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odxrilove · 9 months

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☆ TXT AND THINGS THEY DO WHEN THEIR PARTNER IS A FIRST GRADE TEACHER

pairing: txt x f!reader

genre: hcs/scenarios, fluff, established relationship

a/n: requested by anon! song rec - fairy by dvwm.. thank u coco @enluv for helping me out and being my partner in crime ily ^^

back to masterlist!

☆ YEONJUN

gives you stickers he gets as freebies in his packages. Yeonjun is a sucker for a good pair of jeans, a heavy leather jacket and some silver accessories to top it off. The thing is, being fresh out of university and moving out of the dorms into a small studio is quite a problem when you’re a clothes fanatic such as yeonjun. So, to earn some money beside his job and keep his closet in order, he opens an account on some popular secondhand online shops. Yeonjun likes showing off his new finds to you, excitedly telling you about the deal he managed to get, how happy he is to finally get his hands on said item and upon seeing your soft smile, kissing you on the temple and whispering how he’ll make sure you two match. Sometimes, the package includes freebies, mainly stickers, which he immediately sets aside for you– you and your students would love this, he thinks. Yeonjun sells clothes too though, and you find it particularly endearing how he refuses to reuse any of the stickers as freebies, because they are yours, like he always claims.

☆ SOOBIN

buys the food for the classroom's pet. Soobin used to work at a pet store in his first year of university to be able to afford his own car. The pet store was also the place where you both bumped into each other for the first time, and where you ended up sharing your first kiss after you decided to swing by to check in on him. So in short, the pet store in between the old dinner and newly-renovated 7-11 meant a lot to the both of you. Years had passed and now you both only stepped foot in the store a few times a year, just enough to not forget the workers’ faces and see the new animals come in. The next time your boyfriend visited the pet store was exactly a few days after your principal allowed your class to get a classroom pet– a cute hamster whose name was Snickers, voted by your students. The owner of the store welcomed Soobin with a wide grin and a pat on the back, even offering him a discount on the hamster food you had begged him to get since you’d forget (he acted like you owed him but in reality, it was on his way to work and he could never resist your pretty pout). It would become part of your routine, your boyfriend buying Snickers’ food when needed and you accompanying him on the weekends, staring at the cute animals with joy while the store owner and his old boss teased him about the heart eyes he’d send you. Ah, young love, he’d say, laugh resonating through the store.

☆ BEOMGYU

sharpens the classroom's pencils for you every friday. Beomgyu’s week is usually always booked– when he isn’t studying or working, he’s playing the guitar and meeting up with friends and family. That doesn’t mean though that you aren’t spending any time together, but more often than not your dates or “quality time” moments are are the end of the week (he once claimed he likes it because he enjoys ending his week on a good note– tsk, what a romantic). He hasn’t outright told you that he likes the comforting silence when you’re both sitting in the living room, cozying up together and doing your own things, but the way he shyly nods when you pat the space next to you on the couch every time is proof. Sometimes Beomgyu just needs life to be a bit more peaceful, and sharpening all your classroom’s pencils while you grade your students’ papers next to him is exactly fulfilling that need. Once in awhile too, if he’s free, he will walk into your empty classroom with a grin as you do your “typical end-of-the-day teacher things”, ready to pick up every single pencil off the floor and from under the desks, just so you don’t have to collect them and you can go home, together.

☆ TAEHYUN

helps you paint your monthly and seasonal banners for your classroom. Taehyun isn’t a very artistic person– younger, he’d more the type to clumsily spread different colors of paint over the canvas, turning the stunning colors in a brown mess– but he fails to help you out if you’re feeling even the slightest bit out of inspiration. Truly, you had been planning and working on these banners for your classroom for months and to say you were getting tired at the unaesthetically pleasing sight in front of you was an understatement. The only banner you were missing was the one for fall but every time you tried to paint out a beautiful scenery with trees and fallen leaves, the dark colors only made you want to bury yourself six feet under. Only one call of your boyfriend’s name was needed for him to come running to your rescue, taking a pause to look at your “art” before stiffing his laughter and settling next to your on the ground. It wasn’t long before Taehyun had filled the banner with mushrooms and squirrels, brushing paint on the fabric carefully. He was proud of his artwork at the end and you could only smile, thanking him with a kiss and a promise to show his work off. When the next Monday came, you couldn’t help but snap a photo at all your students admiring the new banner, scooting closer to it to take a better look and giggling at the baby squirrel.

☆ HUENING KAI

prepares you your favorite drink in colorful thermos mugs. Huening kai wakes up around the time you’re getting ready to leave for work and every time without fail, he’s drag himself out of bed and to the kitchen to make you your favorite drink. While the water boils-- you usually have coffee, sometimes hot chocolate if you’re feeling a little bit silly– your boyfriend would walk over to where standing rummaging through your bag for your daily-use lipbalm and stare. He’d look you up and down and even wink at you if you make eye contact. He would compliment your outfit (“your shoes go well with your pants, they make you look taller”, “I like how you did your hair this morning”, “your eye shadow is cute, did you use the new pallet I bought you?”, etc..) and kiss you good morning before walking off to finish his daily task at the ping of the boiler. Just before you walk out the door, a sleepy voice calls out to you and a thermos mug is soon pushed in your free hand. The mug’s color matches perfectly well with your outfit and you blush at the effort, kissing him goodbye and leaving for work, ready to brag about your favorite drink and new mug to your students– you just know they are going to be thrilled at the flower print.

taglist: @0x1lovebot @fairybinie @blaqpinksthetic @odetoyeonjun @pockyandme @soobin-chois @lolalee24 @soobisms @junityy @kaimal @laylasbunbunny @jaeyunverse @enhacolor @honglynights @starry-mins @bibinnieposts @yoonzin0 @tyunni @4xiaojun @pointlessapple @yyx2 @hykai @pearlygraysky @angelhyj @enluv

please do not copy, repost or steal any of my work. all content belongs to @odxrilove

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clarisse0o · 6 days

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Camp Wiegman-Part 74

Lucy Bronze x Ona Batlle

Alternative Universe: Military School

Words: 5K

Masterlist

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Friday, March 25th; 9:15 a.m. - Camp Wiegman

I arrive in the common room where a large number of students have gathered. The head teachers and some instructors, including Lucy, have been called to a big meeting. The students are saying it’s about yesterday’s scandal, as several of them, myself included, suffered from indigestion. I’ll ask Lucy if that’s true. They were smart about it; they scheduled it for 9 a.m. to make sure we couldn’t leave before noon. So, we have an hour of free time. I spot Alexia sitting on the couch, chatting with a guy I don’t know. I’m glad she’s here too. We didn’t know which class would be freed due to the meeting. I walk over to them with my friends. I wanted to use this break to catch up on the form we had to fill out for the trip. The others assured me I didn’t miss much. They were bored to death, especially Leah, who was left alone because of me. The good thing is they’re going to give me their notes to help me fill out the questionnaire. I want to show my teacher I’m capable of working. Especially since he’s developed a kind of disdain for me recently. He didn’t even check on me yesterday or say I didn’t need to turn in my work. Well, according to Alessia, the questions were simple, and she thinks I wouldn’t have had any trouble answering them if I’d gone on the trip.

"Hey," I greet Ale.

"Oh, you’re here too!" she exclaims, hugging me. "How are you feeling?"

"Still the same as this morning," I joke.

Alexia was really worried when she found out I was one of the affected students. Fortunately, I was just sick yesterday. This morning feels like yesterday never happened. Of course, I skipped the hot chocolate today. It’ll take me some time before I can drink it again, but for now, I’m sticking to orange juice.

"Can you lend me your notes, Alessia?" I ask my friend, who’s now sitting on my other side.

"Oh, forget about school for a bit! You’re with us for once!" Ale scolds me.

"Alright, alright," I laugh. "You sound just like Lucy."

"She scolds you too?" Leah teases from the couch across from us.

"Yeah," I groan, stretching. "She dragged me out all weekend to make me stop. According to her, I always find something to obsess over when I’m stressed."

"She’s not wrong. Speaking of stress, have you heard back from the galleries?"

"It’s better not to talk about frustrating things right now..." Alessia comments on my behalf.

I cross my arms, feeling a bit down. I’ve gotten a few rejections this week, which I shared with Alessia. She also loves art and is happy that I’m pursuing it. She doesn’t have the same courage as me, though, since she plans to stick with administration to secure her future. I have to admit I’m starting to feel anxious about the feedback. Maybe I’ll have to do the same as her. There’s no way I’m staying home doing nothing, though.

"Don’t worry. I heard Mapi’s coming this weekend. That’s cool; she’ll be able to cheer you up."

I raise an eyebrow.

"What do you mean, Mapi’s coming?"

"Uh... You didn’t know? I called Jenni after class. Lucy told her this morning that she’s coming."

"Lucy?!"

This news catches me off guard. How is it that she knew before me that my best friend is coming? And even if that’s the case, why didn’t she just tell me? Alexia feels bad about my reaction.

"Maybe it was supposed to be a surprise...? Crap. I probably shouldn’t have told you! Lucy’s going to kill me! Can you pretend you don’t know?"

I smile despite myself and shake my head. Maybe she’s right. I hope so, honestly.

"What are you offering for my silence?" I tease, amused.

She playfully hits my arm, and our friends laugh. It’s so easy to tease her. I laugh too, but I’m glad she’s getting along better with my girlfriend. Suddenly, I start thinking about Mapi. It’s not surprising I wasn’t informed by her; I’ve been out of the loop, buried in my studies. Maybe she did message me, and I missed it. That would be more worrying. I already feel bad just thinking about it.

"So, what are we doing? Besides catching up on boring school stuff, of course."

"Hey. Calm down, will you?"

"Nope. By the way, Alba’s meeting Jenni next weekend. She’ll probably stop by the gym."

"Really? Where is she anyway?" I ask, glancing around.

"Probably with her girlfriend somewhere. I haven’t seen her since we got let out."

I chuckle, imagining exactly where they must be. Normally, we’re not allowed to have «intimate relationship », but with the supervision lightened, now’s probably the perfect time.

"I see. So, she’s stuck in for the weekend?"

"Yeah. Misa’s staying with her. That’s why we’re doing it next weekend. She’s excited to meet her..."

"I bet. How did Jenni take it?"

"She doesn’t know yet. Don’t say anything, though. I’m planning to break it to her gently this weekend..."

I laugh heartily. I’d pay to see her face when she tells her. I think she’s going to be totally shocked. Alexia explained to me that her only fear is that her sister won’t accept her, which would strain their relationship. I understand that. The opinion of someone close to you carries a lot of weight. I’ve been a victim of that between Lucy and Mapi myself.

"And why are you introducing them at their gym? Is there no other place?"

"What’s ‘their gym'?" Leah asks.

"Oh, uh... You don’t know."

"You’re not allowed to talk about it, are you?" she teases.

We glance at each other, and I shrug. I’m not sure, actually. Lucy hasn’t mentioned anything, but I don’t think she wants the students to know it’s her last year.

"Sorry, Leah," I simply say.

She shrugs indifferently. She doesn’t seem upset, so it’s fine.

"Anyway, so?"

"Well, I figured it’d be a neutral place. Plus, she’ll see that she has ambitious plans and that she’s not irresponsible."

"Hmm, hmm," I tease.

"What? You don’t think it’s a good idea?"

"I just wonder if you’re not trying to convince yourself..." I giggle.

"A little..." she admits. "Plus, I figured you guys would be there just in case..."

"Oh no, I’m stopping you right there. Lucy’s already told me she doesn’t want to be there when it happens."

"Oh no," she pouts. "Don’t tell me that."

"I swear. I didn’t even have to ask. She brought it up herself, and I don’t think it’s negotiable. She keeps saying she doesn’t want to see any of my friends from here before the end of the year. I’m sorry..."

"What if I organize a party?" Leah suggests. "It would kill two birds with one stone since I’d like to see her outside of here."

I grimace a little. She doesn’t realize I’m going to get scolded again if I keep pushing.

"That could be fun, being all together," Alessia agrees.

"You guys are unbelievable. You really can’t wait a month and a half?"

"Tell that to Alba," Alexia retorts. "She’s the one trying so hard to bring the events closer."

I sigh, running a hand through my hair.

"When would this party be?" I give in.

"In three weeks," Leah tells me. "My parents will be going away for the weekend with some friends. We figured it’d be the perfect time to throw another party. Plus, it’s right before the holidays."

Alessia nods beside her, confirming what Leah just said.

"OK…" I mutter. "I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t promise anything. Lucy can be really stubborn when she wants to be."

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! You’re the best!" Ale replies excitedly.

She kisses my cheek several times before letting me go. Meanwhile, I keep glancing at every door that opens, hoping Lucy will walk through. We don’t know how long the meeting will last, but I’m optimistic. I smile when I see it’s not my girlfriend, but Ingrid. I interrupt Ale and Leah’s conversation, where my roommate is asking if it’s okay for her girlfriend to come, since she’s now planning to delay the meeting between her and her sister until then.

"I’ll be right back," I say as I stand up.

Alexia watches me, confused, until she spots Ingrid.

"Oh no. Please don’t tell her you know about Mapi. I’ll get in trouble again!"

I laugh and wave her off. Whether she likes it or not, I’m definitely going to question Ingrid, who’s probably the first to know what’s going on. I approach her, and she spots me right away, greeting me with a smile.

"What brings you here, Ona?"

"Hey, how are you?"

"Good, and you?"

"Good too. Is Lucy still in the meeting?"

"Yep. You probably won’t see her all morning. She’s got a meeting with Wiegman right after."

A lightbulb goes off in my head. Damn! I completely forgot about that! She had told me earlier in the week that she scheduled a meeting with her to resign. Ingrid laughs, clearly noticing that I just remembered.

"I’m such an idiot."

"If you say so," she teases.

I bite my lip. I wish I could’ve said something to encourage her, but now it’s too late.

"Don’t stress about it. She won’t hold it against you. She knows you’ve got a lot on your mind. And you weren’t feeling well yesterday either."

I nod. It doesn’t erase the guilt I feel, though. I’ll try to make up for it this weekend. In the meantime, I remember why I’m here in the first place.

"I heard Mapi is coming."

"Did Alexia spill the beans?"

"Was it supposed to be a surprise?"

"Oh no. Mapi’s tried texting you several times this week, but none of the messages got through. She thinks your phone’s off. Lucy wanted to tell you yesterday, but you weren’t feeling well."

I groan, realizing what’s happened. I feel really bad now. My phone must be off since I haven’t used it since Monday.

"At least you found out she’s coming before we go pick her up, so it’s not too bad."

I scowl as she clearly makes fun of me. Well, I deserve it. At least she doesn’t beat around the bush when telling me things.

"So, we’re going together to pick her up?"

"Yep. Lucy suggested we all have lunch together after we pick her up."

I nod, grateful she’s taken the initiative without needing my input. Damn, I really need to make up for all of this this weekend.

"OK… Thanks."

"No problem."

I can tell she finds this situation amusing. With an embarrassed smile, I turn back to my friends. Hopefully, once I apologize to everyone, I won’t feel as foolish.

Friday, March 25; 12:15 PM - Camp Wiegman.

I was waiting for Lucy outside the school, like we usually do. I had already seen Ingrid’s car pass by, so I figured Lucy would be next, and sure enough, her car pulls into the parking lot. She parks in the open spot right in front of me. I have so many things to tell her, I don’t even know where to start. I put my suitcase in the trunk and join her in the front seat.

"Hey."

"Hi."

I lose my smile when I see the serious look on her face.

"Is something wrong?"

"Get in. It’s windy."

I do as she says, closing the door behind me. The bad weather has passed, and we’ve got sunshine, but a cool breeze has followed it.

"What’s going on?" I ask, seeing her stare straight ahead.

I don’t like seeing her like this. Luckily, she’s not one to beat around the bush with me.

"Wiegman knows."

My heart skips a beat at this unexpected news. Then it starts racing, and I can’t calm it down. No, this can’t be happening. Not now, not when my exams are in a month. Not after all the effort I’ve put in. Tears well up in my eyes. I blink to get rid of them, but it’s no use.

"Is it…? H-how? This is crazy!"

"Hey, hey," she says, noticing my state. "Calm down. It’s not as bad as you think."

She takes my hands and kisses them, one by one. Her calmness manages to soothe me, even though I still don’t know how things aren’t as bad as she says.

"How did she find out?"

"Your management professor… He saw me kiss you yesterday while you were still asleep. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I was planning to this weekend."

"He… That jerk!" I fume. "Did you talk to him?"

"No, I didn’t get the chance. What caught me off guard was that he reported us to Wiegman before I could even do that."

"And Wiegman!? Did she believe him? Just like that? Without letting us explain ourselves?"

"Calm down, baby. No. She asked for my side of the story… I didn’t want to lie, especially when I had my resignation letter in my hand."

I must look shocked. She didn’t do that, did she?

"Stop panicking. Neither of us is getting expelled," she tells me.

"Wait—we’re not…?"

A small smile appears on her face. I remember her first expression. She must have been just as angry as I am. Now she looks like she’s teasing me. How can she? Our principal knows! Shouldn’t we be packing up and getting out of here? That’s what happened to Jenni!

"Given the circumstances, no, I’m not."

"Are you going to explain?"

She chuckles softly, still holding my hands in hers. I don’t find this funny. She dropped this bombshell on me and is now laughing about it. It’s hard to understand.

"We had a long discussion. I spent nearly two hours in her office. When she brought it up, I didn’t know what to do, but I decided to be honest, and it looks like that paid off."

"We’re really not getting expelled?"

"No. I think the fact that you’re your mother’s daughter helped a lot."

I relax, and for the first time in my life, I’m grateful to be her daughter.

"I confirmed our relationship, but I also explained all the good I’ve brought to you. I told her about how hard you’re working to pass your exam, your progress, and your future plans.

- And what did she say?

- She was hesitant at first, until I showed her the pile of exercises you gave me to correct. She realized that our relationship is serious and that it’s helping you.

- Of course! And that’s it?

- Sort of. I told her that if she has to expel someone, she should only expel me, and I handed her my resignation letter. I didn’t want her to ruin your future over this.

- But I thought...

- I’m not expelled, Ona. Let me finish.

- Sorry, I said, blushing.

She’s talking a lot without getting to the point, but I can tell my impatience is amusing her.

- She initially thought I was giving her my resignation because of this, but I told her about my plans to open a gym. Thanks to our evening classes and Ingrid’s testimony, she recognized my professionalism and honesty. She didn’t want to destroy your efforts or our future, so… she’s cutting us some slack. I’ll remain your supervisor until the end.

- So… Wiegman knows, and we’re not expelled…?

I mutter the words, struggling to comprehend them. It feels so surreal.

- It’s not without consequences. She’s going to talk to your professor to make him drop the idea. As for us, we need to stay discreet. If anyone else sees us together and reports it, she won’t be able to protect us, and both our futures will be at risk. Do you understand?

I nod, feeling completely lost. Wow. I never saw this coming. It’s insane.

- Then why did you look so serious earlier? You scared me!

- Sorry. I don’t know. Shocked and angry, I guess. I’m having a hard time processing it too. I always imagined I’d be leaving the day she found out.

- Well, that’s not happening. Isn’t this good news?

- Oh, definitely.

- I suppose I should forget the question I was going to ask you...

- What question? she asks curiously.

- Leah invited us to a party she’s throwing with everyone. Alexia wants us to come because she’s planning to introduce Jenni to Alba.

I quickly explain while playing with her fingers. I knew it would be complicated, but it’s even more so now.

- You know we’ve had this conversation before, Lucy begins, tilting my chin up.

- I know. It’s the others who pressured me...

- I know it’s complicated for you, but we need to stay discreet a little longer. After that, I promise we can shout our love for each other to anyone.

- And go out with my friends?

She rolls her eyes with a small smile. At first, I could tell this situation suited her. I mean, it must be strange for her too, hanging out with people who were once her students.

- Yes, sweetheart. We can go out with your friends. I’d do anything for you.

