#and suddenly my whole life made sense lol

[sherlock-is-ace]

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[orionsangel86]

I watched X-Men 2000 tonight. Yup the Deadpool and Wolverine brain worms got me - at least for a little while - so I figured I'd rewatch the old movies that I havent seen in over a decade and have basically forgotten entirely at this point.

You know what really stunned me? Even more than the slow pace, serious tone, actual dedication to telling a coherent and interesting story with layers of meaning and social commentary attached to it, as well as a sincerity that's been missing from most superhero films since the MCU was born (thanks Josh Whedon).

Nope, what shocked me most was this:

This is a perfect specimen of a man. Look at him. He's gorgeous. But look at his chest? His arms? He's muscular, he's pretty well toned, he's hairy. He's definitely got a six pack - but it's nicely covered by a healthy layer of fat. His skin is plump, he has a bit of squish to him. He'd probably be great to hug (Jean Grey certainly gives him a good squeeze lol).

When he sits down he looks like his stomach will roll just nicely. Like a stomach should.

I know my point here is obvious. It's just that scrolling the Deadpool and Wolvering tag is basically 50% "oh they definitely fucked in the Honda Odyssey" (yes lol) and the other 50% is just horny posting over Wolverine's topless scene like the entire site suddenly adopted Deadpools horny brain.

I gotta give props to Hugh Jackman for his dedication to turn himself into an actual comic book character - because that's what this new movie does. It gives us a comic accurate Wolverine in practically every way (except for his height lol) the suit is amazing, the cowl was a joy to see brought into live action. The body too though was straight out of a comic book artists male power fantasy.

What I wanted to emphasise was that this:

Is extremely tough on the human body. What I wanna know is how long he starved and dehydrated himself for before filming this scene? How long before they shot this did he last drink some water? Because damn that must have been tough. The oil and the lighting probably help further emphasise the muscle, vein, and sinew definition. It's probably similar to how body builders prepare before a show.

Nothing about body building is healthy though. So in the coming weeks as the whole entertainment industry rides on the coat tales of this movies success, and everyone goes crazy over Hugh Jackmans physique, please don't feel pressured into thinking that his 2024 physique in the movie is remotely realistic - or realistically attractive. Like I get the fantasy sure, but come on. I'd personally rather lie on a cushioned bed than a concrete floor.

Deadpool may disagree with me, but he's a masochist lol.

Oh and whilst I stand by the shade I threw at the MCU above, I think Wolverine's different physiques in the movies is a good standard of comparison for how much superhero movies have changed. Because when superhero comics first started getting adapted I think a lot of the choices made were about how to bring them to live action realistically and believably and the attitude was to try not to make them look ridiculous. The first X-Men movies definitely do this.

It was about bringing the comics to life in a way that fit in our world. But over the years, as audiences got more and more used to comic book movies the movies became more and more like comic books and less like a realistic adaptation of a comic book. Does that make sense? So as the movies attempted to bring the comics to life in a way that was less realistic and more comic accurate, the demands on the actors to sculpt their physiques to meet the standards of comic book art became normalised.

I think Deadpool and Wolverine is the MOST comic book accurate of all superhero movies made in the past 2 decades. Half the time the images from the movie look like they could be literally pulled from the pages of the comic books. The story is convoluted and stupid, the plot is barely there and is full of gaping plot holes and elements that don't fit any past stories. The action is ridiculous, extremely fast paced, gratuitous, and violent to a hilarious level. But it's so entertaining, joyful, exciting, and laugh out loud hilarious throughout.

It reminded me a LOT of my attempts at reading through the Deadpool comics (I've read a lot of them but no where near all of them).

To sum up this rambling message with multiple points, I'll say that Deadpool and Wolverine is a really fun movie that I thoroughly enjoyed, but make no mistake there is nothing real in it at all. It is almost literally a comic on screen. Don't expect anything more than that and you'll enjoy the experience.

[stars4gojo]

Sweet Nothing

Gojo x Fem!reader // Gojo and reader being Megumi’s parents lol  // fluff // 1k words

Itadori and Nobara already feel like Megumi hides too much so how will they react if they see him with a woman that seems way too old for the 16 year old.

(not proofread rn I’ll edit it later - ignore any silly mistakes)

Taylor swift sweet nothing🤍

Some of my other work - Masterlist

When Megumi told Nobara he was too busy to accompany her and itadori during her weekly shopping free - she did NOT expect to see Megumi laughing and buying coffee with a woman that was definitely way older. 

“Hey Kugisaki!” Itadori spoke suddenly as Nobara went ahead of him. 

“Is that fushiguro with a woman?” He questioned as his mouth fell agape.

“Huh? What are you talking about? You sure you’re not seeing things?” Nobara spoke as she dismissed him with the wave of her hand.

“No really I’m not lying!” He spoke again stopping in his tracks as Nobara made her way towards him to get him to shut up so she could continue shopping.

As Nobara turned towards the direction Itadori was still looking at in shock - she expected to see a guy that looks nothing like Megumi and was ready to snap at itadori for interrupting her, but she was in much more shock when she saw Megumi but worse with a woman who very obviously had a ring around her finger, a huge one at that.

“No way…” She spoke.

“That Fushiguro…She literally has a ring on her finger, I’m going to go teach him a lesson. Hold this!” Nobara added as she shoved her coffee into Itadori. 

“Hey hey hey! Don’t you want to do this more carefully I mean we don’t even know if they really are in some sort of relationship like that.” Itadori replied as he tried to hold Nobara back.

Nobara was about to reply but was cut off with the voice of someone awfully familiar.

“Hmm what are we looking at?” Itadori and Nobara jumped at the same time at the voice of their teacher, Gojo.

“Oh Goj-“ Itadori started but was soon cut off by Nobara.

“That Fushiguro is hanging out with some married woman and I’m about to beat his ass for breaking up a marriage.” Nobara spoke with her hands folded around her chest in confidence.

“What are you doing here anyways?” itadori asked clearly ignoring Nobara. 

“Well I’m about to meet my wife.” Gojo replied with a slight chuckle as he watched his two student’s mouths fall.

Nobara and Itadori turned towards Megumi and his mystery woman and to Gojo again and then the realisation hit.

“Oh.” Nobara and Itadori said at the same time.

“Huhhhh!!?!?” Nobara started

“Since when are you married?!??” Itadori added while looking like his whole life was a lie.

“You don’t even wear a ring???” Nobara questioned.

“Well if I wear such an expensive ring while fighting I would very obviously lose it and it’s too precious for that.” Gojo spoke proudly - putting emphasis on the words expensive and precious. 

“Seems like Megumi already met up with her, you guys wanna go and meet her?” 

“Yeah!” Nobara and itadori shouted excitedly as they made their way towards you and Megumi.  

You were quite surprised when you saw two children Megumi’s age run towards you both but everything made sense as you saw your husband trailing behind them, hands in his pocket and his usual blindfold replaced with his glasses.

You smiled as he waved at you but you couldn’t ignore the frown that was becoming more apparent on Megumi’s face.

“Those your friends Megumi?” You asked as you suppressed a giggle at his annoyance. 

“They’re NOT my friends.” He replied fast as he grabbed your arm so you both could go the other direction and you swear you saw his eyebrow twitch. 

“Hey Fushiguro!” Itadori spoke excitedly as he wrapped his arms around Megumi as he swatted them away. 

“And hey to you too!” Itadori spoke looking at you, unaffected by Megumi’s actions. 

“My name is Nobara Kugisaki and this is Itadori Yuuji!” Nobara spoke this time as an attempt to stop itadori from embarrassing her more. 

“Ahh hi! So you’re Megumi’s friends, I’m y/n and I’m Sato- well, your teachers wife.” You spoke as you shyly waved at them.

“We can just ignore them.” Megumi spoke nonchalantly as he turned on his heels once again trying to go the other and you frowned at his actions.

“Megumi you embarrassed of us or something” it was Gojo who spoke this time and Megumi felt as if all of his peace was now really destroyed.

“Hi there.” Gojo said softly as he went to kiss your head, “seems like you didn’t tell Megumi I was gonna be joining you two today.” Gojo added.

You turned towards Megumi with wide eyes as you rubbed the back of your neck, “did I really not tell you” you questioned awkwardly.

“No, you did not.” Megumi spoke as his last bit of patience ran out. 

“So Gojo you can just leave and you two can leave too.” Megumi added as he pointed to the others with his finger.  

“What! That’s literally my wife you cannot control me!” Gojo replied childishly as he leaned down to Megumi. 

“Oh cmon Fushiguro! It’ll be fun!” Itadori added only to get a smack on the head in return by Megumi.

“No one is inviting you in the first place anyways.” Megumi spoke with a frown.

And as you watched the entire scene unfold infront of you, Nobara made her way towards you.

“You sure you’re not being held hostage by those two?” She asked with genuine curiosity.

“Oh cmon” you said as you laughed. 

“I wouldn’t trade them for the world.” You added as light giggles escaped your mouth. 

“Nobara was it? Leave those two to solve it on their let’s go to that cafe over there.” You said while interlocking your arms with her walking towards the cafe. 

“Satoru’s treat of course!” You added with a wink. 

The two boys and your man child of a husband immediately stopped their little fight as they watched you two walk away.

“How are they friends already…?” Megumi questioned in surprise.

“Hey kugisaki don’t leave without your bags!!” Itadori called out as he started running towards her.

“Dont go ahead without me.” Megumi shouted out as he chased after Itadori.

Gojo slightly chuckled to himself as he put his hands back in his pockets slowly making his way towards the cafe as well. 

[xitsensunmoon]

People often talk how inaccurate self diagnoses can be for things like autism and while I personally disagree, I found it to be true to some degree. But in a completely opposite direction.

When I just found out about a possibility of me being neurodivergent, maybe, like, a year ago? (Thanks to a peer review by my friends💀) I took an online test for a self diagnosis - RAADS-R. And there's a reason they say "it can be inaccurate".

I think my first "score" was something close to 80 out of 240 possible. It meant I had some of the traits, but a lot of neurotypical people could score that high too.

But I got curious. And so for the next year I was doing my research. Finding out about spoon theory, about energy levels, about light and sound sensitivity, struggles with social cues and such.

I took the test again, a year later. I scored 167.

If your conclusion is "well, obviously you were influenced and the results are biased" you won't be entirely wrong. But the reason for it is not that I faked it. It's that I paid more attention to myself.

If you're living your whole life masking, you're taught to ignore absolutely every symptom of what may be autism or ADHD. My whole life I was thinking that I'm "weird" or "broken" or "different" or or or. I knew that I'm living my life somehow different than people around me. It felt like everyone got a tutorial how to live this life and I skipped it. But I could never understand why.

So, why did I score higher the second time I took the test? Because the first time all of the "weird" situations were never linked to autism in my brain. I had two dots, the connection between them being autism. But I never recognised the said connection, due to the high-masking nature that helped me to cope with everyday struggles.

But the second I made the connection, suddenly everything made sense. Suddenly, it's not "I'm too sensitive", it's not "something is wrong with me", it's not "why am I not enjoying this while others do?". It's fucking autism(and ADHD too, lol.)

That's the reason your diagnosis may be not as accurate as you think. Your brain can try and protect you from making the connection between your experiences and the diagnosis. Or, of course, there's a possibility to make a wrong connection, too.

But you're the only one who can find out. There's no one out there who knows you better than yourself.

[captainmera]

My God I love your depiction of the Wittebane brother ❤️

Do you think there might have been a chance that your Pip wouldn't kill his brother when Calec goes to Demon Realm? He seems way more tolerable of weirdness and is actually curious about the taboo things. That it makes me wonder if other steps were taken by people around him, maybe he would make different choices and not turned into a brother-killing genocide goop man. Obviously, the blame is still his for what he did, but I can't stop wondering what if.

And him getting along with Evelyn instead of hating her right of the bat is really cute.

Thank you! :D <333

He grew up with this theatrical bisexual of a brother. Pretty sure the reason Belos didn't give a hoot on the Boiling Isles about queer stuff is because he kinda knew, and accepted, that Caleb was kinda queer. In some cases, people can ignore or bend certain rules for people they love. Even disregard them or pretend they don't apply or exist.

(long rant about writing and narrative foils and blah blah under the cut)

Unlike Caleb, I think Philip is the sort that only picks-and-chooses whatever rules he feels will supports his personal wants/thoughts and tosses the rest.

Caleb was not hiding it as well as he thought he did. lol.

I think that, sure, there was probably a turning point for Philip.

And absolutely, people around him influenced him. He's just a kid, a vulnerable one at that, in a protestant Christian cult.

I kinda like to think of it as a corruption arc. Mostly because it seems (to me) that the whole reason Luz was meant to have a depression-arc and Philip getting all "YoUrE JuSt LiKe Me!" thing was because.. There was supposed, I think, to be similar beginnings for them.

But Luz, in season 3, got depressed and felt a lot of guilt, so her arc is going from this happy-go-lucky kid interested in different things, to a depression arc where she questions herself. While Philip has a corruption arc, where he gradually goes from a well-meaning kid interested in different things, to evil and delusional.

I am also combining Luz, King, and the Collector into Kid-Philip's themes.

King is fascinating as a pre-narrative foil for kid-Philip. I think. As King was very clingy to Luz and didn't want her to leave, he too had a delusion about his own importance (disregard that it was kinda true in the end there). King tried to dictate (in that book episode) about what his and Luz' book should be about, how it should go, and it really hurt Luz' feelings. In the end, they solved it. But as a narrative foil, I think for the Wittebanes, they probably had a similar struggle on a larger scale, and it didn't get resolved.

The Collector, too! They're desperate to be close with someone, anyone, who gets them and wants to play on their terms. Kinda like Belos wanting him and Caleb to be witch hunters. Not accounting that Caleb is his own person outside of him-- Which, if you think about it, Caleb made his whole life (in my version anyway) about taking care of Philip. So I'm sure Philip felt like he really was Caleb's entire world. And then suddenly he wasn't. Because of a witch. The Collector, despite having this incredible power (just like Pip having his brilliant brain) is still a child and using their power in selfish ways. Not intentionally, I think, just out of a fear of abandonment or isolation.

I personally am in favour of nobody-is-born-evil-but-anyone-can-become-evil kinda thing.

I would like to explore how Philip gets corrupted.

I am slowly influencing Philip in my fanfic with little things that will, eventually, boil down to not so great moments.

The thing about delusions is that the person truly believes in it. Philip believing he's a hero has to make sense and feel believable.

Belos is a jerk. Philip isn't, yet. He becomes that jerk. But I don't want to write a sociopath. I also don't like using less-favourable mental illnesses as an "easy way out" to write why Philip became Belos and a genocidal maniac.

I have strong feelings about de-stigmatizing mental illnesses in writing, without romanticizing them or leaving out the really awful and less discussed sides of it. This includes diagnoses within all the clusters of the DSM5. I will not sit here and say I only support a diagnosis like Autism or GAD, and not things like Histrionic or Borderline.

And including people with MH issues and personality disorders is important, too, as well as not trying to downplay them.

People throw around Belos with things like Narcissism and Psychopath, without actually understanding what those means or what the different types there are. For example, is he a grandiose, oblivious or a fragile narcissist?

Yes, these disorders are looked down upon. A lot of people who have them aren't very nice people. But that doesn't mean they're evil or have no heart.

Lots of children can display early signs of these, and in a rough time like the colonial 1630s of America, it is not unthinkable that those rough times bred some dysfunctional people. I'm sure Philip has his own slices of pie as far as mental health goes, just like Caleb and many other struggling people.

But, I will not write from an angle that implies Philip just has darkness from the start in him.

There's a reason why I had Caleb go on a rant about being born evil in chapter 5. Because puritans, and Christians alike, at the time - truly did believe bastards were just... Half people. Did you know that if an orphanage found out a baby was a bastard, they wouldn't let it suckle the nursery goat's udders. Because they were afraid it would soil the milk and, in turn, might give the non-bastard babies bad influence. Somehow.

With that kind of logic in your culture, it's no rocket science that people would put nonsense together and think it made sense.

I'm much more interested in how puritanism and witch hunting culture influenced and corrupted Philip into becoming who he became, and why he refuses to budge on his beliefs to the point of murder.

As the owl house, the show, has commentary on systems influencing cultures in a bad and positive way. But in particular, the one Belos tries to influence the Demon Realm with; being a not-so-great way. So! With that as a clue: what made Philip turn bad, most likely, was partially the puritanism and its extremist ways. I think TOH is also a bit of a nudge at the HAYS-code of Hollywood and how it has trickled into most all the American culture-core. As it's both trickled into schools, morality, politics and other things outside cinema.

Just pointing at him and going "He's a sociopath because he became a genocidal tyrant" is, to me, cheap. Not only does it further stigmatising mental illnesses by implying only a disorder can make someone do such evil things. But it also disregards the most horrific truth of all; that the true monsters are people not at all unlike yourself. And that they, too, were children once.

[gureumz]

not my thing

like a freak, like a g [installment 3]

rating: explicit

member: sunoo, jake

premise: he might be the director of communications and relations, but he wants no part in this relation. unless you can convince him. or maybe it takes two to get the job done?

notes: fem!reader, greek life!au, university!au, sunjake threesome, dom!sunjake, dirty talk, slight degradation, blowjobs, unprotected sex, slight exhibitionism and voyeurism

a/n: third installment of the 'sleeping around the frat house' series! more drama! unresolved drama! this is a threesome i haven't seen discussed here yet so i wanted to explore it. mc is halfway through the executive committee so she gets a silver star for now lol but anyways please enjoy! *divider by cafekitsune

"i think we need to lay some ground rules."

jake is pacing his room, chin between his pointer finger and thumb, his teeth gnawing at his bottom lip. you're sitting cross-legged on his bed, hands nervously fidgeting with your sweater.

it's been a few days since the party, the one that led you straight into heeseung's arms and bed. you managed to evade jake the morning after, dashing out the door at barely seven in the morning, sparing heeseung a quick kiss and allowing him a brief grope before you made your escape.

you threw yourself into your university duties after that, (mostly) ignoring jake's texts and pleas for you to come over. what is he even groveling about? it was him who sprung up this arrangement, so it made no sense to you why he's suddenly acting all clingy.

but eventually, you had to give in.

