#and making calls and math and putting value to things that will keep changing and skyrocketing in price

[windydrawallday]

I hate doing taxes so much AGH

[montecarloedexistence]

Driving myself Crazy for three hours trying to make an incomplete Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics Simulation in Python

The following post is a rant. I try my best to explain and dumb things down, but I'm writing it with too much frustration at my code so I apologize in advance.

For those who wanna go oooh colors changing pretty here's a short clip of the animation I generated. There's a longer simulation linked at the bottom of the post.

Read on about how I made the simulation under the cut.

Okay, so, Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics. It's one method of Simulating Fluids (gases and liquids and plasmas basically) with computers. It's mainly got applications in two places, from what I know. One is in Science Research, and another is in Game Development.

There are two major methods of representing a fluid for a computer, one is with Particles, and another is with grids. I tried to make a grid-based simulation but that has a lot more math, and I can't do math without some meth so here I am.

Okay, so Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics. How does it work? Well, like it says, it's basically simulating the constituent and then smoothing them out to sorta get the hydrodynamic behavior. [3]

The Ancient Indian natural scientist Maharshi Kanada [1] postulated that everything in the world was made of tiny little things indivisible things called Paramanu. Democritus proposed a similar theory, that all matter was composed of small indivisible particles which they called "atoms" [2]. The idea of smooth particle hydrodynamics builds on top of that. If everything is made up of these constituent particles, then so must fluids as well.

These constituent particles (particles henceforth) are nice. They don't break further, and they undergo elastic collisions. (ACTUALLY, the actual molecules that make up a fluid are not like this, we're just assuming that they are cuz this whole mess is complicated enough without having to simulate intra-intermolecular interactions). Elastic Collisions, basically mean that the particles, when they hit each other, they don't lose the energy of motion (kinetic energy). [4]

An actual Liquid is going to have MILLIONS OF BILLIONS of particles. Actually, we have a name for something that big, it's called a Mole. [5] One mole is like 10^23 particles. (10 times 10 times 10... twenty three times). But my computer is a useless piece of potato that can't even be used to make a goddam french fry, unless you wanna heat up the oil with how hot this thing gets doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

Okay sorry for the tangent. It's like almost 2 in the night and I'm hungry. My point is that my computer can't keep track of one mole of particles. It's too many particles. So, what I say is, okay, out of the one mole of particles, I'm going to keep track of only like say, 1000 particles. And then whatever results I get, I multiply it with a big number and scale it up to approximate the results of one mole of particles.

So, I just put a bunch of particles, and then I have to keep track of their positions, velocities, accelerations, and all that jazz. So if you remember 8th grade there were these equations of motion, where you'd change the values of position, velocity, and acceleration using some formulae. [6] Those formulae are continuous, which means for fancy sphancy reasons (Remind me to write another post about this when I'm in a better mood about this one it's super cool) I can't use. I need to do something called Discritize the equations. [7].

For that, I used something called the Explicit Euler Method first. [8] That's basically a method that Euler came up with I guess so it's got his name. Why does the Wikipedia article on this thing not have a history section but a section on "In Popular Culture" wth. Someone pls edit it if you know the history of this thing anyways.

The problem with Discretization is that, the way you're implementing it in computers, it's not going to be accurate. There's going to be some errors and they build up. So normally when you drop a ball from a certain height, and ignore the fact that heat and air and friction exists, then the ball hits the ground, and bounces back, it should go back to the height it started at. But because of the errors from Discretization adding up, the ball kept losing height. That's not good. So I moved over and implemented this thing called the Runge Kutta Method. [9] These methods were developed around 1900 by the German mathematicians Carl Runge and Wilhelm Kutta. If you're looking at the wikipedia page for this and wondering what the heck is this, same gurl same. I just asked chatgpt to implement this method into my code and it gave out something that I think is correct I'm not sure. But the point is that this is better and doesn't throw that much errors in calculation.

Okay now that that's done, I threw like a 1000 balls onto the screen, gave them random velocities, put them under an arbitrary downward gravity, and hooray. That covers the particle part of the Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics.

(YES I know particles don't go through each other like they do in this simulation. I'm supposed to include some collision logic, and I could not be bothered to implement it yet, because it is 2 AM and I AM GOING CRAZY with just this much.)

Now, for the Smooth part of Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics. If only I could use this as an excuse to pull out my smooth pickup lines but I'll stick to the physics for now. Basically, one way of calculating density is, suppose I have a box, I can toss in say 100 balls, and then the density of the box is 100 balls / box. The box has some volume, so I divide this unit I've got with the volume of the box. And each ball has some mass, so I multiply the unit with the mass of each ball. And that's basically what I do here.

Suppose, I take a point and then around it, I draw a circle. I first count the number of particles in this circle, and then divide it with the volume of the circle. (There's a few more steps here but i'm not bothering. I'm giving more importance to the particles closer to the point and less to the particles more far away but that's a mess to explain and I can't think of a way to explain it.). And then I multiply and divide by the mass of particle and volume of the circle respectively, I end up with the density at the given point.

But that's just for one point. If you sit and plot it for as many points as possible, then you get something resembling the density function of the system. What I've done here is basically divide my domain into a 25 by 25 grid, and I calculated the density at the center of each of the grid boxes. The more particles and the More Grid boxes you have, the more smoother your function will be. Here, not so much. It's a pixelated mess, but the same logic applies. I calculated the density grid for each instant of time, and then let the simulation run for like 1000 frames.

FINALLY the plotting. I just plotted the points where they are with a scatterplot, and then the background I put the heatmap of the density. And of course I didn't bother naming my axes, because that's the standard practice for plotting graphs. (When you're lazy like I am right now. Always label your axes in a serious graph)

So here's the GIF I finally generated after the trials and tribulations going for like 1000 frames. Let's hope Tumblr can render it pls.

I cited my references in the order of the paragraphs I wrote so deal with the non-linear citations. This ain't a research paper and it's way too late in the night for me to be bothered about this sorry. Why did I even bother with the citations if I was going to half-arse this thing anyways this is why you don't write stuff when half asleep.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ka%E1%B9%87%C4%81da

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomism

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoothed-particle_hydrodynamics

[4] https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elastic_collision

[5] https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_(unit)

[6] https://byjus.com/physics/equations-of-motion/

[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discretization

[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euler_method

[9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runge%E2%80%93Kutta_methods

Okay yeah that's about it time to sleep for me. I just wanted to finish writing this post before I could sleep, cuz I know for a fact I ain't goina be in a mood to write it once I wake up. 100% gurantee I'll lose the motivation to write it once i wake up lol.

[d4rkpluto]

𝔢𝔵𝔭𝔩𝔞𝔦𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔪𝔶𝔢𝔯𝔰-𝔟𝔯𝔦𝔤𝔤𝔰 𝔱𝔶𝔭𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔤𝔶 𝔦𝔫𝔡𝔦𝔠𝔞𝔱𝔬𝔯

don't be surprised that me someone who is obsessed with archetypes is posting about mbti...but please buckle up for the post because it's a handful, and i'll make the post as easy as possible to understand!

♇ if you just want to support here is my paypal!

♇ anyways, [i'll be using sentences that i've learned as well] the mbti is used to understand yourself, the relationships your in along with your personal growth; the mbti is about your cognition which means your intelligence, how you process and understand information.

♇ people need to understand that the typology cannot predict how someone is going to consciously behave, for example, someone sees an intj and the first thing they think is that "omg that person is definitely going to be so emo".

♇ however, the mbti does predict the subconscious micro-expression [which means someone's true emotion] and body language. keep in mind, anyone can change behaviour, so yes, mbti's can change depending on the personal growth of someone, someone's mbti might fully form when they're like a middle aged adult, in my opinion.

♇ the mbti typology believes that we understand information in two ways, which are functions called ⬎

the judging and perceiving functions.

♇ the perceiving function ⟶ understanding information that is experienced first handedly by the person, and putting the information together afterwards.

♇ the judging function ⟶ understanding information without having to experience it first handedly, and putting the information together afterwards or even the same time they come in contact with the information.

♇ everyone judges information by a logical and a rational mindset, along with value based and a honest criteria which is involved with the four modes of cognition [intelligence] everyone has.

↳ and those four modes are:

♇ sensing, intuition, thinking or feeling, which can either be introverted or extroverted. every type has four of the functions [sensing, intuition, thinking or feeling] in descending order, meaning from strongest to weakest. which also refers to how much someone uses four of the functions they have; and the plethora of the descending combinations gives rise to the 16 types.

♇ let's begin with the perceiving functions ⬎

which include SE, SI, NE AND NI.

SE ⟶ extroverted sensing.

SI ⟶ introverted sensing.

NE ⟶ extroverted intuition.

NI ⟶ introverted intuition.

♇ beginning with the sensory functions [SE AND SI].

⟶ with SE which is the extroverted sensing.

⟶ extroverted sensing [SE] react to events first handedly, [like their own experience], before they believe or understand in something.

⟶ they see things as it is and don't overthink the answer in front of them. for example, they're the type to look at a maths question and think that all "solutions/problem solving" can lead to the same answer.

⟶ people with extroverted sensing are action-oriented and need to experience things themselves in order to understand it, like i have mentioned before.

⟶ onto with SI which is introverted sensing.

⟶ introverted sensing [SI] react to events as patterns they have seen before, for example, if someone has already seen two individuals who belong to loud and violent houses react to situations in a defensive way, and the [SI] individual meets another person who has the same background as the other two people they have communicated before and notice that the new individual behaves the same way. they'll understand that people from abusive households are normally protective over themselves out of trauma.

⟶ [SI] individuals build personal associations to data, they'll look at something like "this solution is bad" and "this solution is good" because of the outcomes they have seen or heard before; which is different than a [SE] native, who would rather want to interact with the solution before they come up with an answer. [SI] people who are selective and consistent; they only want information that is useful for them.

⟶ they're people who go by previous examples, and are likely people who can identify patterns in large source of information, and dont need first hand experience to know when something is true.

♇ now with the intuition functions [NE AND NI]

⟶ starting with NE which is extroverted intuition.

⟶ extroverted intuition [NE] are people who see countless of possibilities with their intuition, every probability or likelihood they see they will take it into account. they're the "anything is possible" group.

⟶ [NE] individuals see possible connections, which causes their work to grow more bigger and bigger as they're expansive people, like [SE], [NE] natives have no specific preferences they'd like to work on, and find every idea useful. these natives tend to be very action-oriented as well.

⟶ they are people who need to first handedly go through situations for them to make the dots/connections; which could sometimes not give them the upper hand when they're trying to solve something compared to an [SI] who will already make the patterns due to events they have read or heard before.

⟶ now onto NI which is introverted intuition.

⟶ introverted intuition [NI] are people who could be perceived as people who arent as expressive to situations openly, but will feel a lot on the inside. they're the type of people to form a logical concept from information that is relevant or they think is relevant.

⟶ like [SI] the [NI] individuals only see information or patterns that makes sense to them and and they do care about other people's thoughts and additional information within their research.

⟶ they're specific and are likely to understand things easily while finding further links and connections. they're reflective about the information they gather, so when they do receive details, they'll see if it makes sense or not.

⟶ people can either have SE & NI or SI & NE; it can never be "i have SE & SI or i have NI & NI".

information about perceiving functions finished.

♇ moving onto judging functions.

which includes TE, TI, FE AND FI. ⬎

TE ⟶ extroverted thinking.

TI ⟶ introverted thinking.

FE ⟶ extroverted feeling.

FI ⟶ introverted feeling.

♇ beginning with the thinking functions [TE AND TI]

⟶ with TE which is extroverted thinking

⟶ they're people who most likely focus on their own judgement, they will decide what makes sense to them and what doesnt make sense to them; what is logical and what is not, which will normally be based on their own experiences with the issue. they're focused on the end product, so they'll likely do the same thing to see if the outcome changes.

⟶ they think of ideas that are effective, and are objective to the route they're taking, they're people who like information that can be proven to them. if they can't see it, they wont believe it. it's their basic understanding of logic.

⟶ [TE] individuals can be considered as quite annoying because they normally don't listen until they have to go through a specific situation all the time/or go through much life lessons to understand what to or not to do.

⟶ with TI which is introverted thinking

⟶ [TI] individuals like to make everything make sense to them, which could be time consuming because for example, they would like to learn something so simple, will learn it, but during the process they would want to know every step, even the irrelevant steps which makes it time consuming.

⟶ they can only go forward in life when they do understand something, they're people who are likely to be anxious when they dont know information they think is relevant to them, compared to [TE] natives who wouldnt mind learning the details when they're going through a route.

⟶ [TI] people are considered less impactive than [TE] folks as they're people who only want to learn the depth of a topic and not other possibilities that can surround the topic.

⟶ onto FE which is extroverted feeling

⟶ [FE] natives judge on what they see on the outside, for example they're the type of people to judge people based on their appearance or based on their first impressions compared to other functions. they wouldnt really be like "oh i just need to know the depth of this person" if someone presents themselves as rude, the [FE] person will always think of the other person as insolent, no redemption.

⟶ people who have [FE] are usually those who are mainly like "it can only either be these two options" nothing else. they're normally like that when they experience something physically first and if their mind thinks something is negative they will always perceive that thing is negative while deeming the opposite thing of that instrument positive.

⟶ they're people who are clear about their intentions so other people can understand what they are striving for. could sometimes lead to them failing since people will always know what they're up to.

⟶ onto FI which is introverted feeling

⟶ [FI] people judge the weight of something after they deeply understand the matter. and when they understand the deepness to an information they decide what part of the information is useful for them.

⟶ like the [TI] system, [FI] is very specific and particular about everything, like they cant just go on with life knowing 2+2 equals 4, they'll need to understand why 2+2 equals 4.

⟶ evidently, they're people who take the time to understand something which can sometimes take it longer for them to understand a subject compared to other people but when they finally understand it, they become very efficient to the subject and find ways to simplify it for other people so everyone else can learn.

⟶ people can either have TE & FI or TI & FE; it can never be "i have TE & TI or i have FI & FE".

⟶ information about the judging function finished.

⟶ TWO THINKING AXIS ⬎

♇ SE AND NI ⟶ see the issue and would like to explore different possibilities of it or live through it.

♇ SI AND NE ⟶ see the issue and would rather focus on that single issue before they apply it to other things.

TWO JUDGING AXIS

♇ TE AND FI ⟶ see the problem and would solve it with how other people might've solved it before, but would solve the problem with multiple tools they'll think that can work on the issue.

♇ TI AND FE ⟶ see the problem and would rather solve it with a tool that might've worked in other scenarios. wouldnt think to use other tools if they know the one they have right now is useful.

SO...WHAT MAKES AN MBTI...AN MBTI?

♇ the order of the functions i have mentioned: SE, SI, NE AND NI that belong to the thinking functions and TE, TI, FE AND FI that belong to the judging functions make the mbti!

♇ including what function is the strongest to what function is the weakest.

♇ the axis pairs will either be the first and fourth function or the second and third function.

⟶ SE AND NI being function pairs.

⟶ SI AND NE being function pairs.

⟶ TE AND FI being function pairs.

⟶ TI AND FE being function pairs.

♇ for example, let's use ISTP ⬎

⟶ I = introversion.

⟶ S = sensing.

⟶ T = thinking.

⟶ P = perceiving.

↳ the first two functions determine the middle letters of the MBTI TYPE CODE.

♇ the functions within the ISTP TYPE CODE

⟶ TI SE NI FE ⬎

♇ the TI AND SE within the ISTP function make up for the two missing middle letters in the type code: I _ _ P because they are the first two functions!

⟶ because TI is the _ _ T _ in ISTP because it is about introverted thinking.

⟶ and SE is the _ S _ _ in ISTP because it is about the extroverted sensing.

"but pluto what makes up for the first letter in the code?"

♇ good question! what makes up for the first letter in the code is the second letter in the strongest function and the strongest function for ISTP is TI and what is the second letter for TI? It's "I" which causes the function to now become from _ S T P to I S T P.

♇ if the TI was a TE it would commence the function to become E S T P.

"okay but what about the last letter in a type code?"

♇ you'll have to look back at the first extroverted function in the type code for your mbti, and for ISTP it is ⟶ TI SE NI FE. the first extroverted function in the type code is SE which means EXTROVERTED SENSING.

♇ SE belongs to the perceiving function which implies that the last letter for I S T _ will be I S T P.

♇ if the SE was replaced and FE was the first extroverted function for the type code, the type would have changed from I S T P to I S T J. because FE belongs to the judging function!

↳ lets use an extroverted mbti now.

⟶ E = extroversion.

⟶ N = intuition.

⟶ F = feeling.

⟶ J = judging.

♇ the functions within ENFJ TYPE CODE are ⬎

⟶ FE NI NE TI ⬎

♇ the FE AND NI within the ENFJ function make up for the two missing middle letters in the type code: E _ _ J because they are the first two functions!

⟶ because FE is the _ _ F _ in ENFJ because it is about extroverted feeling.

⟶ and NI is the _ N _ _ in ENFJ because it is about the introverted sensing.

"but pluto what makes up for the first letter in the code?"

♇ good question! what makes up for the first letter in the code is the second letter in the strongest function and the strongest function for ENFJ is FE and what is the second letter for FE? It's "E" which causes the function to now become from _ N F J to E N F J.

♇ if the FE was a FI it would commence the function to become I N F J.

"okay but what about the last letter in a type code?"

♇ you'll have to look back at the first extroverted function in the type code for your mbti, and for ENFJ it is ⟶ FE SI NE TI. the first extroverted function in the type code is FE which means EXTROVERTED FEELING.

♇ FE belongs to the judging function which implies that the last letter for E N F _ will be E N F J.

♇ if the FE was replaced and NE was the first extroverted function for the type code, the type could have changed from ENFJ to ENFP. because NE belongs to the perceiving function!

♇ i hope this helped you guys understand how the myers briggs typology works even more! this is just me opening up before i post about the mbtis!

♇ if you just want to support here is my paypal!

♇ masterlist

pluto

♇

[mell-the-dungeon-master]

Dicecloud V1 Guide, pt. 1

credit: 💉on pinterest

Hello to my wonderful players! This post is to serve as my go-to link when I have to run games and my players aren't familiar with Dicecloud.

Disclaimer: Everything I say is of my opinion and personal preference. I do not claim that one is objectively better over the other. If I do, assume that I mean it in a joking manner.

If you still decide to use D&DB after this, that's fine too! I just can't help if something goes terribly wrong.

🌼˗ˏˋ "Why not D&D Beyond?"

Because DC is free, supremely customizable with unlimited character slots and easy to implement homebrew. The catch is that its all manual (aside from the stat math) and at worst you would have to add a list of things in one by one.

Additionally, those who are experienced with Markdown / HTML can use their knowledge to automate some math or functions.

I think its a good thing to have new players learn to create a character from the scratch. D&DB gives you a handful of choices with short descriptions that can be skimmed over, the player won't really understand what the feature is or why they made that choice.

To give you an idea on what DC is like, here are some of my characters ranging from low levels (1-5) to level 30 (it was a heavily homebrewed campaign):

Momo, Level 3 Gestalt Character, Barbarian (Giants)/Druid (Wildfire)

Rowena Lillith Burnette Grey, Level 30 Gestalt Character, Blood Hunter (Mutant)/Ranger (Monster Slayer)

Whiff, Level 6 Character, Rogue (Arcane Trickster)

Lanie Colette Jacquét, Level 6 Character, Ranger (Fey Wanderer)/Warlock (Archfey)

🌼˗ˏˋ "What about sources?" / "How can I find X?"

5e Wikidot. Everything is literally right there for ✨F R E E✨ no subscription or content sharing needed.

🌼˗ˏˋ "How can I roll dice during games?"

