#having those two bumming around is way too many people at once

[gayleviticus]

I'm convinced a solid 90% of cases where fma 03 feels messy and hard to follow can be traced back simply to the writers feeling a need to insert kimblee and archer into as many storylines as possible

[b00tyliciousbabe]

my baby daddies - ep. 2

wyatt cushman x male reader

summary: the scoop on how wide i buss it open for mr cushman xx

notes: hi beautiful ppl, back again! once he go black, he'll be back again. tell them hoes that it's crunch time, abdomen. yes i cop mad chanel and mad given. she did it again, imagine them!!! sorry nicki ate that verse tf UPPP. bout to make these bum bitches mad again, okay lemme stop. I KNEW EXACTLY WHAT I WAS DOING W THAT BLACK VERSE XOXO. hope you guys are all doing well <3 i will be releasing 2 other series ("the DILFs' and a surprise one which will become coming soon ) so stay tuned! any requests? ENJOYYYY…

you and wyatt met at one of your first shoots. you were the stylist’s assistant and your boss had tasked you with making sure all the models had their hair, outfits, and makeup all ready for the editorials. you were admired by so many in the industry, icons and the public alike, and even though you didn’t have your own company, it was clear that you were on your way to becoming one of the biggest names in fashion history. you enjoyed getting to know all the models personally, and it made the whole process of getting ready much easier. but one person that always had you flustered was wyatt cushman, who you had become really good friends over the years. you definitely found him attractive, but he was so distracting; the agency called him ‘the menace’ with all the harmless trouble he got the two of you into. years had passed, the two of you remained really close, but it wasn’t until the balenciaga show, that the two of you vocalised the unspoken tension between you two.

you were responsible for all of the outfits for the fashion week at balmain, a huge role that olivier rousteing himself appointed you to do. it was a huge success and the press had a field day documenting your achievements. your biggest supporter, wyatt, was there to give you the biggest hug on the runway, garnering an even greater cheer from the crowd. “Y/N, you’re amazing” he said staring intensely in love as he placed his hands on your lower back. the distance between your lips decreased as the two of you shared your first kiss…in front of the entire world. you pulled away; being brought back to reality and how 4.5 million people had witnessed the two of you together, you couldn’t help but laugh, as everyone applauded and jeered at your love. the rest was history.

one thing about wyatt, he is the goofiest mf ever and you love it. he’s always cracking jokes and the life of the party. You feel so safe around him, don’t get it twisted, he’d beat the shit out of anyone who even looked at you the wrong way, but you could handle yourself. flashback to the time where y’all were celebrating your collaboration with vogue: you were dancing the night away with your friends when some guy decided to get a lil too close. the creep groped your ass to which he was served a fat slap across the face. he fell to the ground and the crowd started cheering. wyatt smiled proud that you were able to defend yourself - so proud, that on the way home you took a detour where you guys had the best make out session in the history of rom coms.

the golfer’s wife and the holiday maker:

this man is always travelling and he loves to share those memories with you. other than being his personal photographer, the two of you are able to explore so many different ways of living on your journeys and you dream together of living abroad one day.

On one of your holidays, you had decided to take your boyfriend stargazing “come on wyatt, i don’t wanna miss it” you say gripping his arm as you led him to a quiet space overlooking the ocean. “babe, I’m pretty sure the stars aren’t going anywhere,” he chuckled “and besides, the sky isn’t as pretty as the star right in front of me” he stops and turns to face you. he strokes your cheek, looking down at you with a smile that rivalled romeo’s love for juliet. y’all sat down watching how nature looked so peaceful. he started kissing on your neck, leaving light hickeys to mark you as his. straddling your bf, you deepened the kiss as you felt him grow uncomfortably large in his jeans. you undid his trousers as 8 thick inches of uncut hairy cock made contact with the chill of the night. “you don’t know how much this turns me on, y/n”

you continued sucking on his tip, swirling and drooling all over him as a pool of your spit congealed in his pubes. all the while his hands gripped your roots urging you to take more and more of his cock. you gargled and took him like a champ.

“babe, ughh, I’m bout to, uuhhh shit shit” he came deep down your throat, cleaning your chin with his finger and then poking it in your mouth as he made sure to feed you with every last drop.

you laid down, proud of your efforts to calm him down and your head tucked into cushman’s shoulder, as you began to feel sleepy. your bf noticed this and chuckled to himself, using the blanket he brought to make sure you wouldn’t get cold. “mkay, y/n kinda had a point, this is pretty cool,” he whispered, still riding the high you gave him “but it’s got nothing on him tho, my cute ass bf” wyatt embraced you tighter. the wedding bells were already ringing in his head.

MORE SLUTTY THOUGHTS:

• he deffo has a spit kink. not saying that he’d treat you as worthless scum but, he’d would make sure to slut you out. and you fucking loved it. “you’re a dirty little whore, aren’t you” he’d grunt raw dogging your ass as he spat in your face.

• as dominant as he is, he likes to give you your time to shine, always enjoying it when you spell coconut with your hips as you ride his pole. as I’ve mentioned already his smile drives you crazy, and this position has him cheesing the MOST. wyatt just loves to see how much you’re enjoying the experience, and nothing turns him on more than when he can see the pleasure on your face. “fuck babe, you look so sexy riding my dick.”

• this leads on to missionary, nobody fucks harder in this position than this man. he definitely compensates for his soft strokes in doggy and prone bone because of how hard he hits your hole in missionary. He turns primal as well, feeling your chest bounce up every time he’s balls deep, but all in all he’s crazy for how your bodies are so in sync.

[raayllum]

I think sometimes the way I approach fic / meta writing / analysis stems from how I character build and write my OG stuff as well, because while the classical writing advice is about asking "what does your character want?" I've always found it most useful to ask "What does your character want, and what are they willing to justify to get it?"

(Asking how they justify their actions is also incredibly useful but more on that later.)

For example, when ('good') characters are under stressful situations and respond well regardless, we take that as being indicative of who they Truly Are—heroic, helpful, selfless, often even compassionate, etc, and when antagonists behave that way, we dismiss it as just glory hounding or being selfish, when it can Be multiple things at once.

When ('bad') characters respond poorly to stressful situations—threatening harm, using dark magic to saved loved ones, being angry and cold hearted—we take that as who they are, and when it's the protags, we say they're stressed or coerced or any number of things... that are true for the antags often, too! And still true even if you don't like them or have as much compassion towards them.

But unfortunately sometimes people are rarely inclined to do the opposite. They're rarely inclined to take antagonists' good moments as honest statements of their character because "well they're mean/evil" and often dismiss protagonists' complicated or less than stellar choices because "well they're good and they feel bad" (Viren saying he'll never forgive himself for the things he's done even when they saved his son, and Claudia crying over what she's done to save her father? yeah those scenes don't exist anymore sorry).

The fact of the matter is that, at least in TDP and in many other works (including my own), actual antagonists are not always evil and awful and morally bankrupt 100% of the time, and actual protagonists are not always perfect or good or making the right choice (because sometimes there isn't one, tbh).

Who your character is at their best and their worst, regardless of circumstance, is ALL of who they are. It all has to be taken into account. No cherry picking. Rayla can be selfish and dismissive and a liar who routinely fails at whatever she sets out to do and is awful at communicating, and Viren can love his kingdom and his family and genuinely believe that's what he's doing everything for, and neither encompasses their whole character. A perfect example is Claudia, who we cheer for when she chooses Soren over the world-saving mission of the egg in 2x07, and despair at when she chooses Viren over the world-saving mission of maybe not freeing the dangerous imprisoned Startouch elf in S4 and S5. Same principle, character, motivation, different circumstance, but we're happy about Soren (because he's not Viren) and bummed about Viren (because he's not Soren), and because character traits are consistent, and whether those traits are good or bad is inherently circumstantial. Claudia's loyalty can be great, and it can be a terrible, awful justification. Both of those things are true.

To be clear, this isn't to argue for false equivalency: Viren and Claudia and other antagonists are far more often Wrong than the protagonists are, and the protagonists are routinely more Right than our two favourite dark mages are. TDP likes its complications and circumstantial stuff, but there's still some things that are Bad No Matter What (like gaslighting your child, or routine dehumanization). And some of our associations are because antagonistic characters tend to be routinely cruel and mean, which are part of the horrible things they do, and protagonist characters are routinely kinder and more compassionate to the people around them, and protecting each other / innocent people is part of what makes them a good person, but... There's no inherent difference between a lot (not all, but some) of the actions the characters across the board take, particularly in arc 2, just their perspective and who we're personally more attached to and thereby more willing to justify their decisions surrounding.

Like idk my main WIP protag buries people alive en masse and tortures someone vindictively because they killed her friend and I'd still classify her as a Good Person (fictionally), and it's just always wild to me when people don't take All Parts and Choices and Relationships of a character into account especially because TDP spells it out for us over and over that we Should with quite literally every single character, whether those actions are good or bad:

Once again I am asking for encompassing wholes and character nuances where the only time a character should be like "well it's totally fine that you did a Thing actually" (Rayla towards Callum's dark magic use or Callum towards Rayla lying to/stealing from him) or "totally not okay that you did a thing" (Runaan about Rayla sparing Marcos, or Claudia doing dark magic) is taken as an aspect of Character Bias, not a definitive Narrative get off the hook slant or condemnation, because neither of those things Get us anywhere in a writing or analytical sense thank you

[sweetprfct]

Is It Over Now?

Joseph Quinn x Fem!Reader

Summary: Fake dating your flatmate, Joe, should be a simple thing. It meant you get to help get his ex back, and it meant you get to stop your parents' nagging about bringing someone home for once. But what happens when fake dating turns into something unexpected? Now, what?

Author's Note: Part 4! Bare with me I will be uploading my past short stories at the same time too! By the way, if you all want to be tagged in my fics, please let me know!

Disclaimer: 18+

Wordcount: 5.1K

part one - part two - part three - part four - part five - part six - part seven - part eight - part nine - part ten

“So, when are you going to tell me that you’re dating your flatmate?” 

You choked on the waffle that you were shoving in your mouth as soon as Sara asked you that question. 

Now, wait a minute, how the hell did she know about that?!

You gazed up at her with wide eyes and mouth full like your deepest, darkest secret had just come to light. You swallowed the food that was in your mouth and chugged on your water. It wasn’t like thinking about kissing Joe for the last few weeks wasn’t bad enough. Now, Sara knew about this? 

Abby shook her head, chuckling. “Way to ease into the subject, babe.” 

“I thought you don’t have social media? How do you know about that?” You asked, brows all furrowed. 

“Abby has Instagram, and we saw the candid pictures.” 

God, this was embarrassing. 

A month and a half.

You were doing well keeping this embarrassing secret for a month and a half. You weren’t planning to tell Sara about this until you were ready but of course, the internet had to tell her first. You should have seen it coming. You were fake dating an actor after all, so why were you so surprised about it at the same time? It wasn’t like you didn’t see other people at the corner of the pubs that you two would go to and take pictures of you. Sara and Abby were bound to find out about it. 

It wasn’t like you enjoyed it. There were so many moments that you wanted to tell Abby and Sara every time you had brunch with them for the past month and a half, but it was too embarrassing and stupid. Not that they would judge you for doing this ridiculous agreement. It was you who was embarrassed. It was you who felt like an idiot every weekend.

“C’mon…” You would take Joe’s hand and drag him in the dark corner of the pub. “Is she looking?”

Joe would look over his shoulder, discreet enough where Ivy wouldn’t notice and look back at you, nodding his head. You would take his hand and slowly slide it on your bum before sliding it on your hips. Joe would grip your hips and pull you close and kiss you. Kiss you like he hasn’t kissed anyone like it before, and it would make your stomach turn in a good way. You would kiss him not like the way Ivy would, and he would give you that look. 

It had been weeks that you noticed that Joe would always give you that look after you kissed him. It was like Joe’s body freezes when you kiss him, and he gave you those doe eyed eyes of his. It bothered you to the core because not only you haven’t seen that look from any man you hooked up or dated before, but it made you feel good. It sent electricity down your body, and you hated it. You hated the fact that it made you feel like that. However, that wasn't going to force you to give in, so you continued to act like his kisses meant nothing every weekend. 

Which it didn’t because this was all pretend, right?

Then, there was that one weekend where you both went bar hopping around the city because apparently, Ivy was doing the same thing with her friends. After following her on the third bar of the night, you sort of noticed how Joe looked defeated. Ivy didn’t acknowledge him at all. He looked like he was just done. 

“So, where are we going next?” You asked him.

Joe’s eyes were laser focused on Ivy, and he didn’t even hear your question. You, on the other hand, were getting bored and tired from walking from bar to bar. You settled on your seat by the bar, and you ordered yourself a drink.

“I’ll be back.” Joe murmured and walked away from you before you could even say anything. 

You looked over your shoulder and watched Joe talk to Ivy, and they made their way out of the pub. You sat there all night, while Joe spent his time with her. Then, he did the same thing again a weekend after that. You didn’t say anything nor questioned him because even if you didn’t see him for most of the night, you knew what he was doing. Ivy’s friends would side eye and chuckle at you as if you were the most idiotic woman in the room. As if you didn’t know that your “boyfriend” was outside by the dark alley sticking his tongue down Ivy’s throat. 

Well, fuck them because they didn’t know shit. 

You sat there and ignored them and minded your own business because this was all an act, right? They didn’t know that you weren’t actually with Joe and that you weren’t actually an idiot. 

Well, maybe being an idiot was starting to be questionable.

They didn’t know the whole truth. You knew what was happening outside in that dark alley, and you just had to play your part, so all of this could be over soon. 

But how come it still made you feel like shit?

At the end of the night, Joe would come back inside with Ivy and would ask you if you wanted to go home. You would just nod your head, give him a smile as he wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you close. Every time you would pass by Ivy, she would give you a look as if she knew something that you didn’t. As if she won. Unfortunately for her, you knew everything. 

