows and call that he knew then (he didn't; at least, not really).

— as for s.coups... well, don't ever ask cheol anything about jeonghan. he'd rather die than give it to you straight.

please. when he could embarrass jeonghan? seungcheol lives for that shit.

after all, what else are older brothers for?

— so yes, it was obvious to those close to him that jeonghan was in the long-suffering limbo of Having A Thing For Your Best Friend But Not Acting On It, and it had been apparent for months.

— after all, it felt like centuries ago that joshua had offered to play matchmaker for jeonghan and you — the veritable apple of his eye — and set the two of you up on a date.

it had been some lazy morning and jun nearly spit out his breakfast.

"you'd both love it! i'd get jihoon to play something romantic on the violin; well, maybe recorder—"

cue jun choking once more.

"and you could be there waiting in full suit and tie."

"with couples rings waiting in the bread basket." and joshua's eyes went comically and maniacally wide at jun's inclusion.

"ah, cheol would crash any date like that."

"but then y/n could get his blessing!"

— at some point, jun was at his wits end.

in his defense, it was him who had to see the two of you be all sweet and love-struck all the time, giggling and teasing each other on his couch in his apartment while all he's trying to do is eat a sorry excuse of a subway sandwich (eat fresh.) before jetting off to his internship again.

if you had to see that shit while eating soggy bread you'd be annoyed, too.

one more "aigoooo" while jeonghan squishes your cheeks, and you bat him away with a roll of your eyes and jun would take a knife out of the block behind him.

— especially when jeonghan started calling you "angel" at every chance he got. had jun's eye twitching, it did. never had he regretted getting roommates until jeonghan fell in love.

one day jun learned that the phrase "get a room" made at least one of you self conscious enough to at least tone it down, and he never stopped weaponizing it, since.

— of course, overtime jun's protests became background noise, but once, when your roommates and jeonghan's all went to the museum of fine arts together to celebrate the end of finals week (it was free admission so long as you had your svtu activities card), jun had deadpanned his new favorite phrase in the middle of the outdoor conversation area. jeonghan had turned to you grinning, like it was the excuse he'd been waiting for all day, and after a lighthearted "shall we?" you grabbed his hand and the two of you pranced off to explore the sculpture terrace.

jeonghan had raised an eyebrow at your choice of exhibit, but you pulled him over to a sculpture of a human figure with black wings and flashed a smile: “it’s not a private room, but i think it works.”

“if you’d prefer it, i’m sure there’s a custodial closet we could go to instead. i bet there's one right outside, even.”

you snorted. “and if i did kiss you? what would you do then?"

— you stunned him into silence. him. yoon jeonghan. 

— right as he was about to recover and shoot back some smartass comment, you laughed — the sound clear and playful, bright and radiating with warmth — and then you wandered to where they showcased student work.

— umm... uhhh... WHATTHEFUCKWEREYOUDOING WHATTHEFUCKWASGOINGONNNNNN

“angel.”

you hummed absentmindedly, only half hearing jeonghan through the internal screaming reverberating in your skull.

“y/nnnnnnnnnnnnnnn…”

he was closer now, if you focused, you were sure you could feel him, inching closer, right behind you, just to your right…

— he kissed your cheek: half on the corner of your lips, half on the soft of your skin.

— you couldn’t help yourself. you turned.

“if you were bold enough to kiss me here, i’d kiss you back. then i’d be scandalized, ‘how forward!’”

your mouth opened: in shock, in delight, in laughter, in a heavenly mix of the three. jeonghan just stood there, all self-satisfied grin.

“you could waste your time finding a comeback, or you could be forward.”

“i think i have time for both.”

☄. *. ⋆

end of file .

SVT (sophrosyne; virtù; truth) University hopes you've enjoyed your stay !

[madamechrissy]

Take Me Home Tonight

♡ ♡ Pairings ♡ ♡ Law Professor Satoru Gojo x Student Fem Reader

♡ ♡ Warnings ♡ ♡ MDNI- Gojo is like 29 here, reader is like 22 or 23. Nothing too crazy. But is Professor/teacher forbidden type love. In this chap- Fingering, cunnilingus, explicit sex, breeding kink, violence, descriptions of violence (ANGSTY CHAP)

♡ ♡ Word Count ♡ ♡ 8.5k

♡ ♡ Summary ♡ ♡ After passing your LSATs, your friends take you out to unwind. You never go out, so you are awkwardly agree, and you end up in the arms of a super hot man named Satoru. You end up screaming Satoru's name as he drops down on his knees before you, only to lose him in the club. All you have is his first name. Two months later, in your Criminal Law class, your heart stops. Your teacher? Professor Gojo. Or as you soon call him, Professor Dickhead. You can't fuck up your law school, and he won't fuck up his career, not just because he makes you wet in class, no, he's a dick. Right? That pout and blue eyes don't wreck you, right? - Lawyer AU

Chapter 9 - Masterlist - Playlist

Chapter 10

The escort agency is in a sketchy part of the city, and Satoru keeps looking at you worriedly that evening. “I’m fine, Professor.”

“You sure? I can take you back-”

“I’m good, promise! You should see the foster homes I was in. This isn’t anything to me.” He frowns more now, and you all pause on the sidewalk, you can feel the tension, the worry.

“I hate that you ever went through that, baby.” He whispers now, caressing your face sweetly. You gulp a bit, sighing and holding the hand that’s so gentle on your cheek.

“It’s all gotten me here, next to the best lawyer there is. The most handsome too. The best-” Satoru closes your mouth with his hand, and you smile against his warm palm.

“Don’t get me hard, brat, stop it.” You’re giggling now, making him glare at you, long white lashes covering half of his pretty blue eyes.

“Sorry, you’re so cute.”

“Cute!? I’ll show you ‘cute’ later.” He kisses you firmly, lips overtaking yours, and you sigh at how good it feels for a moment, before he takes your hand. “Let’s go, Miss Brat. Lawyer mode.”

“Did you really say lawyer mode!?”

When you get there, dragged along by the stupidly tall and stupidly handsome Satoru Gojo, who’s wearing a black suit looking way too good, the bouncer at the door nods at Satoru, letting you both in without a word. You look at him curiously, and he peeks back with a smirk.

“Paid informants silly, never partook in the goods here.” You roll your eyes at his wolfish grin. “Jealous already?”

“Shush.” The inside is dimly lit, with red velvet couches and a bar along the back wall, and there is a woman sitting in a little booth. The woman looks up, and you can see the recognition in her eyes when she sees Satoru. She’s very pretty, with long red hair and green eyes.

“Mr. Gojo, wow it's been years. And who might this lovely lady be?” She asks, her voice a purr as she smiles curiously at you.

Satoru’s grip on your hand tightens, and you can feel his possessiveness, and his reassurance. “Hey Aoi.” He introduces you now, pulling you closer and wrapping an arm around your waist. “Favorite student.”

“Oh! Oh… Mr. Gojo.” She’s laughing now a bit, wiggling her brows as Satoru grins, and you’re a blushing mess. “Hey now, doll no worries. Who can blame you with him? And also you’re so pretty.”

“Thank you, so are you Miss Aoi.” You say, flush decorating your cheeks, and she smiles softly.

“And she’s so sweet. All right, I’ll put aside my broken heart for her, Mr. Gojo. How can I help you today?”

“I break all the hearts, don’t I? I’m too pretty.”

“Gojo!” You playfully shove him and he just brushes his snowy white hair back with long fingers, winking down at you so damn charmingly.

“Came to see one of your girls, and Madam.”

“Let me see if she’s available.” She is gesturing to the plush sofa in the waiting area. "Please, have a seat, you two. I'll inform the Madam about your arrival."

Satoru nods then, as he guides you to the couch. “Thanks Aoi.” You sit down, your heart racing at being somewhere so new, so different. The walls are adorned with velvet and the air is thick with the scent of expensive perfume, so cloying it irritates your nose a bit.

As you wait, you feel Satoru's hand squeeze yours reassuringly. You look up at him, and he gives you a smile that's a mix of comfort and challenge, as he pulls you against him, hand on your thigh. You lower your lashes, and feel his chuckle against your collar bone, tickling you now.

“Nervous, Miss Brat?” He asks, in that deep timbre, and you sigh, nodding.

“I am, this isn’t… I’ve just never been anywhere like this.”

“Oh, this is just the waiting room, wait till we walk through. Bet you blush red like a tomato.”

“Hey!”

“Mmhmm, or get horny. It’s a toss up.” You roll your eyes, scooching away, but he yanks you back to him. “You were so jealous just now.”

“No! I just… well, you never…”

“Nah, not my style. Though I don’t blame any of them, making money off rich idiots. And a lot of these women are so smart. They’re great for information.” You brush your fingers up and down his collar as you wait.

 You know he's as eager to get to the bottom of this as you are, you can feel the tenseness of his body against yours. Your knees are knocking together, you keep fidgeting with your hands, then fiddling with the charms on your bracelet. Satoru takes your hand in his, looking at you seriously.

“If you’re uncomfortable-”

“No, no. I’m good. Just nervous about everything.” He sighs, looking at your little charms now.

“You need another, hmm?”

Before you can answer, a curtain at the back of the room parts, and a statuesque woman emerges. She's dressed in a tight, crimson dress that clings to her body like a second skin. Her eyes are sharp and assessing as she looks you both over.

"Madam," Satoru stands, releasing your hand, "Thank you for seeing us."

"Mr. Gojo," she says, her voice like silk, "It's always a pleasure. And who is this lovely young lady?"

"My top student. She's assisting me with the case." He wraps an arm around your waist and her eyes catch it. “She’s also my Shnookums.”

“Shnookums? Huh.” Madam's gaze lingers on you, and you hold her stare, feeling a flicker of something unpleasant. It's not hostility, but something else. Calculation, maybe. "Well, well, this seems interesting, let's talk in private."

You both get up and follow her into a back room, the curtain swishing shut behind you. The room is dimly lit, with a large desk and a few chairs, thick incense heavy and smoking, there are ornate paintings and the walls are red with foiled gold leaf. There's a sense of something seedy but also it’s classy in a way. It’s what you would picture for a Madam, you think at least.

Madam sits down in a big red chair, plush and velvet, crossing long bare legs and smirking at you both. "What brings you to my establishment after so many years, Mr. Gojo?"

“Aww, miss me Madam?” He shoots a wink, and she rolls her eyes.

“Want a drink, you two?” You look at Gojo and he nods. “There’s a decanter of brandy right there, it’s a good year.”

“You’re always so sweet you know.” She scoffs, and his hand brushes your thigh before he stands, adjusting his suit a bit and then pouring from the crystal decanter, allowing the Madam time to study you.

“You’re awfully pretty. You should come work for me.” She cooes, and Satoru comes over and scowls at her, making her smirk. “What, she’d make top dollar.”

“I enjoy law, but thank you for the offer.” You say smoothly, and the madam’s red lips tilt up.

“I like her.”

“I know, she’s the best. Here ya go, Madam.” Gojo hands her a glass, then you, with the clear amber liquid. “Now…” He sits next to you, hand possessively clutching your thigh, he always has to touch you when he can, and you love it, love feeling so connected. “I need to talk to one of your girls. She might have information on our suspect."

Madam's expression doesn't change. "Which one?"

"Kanna."

Her eyes flicker with something, but she remains calm. "Kanna is no longer with us. She's moved on to... other opportunities."

You see Satoru's jaw clench, and you know he's not buying it. "Bullshit," he says, his voice low and dangerous, "I know she's still here, I’ve already had details about her. And I need to talk to her."

Madam sighs, leaning back in her chair. "Very well. But what's in it for me?" She asks, and Satoru smirks now.

“How about… this.” He pulls out a giant wad of hundreds, there was surely thousands of dollars there, and she nods then, standing.

“Always a pleasure, Mr. Gojo. I’ll have her come in. It was a pleasure to meet you, you’ve got quite a man.” She is trailing her long red nails across your cheek, tilting your chin up. “And he’s got quite a girl.”

“I sure do.” She tousles Satoru’s white hair, sauntering out then, leaving you both waiting in anticipation. “She’s kinda a bitch.”

“Mmm, seems like a businesswoman to me.” Satoru chuckles, as you take a sip of the strong liquor, coughing a bit.

“Lightweight.”

“Hey!” Soon though, a young woman with short black hair and a wary look in her eyes enters the room. She's dressed in a short, lacy dress that leaves little to the imagination. You can see the fear in her eyes as she looks at Satoru, and something in your chest tightens.

"Thank you for coming, Kanna. We need your help." Satoru says then, standing up to shake her hand, and her eyes flick to you, and then back to Satoru, curiously.

"Sure, what's going on?"

"We're working on a case," he says, his voice softer now. "And we think you might have some information that could help us."

Kanna looks at the floor, biting her lip. "I don't know anything."

Satoru's gaze turns intense, and you can feel the power in the room shift, it’s like you can see him go into that mode, the serious one. "Look at me," he commands, and she does, her eyes wide with fear. "I need the truth, Kanna. We're trying to put away a dangerous fucking man, and free an innocent one."

For a long moment, she's silent. Then she looks up, her eyes meeting both of you, fidgeting as she sits down finally. "Okay," she whispers, "I'll tell you what I can, that was a long time ago."

“Thank you, Kanna. All right, do you remember a run in with Naoya Zenin?” She tenses, and nods, and you see it right on her face, she’s fucking terrified.

Kanna's voice is shaky as she starts talking, her eyes darting between you and Satoru, and you can see the fear in them. She tells a story of a night with Naoya, a night that ended with bruises and tears. The way she describes his behavior sends a chill down your spine, confirming the suspicions you've had since the moment you laid eyes on him.

Satoru's expression is unreadable, his icy blue eyes never leaving hers, studying her, even as he still holds on to you so close, like you’re tethering him from losing his shit. You hold his hand carefully, he is so tense and you can feel the anger simmering under his calm exterior, his hand balling into a fist at his side that’s not holding you. You know he's holding back, for now, but you’re not sure for how long.

Satoru is furious as he hears what he’s done.

“So why didn’t you say it was him that night with your friend!?” Satoru’s voice is harsh, and you can feel him coming apart at the seams. You struggle to hold his hand, which is clenched so tightly in a fist.

She opens her mouth, then closes it, and tears start pouring from her eyes, so you stand up then, grabbing a box of tissues, and you walk over to her, bending on a knee down on the plush rug. You dab her eyes gently, and she smiles a bit tremulously, Satoru is quiet behind you.

“He’s just really, really worried about someone else getting hurt. You can tell us anything, we’ll protect you, okay?” She nods then, and you come to hold her hands, which are cold and clammy.

“Th-thank you. He told me he’d kill me if I said anything, and I believed him… I was so afraid.” She’s sobbing and you’re holding her thin body, as it wracks with her shaking shoulders.

Satoru comes up then, putting a hand on her shoulder, and one on yours, mouthing a ‘thank you’.

When she finishes her story, you can see the wheels turning in Satoru's head. He's piecing together the puzzle, looking for the one piece that will make it all make sense. "Thank you, Kanna, you've been very helpful. Do you think Madam has any vido cameras back there?”

She frowns, nodding. “She does. I’m not sure how far back they go but I suppose you might find the video of him with me. As for my friend who… is gone… I don't think so. He took her to his place.”

“I’ll pay her to find it. Kanna, could you possibly share this in court?”

“Oh god facing him!?”

“We’ll be right there, Kanna.” You say reassuringly. “He scares me too, he’s already… threatened me.” Your eyes lower, and she gasps, then holds your hands tightly.

“I’ll do it.”

“Oh my god!” You hug her tightly, feeling so much emotion for a girl you barely know. “Kanna you’re so brave.”

“I wouldn’t want you hurt because I was too afraid. But please… I need to make sure I’m safe.”

“You will be, I can get you out of here too if you want. A new life, far away?” She sighs, nodding then, and Gojo stands up and hands her a huge amount of money now, so much it was insane to physically see.

“Oh, you don’t have to.” She hands it back, but Gojo shakes his head.

“You’re doing me the biggest favor. Just keep this between us.”

“Of course, thank you. It will help me so much.” She stands up and hugs Gojo, then comes to hold your hands. “Please be careful. Mr. Gojo take good care of her.”

“I will, of course, I’ll get this mother fucker. Don’t worry.” She exhales, and there is a heavy tension in the room as you both get up to leave, Satoru's hand on the small of your back guiding you out.

Once you're outside, the cool evening air hits you like a slap in the face, and you both take a moment to breathe. "Shit, that was... something."

