#bubbles talks compsci

[bubbles-floating]

Windows: the end user shall not be able to do anything. They own a license key and are the admin on their own system? Yeah we don't care, you still don't get access. Suffer, I guess. And no, we won't actually answer your questions.

Linux: Here is your chance to completely fuck up some things - but you can also do really cool stuff! Sink or swim. We hope you don't drown? Just ask the community, someone will help you. Have fun!

[jibunie]

𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐑𝐢𝐜𝐡 - (0) 5 Broke Biggies

Xiao “Xiaojun” Dejun - Didn’t grow up wealthy, hell he didn’t even grow up middle class, yet somehow he ended up in one of China’s richest cities in order to attend NCTU on a full ride scholarship, majoring in Animal Biology. Currently working a daytime shift at Vision Convenience, he constantly finds himself running around trying to balance his hectic life.

Liu Yangyang - In a family of prestigious mechanics, how did he end up street racing?? Well it’s simple, it’s fun to break the rules. Attending NCTU, Yangyang majors in Mechanical engineering, his side job tends to take a toll on his mental health though as he’s quite the influenced individual.

Wong “Hendery” Kunhang - A streamer who goes by the name Hendery. Despite attending NCTU, majoring in computer science, he claims he doesn’t need a degree to get money however that tends to prove incorrect as his compsci degree often helps him fix technical issues with his stream.

Dong “Winwin” Sicheng - The acting friend of these 5, staring in the hit Chinese drama “When the Rain Stops”. Despite his hectic schedule, he still manages to attend NCTU and major in drama. He’s certainly tamer than the rest of the group, choosing to put on a chill online presence to mask his actual bubbly personality.

Huang Renjun - Surprisingly… normal? This is subtracting his aggressive personality. He’s an art major attending NCTU, he gets a lot of attention for his gorgeous looks and commissions. His short temper usually drives people away yet he somehow find people who are ok with him nearly screaming profanity in public.

Xiaojun’s priv - He usually talks about his dog Bella here, and if he isn’t he’s complaining about Hendery.

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Synopsis - Y/N is born into the Zhong family. Filthy rich yet she can’t seem to shake her love for a small convenience store, nor can she shake a infatuation with the cute cashier, Xiaojun, who works there. Her endless amounts of money entices her to attempt to buy his love, but she learns not all things could be bought with money.

Authors note: heh… skibidi…

Taglist :

@haowonbins

[joheun-saram]

promise - 1 (knj)

Chapter 1: New Year’s Eve

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Summary- It’s NYE and you can’t wait to bring in 2017 surrounded by your friends, but there’s a new cute boy around. You’re intrigued but quickly find out there is it’s no good being cute when he’s literally the most infuriating person you’ve met.

word count- 3.1k

pairing- asshole!Namjoon x Reader (alternatively, edgelord!Namjoon)

rating- PG15

genre- collegeau, roommatesau, enemies2lovers, slow burn, this chapter is platonic fluff(and angst I guess), future angst, fluff and smut

warnings- alcohol consumption, marijuana consumption, Namjoon being an absolute ass, he’s against socialism for a hot second (to rile her up, our Joonie is still woke tho nw), mention of sex, Jungkook’s parents based on my actual best friend’s parents (shoutout to their amazing jello shots!)

a.n- Well, well, well... if it isn’t my simp ass writing another Namjoon series. Love that about me. Get ready for some slow burn and a lot of Namjoon just being annoying! 🥴This is a drabbleish series so most parts will be about 2-3k.

Thanks for the beautiful @ditttiii​ for beta reading and to @aroseforyoongi​ for helping me with the political argument (also for dubbing this Namjoon edgelord!joon 🤣)

As always feedback appreciated, a reblog and a like goes a far way. Send me an ask! 💌

taglist- @namyoongles​ @cheesecakes-randomshitz​ 

Send me an ask to be on the taglist!

-

You were running late. Very late.  With a sigh you watched the street pass you by in a blur, the distant roar of your bus dimmed by the rap music that blasted through your ears. You looked at the group chat to be bombarded by messages.

Jungkook: bro istg if you’re not here in the next ten minutes

Hoseok: HURRY UP! JK IS DOING SHOTS WITH HIS DAD OMFG

Jimin: OMG Y/N. WE’RE GETTING DRUNK WITHOUT YOU

Jungkook: adsdsd duddde u suk wdt syop taling foevr

Yoongi: I’m gonna drink all the whiskey I got from Korea this week if you don’t get your butt over here.

Yoongi: Jieun says hi btw!