That went on for another weekend, however, Joe had stopped a weekend after that. Ivy had also stopped giving him attention again. You didn’t exactly know what happened between them but as another two weekends went by, you sort of noticed how Joe stopped paying attention to her. She would be there, but he never looked at her anymore. It was starting to feel strange because what was the point of it all if Joe didn’t even try anymore? 

Then, last weekend came…

It became even more strange. 

“What do you think?” Joe asked you that morning, holding up an expensive long silver silk dress. 

You were comfortably laying on the sofa, watching TV in peace when Joe blocked your view and held that dress in front of you. 

“That doesn’t look like Ivy’s style.”

“Good because it’s not for her.” Joe handed it to you. “It’s for you.”

“Oh.”

Joe smiled, handing you the dress and the silver strappy heels that came with it. You got up from your position and stared at the dress for a moment and saw the tag that said “Dior” on it. 

“So, what is this for?” You asked. 

“I have to go to a Dior event, and Ivy is part of the event too.” Joe explained.

That all made sense now. 

You nodded your head and thanked Joe for the dress. It was the first one he bought for you after a month and a half of fake dating him. It was part of your agreement, but you sort of were still questioning the recent events lately. Why would he want—needed— you to come if he didn’t even make an effort with Ivy anymore? Was all of this over between them or were they just playing a game? 

And that goddamn look.

He needed to stop that! 

It was like every time he saw you, those chocolate button eyes would stare and not in a lustful way either. It was a different look that you couldn’t really explain. You had your hair done by a professional that night, making your long wavy brown hair fall nicely on your back, a nice silver pin on the side, giving you a slick fresh look. The silver silk dress hugged your curves nicely, and Joe stood there and stared at you the moment you walked into the event with him. The lights that flickered around the room made you sparkle even more, and it made Joe’s eyes sparkled towards you too. 

However, your eyes were somewhere else. You were there for the agreement, not something else. You found Ivy across the room and immediately slid your fingers to intertwine with Joe’s. To your surprise, Joe slid his hand away and wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you close to him and led you towards the bar to get some drinks.

For a while, you just stood there by the bar, drinking and scanning the room. Ivy was busy talking to different people, and Joe was doing the same thing. You were starting to feel a bit bored and lonely again. You didn’t know anyone in the room, and you sort of felt like you didn’t belong there. They were all in the same working industry, and you were just there. 

“Sorry.” Joe apologized, coming back to you half an hour later. “Do you mind if I introduce you to some people?”

You shrugged, not really knowing the answer to his question. Was this part of the plan too? Was he really introducing you to all his industry friends as his “girlfriend?” Was this going to make Ivy jealous? You didn’t bother saying anything as he led you towards the middle of the room. 

Throughout the night, Joe would take you around with him, introduce you to other people that were part of the event, introduce you to his industry friends and never left your side all night. Not once had he laid an eye on Ivy all night and suddenly, you didn’t know what your role was supposed to be anymore. 

“You look beautiful tonight.” Joe whispered to you as soon as his friends left to get some drinks. 

“Joe, you don’t have to pretend. Ivy isn’t even around us right now.” You murmured. 

“I’m not pretending.”

You stared at him, blinking your eyes and feeling the blood rushed to your cheeks. You never had anyone genuinely tell you that, and it felt strange for Joe to say that to you since he was supposed to be focusing on someone else. You didn’t know what to say, and he was giving you that look again. 

What the fuck was he doing? 

Joe gave you a small warm smile before his friends interrupted the both of you again. The rest of the night was spent talking with his friends and professional photographers taking pictures of the two of you. Joe would introduce you to everyone as his “girlfriend” and somehow, you didn’t know whether to feel good about it or feel uncomfortable because throughout the night, there were times where you would forget that you were actually acting. Everything was starting to surface naturally. 

 Did Joe forget too? 

Ivy left hours ago, and he still continued to pretend you were his girlfriend. You couldn’t argue because maybe it was part of it all, and you had one role and that was to just go with it and keep acting too. 

You couldn’t lie to yourself because you did have fun that night, and you actually met some new people at the party that had great conversations with you. You couldn’t deny that. 

But at the end of the night, you were ready to get your feet out of your heels because it was killing you slowly. By the time the two of you arrived back in your flat, you immediately sat on the sofa, unclasping the strap of the heels from your ankle and let out a sigh of relief. Your feet were all red, and you swore the skin at the back of your foot was peeling off. 

Joe chuckled softly, grabbing the heels from you and knelt down in front of you. For a moment, you just stared at him, trying to figure out what he was doing, then Joe wrapped his big hand around your ankle, setting your foot on his lap and started massaging it. 

“Joe.” You slid your foot away. “It’s dirty. No…”

Joe didn’t let you off this time. He set your foot back on his lap and said, “It’s fine. I’m the one who put you in those shoes, so let me do this. I at least owe you this.” 

You were about to pull your foot away again, but Joe’s soft hands had started working, and you couldn’t help but enjoy it. It made you feel so relaxed. It made your feet feel so much better. How did he learn how to be such a good masseuse? Because ohmygod, it felt really good. 

But then, you reminded yourself that this was crossing boundaries. Sure, you enjoyed tonight and Joe’s attention towards you but the act was over. You were back in your flat, and you didn’t have to pretend anymore. The thought of Joe touching and being sweet to you started making you cringe again. 

You cleared your throat and pulled your foot away, getting up from the sofa. 

“Thanks for tonight.” You said. “But I’m exhausted, so goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” Joe nodded his head, disappointment lingering in his eyes. 

That was it. 

That was how the night ended, and you were fine with it. That night, you both had crossed boundaries way too many times, and you kept wondering as to why Joe was fine with it because he was the one who wanted to get Ivy back, remember? So where was she now? Why was she not falling for this? Why was Joe okay with all of this all of a sudden? Why was he not complaining like before? 

“He’s falling for you.” Abby chuckled softly, snapping you back to reality. 

Your eyes widened at your friends, “What?! No.” 

No way!

No way Joe felt that way… right?

“Oh, yes he is. Tell her, babe.” Abby nudged Sara softly on her arm.

“Sara?” 

You snapped your head at Sara, raising your brows and looking at her with wide eyes. Sara opened her mouth but no words slipped out. You could see it all over her face that she was trying to find the right words to answer you. When she finally did, it wasn’t an answer to your question.

“Are you sure you want to keep this up?” She asked.

“What do you mean?” You knitted your brows. “I sort of have to because he’s coming with me to my mum’s birthday dinner tonight.”

You watched as Abby and Sara exchanged hesitant looks, and your mind started questioning if it really was worth continuing this because your gut feeling was starting to tell you it was starting to be something else. 

“We just don’t want you getting hurt.” Abby added. 

“I won’t.” You said that with too much confidence. “This is all just an act, remember? It’s not real.”

You watched as Sara took a sip of her tea and didn’t say anything for a whole minute, but you knew that look she was giving you. You have known Sara long enough that it was the “are you sure this was a good idea?” look. Like she knew this wasn’t going to end well if you kept this up. 

“Just… Just think about it.” Sara’s worried hazel eyes stared at you. 

Your little conversation with Sara and Abby got you overthinking again as you walked back to your flat. You had to continue this act tonight and this time, it would be at your parents’ house. It was the first time they would be meeting Joe, and you were dreading it because you knew how they both act around other people. They had no shame to fight nor say something brutal. 

“Are you alright?” Joe asked you as you both walked out of the flat that night. 

“Yeah,” You paused and turned to Joe as he opened the passenger door for you. “Listen, I just want to apologize in advance whatever my mum and dad will say to you. They tend to be brutal and have no filter.”

“Hey,” Joe set a hand on your arm to comfort you, but it made you wince from his touch. 

Even if Joe had touched you or kissed you many times, you still tend to be taken aback whenever the two of you weren’t pretending in front of everyone. You were still you. You still weren't affectionate nor liked it when someone touched you.

“Sorry.” Joe slid his hand away. 

He was also starting to get used to that part of you. 

“But don’t worry, okay?” Joe gave you a reassuring smile. “I’m going to make sure that your mum will stop annoying you about this.”

“Thanks.” You gave him a small smile before sliding yourself inside the car. 

On the way to your parents’ house, the car filled with comfortable silence but inside your mind, you were dreading to visit your parents. You promised yourself you wouldn’t come back until the big holidays, but your mum insisted on you coming back home for her birthday. You technically haven’t told them that you have a “boyfriend.” All you said on the phone was that you were bringing someone, so she wouldn’t be too surprised and scold you for not giving her a heads up that she needed to prepare an extra plate. 

You could literally feel your shoulders getting tensed again as Joe pulled up to the driveway. It started to drizzle the moment you stepped out of Joe’s car as you played with your fingers nervously. You and Joe walked up to the front door, and your mum must have heard the car pull up because she immediately swung the door open before you could even knock.

“Oh!” A big smile plastered on her face, her eyes only at Joe. “You didn’t tell me your guest was so handsome.”

“Mum, this is Joe.” You introduced them together, a frown slowly creeping up on your face.

“Happy Birthday.” Joe greeted her, handing her a gift bag. 

Where did that gift bag came from?

You were too occupied inside your mind that you didn’t even realize Joe had been holding it this whole time. You furrowed your brows at him, not expecting him to bring a gift to your mum but at the same time, you sort of felt touched. You couldn’t help but think about how Joe actually took time to pick out something for your mum. Someone he never even met before. He didn’t even have to do all of this since you both were just pretending, but he did. You saw how Joe was a gentleman towards her, and you could already tell your mum loved him. 

If only she knew the truth. 

It didn’t take long for the rest of the herd to arrive behind your mum as you introduced your dad and brother to Joe. Entering your house, your dad and brother immediately dragged Joe in the living room as your mum asked you to help her out in the kitchen. 

“Happy Birthday, mum.” You gave her a kiss on the cheek and handed her your gift.

“Thanks, darling.” She smiled. “You didn’t have to get me anything. I told you to save your money.”

“It’s nothing. It’s just something small.” You shrugged.

You watched as your mum’s eyes shifted towards Joe in the living room and then back at you. “Is that… Joe? Your flatmate?”

You nodded your head, ready for her to start listing all the things that were wrong about dating your flatmate even if she had suggested it to you in the first place. 

“I’m glad you finally listened.” She looked down at the salad she was making, pouring the dressing on it. “It seems like he’s handsome and has a good career.”

“He’s an actor.” You answered.

“Oh?” Your mum looked up to you, her brow raised and her eyes widened. “Anything I have seen him in?”

You shrugged. “Probably not.” 

The both of you were interrupted by the laughter that erupted from the living room. You saw how the three men enjoyed their conversation together as they watched sports on the television. You noticed how Joe was trying his best to impress your dad and brother. You wonder if all of this was still an act because the more you watched them, the more you could see the real Joe surfacing in all of their conversations. It was the Joe you knew before this whole thing happened. The Joe you would spend Saturday nights with, watching movies and eating pizza.

When the five of you sat down for dinner later that night, you quietly sat and ate your food as they all talked about sports, and your brother asking Joe about interesting things that happens on set whenever he films. Every single question that your family asked him, they seemed to be impressed by every answer that Joe would give. 

Maybe Joe was right.

He really was going to put on a hell of a show for them. 

Although, as minutes passed, you started to feel guilty for lying in front of your family. Were you that desperate for them to feel proud of you that you had this whole thing set up? That you actually brought a fake boyfriend for them to meet, so they could leave you alone for once? It made you feel sick to your stomach, and you just wanted the dinner to be over. You just wanted the whole night to be over. 

“You know you are the first man that she brought home.” Your mum mentioned to Joe, making you glare at her.

“Mum.” You uttered. 

“I’ve always told her to stop being so stiff and go out there and find someone.” Your mum continued. “All she cares about is her career.”

Joe watched as you slowly slid down your seat. A small smile tugged on his face as he set a hand over yours under the table. 

“There’s nothing wrong with that.” Joe replied. “I think it’s amazing that she could go out there every day and be in front of hazardous chemicals for experiments, so that the world could have a cure for certain diseases.”

Your eyes slowly shifted at Joe as he continued to compliment you, his hand squeezing yours gently. This time, you didn’t cringe nor wince over his touch. He was genuine at every word that he was saying. Every compliment he would say, it made your brother smile at you, and it made your mum finally shut her mouth. 

“I think she could do both, especially since she’s almost 30.” Your mum finally found another excuse after a few minutes. 

You bit your lower lip and ate your salad and didn’t bother talking for the rest of the night. Joe could see how tense you were and even holding your hand, he could feel your freezing cold hands shaking. As your dad and brother continued to make conversations with Joe in the living room after dinner, you made your way upstairs to your room to get some peace and quiet for a moment. 

Looking out the window, the rain started pouring hard outside as you watched the raindrops slide down the glass window. You looked around your room and thought about all the memories you had in here as a child and a teenager. Most of them were bad and some were good too. Your fingers brushed the wooden white vanity that sat in the corner of your room. Picture frames of your childhood friends that you haven’t seen in a long time since they were all out of the country now. Then, your eyes caught on the snowglobe that was sitting on top of your bookshelf. You stood on your tiptoes, grabbing it from the top shelf and smiled as you stared at it, wiping off the dust that collected over it. 

You remembered you would hide in your bedroom most of the time to avoid hearing the argument that your parents would have downstairs. You would put on your headphones, lay on your bed and stare at the ceiling. It almost became like a safe place for you to hide out from everyone in the world. You let out a sigh as you sat at the edge of your bed and looked out the window and thought about how your life would be if you weren’t so terrified at everything. If you weren’t so anxious about coming home all the time. You wondered how your childhood and teenage years would have been if your parents didn’t fight all the time.

“Knock. Knock.”

Your thoughts were interrupted as Joe stood by the doorway, knocking on the open door. 

“May I come in?” He asked.

This wasn’t your own personal space anymore. This was your personal space when you were a teenager, but she was a totally different person from who you were now. This was just a room full of memories and untouched things that were collecting dust over the years. 

“Sure.” You murmured. 

Joe sat next to you and looked down at the snowglobe that you were holding.