I kiss her tenderly at this admission. She’s a sweetheart.

- We need to go. Ingrid’s probably waiting for us, she murmurs between kisses.

I pull away and buckle up at the mention.

- Yeah, I heard Mapi’s coming this morning...

- That’s right. Ingrid told me how upset you were about it, she chuckles, placing a hand on my thigh as she starts the car. I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you yesterday, but I completely forgot because of your condition.

- It’s my fault too. I’ve been so out of it...

- Don’t beat yourself up about it. You’re allowed to work hard during the week, she unexpectedly defends me. Mapi will understand.

- Hmm...

- If it helps, I gave her updates on your behalf.

- Really? I asked, surprised.

- Well, yes. She worries when you don’t reply, so she comes to me.

- Thanks.

- You don’t have to thank me for that. She’s your best friend.

- Yes, but it’s not like you’re her biggest fan, I chuckled.

She rolls her eyes in amusement.

- True, she mutters. But you’d be surprised what we could do together for you.

I smile at the thought. I think she’s right. Even if they don’t exactly get along, they’d tolerate each other for my sake. We finally arrive at Ingrid’s place to pick her up. I offered to let her sit up front, but she insisted I stay there. Next stop: the airport. Our chat with Lucy made us late, so by the time we get there, Mapi is already waiting with her suitcase. She greets us one by one, finishing, of course, with Ingrid, whom she can’t stop kissing.

- Couldn’t resist coming, huh? I teased.

- Nope, not really. I’m taking the opportunity to bring some things over and see you both, since I heard you won’t be around for the next holidays.

- That’s true, I admit with a shy smile. Sorry about that.

Lucy pulls me into a hug when she notices how I feel. It’s a fair complaint. I didn’t handle these holidays, but I do know Lucy booked our tickets—and Jenni and Alexia’s—this week.

- It’s okay, I’m just teasing. Your girlfriend defended you enough for me to forgive you, she says, giving me a little hug.

I really need to thank Lucy for that. Usually, Mapi holds grudges much longer. Finally, we head to the restaurant. We’re all starving. Our girlfriends take us to a place I haven’t been before. Mapi seems in good spirits, chatting non-stop about her plans to move here after the school year. Her doubts are far behind her now. She hasn’t heard from her parents in a long time either. She confided that she thinks it’s time to cut ties with them for good. I can only support her in that. I’ve met them once, but they were never really around due to their work. When they did talk to their daughter, it was mostly to criticize her or try to convince her to change her mind about taking over the family business. In that kind of situation, there’s no point in staying in contact. I really admire Mapi’s courage. Even though my mom and I were estranged for a long time, I don’t know if I’d have the guts to do the same. I’m very tied to family, especially because of the promises I made to my dad. Plus, if Mapi were in my situation, I doubt her parents would have offered the help my mom gave me last year. I can blame my mom for a lot of things, but not that, and it’s why I decided to reconnect with her.

- I ran into Abby this week while grocery shopping, Mapi tells me.

- Really? I say, not looking up from the menu.

I’m thinking of getting a burger. I saw one go by, and it looked delicious. Our drinks arrive within minutes. The service seems fast, which is good because I’m starving.

- She told me about the wedding... Is that why you reacted so strongly the last time she visited?

- Not really. There were a lot of things that set me off.

- I’m not going to force you to talk about it, but I think Abby believes you don’t want to come. You should give her a call if you plan on going. That’s all she’s waiting for.

- Do you know the date? She didn’t have time to tell us, Lucy asks.

- Uh, I don’t remember exactly. I think it’s in June.

So soon? I must have shown my surprise because she gives me a sympathetic smile.

- Well, I guess you should call her today, huh? Lucy advises, rubbing my thigh to comfort me.

In just two months, my mom will marry another man. I’m struggling to process it. Everything must have been planned behind my back for months. Lucy kisses my temple, and the conversation moves on. I have trouble following. It’s like my mom was waiting for me to finish school so I could attend the wedding. It warms my heart, in a way. She’s hoping I’ll be there, despite everything that’s happened between us.

We’ll talk more about it when we get home, if you want, Lucy whispers in my ear. »

I nod and snuggle up to her on the bench we're sharing. I'm not sure if it will be necessary, but it always feels good to confide in her. Meanwhile, Mapi keeps talking about how hard she's been working lately. Looks like I'm not the only one pushing myself for this final stretch. The only difference is that she manages to juggle her two lives without anyone saying anything to her. I think I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed, too. It's not easy to catch up on everything I've missed. But I’m going to hang in there. I'm almost there.

Friday, March 25th; 10:15 PM - Ona and Lucy’s Apartment

We’ve just come home for the first time today. I’m glad to be back in our place. The atmosphere immediately puts me at ease. We spent the day with the girls, in town, then at the gym later in the afternoon where Jenni, Alexia, and Beth were still working, preparing to receive the first pieces of furniture in two weeks. Then, it’ll finally be vacation time. I sigh as I settle next to my girlfriend on the couch.

- “Relieved to be home?”

- “Oh yes!” I reply. “It’s good to relax too.”

- “Definitely.”

I sigh contentedly as my head falls onto her lap. Lucy immediately starts running her fingers through my hair. I close my eyes to enjoy the moment to the fullest.

- “Do you want to call your mom?”

- “Oh no,” I groan. “Not tonight. I’ll do it tomorrow, when I can take my time.”

I lay on my side, placing my hand on her thigh. It’s a pretty comfortable position. Lucy is sitting with her feet stretched out on the other side of the couch, facing the TV. She flips through the channels before settling on some random series I’m not really paying attention to.

- “Are you feeling good about going to your mom’s wedding?”

I nod, lifting my head to look at Lucy. She’s watching me intently. She’s always so worried about me, and it’s adorable.

- “She wants us there, so we’ll be there.”

- “Alright…”

- “Shouldn't we be thinking about our next vacation instead?” I ask.

- “If you want. I didn’t tell you, but… I booked a ticket to land in Lisbon.”

- “What? How come?”

- “Well, since we’re already going to Portugal, I thought we might as well visit the city where you grew up and where your dad is buried.”

- “That’s amazing! Thank you so much.”

- “It’s no big deal,” she smiles.

- “How long will we stay? I guess you’ve already planned everything?”

She laughs and nods.

- “We’ll arrive in Porto around the same time as Jenni and Alexia, for about a week.”

- “You’re so sweet, always thinking of me.”

- “I know,” she jokes. “Do you have any family we could stay with?”

- “Of course. My grandfather.”

- “Oh, right. The one you like so much, right?”

- “Yes! I can’t wait for you to meet him! I’ll let him know as soon as I can. He’s going to be so happy.”

I sit up and straddle her to show my gratitude with a big hug.

- “Thank you, really. I love you so much.”

- “I love you too, my love.”

We kiss tenderly before I rest my head on her shoulder.

- “Are you sure your parents are going to like me?”

She laughs, running her hand through my hair, sending shivers down my spine. It’s a fear that haunts me. I’m afraid they won’t accept me, and that Lucy might leave me because of it. When I lift my head again, she looks at me with adoration, her eyes filled with all the love she has for me.

- “I promise they will.”

- “You seem really sure of that…”

- “Stop worrying about it. They’re going to love you. They’re actually really excited to meet you.”

- “Really…? You’ve already told them about me?”

- “Of course. I’ve had plenty of chances to call them from school and talk about you. They know you exist and that we’re coming in a few weeks. They also know you were my student at school, why you were there, but most importantly, they know how much I love you.”

- “Y-you told them everything!? Oh my God!”

I try to pull away, but Lucy holds me back with a small laugh. There’s nothing funny about this! How could she tell her parents that I was a former junkie who ran away with my ex to ruin my life?

- “Calm down. I did it to save you from a bunch of awkward questions. I wanted to tell them myself so they’d know what to expect. Mostly, I wanted them to understand how much you mean to me and that they’d better not traumatize you. Well, at least not my dad. He’s a saint compared to my mom.”

- “Fantastic,” I say sarcastically.

Lucy smiles and presses her lips to mine.

- “I promise you don’t have to worry. And how about we head to bed now, huh? We’ve got a busy day ahead of us tomorrow, again.”

- “OK…” I murmur. “Speaking of tomorrow, I made a few sketches for the walls of the rooms you guys want me to decorate.”

- “Oh, really? I won’t ask when you found time to do that.”

- “In my room,” I reply. “Who do you think I am? I’ve become responsible!”

I squeal as she lifts me up, turning off the TV in the process. The way she carries me to our bedroom brings back so many memories.

- “Of course, my love. We’ll take a look at them in the morning. Right now, it’s time for bed.”

I smile, snuggling back against her shoulder. I’m not going to argue with that.

#woso #lucy bronze #woso community #ona batlle #barca femeni #woso soccer #lionesses #sefutbol fem #ona batlle x lucy bronze

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rennsugrpop · 1 year

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i never, never want to go home

MINGI X READER

Summary: he was there one second, then he wasn’t. he was sweet like caramel coffee on cold nights but the next time you see him, he was the cold night, freezing and unforgiving. was he serious about you? or were you just another college fling?

Bags. Boxes. packaging tape. flight tickets.

Bags. what’s for dinner? packaging tape. Bubble wraps.

Boxes. I think I need more boxes.

One more exam then i finish college and go back home next week.

One more paper…. Then boxes, bags, packaging tape…

That’s all you could think about all month. Brain fogged up with worries and responsibilities, anxiety and melancholy at the same time. Your three years worth of university life is going to be over soon. You can’t wait. Can’t wait to finish this degree and start a new chapter. but of course there’s the part of melancholy. The part where you think you’re going to miss this so much. The amazing friends, the parties, the fun, the drama, the late night adventures, the unlimited booze on weekends, all of it. This was the big city experience you always wanted. This was the unreachable sky you once dreamed of as a kid from a small town. “oh I’ll definitely find my first love in college and I’d marry him! You’ll see!” you were 8 back then. Childhood was so precious. You crave for the youth they show on the TV having you wish for the same, until it actually comes and passes by in a blink. But you don’t have time to think about that. You still have one exams left. Finals, sadness, and moving out, these thoughts were practically plaguing your brain.

And then there was him.

He was there one second, then he wasn’t. he was sweet like caramel coffee on cold nights but the next time you see him, he was the cold night, freezing and unforgiving. As hard as it was to understand him, he was never as hard on you as he was on others. No really, when you had first met him along with a group of art major students in the middle of your second year, he had seemed pretty chill. They all had a English history class with your professor who had been your course supervisor. You still remember how your supervisor had asked you to “please help these art kids out with the history” as she promised you help with your research paper in return, how could you say no? as a literature student, basic English history was easy for you, of course you go ahead with it. and you were later glad that you did. Because since that day, you had never once been separated from this group of art students who knew exactly how to live life. they had adopted you basically, and you had loved every second of it. Wooyoung was the one with the sudden late night plans, San being the one who made these plans legal and safe. Seonghwa always got the booze, Hongjoong always brought at least 3 orders of coffee to class, Yunho was the designated one with a car and daddy’s money. Jongho and Yeosang were the ones who joined only when they needed free booze, or a fun time at the end of every semester.

And then there was him. Song Mingi.

He had been the one who knew Yunho the longest. So for you to have been good friends with Yunho only meant he would always be around. And he was. Whether it’s the tutoring, the parties, the usual hangouts at the philosophy building’s terrace, coffee runs. As far back as you try to think about your time with all of them, he had been in even the farthest memories. When San first suggested you should hangout with them, he had agreed with everyone. When Wooyoung invited you to the party at his and San’s place he had been the one who offered to pick you up along with Yunho. When you had to do a grocery run at 9pm and you were worried the shops would be closed, he had been the one to tag along so you wouldn’t be alone. So when you had been stuck alone at the library studying for mid semesters while it was raining heavily outside, you pretended not to care about the loud thundering that came with it. Every flash of thunder had you nearing to tears, but you denied to show it. what’s worse is that you had left your earphones with Yunho the other day, so ignoring the loud sounds was your only way out. Out of all the things you had expected to happen, a mingi struggling with an almost broken umbrella at the library door was not one. He had acted like he just happened to need a book this late from the library. And he just happened to bring his headphones with him.

“but it’s raining so hard. No way they’re waterproof?”

“maybe they are? You wanna check if they’re still working?”

At that moment, he had looked so dreamy. Short wet dirty blond hair sticking up as he runs his hand through it in hopes of fixing it, half wet jacket that he took off and placed on the back of his chair to let it dry, now leaving him in a black tee, looking down at you with the softest eyes, holding up the headphones.

Another loud flash.

You body jerked at the sound and he had immediately grabbed your hand. You hate thunder. You hate it so much. you’re holding onto something. Oh shit it’s mingi. But he doesn’t seem to mind? He’s now making you wear the headphones, plugging them to his own phone. The Smiths started playing. He’s a Smiths fan? Your brain is now fogging up with thoughts of him and only him, the man in front of you giving you the softest smile you’ve ever seen.

As the rain slows down and eventually turns to a low drizzle, you two decide to share the umbrella as he drops you off to your building.

“mingi, what about the book you needed at the library?” it had completely slipped your mind that his real motive to be there was this book he said he needed. “oh don’t worry, I’ll get it later” he still has that stupid smile.

“but you said-“ “do me a favor y/n, keep the headphones with you in case it rains again tonight.”

Oh he looks so beautiful. This moment. This exact moment when you look up at him, he feels safer than a warm blanket. But wait, how does he know that. You may have stared at him for a good minute cause as soon as you open your mouth to ask what he meant, he hits you with the “I’ll see you later, yeah?” and jogs off.

One new message

Yunho: shit I just found your earphones in my bag.

Yunho: U alright? It rained pretty bad..

The next day as Yunho walks up to you right before to return your earphones, he stares at the headphones on your neck.

“hey where’d you get those from? Mingi has the same pair! That’s weird because I saw him run off outside with them last night in the rain and he didn’t even tell me where he’s going…..” he tilts his head now as if he’s arranging all this info in his brain because the pieces aren’t fitting together.

“oh yeah he came to the library last night for something, let me borrow them. Dude where’d he get em from cause it’s noise cancelling, I need a pair hello??”

You joke around but Yunho has a full question mark on his face. Then it looks like a light bulb went off over his head.

“SO THAT’S WHY HE RAN OFF LAST NIGHT!”

“what?”

“y/n. hear me out. When it started thundering, I remember myself saying, “oh it’s pretty bad today. Hope y/n will be fine” he asked me what I meant by that and I mentioned you not liking thunder and it looked like his brain went static for 2 seconds and then he immediately bolted with an umbrella and these headphones in his hands.”

He ran in the rain for you.

It hadn’t even occurred to you yet. He had ran in the rain for you all the way to the library.

You had thought it would be awkward now. But it wasn’t. because he never implied anything. You had returned his headphones and you went back to being friends. But he was always extra attentive of you. a little more noticing, little more caring that he is to others. And by the end of the year he would be the one you hung out with the most. Now it was you and mingi who were the pair. If they looked for mingi they knew they had to call you. if you’re invited at a party, of course mingi’s the one picking you up. he’s doing a coffee run? you’re right behind him. Though as friendly and platonic as it seemed, it was never just that. There had always been something more. Him holding your hand while walking you back to your place. Laying your head on his shoulder during your movie marathons with everyone, wearing each others clothes to classes or outside without a care in the world because it doesn’t matter who thinks what. You didn’t care. He was just always …. there. Unmoving. unwavering. It was just around halfway through the last (third) year where you had wanted a little more.

You had been acting like a couple, in public and in private. You had been sitting on his lap at parties, holding hands in campus, if anyone had dared to ask mingi the dreaded question, “are you guys dating?”, you could feel him grow cold again. He never said anything. He would just give them a smile that would make them run off like little kids. He never said anything.

So when you were cuddling on the couch while watching a random Netflix show, you had looked up at him, memorizing his face, his features, everything because you know in six more months, you might never see him again. He had noticed you staring.

“I can hear you thinking y/n”

“no I’m not. I’m just looking”

“you’re staring”

“okay and what if I am?”

He now stares right back at you. you don’t even move. You could see some sort of restraint in his eyes. Like he was trying to hold back. But he can’t anymore. Fuck it, it’s been long enough.

He dived right in and took your lips by surprise. It was soft at first. Testing the waters, going as slow as possible. And it was so so sweet. And passionate. His hand holding the back of your neck and other hand gripping your waist. Your own fingers playing with his hair. You had wanted this for so long you don’t even pause for air. And because you wanted him like this for so long, you don’t stop.

Things didn’t change much. you were now a couple but you were never the type to say much of your relationship. He was so on and off, cold and hot at times it confused you. but it didn’t affect you all that much. he had always been like that. He will be the sweetest boyfriend for a week, helping you cook, posting pictures of you on his social media, holding your hand in his pocket when its cold outside. But he will also disappear the next week, only texting you to tell you where he is so you don’t worry. He had always been like this. caring but cold. Distant but so close. He never opened up, never said anything sweet, no ‘I love you’s, or “hey you look beautiful today”. He would just smile so wide and give you a kiss so you would know exactly what he meant. He was in no ways a terrible boyfriend. You just wished he would talk to you more. Like “hey I love you. what are your plans after the year ends” or “hey I love you, please stay in the city for me” or even “hey, if you’re wondering, I won’t leave you after university ends”. What you had was enough for you now, but you wished for him to be with you in the future too. Would you be too clingy if you asked? Is this relationship just something casual? It won’t be that big of a deal if we break up before I leave right? hell, does he even know I’ll have to leave? You were gonna have to go back to your hometown with all of your things. Before you could start looking for a job, your family needed you back for a few months. You weren’t even sure where you would go next, but before that, you will have to go home. And you’re not even sure if he knows that.

You had accepted that he did like you enough to be around you all the time. You knew he was not fooling around, he was only yours. You knew his friends from the art department knew you as ‘his girl’. You knew and everyone knew too. So you didn’t ask for more. So now as you were running around trying to find a pair of jeans and a shirt to run to the campus for your last final, it had been 2 weeks since he had spoken to you properly. It had always been like that during exams. He would go completely MIA to study and rarely ever meet or speak to you. you didn’t mind it as you needed your time and space too. He would still text you good morning and good night and the usual “did you eat?” or “eat well ok”. It was only that this time that you wanted him here with you. you would be leaving next week and he doesn’t even know the amount of things you have to do and arrange all by yourself. You had been panicking all week with the packing foam, bubble wraps, moving boxes, trolley bags, along with managing to study for finals altogether. You had felt like crying. You had been so okay with everything but you wanted him to be serious now. Why wasn’t he serious about you? you really need him right now. You don’t even know if he would just break up with you when you leave. You had mentioned having to go visit your parents after finals but does he not realize what that meant? All the reaction you got from him was just a nod. You were still in denial, still trying your best to not think about it and just giving your last exam. So you rushed to the venue as fast as you could and didn’t bother asking if your friends or even mingi had reached yet. You just went to your assigned room exactly as the bell rang and after 3 long hours, it was over. Finals were over. Your university life was finally over. As much as you wanted to be relieved, you could feel tears threatening to spill. You had been so frustrated the whole week it was insane, so as you walked out of your classroom you find mingi waiting for you right outside.

Don’t cry y/n

Don’t cry

You can’t cry. Not right now. Not in front of the entire campus.

“how did it go?” he asked.

“pretty good. And yours?”

“same as you.”

That same beautiful smile, his fingers slowly intertwining with yours, and him guiding you outside as if you were now entranced by him, not even being able to think for yourself, let alone walk. You soon realize he’s taking you to the philosophy building’s terrace, the usual hangout spot. Everyone’s there. Hongjoong and Wooyoung with cigarettes in their hand, the others just chatting. They greet you warmly, ask you how did the exams go, the conversation was smooth. But mingi was not beside you. as soon as he brought you through the terrace door he went off the smoke with Wooyoung and hasn’t even looked at you since. Seonghwa now asks you about your plans while he and Yunho sit around you. you say how you’ll have to be back home for a few months and that nothing’s really decided yet after that. You mention your flight being next week and Yunho immediately asks, “does he know?”.