The texts continued to devolve into nonsense as you willed the bus to move faster. You were annoyed. Jungkook had planned the new year’s party at his parent’s house, and you were beyond excited to party, having spent the entire winter break stuck at home with your parents as they argued over the smallest things. You tightened your grip around your duffle bag as the bus came to a stop. Trudging through the snow you finally reached the familiar red door of your best friend’s house.

You knocked, taking in the large three-storey suburban house as you waited to be let in, already digging through your backpack for the bottle of tequila you had brought along. If they took any more time to open the door, you were going to start drinking right there on the porch. Before you could uncap your bottle, you were greeted by Jungkook’s dad, the familiar, jolly older man moved his hair out of his eyes as he greeted you.

However, before you could finally get out of the cold, he stopped you, presenting a tray of colourful jello shots.

“Y/N! Penalty for being late. You have to take a shot!” He laughed as you sputtered, his face reddened by what you assumed was alcohol. You had known Jungkook since the two of you were freshmen in university and had routinely stayed with him and his parents during break, but you had never seen Mr. Jeon this drunk. You stood awkwardly, not knowing what to do as he insisted, your friend finally joining him and encouraging you as you tentatively took a shot.

“I changed my mind! One of every colour!” Mr Jeon exclaimed joyously as Jungkook groaned.

“Dad! It’s cold. Let her in!” He whined and thankfully, you were let in. Taking off your shoes and leaving your bag by the door, you ventured into the living room where you saw all your friends. Hoseok leaned where he sat on the couch, his face buried in his phone as he, no doubt, texted his hookup. Jimin danced next to the Christmas tree the Jeons had yet to put away with a glass of liquor as Yoongi played the piano in the corner, cuddling with his girlfriend Jieun. Bubbling warmth swelled your heart as you saw all your favourite people.

“Come on let’s get you a drink!” Jungkook put his arm around you, planting most of his weight on you due to the alcohol raging through his veins as he guided you to the kitchen through the living room. In the kitchen, you were met by the sight of his parents swaying together to Yoongi’s expert piano skills, and a man you didn’t recognize sitting at the breakfast island, talking to Jungkook’s younger sister animatedly, who seemed to be trying to leave the conversation.

Jungkook poured you a rum and coke, easy on the coke, as he made his way to the breakfast bar. You stood next to his sister, making small talk before she excused herself to go to her room. She never stuck around long during these get-togethers. 

When she left, you were left standing awkwardly next to the only stranger at this party. The first thing you noticed was that he was tall. Much taller than all your friends, his dark black hair styled away from his face, a strand falling on his forehead shaped like a comma. He was dressed much like everyone else in dark wash jeans and a navy t-shirt with white leaves outlined on the sleeves, except his jeans fit him almost too perfectly, sculpting his thick thighs. Although he seemed friendly, greeting you with a pretty dimpled smile, your sudden attraction to him made you nervous.

“Hi. I’m Namjoon,” he said, eyeing you from over his cup as he sipped whatever concoction he was drinking.

“Oh shit! I keep forgetting you guys have never met!” Jungkook slurred as he sidled up to the two of you with his stool, leaving you standing between the two sitting boys. “Namjoon and I have been friends for years. I think we probably met the same time you and I did, but I guess we never ended up meeting together?” He ended his statement as a question, and it surprised you. You thought in three years you would have met all of his friends. 

“Well, that and I took a break from school. I was doing an internship in California.” He beamed, clearly proud of his achievement. “I worked at Twitch, you know them?” He smirked, and you had to fight your urge to roll your eyes. Of course, he worked in Cali. You went to a university renowned for its engineering degree and it was the goal of every software engineering student to land an internship in California. Those lucky enough to achieve it used it as social currency and bragging rights. You despise those people. It wasn’t that you weren’t smart enough to land that opportunity, in fact, you were coming off of your internship with Facebook last term, but you always felt flaunting a job to be such an ugly trait. However, Namjoon was Jungkook’s friend and so you let it slide.

“Ah Twitch. Very cool.” you hummed as you drank.

“Yeah. What program are you in?” He asked, continuing the conversation as Jungkook disappeared to talk to his parents, trying to convince them to retire for the night since they had embarrassed him enough.

“Computer science,” you replied non-committedly, watching his face break into a wide smile.

“Oh, that’s so cool! Me too!” He replied excitedly. You had to admit, his smile was very charming and you let your guard down a little more. Maybe he just got influenced by kids in your program to brag about Cali. “I haven’t seen you in any of my classes though! Would’ve remembered you. None of the other compsci girls are this pretty.” He smirked, clearly proud of his flirtatious comment. You narrowed your eyes at him, immediately put off.