“Something special?” He asked, nodding his head in the direction of the snowglobe.

“Yeah,” You smiled slightly. “It was my favorite.”

You held up the snowglobe with a small blue penguin standing outside a cabin and when you shook it, snow filled the globe, and it sparkled. 

“I always thought how lucky the penguin was because it looked so peaceful in there.” You added. 

“Yeah,” Joe shrugged. “But it could be lonely too.”

Joe watched you shake the snowglobe again and part of him knew that you were comparing yourself with the penguin. How you wished you had a peaceful home life. He saw how much your mum judged you tonight and that was just during dinner. He couldn't imagine having to deal with that your whole life.

Your sudden winces from his touch, and your rules for boundaries made all sense in his head now. Everything about this house made you who you were today, and he wished he could help you heal from it, but Joe knew that you liked your distance. You liked keeping an arm’s length when it came to certain people in your life.

He couldn’t blame you. He has seen all the reasons why tonight. 

“I swear to God! You cannot do anything right around here!” Your mum yelled from downstairs. “What a great fucking birthday, innit?!”

You and Joe immediately shifted your attention towards the doorway. Your mum’s voice echoed from down the hall as your dad’s deep voice rattled the whole house.

“You know what, if you could handle it yourself, then fine! Don’t ask me for help next time!”

“That’s actually fucking great! You’re fucking useless most of the time anyway!” Your mum barked.

You couldn’t believe that they were actually fighting right now as if they didn’t have a guest inside their own home. They literally have no shame or respect at all. You got up from your bed and quickly closed the door, hanging your head low from embarrassment.

“I’m so sorry–”

You gasped softly the moment you turned around and saw Joe standing in front of you. You didn’t even finish your sentence as he looked at you with apologetic eyes and immediately pulled you in his arms. You didn’t know what to do. You stood there frozen as Joe held you and comforted you. Your body was tense due to all the anxiety that was washing over you right now. 

You never had anyone do something like this to you before. Not even your parents. If you weren’t so preoccupied by the fact that you felt so embarrassed, anxious, and stressed about your parents, you would have pushed Joe away from you. 

No one got to hold you like this. 

No one should hold you like this. 

This was not right, especially that it was Joe. But somehow, his arms slowly made your body relax, and your arms gently wrapped around his torso as you buried your face in his chest.

“It’s okay.” Joe cooed, his voice all soft. “Just let it out.” 

You kept telling yourself that you were being over dramatic as tears silently rolled down your cheeks. Both of you were silent. The only thing that you could hear was the pitter patter of the rain on the glass window as you quietly cried on his chest. Joe softly rubbed your back until you had let out every single frustration and anger. He was patient. He waited until you were okay and was ready to let go from his embrace. 

Joe planted a soft kiss in your hair and that made you sob even more. 

God, you were so pathetic.

You couldn’t even hold yourself together in front of him. The moment you finally let go of his arms, Joe looked down at you, dipping in his chin to find your eyes that were now bloodshot red. Your lips were trembling as you sniffled and used the end of your jumper sleeve to wipe your nose.

“Hey, it’s okay.” His soft voice murmured, wiping your tears away with his thumbs.

“I… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean–”

“No,” Joe shook his head, cupping your face with his hands. “Don’t you dare apologize for letting out your emotions.”

You nodded your head and let out a deep breath, giving him a small thank you smile. After a few minutes of gatheringg yourself together, the both of you decided to start making your way back to London. You needed to get away from there. 

You had enough of everyone. 

“Hey,” Joe gently held your hand that night when you both arrived in your flat.

He stopped you halfway towards your bedroom and immediately slid his hand away from yours, knowing exactly how much you hated it when someone touched you.

But tonight was an exception, right? 

You didn’t think you actually needed someone to hold you like that until Joe did without you asking for it. It still surprised you, but it made you feel safe and understood.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Joe asked.

You nodded your head, a small reassuring smile tugging on your lips. “I’m fine. Thank you for tonight. It seems like our plan worked.”

Joe didn’t care about the plan though. He only cared about you. 

He only cared if you were okay. 

“Of course.” Joe smiled. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

And just like that, Joe watched you walk inside your room and closed the door behind you. The same way how most of his nights end lately. His mind wondered if tonight something has shifted between the two of you. 

Taglist:

@palomahasenteredthechat @sunvick @eddies-acousticguitar @demonsanddemogorgons @joesquinns @mmunson86 @ghostinthebackofyourhead @corrodedcoffincumslut @figmentofquinn @tlclick73 @browneyes8288 @bylermaxmayfield @ali-r3n @ficsbypix @capricornrisingsstuff @missonlypost @ali-in-w0nderland @amberolivia666 @lalalala-melmosworld @niallersfreckles @nanas-lasagna @emma77645 @indulgence-be-thy-name 

[isa-ghost]

ok

*insert coin*

Can I ask for q!Phil hcs BUT when he's fully un Bird mode :D

Jokes on you that's easy, those are just more plain qPhil hcs for me >:D

qPhil headcanons masterlist

Sometimes if he's in a fight that he's not taking seriously he'll put some goofy ass music on in his headphones. Some favorites include the Mario invincibility star theme, Waltz of the Meatball Man, and the kind of bubbly anime ending music that plays over an emotionally devastating scene

After way too much stress, once he gets Chayanne & Lullah to bed and is on his own he'll go somewhere and just. Scream. For as long as it takes. And then he chugs tea or noodle broth to prevent his throat from dying on him.

Sleep schedules his beloathed <- wants to spend more time with a bunch of islanders he doesn't get to see often

Out of the 3 polycule members, Fit is best at cheering him up. He knows Phil best and the extent to which he lacks a filter sometimes is too powerful for Phil not to at least smile at

His wheeze laugh is the best thing ever to the the kids. If the two of them can make him wheeze, they know they've done their job right.

As soon as he knows something is safe (the maze, an event site like the code builds, that new mountain at old Spawn, etc) he's the first one to start exploring. He's been that way as long as he can remember ;)

*Slaps top of his head* This old man can fit so much survivor's guilt in him

He's only old in age and wisdom, if you try to imply he's geriatric he will get SO out of pocket about the things he's done with Fit & Etoiles and you will regret it

Okay so I've talked about how his worst fear is not having control, especially of himself. And I've talked about other fears of his, but I don't think I've mentioned his fear of loss yet. He tries to pretend he isn't, he'll insist he isn't, and to some degree he isn't Entirely wrong, but he is afraid. Being as old as he is means you get a bit desensitized to loss because it's natural when the things and people around you don't live for as long as you do. The part of it Phil fears, or maybe hates is a better word, is all the emotional turmoil after. That bone-deep ache of grief, the heaviness that refuses to leave his chest, how easy it is to emotionally compromise him, the hollowness that consumes him. The way he can't think or sleep properly, how his motivation is completely wiped out, how embarrassing it feels to not be at 100% in front of people. He HATES the aftermath of it all.

Excursions, Shuniji, and ofc Weirdest Year by C418 are Phil grief songs, in this essay I will

The Federation has learned that if they want Phil to attend an event he isn't particularly interested in, all they have to do is have really good food there, especially Latino food

He does legitimately gag a little when he kills a mob and flies or maggots come out of it. That's not just drama, he fr is like 🤢. It reminds him of the first time he saw Ender King's corpse

A fraction of the reason why he has people he trusts very deeply, like Fit, whitelisted on his security stuff is bc he knows if he ever got too depressed (like when the kids were missing), he'd never leave the house and just bum around feeling awful despite being restless. Having them whitelisted means they can get in and force him to get some air and stop festering in his emotions.

See I could get into a whole analysis abt this but like. So many of my angst hcs for him are abt how he's kinda shit at taking care of himself, esp when the people he cares for the most are removed from the equation. But it's not that he's incapable of it, he's not a baby or something like that. It's another part of how he's so locked into being the caretaker, the protector, the Strong One, the wise one, etc etc etc that he Hates being in the reversed role. He's gone so long without it that now it's foreign and unpleasant to him. He feels weak & like a burden. But at the same time, going so long without being in the reversed role is unhealthy and he NEEDS to be the one taken care of or protected sometimes. Everyone does. It's a double-edged sword: be the caretaker, shoulder everything & suffer OR be the one taken care of, feel awful about it for one reason or another. He can't win. He hates the latter but he needs it occasionally just like anyone else. He prefers the former, but the toll it takes over time is extensive.

It's why he'll do little things in an attempt to remedy it. To avoid being full-on taken care of for once while also not Only doing the reverse. Watching the sunset with the kids, adventuring in new and exciting places, sparring with friends, etc. His escape is making vivid fond memories to look back on and smile about, even if they don't always fix his emotional state. At least he isn't fully neglecting himself.

[bungalowbear]

ten.

ranger!nanami kento x psychic gym leader!reader, pokemon au, wc: 970

thanks to @strawberrystepmom for inspiring this series!

“Welcome back,” Yu greets warmly as Nanami and Yuji step into the station.

Yuji waves at the Ranger behind the counter. “Hey, Haibara.”

“How was your journey?”

“It was awesome.” Yuji’s expression brightens, gripping the edge of the counter and leaning forward. “We met a psychic.”

“Oh?”

Nanami meets Yu’s eyes, and the latter raises his brows in surprise. Nanami says your name.

“Wait.” Yuji looks between the two men. “Haibara knows her, too? She didn’t mention that.”

“I’m sure she would have if it came up,” Nanami reasons. He lets out a tired sigh as he adjusts his glasses, which now have a thin crack on the right lens. “But right now let’s focus on completing our reports so we can go home.”

“Right.” Yuji’s head dips sheepishly before he steps around the counter, Growlithe hot on his heels, and toward the office in the back, hand raised above his head. “Good seeing you, Haibara.”

Yu, Nanami, and Breloom remain in the lobby. Nanami can feel the air getting heavier with questions Yu is holding back. When his lips part, he doesn’t gets the chance to ask because Nanami already lets loose his own inquiry.

“Were you actually sick?” Nanami walks up to the counter, unzipping the front of his utility vest. “Or was this another one of your schemes?”

“I wouldn’t call them schemes.” Yu rubs the back of his neck, a slightly guilty look crossing his features. “I’m just looking out for you.”

Nanami arches a brow.

“I really was sick though,” Yu adds. “I’ve been following the activity of those poachers for a couple weeks, so I was bummed I couldn’t go and catch them myself. But I never imagined you’d actually run into her. Lucky, right?”

“Right.”

“Did you talk to her?”

“Not much,” Nanami admits.

Yu pouts. “No grand reconciliation, then?”

“Sorry to disappoint.”

“Now that you know where she is…” Yu treads carefully, eyeing his friend before continuing. “Maybe you can go visit her again.”

Nanami shakes his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not? I still try to see her when I’m in the area.”

Nanami had realized fairly quickly that Yu knew you were in Johto. With him having gone on so many missions in the east, Yu was bound to come upon you. Nanami would be bothered if he’d been the only one left in the dark about you three living in the same region again. However, you’d been just as surprised to find out as he’d been. Normally, two long lost friends would jump at the chance to reconnect, but this situation is anything but normal.

Breloom leans into Nanami’s leg, looking up at the man with knowing eyes.

“It just isn’t,” Nanami says.

Yu doesn’t push any further. After a few moments of silence, Nanami makes his way to the back to write up his own report.

After completing their reports, Nanami and Yuji set off for home in a jeep they borrowed from the station. Olivine City is just as they left it. The main street is bustling with traffic from the port and people are making their way in and out of shops and the Olivine Café.

Nanami’s eyes glance in the rear view mirror and see Yuji, Growlithe, and Breloom fast asleep in the backseat. The trek from your gym took a few days. The provisions you packed for them were sufficient for the journey, but not much could be done about the fatigue after a long journey. Thankfully, their home was a short drive from the station, just on the outskirts of the city.

It’s golden hour when they arrive. Nanami leads the jeep up the familiar dirt path that doubles as the driveway leading to the house. The quaint little home, painted blue with white trimming, is a beacon of warm comfort as it stands waiting in the orange hues of the setting sun. The barn Nanami and Yu built themselves to house his Pokémon looms tall behind it.

Once parked, Nanami takes a moment to himself. The sounds of insects chirping and little creatures stirring along the tree line remind him he’s home. He’s not buried under rubble. He’s not cooped up in your gym’s infirmary. No, he’s mere feet away from the familiar comfort of his home.

Yuji begins to stir, and so do Growlithe and Breloom. Nanami gets out of the car and leaves the door open for them to hop out while he gathers their bags.

They barely makes it onto the porch when a small crowd of Pokémon come barreling around the corner of the house. Pawmot leads the pack and launches herself at Yuji, who opens his arms with lightning quick reflexes to catch her before landing on his back with a thud. The porch is packed as the entire welcome party gathers.

Poliwrath and Lucario welcome Growlithe and Breloom while Hitmonchan stands beside Nanami. He places a hand on the Pokémon’s shoulder and receives a good-natured bump of his friend’s gloved hand against his side as a greeting.

The chaos suddenly halts when Nanami unlocks the front door and says it’s time to fix dinner, but then it’s quickly replaced by a new frenzy. Yuji leaps to his feet with a cheer, Pawmot still in his arms, and rushes inside with a trail of Pokémon following after him.

Nanami lets out a short chuckle. They’ve been gone a while, so he understands the excitement. He’ll have to thank Yu later for looking after his Pokémon. Maybe he’ll stop by the bakery before going into work tomorrow.

Nanami takes one last look across the yard, toward the mountains in the east, and tries not to think about how far away from here you also must be settling down for the night. You and your Pokémon in your peaceful gym.

series masterlist

i do not have a taglist. please follow @bungalowbear-archive and turn on notifications.

[analogwriting]

Childhood Crush

Chapter 12: Stainless

Killer x gn!reader word count: 3.7k a/n: I'M ALIIIIIIVE. anyway, this is a honker and kind of a catch all bc it's gloss over timeskip stuff. i can't tell you how many times i wrote the last part tho sdlkfj next

Settling in was so much easier than you thought it was going to be. You moved into the spare bedroom at Myra’s, Lily excitedly helping you unpack - and by unpack, she just took your things out and went through your stuff before setting it on the ground to grab the next thing to look at.