You fall silent for a second. You know what he means. He means that mingi can be distant and off the grid and he can be painfully cold at times, but he does love you. he does care for you. he always has. So Yunho means to say that his best friend could be an absolute dumbass but he deserves to know. You say how you haven’t really talked to him about it. he knows about you moving out, and he knows about all the stress from it. but he never reacted. You doubt he knows your flight is next week but you know he won’t be surprised to know.

You say you’re going to head back because you had some errands to run and mingi doesn’t say anything, again. He just nods. Okay maybe it is casual for him. again, you ignore it. you leave. You walk down the stairs. You’re just about reach the bottom floor as a notification sound breaks your attention.

One new message

WOOYOUNG’S BITCHES:

Mingi: 10 cardboard boxes. 4 rolls of packaging tape, 10m bubble wrap roll, Thursday 4pm train for sending luggage, Sunday 11am flight. NOBODY be late. Jongho and yeosang will help with the furniture btw. Some 5m rope as well. Who’s bringing dinner?

San: ME ME ME

Mingi: done. y/n’s place. Just us, bring booze.

Hwa: ay ay captain

He knows everything. He planned everything. You wanted to hit him in the head for being like this, but now you’re just smiling like an idiot. He does love me. he’s such an idiot. There’s footsteps from the staircase and then there’s a 6 foot man crashing onto you from behind, hugging you tight.

(first person pov)

Turning around I crash into him, I crash into him like I had never before. I hold him tight and sob into his shirt, hard. He’s holding me tight, stroking my hair gently. I feel him kiss the top of my head before I look up to him. “why didn’t you speak to me properly?”

“I’m so sorry baby”

“I’m leaving, mingi”

“don’t leave.”

“……”

“please don’t leave. Or do leave but come back to me. I do love you. I’m aware I don’t show it like others do. Why do you think I’m not serious about you? I’m consumed 80% by you and everything about you. I know your flight details. i know the grocery items on your list, I know it when your favourite moisturizer runs out. I know the perfume you wear, yes all three of them. I know when your wifi goes out and I know all of your period cravings. You say I don’t communicate, but why do you never ask?”

“…..”

“because you’re scared of love. But y/n I love you and I’m not scared to show it. no matter where you go I’ll still love you. I’ll run to you baby. If I can’t run, I’ll walk. If I can’t walk, I’ll crawl. But I’ll always make it back to you. that’s why I don’t care that you’re leaving for a few months. Because it’s either you coming back to this city or I go wherever you go. It’s simple.”

I’ve never been this silent. He’s never spoken so much. I feel the burn on my chest like someone’s ripping my heart out. I’m so in love with this man and it never hit me as hard as it does now. He’s still holding me, arms around my back and waist. He waits for an answer. I think he knows I was fully prepared for a breakup today. I don’t know if he hurt me or I hurt him anymore. But what I do know, is that I’m not going anywhere. Or that I’ll go but I’ll come back to him.

“you never said you love me before”

“is it too late?”

“it’s not, mingi”

It’s not too late. It’s perfect timing.

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yuellii · 1 year

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baby, we’re the new romantics !

𝐈𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐇 some born-rich, noisy man falls for a completely normal ( maybe struggling ) woman

feat. childe, referred to as ajax

wc. 2.7k

note. gn reader, modern au, references a scene from I Love Yoo, this is a little birthday fic for one of my very best friends in the whole wide world : @vivinens !!

To put it bluntly, it sucked working at McDonald’s.

Other than the fast-paced environment and the tough remarks from rude customers, what arguably sucked the most was that he worked in the building just across the street. Literally just a few steps and you’d be at risk of seeing him.

It wasn’t that you hated Ajax ( okay, maybe you did a little ); he was a fun way to wind down in-between classes sometimes at university because of his loud personality. And, he was attractive to stand next to, you’ll give him that in addition to being a very understanding friend. But seeing him in the workplace is quite possibly the last thing you could ever want to ask for.

What made matters even worse was during your desperate job search last month, when you got a recruitment offer at the place he worked at. You thought it’d be some small thing like where generic college students worked, not some big multi-million firm in this massive building with workers walking around in suits and pencil skirts galore. And of course, when you met with the mean recruiting lady named Rosalyne for your interview, it was impossible not to spot Ajax at the corner of your eyes with a goofy smile on his face.

And when Ms. Rosalyne went back to scold him after your interview, it was more than obvious you were only here because he pushed your application.

How embarrassing.

“You can try again!” he said to you in good spirits in the university courtyard one week after. The two of you were sitting together as the sun was setting on campus, having both finished all your classes for the day. “They’re opening another clerical position soon since our current one is leaving, apply then!” And to you, he was acting all completely normal in his normal young-adult way, meanwhile you were trying to erase the image of him in a suit from your head.

You sighed, “I don’t think the high-class life of business is for me yet, Ajax.”

The roll of your eyes caused him to visibly deflate. Just how obsessed was he with the idea of you getting hired? “But I want you to work with you so baddd…!” he groaned, dramatically shoving his hands onto his face.Then he leaned back forward, slumping until his forehead came down to rest on your shoulder. Such an attention-grabbing act of depression—you almost came to entertain the idea, too.

“I don’t even have office clothes,” you scoffed, bumping him off your shoulder.

He yelped from the force of your push for a moment before he grabbed your arm, pulling it so harshly with such a force that had you clashing right onto his chest ( Yeah, friends, or something like that ). And even as you began to punch on his chest in protest, he just hugged you tight and whined, “I can buy you some! You’ll fit right in—and I get to see you every day at school and at work!”

Seeing him every day sounded like hell, you were so sure this man was insane.

“You are not buying me office clothes!” you denied, still trying to push yourself away.

“I can totally afford it, though!” he pouted. After he relaxed his grip around your body, you still found it too tough to escape his weird embrace. That’s your karma for being friends with the guy who goes to the gym in-between classes, you suppose. And after more struggling to set yourself free, you eventually gave up as the sunset reduced to silence.

That was when he squeezed you tight once more for a last makeshift hug, then planted an ambiguously-friendly kiss on your cheek as he said, “Let’s go get dinner now? I’ll drive.”

“Yeah, sure. Can we get chicken nuggets?”

He lifted both of your bodies up to your feet, watching as you collected your things off the seat before he led you by the hand to his car. “Pff, you always want nuggets,” he teased. “But yeah, I’m down—there’s a McDonald’s right next to my work, let’s go there while I try to convince you to apply at my job!”

And now you work at said McDonald’s.

You didn’t tell him, of course. Only that you “finally got a job,” so that he could finally stop trying to get you hired at his stuffy building space.

It was pretty busy in the morning when people in office attire would come in for a quick, cheap coffee. Lunch and dinner time was also busy as expected—it was one of the things that made you happy to be a cashier and not one of the cooks or drive-through people.

And the best part about this was that you never saw the uptight Ms. Recruiter Rosalyne here, nor Ajax himself. You knew for a fact that Ajax only went to McDonald’s when it was with you, as he preferred other fast foods, so even if his work was just right there, you really didn’t have to worry about accidentally seeing him. If you did… Well, that would probably be really embarrassing, wouldn’t it?

It was one o’clock in the afternoon, lunch rush.

People were rude, your coworkers were irritable, customers were in a rush—horrible, really, but also a normal day for you. Just smile and put on that customer service voice and it will soon be over. Plus, you got free chicken nuggets for your own lunch break before this.

It was not until you felt your phone vibrate in the pocket of your jeans. Well. It was not that common to get a text like that. Your family should know you’re at work; your friends, too. Just one peak—only one, just while the customer in front of you is still holding up the line while he decides what to order. Propping your phone up behind the register, you open it to check your lockscreen.

orange fuckwad: heyyy you want some mcds nuggets?!?!? ;)

Holy shit. Absolutely not.

“Can I order the uhhh…” Oh good lord you have to turn off your phone now. “Can I order the uhhh McLobster?”

“Sorry sir, the McLobster was discontinued five years ago.” You were about to blow your brains out.

“No I swear I just ordered it last week?”

Your eyes kept shifting to the door. And there, finally, in all his glory making your heart absolutely drop in fear, was Ajax coming through the door. And for you, too—to buy you a box of chicken nuggets. In any other case, you’d find it endearing ( and it still was! ) but in this instance you really wanted to die right now.

The customer suddenly raised an eyebrow at you when you shifted your body to the side, trying to use his body as a shield from the eyes of your friend. There was a second cashier next to you—hopefully Ajax will line up on their line instead of yours. And hopefully, you could use this crusty McDonald’s hat to hide your face.

“Hey!” your coworker suddenly called out to you. You looked towards their empty cashier line with a glimmer of hope for good news. “I’m going on my lunch!” Your face dropped. “I’ll see you in 30, yeah?”

No! Not yeah! But you couldn’t do anything but plead with your facial expression as they left to the backroom, leaving Ajax with no choice but to join your line. If you could blow up this whole building right now, God, you would.

Five customers until him, four customers until him, three, two, one—

“Woah!” The surprise on his face felt insulting. Actually, you still used the hat to hide your face as best as you could. It was failing at hiding your identity from him as expected, but at least it helped you obscure the view of his… physique. Him, with his… um, his black slacks and white collared shirt that was just a little too tight on him, and his grey blazer that was thrown over his shoulder. One button at the top unfastened, almost as if he loosened it just to breathe during his lunch break.

And his hair, if you didn’t want to meet his eyes then you were honestly staring there. Whose hair was usually messy and tousled, now slicked perfectly for once with gel, all in a proper yet still very Ajax-way. The sides were in place, meanwhile strands over his eyes and at the top of his hair remained loose in that messy way that still characterized him. God, you might just die from embarrassment and awkwardness right now.

“This is where you work?” he asked, incredulously.

“Good afternoon, sir. What can I get for you today?” you smiled. Please, please just go with it.

He looked surprised at your voice, especially since it was so fabricated and one he had not heard before. You just hoped he wouldn’t be a dumb prick to you today, just this once. “Oh, um…” Please, please. “One ten-piece chicken nugget, please.” Thank God.

“Would you like a drink with that?”

“Yes, one large soda, if that’s okay?”

“Will that be all?”

“Uh.” He looked confused. You just stared at him. “Yeah… Yeah, I think so.”

Then he swiped his card, you directed him to the side, and he left the line. With a lingering gaze, of course. He looked like a lost ( and maybe even a little hurt ) puppy after his order, and as much as this made you feel sad for him, you were just glad to get through with him as a customer without any complications. He’ll definitely be bothering you after this, anyways.

He pretty much watched you the entire time he waited for his food, eyeing you with a look of concern that did not belong on his usual expression. But you ignored him for your own betterment—you’d really just rather get through this rush hour of customers. And when his order number was finally called, he held the small bag with nuggets and his large soda with confusion. Oh, right. That food was probably bought for you.

You sent him a look and a head tilt that notioned ‘Just eat it’, and surprisingly, he got it. Ajax, with his pristine proper suit and blazer over his shoulder, sat down at a dirty barstool and ate his ten-piece chicken nuggets. He was still watching you, though; he glanced at you every few seconds while he was chewing. Minutes that felt so long passed, and you just hoped his lunch break would end soon so he could get back to his building.

“Hello again!” You almost jumped in place when you found him in front of you again, having finished his nuggets.

“Ajax,” you grumbled, trying to speak quietly. There was another customer coming to line up behind him. “I can’t talk during my shift.”

“Oh!” He looked at you in innocent surprise for a second, definitely not as depressed as earlier. “No, I was just gonna order.”

You wanted to die. “Didn’t you already…” Clearing your throat, you remembered there was another customer lined up behind him. Thank heavens the lunch rush was over already. Time to put on the customer service voice for him again. “What can I get for you?”

“A box of ten-piece chicken nuggets, please!” he smiled. “And a large soda!”

If you didn’t feel like killing him before, well you certainly did now. And guess what, he ate this order, too! Was he doing this out of spite now? Ordering nuggets and then eating them right in front of you? Because honestly, it was making you less hungry and more confused, if anything. This was definitely not what you expected—but then again, you fully anticipated he’d hold up the line just to talk to you. But no, suddenly he was a McDonald’s nugget fan?

The moment you get out of here, you’re going to twist his ear. Time passes again where you purposely avoid his gaze. So, so much time. Either his lunch break was just incredibly long, or time was just going so slow because he was here. You bet it was the latter.

And then, once again, you find him at the front of your line.

“Hello!” he smiled. He looks happy just to see you. “Can I get a ten-piece box of chicken nuggets?”

“And a large soda with that?” you asked, almost with a sigh.

He looks uneasy, standing to the tips of his toes for a moment. “No,” he drags out with hesitance. “Side of large fries, actually.”

Ooo, how different! It’s the most entertainment you could wish for in a day. And when you shoo him to the side this time, he has the biggest smile on his face. How unusual—in this situation, at least. Then when his order comes, he actually turns to leave this time. He walked to the glass doors with an innocent grin and a large McDonald’s bag in his hand, happily waving to you goodbye. Finally.

“You never told me you work at the McDonald’s right by me!”

He was there waiting for you when you walked out of your shift, packed up, ready to go home, and definitely smelling like grease. “Well aren’t you out early…” you sighed at him. “It’s only three in the afternoon.”

“I asked if I could leave so I could come see you sooner,” he frowned. Endearing, once again. And your heart may have skipped just a bit when he lifted up the last brown bag he bought. “I saved these for you. They’re not warm anymore but there’s fries, a soda, and fifteen nuggets… I, uh, couldn’t finish the second order.”

You nearly laughed out. “Why in the world did you order so much anyways?”

“So I could see you again,” he pouted.

He was still wearing his office attire, top button unfastened once again and blazer under his arm once you took the fast food bad again. You might’ve just had nuggets during your lunch break, and this food may be cold and soggy by now, but the thought of him buying it for you made it the best meal in the world. And, it was also the fact he left his own shift early just to see you. He could be nice at times; so nice, it almost comforted the fact he made you want to die earlier.

“You embarrassed me,” you tiredly sighed. The both of you were walking together to his car—how he knew you were dropped off here was beyond you.

“Sorry!” he sheepishly smiled. “I really didn’t think I’d see you there…” Which was understandable, sure, but did he really have to order that many McNuggets just to see you at the cashier stand? “But now that I know you work right next to me…”

“Ajax, no.”

“Oh come on!” He pouted with a considerably loud whine while the both of you crossed the street to his building. You figured he was likely parked behind it, wherever the employee parking was. It still felt a little weird to be in your McDonald’s uniform walking next to a big business building. “I get to see you every lunch break—doesn’t that sound so fun?”

“No not really.”

He groaned even louder again, slumping his shoulders as if he was not dressed like he was going to an office party right now. But then, in some sort of comforting silence, he aligned his arm over your shoulders. It was cute, honestly—how he would still do this despite the fact you smelled like pure grease right now ( and the fact you were trying to ignore the feeling of his arm muscles that were practically bursting through his sleeves ).

He eyed you a few times during this silent walk, watching as you stuffed your face with nuggets and fries. Holy God this tasted so good for some reason…?! You totally deserved this after your shift of rude customers and embarrassing moments—then your good friend Ajax brings you nuggets and fries right after. How romantic.

And speaking of your ‘friend’, he pulled you closer against him, arm practically swallowing your entire being over your shoulders. Not that you were complaining, though; you found his weird obsession with being near you all the time just a little bit cute. And besides, he drove you places, and he bought you chicken nuggets.

Who could not love a man that buys you chicken nuggets?

#childe x reader #ajax x reader #tartaglia x reader #childe x you #genshin imagines #genshin x reader #genshin fluff #genshin x gender neutral reader #childe x gender neutral reader

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shadowofroses · 4 months

Text

I fear that if I work on this Professor Wolfwood fic that It's going to turn into Professor Vash instead cause to me Botany is a more interesting subject than Religious studies.

But Religious Studies is so VAST as well and pulls me in even if I'm not religious in general and can be highly interesting. Especially when Wolfwood is a very Laxed professor that knows that most students take the class because he is hot and not that they find it interesting.

Then there is Professor Nai with Music Theory...But I see him as an actually like...Early Education or Middle school teacher cause I can see him having more patience towards children than high schoolers or Adults. But he shows up to the College campus like offering his course once a week in the evening. But he's so GOOD that his class gets filled up fast. AND ALSO because he's hot. Which makes it difficult for the people who need the classes to get in to take it.

Meryl who is running about the Journalist department like a chicken with her head cut off and getting stressed out because one student decides to do their article last minute when the University Paper goes out tomorrow.

Milly working around as a Janitor cause working at the Campus means she can get a free education, and her siblings can piggy back off it. And one thing she ALWAYS thinks of is Family. What she is studying no idea.

Roberto with Humanities. Forcing his students to look at both the light and dark aspects of being human, what they consider is a monster, what humanity has considered monstrous throughout the ages, exploring horror films, mangas etc. (Basing this on my On Monsters Humanities class when I took it)

#Trigun #Trigun stampede #Professor Au #Vash the Stampede #nicholas d wolfwood #meryl stryfe #milly thompson #Roberto De Niro

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baby-yongbok · 11 months

Text

Poetry

Chapter Six - Mr.H

Hyunjin x Fem!Reader

Genre: Fluff with a swirl of angst

Summary: The night that you see Hyunjin again after your date is full of surprises. You can keep your cool but can he?

Word Count: 5,407

A/N: Things are happening, ya'll. I'm so excited to be back in Fan Fiction land <3 + If you haven't already, I highly recommend reading the previous parts before this one so that you get the ✨full experience✨. See you next Thursday at 6 💕

Part Five

✧Poetry Series Masterlist✧

✧Main Masterlist✧

There wasn’t a moment of silence after Hyunjin left, you spent the entirety of your breakfast answering questions while giving Changbin and Serena as many details as you could before you had to leave for work. You will admit that you appreciate how involved your friends are, especially Changbin. You were almost afraid that he was going to go full big brother mode and quiz Hyunjin the moment that he met him but he actually kept his cool, let’s see how it goes next time.

Speaking of next time, you haven’t seen Hyunjin since your date. The two of you have been texting nonstop and you even spoke on the phone two days ago but neither of you have brought up a plan to meet. He canceled your meetup this week because he had to help his roommate Felix with something upstate. You weren’t mad about it though, you took the free time as an opportunity to look into a new hobby.

You have a bit of a tradition that you started during your second year of university, every autumn you look into building a new skill or taking up a new hobby. You weren’t sure what to get into this year until you saw a flier on your way to work yesterday. Apparently your local community center has a photography club that meets on Fridays where you’re taught everything that you need to know by a professional. There’s no way that you could turn a blind eye to such a wonderful free opportunity. So here you are, walking through the large glass doors and into the quiet lobby. Your brand new Canon camera is placed safely in its case hanging from your shoulder and your tote bag is hanging from the other. You looked up at the digital board by the reception desk to look for the room number for your class. Once you found it you made your way down the hall, humming a smooth tune to try and calm your nerves. You were more than excited but you were almost positive that the club would be filled with experienced photographers looking for community and you are far from experienced.

The door to the room is already open when you reach the room and there are a few people in there talking amongst themselves and fiddling with their cameras. You enter quietly, not wanting to draw too much attention to yourself but that fails once you get half way into the room. The group swiftly looks up at you, each one of them studying your frame with furrowed brows and that’s when you notice the elephant in the room… they’re all teenagers.

“Hi, you must be new.” One of the girls breaks the silence. “I’m Mia.”

“Hi, I’m Y/n. Nice to meet you.” You move to sit by the window, right in the middle of the row. You never liked being too far from the instructor but you also hate being in the front.

“I’m James and this is Olivia, she’s a bit shy.” One of the boys sitting against the wall introduces himself and the girl sitting on his lap. Olivia offers a timid wave before looking back down at her camera. You smile, waving back at her.

“Leo, stop being rude. Say hi to the new girl.” Mia pushes the boy sitting in front of her and he curses at her quietly before turning to you and waving passive aggressively. You wave back silently as you try to hold back a chuckle.