“So glad to know you deem me pretty enough to notice.” You rolled your eyes, before grabbing your bottle of tequila and a few disposable shot glasses and making your way to the living room. “Well, it was… okay to meet you. I’m gonna go do shots.”

“Wait! I’m sorry, did I offend you?” he asked, brows furrowed in confusion as he easily caught up to you, walking beside you and even sitting next to you on the floor, as you lined up the glasses to pour the drinks for everyone.

“No it’s cool, dude. We just don’t have anything in common,” you said nonchalantly as the rest of your friends crowded the table, excitedly taking a shot glass in hand as Jungkook waltzed in with a plate full of lime wedges and an intricately expensive-looking salt shaker. Namjoon didn’t say anything as everyone took their shots, but watched you throw back your drink, noticing the small smile that overtook your features as the alcohol from earlier finally started to take effect. 

After a few more shots, the party really started. Although there were only seven people, your rowdy, borderline chaotic group had you laughing. Hoseok was going on some tale about his adventures back home where he ended up at a bar with his high school friends and got the numbers of four girls by doing a disgustingly named muff-diver shot. He bragged about his game, and you burst his bubble by telling him it was really only because he was hot. Something he didn’t take much offence to as he wiggled his eyebrows at you. Namjoon, however, came to Hoseok’s defence, much to your annoyance.

“And how would you know? I doubt Hobi here has used his A+ game on you.” He raised an eyebrow in challenge, making you scoff as you rolled your eyes.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well… you guys are friends, I doubt he would try to pick you up.” He spoke with a logical tone, as he eyed you and Hoseok.

“Oh really? Okay Hobi. Since your game is so great. Let’s see it.” You turned around, staring at your friend next to you. Namjoon leaned back against his hands on the floor, watching the scene unfold with a smirk.

“Really darling? Don’t blame me when you fall for me.” Hoseok moved closer, finishing his drink as you huffed in annoyance. You were in your first stage of drunk, the stage where you got mean for no reason

“Get on with it, loser. Your face is making me drier as we speak.” You waved as Hoseok leaned in, his nose rubbing gently against your ear, his breath on your neck, making you shiver slightly.

“Hey baby, how about you let me take you downstairs and defile you on Jungkook’s Iron Man sheets.” His voice was low, almost a growl. You never thought you would hear Hoseok’s sexy pickup voice and you were sure that if you were someone who had not seen him whine and cling onto you after a few drinks, you’d be putty in his hand. Instead, you burst out laughing, doubling over with your hands on his thighs as tears of mirth filled your eyes. Not one to give up that easily, Hoseok continued.

“See. I’m a funny guy Y/N. Let me eat that pussy!” He couldn’t hold back any longer either, his voice breaking at the word pussy as he too devolved into a fit of laughter. His comment, however, broke Yoongi and Jieun out of their bubble as they looked up from their make out session, looks of horror on their faces.

“Please tell me you did not just say that Hobi!” Jieun chided, her voice shrill.

“That’s fucking disgusting.” Yoongi shivered as he drank more of his whiskey in an attempt to calm himself. Hoseok and you continued laughing at your friends’ reaction, the rest of the group joining in, except Namjoon who seemed to be watching the two of you with raised brows.

“Wait. I don’t get it. That should’ve worked.”

“Yeah dude. Y/N what the fuck? Let me eat that pussy!” Hoseok grabbed you by the shoulders, shaking you while screaming at your face, between giggles.

“Oh my god. I’m gonna get a stomach ache. Stop!” you wheezed, before turning to Namjoon. “Sorry dude. I’ve literally helped Hobi pee once. There’s no going back to sexy when you see him whine about forgetting how urinating works.”

“Yeah and no offence babe, but you literally had your hands on my dick and it was flaccid as hell.”

“You guys are weirdly close,” Namjoon commented, his face scrunched as he assessed you and Hoseok.

“You think they’re close, you should see her and Jungkook. They even slept together!” Jimin remarks finally sitting down after dancing by himself for the past twenty minutes.

“And it was fucking horrible. High five!” Jungkook leans over the coffee table to slap his hand against yours, the two of you giggling.

“What kind of incestuous group is this?” Namjoon remarked, sipping his drink before turning to you where he watched you leaned over the table as you still slapped your hand against Jungkook’s to the beat of the music. “So when’s my turn?”

“Excuse me?” You recoil away from Namjoon, almost jumping in Hoseok’s lap. Oh here it was; stage two of your drunk persona, anger. You felt it coursing in your veins at his insinuation. “Who the fuck do you think I am?”

“Apparently the group dick toucher.” He smirked again, that annoying lopsided smile that made his one dimple deepen in his cheek. “I promise I won’t be flaccid like Hobi was.”