You didn’t mind though. Going from a rowdy ship to just a house with two other people was definitely a big change - so you welcomed the noise. You just listened as she idly chatted about nothing as kids typically did. It reminded you of your brother when he was younger. He would constantly talk about nothing for hours on end.

There was one day that he talked about Victoria for about four hours. It was a fond memory you had because of the relentless teasing, but it’s long since turned bittersweet because of her untimely demise. 

You didn’t just listen to your brother’s ramblings - since the boys were always at the house, you heard all of them ramble about something at one point or another. Still to this day, actually. Before everything had went downhill, Heat had come into your lab and started talking about a group of cats he had seen on the island you had all stopped at. He told you about how he had given each of them names and what they looked like. How they all even had their own personalities. 

It was rather adorable, honestly. They all still would come to your lab and drone on about something they had seen or just wanted to share with you. Like an excited child telling their parent. Then, usually, you told Killer when the both of you would be making dinner.

Thinking about those things, you were already missing them. You felt terrible with the way you left things off. You wished you could have gone back and just…not have shut down like you did but…it was too late now. 

Settling into work also went pretty smoothly. Everyone was incredibly nice - which it probably helped that Myra was the one that introduced you to everything. She was the head of the island, after all.

You had your own office space, which somewhat ended up as the Kid Pirates Museum. Your space was filled with different newspaper clippings. It didn’t matter who it was or if it was good or bad, all of it went on the walls. You were so proud of your brother for coming so far and making a name for himself.

However, you were worried about him. He seemed to be growing a bit reckless in his endeavors. He was going to end up biting off more than he could chew and that worried you. They all told you not to die on them, but really they needed to not die on you. You honestly wouldn’t forgive them. You already told yourself that you’d figure out a way to bring them back and then kill them yourself. 

It was only fair.

Eventually, you created something that improved your own life significantly. It seemed like a simple arm band that you had around your bicep. It connected with your nerves and you were able to gain full functionality of your arm again. It was something you had worked on the side for a while and now - it was complete.

With the full movements and feeling in your arm back, you started to train at the facility. You wanted to be able to regain your ability to fight. You wanted to be able to protect those you cared about once more. You wanted to feel useful again. You knew, logically, that there was plenty you could do even with your bum arm. You even proved that yourself time and time again, but it was just something that your head couldn’t wrap around.

If it had happened to anyone else, you would’ve told them what your brother and his friends told you. That it was okay, there was plenty of other things. Hell, you probably could’ve even learned how to fight with one arm. You heard that Shanks only had one arm and he fought just fine.

Though, he was a completely different ballgame than you. He didn’t count.

To test out your newly regained ability, you started to go out on field missions. There was a group of combat trained scientists that would sail out to various islands to gather materials and/or research. Some traveled far, some didn’t. You were with the latter. You stayed close to the island, you didn’t want anything that would take up too much time considering that you eventually wanted to go and find your brother again.

You proved to be able to hold your own once more. Fighting became a breeze to you once more, easily taking out several people in one go. Just as you used to be able to. 

When you returned from your most recent voyage, Lily and Myra greeted you at the dock. Lily ran up to you, immediately jumping in your arms. You laughed, holding her. “I missed you!” You grinned. “Missed you too, kiddo.” Fuck, it was going to suck when you had to leave for good.

Myra seemed to be pensive. There was a look of worry in her face. “What’s wrong, My?” you asked, setting Lily down as you walked over to her. She smiled, shaking her head. “We’ll talk later.” You narrowed your eyes at her. Something was wrong and you knew it. You left it for now, assuming that she didn’t want to talk about whatever it was in front of her daughter.

You decided not to pry, instead engaging in whatever Lily was prattling on about as you walked towards your temporary home with the two. You caught them up on your most recent mission and they caught you up on what you missed on the island - which wasn’t exactly much.

The entire day, Myra seemed on edge. Sure, she laughed and joked like normal, but you had a knack for reading people. You knew something was up, but you never said anything. At least not while Lily was awake.

Currently, it was after dinner and you were sitting on the couch, Lily fast asleep in your lap. Myra was sitting in an armchair adjacent to the couch. “So, you going to tell me what’s going on, My?” You looked at her and she seemed to stiffen. She looked at you for a moment before glancing down at Lily. She sighed softly, pulling a newspaper from the inside of her coat.

“Read this.” 

With a scrunch of your eyebrows, you took the paper, careful not to wake the little one. You read the headline and your heart immediately sank. You felt your blood run cold. Your brother had lost to Shanks and seemed to sustain grave, life threatening injuries. Panic began to rise in your chest as your grip on the paper tightened.

You felt yourself relax once you reached the end of the article. Eustass was in stable condition, going back to his usual antics. However, you did notice something. “He fucking lost his arm?” You stared at the paper before you started falling into silent laughter - mostly so you didn’t wake up Lily.

Myra looked at you - completely startled by your reaction. “I- Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. That’s just funny.” She looked at you like you had grown an extra head.

You set the paper down, looking at Myra. “I mean, he lost his arm and temporarily, so did I. Technically, without the bracelet, I still don’t have a fully functioning arm.” You chuckled. “Guess having two arms doesn’t run in the family. But at least between the two of us we have one good pair of arms.” Honestly, it was hysterical. 

“Oh man, I wonder which one it is. Because it would be so funny if it was the opposite of mine. Then we really do only have one good pair of arms.” You slowly calmed down, your laughter dying down as well. You took a deep breath. 

“I thought you’d be more upset,” Myra said slowly, still unsure how to gauge your reaction. You looked at her with a small smile. “Well, my brother is strong and can hold his own. Especially if his crew is with him. He’s going to be just fine. The article said he was stable and sailing again, so I’m sure he’s going to heal up just fine.” Sure, you were still worried about him.

“However.” Your face soured. “I am absolutely going to tear him a new one for fighting Shanks. I love my brother, yes, but that was the dumbest fucking move he could’ve made. He’s nowhere near ready to fight him.” What you wanted to know was why he tried to fight him. Did it just end up happening? Or did he seek him out? You had so many questions swimming through your head.

Myra let out a small laugh and you looked over at her. “Guess I was stressed about nothing. I was worried that the news would upset you.”

“Eh. My brother and I have been through our fair share of shit - I know him well enough to know he’ll be just fine.” Your expression changed to a deadpan one. “Until I get to him, I tell ya. I’m going to kick his ass.”

After that, you two fell back into normal conversation, eventually turning in for the night.

--

“You’re telling me I have to do fucking what?” 

Myra winced at your word choice. She still wasn’t accustomed to you cursing despite having lived with her the last year or so. You did well to not swear in front of Lily and other children, but adults were free game. You were a pirate, after all. Those words didn’t really hold meaning to you.

“You’re the only one fit for the job, y/n.”

You just stare at her from the chair you’re in. You’re currently in her office, her having called you in. There was apparently some really important plant they needed for some breakthrough but getting it was next to impossible. 

“You’re asking me to go on a suicide mission, Myra.” 

She sighed, shaking her head. “I think you’re more than capable. Besides, if you decide it’s too much, you can come back.”

“Can’t come back if I’m head.”

“Oh, come on.”

“No, you come on.” You groaned, putting your face in your hands. Were you ready for a mission like this? It was risky, but deep down, you knew you could do it.

“Besides, I heard your brother was last seen somewhere over there, so you can just send the flower back to us and go with your brother.” You looked at her, blinking. Eustass? 

“Eustass is around there?”

Myra nodded. “We all know that this place is not your home, y/n. You were going to go back eventually. It’s probably time.”

“Kicking me out?” You smirked and she rolled her eyes. “Oh shut it. You know what I mean.”

You laugh, sighing after a bit. “Fine. I’ll do it.” She grinned, nodding. “Good.”

Hoo boy, nothing could’ve prepared you for what you’d end up discovering, however.

--

“I got you something, y/n.” You looked up from checking your inventory. You were currently on the dock, getting things ready for departure. “It’s from me, too!” Lily chimed from beside her, holding up a box. You blinked, tucking your clipboard under your arm and taking the box.

“You didn’t have to get me anything,” you said with a small laugh.

“We know, but we wanted you to have something to remember us by,” Myra said with a small smile. She was never one to express large emotions. Quite the opposite of her own child who was currently beaming ear to ear. 

“You act like I’m never going to come back.” You shake your head as you open the box, missing the sad look on Myra’s face. 

When you open the box, you’re taken aback. You figured it would be some kind of book or something for taking notes, but it wasn’t anything studious at all. It was a large knife, like the one your crew had gifted to you. You carefully took it out of the box, admiring it. “Oh wow…”

It was a lot like the one you had already, only instead of the Kid Pirates’ jolly roger on it, it had the lab’s emblem on it. A soft, fond smile spread across your face and you felt tears welling up in your eyes.

“Y/n! Do you not like it?” Lily frowned, looking up at you. “We didn’t mean to make you cry!” You looked at Lily and laughed softly, shaking your head, ruffling her hair. “No, no. I love it. I’m just happy.” You attached it to your belt on the opposite side before picking up Lily and hugging her tightly. “Thanks, kiddo.”

Lily laughed and hugged you tightly. You looked at Myra over her shoulder and smiled. “Thank you, too, Myra.” The scientist just nodded, her own sad smile on her face. There was something she seemed to know that she wasn’t telling you, but you were going to leave it be for now.

--

Nothing about this mission was going to be easy. Get in Wano - already hard enough. Blend in - could be easy, could be hard. Somehow sneak into fucking Kaido’s castle - practically impossible. Get the flower - depending on where it is, could be impossible. Send it back or come back - that part could be easy.

You have no idea why you let Myra talk you into this, but you ended up agreeing to it. Saying goodbye fucking sucked. Since this was possibly the last time you would see anyone for a long time, it was a hard goodbye. Lily almost broke your heart in two when you said goodbye. She didn’t want you to leave in the slightest. You were like another parent to her now. You told her that you’d come see her again - that you’d write and call when you could.

This whole island was like your second family, but Myra was right. It was home to go home. You missed everyone. Not a day went by that you didn’t think about them.

You also had some unfinished business with a certain someone. You had some hands to throw.

Getting into Wano was pretty difficult, but you persisted. Going upstream was absolutely insane. Everything settled down after that. It completely wiped you out, trying to navigate all that. You narrowly avoided a whirlpool. Next thing you knew, you were on a beach.

You hid your boat, knowing that the people of Wano didn’t really take visitors. Which brought you to your next issue. Blending in. You made sure to keep hidden for the most part. After all, you stuck out like a sore thumb. You did at the lab too, but they didn’t care as much. It’s not like you were trying to blend in there.

You reached a small village, quickly spotting some clothes on a clothesline. Wasting no time, you snagged them off the line and changed. After, you continued forward, eventually ending up somewhere full of snow. Great. You were just glad that the clothes you had come across had a cloak that came with a hood and a mask you would wrap around the lower half of your face. 

How much more lost could you get? Why did you agree to this again? All for a flower? 

Ugh. Fuck.

It was cold - too cold. Snow began to fall and, soon enough, visibility was also shit. It was just warm not too long ago; what the hell was going on? And now you’re all turned around because everything looks the same due to the snow. You needed to find shelter - and soon. You didn’t realize you’d end up this lost in a winter hellscape or you would have prepared a bit better.

A sound suddenly tore through the air. It was enough to make you jump a bit. It sounded like some maniacal laugh from a bad guy - though a bit more haunting. It sent a shiver down your spine. Whatever the fuck that was - you wanted nothing to do with it. You were here for one thing and one thing only: that stupid fucking flower that you were really debating on whether or not it was worth it at this point.

As you were walking, you lost your footing, immediately taking a tumble and falling down some hillside. When your body decided to stop moving finally, after what was way too long and now you were way too cold, you found yourself in front of some woman and a child. They looked at you with fear in their eyes, both of them also sitting in the snow.

“Wh-” Before you could ask what was wrong, you felt someone behind you. You turned just in time to block the on coming attack with your own daggers. One from your brother and friends, the other from Myra. 

The assailant was a very large man with two very large scythes. Though, that’s not what startled you in the least. It was the cackle that erupted from him paired with the unnatural stretch of a hollow smile across his face. It sent a shiver down your spine.  That was definitely the laugh you heard - the one you wanted nothing to do with.

How the hell did you get into this situation again?

You pushed the swordsman off of you, sending him back a bit. “I’d get out of my way if I were you,” he warned. There was a familiar ring to his voice, but it was too distorted for you to place it. Besides, the damn guy wouldn’t really stop laughing either. That was also getting on your nerves. You already didn’t like the haunting sound of it.

You said nothing, only solidifying your stance to protect the woman and small child. You couldn’t help but be reminded of Myra and Lily when you saw them. “You guys get out of here,” you told them, glancing at them for a moment.

A moment too long because he used that to attack you. Your movements were delayed as you tried to block him again, only to fumble and he gave you quite the cut on your arm. If you lost another arm, you were going to lose it. Though, after pushing him back, you realized it just looked worse than it was. Nothing some clean up and stitches couldn’t help.

He seemed surprised that, even with your distraction, you were able to recover quite quickly. You ran at him this time, initiating an attack, surprising him further. You were able to knick him in the side and knock him backwards - you were on top of him, basically competing for strength at this point as you pressed your blades against his, trying to break his defense.

From this angle, you had a better look at his face. Or you would have had there not been bandages covering his features. His eyes though, they pierced right through your soul despite themselves looking soulless. They were a shade of blue that made them familiar, but the lack of life made it hard to pinpoint who it reminded you of. 

They did tell you everything you needed to know. This guy wasn’t in his right mind at all. Clearly some kind of brainwash of some kind. That didn’t explain the unnatural smile that didn’t reach the rest of his features, like his eyes, or the haunting and hollow cackle that erupted from him every once and a while.