“Leo is an asshole, don’t mind him.” Mia explains before glancing down at her phone.

“Two minutes until Mr.H gets here.” James nods his head, only half paying attention as he looks past Mia and over to you, clearly itching to ask you a question.

“Am I crazy or are you the oldest one here?”

“Oh my god, what the hell, James.” Mia’s exasperated voice echoes through the room followed by Oliva’s laugh.

“It’s an observation, fucking shoot me.” You chuckle a bit, nodding your head.

“You’re not crazy, I’m probably about seven years older than you guys.”

“Oh you’re about the same age as Mr.H” You pinch your brows together softly, you didn’t expect the teacher to be around your age. “Maybe we can hook you two up, he desperately needs a girlfriend.”

“What are you going on about, James?” You shift your attention towards the person speaking, that voice sounds so familiar and you realize why as soon as your eyes land on his figure coming through the door. Hyunjin is the teacher?

“I’m just trying to get you a girlfriend, Mr.H” You watch as Hyunjin walks over to the desk at the front of the classroom, he hasn’t looked up from the packet in his hands since he came through the door. You take a moment to admire him, he doesn’t look as dressed up as he usually does, he looks relaxed and cozy. You could get used to this look.

“Why don’t you worry about perfecting your depth of field instead. You’re not here to get me a girlfriend.” Hyunjin smiles to himself as he leans against the desk, still focused on the paper in front of him. The others in the room immediately start laughing and making fun of James.

“That’s what you get.” Mia laughs as she moves from sitting on top of the desk.

“Whatever, Y/n is way too pretty for you anyway.” You cover your mouth as you try to stifle a laugh. Hyunjin immediately looks up at the sound of your name, his brows furrowed in confusion.

“Excuse me?” Hyunjin asks before turning his head in your direction. He freezes for a second, his eyes glossing over your frame slowly to make sure that it’s really you.

“Oh um you must be new.” He stands, pushing a hand into the pocket of his worn denim jeans and making his way over to you.

“Yeah I am.” You grin, playing along with him. Once he reaches you he offers you his hand and you immediately take it into your own.

“I’m the photography instructor for this program, you can call me Hyunjin.” He smirks down at you and you nod your head.

“I’m Y/n.” He gives your hand a light squeeze before dropping it.

“It’s a pleasure to have you in our club.” He winks at you before turning on his heels and stalking back over to his desk.

“Why can she call you Hyunjin but we can’t?” Mia whines, earning a dramatic eye roll from Hyunjin.

“Because I’m eight years older than you.” You chuckle lightly and Hyunjin smiles at the sound.

“How do you know that she’s your age?” James argues and Hyunjin shrugs.

“Are you guys here to question me or to actually learn something?” The group of teens sigh as Hyunjin starts looking through his bag. “I made a project sheet for today but I suppose I can save that for next week now that we have a new member. Let’s focus on questions and practice for today.”

He pulls a thick folder out of his bag and places it on the desk right next to his massive Sony DSLR camera. You feel a bit intimidated by this side of Hyunjin, he seems to be very in his element here. Maybe he’s been doing this for a while.

“Can we do an object project?” Olivia asks in a soft voice, catching Hyunjin’s attention.

“I like that idea, what do you guys want to shoot today?” You can’t help but stare as Hyunjin talks to the kids, he seems to have a pretty solid relationship with them. You stare down at his Versace bracelet on your wrist as you listen to him talk to the kids.

“Alright so that’s what it’ll be, four photo’s of your favorite place to be in this community center. It can be a place that you have a positive memory of or just a place where you feel the most comfortable. Today's object is a clock, if you don’t have a clock in the shot then it doesn’t count. Get creative, there are no limits. I want two black and white photos and two sepia.” The kids all stand from their seats, pulling their camera straps around their necks and talking about where to go.

“Be back here in forty-five minutes. I will set a timer, please don’t make me come find you.” The group mumbles a half hearted ‘okay’ before turning their attention back to their previous conversation. You take this time to unpack your own camera, turning it on and flipping through the settings. You made sure to watch a couple of videos before coming here but everything that you learned went right out the window once you saw Hyunjin.

“I’ll be right with you, Y/n.” Hyunjin smiles over at you before turning his attention towards Leo. He’s been so quiet that you forgot that he was there. Hyunjin kneels in front of the boy's desk, leaning into his space a bit before whispering. You decided to look away to give them some privacy. Maybe you can manage to google some quick photography tips before he turns his attention to you.

You start looking up photography quick guides on your phone as you wait for him. You get so engulfed in the article that you’re reading that you don’t even notice Hyunjin making his way over to you until he’s sitting at the desk in front of yours. You jump a bit, locking your phone quickly.

“Well this is a pleasant surprise.” He smiles as he leans back against the wall behind him. “You missed me so much that you tracked me down?”

You chuckle, a light blush creeping up your neck. You look over towards where the kids were earlier and notice that they’re all gone. You must’ve been so distracted by your research that you didn’t hear them leave.

“What if I did?” You tease and now it was his turn to blush. “I didn’t know that you’re into photography.”

“Surprise.” You roll your eyes at him and he smiles towards you. “I may be a little into it. I’ve been doing it for about five years, nothing too major.”

“Clearly it is pretty major if you’re certified to teach people.”

“Are you impressed by that? Because if you are then I’ll agree.” You scoff, pushing his arm playfully.

“No comment.”

“That means that you are impressed.”

“Are you going to flirt with me or are you going to teach me how to work this thing?” You ask, holding your camera up in front of you while smiling towards Hyunjin. He surrenders, shaking his head and taking your camera from you.

“You’re right.” He turns your camera on, studying the settings and adjusting things the way that he sees fit. You can’t help but blush a bit as his fingers press the buttons. His gaze turned from playful to focused and serious as soon as you placed the device in his hands. The way that he operates the camera is actually pretty attractive.

Your eyes widen a bit as you realize the nature of your thoughts. This is not the time to think about all of the things that you find attractive about your boyfriend,wait, he’s not your boyfriend. Not really, not officially, he hasn’t even asked you out for a second date yet.

“Alright, so, this camera is actually pretty simple. I’ve adjusted some settings, I’ll show you what they all do and we can get you started on practicing the rule of thirds, sound good?” Hyunjins voice pulls you out of your thoughts and you sit up straighter in your seat. You clear your throat and look up at him as he watches you, his eyes wandering over the exposed skin of your neck for a second before looking up at you.

“Sounds good, Mr.H.”

“How’s this one?” You ask while looking down at your camera screen to study the photo you just took. Hyunjin steps closer to you from behind, looking over your shoulder to get a look at the photo too.

“Perfect, I think that you should be fine without the grid now. Maybe practice eyeing it yourself throughout the week and I can check it for you when we meet next Friday.” You chuckle, turning your head to face Hyunjin and he furrows his brows in confusion. “What?”

“Couldn’t you just check it when I see you next Thursday?” He grins at you, shaking his head and tonguing his cheek.

“Nope, I’m gonna treat you just like everyone else in the club.” You narrow your eyes at him, glancing down at the tiny space between the two of you.

“Like you are right now?” Hyunjin looks down at his hand on the small of your back and pulls his lips into a thin line.

“You’re right, Y/n this is highly unprofessional. I really need you to keep your hands to yourself.” Hyunjins eyes morph into cresents as you push him away from you, scoffing playfully.

“I hate you.” You make your way back over to your desk and Hyunjin walks over to his at the front of the room.

“Are you sure about that?” He pulls himself up onto the desk, sitting and leaning back on his palms. A deep blush runs over your cheeks as he stares over at you with an equanimous smirk adorning his lips. You look down, avoiding his piercing eye contact and now it was his turn to chuckle. “The kids should be back in a second.”

Just as he looks down at his phone the timer that he set earlier goes off. You look over at the door expecting to see them walk through but no one is there. Hyunjin closes his eyes, tilting his head back towards the ceiling and humming softly. Your eyes pinch together in confusion, is he not going to go get them?

“Are you sure they’re coming back?” Hyunjin hums in response, a small smile pulling at his lips before he starts counting.

“5, 4, 3, 2” He points towards the open door and you can hear the loud pitter patter of the group racing down the hallway. “They’re always two minutes late.”

“We’re here!” Olivia makes it into the room first, panting as she makes her way over to her seat. The rest of the group follows behind her, trying to catch their breath as they sit.

“Once you all remember how to breathe we’ll get started.” Hyunjin teases, lifting his head to look at the group. You can’t help but smile, something about seeing him interact with them makes you feel warm. He's a natural leader, in the way that he carries himself, the way he talks to them. He radiates a sense of comfort and confidence in this space and it’s almost rewarding to see.

“Can I go first?” Mia asks as she stares down at her camera.

“Nope.” Hyunjin quips quickly.

“Why not.” She whines and Hyunjin offers an exaggerated sigh in response. “I want to get it over with, Mr.H”

“And that’s why you’ll be going last.” Mia groans, putting her head down on the desk and stomping her feet. Hyunjin immediately imitates her, kicking his feet against his desk and whining. The rest of the group laughs, you even hear a faint chuckle coming from Mia.

“Always remember that I'm ten times more dramatic than you.” Hyunjin teases before sitting up completely. “Alright, let’s do this. Show me what you got James.”

“I think that Olivia wants to go before me.” James sinks down into his seat as he tries to dodge a hit from the girl behind him.

“You threw your own girlfriend under the bus? That’s cold.”

You’d be lying if you said that you weren’t impressed. Each of the kids in this club are amazing at photography, if you saw any of the pictures that they took online you’d think that a twenty year professional was responsible for the art. You’re equally impressed by Hyunjin’s teaching skills, he answered all of their questions flawlessly and made sure that you were still engaged even though you didn’t participate in the activity.

Once class ended Hyunjin texted you offering to walk you home, of course you said yes, you actually did miss him so you couldn’t pass up this opportunity. Your house was only four blocks from the community center but it seemed a lot longer since the city blocks are massive. Usually this would bother you, you’d put some music on and try your best to get the walk over with but you found yourself settling into a comfortable stroll with Hyunjin. You weren’t in a rush to get anywhere, you were grounded, living in the moment.

“How did you start teaching photography?” You asked as the two of you waited to cross the street.

“My mentor set it up for me, he thought that it would be a good way to redirect my emotions.” He chuckles softly, taking a step forward to guide you across the street. “I told you that I was a bad kid but I didn’t really stop getting into trouble until I turned twenty. I met my mentor's son, Chan, a couple of weeks after my birthday when I was taking pictures of Felix for his portfolio. His dad is a photographer and he took interest in me almost instantly, he taught me some stuff and basically became a father to me. He started the club on my birthday last year when he retired from the community center.”

“So you replaced him?” You look over at Hyunjin who seems to be deep in thought.

“Something like that, I’m one of the youth counselors but he was in charge of it all. People treat me like I’m in charge for some reason. It’s probably because I’m so smart and handsome.” He sighs dramatically, pushing his hands into his pockets and shaking his head. “It just isn’t fair, it’s so hard being me.”

“Oh yeah, it’s super hard being a model for luxury brands.” You laugh, rolling your eyes at him and bumping him with your shoulder. “I would hate being a role model for the youth.”

“Hey, this is hard work.” He defends as the two of you stop at the next corner. “But, on a serious note, I do enjoy working with them. I teach two more classes throughout the week and it’s probably what saved my life. Now, I get to help save theirs. Every kid that I teach has gotten into some kind of trouble. I like offering them a space to be themselves and learn something new, I like creating the space that I wish that I had when I was their age.”

You stare over at the crossing light as Hyunjin opens up a bit. It’s so hard for you to imagine the sweet, soft guy standing next to you as an angry teenager fighting everything that looked in his direction. You can’t help but to feel proud of him, he seemed to have really turned himself around for the better. It takes a lot of discipline to correct bad habits.

You keep your eyes trained on the light in front of you, waiting for it to change. Just as it turns green you reach your hand over towards Hyunjins, interlocking your fingers and offering a reassuring squeeze. He keeps his gaze forward as you two cross the street silently but the smile on his face and the blush on his cheeks speak a thousand words. He squeezes your hand back, running his thumb along the back of your hand as you reach the next block. He doesn’t need you to say anything back, your actions speak louder than any sentence you could possibly speak.

“On a different note…” He looks over at you with a grin. “What did you tell your friends about me?”

“I am not answering that.” You start to pull away from him but he pulls you into his side, letting go of your hand and putting his arm around your shoulder.

“Let me guess, you told them that I’m the best kisser in the entire world and that I’m so amazing and funny and that you can’t get enough of me.” A goofy smile adorns his lips and you sigh, covering your face to hide your blush. “Aw, she’s shy.”

Before you can protest, your phone starts ringing in your bag and you take this opportunity to escape Hyunjins teasing. Thank god for Changbin.

“Hey, what’s up.” You laugh a bit as Hyunjin presses you into his side more.

“Hey, are you with someone?” You can hear the smile in Changbin’s voice.

“Yup, coming home now.”

“Ah, good, could you do me a favor? I forgot to grab popcorn on the way home. Serena is coming over to watch a movie and that’s the only thing that I don’t have.” You nod, looking up the block and spotting a store on the corner.

“I’ll grab it for you, I’m walking up to a store now.”

“You’re a lifesaver. I’ll see you soon. Oh, and tell Hyunjin that I said hi.” He sings the last part of his sentence before you say bye and hang up. He’s definitely going to question you as soon as you walk through the door.

“Everything alright?”

“Yup, I just need to go into this store.” You lock your phone and slip it back into your bag as you walk up to the store. “And Changbin says hi.”

There’s a group of guys outside of the store but you don’t pay them any mind, Hyunjin follows you closely as you pull away from him to enter the store, you’ve been to this shop a million times so you know where everything is. You make a beeline to the popcorn and make your way over to the counter. The cashier smiles at you as you approach, making small talk as he checks you out. Once you’re done you turn to Hyunjin who’s waiting for you at the door but his demeanor seems to have changed. His arms are crossed over his chest and he has a mean look on his face. You smile over at him as you start to leave the store but he doesn’t smile back, that’s odd. He opens the door for you and you take the lead exiting first and tucking the popcorn into your tote bag.

“Excuse me, you’re looking really good tonight.” One of the guys standing outside of the store steps over to you and you flash him a small smile.

“Thanks.” You start to walk away but he speaks up again, stepping a bit closer to you.

“Can I have your number? I could take you out.” You shake your head, replying with a firm ‘No’ before starting to walk away again. Hyunjin places his hand on the small of your back, guiding you away from the group.

“Come on, don’t be like that.”

“She said no.” Hyunjin speaks up, his voice is loud and flat. You’ve never heard him use this tone before. It’s almost scary. The two of you start walking away again, Hyunjin makes sure to keep you in front of him as the two of you make your way towards the corner.

“I wasn’t fucking talking to you.” The guy follows the two of you. Picking up the pace as the two of you get further from him. “Come on, let me take you out sometime.”

“Keep walking.” Hyunjin whispers to you, pushing you forward a bit. He stops in the middle of the sidewalk, turning to face the guy following you. You can’t help but to look back as you walk away slowly, you can’t just leave him there by himself. Neither of you know what that guy is capable of.

“Do we have a problem?”

~ Hyunjin’s POV ~

I’m using every ounce of my self control to keep my temper in check right now. If this guy decided to mess with me while I was alone that would be a different story but he’s messing with someone that I care about and I don’t like that. This has always been a trigger for me, Felix always says that I get scary when I get mad protecting someone else. I really don’t want that to happen right now, I don’t want her to see that side of me but this guy is making it very hard to hold back.

“How about you mind your business.” He yells in my face, his breath reeks heavy of alcohol, that’s not even fair. If I hit him he’s going to be knocked out almost instantly, drunk people can never take a hit.

“She is my business.” I cross my arms over my chest and clench my jaw. I have to remember that she’s here. I have to keep my cool. “She said no, leave her alone.”

“Ah, I see, she’s yours. Is that it? That’s your bitch?” I bite my bottom lip between my teeth as his last question rings through my ears. Don’t react, not while she’s here. “She likes pretty boys, huh?”

I look back at Y/n, she’s stopped at the corner watching me. I take a deep breath and uncross my arms, turning back around to the idiot in front of me.

“Leave her alone, alright?” I turn to walk away, trying my best to distance myself from him.

“Is this your boyfriend?” He yells over at Y/n but that’s not the only thing that makes me snap. He touched me, he pushed my shoulder as I was turning away and I felt my blood boil instantly. I don’t even remember what I did, my body went into autopilot. I can hear Y/n’s heavy footsteps as I stand over the disoriented stranger. My hand in a fist at my side, I’m shaking, why am I shaking? I haven’t felt this mad in years, I haven’t hit somebody in years, this isn’t how that was supposed to happen. I was supposed to keep my cool, why did he have to fuck it up? The more that reality sinks in, the more angry I get.

“What did I just fucking tell you?” I don’t raise my voice, I never raise my voice, there’s no need to. I bend down, making sure to keep eye contact with him as I grab his shirt, and pull him towards me. “Leave her alone.”

I can hear myself, I can hear the hiss in my tone. I can feel the anger getting to my head, I can feel myself losing to it. That’s my problem, I don’t know when to stop, once I get started it’s hell getting out of it.

“You should’ve listened.” I don’t want to hit him again but I feel like I need to, I need to get this feeling to go away and the only way that I know how is to keep going.

“I’m sorry, man.” He pleads, I knew that he wouldn’t be able to take the hit but that just makes it easier for me. I push him back onto the sidewalk, letting go of his shirt and raise my fist almost by instinct. Before I can lower it I feel a hand wrap around my wrist, I stop for just a second as I remember who this is about. Y/n is with me, she saw everything.

“Hyunjin, get up.” Her voice is firm but somehow soft, I wish that I could just listen to her. I want to listen to her, maybe I can?

Despite my desire to stop, I don't move. My brain and my body are doing two different things and for a moment I feel guilty. This is going to be how it ends isn’t it? She’s going to think that I’m a horrible person, she’s going to hate me for putting her through this. My jaw clenches at the thought of losing her, glancing back down at the man in front of me I feel anger climbing up my spine again. Why couldn’t he just walk away?

“I told him to leave you alone.” I meant for my words to come out softer than they did but I can still hear the hiss in my voice, it’s muffled by the sound of my heart beating in my ears but I can hear it. She steps in between us, trying her best to pull me back, her grip tight and her voice stern.

“Hyunjin, please get up.” In all of the years that I got into fights there has never been a person who could calm me down. I don’t know why it’s different with her, I don’t know why but I don't resist. I allow her to lower my fist, I allow her to stand between us and guide me to my feet.

“Hey, look at me.” I listen, taking a deep breath and turning my attention towards her. I expected her to look angry, I expected her to have tears in her eyes or maybe even look scared. My mom would always be angry, Felix would always look scared but she looks calm. How could she look at me like that after this? I don’t deserve that.

“Good, you’re fine. Everything is fine, come on.” Her hands run over my forearms, as she tries her best to ground me and by some miracle it’s working.

She takes both of my hands and starts to lead me away from him, I keep my eyes on her as we walk over to the corner. I try my best to calm myself down, taking deep breaths through my nose and going through every grounding exercise that I was ever taught. For some reason those techniques aren’t what help me the most, it’s the look in her eyes that's calming me down. It’s the relaxed tone of her voice and the way that she’s guiding me. No one’s ever done this before. I can feel the anger in my body being replaced, it’s that feeling of electricity. That feeling that I only get when I’m with her.

I’m not sure how long we’ve been walking but when I finally come out of my thoughts and look back I don’t see the guy anymore. In fact, I’m pretty sure that we passed her block. We come up on a busier street, nothing too serious just a couple of people going about their night. She guides me over to a bench at the bus stop and we both sit in silence. I close my eyes, running my hands through my hair and sighing heavily.

“Let me see your hand.” Her tone is sweet like she isn’t about to check me for bruises. She reaches for my hand, running her thumb across the back of it and I hiss in pain. That’s definitely going to be a different color tomorrow. “You’re gonna need to ice that.”