I use Owlbear Rodeo and its dice rolling extensions. It just doesn't connect your sheet to the VTT like Beyond20.

I. Signing In to Dicecloud

If you don't already have an account, go ahead and make one (link below)

https://v1.dicecloud.com/

We will be using version 1 (V1) Dicecloud. Its the one I'm familar with and it's the easily customizable one. Version 2 massively overhauls the OGs systems, so I don't know how to use it (plus, no unli slots). If you decide to use V2, that's fine too!

II. Creating a New Character

Great! Now open up the sidebar (☰ on the top left if you're on mobile), click on "Characters", then the big red plus button (bottom right)

It will give you 3 options, select "New Character"

(Check picture below) You'll be greeted to this screen, at the very least fill in the character's name and race. But they will all be changeable later if you decide to change your mind.

One you click "Add" you will be greeted to your character's "Stats" page (keep in mind that I'll call them "Tabs" or "Pages")

From here, I'm assuming you already have a character in mind. If you don't, I have a separate post--a quick guide. Feel free to check it out then come back here.

III. Setting your Base Ability Scores

I have all the pictures below in order. On your character sheet, head to the "Features" page, you will then see the "Base Ability Scores" feature.

Click on that and you will be shown your ability scores, they are 10 by default. To edit them, click on the pencil on the top right of the pop up window.

The pencil puts you in, what I like to call, "editing mode." Earlier you were just in "viewing mode."

Anyways, you will see pencils on the right side. Each of them allows you to edit their corresponding ability score.

Clicking on then brings you here (look below) where you can change the value. Remember, this is your base ability score, that means before you receive any bonuses.

After editing each score, you should end up with something like this. Just hit the check mark (✔) at the top right corner or click outside the pop up window.

Once you've done that for every ability, you should end up with something like this:

This post is getting pretty long, so I'll continue this in another post. I'll update and leave links as I go.

[serenpedac]

OCs as planets

I’ve seen this uquiz go around and obviously had to do it for my OCs. Because I won’t miss a chance to talk about astronomy, I also added the first thing that each planet made me think about.

Putting it under a cut and not tagging anyone, because I doubt astronomy ramblings are what anyone is following me for and I don't want people to feel obligated to read this, but if you want do the quiz, please feel free to tag me <3

Yael

venus

passionate. romantic. loving to be loved. courtship. adoration and taste. you are your own personal aesthetic. you are hand written love letters in copper ink. you are "let me show you just how much i can love you." you are royalty and class. love has no bounds with you. your heart is wrapped in chocolate tin foil. you attract what you manifest so keep believing in love. it is you and you, it.

I swear this didn’t come to mind just because I started watching the Bridgerton prequel series last weekend, haha, but the Venus transit, the phenomenon of Venus passing between the Earth and the Sun, has been key in determining the  distance between Earth and the Sun. Before the 18th century, Kepler’s laws had given an idea of the relative scales within the solar system, but actual distances were very hard to measure. However, astronomers realised they would be able to derive the Earth-Sun distance (the “astronomical unit”, au) if they had measurements of the duration of the transit from different places across the globe. I won’t go into the maths, but the idea is that Venus crosses a different part of the Sun if seen from different locations. With some trigonometry (simplified example here, since it has images that explain this better than words can), distances can be calculated.

In order to get these measurements, entire expeditions were coordinated in the 17th and 18th century! They eventually ended up with a value that was only about 3% off from the value we know it to be today, which is pretty impressive.

Gabi

saturn

patient. stable. reliable. preserving and diligent. your capacity to hold focus on something you choose to is unmatched by all other planets. you were made for hard work that you love and that you know is rewarding. you are the shoulder that everyone wants to cry on, so remember you can lean on yourself when it seems there is no one else. there is nothing wrong with being self sufficient. you are justice and evenly balanced scales.

While I love this answer for Gabi, nothing really came to mind at first, other than the obvious rings. But then I started thinking about planetary migration, which is very cool. There’s this theory called the Grand tack hypothesis that says Jupiter formed a lot closer to the Sun than where it is now. It then started moving even closer to the Sun, until it got caught into a gravitational resonance with Saturn, and both migrated farther out, eventually ending up in their current positions. 

Laura

uranus

innovative. unpredictable. resourceful. imaginative. creativity in science and disruption. oh, uranus. you were dealt the cards that don't have much to offer, but luckily you can always make them work. you are acrylic paint that has been plastered over the same canvas so many times that it is starting to have those little grooves of texture. you are ever-changing and suddenly it stops. and starts again. keep moving. nothing is wrong with not wanting to sit still.

This is a fun one! While the rotational axes of the other planets in our solar system are more or less perpendicular to their orbital plane, for Uranus, it’s tilted some 90 degrees. Basically, Uranus is lying on its side and is “rolling” along its orbit around the Sun. This means it are its poles that are pointed at the Sun—one at a time, of course — and not just its equator. Several theories exist to explain this odd orientation of the rotational axis, for example collisions with other objects.

Melike

neptune

mercy. kindness. sweet. forgiving and compassionate. you are second chances and sometimes third. you are "its ok because everyone makes mistakes." you are "i forgive you as long as you are learning." you are not held down by the demands of your ego. you believe and right and fair. open mindedness and friendship. you are mystical and magical, observant and the smell of warm bread in the morning.

Neptune is interesting, because it wasn’t discovered as a planet by observations like the other major planets, but through a comparison between models and real-life measurements of the orbit of Uranus. A discrepancy between the two was found, which was postulated to be cause by the gravitational influence of another planet: Neptune. Indeed, some years later, Neptune was “discovered”. I say “discovered”, because the planet had already been observed several centuries before by Galileo Galilei, but he thought it was a star. The thing I like about this is how it shows how theories and observations can complement each other!

[iamnotawomanimagod]

favourite things about your husband? (I'm corny)

This is a very sweet question, not corny at all! Sorry it took me a minute to answer it.

This could be a much longer list, but I'm gonna try to show some restraint, lol.

My husband is a college professor and teaches math. He's genuinely a very good teacher. He cares about his students and their success. He tries to be approachable and easy-going, understanding of their needs and limitations. He's specifically taking time out of his schedule this semester to attend a weekly equity seminar, to make sure he's up to date on sensitivity surrounding race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. He chose to do that on his own time. It's a cohort of about thirty teachers, and he's one of only three men in the entire group. That's a little depressing, but it also made me realize just how rare a man like my husband is.

I've seen him grow so, so much when it comes to social issues and cultural equity. He was kind of your average shitty white-passing teenage boy/young adult, but he recognized that and changed it. He's put in the work, because he has a huge heart. He wants to help people and leave a good impression on his colleagues and his students. He's one of the few men I've ever met who calls his friends out on their shitty jokes, and he eventually stopped hanging out with the ones who wouldn't cut that shit out. He has really solid morals and he lives by them.

He's had a lot of challenges as someone with ADHD, who is also on the autism spectrum. He had a very atypical path to becoming a college professor, and worked really hard to overcome the obstacles he's faced. He has something that I often lack, which is the drive to get up and keep going, even when something is really difficult and seems impossible. He got through grad school in his late 20s, and now he gets to be an example to his students that you don't have to stay perfectly on track to achieve your goals.

But at home, he's goofy as hell. I'm pretty much the only person in the world who will ever know what a total weirdo he is. We've been together for 11 years now, and nobody but my best friend makes me laugh as hard or as often as he does. We're one of those obnoxious couples who speak almost exclusively in references and inside jokes. I think part of why we work so well is because we really enjoy seeing each other laugh and we want to make a happy, carefree space for each other at home. We're a good team, and our main objective in life is just to have fun together. For us, that means a lot of comedy shows on the couch with some takeout. I had a pretty unstable childhood, so I really value the peace and easy contentment we have together.

And a handful of little things: he's great at cuddling and giving hugs; when he comes home from a night out he'll often bring me back a drink or snack that I like without being asked; he's always been willing to take care of me through a lot of very difficult mental health peaks and valleys; he's empathetic, supportive, and my absolute rock.

This isn't to say that our relationship is perfect, of course. We've had lots of ups and downs, we argue like every couple does, and there are definitely things about him that frustrate me (and vice versa.) But I wouldn't trade him for anyone or anything. He's my panda.

Overall, I think I really hit the jackpot. I'm very lucky. Thanks for giving me a chance to reflect on that, anon. <3

[thepaperclippings]

Anywhere I go, Math follows me

While the thought of enlisting in a Data Journalism class has always thrilled me, the fear of not doing well in the subject has also prevailed over me for two reasons: (1) of all the pesky branches of Mathematics, statistics was the one I hated the most, and (2) I have never learned how to strategically use Excel or Google Sheets.

However, I realized from last Tuesday’s session that Data Journalism in this day and age is becoming a necessary skill set to arrive at more compelling stories and keep up with the continuously evolving technology.

As journalists, we know at the very least how to assess if a story is better told visually using documentaries and photos, or through online and print articles. Similar to this thinking, we have to admit that some stories are indeed better told using data and statistics because these allow us to show trends, patterns, and correlations that could be easily digested and visualized by our readers.

By using data as a takeoff and main component of our journalistic stories, we also get the chance to put actual meaning, value, and relevance to mere numbers. For instance, a data set containing details about road accidents could initially mean nothing to people. However, if we can evaluate the data and make conclusions, say, on the most common causes of these road accidents, it could trigger a change or call of action either from the people or by policymakers.

I also learned that data, as a scientific and objective fragment of information, has the potential to make our stories more credible and a bit protected from external bias.

While the personal narratives, statements, and stories of individual case studies are of course reliable as well, large data enables us journalists to generalize sound conclusions (at least to a certain extent). This makes our stories less of a clump of personal observations, and more of a “proven and tested” thing.

Further, I understand that data journalism is not just about knowing how to read and gather data sets. It is also important to be knowledgeable and persistent about building one’s own set of data.

In our story, in particular, although the ODA-funded projects are narrowed down to one agency, which is the DOTr, we are bracing ourselves for the possibility of having to build our own data set from documents and information coming from separate foreign banks and institutions in case the bureaucracy of the local agency hits us with a deadlock.

Fortunately, the DOTr has already provided us with an Excel File containing a highlighted list of ODA-funded projects under their agency. However, this only specifies and confirms that they are indeed funded by foreign loans and grants. The other details of the projects with regard to their timeline, cause of delay, etc has to be sourced from other data sets or documents.

[twinhood-2dot0]

What a wonderful world :)

Good morning, Alia! This is so much fun!!! I A-dore your deep dives but I hate that you keep apologizing for them? Like, why would you do that? I understand that guilt is a default emotion for you but would you please stop thinking the cool parts of you are dumb? It’s SO ANNOYING AAAAAGHH

You know what else is annoying? The way we teach math. Math is by far the most beautiful part of school life. And it is by far the most feared part of school life for several, maybe after, uh, bullying, “public” shame (i.e, within the school), public speaking, and the impending doom of the end of the world as the sun eventually engulfs us in its ever-enlargening sphere of plasma but then even the sun is engulfed soon and eventually the whole universe is engulfed and the universe dies a silent heat death.

You know, the quote from T. S. Eliot’s poem? This is the way the world ends/Not with a bang but a whimper.

Anyway, that’s off topic and also not  a common fear among kids these days. Or maybe it is but… 

Yeah, our generation is weird. But what’s weirder is this fear of math.  SO MANY HATE ALGEBRA!! If only every teacher was like Vihart and showed us that it’s all just fancy counting.

Adding is definitely counting, so is subtraction. Multiplication and division are repeated adding and subtracting so that’s also eventually counting. Exponents are repeated multiplications, logarithms is just how many times you repeatedly multiplied to get to an exponent. It’s all basically counting. And Vihart depicts this beautiful idea hilariously, as always.

Next up, trigonometry! Oh, what a beauty and oh, what a shame when all kids do is memorize the values of sines, cosines and tangents. Really, it’s just that humans realized that if you fix two angles of a triangle, the third angle gets fixed. And that means that no matter what triangle you make with those three angles, the ratio of the lengths of those sides will ALWAYS BE THE SAME! And for convenience we fixed one of those angles as a right angle, and you can switch the second angle and your ratio of sides will always be the same. 

This simple little relation helped us estimate how far a star is from us!! It helps us make musical instruments (What? Did you think the shape of a plucked guitar string and the graph of the sine function is a coincidence? Ha!) and even in oceanography. The little solutions physics and engineering use for everyday things, of course, would seem to complex without the tools of trigonometry.

That’s what math is, really. A set of tools. A language that we can use to interpret the universe. Well, actually more than that, but more about that later.

And, now, of course, we have Calculus! With the beautiful swiggly integral signs (or, as some people call it, the scary poisonous snake integral sings) and the so-tiny-they’re-almost-zero-but-they’re-not-zero “dx”s and “dt”s, sighhhhh. What a beauty 😌✨

I cannot understate how intrinsic and intuitive calculus can be if it’s taught right. It almost describes the nature of everything to me. Like, if you draw a line, its basically a continuous addition (a.k.a integration) of points. How many points are there on the line? A huge number, but you can tell when there are more points or less points - a line is longer or shorter.

This becomes clearer when you think about areas, as shown in this video by 3blue1brown.

Really calculus is, as Vihart puts it, lookin’ at slopes! Dang, they should really conisder naming math areas/courses. But then you realize, how can there be a slope at a point. There can’t be change in a single instant. There have to be two points of comparison. You can’t have a tangent of/at a point. And that’s where limits and your so-tiny-they’re-almost-zero-but-they’re-not-zero “dx”s and “dt”s come in and remind you that they’re not zero. They just are arriving, coming close to, zero. Tangents at a point on a curve don’t pass through nearby points. Slope of a point on a curve/line looks at the steepness of the region near/around the point. Change in position at an instant is based on nearby instants of time, because otherwise..

A point would be zero, having zero dimensions. But everything else - lines, areas, spaces/volumes, is made of points. That would mean there are no lines or no dimensions at all. For anything.

A car would never start moving but at time 0, you’re saying it has velocity 0. And a tiny time later would be equal to So when does it actually start moving?

I repeat, they are so tiny they’re almost zero but they’re not zero. That’s the beauty of limits.

If you wanna go deep dive into that, check out the second video in the Calculus series from 3blue1brown. 

Yeah. Well, now you might be saying, dang, math is basically philosophy. And, you’d be kinda right! It is! It’s speculative. It imagines this perfect universe. We set, like, basically one rule on it, that you can count. That 2 is more than 1 and 3 is more than 2 and so on.  And magically, on its own, there existed so many pretty things in it. We’re not so much inventing math now, than we are discovering beauties in it. I know right!!!!

And that’s what leads me to another video. And yes, it’s a vlogbrothers video, but it sums up the “discovering” I talked about and how much fun there can be in it.

Okay, Alia :) I'll read you on Sunday

RYL!! (Jeez, been so long since we used RYL, lmao!)

[maletfsstories]

Budget Diversion

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-"Brah this whole thing is bullshit," Thad said angrily while on his phone.

-"Totally dude!" Lance his bro and teammate responded quickly and with the same anger in his voice.

The reason the both of them were so angry was because their University board had suddenly decided out of the bloom that the football team wasn't important anymore, little by little each month the budget previously assigned for the football team shrunk considerably while the budget for the science-oriented faculties grew.

Because of the budget cuts, the team had to use spare old equipment and their experienced celebrity coach had to be let go as the board didn't want to pay his high salary anymore.

To add insult to injury the University board also forced the closure of the largest frat on campus, Delta Zeta Pi (∆ZΠ), they then proceeded to demolish the historic frat house in order to make way for a new scientific research building.

The homeless frat boys were then relocated all over campus. Thad, Lance, and another teammate called Jason were relocated to a dorm that was next to the main science faculty building, meaning that every time they walked through the hallways of the dorm they would bump into hundreds of science nerds of all shapes, sizes, and nationalities.

Things were hard but Thad and Lance tried to keep a cool mind, that was until the board announced that they were going to be cutting all of the lacrosse team's budget, meaning that it would have to be dissolved until "further notice" by the board.

-"I mean dude if that can happen to the lacrosse team it can happen to us right?" Thad said as he walked in circles around his cramped dorm room

-"Your right brah!" Lance responded -"I mean this college was known for its elite sports teams, we put this place on the fucking map and now they want to throw us away like trash!".

-"I know dude but it's all because of those stupid nerds".

-"Totally, I mean all those smart Asians that have started to appear all over campus probably convinced the board to leave us in the gutter" Thad said as he remembered seeing the four-eyed freaks everywhere when walking through campus.

-"Fucking fags, I mean why don't they stay back in China or India, why do they have to come here and ruin the fun for all of us!".

-"Don't know dude but we have to do something, we can't just stay here without doing anything".

-"Im already ahead of you brah, just wait till I get to the dorm and I'll tell you my plan" Lance said as his tone became sinister.

-"Okay brah, see you later" Thad said with a cocky smile as he thought about all of the ways he could abuse the nerds that surrounded him.

-"Sure brah!" Lance finally said as Thad ended the call and jumped into his bed, as he looked at the ceiling he couldn't stop thinking about what was happening, everything he valued in his life was being taken away from him, ever since he was a kid Thad had loved to watch and play football, even the reason why he was studying in one of the best colleges of America was because of football as he had won an athletic scholarship that paid almost all of his tuition.

-"Fucking budget diversion..." Thad whispered to himself -"I wish things could be different".

As those fateful words left Thad's mouth an almost invisible multicolored shimmer started covering his surroundings, because Thad continued looking up towards the roof he didn't notice the formation of said shimmer, furthermore, he didn't even notice that it slowly started changing his belongings and those of his roommate Lance.

The dozens of dirty and smelly clothes on the floor vanished in the blink of an eye, in both Thad's and Lance's closets their dozens of pairs of sleeves shirts designed to perfectly show off their muscles were replaced by some formal button-up shirts, simple yet colorful graphic t-shirts with typically nerdy iconography like that of sci-fi shows and math jokes, and two or more jackets, their shorts became jeans and the dozens of colorful sports shoes they loved to flaunt because of their high cost became simple yet functional oxfords or sneakers.

The four plain walls that made up the dorm were then covered by dozens of posters of different sci-fi shows and movies, the shelves on said walls that were previously covered in sports trophies were now proudly displaying books in every scientific field and some small chess and math competition trophies.

The computer where Thad used to make mediocre assignments and watch porn was replaced by a high-end tech machine that could do any task that was thrown at it, no matter how big the numbers it had to process.

As the changes around Thad continued at a steady pace it was then time for his body to change as well, the first major change that manifested was a sudden decrease in his height from his imposing six feet four to a more compact five feet seven, Thad didn't notice this even though his feet couldn't touch the end of the bed frame like before or that his clothes felt slightly bigger.

Said clothes would become less tight over time as Thad's muscles started to dissolve back into his body, his defined six-pack was the first to go as it sank into an almost flat surface surrounded by a small amount of fat, Thad's hard-earned pecs were next as they also deflated like balloons and disappeared out of sight. Thad's bulging arms were not spared either as his huge biceps and vein-filled forearms deflated as well, leaving behind a pair of useless sticks that couldn't carry any significant amount of weight on their own.

-"What the?" Thad thought as he looked down and for a moment saw that his muscles had disappeared, he quickly blinked and as he did his vision blurred slightly. Which gave the illusion that his large muscles were still there.

-"Must have been my mind playing games" Thad concluded, after all, it had been a long day for him, he had to go to football practice in the morning, go to the gym before lunch and then go to a few tedious classes in the evening, this combined with the fact that he had been to a party last night meant that he had slept only three or four hours -"Maybe I should call it a day..." Thad thought as he got up from his bed and readied himself for the long night to come while still not noticing the changes happening around him and to himself thanks to his blurry vision.