Satoru turns to you, his eyes a mess of emotions, those swirling cerulean depths drinking you in. He pulls you flush against him, exhaling, warm against the chill of the air, puffing a bit of your hair back. “You were amazing there.”

“What? No, Satoru, I just comforted her.” You look down a bit, but he tilts your chin back up.

“No, you were so caring, where I was harsh. Thank you. I don’t know if she would have opened up without you.” You hug him tightly, and he sinks his lips onto yours, moaning softly in your mouth.

“You’re so welcome, I’m so happy if I helped.”

“You have no clue. I’m learning from you.”

“No way.”

“Mmhmm.” You both keep pecking kisses, as his praise washes over you, making you so damn happy you can’t think. “Let’s get some rest, big day tomorrow.”

“Cuddle?” He smirks, nodding, and leads you back.

That night you end up falling asleep in his lap again, as he can’t tear himself from his research, and your heart aches for him.

****

Satoru Gojo is sipping on a sugary mocha frappe, as you’re sipping on a french roast the next day in a break room. This morning had been more witness testimonies, as Satoru is waiting to ruin it all if he can’t get this witness, Kanna, to be allowed.

“They’ll allow it! Fuck yes.” He says once he’s hung up the cell phone, his eyes lit up, despite the heavy dark circles. You bounce up eagerly, and he pulls you to him, exhaling as he clings so tightly.

“Oh Satoru, this is good news.”

“I’ll play stupid and fuck it all up. I’ll let him get ruined. But fuck, it’s going to be shit to ‘lose’.”

“You’ll be winning, really. Think about it.”

“If he says one word, I’ll fucking kill him.” Satoru says, tersely, then his alarm goes off, it’s time for you all to head back. “Fuck remember when I fingered you in like four minutes?”

You giggle at that, shaking your head at his change of subject. “Yes, I remember, crazy man. You spit on it!”

“Sure did.” He purrs out the words, and you’re a blushing mess now as he pulls you so close. “I’m taking a break after this case, thinking I’ll become a daddy.”

“Satoru stop that!” You smack at his hands as they come over your tummy, and he’s giving you puppy eyes.

“Too flat, I need it filled with me.” He picks you up, as you wriggle around in his hold, but he’s way stronger, and you’re getting turned on with him.

“You’re such an adrenaline whore! You’re getting turned on because we’re gonna get him, aren’t you!?” He grins then, letting you down, you slide down his chest slowly, giggling then.

“Like you’re not too, get turned on by true crime.” You shove at him playfully, before falling easily into his kisses. “I love you, Shnookums.”

“I love you, Toru. We got this.” You pop more reassuring kisses, but there is such a looming presence to your happiness, a heaviness in your chest that you can’t quite describe, gnawing at you.

You shove it down, you need to be here for Toru.

****

Sitting next to Naoya again, you have your shoulders squared, your chin up high as you watch your man, as he decimates the prosecution with ease, like any good defense attorney. Each question is a dance, a mix of Gojo pretending to try, and letting so much slip that will go against Naoya, as if biding his time until he’s going to demolish his own case.

“The prosecution calls Kanna Otigori to the stand.” Says the prosecutor, and Gojo pretends to be surprised along with everyone else. He may or may not have paid off the prosecution to call her.

Yeah Gojo is something alright.

Her eyes widen in fear as she sees Naoya next to you, and you look over to watch him stiffen, his fists clenching the table so hard they’re turning white. You can’t stop the smile the quirks up on the side of your lips, but you instantly erase it when he looks over at you. His eyes are terrifying, they make you tremble as he glares.

“What’s wrong, Mr. Zenin?” You ask softly, and he scoffs, rolling his eyes and sinking down into the seat.

“Didn’t give you permission to talk to me.” It’s your turn to scoff, looking at your notes for a moment, but suddenly he’s gripping your leg so hard you’re crying out, the courtroom is too loud currently with the uproar for it to stand out.

“Get the fuck off me.” You hiss at him, and he slides his hand up then, you grip his wrist, digging your nails in and glaring. “Get off.”

“I’ll expose you both if you ruin this shit for me, fucking got me?” You tremble, looking away as he continues to boldly touch you, in front of the whole room, but no one could see. “Let me catch you when your body guard isn’t around.”

He lets you go, and your heart is shattered, as you realize everything you have with Satoru is going to crumble. You’d ruin your career, his… but you can’t let him get away with this shit. You casually kick the fuck out of him with your heel under the table, and he damn near lunges at you before he realizes what he’s doing.

“Was gonna be sweet with you. Not now. I’ll fucking ruin every inch of you.” He whispers, and finally you can’t take it, you’re hyperventilating. You step out, rushing through the room, and eyes are everywhere on you.

You sink against the wall, holding your chest, it feels as if it were going to just explode, and then Satoru is there, holding you. “Satoru, no, go back in. Go back in! You need to fucking get him! You-”

“What’d he say!? What happened!? Baby tell me.” He’s cupping your face, having left his own damn trial for you.

“I’m ruining your life.” You whisper through tears, and his lips part in a gasp, as he shakes his head furiously, bending low, his beautiful face blurring as you keep feeling more and more faint. Your blood pressure has skyrocketed, you’re shaky, and you can’t catch a breath.

“You’re making my life. There was nothing before you. Stop it. Please, baby, c’mere…” He pulls you against him as you continue to hyperventilate, to the point you’re not sure you can breathe anymore. “Baby breathe with me. Please.”

Satoru holds you close, his hand rubbing circles on your back as he whispers sweet nothings into your ear, trying to calm you down. You focus on his steady breaths, trying to match them, but it's hard, really hard. The walls seem to be closing in, and all you can think about is Naoya's threats, about Satoru’s future, and you realize you’re crying all over his dress shirt.

"I've got you, everything will be fine." He whispers, and you want to believe him, you really do. You cling to his suit, breathing him in, trying to ignore the panic attack that's taking over your body.

But it's not fine, is it? It’s never going to be fine if Naoya gets away with this.

You manage to suck in a breath, and he leans back to look at you, his eyes searching your face, so concerned, so loving. "You okay?"

"No." You admit, and his own expression cracks, just a bit. "But I'll be okay. We'll get him."

"We will, I promise you. If not, I’ll fucking murder him, you got me?” He cups your face as he says it, as you lose yourself in his eyes. “What did he say?”

“I can’t tell you, you’ll fuck up the case. I need your head in the game, you need to get him. Please.” Satoru scowls then, opening his mouth to demand you tell him, when a court officer approaches, looking stern.

"Mr. Gojo, you're needed back in the courtroom." Satoru nods, looking torn.

“I need a break, please, I’ll be back in. Don’t worry, I'm okay.” He frowns, and you feel his energy, his love, as he shakes his head, but you gently push him.

"I love you. I promise I’ll do this right." He whispers, pressing a kiss to your forehead, before he has to go back in, but his touch lingers, as you hug yourself, trying to control the violent shaking.

If you are going to be a criminal lawyer, you need to try to face this, you need to push past it.

You allow yourself some time before you walk back in, sitting next to this fucking man, and finally watch Satoru work his magic. He gives you a reassuring little smile, and you thank God he doesn’t know what Nouya did just yet, you know he wouldn’t be able to handle it.

Your skin crawls as you continue to sit next to this disgusting man, but he’s actually terrified now, his eyes bulging out of his head, as Gojo plays ‘dumb’ and acts so shocked that the witness is ruining his case. He’s waving his hands dramatically, and trying to ‘argue’ his way, half assed of course, and suddenly the prosecution is looking happy.

“Kanna, how are we to believe you!?” Satoru asks, as if he’s really trying to dissuade her, then suddenly, a bailiff is handed evidence, and Satoru once more pretends to look shocked.

It’s a perfect show.

You both had admitted it to evidence by paying the Madam double what Satoru already had, to make it look like the Prosecution had done so. These Prosecution lawyers probably thought they were killing it, beating the Satoru Gojo!? And Satoru let them think so.

The Satoru Gojo, the best lawyer, who never loses, is going to lose on purpose, so he can make sure this fucker disappears.

“What is this!?” Satoru asks, as the judge views it, turning pale.

“This is… please, everyone, allow me a moment.” The judge is so disgusted she walks out for a moment, before convening with the lawyers and the rest of the team. “We will play this, but please be aware, it’s graphic.”

The video so clearly shows Naoya abusing Kanna, and you feel your stomach roll with nausea, tensing, as the jury looks on in horror. Kanna has already been escorted back, and you know she will be going far away, starting hopefully a much better life than she had. You’re ready to vomit, as Naoya is losing his shit, and his family is trying to control him.

Satoru is holding his mouth, as if he’s as sick as the rest of you, at points he couldn’t even look. “Your honor, I have nothing to say, defense rests.”

Everyone in the courtroom is in shock, there’s so much noise that the judge banging her gavel isn’t doing a damn thing, they’re all losing their shit. The famous Gojo rests his case, and he comes up to stand between you and Naoya, who lunges at him, and you see Satoru’s insane blue eyes, his brows up high, grin huge like the joker. He looks fucking crazy.

“Looks like our next talk will be how to keep you off death row.” He says, patting Naoya then on the shoulder, and then he’s just dragging you out, you race in your heels to catch his quick, long strides, until you all are out front.

“Satoru, are you okay? That was-”

“What’d he do? What’d he do fucking tell me.” You blink a bit, as he’s cupping your face so tight, and that insane look is even more insane, his eyes are so bright they hurt you to stare at. You take a shaky breath, looking around, and seeing people filing out of the courtroom.

“Satoru, we can’t right here-”

“I don’t fucking care. Tell me. Now. I have to know what he said to get you that way, what he threatened, he’s clearly a fucking monster!” His voice is breaking, and it breaks your heart to see him this way, as he’s got you in a vice like grip.

“Satoru, you’re hurting me.” You whisper, as he’s squeezing your head so hard it aches, he instantly releases you, pulling you against him and kissing you, shamelessly right there. “Satoru we can’t!”

“You’re fucking mine. I’m so tired of it.” He’s burying his face in your neck, and you know people can see, they’re starting to stop and say things.

“Please calm down.” You ease back a bit, then pull him away further, until you are behind a little alcove in front of the court house, and Satoru is completely on edge, he’s trembling all over. You run your hands gently down his arms. “If I tell you, you have to promise you won’t do something rash.”

“Nope, just tell me.” You sigh again, then hug your own arms, looking down as he studies you. “I need to fucking know baby.”

“Shit. He touched my thigh… and higher. Satoru!” He’s punching the bannister, and you watch it crackling, as he faces you again. “What else?”

“Satoru…”

“What else!?”

You tremble at his tone, you’ve never seen him so unhinged and it’s terrifying you now. “He… said he’d ruin me for you.”

“Fucking what!?”

“It’s fine, we’re going to-”

“I’m done acting so fucking mature. I’m done being the bigger person. He can’t touch you, don't you get it baby? I’ll never let him touch you again.” Satoru slings off his jacked as Naoya is coming right for him, and your heart drops in your stomach.

There’s no reaching Gojo now.

The crowd gathers around the two of you, whispers flying, as Naoya stops right in front of you, his eyes bloodshot with rage. "You think you're so fucking clever, don't you, Gojo?"

Gojo grins, looking terrifying, but Naoya doesn’t back up one bit, as Gojo starts laughing then. "It’s about to get so much worse for you. I wonder which boy will rape you in prison?" Satoru says, his voice deadly calm, his eyes glowing with rage.

Naoya loses his shit then, shoving at him. "You think you can just use me to win your little game? I'll show you what happens when you mess with me."

Satoru steps closer, so close you can feel the heat of his breath on your cheek. "You're already going down, Naoya. This is just the cherry on top, beating you to a fucking pulp for touching her."

You watch as Naoya's eyes narrow, his hands curling into fists, and Naoya swings first, but Satoru is already moving, his fist connecting with Naoya's jaw with a sickening crack. The sound echoes through the air, and Naoya stumbles back, his mouth hanging open in shock, and you watch blood already pouring from Satoru’s huge fist connecting.

You watch in horror as Gojo grabs him, slamming him against the banister, each punch thrown with the precision of a master. It's clearly not Satoru’s first time fighting, he seems to know every spot. Naoya struggles to get a single hit in, but Satoru is ducking, then swinging and punching his stomach.

“I said if you touched her you’d fucking die.” He bites out, as people are now recording on their phones.

Shit.

“Satoru…” You try to get his attention, but he’s well past that, and you want to stop him, but your body is frozen, your heart racing as you watch the man you love beat the living daylights out of the monster that is Naoya.

Satoru is like a force of nature, unstoppable, relentless, and you're both terrified and turned on by the power he exudes, and there’s now the threat of everyone seeing this, seeing him fighting Naoya over you. Naoya lands a hit on Satoru’s pretty face now, and you lose your shit, you snatch up your briefcase, coming behind him and whacking the fuck out of him now.

You can hear the murmurs of the crowd, the gasps, the whispers of shock and excitement as you’ve seemingly joined the fight. “Don’t touch him, you piece of shit!” You growl out, and Naoya coughs up blood, as Gojo grins over at you, pulling you to him for a moment.

“Fuck you’re hot.” He says, and you actually giggle, as he’s covered in blood, kissing you in front of a whole audience.

You all are SO fucked.

Naoya comes and shoves you then, knocking you on your ass, and then Satoru is back on him, knocking him to the ground and straddling him. “I’ll fucking kill you, don’t you dare touch her!”

Naoya’s family is trying to break it up, as are others, but the fight is brutal, each hit landed with a ferocity that leaves you breathless. It seems like it goes on forever, but it's really only a matter of minutes before Naoya is on flat the ground, not moving, and Satoru is kneeling over him, chest heaving as he keeps punching. Naoya isn’t even conscious.

“Satoru… he’s out.” You come to him then, touching his shoulder, so tense and shaking, but he looks up at you, then back at him, and punches his swollen, bruised face again, as you hear the sirens approach.

Shit.

The police come rushing over now, trying to pull Gojo away, but he’s not listening, he’s lost in his rage, until you’re grabbing his shoulders. “It’s okay, it’s over, Toru please stop, please." You’re shaking him, and finally, he’s coming back to reality, looking down at you, his eyes still alight with that rage, but now there’s a hint of something else.

Guilt.

He looks at you, and you just nod, and stand then, and he kisses you, so hard, before the cops can drag him away, whispering in your ear. “I’m sorry baby, I’m sorry. I’ll fix it, I’ll get us out of this, I promise. I love you so much, so much.”

“Satoru, I’ll get you out. I’ll head right there okay!?” He nods then, as the cops are putting the love of your life in handcuffs, and the ambulance is taking a completely unrecognizable Naoya away.

You’re left standing there, as Satoru is taken away in the car, and you hop in his, heart racing and hands trembling, as you now have to navigate his car, and you follow the cop car, seeing his bright blue eyes peeking at you from the rear window. You stay right behind them until you get to the jail.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” You curse inside of his car, smacking the wheel as your chest is heaving, as you’re fucking terrified.

You end up having to wait over three hours, agonizing as your friends let you know they’ve already watched the video on youtube. As Suguru and Nanami blow up the phone Gojo left, and there’s an insane amount of calls from Dean Yaga to both of your phones, that go unanswered.

You all are so fucked.

After a long, long wait, they let you bail Satoru out, luckily he had a fuck ton of money in his wallet, because it was hefty, and when he steps out, he is laughing and chit chatting with the cops. They’re patting his back, apologizing for this, and he’s grinning when he finally gets to you.

“Satoru!” You’re in tears, and he picks you up in his arms, hugging you tightly, and the cops clear their throats.

“Let’s go, baby.” Now you’re cleaning Satoru’s wounds in the little hotel bathroom, pulling out different things from the first aid kit.

You gently clean Satoru's face, your trembling hands moving with the gentle precision of a sculptor repairing a cherished masterpiece. Satoru’s beautiful face is a masterpiece, and to see it marred seems so cruel. You’re dabbing on his busted lower lip carefully, before applying antiseptic.

“It might sting.” You murmur apologetically, and he smiles a bit, as his hands sit on the nip of your waist, hands encompassing it.

“I am getting taken care of by the hottest nurse, I’ll not be a little bitch and cry about it.” You snort at that, as his hands now press into your hips, making you melt more and more.

“You’re too positive. Fuck you know what happened…” You exhale, as you continue to wipe him clean, dabbing right on his eye which is swelling a bit. “I’ll get some ice for this.”