“I know the drill.” I reply in a flat whisper. “I’m sorry.”

“He deserved it.” I shake my head, turning to look at her and this time I really looked at her. I let her see the worry in my gaze, I let her see the fear that has bloomed in my stomach.

“I’m not sorry for hitting him. I’m sorry that I almost didn’t stop, I didn’t want to stop and if you weren’t there I wouldn’t have. I would have done everything that I could to make sure that he ended up in the hospital.” I allow my gaze to drift down to my hands and it’s only then that I realize that I’m shaking. I’m still shaking, it must be the fear, not the anger.

“But you didn’t.” Her hand rests over my trembling one, petting my skin softly with the pads of her fingers. I let out a shaky exhale at the feeling of her skin against mine. “I told you that I’d be there to calm you down. I told you that it would be alright if I saw you like that and I meant it.”

“You don’t hate me?” My words leave my mouth in a whisper as I bite my bottom lip. Reluctantly, I look up at her, her expression is still so soft and calm.

“Not one bit.”

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stellasmessyworld · 10 months

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CHAPTER 1: Unexpected encounters

You study law at the Dragonstone University. How will your life change when your roommate’s attractive brother starts studying at the same university.

Enemies to Lovers. Modern au. Aemond Targaryen x Y/N.

~i do not own any these characters it’s just a fanfiction~

It’s 8am when you wake up and check your phone. Initially, you just stare at the screen but then you realise that your classes start in half an hour. This realisation prompts you jump out of the bed. You get out of the room and find your way to the bathroom but as you try to open the door, you hear a voice saying “Occupied!”. The voice belonged to your roommate and best friend since the beginning of your freshman year- Heleana Targaryen.

You met accidentally on the campus and started talking. After a few weeks she proposed you move in with her. The spacious apartment offered a welcome escape from your crowded dorm. The room you got at Heleana’s (now also your) apartment was nice with a big closet. The issue was that there was only one bathroom and at this moment when you needed it most, it was occupied. You couldn’t blame Heleana, she probably thought you already left for classes earlier.

Unable to access the bathroom, you decide to at least get some breakfast. You head to the kitchen to grab a bowl and fill it with cereal and milk, as you quickly empty it while scrolling through your phone. Just as you finish your cereal the bathroom door opens, revealing Hel in with a towel over her head.

“Good morning, babes” she greets you as she dries off her hair with the dampened towel.

“Hi Hel”, you reply “it could’ve been a good day if my alarm could finally wake me up one of these days”.

“Oh no, you overslept again?” she asked genuinely concerned.

“Yep” you confirm, emphasising the “P”.

“What class do you have now?” she asks. “Constitutional Law, so if i don’t get there in ten minutes the professor will kill me.” I stand up from the kitchen chair and make my way to the now free bathroom. “You know i can always talk with him, right? He is my grandfather after all.”

“It’s alright, Hel. I know professor Hightower is your grandfather but i don’t want to be treated differently just because of my friendship with you. I’ll manage to get there on time somehow. Thank you tho.” you tell her from the bathroom actually content that she wants to help in her own way. You brush your teeth quickly as you get yourself ready to leave. When you finish doing a quick makeup, you decide that you’re all ready to walk out. “Bye, Hel. See ya in the evening.” “Have a nice day, babes” she replies as you smile at her and close the door behind yourself.

The way to the Dragonstone University wasn’t long because you live literally next to the campus. You get there at 8:26am which spares you 4 minutes to get some coffee before the class. “How nice…” you think.

There is just one person before you in the queue to the café, and it’s the person you wouldn’t think you would see today.

Aemond Targaryen - Heleana’s younger brother, also majoring in Law. You were surpised to see him because it was already the second term of the freshman year and you hadn’t seen him even once at the University. The last time you saw him was actually the time you met him. It was when he visited you and Heleana at the flat. You were living there for 2 weeks at that moment. Heleana introduced the two of you and you exchanged typical small talk, until he excused himself to the bathroom and you had to leave for class.

It was a bit weird to you, to see him at your University, because the last time you talked about him with Heleana she mentioned he is studying at the Kingslanding University and definitely not here.

It wasn’t anything terrible that he was here. He is very intelligent, eloquent and um well…attractive. You couldn’t lie to yourself that he wasn’t good looking, as he was standing before you in his black jeans, a green cashmere-looking sweater that probably cost a fortune. His long hair tied in a bun. He was wearing a couple of silver rings on his fingers and ~oh his fingers~ were they nice?…

And then there is you, sweatpants, an oversized hoodie, quick messy makeup and a bit of tangled hair and your head. Snapping back to reality you decide to run away and skip coffee because you don’t want him to see you look like this. As you turn around to quickly leave you hear a voice that makes you jump.

“Yn, hi!” It’s Jace Velaryon standing in front of you he’s Hel’s nephew. “How many of her family members study or teach here?” you think to yourself. “Hi Jace, how are you?” you reply not to be considered mean as he hugs you tightly. Suddenly he tenses and you already know what’s his reason of sudden stress. It’s the silver-haired man you were trying to run away from. “Hello, nephew” you hear his deep voice. “Aemond”, Heleana’s cousin replies still a bit tense. Then Aemond’s eye lands on you. “Yn, i thought i would see you here”. You shiver at his words. Did he think about you? you were asking yourself so many questions but then you decided to reply to him. “Good to see you, Aemond” you give him a soft smile. And he looks at you for a couple of seconds too long…

Thank you for reading… It’s my first fic on tumblr so if you have any advise for me i would be thankful. Love u all. <3

credits: pattern banners by @cafekitsune and the graphic of the title was made by Image Creator from Microsoft Bing.

#aemond smut #aemond targaryen #aemond targaryen x reader #house of the dragon #hotd aemond #prince aemond #aemond fanfiction #aemond x you #aemond x reader #aemond x oc #aemond fic #aemond one eye

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atinylittlepain · 2 years

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Firehouse Harrington - Chapter 5

fireman!Steve x f!reader/f!oc

series masterlist

Steve is still recovering from his injuries. She's just trying to help. But tensions run high when they clash over who knows best.

warnings | 18+ SMUT, really rough sex, degradation kink, slight dubcon, also angst because, duh

a/n | wooh boy! I got a little carried away here, folks. Had the day off and couldn't help myself. get yourself a tall glass of water and sit down for a long one

“You’re healing nicely, son. I’ll send another refill script to your pharmacy for the oxycodone and I wanna see you back in a month, alright? Wanna keep an eye on those headaches you’re having.” Steve grunts out a thank you to the doctor as he’s led back to the front desk. After three weeks, he’s still not used to seeing her, sitting and waiting for him after his appointments at the VA medical center. She’s been coming with him whenever she can and he would hate to admit how much it means to him.

She offers him a bright smile from where she’s sitting in the waiting room, a large stack of index cards in her lap. With Thanksgiving next week, her exams are fast-approaching and she’s been studying so hard it makes Steve worry that she’s working herself to the bone, and that he hasn’t exactly been helping her stress-load. Since the week after Halloween, she’s all but moved in with him, save for when her RA job or classes demand she be on campus. She’s been taking care of him, and it both amazes and terrifies Steve that she’s willing to, while all he can really do is be a human rolodex for her endless supply of flashcards. She’s been having him quiz her in the evenings, her hands around his neck and her thighs straddling his waist as she rattles off insanely-smart sounding descriptions of the brain. His girl is studying neuroscience, and his girl is going to be a doctor, and then, Steve figures, his girl isn’t going to be his girl anymore. But for now, he’ll enjoy whatever sweetness she’ll give to him.

He finishes scheduling his follow-up, turning and finding her already standing with her bag slung over her shoulder. He opens the door for her and they step out into the sharp bite of the oncoming winter.

“Well, what did he say?” Steve’s apartment is only a few blocks away from the medical center, so they set off down the sidewalk as she asks her question.

“Said everything looks good. My next appointment is in a month, gave me another prescription for the painkillers.” He feels her hand flex in his and he knows it’s because she doesn’t like the sound of that.

“What about your headaches?” He shrugs, glancing at her and seeing the worried look on her face.

“He said he’d keep an eye on it, whatever that means.” She stops in her tracks, fully looking at him now. He just sighs.

“Steve, I really don’t like how they’re just feeding you these pills. Has anyone said anything about getting you in an MRI machine?” He huffs, tugging her along to continue walking.

“Baby, it’s fine. Nothing new, really. Once I get back to work it’ll go away on its own, it always does.” His paid-time-off is ending after Thanksgiving, and Steve is chomping at the bit to get back into the station, to her much-vocalized dismay. She stops walking again, and he tries his best to tamp down his growing frustration.

“I still think you should let me–” “No.” “Steve.”

“No. You’ve already done way too much for me. I’m not letting you do that.”

“You would be helping me out by coming in. You know I need the practice, i-it’d be killing two birds with one stone.” She had told him two weeks ago about one of her specialty courses at the university medical center, conducting brain scans and assessments that were free to volunteer patients. She had been bugging Steve about coming in ever since, but he was putting his foot down on this one.

“Hey, I’m sick of all this nagging, alright? I told you it’s fine and I meant it. Making my fucking headache worse, jesus. Just wanna get home.” He can see her face crumple at his words and his stomach twists, but he’s too pissed off and cold to really feel sorry, instead squeezing her hand and continuing their walk home. She’s silent the rest of the way.

…

Steve is really starting to worry her. At first, he had seemed to be making a change, being endlessly sweet with her, letting her take care of him, even opening up a bit about his life. She knows his concussion symptoms are lasting well within a normal amount of time, but it seems like some of them are getting worse. He’s been more irritable, more reactive, his headaches are endless, but he won’t listen to a word she says about it. She had talked to Robin over the phone about it, and she had told her his irritability could also be stemming from the impending holiday. Steve wasn’t exactly on good terms with his family, something he had only hinted at to her, and hadn’t been home for Thanksgiving or Christmas in five years. As a result, he turned into a bit of a scrooge (Robin’s words) the instant that the holiday season kicked up.

Perhaps more than anything though, she doesn’t understand why he’s so eager to get back to work after he nearly died on the job. She had actually started inquiring at her school about admittance for veterans, reading whatever information she could get her hands on. It’d be practically free at a state school like Indiana University, with vets nearly sure to be accepted. She hadn’t yet broached the subject with him, knowing it’d probably lead to a huge blowout argument, but she had convinced him to do Thanksgiving with her, just the two of them, and was planning to get him good and sedated on turkey and stuffing before bringing it up.

When they get back to his place after his appointment, he barely looks at her, mumbling that he’s going to lie down for a while. She already knows he’s going to be looking for his bottle of oxycodone, which she had flushed down the toilet that morning. She had talked to one of her supervising professors about the medication, posing questions from a place of clinical curiosity, and had learned just how wickedly potent the stuff was. Steve shouldn’t have been on it for more than a week max, and it was now coming up on a month of doctors filling the prescription for him. She had decided then and there that she was going to get him off it, kicking and screaming if she had to.

She sits down on the couch, pressing her fingers into her temples and waiting for his inevitable question about where his pills are. She can hear him rummaging in the bathroom, and then in the nightstands in his bedroom. All of the sudden, his movements still, and she can hear his bare feet padding back into the living room. Her heart sinks when she sees that he’s holding the pamphlets she had gathered about veteran’s admission to IU in his hand. She must have left them in the nightstand on her side of his bed. Shit. His expression is cool, steeled, as he waves the pamphlets in front of her.

“Care to tell me what this is?” Her mouth had gone completely dry, and a thickness settled in her throat.

“Um, I– um–” He cuts her off, shuffling over to stand in front of her, bending at the waist to get in her space.

“Um, um, um. C’mon, miss college. Thought you were a big girl. Use your words.” He’s practically sneering at her with the way he’s talking and it makes her feel impossibly small under his flashing gaze. She gulps a deep breath, trying to steady herself.

“Steve, I’m just trying to help–” He scoffs, standing back upright and starting to pace the floor.

“You think you know what’s best for me? Think you’re so much smarter than me, huh? Gotta help your poor, stupid boyfriend get along, is that it?” She shakes her head vigorously, going to stand but he’s back on her in an instant, resting his hands on the back of the couch to cage her between his arms. She shrinks back into the seat.

“That’s not what I think, Steve. I-I just want you to have options, that’s it! All I did was ask around in the admissions office, it doesn’t mean a-anything, baby. I just thought it’d be helpful for you.” He lets out a humorless laugh, his sharp eyes fixing her in place.

“Well it’s not. Quit trying to mess with shit you don’t understand.” With that he’s turning heel so fast it makes her choke, storming back into the bedroom. A beat later she starts hearing loud clattering.

“Where are my fucking pills? Goddamnit!” She jumps in her seat at his roaring words, punctuated by the sound of what she assumes is one of his nightstands getting thrown on the floor. She sits there for a moment trying to steady her breathing, the continuous sounds of slamming drawers and muttered curses coming from Steve causing her heart to jump. Finally, all the commotion stills and she thinks to herself that she liked it better when he was at least making sound.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she slowly stands, inching towards the bedroom on tenterhooks. She holds onto the doorframe, peering into the room. Both nightstands are tipped onto the floor, their drawers skewed open and the contents strewn on the floor. The wooden bureau that sits across from Steve’s bed has been shoved a few inches out of place, its drawers all open and the clothes usually neatly folded inside in various states of spilling out. Steve’s sitting on the edge of the bed, tugging harshly at the roots of his hair, his chest heaving. She really doesn’t want to do what she’s about to have to. She inches into the room, kneeling down in front of him to try to catch his gaze. She reaches out for him but he swats her hand away.

“Don’t. Fuck, baby. Don’t know where I put my damn pills. I-I need ‘em so bad right now.” His voice is a broken grumble and she feels a sharp twinge in her stomach at his words. It’s time to rip the band-aid off.

“Steve, baby? I know your head’s hurting, but you can’t keep taking those, ok? Why don’t I get you some advil? I know it’s not the same, but we can do that combined with tylenol and it should start to help.�� He finally looks at her, and the anger in his eyes is breathtaking, causing her to sit back on her haunches.

“What did you do with them?” She takes a sharp breath in, watching Steve’s knuckles go white where he’s still tugging at his hair. She’s not going to let him scare her, not on this. She squares her shoulders, slowly standing in front of him. She hates that there’s still a warble in her voice when she finally speaks.

“I-I threw them away, Steve. They’re no good for you, and that has become painfully clear this afternoon.” His jaw goes slack at her words, but he quickly catches himself, swallowing hard and glaring up at her.

“Well, that’s not really your decision to make, sweetie.” He stands, brushing past her out towards the front door, starting to toe on his shoes. She follows dumbly behind him.

“Where are you going?” He doesn’t even glance at her, already shrugging on his coat.

“The pharmacy. Gonna get my new prescription since someone has to make everything so goddamn difficult.” She swallows hard.

“I-I called the pharmacy this morning too. Told them that under no circumstances should they fill any more oxy scripts for you. Steve, please–” He lets out a bark of laugh that startles her where she stands, whistling low as he finally sizes her up.

“You are something else, bunny. Really think you know better than me, don’t ya?” He’s started slinking towards her, causing her to back up until she’s pressing up against the wall. He presses a forearm up by her temple, leaning into her. She’s trying to not dissolve on the spot.

“Steve, that’s not what this is about. I-I talked with one of my professors about those pills. He told me it's some of the nastiest stuff out there. People get addicted to them all the time. Please, I just wanna help you.” His other hand has come down to grip her hip harshly, his fingers flexing into the skin and sure to leave bruises.

“Stop sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong and stop trying to play doctor on me. You wanna help? Here’s how you can help. If you’re so hell-bent on taking away my pills, my relief, I think it’s only fair you make it up to me, don’t you?” She’s trying to steady her breathing, but can’t help the light gasps that rise as Steve nudges the slope of her neck with his nose. He harshly grabs her jaw, forcing her gaze to focus on his steely expression. She hates that there’s already a simmering heat trailing down her spine.

“Words, now.”

“O-okay, Steve. I’ll m-make it up to you, w-whatever you want, baby. I’m s-s-sorry.” His smile is slick, not reaching his eyes.

“Want you on your knees, pretty. Can you do that? Be good for me and do what you’re told, for once.”

“Yes, Steve–” He cuts her off with a sharp squeeze to her jaw that makes her whimper.

“Not my name. Not right now.”

“Yes, daddy. I’ll be good for you.” Part of her wants to leave, just grab her bag and go. But she’s fixed to the spot by the way he’s looking at her. She figures it’ll be quick, a rough blowjob and then Steve will finally calm down, so she complies, kneeling down in front of him while he starts working at his belt buckle.

She goes to reach for his hips when he starts to unzip his jeans but he immediately swats her hands away.

“Uh-uh. You don’t get to touch. You don’t even get to think. That pretty head of yours has done enough thinking for a while. Just gotta sit there, open your mouth, and take it, you understand?” She nods as he comes behind her, drawing both her wrists back. When she feels the soft leather of his belt circling her wrists she shudders. She winces when he tugs the loop tight.

“C’mon, if you’re so smart why don’t you use your fucking words?” She gasps when he pulls on the belt, making her fall back onto her ass, her back crashing into his heaving chest.

“Yes, daddy. I understand.” Her voice doesn’t sound like her own anymore, entering that higher, breathier register that she knows only Steve can draw out. He grunts at that, squeezing her hips to help her back onto her knees before he’s getting up and coming back in front of her. He slips his jeans and boxers down just enough to tug his cock out, already hard as he fists himself. Stepping forward, he cards his fingers through her hair, tugging harshly to tilt her face up towards him.

“Open your mouth, bunny. You better be good for me.” She complies, letting her jaw slacken and Steve’s on her in an instant, forcing his thick cock past her lips as he holds onto her hair for leverage. She can’t help the small, sputtering chokes that come out around his length as he already begins fucking her mouth, getting deeper with each thrust. Normally, he’d give her time to work her way up to taking all of him, it wasn’t exactly an option to just go for it with his length if she didn’t want to gag. But Steve didn’t seem too concerned with that today, already grazing her throat with his tip.

“Fuck– that’s perfect– just take it, bunny– s’what your pretty little mouth is made for– don’t want you thinking– shit– or talking– just keep your lips around my cock all the time, huh?” She can’t exactly respond to his degrading words with the way he’s dragging her mouth up and down his cock, his fist in her hair guiding her. But she guesses he’s not really looking for a reply.

“What would your little egghead professors think– shit, take it– if they knew their star student spent her time sucking dick like a f-fucking whore, huh?” His words sting, but she hates to admit that they send a clenching ache right through her core too. Unfortunately, Steve seems to notice the way her thighs are clenching at his words and he lets out a jeering laugh.

“Aw, you like that, bunny? You like it when I call you a whore, huh? Guess you’re not as smart as you think you are, just a dumb slut for her daddy’s cock.” His thrusts are unrelenting, now hitting the back of her throat everytime, causing her to gag and sputter around his cock. She can’t help but wriggle her arms against the belt confining them, trying to find some purchase as he uses her mouth but with no success. On the next thrust, Steve’s hips still with his cock down her throat, her nose crushed up against his pelvis. Drool is dripping down her chin as she chokes around him. He just holds her there, and she starts to panic, trying to fight against the hold he has in her hair.

“You don’t need air, do you, pretty? Just need my cock down your throat, right? S’all you need, you stupid slut.” He finally relents, pulling out of her mouth and she’s a wheezing mess, coughing out exhales as she hunches over her shivering body. He’s still hard, but he tucks himself back into his boxers, watching her reel on the floor. Before she can catch her breath, he’s hauling her up by her armpits and pressing her back against the wall, her hands still bound behind her. The way he holds her jaw, fingers skating over her cheeks, is startlingly tender as he drinks in her cockdrunk appearance. His voice is barely above a whisper when he speaks.

“Look at you, bunny. So pretty for me.” Something in her snaps, her lip starting to wobble as tears pool over her lashes. Steve sighs and she shivers under his delicate touch as he wipes away the first tears to fall.