-"Here it is!" Thad mumbled as he grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste from his now orderly drawer, he then proceeded to walk towards the small bathroom adjacent to the exit of his dorm room, once inside he washed his mouth with some water and then placed some of the toothpaste onto the toothbrush before proceeding to brush his teeth.

As he brushed each tooth carefully the changes all over his body increased in pace, his previously muscled ass became a well-proportioned bubble butt while his defined legs lost their musculature.

Thad's dick which was his pride and joy lost almost five inches leaving behind a three-inch nub, his giant and fertile balls also shrank with his manhood, and finally, his smaller equipment became covered in a dense forest of black curly hairs.

These hairs then proceeded to grow all over Thad's carefully waxed body, because of this his slightly chubby stomach now had an abundant treasure trail leading towards his flat but hairy chest whose pink nipples were surrounded by smaller black curly hairs.

This sudden hair growth was followed by a subtle change in Thad's skin tone as it went from a tanned white to a dark brown tone, first, it was his feet, then his legs, and then this new brown wave rapidly climbed upwards past his small dick, abdomen and towards his chest were his small nipples increased in size and became even darker.

The wave of brown was then stopped around Thad's neck where his adam's apple shrank giving him a more prepubescent cracking voice.

Up until this point, Thad's face was unchanged but this wouldn't be the case anymore as a messy brown beard grew into place and the previously contained brown wave rushed through his face, by doing so it quickly changed Thad's facial features as seen by his bigger lips, straight but wider nose and softer cheekbones, thus giving him a more South Asian appearance.

The last major changes were those to Thad's eyebrows as they became bushy with black hairs while his blonde buzz cut changed in color to black while also growing into a curly mess. Even Thad's eyes changed in color as his beautiful deep blue irises became black.

As Thad finished brushing his teeth and spat the water out of his mouth, his loose clothes that at this point were dangling from his body changed in order to better fit his new reality, Thad's tank top grew a pair of sleeves and changed in color to grey while a "time travel" graphic motif of a famous show formed on the front. His pair of shorts that seemed to be about to fall to the floor changed into a pair of blue denim skinny jeans that accentuated his behind, the jock underneath said jeans also changed as it became a simple pair of white briefs, finally, Thad's barefoot feet became covered by a pair of old sandals.

-"Shid" Thad said with an accent as he looked up toward the mirror, at this point his vision was so blurry that he couldn't even see anything more than a weird blob of mass reflected by the mirror.

In an almost instinctual manner, Thad's right hand started desperately searching for something on the counter, finally, after a few seconds, it reached the thing it was looking for, a pair of glasses with round lenses that had appeared out of thin air.

-"Dhere dhey arre" Thad said as he placed the glasses on his face like it was the most normal thing for him to do despite the fact that he had never needed to use glasses before.

Once Thad's vision cleared up he pretty much gasped in terror as he finally noticed the extensive changes his body had undergone.

-"Whad happened doo me?" Thad said as he proceeded to gasp gasp again when he noticed that he was speaking with a heavy foreign accent -"Whad happened do me voice!".

Gone was the prime beef of a man that could pick up any girl from the cheerleading team with ease, and in its place was left a skinny Indian nerd.

-"No dis can be happening" Thad said as he ran out of the bathroom and into his changed dorm, everything he owned was either gone or replaced by things only nerds have.

-"No please!" Thad cried as he fell to the floor in defeat, his body, his room, maybe even he as a person was probably erased from reality, replaced by an inferior him.

Thad rummaged through his pockets until he found his student I.D that was previously stored in his shorts, the face in the I.D was the exact same one he had seen in the mirror, instead of Thad Kirkman the card now displayed the name Tanish Kumar, furthermore the faculty the card was registered to changed from the physical sports faculty to the biological sciences faculty.

-"Hoow dis even possible" Thad said as he continued looking at his I.D, maybe it was the wish he made on his bed, maybe it was his harm-filled words when talking to Lance on the phone, either way, he was now stuck with no probability of changing back to his old self.

As Thad stayed on the floor and reflected on his changes, his mind slowly started to be filled with other memories that weren't his own. memories of being born to a middle-class family in the suburbs of New Delhi, memories of dozens of nights of studying that translated into the best grades in his school, memories of not doing any exercise as gaining knowledge and not muscles was his only focus in life, memories of being the loner nerdy kid that was made fun of by the more popular kids at school, and finally more recent memories like that of his temporary stay in the United States.

-"No ged oud of me head" Thad said as he tried to fight back the foreign influence that was taking over his mind. Yet there was no stopping it as Thad now remembered that he got into college not by being the best at football but by being one of the best applicants for an international scholarship program that would pay all of his expenses while abroad.

-"But I'm goot at foodball!" Thad whispered but his changing mind immediately countered this with memories of his bad experiences with sports, he hated p.e. class from pretty much the start of his school life, he now remembered that he would countdown each second of class in wait for the ring of the bell so that he could go to his math or biology class and do more productive things.

Now that he was studying in the states he had been hit hard with the football culture that was almost everywhere around him, this was because he didn't understand the sport at all, not the rules, not the ways of playing it, and certainly not why it was called football when you're supposed to play it with your hands, it was just a stupid game for equally stupid himbos that ran around chasing a ball.

-"No... sdop radionalizing!" Thad shouted as his brain and intellect became much more self-aware, millions of pieces of knowledge were being beamed into his mind with each passing second and slowly but surely they replaced everything that once made up Thad, he wasn't in the football team, he wasn't part of a frat, he wasn't an all American jock, he was just a simple smart hardworking student from abroad doing his best.

-"Tanish al you okey?" A heavily accented voice said behind him.

Thad turned around and looked at where the voice was coming from, a Chinese guy that looked just as nerdy as he was looking down at him with worry from the now wide-open door of his dorm room.

-"Why you in flool?" He said as walked closer to were Thad was.

-"Nodhing I jusd led my I.D fall" Thad said as he got up from the floor.

-"Ale you sule you okey?" The young Chinese man asked as he was now next to Thad.

-"Yes Lin I'm alrighd" Thad suddenly said which worried him even more as he had never met the guy in front of him yet he somehow knew his name.

-"Okey then, you heal the gool news?" Lin asked as he walked past Thad.

-"No whad goot news?" Thad asked as he concluded that Lin was probably once his bro and teammate Lance.

-"See fol youlself" Lin said after turning on Thad's computer and opening their university's main website.

Thad nervously walked towards the computer and sat down on his seat, he then looked at the screen and started reading out loud what he was seeing.

-"Dhe Howard Universidy board is pleaset do announce dhad dhe sdudends Tanish Kumar (Biomedical Engener Sdudend) & Lin Ru (Biomedical Engener Sdudend) have won a grand for dhe realizadion of dheir healdh nano-bod invesdigadion" Thad said and as he finished he felt slightly proud and happy of this achievement.

-"Isn't it gleat?" Lin asked as a huge smile formed on his face.

Thad turned around towards Lin, and for a moment he felt a huge amount of horror, his old bro, now a Chinese guy happy that he was getting a grant for his... Their investigation.

-"Our investigation..." Thad thought as he now remembered that the idea for the project was concocted the week after he had met Lin during orientation week almost a year before.

The more Thad thought about the project the more he lost his will to keep fighting, Lin seemed unfazed by his change, did he even remember who he was previously?

-"Forget it... Your Tanish Kumar, you've always been Tanish" a voice suddenly said inside of Thad's mind -"Think about the project, you're destined to help millions of people thanks to your vast intellect, forget football, football doesn't save lives, your old self lived for himself, you will now live to save others... Forget everything and be happy".

Thad closed his eyes for a fraction of a second as he readied himself to fight against the foreign influence once more but he quickly stopped, Lin was happy, he and Lin now had a better life ahead, and by the looks Lin was giving him, Thad knew that the life he had ahead was to be permanently connected to Lin in both work and love.

-"Why fight anymore, I'm Tanish Kumar, I've always been Tanish Kumar" Thad thought as the last parts of his old self were eliminated from existence and the shimmer that changed him disappeared.

-"My god dhis is gread" Tanish suddenly said with a happy grin of his own.

-"I know light?" Lin said "Appalently some of the budget cuts the boald made to the spolts teams is being used for more glants like ouls, remember Takahashi, he also won a glant for his locket engine ploposal"

-"Really?" Tanish euphorically asked as he got up his chair -"I can'd believe dhis place is finally daking us seriously!".

-"It's just amazing!" Lin said as he jumped and hugged Tanish who quickly responded to the hug.

-"Dis needs a celebradion..." Tanish stated while his face was inches away from Lin's -"Doesn'd it...?"

-"Yes I aglee" Lin said as he came closer and passionately kissed Tanish in his sensual brown lips.

Lin then proceeded to remove Tanish's shirt in a romantic manner while Tanish carefully laid on his bed.

-"I hope youl leady baby" Lin said as he played with Tanish's large brown nipples which made him moan -"Oh I am..." Tanish said as he turned around and by doing so exposing his behind to Lin.

-"Today I eat curry" Lin jokingly said as he proceeded to remove Tanish's jeans and underwear which gave him ample view of his brown hole.

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-"Gosh would you two stop it you Asian fags!" Jason blurted out as he punched the wall, the nerdy asian boyfriends next door seemed like they had been fucking for hours, and because of it he couldn't fall asleep.

Ever since he had moved from his old and now demolished frat house to the nerdy dorm it had become almost impossible to sleep peacefully without hearing moaning all night.

-"Let's hope I don't turn up gay by staying here" Jason whispered as his eyes finally closed while the familiar colorful tones of a magical shimmer formed all over his room.

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Wanted to try something a little different than my usual story subjects, hope you guys like it! 🤭

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[nanowrimo]

Become an Organized Writer in 2021

Do you have any writing resolutions for the new year? Sometimes having a fresh start can help you develop better ways to keep track of your ideas and stories. Today, bestselling author Antony Johnston is here to give you some tips on how to be a more organized writer:

I’ve yet to meet a writer – myself included! – who doesn’t wish they were better organized. So as we all look forward to making a fresh start in the new year, here are four tips to help you stay on track.

1. Write Every Day

This is probably the hardest thing to commit to, especially right now with so many of us still at home and juggling that work-family-life balance. But it’s also the most rewarding and effective thing a writer can do.

Find a regular slot in which you can write alone and uninterrupted. That might be half an hour before everyone wakes up, an hour after evening dinner, or something else. The precise time doesn’t matter so much as making a daily commitment, because when you write every day even small amounts quickly build up. Oh, you can only write 250 words per day? Well, after nine months you’ll have finished a 70,000-word novel. And if you can write more than that... well, even math-averse authors can figure that one out.

2. Write With a ‘Clean Mind’

I always advocate making writing the first thing you do after waking – before email, social media, phone calls, etc. Those things distract us, polluting our minds with the real world. It’s difficult to let your imagination run free when your subconscious is composing email replies or getting angry about something on Twitter. Writing first means you can work with a ‘clean mind’, free of distraction.

Of course, if you have a day job and/or family commitments this can be difficult. Try to fulfill those duties and then take a short break to cleanse them from your mind – walk the dog, go for a run, maybe listen to a podcast. Don’t spend that time online! Do something that lets your mind relax, so when you come to write all you’re thinking about is your manuscript.

3. Write to a Deadline

If you’ve taken part in NaNoWriMo, you know the value of a deadline. It focuses your mind on getting those words down every day and finishing a manuscript on time. Give yourself that same benefit by setting personal deadlines, no matter the project.

Only you can know what a reasonable deadline is, and even experienced writers like myself occasionally get it wrong! But any deadline is better than none, and if you know how much you can reliably write every day (see #1) you can use that to figure out a schedule. It’s amazing how having that date on your calendar focuses your mind – even when you put it there yourself.

4. Write Fast, Revise Later

Remember: no matter how rough your draft is, you can always revise it. But first you must have a draft to revise – because it’s much easier to see what needs to change when you can see the complete story.

So don’t get bogged down searching for the perfect phrase or worrying about continuity details. Instead, power through to the end of the draft – because then you can go back and find that perfect phrase, or revise all those details, at your leisure.

Don’t sit around waiting for inspiration; just put your head down and write.

Antony Johnston is a New York Times bestselling author whose work includes books, screenplays, graphic novels, and video games. The hit Charlize Theron movie Atomic Blonde was based on his graphic novel, his Brigitte Sharp cyber-spy thrillers are critically acclaimed, and his productivity guide The Organised Writer has helped authors all over the world take control of their workload. He also hosts the podcast Writing And Breathing. 

Find him online: https://twitter.com/AntonyJohnston

Author photo credit: Chad Michael Ward

[necros-writing-stuff]

I'm simping hard for Mason and Bailey, so could we get mutual non-con with them? Also maybe with the person forcing the non-con degrading m!Mason and or m!Bailey about forcing them breed f!pc?

Like maybe Leighton wants to watch the hot swim teacher pipe that pretty little thing that wont let him photograph their gentiles, so he threatens Mason's job if they dont fuck in the locker room so he can watch. He knows pc is Mason's favorite, that Mason might actually have caught feelings. He's seen them hanging out outside school.

Or for Bailey, it could be that someone was pissed they couldn't buy you since you were paying your dues, or maybe Bailey just didn't like their vibe. They hold pc and their pissed off caretaker at gun point and make them screw. Bonus on the forced breeding kink, since bailey def doesnt want kids, and I cant imagine any PC wanting to put another kid in his care.

Sorry for the long ask 😅 Your writing is so good and you capture the characters so, so well. It really gets my imagination going.

Dear gods anon this haunted me from the moment I read it you're so smart I love you.

NSFW below (tw for noncon, loss of virginity)

Bailey

Waking up tied to a chair and gagged isn't exactly how Bailey wants to start his weekend, but here he is.

It had been a simple task. Drop off some money at Quinn's office. That's all.

So when he'd been hit over the head and knocked out, it had been rather unexpected.

He can see a man in a tailored suit looking at him and he immediately recognises who it is.

The guy was with that drug gang Bailey had seen to a couple months ago. Saving you from them, his favourite pretty brat.

Trust you to get in drug trouble over a fucking maths competition.

"You're awake. Good. We can talk about how you owe me," the man says. Yeah cause Bailey could do a lot of talking right now.

The door opens, two henchmen dragging in a girl with a bag over her head.

Bailey knows it's you, can recognise your voice as you whimper in fear.

Someone that had been standing behind Bailey's chair comes forward and starts to pull the caretaker's pants down. He can't fight back, tensing his arms to check how tight the bindings are.

The person covers their hands in some weird clear slime they then proceed to rub on his freed cock. It's cold and tingles.

"This one's your most requested right? Always pays her debts though. It's cause she's a virgin isn't it?" The boss questions as whatever that salve was kicks in, stimulating Bailey till he's hard as a rock.

The bag is ripped from your head, your eyes scrunching up at the light. You look so scared and helpless.

"Well you're about to drive her value right down with your own cock, mate," the boss nods to his men and you're brought forwards, skirt of your school uniform ripped up and pantes cut off with a knife.

You start sobbing and begging as you're picked up and your pussy is angled so that they can push you onto Bailey's cock.

Bailey is still. Staring straight ahead, trying not to let the rage he feels show.

He shudders as your body is pushed onto his cock, having to admit its a nice tight fit. God you would have been worth so much.

You scream, pain from being taken for the first time with so little preparation adding to the stress of the whole situation.

The henchmen holding you lift and drop you onto your caretaker's length at a steady pace. You feel no pleasure in the situation, just deep sorrow and an itching need to run.

But you can only whine out "I'm sorry," to Bailey, unable to look at him in the eyes.

It feels good. You feel good - you feel wonderful and Bailey can't help it when his balls start to feel tighter.

Can't help it when a tingle grows up his spine.

Can't help his hips jolting up the tiniest bit to meet you, needing more friction so he can cum.

"Oh and one last thing. We injected the girl with some hormone treatment to make her more likely to get pregnant. Good luck selling a used up whore then," the boss finally interjects, but its too late.

Oh fuck no.

Bailey is already on the verge as the man speaks, ejaculated deep inside your pussy since the henchmen so kindly push you down when they notice his body spasm.

The men let you go, your arms coming to wrap around Bailey's shoulders as you cry into his neck.

"A few more rounds, I think. Let's get our money's worth," it's only now Bailey sees the camera pointed at the two of you.

"This time the girl will move herself," a gun is brought out and you wrap yourself tighter around Bailey's body, seeking comfort. You're still sat on his cock, that hasn't gotten soft even after his orgasm. Just what was that salve?

He's going to kill them when he gets out of this rope.

Mason

He can't belive he's doing this.

Can't believe he has your cunt in his mouth, tongue deep between the folds as he licks away.

He wishes it were under any other circumstances.

Leighton had always rubbed him the wrong way, but Mason loved swimming. Loved teaching, this was his perfect job.

And you were his perfect student.

So kind and understanding, so innocent compared to the horrors he dealt with most classes.

You'd been so shy when you'd caught him swimming naked, but had accepted it without judgement.

You had been lovely to talk to at the pond.

You clung to his hair so tightly as he ate you out, moans echoing through the locker room.

Leighton had threatened his job. Had told him he wanted a video of that good one getting ruined by a handsome man like Mason. Wanted to see the pretty thing impaled on his cock.

And it worked. The threat worked. But at least Mason was the one corrupting you, he reasoned. At least it was someone who genuinely cared for your wellbeing.

You were shaking like a leaf when he had explained the situation, looking between him and the headmaster, off the to the side holding a camera.

"If you don't do it, I'll send every university you apply to personal letters telling them what a whore you are," Leighton added, and you reluctantly let Mason strip your uniform and kiss up your thighs.

"She's wet enough," Leighton calls from behind the camera, admiting the flushed pink dusting your cheeks. Forced, yes, but your were enjoying this, weren't you? What a little harlot.

Mason frees his length from his swimming trunks, never having the chance to change from his last lesson.

Bending your legs up so they're pressed to your chest, he gently kisses your forehead.

"It's going to be okay," another kiss, "just breath nice and steady for me." It's the same soothing tone he used to teach you.

You take in a deep breath as Mason pushes himself in, inch by inch. Both of you try to ignore Leighton moving to get a better angle.

Soon enough, your teacher is balls deep inside of your virgin pussy, the two of you breathing raggedly while staring into each other's eyes.

You both look upset.

"Well fuck her then," the headmaster tuts, and Mason starts to thrust.

Your mouth falls open, an expression so lewd and lovely the teacher wishes he could have seen it in another situation.

Wishes he could have waited for your graduation and asked you out on a proper date.

Not lose himself in your cunt, on camera for the pervert blackmailing you both.

And he does lose himself, can't stop his hips from hammering away at the warm, tight, wet heat that sucks him in like it was made for him.

Mason can't last this long. He brings a hand to start rubbing circles around your clit, eliciting more moans and whimpers.

You're so pretty, so good for him.

"M-mason, sir," you yelp as he hits a nice spot, and his breath catches in his chest.

Leaning in, he takes one of your nipples into his mouth, sucking and teasing.

Your walls tighten around his shaft, signifying your end coming soon and Mason increases the pressure on your clit.

You milk his cock so perfectly he cums right when you do, filling you up to the brim with seed and aware it was spilling onto the bench below.

He can't bring himself to let you go when he's done, has to keep you covered until Leighton puts that camera away.

"Excellent. Now, try to get used to each other, I won't be satisfied with only one tape."