Everything about this was weird.

Your thoughts were interrupted as he suddenly gained the upper hand. He had you pinned to the ground this time, his blade dangerously close to your neck. Fuck, you needed to out of this. You didn’t even want anything to do with this guy to begin with. He was clearly a level of unhinged that you didn’t want to mess with. With a quick glance around, you noticed the other two were gone. That was one less thing to worry about. It also didn’t help that your arm was currently throbbing from the laceration. Ugh.

You look back up at your assailant, noticing the look on his face seemed to change. Well, the look in his eyes. They faltered for a moment as they fell on your blade. The one your brother had gifted you. You used this moment to push him back, sending him off of you at least. It was, unfortunately, enough to knock him out of the trance it was in and he ran at you again.

What was that about? Why would your own knife make him falter like that? Though, his eyes lost that hollow look and…hold on. No fucking shot. There was no fucking shot that this was Killer. Contrary to his name, he wasn’t a complete mindless killing machine. He had least held some kind of emotion in his eyes, but…he also wasn’t really one to smile and laugh. Especially not like this.

Besides, your brother was nowhere to be found. This was just an uncanny valley and this was nothing more than a ghost - a glint of someone you missed. Nothing more.

But what if?

Fuck, now you wouldn’t be able to kill him even if you wanted to. Not with the possibility in your mind. After all, Myra did say your brother was reportedly in the area. But…what would Killer be doing here? Like that? Without Eustass? Ugh, your head was hurting from thinking about it.

The man in question was advancing on you once more and you solidified your stance - only to lose your footing and fall down yet another large hill. You descended rapidly, trying to stop yourself. You grabbed on to anything and everything, but nothing was strong enough to hold you or slow you down. 

When you reached the bottom, you groaned, slowly rolling over. You heard that laugh in the distance, echoing through the snow. Visibility was impossible at this point, so you had to make your escape now. You didn’t want to deal with the situation anymore. 

You stood up, heading off, finding a large log and crawling inside. You collapsed, completely winded. Your head was spinning and you felt yourself slowly losing consciousness. 

[mad-hunts]

oh. well, i suppose it's headcanon time once more, because i have way too many ideas regarding barton haha — so this may be a bit of a shorter one, but i believe it's equally as important as the one's i've posted thus far, because it really says something about how barton interacts with the world and how his brain works. but let me just start by saying that although barton does appear to have a relatively healthy relationship with food... he does occasionally hoard it, like, subconsciously as a result of the part of his childhood that he spent with wesley ( his biological father ). and this is because he was very much suffering from food insecurity while he was with his bio father. this is because wesley had lost his job as a forester whenever barton was around the age of five due to him missing too many days of work, not only because of how much his bloodthirst was taking over his life, but barton's life as well. he was forcing barton to go along with him on the super twisted ' hunting trips ' that i have talked about before that he unfortunately had to learn to endure with him ( which of course, in actuality, he never should've been forced to do ) about three times a week at one point and so that didn't really leave much time for wesley to attend work as much as he should've been.

and from there, wesley struggled a lot with finding a new job + providing for barton and him, so whenever he had access to food, barton would hoard it underneath his bed or in someplace where he knew that he knew he'd be able to find it because he wasn't sure when he'd be able to eat again. which is... very sad to think about, to say the least. thus, i think in more ways than one, meeting winslow at eight years old was probably the best thing for barton. winslow not only had a stable job, after all, but was a significant improvement in regards to how good of a father figure he was to him. i feel as if he never quite got over this insecurity, however, and that's why he sometimes still does it even till this day; especially since, although barton is NOT a good father overall, there is one thing that he's done right in regard to them and that is making sure that they were always put first in regards to getting to eat something. so hoarding food for him is also kind of a ' safety measure ' in a way as well because he has always been of the mindset that him being hungry is less important than them being hungry because of what wesley put him through as a child.

but yeah, that's just another one of my two-cents about barton's situation and how his mind as a whole works. he will quite literally sacrifice something like that for his children one second, though the next, he is liable to do something that makes it seem like he doesn't care about them at all... which admittedly makes him kind of confusing BUT i think there is reasoning behind this and one of those being that he can definitely feel cognitive empathy towards people, but actually putting himself in their shoes? it's much more difficult for him and sometimes nearly impossible because of how skewed his mind is. i shall expand more upon that another time, however, and what the term actually entails. i hope this didn't bum y'all out too bad but i promise you that i'll try to post more ( semi?? yeah, perhaps that ) fluffy things in the future.

[incredibly-delirious-biznasty]

I’m only going to weigh in on this once because all the hate is really bumming me out and I need to air out some thoughts.

I know you have all picked up on the themes of all this new music from our Emo Forebears. I will use My Chem as an example because I think they’re the most poignant example:

Think about their musical content up till this point. It’s about suffering and feeling misunderstood and we all loved it because we felt seen. My Chem had the reputation of being the Suicidal Girl band since long before it was seen as anything other than cringe. If you didn’t live through this time; if you have never experienced the feeling of “fuck it I’m gonna live like I’ll never see 30 because I’ll be dead long before then” it may be hard to understand just how special Foundations is.

You Must Fix Your Heart

The resurfacing of these emo bands are all the grown ass adults who were once barely out of their teens, saw a bunch of fucked up shit, many of them nearly died or were very near people who did, and here we are, decades later, still just living.

At a certain point, it’s fix yourself or give up. By give up I mean die. It’s heal or die.

So here we have a bunch of now adult musicians who have been through it, fixed themselves and are now thriving. They have an opportunity to share this wisdom with all those other young people who were just like the. The now-adult fans have done their own growing and fixing. It’s a beautiful thing, really.

Now consider Panic!

Yes, the ‘09 split was the end of the “real” PATD. However, Brendon and Spencer decided they wanted to keep trying. They loved making music, who could blame them for trying to a carry on the way they saw fit?

The transition between Vices and Virtues and Too Weird to Live is very important to the point I am trying to illustrate here.

The whole band was heavy into drugs. Spencer almost died from an overdose. Brendon even said in a statement about the state of the band that he didn’t realize that his friend was so deep into his addiction because he was fine. He admitted his shortcoming and I believe this incident was a serious realization and turning point for Brendon.

The tone between VaV and TWTLTRTD is markedly different. (Don’t @me about Dallon ok? That’s a whole different can of worms and y’all get too insane about that shit. If you’re ready for the real talk you can look up the legal credit given for writing on both those records and bring me the receipts, but most of y’all are not ready for that one yet) There is a turn toward the positive here that progresses throughout the “Shambling Corpse” solo albums.

Brendon was trying to find his positive growth while still doing what he loved, because unlike many others in the genre, it wasn’t about to kill him.

Now take a step back and look at the last, oh, let’s just say, half a decade. The amount of negativity, harassment, personal privacy invasion, along with all the other shit the internet has thrown at him. As stated previously: the majority of these controversies have been proven to be false. Brendon has stated many times that he doesn’t want to be famous. He wants to be able to be himself again and live his life without being harassed (whether it’s positive or negative intention)

He needs this break. He needs to heal. It tracks that the other bands that broke earlier are back with a new outlook, they had years to figure their shit out, one way or another.

Brendon hung around and has been being ground down to nothing in the public eye for nearly two decades.

I’m glad he’s finally taking his turn.

(If you’re interested in learning more about why Brendon was “cancelled” here is an excellent master list)

[alpharaposa]

The thing is? Everybody starts out poor when they leave home (unless they get a shitload of money from their parents, which is fewer people than you think).

The GI Generation did not go straight from school into neat little “pleasant valley” houses. They fought a freakin’ war first, then half of them went to college on the GI Bill, and THEN they finally settled down to start making Baby Boomers.

Baby Boomers? A bunch went to college, a bunch went to Vietnam, and a bunch bummed around getting high without really living anywhere until they finally settled down (or died off) and started getting real jobs.

Gen X? We got soooo many thinkpieces about hanging around living with our parents because we didn’t have the scratch to move out (which is historically normal, BTW- people lived with their parents and sometimes their grandparents). Those who did had the time-honored tradition of living with roommates for the first place or two, with all the awkward steps of living with people who may not have the same hygiene standards you do. Or may feel like vodka and sunny delight is a perfectly good breakfast and trash belongs on the floor.

So, Millennials weren’t setting any new trends by having trouble paying rent and getting a car (if they even wanted one) as young adults freshly on their own. And you up and coming kids, you’re going to have to figure out some strategies, too. Roommates, living with your parents, going into debt and learning about bankruptcy... those are all normal things for twenty-somethings.

For most of our country’s existence, the big worries were child poverty and elderly poverty. Guess what? We’ve just about licked those. Kids and their parents get a lot of help, and the lone grandma out there is usually richer than her kids. Even if not, she’s got the kinds of retirement funds previous generations could only dream of.

That leaves the last form of ‘poor’, which is the young adult with almost nothing to their name, setting out to make their way in the world for the first time. Most of them are going to struggle. Some take out student loans and get through college and THEN reality hits them, but unless you were a very strange student who had a part-time job and saved a lot of money, you don’t have much of anything when you turn 18/21/24.

It takes time to accumulate wealth, be it in ‘real’ form (houses and other property) or simple cash. It’s never been easy, and the rules change as society changes. The internet and global supply chains changed things in just the last generation. COVID screwed up so much, it’s unreal, and we’re still sorting that out. I’m sorry for those of you hitting the job market right as things hit the skids- that sucks. It’s happened to my mom every time she went job hunting so far (and she’s in her 60s- sometimes it just works out that way).

Is it hard sometimes? Boy howdy. Make some friends to hang out with on the cheap, be it drinking country time lemonade and vodka instead of going to the bars or picking up hobbies less expensive than playing the latest video games.

What you’re going through is what other people go through and HAVE gone through for years and years and years. It gets easier. You’re going to have pitfalls where you screw up. Maybe you’ll have to start over once or twice. God knows my husband and I did a couple of times. Things you never learned about in school will suddenly become important, like credit ratings. The good news is that information on how to fix this stuff isn’t too hard to find these days. The bad news is that you’re going to have to do a lot of stuff that’s new or uncomfortable until you learn the ins and outs.

You’ll manage. You’ll get better at it. There are some things you’ll let go and other things you’ll hold onto. Life isn’t about having it all, it’s about learning what really matters and what you can live without. It’s about the choices you make along the way. Make those choices in a way so you can look yourself in the mirror afterwards.

Don’t set yourself up for failure by assuming it’s supposed to be easy. We’d all like it to be easy, but nobody’s figured out the magic formula to actually make it work out that way. Believe me, people have tried.

Don’t pay for job placement- good places charge the companies they head-hunt for, not you.

Libraries have programs to help you write resumes and learn to budget.

Step outside and appreciate nature a little bit- it’s free of charge and it’ll keep you sane.

[djarinispunkkk]

Trouble - Club Foot

Part One

Weeks had passed since that fateful night with Javier, and to say the time spent in those weeks was interesting would be a lie. The two of you had parted ways the next morning, each equipped with the other's phone number, but it seemed neither of you reached out. You weren't really sad, just bummed, you hadn't felt that good during sex like, ever.

The weeks were instead spent cramming studying sessions into your already-packed schedule. You had some pretty big assignments due and you were at risk of falling behind due to your jobs demanding hours, but you powered through, albeit with some reluctance.

Even now when you were probably missing out on making valuable tips, you were nose deep into one of your textbooks, relying on one of your co-workers to man the bar for a bit. It was a Saturday and reasonably busy at the Oracle, you were thankful your boss wasn't here or else you definitely would've been reprimanded for having your attention not focused on work.

After finishing your reading, you took it upon yourself to buss the tables at the far right of the club, this was where most of the wealthier occupants sat and conserved over hard liquor. They were usually the best tip-givers too. You made your way to a booth currently seating two men, they were kind of seedy looking, you noticed. An odd chill passed over you as you approached the table. You asked if you could get them anything to drink, and they looked up at you with a certain disdain, like you had interrupted a very serious conversation. However, once they both looked over you and your body they failed to hide their sly smirks. You shuddered under the glare.

"Depends" the one with the goatee sniped, "Are you on the menu, Princesa?"

The other man nodded with a chuckle and you fought the urge to cuss them both put, where were their manners? Assholes.

"Afraid not, I'll take that as a no for drinks then" you reached for the few empty glasses littering the table, stopping in your tracks when you felt the man who had shamelessly flirted with you before, grab at your wrist. You gasped as he brought you down to his level to breathe into your hair.

"Watch the attitude, puta" he spat, the aggression in his tone not lost on you as you practically scurried away back to the bar.

"What's up?" your co-worker asked, taking in your rather timid expression.

"Oh nothing, just assholes at the back" you nodded your head over to where you could see the two men engaging in another important looking discussion.

"Typical" she muttered, leaving you to tend to more customers.

It was a while after your encounter with the men that you heard the phone ringing from the office. Being as your boss was out, had instructed you to answer if it rang. You sighed as you took in the growing number of people surrounding the bar, how important could a phone call be?

It seemed the phone call was important, the line had been consistently ringing for ten minute's before you had to excuse yourself from pouring drinks.

"Hola?" you sighed into the receiver.

"Is this Sebastian?" the voice asked.

"He's out at the moment, who is this?"

"Ma'am this is Agent Murphy" your eyes widened, the police were calling? "I'm calling to inform you that you've got a wanted criminal in the establishment"

What?

You couldn't even find the words to reply, instead you listened as he took your silence as a cue to continue explaining.

"See we need to get to him but we need your help" the man -- American you presumed, judging by his accent continued on, much to your horror.

"We need you to try and get as many people outside the building without raising suspicion to the target, can you do that?"

You paused, still trying to wrap your head around the whole situation. Could you do that? Would your nerves prevent you? No, no, you could do this. You had to protect the people in the building.

"Si, si. How long do I have before you come in?" you spoke through shaky breaths, you only hoped he couldn't sense the wavering in your voice.