“Mmm, you spoil me. Nurse and student fantasies.” You giggle at him, returning with some ice and wrapping a washcloth, placing it on his brow bone.

 His eyes are closed, and his breaths are shallow, but he grips your hips firmly, as if afraid you'll slip away. The room's stark lighting casts stark shadows across his skin, highlighting the raw, red marks where Naoya's knuckles had made contact. The adrenaline rush from the fight has begun to recede, leaving behind a cold wave of fear that now crashes over you,

“I’m scared, Satoru.” You whisper, and Satoru's eyes finally open, meeting yours with a fiery intensity that makes you gasp. He pulls you closer, his grip tightening.

“Don’t be baby girl, I’ll deal with this. I promise, I won’t let it touch you.” He says desperately, and you shake your head, blinking back tears.

“Why don’t you ever worry about you!? Why is it only me!” You’re shaking him by the shoulders, and he lets you, just studying you with heartbreakingly gorgeous eyes.

“I’m rich as fuck, I’ll pay them to keep you at the school.”

“Satoru, what about you!? You’ve done everything to nail him, even losing this damn case, you can’t let this ruin you. Not when you help so many.” You whisper, and now you’re straddling him as he sits at the edge of the tub, and he’s blinking back emotion, his long white lashes dripping with little droplets of tears.

“Who do I help?” His broken voice kills you, you shake your head, gently cupping his cheeks, careful not to hurt him, and he’s gripping your hips bruisingly, as if he never wants to let you go.

“So many people! Satoru you’ve saved lives, you’ve put away murderers-”

“An innocent man!”

“And we’ll get him out! Stop it, you need to know how amazing you are.” He’s crying silently now, you gently brush his tears away, taking a shaky breath. “You’ve saved me in so many ways. You’ve given me arms that make me feel like I’m at home, finally.”

He’s sobbing, resting his head on your chest, and you cling to him, holding him so tightly as he does, his big hands gripping your shirt so tightly you think he’ll rip it right off. Every sob and shake break you internally, as the man you love is so broken, he’s got so much fucking pain.

“I fucked us up too.”

“No! We’ll handle it. We will. Satoru nothing will keep me from this, even if… even if I can’t…”

“Don’t say that, you have to be a lawyer, fuck you’re destined for it. You’re so good baby. I swear to god I won’t let that fuck up.” He looks back to you, and you nod, trembling in his hold as emotions flow, as the little bathroom is suffocating in all the emotion and tension.

“I will do anything for you, Satoru Gojo. Anything.” He picks you up then, moaning, and wincing at the same time. “Satoru, are you okay!?”

“ ‘Tis but a scratch.”

“Did you just quote Monty Python?”

“Good girl.” You giggle, even though it’s fucking insane, even though you are both beyond fucked, even though Satoru just beat up a murderer and everyone knows about you.

Even if your life is ruined, Satoru is here.

Flesh and blood.

“I need you, I need you. Please.” You’re begging as he’s carrying you to the bed, and he exhales, undressing you slowly, unzipping the business skirt you were still wearing, as the moonlight is pouring in through the hotel window. You tremble as he unbuttons your blouse, kissing each inch of exposed skin.

“I’ll give you anything, baby girl.” He murmurs, as your hands are enwrapping in his snowy white hair, so soft in your fingers, and then he’s got you bare aside from a bra and panties. “Beautiful.”

“Oh, Toru…” You’re crying now too, needing him so badly you can’t think, breaths coming quicker when he takes off his shirt, revealing that perfect body. You eagerly run your hands down it, kissing down his chest, until he shoves you down on the bed, right on your back, shaking his head.

“Let me take care of you, baby girl. Please?” He whispers, his eyes dilated so that there’s just a thin blue ring, as his hands caress your sensitive skin, leaving a wake of fire. “Be a good girl f’me, baby?”

“Yes, of course. Of course, Toru. Please.” You whisper, sitting up to undo your bra, letting your breasts bounce out, and he’s groaning, gripping them and squishing them in his hands, kissing down each mound. You cry out at how good it feels when he bites you there, when he squeezes so hard.

“Too rough baby?” You shake your head, and he exhales, kissing around an areola before sucking one of your perky nipples in his mouth, nipping it with his teeth, and your hips buck up at how good it feels. It shoots straight through your tummy, where his hand is sliding down. “I fucking love your body.”

“Th-thank, ah! Toru!” You’re soaking your panties, as he’s slipping his finger down the waistband, moaning when he finds you.

“You’re such a good girl, always so wet f’me baby. Aren’t you?” His voice is hoarse, his finger slipping up and down between your lips, and you’re clutching him so tightly, manicured nails digging in his back, making him hiss. “Yes, fucking mark me, please baby.”

“Toru…” You’re not used to him like this, as his eyes flutter shut over you, and he’s so vulnerable then, so needy, as he whines when you’re finding him over his pants, rubbing. “So hard for me Toru? Show me.”

“Yes baby.” He leans back and takes off his clothes finally, you eagerly go to touch him, feeling his length twitch in your grip, but he shoves you back down, shaking his head. “I need to take care of you.”

“You can do that by fucking my throat?” He groans at that, eyes shutting for a moment, allowing you to look just how beautiful he is as that moonlight hits his alabaster skin.

“You drive me insane. The moment I first looked into your goddamn eyes at that club. No, before, when I saw you just standing there.” You’re blinking rapidly, as he’s taking your panties off, kissing down between your breasts, nipping at the tight skin at your ribcage, and you cry out, growing even wetter as your cunt is exposed to the cool air of the room.

“You did?” You whisper, he looks up with those heartbreaking eyes, nodding and kissing further down, nipping your soft tummy, then even lower, shoving your thighs apart and groaning.

“You didn’t belong there. It’s what I thought. I thought, who is this girl? Why does she make my heart stop?” You’re sobbing, even as much as you’re soaking wet between your thighs, your fucking eyes are too, and you’re arching your back for his hot mouth, as your love grows so much it hurts.

“Satoru, I couldn’t- fuck- stand it when I saw you. You changed everything… at that moment I- ah!” He’s licking your inner thigh, right where it’s at that apex, and you’re shivering at the sensation, then he’s breathing on you, looking up in the night up your body. “I knew I was done for.”

“Knew when I tasted this perfect pussy. When I drank you.” He laps you up then, the way this man devours you, the way he worships you, you can’t stand it, you can’t take it, you’re so close already, you’re shattering with a few flicks of that tongue. He groans against you. “When I saw… those eyes… when you cum…”

“Satoru, please, please. Fuck me. Please.” You beg for him, yanking at his hair now, and he desperately slides up you, as you cup his bruised and cut face, still so beautiful it’s unreal, and you feel that weight on you, feel his body heat pouring through your skin. “Please, Toru. Need you in me.”

“I’ll give you anything.” He shoves inside you then, and you’re screaming, literally screaming at the stretch, at the fill, as your greedy cunt is sucking him right in. “F-fuck, you feel so goddamn perfect, sucking me in s’good.”

“Toru! S’big- ngh I- fucking love your cock, fuck.” He presses on your throat now, squeezing and shoving his cock inside you so deep, to the hilt, you lose oxygen, seeing stars glittering behind your damn eyes.

“Feel me baby girl?” He presses on your stomach then, and you look down, as he moves in and out, seeing a bulge that makes you blush furiously. You just nod, as he still has his other hand on your throat. “Feel me everywhere.”

“I do, Satoru fuck… I do. Everywhere.” You whisper, as he’s choking you tightly, you grip his wrist with one hand, the other clutching to his back, nails digging in again, and he hisses, before pulling back a bit.

“Can you take it hard?” You nod, eagerly, then he exhales, as if he’s been holding back, his consideration touches you, but his cock railing you, ruins you.

“T-T-Toru!” You’re choking out his name, as he’s fucking into you brutally now, as his mad blue eyes dreamily drink your face in, and you lose yourself in them, in Satoru Gojo, as he’s pounding you into the mattress, as he’s taking your breath. You cum so hard you feel like you’re floating, like you’re flying so damn high in the air, and only he brings you back.

Satoru eases his grip on your neck, but now he’s leaning down, pressing one of your thighs up high and fucking even deeper, and you’re close again, already so oversensitive you can’t take it. You’re desperately clinging to his neck, to his shoulders, anywhere and everywhere you can cling to.

“I need… you… forever. Baby. Forever.” He huffs, and his words shock you, as you both had said your love, but…

This is crazy.

Could there be a forever?

You’d do anything to have a forever.

“Yes, Toru, yes… forever. Forever yours. Only you.” You whisper back, your brows drawing together as he’s sweating now, his skin slick as yours is now too, and he’s dripping just a bit, his chest down to your breasts. You’re cumming again, clinging to him so tight, he is groaning as he studies you, so carefully, like you’re the only woman or thing in this world.

“Only me. Only me.” He’s huffing as he works over you, then he’s entwined his hands in yours, your fingers together, and you’re sobbing at how good he feels, as his curved cock drags in your walls. He hisses as they flutter around him, resting his forehead on yours. “I fucking love you.”

“I fucking love you. Toru. You.” Hushed whispers continue, as Toru relentlessly pounds your pussy, and he’s fucking you into another orgasm, you’re so wet you’re slippery, so wet you hear the lewd squishing. He’s kissing you now, his firm lips on yours, uncaring of his cut, he’s brutal in his kiss.

“Mine. Mine to keep. Protect. Fucking breed.” He says now, looking at you manically, and you’re falling off that edge with him, chest heaving, as he’s pressing his hard chests on your lush breasts, as he’s grinding his cock deep against your cervix and you’re screaming out, arching your back.

He’s kissing down your neck now, and you’re shaking violently. “Breed me, Toru, breed me please.”

“Mmm, baby, fuck!” He’s moaning, he’s whimpering, just as you’re whining out pathetically, and he’s grabbing your hips up, shoving in so deep it hurts, but you crave it, your sloppy cunt is milking him as he releases. “Take it baby. Take it.”

“T-Toru! Ngh!” You’re cumming again, as his huge load of thick cum pours in you, and he’s exhaling, his eyes never leaving yours, lidded and fucked out just like your own, as you both whine at how sensitive you are. “Love you. Want your babies.”

“Want em? Want em in you?” You nod, and he keeps pumping that cum in you, clinging to your hands as he’s kissing you, desperately, and you’re gone now, there’s only you and Satoru Gojo.

No world.

You’d do anything for him. Anything to feel this.

Satoru exhales, leaning up a bit, and you frown when you notice he’s busted his lip back open, gently touching it with your thumb. “Fuck I love you.”

“And I love you, Satoru Gojo.” You whisper, and he kisses you again, you both don’t care about the bit of blood, you greedily take his kisses, as he turns you then, pulling you so close against him, clinging to you. “Oh, Satoru…”

“I fucked up shit.” He’s shaking, so you hold him close, shaking your head as you struggle to come down from the climaxes, from the dizzying madness that consumes you, from Satoru Gojo.

“We’ll figure something out. I’ll do whatever it takes.” He glares down at you, his jaw tense, so tense you see a vein popping out. You run a finger down it, as your thigh is over his own, as you’re a tangle of limbs in the messy bed. “I’ll never fucking leave you, Satoru.”

“Never!? Promise me please.” He begs now, and you nod eagerly, earning more of his messy kisses.

“How could I? There’s nothing but you.” He’s gripping you so tightly to him you swear you hear your damn ribs creak, like he can’t get you close enough. You snuggle to his big body, as reality sets in on you both. “We are in deep shit though.”

“Deep shit. Quicksand of shit. But guess what?”

“What?” You whisper, looking up at him, your messy hair being brushed back by his sure touch.

“I’ll do anything for you.”

His words hurt you, as you know he literally means anything. “Don’t try to sacrifice yourself for me! We’ll do it together.”

“You’re my everything. There’s nothing without you.” You feel those sticky hot tears returning as he caresses your face, as you feel his erratic heartbeat against your palm. You feel his desperation, his energy, his need, and it matches your own.

“Then keep your fucking self safe too. Okay!?” He doesn’t answer you, he’s just caressing your hair, in gentle strokes, so soothing. “Satoru don’t do anything stupid, please.”

“I already did, didn’t I?”

You glare now, shaking at your worry, at your anger, at your love. “We can fix it, or I’ll go down for it. It’s worth it to be with you.”

“I’ll not let shit get you. Never baby.” He kisses you again, and you’re falling apart and being put back together in this damn hotel room, and you’re just trying to avoid the reality of tomorrow in his strong arms.

Ao3 chap https://archiveofourown.org/works/56895382/chapters/150274354

[octuscle]

Teens work out free all Summer

Jakob was done. The day had been exhausting. And somehow he couldn't cope with two or three exhausting days in a row as well as he used to. He was now 27 years old, his 28th birthday was only a few weeks away and the days when Jakob had been described as sporty were long gone. Even during his studies, he had spent less time at the gym or in the swimming pool than when he was at school and the slight tummy bulge with which he had accepted his master's degree and started his career had developed into a veritable paunch. Climbing stairs? Only in an emergency… Walking or cycling? What were cabs for… Jakob was done and he knew why.

It was trade fair in the city. The last one before the summer break. The hotels were full, you couldn't get a table in the restaurants and there were no cabs to be had either. So Jacob bit the bullet and walked to the nearest bus stop. Sweat was pouring down his forehead. And there he saw this sign: “Teens Workout Free All Summer”. Sure, he was no longer a teen. But he also earned enough money to afford a gym. All he had to do was sign up. Just for the summer. Since he didn't have any school-age children, he didn't have his vacation until mid-September. What was the worst that could happen? He could lose a few kilos and cut a better figure in the late summer sun on the Croatian coast. “I'll sign up first thing tomorrow,” Jacob thought to himself. And then it hit him. "Shit, don't keep putting it off, I'll sign up now. Now and immediately. And if they have a store for gym gear, I'll start training today."

It was hot in the gym. The place was obviously not air-conditioned. It smelled of sweat and sneakers. It smelled like the changing rooms in the schools gym earlier. Loud music blared from the speakers. The reception and training area merged seamlessly. The monotonous sound of people on treadmills and the groaning of people lifting iron was mixed into the booming music, occasionally interrupted by the sound of dumbbells falling into the rack or onto the floor. This was certainly not the kind of gym Jacob wanted to work out in. He was almost on his way out again when the lad behind the counter approached him. “Hi bro! Are you here for our summer offer?” Jacob said that he was here for a membership, yes. But not for the offer. ‘Why not, bro? My name is Liam, by the way. And you are?’ ‘Jacob,’ Jacob introduced himself. ‘Cool thing, bro! Don't worry, we'll get you in shape here.’ Jacob thought for a moment. Of course he would make a fool of himself here among all the beefcakes, but better here in front of people he didn't know than in some stylish gym where customers, colleagues or neighbors would make fun of him.

Liam was already hammering away at his keyboard. “So, your name is Jake. What's next?” “Jacob,” Jacob corrected. “Goldsmith” “Smith, Jake Smith. Your birthday?” Jacob wanted to correct Liam first, but maybe a pseudonym wasn't wrong. “August 12, 1996.” “Bro, I'll put in August 12, 2006,” Liam said with a wink. “Nobody checks here anyway. And I get a commission when I sign contracts for the summer offer.” Address? Jacob was just about to give his address when he thought to himself that he was here anonymously or under a pseudonym. So he gave the address of his parents' house, where they had all lived when he was at school. His parents had sold everything last year and moved to Provence, but as Liam said, no one would probably check it. “Please be so kind,” said Liam. Jacob looked surprised at a flash of light. And a few seconds later, a plastic card came out of the printer. His membership card, his ticket back to a life where climbing stairs wouldn't lead to panting and sweating. “Because it's your birthday in the summer, you get a water bottle and the water flat rate. Do you also want the protein shake flat rate? It's on special offer today. 20 pounds a month, 50 pounds for June, July and August together.” Jacob nodded and asked if he could also buy something to wear here. “That's my lad,” said Liam with a grin. “Get started right away, no hesitation, very good. No, you can't buy anything, but there's a treasure trove at the back. Just take what you need. I'll let Colin know in the meantime, he can show you around and show you everything.