“What’s got you crying, baby? I don’t like it when you cry, at least not very much.” His grin is sardonic and entirely patronizing as he watches her crumble. She’s trying to stifle the sobs that want to flood her body, her words coming out on heavy shudders.

“You’re s-s-so mean, Steve. I-I j-j-just wanted to h-h-help you.” He tuts, drawing his fingers under her chin to tilt her eyes up to his.

“Aw, you did help, pretty. You and that perfect little mouth of yours. And you know what else? I think you liked it.” With that, he wrenches one of his hands into the front of her jeans, cupping her cunt and stroking harshly through her folds. She lets out a broken gasp at his brutal movement. Steve just chuckles.

“See, bunny? You’re fucking soaked. All because daddy fucked your little throat, huh?” He easily slips two fingers into her, curving them in a way that makes her let out a long, preening cry. She stumbles in his grip, pressing her forehead into his shoulder as he starts fucking her with his fingers.

“P-please, daddy, it’s too much.” He scoffs in her ear, not letting up with his relentless thrusts.

“I know what’s too much for you, bunny. Daddy knows what’s best, right?” When she doesn’t answer, his other hand comes down in a harsh crack on the outside of her thigh and she yelps.

“Y-yes, daddy. You know w-what’s best!” She can feel his smile in her hair as he abruptly removes his fingers, causing her to slump in his hold.

“Atta girl, I think that little brain of yours is finally starting to get it right.” She can’t tell where the pleasure ends and the pain from his words begins, but she knows that the more he says, the more poison that drips off his tongue, the smaller she feels in his grip. Holding her in his arms, he walks them over to the couch, facing her towards the arm rest and bending her over it, her cheek smearing into one of the cushions. Her arms are still bound behind her back and she’s all but given up tugging at them, but Steve seems to notice her squirming.

“If I take the belt off will you be good for me, bunny?”

“Yes– yes, I will, daddy– please– be so good for you.” He shushes her, laying a kiss in the middle of her spine before finally unwinding the belt from her wrists. She flexes her hands, whimpering at the ache that’s already set into her joints. Steve presses a kiss to both of her wrists and she can’t help the shudder that runs through her at his gentle movements.

“There you go, baby. I know it hurts, I’m sorry. Gonna make you feel so much better.” His hands snake under her waist, undoing her jeans before sliding them down her legs. His rough palms splay over the swell of her ass, squeezing the flesh and making her gasp.

“Daddy’s gonna make you feel good, bunny. I promise. But, I just don’t think you’ve quite learned your lesson.” She jolts at that, craning her neck to look at him.

“No– I have! I promise I have, daddy!” He chuckles, catching her off guard when he lands a harsh smack to her ass that sends her lurching forward into the couch.

“You saying you know better than daddy, baby?” She shakes her head, burying her face into her forearms.

“N-no, daddy. Just don’t want it to hurt.”

“Aw, pretty, you won’t learn if it doesn’t hurt, yeah?” He runs his palms up and down her spine, a soothing before the storm.

“Tell you what. Since you’re being so good for me now, we’ll just do five alright? No belt, just my hand.” That’s a small mercy. She hates when he uses the belt, and he knows it. She sighs, nodding her acceptance.

“Does that first one count?” He chuckles, hands squeezing her hips.

“I don’t think so, pretty. That one was a warning, these five are punishment. You think your little brain can handle counting them for me?” She huffs at that, he’s twisting an already deep knife in her gut, but she nods.

The first blow is quick and she yelps out “one!” For a while after, he just rubs his palms on her ass to the point that her legs start trembling in anticipation. He abruptly lands the second and third in the same spot and she shrieks out the count. She already knows that he’s aiming to leave a mark. The fourth and fifth come quick too and she’s been reduced to a mess in the aftermath. Tears are streaming down her face and her whole body shivers under his touch, but she can also feel the wetness smearing across the inside of her thighs. Steve leans over her, draping his warm chest across her back and she reaches a hand back to grab onto his thigh.

“Did so good for me, baby. My good girl, huh?” He presses a kiss into her temple before he hoists her up, keeping her back pressed to his chest as she’s all but slack in his arms. He helps her step out of her jeans and panties, turning her around in his arms and letting her clasp her hands around his neck. She’s mute in his hold, pressing her face into his neck as his hands slide down her thighs to hoist her legs around his hips.

He pads into the bedroom, laying her down across his bed and slotting himself between her legs. She brings her hands to the hem of his shirt and he gets the hint, sitting back and shucking it off over his head. She thinks that she’ll never get used to it, seeing him bare. There’s strange scars along his abdomen, she assumes from previous burns, but he’s still the prettiest thing she’s ever seen, all tan muscle and the sweetest little freckles. He motions for her to sit up, slipping her shirt off when she does before pressing them both back into the mattress in a harsh kiss. His tongue invades her mouth immediately, wrapping her senses in a hazy fog of him. He pulls away with a hot gasp.

“Need to be inside you, baby. Need your pussy so bad.” She just sighs out his name, watching him lean back to tug his cock out of his boxers before dropping the heavy tip against her folds. She whines when he draws the head of his cock through her cunt, her wetness smearing over the length of him.

“Tell me you want it, pretty. Tell me you want me.” He dips into her entrance and she gasps at the feeling.

“I want it, Steve, please– want you now.” He rolls his hips forward in one smooth thrust that sends her reeling, her hands clinging to his back as she cries out at being entirely full with him. He groans into her neck, quickly finding a steady rhythm as he fucks into her.

“Fuck– pussy’s made for me, baby– so perfect– just take it.” He brings one hand down to toy with her clit and it makes her hips buck up into his as she chokes on his name.

“Come for me, pretty– need it so bad– you better fucking come right now.�� Her release sneaks up on her and then she’s falling hard, spasming around his dick and digging her nails into his back. He isn’t far behind her, fucking her through her high before he thrusts into her one final time and spills inside her with a shivery groan. They’re both panting, laying entangled in a hazy stillness as they come down. The ache is already coming back into focus, in her wrists and along the swell of her ass. She winces hard when he finally pulls out.

He had certainly gotten her good and fucked out, but she’s all too quickly coming out of the haze, all the dark things he said resting heavy on her chest until it feels like she can’t breathe. She goes to get up, but he’s quick to stop her, bringing his hands to her shoulders to press her back.

“Woah, easy, baby. Just lemme take care of you.” She shakes off his hands, dipping under his hold to stand and shuffle into the bathroom.

“‘I’m fine, Steve. Just– give me a minute.” She scrubs her hands down her face before turning in the mirror to take in the sight of her mottled ass. Sure enough, there’s a perfect, blotchy, red handprint across her one cheek, it even looks like he broke skin around the edges. There’s little bruises dotting her hips as well from where he had dug his fingers in, and she hisses as she runs her fingers over them. It’s then that she catches sight of her wrists in the mirror, rubbed red and raw from his belt. Normally, she enjoyed this kind of thing, evidence of a good session with Steve. But right now, the sight of her weary body coupled with his words still swirling in her head just makes her want to cry.

“Baby?” She’s startled out of her thoughts by Steve’s hoarse voice. He’s leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest and a furrowed look across his face. She sighs, not quite able to meet his gaze as she brushes past him back into the bedroom. He’s following behind her mutely as she grabs her shirt, quickly pulling it back on before walking out into the living room to get her panties and jeans. She’s sliding her pants up her legs when he finally speaks again.

“W-what are you doing?”

“I think I should go, Steve.”

“What? What do you mean? Baby, I– you need someone to take care of you, lemme look at those bruises.” He goes to reach for her but she flinches, stepping back away from him. He stops dead in his tracks.

“All that shit that you said, did you mean it?” He gives her a confused look, but she presses on.

“Steve, your words really hurt me. All that talk about me being your stupid slut. I-It felt different, it felt like you meant it.” He swallows hard.

“I was just angry, baby. I didn’t mean that shit. You just– you caught me off guard with those– those fucking pamphlets– and then the pills. I overreacted, I–”

“I can’t keep doing this, Steve!” His face crumples in an instant at her words, and when he speaks, his voice is so small it makes her breath catch.

“Can’t keep doing what?” She huffs, throwing her arms out in frustration.

“This! All I wanna do is help you and all you wanna do is push me away. It’s-it’s absurd. Why you won’t stop being so fucking stubborn is beyond me. But then, you just get so nasty about it, so mean.” She lets out a bitter laugh, sitting down on the edge of the couch and holding her head in her hands.

“And the worst part is, I let you be that way to me. I keep trying to help you and you keep lashing out at me a-and I can’t take it anymore, Steve. I just can’t.” Her words seem to have left him speechless, he just stands there, his eyes searching her face. She huffs, standing and heading towards the front door. It’s silent as she shrugs on her coat and puts on her shoes, sliding her bag up her arm. When she goes to open the door, however, his large hand comes into view, pressing the door shut. She turns around to tell him off, but chokes on her words when she sees his face. His eyes are swimming in tears, his expression completely crumpled.

“Please don’t go, baby. I’m sorry– I’m so sorry. You know I didn’t mean any of that stuff I just– I got freaked out, ok?” She pinches the bridge of her nose with her fingers, squeezing her eyes shut to keep from crying anymore.

“You say that every time this happens, Steve. I can’t keep believing what’s obviously a lie.” And then, Steve does something she couldn’t have expected in a million years. He gets down on his knees in front of her.

“I swear it’s not a lie this time, I swear. I-I’ll go to a shrink like you want me to– I won’t take anymore of those pills, just– please don’t fucking leave me, baby. You-you’re so good a-and so smart and– I love you, I really fucking love you.” It’s the first time he’s said it, and she wishes more than anything that it had been under any other circumstance. For a moment, she wonders to herself how she got here, in only three months, completely entangled with this broken man. She’s startled out of her thoughts when he wraps his arms around her hips, burying his face into her stomach.

“Please, baby. You know I need you.” She tentatively rests her hand in his hair, feeling the way he slackens against her at the contact. She draws her fingers through his hair firmly, tilting his head back to look at her. She lets out a long sigh.

“Listen to me, Steve Harrington. This is it. I swear to god if you’re lying, if anything like today happens again? I’m gonna leave and I’m never gonna come back.” His eyes go wide at her words and he’s quick to get on his feet, cupping her face in both his palms.

“I promise, it’s never gonna happen again. Gonna be better for you. Love you so much, baby.” She lets him press a damp kiss to her lips before pulling back.

“Will you let me take care of you now, pretty?” She nods, having to admit that her skin is smarting under the rough material of her jeans. He gives her a sweet smile before taking her hand and leading her back into his bedroom.

…

She swears she could get whiplash from how quickly Steve can change, going so sweet on her the second he has her laid back out on his bed. He gently peels her jeans down her legs, having her turn over onto her stomach while he rubs aloe lotion into her welts, murmuring apologies as he works. He thumbs at her wrists before kissing each, letting her turn onto her side while he slides behind her, wrapping her up in his arms. She’s exhausted from everything and falls asleep easily, moored by the steady rise and fall of his solid chest pressed into her back.

When she wakes up, it’s much later, the sun already setting on the city. Steve stirs behind her, grumbling into her neck.

“Can you stay tonight?” She hums her affirmation. She’s off RA duty until tomorrow and doesn’t have morning classes either, she can stay. Steve sighs. Her voice is hoarse when she speaks.

“How’s your head?” He groans.

“Hurts. I’ll take some advil.” Relief floods through her system that he really has seemed to drop the prescription debate.

“You can probably take a higher dose than normal, just for a little while before it starts getting better.” He sighs again, a seeming acceptance of her words. She wills herself to believe that it will get better.

“You hungry, baby?” She hums another yes to his question, turning in his arms to look at him.

“Should probably get something in you before you take anything too.”

They order takeout from her favorite spot, something Steve does every time he’s had to apologize to her. She’s had a lot of takeout in the last three months. She hopes this time really is different.

#steve harrington smut #steve harrington angst #steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington au

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cr0ftisprocrastinating · 15 days

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do you have any recommendations for someone that absolutely loves academia, would love to be going to school to finish a degree, yet can’t for financial and other reasons? Most free classes online center around math/stem/coding. And it doesn’t much feel like studying without a class, discussion, papers, etc! What’s a girl to do?

I love this question! And also, feel for you. I personally worked and saved for five/six years in order to afford my masters!

However, this is not always an option, in which case some other ideas might be:

(possible costs involved) Depending on where you are in the world, check whatever university is local to you to see if they do weekend/short courses. Oxford's Continuing Education department, for example, run weekend/week-long courses on all *kinds* of things, and local institutions might also offer similar things!

If you do a short course somewhere and make friends, you could then see if people are up for a semi-regular study 'group', which might also help fill the need for scholarly debate!

Do you have a local library? Check out their resources. Even if they don't have formal study groups/things, you could always assign yourself times of the day/week to go and do some independent study. Not great maybe for the sociable aspect of your q, but definitely could fit the vibes!

Similarly, do you have a local archive? If you are looking for historical stuff to do, then see if your local archive runs groups. Lots of people are interested in tracking their ancestry and undertaking local history projects - you could be one of them! Also, they might need volunteers. This could be boring if not the thing you're looking for, but it might appeal (I love to file, personally)

Set yourself a project. What do you want to know more about, and then what is an interesting way to approach this? Do not be constrained by discipline, because you are not constrained by institution. Make a zine about a little-known environmental policy. Write a fiction book set in a specific period and try to get it as accurate as possible. Contact a small, local museum and see if they want to exhibit your genius portraits of town dogs or something.

Volunteer at a local gallery/museum. This may not be great at first for the scholarly aspect of things, but it might put you in contact with other people who love learning and want to do more of it.

Pretend you are going to *teach* on the thing you are interested in. Put together a reading list and a list of essay questions. How would you structure the course? What form would the exam take? What would the mark scheme be?

Take yourself on a little field trip once a month/term/year/however often you want. Go somewhere you haven't been before, but with a specific focus in mind. Something like: 'I am going to try and find out as much as possible about this place's collection of Greco-Roman statues.' 'I am going to go to this gallery and draw all the things I see that are yellow.' 'I am going to see how many different kinds of daisy there are in these famous daisy gardens.'

Idk if any of these are actually useful or if they veer into the impractical but I hope you find something even vaguely inspiring! Also, I would recommend keeping a record of any outings or things you try. The process of recording the things you do to further your own interests would make a fascinating project in itself!

#crofts insane rambling

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siriuslysatorusimping · 10 months

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Your rant about college au's and high school- first of all, I relate lol. Second of all, I had a slightly different college experience because I went to school at a teeny tiny women's college (700 students at most, no Greek life, no football). So it wasn't that there was a single student everyone knew, but that everyone just knew everyone. I love that I had that experience, but honestly reading Physical Paradox makes me wonder what going to a bigger school, a larger pond, if you will, would have been like. My grad school is still super tiny compared to most colleges in the state even though it feels a bit bigger to me. Maybe I'll get to experience it for my post doc - but if I only experience it through Physical Paradox, I can't complain :)

See, that reminds me of small-town syndrome. And as someone who is from a semi-small town, and whose mom is definitely from a small town (like, you mention her maiden name to someone there and everyone in a ten-foot radius knows who you're talking about 🙃) I feel like I would have hated that lol.

Though, I will say I went to a community college for a couple years before university, and that was actually really nice. But there weren't really people I saw regularly.

There's a level of anonymity to a big school that's super comforting.

I RANTED AND IT IS BELOW THE CUT 😂😂

When it came to my school, there were around... 35-40k students when I was in undergrad? We had a homecoming king and queen every year who were from some of the larger organizations or greek groups, but I couldn't tell you their names then or now. No one except the people in those orgs cared. Ever. They got people to vote by offering them free things. No one cared because it was literally just, "I need to survive this week. My future is on the line so why do I give a fuck if some asshole gets to walk on the football field and wear a fake crown?"

We had a student body president, but AGAIN I COULD NOT TELL YOU THE NAME OF ANY OF THEM EVER. (wait, that's a lie, one of my friends went to high school with one of them, so I spoke to him once in the hallway of the English building when he stopped to talk to her - long before he became student body president - and then promptly never spoke to him ever again. I think his name was Ben? 🤔)

I wasn't in any clubs, and I was never in a sorority, either, so things were likely very different for people who were. But I really enjoyed my undergrad and grad experience. I was depressed as fuck, but I still am, so I can't blame school for that lol.

When it came to recognizing people, I'm not joking when I say Mahomes was the only one people recognized. The quarterback a few years later was one of my friends' students and SHE HAD NO FUCKING CLUE WHO HE WAS AND NEITHER DID THE REST OF US BECAUSE WE STOPPED CARING ONCE WE COULDN'T GO TO THE GAMES FOR FREE.

If anything, there were a few professors who taught the basic courses that everyone knew because they'd taken a class with them because they had to at some point (a history, anthropology, science, or art history class). But I'm talking like, "Oh, Dr. Whatshisface, who teaches that one super weird class that counts as this core credit so you don't have to take the boring version? Yeah, everyone took that class." there was a professor who taught a northern myths and legends class who looked like a mix of Chris Hemsworth and Russel Crowe, it was strange. He also taught German. Most people had heard of him because he dressed up as Thor every Halloween to make his students laugh. He was really nice. He let us watch movies as extra credit.

Now, departments? Oh, the departments talked. Every department had professors everyone knew or hated or loved. My fave prof was a lit professor everyone thought was super hot (I've genuinely always been creeped out by this, and what's funnier is that he was also creeped out.) My least favorite was the asshole I've mentioned before, and literally no one liked him.

SO. Physical Paradox Goinko makes sense from a professor perspective because word spreads about the good and bad professors. "Don't take this guy because he's an asshole" "take this professor because she's wonderful" "if you take this guy, the class fucking sucks but it's actually really great and you learn a lot" "that guy is a dick, but he's actually a good teacher if you give him a chance"

That kind of shit always goes around. People ask acquaintances about professors or specific classes because a professor makes or breaks that class for the semester. I remember being devastated when a class I was taking got switched to a different prof last minute and GUESS WHAT IT WAS HORRIBLE. ONE OF THE ONLY B'S I GOT IN GRAD SCHOOL. FUCK THAT GUY.

But I'm trying to keep it as realistic as possible when it comes to the student aspect. Because people just don't know each other and they honestly don't give a fuck most of the time. You meet someone in a class and you become decent enough friends, but if you never speak to them again after that? Meh. No biggie. That's what Rinko and Geto were like before the class in Theoretical Introduction. They likely would have still become better friends in that class, even without Gojo there, though.

Grad school was different because you have cohorts and those are smaller groups of people you're with until you finish your program, but even then? I know next to nothing about anyone who was in my program aside from my best friend. BUT WE ONLY BECAME GOOD FRIENDS BECAUSE WE WERE OFFICE MATES. WE WOULD HAVE NEVER SPOKEN OUTSIDE OF CLASSES IF NOT FOR THAT. I think there were five(? it's been so long I actually can't remember) of us, and we became friends in that we occasionally grabbed drinks together and graded together but beyond that? I still speak to two people, including my best friend. The other lives kinda close to me now anD I JUST REALIZED I HAVEN'T RESPONDED TO A TEXT FROM HER IN WEEKS HOLY FUCK WE WERE TRYING TO PLAN GETTING DINNER-

okay rant over i'm gonna go reply and try to be a decent friend 🫠🫠🫠

#kiko rants #kiko saying dumb shit #physical paradox ask #goinko professor au #rinko/gojo professor au

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pocketramblr · 1 year

Text

another week, another sailor moon au episode:

Weeks passed, and En fell into his new routine.

Midnight would wake him earlier so he could train before class, and it almost worked at making sure he was only late about half the amount he used to be. It also almost worked in that Midnight was a cat, and so it wasn't like she could really show En how to fight.

Mostly he ran, watched free running videos and tried to emulate them, and practiced throwing his tiara at Midnight as she dodged.

He complained often. Midnight ignored it better than Nana did.