'come over, please? i'll drive around the whole campus if i need to just so i can find you,' jake had texted a few hours ago.

with a sigh, you replied: 'stalker. be at the house in fifteen.'

"what ground rules?" you ask, finally meeting jake's gaze at present. you've avoided looking directly at him since you entered his room a few minutes ago.

jake's eyebrows crease together even more. he walks right up to you, staring down at your confused face.

"for whatever this whole thing is," jake says, gesturing wildly around with his hands.

"you'll have to be more specific than that," you retaliate, pushing yourself off his bed. you rise to your full height and despite being a ways shorter than jake, you square your shoulders, raising a brow at him.

"we need to talk about this game you're playing with my brothers," jake explains, the cadence of his voice slowing down as if recounting something to someone significantly younger than him.

"you know, the one where you try to fuck all of them, one by one?"

"huh," you huff indignantly, tongue poking at your cheek.

"if i remember correctly, you were all for it when you brought it up," you say, mildly accusatory.

jake rubs at his forehead, turning away from you. "i know! it's just..."

jake hangs his head low for a few moments, falling completely silent. your own annoyance ebbs away after a while of him just standing there, giving way to a hint of sympathy. maybe this whole thing was stupid. maybe jake is right to be jealous.

did he have the right, though?

technically...you're not sure.

"i just need some time," jake says with an air of finality. he quickly exits through his door without so much as a glance at you, sending you scrambling after him.

"jake, wait—"

"don't follow me!" jake calls out as he practically thunders down the stairs.

you halt right at the banister overlooking the living room and the front door, the same one you and jake drunkenly (kind of) confessed your attraction to each other. annoyance quickly rises in you as you watch the front door of the house slam shut. you can't help the frustrated noise that escapes you.

you walk over to the top of the stairs, fully intending to follow jake but someone at the bottom landing makes you stop in your tracks.

"hi."

another one of jake's frat brothers stands there, hands in his pockets as he looks up at you. he's wearing a plain black shirt and jeans. you notice that he's leaner compared to the others's bulkier builds, but he has the same handsome features, nonetheless, if not a little softer.

he glances back at the front door where jake had just stormed out seconds ago before returning his attention to you.

"i don't suppose you know where he's going?" you ask in exasperation.

the man shakes his head with a soft laugh. "even if i did, brotherhood compels me to act in jake's best interest."

"well, it's in his best interest to talk to me," you say with a roll of your eyes as you descend the stairs.

"clearly," the frat brother says, watching as you slowly approach where he stands. "it seems like he has a habit of not telling you where he's going, which then ends in you walking around in here asking if anyone knows where he went off to."

you stop two steps above the man. "that is eerily accurate," you say, eyes narrowing.

the man shrugs. "hey, news travels fast here."

you're hit with a wave of deja vu as he grins up at you.

"was that about...," he continues, glancing back at the front door. "your thing?"

"my thing?" you ask, confused.

"your mission to sleep with the entire executive committee."

you smile coyly, walking down the remaining steps and brushing past him. he smells strongly of citrus and fresh laundry and you almost stop just so you can take in more of his scent.

"you could say that," you respond, turning back to him.

the frat brother nods understandingly. you realize with a start that you don't even know his name.

"sorry, i don't think we've met before," you say, reaching your hand out.

the other man smiles. "i'm sunoo."

"________."

"i know," sunoo points out with a playful smirk.

"of course you do," you mutter under your breath.

sunoo chuckles, walking over to the sofa. he pats the space beside him as he plops down. you reluctantly follow, still half wanting to go look for jake.

as if hearing your thoughts, sunoo speaks up.

"look, i'm not gonna sugarcoat things and say that all will be well with jake," sunoo begins.

"you do know he talks to other girls on the side, right?"

you feel your stomach flip uncomfortably at those words. you allow yourself to sit beside sunoo, folding your legs beneath you.

"i...suspected it," you admit as you bite your lip, gaze averting to the side. "but it's not like we're exclusive or anything."

sunoo nods, observing your face.

"and are you okay with that setup?" sunoo questions.

you shrug. "i was. well, i still am. not quite sure where he stands on the matter."

"he totally freaked out on me when he heard i..," you clear your throat. "slept with heeseung."

sunoo grins sheepishly at this. "that may have been my fault. i told him about you and heeseung that night."

you raise a brow at sunoo but ultimately wave a dismissive hand his way.

"don't feel bad about it. he was gonna find out, either way. it's not like i was going to keep it a secret," you conclude.

"still, i'm sorry," sunoo apologizes. "being the director of communications and relations, sometimes my mouth has a mind of its own."

your ears perk up. director of communications and relations?

you're seriously starting to question your morals at this point. jake is out there, doing god knows what at god knows where, having stormed out after the two of you fought over you sleeping with his frat brother.

and yet here you are, thinking about fucking another one.

well, it was jake's idea, anyway.

your eyes swiftly glance over sunoo's figure, relaxed and lazily leaning back against the couch. he catches your eye just as your gaze returns to his face.

"so, what exactly do you do as director of communications?" you ask casually, resting your head against your hand as your elbow perches on the back of the couch.

"draft and proofread letters sent out to the school, other frats, and sororities, handle internal announcements, manage the social media, all that fun stuff," sunoo explains, counting off on his slender, perfectly tapered fingers.

"the frat's tiktok is really taking off, thanks to me," sunoo says proudly. he beams at you and you can't help but smile back.

"oh, you're the one posting thirst traps of the other members on the frat account?" you ask, shifting your weight to face sunoo fully.

he nods, shrugging nonchalantly.

"the likes and comments come flooding in," sunoo declares.

"i don't think i've seen an entry from you," you challenge with a raise of your brow.

sunoo scoffs, shaking his head. "i'm just the guy behind the camera. i'm better at thinking of witty captions than posing half-naked for the whole university and beyond to ogle at."

"i doubt that," you say delicately, subtly knocking your knees against sunoo's.

sunoo pauses, jaw unhinging slightly. a flash of realization washes over his face.

"you're a sly one, aren't you?" sunoo accuses lightheartedly. "don't tell me you're thinking of...it with me. really? while jake is out there sulking around?"

you scoff, eyes rolling. "he can sulk all he wants. in fact, he can go cry to one of his other girls."

sunoo seems dumbfounded, not even trying to hide his utter surprise and mild confusion. he sits up straight, bottom lip slipping beneath his teeth as he lets his eyes wander down your form.

"i'm not...casual hookups aren't really my thing," sunoo admits, voice softer and seemingly unsure.

"i'm not forcing you to do anything," you respond, holding your hands up. "you can always say no."

sunoo fidgets, his leg bouncing up and down. he eyes you warily but you can see a flicker of curiosity in his irises. something else is present in the way he looks at you. sunoo's eyes seem to sharpen before you, rendering him akin to a fox observing its prey.

men are so easy.

"but it doesn't mean i haven't thought about it before," sunoo informs quietly.

you smile, laying a hand on his knee.

"since you're the director of communications and relations, why don't you just communicate with me? let me know when to stop," you instruct, inching your way up sunoo's thigh. he stiffens and you pause, eyeing him cautiously.

sunoo remains still. you resume your movements, squeezing along the way. his breath hitches but he doesn't say anything to stop you. the tips of your fingers brush just below his crotch area and you look straight at sunoo, silently asking.

"one last chance to back away," you say.

sunoo gulps.

"go on," he whispers.

you cup sunoo through his jeans and he sighs, head thrown back. he adjusts himself, spreading his legs wider as his arms come to rest on the back of the couch.

before you can second guess yourself, you lean forward, catching sunoo by surprise as you kiss him square on the lips. his hand darts up to hold your face steady. you swing a leg over sunoo's sprawled out figure and his other arm snakes around your waist, pulling you down onto himself.

you part from him briefly, lips slick with spit. sunoo's eyes are wide yet something dark lurks within. he rolls his hips up and you gasp, planting your hands firmly on his shoulders. you retaliate by pressing down on sunoo's crotch and you both moan, the friction sending heat up your body.

sunoo leans in, lips gliding up your neck. "there are cameras in the living room."

you glance up, scanning the corners until your eyes finally land on a white surveillance device on the right side of the room.

"who handles the footage?" you whisper, a soft groan following shortly as sunoo nips just below your ear.

"heeseung."

you smile, leaning your head further away so sunoo can continue on your neck.

"i'm sure we can work something out with him," you say, fingers toying with the hair near sunoo's nape.

the sound of the front door unlocking reaches your ears too late. you turn to see jake standing in the doorway, expression unreadable as he takes in the scene in front of him.

jake's face goes slack as he rolls his eyes, a bitter laugh escaping him.

"can't say i'm surprised," jake muses, kicking the door closed behind him and locking it.

you make a move to slide off sunoo's lap but jake holds a hand out.

"oh, please, don't let me interrupt," jake hurriedly says. a wicked grin takes over his features.

"in fact, pretend i'm not even here."

jake saunters over to the single sofa chair opposite the big couch. you follow him with your eyes as he plops down, clasping his hands over his stomach as if settling down to watch his favorite show on the tv.

sunoo shifts uncomfortably beneath you, hands gripping your thighs on either side of him.

"jake—"

"i said," jake presses on. you can see the way he eyes both you and sunoo darkly.

"continue."

"j-jake, if you don't want us to—," sunoo chimes in.

"if you're gonna fuck her, i wanna see it," jake cuts sunoo off.

you swallow, turning back to sunoo. he looks back at you, chest rising and falling rapidly. you feel him twitch between your legs and you bite at your lip.

"fuck," sunoo mutters softly before surging forward, enveloping your lips in his. you squeak in surprise, fingers tangling in sunoo's hair once more.

so, you're really doing this.

"suck me off," sunoo whispers, though his tone is commanding. his eyes flick behind you momentarily but his face is hardened in determination.

you stumble off sunoo's lap, helping him undo and tug his jeans down. you can feel jake's gaze burning through the back of your head but not a sound comes from the older. you dare not look behind you.

sunoo discards of his underwear too, letting his cock spring free. you take his length in your hand, circling the base with your fingers. you gather spit in your mouth, letting a drop fall from your lips down to sunoo's tip. he hisses, cradling your face as you lick a long stripe up his shaft.

you take nearly all of sunoo on your first pass down, lips stretched around his girth, more saliva building up in your mouth. you swirl your tongue as you come back up and sunoo curses loudly.

a clatter sounding suspiciously like a belt hitting the flour resounds from behind you but you focus on the task at hand. you bob your head up and down in a steady rhythm, pussy clenching down around nothing as you listen to the sound of sunoo's moans, reverberating deep in his chest.

"fuck, you're so good," sunoo praises, eyes focused on you. you peer up at him through your lashes and sunoo's eyes roll into the back of his head.

"ah!" he moans out as your teeth graze ever so slightly around him.

a sound between a gasp and a whine escapes you as you feel your scalp sting, your lips abruptly pulled off of sunoo's aching cock. you reach up, feeling sunoo's hand tangled in your hair. he's looking at you, pupils blown wide. sunoo pulls your head back even farther. you let out a strangled moan.

"face him," sunoo commands, turning to jake behind you. you finally allow yourself too look and you're met with jake, his own dick in his fist, pumping languidly as he watches the two of you.

"take off your pants then get on my lap," sunoo continues. you obey, standing on shaky legs. you shimmy out of your pants and underwear, kicking them to the side. sunoo's hands find their way to your hips as you face jake, the younger pulling you back down.

you feel sunoo's stiffness between your legs, the head of his cock rubbing lightly against your folds.

"put it in," sunoo whispers, planting a brief kiss on your shoulder. you reach down, aligning sunoo with your aching hole. you ease yourself over him, mouth falling open as he easily slips inside you.

sunoo leans back against the couch, hands still firm on your hips.

"well?" jake speaks up all of a sudden.

"ride him."

you plant your feet on the ground beneath you, hands clutching at sunoo's arms that are holding you from behind. you bite your lip, eyebrows creased in concentration as you start to move on sunoo's cock.

you keep your gaze on jake as he speeds up on his own dick, eyes hungrily taking in the obscene view in front of him. your tits bounce about beneath your tight shirt and to say that you looked absolutely debauched would be an understatement.

your heart quickens when you see jake rise from his seat, discarding of his own bottoms before making his way towards you. his cock is stiff, the tip an angry red and leaking precum. your mouth waters as jake gets closer.

"since you want it all," jake begins, a large hand grasping at your chin. "i'm sure you have no problem multitasking."

jake pushes the head of his cock to your lips and you still momentarily on sunoo. you let jake push his length into your warm mouth, flinching when you feel him reach the back of your throat.

"fuck, yeah," jake breathes. "you really are a cockhungry slut."

you whine in protest but you're cut off by sunoo landing a hard smack on your ass from behind you.

"keep moving," sunoo says through gritted teeth, his hold on your hips tightening as he maneuvers you over his dick.

you feel tears prickle at your eyes as jake takes ahold of your hair. he starts to fuck your mouth, shaking his head in disappointment.

"guess you can't take two at the same time, after all," jake comments, voice tinged with annoyance.

you start to grind down on sunoo, focusing on letting him reach deep inside you. a muffled sob escapes you as you feel sunoo hit that spot within your walls and he, in turn, groans as he feels you clench around him.

your head is spinning, with jake filling up your mouth and sunoo sheathed fully in you. your whole body seems to ignite, the feeling of having jake and sunoo at the same time nearly overwhelming you.

jake pulls you off of him, his fist moving furiously over the length of his cock. you sniffle, the tears now cascading down your cheeks. you look up pleadingly at jake while your hips rut furiously, trying to reach your own orgasm.

"open," jake commands, voice gruff with effort. you obey, letting your tongue hang out. you're panting, too, your fingers reaching down to circle around your clit while you squirm and swivel on sunoo.

"god, you're like a dumb puppy begging for cum," jake comments with a snicker, hand returning around your chin as he holds you in place.

"make him cum or i'm not giving it to you," jake says, hand stopping around his shaft.

you whine pathetically, speeding up even more on sunoo's lap.

"shit," sunoo curses behind you. "yeah, just like that, oh fuck!"

you feel sunoo twitch inside you, finishing and painting your walls with his cum. you squeeze your eyes shut, fingers pressing down desperately on your clit while you grind down on sunoo's sensitive cock. you hear him protest but you ignore it in lieu of your own release.

"that's right. good girl," jake coos. "come on, sweetheart, cum with me."

with your tongue still out, you sob as your body seizes up, your orgasm washing over you like a tidal wave. you feel warm spurts of cum land over your face as jake finishes shortly after, a satisfied groan leaving you as you taste jake in your mouth.

you crack an eye open, the other partially covered in jake's spunk. everything is silent for a moment as the two men catch their breath. you carefully dab away at your face with the back of your hand, the sting in the back of your throat and between your legs finally catching up with you.

"________," sunoo says weakly. "please get off. my dick can't take another second of you clenching around it."

you giggle tiredly, letting jake help you pull off sunoo.

jake leans in to kiss your cheek. "that was so hot."

"yeah, yeah," you say, rolling your eyes playfully. "let's get out of here before someone comes in and turns this into a foursome."

---

"this can't be fucking real," heeseung mutters under his breath as he rewinds the video on his phone screen. the home surveillance app is pulled up, showing him the footage from the last twenty-four hours.

the audio is nonexistent but the image is clear as day: you bouncing on sunoo's cock while jake jerks off right across from you.

"this girl..." heeseung says before laughing silently to himself.

"what girl?"

heeseung turns away from his phone to see sunghoon entering the kitchen. his neck glistens with sweat, evidence that he'd just come up from the den where the gym equipment are.

heeseung shuts his phone down.

"you'll meet her soon enough."

[candychasse]

Hey, please, could you do male osoro x male reader? Whatever scenario you want, I just need some male osoro in my life! 😭😭

YOUR WISH IS MY COMMAND!

A Date With Osaro.

Contents: Male reader, delinquent shenanigans, Y/n is smitten with Osoro lol, as per usual not proofread so sorry if any spelling errors.

Side note: sorry I've been super delayed in requests, time management is not my strong suit.

How He Asks You Out..

Your soul nearly left your body when your crush pulled you aside in the hallway. And then you came to your senses and remembered he was regarded as one of the 'leader' of your school's delinquents. So to say you were conflicted was an understatement.

While you were deciding whether to fear for your well-being or be grateful your crush even paid attention to you. You failed to notice the ever growing blush on the face of the boy who is cornering you against a wall in the now emptied hallway. His clementine orange eyes glared over your head at the wall behind you, he knew if he looked at you he'd be rendered speechless.

Mentally cussing himself out for how lame he must look right now. He finally speaks.

"Meet me after school tomorrow outside the gates."

How you both prepare for the date.

To say what Osoro said didn't help would be an understatement. He was perfectly unclear. As you ironed your uniform, something you never usually do, you didn't know whether this will be what you wear to your funeral or to the first date with your future husband. As you brushed your teeth you didn't know whether you were about to have one or five of them knocked out after school, or was about to kiss your crush today under the setting sky.