Slightly disgusted, Jacob went to the corner with the lost-and-found treasure trove. It was obviously a source of odour. But it was surprisingly neat. Shoes, shorts, tank tops… Everything was neatly sorted by size. Only the socks were in a big box. It took Jacob a few minutes to find a pair. And while he was looking, he heard a throat clearing behind him. “So you're Jake, the new guy?” Jacob turned around, startled. Behind him stood a mountain of a man. Probably his age. Maybe a few years older. But someone who had never skipped chest or leg days. Never in his life. He obviously didn't take his personal hygiene that seriously. Colin was smelly. Jacob pulled himself together. “Jake, nice to meet you. You must be Colin.” “You can be sure of that! And now stop making a fashion show out of it.” Colin unerringly grabbed a tank top, shorts, shoes and even a matching pair of socks. And a jockstrap. He stuffed everything into a rucksack. Jacob shuddered. “The changing room is over there. Don't look for girls and boys, it's a lads only place here. Hurry up, we should allow two and a half hours for a training session." Jacob was beginning to feel sure he had made a mistake. Okay, at worst he had lost 50 pounds… But it was a mistake.

There were no cubicles in the changing room, no lockers. Things went on open racks. Shoes and bags on benches or on the floor. There was no one around. Only by the sinks was a lad, maybe 16 years old, showing off his enviably fit body in front of the mirror. Jacob sighed. He'd looked something like that when he was 16. He undressed and put on the unwashed clothes that Colin had stuffed into his bag. He looked in the mirror. He looked silly. He was wearing the washed-out clothes of an obviously much more muscular man… The shorts were too tight. The tank top too loose. The socks had holes in them. But at least the shoes fitted. Jacob sighed. And the torture on the dumbbells began.

Colin hadn't given him puppy protection. Colin had worked out with him as if they were training partners. Of course, he had reduced the weights for Jacob. But when Jacob couldn't do any more, he had shouted at him. Four more, three more, two more… Somehow Jacob had always managed the last repetition. The two of them were the last ones in the gym. Liam had already called it a day. Colin gave Jacob a fist bump. “Good training, mate! You've got bite and talent. You'll be something!“ Jacob would have blushed if his head hadn't been glowing anyway. ‘By the way,’ said Colin. ‘Hot water is turned off after 10 p.m. You can take a cold shower. Or…’ ‘I'll take the ’or',” Jacob chastised and grinned. He went into the changing room and packed his clothes from the office into his rucksack. He walked to the bus stop with the last of his strength. The city was full of fairgoers. Some raised their eyebrows in pique. Yes, he had to stink. But he had to get home now. He didn't care about anything else.

When the alarm clock woke him up at 06:00, he felt like everything was gone. He had fallen asleep sitting on his bed. He had just managed to undress. His office clothes were still in his rucksack. His sports kit was scattered on the floor. And he had slept half-sitting, half-asleep on his bed. In a puddle of sperm. Because he had obviously had at least one wet dream. And his morning wood was already standing at attention again. Jacob started to jerk himself off. Damn, did his cock feel good. Jacob smelled his own cold sweat. He smelled male. And he had a hard-on. He had smegma under his foreskin. Just like when he wasn't so serious about personal hygiene at school. He smelled his hand. Damn, that smelled like youth and manhood… And at that moment he came. He cummed all the way up to his chin, even though he had obviously emptied his balls at least once tonight. Shit, he thought to himself, breathing heavily… The training is paying off. As exhausted as I am, I'm more agile than I've been at any point in the last ten years.

Jacob went into the kitchen and stirred protein powder into his cottage cheese. He didn't question where the protein powder and cottage cheese came from. He drank two bottles of water because he felt completely dehydrated. He wolfed down his breakfast and made himself five more scrambled eggs. And another protein shake. Shit, he was starving. And late. He jumped into the shower. He didn't take a really thorough shower. He didn't shave either. He emptied out his rucksack on the floor and stuffed yesterday's clothes, which were still damp with sweat, into it. His bus was leaving in ten minutes. He had to walk. Cardio was never his thing. He was more of a weightlifting man.

He got lots of compliments in the office. He was told he looked fresh. He was told he'd lost weight. He looked younger. But he also got a few unpleasant questions. What was so smelly here. The old rucksack was standing next to his desk. And it stank. Jacob simply ignored the questions about the rucksack. He felt fit and full of energy. For lunch, he had a salad with three turkey breasts. His colleagues looked at him questioningly. “Mass phase,” he said apologetically, chewing with his mouth full.

Today was leg day. Colin had told him that he should allow three hours for warming up, stretching and maybe a bit of fitness training if he was serious. And Jacob was serious. He finished his work very punctually. Unusual for someone who was always the last one. Yes, he was on the verge of promotion, but his fitness was important to him. As soon as he entered, he pulled the access card out of his wallet. He looked at the photo with a grin. He was 23 on it, that was two years ago. What a slim man he had been then… Liam greeted him with a fist bump. Colin could be heard grunting from the chest press throughout the hall. Jacob greeted his bros as he entered the changing room. It was busy. Of course, most of the people here were still at university, unemployed or tradesmen who had already started work at 06:00 in the morning. There were few armchair farters like him here. But that didn't matter to him. Today, all that mattered was the weight on the leg press. And how much protein he could swallow from his flat rate. Protein and the leg press was a toxic combination. But protein farts didn't bother anyone here. They were part of the workout. And when he finally left the gym with Colin at around 11 p.m., there were a lot of protein farts in the air. Neither Colin nor Jacob had been bothered by that during the final cardio workout. Damn it, how could a beefcake like Colin be so limber!

His morning routine was well established. Alarm clock at 05:30. Sit-ups and press-ups. Breakfast, running gear on, run to the office, shower there, and be at his desk by 08:00. Sitting was the new smoking, he hated it. Jake was 22, he had just finished his bachelor's degree and as a trainee he couldn't afford to make any mistakes. His colleagues knew after a few days that he was a fitness junkie. The carefully labeled Tupperware containers spoke for themselves. Jake had to eat something every two hours. His trainer had told him to. Jake had been an ambitious bodybuilder since the age of 16. His tight ass and broad shoulders showed this even when he was wearing a suit. And many of his female colleagues and even some of his male colleagues appreciated the fact that Jake always wore tight and crisp-fitting suits.

This afternoon was going to be an ordeal for Jake. He had promised Liam that he would take over the shift from 21:00. If he wanted to work out properly before then, he had to get off work at 5:00 p.m., 5:30 p.m. at the latest. The meeting went on and on. Jake looked nervously at his mobile again and again. At 5:15 p.m., over an hour later than planned, it was finally over. Jake breathed a sigh of relief. And then his boss asked Jake and two colleagues to stay for the minutes and the upcoming tasks. FUCK! He should have accepted Colin's offer and taken over the management of the gym after graduation. But his tutor at university had convinced him that auditing was his future. Holy shit. Now he'd have to skip cardio training.

05:30. Damn, that was early. But Paul, his roommate, was obviously already awake and seemed to be making breakfast in the kitchen. Yes, Jake was actually disciplined. Otherwise you didn't stand a chance when studying at the sports college. But at least sleep until 06:00 for once, he thought to himself… While he did his burpees to wake up. Paul was Liam's little brother. The two had met at the gym last summer. And Liam and Paul had convinced Jake to study sports economics. He had never regretted his decision. If only because sharing a flat with Paul was a cool thing. The two of them constantly motivated each other. And they also fucked each other from time to time. Hey, tighter asses were hard to find on the whole campus! Today was mostly sports on the timetable. Just one statistics lecture. It wasn't worth changing for that. Jake enjoyed riding his road bike to campus in just shorts and a cut-off tank top. And if the clothes weren't freshly washed, they were at least aired out by the breeze. Of course, the business students sitting in the statistics lecture would get upset about the smelly sports economists again. But hey, Jake already knew the game. It wouldn't be the first time one of these Oxford-shirt-wearing snobs would follow him to the toilet after the lecture and lick his hairy armpits. And it wouldn't be the first time he'd take someone home for a shag or join the gym as a new member. The first was fun, the second earned him a small commission.

“Jake, my darling! It's time to get up!” His mother looked into Jake's teenage room. His bed had already been made. Jake stood behind his mother in sweaty running clothes and quietly went “Boo!” His mother winced. Jake deliberately hugged her tightly so that his sweat made her nightgown damp. “Honey, when did you get up? It's the middle of the night!” Jake replied that he still had body fat to lose before his first amateur competition this weekend. He pulled off his wet running jersey and did a double bicep pose. “Jake, more important than losing body fat would be a shower.” his mother laughed. “Fuck, mom, I'm late. And by the time I've ridden my bike to school, I'll be sweaty again anyway.” “Don't talk back, otherwise there'll be no breakfast.” The threat worked. Jake reluctantly trotted into the shower and his mother prepared his ten-egg omelette.

A poster announcing the national bodybuilding championship hung above the reception desk. With local hero Jake Smith as the favorite in the juniors. You could find those posters everywhere in the neighbourhood. Jake was somehow a local hero. Liam greeted the studio's up-and-coming star with a fist bump. Male rituals. Jake enjoyed that. He wasn't turning 18 for a few days, but here he felt like a full-fledged man. Liam said that ten new members had signed up to the teen-working-out-for-free-in-the-summer promotion last week alone. And eight said they had come to the gym because of Jake's fitness channel. Jake should get in touch with Colin and there would be a special bonus. Hehehe, thought Jake. That could be an extra 50 pounds. Or a shot of extra protein from Colin's cock. With a bit of luck, both. But Jake wasn't greedy. Either would be enough for him.

Inspiration by @olivierlefou, pic by @ki-kink

[royboyfanpage]

@devine-fem 's comment on my last original post, I can't believe I've never mentioned how much I love Roy Harper before, I should amend that immediately /j

I love like... everything about him. Roy Harper in the golden/silver ages? Absolute baby, I adore him. He had SO much trust in Ollie, and he was a sweetheart! He was the secretary of the Green Arrow fan club! He had a stamp collection! And even as a small child he was SO unhealthy, like my go to panel is this

Which is literally baby Roy willing to sacrifice his life to save Ollie, baby boy was going into that with FULL belief that he was going to die and he did it anyway and there's SO much I could say about that. I love Ollie, I've defended him in so many situations, but holy shit he raised a child to have issues. But little Speedy Roy was the sweetest thing!!! He wanted Ollie to pick him up ice cream!! He was just a little guy, a little fella!!

And then Snowbirds came along and obviously changed the way Roy was written, it was a major turning point for his character because it was really the comic that initially fleshed him out- before then yes obviously he did have his own distinct personality that differentiated him from the other Titans but at the same time that was VERY clearly a point in which he went from being a traditional child sidekick to being Roy. It gave him his own morals, his own struggles, and his own determination. Remember, Roy made the choice himself to get clean, he wasn't forced into it. Obviously Snowbirds has its problems, it was a PSA written in 1971, but also it was sosososososo foundational in developing who Roy is as a character.

There weren't too many comics featuring Roy between Snowbirds and Lian's birth, but they are also so interesting. I'm pretty sure it's Green Lantern (1960) #100 but also I'm rambling and I'm too drunk to fact check so I'll reblog tomorrow if I'm wrong but there's an issue where Roy goes back to Star City and you can SEE his desperation to be a hero, you can see his determination, and it's so beautifully written and in the epilogue Ollie tries to have a talk with him, tries to make amends after what happened and you'd EXPECT that Roy would take that, that it'd be water under the bridge, but Roy has his own agency and he fucking leaves!!! Because he's not ready to make up with Ollie and he has his own agency!!!

And then the second big turning point in Roy's career is when Lian is introduced, and you can SEE how much of an impact she has on him as a character! At the end of The Cheshire Contract Roy says he thinks Lian is gonna change him and he was right! She does! He goes to Ireland and meets Moira and Buttons (I think those are their names? Again, not fact checking this post) and looks after them and that's the start of his development as the "dad Titan", and he loves Lian so much!!

This panel from Rocks and Hard Places makes me SO emotional because he loves her!!! She's the most important person in his life!!! Plus his relationship with Jade is SO compelling to me, because he loves her and he'll always love her and she loves him too (even if a lot of writers have done their best to make that not the case- I love Jaderoy and I will always love Jaderoy)

And he's also generally such a good guy, I don't have the panel screenshotted and I can't remember the issue but there's that New Titans issue where Kory kills someone and she tries to justify it to Roy and he's just like "you don't need to explain it to me" and I wish his friendship was explored with her more because they had SO much potential as friends.

And then and he's SUCH a good mentor figure, like in New Titans #116 which is my go to issue for anything mentor Roy related because it's SO GOOD! He's constantly trying to wind the kids back to make sure they're okay, telling Terra II to not get too cocky, making sure Grant's okay (and the "yeah no wonder I'm in charge" panel when Grant suggests blowing Gar up is my favourite) and expressing genuine concern when Bart attacks Kyle recklessly and I WISH his relationship with Bart and Terra II had more susbstance because it's so good

Then there's the Arsenal Special which is really the comic which explains WHY he's called Arsenal!!! I've made so many posts about this comic and I love it so fucking much because he fucking takes all those guys out with only shit he can find then takes all their weapons and loads them onto himself while giving a badass monologue which, from memory, goes something like "he thinks I was was sent here to kill his daughters. Well guess what, I have a daughter too. So it all comes down to his daughters or mine. Who gets to think their daddy's a hero, or some thing that crawled out of the dirt. Get it through your head, 'cus it ain't gonna be mine". I love him. I love him so much.

Then there's Teen Titans (1996) #12-15 which I recently made a post about but it's a comic I'm SO greatful to have physical copies of because it's so fucking good for Roy stuff. There's so much on how others percieve him- I love the fab five, but they (well, the boys, Donna wasn't in it because she was mourning Robbie's death) have such a derogatory view of Roy. Like Dick's "he's good but not good enough" and Wally's view of him as not good enough to lead (which is brought up again in Titans 1999 secret files), and the constant references to Roy's addiction in that comic. Then he gets his Green Arrow inspired suit (very Red Arrow of you, late 90s) which he brings on to the Arsenal mini, and his whole fascination with the suit because his biggest dream is being good enough for Ollie, he IS way more than good enough for Ollie which was clear even from the end of Snowbirds but my boy has issues, and then Joto dies because of the explosive arrow he fires which IMO should have fucked him up more than it did but it also absolutely did fuck him up at least in that comic and in the Arsenal mini and there's probably more I could link that too but again, I'm drunk.

And then there's the Arsenal mini. Holy fuck I love the Arsenal Mini. it's so fucking good for like, all his familial relations in the Arrowfam in the late 90s. The flashbacks to Dinah and Roy during Snowbirds and Dinah's "the bravest person I ever met was the one who was flawed" speech, that panel of him resting his head on Dinah's shoulder, the fact that that entire story was fueled by his love of Lian, his talk with Connor about Ollie and how Roy never wanted to be Green Arrow he just wanted Ollie to have asked? It's so fucking beautiful and I love it. And the fact that he WAS gonna team with Vandal to save Lian, he's a father first and a hero second, but he thought about it and decided that there had to be a way to be both and he was right!!! He's so insanely good and I love him, he has a reputation of being a bad boy but he is SUCH a hero it's beautiful.

Then comes Titans '99 which I really can't do justice just talking about. He's so incredible in it it's insane. Like his father/son dynamic with Grant is so beautiful to read, he loves that boy!!! He loves that boy like he's his own flesh and blood and I will take no criticism!!! And his relationship with Donna is so painful to read in that comic because he's such a romantic and even though their relationship was gonna fail from the beginning because of the nature of it and because of Donna's reasons for it he still kept on it because he loved her!! He loves her so so much that he's willing to have his own heart broken for her and good god my boy is unwell. Plus it's the peak for Roygarth, their relationship in it is so great and their talk in issue 16 is amazing and I love it, plus Roy's genuine heartbreak at the possibility of Garth being dead just gets me. And while it's overshadowed by Outsiders, there is a lot of Dickroy potential in Titans 1999, Dick being so loving towards Lian with the "yumyumyumyum" panel in issue 1 and him generally just being one of the closest people in Roy's life, plus Roy being one of the only people who are willing to actually call Dick out on his BS and that being the thing that breaks that out of purgatory? Chefs kiss

And who would I be without mentioning Green Arrow 2001. I'm tired now so I'm not gonna talk about Archers Quest but I can't not talk about Boys Night Out because!!! He's so good in it!!! His speech to Connor that sounds SO much like a coming out acceptance speech, taking Connor to a bookshop despite his own boredom because he wants Connor to have a good time, the brotherly teasing while Connor's driving, him calling Connor out and supporting sex workers, him protecting Connor... it's the perfect issue. Anyone who hasn't, please read Green Arrow (2001) #32, it's so fucking good I promise.