"We're around the back of the building, we plan to intercept at 9:30" he replied, you checked the clock hanging on the wall of Sebastian's office -- thirty minutes, you could do this.

You listened as the agent described the appearance of the criminal. You now understood the weird feeling you got from the man earlier, it was definitely him being described. You shuddered at the memory of him grabbing your arm.

"Got it" you heard your co-worker calling for you, "I have to go now" you whispered the last part, truly scared at the events about to unfold.

You made your way around small groups of people, alerting them of the situation and reminding them to act as natural as they left. Some of them were scared, eyes so wide you swore you could see your own reflection in them. Others just seemed annoyed to be leaving their drinks so full, the presence of a criminal in the room not too concerning to them.

You kept your eyes on the clock, ten minutes before the police would come in. You'd managed to whittle the club down to just over ten people, the two men were still situated at the same booth. You'd informed your colleague and you she had reluctantly left, not before pestering you to make sure you called her after. You also felt terrible for having to keep some of the clubs customers here, but you couldn't risk the criminal becoming suspicious, you just hoped the customers would forgive you in the future.

You checked your watch, any minute now.

"Princesa" your blood turned cold at the slurred sound of the man from earlier -- the criminal, beckoning you over. This was just your luck.

With wobbly legs you tried to act as natural as possible as you walked over to the booth, forcing a smile as yo watched his beady eyes scan you over.

"What can I get you" you kept your voice strong, you didn't want him to see you sweat.

"Another round, hermosa" he winked, holding his empty glass up with a smile.

"Of course" you nodded taking the glass and practically speed-walking to behind the bar.

It was then that the saw a group of men making their way through the bars kitchen, your eyes widened. They all had their guns pointed upwards, the sight alone chilling you to the bone. You kept your back to the man as you poured his drink, silently watching as more men filtered through the doors, always careful to not be exposed too soon.

Then suddenly, everything happened in a blink of an eye, a man, a blonde man grabbed you and pulled you down to hid behind the bar as you heard shots fire out. You would've screamed had it not been for the man hands muffling your voice. The shots went on for a least a minute before settling down and being overpowered by the loud voices of the law enforcement.

"We got him" one said, his voice practically cheerful.

As the voices conversed around you, your mouth was no longer censored by the mans hand. You looked at him with wide, fearful eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked, taking in your bewildered expression.

You couldn't speak, you only nod as you watch him help you to your feet.

"I'm Steve Murphy, guessing we spoke on the phone?" he was definitely an American, you could tell for sure now.

Once again you could only nod, you kept your eyes fixed on him as he escorted you out the building, you couldn't bring yourself to look at the bloodbath around you.

When you finally did look around, once you had exited the building. You could barely see anything other than blue and red flashing lights scattered along the road. There was multitude of police cars and ambulances too.

"Do you need to go see medical?" Steve asked, he was growing concerned with your silence.

"No, I'm okay" you manged to speak out, your voice betraying you as you stuttered.

Steve smiled, and the tow of you took refuge leaning against the door of a police truck. Yo watched as medics began carrying people out on stretchers. These were your customers. You felt guilt invade your bloodstream as tears welled in your eyes.

No, you did what you had to do. You repeated it like a mantra as you watched them haul out the last of the injured.

"Murphy" you both turned to see the source of the voice.

Your shock from earlier seemed to be back, although this time ten times more intense. That was because standing in front of you was none other than your one-night stand, fucking Javier.

Part Three

[alt-bluesman]

I quit my first job

A job I once genuinely loved and had high hopes for! In itself, the work was fine and I will stand by it - but the boss, the environment and some of the colleagues were not. Even though I'm going to miss some aspects of that job, I don't and won't regret leaving. In the long run, it was hopeless. I've been meaning to share more about that even before I quit (I already knew I would), but life kept getting in the way as it often does. So more below the cut if you're interested.

Caution: big honkin' wall of text ahead!

I worked for 3,5 years in the museum and did many different things: painted and assembled wooden toys, guided tourists, organised art workshops for kids, participated in cultural events, wrote and translated texts & letters, operated the helpline, prepared exhibitions, took care of the souvenir shop, even did some simple gardening from time to time. For all of that I'm going to be forever grateful. This job has taught me a wide range of skills and helped me overcome some of my fears. For the most part, it had a positive impact on my life.

I believe that late 2022 and early 2023 were some of my highest points there. When you take a look at my Twitter activity, you will notice how these two overlap! But things began to take a turn and pile up in early Summer '23. Co-workers that were previously friendly became distant and cold. Those that were helpful stopped caring. The boss, who has always been insufferable, became an absolute egomaniac. Mobbing and inequality in treatment were unbearable.

Let me explain a bit more about it all: first, the co-workers. With one exception (that I will get into later), I don't want to say too much about them because most of them were good people, just stressed out beyond their capacity. I absolutely get that - I lost count how many times I was at my wits' end at that job! Some people, however, turned out to be big disappointments. Faking friendship so they could get your help when they needed it, then spreading shit about you as soon as you left the room. Everybody was a target and so was I.

There were serious conflicts between the workers from way before I joined the team and they have only gotten worse as time went by. And the quarrels affected everyone: if you liked person A, then you weren't allowed to like person B and so on, even a small gesture could get you in trouble. I feel very bad for ever taking sides, buying into it all is honestly one of my biggest regrets. There's no way around it: I feel responsible for contributing! But I was so unprepared, so oblivious then that even before I knew it, things already spiralled out of control.

Alcoholism was another major problem. Feckin' hell, I left my family home to get away from my drinking dad and not long after I had to deal with the very same thing at work... It applied to more than one person, but one person in particular was so bad. Either not coming to work because they were too drunk or (much more frequently) coming completely hungover. Barely able to talk, stinking like a pile of garbage, looking more like a bum than a worker. And what did the boss do? He didn't do shit. He deliberately chose to ignore the problem despite it affecting both tourists and workers alike. And he was perfectly aware.

Speaking of the boss, he himself would be worthy of an entire book! The worst possible person in that position you can imagine. During the entire 30 years of being alive, I have never met anyone even remotely as dumb as him. Not. A. Single. Time. He struggled with understanding basic sentences and was entirely dependent on another person (his Right Hand) to do everything for him. That didn't stop him from having a very high opinion on himself though, which created massive tensions. I can't even begin to explain how frustrating it was to work for someone with an IQ lower than a brick!

He told me several times that he expected my full loyalty and respect. In my opinion both of those things are earned, you can't simply demand them without giving them back / proving you deserve them. And deserve he did not. Take talking with him in person for example - he usually didn't let you even finish a full sentence, and when he did, he was very determined to show you that he wasn't interested in whatever you had to say. He berated one of the good co-workers to the point of them bawling their eyes out in front of him and didn't let them out even though they were begging him. A tyrant with absolutely nothing to show for it.

I was sick and tired of being attacked too, usually for things that were either beyond my control or I wasn't responsible for at all. Some tourists made a mess in a different room and the cleaning lady didn't tidy it up? That's my fault. I reported a technical problem to a worker that was supposed to fix it, but they didn't do it immediately? My fault. Another worker was refusing to give me a batch of goods for sale even though I kept asking them for it time and time again? You guessed it - my fault. The last one was quite a shitstorm as the culprit hastily left the room without saying a word while the boss was yelling at me, lmao.

I spent the last year working as the main cashier. I liked the role and most of the extra responsibilities that came with it, but it didn't take long for me to realise that it made me an easy target. I was almost always the first person the boss saw when he entered the main building. He and some of the other freaks the museum attracted! I also still remember when our accountant (that works in a separate place) started berating me for issuing an invoice on a day that, in their opinion, I shouldn't have done that. I said I was strictly following the boss' orders and redirected them to him. They outwardly refused and continued to chew me out for 10 more minutes. In the end, it turned out that the invoice was perfectly fine. They never apologised. Ah, fun memories..!

I know that many (if not all) of these things come with any job to some degree and for the most part, I was able to tolerate it all. But once they became an everyday occurrence, they started to take a toll. The environment became so toxic that I could smell the freaking poisonous fumes at home. I kept coming from work with a heavy mind, unable to think about much else, briefly bounced back to life on my days off, then it all came back. Rinse, repeat. No matter how many things I did well, the boss would always find that one thing he didn't like and focus solely on it. My self-esteem was gone and I was feeling like a hollowed out husk.

At the beginning of the post I mentioned how it all slowly took a turn in mid 2023 - well, the Fall of that year was when everything rapidly came crashing down. I don't like telling this story because it's both hurtful and somewhat convoluted, but it's essential to understanding why I decided to quit! It was the straw that broke the camel's back. To be frank, I didn't even consider leaving the job before it happened. So what happened?

In September I received a call from a woman who asked about organising kiddie workshops directly at schools. We didn't do that, in fact I don't think any museums do. But I told the caller that it could be possible to arrange, I just wasn't qualified to make a decision on my own and had to discuss it with my boss and colleagues - and since most people were on their paid/sick leaves at that time, I asked her to call back later that month. No biggie! A perfectly normal conversation, one of many. We brainstormed the idea at the museum. The final verdict was that we could do the workshops at school, but would charge more since that would take extra preparations and require some kind of transport.

When the anonymous woman called again and I told her her that, she proceeded to unleash her inner demons on me. Gave me a good ol' piece of her mind and didn't hesitate to sprinkle in some threats too. Because I gave her some extra information about costs that she herself asked for. Suddenly, it was wrong for some reason. I was always very polite to tourists & callers and I can assure you that this time was no exception - I was ready to address all the shit she was spewing too. But as soon as she finished talking, she disconnected without giving me a chance to reply. To say that I was floored would be an understatement!

I worked there long enough to answer hundreds of calls. None of them were even remotely as brutal as this one - in fact, none were mean at all. People were either always nice or neutral, but usually the first one. A lot more understanding too. And just.. normal, you know? Not only that, but this woman also seemed to have access to information that I for sure didn't give to her. The call was so awful and suspicious that I immediately reported it to the boss. He told me not to care, pfff. Nothing new!

Then, a couple of days later, one of the co-workers returned from her sick leave - the boss' Right Hand (that's how I'm going to refer to her for the rest of the post). She learned about the incident from another worker and when we happened to be in the same room, she told me that the woman who called was her daughter. Not only did she know about it all from the very start, she was also delighted with what her daughter did. To say that I was shocked would be, once again, an understatement! Right away I told her that I didn't appreciate any of that and the call shouldn't have been anonymous.

I simply couldn't wrap my mind around it all. I did several favours outside of work for Right Hand, including a major one that happened just 10 days before the nasty call. For quite some time, we were even friends. Or, apparently, "friends". Her family kept taking advantage of my mom's dental work. Heck, I did a favour for the daughter too - painted some stuff for her kids for free. She knew me and knew full well she was talking with me on the phone (Right Hand confirmed it), but I didn't recognise her voice since we met only a couple of times. Dang, why are people like that..?

After some back and forth, I decided to tell the boss who the mysterious caller was. I thought situations like these shouldn't be tolerated at work and believed we should be more transparent with each other. Congratulations, Frample: that was the biggest mistake of the year. Boss promptly took Right Hand's side and I ended up being scolded again, for God knows what. Soon afterwards, I took a week off to take a break from it all, process it and gather some strength. As soon as I came back to work, the boss called me to his office to give me another rebuke. I immediately noticed that Right Hand didn't waste any time to completely turn him against me. She didn't even hesitate to let him know about a private conversation we had after work. I was appalled. This was the very moment I made my decision to quit.

Everything that happened in the following months only confirmed that it was my only choice. My fate has been sealed. Right Hand made sure to make my days at work a nightmare, she took every chance to take revenge, yelled at me, reported the pettiest of things to the boss, went out of her way to let me know how much she disliked me. I haven't approached her about what she and her daughter did even once after the day I found out it was them. I didn't want to bring it up, hoping she would eventually let it go, but it wasn't working. I'd even say things got progressively worse as time marched on.

One of my biggest regrets is not going along with my gut feeling about her! I didn't like her at the beginning - the very first thing she did was lie to me, lmao. When I was applying for the job, she told me it would be just an internship and not a day more because they were already "packed". But it didn't take long for me to see that the museum was, in fact, seriously understaffed. Now, I know the boss must have told her to lie, but in my opinion she didn't have to. She has always been so adamant about telling everyone how good of a Christian she was; she really didn't have to.

"I never did anything wrong" was her mantra. Wow, okay Adolf! Looking back on it all, there were so many red flags I should have paid more attention to. And for quite some time I did: I frequently told my co-workers that I respected Right Hand for all the hard work she did, but could never be her friend because she wasn't my type. But there was this other person who kept telling me to give Right Hand a chance & I finally listened. So we became "friends" for a couple of months. Big mistake. She took advantage of me and my mom, then gave me a whack and tossed away like a piece of trash.

Thankfully quitting my job was smooth sailing. Excluding one instance, the boss was generally kind to me and ultimately accepted my decision. One of my co-workers protested a lot, but I couldn't let that change my mind as I was already scarred for life, lmao. I had enough, wanted no more. I asked the boss to call a short meeting, so I could say a couple of final words to the team - I did my best to part with them in the most amicable way I could, thanked them for those 3,5 years of working together and apologised for what I did wrong.

This was the last time I saw Right Hand. Thank God! During the meeting she blurted something along the lines of "I wish you that you won't regret this", but in a rather unpleasant, menacing tone. She was also the one to end the meeting with a loud, crass "Enough?!". Out of all the workers, she was the only person that didn't come to me to say her final goodbye. She didn't even attempt to pretend to be nice, I'll give her that much! Now I have her number blocked and I hope I won't ever come into contact with her again. Nor with anyone of her kind.

The boss had a toothache & had to go to my mom's clinic soon after I left. He made a bit of a scene there! He never talked with my mom about me before - going as far as pretending he didn't know her and turning away when she attempted to greet him at her clinic. (What a jerk!) Anyway, he pulled her aside and started begging her to tell him why I quit. He kept asking if it had anything to do with him and said he'd welcome me with open arms if I decided to come back (bullshit). The interrogation lasted for a while, but my mom managed to escape his nagging questions without saying the exact reason. I'm proud of her because the last thing we need is another revenge from Right Hand. Does Right Hand know I quit because of her? I don't think so - after all, "she never did anything wrong". Other workers told me that she behaves as if I never existed.