[chaoticminhos]

priceless

priceless; adjective; so precious that its value cannot be determined.

pairing: bang chan x reader

genre: angst, fluff, enemies to lovers, rich kid! bang chan au

warnings: none, lowkey sugar daddy channie but nothing is sexual

word count: 14.3k (oh my god)

a/n: this is a super long one, i’m sorry! i got a bit carried away 

christopher bang. chris. bang chan. he was a boy with the whole world at his fingertips, diligent and hardworking. the kind of boy you could bring home and your mother would adore him. your father couldn’t dream of a better boy to date his daughter. 

at least, that’s how everyone else would describe him. but you? no, to you, he was nothing but an arrogant asshole.

he flaunted the trophies and medals he won from swimming like they made him the most important man alive. he never missed a chance to point out that he was top of the class, even with being in sports. he could handle it all, such a balanced and sturdy young man, all of his teachers said.

people called him modest, but you couldn’t see it. not even a peak coming out from under the obnoxious fancy shirts he wore to school every day just to show that he had enough money to own that many different name brand clothes. your school didn’t even have a strict dress code, who the hell in their right mind would wear button up and dress pants in place of hoodies and sweats? a fucking prick who needs to prove in every way possible that he is better than everyone else, that’s who. he was mister fucking perfect and he never, not for one second, let you forget that.

you begrudgingly stepped into your first hour class and made your way to your assigned seat, groaning at the fact that in just a few minutes, the school bell would ring and you’d be forced to sit right next to chan for the whole 45 minutes the class lasted.

honestly, you thought your teacher was fucking insane for placing you and chris next to each other. and in a corner spot, no less! chris was pinned in between you and the wall, the only person other than you in direct line of contact for him being the two seated ahead of you. but that didn’t stop chan, no, he yelled over you to his friends as if you weren’t even there and it pissed you off. you’d offered to swap seats so you wouldn’t have to deal with his yelling over you, but he denied, saying that he didn’t want to get in trouble with the teacher.

“they’re assigned seats, y/n,” he’d said, “the whole point is we can’t just swap.”

students filtered in and, per usual, chan was one of the last to enter. he was almost always just on the edge of being late to the first hour, him and his friend hyunjin. they had before school swim practice and apparently it would kill their coach to let them off 10 minutes earlier so they wouldn’t be late to class. it didn’t matter though, the teacher waited for them every day. god forbid golden boys chris and hyunjin miss the first minute of class.

chan walked behind you to his seat, bumping into the back of your chair as he passed. asshole. there was plenty of room for him to get past you easily, he didn’t need to shove your chair.

the teacher began class just as chan plopped his bag onto your shared table, the straps from it falling across your notebook on your side of the table.

you brushed them off, pushing his bag further away from you. he sent you a look and threw his hands up in the air like you’d just ruined his bag.

“what’s your problem today?”

you looked up at him, breath slightly catching at his damp hair. he showed up to class like this every single day, with his hair pressed to his forehead and his shirt pressed close to his body, still damp from the pool and showering off, but that didn’t change the fact that every single day, he still took your breath away.

as much as you hated him, he was strikingly attractive. it’s a shame that people can’t have both good looks and a good personality. 

you put a forced smile on your face, “same as always, bang. you.”

your argument was cut short by your teacher sending a small glare towards you, a silent order to be quiet.

that’s another thing that pissed you off. he had started the conversation, but you were always the one who got in trouble for talking. not once did the teacher scold him for talking in class, only you.

“you’ll be working with your table partners today--“

you didn’t even bother to listen to the rest, groaning and putting your head in your arms on the desk. you had requested not to always be partners with your desk mate, stating that you and chan didn’t get along that well, but your teacher insisted.

“chris is a wonderful person to be partnered with, y/n.”

and of course chan wouldn’t back you up on the request of different partners. he didn’t want to be your partner in everything, god no, but it simply wouldn’t look good for him if he complained about another student.

you looked back up when chan snapped his fingers right next to your ear, causing you to jolt up and send a glare at him. he pointed to the paper that your teacher had placed on your desk.

“we’re supposed to brainstorm together.”

“can’t we just do it separately and say we talked the questions through?”

he put a fake pout on his face, “you don’t wanna share your ideas with me?”

a grin spread across his face as your jaw clenched in frustration. 

“i don’t want to interact with you, period.”

“i'm just as excited as you are--“

he was cut off by the sound of your stomach growling. you groaned, you hadn’t had time to get dinner yesterday and you couldn’t afford to buy breakfast this morning.

“someone’s hungry.”

“i didn’t have breakfast.”

“why, slept in?”

“couldn’t afford it.” you mumbled, not thinking much of your words, just letting them fall from your lips.

he laughed lightly, “couldn’t afford breakfast?”

your eyes slowly lifted from the paper to his face, casual mood from just seconds before long gone.

“not everyone was born on a pile of money, chan.”

“sorry, it was just a question.”

it wasn’t even 9 am and you already wanted to rip his head off.

“fucking forget about it, let’s just get this done so you can fuck off.”

he nodded in agreement, pressing his lips tightly together to bite back a response before reading out the first question before stating his opinions on the matter.

he didn’t bother you much more for the rest of the class period, just focusing on the work ahead of you two. he didn’t bring the breakfast issue up again, which honestly surprised you. it had obviously gotten a rise from you, you expected him to milk that for as long as possible.

you didn’t see him again until lunch, where your eyes were glued to the back of his head as you angrily went over the start of your day to your best friends.

“he fucking made fun of me for not having money.”

“he’s such a prick.” sooyeon said through a mouthful of chips, turning to show one of her friends something on her phone. she wasn’t really listening. she never did when it came to you complaining about chan.

sooyeon was your best friend along with jisung, but she has lots of friends other than the two of you. she was an easy person to be around, you understood why everyone liked her:

“i agree,” jisung said as he sat himself down next to you, “i don’t get why you’re so obsessed with him when i’m literally right here.”

you hit his arm, causing his tray to shake as he set it on the table, some of the chocolate pudding falling onto the table.

“i am not obsessed with him, jisung! it’s just hard not to think about him so much when he makes it a point to be a cock every single fucking time we interact.”

jisung ignored your reply, scooping up the pudding you caused him to spill and plopping it onto an empty place on your tray.

you moved to shove him again, but he instinctively reached his hands to your arms to stop you, coating your sleeve with the pudding that he had yet to clean off of his hand.

“jisung!” you shouted, unable to keep a smile from breaking out on your face. there was no real reason to be mad, it would wash out, but you wanted to give him a hard time for it anyway.

“you ruined my favorite sweatshirt!”

you grabbed his wrist, pressing his still dirty hand against the chest of his own hoodie, giving it a stain to match the one on your arm.

“what the fuck?” he called through a loud laugh.

“it’s payback, you dickhead.”

he wiped his hand off on a napkin before standing up and motioning for you to do the same. he packed the apple and chips from his lunch into his bag for later tossed out the rest.

“you are so lucky i have extra clothes in my gym locker.”

you followed him as he started through the cafeteria, “i’m lucky? you’re the one who got pudding on me first!”

“i don’t recall that ever happening. obviously it got on you when you were brutally attacking me.”

you hit him again, laughing as he led you out of the food court and to the gyms.

you hadn’t realized, but you’d walked right past chan and his friends as you were leaving. he observed the interaction between you and jisung and let out a nose laugh at the childishness of it.

he got up and tossed his tray. he’d heard jisung mention the locker room and it reminded him he needed to grab his math textbook from there, he’d left it there after practice that morning.

chan expected you to be in the girls locker room changing or waiting outside of the boys locker room for jisung to bring you a clean shirt, so he thought nothing of stepping into the locker room himself. what he did not expect was to be met face to face with you as you slipped one of jisungs hoodies over your head, chans eyes barely catching the bottom of your bra as you pulled the cloth down.

jisung was still shirtless, digging through his locker for a shirt that didn’t have pudding on it and didn’t smell distinctly of sweaty boy. he looked up upon hearing the door open, nodding to chan as he entered.

he didn’t acknowledge jisung, instead keeping his attention on you.

“you do know this is the boys locker room, right?”

your eyes widened in mock surprise, “really? i thought this was the music department. no wonder there’s no piano.”

he huffed as he walked past you and to his own locker where his book was sat on the bench beside it.

“why are you in here, anyway?” he continued.

“jisung is a dumbass.”

the boy in question turned to you as he slipped his own sweatshirt over his head, “you’re being quite an asshole to me considering i just gave you the one actually clean sweatshirt i had on hand.”

“maybe if you hadn’t gotten pudding on the one i was wearing i wouldn’t need to steal yours.”

chan cut in, “don’t you have your own clothes to change into?”

jisung responded for you, “she doesn’t have gym.”

chan nodded, “not surprised by that.”

he’d mumbled it, but you heard. first he’d made fun of your economic status, now he was going to take a jab at your body?

“what the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

you took a step towards him and he put his hands up in defense, “you don’t seem like the sporty type.” 

your eyes narrowed and he seemed to get what you had been thinking.

“no, oh my god! i’m not that low.”

you scoffed, “but you’re low enough to tease someone for being poor? come on jisung.”

you bundled your dirty sweatshirt into your arms and swung your bag over your shoulder before leaving the locker room with jisung hot on your trail.

when you entered your first class the next day, you were met with a plastic wrapped muffin sitting on the table of your spot. 

you figured someone had forgotten it there from the day before and no one had noticed to move it. you inspected the wrapper, it was still fully sealed. deciding whoever left it there probably forgot about it and remembering you hadn’t been able to get breakfast that morning either, you unwrapped the muffin and took a bite.

and damn, muffins hit different when they’re the first thing you’ve eaten since dinner time the night before.

you were about halfway done with the tasty treat when chan found his way to his spot beside you. he was wearing a plain white button up that day. water droplets from his hair had fallen onto his shoulder and collar, making small see through patches across his collar bones. you caught yourself staring before he did, thankfully.

he pointed to the muffin in your hand, “you got yourself breakfast this morning.”

you nodded, providing no verbal response, just taking another bite of the muffin.

the bell rang and the teacher clapped to get the classes attention, stating that you’d be continuing the discussion activity you and your partner had started the day before.

you looked over to chan with wide eyes. it was supposed to take two days? the two of you had gone through most of the questions the day before.

“did we miss something?” he started, reaching across the table to drag your paper closer to him so he could see it. you sighed, he had his own sheet. it would have taken literally five seconds for him to get his own instead of hijacking yours.

“i think my brain is just too good for her assignments.” you shrugged as you took the final bite of your muffin, crumpling the wrapper in your hand.

“your brain? please,” he leaned back in his chair, turning his body towards you, “i’m obviously the powerhouse of this duo.”

you raised your eyebrows with a smile, “then what am i? the hot eye candy?”

he pretended to think for a moment, “no, i think that one's me too...”

your smile grew, the words were teasing but not in a bad way. you could not believe you were having a civil conversation with bang chan, let alone an almost friendly argument.

you tossed the rolled up muffin wrapper at him, hitting him right in the cheek. he scrunched his nose, “you’re fucking terrible.”

the words weren’t anything different from what you would expect him to say to you, but the tone was lighter than usual. almost playful. still, they seemed to snap you into reality. bang chan was not your friend.

you reached to the paper he’d taken from you and glanced at the last few questions, pointing  to the next in line and reading it aloud.

“is it unethical for heinz to steal the pills for his dying wife?” (look up the heinz moral debate if you don’t know what i’m referring to)

he thought for a moment before responding.

“no.”

“why?” you prompted him to continue.

“it says he tried every ethical and legal way, he has no other choice. he doesn’t have the money to pay for the pills, stealing is the only option he has left.”

you nodded, making a slightly surprised face.

“what?”

“nothing. i just took you for the kind of person to be all, i don’t know, fuck the poor.”

you scanned his face and he looked almost offended at your remark.

“of course not, everyone deserves the same opportunities when it comes to things like this.”

the rest of the hour went the same, pleasant way. you had to keep reminding yourself every couple of minutes that he was not your friend. he was being oddly pleasant to be around that day, but he was still an arrogant prick.

you were met with another muffin on your spot the next morning. and the morning after that. and the one after that, too. and the next one, and so on. it became clear to you within the first few days that it couldn’t be a coincidence, someone was leaving muffins there for you every morning. you found it kinda weird at first, considering you couldn’t think of who could be doing it. if it was jisung or sooyeon they would just hand it to you, they wouldn’t go through the trouble of sneaking into the ethics classroom before school started to put a muffin on your spot. neither of them even got to the school in time to do that. but after a while, you just accepted it. you appreciated the little snack every morning, it gave you something to go to school for and it assured you that you’d be able to eat something, even if you were short on money.

after a while, you stopped finding it weird and started to find it cute and endearing.

jisung and sooyeon were convinced it was a secret admirer, that someone had a crush on you and didn’t know how to show it. you didn’t believe that idea, no one even knew you even existed other than the two of them and a couple other friends. still, you honestly couldn’t think of another reason. 

either way, it changed your first period class from being something to dread because of the boy seated next to you into something to look forward to. that, and chris had been more bearable. he was still an obnoxious asshole and he didn’t deserve half of the positive attention he constantly had, but not every conversation with him was full of angry words and snappy remarks anymore. you were starting to realize that maybe some of the things he did weren’t really mean or annoying and it was just you finding different excuses to be mad at him, but you’d never admit that out loud.

 you still didn’t call him a friend, and he didn’t call you one either. he would probably be embarrassed to call someone like you his friend. he still annoyed the living hell out of you, but you couldn’t make yourself have an undying hatred for him anymore. just a strong disliking. 

but he was not your friend. he was still the same dickhead he had been the whole time you’d been in school with him. he wasn’t a nice person.

you still didn’t like him. 

you seemed to repeat that to yourself quite a lot.

you smiled as you picked up the muffin from the table, you’d lost count of how many had been left for you by now. you unwrapped it and started eating, you’d stopped checking the wrappers for holes after the first few. it was silly, but you trusted whoever was leaving them for you.

hyunjin and chan walked into the room just as the bell went off. chan was laughing at something hyunjin said, his dimples showing. they’re something you’d grew to really like about him. you didn’t even know he had dimples before, he never smiled at you up until a couple weeks ago.

the teacher waited for them to reach their spots before beginning the lecture, talking for a while about something or another. you didn’t really pay attention, zoning out as you finished your muffin and tossed the wrapper at chan like you’d made a habit of doing with every wrapper you had.

it was funny, you thought. every single day, even though he complained about it, he would pick up the wrapper from wherever it landed and deliver it to the trash himself. he tried to make you do it originally, but you refused.

“you’ll be working with the same partner you’ve had all semester. i have rubrics up here if anyone wants a paper copy.”

you tuned in to the last bit of what your teacher said, catching on that she was assigning another partner project, and your partner would be the same as always- chan.

both of you pulled out your laptops and pulled up the work. neither of you complained about always being partners anymore, the same argument over and over again did no one good. plus, it’s not like he was the worst partner to have. because of his position as golden boy, he always did good on his work, assuring you that you’d have a partner that would do their share.

the project consisted of you drawing a topic from a hat the teacher passed around and finding the other group with that topic. you would be debating against that group on whatever topic you and chan had drawn. 

chan let you be the one to draw from the hat and you drew ‘the morality of euthanasia (anti)’ 

you laughed at it, “kill the old, eat the rich.”

chan raised an eyebrow at you, laughing at your response.

“we’re supposed to be against it. don’t kill the old, no eating the rich.”

“you’re just saying that because you don’t want to be eaten.”

“oh, you got me. i don’t want to be cannibalized, how dare i.”

you were paired to debate against two boys, kim seungmin and lee felix. they were chans friends. they didn’t swim with him, but they sat with him at lunch and hung out with him a lot, you’d saw them around him enough to get that.

you spent the rest of the period doing general research on the topic. it wasn’t biased, so you were able to work with seungmin and felix on it, too. they were actually pretty fun to be around. you expected them to be stuck up and bratty like chan, but they weren’t. seungmin was really sweet and felix was super funny.

“i’m telling you, eat the rich.” felix spoke.

“that’s what i’ve been saying!” you called out, reaching your hand out to give him a high five.

“felix, you’re literally rich.” chan pointed out.

“no, channie, my parents are rich. i am simply living off of their rich people money.”

you checked the clock, realizing class would be ending in a few minutes. you packed your things back into your bag before turning to chan.

“she said we’d need to work outside of class. does the library after school work?”

he sharply inhaled, “i have practice and by the time it’s over the library will be closed. if you’re okay with waiting we can go to my house after practice?”

you were slightly taken aback by the request.

“uh, sure.”

“you can watch practice if you want, or even just sit in the pool room doing homework or playing on your phone or something and then i can give you a lift to my place.”

that solved the issue of finding a ride there and you figured he couldn’t live too far, you’d be able to walk home, so you agreed.

the last bell rang and you lifted yourself from your chair and headed to the hallway, meeting jisung and sooyeon by their lockers.

jisung raised his keys, “ready to go?”

“actually, i’m staying to work on a project with chan, i forgot to tell you.”

“you’re getting awfully close with him recently.” sooyeon teased, wiggling her eyebrows.

you would have hushed her just as you did every time she even dared to mention you and chan becoming closer, but jisung cut you off.

“here?”

“no, at his house.”

“do you have a ride there and home?”

“yeah,” you started, “he’s driving me there and i can just walk home.”

“walk?” jisung frowned, “how far away is his place from yours?”

you shrugged, “can’t be that far.”

he shook his head, “not happening. text me his address and i’ll take you home when you’re done.”

there was no point in arguing with him. he got super protective over you and sooyeon when it came to stuff like this. he said it wasn’t safe for you to walk home alone, that’s the whole reason he drove you and sooyeon home every day. 

you barely had time to promise jisung you’d let him drive you home before someone was calling your name from down the hallway.

“y/n! chan said you’re watching practice?”

you looked at the source of the voice, hwang hyunjin. since when did he talk to you? or even know your name?

“yeah,” you replied, “i’m coming.”

you waved goodbye to your friends before jogging to meet hyunjin at the end of the hallway, letting him lead you to the practice rooms. you’d been in them before, you went to a fair share of sports games and meets, but it felt weird being in it with it so empty, especially alone with a boy you’d barely ever talked to. he noticed the tension.

“sorry, i’m hyunjin. chan’s been mentioning you a lot lately so i figured i should make myself present.”

“oh,” you laughed, “it’s not a big deal. we aren’t really close or anything.”

hyunjin raised his eyebrows and a smirk played at his lips, “so you’re not dating or anything like that?”

your face flushed red, “god, no. i don’t have a boyfriend.”

his smile grew, “good to know.”

your face grew even more red as the door to the locker room opened and chan stepped out. 

“stop flirting with y/n and go get changed.”

hyunjin turned to him, “you seem to have forgotten that i am the captain of this team and i do not take orders from you.”

he punctuated the last word with a finger to chans chest as he passed him and entered the room to get ready for practice.

“how’d you know he was flirting?” you laughed.

“it’s all he does.”

chan stepping closer to you in his shirtless form did nothing for your blushed face. he was actually in more than he would be during meets, considering it was just a practice so he was allowed to wear swim trunks, but it was still a lot more of him, or any boy for that matter, than you were used to seeing.

to your dismay, he noticed how your eyes avoided him as he stepped closer to you.

“what, not used to shirtless boys?” he teased.

“unless it’s jisung, no.” you replied, eyes trained on the pool behind him.

he raised an eyebrow, “i thought you said you two weren’t a thing?”

“we’re not. he just has stupid high body heat and strips randomly in the middle of movie nights.”

he nodded, taking a step closer to you.

“you’re so flustered when it’s just me out here, are you gonna be able to handle the whole team?”

you stepped back, “i’ve watched swim meets before chan, it’s fine. it’s just weird because we’re alone right now.”

as if on cue, the door swung open and the boys streamed out of the locker room, hyunjin last. you didn’t really recognize anyone on the team but chan and hyunjin. they made their way to the edge of the pool and chan jogged to join them, pointing at the stands near the pool for you to sit down at.

the boys started to warm up and a small crowd of girls built up on the bleachers around you. none of them seemed to notice you until the coach entered and scanned the small crowd.