And finally (and I mean finally as in I cba to talk about Red Arrow because I'm getting sleepy), Outsiders which is. So fucking good. Oh my god. Like him forming a team just to help support Dick through Donna's death, the fact that once again he's underestimated but this time Dick stands up for him, him getting shot and getting PTSD because of it (Oursiders 2003 #11 love of my life), everything that happens in this run is SO FUCKING GOOD AND I LOVE ROY HARPER!!! And for once he actually stands up for himself when he's called a junkie!!! He punches Dick in the face!!! As he fucking should king!!! And issue 45 (I think?) Is the best because it's. So good for him and Lian. His protectiveness over her, his love for her, and her being able to see when he's not okay. Beautiful outstanding and incredible.

In conclusion I LOVE Roy Harper because he's the best dad in the world, he loves everyone so much and will never stop, and he's just. Such a good person. I love him. I love him a lot.

[maremartinelli]

ALL FOR Y/N'S BROTHER

Ben Barnes X Actress!reader

Summary: Where Y/n and Ben do an interview to promote the new film they starred in together and fans ask questions about their professional and personal career.

Words: 1.3K+

Warnings: Mention of another actor, films, non-existent films, cuteness.

Author: It's worth mentioning that English is not my first language, so there may be silly and strange mistakes. I also warn you that the "movie" that Y/n and Ben debuted in the fanfic does not exist in real life. I ended up inventing a story on the spot and taking the title of one of my favorite songs.

MASTERLIST

"Hi, I'm Ben Barnes" The actor says while smiling at the camera in front of him.

He and Y/n were sitting on a high stool and behind them was a large poster of the movie they recently starred in together.

"And I Y/n Keynes Barnes" The woman says and smiles looking at her husband. "And we're here to talk a little about our newest film and answer some questions related to our career and individual lives" Y/n placing her hands on her lap.

"First of all, we tell you that 'My Kind of Woman' will be in cinemas from July 12th in all countries."

"Ben and I debuted in a romantic comedy set in the 1970s. In which, the character Ross takes Lexie out to make his ex jealous. However, along the way they end up losing themselves in their feelings" Y/n informs.

"I confess that it was very easy to fall in love with her" Ben says and pats his wife's hand twice.

"Of course, look at me!! I'm fantastic and on top of that your beautiful and wonderful wife" The woman throws a strand of hair back and Ben laughs.

"Okay. Let's answer some questions now" He says and Y/n smiles. "Our producers put together some questions that you asked on the director's Instagram" Ben looks at the camera and leans over to take the cell phone that the director was handing him.

"OK, let's go!!" Y/n adjusts herself in the chair and approaches Ben, so they can read together. "Want to read?"

"It can be one at a time"

"Okay. I'll start then." The actress adjusts herself in the chair. "Ben and Y/n, what was it like finding out that you two were going to act together in a romantic comedy after you were married?" The woman reads and then they turn to the camera. "I thought that was a cool question!! Well, at first it was only Ben who would participate in the film, I was involved with other productions, however, it ended up not working out. And as the vacancies for the protagonist were still open, I went and did the test. And detail, Ben didn't know anything. He only found out when I got home with the script in my hands." She laughs. "But talking about the performance itself, I think it was very realistic. It was all very natural"

"I was in shock when I found out it was her." Ben gestures with his hands and smiles. "But of course, happy too. It wasn't the first time we acted together as a romantic couple on movie screens. But the experience is always the same." He says and Y/n looks at him smiling. “How did Ben and Y/n meet?” Ben reads the next question. "We met through her brother when we were filming The Chronicles of Narnia."

Y/n nods.

"A lot of people think we met in The Punisher, but no, my brother did good to us much earlier." she says and Ben laughs. "The first time Ben and I saw each other was on the set of Prince Caspian. Skandar and the rest of the cast were in a more remote location in the city filming, and as I had just arrived from New York, I thought I would go out and see some the hometown.

When I got there, I came face to face with the love of my life" Y/n winks at the camera.

"Every day I thank Skandar for having me introduced to your sister" Ben says and Y/n.

"True, it's worth mentioning that Skandar made me get out of the car and walk for a long time just to introduce myself to Ben. Who was acting with him that day."

Ben Laughs.

"Well, was it worth the walk?"

"Absolutely" Y/n says laughing. "Next question. Ben and Y/n's age difference?"

"People like to know about our individualities as a couple"

Y/n laughs at her husband.

"Really."

"Well, Y/n and I have a 4 year age difference." Ben says and the woman agrees. “Did Y/n go to college?” The actor reads the question and looks at Y/n.

"To say I did it all is a strong word. But I started and kept going." She says and Ben laughs. "I was doing performing arts at N.Y.U and I was in my last period when I went to play my first role. Which coincidentally was the last Chronicles of Narnia film. And well...I never went back to college" Y/n says and smiles at the camera when he says he dropped out of college in the last period.

"I was so close to graduating." Ben gestures with his little fingers and squints as he approaches his wife.

Y/n Laugh.

"Yes yes, my career really took off after Narnia. But I still intend to return to finish it." Y/n nods her head in agreement and Ben straightens up in his chair.

"That's right, my wife" he says and then looks at her. "So cool to say that. My wife"

Y/n smiles.

"3 years and you still think it's too cool" she taps the man's cheek twice and he laughs. "Y/n is Skandar Keynes's sister? How old" The actress reads the question. "Yes, I'm this guy's sister and I didn't understand the age part, but it must be our difference. Well, I'm the oldest sister of the three of us. Ska and I have a 4 year difference and with Soumaya it's only 2"

Ben picks up his cell phone again and then reads the next and penultimate question.

"Ben, how was it recording the sex scenes in The Punisher. Since your romantic partner in the series wasn't Y/n" Ben returns the cell phone to his wife. "Well, firstly speaking in general. These scenes are never easy to record, regardless of the partner, you are more vulnerable and more exposed. But at the time, Y/n and I weren't together yet. Well, we were dating and hooking up. But nothing official yet, and when I read the script, I made a point of sharing it with her and telling her what I felt and everything."

"Although we know it's something professional, the discomfort is always present. Regardless of the side." She says more seriously. "And when we started dating, Ben and I made a agreement that if either of us has to do this type of scene, the other person doesn't watch it. Like, jump the scene" Y/n says and gestures with her hands at the end.

"Well, whether we like it or not, we're uncomfortable." Ben speaks.

"I think in The Punisher it was the only time, right?" Y/n asks and Ben looks at her in agreement. "I thank God I didn't get involved with that kind of scene. I would definitely have turned redder than a tomato, I was so embarrassed."

Ben smiles and looks at the floor, while fiddling with the ring.

"Yeah, but it's not like that when we're--"

"BEN, MY DEAR. How about reading the last question??" Y/n covers her husband's mouth and he laughs at the touch.

"Okay. "What was it like when Skandar found out he was your love match? I always hear rumors that he was a great promoter" Ben reads and then hands the cell phone to production. "I love it when they mention my brother-in-law"

"Sometimes I think Ben is married to Skandar" Y/n says indignantly and looks at her husband, while laughing. "Actually, when we go to my mother's house or visit Skandar he always clings to him. I don't think that's cool." The actress pretends to be jealous and crosses her arms.

"Confess it, your brother loves me more than you."

“Shut up” Y/n laughs as she slaps her husband on the shoulder. "He wasn't the one who accepted your marriage proposal"

"It's just that I never proposed to him." Ben laughs and watches his wife roll her eyes and hold back her laughter.

"Heavens, you suck!!" Y/n says and laughs. "But now to answer the question. Ben and I started dating when we started on The Punisher, and when I told that to Skandar. He almost freaked out. I remember when we finished recording The Chronicles of Narnia in 2010, I went back to New York to start a new project and Ben went to record The Picture of Dorian Gray, right?'

"Picture of Dorian Gray was before, I was leaving the country to record Love Without Measures" Ben corrects and Y/n snaps her fingers.

"That's true!! Well, everyone went their own way, but we still kept in touch and talked when we could. But seriously, Skandar was crazy when he said I was dating Ben." Y/n laughs.

"It was at a family lunch, right?" Ben looks at his wife and she agrees, laughing. "Y/n had taken me to London to her parents' house and Skandar was there, and look, the boy was really crazy."

"I think our first number 1 fan was him" Y/n says laughing.

"In fact"

Y/n laugh.

"We love you, King Edmund, The Just" The woman blows kisses to her brother while looking at the camera.

"We're done here, but we hope to see you in theaters to see our newest film. Once again, July 12th will be in theaters in all countries." Ben points to the camera.

The Keynes girl leans back in her chair and looks at the camera too.

"My Kind of Woman, don't forget!! I hope you like Ross and Lexie in this romantic comedy. Or rather, Ben and me" she winks with one eye.

"We're waiting for you" Ben blows a kiss to the camera and Y/n does the same.

Author: ok, I've never watched Chronicles of Narnia my whole life, and now I don't know because who I am passionate. Prince Caspian or King Edmund??

[illarian-rambling]

Thanks for the tag @mysticstarlightduck!

OC Aesthetic Deep Dive Tag: Captain Faalgun Falani

Rules: Make a moodboard with your character's aesthetic, a playlist that fits their vibe, "badly summarize them" (like, talk about their personality, but funnily), etc. It absolutely does not need to be super detailed!!!!!

I figured it'd be fun to do a character I haven't talked about much yet, so here's my little dragon man :)

Moodboard:

Music:

Dead Man Walking by Brent Faiyaz

Casual Fatality by Night Hawk

Elstree by The Buggles

Drink by Destroy Boys

Heaven by I Monster

(I think the common theme between all these is a deep, underlying sadness, but they still manage to be comically different lol)

Basic Summary:

Faalgun was born on the Flying City and given up to an orphanage at a young age. It was a nice space, and though he was always a little distant from the other kids due to his runty size and serious demeanor, he had a happy childhood for the most part. He joined the Flying City Ten'ka (merchant guards) right out of school, and had the makings of a fine career as a pilot, except for one thing.

Faalgun has a bit of an addictive personality. He might be uptight, but all sense of caution goes out the window when he gets an adrenaline rush. He flies crazier, takes risks, and makes rash decisions to keep that rush going. I'm sure you can guess that when he was introduced to gambling, it didn't go well.

He racked up debt quickly. He hated himself for it, but he couldn't put down the cards - the rush of adrenaline was just too powerful. In time, the debts got so bad that he lost his career, then his life when he was beaten in an alleyway. Now, as a ghost, he's been summoned back to pilot a ship past the edge of the sun's light. He hopes to succeed in death where he failed in life.

As for appearances, he's a little dragon guy! He stands at about three and a half feet tall, has blue scales, crystalline horns, and scaly whiskers. He wears the stained uniform he died in and his neck can swivel further than it should since he died when it was broken.

He's an honorable sort who runs a tight ship, despite his craving for adrenaline. He often accounts for his own weaknesses when he makes plans, in order to minimize the harm he might cause to his allies. Care for his crew also extends to their emotional states - Faalgun is attentive and eager to lend a listening ear, though he fervently avoids letting any of his crew know about his past life. There's a deep sense of shame at his core, no matter how good of a captain he is.

I'll tag @thecomfywriter @tragedycoded @greenfinchwriter @somethingclevermahogony and anyone else who wants to play :)

[dollarbin]

Nickel Bin #2:

The Roches' Hammond Song

Some songs have no peers.

There's nothing comparable to Dylan's Like a Rolling Stone: while his efforts to write another anthem are many, and they vary from the successful (Knocking on Heaven's Door) to the underappreciated (Changing of the Guard) to the overrated (Gotta Serve Somebody) to the annoying unless you are in a very weird mood (Brownsville Girl), he, and everybody else, has never come close to a comparable synergy of warmth, anger and energy.

I think The Roches' Hammond Song is equally unique. Suzzy, Terre and Maggie Roche never climbed a musical mountain like it again in their fitful, joyful and far too short career together, and I don't know any other song or group that presents such bizarre and daring vocals (they range from startlingly androgynous to winningly effete and back again); where else can you hear three such utterly distinct voices sharing a space with such elegance? Add to that mix the unique layers afforded by the song's length and its guitar solos, plus its confusing but vital story, and you've got yourself a masterpiece.

Let's listen.

First of all they're not singing about Heaven. They're singing about Hammond, Louisiana and Maggie and Terre's decision, years earlier, to ditch their budding music career altogether. It seems there was a Kung Fu school (seriously!) in Hammond that a friend was running and that seemed like a better place to be than in New York City, wearing clothes assigned to them by their record company.

The song is a natural cousin to Cat Stevens' Father and Son: In Hammond Song The Roches present a musical debate between the patriarchs in their life and themselves; they sing both sides of the argument and they let you choose the winner.

The song opens with a long, suspenseful opening that gives way to warm strumming and then the refrain's three part harmony. But then it swerves for the first wild time into Maggie Roche alone, and she's telling the band they're "on the wrong track". What other voice is like hers? I'm afraid my sexist biases hear her unique contralto and summon up a woman on a motorcycle with arms the size of my thighs who smokes six packs a day and would happily kick my ass while having yet another. But here she is:

Maggie died 6 or 7 years ago. My famous brother's friend Ryan, who recently bought me a very delicious beer at a Yo La Tengo show, sobbed when he heard the news. The more time I spend listening to Maggie's music, the more I understand where he was coming from. Just take a listen to Quitting Time from the same record:

At the end of each section of Hammond Song The Roches hit and hold a high, odd and transfixing note. You can hear it for the first time on the Ooooo after the first section, soon after Maggie's introduces her voice. That same note, or one close to it anyway, comes back again before the first guitar solo on "you're LYYYYYYing to me", then again on "don't be a FOOOOL."

When CS&N reach for a note like that I wonder just what the hell I'm doing with my life. When Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris finally threw off the concerns of their record companies in the mid-80's and came together as a bluegrass version of The Roches they hit some angelic notes, yes, but they never sounded weird. Such weirdness is a big part of Hammond Song's, and the band's, genius.

And capturing that weirdness, and that note, is still a goal for a new bands. Check out Meg Baird search for and then find it - and then keep it for an impossible, audacious length, at 3:15 mark of Heron Oblivion's seismic Your Hollows:

Next time I get an hour with Baird in a bar I'll ask her about Hammond Song as a basis for Your Hollows instead of quizzing her on Mike Heron. Poor Meg. I suppose she's been warned.

And now that you have Heron Oblivion in your ears, let's talk about Hammond Song's guitar solos. That's Robert Fripp, of King Crimson/Eno/Bowie/Talking Heads fame, making himself known. He walks a careful and skillful line in his production of the song and the record around it: you never forget he's there but he never gets in the way. This is the sisters' record and the sisters' song. But wow, what a guitar sound he achieves: it's nearly as weird as the vocals, part theremin, part Hendrix, all magic.

Finally, Hammond Song avoids easy cliche in its storytelling as well. Okay, their male authorities wanted them to put on sexy dresses and stop being weird, but the girls said no and became their awesome selves instead:

Lesser artists would have wrapped the story up with victory. But Maggie and her sisters know it's not that simple. When they released Hammond Song their story was far from over: the record could have tanked; it could have proved the record company right.

And so The Roches bring us into the debate; they let us decide whether their defiance in life and in the song are justified. "Tell me," they appeal to us in the song's conclusion, "I'm okay."

Dear Suzzy, Terre and Maggie,

You are not okay. You are the best.

Sincerely,

The Nickel Bin

[avastrasposts]

Hello!

So I just realised about 300+ people decided to follow me and, I suppose, read my stories? And 300 is such a small number but to me it's surreal that so many of you want to read what I write!

So I thought I'd introduce myself a little, just to be polite you know, and be like those author blurbs they put on the inside flap of books. So read on if you want to know more about me and my writing, or just keep scrolling if you'd rather I remain a redheaded mystery with a thing for Frankie Morales.

Also, chapter 16 of The Pilot and his Girl will be posted tomorrow, it just needs another round of editing.

Also, again, this got long, so if you can't be bothered reading all my ramblings below the cut, I totally understand. I have a habit of getting wordy....

So, I'm in my 40's and I've been writing for most of my life, starting with embarrassing little short stories in adorable misspelled fashion when I was just wee. I aspired to be a journalist and then went on a completely different tangent career wise, ending up with a PhD in an area I no longer work in (fifteen years of higher education never to be touched again but you definitely want me on your team in a pub quiz!). I have vague memories of writing fan fiction in my early 20, I think? (I'm old, give me a break). But I only got back to it late last year as a way to kick start my imagination and discipline around writing again. I needed a creative outlet and writing is something I always enjoyed and found easy to do.