I'm so glad I quit. I had no place and no future at that job, and the few things I enjoyed weren't worth the emotional damage. The last three months were torture, I involuntarily lost about 4 kilograms (less than 9 lbs) due to stress and sickness. The truth is that I could lose almost 10 times that much and it wouldn't hurt me, just wanted to acknowledge the reasons behind it! I was constantly battling depression. Burning through my painkillers too. I bought this huge box with 50 pills back in Spring, thinking it was such a stupid purchase because I wouldn't be able to use them all up before the expiration date. By the end of 2023, the box was almost empty. Intense headaches & migraines were the culprit and these are nearly always stress-related in my case.

This job was a roller-coaster, a crash course of life lessons. Many of them very bitter. I don't think I'll ever be able to trust people the same way I used to before I started working at the museum! But that's for the best - I hope it will spare me a couple of harsh moments in the future. I've always been very naive and easy to manipulate, it's time to pull those out like weeds they are. I'm unemployed as of now, though I have some savings that should keep me afloat for a bit. I'm healing.

Thank you for reading if you made it all the way to the end!

[the-firebird69]

Watch "Paul Wahlberg Dishes on Favorite Food, Music, and 'Wahlburgers' Moments | At Home and Social" on YouTube

Casino go through a lot worse but he was doing a few things at the same time and I was making it happen and it usually they do that to him and I pointed out what was happening and I see Billy zee saying he's playing it out and said you're making him sick and a lot of people hate him and he is playing it out and he more or less doesn't have the math right there's a capturing him because those two ships well no but we're still at them really soon someone's going to do something and Tommy Allen fired a few things off he's got a few more things to fire off and he's going to demand that he lands. Is a great idea what he's come up with and this seems to mean it it's a big moment in history All will be famous and Tommy f is not. And yeah Trump is going to be doing it. He went through hell he's going through it everyone is but he's going through massive hell sky keeps picking on him and picking on him and picking on him much worse than Trump's doing on our friend here and he's shooting at a friend and that was Tommy f shooting at him it's terrible. I've got some ice breakers on the way and no not the treat that's a great idea a lot of people have s***** breath but it's sugar and sugar-free he says and it's true and still got sugar the assholes lie. But it's funny. So I'm going to go up to the lake cuz you have to start there he says then you have to run down it once you start ed this pile up again and the lake will get bigger but I want to test it it said that with icebreakers they're not going to be deep enough up there maybe and it's kind of true they have like a draft of 4 ft it's not very big and most of muck is down 20 ft to the top of it but I have an idea to drag something and it will go down in it and we're going to drag it all over the place do a test area and we'll see what the river does when he says it's probably won't be sediment all the way down it's going to settle I did notice that too but we want to do a study and we're going to have military there that's a great idea these walls are going up and these clones are going after them and we'd have to hire some more ice breakers and there's a ton of them and they have them down there and they can't spare that many but they can spare a few at a time and move them around and we need a ton and a lot of areas and real quick and Star blazers is going to form because if they're doing the muck and they can move these ships around and outfit them somewhere they're starting to move right now

Mac daddy so tough situation you guys are tough and you're bad and your meanings but so am I

So my husband to that is just sitting there going bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum to the Star blazers tune and boy what a guy really he did really well this morning we have our icebreakers too and we think we might do a study in the Great lake we're in and others will and it won't be that much of a plume we need to know what happens and he's right I think it won't stay in solution but what if it did we could do it whenever we wanted we're going to go ahead and do a study now and you send floating cameras with it and adjust it so close kind of the same speed it's going to be fun so here's another thing we have sensors but I have these boats I'm making I'm making them for the our people and it's our coast guard for Canada that were patrolling the whole lake and over the other Great lakes we're moving them into the top and they don't like it but that's what we're doing I can see the boats look different but not that much different and some of the people who are higher ups want to tour so put them on the boat and we drive around and asking how much I'm saying we're not selling to the public yet I'm still speaking to a couple boat companies and said why I said about the name and they said okay so we're doing it but we're making a ton of them we have a lot of time though there's a lot going on here it's kind of catch up work and there's this boat concepts and some people think you can drag something and something that you have to plow through it and we're going to find out which talk well it's also cut up stuff and have the cutters on there I'm going to need a lot of those a lot of people are getting this in shape right now

There's a lot of reasons that they want to do this most of them are bad so you're going to watch out

Thor Freya

Well what a boy he's got a bunch of stuff going today and we are punching out boathulls. I wish him the best and we're punching out both holes like madness and it's going well he's got another idea

Hera Zues

[loggreys]

Feel good foodie

FEEL GOOD FOODIE MOVIE

Mess-Free Way to Cut Watermelon you try this watermelon hack? 🍉 #fyp #foryoupage #foodĪdapt a Pizza Box to Store Leftover Slices my many viral video^^^ #wintervibes #fyp #foryoupage #viral The videos are anchored the below… to accomplish your reading quick and too. We advised hundreds of hacks and distilled the account bottomward to 14 prime examples. And if you haven’t already apparent and acclimated all of the excellent TikTok aliment hacks - delivered in quick and 30-second videos - here’s your adventitious to see a few best selections. If you’re as harried and abrupt as many home chefs, again you apparently adulation audition about new kitchen hacks. No surprise, then, which we see “quick and easy” listed as a compound chic on around each affable website. You’ll find Sushi a la Mexicana on Netflix Mexico.The two words which address many to active home cooks are: quick and easy. I think that might be one of the reasons why she may have recommended it. I think Dilia Suriel might have once been a Latina trying to make it in big city America.

FEEL GOOD FOODIE MOVIE

Though there are lots of shots of nori and maki that make you wish you were wielding chopsticks, this is as much a feel-good as it is a foodie film, a movie about a Latina trying to make it in two very different worlds, the United States and Japan. Despite Diana Elizabeth Torres’ delightful Hayekesque features and despite the film being all about the sexes, there is absolutely no recognition of the physical differences between male and female, not even a rice grain of sex anywhere, anytime. As I watched her journey to the televised finals, I realized what I really like about Sushi a la Mexicana. Can somebody from Poland make good Mexican food? Is it learned, or is it in their blood? I like people thinking about that.”Īs we ponder whether Juana will ever emerge from the kitchen, she enters a contest, “Champions of Sushi”, to prove that she can slice and shape with the best of them. In an interview with Stephen Harber in SF Weekly, Lucero said “What is authentic food? Is it where you’re from? Is it your sex? To make Thai food, do you need to be from Thailand, or is that something that’s learned? Can you put your own spin on it. You can guess where the plot is going as Juana starts to learn, like and love Japanese cuisine but you’re never quite sure if she will ever emerge from out of those slim swinging doors and stand proudly at a sushi bar, a place where, in my hundreds of visits to Japanese restaurants, I have never seen a single woman and definitely no one who looks as good as lead actress, Diana Elizabeth Torres.Įast Side Sushi/Sushi a la Mexicana was written, directed and produced by first-timer Anthony Lucero in an impressive debut. But, if that same taqueria had all Latino workers and just one Asian…one Asian…would that be okay?” “If I walked into a taqueria and I saw a bunch of Asians cooking the food, I’d probably think twice.” After being violently robbed at the cart, she applies and gets a job in the kitchen of the very male dominated world of sushi. The film is about Juana, a single Mexican-American mother who struggles to operate the family fruit cart in a part of Oakland, California where I feared to ever tread when I lived across the bay. Then, last year, the film was re-released as Sushi a la Mexicana, I presume to try and attract a Latino audience, and it started to get a few shout-outs from the websites that do those what’s new on Netflix posts. In fact, East Side Sushi all but disappeared until HBO picked it up. Despite some very respectable reviews and picking up a pile of awards at festivals, it never found much of a theatre audience (no action scenes, no bums on seats, is Hollywood’s explanation). The film Dilia recommended was released in 2015 as East Side Sushi. All I know is quite a few centimetres have disappeared from her waist since that first time I met Dilia Suriel. It’s called The Thin Woman’s Metabolism and, yes, it’s about losing weight but, in Dilia’s words, “from an in-depth scientific perspective and an evolved consciousness”. The last time I met Dilia she gave me a draft of her new book. The second time I met Dilia she was on a diet. The first time I met Dilia she was on a diet. But this was a film about sushi and sushi’s about eating rice and rice puts on weight and I just couldn’t imagine Dilia liking anything to do with anything that puts on weight. My friend Dilia Suriel is a living, breathing version of IMDb when it comes to recommending movies, especially those little sleepers that often slip by unnoticed. My latest foodie film recommendation came from an unlikely source.

[agustdef]

Rumors

This fic’s inspo stems from the Rumor by Jake Miller.

Pairing: Jeon Jungkook x Black Singer!Reader

Genre: Fluff, Smut; Idol AU/Idolverse

Word Count: 5.7k

Warning: Language; Sexual Activities; Spanking

Rating: 18+ (Minors do not read or interact.)

My Beta Reader: The dork known as @hobeemin

A/N: That song came on a song radio and I really liked it and then my brain got working so here we are. Also tagging @sugakookitty​ because I have to make sure she has a front row seat.

Every night during and after the PTD in LA tour one could go onto Twitter and see the excitement from ARMYs around the world about two shows, but they could also see the rumors and speculation surrounding Jungkook and YN. 

For that tour, they’d decided to bring out other artists they’d collabed with on random days to perform those songs. YN was the only one who was there every one of those nights, performing two songs that she’d collabed on with the boys and one of her’s that Jungkook had covered a few years before. The song that had brought them all together in the first place.

Also, the reason that fans, antis, and Dispatch clung to the little to no information they had to make everyone think the two were dating. As if they’d met in secret and gotten together and that was why Jungkook did the cover in the first place. 

When in actuality the pair met at some events while BTS was in the states for concerts and everyone seemed like fast friends months after the cover was posted. Soon after that friendship brought about collabs and hanging out with each other in semi-public settings. Something that people caught wind of a few times. All the images and videos taken were platonic for the most part, but YN made Jungkook laugh a little too hard once and that was all it took for people to latch onto them flirting or being a thing. 

Every interaction was analyzed for the smallest things. Didn’t matter if YN got the same reaction out of the other boys or if the outing had very little interaction between the two of them or if she was photographed multiple times with her head on Jin’s shoulder and Yoongi leaning on her’s as the two napped. 

At the end of the day, it circled back to Jungkook.

Something that he didn’t mind at all. In fact, he agreed with some of what people said or noticed. They weren’t wrong about how much he enjoyed being in YN’s presence or how they flirted with each other a lot. Plus, she’d also cuddled up against his shoulder to nap a few times and he’d done the same once, though his head was in her lap and she was playing with his hair.

His members teased him endlessly for that one. Which was also something he didn’t mind much.

He’d be a liar if he said that before he did the cover he thought she was cute and he liked what he saw from what she was public about. That kinda sorta crush quickly tumbled into full blown crush once they’d met and gotten to know each other. Only solidified by how many rumors swarmed, even the more ridiculous ones that involved them making out in the back of the van on the way to the group’s hotel - with the other members also inside.

Nothing close to that ever happened, but he would have liked it if it did. Minus his members there as an audience to their PDA.

Wanting to make those rumors true is why it bummed him out, even more, when the pandemic hit and their tour was postponed. He’d planned to ask YN out in person so he could have a better gauge of if she felt the same way. Of course, he knew she wouldn’t lie to placate him if he’d done it over the phone, but in person was the best way for him to go about it. Especially because he’d lose his mind if he had to wait forever to see her after they both - hopefully - confessed their feelings.

That want didn’t stop him from also texting her several times to just lay everything out to her. Something Yoongi often had to talk him down from.

Of all the members he’d been the most helpful when Jungkook came to him about how he was feeling. His hyung was always a fountain of advice, especially when it came to YN. He’d taken a liking to YN in an older brother kind of way so he had both their interests at heart whenever Jungkook came to him to talk about it. Equal parts encouraging and threatening was how Yoongi handled it, because he wanted Jungkook to be sure about his feelings before he could hurt either of them, especially YN.

There was some past relationship trauma that YN had that Yoongi knew all about and it made him a little more protective of her. Something Jungkook appreciated because it forced him to take another look at what he wanted from her and a relationship, he’d looked deep before but he went deeper that time around.

It was why he was beyond sure by the time talks of the four day concert came up. He fought to get her there for at least two of those days with the members backing him and he lucked out with getting them to say she could do all four if she and her people agreed to it. Which they did.

From there it was just planning how he would tell her how he felt. The way he went about it was so detailed that it was almost like he was preparing to propose to her, which meant at the end of it he scraped all the ideas. There was an urge to do it big, but it wasn’t very YN and he wanted her as comfortable as he could control.

Sadly, that meant even when they’d arrived he was left floundering to figure out the right setting and way to confess. That didn’t change even as the concerts officially kicked off. Which was beyond frustrating with all the buzz online that usually helped fuel his drive to move forward with what he wanted.

However, just before the start of the third day he was done with it. He went through the motions of the day with a weird giddy energy that everyone looked at him strange for and that no one but Yoongi seemed to understand.

Once they got on stage that energy fueled and more enjoyable concert and by the time they got to the more sensual of their collabs it was clear to the members what he was up to. He was near YN for almost the entire song and they played off each other effortlessly. 

And when their lyrics were a little more hype and suggestive he all but pushed Namjoon out of the way so he was near her when she did a move where she dropped it low. It was half retaliation for what happened when Megan the Stallion had come out with them on Day 2 and because he wanted to make his position clear. Even if it was a bit scandalous to be as close as he was while she swayed her hips and shook her ass a little.

He wasn’t looking to start anything major in the news, but he wanted her to be clear on what he was doing. And when she turned around after her verse and looked into his eyes as he began to rap he was beyond sure she got the message.