“you’re new a new addition.” he pointed out.

you were gonna reply that you were just there for the one day when chan cut in for you with a smile on his face, “i invited her, coach.”

the coach looked in between you and chan with a small smile. 

“oh, you did?”

you didn’t know what it meant but his words had been laced with a teasing tone and it made yours cheeks heat up. did it matter that chan had invited you and you hadn’t just randomly showed up?

apparently it did. you got a tap on your shoulder and you turned around to face the person who did it.

“did chan really invite you specifically to watch?”

“i mean, yeah.” you began, “i’m going to his place after so he said i could just wait here.”

her eyes widened, “he invited you to his house?”

you grimaced, this was drawing more attention than you wanted, “it’s nothing like that, we have a project to work on.”

she hummed and nodded, focusing her attention back on the boys.

you thought you’d get bored during the practice and end up scrolling through your phone, but you didn’t. something about the way they moved so fluidly and easily in the water was captivating to watch. your eyes kept mostly to chan, but they drifted to hyunjin a lot, too. watching him, you understood why he was captain. he had such control of his body even under the pressure of the water, it was like it was moving according to what he willed it to.

practice ended and all of the boys jumped out of the pool and grabbed a towel, heading straight for the locker room. everyone but chan. he dried his hair off before slinging the towel around his neck and over his shoulders and walking up to where you were sitting at the bleachers. he leaned against the cold metal as he spoke to you.

“i just need to shower quick and get changed then we can go. i won’t be long.”

you nodded and gave him a soft smile. most of the girls who’d came to watch the boys swim had left already, but the few who hadn’t began whispering after seeing your and chans interaction.

you didn’t know why it was such a big deal, you were his partner for a project. 

high school dynamics always confused you.

after a few minutes of mindlessly scrolling through your phone, chan pushed the door open and stepped out, calling to you to follow him out. he lead you through the school and outside to the parking lot. it didn’t take much for you to find his car, you guessed it was one of the few that looked like they cost more than you were worth. no doubt the other ones belonged to his friends.

to say you were surprised when he jogged ahead of you to open the passenger side door for you would be an understatement. he really had changed a lot from a couple weeks before. or maybe you just started seeing things differently.

he frowned slightly at your confused face as you approached the car.

“what?”

“i didn’t take you for the gentleman type.”

“how would you know? you’ve never gone out with me before.”

you shrugged, he had a point.

he slipped into the driver seat and put the key in the ignition. the startup was so quiet you wouldn’t have even known it was turned on if he hadn’t shifted gears and started to drive. you were so used to clunky old cars like the one your family had or the one jisung drove around in.

speak of the devil, your phone lit up with a message from jisung.

sungie🤢💗: at his place yet?

you: headed there now

sungie🤢💗: address ??

you: one sec

you lifted your eyes from your screen to look at chan, “hey, what’s your address?”

he looked confused, “why?”

“jisungs gonna pick me up when we’re done.”

he glanced at you before training his eyes back onto the road, “no he’s not, i’ll take you home.”

“sung already said he could.”

“i thought it was a given that i’d give you a ride home since i was the one to invite you out?”

you laughed, “since when is that an unspoken rule?”

he shrugged, “it’s just good manners.”

you leaned back into the seat, sending jisung a message than chan was giving you a ride home. 

who knew bang chan even knew what good manners were.

you were right about his house not being far, he was pulling his fancy car into the fancy driveway of his fancy house within just a few minutes. 

although you knew it was normal life for him, you were amazed that he could step into such a pretty house so casually. you felt like if you touched anything, it would shatter.

he slipped off his shoes at the door and you did the same, following him up a large set of stairs and into what you assumed was his bedroom.

you’d expected it to be neat, but it was the exact opposite, clothes tossed randomly on the floor and open chip bags laying around. you laughed at the condition of his room and he pouted as he hurried to try to clean up some of the mess.

“don’t make fun of me, i didn’t expect company.”

“who knew that you, bang chan, were so messy.”

“i’m a high school boy, what did you expect?”

“yeah, but you’re also the pride of the school.”

he huffed, plopping down onto his bed after deciding cleaning was no use, “i’m still just a kid.”

you sat yourself down next to him, pulling your laptop from your bag and opening it. you were immediately faced with the issue of not having wifi connection.

“chan, what’s your wifi password?”

“it’s super long,” he mumbled as he reached across your lap and took the device from your hands, “i’ll just type it for you.”

you didn’t have the time to scold him for just taking it from you, you were too busy trying to convince yourself that you did not feel butterflies in your stomach when he had gotten that close to you.

you just weren’t used to boys other than jisung being so casual around you, that’s all.

he handed your laptop back to you and rose to his feet, getting up and doing something behind you for a few seconds. you didn’t pay attention, already getting to work on research. 

a few seconds later, you felt the bed dip beside you and chan was pulling his legs onto the bed and sitting with them crossed and his own laptop in his lap, his loose button up he’d worn all day now replaced with a plain black t-shirt. 

your face flushed red when you realized he’d just changed his shirt with you in the room, not that it was a big deal. he was a swimmer and he was used to people seeing him shirtless, it didn’t mean anything to him, but it was still odd for you. 

the two of you worked in silence for about an hour before he fell onto his back, closing his laptop and tossing it onto the bed beside him.

you let out a small laugh, “what?”

“it’s boring.” he groaned, “let’s get food.”

it didn’t take much for him to convince you to ditch schoolwork and get food instead. he led you back down the stairs and into a kitchen that you swore was bigger than your whole house, opening the fridge door and leaning down to look at its contents.

he shut the door and let out an obnoxious groan, “i don’t want any of this,” his eyes locked with your and a grin appeared on his face, “let’s go somewhere for food.”

you gave a skeptical look before a small smile took over your features, “okay.”

he walked up to his room with you and you grabbed your bag before the two of you slipped your shoes on and you hopped back into his car, him rushing ahead to open the door for you once again.

you buckled your seat belt, “where are we going?”

he shrugged, “what are you hungry for?”

“you’re the one who wanted to go out for food.”

“and now i’m asking you to choose.”

you huffed, “i don’t know, anywhere.”

he hummed and nodded his head, “the diner a couple blocks down from the school?”

you perked up at the suggestion, that was your favorite place to eat.

“oh my god, please.”

he laughed at your reaction, pulling the car from his driveway and starting the route to the small diner. as the building came into view, you wondered why chan even knew about this place. he could afford so many more fancy restaurants.

he held the door open and you stepped into the small place with a smile on your face, you hadn’t been able to come here for a while. 

chris let you choose where to sit before grabbing a menu from the stack on the table and shoving it in your direction.

“get whatever you want, i’m paying.”

you tried to object, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. honestly, you didn’t fight too hard, either. it saved you from the trouble of finding the money to pay for it.

you still didn’t want to make him spend a bunch on you, so you decided to just repeat the name of whatever he ordered to make sure you didn’t get anything too expensive. 

he ended up asking for a classic, just chicken strips and fries. you silently thanked him for ordering your favorite meal, repeating the same thing when the waitress asked what you wanted. 

“would you like any sauce with that?” 

you nodded politely, “barbecue, please.”

chan scrunched his nose and made a sound of disgust across the table, “barbecue is gross.”

you tried to hold down a smile as you glared at him, “says the one who ordered ranch! who the fuck eats ranch with chicken?”

“i do.” the waitress giggled, and you jumped. you’d kinda forgotten she was still there.

“oh, i’m sorry!”

she laughed, “it’s okay. what can i get for drinks?”

“i’ll take a chocolate shake, please.” chan answered first.

“i’ll take a chocolate shake, too.”

you folded the menu in front of you, content with your order.

“aw, come on.” chan made a sound of disapproval, “get a different flavor. if you want some chocolate, you can have some of mine.”

you felt a blush creep onto your cheeks, “um, okay, i’ll take strawberry then.”

the waitress clicked her pen shut with a smile, “i’ll have those out as soon as possible.”

you waited until she was out of earshot before speaking again.

“still think you’re fucking gross for eating chicken with ranch.”

he chuckled, pausing for a moment before responding. 

“do you come here a lot?”

you shrugged, “i used to. i don’t too much now though,” you debated telling him the truth, you couldn’t afford to eat out much, but opted not to. you were still upset with him for his response the last time you mentioned your money issues.

“too busy.”

he nodded in understanding.

“what’s your favorite thing on the menu?”

you let out an unamused laugh, and it sounded a lot more harsh than you’d intended it to.

“why are you asking so many questions?”

he frowned, “just friendly conversation.”

you leaned back in your seat, “we’re not friends.”

you could have swore you saw something like hurt flash across his features before you were interrupted by the waitress setting your milkshakes in front of you. 

you took a sip of your strawberry milkshake and any grumpy feelings you had for chan making you order it went out the window. it had been so long since you’d had a strawberry milkshake, or any kind other than chocolate. you always took the safe bet and got a chocolate shake, knowing you liked them, but you’d forgotten how good strawberry was.

you almost regretted snapping at chan as the two of you sat in uncomfortable silence waiting for the food to arrive. luckily, it didn’t take long, considering it was sort of late in the evening and there weren’t many other customers.

you made a gagging sound as the waitress placed a small container of ranch on chans plate.

the playful interaction seemed to give him the confidence to pick up conversation again.

“i used to come here all the time when i was little. me, hyunjin, felix, and seungmin got ice cream here practically every day in the summer.

you hummed in response, taking a bite of your food. the two of you ate in comfortable silence until both of your meals were complete. you shook your head lightly when chan motioned his chocolate shake to you, silently offering you to have a drink. you finished off your own shake with a sigh, leaning back into your seat.

“ready?” chan asked and you nodded in agreement, lifting yourself from your seat to stand.

you followed chan to the counter where he payed, leaving a generous tip for the kind waitress. 

you watched as he opened the car door for you yet again and made a secret promise to yourself to beat him to it next time.

wait, next time?

you shook the thought from your head as you fastened the seatbelt across yourself. 

you gave chan directions to your house and helped him find each turn along the short drive. it wasn’t far, you really could have walked home.

you couldn’t help but feel slight embarrassment as he pulled into your driveway. his car was probably worth more than your entire house. 

you half expected him to make a rude comment about it, but instead he mentioned the small garden you had planted in the front yard, barely visible in the dark. it was lit up by your porch light.

“what do you plant?”

“huh? oh, flowers mostly. i might plant some tomatoes to throw at you though.”

he laughed as you stepped out of his car. he waited until your front door was shut behind you before pulling out of your driveway and making his way home, where he immediately found his bed.

he frowned when he saw two computers on it, you must have forgotten to put yours in your bag before the two of you left to get food.

he packed both of the devices into his school bag before getting ready for bed and crawling under the covers. 

although he knew you’d only agreed to hang out for the project, he was glad you had. it seemed like he was finally breaking your shell of whatever you seemed to have against him.

you were digging through your book bag the next morning, muffin in hand, when chan and hyunjin strolled into the classroom, borderline late as always.

your eyes went to chan as he called your name while making his way towards you, lifting a laptop up in the air.

that’s where your laptop had disappeared to.

“you left it at mine last night.”

you thanked him as he set it in front of you, ignoring the whispers that erupted when chan announced that you’d been at his place the night before. 

everyone in this class of all people should know it was just for the project.

he pulled his own out of his bag and typed in the password, getting right to work.

the class was quiet, no conversation between you and chan really happening other than when he cursed you out for throwing your muffin wrapper at him and as everyone was packing their things moments before the bell rang.

“my house again tonight to go over what we researched?”

you sharply inhaled, “i promised jisung and sooyeon i’d go to the basketball game with them.”

he shot you a skeptical look.

“i already told you i watch sports sometimes.”

“i’ve never seen you at a basketball game.”

“were you looking for me?” you teased.

he shook his head, “i’ve never seen you at swim meets either.”

you stood as the bell sounded, “i go to sports games, chan.”

he put his hands up in defense, “i never said you didn’t! just making observations.”

you hopped back into jisungs car after dropping your bag at your house, scolding sooyeon for stealing the shotgun seat while you were in your house.

the three of you had killed some time driving around in jisungs car and screaming the lyrics to whatever song came on, so the game was due to start in just about 40 minutes. you waited patiently in the like to get tickets, joking around with sooyeon and jisung to pass the time. 

your turn came to purchase tickets.

“$5 a person, please.” the lady handing out tickets smiled sweetly. you assumed she was one of the players mothers.

sooyeon and jisung handed her their money as you checked your pockets for your wallet. where the fuck was it?

“y/n?” jisung questioned.

“i think i left my wallet at my house.” you said.

“i only brought enough for me.” sooyeon chimed in.

“me too.” jisung seconded.

you were getting ready to tell them to enjoy the game without you and tell minho you were sorry you couldn’t make it, that you’d just go home, when someone reached their arm around you, handing a $10 bill to the ticket lady.

“for her and me.”

you knew that voice.

“i don’t want your fucking money, chan.”

he raised an eyebrow, “sweetheart, you’ve been in my house. you know i can spare $5.”

sweetheart? where did that come from?

you huffed, allowing him to lead you out of line to give the people behind you a chance to get their tickets. sooyeon and jisung followed as you stepped into the gym and scanned the bleachers for seats.

“you actually came.” chan started again, “i thought you were just using it as an excuse not to hang out with me.”

“it’s not hanging out, it’s for school.”

“you’re saying you didn’t enjoy the diner yesterday, then?”

you gave him a light shove towards where you noticed hyunjin and felix sat down, “shut up.”

your friends followed you as you made your way up the bleachers and to the highest point, just a few feet from where chan was sat, sitting down in a big opening.

“excuse me,” jisung began, “what diner?”

you shrugged, “we got food after working for a bit, it’s not a big deal.”

“like a date?”

you slapped jisungs arm harder than you probably needed to.

“it was not a date.”

“did he pay?”

“yeah?”

he turned to sooyeon, lowering his voice, “it was totally a date.”

you shoved him again, “jisung, it was not a date!”

your eyes glanced towards where chan was sitting, surprised to see him already looking at you with a smile on his face. 

oh my god, he heard them teasing you about him.

your immediate reaction was to flip chan off, which just made him laugh and turn back to his friends.

“you absolute cock,” you lowered your voice at jisung, “he heard you call it a date.”

he shrugged, “yeah, and he smiled about it.”

you ignored him, turning to face the court where the game would be starting soon.

“i’m just saying,” jisung continued, “would it really be that bad if you liked him?”

you didn’t answer him, keeping your eyes trained to the court and pursing your lips together in annoyance.

you didn’t notice that chan had overhead what jisung asked, something in his stomach dropping when he saw your negative reaction to the question.

he returned his focus to his friends, joining in on whatever conversation felix and hyunjin were on about. he tried to focus on them, but he couldn’t keep you off his mind, stealing glances at you every few minutes and hoping that maybe you’d be looking back.

he’d honestly hoped you’d sit with him during the game. there was enough room where he was seated for you and your friends to join, he didn’t get why you had to sit somewhere else. was he really that unbearable?

the game was just a minute away from halftime, the scores tied. you and everyone else in the crowd were on their feet, cheering on their respective teams. 

you weren’t the biggest when it came to school spirit, but you were friends with a couple of the players. lee minho was someone you’d known for a long time, he’s actually the one who introduced you and jisung. you didn’t know whether to slap him or thank him for bringing the boy into your life, but either way, you always loved seeing the smile on his face when his team won.

minho had the ball in his control with the seconds ticking away at the timer. he passed it to someone else on his team, moving a few feet before they passed it right back to him. he was lined up perfectly for a three point shot.

you glanced at the scoreboard. 10 seconds until halftime. 

he lined himself up to shoot and you cheered him on.

“you got it, min!!”

he released the ball from his hands and it went smoothly through the net just as the buzzer sounded, pausing the game with your team 3 points ahead. 

although the gym may have been too loud for minho to have clearly heard what you said, chan heard it loud and clear. 

min? you must be pretty close with him to call him that nickname, right? but chan had never heard you mention being close with lee minho before, so it couldn’t be anything serious. of course, he thought, with a twinge in his heart, you probably wouldn’t tell him if there was anything going on. as you’d made very clear the day before, you were not friends with him. 

he watched as you rose from your seat and called to minho, stopping him from following the rest of his team to the locker room for a break before the second half.

he turned towards your voice, smiling when he noticed it was you. jisung and sooyeon followed you as you made your way across the gym and to him. 

chan couldn’t hear what was being said from the other side of the gym, but he could see the way minho smiled down at you and wrapped you in his arms. he could see how you didn’t even complain about being pulled into the sweaty hug. if chan dared to hug you in that state, you’d probably kill him right then and there. on second thought, if he hugged you at all you would probably snap his neck.

without really thinking, he stood up and told hyunjin and felix he would be back soon. they exchanged a knowing glance as he crossed the gym to you, locking eyes with minho as he called your name.

he noted minhos arm hung loosely around your shoulders. 

“i’m getting concessions. come with?”

minho raised his eyebrows at you, as if to ask “since when were you and chan close?”

“i don’t have money, chan, you know that.” you deadpanned.

“i know.” he rolled his eyes, “i’m buying.”

you were about to tell him to go on his own when minho spoke up, turning his face to you with his arm still around your shoulders. 

“you go ahead, i should probably join my team.” he removed his arm from you, heading the direction of the locker rooms, “talk more after the game?”

“only if you win.” you teased.

“guess i got something to win for then.” he laughed, turning his back to the four of you.

chan unconsciously clenched his jaw at the interaction, motioning for you to follow him.

“you, too.” he pointed to jisung and sooyeon, “i’ll buy.”

jisung, never one to turn down free food, agreed immediately. you sent a glare in his direction, for all of the complaining you did about him, jisung seemed pretty pro-chan.

while waiting in line, jisung decided to start conversation.

“you’re actually kinda chill, y/n always makes you out to be an asshole.”

you hit jisung and chan let out a small laugh, one that could have easily been taken as amused if you didn’t see the hint of sadness lacing it.

“i can seem that way if you don’t know me.” he glanced at you before returning his eyes to jisung, “she’s getting to know me, though, so hopefully that changes.”

jisung nodded, motioning chan forward where it was your turn to order. 

chan politely asked for just a sofa before stepping aside slightly to let you three order.

in natural jisung fashion, he ordered a soda and two pizza slices. sooyeon stuck with just a soda, and you got a soda and a small pack of m&ms. 

chan payed for all of you before stepping out of line and sliding his wallet back into his pocket.

you all thanked him for paying as you headed back to the gym.

when you entered, he made his way back to his spot beside hyunjin, glancing back to see if you would follow. to his slight surprise, you did. you placed yourself on the bench next to him, jisung and sooyeon following suit.

his plan had worked, you had just sat down beside him willingly.

felix greeted you with a small wave, introducing himself to your friends. hyunjin did the same before a sly grin crossed his features as he pat his lap.

“i have a better seat for you, y/n.”

you reached across chan to playfully hit hyunjin, telling him to stop being a pervert, but neither he nor chan missed the blush on your cheeks at the comment.

you chatted a bit as a group before the alarm sounded, indicating that the game would be starting up again. 

chan smiled in amusement at how into the game you got. he’d notice when you were sat a couple seats away from him, but he noticed it even more so now. he really had been wrong about you not caring about sports.

he watched as you clenched your fists every time the ball got stolen from someone on your team and cussed out the opposing teams members when they shoved one of your boys.

he chuckled as the same thing happened but with someone from your team shoving a boy from the opposing one, but you did not have the same sympathy when one of their teammates fell.