I live in England, in the amazing but fucking expensive city of London. I look pretty much like my profile picture, only more wrinkles and maybe a bit of silver in all that gingerness. I'm a very good cook and baker (Pedro, I'll teach you how to cook any day!) and I'm married to my very own sweet Latino man. He's not called Frankie but he does call me cariño. I have big chunk of family in Sweden and I speak a little bit of Swedish (it's actually where I am right now, we're over here celebrating midsummer).

I started writing fanfics for The Boys fandom and Karl Urban as I was binging the whole show after finishing season 4. Then I stumbled into the Pedro Pascal fandom as I watched The Last of Us.

TLoU has a very special place in my heart. I've been gaming since my early teens and bought a Playstation 3 after saving for months, my first console after playing on PC for years. When TLoU came out in 2013 I bought and played it straight away and I, like so many others, had an experience playing it. It's the only story, in any medium, that's made me cry after just 10-15 minutes of game play. The scene were Sarah dies, still gets me every time. And the rest of the game...I turned up at work the next week in a daze, just needing to tell people about this incredible story and experience I'd had. It was like no other game I'd ever played, before or since. And I've replayed the game about once a year since 2013. Back then, that kind of game was totally unique, there was nothing like it. Some games had explored stronger story telling elements, but not on this level, nothing came even close to creating such a bond between gamer and characters. Now days we're spoiled by powerful storytelling in video games, in 2013, The Last of Us was totally unique (sorry, I'm blabbering, but I could go on at length about TLoU and the impact it had).

So when I heard there was talks about turning into a tv-series, I was scared. Really worried. The gaming community have seen so many horrendous adaptations of video games, my beloved Assassin's Creed was butchered in 2016. But then I heard Pedro Pascal had been cast as Joel and I was carefully hopeful, and then Bella Ramsey as Ellie and I got really excited. I'd seen them both in Game of Thrones, both of their performances sticking in my mind. I even remember reading about Pedro being cast in GoT and looking him up and being disappointed because he looked nothing like I'd pictured the Red Viper when I read the books. But then he just swanned in and crushed it, he was so damn good, he won me over straight away. I can't imagine anyone else playing Oberyn.

And then of course, the first few trailers of TLoU dropped and we got glimpses of the show and I remember texting my equally TLoU obsessed friend and we squealed in delight at how good it looked! And the first time I heard the clicker sound....I shuddered, it was a very real physical reaction. If I'd been on the actual set and heard it, I think I would've run a mile.

And then, as I was still writing The British Connection, a fic set in The Boys fandom, I watched Triple Frontier, and, like so many others, fell hard for sweet Frankie Morales. So jumping the gun a bit, I decided to write something with him, just a drabble, to get used to writing him and to write in the Reader insert format. But it kind a grew in scope and when I had the idea of sticking him and the rest of the Triple Frontier boys into TLoU universe I knew I had to create something bigger.

Looking back I would've made the story tighter, less lengthy, had I known from the start that's where it was going to go. But part of the fun of fan fiction is posting as you go, I think. I get feedback from you guys and it makes me think of other elements to add to the story. There isn't always a set road map for how a fic is going to develop.

If you've made it this far, congratulations and thank you, I'm impressed you read all that rambling from some stranger on Tumblr! The Pilot and his Girl has a set plan now, I have chapters drawn up and although I'm not sure how many chapters I'm going to end up with, I know where the story is going. You'll find out what's happened to Pope, Will and Benny. And Joel and Tommy will of course come back to the story later on. There will be more trauma and angst as the story continues but there will be a happy ending, of sorts, in the end.

And again, thank you all for reading, commenting and reblogging! I love you all!

[yoonalgc]

( ❀ Hello, everyone! ...What a surprise, right? It's me again... attempting to bring a girl into this world. WIll I succeed? Let's see. It's Sera here to introduce to you my character! She is brand new so I'm expecting her to grow as I write her. I've listed some plots at the bottom but I prefer to do brainstorming. I'm open to plotting in either Tumblr IMs or over Discord, whichever you prefer. Without further ado, please read my rambling. ( I'll have a pinned I'll post later. ) Like this post ♡ and we can plot! )

◡ profile / plots / pinterest / playlist

BACKGROUND !!

Born october 4th, 2001. ( 1004, she asserts reflects her — it is an angel number after all )

Grew up in Gumi which is a smaller city just outside of Daegu.

Parents were high school sweethearts who waited to start a family until he finished his military service and she finished school. Mother was a flight attendant. Father is a former professional choreographer.

Family used to be fairly well off before the drastic change and her mother's medical bills became increasingly more expensive.

They eventually moved to Seoul in 2016 when her father got an opportunity to choreograph for an entertainment company.

Father gave up his career after his wife’s passing in 2019 to attend to a portable convenience stand by the Han River once owned by his own father. Their formerly close relationship grew estranged and tense rather quickly.

Used to be a competitive archer. Failed to make it on the national team multiple times, nevermind the Olympics. Became easily discouraged and decided to quit after an argument with her father. She even threatened to drop out of school unless she could join a company to focus on her dancing.

Before lgc, she joined an entertainment company while in high school only to get scammed into a trainee program and drained of almost all her money via their training debt scheme.

Waited until she graduated to audition for Legacy Entertainment. Somehow, she got in... and from there, she begins to change a bit as a person.

PERSONALITY & MORE !!

Works at an arcade/PC Bang for now. She likes to sneak in a nap in the dinosaur safari VR machine.

She uses the nerf gun and water gun from the prize table to ward off unwanted guests or customers who overstay their welcome. Careful, she has great aim.

Oddly good at fixing things ( to a certain extent ), a trait she picked up from her brother who has a penchant for inventing. Being practical helps quite a bit, though.

She is no stranger to putting on an act to get something for free. a convincing & skilled liar. she even stole someone’s phone once to sell but will never admit this. jokes about needing a glucose guardian but never say never.

Tendency to be flirtatious. offers compliments — sincere & underhanded.

Only actually been in one serious relationship that she considers was worthwhile & lacks the motivation to pursue anything else. Often finds herself leading people on but falls for people easily as she's rather susceptible to romantic gestures, then forces herself to lose interest when things get a little too spicy.

Good listener. Purveyor of gossip. Collects many rumors, rarely spills to anyone. Tell things to her at your own risk. She will hardly speak a word about her own background ( and will even lie sometimes ) but is content to know everything about everyone else.

Has a good sense of humor and able to laugh at herself.

Actually kinda lazy about everything unless it's dancing. She just likes to say she's just laid back.

Speaking of dancing, she is especially into the art of waacking/tutting/vogueing, as she finds the elegant precision to be appealing and especially fun to do.

Very opinionated & can come across judgmental for her willingness to speak her mind, Notorious for reacting with her face ( ie. side eyeing ).

An introvert. Also claims to really hate people but is naturally social despite this.

Often plays a vain character, usually an exaggerated version of herself ( channeling Goddess Gyuri & Mijoo ) — perhaps to compensate for or conceal… something. Part of it being that she enjoys entertaining people with her antics. It is not rare to catch a glimpse at her "real self" but it's hard to even say what that even is.

Calm but when she's memeing and being crazy, she becomes unhinged. Like so.

A bit fickle & indecisive, sometimes allowing her impulses to take control of a decision ... or out of pure spite.

Had a time where she was so desperate for money, that she was willing to lie to get freebies or sympathy discounts. But we don't talk about that time anymore. It was just a phase.

Not malicious by any means but it is easy to interpret her actions as such. She desires attention and love in this aftermath of her life plummeting, and just goes about it in a rather unconventional way.

Hates people who smoke. Her mother's lung cancer being the main cause. If you smoke any substance, prepare for to be side-eyed and judged.

Lastly, she is @lgcxnoeul's weirdo cousin.

CONNECTIONS ??

anyone who comes to the arcade/pc bang. she's almost always there. bonus points if you're a bit of a menace or you want to challenge her to a game. the possibilities with this one are pretty endless!

flirtationships a plenty. applicable to any gender; she certainly does not discriminate. she is the type to unabashedly flirt, compliment people, or make flirtatious jokes. ( however when the heat comes, she usually resorts to aloof behavior and runs away. )

obviously people will be put off by her antics so frenemies and antis alike are welcome! antagonistic or toxic relationships are welcome in general.

gossip friend. what is said between us stays between us ... of other people's rumors, of course. but it's best to be careful who to trust with secrets.

fake friends. speaks for itself. mutually beneficial, forced laughter, eye rolls when the other looks away. she's been entrenched in this fake friend group just for the laughs

an ex. she's only dated one person in a serious way before and it didn't turn out too well... or it ended amicably. who knows? was a rather innocent relationship but it broke her heart. happened shortly after she joined lgc in 2020 or overlapped. discussion is required!!!

that being said, she most likely had a couple flings here and there that lasted a short time. she's prone to running away or getting "bored".

jokingly, she always says she wants a "glucose guardian" and you are the perfect candidate. she constantly convinces you to buy things for her ( mostly bubble tea ) or you might even do so willingly. either way, it makes her happy.

she has a "dark past" ( not so distant... maybe 5 days ago is considered the past ) in which she tried to fleece people out of money just to get by. don't look at her if she might have pretended to fall in front of you for sympathy, too.

this is vague but... people she can assist with dancing in any way or their overall confidence.

people who know her real personality and are tired of her putting on this strange over confident persona.

went to high school together ( Hanlim gang )

for the lgcu event, she is in younggong. i'm still figuring out what she will be doing but i will need one person from there to do a thread with.

[mleighd94]

Prescriptions of Passion

On a crisp autumn morning, I started down Fifth Street from my apartment towards Cozy Corner Cafe. At a cafe that brought comfort to the start of what could only be an already-predicted crazy week. Everyone else was sporting their cozy attire, and here I was in my scrubs and clogs, with the only "autumnal" thing I had on being my cardigan. I opened the door to the cafe, making my way to the cashier to order my oatmeal milk latte and muffin. I sat down and pulled out my book, deciding I'd try and get a few chapters in before work. The bell sounded for the front door of the cafe to be opened. I didn't even glance up. Then, after about three minutes, a man sat down in front of me. I continued to read, not wanting to give this man the time of day. When he spoke, "You know I've been here several times, and I've never seen you before," How original I thought. I finally looked up to tell this man I wasn't interested, but I was immediately baffled by his beauty. His long blonde hair hit above his shoulders. His lovely-looking lips, I so yearned to kiss them... I shook my head, realizing I had been staring and blushing up my neck. He chuckled a bit at my flustered state. "I come in when I can before work." I state not being able to look at him. "What do you do?" He asked. "I'm a physician at the hospital here in the city." He was a bit stunned, but he saw my scrubs and nodded his head. "Do you enjoy what you do?" There was genuine curiosity in his voice. "I do. I like being able to help people and give them what they need. It feels good to know I did something for them, I guess." He smiles at me, listening as I answer him. "Well, since you got to ask, I got to ask too. What do you do?" He only smiled, knowing he was getting me more engaged in the conversation. "I'm a model for certain brands." Of course he is; why would he do anything else? I couldn't see him having a basic desk job somewhere. He chuckled at my silence. "What's wrong with being a model?" "Nothing fits the career well. It would have been odd if you had said you're the CEO of some company." He continued to smile at me, feeling the pressure of what to say next to me. I looked away. "Look, I think you're very beautiful, and I came over here to maybe ask you to dinner sometime." I almost chocked on my latte. "Me?!" I was both confused and stunned. No one besides my mom has ever told me I was beautiful, at least not to my face. This just made him smile more. "Yes you. I'd like to take you out if you're okay with that." I had never been on a date before. Too much of my time is taken up with work and school. I never had the time, let alone the opportunity. And yet here this model was asking me out. Me, your basic quite nerd. Not knowing how to answer, all I could muster was "Uuuummmmm." "What are you doing this weekend?" He decided to ask. Nothing. I had absolutely nothing. "I work until five." I quickly answered. "I can come pick you up at seven." He asks. "That should be fine." I blush. "Great, I'll pick you up at seven, miss." Oh my gosh, I agreed to go out with him before introducing ourselves! Who am I?! "My name is Y/N." He smiled, bringing my hand to his soft, plush lips and gently pressing a kiss on them. I could have died right then with how beet red I probably looked. "My name is Hyunjin. Hwang Hyunjin." I couldn't believe my day was starting off like this.

Hey guys just thought I’d try this out. I’ve been going back and forth for days on this. So let me know what you think.

[sleekervae]

Past Lives [0.2]

Masterlist

A/N: Wow! Thanks for all the love on the first part, everyone! Hope you enjoy part 2!

Warnings: mentions of InFiDeLiTy, nothing major

Back in 1997, when Jade Theodore was four years old, she had been obsessed with Disney movies; the most romantic in her prepubescent mind being Sleeping Beauty. Because even to this day, Prince Philip was the most handsome man Jade had ever laid eyes on. Not to mention the man could break an evil witch's curse with a single kiss? How much more romantic could you get?

Jade always fantasized about finding a great love like that; though as she grew up of course, that fantasy stayed just that as reality hit her like a bullet train. Especially when her family had hit rock bottom and her mom had signed her up to do some extras work to bring in some money. That first day on Even Stevens had kicked off a twenty year career in the making for the pop star, made up of moments both good and bad, but had shaped her into the inquisitive young woman she was today.

Some of those moments included getting to know her costars on a High School Musical spin off movie back in 2009, a dream come true at the time. However, getting to meet a then eighteen-year-old Austin Butler also made the experience memorable. He had never been outside of the country at the time (they were only in Canada so it wasn't that big of a leap), so with off days from filming, and Jade being a Toronto native, she was more than happy to show Austin some of her favourite places in the city.

She remembered Austin had this brand new Kodak camera he carried with him, taking photos of the skyline, the food they'd indulged in, and things he found overall curious. And of course, he had taken a photo of Jade at some point. She couldn't remember if it was in the moment or she had been posing at the waterfront railing. She maybe saw that photo once or twice, instead relishing in their friendship even after filming had ended.

He was shy in 2010, lanky, and left footed. His voice was higher and sometimes he'd stumble over his words when he'd become excited or nervous. Though his personality always shone through for Jade, he always treated her as though he'd known her their entire lives. Their friendship lived on as Austin continued to get movie and TV rolls and Jade's creative drive turned more to music in the early 2010s.

And Jade wouldn't lie if she'd said she hadn't developed a small crush on him.

That crush of course was stomped out with a platform stiletto when Austin was introduced to a friend of a friend, all the while Jade was negotiating with Disney to get her out of her contract. It all happened so fast, when Jade eventually found out, she felt like she had a bout of whiplash. Nonetheless, she was happy for Austin, and she always respected his relationship with his girlfriend.

Though as 2012 rolled around, Austin and Jade's relationship dwindled and grew stale.

Jade could still remember the last phone call she had with Austin; both of them so busy but trying to make plans to meet up again. She was running late for a negotiation with her music label, and she told him she'd call him back.

Being as scatterbrained as she was, she never did.

"I'll talk to you later!" she swore she had hung up before he even had a chance to say goodbye. And as it always did, too much time and energy apart had distracted Jade long enough before she came to the realization that she never did call Austin back.

However, time passed, she met knew friends, ventured onto new projects, and before long, Jade Theodore was now a name synonymous with modern-age alternative pop. And Austin had forged ahead on his own path. Their social circles were different, and truth be told, neither of them gave the other much thought in ten years.

How curious it was to see two people be so close before, and now suddenly they were strangers yet again...

In downtown London there was a sleek, modernized skyscraper, and on the 14th floor one could find an immaculate apartment facing the South-rising sun and its rays reflecting softly off of the floor-to-ceiling windows. It was somewhere within the seventh hour of the day, and Jade stood at the counter while she waited for her coffee to brew. She was already dressed for her rehearsal, though she didn't feel all that ready; more than anything she felt as though a cloud of fog had formed around her head and was stunting her train of thought.

A door down the hall creaked open, and Jade's roommate, Florence, came trudging out, yawning into her fist and scratching her fingers through her bed head.

"You're up early," she commented as she took a seat at the breakfast bar. The stool squealed against the hardwood floor. Her English accent was thicker in the mornings, her usually bright green eyes were a little hazy and droopy.

"I got rehearsal in an hour," Jade replied, "You want coffee?"

"Yes please," Florence grinned sleepily.

Jade was already on it and set up the coffee machine, "I didn't hear you come in last night. What time you finish?"