~Meanwhile with Osoro~

Luckily for Osoro he did know what he was preparing for. But unluckily for the young delinquent, he had zero experience in dating before this. His friends were no help either, giving advice along the lines of 'if you smoke while on the date, offer him one too!' Or 'Never ask two different people out on a date on the same day." So now he stood in his bathroom, debating whether or not to even go to school today. But the thought of you standing alone waiting by the gates for him motivated him to at least give it a try.

And the date begins.

It seemed the whole school was whispering today, you tried to shrug it off but the amount of ominous 'good luck's you've heard today is enough to make you a nervous wreck. It honestly made you feel ridiculous for even thinking he'd genuinely ask you out. So now here you stand, nervously waiting for your inevitable fate.

While you were praying to every god you know of, Osoro was slowly walking over to you, equally as nervous though he'd never admit it. "Hey." He said all awkward and nervous. "Uh, Hi." You replied, trying to decide whether you wanted to look at him or avoid eye contact. Then he did something unexpected, he laughed. And smiled. You feel your face heat up immediately. "What?" You asked, now looking directly at him in confusion, people don't usually laugh at the people their about to beat up right? Right?!? To your dismay He only laughed more in your face at your reaction. "You looked exactly like a fucking frog when you were doing that!" He responded, causing you to be caught off guard. "What on earth is that supposed to mean?!?" You replied, now suddenly far more willing to square up. "Chill out, you looked cute staring off into two different directions." He said casually still smiling. 'Cute?!?' You thought momentarily before it clicked. "Wait so this IS a date?" You spoke, shock fiddling your face and voice. "What else would it be?" He asked before taking your hand and leading you to who knows where.

Osoro's hands were rough and his grip was unshakable, much like a stone in the middle of a rapid river standing strong. Osoro could hardly keep track of the direction he was going with the thought of the boy with fancy hair and shiny eyes walking hand in hand with him. Feeling butterflies grow in his stomach he picks up the pace. Rushing into various alleyways as you could barely keep up.

Osoro finally slows down when you both reach a small and honestly kinda dinky, ramen shop which looks as though it could fall apart at the touch of a hand. "You like ramen right?" He asked, letting go of your hand and turning to face you. "Uh, yeah. Who doesn't?" You say as plainly as you can, still internally freaking out over the fact this is in fact a date.

Entertaining the restaurant, you're met with a delightfully warm restaurant. With warm lighting, vintage decor from the seventies, and the smell of fresh ramen broth. You both sat at the counter, the worker greeted Osoro with a warm smile. "Osoro! Is this the boy you've been talking about?" The worker teases but quickly shuts up after a clear 'shut your trap before I shut it for you.' Glare from Osoro. You would've noticed the worker didn't even take your order before going to get the food, had you not been mesmerized by Osoro putting his golden hair up into a ponytail. If he was in ancient greece he'd be turned into a flower, he was just that handsome.

"So, how did you find out about this place?" You asked. "I hung out in the area last summer and would grab lunch here." He answered plainly, which took you aback. "Really? From what I saw there wasn't much to do in the alleyways. What did you do anyways?" You questioned as the food was placed on the counter in front of you. "Gang wars." He said casually before taking a bite of his ramen, causing you to choke on yours. "Oh, don't worry my gang won." He said with a small smile. Clearly amused by the way concern and curiosity glimmered in your eyes.

The rest of dinner was equally delightfully awkward. With you asking a generic ice breaker and Osoro replying the most casually unhinged answer. But soon enough the end of the night came, and so did your curfew.

"Thanks, this date was actually rather nice. I can't believe I actually thought you were gonna beat me up tonight." You said scratching your cheek slightly from embarrassment. "And what? Steal your lunch money?" He asked teasingly, causing you to flush and laugh at the comment. "Yeah I guess so." You replied. "Have a nice night Osoro." You said happily ending the conversation and turning to leave.

But Osoro grabbed your arm before you could turn. And before you knew it, his lips were pressed against your own. It took you by surprise, but was a nice surprise, much like this date and night.

[rainee-da]

🍀 Lay Down in Their Lap [1]

CHARACTER ❥ Doom 🪞 / Famin 🃏 / Epidem 🍮 / Delisaster 🍾 / Domina Blowelive 💧 / Cell War 💎

W A R N I N G ⚠️ PG-13 and heavy on fluff / BIG SPOILER!!!! / might be too OOC for you.

D O O M 🪞

It was later in the afternoon. He just finished his training and was resting up on the nearby bench at the training grounds before you came and suddenly plopped down on his lap.

His whole body tensed up slightly at the sudden contact before relaxing back as he realized that it was just you.

"Tired, my dear? has your day been rough?" he said with a soothing voice as he ran his hand on your hair, a soft smile forming on his lips.

He learned his whole life to predict other people's movements using all his senses, but you never failed to surprise him with your antics.

And it never fails to lighten his day, to bring sunshine to his world that is devoid of pictures.

The two of you spent the rest of the afternoon chatting with each other, with his hand brushing through your locks idly.

As you talk about your day, he listened quietly. Take note of your shift in tone and the quiet thumping of your heart.

He didn't mind doing this for eternity, with you.

F A M I N 🎪

He was in a bad mood as he sulked on the sofa, teeth gritting and eyes twitching. One more flick to his nerves and his place is going to be a bloodbath.

Knowing so, his aides understandably decided to keep their distance.

Not you tho, because you were somehow brave enough to stride to his place with a book in hand and plopped your head on his lap.

"... What do you think you're doing?" he said with a strained voice, punctuating every word. You simply answered him with a shrug as you started reading your book.

His aide is looking from the distance, mortified. One of them is making preparations for a quick mass funeral, just in case.

They instantly passed out in fear as their boss started to move, thinking the massacre was going to happen. They missed the fact that Famin had actually moved to hug you, not to massacre you. Or anybody.

His rage already evaporated into thin air, seeing you on his lap.

Get ready to be in his lap for hours lol. He won't let you go now.

E P I D E M 🍮

"... And the texture is all wrong! It's a blasphemy I assure you. Pudding is supposed to be a soft, silky cuisine and the shop can't even differentiate that with a freakin jelly! Honestly-"

You lay on his lap as you listen to him go on his tangent. Your hand slowly caresses his thighs to soothe him down.

Being his lover, you're used to this kind of temper tantrum it could be worse after all.

In fact, you prefer this to his scientific tangent. You can barely understand the other one after all.

But since he has been going on for more than an hour, you're understandably getting tired and you can feel yourself getting sleepy as your eyes fluttering and closing.

Noticing that you no longer saying anything, he stopped and looked down to check your face.

His face softens, seeing you sleeping on his lap. His body finally eases down and he caresses your cheek gently. His mind is in a state of tranquility.

Though you’re gonna wake up with a bite mark on your cheek lol. It’s just that soft after all.

D E L I S A S T E R 🍾

Everything about it is embarrassing. You're embarrassed, his aide pities you, and his family gives you a strange look, the only one who is not embarrassed is Delisaster.

How could you not be? It's a big, fancy banquet being held by Innocent Zero with so many nobles present. And here you are; laying on one of his son's lap.

And you can't escape either, because his hand is gripping your side tightly while his other hand is sipping some red wine, ready to tickle the hell out of you if you made any attempt to escape.

Too bad he's big into PDA too. More than once did he lowered his head to peck your nose or smooch with your lips. In front of everyone.

"Do you want some?" He offers you his glass of wine casually as if it didn't hit him yet that he's being cringy as hell embarrassing you.

He lets out a hearty laugh every time you pout and whine about being embarrassed, clearly finding it to be amusing.

"Why so shy? you're my bae! N' best bet I'll show it to everyone! Gotta show them to whom you belong, after all~"

Rest in peace, you poor soul...

D O M I N A B L O W E L I V E 💧

It's nearing curfew time. You opened the door of his dorm slowly, making the light from outside permeate through the dark room.

You can see the hunched shadow on the bed jolted in surprise and the light from outside highlighting his face shadow.

"Go away," Domina stated coldly as he lowered his head, and you managed to catch a glimpse of the tear stain on his cheeks.

You didn't say anything. But knowing him, you decided to go against his words and walked to his figure before locking the door.

You startled him as you plopped your head on his lap, burying your face in his stomach while your hand rubbed his lower back gently.

This simple action successfully breaking the dam in the pink-haired man's eye as he started sobbing his heart out.

He started blabbering out his thoughts while his shaky hands hugged your head tightly, sharing the insecurities and the fear he held inside that had been tormenting his soul.

"Please don't go..." he said with a broken voice, as he caressed your face, "I love you... You're all I have... please, promise me to never leave me... Please..."

Both of you ended up sleeping while cuddling together, content smile formed on his sleeping face.

C E L L W A R 💎

"Stop it, I have to go," he whines, trying his best to push you, who is currently nuzzling your face on his stomach, off of his lap, "I have to meet Master, he'll be furious if I'm late!"

You quipped to him that the appointed meeting is still an hour ahead, and he groans in frustration, unable to refute your words.

He knows that the meeting is still an hour away, and it only took him a quarter of an hour to reach the location. Meaning that he had plenty of hours for himself. 

But he just can't help to work hard. He wants to please his Master!

"You're such a brat..." he grumbled as his hand moved to pull off the thorn crown on his head, and he leaned back to relax on the bed.

Your sheepish smiles earned you a soft chuckle from him. He stares at you with eyes full of meaning as his hand strokes your hair gently.

He wants you to find someone better, but he can't think of a life without you by his side. For him, you're his oasis. Anything you did seems to bring his dead heart back to life.

'I guess it's okay to relax once in a while... for you.'

Work has been abusing wearing me out and I didn't have too much time to open social media lately so this one will be shorter than the previous one. Honestly can I just be reincarnated as a seal? please please please please-

I also wrote a similar prompt for Walkis Academy students. If you happen to like this one, you might also like the other one! Maybe, I mean, I dunno...

Anyway, thank you for reading! 🍀

[its-all-stardust]

Hey, so first of all, I love your work, it's absoluteley amazing!!!

I saw that your requests are open, so I thought that I would ask for a Matt Murdock x reader oneshot? You know, just something cute and fluffy?

Maybe I'm gonna sound a bit stereotypical but how about a reader that owns a bakery and wants to try out a new recipe. Matt tries to sneak a taste from time to time while "helping out" (honestly, he's just teasing and making reader's job probably harder [affectionaly]). Just domestic fluff? Maybe please?

You don't have to if you don't want to, but I thought I'd give it a try :)

Thank you!! I'm glad you like my writing!! 🫂

I'm worried with this one that I tweaked things just enough that it's not exactly what you wanted anon, but I did my best and wrote what inspiration gave me!! I'll be honest, it could be fluffier, but I'm also not offended by my own writing so that's something lol I hope you like it!! ❤️❤️

Check out this post for request guidelines

Masterlist

Matt Murdock/GN!Reader

Word Count: 964

Was turning your residential apartment into a glorified bakery after you moved in with your boyfriend legal? According to Matt, a very good lawyer, it wasn’t technically illegal, so you did it anyway and prayed your landlord never found out.

It wasn’t really a bakery, not in the traditional sense. You didn’t try making it into a storefront, nor did you want it to be one. You did, however, take specialty orders through your website. You mainly baked for small events or private parties. You weren’t touching a wedding with a ten-foot pole unless you made the cake or just one of the cookies for the snack table.

It wasn’t enough to pay the bills on its own—you still had a full-time job—but you enjoyed it, and the small amount of extra income it generated was nice.

Matt enjoyed it, too. So much so that you often joked he had ulterior motives for dating you.

But even though baking was a passion, it still came with challenges.

You let out a frustrated sigh and leaned against your elbows, bent over the counter, and buried your face in your hands. 

This is the worst part about baking, you thought.

“Do you need help?” Matt asked, hand suddenly on your shoulder. You jumped, letting out a small gasp. “Sorry. I tried calling a couple of times.”

“It’s fine,” you sighed, turning to wrap your arms around his middle, leaning into him, and pressing your face against his neck. “I just hate this.”

Matt huffed a laugh. “It can’t be so bad. You say that about every new thing you try.”

“But I really mean it this time!” you whined, though you actually didn’t.

You strived for perfection, but new recipes were always daunting. Either the first few batches didn’t meet your standards, or the very first one did, but the subsequent batches often failed. You thought once or twice about not adding anything new to your menu, but you needed to keep a refreshed list, or else you risked losing repeat customers—the ones who made this business possible for you in the first place.

“We can do it together,” Matt offered, lips brushing against the top of your head. “Will that make it better?”

You considered it for a moment. Matt’s taste was impeccable. You often used him—and Foggy and Karen—as guinea pigs, and he was always able to offer you the best advice. In another life, he would have been a fantastic chef. You’ve never baked anything with him before, only handed him the finished product.

If he helped you now, as you were putting everything together, it could make the whole try, try again process you had going significantly shorter, if not bypassed completely.

“Yes, actually. I think it will,” you answered, lifting your head up. 

The only problem: Matt was a complete and utter nuisance.

He wouldn’t do what you told him, at times completely forgoing your instructions—the one you found in an old cookbook that wasn’t like anything you found online—and adding either the incorrect amount of something or adding something that wasn’t even on the list of ingredients.

No matter how many times you told him baking was an exact science and the time for experimentation was after you followed the recipe to a T and tasted the finished product, he refused to listen. You thought he did, at first, but then you caught him tossing in almond extract behind your back, and things only went downhill from there.

“Would you please stop sticking your fingers in the bowl?” you practically begged after you caught him helping himself to the cookie batter for the fourth time.

“How else am I supposed to taste it?” he asked with a playful smirk. He seemed to enjoy the fact he was making you want to pull your hair out.

“With the spoon I specifically set out for that purpose!” You picked it up and thrust it at him. He ignored it and stuck his finger in his mouth.

“But I’m blind. How am I supposed to know where it is?” 

You raised an eyebrow, not fooled. “The same way you find the bowl even after I move it.”

Matt shrugged. “Fair point. But if I used the spoon, I couldn’t do this.” He stuck his finger in the bowl again.

“Matthew, I swear to—”

He stuck his finger in your mouth, not far but enough for the batter to touch your tongue, before he pulled away.

“—God,” you couldn’t help but finish as the first notes of the batter processed. Brow furrowed, you focused on the taste, brushing your tongue against the roof of your mouth, trying to make it last while you sorted out the different flavors. It was…

“That’s amazing,” you said, stunned. “What did you put in there?” You pulled the bowl toward you, forgetting the spoon in your hand as you dipped in a finger from the other. It wasn’t what you were trying to make at all, and you needed another sample.

“I tried telling you it just needed a few extra ingredients.” Before you could stick your finger in your mouth, Matt took your hand, wrapping his lips around your batter-covered finger. His tongue lapped gently against the pad, almost teasing. “Now it’s perfect,” he said when he pulled away.

“I think I need you in the kitchen more often,” you said, wheels already turning in your mind.

Matt beamed at you and tried leaning in for a kiss. You, however, didn’t notice and stepped away to find your phone, leaving him confused.

You opened your notes app and said, “Quick, tell me what you did before you forget.”

Matt could only shake his head in amusement before he dutifully listed everything he had snuck into the batter.

[poorlittleyaoyao]

An Exhaustive Explanation For Why Qin Su Took Her Life Of Her Own Volition

(Or: For God's Sake, Please Just Let Her Have This One Thing)

Okay, so let's leave aside the fact that Wei Wuxian is an unreliable narrator. At the point in the novel at which he insists that Jin Guangyao must have forced Qin Su to kill herself somehow, Wei Wuxian has also insisted that Lan Wangji would totally hate it if he knew they'd made out while drunk. Let's also leave aside that Wei Wuxian himself will reassess his opinion of Qin Su's death later on, and IIRC says nothing about it either way in the drama, because the people who insist that JGY Definitely Killed Made Her Do That sure do. A narrator being unreliable doesn't mean we can't trust anything they tell us, after all; it just means we need to compare their views to outside evidence, the way you would with a primary source document.

AND WHEN YOU DO THAT

IT STILL MAKES ZERO SENSE

Picture all this from Jin Guangyao's standpoint. Let's assume for funsies that you don't care about your wife who is also your half-sister, and have no compunctions about killing her to keep the incest secret. Wouldn't you just... do that? Wouldn't you kill her the second that little paperman flies away and you hear the alarm?

"He obviously couldn't do that! The paperman saw her alive so it'd be weird if she suddenly was gone!" Yeah, and everyone at the cultivation conference saw her alive when they came into the treasure-and-torture room, and it would be even weirder if she suddenly stabbed herself to death in front of them.

"Ah, but he needed to know who sent her the letter! He can't afford to kill her!" Wow, hey, that's right! You, Evil Jin Guangyao, have just spent the preceding scene wheedling and then threatening Qin Su so she'll tell you who send the letter, and she stood firm the whole time! So forcing her to kill herself in front of everyone when she still hasn't told you that important piece of information would be PRETTY DUMB, wouldn't it? (Almost as dumb as giving her the opportunity to interact with all the people you're trying to keep the secret from, but hey, maybe it took you longer to hide da-ge's head than anticipated.)

"Maybe he'd given up on getting her to tell him anything so her killing herself was to divert suspicion away from him!" Okay, first of all, how is "your wife (whom nobody but you has seen recently) kills herself with no warning" going to make things look LESS suspicious? Second of all, things were going JUST FINE. You hid da-ge's head. People were buying your "this cursed cabinet is where I keep my former boss's soul-stealing knife" story. You haven't even subtly brought up Suibian to change the subject. The narrative misogyny means that nobody has directly talked to Qin Su and "of course my wife also hangs out in our house, lol" is flying just fine as an explanation. You had almost put out this fire! Why would you throw gasoline on it by making Qin Su kill herself?