“get up, you’re fine!” you called, eyes following the ball.

you cheered whenever anyone from your team had the ball or scored, but you seemed to cheer a little harder every time it was minho in question. it made sense, you were friends, but chan couldn’t shake the frustrated feeling in his stomach every time you called minho's name.

by the time the game only had a few minutes left, the home team, your team, was up by enough points that it would take a real comeback for the other team to win. 

they knew they had the game in the bag, swapping their normal varsity players like minho out with people who didn’t tend to get as much varsity playing time.

chan half expected you to lose interest in the game now that minho wasn’t on the court, but you remained just as invested as before, cheering on the younger players.

unsurprisingly, when the buzzer sounded, you were up by quite a few points. the whole of your schools team jumped up, congratulating each other on their win. 

as everyone in the crowd rose and made their way out of the gym to head home, you stood, but remained in the gym. 

after sitting with chan, felix, and hyunjin for the past half an hour, it didn’t strike you as odd when they stayed behind with you, sooyeon, and jisung as you waited for minho to shower off and meet you.

“y/n, chan,” felix singled you two out, “how’s that debate coming? pretty sure me and seungmin got this one in the bag.”

you stepped up a level on the bleachers to face felix, motioning between you and chan.

“we’re pretty confident.”

chan laughed, “are we?”

you shot him a glare for breaking your ruse, a laugh erupting from his throat. you took a small step to readjust your position, but your foot slipped off of the edge of the bleacher, causing you to lose balance. as you fell backwards, chan reacted quickly, wrapping his arm around your waist and planting his foot on the bleacher you’d slipped on to secure the both of you from falling.

you’d mentally prepared yourself for the impact, letting out a soft sound of surprise when it never came. chan helped you balance again and loosened his grip on you, keeping one hand on your waist as the other flew up to push your hair out of your face.

“you alright?”

you nodded, violently aware of his hands on your body but not really thinking anything of the interaction until you heard felix and jisung let out snickers.

you brushed chans hands off of you, “what?”

“oh, nothing.” jisung said. 

just then, you heard the door to the locker room open and minho stepped out into the gym, changed out of his basketball attire and into some comfy sweatpants and a plain white shirt.

you hopped off the bleachers to go meet him, chan following immediately beside you.

you missed felix and jisungs snickers behind you, “he’s so whipped.”

minho glanced between you and chan again as you approached him. seriously, when did this happen? the last time he’d heard, you had nothing but dislike for him.

he nodded his head to address you, “dinner and ice cream?” he directed the question towards you, jisung, and sooyeon, turning to the others as an afterthought. 

“you guys are welcome too.”

you smiled and accepted his offer, trying not to show that you really wished he hadn’t invited the other three. more specifically, chan. you still did not like him, you told yourself.

the more those words passed through your mind, the less truth you felt behind them and the more it felt like an empty phrase.

“where to?” jisung questioned as you all headed for the door to the parking lot.

“that diner a couple blocks away?” hyunjin suggested.

chan shook his head, “me and y/n just went there yesterday.”

you shrugged, “i’m fine with going again if you are.”

chan shrugged back, “it’s decided, then.”

you rode with sooyeon in jisungs car, you didn’t know exactly how the others pooled other than chan was driving, you recognized his car behind jisungs.

jisung parked the car and you stepped out, waiting for the others to arrive and join you before entering the small place.

when you did, you were greeted by the same woman who had served you and chan the night before. she looked between the two of you.

“back again? weren’t you just here last night on a little date?”

your face flushed red and you glanced at chan, his was bright red as well.

he started to politely deny but you broke in, “that was not a date.

she shrugged with a teasing smile, “you sure acted like it was.”

your mouth fell agape as you let her lead you to a table big enough to fit all of you, “no one tip her.” you joked, eliciting another laugh from her.

chan was surprised you’d been so calm about denying it, honestly. he’d expected a huge show, you making a point to make sure everyone in the restaurant knew you were not dating him. 

he sat down and you,once again to his surprise, slipped in right beside him.

he frowned, it was like you said one thing but acted out another. you always made a point verbally to tell him and everyone else around you weren’t close but then you did things like that, deliberately choosing to sit next to him when you could have easily waited and positioned yourself between sooyeon and jisung or minho.

minho slid in next to you, jisung and sooyeon after him. felix and hyunjin sat on the other end of chan.

you opened your menu even though you were probably going to order the same thing you always did and a red flag shot off in your mind as your eyes locked with the prices. you’d forgotten you didn’t bring your wallet. you looked at your two friends, either they hadn’t realized their issue yet or just assumed someone else would pay for them.

you folded the menu back up and set it in front of you.

chan raised his eyebrows, “already decided?”

you nodded before softly speaking, “i’m not hungry.”

he frowned, “wanna just get a milkshake or something?”

you shook your head, playing with your hands in your lap.

he nudged you with his shoulder, “hey, my treat. get whatever you want.”

you looked at him with wide eyes, “you’ve already spent so much on me today.”

he waved you off, “$10 is not a lot, sweetheart. plus, i remembered you didn’t have your wallet when i agreed to come. i intended on paying for you anyway.”

you nodded, face flushing at his comment.

you’d be blushing if anyone called you by that nickname, you told yourself.

you made no move to grab the menu again, you would just opt for your usual. 

the waitress arrived and took everyone’s order one by one. you decided to get another strawberry shake. after having the one yesterday, you remembered how good they were. 

a few minutes later everyone’s drinks arrived, the waitress stating that the food would be done shortly. you took a sip from your milkshake before glancing over at chan. 

“does the offer still stand from yesterday?”

he frowned and you gestured to the milkshake, indicating you wanted a sip.

he nodded, pushing it in your direction. you took a drink of the chocolate milkshake and then frowned a little, taking a sip of your strawberry one before tasting the chocolate again.

chan laughed, “what are you doing?”

“deciding which one i like more.”

he chuckled, reaching for your shake and doing the same.

“i think they’re pretty equal. both good in different ways.”

you agreed, saying they both had their own charms.

the waitress finally brought the food out and you had to bite back a remark as she set the ranch down on chans plate again. he noticed the look on your face as you eyed the sauce.

“are you going to fight me about my ranch again?”

you were going to reply, but minho cut in.

“i’m sorry y/n, do you have a problem with ranch?”

you looked between the two, “yes, actually, i do. who the hell eats it with chicken?”

the rest of the table caught wind of the conversation and joined in.

felix pointed at your plate, “barbecue all the way.”

jisung and hyunjin agreed, sooyeon stating that she liked both.

“okay,” jisung prompted, “but which ones better?”

“i swear to god if you say ranch we’re replacing you with felix.”

hyunjin pouted in faux hurt, “why not me?”

you shrugged, “or maybe hyunjin, i don’t know yet. we’ll hold a challenge to decide.”

she laughed, “not necessary, i’ll keep my spot. i gotta say barbecue over ranch.”

minho and chan groaned, they were heavily outnumbered. 

“her opinion doesn’t count,” chan grumbled, “she’s not even eating chicken right now.”

you laughed and for a moment chan thought he was in a dream. the way your lips curled into a smile and your eyes shined while you laughed made his stomach do flips, the fact that he was the one causing your laughter just making it all the much better.

the meal was pleasant, fun and casual conversation flowing between everyone as you ate. the time to pay came and the waitress approached the table again, gathering the empty plates and glasses.

“how should i split the bill?”

chan spoke up first, gesturing between you and him.

“we’re together.”

felix scanned the table, “anyone need someone to cover them?”

both jisung and sooyeon timidly raised their hands, felix telling the waitress to but then on his tab. hyunjin and minho both payed their own.

as you all got out of your seats and headed for the door, jisung spoke to you.

“y/n, we should hang out with your rich friends more.”

chan heard the words leave jisungs mouth and prepared himself for your reply, but you didn’t say anything along the lines of what he’d expected. you would have. in fact, the words were just at the tip of your tongue.

“they’re not my friends, jisung.”

but as they almost left your lips, they didn’t taste right. 

instead, you gave a small laugh, “or you could get a job and use your own money.”

“nah,” he waved a hand in dismissal, “who would drive you around then?”

you waved everyone goodbye as you hopped into the back of jisungs car, letting sooyeon take the front seat because you knew you’d be getting dropped off first anyway. 

a week went by and it was finally time for the debates to start. each debate would take an entire class period, so you and chan didn’t have to go until the thursday of the week. you ate your muffin as quickly as you could, silently pouting to yourself that you would have to throw your own wrapper away today without even having thrown it as chan. what a waste.

you’d dressed up a little bit more than normal being that you knew it impacted your grade. you stood at the front of the room with felix and seungmin waiting for chan to arrive so you could begin. 

he and hyunjin entered the room seconds before the bell rang, chan not even bothering to go to his seat to put his bag down, just laying it near the door.

you let out a small laugh at the way you, seungmin, and felix were dressed so much nicer than normal, but chan looked just as he did every day.

“you look nice.” was the first thing chan said to you.

you thanked him just as the teacher introduced who would be debating and where each team stood on the topic.

you and chan were set to give the first opening statement, which you’d both agreed you would say. but as the teacher gave the good to go, you found the words stuck in your throat.

chan noticed your nervousness, gently placing a hand on the small of your back and rubbing soothing circles with his finger.

if you’d been told a few weeks ago that chans hand on you like that would calm your nerves, you would have punched whoever said it in the face.

but now, as you focused on the way his hand felt against your back through the thin fabric of your outfit, you felt the anxiety lessen slightly. it was still there obviously, but you were able to get the words past your lips with a tone that made it sound like you were confident. 

chans hand remained on your back until the opposite team's opening statement was completed and it was his turn to speak, getting into your first argument. 

he’d taken a chance by touching you, but now he was glad he had. regardless of what you said, the way you reacted to his touch proved to him that you didn’t hate him. at least not as much as you claimed to.

the debate was rounded off and there were still a few minutes left of class. there would be no actual decided winner, just a grade to mark how well your teacher deemed your performance. 

still, that didn’t stop you from arguing with felix that you’d obviously beat him and seungmin.

“we demolished you, lix.”

“you so did not,” he laughed back, “we actually had to go easy on your guys because we felt bad.”

the four of you argued playfully until the bell rang, releasing you to your next class. chan stopped you just outside the door.

“hey, y/n?”

you turned to him, humming to acknowledge you’d heard him.

“i’ve got a meet tonight, do you wanna come?”

you were taken aback by the question.

“oh, um, where is it?”

“it’s home,” he replied, “just a couple hours after school gets over, so you could probably just wait here if you wanted, we’re not really going to be practicing anyway.”

“i’d have to see if jisung can give me a ride to my house so i can pick up my wallet...”

“no need!” he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small card, “use this.”

you frowned slightly at the piece of plastic, it was his fan pass, a free ticket for one person of each swim team members choice to get into every meet for free. each person only got one a season for the sake of still gaining profit, and chan was giving his to you?

you hesitantly took it from his hand, sliding it into your own pocket.

“are you sure?”

“yeah!” he beamed, “you’re the only one i could really think of who i’d want to have it.”

you felt your heart swell at his words, watching as he turned from you and headed to his next class. 

you couldn’t fight the stupid grin from climbing onto your face and the giddy feeling in your stomach. chan wanted you at his games, more than anyone else. enough to give you his fan pass to make it easier for you to afford to come.

your heart did a summersault before dropping in realization.

you had been so focused on making sure you didn’t have any platonic feelings for him that you’d completely ignored the possibility of a different kind of feeling.

you had fallen for bang chan.

you didn’t mention your realization to anyone, not even jisung or sooyeon. the only mention of going to the swim meet was when you asked them if they wanted to go with you. sooyeon had to go to work, but jisung said he’d try to make it, letting you know minho would be there even if he himself couldn’t go.

they all went home to drop their stuff off before the meet, but you denied jisungs offer to give you a ride home. instead, you headed to where you the boys would be, as chan put it, not really practicing.

you entered the pool room and saw that he was not joking around, they really weren’t practicing. they weren’t even in swim gear, all just sitting in a circle on the concrete next to the pool and chatting. you noticed a pile of backpacks near the door and you added yours to it before stepping in further. 

you weren’t sure whether to approach them or not, they didn’t seem to be doing anything serious, would it be okay for you to join them?

as if reading your mind, chan called you over to sit beside him, sliding closer to one of his teammates you didn’t know the name of to make room for you.

“who’s this?” one of his teammates asked with a curious smile.

“his girlfriend.” hyunjin piped up, earning a chorus of cheers from the rest of the teams. your face flushed red and chan waved his arms to calm everyone down, “y/n is not my girlfriend.”

you swallowed thickly, just a week ago you would have jumped to agree with those words, but now they made your stomach hurt. when did this change even happen? you couldn’t pinpoint it.

he noticed your discomfort, placing a hand on your knee to calm you down, hoping you would have the same positive reaction to his touch that you had that morning.

noticing the action, one of his teammates spoke up.

“not your girlfriend my ass.”

instead of responding to his teammate, chan directed his attention towards you.

“the meet starts in about two hours. i’ve gotta go in one to get ready, do you have someone to wait with you so you’re not alone?

you nodded, “i know minho is for sure coming, jisung might too.”

he wasn’t particularly fond of the idea of minho coming, but at least he knew you wouldn’t be sitting alone.

you thought it would be awkward sitting with chans swim team for an hour, especially considering how much they’d already teased you, but it was actually pleasant.

the group of you talked about random stuff, laughing and joking around. you’d even learned some of their names. jeongin and changbin were the two you spoke to most, aside from chan and hyunjin.

the time came when they had to go prepare for the meet and get changed and you waved them all goodbye, pulling out your phone to text minho and ask if he’d gotten to the school yet. 

he responded almost immediately that he had just parked and would be in in a few minutes. you walked out to greet him by the ticket booth where there was already a line forming.

you slipped into line beside him and started casual conversation. 

“do you come to sports stuff alone a lot?” you asked, referring to the fact that if you hadn’t been asked to come he would have been sitting alone.

he shrugged, “i guess. you don’t need someone with you to enjoy a sport.” he send a wink your way as he lightly pushed you with his shoulder, “everything is more fun with you, though.”

you laughed, stepping ahead to show the woman taking money the pass chan had given you. before you could get it out of your pocket, minho was thrusting a $10 bill to the ticket taker.

you stopped him, pulling the card from your pocket and showing it to both him and the ticket taker.

“i’ve got this, you don’t need to pay for me.”

he furrowed his brows in confusion, “chan gave you his fan pass?”

you nodded, a blush forming on your cheeks.

he nodded, swapping the $10 for a $5 bill to avoid getting unnecessary change.

you walked into the room and caught sight of your backpack. it was alone on the floor now, all of the boys had taken theirs with them when they went to get changed. you moved to pick it up, pausing when you noticed a sticky note on top of it.

paper clipped under the note was a small amount of cash, and scribbled across the piece of paper was a small note. you knew the handwriting right away, you’d been forced into too many ethics projects with chan not to recognize his handwriting by now.

“forgot to give you this! for if you get hungry :)”

you didn’t notice the smile on your face until minho commented on it.

“what, he’s your sugar daddy now?”

you shoved him lightly, laughing at his joke.

you swung the bag over your shoulder and pocketed the money along with the note (it was cute, you wanted to keep it).

being there so early, it was quite easy to find a good spot. chan had told you which lanes and pools he’d be racing in so you knew where to sit to be able to see him, too.

deciding to finally ask what changed between you two, minho spoke up.

“didn’t you hate him like less than a month ago? and now you have his fan pass?”

you shrugged, “he got less annoying. started acting like a normal person instead of an asshole.”

minho frowned, “he seems the same to me.”

you shrugged, “he probably acts different around different people.”

“so,” he continued, “are you two like...”

you shook your head as your face flushed pink.

“no, no. he just didn’t have anyone else to give the pass to.”

minho raised his eyebrows but hummed and accepted your answer anyway.

you hadn’t noticed time ticking by and the area growing more crowded as you talked until a man stood on a high platform near the center pool with a microphone in his hand began to speak, welcoming everyone to the meet.

the races began and chan wasn’t in any of the starting line ups, but hyunjin was. being the only other person you really knew, you focused on him. 

watching swim was different than watching a lot of other sports, but you enjoyed it anyway. there was no fighting for a ball or scoring goals, no ball to follow, but it was just as entertaining to watch the way the water worked with every swimmer.

you were still amazed with hyunjin’s movements. you weren’t surprised in the slightest when his race ended with him being the first to complete the set. 

as much as you found hyunjin interesting to watch, you couldn’t help but be happy as the first round ended and the second began, the first chan would be competing in.

you watched as he stepped out to the edge of the pool, scanning the crowd for you. he smiled and sent a small wave in your direction before getting into position to dive.

you ended up not using any of the money chan had given you for drinks and snacks, not even when minho got up to go get some food of his own. you stayed planted in your seat the whole time matches were occurring, always either trained on hyunjin or chan. there were the occasional time that neither of them were racing in any of the pools, but it wasn’t often and rounds were never long enough for you to leave without missing anything.

at the end of the night, the added up scores were close, but chan’s team had won. you weren’t as caught up on the scoring system of swimming as you were of other sports, but you didn’t need to know. the announcer let out the final scores of each team, your schools team coming out on top.

people stood and began to leave as the swimmers began towards the locker rooms and the team managers started cleaning up the pool area and covering the pools again.

chan waited for you before leaving to change, allowing you to congratulate him on the win.

minho said a quick goodbye, stating he had to get home and do some work before it got too late, leaving you and chan alone.

before really realizing what you were doing, you wrapped your arms around chan and held him in a tight hug. he faltered for a moment before wrapping his arms securely around you, holding you close to him. you moved to pull away, but he kept you locked in his arms.

“chan, let me go! you’re still soaked!”

“you hugged me first, you asked for this!”

your hands found his chest as you planted your palms there and pushed him away from you, suddenly very aware of the way his bare chest felt under your hands.

you retracted your hands from his body, wiping them on your pants to dry them off.

ignoring your thudding heart, you spoke.

“now i smell like chlorine.”

a sly smile spread across his face, “no, now you smell like me.”

you blushed and he took a step closer to you, closing the distance between the two of you and holding your elbows as he kept you close to him.

“thank you for coming.”

you smiled up at him and teased, “i only came because you asked me to. i really hated it.”

he gasped in faux hurt, “you mean to say you didn’t enjoy watching me shirtless for three hours?”

you shook your head, “hyunjin looked pretty good though.��

he chuckled and you felt his grip on your arms loosen as he moved one of his hands to your face, cupping your cheek. 

the next thing you knew his lips were on yours and for some reason, that didn’t upset you in the slightest. you kissed him back, his lips were so soft for someone who spent half of their time in chlorine soaked water.

he pulled away and scanned your face for any sign of discomfort, a big smile covering his face when he found none.

“i’m not going to lie,” he chuckled, “i kind of thought you’d punch me when i did that.”

you laughed, raising your eyebrows, “i still have time to.”

he removed his hands from you and held them up in defense, taking a step back from you. you laughed even more at his reaction, surprising the both of you and closing the gap, hands going to his neck as you pulled him down into another kiss. 

the moment was cut short as the locker room flew open and hyunjin stepped out, pausing in the door when he saw the scene taking place in front of him.

a smile crept onto his features and he spoke with a teasing tone, “i thought she wasn’t your girlfriend.”

you both laughed softly before chan responded, “she wasn’t.”

“is she now?” hyunjin prompted.

chan looked at you with his brows raised as if to ask “i don’t know, are you?”

ignoring the furious blush across your cheeks, you replied, “i mean, yeah.”

hyunjin clapped just hands loudly, “fucking finally.”

“language, hwang!” the coach called from across the large room.

“my bad,” he yelled back before directing his words towards chan, “you should get changed.”

chan nodded, sending one last smile in your direction before walking into the locker room and leaving you and hyunjin.