“Okay! Y/N and I are going on a walk!” Hoseok exclaimed as he saw your fist clenched. He knew you were ten seconds away from punching Namjoon in the face, and he put his arms around your waist and easily hoisted you up, walking you to the front door.

“Hobi I swear to god, I’m gonna murder him.” You glared at Namjoon as he returned your heated stare with an easy smile and a wave.

“I know babe. So we’re going on a walk. Let’s go pick up some food, yeah?”

The two of you walked around the block to the nearest McDonalds, picking up an assortment of cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets for the party, even getting Namjoon what he wanted, despite your burning desire that he starve to death. By the time, you returned to the party and took a couple more shots you were sufficiently cheered up. Hoseok had that affect on you, calming your mood with his jokes and anecdotes. 

Cuddled with Hoseok as you sat between his legs on the couch, the two of you shared a vape as you let the weed settle in your bones with a mellow buzz. Jimin sat in front of you on the floor, leaning against you as you ran your hands through his hair, enjoying the soft fluff. You were so glad that he had decided to forego his usual hair wax today. You felt like you were in utter bliss, your annoyance with Namjoon long forgotten. That is until you tuned into his conversation with Jungkook - not that you had any choice, because even though he seemed to be talking to Jungkook, his eyes were pointed at you.

“I’m just saying capitalism is the reason you’re sitting here in this nice home. People who can’t afford healthcare or education just need to work harder. That’s how life works.” Namjoon sipped his drink, raising an eyebrow at you, and you decidedly ignored his baiting. It was like he was trying to get you mad on purpose. You didn’t understand his gameplan. Why couldn’t he just let you enjoy bringing in 2017 like an adult?

“Dude… why are we even talking about this?” Jungkook groaned, face scrunching in distaste.

“I’m just saying people shouldn’t look for a handout when there are literally thousands of skills they could learn to make their lives easier. Why are we using our tax dollars for the lazy?” Namjoon shrugged nonchalantly, his gaze boring holes into you as you stared him down. Oh curse your stupid resolve, why did this fucker know you so well, you literally just met! Before you could stop yourself, you were speaking.

“I’m sorry, are you stupid? That is literally the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Education and healthcare are a human right!” Your voice was louder than usual, startling Hoseok and Jimin as you suddenly stood up, walking over to where a smug looking Namjoon and a confused Jungkook sat on the floor.

“I’m not, but you must be, to not realize that we could invest in teaching people skills to make money instead of just giving them money. Don’t tell me you’re a communist.” He sipped his drink, his eyes dancing with mirth, relishing the fact that he had gotten you to argue. And argue you did, for over an hour, the room forgotten as the two of you discussed social policies and taxation laws, ignoring Jungkook’s protests (“We live in a social democracy!”). You could feel the fire in your veins as you raised your voice, while he calmly discussed the matter at hand. Even though Namjoon was the most infuriating person you had ever met, the fact that he kept up with your arguments was extremely satisfying. Your friends knew you were the kind of person to debate a point until all the sides were uncovered so they would never start an argument with you, and as much as you hated Namjoon, you loved that he was such a great sparring partner.

“Oh my god! Shut the fuck up!” Jimin yelled suddenly, breaking you and Namjoon out of your bubble, as you looked at your usually bubbly friend, staring daggers at you. You sheepishly apologized, just as the countdown began.

Everyone stood and you followed suit. However the alcohol in your body decided to catch up as you stumbled, instinctively grabbing on to Namjoon’s arm to not fall over. As you’ve started to realize is his ammo, he one-upped you, putting his arm around your waist and pulling you into his chest. Fuck, why does it feel so nice and firm?

The countdown got closer to one and you felt trapped by his gaze, an intense look in his eye as he smirked at you. His eyes travelled from your eyes to your lips and you felt as if your chest was getting tighter.

“Three!” your friends yelled, but your mouth felt too dry to speak up. You licked your lips and Namjoon’s smirk widened. Why did you find his arrogant face so attractive all of a sudden? You wanted to punch him not two seconds ago!

“Two!” He started to lean in and despite yourself, you started anticipating his lips on yours. 

“One!” Suddenly, your earlier resolve kicked in. No dude who insulted you all night was going to touch you. You pushed him off turning around to Jungkook.

“Happy New Year!” You pulled your best friend towards you by his collar, giving him a loud peck on the lips as everyone cheered. Jungkook smiled, pulling you into a hug and jostling you around, giving you a chance to catch the dumbfounded look on Namjoon’s face.