Honestly, the smartest thing for you to do in this situation would be to knock your wife unconscious and move her to her sleeping chambers or a couch or something in the main part of the palace. That gets her out of sight and renders her unable to talk in a way that won't raise suspicions, and gives you the option of going "omg guyyys my wife is sleeping :( this totally unwarranted search of our home is gonna wake her up :(" to make people leave!

But, okay. Let's shift our perspectives here. Jin Guangyao has a history of making deranged choices when he's in Panic Mode. Maybe his brain short-circuited and, somehow, he decided that MAKE QIN SU KILL HERSELF IN PUBLIC was the best course of action. Wei Wuxian himself tells us that she wasn't under the influence of talismans or anything, so somehow Jin Guangyao convinced her to do this with his words. Never mind that we just saw Jin Guangyao deploy an ungodly combination of feigned ignorance, gaslighting, actual sincerity, veiled threats, and manipulation with zero impact. Somehow, he used his words successfully.

What could he possibly say?

Picture all this, now, from Qin Su's standpoint. Your entire world has been shattered. Your husband who is also your half-brother has been lying to you for your entire marriage, has done nothing to reassure you that he didn't murder your son, and has sealed your meridians to prevent you from fleeing. He then brought you into a secret room in your home that you didn't know existed and which, you discover, houses his sworn brother's severed head. All you know is that you cannot tell Jin Guangyao who gave you the letter because you're certain that he will have her killed. Shit's real fucked and you have nobody to help you.

Now every sect leader in the jianghu--including your husband's remaining sworn brother, your young nephew, and your nephew's maternal uncle--has shown up to search your husband's home. His top priority in this moment is quashing their suspicions so they leave him alone enough to regroup.

One of three things must be true for you.

1.) Your top priority is survival. You don't want to die. If you care about your reputation, you know that you're as screwed as he is if word of this gets out, and unfortunately the only way to survive is to play along with your husband's weird shit, at least for now. In that case, the best way to assure him that you're on his team is to help him assure the other sect leaders that Everything Is Normal And Fine. If you don't want to die, then you're not going to be susceptible to any insistence that you kill yourself.

2.) You're so furious that you don't care what happens to you or your reputation as long as you take Jin Guangyao down with you. In that case, you'd tell him whatever he wanted to hear and then IMMEDIATELY scream to the other sect leaders where Nie Mingjue's head is currently located, or you'd drop the incest bomb yourself hoping that the paperman is somewhere in that room and can back you up, or you'd grab that dagger and stab your husband, or some combination of all three! You're not going to quietly kill yourself at his request, because you've suffered enough for his bullshit!

"Well, maybe he didn't threaten her. She's going to be worried about Bicao and her father. Maybe he threatened one of them!" Yeah, maybe, but that's a threat to get someone to cooperate. You can't make sure they're still alive if you're dead! And if you're convinced that this guy has lied to you constantly for the past 10+ years, you're not going to believe him when he says"kill yourself and I'll be niceys to them." There is nothing at all that he could say to make her harm herself if she hadn’t been so inclined.

And that leaves

3.) You're in such despair that you actively want to die. You can never trust your husband again. You can never trust anyone again, honestly, because he wasn't the only person you loved who kept this secret from you. You don't trust that the other sect leaders will do anything to help you, just as your mother didn't trust that anyone would do anything to help her all those years ago. (When they barge into the palace and walk straight past you as though you were a piece of furniture, your distrust is confirmed.) Maybe, despite everything, you still love your husband too much to kill him. Maybe you fear that, without evidence, he will be seen as an innocent victim and you will be seen as his mad, murderous wife. Maybe you don't care what happens to anyone else, but you know that you don't want to deal with this anymore, and you are the only one you trust to help yourself escape it.

The tragedy of Qin Su is that she is never permitted to make a fully informed decision about her life. At least let her final action be something she knowingly chooses.

[unpopularwriter25]

Heyoo~ I'm not sure if you're going to accept making Yoriichi Tsugikuni x reincarnated! Reader or nah, but I'mma gunna send u my idea anyways!!

Same concept as my first Tanjiro x reincarnated! Reader. Except this time, Reader is Gen-Z, take no bullshit, vines, memes, and running on energy drink 24/7 (or night owl in this case). Imagine her knowing about the Tsugikuni Twins problems and tries to make those two bond together. Also please note: Yoriichi & Reader is childhood friends/fiance (arranged marriage stuff)

Gen-Z! Reincarnated! Reader is the best support girl and 10/10 WILL throw down anyone who insults Yoriichi. And honestly I just wanna know what's Yoriichi's expression will be like with a girl like Reader 😂. That, and I wanna a lot of whole some of Yoriichi and Reader.

Also if you can't make Yoriichi, that's fine, you can change the character to Giyuu if you find it hard to write Yoriichi. Thank youuuu <33

Also I'm now 100000% ur fan. 💌

Sorry for the delay!! You're feeding me the best demon slayer request and I'm completely here for it!! lol. I hope this is what you wanted and I hope you enjoy!! Thanks again for the requests!!

Memes, Energy Drinks, and Samurai: The Tale of a Gen-Z Girl Reincarnated

Summary: When a modern-day Gen-Z girl, Y/N, is suddenly reincarnated into the era of the Tsugikuni twins, she brings her take-no-bullshit attitude, love for memes, and boundless energy along with her. As she navigates this ancient world with the memories of her past life intact, she becomes childhood friends and fiancée to the stoic Yoriichi Tsugikuni. Determined to mend the fractured bond between Yoriichi and his estranged brother Michikatsu, Y/N uses her modern wit and fierce loyalty to bridge the gap between them.

Warnings: Language??

Word Count: 1,504

Y/N was an ordinary Gen-Z girl from the modern world. She was known for her vibrant personality, her love for memes, vines, and a perpetually optimistic outlook on life. She was a night owl, often staying up late, fueled by energy drinks, and scrolling through social media or binging on the latest trends.

Y/N was fiercely protective of her friends and family, always ready to stand up for what she believed in. Her "take-no-bullshit" attitude made her a reliable and formidable friend. Despite her seemingly carefree demeanor, she had a deep sense of responsibility and loyalty.

She's not exactly sure how she died, it's all a blur to her. She didn't even realize she had been reincarnated into a world vastly different from her own until she hit 20 years old. Before that point, she was completely at a lost.

From a young age in this new world, Y/N exhibited the same fierce personality and boundless energy she had in her past life. She quickly became known for her eccentric behavior and her strange, yet endearing, mannerisms. It wasn't long before she caught the eye of the Tsugikuni family, especially young Yoriichi.

It wasn't long before the two became very close. Y/N was constantly standing up for Yoriichi, she didn't stand for people being mean to him. Both of their families aknowldege their closeness and decided that once they were both of age they were to be married.

A few years have passed since this time, Y/N was now 20 years old and she was engaged to Yoriichi. She continued to feel out of place but that didn't stop her, she was still known around the village for her strange behavior, but the majority of them adored her. She constantly referenced things that made no sense to those around her, she didn't even realize where they came from.

Y/N would call him dude or bro. Yoriichi would look at her and be like "I'm your fiancée. Please do not call me bro?? Whatever that means." Y/N would nod "Sorry bro, shit, sorry dude, FUCK."

One day while she was training with Yoriichi, she developed a throbbing headache followed by her eyes getting all blurry, she felt like everything was spinning. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to get it to stop. She collapsed, overwhelmed by everything. Yoriichi rushed to her side, and when she came to, she remembered everything, everything about her past life. The realization was both shocking and comforting. She understood now why she felt so out of place, yet so familiar with certain things and people.

From that point on Y/N's behavior became more like her past life's behavior. She also just started dabbing at the most random times. Yoriichi would witness this and be like "What was that? " Y/N would shrug "It's called a dab and it felt needed in this situation." She even figured out how to make a DIY energy drink. Did it taste good? No. It was effective though. Yoriichi got a whiff of it one time and said it smelled like death. "Yeah it tastes like it too, but it makes me feel fuckin fantastic." she'd respond while chugging another one, slamming it down. "Woooh! Let's go kill some demons!" Yoriichi has to suppress his smile, he has to be the mature one in this relationship.

Since Y/N didn't have her phone anymore, she would just draw the most random memes on paper by memory. Yoriichi would find these random drawings throughout the house. "Why is this cat playing a piano? That's not possible." Y/N would facepalm "It's a meme." "Y/N cats don't have fingers, they can't play the piano."

Since Y/N was a no-bullshit kind of person she wasn't afraid to call someone out for being a dick, especially if it was directed to Yoriichi. For real, she'll throat punch someone for him...and she 100% has. Yoriichi asked her how she did that and to teach him that maneuver. Most people know not to fuck with her, but sometimes she'll come across someone that wants to test her...Yoriichi will stand back and watch her break them down with her words...or with her first, you know... in case the words don't work. He absolutely adores his crazy fiancée.

Y/N can also be a very caring person, specifically to the people she cares about the most. One night while Yoriichi and Y/N were outside their house. Sitting down, watching the stars, and enjoying the cool breeze. Y/N decided to speak up about something that has been on her mind. She glanced over at her husband. "Can I talk to you about something?" He looks at her, with a small smile. "Of course my love. What's on your mind?"

"I mean this in the best way possible and I say it out of love, but you need to stop being a bitch and talk to Michikatsu." Yoriichi pauses.."Did you...did you just call me a bitch?" he asked in disbelief. Y/N covers her face "Bruh, you're missing my point. Michikatsu is your brother and you two need to talk about your little feelings or some shit with each other."

Yoriichi is trying to process her language, and he shakes his head. "How do you suppose I do that? I'm assuming you have something in mind?" Y/N glances up at him smiling. "Uh-huh. C'mon, I know where he's training." She stands up, pulling him with her.

Y/N dragged Yoriichi to a secluded spot where she knew Michikatsu often trained. Sure enough, there he was, practicing his swordsmanship under the moonlight.

"Oi, Michikatsu!" Y/N called out, hands cupped around her mouth. "Get your broody ass over here!"

Michikatsu stopped mid-swing, turning to glare at Y/N. "What do you want, Y/N?"

"I want you two to talk. Like, actually talk, about your feelings and shit" she said, pushing Yoriichi forward. "You both are driving me fuckin nuts with this silent treatment crap. Y'all need to bond, and I'm here to make sure it happens.

Michikatsu gives Y/N a look and then looks at Yoriichi. "Your fiancée is as charming as ever."

Yoriichi glares at him, "Do not disrespect her brother."

Michikatsu sighed, sheathing his sword. "There's nothing to talk about."

Y/N marched up to him, jabbing a finger into his chest. "Bullshit. There's always something to talk about. Now sit your ass down and start talking."

To Yoriichi's surprise, Michikatsu actually complied, albeit grudgingly. The three of them sat in a circle, and for a moment, there was silence.

Y/N broke it with a vine reference. "So, I hear you’re the ‘Sad Boi’ of the family, Michikatsu. Care to elaborate?"

Both brothers looked at her, confusion evident on their faces. She sighed dramatically. "Okay, fine. In simpler terms, why the long face?"

Michikatsu looked at Yoriichi, then back at Y/N. "It's complicated."

Y/N rolled her eyes. "Everything's complicated. But you don't see me sulking about it. Just... talk to each other. You guys are twins for crying out loud. You're supposed to have that twin telepathy thing."

Yoriichi finally spoke up, his voice soft. "Michikatsu... I miss the bond we used to have."

Y/N nodded "That's real good" She turned to Michikatsu "Now how does that make you feel?"

Michikatsu rolled his eyes "Is she going to be doing this the entire time?" Before Yoriichi could answer. Y/N started "Yeah I am. So stop your bitching and answered the fucking question."

Michikatsu's expression softened, and he looked down. "I... I miss it too. But things have changed."

Y/N smirked, cracking open another one of her homemade energy drinks. "Then change them back. It's not rocket science." She chugs the energy drink. "Wooh! Brotherly love! I'm gonna go get another one. You two keep sharing your feelings and all that good shit." She gets up and heads back to their house.

Michikatsu stared after her "You're marrying an absolute maniac." Yoriichi eyes lingered on her as she walked away. "Yeah, I'm well aware of that."

Throughout this entire ordeal, Yoriichi's expression was one of quiet amusement and deep appreciation. He was used to Y/N's antics and her fierce loyalty. Her presence was a constant reminder that he wasn’t alone, even in the most challenging times. Her determination to see him happy and her readiness to throw down anyone who insulted him made his heart swell with gratitude.

Seeing Y/N standing up to Michikatsu, unafraid and full of vigor, brought a rare, genuine smile to Yoriichi’s face. Her modern quirks and relentless energy were a stark contrast to his calm demeanor, but it was exactly what he needed.

After hours of talking, laughter, and even some tears, the twins began to mend their broken bond. Y/N watched them with a satisfied grin, knowing she had done her job. As they stood to leave, Yoriichi gently took her hand, his eyes reflecting the moonlight.

"Thank you, Y/N. For everything."

She squeezed his hand, her smile bright. "Anytime, Yoriichi. After all, what am I here for if not to kick some sense into stubborn brothers?"

[ironunderstands]

Not a question, just very happy it's not just me loving IP3 (or trans Ratio for that matter). Yap away on both

Ugh I love them both so much

Most of my headcanons are when I find something to be better and/or more interesting than it is in canon, or something that’s a great extension of canon, and that’s exactly what trans Ratio is to me.

It takes his already present insecurities and squares them, as now the doctor has to contend with not just being a SMART enough man, but being a smart enough MAN, and adding that extra layer of misery and complexity is just so delightful.

By taking a character racked by self doubt and adding another layer to it, like Ratio being trans, you complicate his current insecurities and give new perspectives to look at them from.

Like in canon Ratio exercises so much because he wants to be the most perfect, best version of himself and has been doing it since a very young age (middle school).

But then you add him being trans to that, and suddenly he’s not just combating being perceived as not good enough, he’s combating being perceived entirely, attempting to try and get others to view him the way he really is, and attempting to live up to whatever masculine ideal that would push away his dysphoria, something prominent within his life from a young age.

I’ve kinda dived into this within my fics about it, but I like the idea that Ratio keeps this a secret from everyone- and I mean everyone. He already doesn’t live up to his own expectations of himself, so to have the rest of the galaxy find out that he doesn’t live up to their expectations of him either (ie being a cis man I mean you cannot tell me there aren’t like hundreds of people in universe begging for his uh- yeah), it would crush him.

I mean considering how guarded he is already, adding another thing to hide behind that alabaster mask would be fun, even if I think Ratio is likely at least a decade post-op + post-transition, so it’s not like he has to bind or anything, but the threat is still there. Especially considering his well known love of baths- imagine if he avoided the public baths at his home planet (considering how heavily Greek/Roman inspired Ratio is), and how that might affected him growing up, or just the tendency of shirtlessness in general.

There’s just a lot of possibilities and intricacies to it that makes me really like this particular headcanon, and it will always be canon in my heart haha. I have some more silly things behind it, like me wanting to give Aventio and Ratiopaz biological kids because it would be cute, or just the inherent joy of the big buff guy actually being the trans one rather than who you would expect it to be/who it’s stereotypically made as- Aventurine, as I like when characters have traits you don’t expect them to possess.

I also tend to dislike Aventurine being made ftm because he’s implied to be an SA survivor and rep for amab victims is already kinda abysmal so I don’t like taking it away, also I just think it’s boring tbh, at least for me it just doesn’t interest me.

Trans Topaz is a whole other discussion, personally I think she’s mtnb, and more femme presenting (I’d make her use she/they in my fics it’s just pronoun swapping when writing polyamory is miserable and anybody who’s ever written it can attest to that 😭, it’s there in spirit I promise!)

I honestly don’t have deep reasons behind this one, it’s just pure vibes. Someone was like, “Topaz gives nonbinary” once on here and I’m like yeah, yeah she does 😭. She reminds me of Childe a lot and I also view him as nonbinary so she’s kinda in a similar boat.

I think she’s very motherly but like in the way Mother Nature is if that makes sense? Mother is mothering but she’s also a creature tm* and certified tax collecting humanity loving entity. Also I have a close friend who’s a trans woman and Topaz reminds me of her so like, bam ur trans now lol (hi Alice if ur seeing this).

As for Aventiopaz, I fear I’d need a whole other post dedicated to why I like them. You guys know why I like Aventio, Avenpaz also require a whole other yap session, and Ratiopaz is the best rarepair ever fight me. Generally I like it because it’s really sweet, the dynamic is hilarious, they are the power trio of all time, they have great gameplay synergy, and their designs complement each other a lot- being primary colors and all.

I also enjoy their individual unique relationships to the IPC and how that might affect their interactions with one another, both in canon and in my brain. Moreover the trio of coworkers who are well known around the office for a) getting the job done and b) being absolutely obnoxious around one another (in a good way) is incredibly fun and I enjoy the idea of all the shenanigans they would get up to.