“when you realize i’m way hotter than chan, give me a call.” he sent a teasing wink in your direction and you laughed as he left the room, leaving you alone. 

you waited patiently for chan to come back from the locker room, scrolling through your phone. you debated texting your friends the new update, but you figured you’d just tell them the next day. 

despite being the last to go into the locker room, chan was not the last out. he came back to you just a few minutes after leaving.

he held his keys up, signaling it was time to go. you followed him to his car, letting him pull open the door for you. you slipped in as quickly as possible, slamming the door shut behind you and pressing the button to lock the doors. 

chan sent a small glare in your direction, but you could see the smile threatening to poke through.

he held up his key fob, clicking his own button to unlock the doors. he made a move to open the drivers side door and pulled on the handle just as you clicked the lock again. you repeated this a few times before letting out a loud laugh and finally allowing him to get into his car, tossing his things into the back seat.

“we’ve literally been dating for less than an hour and you’re already terrorizing me.” he grumbled.

he paused for a moment before continuing, “straight home or are you hungry?”

you shrugged, “whatever you want.”

he nodded, pulling the car out of the parking spot, “food it is.”

he didn’t bother to ask what restaurant you wanted, heading to the same little diner a few blocks away he’d taken you to before.

you laughed as you entered the diner to see the same waitress that had served you the last two times you were there.

“do you ever go home?”

she laughed, “do you two ever eat anywhere other than here?”

“touché.”

you chose your spot before ordering almost immediately, you’d learned that chan also tended to stick with the same choice every time.

“hey,” chan called to the waitress before she could walk away, “guess what?”

“what, dear?”

chan reached across the table and grabbed your hand, “it’s an official date this time.”

she broke into a big smile, “i knew it was only a matter of time.”

you sat down at your spot the next morning with a pout on your face. for the first time in about a month, there was no muffin on your spot. 

it wasn’t like whoever put them there was obligated to give you one every morning, but you’d gotten so used to it.

you looked ahead at who would be debating today, you couldn’t recall any of their names. 

chan walked through the door earlier than normal due to the fact that there hadn’t been practice that morning because of the meet the night before. you smiled at him as he approached your table, but the smile dropped into a look of confusion as he placed a muffin ahead of you before slipping behind you.

he sat down, “morning, baby.”

when you didn’t respond, a concerned look crossed his features.

“what’s wrong?”

you held up the muffin, “you’ve been giving me these?”

he shrugged, “yeah. i remembered you saying you didn’t always get breakfast.”

as he smiled at you something clicked in your brain.

minhos words from the night before repeated themselves in your head.

“he seems the same to me.”

that’s because he was the same. that was it, he hadn’t changed. he never stopped being an asshole, he just never was one in the first place. he wasn’t ever a prick, you just had your heart set so strongly on hating him that you saw everything he did in the worst way possible. the things he used to do that annoyed you were now things you grew fond of. the way he bumped your chair sometimes in the morning used to make you livid, but now it brought a smile to your face. you used to want to rip his head off when he hummed while working, but you adored the sound now, even going so far as to not put in headphones so you could hear him. he was the same boy he’d always been.

he didn’t change, the way you saw him did. 

but just as quickly as these became things you loved about him, they fell right back into being annoying habits.

[whitelacepants]

Title: Saturated and Inflated

Word count: 1,017

Pairing: Percy/Nico, kinda

Summary: Nico doesn't think Annabeth is a good partner, so he calls her out on it.

ahhhh i finally did it! so this is my little fic thing, i hope you guys like it. i know it's bad, this is the first thing i've written in like 6 years, but pls be nice >_<

for background, nico just tried to off himself but failed, that's why everyone's there in his cabin, and that's why nico confronts annabeth about her behavior, bc he doesn't think he's gonna be around much longer to see the fall out. it's from nico's pov so the italics are his thoughts. this takes place like, 3 years after the earth war, trials of apollo doesnt exist :)

okie dokie, happy reading, let me know what you think ;3

(edit: i just realized the fuckin ages are off in this part ohmygAWD they're supposed to be like 19-21 throughout the whole thing, im sorry i cant do math 😭)

__________

"Has she ever once told you that you were intelligent?" 

The room stills.

I'm gonna die soon anyways so I may as well rock the boat.

"What?" Percy asks.

Will sat a little ways away from Nico on his bed, Percy, Annabeth, Jason, and Piper huddled in front of him on the floor. Piper holds onto Jason's arm like a lifeline while Jason tries his best to remain calm, keeping his face neutral. Confused, Percy takes a breath in to respond, but of course Annabeth has to butt in, because apparently Percy can't think for himself now-

"Nico, what are you talking about? Of course I've mentioned it before-"

"I wasn't asking you." Nico says with a hard edge to his voice. She pauses, her mouth open in shock, before abruptly clicking her mouth shut. Piper and Jason stare on in silence.

He turns his attention back to Percy.

"Percy." Nico pleads quietly. The boy in question had been staring at the floor in front of him with a far away look, presumably trying to remember something that might help his girlfriend's case. Upon further inspection, he looked less "far away" and more...conflicted. Finally, he lifts his head to look into Nico's eyes.

"No. No, she's never...no."

Ah, that's what I thought.

"Has she ever told you that you were pretty?"

Percy startles at the question.

"Pretty?" He asks, as if Nico was insane for even implying that that was something he could actually be, and shakes his head.

"No, no one's ever...called me pretty before."

An absolute shame. It's been 7 years and he's still as stunning as the day i saw him.

Nico looks Percy in his eyes and says,"I'd call you pretty everyday if I could. I'd tell you that you were intelligent everyday until you believed it. Until you could say it yourself," Nico says longingly, slightly desperate but mostly just defeated. The group stares at him in shock. Makes sense. He's not really one to pour his heart out like this, but he may as well keep going. What's he got to lose? Looking down at his hands clenched in the bedsheets in front of him, he continues.

"You don't value him."

Annabeth bristles. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Nico responds in a clipped tone, glaring at her. "You know, for an Athena kid, you're really fucking dense. You don't value him. You treat Percy like he's the bane of your existence and call it "feminism" instead of what it actually is. It's borderline fucking abusive." He ignores the angry scoff Annabeth throws his way and keeps going, her annoyance egging him on. "We all know he was a replacement for Luke anyways, it's not like you hide it very well. That being said, you can't expect him to act like somebody else and then turn around and reprimand him for being his own person." He steels himself. "I know what happened in Tartarus a couple years ago."

"What?" Percy asks in a strained voice.

"Yeah, I found out a couple months after the war was over."

"How did you find out?"

Maybe I'll tell him eventually but. Not today.

"It's not important. I saw the way she used to look at you, and I see the way she looks at you now. It's different than before, more cautious, more...calculated." 

Holy fuck.

He looks up directly into Annabeth's eyes, hit with a realization.

"You're waiting for him to turn on you, just like Luke did, aren't you? That's why you keep him on such a short leash."

She snaps.

"You have no clue what you're fucking talking about!" She stands up, looking ready to fight. Percy holds her back by her arm.

"Oh, I don't?!"

"No, Percy is perfectly fine with me!"

"Annie-" Percy starts.

"Annabeth, he can not breathe with you! Can't you see that?!"

"Nico-" he tries again, but to no avail.

Piper's grip on Jason becomes a little tighter and he reciprocates the action. Will's got his own arms wrapped around himself.

"Fuck, he would do anything for you, and you're taking advantage of that! You call him a stupid fucking nickname and plan out the rest of his life for him knowing good and gods damned well that he's not gonna say anything about it because he wants to keep you happy!" he shouts, starting to feel light headed, his vision getting spotty.

She responds with a hard edge to her voice,"At least I'm not hopelessly in love with a guy that will never give a shit about me."

"Alright, that's enough!" Percy screams. It takes Nico a second to realize that he's shivering. They all are, except for him.

I lost control again. Fuck.

"We're all here today because we want to keep Nico alive, making him scream and cry until he passes out isn't gonna help," Percy says, desperation leaking into his voice. He pulls Annabeth's arm and she sits, albeit reluctantly.

"I'm not-" but when Nico brings a hand up to wipe his face, he's surprised to find that it comes away wet. 

"Oh."

Well that's embarrassing. But I guess it doesn't matter now.

He sniffs at the snot threatening to run from his nose as he swipes at his face with his hands, wiping the fallen tears away. He then presses his palms into his eye sockets, willing the fresh tears to stay put. When he pulls his hands away, his skin colors from irritation and the bags under his eyes are more prominent. He's exhausted, and he says as much.

"I'm going to sleep. Sorry about the temperature change." He apologizes, and moves to lie under his covers, stopping propped up on one elbow. Looking at the floor, he lets out a sigh.

"Hey, Percy?"

"Yeah?"

Nico's hands clench where he's holding his sheets.

"You're one of the smartest and most beautiful people I've ever met." He says in a soft voice, then louder,"And, in regards to the Tartarus thing, I'm here if you ever wanna talk about it with someone who actually understands." He finally looks up at Percy. Percy stares at him for a moment before nodding with an affirmative hum. 

With that, he turns toward the wall and fully lays down, throwing the blanket over his head.

____________

part 2

[lanshappycorner]

Deuce Spade facts and fun facts🥳🥳

This is a list of facts and fun facts about Deuce! This list is based on true facts only and any observations I've made, however observations can be subjective, so those will be labeled properly! Let's start off with some facts already in the wiki :)

First Yr, class 1-A, student no.24

Birthday: June 3

Age: at the beginning of the game, Deuce is 16, but currently, he is 17 [his profile in game has not been updated, but as time is proven to flow in game, it is unclear but can be interpreted that the characters do canonly age]

Gemini

173 cm / 5'8" ft

Homeland: Rose kingdom

Family: Mother, Grandmother, it is implied that his father is out of the picture as Deuce states that he is the only man in the family so his father has either left or is dead

Club: Track and Field [alongside Jack]

Best subject: PE

Dominant hand: Right

Fav food: Egg dishes / omurice

Least fav food: Bell peppers

Dislikes: Limited time sales

Hobby: Magical wheel (twst motorcycle I guess but it looks kinda funky)

Talents: Machinery Maintainance [good with fixing gadgets and etc]

Used to be a delinquent before he heard his mother crying on the phone to his grandmother about his behavior. Afterwards he decided to change

Owns a pink leopard printed suit

Cannot do middle school math, he will take a lot of time to solve simple Algebra problems

Gets nervous and stops functioning entirely when talking to women

Onto some fun facts outside of the wiki! These facts have been gathered from various sources (ppl who can read japanese, ppl who have told me abt info in the twst guidebook, twitter, and ofc the main translated story), but I cannot prove 100% authenticity of this, so take it with a gain of salt

Canonly a pretty boy. Deuce is described as the "cool pretty type" in the twst guidebook

Smells like flowers [applies to all students from Rose kingdom]

A romantic, he admired the king and queen of heart's relationship and trey teased him about it

Thought that baby chicks hatch from store bought eggs until the MC and Grim told him the truth

Can cook eggs (he likes them over easy)

Wanted to make a magical wheel club but was rejected so he joined track and field

Bought magical wheel magazines when he was younger and studied it

Wanted to ride his magical wheel in the heartslabyul maze (mentioned he forgets bad things when he rides it so like...it makes him feel better)

Hates limited times sales/shopping but is extremely good at it. He can remember the price of an item, when exactly it sells out, the percentage/probability of when it can sell out, discount prices and pretty much any math that has to do with it [he's extremely good at shopping because his mother brought him out a lot with her to limited time sales]

In addition to the point above, it is implied he can memorize and calculate that for pretty much every item he intends on buying (everything I listed above is in relation to the time he bought 20 limited time puddings which greatly impressed Sebek who wasn't able to grab even 1, but it was later revealed that he also bought 8 bag full of items requested by Trey for baking, as well as the others probably from heartslabyul) so basically Deuce big brain and very good memorization abilities

Hilariously in the instance above, Sebek, who is like...a real fae, has said that what Deuce did was not something a human can do

Flirted with a plant because vil was fucking around with him and told him to

Was ready to fist fight Riddle

Was about to go find Leona to beat him up but Vil was like do u have no fear and Deuce pretty much said that he can get thru to Leona with his muscles

Was about to fight Malleus (jesus christ) but ended up fixing his tamagotchi and came out completely loaded and rich (good for deuce, get that cha ching babey)

Won a Track and Field competition (noted to be rare for a first year)

He is literally a pretty boy, it's been pointed out that he looks good in the ceremonial clothes (but we already know that)

Admires Riddle and sees him as a role model, has called him boss (like...yakuza boss terminology) once

[Observation] Has a pretty good relationship with Jamil as he has asked Jamil to help him practice his Stargazer dance, and mentioned him once again when talking about how Jamil fixed his hat and said that he was a reliable upperclassman

Has said fuck and would not hesitate to say it again 🥺

Has been called honest and cute, was fawned over by kalim and trey. Kalim said Deuce was similar to his younger brothers

During his delinquent phase, he was blamed for many things he didn't do as well, Deuce said that he realized no one believed in him despite what he says, but because a policeman stood up for him, he wanted to become a cop when he grew up

Used intimidation tactics [the equivalent of "u wanna fucking go let's go I'll beat ur ass" to scare off ppl and silver was like hm I will have to try that sometime, to which deuce was pretty much like ahahah no dont

Deuce refers to Yuu as his "mabu", basically calling Yuu his best friend

He can change a lightbulb, and he talks abt hand washing materials and just domestic house stuff in general as if it's common knowledge. In other words it's implied Deuce is really good at housework due to doing a lot for his mother

When he was a kid, he used to cry because he thought there were monsters outside, but it was just hanging laundry

Is more scared of Riddle than ghosts

It's implied that one time (or several times...) he stayed after school with Crewel, and the poor guy had to attempt to explain the same concept over and over again to Deuce for hours until he understood

Ace always cheats in card games with Deuce, so Deuce claims that it's not very fun playing with him

Bad at astrology bc apparently all stars look the same to him

Likes cafe latte

Does tease ppl, he once messed with Yuu and in the process called Ace "Ace-kun" (Ace called him "Deuce-kun" as well). There has been an instance where he's teased Jack about his Niceness TM

Used to have over 30 gang members following him at age 14-15. (You'd think that him being so young would make him like a lackey but no he was the boss)

Has a thing for summoning cauldrons since he was young, but apparently you need to have a large amount of magic capabilities to summon objects, so [observation] deuce may actually be extremely powerful bc he was able to summon things at a young age, but he hasn't refined his powers yet so he still seems weak compared to a lot of the cast

During his delinquent phase, apparently he had a really wild hairstyle and he used his magic on people weaker than him

[Observation] Deuce is actually pretty good at lying. In his Halloween card he was able to put up a good act and deceive some of his ex gang members into following him into the forest before mildly roughing them up (keep in mind that he has not had contact with these ppl for at least a year, yet somehow he was able to assert enough authority to tell them to follow him. Also, he thought of this plan on the spot, and acted malicious enough so that the gang members would believe in him—which proves that he's not only quick witted but a convincing actor, as Jamil actually believed his act for a while)

It's implied that he and Ace are often in leadership positions, as they helped to lead heartslabyul in designing their Halloween booth, but they also mentioned that it was much easier compared to organizing unbirthday parties

[Observation] despite wanting to be an honor student, Deuce is still able to take unjustly means to achieve his goals (EX. Making a deal with Azul to pass his test), in general, deuce doesn't care too much about the method, be it through cheating or violence to get to his goal, but he does value a fair battle

[Observation] a lot of Deuce's strengths are subtle as we are frequently told abt how much of a bad student he is, but if u rly think abt it, deuce is put in leadership positions a lot, he's good a memorization and small technical details, he can be at times quick witted and deceiving, and he has the potential to be extremely powerful in magic. In conclusion Deuce is a menace and once we find out what his unique magic is I'm 100.01% sure he will become a greater menace and I think he should fight a lot of people and win

That will be all for this post! There may be more fun facts/observations that I may have missed, but feel free to add on to this! Anyways thank u for reading and please stan Deuce Spade♠️💙

[mi6-cafe]

WEEK 2 DRABBLES ARE HERE!

Now, let’s refresh your memory.

For the second week of LDWS, our true l- our writers were asked to write a drabble between 150 and 200 words, based on the word deck from the point of view of an outsider.

THEY DID SUCH A GREAT JOB!

(this is a purely illustrative gif of an outside observer of the goings on at Q’s flat, not a prompt)

READ THE DRABBLES AND VOTE!

hOW?

Read the drabbles & Pick three favourites!

Vote for them on this form!

Add some feedback for the writers!

That’s it! You have done your civic duty and voted!

Vote!

Read the drabbles below the line.

#1

Title: Eulogy for the Aston Martin Author: Misha / artsytarts Warnings: Canon Typical Violence (mainly directed at vehicles) Summary: Around 007, life and death go hand in hand.

The moment I leave solid ground and fly, pointed directly at the deck of the ship, I know my life is forfeit.

I realize now why the other machines pitied me after I was assigned to the man they call 007. I see his blue eyes blazing as he concentrates, gripping my steering wheel. They say he’s careless, but judging from the few days I’ve carried him, I know different. He’s not careless. His destruction is calculated. Only once I was obsolete, once he depleted my ammunition, blew my doors off, and pushed my motor to breaking point did he make his decision: To use me as his missile.

I count the milliseconds as the deck rushes towards me. Without a word, 007 pushes the ejector button and I fling him out into the open air, out into safety and freedom.

I am to be his sacrifice.

Before I hit the ship to perish in a blaze, I decide: I have no use for resentment. Like so many machines before me, I have granted him life.

That must count for something.

#2

Title: All In Author: sorion Warnings: none Summary: Bond is handy with cards, and Felix likes to watch.

There are few things as satisfying as watching James Bond clean a table in poker. Felix has learned that pretty much the moment he's met Bond, and the entertainment value hasn't changed in the years that have passed.  

On the contrary: Felix has learned some of Bond's tells. Not the kind of tells that would let him win against the insufferably unbeatable agent, but Felix recognises the spark that lights up in Bond's eyes, only seconds before he wipes the confident smirk off an opponent's face with a winning hand.  

Another thing he can see is whether Bond enjoys the game for its own sake or just really hates one of the other players. He knows it's the latter when the opponent asks for a rematch and offers the deed to a hotel in lieu of liquid funds, and Bond agrees, provided that they use a new, unopened deck of cards.  

The opponent blanches near imperceptibly, and Felix smirks into his drink. Oh, yes. Very satisfying.

#3

Title: Voyeuristic Displeasure Author: sunaddicted Warnings: none Summary: seeing everything is not so fun

Bond's hands were big and rough, stronger than they had any right to be.

He had been observing them with varying degrees of interest over the years, stuck behind his computers or out in the field - air straining in his lungs with the knowledge that the other's life depended on how fast and how smart he could be.

He watched Bond strut along the deck, hand poised low on someone's lower back, head tilted down in a way that suggested he was focusing on whatever he was being told, seemingly enraptured in them - Bond played the part well but he knew what signs to look for, to spot the seams of the almost perfect façade: he darted glances around, favoring his right side, trying to keep under the eye of the cameras that he knew to be in friendly hands.

The hand slipped lower, fingers teasingly dipping beneath the edge of the brightly colored bathing suit his companion was wearing - shameless.

Almost teasing.

He stood up with a weary sigh, empty mug held aloft: he was going to need a strongly brewed cup of tea, if he had to watch Bond flirt his way into another bed.

#4

Title: International Man Of Mystery Author: Merc / moon_of_mercury Warnings: none Summary: Some players never make it to places like Casino Royale. Others... acquire nice cars on the way.

She has encountered many interesting characters in her career, some more remarkable than others. Poker tends to attract extraordinary people. It isn’t always easily definable: something about this man arrests her attention the moment he walks up to the table, asking to join the game even though she’s already cutting the deck. 