You hugged all of your friends in turn, and when Namjoon, still with his mouth slightly ajar, looked at you expectantly, you raised your hand to him with a smug smile. You kind of felt bad for the way he deflated before he shook your hand, but before you could dwell too much on that feeling, he tugged you closer.

“Well played,” he whispered in your ear, his breath ghosting your neck, and you felt heat rising up your neck. You pulled away with a scowl and before he could say anything else, your phone pinged, the screen lit with the last name you wanted to see.

Taehyung (3 messages)

Oh great. What did the fuck did he want?

-

masterlist | next

I hope you liked this! Let me know what you think. For more of my works visit my masterlist!

[homestucky]

im having a bit of a cry lads

ive always thought of myself as a fairly academic person or at least over the past few yrs. but i just keep proving myself wrong by doing awfully and i just. dont know what else there is or what else i can do. i really wanted to get a good grade at uni. i wanted to outperform gross boys who said sexist stuff in the compsci groupchats. but i just think im legitimately destined to fail. like i dont believe in fate yet i cant convince myself that my life is destined to be on a downward trajectory. like i dont believe anything is predestined at all. yet i still feel like i cant change the future and my failure is inevitable. i have quite a flighty bubbly and distractable persona with my uni friends as well and i feel like i need to prove that im at least kind of smart in order to prove that thats not all i am. but maybe it is. maybe i am stupid and deserve to be dismissed? maybe thinking otherwise was just arrogance?

i mean i have some good grades. i got a first in first year but first yr doesnt count. also i literally failed one module and had to retake it. still managed to average a first but still. doesnt look good. then this yr which actually counts i have a few percentages of final grades which are like first or 2:1 but i know im just gonna absolutely wreck them with bad exam grades because the exams are always like 70% of the final grade so even if you have 85% in coursework itll only make up 30% of what i actually get. man its just gonna suck. im gonna end this year disappointed in myself. at least it crushed my anxiety about getting an internship. i dont need to worry about that now since i know no internship will want me.

my mum called me and i said some of this stuff to her and she just did her usual ‘oh i dont know what to say im bad at this’ thing which honestly is ok like i dont know what id say either. so i was like ok just. tell me about how the cats are? and she immediately started complaining about my cat and about how horrible she is and it just made me think about the fact that she wants to put her in a pound and it just made me cry and cry . i let her talk for like 2 minutes w my hand over my mouth then i hung up.

also my mum was like trying to be encouraging like ‘youre not a quitter and youre going to do it.... you wanted to get into that uni and you did...’ which is like maybe a good sentiment but it just made me think like lol oh yeah i did want this didnt i. stupid stupid stupid

its so stupid so so stupid. im rlly lucky. i have friends, i have a decent family. so why does it feel like theres no one i can turn to with this? why cant i explain this to anyone? it feels so horrible that this stuff just ferments in my head. but i just dont know how to change things or who can help me or even if there is anyone

[communikateee]

Do you write any, or do you know of any fanfictions where Keith is still hurt after his battle at the Blade of Marmora hideout? Or any fanfictions where we get to see the teams' reactions of his reveal of being part Galra? Thank you

Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry for the late response!!

I actually haven’t read a lot of fanfic of that scene particularly, but I did have a piece written about Keith’s Galra reveal in a college au setting where Galra and Altea are rival schools and the team forms Voltron to battle Galra University in a sports festival. It was originally intended for my fanfic “Battle for the Empire,” which I kind of lost motivation for when getting into other projects or bangs. But if you’re interested in reading that, I’ve included it below!

Thanks so much for the question, and I love to recommend fanfics! So feel free to ask me for any more recommendations if you know of any au’s or tags you’re interested in!

Tags: Klance, Shallura, mentions of minor character death

“Well maybe Keith has some inside information?” Lance sneered. His blood was hot and bubbling through his veins. He could feel that it was making him irrational, but there was nothing that could stop the avalanche of words that poured from his mouth.

Keith turned bright eyes on Lance. A terrified suspicion, quickly covered by a casual warning for Lance to shut up, like always. Well Lance was done shutting up.

“What do you mean, Lance?” Shiro asked, and his tone was dark, cautionary. Shiro crossed his muscular arms and looked down on Lance.

Lance shrugged his hands out of his pockets. He looked around the group with a playful expression, “You know, since Keith’s mother is from Galra University.”

“You’re half Galra?” Allura’s voice was a squeak like the bottom of her register dropped along with her heart.

Keith clenched his jaw and fisted his hands at his sides. He didn’t look at Allura. He didn’t meet the eyes of the rest of his team. He didn’t glare at Lance for saying it out loud. He didn’t look at Shiro for sympathy and understanding. He didn’t look at Pidge for condemnation and betrayal. He didn’t need to; it seized in the air around them.