Perhaps my next Aventiopaz fic would be them going on a mission together or something, as I definitely want to write another one, and also update my slideshow of the parents au, I’ve just been so busy and a bit unmotivated 😭 so hopefully I can get to that soon

[bvckbiter]

some thoughts on characterization of the seven in hoo, VERY long post ahead:

for each of the five books in the series, i read them right as they came out and endured the year-long wait til the next release. like many readers, i was thrown off by the introduction of the new trio in the lost hero. but that was offset by 1) the seemingly more mature vibe/themes that riordan wanted to explore, 2) the monumental tension that was being built around the greek-roman separation, and 3) percy's comeback in son of neptune, even as an amnesiac.

mark of athena, released october 2012, was extremely anticipated because it was set to be the long-awaited percabeth reunion as well as the true crossover for the greek and roman spheres. there were a lot of theories being made at the time. would piper be able to mediate between eons-long enemies in a genuinely diplomatic way, or was she going to brainwash charmspeak them into compliance? how is reyna going to take jason suddenly having another girl and a new set of friends and another life after abruptly disappearing? will we get to learn more about jason's relationships within camp jupiter? would nico be dealing with any fallout from essentially boating along two riverbanks (translated directly from a tagalog idiom, so if the wording seems clunky thats why)? it didn't help that the first avengers movie came out in 2012, so the idea of a huge crossover event was all the hype then.

the published work, in my opinion... fell considerably short of expectations.

to be fair, we got some very good character moments. i did not find the judo flip scene cute, just kinda weird in the sense that i felt the author didn't know how to handle such a huge emotional turning point, but percabeth for the most part of moa was enjoyable, really giving you the high of this teenage couple finally being able to resume the honeymoon period they were probably in after four years of pining and a war lol. everything the fans wanted! unfortunately, we didn't get the same with other characters.

while i wouldn't say that percabeth was the reason, the difference in spotlight is nonetheless very staggering. the roman-greek reunification goes bad, sure, but it begins due to outside interference more rather than any actual intrinsic differences between the two camps; so the built-up tension from the previous books kinda falls flat. we get none of jason's backstory, so next to percy, he barely leaves an impression on the reader. hazel, frank, and leo get shafted into this weird love triangle where their enemy is leo's long-dead ancestor who ultimately makes no impact on the plot other than to have hazel and leo intersect somehow, contributing to leo's man-angst of being the seventh wheel. frank, who arguably has the most interesting set of powers and lineage, is basically relegated to being the muscle and hazel's (understandably) jealous boyfriend. piper... good lord. thats probably a whole other post, so i'll just say: cornucopia.

and yet, despite the disparity in characterization... you don't really feel that percabeth has a character arc or development per se. it's an odd contrast, with percy and annabeth getting a lot of time but pretty much remaining stagnant characters, as opposed to the other five who are written pretty blandly, but have valid, explicit inner struggles and questions they must face. for jason, it's being greek or roman. for hazel and leo, they want to parse their connection, even at the expense of frank, who is still struggling with his self-esteem. piper comes into her own power.

so despite being a book full of twists and turns, especially for percabeth, this is where you really feel the stakes begin to slump. decisions are being made to move the plot from point a to point b pretty straightforwardly, but there's not a ton of effort to make you invested in these characters other than what we know about them from previous books and the fact that they have a role to play in this apocalyptic second great prophecy.

but there's still two books left! the yearlong wait demands patience and creativity. surely percabeth falling into tartarus is going to make for some interesting development and impact. it was a brilliant plot twist, after all. with the darker turn that hoo was seemingly taking, there could have been so many consequences. percabeth could shut the doors of death from their side and come back alive, but come back wrong—unearthing old traumas, questioning and ultimately foreswearing their loyalty to the gods, threatening the reunification of the greek and roman aspects, etc.

and once again, house of hades... only semi-delivered? the tartarus chapters were certainly harrowing: percy choking akhlys is still a Scene of All Time to me because it felt earned, after all that percy has been through and what the series has been building up to! annabeth also having to face all the times she's been abandoned in her life, while less focused on, was also a very poignant moment for her character. they were events that seemed to push for development.

back on the argo ii, there's a continuing case of kind of low-effort writing on the other characters. frank and his mars blessing, for one; you kind of understand what rick was getting at, but... what! piper... girl idk what she was doing other than seeing visions in her dagger. leo... ue ue ue. jason commits to chb, but ofc he does because neither he nor we know/remember much about cj, so we don't really feel the loss! but there is one exception for his part, and that is of course the (in)famous cupid scene with nico, but i'll talk about nico much later.

hazel is an interesting case, so here's another paragraph for her. she gets to come into (more of) her powers just like piper did in the previous books, but from my viewpoint, it was considerably less engaged with who she was as a character compared to piper. in mark of athena, piper still struggles with being a daughter of aphrodite and how she can be "useful" as we know she struggles with internalized misogyny. on the other hand, hazel gets in touch with her mother's background... kinda? idk if controlling the mist can be considered equivalent to marie's voodoo; i dont think so. she certainly gains more understanding of her pluto heritage, too, and has this nice back-and-forth with hecate about creating her own path, but you don't really get the sense that doing so has consequences, or that she concretely shirked other paths to get where she was at.

where mark of athena fell flat with character stakes, house of hades to its credit does manage to up the ante—but only truly for percabeth. with all the resolutions to the character arcs in this book, you don't feel that the characters have anymore stakes or reasons to fight gaea other than the fact that she's still coming for them and they are in turn prophesied to defeat her. the one big thing that could be personal to them, which are the camps, ultimately fall under the purview of coach hedge, nico, and reyna, who are side characters, upgraded to main characters in the last book of a series already overbloated by shifting povs and favoritism.

ultimately, this is why blood of olympus falls apart. the best characterization work done, which is on percabeth and their time in tartarus, is in the end of no consequence and is barely mentioned. it's as if nothing has happened. all the build-up and investment fizzles out because in boo and beyond, even though they went through literal hell, they just shook it off (because accdg to rick demigods are extra resilient and don't get traumatized lmfao). the climactic face-off against gaea is headed by jason, piper, and leo, and it has no pay off. the books haven't dwelled on them as a trio after tlh because leo was too busy angsting about his love triangle, and jason's and piper's arcs, both individual and romantic, are shoddy, to say the least. to add insult to injury, leo's sacrifice is a fake-out! so he can finally shed the fucking seventh wheel arc that came about not because of a genuine exploration of how he has been outcasted all his life, but because the argo ii mysteriously became demigod tinder and also because rick thought "haha how funny that the latino is the outrageous flirt!" frank and hazel... just get shafted im so sorry babygirls T_T

what saves boo is not the cast of the seven that we have spent the five books journeying with. no, what saves boo is the three side characters suddenly made main characters because. well, fan favoritism and pandering. nico, reyna, and coach hedge comprised the only arc that wasn't an absolute slog to read through—high stakes, chemistry, and well-rounded character arcs that complemented each other. no hoo scene is honestly more heartwarming than reyna embracing nico. it makes you question if hoo's length and frankly shocking quantity of main ensemble members even constricted the narrative that could've been told, as opposed to the original intention of expanding the world of percy jackson through more povs. five books with at least 700-800+ pages each for five years. what a tremendous amount of time and energy to be wasted.

and there is, of course, the question of "should percabeth have been in hoo." until house of hades, my answer was yes. the fact that their tartarus arc fizzled into nothingness changed my answer to no. taking the whole series into perspective, if their treatment in boo was all that the hype and tension would amount to, it would've been better if they'd been relegated to side characters with mentor/helper roles as opposed to taking the spotlight away from the rest of the seven. their succeeding cameos in the other series + the new college reco trilogy makes the blunder all the more grievous.

heroes of olympus did give us a new cast of characters to love. along with all its racist stereotypes and pitfalls, it also diversified the percy jackson world. if not for the mid-2010s fandom who took up the slack of unexplored storylines and potential, these characters would be very much not impressioned on us. and as a successor to a series that was so deeply driven by family, friendship, love, and belonging, that it couldn't consistently humanize its main cast was the biggest sin.

[liliewrites]

"NO ONE LOVES ME LIKE YOU DO"

a/n : hi, this will be my debut fic, lol idk if this will even get any attention so if in any case that you do decide to read this, then thank you!<3 reader is also mentioned to be a yokai, so it's up to your imagination on what kind.

- pairing/s : raiden ei x fem!reader (men dni) - warning/s : a little angst? lol, anyw this is sfw and kind'of fluffy so it's safe.

in which : all these years, you've been doing nothing but chase for the shogun's affection and now that you're tired of chasing, the shogun starts to miss your presence.

"greetings, your eternal excellency!"

your cheery gaze was met with a stone cold stare but you were used to it at this point. you were determined, you wanted her to atleast notice you-- the feelings you had. the pleasant moments you spent with her weren't enough, you wanted her to give you an answer so you could just move on with your life.

- but she was just as stubborn as you are.

"l/n y/n, had i not given you a stern scolding regarding matters like these?" her tone, if it could take on a physical form, it would have been the coldest ice block ever known to man but you were unfazed and proceeded to place the cloth wrapped bento in her hands. "i know but.. i brought you lunch, there's milk dango in there" you smiled sweetly at her and you felt a sense of pride too. you woke up really early to make these for her and making dango was no joke. "y/n, you have to stop. the behaviour you're showing is surely not befitting of a general, tsk"

ah, yes. you were one of her most favored generals. you could be childishly annoying for sure but when you held your weapon, you were a whole different person. of course, in order to get closer to the mighty archon, you took advantage of your abilities as a yokai and had to rise among the ranks of her army. after all, this pesky little scheme of yours went from just wanting to see her in person as you'd always admired the shogun's beauty since you were little to wanting to get your feelings across to the mighty archon. impossible as it may have seemed, here you are now.

so you shoved back the bento box in her hands, oblivious to the shogun's bad mood this morning.

Your continued persistence and her current thoughts about you had just made her snap at you without thinking. her naginata appeared in her hand and she swung it in front of you. catching you off guard, you clumsily dodged it causing you to fall on your bottoms.

"from this day onward, l/n y/n, you will be stripped of your rank and you shall be forbidden to set foot in the tenshukaku"

you stared at her in disbelief, this couldn't be true. you were a valued general, she could never dispose of you this easily-

"are you deaf, l/n?"

the blade of her weapon was now a few inches away from your throat and was barely touching your flesh but it felt like you were in pain in that particular region. Ah, it was because of the tears that you were trying to hold back in that moment. you couldn't cry in front of her.

"i never want to see you again, you are nothing but a nuisance. leave the palace or next time my blade will be the first thing to greet you"

you quickly got onto your feet and ran away as the sky suddenly went dark and lightning had started to strike the land around you. perhaps, you were too naive, too over confident and the realization made tears fell down your face all at the same time as the broken shards of your heart fell down to the floor.

"your eternal excellency! i'm back!"

"oh, what brings you here, l/n?" she asked, eyeing the box you had in your hands. she already knew what your agenda was, you had probably bought her something again. "sweet treats i got from liyue. i got them on my way back from the errand you assigned me, your excellency" you answered cheerfully, getting on one knee to offer it to your god. a giggle escaped her lips as she accepted it, smiling at you. the mere reaction you got from her was enough to make you swoon and pass out, but you didn't want to embarrass yourself in front of her. "you never fail to amuse me, l/n. thank you for being so thoughtful"

moments like those convinced that the shogun cherished you, with all the sweet moments you had, but now you wholeheartedly believe that you were wrong.

- - -

it's been days, more than weeks, well over a month since you've come to visit the shogun.

admittedly, the shogun had become fond of you and had come to love the cheerful ambiance you bring with your presence. she found your puppy-like energy and warm smiles absolutely endearing and she had missed it- she missed you. she was baffled by how persistent you were with showing your admiration and adoration for her, it was no where near annoying, no, she was touched everytime you complimented her or bought her things you knew she liked. were you not afraid of her? did you not resent her atleast a little like the other citizens of inazuma did? the way you cared and loved her made her some type of way. it was different from the respect and love she got from her faithful worshippers, it was just different and it felt even more warm and genuine.

alas, it was because of these feelings that she had to push you away. she was afraid that the more you came close to her, the more you'd be in danger. she didn't want to see you end up the same fate her other yokai friends had suffered. she even stripped you of your rank just so you'd never have to be on the battlefield anymore. she was aware of your potential as a fighter, yes, but you were still a mortal despite being a yokai, making you delicate and fragile compared to her. she didn't want to see you end up the way her friends and loved ones did, no.

oh, but she needed you so bad. she craved you, she thought endlessly of you, she couldn't even meditate properly due to you suddenly popping up into her mind making her worry about how you were doing. she confided in yae miko about these feelings she had and imagine the confusion she felt when yae told her that she was inlove.

romantic feelings were things she thought was incapable of feeling, so she was sure that this wasn't that kind of love.

however yae was right. ei was craving to catch even just a glimpse of you. ei's mind had been filled with thoughts of you. she couldn't even meditate properly as you would just suddenly pop up into her mind and she'd start to grow anxious and worried about how you were doing. she couldn't find inner peace without you. the skies of inazuma were noticeably more darker and more upset whenever she was lost in her thoughts of you. ei just wanted to keep you safe, even if it hurt her to push you away.

"how are you so sure that she's more safe out there?"

those words from yae had struck ei with realization. she was right, pushing you away isn't the solution. she couldn't take it anymore and had hastily left her the grand shrine maiden, who held a smirk on her lips as she watched the troubled archon rush out of the tenshukaku.

ei hurried and made her way to your humble abode she was fairly familiar with. it wasn't like she was stalking you on your way home when you returned from battle heavily injured okay? she just wanted to make sure you were okay. anyway, that's beside the point. she took a deep breath before she would call out to you, but before she could even speak up. the sliding door to the entrance of your house had suddenly opened surprising both of you. both your eyes met and she was immediately caught in a trance.

oh your beautiful, pretty, mesmerizing eyes.

it had caught her off guard, which was probably why she was like this. oh but she missed seeing those eyes of yours, although it wasn't as cheerful and as alive as how she was used to see, you eyes were still so--

"u-uhm, your eternal excellency? you're.. kind'of in the way"

ei awkwardly shuffled to the side as she was pulled back to reality. oh, right, she was supposed to applogize to you today. ei looked at you and struggled to pick out the words to say. this certain scenario was unfamiliar to her. she wasn't really required to ask for forgiveness before, she was the god, she was the one people asked for forgiveness from. oh how embarrassing it'd be if people found out how you, a mere mortal yokai, could make her tremble and nervous just like this. "greetings, y/n. i came here.. to ask for your forgiveness" she finally managed to mumble, only loud enough for the both of you to hear.

although expected, she was hurt when you looked away and didn't smile at her. usually, you'd be gleaming at her brightly when she called you by your first name.

"oh, okay. you didn't have to, it's okay" was all you said, causing the air thicken between the both of you. ei looked at you with frustration and had finally given in ny grabbing both your hands. the sudden action had caused you to look at her with surprise and you found ei's troubled eyes, which had softened the time it's gaze caught your own.

"y/n, i'm really sorry. i know i have no right to say this, but i.. i just can't bare the feeling of being apart from you anymore"

now, you were the one who was caught off guard at her sudden confession. she kept talking on and on about how she only did all of that to protect you, how she refused to talk to you and had commanded the shogun to become colder to you with each passing day because of her being in denial that she was already falling in love with you. oh, you were happy to hear those words, you felt like you were floating in cloud 9, but when tears had started to fall down ei's cheeks you had finally decided that it was enough. the guilt was eating at ei already, so you pulled her face closer to you by caressing both sides of her cheeks while you wiped the tears away with your thumb.

"your eternal excellency-"

"ei, call me ei"

the sudden request had made you blush for sure, had she not been crying, you would've been a stuttering mess. it felt so intimate to be able to call her by that name, but you continued on.

"e-ei, please.. don't feel sorry anymore. you're forgiven, okay? don't feel guilty" you hushed her with such a gentle voice that soothed ei's aching heart and smiled warmly at her that all her worries just melted away in an instant. she sniffed, letting go of your hands to wrap her arms around your waist to pull you closer, breathing in your scent as she placed her head on your shoulder.

"although, i find it quite disappointing that you think i'm that weak that you had to remove me from my position" you joked in attempts to enlighten the mood a little, but ei reacted to that with a panicked face, thinking that you were genuinely offended. "no! no, it's not that i underestimate you-" before she'd go back to the guilty mess she was earlier, you quickly placed a kiss on her cheek and laughed at her flustered expression. "relax, ei. it was a joke" you said, finding her unawareness adorable. it was this side of ei that you had come to love, that made you see her more than just the cold and heartless ruler everyone else had described her to be. with a content sigh, she pulled you back into her embrace, her lips on your forehead as she held you close.

"i.. i love you, ei" you whispered with a smile, you had finally got your feelings across. you felt so accomplished, so complete and no amount of mora could make you feel this way.

ei felt so warm and she had finally accepted these foreign feelings in her chest, not wanting to lose you again. you were her weakness, she had to accept that. it was only you who made her feel this way, you were the remedy to all her troubles. you were everything to her. with a hand tangled all up in your hair, she finally allowed herself to be completely vulnerable as she said the words ;

"i love you too, y/n. no one loves me like you do"

[artemisia-black]

What do you think happened to Regulus which made him suddenly see sense and brought him the courage to betray someone whom was his, in some sense, his hero?

And can you also tell about your thoughts on Peter changing sides too, while you're at it please?

I LOVE your metas to the point I'd literally marry them, lol 💝

Hahha I’m sure my metas would accept your proposal anon.

What Regulus did was brave. It is brave to write a fuck you note to a murderous cult leader after stealing a part of his soul. But I don’t think he did it because he suddenly came around about muggleborns. In Kreacher’s monologue about him, he comes across as someone very passionate about the cause of pureblood supremacy. He said he wanted to rule over muggles and muggleborns with his whole chest. He also hand painted his family crest above his bed as further commitment to his family pride (he is not a ‘soft’ person he’s far similar to Sirius and Bella then popular fanon characterises him).