Every now and then, while they trained in the morning or after dinner, someone's cry for help would echo from his earrings. They'd find a monster there, sucking out people's energy and leaving them limp on the ground. Or, sometimes, the monster would claim to have stolen the humans' individualities instead and send them after En like a hoard of zombies.

Midnight gave him a pen once as well that let him transform and disguise himself, which was good because that attack had been at his university. The monster was hiding behind a pop-up store that sold textbooks for so cheap no student could resist the offer. More than one of En's classmates could have recognized him if it weren't for his paramedic disguise.

"You know, between the smokescreen of your shroud and my disguise pen, I'm really starting to feel like I'm supposed to mostly be running and hiding instead of fighting on the front line." He said one day, picking the tiara back up from the top of the parking lot where they'd picked to train.

"You do all three, what makes you think like that?" Midnight asked, tilting her head.

"I'm not sure I do." He admitted. "But Tuxedo Mask sure seems to think it's not enough..."

The man had appeared several other times, stepping in to protect En when needed in a fight. Sometimes his compliments made En wish his gakuran had a higher collar to hide his warm face in, like his red coat did. And sometimes his comments made En want to Moon Tiara Action at him.

"Oooh, and you want to impress him, do you?" Midnight cooed. En glared at her, and she just laughed. "I can see why you would, but remember... he talks a lot for someone who's never fought a monster directly."

It was true, and he also never seemed to rescue other people while En fought. But still, the Moon Scout didn't think it was all talk. Not with how sharp those roses seemed to be.

"Do you think he's all hot air?" He asked.

"Only a little. But you seem to forget air and breathing at all when you see him~"

En threw the tiara at her again. She jumped out of the way, flipping as she did. "Oh, nice one! But I'm just teasing, En."

"Where does he even come from?" He asked. "How does he know about every fight?

Midnight turned a little slower. "I'm not sure. He must have some way of sensing yours or the monsters' energy, but it's like I can't sense his at all."

"So he's not one of the other Scouts we're looking for." En stared at the tiara on the cement. "Do you know what they will be like?"

"I know they're tied to the planets, and that Stellaris found the Venus Scout. I know the scouts are supposed to be looking for the lost royalty of the moon, and I know how to activate the scouts' powers when we find them... But not what they look like. My memories are fuzzy, I told you."

She had. Midnight said whoever had sent her from the kingdom on the moon had messed with her memories, and while she had seen other scouts before that, she wasn't sure exactly how many there were. Maybe four, maybe nine. Maybe more.

Definitely more than two, though.

"And where is the Venus Scout?" He asked, picking up the tiara again. "Why aren't they helping us look, or fight monsters, or anything?"

"They are. There was a monster in Otheon last week they took down."

"In Europe?"

"The scouts could be anywhere, and so could the monsters, it's better to divide and conquer." Midnight couldn't exactly shrug, but he got the gist.

"Yeah..." he didn't throw the tiara, instead sliding it back onto his head and pulling his hair back over it. "Speaking of, I think I know where one might be."

"Oh?" All hint of Midnight's teasing sass vanished as she looked at him now, waiting.

"Mhm. The game center in town has gotten a bunch of new games based on the Deku Scout, and people are apparently obsessed with them. I heard some classmates complaining about how crowded it was and how long to wait for it."

At mention of the game, some of the tension in Midnight's legs and tail fell. "Why do you think that's a monster?"

En stared at her.

"It's like this every time. The monster shows up with something new to draw people in, like the student bookstore, or that crystal cram school, or the free pets from the store, or the jewelry sale, or that flashy fortune telling place, or that fancy radio station-" he waved his hand. "A ton of people get drawn in, the monster feeds off them and then shows itself. So, let's find the monster before it can attack anyone else."

Midnight hummed, tail flicking. "Well, it's good to see you taking initiative."

"Hey."

"You don't get out of bed unless I jump on your face, En. Don't 'hey' me. But I suppose we should investigate it or keep an ear out for anything else with that pattern."

"Cool, we can go to the game center tonight to scope it out." He decided. "which means I should try to grab a nap first. C'mon, let's go home."

But it seemed fate- and his sister- had other plans.

"Enkun, Toshinori-kun and I are going to the game center today since the dojo is closed, you should come with us! I’m buying lunch on the way.”

“Uh,” He glanced down at Midnight, who nodded. “Sure. I was thinking about going over there anyway. When are you leaving?”

“In about fifteen minutes, I’m hungry.”

En changed quickly- training made him hungry too- and snuck Midnight into a bag so Nana didn’t question taking the pet cat with them.

He’d heard a bit about Yagi Toshinori, a high schooler who worked as an assistant at the dojo Nana taught at. Apparently she was impressed with the boy’s spirit and strength, and she’d taken him under her wing a bit the last couple of years.

He had not been expecting a familiar looking kid, taller than him and nearly as broad as Sorahiko, with bright yellow hair and an even brighter voice when he saw them. “Shishou!”

“Toshinori-kun.” Nana smiled, while En blinked. ‘Master’, really? He elbowed his sister, who shrugged. “That’s all him, not my idea.”

“Is this your brother, then?” Yagi asked as he drew closer like an eager golden retriever.

“Yep, En, this is Yagi Toshinori, Toshi-kun, this is En.”

“I recognize you, we’re in the same math class with Kazoe-sensei.” Yagi said, then at the blank look on En’s face, continued. “But you usually come in late and sit in the back, so we haven’t officially met. Nice to meet you, Hirochika-san, please take care of me.”

En felt a little like he should be saying that with the side look Nana was giving him now, but unfortunately Yagi looked too sincere to have meant anything by saying that.

“Nice to meet you. But I thought you said he was in high school.” En said, looking to his older sister.

“Oh, I am.” Yagi rubbed the back of his neck. “I take a couple of college classes too though- when I graduate in March I’ll have a year of credit done already.”

“Nice.” En said. “So you’re studying even more than other high school seniors. And working at the dojo?”

“Yep!” Yagi was happy enough to explain that’s why he suggested the fun afternoon today when they couldn’t work, as he’d heard good things about the Deku Scout arcade game but hadn’t had any time to go. En slowly edged back to be behind him and Nana, following them to the restaurants opposite the game center.

En felt a nudge to his side, and looked to see Midnight peaking out of the bag.

“What is it?” He asked.

Midnight looked at Yagi. “Have you met him before?”

“No. Why, what’s up?”

“I don’t trust him. Something about his energy, it’s wrong. Not standard human, more like yours or a monster.”

“A monster?” He paused, looking at the kid beaming up at his sister as she messed up his hair. En remembered when she’d do that to him, and how he’d get annoyed and push her away. Yagi didn’t push her away, just laughed harder. Ok, weird, and definitely an only child. But a monster?

“Nana’s known him a long time, though. I don’t think she’d put up with him if he were acting monstrous.” En looked back at Midnight. “What does his energy feel like?”

“Wrong, like it shouldn’t be on this planet.” Midnight sounded sure of it.

“Well, I guess we were keeping an eye out anyway… let’s just see.”

Nana told him to hurry up, opening a door to a restaurant, and En quickly shifted the bag to hide the cat and walked inside without another word.

The game center was not as crowded as En had expected, honestly, though there was a line around the Deku Scout game.

He followed Nana and Toshi, watching the girl at the game control a little doll with a cute green uniform and bunny mask as it hopped around a level, avoiding bad guys or hitting them on the head. She took the Deku Scout up to a hidden block, which unlocked… a gun.

With that, she began to mow down bad guys with ease. It honestly looked a little silly on the screen, but there were level puzzles and fun enemy designs so En got it’s popularity, if not it’s subject matter.

“You guys can wait to play this one if you want, I’m going to the dancing games.” Nana waved, and then En left with an excuse about going to the bathroom in order to scope out the whole place.

No one seemed particularly tired around the Deku Scout game, but sometimes it would take hours or days for the effects- and the monsters- to reveal themselves.

He kept looking around.

The only one who seemed off was a game center manager, who was staring at the door and frowning.

“Um, hey,” En asked, not sure how to ask if the guy was a monster trying to feed on the energy of more customers. “Is everything alright, sir?”

The man looked him over, and shrugged. “Just that entertainment center that opened across the block. It’s been stealing my customers with every flashy thing. Heard some kids say they got a roller coaster inside, which can’t be right.” He sighed. “Only thing I’ve got they don’t is the new Deku Scout games. I’d have prepared more if I knew competition was opening, but they just popped up out of nowhere. Not right, but everyone I ask says they’re legitimate…”

“There’s another entertainment center?” En asked.

“Ha, you didn’t see the line outside? The big flashy new signs?”

“I have a one-track mind?” En tried to justify, but the man was already shaking his head with a smile and turning away to take a kid’s tickets.

It was really empty, for an afternoon like today…

“You think we should check out this other one?” He opened the bag again.

“Sounds like a monster, like what you were saying.” Midnight agreed, and En closed the bag, turning to the exit- he should be able to be back before Yagi and Nana noticed. As he left, he saw the manager watching him with a pinched look.

“Of course you’re going over there too now.” He grumbled, and En walked faster.

He tried to look nonchalant as he entered, and- oh yeah wow, it was crowded in here.

Flashing lights threatened to give him an immediate headache, games roared all around as people rushed between them, and there was actually a coaster ride, and a water fountain, and two full restaurants, and-

“Welcome to EletriCity!” an employee said, wearing a bright vest. “Would you like a token bracelet for our opening week? Free games all night long, and half off at the restaurant!”

En wanted to know where monsters got all the money from to throw down the drain in ploys like this, and how he could get a part of it.

He shook his head.

“Sorry, I’m waiting for a couple of friends. We’ll grab some when they get here though!”

“Oh, awesome! Well, you can just take these and give them to your friends when they get here.” they dropped three in his hand. “Let me know if you need more, and invite as many friends as you want!”

Then they left as another customer entered, chatting and smiling and lopping a token bracelet around their wrist in seconds.

En quickly moved away, holding the bracelets down to the bag.

“Monster?” He asked.

Midnight stuck out her head, and sniffed.

“Monster, energy draining. Throw those away.”

He nodded, moving to a fake, glowing tree and dumping the bracelets in its pot.

“We’ll definitely be back here tonight then. I guess I should do a loop, check for entrances… or exits.”

“See if you could spot the monster, or any hint of what they’re like too.” Midnight advised.

He did, wandering the isles to see where windows and doors were, restrooms, places to hide or to watch for an ambush from. It was difficult to focus or see clearly with the lights, but he felt confident. They were ahead of the monsters for the first time, he was figuring this Moon Scout thing out.

And then a girl passed out on a dance game.

He turned to see her shoved off for the next person to take her spot.

“Hey!” En was hardly audible above the noise. He moved towards them, but an employee got to her first.

“Poor thing must have had too much fun!” they said, lifting her up. “Don’t worry, we’ll bring her to the powder room until she wakes or her party can collect her.”

Then they rushed her away.

En stared, and looked around.

Did anyone else really not…

“Guess we weren’t that much ahead of the monsters.” He told Midnight, lifting her out of the bag.

No one noticed.

He hid the bag behind an arcade game, and then transformed.

“Moon Prism Power, One for All!”

No one noticed until he lifted his disguise pen, and then jammed it into the screen of a game four kids were around.

“Everyone out!” He shouted. “It’s a monster attack!”

The kids stared at him.

“Wait, where?”

“Really? I saw those on the TV, where is this one?”

“Can we watch it here?”

“Wait, are you the Moon Scout?”

“Deku Scout is cooler.”

“Will we get to see Deku Scout fight the monster?”

En stared at the kids.

The kids stared back at him.

En looked over to Midnight, who was focused on everyone else, eyes narrowed for sign of a monster. Wouldn’t take long, now, and he needed to get as many people away from the fight as he could.

So, he nodded. “Yep! You guys can watch the fight on the TVs from the other game center, and they’ve got the Deku Scout game over there to play while you watch.” He lied. “Go on, go!”

They ran to left, and a few others did, though a couple turned back to their own games.

At the end of the row, another player fell to the ground by a crane game, though remained upright enough to slump by the game, not fully passed out.

An employee turned the corner to pick them up, then stopped at the sight of En.

“Moon Scout!” He shouted, and suddenly the lights all shut off.

“Damn, I didn’t even get to use Midnight Shroud.” He muttered.

“Moon Scout, duck!” Midnight yelled, and he did, feeling something whiz over his head and crash into a game a moment later.

The lights came back up, and the employee was no longer a technicolor vest wearing fashion victim. The vest turned into armor, the energy draining bracelets into scales along their arms and down their back into a metallic tail.

Their eyes glowed.

Finally, other people started to run, screaming.

The lights fell, and En rolled out of the way, then climbed over a game into the next row with less grace than a shaken chicken.

More crashing sounds, before the lights returned.

“Running and hiding already, little Moon Scout?”

“I really prefer the monsters that just say their name over and over again.” En muttered to Midnight as she slipped between games, looking him over. “They feel less personal.”

“You complained that radio station monster only said “Fear-Me-Mix” and made the fight boring.” Midnight stepped around him as he stood and grabbed a water bottle sitting forgotten on a racing game.

“And you shouldn’t take my complaints seriously. Hey monster!” He threw the bottle at it over the games, then threw himself forward and low to avoid the hits as the lights fell again and something smashed the racing game.

Midnight hummed something and En ignored her, focusing on the fight.

The lights came back up, and he shouted, “Midnight Shroud!” before running towards the fake tree to grab the bracelets.

He nailed the monster in the head with one bracelet before the darkness of the shroud began to dissipate, not helped by the open center doors.

Which someone was running into, not out, the wrong way.

“En? Are you in here?”

Nana’s voice.

The second bracelet he threw missed his target.

“Is everyone ok? Hirochika-san?”

Yagi’s.

En threw himself back into the aisles of games to avoid both their eyes and the monster’s tail.

He ignored the jeers of ‘coward’ and ‘fool’ and demands to give his energy up to the League of Darkness.

“What is that thing?” Nana asked.

“I’ll distract it, you look for your brother and get these people out of here!”

What?

“What- Toshinori-kun, no!”

En dragged two fallen people out of the way to where a game could give them a bit of cover, and turned down the next aisle, running back up to the monster.

Before he could toss the last draining bracelet at it, Yagi appeared behind it, swinging a metal plate taken from the side of an arcade game.

What the hell was he doing?

“What the hell are you doing?” En couldn’t keep from asking, and the monster turned to him just as Yagi swung the metal at its shoulders.

It stumbled a little, and the metal bent plate bent from the force of it, which didn’t stop Yagi from swinging it again.

The monster grabbing him by the throat did, though.

It held him up as he kicked in futile effort.

“Oh, aren’t you full of such energy, and so strong too! You’ll be an excellent source of power for our great leader.” With that, the power bracelets along the monster’s arms began to glow. Yagi squirmed more, prying at the monster’s hands but only managing to move one finger.

A mark lit up on Yagi’s forehead, like a number 4.

Midnight gasped.

The light from the brackets faded, and so did the mark.

“What? Why can’t I take your energy? What are you doing?” the monster dropped Yagi, and raised a clawed arm.

En threw the third bracelet.

“Hey, monsters fight me, not random kids. Picking on them in a place like this, where they’re supposed to have fun? Just makes you worse.”

The monster tilted its head at him. “Aren’t you even younger than him?”

“No.” En said like he wasn’t embarrassed to still be mistaken for a high schooler. “I am not. But I am going to punish you, in the name of the moon. Moon Tia-“

The monster lashed its tail at him, and while En had practiced aiming and throwing at a target that moved, he hadn’t practiced while he himself was the one moving and dodging. He got out of the way without more than a bruised leg, but without managing the attack either.

Midnight ran past, something golden in her mouth. It looked a little like his disguise pen. He’d stopped asking her where she got these things from, or kept them on her bare body.

“Is that another weapon for me you won’t say where you got?” he asked, panting.

He needed to end this soon. But Yagi was closer to the monster than any other civilian had been when he’d dared to throw his tiara any other time. And where was Nana?

Midnight ignored him, and dropped the pen near Yagi’s face.

“Quick! Take this and say ‘Jupiter Power, One For All!’”

Wait, what?

“Wait, what?”

“Jupiter Power, One For All!”

In a flash of light, Yagi was in a different outfit. It looked like a school uniform too, with a white shirt with a yellow and red sailor bandana collar, and blue pants tucked into red and yellow boots. On his head, a tiara like En’s, except something sticking straight up between his long bangs, like an alien antenna.

“Woah!” Yagi said, jaw dropped and eyes wide, much like En’s must be.

“Another Scout?” the monster laughed. “Earth can only send children to protect it, ha.”

With that, it swiped with its tail and knocked Yagi and Midnight aside.

“No!” En threw himself forward as the monster turned towards him, claws raised.

A rose landed between them.

“Hardly the best place for a fight, is it, Moon Scout?” Tuxedo Mask asked, standing by a window.

“Well, I didn’t get to pick it.” En said.

“True, but that means all the more reason to pay attention. Is that a second Planetary Scout?”

Yagi stepped back from the arcade games, holding Midnight in his arms.

“I think he’s the third one, technically.” En shrugged. “But yeah, what happened to you, Yagi-kun?”

“How do you know my name?” he asked, setting Midnight down carefully.

Oh, right.

“Oh, right. Talking magic cat. Anyway… Jupiter Scout?”

“Yep!”

“Enough yammering! A third scout you say, Moon Brat? Then there will soon be four dead fools.” The monster roared, but Yagi started yelling louder.

“Jupiter Thunder Clash!”

Gold lightning flickered around him and up to his tiara, then shot from the antenna in a fury, crashing directly into the monster’s chest.

It toppled onto a dance game, smoking slightly.

En didn’t let it get back up.

“Moon Tiara Action!”

The monster shuddered at the burst of light, and fell to nothingness.

So did the arcade around them, games and lights vanishing as the entertainment center reverted to a blank grey space. Cement floors, whitewashed walls. The people slumped on the floor began to blink, stirring, though some seemed in better shape than others.

In the now empty rental space, everything echoed.

“Not bad, remember to use that tiara sooner, Moon Scout.” Tuxedo Mask nodded. “And Jupiter Scout, that lightning could be just as dangerous to allies as it is enemies.”

“Who are you?” Yagi asked, looking between Tuxedo Mask and En. “Who is he?”

“Tuxedo Mask.” En shrugged, then lifted a hand to the other man, who nodded.

“My work here is done.”

“But you didn’t do anything.” Yagi said, even more confused.

Tuxedo Mask turned and left.

En elbowed Yagi.

“What?”

“Don’t say that, ‘you didn’t do anything’.”

“But he didn’t!”

“Yeah, but we don’t say it.”

“So he really just, shows up, does that, leaves?”

En nodded. “Usually with commentary, yeah.”

Yagi’s brows furrowed. “So, is his work to… push us, in some way? Critique, advice?”

En hoped not.

“I hope not, no. Why?”

Yagi actually took a step back.

“What do you mean, why- is it, like- would it be better if he wasn’t doing anything, than if that was on purpose?”

“Yes.” En said, and then caught sight of Nana, walking someone who leaned on her shoulder closer to them. “Ah, shit. Ya- Jupiter Scout, your six.”

“My- oh,” Yagi turned, and jumped at seeing Nana.

“Moon Scout!” Nana said as she caught their eyes, “and, um, who are you?”

Yagi stared at her.

“He’s Jupiter Scout.” En said quickly. Was she unable to recognize them? That was great, why hadn’t Midnight told him that was a feature?

Well, she didn’t know everything, blamed memory holes sometimes. Bitten En when he’d looked up signs of alzheimer's in cats.

“Great, have you seen my brother? My student? We heard my brother had come here when people started screaming about the monster attack, and my student ran at the thing and I don’t see either of them at all.” Her eyes darted around to the people still on the ground.

“Um,” Yagi said, eloquently.

“They’re fine.” En said quickly. “But I know the monster was keeping some people in what they called a ‘powder room’, and the basic facilities of this place, restrooms, seem to still be set up over there, you can look if you’d like. We’re going to get everyone else out of here, we’ll call you over if we see either of them.”