Allura took a step toward Keith, drawing his grey eyes to hers, “You dare come to Altea University and join Voltron when you’re Galra?”

Shiro grabbed her arm, “Let’s take a minute to calm down before you yell at Keith for something he couldn’t control?”

“Couldn’t control?” Allura snapped, whipping her hand out of Shiro’s warm grasp, “He controlled where he applied for university. I’m sure that Galra would have happily welcomed one of their demon spawn back.”

“Allura,” Shiro was aghast and even Pidge, who had the most reason to hate him, seemed a little offput by the harsh comments, “Please let’s – ”

Allura cut him off with an accusatory outburst, “You knew?” Shiro didn’t say anything, just watched Allura and waited, “You knew this whole time? And even after I told you about my mother,” Allura’s voice broke, and she coughed.

“Your mother?” Lance spoke before Hunk could elbow him in the ribs. Allura looked at Lance and the fury that had faded into grief and distress at the mention of her mother returned.

“Yes, my mother.” She stood taller, and her eyes pinned Keith to where he stood. His arms folded across his chest as if to conceal him from every glare, “The Galra killed her. You want to know how? She was protesting their invasion of peaceful lands to the South. Their private guard killed her. She stood in their way so they smashed their riot shields into her body and pelted her with rubber bullets.”

She took another step towards Keith, forgetting all who were around. She wanted to remember everything she had suppressed from her childhood and spin it before him in gory detail, “But when they pushed her to the ground, she was concussed so badly she was comatose. Comatose for five years!” Her voice caught as tears stung the corners of her eyes. Keith finally made eye contact with her then, and she didn’t want to register the despair that reflected in his eyes, “I spent my sixteenth birthday in the hospital, spending as much time with her as possible before she died.” Allura turned on Shiro, eyes blazing.

“And you,” She pointed a finger deep into the muscle of Shiro’s chest, “you knew all of that and yet you never said anything. You let me go along as if I cared for him.”

Shiro grabbed her hand, “And you did.”

“Before I found out he was Galra,” she spit on the ground as if to cleanse herself of the very word itself.

Keith scratched the back of his head with a stiff arm. His nonchalance that he had perfected long ago faltered. He licked his lips, “Well, I’m going to use the training room.” He waved a hand and strode out the gym. Before the door shut, Lance could see Keith sprinting down the hallway.

Allura was still seething, inconsolable. She stalked out of the gym, the opposite direction of Keith. Shiro strode to Lance grabbing a fist full of his collar. “We will talk about this later,” His voice was a growl as he chased after Allura.

Lance brushed off his collar and looked to Hunk and Pidge.

Pidge buried her hands into her pockets, “Not cool, Lance.”

“What?” Lance shrugged, trying not to come off as defensive as he felt. He could play this cool. He was a pro at masking his true feelings, “I thought it was common knowledge.”

Hunk eyed him suspiciously, “I really doubt that,” he huffed, playing with the hem of his gloves absentmindedly. “I just hope you didn’t spill the beans just because of your dumb rivalry with Keith. There are some lines you shouldn’t cross.”

“I didn’t!” Lance defended, his tone coming off strained and unconvincing, even to his own ears.

“We’re not trying to accuse you,” Pidge shrugged and pulled out her phone, “Well, I’m going to go work on my compsci homework. I’ll catch you guys tomorrow for training.” She waved goodbye over her shoulder and left the gym.

Lance could feel Hunk’s eyes on him. Could feel the way his oldest friend analyzed the slope of his shoulders or the anxious twitching of his fingers. “Let’s go,” Lance sighed and shoved his twitching fingers into his pockets. He slumped his shoulders and followed Pidge out of the gym.

Keith closed the door to the training room behind him. He slumped against the door. He hadn’t bothered to turn on the lights. The last fading streaks of sunlight filtered through the windows, giving him enough light to see. He pushed his palms against his face. He tried to keep his breathing steady, but goddammit it kept hitching. Hitching on the tears that were constricting his throat.

Dammit, where was Shiro?

He was the only that Keith would allow to see him right now, to see him like this. Like after his mother died. Shiro had been the one to climb through his window. All of the adults mulled around the living room, giving their condolences to his father. Keith was so young when it happened he could barely recall his mother’s face. If it weren’t for the few pictures around the house, he knew he would have forgotten it all together.

But of course he remembered Shiro. The other adults knocked on the door, asking Keith to come out. Asking him to eat something or to talk to them. Keith didn’t answer, just leaned against his bed frame, knees tucked up to his chest.