"Came home around two-ish. Then I had an interview with Kimmel around three," she shrugged, "I don't even remember when I went to sleep,"

"Babe!" Jade awed, "Go back to bed! What're you doing?"

"I knoooww," Florence drawled, "But Tommy scheduled me an interview for nine-thirty,"

"Call in sick," she replied, "Hell, I'll even pretend to be you and call in sick,"

Florence simpered, "Your English accent will insult the whole country, Jade,"

Jade refrained from rolling her eyes, "I'm not that bad," she slid the finished coffee towards Florence, and the sleepy actress took a long sip.

From beside her, Jade's phone buzzed. Florence was a little nosy, she could admit it, and she was curious as she saw an unfamiliar name flash across the screen.

"Some Austin guy's texting you," she said.

Jade glanced at the message quickly. He was just thanking her again for last night, and she smiled fondly at the message, "It's nothing," she replied quickly.

"Bullshit," Florence quipped, "Was that the guy you were on the date with last night?"

"It wasn't a date," Jade said, "We were just catching up,"

Florence scoffed, "Catching up maybe takes two hours? Tommy dropped by 'round seven and you still weren't back,"

"Still wasn't a date," Jade sipped her own coffee nonchalantly, "Wait -- what was your manager doing here?"

"Dropping off some new scripts he wants me to look over. But I'm just saying Jade, if you went on just one date, that loser would start leaving you alone. Oh! Speaking of," Florence shuffled over to their junk drawer and pulled out a letter, "He wrote you another poem,"

"Oh my God. This should be good," Jade ripped the letter open and skimmed just the first few lines. She cleared her throat and read, quite dramatically, "If love be love be love, let love be love, your kiss is like a strawberry meringue, you are the hand and I your winter glove, you are the song the singing singer sang --"

"Alright, enough!" Florence threw her hands over her ears, "I've heard enough!"

Jade's first response was to rip the poem in two, "'You are the song and singer sang' he's just so ick, now! What the hell was I thinking?"

"The singing singer sang," Florence corrected, "And I don't know what you were thinking but I wish I'd met you earlier so I could stop you from thinking those thoughts about him,"

Jade chuckled bitterly, "Probably would've saved me a lot of face if we'd met earlier," she grinned.

"Well hey, we were all young and dumb at one point. Difference between you and most other people is your willingness to admit what a bitch you were," Florence smirked.

Jade grimaced, then rolled her eyes, "Thanks, Flo,"

"Hey! I'm kidding!" Florence threw an arm around her shoulders, "I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself, Jade. And now you can have no qualms about obliterating that little turd in your song next week,"

"Oh, thanks for reminding me!" she took another quick sip of her coffee and grabbed her bag off the counter, "I'm gonna' go to soundcheck and you are gonna go back to bed!" and she started for the door.

"Not according to this coffee I won't," Florence shrugged.

"Oh, yeah? What if I told you it's decaf?" Jade asked.

Florence gasped, "You wouldn't!"

"Wouldn't I?" Jade smirked, wrenching the door open, "I'll be home around four, should we cook or order in?"

"Let's play it by ear. Hey, wait a minute! You never told me about your date!" she called after her.

"It wasn't a date!" Jade called back before the door slammed shut.

Florence rolled her eyes, "Sure, Miss Blushy McBlush,"

The weather was a little cooler that morning but still held the essence of summer. Jade had her mask pulled over her face and her earbuds blasting away with Kings of Leon while she waited for her ride. Brixton Academy wasn't too far from where she lived, it was close enough she could practically walk. Though it was at the behest of Cam, her manager, that she be escorted from place to place. Jade glanced up at the skyscraper, already feeling the pull of anguish in her chest at the thought of leaving.

What she and Florence neglected to talk about were the boxes already stacked up in the apartment, still empty yet expected to be shipped out by the end of next week. Jade though had found a home in London, and despite the pandemic a new appreciation for a lifestyle that gave her a freedom from her stresses back in America. If it were up to Florence, Jade knew she'd probably have tied her up and locked her away in a closet just to keep her from leaving. She had told her just as much, and Jade loved her enthusiasm.

The ride to the academy was quiet, albeit pleasant, as Jade spent the ten minute ride just scrolling through her phone. She was one of a majority of people who were addicted to just scrolling through social media, not really amused by much of anything. One post was speculation about the new music Jade had been teasing in her own media, below the comments were freaking out (and also speculating pretty closely) to what would be released. Jade had to smile at the enthusiasm, she truly did have some of the most amazing fans on the plant.

The next post however stopped her cold, and a chill shot down her spine. It was an older Perez Hilton post from 2020, gossiping about the breakdown of Austin's previous relationship. People in the comments were speculating all the same; maybe someone cheated, maybe they grew apart, most of them were baffled at the fact that something so solid could suddenly break apart before their eyes.

Jade couldn't lie, she too was blindsided when she first heard the news. But she also knew better than anybody that pictures could be just a facade for the truth. Hell, her own parent's divorce took her by surprise, and she lived under the same roof as them.

"Truth be told, I fell out of love," it was an occurrence that happened more often than not, a statement so complicated and simple at the same time. It took Jade a long time -- even after she left her ex -- to get to that same point. Being alone and facing responsibility; coming to terms with your own company again -- it was all downright terrifying. But nonetheless she had done it before; ten years ago when she had to put her own feeling for Austin aside.

She knew Florence was only teasing her, but the notion of a date made her chest tighten. She was nowhere near ready to throw herself into a relationship, didn't matter who with. And yet, that little fantasy she had locked away was beginning to tinker -- just lightly tap its way back into existence.

"... eodore?... Miss Theodore?" a gruff, cockney accent took her attention. Jade quickly pulled her earpiece out, finding the driver was staring at her expectantly, "We're here,"

"Right, sorry," Jade blushed furiously beneath her mask, hastily making her exit, "Thank you so much,"

A few days passed, and soon enough Austin found himself putting together some semblance of a normal routine. In the morning he'd get up and go for a run, condition his body back to what it used to be, then he'd try to cook something sustainable. He wasn't the worst cook in the world, but he also wouldn't consider himself a Jamie Oliver type. He had found some new shows to watch, a stack of new books to read, and some new non-Elvis related music to listen to.

Inevitably so, one of Austin's new playlists included more than a few hits from Jade Theodore. Listening to her music for the first time -- and not just in passing at a grocery store -- had been like walking through a portal to another world where the saturation had been turned up and words were either wrapped in daisies or barbed in thorns. He was also surprised to see just how many collaborations she had worked on with other creatives: The Weeknd, Halsey, Doja Cat, the list went on.

His favourite song was from her first album, a song called Roman Holiday that was gritty and colourful, and painted the most spectacular imagery of romantic escapism. However, she also had done a collaboration with The Weeknd on a shorter interlude called Stargirl; infectious, erotic, and dripping in heavy synths and red haze. The FOMO sensation rippled like a spiking chill through Austin as he realized just what he had been missing out on.

He kept in touch with Jade throughout the week, she didn't have a lot of time to meet up again before her show and he respected that. Nevertheless, she made the time to keep up early morning or late night conversations, talking about the books they were reading or debating who made the best milkshakes (they didn't want to five Chick-fil-A the win so they settled for Sonic). Austin would sit on his couch with the TV as background, and Jade would be curled up on her ottoman while Florence was mucking around in the kitchen, and they would just become lost in their own world. It was a new normal that at the same time was so familiar to him. Everything didn't seem so far away when he talked to Jade.

Needless to say, he was grateful to her.

Soon enough Wednesday had hit, and it would be Jade's first live performance in two years. She had spent the last four weeks rehearsing with her band, putting together a set list of classic and underrated hits, and hoping and praying for the success of her new song. The label would be releasing the studio version tonight anyway, so she had to make sure she delivered.

It was four o'clock in the day and already people were lining up outside of the Brixton. The air was buzzing with energy, anticipating, the time couldn't go by fast enough.

The green room was abuzz with stage crews rushing to finish the set, and the make up and hair artists were putting the finishing touches on Jade and her band. It had been so long since crews at the Brixton had put on a full show, Jade could tell as crews yelled back and forth to each other in the halls. She tried to keep her focus on the makeup for the most part, but her heart was fluttering more than a teenager on her first date. She had spent so much time practicing and somehow it still didn't feel like enough.

"Does this look dumb?" she turned to her guitarist, Maria, who was getting fitted into her faux leather pants.

Maria skimmed over the deep black liner and eyeshadow around Jade's eyes, but she shook her head, "No, you look cute,"

"You don't think all the black's too much?" she turned to her reflection.

"Who gives a fuck?" her drummer, Meg, asked. She was getting changed behind a divider, "You'll look metal as hell, babe!"

Samantha, her bassist, put a reassuring hand on her shoulder as she did her own makeup, "Sweetheart, you look gorgeous. And you're gonna look hella' powerful with your outfit,"

"Which is extremely metal!" Meg added. She kicked out a sparkly pleather ankle boot before stepping out in her mesh maxi dress with a black bralet and shorts underneath. Her blue and purple galaxy hair feel in long, loose curls around her shoulders.

"Ooh, mama! Looking good, Meg!" Marie awed.

"Yeah?" Meg stuck her butt out, "We don't see no pandemic pounds showing, right? 'Cause I def packed 'em on,"

Jade began to laugh, "Girl, shut up! You're fucking gorgeous!"

"And I think we're all a little pandemic-pound guilty, anyway," Samantha added.

"We can't help it that we eat to make ourselves feel better," Jade shrugged. She finished with her makeup and went to pull her outfit off of the rack. She held the hanger up to her body, twirling back and forth in the mirror.

Maria watched from behind, "You feeling okay, Jade?" she asked.

"I think so," she exhaled slowly, "Kind of feels like the first day of school all over again,"

Samantha scoffed, "Find me a school that lets you wear that, I'm enrolling my daughter,"

"Sam, you don't have a daughter," Meg pointed out.

Samantha rolled her eyes, "When I have a daughter, smarty pants,"

Austin got to the venue about an hour before the show was supposed to start, a little worried to see the line up of people still waiting to get inside the venue. Nevertheless, covid protocols were still pretty tight in London so he could understand, and he fell into the line up with everyone else.

He scrolled through his phone to kill some time, rolling over some new pictures fans had taken with Jade earlier in the day. She kept her mask on when hugging fans, or standing two feet apart with a beaming smile. Her own joy and giddy reverberated through the screen, she was effortlessly beautiful even before getting dolled up, and seeing her look so happy made something flutter in Austin's chest.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt a tap on his shoulder, and Austin turned around, finding a shorter young woman staring up at him. Half her face was concealed by her own mask, her dark auburn hair tied back in a messy bun.

"Oi, are you Austin?" she asked, her Oxford accent coming in thick.

He was taken aback at first, only nodding at first, "Y-uh -- y-yeah,"

"Austin Butler?"

"Yeah,"

"Great, I'm Florence," she nodded in the direction of the theatre, "Come with me,"

Austin's gaze flickered between her and the line up, "Isn't this the line up for show?" he asked.

"Yeah, but close friends go in a different way," she waved him over that time, "C'mon! We're burning daylight,"

Austin was skeptical, Jade never said anything to him about a friend, though he was cautiously optimistic as he followed Florence past the gates and in through the back of the theatre. Sure enough, security let them in without a second glance, and Florence led him up the stairs to mezzanine.

"So, you're the long lost friend Jade's been telling me 'bout?" she asked as they walked.

"I wouldn't say 'long lost' necessarily," Austin answered.

Florence side-eyed him, "You ain't spoken in about ten years?"

"Yeah," he replied sheepishly.

"Sounds pretty long lost to me," she said, "What made you want to get back in touch after so long?"

Austin shrugged, "I don't know, just saw she was in London, figured I'd reach out,"

Florence stared him, he couldn't tell if it was out of curiosity or judgement, "Really?"

"Yeah,"

"Alright," Florence was skeptical. In the back of her mind she figured it couldn't be as simple as 'wanting to reach out because', as nothing in this world was ever as simple as that.

Austin cleared his throat, trying to brush away this awkward scrutiny he felt he was under, "Well, how do you know Jade?" he asked.

"We worked together on a horror film a few years back, been tight ever since," she replied, "When I heard she was coming here I took her in faster than you could blink,"

Austin simpered, "Yeah. She told me about her ex in California. I don't know who's more at fault: him or the mother for telling her,"

Florence shook her head, "Worst part about it is she thinks she deserves it,"

He cocked a brow at that, "Why would she think that?"

Florence nearly tripped over herself as she came to a stop, a blank stare overcoming her face. Her lips formed into an 'O', her green eyes narrowing.

"Ah, she didn't tell you," she surmised.

"Tell me what?" he asked, his curiosity increasing steadily.

"... Never mind," and she walked off again. Austin was quick to follow her.

They found their seats in the mezzanine, overlooking the gloriously lit stage down below. A plain white sheet was drawn over the stage, drawing in the patterns casted by spinning strobe lights. People had flooded into the pit below, crowding in together as though the pandemic had never hit at all.

The air was electric, the chatter of anxious and excited fans echoed through Austin's ears. Something in his brain snapped because for a second, just a minuscule moment, Austin pictured the stage set up for the Russwood Park shoot for Elvis. The dynamic was the same, the nerve wracking anticipation sickeningly familiar. Austin inhaled sharply, running his hands through his hair as he willed himself to get a grip.

Florence turned to him, "You okay?"

"Yep," he replied quickly, "I'm just a little tired,"

"I'll bet," she said, "Jade told me you were filming Elvis over in Australia. That couldn't have been a walk in the park,"

Before Austin could reply, the lights began to dim, and the energy was taken up a notch as the crowd cheered and chanted for the beginning of the show.

Meanwhile, Jade was sequestered off in the wing, watching the beginning set up unfold just as they'd been practicing for weeks. The melodramatic, synthesized organ opened slowly, eerily, a multi-pitched recording of jabbering nonsense from her last album played over the speaker. Jade took the moment to ground herself, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth, trying to calm herself. She was dolled up to the nines, her wires were plugged and her mic tuned, and yet she still felt so unprepared. She had sold out Brixton Academy, which meant well over two-thousand people were out there waiting for her; Austin and Florence included.

Florence knew Jade would put on a great show, she had been assuring her all up until this point. But Austin had never seen her perform, not really. He would be close enough, be paying close attention to every move she made and note she sang. Surely, he and the rest of the venue were expecting a banging show and Jade very well couldn't disappoint.

Jade started jumping up and down, shaking out her nerves and hyping herself up. She had been doing this shit for almost ten years, she had it down by now, what was there to be nervous for?

Everything?

The band began to kick into gear, playing the extended intro to one of Jade's bigger hits, 'She Knows It'. Austin had heard it enough times to recognize it; it was one of the handful of songs she had where she mentioned liking girls. The white sheet had been drawn up to reveal the tightly wound four piece band jamming out, behind them another sheet, this time pinned up to look like fine drapery with colourful flowers and lights twinkling in the strobes. It was colourful and simple, but it didn't look cheap, either. And at the last stroke of the drum beat, Jade came bounding out, bouncing along with the catchy beat until her verse started.

From there it seemed as though Jade was a firecracker that had been freshly lit, commanding stage presence and relishing in the echo of her fans singing along with her. Her outfit -- a two-piece leather top and skirt set -- was quintessentially her, just revealing enough, and the crystal crosses sown into the material twinkled against the flashing lights. And her bright green eyes were rimmed in thick, tightly polished black liner. She was sleek, sophisticated, as well as giving a little tease.

Florence was quickly caught up in the hype of the venue, singing along to her heart's content and dancing in place. Truth be told, she sort of forgot Austin was there, all the while he watched Jade, nodding along to the beat, and a smile draw across his lips. It felt like the scene in Ariel when she got her voice back from Ursula, and there was this inane satisfaction in watching this music he'd been listening to come out of her mouth so smoothly. Regardless to say, Austin had become somewhat mesmerized by her performance.

Jade played several more hits, taking a couple breaks to greet everybody and relish in the fact that they could finally enjoy live shows again. When she'd settle in for some slower ballads her eyes scanned through the mezzanine, flickering over every face until she landed on the two most familiar. Florence of course was jamming out, and Austin stood against the railing, his eyes meeting hers for a fleeting moment. It was then Jade began to feel her body begin to heat up, likely from the jumping around and the blaring lights. And yet, her eyes kept drawing up towards Austin's again and again between takes. He seemed to be enjoying the show, and that made her happier then she cared to admit.