With that, he grabbed Yagi and tugged him away.

“Um, shouldn’t we be helping them over-“ He started to point to a couple helping each other to stand, shakily.

“No, we need to leave out this way so no one sees you transform back, and you can go reassure her that her student did not die stupidly charging a literal monster with a bit of scrap metal.”

“Ah.”

Yagi let himself be tugged to the side exit without further complaint, though he did ask more questions.

“How do I transform back?”

“I’ll show you.” En said, then realized what that meant. Well, if the kid was a Planetary Scout he was probably trustworthy anyway. Could keep a secret.

That didn’t stop him from being so surprised at seeing En after the change that he honestly felt a little offended, though.

“Woah, I never would have guessed.”

En blinked.

“I mean, Shishou complains about how you never train with her, she was worried you’d be crushed in that monster attack, but turns out you’ve just been keeping your skill secret! But why?”

“What, are you going to shout to the world that you’re Jupiter Scout now?” En asked.

“No…”

“Yep.”

“But not telling your family?”

“She’d be more worried, not less, and it wouldn’t matter anyway because I’d still have a job to do fighting these monsters and watching Tuxedo Mask spin around with his cape.” En shrugged.

“How thoughtful of you.” Nana said, and her voice froze En’s spine.

Yagi stiffened too, eyes wide.

Slowly, the both looked to the side, where Nana was standing, En’s bag over one shoulder and arms crossed.

“How long have you been standing there?” En asked.

“Long enough.” Nana strode closer. “Hirochika Engetsu, what were you-“

“Don’t full name me, you aren’t our mother,” En held up his arm, “And-“

“I’m not your mother when it comes to being late to class or what you eat, but you could have died-“

“And that doesn’t change that, plus, look me in the eye and say you’d do differently in my place.”

“I would-“

“Liar, I saw the police had to hold you back from the jewelry store,”

“I would have done more even if I couldn’t have told you, En, and I’m older anyway-“

“Like that matters when I’m an adult now-“

“You can’t even drink-“

“Um, Shishou?” Yagi broke in, hesitantly. “In my defense, I didn’t know I could turn into a magical lightning rod, so I wasn’t keeping that secret from you on purpose?”

Nana whirled on him in a moment. “You didn’t know you had that power, so when you charged in you could have died-“ But her hand was shaking now, her voice not as harsh.

“It’s ok. We’re all alright now.” Yagi slowly took her hand in his. “See? We’re all here.”

Tears began to leak from her eyes, and she tugged her hand away to wipe at them. “You both could have died, that day Shimura-kun could have died, and-“

“Oh, does she know now?” Midnight asked, stepping between the humans and looking up at them.

Nana stopped, then looked down.

“Holy shit, our cat Midnight talks.” She said, voice still shaken but tears gone.

En whacked her shoulder. “Watch your fucking language in front of the kid.” He gestured to Yagi. “I thought you were all ‘the responsible adult’ or whatever.”

Nana started to laugh, and soon enough, they all were.

Wiping happier tears from her face, Nana took a breath. “Speaking of responsible adults, though. Toshinori-kun… Your uncle needs to know. I mean, I can’t take you to another dojo for a tournament without his permission, let alone you fighting magical monsters.”

Several very different kinds of panic flashed across the kid’s face, before it settled on general fear, and he nodded slowly. “I know, yeah, I will- just let me tell him, Shishou, not you, it needs to come from me.”

Nana nodded. “Alright, thank you Toshinori-kun.”

“Well, Midnight, that arcade monster is gone, and at least twelve hours before I expected to get to it.” En said, taking his bag and stepping away from the group. “So I think that means you can’t say I don’t take initiative.”

Midnight was not impressed.

“You were wrong about the Deku Scout game and lucked into another arcade monster.”

“And you were wrong about Yagi-kun being an evil monster too, so at least my guess was closer.”

“Um, what?” Yagi asked, as Nana did the same.

“Don’t worry about it, let’s go home before we have to give a statement to the cops or something about getting knocked out and totally not being magical space people.”

“Well at least I wouldn’t have to lie.” Nana sighed, but nodded and tugged on Yagi’s shoulder. “Let’s get going.”

En let them take the lead and trailed behind them with Midnight.

Yeah, not a bad day, all things considered.

On the way home, the train station was having a special sale on train bentos, each sold with a Deku Scout sticker. En squinted at the sign.

“You don’t think that’s a monster plot too, do you?” Yagi asked.

“That depends. Midnight, do you smell anything?”

“Just get four of them, let’s go.”

“Ok, only a thirty percent chance of monster involvement. Let’s get four.”

#en... nana... toshi!!!!!#planetary scout au #my writing #my fic

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igotsnothing · 1 year

Text

Chapter 3: The Visit

The phone's vibration jolted Finn out of the slumber he'd slipped into. He squinted in the dark at Jacob's text and grimaced: it was getting late and he'd gotten very little done around the camp. He'd started a second job on top of the landscaping gig, which only offered him work during the weekend; he'd taken on custodial duties at the Moonwood Mill Collaborative, a mix of maker studios and open air marketplace in a nicer part of town. It didn't pay that well, but the manager let him use the studio after hours. Finn had spent a large amount of time using the craft tables and learning how to operate the fabricator...Not always with the expected results.

The dumpster at the Collaborative had become a useful resource, as well. It held scrapped projects, discarded supplies, and even the occasional tool. He couldn't believe what people threw out.

Finn had mixed feelings about seeing Luna and Morgan again. They'd been friendly at school, but he had no idea if they would be as friendly to him once they saw how he was living.

"Finn!" Morgan Fyres cried out when she saw him. "Congratulations on getting out of that absolute hellhole of a school!"

"It's nice to see you again. You just disappeared; we were worried about you," Luna Villareal added softly.

Finn felt a pleasant blush course up his neck as he met her gaze.

They sat around the campfire as Finn fielded most of their questions.

"This is awesome," Morgan decided. "No one telling you what to do, where to be; you can do whatever you want..."

"It's not like I had much of a choice," Finn added, poking at the fire pensively.

"Do you miss being at school at all?" Luna wondered.

"Yes and no. I couldn't stay at home for another year. I just couldn't. And I can't support myself if I am at school full-time," he explained. "I don't miss the homework...but I kind of enjoyed some of my classes. And I do miss hanging out with everyone. Is everyone still T-posing in the halls?" He laughed.

"You should ask Morgan about posing!" Jacob provoked. "She pulled a little posing stunt during our yearbook pictures that landed her in detention..."

"That detention was a violation of my free speech rights, as the school is funded by taxpayers--"

"Prom is coming up soon. Do you want to go?" Luna interrupted. "You could come with me, if you'd like."

"Uh...Yeah! I'd like that. I'd like that a lot, actually. It would be fun to see everyone again before people take off for college." Finn smiled. "Are you sure? I don't want to be a drag, if you'd rather go with someone else." Finn felt his pulse quicken. He'd always found Luna really sweet and very pretty. He had no idea that she was interested--especially right then, when his life was such a craptacular mess.

"If I am asking you, it's because I'd like you to go with me, silly!" Luna laughed.

Everyone fell silent. Jacob pressed his lips together, suppressing a grin, and Morgan sat up, mildly alarmed.

"Ok, guys. My dad just texted. If you girls want a ride, we have to leave now."

"No problem." Luna stood up, wiping her hands on her jeans. "Finn, give me your contact info so we can make plans."

Finn blinked at her slowly.

"Yeah--hang on."

Morgan just stared, in complete surprise.

Luna leaned in closer, peering at his phone.

"OH MY GOD! I have the same lock screen!" Luna cried out.

"No way! You like Holly Alto's art, too?" Finn couldn't believe it.

"Are you kidding? Did you see the latest pictures of her mural in San Myshuno? It's on Social Bunny."

Morgan's stomach sank as she watched the two of them.

"Oh, I have to send you pictures of her last exhibit here," Finn continued excitedly.

"I'd love that!" Luna smiled.

"She's giving a talk at the University of Britechester next week! Wanna come with?"

"Yes!" She giggled.

"Last stop!" Jacob pulled up to Morgan's driveway.

"Hey--does Finn have a thing for Luna?"

"I don't know that he's given it much thought, given everything that he's been through lately. Why?"

"They seem to be moving kind of fast, don't you think?"

Jacob shrugged.

"If they're interested in each other, what should they be waiting for?"

"Thanks for the ride." Morgan stepped out of the car.

"Night!"

💔

Start ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗Previous˗ˏ★ ˎˊ˗Next

#the sims 4 #sims 4 story #sims 4 legacy #whimsy legacy #finn pearce #morgan fyres #luna villareal #jacob volkov #poor morgan #dramaaaaaa

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lunaraindrop · 2 years

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cactus & jasmine for the ask game! 🌵

Woo-hoo! Thank you so much for asking! 😊

Cactus: Something I am currently learning (about): Ever since I was a little girl, I have wanted to and have tried to learn sign language, particularly ASL. I thought it was cool, and I wanted to learn to talk to HoH/Deaf people. There was never any classes or opportunities inside school for me to learn (which still pisses me off), so I would check out library books every once in a while and try to learn that way. When I was older, I would look signs up on YouTube and mirror what I saw. This helped me more, to see signs in action.

When I first started to learn about education, I found out that teaching sign language in early childhood was such an amazing tool to give infants, toddlers, and nonverbal children.

In an ironic twist of fate, my mother gets more HoH every year. Her bosses at work have offered to pay for her to have hearing aids...but she is too vain. Because of this, I find myself talking with my hands and facial expressions more around her, and explaining to wait staff and retail workers that she has trouble hearing (you know, when she goes off on them because she thinks they said something they did not, or she is rude because she doesn't think they answered her questions, but that is another story). I feel like my mother would have had an easier time losing her hearing if learning sign language was seen as fundamental as learning English.

Because of these things, I have added ASL in little bite sized bits to my preschool curriculum. Things like learning the ABC's and a word or two a week like "turkey" and "pumpkin" around Halloween and Thanksgiving. The principal of the school *really* loved the idea. I even contacted the local university's Communications Disorders department for collaboration and advice.

TL;DR I'm learning ASL.

Jasmine: Oh dear. When I read this, a book or movie did not come to mind. My mind jumped automatically to the end of Season 4 and all of Season 5 of The Magicians. Because fuck you Sara Gamble, I don't need that shit. But, well, if you folks know me as well as I think you do, you could probably have guess that answers by how much I still scream that, ahem, *clears throat*

QUENTIN COLDWATER DESERVES BETTER

and

I REJECT YOUR CANON, Q IS NOT DEAD

So, instead, I will reach deeper and tell you about yet another show I stopped watching.

Grey's Anatomy.

Once upon a time, I used to watch that show. I found it clever and funny at times. I like clever and funny medical dramas. It is one of the reasons I like House MD. (Another is my undying love of anything Robert Sean Leonard, but I digress). My favorite character on GA was George O'Malley. Spoiler Alert, they killed off George. I stopped watching after that. I would hear from friends how the later seasons were so *gooood* because they would make them cry so much, and I was like, no. I'm depressed enough. I don't need a show to make cry. I need books/movies/tv to make me feel *hope* and *joy* and *wonder*. Sure, sadness will come, but I can't handle that being the focus.

(I know you are thinking of Eddie Munson right now, but I don't think he's dead either, so hah. He and Q are safe with me, thank you very much)

So...yeah. That was a lot. I hope I didn't scare you away! Feel free to ask me things!

#luna says #wtf luna #sign language #asl #the magicians #peaches and plums motherfucker #i am quentin coldwater #quentin coldwater #eddie munson #stranger things #quentin coldwater deserved better #preschool teacher #lunaraindrop #please ask me things #deaf and hoh #house md #robert sean leonard

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dankusner · 4 days

Text

University of Austin aims to foster free inquiry, entrepreneurship

A VISION FOR EDUCATION Ramya Nambala’s dream was simple: go to Harvard University’s Law School and become president of the United States.

But as a sophomore at the University of Texas’ prestigious Canfield Business Honors Program, she began questioning what she wanted higher education to do for her.

“What I wanted to do is be my own boss and create things that are good,” Nambala said.

“UT and many other traditional schools are built to get you a job.”

Torn, Nambala created a vision board and cut out a quote: “Say yes.”

The next day, while listening to a podcast, she heard venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale discuss the innovative energy in the fledgling University of Austin, where he was one of four cofounders.

“I just looked at that vision board,” Nambala said. “I was like, ‘Why is this so perfect?’ ”

On Sept. 9, Nambala restarted her undergraduate career to join 91 other students as the founding class of the University of Austin – the city’s newest higher education institute, nestled on the third floor of the historic Scarbrough Building downtown.

Many questioned her choice, she said.

But to her, not taking that chance would have been unthinkable.

“So much is broken in America. But higher education might be the most fractured institution of all.”

Pano Kanelos

UATX president

At a time when one college is closing per week, according to The Hechinger Report, the University of Austin wants to lead the industry into a hopeful future, integrating an inventive spirit with a return to the study of classic, foundational texts.

Culturally, it wants to counter illiberalism and censorship, which school leaders say is pervasive in higher education today, with a commitment to free inquiry and pursuit of truth. And students want to lead.

“Students here are true builders. It’s so inspiring to see how they will be creators,” said Nambala, who spoke to the American-Statesman during her second week of class.

“We all say we know a couple of us will be billionaires, and it’s a joke, but I feel like it’s actually true.”

Why was the University of Austin launched?

When Pano Kanelos said in 2021 that he was founding a new university in Austin, everybody listened.

“So much is broken in America. But higher education might be the most fractured institution of all,” wrote Kanelos, who had been the president of the country’s third-oldest university, St. John’s College in Annapolis, Md.

In some corners, the notion that something was wrong with higher education struck a nerve.

Critics argued that the University of Austin was a college for canceled conservative-leaning thinkers against woke ideology, and advisers such as the former University of Chicago president backed out early.

But in other corners, it resonated.

More than 1,000 people submitted inquiries in the first 24 hours, and 100% of faculty members who were offered a job accepted it, said Jacob Howland, the founding provost and dean of intellectual foundations.

Once it secured a certificate of authority from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the university began recruiting applicants and offering free tuition for the founding class.

In early September, Gov. Greg Abbott welcomed that class at the Capitol, shaking each student’s hand.

“The interest is enormous,” Howland said. “We feel like we have a lot of momentum right now, and we’re going to need it, because we still have a lot we need to do.”

How is the University of Austin different?

Sept. 9 was the students’ first day, but it’s far from the university’s first outing.

At the March 9 opening of its Austin Union, the school’s debate society, former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke.

youtube

The self-styled UATX sponsored an event at South by Southwest and formed a partnership with Capital Factory, a local startup incubator and center for entrepreneurs, which will hold the university’s Office of Entrepreneurship and Leadership and help students through their four-year project.

The university’s foundations already diverge from tradition.

UATX does not have tenure, or diversity, equity and inclusion practices.

None of its deans has held such a position before, Howland said.

“Ours is a revolutionary institution – revolutionary in the proper sense,” Kanelos, the founding president, said in his opening welcome Sept. 2.

“The word revolution – in its original sense, revolvere – means to revolve, to turn back to a point of origin, with the purpose of renewing an original spirit or ideal.”

UATX released a constitution codifying its leaders’ responsibilities, notably creating an independent judicial body to hold the leaders accountable to the institution’s values, something leaders say has not been done at a university before.

The university also started a bitcoin endowment aiming to raise $5 million, what it says is the first such long-term endowment at a higher education institution.

How does UATX fit into political landscape?

The school has a philosophy of teaching and learning in a way that all views can be put forth and debated to pursue the truth.

Howland said this requires a commitment to academic freedom and prioritizing learning over activism.

As public trust in higher education has plummeted and tensions on campuses over domestic and international conflicts brew, the University of Austin has surfaced as an appealing antidote to some.

Bloomberg reported that the controversy over how Ivy League presidents handled antisemitism after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel brought more donors and applicants to UATX.

Parents “want that joyful, rich education that they had to be available to their students,” Howland said. “And they began to worry; especially after Oct. 7, they realized that there’s a lot of things going on in universities other than teaching and learning.”

Morgan Marietta joined the University of Austin as dean of the Center for Economics, Politics and History after a brief stint at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Marietta had resigned from his post after the dean of his college instituted new guidelines for events, including mandating prior approval, sharing a copy of planned remarks and a risk assessment and mitigation plan, after he held a Q& A that escalated when pro-Palestinian students claimed the event was onesided.

In an interview with the Statesman, he critiqued academia as prioritizing “mainstream liberal progressive” hires over unconventional thinkers like himself, and institutions as practicing conformity and censorship instead of tackling highly charged topics.

“The decline has been just horrifying over the last 20 years, watching the ability to engage in other discussions of important events just decline and decline,” Marietta said. “We need new institutions. I don’t think the current schools are going to reform themselves.”

Who is UATX attracting?

For Constantin Whitmire, UATX stood out from the other places to which he applied. Whitmire, who has lived in San Francisco and Germany, wanted to study where he could focus on learning and building new things away from “echo chambers.”

“I didn’t want to go to a place that was all politically buzzed up (and focused on) modern-day politics and current events and going out demonstrating the entire day,” Whitmire said. “I wanted to spend time focusing on my academics and maybe building a project on the side.”

Nambala, who said she considers herself to be politically moderate, chose UATX not for the political landscape but to pursue all of her passions, from her artificial intelligence nonprofit to her novel to her interest in space and quantum computing.

“I truly believe I could impact a billion people, but before UATX, I didn’t actually think I could,” said Nambala, who hopes to create such an impact within 10 years.

“These successful people are looking to invest in ambitious young people, and they will provide you with outsized opportunities that you can only dream of.”

Ben Crocker, the university’s director of special programs and associate director of admission, said applicants largely are from families that have been interested since the beginning or are students the school recruited like “an elite sports team,” an idea he credits to Lonsdale.

He characterizes the institution’s students as patriotic, independent and highly motivated.

“A lot of these kids have sort of been in relative isolation,” Crocker said. At an event for prospective students last winter, he said their union was incredible. “There was this explosion of creativity and energy; they were just over the moon.”

Before classes began, students formed organizations, wrote and directed a seven- minute film, and founded a publication called the Austin Beacon, Howland said, speaking to the students’ drive to boldly “found” the institution.

Howland said students have diverse ages, socioeconomic backgrounds and political persuasions.

Data the college released showed that 68% of its students are male and 45% are from Texas.

The college had an acceptance rate of 26%, and deans directly approved the applicants.

The school did not release racial demographic data for applicants.

Applications for its next class opened Friday, also offering free tuition for four years.

What will UATX become?

Students occupy most of two floors of a West Campus residential complex, Howland said.

A shuttle takes them to the downtown campus – a navy- and gold-themed open floor with a library, a lecture hall and four classrooms, a dining area where students eat lunch with professors, and an open atrium to play chess, converse and pore over texts in study nooks.

As staff and faculty members soak in their realized vision, they feel eager for the world to see the university’s potential to transform students’ lives.

“Our donors are saying, ‘We really want to transform higher education as a whole,’ ” Howland said. “All these things just (make) an unbeatable package of excellence, and that’s my hope, that we quickly become known for that.”

Kanelos told the Statesman last winter that he sees the long-term vision of the institution as a “Stanford to UT’s Berkeley,” rivaling the flagship university on the Forty Acres, about a mile and a half north.

More broadly, he sees UATX as higher education’s “north star” – a symbol also on the school’s logo – that poses an alternative to polarization.

“We’re an immensely hopeful university,” Kanelos said “The fact that we’re succeeding is simply a sign that there is such hunger for institutions that want to be problem solving and want to be helpful in the future.”

Mike Shires, the university’s chief of staff and a professor, shares

Kanelos’ belief that UATX will transform higher education and help rebuild trust. And to him, that starts with the students.

“They’re young men and women who have literally chosen to pick an institution where there’s risk associated. It’s brand new,” Shires said.

“They’ve come here to build a student body in a student learning community that can carry forward for future generations.

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