In his note, he takes issue with the horcrux (even the act of stealing it to destroy it shows how deeply it effects him). And I think this is his issue. He is disillusioned with Voldy not because he suddenly sees muggleborns as people, but because Voldy is seeking immortality. Therefore he is seeking to rule over them all (purebloods included) for eternity. Also it could be that Horcruxes are seen as too far even by people who have bottles of blood and war crime mood boards as decoration.

Re: Peter, he changes sides because he is a rat escaping a sinking ship. The order was loosing the first war very badly. I don’t think the entire order were fresh out of school, I HC Dorcas as much older (hence Voldy killing her personally). So the DE’s were wiping out really skilled people, let alone these wet behind the ears early 20s somethings.

While I enjoy the HC that he betrayed James out of unrequited love. I think it’s more likely that voldy no longer needing him as a spy for the order (because the war was basically won by this point). And this was a way to bring him completely under his control - that by sacrificing James he would have nowhere to turn and could therefore be used to do dirty work for the rest of his life.

[jakeyt]

Covet: Chapter 3

Pairing: Jake Kiszka x f!Reader

Covet Summary:

Life was good. No, life was great. 

Was. 

Until.

Jake Kiszka crashed into the picture.

You welcomed him into your life—your home. 

Yes, he was your best friend’s twin. But, he was also the one who would end up disrupting your whole world with his attitude, his troubles, and the annoyingly natural way he lured you in. 

Jake Kiszka came with so much you really didn’t want.

At least that’s what you tried to convince yourself.

Warnings: minors DNI (18+ ONLY); masturbation (f!receiving); vivid descriptions of sexual situations; tension; mentions of past toxic relationship/cheating; consumption of alcohol; anxiety; Jake being an asshole; veryyy stubborn reader (lemme know if I missed any!)

Chapter Word Count: 10.6k

a/n: hi sweet readers & friends! get ready for a little bit of spice in this chapter. hopefully it meets your standards. if not, there will be so much more to come. . . just you wait! lol

this chapter was supposed to include a few more scenes, but i'm saving them for next chapter. i just liked the idea of leaving off with this one where i did. ;)

also, if you care at all what the guys look like in my mind as i'm currently writing, here you go (sammy & danny are included under the chapter 3 section). :)

Chapter 3

You had to work the day after your talk with Jake. 

It was a Josh-less shift, so naturally, it went by much slower than a shift where Josh’s musings would fill the air. 

Normally, you’d enjoy the stillness of the store. A sweet summer morning filled with mindless thoughts and music. 

Though today, your brain spun with thoughts of your roommate. Were they mindless thoughts? Yes. Obviously. They came out of seemingly nowhere. . .save for the little dream that had completely interrupted your sleep the night before. 

But these mindless thoughts weren’t the normal thoughts you’d get that would bring a sense of calm. No, these brain loops were extremely unwelcome. 

The first thing you did was print out all of the things you’d promised Jake you would on the store’s copier. You were hoping once that was out of your hair, maybe your mind wouldn’t stay on him. You’d thought that maybe the thoughts were just serving as a subconscious reminder to get that done.

-🌼🌼🌼-

But completing the task didn’t work like you wanted it to. Because around noon, Jake was still at the front of your mind. 

Fuck. Why?! It was completely aggravating.

You didn’t really know what made him stick in your mind for the majority of your shift, but all you could seem to think of was his smooth, tanned skin, kissed by the summer sun. His long hair that swayed so smoothly with every motion. His big, amber-brown eyes that dug so much deeper than you wished they did. 

For some reason, after that talk, you had etched Jake’s mannerisms into your mind. You replayed the conversation more times than you’d ever care to admit. 

And you were now noticing that maybe talking with him wasn’t great for you mentally. 

You’d noticed that, apparently, Jake Kiszka had a special way of making his own little ridiculous home in multiple crevices of your poor brain. 

Why did he have that power? 

All it did was piss. you. off. 

Anytime his face appeared behind your eyes, you would suddenly get so angry. 

He did not deserve any place in the thoughts that came during your quiet times. 

-🌼🌼🌼-

When your shift finally ended at 3:00, Tara and Lacey (the only other people who worked at the B&G with you and Josh), walked in with joyful greetings. You gave them a quick smile as you grabbed your purse and the things you’d printed. 

As soon as you stepped out onto the busy sidewalk of the city, and the summer sun hit your face, you sighed with relief. On this day, you were beyond ready to get away from the stillness of the record store. You let the normality of busy NYC breathe a sense of calmness into you. 

-🌼🌼🌼-

When you got home, Jake was in the shower and you hated how quickly you felt your cheeks flush at the thought. 

You realized that maybe you just needed a good nap before game night ensued, so you went to your room intending to do just that. Stevie noticed where you were going, and softly padded after you. Probably eager for her own little nap.

You hadn’t had time to make your bed that morning, so you sat on your ruffled sheets and sent Josh a text asking when he’d be there and what they wanted for dinner. Josh loved cooking with you. 

Stevie came up to you as you texted, putting her head into your free hand. You petted her as she purred, and finished your text. 

You were excited to distract yourself by being with your best friend. You were also dying to see Sammy and Danny. It had been way too long since the last time you had hung out with the three men. It was a soul refreshing experience every time you came together. 

And now Jake was suddenly getting added to the mix. . . 

You grit your teeth at the thought. Suddenly irritable over that particular fact. 

It made you less than happy to make him a part of the group, to say the least. 

Josh had just pinged a couple texts back saying they’d be there around 7 with booze in hand and ingredients for stir fry, when there was a light knock on your door. 

You couldn’t hold back the eye roll. What could he want?

You opened the door in a brisk manner. 

Of course, Jake stood waiting on the other side. 

Half-naked Jake.

A towel was tied around his waist snugly. And, your eyes betrayed you. It was as though you had no self control, you let your eyes travel from his shower-drenched locks to his firm chest. Your eyes followed a single droplet of water that dripped from his hair. It traveled down his taut nipple, to his toned abdomen and finally into the fluffy fabric of the towel settled at his lower region. 

You gulped.

“Um,” his voice shook you from your actions and you looked up into his eyes. Your cheeks heated at being caught. “I was just in the shower, and I thought maybe it would be a good idea to figure out how we wanna split utilities?” He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. “It honestly just came to me while I was in there.”

You blinked a couple times. His thoughtfulness caught you off guard. 

“I–yeah, that’s fine with me,” you nodded, looking back to see Stevie already curled up on the bed waiting for a snooze. “How about we talk about it later, hm? I was kind of wanting to take a nap.” 

“Oh, yeah–of course, um,” he took a step back, gesturing for you to shut your door. “Sweet dreams.” 

Sweet dreams. How ironic when all he’d done was haunt yours the night before.

You shut your door with much more force than expected. You just couldn’t help it. Your roommate brought out an impulsive behavior in you that you weren’t the biggest fan of. Why did you have to ogle him? Why couldn’t you just address him normally? Why did he have to—? Ugh.

You let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding and flopped down onto your bed. 

-🌼🌼🌼-

You awoke from a (thankfully) dreamless sleep to the sound of John Lennon’s voice. Your “Dear Prudence” alarm tone, a faithful friend to bring you back.

You were feeling ready to face a night with your friends–and Jake. You assured yourself of this as you brushed through your hair a couple of times in the dresser mirror. The fact that his face or body hadn’t met you in your dreams was what you needed to feel confident and ready for this night.

Last night’s dream was a total fluke. Surely it had only happened because his interaction with you had jostled your irritation and nerves . . . your subconscious mind had been unstable because of it.

All you’d needed was some good rest to reset.

-🌼🌼🌼-

You weren’t disappointed at all that you didn’t see Jake until Josh’s voice quite literally reverberated throughout the entire apartment. It was a normal way for him to enter a room and announce his presence.

The curly-headed twin came in with a flourish of his arms and hands, standing in place with purpose. He was gesturing wildly with his hands, operatically singing what you knew to be an Aretha Franklin song, at the top of his lungs. 

You felt for your neighbors, but you couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear at your friend. 

But when Josh saw Stevie, he got distracted and loudly sang her name. He knelt down to start petting at her right away. He talked to her with so much enthusiasm, and you watched her eat it up. Her tail curled in glee.

You absolutely beamed when Sammy ran up to you, wrapping his arms around you tightly in a bear hug. He swayed you slightly from side to side, and your feet lifted a bit off the ground at the gesture. 

When he set you back down on the ground, he pushed his hair back from his face with both hands. His smile was wide across his face, instantly lighting up the room around you all. 

“Y/N,” he cocked his hip and spoke with little waves of his hands. “First of all, I missed you. So much.”

“Not more than me!” And you felt Danny’s arms wrap around you from behind, bringing your feet several inches off the ground. You felt him squeeze you once, and then he balanced you on your feet. His hands gripped at your shoulders slightly. He came around to stand next to Sammy, in front of you. “How’ve you been, Y/N?!”

Josh circled around, laying a lazy arm over your shoulders. You felt every bit of the usual contentment the three men brought with being around them. You felt your heart swell in your chest. 

“If you’ll excuse us, I’ve missed her most,” Josh turned you both around, walking with purpose to the kitchen. He gave you the big bear hug you were sure he knew you needed. When you pulled apart, his hand patted a case of your favorite alcohol. 

You gasped ridiculously. “Angry Orchard,” you placed a hand to your chest. “Joshua, you shouldn’t have.” 

You heard the other boys talking with Jake in the living room and suddenly, the sound of a crackling vinyl sparked to life. You listened briefly, wanting to get a clue at what Jake had picked to play. You gave an approving face, nodding to the melody. 

Cream. Wheels of Fire. You knew it well. After all, Clapton was a favorite in your own family. 

Josh sighed. He had a smirk on his lips. “Cream. Figures,” then he paused, giving you an inquisitive look. “You’re letting him play his vinyl on your player? You’re awfully protective when it comes to that thing.”

You felt your stomach do a little loop. Your sentimental attachment to the record player hadn’t ever entered your mind at offering for Jake to use it. It was one of the only pieces you had of the parents who’d left you. But when you’d come up with the idea, all you had cared about was getting to know your roommate. 

You’d been desperate, okay? That’s the only reason you hadn’t thought of it all the way through. 

“It’s just a way to get to know each other,” you explained. “A last ditch effort that I knew he couldn’t refuse.”

Josh’s eyes held a glint of mischief. You didn’t even entertain whatever he was thinking. You just went about getting out the Zip-loced ingredients Josh had brought in his little tote. You knew Sam well enough to know he’d taken it upon himself to cut the veggies and cube his tofu for you. All that wasn’t prepared yet was the raw, packaged chicken. 

You grinned to yourself. 

“Sam wouldn’t touch the chicken,” Josh noted, getting the necessary pans down. “Got everything else diced up, though. Even the sponge.”

You laughed outright at that. “The tofu?” You looked at your friend from the corner of your eye. 

His brown orbs flicked to you. “Sponge.”

You laughed again, spreading some olive oil in the pan Josh had put on the burner to heat up. You went about getting out the necessary sauces and minced garlic from the fridge. And as you did, you heard a husky, unfamiliar laugh within Danny and Sam’s own guffawing. Your stomach held a few butterflies at the sound.

Could it be? You shook your head. It didn’t matter.

Josh was searing the vegetables and tofu with a bamboo spoon when you walked back with the additional supplies. You grabbed the cutting board from behind the faucet, and got out a paring knife to start chunking up the chicken. 

“I love being able to hear him laugh again,” Josh commented absentmindedly. You could hear tears in the back of his throat. “It’s quite literally music to my ears.”

“I’m glad for you, Josh.”  

Your friend cleared his throat, and you caught his eye as he glanced over at you. “How’s he been?” 

You thought for a second, deciding to keep it brief (obviously ignoring how you hadn’t been able to get Jake out of your head all day), “It’s been alright.”

He hummed, “Just alright?”

“Yeah.” 

“Okay,” you thought he was done. He didn’t speak for a few minutes until, “How did he respond to the rules and such? Did you go through with that?”

You really didn’t want to taint your time with Josh by talking about Jake. You decided to give a short response to give Josh a hint, “Last night. Went well enough,” you continued. “He obviously checked the things I printed off. Tonight’s his record player night, and he’s playing his vinyl on it.”

“His record player night?”

“Yes. He gets a night, I get a night, and so on,” your tone was slightly snippy. You just didn’t want to waste time on the topic. “It’s to help us get to know the other through our music taste.”

He patted a hand on your shoulder, “How did you possibly think of a way to get Jacob to open up so well, Y/N?”

You scoffed. “Desperate times, Josh. I told you that. Besides, it’s what I always use to bond with people. It was a shot in the dark. Wasn’t specifically for him. It was so I could actually get to know him in some sort of way. It was for me, not him.”

He gave a small hum and turned back to continue cooking. Thank God. You didn’t want to talk about Jake.

You both went about your business for a little. After you’d set the chicken in another oil-greased pan, it sizzled, so you turned down the heat. Then, a thought came to your mind.

“You know, I think I’ve finally decided on the house plant I want.”

The two of you had ventured into a shared curiosity of house plants for the last year. 

And you had spent about that long trying to decide on plants for your homes. 

It was a difficult decision, because certain plants brought their own energy. And trying to narrow down the house plant that would start the collection and bring your specific desired energies into your living spaces? It had turned out to be a harder task than you’d both anticipated. You both struggled to stay on one thought for long enough to actually see it through, and you were both the type to not act on something until it felt totally ‘right.’

“Oh?” You’d piqued his interest. He nudged around at the vegetables and tofu in his pan a bit, then turned the heat down to face you. He raised a brow, crossing his arms at his chest. “Do tell.”

“French Lavender,” you started. He motioned a hand for you to keep going, looking down, his eyebrows completely knitted in thought. “It just smells so good, it’s a beautiful color. It will survive in any indoor climate. How cool is that? And it has the highest vibrational frequency of any plant that’s known to bring good fortune. All of these things and more make it a sure sign of good to come, you know?”

By the end of your rambling, he was staring intently at you, “You are truly the best kind of human, Y/N.”

And, of course, his voice interrupted your pleasant moment with your friend.

“We’re trying to decide on games, Josh.”

Jake. How long had he been standing in the doorway without you two noticing? Jerk. Eavesdropper.

“I’m helping Y/N with the stirfry, Jacob,” he turned back to his post, shuffling the veggies. He noticed at the same time as you that they were officially done. So, he really wasn’t helping you anymore. Which freed him up to–, “It’s actually done, so I’m going to help them find something fun to play. That okay?”

You were proud of how you schooled your expression. You gave a (fake) little grin. “Yeah, that’s perfect,” you poked at the chicken, turning a few pieces to see it browning well. “The chicken is almost done.”

Josh gave you a quick smile before following after his brother into the living room. 

You sneered over the chicken you cooked, displeased with how Jake was now stealing away your time with Josh. 

Was he just incapable of allowing you one moment of peace?

-🌼🌼🌼-

It had been about an hour since you’d all sat around the dinner table with stir fry. It had been accompanied by hilarious stories of Sammy’s recent (failed) Tinder match dates, and Danny commentating, totally ashamed of his friend’s ‘love life’. He and Sam had the perfect dynamic for friendship. One being the insane risk-taker. And the other, the completely rational mind in every situation.

Now, you all sat around your coffee table. You sat on the couch, flanked by Sam and Josh. Danny and Jake had brought a couple of your dining room chairs up, so they could be involved. 

Josh had decided on a favorite of his: You Laugh, You Drink. And you were spinning an empty Angry Orchard bottle for any card that made you interact with someone else. 

Thankfully, neither you nor Jake had gotten a  card that required a partner yet. You were very tipsy. You’d cracked and laughed way too many times during the game to still be sober. 

You weren’t sure how this inebriated version of you would react to Jake having to yell at your crotch, if you were being completely honest. 

Josh and Danny had already played that card anyway.

Admittedly, under the influence of alcohol, you caught yourself casting a few too many looks in Jake’s direction. But you couldn’t help yourself. You were a warm-blooded woman who was attracted to men.

And he was a damn good looking man. You knew addressing this fact under the influence was an “ok” thing to do. You were drunk. You had alcohol in your system, so you weren’t thinking clearly.

But you had to admit, even sober-you knew he was sexy as hell.

In this state, you noticed that everything he did was enamoring. The way he’d brush a hand through the front of his hair, making it wave perfectly at the top of his head. The way his Adam’s apple bobbed when he laughed. Why was the sight so alluring to you? 

But the best part of his face? His smile. You had noticed tonight that he had perfectly straight and perfectly white teeth that you hadn’t really been able to observe until this point. His smile was absolutely beautiful. It lit up his entire face. The bigger he smiled, the more the apples in his cheeks swelled. You wished that you saw your roommate more. It was pure serotonin when his face was all joyful and shit. 

And you’d never say it out loud, but being around him made you feel (strangely) giddy. Like, school-girl-has-a-crush giddy. 

Maybe Josh had been onto something when he’d suggested the idea of you being able to see what Jake was like around others. Jake was a captivating individual, to say the least. 

You took another swig of your cider. 

When you put your head back down, it was your turn. 

And when you looked to see where Jake was, you noticed he was up at the record player. He was switching Wheels of Fire back to Side A. The entire double LP had officially played through once. And instead of putting a new record on, he just replayed the same one. You assumed the record was a favorite. 

“You like Wheels of Fire a lot, huh?” you inquired in his direction.

He didn’t look at you as he placed the needle back on Side A, “It’s one of the best; a classic.”

“Yes, he’s always liked that one,” Josh agreed. “Has a few of his favorites on it.”

Jake actually respected his brother enough to look at Josh when he responded to him, “Nothing like hearing the live version of Crossroads on vinyl.”

“Clapton fan?” You implored. 