Jade's show continued to roar on for a good hour and some; the entire gig would've been no more than an hour and half. It was around the hour mark that the set had slowed down again. Jade sipped her water, splashing a little on her face and neck before getting ready to introduce the next song. Her new song.

"How many of you have been in relationships that... let's say, you regret?" she asked. Almost all of the audience gave a resounding 'I'.

Jade simpered, "Wow, I wasn't hoping for that many. Here's another question, how many people here have been cheated on?" and she raised her hand, along with the sea of fans. Jade was tentative as she thought of her next approach.

"Yep. This one's kind of different now: how many people -- if you feel brave enough to admit it -- have been the... home wrecker in a relationship?"

That question threw Austin a little bit, and a smaller faction of fans raised their hands. Jade waited for them to settle before she too raised her hand, much to some audible gasps and protests.

"Yeah," she sighed, "Some of you may hate me for this, but I was also the other woman in a relationship. And it goes without saying, I'm not proud of it,"

Something shifted in Austin, the shock and awe settled but also made way for a resounding sensation of disappointment. Jade was the other woman? This had to be about her last relationship, but how? The girl he knew would never, never in a million years so something so messy and toxic... wouldn't she?

"I was really young at the time when this relationship started. I was twenty-one, and he was eight years older than me. I thought I was special because this person who I trusted and loved very much had left his previous partner for me. What I didn't understand at the time was how manipulated I'd become by this person, and I was so devoted and blinded by what I thought was supposed to be love, I went along with it without question,"

The venue had become quieter now, but the crowd continued to chatter amongst themselves, discussing while all sucked in to Jade's story. Jade took a deep breath, "Now, I'm not trying to deflect blame, and I'm not going to defend myself either because -- to put it blatantly -- I got what I deserved in the end. And after I broke up with this person, I took a lot of time to reflect on what I had done and realized that I had become somebody I never wanted to be. What hurt the most is probably that I burned so many bridges with people who tried to warn me how in over my head I was; but I'm a Taurus, so I'm really stubborn," that elicited some laughter and agreeance from the crowd, much to Jade's relief, "Anyway, I'm trying to get better at talking about it, and thanks to time -- and a lot of therapy -- I came up with this new song..."

With that, the soft twang of an acoustic guitar began to play. The fear was written all over Jade's face while she waited for her cue, keeping her gaze fixed on the pit and only the pit as she slipped the mic into the stand. Florence watched tentatively, her arms folded and her breath hitched in her throat. Austin meanwhile was still trying to wrap his head around what the fuck Jade had just said.

"I am a magnet for broken pieces I am attracted to broken people I pick 'em up and now my fingers are bleeding And it looks like my fault And it looks like I'm caught red-handed"

The energy in the room had gone down, somber more than anything as Jade essentially rambled out a confession of regrets and her hopes to move on with her life. She gripped the pole of the mic stand tightly, her knuckles almost turning white as she sang, sadly, but still so beautifully and on point to call out both herself and her man.

"Hit over the head, epiphany Over my head, repeatedly Thick skull never did nothing for me Same lesson again? Come on, give it to me Give it to me, give it to me, give it to me"

A chilling silence took over the room, cut swiftly by gentle applause and cheers for more. That's when the music started up again, a funkier, droning, melody accompanied by a melancholic electric guitar and heavier drum beats. Jade started swaying gently back and forth, her teeth gnawed at her bottom lip. She met eyes briefly with Maria, who only nodded her on as she played her guitar.

"Only I know where all the bodies are buried Thought by now I'd find 'em just a little less scary Might get easier but you don't get used to it Keep on autopilot, hey, hey What's the body count up to now, captain?"

The song was an overall shift in direction from Jade's more upbeat, pop punk tempo set before. Austin got into it nonetheless, her words resonated with him on a deeper level than he'd expected. Her sadness and regret were profound, the strain in her voice sent goosebumps rippling down his arms. Despite it all, he felt this warmth simmering in his gut, he could liken it to a feeling of comfort. Though that comfort went hand-in-hand with some semblance of guilt:

"I burned so many bridges with people who tried to warn me how in over my head I was"

Austin had to wonder if maybe he'd been there for her, maybe pursued her a little more, then Jade wouldn't have found herself in such a taxing position. He wanted to take her and wrap her up in a hug, to apologize and wanting to promise that she would be okay.

The sea of fans were already on board, cheering for her as Jade finished out her final chorus with a roaring bang.

"Hit over the head, epiphany Over my head, repeatedly Thick skull never did nothing for me Same lesson again? Come on, give it to me

I pick 'em up And now my fingers are bleeding And it looks like I'm caught red-handed"

The music faded into a raucous applause, the guitar settled and Jade felt the mounting pressure in her chest begin to deflate. That was when she had the courage to look up, finding Flo jumping up and down as she cheered her on. And Austin stayed beside her, something fleeting in his gaze though he smiled at her nonetheless, applauding her on.

That was the most reaffirming applause she'd received in a long while.

[bandedbulbussnarfblat]

y'all if the shows gives us any Bianca Solderini, I think she should be either Middle Eastern or black.

(and bc i knew the racists would try to shut it down, i did research and added links. but before we get into all that let me say some other stuff.)

I think Bianca was probably related to this guy. His name was Piero Soderini, he was from Florence, and the ambassador to France. Like, basically this guy had a decent career until he ruined it and got exiled so he went and hung out in Croatia. Anne Rice loved to mention real historical people in her fics, so the last name could have been a reference to him. I mean it was only one letter apart.

Now we know Bianca was being forced to kill by some family members. I can't remember much, but I think they may have been distant cousins. Maybe a part of the family that branched off and began spelling the name a different way.

Now, back in the day, Venice was hot shit. It was the cosmopolitan city and it was basically Europe's gateway to the rest of the world. I'm saying, you'd see a lot of different races here day to day.

But what you would see most of were Moors and Saracens. (That's what they would have called them, at least.)

Moors were what they called black people. Like Othello from Shakespeare.

Alright, bc I'm lazy, I'm just gonna copy and paste this section from the site I'm using:

"The term “Saracen” (Greek sarakenos, Latin saracenus), carried a slightly more specific connotation of “Eastern,” and sometimes “Muslim.” It was the word the Venetian Crusaders used when stirring people to launch medieval religious wars to wrest Jerusalem from the hand of the infidel, and to justify the plundering of Constantinople. At the same time, Venice welcomed merchants from the Near East, and they must have been a familiar sight in the city."

In modern day terms the 'Near East' is same as the Middle-East. So it is entirely possible that Bianca could have been Middle-Eastern, realistically. Or black, but I think her and Armand both being middle-eastern could give them a deeper bond, as they would understand each other's situations better. And also Armand had some amnesia in the book, and it would be a great way to introduce him back to his religion.

Oh, I'll add one more thing from the article "some Venetians of color took on the surname “Bianco,” which means “White.”" Bianca is a more feminine version of that, seeing it also means white.

[wagenstung]

۞۞۞ (OCs for the win!)

@rustyvolumedial3 send me a "۞" and I'll introduce you to one of my other muses

Meet YUU AWAREMI !! Love and miracles incarnate, Yuu has dedicated her life to her mother's lineage and legacy of soul seeing to heal and foster the human soul into it's greatest potential by nurturing it with acceptance, mercy, and kindness. When she's not answering the cry of a soul in need, Yuu is helping to raise her younger brother and to keep up her father's restaurant on the side. Find her at @lovedsoul !!

Meet ELIZABETH ROSE-ANNA WOODS !! On the outside, she's an unseeming, multi-awarded wildlife photographer living between a few different cabins-in-the-woods around the states for work. When nobody is looking, she's a stone-cold serial killer motivated by the hunt and the hunt alone. Suffering abuse as a child that led to the death of her beloved kid brother, Elizabeth sought revenge on her parents and the world the only way that made sense. Now, she keeps to herself, thriving in her photography career while the world is none-the-wiser to the clean up she does at night. Find her at @killedsoft !!

Meet EMILY BRASS !! A former women's boxing champion and record-setter back in her day, trained by her father, an equally famous boxer in his own hay-days. When her father had passed while she was nineteen and on her way to an international title, Emily won her title and dedicated it to her father before officially retiring. Not long after had her life been turned upside down and inside out by one Peter S. Zamora, a greedy kingpin of her city that kidnapped her and used her strengths against her. Breaking her down into a fight dog, Emily was used as an underground fighter at night to make him money and was covered as a bodyguard during the day. All her life, all she's known was fighting. Now she's got'a fight to get her life back.

[the-whumpening]

Son of Bat! [OC Context Post]

Working on more Ash fics, but I need some time before I'm ready to post them, so in the meantime I'll introduce my other OCs!

So uh, technically, these OCs started as part of a Scooby-Doo fan thing. Later in the Hex Girls' career, my spouse and I headcanonned that they would start a record label and help other artists get started. Son of Bat is one of those bands! This later morphed into something else entirely, but technically speaking it exists in the Scooby-Doo universe lol

Son of Bat is a fictional band which I’m slowly working on making into a webcomic or some kind of longer project. The whole project is intended to explore themes like family trauma, identity, and relationships, largely based on my and my partner’s lived experiences, so each character was designed with certain traits in mind to reflect that (well, once it left the Hex Girls spin-off phase lol). There’s so much I want to say about each of them, so it’s really difficult to condense it down into something succinct and readable!

The story takes place in modern day, in a nonspecific US city, though the characters canonically grew up in Florida. The band’s music is a mix of metal, emo/alt rock, prog rock, and a few sprinkles of nu metal and EDM. In short, they aren’t as pressed about genre so much as vibe. The band consists of:

James Snyder: 25, huge af, primary writer and guitarist. James is a perfectionist and workaholic who is not only running a successful band, but also studying for a PhD and working as a personal trainer on the side. Most of his free time is spent in the gym, working out to anime soundtracks and kpop. He grew up in a shitty, abusive household, and he no longer has contact with his family. Around age 14, he got expelled from private school for once again refusing to cut his hair and getting into fights, and his family kicked him out. He became friends with Eddie in public school and was taken in by him and his mom. Vince is James’ older brother, and though they had a rocky relationship for a while, the hurt feelings are mending. James is aroace and in a queerplatonic relationship with Molly. 

Vince Snyder: 29, trans man, bassist and vocalist. Vince has gone through a ton of personal growth—from leaving his abusive family, to struggling with alcoholism, to navigating transition. He’s always loved animals, even the “gross” bugs and reptiles he was told not to play with as a kid. Although his onstage personality is over-the-top and gregarious, he tends to be more reserved and laid-back with his friends. He struggles a lot with imposter syndrome and fears of inadequacy, as well as guilt from his upbringing. At this point in the story, he has married Cassandra Prince, the band’s manager, and is taking time off to be with her and work on a solo album.   

Eddie Glenn: 24, drummer, short king, pansexual. Eddie is the co-founder of the band, along with James. Growing up autistic/adhd, Eddie dealt with a lot of bullying and isolation. But when he met James, they just clicked. When he found out James was functionally homeless, his mom insisted on taking James in. They essentially became brothers overnight, and that bond has remained into adulthood. Personality-wise, Eddie is a goofball and a sweetheart; this works against him sometimes, as people tend to infantilize him. Eddie is also an artist; he makes all the merch and graphics for SoB and is studying to be an art teacher. Because of his autism, Eddie struggles with selective mutism and sometimes uses ASL and AAC. He and Molly briefly dated, but realized they’re better as friends. 

Molly “Moondust” Rivera-Roth: 27, nonbinary/demigirl, keyboard and mixing. Molly Moondust is her DJ name, and how she met Eddie (he was graffitiing the outside of her venue). Molly was adopted as a baby by her two loving dads, one Cuban and one Jewish. Between the two of them and the rotating variety of foster kids in their home, Molly’s childhood was extremely multicultural. She was an awkward, geeky, chubby girl growing up, finding solace in her family and her love of technology and music. As she got older and found the EDM scene, she grew more confident and honed not only her craft, but also her outgoing personality. Molly is loud, affectionate, and a great friend. Being away from her family when she went to college was really tough, and she got caught up in the party scene (and party drugs). James and Eddie’s friendship and concern helped pull her out of the hole, and she and Vince keep each other accountable. Molly loves James and is happy to be in his life however he feels most comfortable; they view each other almost like spouses, at least as far as their level of security and trust. 

Cassandra Prince (name may be changed): 30, band manager/idiot wrangler, engaged to Vince. Cass met the others while working with the performance arts department at their university. James was impressed with her management skills and asked for her help. Cass is physically disabled and uses mobility aids, and she loves cottagecore/pastel goth fashion. Because of growing up disabled, she had to "grow up fast," so she often feels disconnected from her peers and struggles to lighten up. The only person she really loosens up around is Vince, who gets to see the cutesy, babyish side of her. (Cass is a late addition to the canon and isn't fully fleshed out; her details are subject to change.)

Debby Glenn: Eddie’s mom and James’ surrogate mom. Debby was a dental hygienist when Eddie was growing up, but by the time he graduated, she’d become a dentist and opened her own practice. She and Eddie pretty much just had each other since her family wanted nothing to do with her as an unwed mother, and Eddie’s dad was a stalkery asshole. She had to get a restraining order against him and move cities to get him off her back. Debby was a rockstar mom, despite having to work crazy hard to support the two of them as a single mom. She encouraged Eddie's love of percussion from a young age and always did the best she could to accommodate and advocate for Eddie—and, naturally, that translated to James as well. Debby has a big, open heart, and she took James in with barely a second thought; though she loves all the SoB kids like they’re her own, James has a special place in her heart as her second son. 

That's the band! I have a handful of great whumpy scenarios for them, mostly on the milder side compared to Ash's story. I'm hoping to develop this into a full comic or web series over time, but I'm not quite confident enough yet to really give it a go. So in the meantime, I'll post the few fics I have of theirs and maybe post some slice of life stuff on another blog (I'll link it if I do that). Pictures will be added to this post later.

[ekstan]

An old article about Erik Knudsen

Hey guys, i've found this article about Erik published in June 26, 2000 by canadian online magazine Playback, so enjoy it!

Acting on their abilities

Erik Knudsen

"I'm coming soon to a theatre near you," says 12-year-old Erik Knudsen. Perhaps if the young actor had plowed back a couple of extra cases of creampuffs, he'd already be there.

Knudsen was the only Canadian chosen to audition with Bruce Willis in Los Angeles for the current big-screen, feel-good flick The Kid. In fact, Knudsen made it down to a "him or me" showdown with the current star of the picture, Spencer Breslin.

According to Knudsen, the director was ready to cast him. "Every page is about a chubby kid," Knudsen begins. "The director liked me and wanted me, but the writer didn't want to change every single page."

Despite acting being a difficult business for a preteen, Knudsen has a surprisingly long performance history. Says the well-dressed actor: "When I was little I always used to perform. I used to dance like Michael Jackson when I was three years old. And every teacher I had always said I should get into acting, until, in grade five, my teacher phoned my parents and said, 'You should really get him into acting classes.' "

Knudsen's mother, an aspiring actor herself, registered the young thespian in The Second City acting classes in Toronto. It was there that Knudsen was introduced to his agent, Faith Halman of the Sloan Talent Group. With Sloan, Knudsen's career began to take off.

Over the past year, Knudsen has landed lead roles in several commercials, an mow called Blackout with Jane Seymour, and the television series Real Kids Real Adventures. He's also had parts in the cable feature Common Ground, the series I Was A Sixth Grade Alien and the feature film Tribulation.

Articulate beyond his years, Knudsen informed Playback that he is no longer interested in auditioning for commercials. For him, movies are the most exciting.

"Movies are fun because you get to meet a lot of people and stay with them longer."

Apparently, Seymour was very impressed with the young actor during the Blackout shoot. As well, Knudsen describes Willis as "really nice. He's just like a kid."

Knudsen is aware that sometimes child actors' careers peak before their voices change. With confidence, and an understanding beyond many actors twice his age, Knudsen hopes for the best and prepares for the worst.

"Hopefully, I'll stick. But for backup I like behind the camera, also. I have my own camcorder and video enhancer for sound and everything. Every day I film my [big] sister and [other] troubled teens," he says with the sly smile of a sibling rival. Currently, Knudsen is trying to land a role in Ogopogo, a $25-million sea-monster movie to be shot in Winnipeg.Dave Lazar.

Source: Playbackonline

[simgerale]

introducing...

noelle minton (heir) & bronson littler (future spouse)