The window creaked as Shiro crawled through with a proud smile on his face, “I finally found you,” Shiro exclaimed and sat down next to Keith. That was the only thing he said. He didn’t say anything when Keith’s soft sobs escalating into wailing screams. Just a soft presence beside him that listened to everything and never tried to say that it was going to be okay.

Keith’s phone buzzed and he ripped it out of his pocket.

Shiro: Are you doing okay?

Keith: Where are you?

Shiro: With Allura. Do you need me to come over?

He was with Allura? He had run after her instead of Keith. The fragile feelings that had been slowly constructing in his heart shattered. Cotton candy in the rain. Keith bit his lip and his head lulled back against the door.

Keith: No. I’m fine. Please tell Allura I’m sorry.

Shiro: Will do.

Keith brought his arm up, muscle tensing ready to smash the phone to the unforgiving training room floor. With a small sob, his muscles relaxed and his arm fell limply to the side. Keith’s chin trembled as he fought back the tears.

He didn’t want to lose the friends he had found. His phone buzzed again, and a small lofty breath caught in his chest. Was Shiro finally coming?

Lance: Hey Keith. I just wanted to say that what I did earlier, it wasn’t cool. I just want you to know how sorry I am about this whole thing, so if you wouldn’t mind could I come apologize to you in person?

Lance wanted to apologize? Now, that was a momentous occasion. Keith chuckled a dark, teary laugh. How could he let Lance see him like this?

In a millisecond, anger boiled under his skin. He jumped to his feet and snapped on the lights. He typed a quick text, threw his phone on the gym bag he had left in here earlier. Pulling on the gloves he left dangling from the punching bag, he began to practice again.

The rhythmic thumping of the punching bag cued Lance in that this wasn’t going to be an easy apology. He knocked three times on the door before opening it. Keith stood at the punching bag, using his discarded shirt to wipe the sweat from his face.

Keith’s eyes were dark as he ripped the velcro off the gloves and methodically hung them back up. He had turned his back on Lance as an obvious sign that Lance needed to start the conversation. Lance strode into the room, hearing the door click shut behind him.

The first time Lance had seen Keith shirtless, he hadn’t really thought much about it. But now as he walked closer to the black haired boy, he saw the well defined muscles ripple in his back. He saw the way Keith’s low cut pants hung on his lips. He saw the adorable little ponytail Keith had fashioned after Allura had taught him how to tie a hair tie.

“Keith,” Lance began and Keith stopped moving. His hands slowly slid down the bag, leaving his gloves dangling from the punching bag chain. Lance rubbed the back of his neck. Writing that text message had taken him five minutes alone. Hunk had given him a curious stare when he sprinted from their room. “I really didn’t mean for that to happen earlier, I was – ”

“Then why did you do it?” Keith whipped around to face Lance. His face was red and his hairline was soaked with sweat. He took a step closer to Lance, and Lance quickly took another back. Keith placed both palms against Lance’s chest and pushed. Lance stumbled backward and settled his feet into a fighting stance.

“Why Lance?” Keith practically screamed.

He put his hands against Lance’s chest again, gripping handfuls of his shirt, “Why would you do that? You had to know what would happen!”

“I didn’t think – ”

“Yeah, you didn’t think!” Keith was shouting, fists shaking in Lance’s white t-shirt. “You thought that the daughter of President Alfor, sworn enemy to President Zarkon would take that well? You thought that the girl who’s family is practically imprisoned by Galra would take that well? You thought President Alfor wouldn’t hear about this? You thought that I could still be apart of Voltron?!”

Lance placed a hand on one of Keith’s that were still clutching his shirt. Lance looked away, “You’re right, Keith. I didn’t think.”

Keith’s head sunk, and it was like the only thing keeping him standing was the grip on Lance’s shirt. Lance grabbed Keith’s other hand, and slowly pried off Keith’s grip. Lance bit his lip and closed his eyes. He didn’t want to hear the fragile catching of Keith’s breath. He didn’t want to feel how Keith’s arms trembled against his grip.

Lance released a hand and reached out on instinct as Keith’s knees began to give out. Lance had placed a hand on Keith’s ribs and could feel how hot his flesh was. His fingers twitched against Keith’s skin, but the boy didn’t seem to notice. Lance helped him walk to a bench press, guiding him to sit. The sudden loss of Keith’s touch frighted Lance. More so the way that the loss had made his heart contract.

He shook his head, denying the heat that colored his ears.

Keith placed his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. “Lance, what am I going to do?” Keith’s voice was gravely and quiet.