He flashes a cocky smile at everyone, reads his opponents like a professional, and pleads with her to let the unlucky Mr. Dimitrios bet his car to win his money back. She complies, amused. Such self-sufficient arrogance would be offending if not for his friendly politeness. The way he eyes the man’s wife is not mere casual interest either. Those intense ice-blue eyes have already seen every opportunity. His body language may seem relaxed, but there’s an awareness in his movements that hints at explosive potential underneath the calm surface. 

For an exhilarating moment, she revels in being a part of this man’s story. It’s as clear as day that he’s used to playing for much higher stakes. She wonders what the real prize here is.

Dimitrios has lost again even before this stranger shows his cards. Men like him bend luck to their will. 

#5

Title: Crossroads Author: Hexiva Warnings: None Summary: James Bond visits a fortune teller.

The man’s cold blue eyes look past Serenity as he steps into her fortune-telling tent, and she shivers. His aura is like ice, a vast glacier with life frozen deep down inside it. He reminds her of a mobster from some old movie, wealthy but brutal. 

“What do you want to learn?” she asks.

“The future,” he says, distractedly. She follows his eyes to a bearded man standing at the high striker, speaking in Russian. 

She shuffles her deck. “There are two paths before everyone,” she says. “This choice is yours.” She draws two. “First path - The Lovers, the Star. Companionship and connection bringing hope. Choose the Lovers' path, and you will find a new beginning. A second chance.”

“And the other?” he asks. His tone is flat and apathetic. He doesn't believe in hope.

She draws again.  “The Emperor, the Hermit, both reversed. Rigidity and repression bringing isolation and misery. Choose the Emperor's path and you will end up alone.”

But the man is looking past her at the Russian, and he stands. “Thanks." A wry little smile. "But I think I already know what path I’m on.”

She watches him go. In his shadow, she sees the Emperor.

#6

Title: Observation Deck Author: Anyawen Warnings: none Summary: Mallory and Tanner contemplate employee relations.

Mallory surveyed the scene before him, sipping his scotch and trying, fruitlessly, to tune out the horrid rendition of 'Deck the Halls' playing overhead.

"We should do something about that," Tanner said, coming to stand beside him.

"About what?"

"That," Tanner replied, gesturing in the direction of Bond and Q. "Them."

The Quartermaster, decked out in a horrible Christmas jumper, looked exasperated. Bond, naturally, looked smug. They appeared to have entirely forgotten the holiday party happening around them as they argued. Flirted. Whatever.

"Trying to stop that from happening would be an exercise in rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic," Mallory said with a bemused smile. "Utterly futile."

"I don't want to discourage them," Tanner protested as Q cracked an unwilling smile at something Bond said.

"What, then?"

"A little push? Mistletoe? Lock them in a closet?" Tanner suggested hopefully.

"That might be construed as stacking the deck in your favor," Mallory observed mildly.

"You know about the bet?" Tanner spluttered as Q stole Bond's champagne glass and drained it to Bond's mock outrage.

"Spy," Mallory explained succinctly.

Tanner nodded wry acknowledgement.

They continued their silent observations a few minutes more, then Tanner asked, "What day did you pick?"

"April first."

#7

Title: Nighttime Invasion Author: SouffleGirl91 Warnings: vague references to blood, swearing Summary: Q’s cat is not impressed by 3am visitors

Thunk.

A crumpled heap hit the floor. She hissed, tail bushy, ready to pounce on the intruder.

“Oof!”

Gunpowder Man was invading her space.

Again.

“Q?” Gunpowder Man whisper-shouted. He sounded different. “Are you awake?”

Something dark dripped from his nose.

She sniffed cautiously. He stank of copper and salt. Still, it was better than the strong, sour reek of last time.

A light came on in Father’s bedroom.

Gunpowder Man lifted himself up and wobbled to the sofa. Walking on two legs seemed harder for him than usual.

“Bond?” Father came traipsing up behind him, making the room light up. “What the fuck? It’s 3 in the bloody morning. You couldn’t wait?”

“What, you’re not happy to see me?” Gunpowder Man used the false-happy tone Father used when he tricked her into The Basket.

Another dark drip.

“Don’t be stupid,” Father tsked, petting Gunpowder Man softly on the shoulder. That should help; Father gave the best pets. “Why don’t I put the - Christ, Bond! What happened to your nose?”

“It’s not broken. She hit me when I told her I was staying.”

“I thought psychologists were meant to keep their cool,” Father sighed. “Come on, let’s clean you up.”

#8

Title: A confession of a deck Author: scarytheory Warnings: none Summary: James Bond would be lost without me.

I'd like to think that James and I are not just colleagues, but friends.

You know, we’ve been through a lot together. Cottages in forgotten lands, first-class casinos, important fights – I’d always been with him and helped him along the way.

But this game is different.

“That’s not fair, James,” the opponent says, watching his stack of cards.

“I’m not cheating, Q.”

The opponent snorts. “You may be the best player the MI6’s ever had, but even you can’t be THAT good, 007. Aces again? That’s not very subtle.”

“You were the one who said poker is just basic math and all about the art of reading people. So stop whinging and take off your shirt.”

Beg your pardon?

There is something disturbing in the air. I don’t think I want to give the good cards to James anymore. “Happy?”

The shirt falls to the floor.

“Immensely.”

The next round, Q loses his pants. I’m starting to think that this isn’t even about poker!

“I won.”

Finally, it’s over and I can relax again. Even though I’m not sure what this young lad can have that James Bond would be interested in… oh.

#9

Title: Camouflage Author: IrishWitch58 Warnings: None Summary: A certain agent and their partner are in the field. The local perspective.

Grace's eyes were drawn to her first customers on the deck overlooking the harbor. They were as unlike as could be but Grace would have known they were together with just a glance. The subtle leaning in, the eye contact, the briefest brush of a hand. Not honeymooners but the established kind of connection that took time and patience. The younger man was dark and slender and had a tan that was honey gold. The older one was broader and blond and that one sent tingles up her spine. Her brother and his military buddies were like that, poised and watchful. She didn't see a weapon but suspected he was armed. They'd arrived three days ago in a beautifully restored vintage sailboat, walking the less traveled portions of the island.

Passing Grace, Mimi muttered “Spies posing as tourists.”

Gracie scoffed at Mimi's imagination. What were they spying on here, conch recipes? Then a new boat dropped anchor. The blond saw it first and the dark haired one checked the tablet he always seemed to have before nodding and finishing his chowder.

The pretty sailboat pulled up anchor the next dawn and the new boat was found derelict two days later.

#10

Title: Missing Him Author: Nana-chan Warnings: Summary: Austen the cat watches as her human pines for the Blond One

From her perch on the living room sofa, Austen looks disapprovingly at her bespectacled human. He is out on the deck again, smoking and no doubt pining for the Blond One. He is a relatively new addition to the household and has been gone for several days now, as is his habit. Keats—that dummy—misses him, too, as he meows and gazes forlornly at the front door.

She herself is unsure of the Blond One, but she doesn’t like it when her human is all sad and distracted, reeking of cigarette smoke and unresponsive to feline overtures of comfort. She feels powerless to help him. How did one man become so essential to her human’s happiness?

Then a key turns, the door opens, and there he is. The Blond One dumps his bag in the foyer and heads straight for the deck, pausing only to give her a brief head scritch. She watches as he folds her human into his arms and starts grooming him in that strange way humans have, with their mouths fused.

She hears her human laugh, gladness and relief evident in his tones, and finally, she makes up her mind about the Blond One.

#11

Title: Origin of a Voyeur Author: stormofsharpthings Warnings: none Summary: There was a legitimate reason to start going through all the Q Branch security footage, dammit!

After the small accidental volcano destroyed lab 7b, no one could recall who’d last checked the fire suppression system. Exasperated, R pulled up the security videos in hopes of spotting someone. The recording of Q and 007 was entirely unrelated, but she just couldn’t look away.

Q had been helping Bond dress for some formal event, tuxedo carefully tailored to conceal the equipment Q was arranging around his body. The scene resembled a squire helping his knight, except...

R bit her lip at the way Q stroked his fingertips down the front of Bond’s suit to check the drape of the fabric, evading Bond’s hungry gaze with a sly little quirk to his mouth. Then Q leaned close, reaching around to run his hands over the back of the jacket, lingering a little over Bond’s well-proportioned backside before he sank to one knee and brushed along the sides of the trousers.

“There, all decked out,” Q murmured.

Bond reached down to cradle Q’s chin in his hand and Q looked up with a provocative lick of his lips, the heat almost visibly simmering between them. Bond took a deep breath, his fingers tightening, and Q ‘s eyes widened and then slid shut as he turned to brush his lips against Bond’s thumb. When Bond made a low rough sound, both Q and Rani swallowed at the same time.

Then the outer office door slammed and she hurriedly shut her computer down, blushing. But she saved a private copy first.

#12

Title: The Bet Author: Venstar Warnings: none Summary: Bets are made, there will be blood.

Oh, yes. It was going to happen. The tension was palpable in the room, yes he said palpable in his interior monologue. Just fucking get closer. Do it already. He was going to win that bet today by fuck. He leaned forward in anticipation, eyes locked on target. Yes. Yes….Keep going...almost….

*AH-OOH-GA!! AH-OOH-GAH!! AH-OOH-GAH!!*

Fuck, goddammit. Not again! He narrowed his eyes. There was no way another attack by water was happening. Dammit. Fake or not they were going to have to clear the god damned building. He sighed heavily as he turned sad eyes back to where 007 and Q had been quietly eyeing each other. They were gone. “What the fuck?” Where? There! The orange of Q’s cardigan turned a corner.  He was not about to lose the 'THEY FINALLY MADE OUT DAY' be! He ignored the rest of Q’branch’s leads as they ordered the evacuation.

“Davis?”

Fuck. It was R.

“And just where are you going? Exit is that way.”

He turned with hunched shoulders to find R smiling at him. Her eyes flitted past him to where Q and 007 had disappeared to. “THAT bet will only be won when it’s officially my day.”

#13

Title: Specs and the Lady Author: solarmorrigan Warnings: None. Summary: Louis has been a bartender for a long time, but occasionally patrons can still surprise him.

The Friday night crowd seethes around the bar in waves, laughing and calling out their orders. Louis has been a bartender a long time, which means he can keep up with the steady roll of vodka-tonic-scotch-and-soda-bottle-bottle-pint and still keep an eye on the floor for trouble.

Trouble like the man in specs and a loud jumper bumping into an over-drunk man in a worn football jersey, spilling both their drinks.

Specs’ mouth forms the word ‘sorry,’ but Jersey isn’t having it. He grabs Specs’ jumper, but before Louis can even call for Paul—their unofficial bouncer-bartender—a lady slides in between them, curly hair and cunning eyes, and pulls Jersey’s hand away.

Jersey shoves the lady, and viper-quick, she decks him. Jersey goes down.

Louis lets out a surprised laugh. The lady looks quite pleased. Specs looks exasperated, though Louis doesn’t know why; if he had someone like that in his corner, all squared shoulders and terrifying heels, he’d be delighted. Then again, from Specs’ half-laughing attempt at chastisement that carries in the surprised lull in noise (“Really, Eve?”), this isn’t the first time it’s happened.

“Just take Jersey out,” Louis bids as Paul moves in, “Specs and the lady are fine.”

#14

Title: Eyes on You Author: oldestcharm Warnings: n/a Summary: The Quartermaster is enjoying his afternoon and Bond is far too concerned about his garden.

She's good at her job. So good, in fact, that she's currently hidden from sight with her scope right on MI6's Quartermaster himself. He's sitting on the deck of his house, enjoying the sunny weather with a girly drink in one hand and a laptop resting on his thighs. He's typing furiously, paying no attention to his surroundings. All she has to do is take one shot.  

Then, the sprinklers turn on.  

She does her best to not make a sound even as her phone buzzes.

4:27 pm:

There are over twenty cameras on the property.

4:28 pm:

I suggest you get out of my hydrangea bush. James worked rather hard on the garden and he won't be pleased to find you there.

A click behind her — probably a gun. "You've ruined my garden."

She turns around and finds herself face to face with the legendary agent. She cringes. "I'm... very sorry?"

Bond does not look amused. "You're fixing this before you leave."

"You're not going to kill me?" she asks, heart pounding.

"Q wants you for his team." Bond sighs, looking more annoyed than anything. "Either you accept or I'll shoot you."

Well, it's not exactly a choice.

#15

Title: Over It Author: MrKsan / starrboned Warnings: Canon-Typical language Summary: Tanner is nervous.

Ferrying through the maze of the Thames tunnels was often a nerve-wracking job. More so when his passengers were nervous. More so when it was the Chief of Staff who was sitting across from him, restless, tap-tap-tapping on his cardboard box.

Tanner gave Jack an awkward smile as they docked, climbing the narrow ladder just as the Quartermaster stormed into view.

“I’m going to skin the twat alive, Bill!“ he hissed, making Tanner stumble to a stop. “Didn’t even try to cover his tracks.”

Jack grinned. Only one man could piss Q off that much.

Tanner sighed, resigned. “I’ll inform M-”

“Already did,” Q huffed.

"Oh?"

"Not risking my career for him again, Bill."

Jack dared a peek at the couple; the conversation was taking an unexpected turn.

Tanner blinked, once, twice, before seeming to come to a decision. He shoved the cardboard box at Q.

“Thought we could share breakfast, since our dinner last night was interrupted? Bad timing, of course- ”

"Bill,” Q said, and Jack saw the silver of a smirk. "I would love to."

Pulling a crumpled cigarette from under his heavy coat, Jack couldn't help but grin to himself.

MI6 and their drama.

Go vote!

[mojwisungie]

hc | boyfriend ♡

req (from: anon) ➥ : read the mark-jaemin boyfriend, and then then renjun-jisung boyfriend headcanons,,, can you do one for the remaining members? thank you~~

☄︎ with: lee jeno, lee donghyuck, zhong chenle ☄︎ lou.note: this has been in my wips for so long im sorry anonie but here i am to give it you guys as an offering for my birthday (its tomorrow on the 26th but anyway) hehe hope you all enjoy <3

ੈ⋆ mark & jaemin ver. | renjun & jisung ver.

Jeno

the observing, supportive boyfriend

jeno doesnt pay much attention to things that arent important

but YOU are important

you mean so much to him, and thats still an understatement

he often thinks that by paying attention to you and everything you do

he'll know you in a way no one else does

at this point, he knows everything about you

your favorite sweater (which he owns), favorite color, favorite artists, favorite songs, etc.

jeno actually knows your order by heart even if it varies in different restaurants

his mantra is actually happy y/n = happy jeno ^_^

thats also the reason why fights dont usually happen

he knows when its too much for you and so he will do what he thinks is best for the situation

anyways: dates with jeno are either doing physical activities or plain cuddling on the couch

it would mostly be him who initiates dates like hiking, biking, etc.

but, he would also always check with you if youre okay with it or if you want to rest 

one time you asked him for a day in those sport grounds ?? like those places that has random games like wall-climbing, archery, and trampolines

oh this boy has the biggest smile on his face asking you, “hold on love, are you serious ( ◕▿◕ ) ?”

during hectic weeks, he’s definitely up for movie marathons

if he still has some energy, he will make a blanket fort for the both of you

also jeno lee is a cuddle bug (you cannot change my mind, this case is closed)

and so he’ll use these lazy dates to indulge in hugging you for as long as he can 

on the supportive note, he always reassures you with the kindest words

AND hes the type of guy who will ask you if you need comfort or solutions when you rant to him T﹏T

and that is actually proof that he is the best support system

he'd be your hype man when you need a push

thinking of auditioning for a club? go ahead, he'll teach you what he knows

want to try a new hobby and start journaling? he'll help you find cute stickers (and he'll buy them too)

he will always help in whatever way he can, and he will constantly assure you that he’s there for you as you have been for him

he is reserved, quiet, and keep things on the down low, yet with you, he’s entirely different

jeno loves you just as you love him, and he’ll do everything to prove it to the world- you.

Haechan

the enthusiastic, soft boyfriend

he is!! literally!! the sun!!

he often calls you often in the morning to wake you up, greeting you with the loveliest voice saying, “good morning darling, how was your sleep?” SADKJASD

if he’s free, he’ll actually drop by yours to bring breakfast and eat with you

and if ever you still live with your family, you bet that once you slip into the kitchen he’s chatting up with your parents like he’s their son

actually... he technically is

he loves going out with you and your family as much as he loves going out with his

hyuck is very family-oriented, you really dont have to plead to him if you want him to come to a gathering

as long as you say yes to him inviting you to their family activities too 😌

he once asked you to go with him to this intimate family dinner his relatives organized

and you ask him, “are you sure im allowed to go? the invitation in the email complete says Lee Family and clearly.. im not-”

this man didnt even let you finish and says, “BUT YOU WILL BE!! SOON!! I WILL MARRY YOU!! baby come on just please come with me!!!”

he means it though

you dont know it, but the thought of spending the rest of his life with you often comes into his mind

and so dates with him can be both ends of the spectrum

you guys could go for fancy restaurants, amusement parks, and even late night computer games (if you dont play, he’ll teach you dont worry <3)

but there are also domestic dates such as grocery shopping, helping each other babysit nephews/nieces, and the such

its obvious to every one that haechan is so soft for you

and he doesnt care what other people say

one time, mark heard him talk to you in the cutest, softest voice and laughed... and regretted it bc haechan turned to him in the most serious face and the deepest tone saying, “and so?” 

as much as possible, he wants you to feel loved bc thats what you make him feel

despite this, arguments are still there, but it doesnt go on for long

fights dont escalate as you both work together against the problem

so at the end of the day, no feelings are hurt or turned a blind eye to

disagreements are often rooted from the nature of work though, thats why every time things arent so fine, he’ll do his best to fix it

because he treasures his time with you and the love you both invest in

he didnt value time that much before, bc he’s so used to putting up with whatever that comes his way

but when you came into his life, he realized it is indeed precious

haechan spends every second loving you beyond infinity

Chenle

the parental, sincere, affectionate boyfriend

you’ve seen him rant, right?

he’ll do that often, but only when its about you not getting what you need

others may not see it, but he’s really concerned when its about you so he’ll do anything to make sure youre well taken care of

if you havent eaten yet bc youre too busy going over your notes for your exams, he’ll buy you your favorite food and feed it to you

all the while talking about how you shouldnt put aside eating bc its important to eat meals at the right time

this guy solves old math problems when he has time to spare, so he’ll be okay with you coming to for help whenever you struggle with your lessons

as cliché as it may be, he will also get you the stuff you need- whether it may be for school or for your personal shenanigans 

you complained about your laptop once, saying it keeps on lagging

he deadass goes, “do you wanna go and buy a new one now?” 💀

he just wants you to do well in the stuff you do, okay ??

chenle is blunt about pretty much everything in your relationship too

he tells you all the stuff he knows he should tell you

including embarrassing moments of his members

the dreamies cant joke around with you too much,, bc they know you know everything (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)

but jokes aside, sometimes his honesty can be cause of some arguments

bc he gets too straight-forward at times and ends up unintentionally hurting you :((

and when you explain why it made you feel that way, he’s lost bc he thinks he was just saying the truth

but as time passes, he will learn how to be upfront with you without having to sadden you

please be patient with him as he is with you 👉🏼👈🏼

anyhow, dates with him would always be one for the books

if you ever think that he probably doesnt remember the dates you wanna go on to, youre wrong

bc its all listed in his mind and he’s determined to tick every single one from the list

when he’s busy or away on tour, facetimes would be a regular thing

he’s prepared with the timezones and he will remind you to sleep when you should, no buts y/n

if you tell him you cant just drift off, he’ll always offer to sing you to sleep

and when you do, he’ll take lots of pictures to treasure the little moments he has with you

some people tell him he looks too deeply in love

but he doesnt really see anything wrong with it because it was with you

chenle completely knows that he loves you so much, and he’s willing to love you until forever