He rolled his eyes and gave you a look with raised brows that said ‘really?’. 

It irked you. Considering you were only trying to make polite conversation. Why was he so impossible?

“It’s Cream – not specifically Clapton,” he corrected impatiently. “You literally just said it was Wheels of Fire. You know it’s not just him, right? There were two other extremely valuable members. Ginger Baker? Jack Bruce? Ever heard of ‘em?”

His questioning tone wasn’t a kind one. You could tell he was mocking your musical knowledge; all it did was piss you the fuck off. 

You were about to retort when Sam chimed in, “Jake is the biggest Clapton fan on this beautiful green Earth,” he looked over to Jake, who you noticed was still staring at you, obviously annoyed by you. Ass. “Don’t let him fool you, Y/N.”

You stared back at Jake until your face was completely heated. Your skin was crawling. “Why do you have to make it a fucking argument? I’m just being nice.”

He scoffed. He walked back to his seat next to Daniel, and sat down with his elbows resting on his thighs, challenging you. “I wasn’t arguing. I was educating you.”

“I don’t need to be educated by you.”

“It seems like you do,” he pressed further. “I wouldn’t be surprised if all you’d known about Cream until tonight was that Eric Clapton was in the band. Basic knowledge.”

“Jake. . .,” Danny started. 

“She knows more than you think, brother,” Josh intervened. “Might even challenge you a bit, honestly.”

Jake scoffed. “Oh, I fuckin’ bet,” he rolled his eyes again with the words.

There were a few moments of tight air between you and your roommate. Even with the others’ responses, he continued staring only at you. Probably continuing to assume what he wanted about you. You were tired of it, but you couldn’t pull your eyes from him. His eyes were like magnets for your own. 

And you needed to win the staring contest that was apparently happening now. You wouldn’t give in.

“Let’s move on,” Josh’s voice cut through. You couldn’t help it when you looked over to him. Your heart was racing and all you wanted was to feel a sense of peace. And Josh’s intervention made it obvious that he was also eager for peace. “Y/N. . .choose a card,” Josh motioned to the stack of cards as a magician might.

You grabbed a card from the stack. 

Your mind nearly blanked at what it said. 

“The prompt reads. . .,” Josh verbally nudged you to read your card. “Will you laugh when someone in the group. . .” 

You cleared your throat, “Touches parts of the Target’s body while whispering what each body part is.”

Sam chuckled. “This could be hilarious.”

You swallowed deeply. You could only hope that the bottle would choose your ‘someone’ wisely. 

Your hand hesitantly reached towards the bottle, and gave it a decent spin. 

“Who shall your Target be?” Josh said as the bottle spun. 

You kept your eyes trained on Danny and Jake’s knees, both clad in black skinny jeans.

The bottle went a few times around the table. When it started slowing down, your stomach dropped. 

It went a couple ticks more. And then slowly, very slowly. . . It landed on. . . 

Jake. 

Of fucking course.

Your ears filled with white noise. You just stared at the bottle, not wanting to acknowledge the realness of the situation. You thought you heard a single ‘ha!’ and you could have sworn it was Sam. 

“Fuck you, Sam,” Jake corrected, confirming your theory.

You looked up at him and affirmed your fate. 

Jake was already staring directly at you. But his eyes weren’t angry. He was looking at you in a way you couldn’t quite pinpoint at that moment. 

“Anyone laughs, just once. . . I get to stop?” You turned your head in Josh’s direction to ask, while you still held eye contact with the alluring man in front of you. 

“All it takes is one laugh and the next Joker is up,” Josh answered. 

“And I have to touch his body?”

Josh hummed. “Technically, you should only be touching his body, but,” he paused. “Start by touching clothes if it makes you feel more comfortable.”

You decided to bite the bullet. You could start by putting on a little show to get some laughs. Stop it before it even starts.

You rose from your place between Josh and Sam. You even curved your back as you did so, your ass poking out with the motion. You kept your eyes locked with Jake’s. His jaw clenched. He definitely wouldn’t be the one to laugh.

Your legs were slightly shaky, but you felt like your little act covered that up. You walked towards Jake, around the small coffee table. And the closer you got, the more you swayed your hips. You licked your bottom lip the slightest bit. 

Jake’s mouth dropped open, his eyes moved to your hips.

His reaction was surprising, but welcomed. You wanted him to be at your mercy. He needed to be put in his place. Normally you wouldn’t use sex to get your way. . . But you’d had alcohol and it was making decisions.

And you honestly couldn’t help how your body seemed to activate like this for Jake. It felt natural.

But no laughs from anyone yet. Dammit.

As soon as you were in front of him, you sort of froze. You didn’t know what to do next. You let the alcohol make the first move for you. 

“Get up,” you commanded. 

And surprisingly, he did just as you asked. 

You moved a few steps closer to be right in front of him, your chest getting so close to touching his. You kept enough room for your arm to move between the two of you. The space between his pecs, all the way down to the top of his stomach, was uncovered, thanks to the man not knowing how to button a damned shirt. 

You let your hand graze from the shoulder of his shirt, all the way down to the first button that was fastened. Your eyes followed the movement of your hand. You rubbed your thumb over the button, playing with the plastic.

“You always have to show off your chest, huh?” You said softly to him, trying to act annoyed. But in reality, you rather liked that he didn’t button his shirts all the way. You were sure that all women who saw him like this were thankful for it. What a sight. 

Jake only gave a ‘hmph’ in response. 

With the next action, you looked up at him, through your lashes. He was already looking at you. His pupils were completely dilated. You had moved a finger to be on the fabric of the shirt, nudging the button through its loop.

When it came undone, his eyes blinked once in shock, widening a bit. But, the rest of his face stayed stoic. 

Level 2, you thought.

You then slipped one hand in the open area of the shirt, under the flowered material. You placed your hand on the side of Jake’s abdomen. His skin was warm. It made your own skin prickle at the feeling. It was nice. 

You brushed your thumb over the heated skin. It felt so thrilling. You stepped closer to him, still holding eye contact. 

“Stomach,” you whispered to him. 

He closed his eyes for a second, and when they opened back up, they were dark and hooded. Your skin heated under his sultry stare. 

You turned your eyes back to your hand. This time, you smoothed over the skin of his stomach on the way to his right pec, brushing over the hardened nipple on his breast. You flushed at the feeling of it pebbled under your hand. 

You edged your body closer. When you did, you got close enough that your hips almost touched his. Your heart skipped a beat when you felt a little hint of hardness through the fabric of his pants.

It made your body thrum. It urged you on.

You held your hand there and gripped the flesh just slightly. He let out the slightest moan. You just knew the other guys hadn’t heard it, it had been so quiet. But you heard it and the sound went straight to the pit of your stomach.

“Chest,” you whispered, getting awfully close to his ear when you said it, wanting only him to hear the next part. “You have a very nice chest.”

You didn’t know where the courage came from to say the last part, but you felt Jake flex underneath your hand. You felt a twitch between your thighs. 

You decided to creep your hand from his chest to his neck. The smooth, tanned skin of his neck. You skated your nails against his skin. You sighed just a bit, your breath hitting Jake’s skin. You weren’t sure where the sound came from, but after it happened, you watched goosebumps spread over his skin. 

When you made it to his neck, you wrapped a hand securely around the nape. You stroked circles with your thumb over the pulse point that was nearby. His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat as your thumb worked his neck. 

You brought the other hand up to join and you lightly cradled his neck. Involuntarily, he let his head lay back into your hands, his hair falling against your wrist. The feeling sent a chill over your body. 

“Neck.” 

From their spot, you moved your hands the slightest bit to hold his face in both of your hands. It felt so intimate, you almost forgot where you were. He locked eyes with you when you looked up at him. And you could have sworn you felt his hand brush the curve of your hip. 

“Fa—.”

Then, Josh started laughing. It made you jump the slightest bit. 

It was a fake laugh out of him. You knew the real sound like the back of your hand. You knew him well enough to know he was trying to save you from this situation. He still thought you didn’t want it, that it was making you uneasy.

It was making you feel uneasy. But you weren’t sure if it was still true that you didn’t want it. 

You moved away from Jake hesitantly after the laugh had rung through the air. And he seemed to blink himself back into real time after you stepped back.

But he still looked at you in a way that was new. . . His eyes were questioning you, almost like he was so curious to know more about what you were (apparently) hiding. 

Though, you weren’t even sure what it was you were keeping hidden, so you broke eye contact sharply and walked back to your spot between Josh and Sam. You gave Josh a look of relief to try to convince yourself that relief was the emotion you were feeling. 

But you were completely confused by yourself. It must’ve been the alcohol controlling you and clouding your thoughts. It had to have been. 

Josh rubbed your back, and gave you a little smile of comfort. 

You hoped to God you wouldn’t have to partner with Jake again because you weren’t sure what would happen next time. 

-🌼🌼🌼-

Around 11:30, when the guys were gathered around the door waiting to leave, Josh asked his brother something. 

“So, Jacob, any news on the job front? I meant to ask you earlier.”

Jake’s head perked up, his shoulder was leaning against the door frame. 

“Oh, I got the job, actually,” he said with a smile, crossing his arms over his chest. “I guess my audition was so good that I’ll be teaching some of the more prestigious clients. Only the most impressive auditions get a chance to give lessons to the ‘high end’ clientele.”

Your ears tuned in. You were very curious. You hadn’t known he was actively looking for jobs. And what kind of job would have clients? And he’d auditioned? What could it be?

“I mean, other than that being societal garbage,” Sam started, interrupting your thoughts. “That’s pretty fucking sweet.”

Danny and Josh agreed, seeming very happy for their brother. 

Why had you known nothing of any of this? You were pretty agitated. You were the one who had offered him a place. You were probably the only person who needed to know considering he needed to help you pay rent and shit. 

He had been the one to bring up utilities, after all. Maybe that’s why he had thought of it today. Because he’d gotten a job.

“You're going to be doing something that you love, Jake,” Danny added with a grin. “I’m so happy for you.”

Josh made a noise, so you looked at him. You saw one single tear leave his eye that he quickly brushed away. He sniffed, then inquired. “Will you teach children? Or adults?”

Teach? you thought. And why was Josh so emotional over it?

“Both,” Jake replied.

Sam went to Jake and patted his shoulder a couple times, then clasped the material of Jake’s shirt in his hands. “Those people are going to be in awe of your skill, Jake — especially the kids.”

Kids?

“What sort of job is this going to be exactly?” You wondered aloud.

Jake only stared at you, seeming to remember that you were there at all. Josh answered for him, “Jake is going to teach people how to play the guitar.”

Your eyes widened. “You play?”

Sam gawked at that. “You’re Jake’s roommate and you didn’t know that he plays the guitar?” 

“I had no clue,” you affirmed. “I mean, I knew he had guitars, but—,” you shook your head. “When–how long have you played?”

Again, no answer from him, so Danny replied in his place. “Since he was like, little. . .toddler age,” he continued. “It’s his favorite thing in the world to do, play guitar.”

The other two friends agreed with the statement.

“You really didn’t know how much he loved to play?” Sam still seemed completely shocked.

You shook your head again in response. 

You were surprised at it. You knew he’d brought the guitars with him. You could never forget when you tried to help unload them and he’d completely snapped at you for it. It definitely made more sense now. He was probably extremely protective over them if he’d played for so long. 

But, why had you never heard or seen him play? If he was so passionate about it, surely he’d play more. But maybe he didn’t find you worthy of knowing this talent of his. That honestly seemed most likely.

You’d initially thought that maybe it was something he just did for fun. A little hobby. Apparently it was much more than that. 

“I’m curious how it will go,” Jake finally spoke again. “I’ve never done something like this. It’ll be interesting.”

Sam moved back to his spot next to Josh. “You will totally stun those kids, Jake,” he brushed a hand through his hair. “And the adults! I mean, they will not know what to do with a living legend.”

Living legend?

You stepped forward, irritation clear in your tone when you spoke. “How come I’ve never heard you play?”

“I do it when you’re not at home,” Jake responded coolly. 

“Why?” you challenged. And at the same time, Sam also asked ‘why?’. 

All he did was shrug at you, and looked back to Sam, who was already speaking again. 

“Jake, you’ll be such an inspiration to those little kids. Someone they’ll want to be when they grow up for sure,” Sam’s voice softened. “Just how I always looked at you.”

“Thanks, Sammy boy,” Jake blushed, a small grin forming on his face. 

-🌼🌼🌼-

After the boys left, you went about putting the leftover stir fry in Tupperware while Jake busied himself in the living room putting games away. 

You were steadily getting hit by waves of tiredness thanks to your many ciders.

You had put the stir fry in the fridge, and were now moving onto putting any spare alcohol in a little group on the counter. Just as you’d arranged all of the beverages, you saw Jake enter the kitchen out of the corner of your eye. Your stomach got swirly in his presence and you just wanted to go to sleep. 

You kept doing what you had been doing before he’d come in and when you finished, you went to leave. 

But a hand with calloused fingertips gripped your forearm to stop you right as you got to the doorway. 

You hated how your tummy flipped at the feeling of his overworked fingertips that moved up your bare arm to lightly grip your bicep. 

You didn’t turn to him completely. You just shifted your head to the side, to show you were aware of his action. You felt the heat of his body come up behind you, and tried to hide the shiver it brought over you. He wasn’t touching you, but he was so close.

“Thanks for letting me stay here while I get back on my feet,” he offered, surprisingly kindly. “I appreciate it.”

Your cheeks flushed. You couldn’t help it. This was completely unexpected. “You’re welcome,” you offered quietly in response. 

He didn’t move. Your breath was stuck in your throat at the proximity of him to you. 

So, you decided to be the one to create a distance between you two. You didn’t want to push any more limits tonight. And you didn’t want to give him too much of your time.

You were just so tired. You were ready for bed. 

You left him in the kitchen. And for some reason, you felt just a little bad for it. 

— 🌼🌼🌼 —

Middle of June

After game night with the guys, things had gone back to normal. You didn’t steal glances his way, not wanting to somehow chance catching his eye.

You decided to move on from it as though it hadn’t happened. Blame it all on the alcohol. 

Except—you remembered every detail. The feeling of him touching you, you touching him

. . . The way it felt to hold eyes with him, almost as though you were both waiting for more.

But you pushed it down. 

And Jake must have forgotten or pushed it all to the side as well. 

Because, there was absolutely zero movement on his end to make conversation or change the way of things. 

-🌼🌼🌼-

For the first part of June, Jake was hardly home. 

Since you really didn’t see him, it was easier to pretend he didn’t exist in your space and ignore him. You were glad to have the apartment to yourself. 

You didn’t want him in your space.

You couldn’t help that you were a little curious as to where he was spending all of his time, though.

Almost every night, he was gone. And during the day, he would be gone to work, and you’d leave to work closing at the B&G before he got home. You would go to sleep without seeing him all day. You hardly bumped into him. 

On the days you were there to witness it, he would come home from work for a total of about 15 minutes (sometimes less), and then leave with both of his beat-up guitar cases in tow.

It was odd, but you figured it probably had to do with his new job. 

You really didn’t miss having him around at all.

-🌼🌼🌼-

But somehow, Jake still found a way to make his presence known. 

About halfway through June, you started receiving random sticky notes from him. Reminder stickies, if you will.

The first was a surprise to you. It shouldn’t have been. He was naturally an asshole, after all. 

You’d found it next to a used coffee cup of yours that was sitting in the sink. 

No dirty dishes. It’s a rule. -Jake

You’d huffed and crumpled it into a ball before trashing it. 

Then, you washed the cup. You wouldn’t be bested by him. 

-🌼🌼🌼-

The second note rested atop a jar of applesauce you’d purchased for yourself. You saw it when you went to get a can of Coke Zero out of the fridge.

You slapped your forehead when you realized you hadn’t labeled it before you put it in the fridge.

You had a good idea of what his note would say. 

Probably a good idea to label our groceries. God forbid we mix anything up. -Jake 

You labeled the applesauce and then took that note, and ripped it in half. 

-🌼🌼🌼-

The third was left on the bathroom door, right above a bra you’d stupidly left hanging there. 

You were assuming it had been after a longer shift you’d come home from when you took it off. You hadn’t even thought of it at the time.

Probably best to not keep our undergarments laying around. New rule? -Jake 

That sticky pissed you off the most. (And, no, it wasn’t because of any embarrassment you were feeling—he just made you that angry). 

How did he have the right? You were fuming.

In your fury, you’d grasped the piece of clothing so quickly and roughly that it had ripped. And it had been an expensive bra, too. 

Thanks for that, Jake, you’d thought. 

Thankfully, he hadn’t been home. So, when you made a noise that went from growl to piercing scream, he hadn’t gotten the chance to revel in your frustration. 

You were so close to your limit with him. 

-🌼🌼🌼-

You were ready to be around your family when the time came towards the middle of June. It was your grandma’s birthday, and Elsie would be in town to celebrate. 

You needed to see your sister. Fill her in on your ridiculous roommate and get her wise advice.

You were putting a couple of records you’d bought for your grandmother in a gift bag when you heard him humming on his way out behind you. 

You didn’t know what came over you or why you cared to ask, but you turned to him. It was perfect timing, you caught him just as his hand was on the handle to leave. 

“Where do you keep going?” You narrowed your eyes at him. 

He turned from facing the door to face you directly. 

Then, he leveled you with a look over the tops of his sunglasses. He shook his head and let out a sigh as if totally put out, and set his cases down on either side of him. He tucked a hand into one pocket and used the other to push his shades into his hair. You tried not to watch all of this too closely; starting with the way his glasses pushed his locks back just right. 