Lance didn’t know why he was asking him, but he wanted to bring a little levity to the situation. He casually leaned against the bench press bar, “Well, you could focus on classes. God knows your GPA needs it.” Lance tried for a laugh. He wanted to make Keith laugh. He wanted Keith to forget this ever happened.

Keith cursed himself as he sat on the bench press. Why had he let Lance come? He was a mess. His one saving grace was that he hadn’t cried. He hadn’t cried at all. He hadn’t cried since that night Shiro had crawled through his window. This could be no worse than that. And so he wouldn’t cry.

Lance’s joke was pathetic. Keith glanced at Lance, finally lifting his head from his hands. He rolled his eyes, “Classic,” he mumbled.

“What was that?” Lance prodded. His tone was light, and Keith could tell by the slight twinge of desperation in his tone that he was doing everything he could to make Keith feel better, “You want to go, Kogane?”

Keith snorted at that, and Lance froze for a breath. He made Keith laugh. This might honestly have been the first time. Lance’s smile was unbidden, but Keith wasn’t looking at him.

“If I leave Voltron, can we still be friends?”

Lance froze for a second. Keith considered him a friend? The warmth in his chest that he had felt when looking at Keith’s muscular back went hot and icy at the same time.

Keith shook his head, “Never mind that was a dumb question. Can you please just forget – ”

“We live on the same floor,” Lance started and Keith’s eyes jumped to his. Lance leaned closer to Keith, “You’ll never be rid of me, bestie.”

“Ew,” Keith suck out his tongue, but Lance noticed the way the furrows in his brow lessened and his shoulders relaxed, “Never mind, I take that back. I don’t want to be friends with a fish like you.”

“A fish?” Lance scoffed, placing a hand to his chest, “Just because you can’t swim, doesn’t mean that – ”

“I can swim just fine!”

“In the shallow end!”

And just like that, it was like everything was back to normal. Except there was this air of frivolity around them. They knew that nothing would be the same, but here in this moment, fighting as they always did, it seemed as if Keith being Galra was a secret only they shared.

[truffledmadness]

Warning: Grouchy Truffles Ahoy

All right, it was inevitable I write something about this. I usually quite like @slatestarscratchpad, but THIS THING. As a genuine Humanities Person (I am literally going for a PhD in history--women’s history at that, sacre bleu), I HAD to weigh in on this.

1.) The groups you describe as having “great gender balance” .... don’t, for a lot of them. You’ll never find a Wiccan circle or gender studies class that accidentally ended up 100% male... you’ll find ones that ended up 100% female instead. “Great gender balance” is roughly 50/50, not “has lots of women.”

(and the reason religious groups tend to have fairly even gender balance, even/especially the extreme ones, is that they’re self-replicating and hard to leave. When you get new members by giving birth to them, gender rations tend to even out, and when there are huge social/physchological (and sometimes physical) consequences for leaving, people don’t. Conservative Christianity is an example I know a lot about, because they often deliberately lock women out of educational opportunities from a really young age--of course they don’t leave; where would they go?)

2.) Honestly, you write about hard-line humanities geeks as if you’ve never met one. You do a fairly apt job of describing a certain kind of undergraduate humanities major, but that’s a wildly different thing, as things like English and political science have become go-to majors for people who want a degree, any degree, and/or are planning to go to law school afterwards. Given that we’re currently building a STEM Bubble, I give it about ten years before That Person is a stereotypical CompSci major--you can already see it starting.

As a Humanities who hangs around other Humanities, generally once you get past undergrad, where there’s tremendous variance, what you get is people, myself included, who just desperately love a book/era/historical figure, and they can’t even really articulate WHY, but THEY JUST THINK THIS THING IS BEAUTIFUL AND IMPORTANT AND THEY REALLY WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT. Nerds is nerds.

3.) Women aren’t more likely to support social safety nets and conservative sexual norms out of a Pure Holy Compassion and Empathy Which Men Lack-- it’s because historically, we benefit the most from them. When your sex has had greater odds of poverty, unwanted pregnancy/children, and so on, for a few hundred years, that leaves a mark. Pornography is a fine example-- most porn is not produced with women in mind (the lack of material that panders to the female id is a huge economic idiocy to my mind), and there are more female porn actors than male, so you’re more likely to hear horror stories about the porn industry from the mouth of a woman, just because probability. If something has little benefit and high potential harm for you/people like you, why wouldn’t you be against it? I’m not against pornography myself, but it certainly makes more sense that anti-porn attitudes stem from that, rather than some vague concept of empathy.

4.) I actually agree that “sexist attitudes” aren’t responsible for gender imbalances. At least not on the micro level people talk about. I also don’t think gender imbalances are necessarily bad, so long as outliers are welcomed.