But you couldn’t help yourself. Every action seemed to be measured out flawlessly. And, you’d learned that he looked good doing anything. 

You hated how attractive he was—how easy he was to watch. 

Once you could fully see his eyes, you realized that he was giving you a look similar to the one you were serving him. “Why do you have to know?” 

“We have roommate things to discuss, and there’s never time to do it because you’re always gone,” you were making shit up on the spot. 

“‘Roommate stuff’?” He raised a brow at you. 

“Yeah,” you were spitballing. “Like bills and stuff.”

He rolled his eyes. “I leave my money for the payments on the counter,” he retorted, pointing to something behind you. When you looked to where he was pointing, you saw a fresh envelope sitting on the bar behind you. You didn’t let it phase you. You could have slapped yourself for not noticing it was there before now. 

It made you look irresponsible. . .and you hated looking irresponsible.

A smirk grew on his face at your lack of reply; like he knew something you didn’t. “You miss having me around? Hm?”

You tried to keep your cool, but you felt your face heat. You didn’t miss him. You didn’t know why you were having this reaction. You snorted to hide it. “I could care less about you being here,” you argued. “In fact, it’s kind of nice to have you gone. I get to pretend I still live alone.”

You heard a horn honk down below, and it was unmistakably Josh’s squeaky, tired one. 

“Why is Josh here?” You wondered aloud.

Jake eyed you for a second, then responded, “He’s picking me up.”

“To go where?” Then you had a lightbulb brighten above your head. “Have you been with him all these nights?”

“And it’s your business how?” 

It really wasn’t your business; he was right. He could do what he wanted. There was no valid reason why you needed to know what he was doing in his own spare time. You didn’t know why you were so curious. It didn’t matter.

You refused to show that he’d smarted you. Your chest was tight with whatever emotion it was you were feeling. “Whatever. I don’t care. I was just wondering,” you turned your back as your sign that you were done talking to him. “Tell him I said hi.” 

He made a noise that sounded like ‘mhm,’ and then you heard the door open and close for him. 

Your shoulders loosened once he was gone, and you released a sigh. You lifted a hand to feel your cheeks. And to your dismay, they were still hot. 

Absolutely ridiculous.

-🌼🌼🌼-

In a quaint little town just outside Brooklyn, your grandparents’ house sat, never changing. It was stuck in time; it still looked and smelled the same as it had when you and Elsie initially came to live with them 12 years ago. The maroon walls and fruit-filled wallpaper border, the same as always. 

You stood with Elsie in the kitchen. You were each cooking your own part of your Grandma’s favorite: Tortellini Carbonara. You worked on the pasta and vegetables while Elsie worked on the sauce. 

“Els, it’s terrible,” you said as you stirred the pasta steadily. “He makes me absolutely insane.”

Elsie set her sauce to simmer, and stepped to the side to work on the dump cake that would wind up being the birthday cake. 

“What’s so bad about him?” she questioned.

“Where do I begin?” You chuckled sarcastically. “He’s just an asshole. Ever since his first time stepping foot into the apartment, he’s treated me like I’m scum.”

“Scum? Y/N, do you think you’re being a little

. . .dramatic?” She gave you a look that almost put you in your place, but then Jake’s face came to your mind and you were heated all over again. 

“No! He has only been rude to me,” you huffed. And while that wasn’t completely true, you needed to make a point.

Elsie scooted in front of you, and you made enough room in front of the oven for her to put the dump cake in. She then set the timer on the microwave and stepped away to check her work phone. She really only glanced at it, and then looked back at you.

“You wouldn’t believe he’s Josh Kiszka, Actual-Sunshine-In-Human-Form’s, brother,” you carried the tortellini to an oven mitt that was laying out while you searched for a strainer. “They’re twins, even. . .Josh calls him the moon to his sun. But I think he’s more like the moon that comes during a solar eclipse that makes the whole world fucking dark and dreary.”

Elsie giggled at that, “Wow. . . Sounds depressing.”

“It is, Elsie!” You clanged around a bit longer, making more noise than you probably needed to. But Elsie refusing to understand was firing you up. Finally, “Ugh, found it.” 

You went about straining the pasta’s water while Elsie checked on your vegetables. 

She spoke from the stove across the kitchen. “Like you said, he’s Josh’s twin brother,” her voice sounded dreamy when she said Josh’s name. Elsie had it just as bad for Josh as he did for her. She just refused to admit it. You didn’t know why she was so stubborn. “There has to be some good in him. Why did he move to live with you anyway? I haven’t gotten the full scoop.”

You mixed some olive oil in with your noodles and then moved to check on Elsie’s cake. 

“Messy breakup with his girlfriend,” you felt remorse for being so cold about him when you remembered all of the details Josh had told you. You couldn’t help it when your heart dropped a bit. “She cheated on him, even though he was selfless enough to follow her, leave his brothers, and give up anything he may have wanted in life.”

She gasped, “Are you kidding me? She’s the terrible one,” she took your vegetables off the heat and carried them to the pasta while you grabbed the sauce to follow her to the pan on the mitt. “He’s just hurting. Any way he’s acting now is just a reaction to the trauma of that breakup.”

“Trauma?”

She bugged her eyes. “Y/N, you know first hand that trauma comes in many, many forms,” she leveled you with a look, reaching forward to squeeze your shoulder. “Give him some grace.”

You sighed and relented a little. “I have seen a few positive things come out in him recently.”

“Like what?” She grinned, like she knew a secret. You ignored that.

“He’s actually been pretty good about following our apartment rules—even taking it upon himself to remind me of a few. . .y’know, for shits and giggles,” you scrunched up your face to show your annoyance at that. Elsie squeaked a laugh. “Josh had mentioned he’s not really one for ‘being okay’ with rules set before him, and he honestly accepted the ones I made pretty well.”

“That you made?” She gave you a look. “Did he get to add any of his own?”

“He didn’t want to,” you shook your head. 

She blew out a breath. “Wow. Any man I’ve ever dated has never respected any rules I’ve set.” 

You blanched at the comparison to her past flings. “First of all, Elsie, we are not dating.”

She rolled her eyes and continued as if you hadn’t interrupted. “The ones I get with only ever act like I’m always wrong and they’re in the right. And that’s toxic. If he isn’t like that. . .I think you’ve got a good one.”

“I don’t have a ‘good’ anything. It’s not a relationship,” you corrected. Why was she being so dense? And why was your stomach fluttering at the term ‘relationship’? Absurdity. “He’s my roommate. But I guess you’ve got a point with the other stuff,” you agreed. “He’s really just been pushing me away. Jerk? Yes. But he hasn’t been straight up disrespectful— save for the first night. You can ask Josh yourself.”

“He’s never given me his number,” she looked down to her purple painted toenails momentarily, then looked back up. “Or else I would.”

You weren’t sure how to respond to that. You didn’t want to expose his massive crush on accident by saying something out of turn. So, instead, you decided you needed to call your grandparents in from their gardening outside. The food was going to get cold if you didn’t act too soon. 

Besides, you were getting uncomfortable thinking of how Jake truly wasn’t as impossible as you’d mentally made him out to be. You’d never slowed down and given yourself time to think of his past. You just jumped to every negative conclusion possible. 

And why had you conveniently left out anything about game night when talking with Elsie? 

You looked at the timer on the microwave and saw that it said the cake had about 30 minutes left. 

You motioned a thumb at the window that looked out onto the flower bed your grandparents were tending to. “Let’s go tell them dinner’s ready.” 

-🌼🌼🌼-

Dinner had been filled with talk of your schooling and Elsie’s career as a traveling journalist. 

And as you left, all three of your family members encouraged you to keep writing. At dinner, you’d divulged your lack of doing so this summer. 

You didn’t know why, but your writing hadn’t been a priority lately. You’d been consumed with making sure the record store was up to par. 

All things music had been at the front of your mind.

Music had been your first passion, after all. Your first core memory was of hearing a Stevie Wonder song. You couldn’t remember which one—only the groove that could only be classified as a Wonder tune. Hence the sentimentality of your cat’s name.

Though, you’d never felt the courage to pursue music as your career. You always felt like it was more of just a silly desire that would be pushed to the side as a ludicrous idea. Your grandpa had always been an avid lover of it as well, but he’d advised to not pursue it as a career, and to find a more sensible path in life.

So, you had ended up pursuing journalism—just like Elsie. And to be fair, when you’d chosen your major, you’d wanted to do everything she did. But now, (ironically) being almost done with your degree, you were realizing that journalism wasn’t everything you’d cracked it up to be. 

It was fun, but you didn’t live and breathe it the way you did the nostalgic melodies of music. But your grandpa’s words were always in the back of your mind. 

So, when you got home, you went about getting a notebook out and turned up your favorite 1970s-themed playlist to inspire your written words.

-🌼🌼🌼-

“Will you please give me some kind of clue?” 

You followed Josh to the door of the store. You were coming in to close the B&G; he’d opened that day. 

And just like in his brother, you’d become more of a passerby in Josh’s life these days. 

The more you’d thought of it, you realized that you had been working a lot of closing shifts. Josh had started a pattern of opening most days since the first part of June. And he was always in a rush to leave when you came in to cover close. He usually only gave you a quick hug with barely any words. 

Ever since you’d found out he was the one picking Jake up from your apartment that night, you’d started clicking pieces together. They had both been consistent with being these fleeting forces. Present one minute, gone the next—seeming to always be on a mission. 

The situations were too similar to not suspect something was amuck. 

You were fed up with feeling excluded from something happening in his life. You needed to know what it was. 

So, you'd been trying to get information out of Josh. . .but he wouldn’t give it up. 

“Y/N, you’ll know soon enough,” he gave a reassuring smile. You sighed in the most theatrical way, which only made his smile grow. “It’s too soon to tell anything.” 

“Not even your best friend?” You gave him the biggest puppy dog eyes you could. 

And still, “Not yet, Y/N,” he winked. “Just wait,” his soft hand lightly kneaded your shoulder. “I’ve gotta go.”

You watched him leave. 

As soon as he was out of eyesight, you stomped to the ‘Featured’ wall and changed it to spite him. You were beyond frustrated with the secrecy. 

-🌼🌼🌼-

One night, you forced yourself to write again. 

When you’d gotten home and Jake was (of course) gone, you took that as an initiative to turn up the music a little louder than normal. 

You ended up getting consumed in writing this made up story based upon The Beatles�� ‘Mother Nature’s Son.’

In the story, the main character was a mysterious man with long hair that had let the world guide him in his ventures. The world had opened up these opportunities that were so perfectly aligned to the man’s desires. Mother Nature was his guide on his journey, letting him release himself to the power of a true destiny. The intense power that only she could—.

A harsh knock against your door thundered through your thoughts. Initially, due to natural shock, it made a tiny scream burst through your chest. 

“Can you turn down the fucking music?!” Jake was back, yelling against the beautiful sounds of The White Album. You growled to yourself, angry that he was back to ruin all sense of your serenity. “The walls are thin, remember?!”

You threw the spiral notebook, and in your haste it hit the wall with a thud. You pressed the pause button on your phone, making your Bluetooth speaker silent. You jerked your door open.

You stopped for a second. You hadn’t seen him for a few days, and your mind naturally had to readjust to the sight of him. 

God, you wished he was ugly.  

You let your exasperation at his rude interruption fuel you, “Really?!” 

You stepped out of the doorway, forcing him to take his own step backward. You didn’t need his dark aura clogging up the safe place of your bedroom. You closed the door behind you.

You continued, “You’re allowed to bring a woman back here on the night we establish the rules and make sure to warn me that you’re going to make her get loud, but I can’t play my music?!” You aimed a thumb in the direction of your bedroom, behind you. “At least music is something we both enjoy. I don’t really enjoy the idea of you fucking a girl right next door to me.” 

His eyes widened. “Oh?” He stepped a little closer and your heart thudded in your chest. “You jealous, Y/N?”

You pushed him back by his bare chest, exposed from his lack of buttoning. His skin was so warm, you wanted to keep touching it, but instead, you flung your hand back as though he’d burned you. 

“Jealous?” You scoffed, looking momentarily to the side to gain grounding. “Jake, give me a fucking break. What would give you the idea that I would in any way be jealous of that?”

His eyebrows raised and after he tucked his hair behind his ears, he crossed his arms across his smooth chest. “You couldn’t keep your hands off of me at game night.”

“You just answered your cute little musing, Jake. You called it what it was: game night,” you set a steady gaze on him. “It was a stupid game,” you put a hint of viciousness in your tone to get your point across for your next words. “It meant nothing.”

His mouth pursed closed and his jaw clenched, but it didn’t last long. He schooled his features soon enough and looked at you with overly-calm eyes. He raised his hands up. “Fine,” he backed up a step. “I won’t bring women back here if you keep your damn music turned down.”

You rolled your eyes, grinning in disbelief. “It’s music,” you walked towards him once more. “We both love music. What’s the harm if it’s something both of us love?”

“Sorry,” he placed one tan boot in your direction and rubbed at his chin. “Are you trying to tell me you don’t love sex?” 

You blinked a few times at his words. Had he really just. . .? Your heart fluttered and your teeth ground together. “It’s not the same.”

He chortled at you, “Oh, Y/N,” your name said in his raspy register almost instantly made your cheeks heat. Your mind felt cloudy as he came up to you, almost touching his front to yours. He smoothed some hair behind your ear which caused you to shiver. You felt his breath on your face with his next words. “I think it’s just the same.”

His hand stayed resting on your head behind your ear. You even felt his thumb rubbing at your scalp. It felt so nice, your eyes almost fluttered closed. 

But you kept your eyes open and trained them on him, “Fine,” you breathed at him. “No loud music.”

He grinned at you. Except this time, it felt softer. “No loud sex.”

“No sex,” you repeated. 

And as soon as the word left your lips, reality hit you at how close he was. Your eyes widened and you instantly took a step back. Your back made a thumping noise against the door to your room, and that sound caused him to take his own steps back. 

“I’m just—,” he picked up the cases he’d sat just outside the hallway. You watched his ass in his black jeans as he turned and bent down to pick them up. You caught yourself licking your lips at the stretch of his jeans. But as soon as he turned around, you readjusted. “Going to bed.” 

He looked at you with a loaded stare just briefly, and then escaped to the short trek down the hallway to his own room. 

You stared in his direction, even after his door had shut. 

And when Stevie came to rub her soft gray fur against your shin, you jolted. You looked down at her precious form and remembered you needed to feed her. 

And while you were getting her food ready, you remembered something else: you did not have any feelings for Jake. 

And whatever that had been was completely against your own imaginary rule. You could not cross that boundary with him. 

You didn’t even want to. 

At least. . .that’s what you told yourself as you went to bed that night. 

-🌼🌼🌼-

A guitarist’s fingers had to be so skilled. 

In more ways than one. 

Calloused fingertips that had recently held your arm were between your legs, touching you just right. Feeling you exactly how you needed to be felt. 

The familiar pointer finger massaged the inside of your folds while the thumb reached up to nudge the underside of your clit, rubbing it, encouraging it. 

And then a tongue joined the pointer finger that was going through your soft folds. He fit his tongue so it curled right into your most secret place.

Your back arched and your calves came to cross against a bare, tan back. A tanned back that was still wet from a shower. You reached up to touch your hair, which was wet. 

You’d showered together. 

“How do I taste, baby?” You sighed down to the man who was on his stomach between your legs. 

His face was hidden, blocked by something you couldn’t process in that moment. But when you saw his head come up, Amber-brown eyes met your own. They were filled with lust, hooded in your direction. 

Jake. You sighed with relief at it being him.

His long hair fanned against your legs, and he removed his hands momentarily to move up your body and kiss your stomach, so delicately. 

“In every way, you are perfect,” he affirmed. 

You flushed a little smile his way, but your clit throbbed for more. 

“Jake, please,” you moaned. 

And without needing any more direction, he was back at work between your legs. Except, this time, his tongue was what nudged against the underside of your sensitive nub and his fingers continued to take turns working in and out of you.

-🌼🌼🌼-

The next morning, you woke up in a sweaty mess of sheets. 

You’d dreamt of him again. . .and this time, it had been much, much worse. 

And taking care of the tingling feeling between your already-shaking legs was your first assignment that day. 

Before your feet ever touched the ground that morning, you’d very quietly sighed Jake’s name as your fingers worked your pussy to the point of an amazing release.

When you came down from your high, you laid on top of your comforter. You needed cool air to wash over you. You pondered the thoughts that had entered your mind. You really hadn’t been able to help it. They’d come so naturally and it had felt so right. You didn’t know what was going to come next. 

What in the sweet hell was happening to you?

-🌼🌼🌼-

a/n: i'll give you one guess what the boys are up to ;)

let me know if you wanna be added to the taglist! also, if you changed your username and it's not tagging because of that, please let me know and i'll update it!!

Taglist: @joshym, @gretavanfleetposts, @alyson814, @fretaganvleet, @lallisonl, @writingcold, @gvfpal, @twinszka, @jessicafg03, @reesetrippingthelight, @sacredjake, @laurenlovesgretavanfleet, @gretavangroove, @222headedcalf, @dreamssingold, @carbondancingthroughtime, @raviolilegs, @way-to-go-lad, @jakekiszkasmommy, @katgvf, @objectsinspvce, @jaketlover, @vanfleeter, @thetroublegetssoloud71, @seditabets, @jakekiszkapunchmeintheface, @jaketlove, @ohgodthefeeling-gvf, @katelynn-gvf, @gretavansara (even if it seemed to refuse to tag, i still tried - ugh! i apologize for any weirdness of the tagging. if i missed you, please let me know! i think i included everyone, but it's def possible i accidentally left someone out.)