Along with anyone who could see the way he looked at her.

Once they finished the song everyone spoke to the crowd a little and the audience got to see the dynamic of Namjoon and YN at each other’s throats in a playful way. They bickered like siblings and Yoongi always stepped in to take her side. Jungkook switched up and took Namjoon's, which didn’t earn him anything but Namjoon alluding how he almost fell all because Jungkook wanted to get close.

Jungkook didn’t even defend himself, just shook his head and slyly looked YN’s way and winked. He could see the lightest tint of red under her brown skin when he did, but she pulled it together quickly, winking back before lightly punching Namjoon and fleeing the stage with all of them going right behind her.

They had a little over five minutes to prepare to go back out there, so despite being hopped up on their interaction out there Jungkook made quick work of getting changed into his next outfit. He did it in about two minutes since his next outfit didn’t include much and was easy enough to slip on. His make-up was touched up after, but that only took a few seconds, and then he was out of their dressing room and in YN’s.

He barely knocked before opening the door and closing it behind him.

YN was just finishing up plugging down her hoodie when he entered. Seeing him startled her, especially because she was used to being left alone for about twenty minutes after performing on stage.

“What the fuck, Kookie?” she asked, clutching her chest.

A sheepish smile overtook his lips. “Sorry, I should have waited until you said come in. But I don’t have a lot of time.”

“A lot of time for what?”

For some reason, Jungkook froze at that and became a bit shyer than he’d been with her earlier. That left room for YN to become a little more confident, especially because she loved it when she made him a little flustered. She would have usually teased him, but there was shouting about a minute or two before the next stage and she knew he had to go.

YN raised her brow and took a few steps forward. “What did you need, baby?”

And that was all it took, despite her having called him that a million times.

Jungkook crossed the space between them in three large steps, placed his hands on her waist, and pulled her in for a kiss. The first few seconds of it were soft, both in the way they kissed and the feel of their lips, but the moment YN’s arms wrapped around his neck he pressed closer and became a bit more desperate in the way he kissed her. One of his hands moved from her hip to her hair, his fingers lacing through box braids and pulling slightly. Just enough to cause a slight burst of pain, which rewarded him with a soft whimper slipping from her lips.

Controlling himself felt damn near impossible after that, but what could happen if he didn’t stop and the fact that he hadn’t said what he came to say made him pull away.

“We have to stop,” he said.

Before YN could speak there was yelling for about forty-five seconds and all she could do was nod. Jungkook pulled away from her a little then, but not fully. His hands moved to cup her face and he pressed his forehead to hers. 

“I really like you. I would ask you to be my girlfriend right now, but I want to take you on a date first. Plus I think we should talk. Meet me in my hotel room after?”

A smile took over YN’s lips and she leaned in, pecking his lips.

“I like you too. And I can definitely do that. I planned to head out a little earlier to avoid traffic anyway. I’ll stop by my place and then have my manager arrange to get me indiscreetly. Just text me when you leave here.”

There was some frantic yelling asking where Jungkook was so he nodded and pulled away, glancing at her one more time before leaving the room and sprinting out. It was a good thing her dressing room was just as close to the stage as theirs was.

Not that YN focused on that long, she fell onto the couch in the room and released a delighted squeal. Excitement and nerves about what happened filled her and not even her manager appearing in the room could get her to pull it together.

She wasn’t alone in that thought, because for once Jungkook struggled to regulate his emotions as they got into position for the next stage. His smile fought long and hard to remain in place, but he pushed it down.

Neither of them could wait until after the concert.

###

By the time the concert was over and they were in the vans headed back to the hotel nerves set in for Jungkook. He could remember what happened in YN’s dressing room, but a voice in his head tried to convince him that maybe she was just being nice. Or that he had stepped out of bounds by kissing her before saying anything. She’d kissed him back, but a part of him said it was a little too forward.

Thankfully, he remembered that YN wasn’t the type to just placate people, especially not in the matter of feelings. He’d watched her turn down an up and coming artist in the middle of an industry party, in front of his friends, and right as he was about to go on stage. And though she was Jungkook’s friend and she wouldn’t want him to go out on stage off his game she wouldn’t have said she liked him too just to rip his heart to pieces once they had the proper time to talk things through.

Thoughts like that are what replayed in his head over and over again until he got to his room. He was so focused on reassuring himself that he didn’t speak or even really acknowledge the members when they said something. Not that he had to, because Yoongi told them to leave him since he already knew what was going down. He cornered Jungkook and asked about his intense smiling and Jungkook blurted out what happened. 

Once inside his room, he finally reentered the reality of what was about to happen and was filled with mild panic. Jungkook was usually the semi-organized type, but he’d been tired and in a rush so his hotel room was a shit show. 

So, with a new sort of energy, he didn’t know he could possess after a concert he speed cleaned the room. That included finding the Lysol wipes that Hobi threw at him before they were assigned hotel rooms and wiped a few things down. After he jumped into the shower and dressed faster than he ever had.

Upon finishing he was sure everything was ready, but the room smelt off. A mix of stagnant air and lemons. He was quick to open a window and use one of his colognes to fill the air a little. Spritzing himself a few times before he finally took a seat and a deep breath. 

YN texted him when she left the stadium about around what time she’d be arriving and that she’d let him know when she was close. So all he needed to do was wait, which made him antsy. It also made him space out a little, so much so that he zoned out and nearly had a heart attack when he heard a knock on his door.

Panic filled him as he searched his phone for a message that she was there, but found nothing. He headed to the door with his heart beating in his chest only to see no one through the peephole. He slowly opened the door and looked around to see that not a soul was in the hallway but there was a bag on the floor.

Worry about a sasaeng hit him for a moment, but then he saw what was in the bag and snatched it up before quickly retreating into his room. He took its contents out and felt his body was on fire while he assessed the box of condoms. Feeling something weird on the back he was both embarrassed and annoyed by the sticky note he found.

I don’t want to be an uncle yet, so wrap it up. - Yoongi HYUNG

Rolling his eyes Jungkook discarded the bag in the trash and dropped the condoms in his suitcase. He had no plans of using them, though he would be a liar if he said he hadn’t thought of it or that he wasn’t excited by the prospect of putting them to use. However, he wanted to get to them talking about things part of everything first. He wanted this to go well with minimal hitches if any at all. 

Things with YN had to work.

And as if she knew he was thinking about her, his phone vibrated with a text. She told him she was about two minutes out and she brought food. He shot off a quick reply to her, then called his manager to let him know so he could get her up there. With that confirmed he pulled the chair at the desk of his room to the table he usually ate at and positioned the armchair across from it.

Not wanting them to freeze he closed the window and then moved to stand by the door. He knew he should probably sit down and wait, but he also knew that he would get caught sprinting towards the door if he did. Standing at it would be a test in self control, but at least he could reason with himself about counting for ten seconds before opening.

The knock that came about a minute after made him think otherwise, but he took a quiet, deep breath, counted, and then unlocked the door. YN smiled at him the moment the door opened and he uttered a quick thanks to his manager before ushering her inside.

Nothing needed to be said as she kicked off her shoes, set down her bag, and got to putting down their food on the table. They’d hung out a million times like that and so while she did that Jungkook got the TV on and put on some random anime they’d watched a few times before from Netflix and pulled water from his mini-fridge.

There was an attempt to help with the food, but one hand smack and he simply plopped onto the desk chair without a word. She opened his container of Chinese food and then utensils before she sat and opened her own. 

Even after they were settled not a word was uttered though. Food took priority with both of them, but especially after expelling energy. They each got about halfway through before focus shifted.

Or more so before the energy in the space shifted and Jungkook became a little shy.

They stared each other down while eating their food at that point, but as seconds ticked by Jungkook died a little more inside and finally dropped his fork.

“We should talk now, right?” he asked.

For several moments YN said nothing, which only made him flustered. Something that was clearly the goal, but she didn’t let him flounder for too long. 

“Yes, we should. You want to go first?”

“I probably should.”

“Then the floor is yours, love.”

A nod, a long sip of his water, and a deep breath later and Jungkook spoke up.

“I had this whole speech planned in my head, but I can’t remember most of it right now. Plus it was ten minutes long and I couldn’t agree with the cuts that Yoongi told me to make, so I’m just going to try to say this without feeling like a middle schooler admitting to his first real crush.

“I’ve liked you for a really long time, YN. It was a slow progression of feelings starting from friendship, though I will admit a slight crush on you before we even met. I wanted to tell you how I felt when we came out here on tour but then the world descended into madness and I didn’t want to tell you while being so far away. But then it felt like it would take forever and I almost told you when you had that date with that one guy, but we found out about PTD and he was a jackass so I thought now would be the time. That kiss was not how I planned it and I wanted way more time to talk it through but I just couldn’t help myself. I don’t regret kissing you though, just the setup.”

Throughout his speech, he’d switched from English to Korean and it was a wonderful thing that YN understood him. Not that it took away from the embarrassment that filled him once he’d realized what he’d done.

Not that he had a reason to be embarrassed since the entire time he spoke YN’s smile grew wider and wider. There was also something in her eyes that exuded care, excitement, and adoration. All of that was confirmed by the way her hand slid across the table to grab his and squeeze reassuringly. 

“Well, you already know about the slight crush I had on you before we met. It’s nothing I put stock in, but I agree, being around you morphed into something more. I wanted to talk to you about it too, even got close a few times, but also felt like over the phone was wrong. I went on the date after my friends badgered me and you were the first person I thought to call after the shit show was over. I was hoping to work up the courage to talk to you about it while you were here, but it felt like there was never the time and on the rare occasion I would chicken out.”

Logically if YN was fine with kissing him then of course she’d liked him for a while, but that coupled with them having both been going through the same thoughts was a shock to Jungkook’s system.

“So we were both preparing to ask each other?”

“Yes.”

“And we could have been together sooner?”

“Yes.”

“But we weren’t because of us being too in our heads?”

“Yes.”

“And because we didn’t want to start things from so far away?”

“Yes.”

“Wow… Do you regret it?”

“No.”

After so many yeses it was a shock to hear a different answer and Jungkook wasn’t offended, but the shock changed his expression. Enough so that YN felt the need to speak quickly.

“I don’t think either of us would have loved to be apart for so long. Plus, it helps that we both now know how each other operates under the stress of a situation on a global scale.”

Jungkook took a deep breath.

“True.”

Silence hung over them for a moment and they went back to eating and glancing at the TV every so often. It was weird, but also not because it was very like them. They’d talked about heavier topics and then paused to finish eating before picking it up or leaving it there, never feeling like they were avoiding anything. It was just the nature of who they were.

Food was finished not long after and they cleaned up before settling into Jungkook’s bed with snacks that YN brought and that Jungkook already had. They snacked and watched TV, YN’s head on his shoulder like it normally was when they got comfortable like that. Another norm for them.

What wasn’t the norm though was the way that Jungkook slowly pulled her even closer and moved their bodies so they were laying down with one of her legs tossed over his. One of his hands rested next to him while the other pressed into her lower back, just shy of her ass. At least it was until she adjusted slightly and it fell onto her ass. Making Jungkook freeze in panic.

The new tension in his body made YN look at him with a raised brow, but he stared straight ahead.

“Touching ass gets you this flustered, baby?” she asked.

Again there was that endearment, but tacked on was a sort of challenge and that got a rise out of him. He went from bashful to staring deeply into her eyes as he grabbed a handful of her ass and squeezed. Which got him zero reaction and that only made him want one. Releasing he did it again, only to get the same smirk and not even a flicker of reaction out of her. That didn’t stop him though, because when he released the second time his hand reared back and he smacked her ass. There was limited power behind it because of how they were positioned, but it was enough for him to see something in her eyes change.

That change is what had him do it again and again. Each time getting that non-reaction reaction and a soft throat clearing. So, he changed things up and moved YN so she straddled him and both his hands had access. 

But that access didn’t last for long as both wrestled for the upper hand. Phones and the remote could be heard clattering to the ground because of their wild movements, but neither flinched. They maintained eye contact and as every second ticked by the room grew hotter from the intensity of their gaze and the tension it built up.

After a few minutes, YN ended up on top.

That left them face to face, gently breathing against each other and still staring into one another’s eyes. The joy and excitement were the perfect precursor for the shift in the room or more so in the space between them. Tension built quickly and Jungkook’s lips were on YN’s and her arms were around his neck in an instant.

Their lips pressed against each other as if pulling away would be the end of them and when they pulled away it wasn’t long before they were kissing again. YN was the one to swipe her tongue against Jungkook’s lips, but he was the one to take the lead as both tongues intertwined. 

As they kissed their bodies pressed together and YN grinded against him, creating friction that made YN feel like she was on fire.

Her panties were wet and her thighs lightly coated from how worked up she was. It didn’t help that Jungkook got hard quickly and pressed his dick against her with his every move. The feel and the idea of him being inside her were all she needed to make her pull away.

“Fuck me now,” she panted.

And Jungkook didn’t waste a second. He pushed himself up, kneeling enough that he could pull his boxers down, before moving towards her again. There was no time or thought to pull YN’s panties down and they ended up pushed to the side. 

Within forty-five seconds of her telling him what to do Jungkook’s cock rubbed against her pussy and then slipped inside. They both moaned out at the feeling and paused for a second to take it in, but a second was truly all it was. Jungkook’s hands spread her legs wide and he drilled into her. The pace was quick and hard, their skin slapping into each other every thrust. 

The stretch his cock gave and the sounds of his dick slamming into her along with the moans from both their lips was a little overwhelming. They’d spent a while only being able to do oral and she’d missed the feeling of having him inside of her.

So much so that she needed more.

“Harder, please baby harder,” she cried.

“Fuck!” Jungkook shouted.

His outburst could have been confused by his inability to do so, but the man’s hips slowed down and he thrust into her in a way that left her skin stinging a little. One of his hands also moved down to rub and lightly slap at her clit.

If she hadn’t already felt her orgasm building, that definitely moved it along. YN felt closer with each slap she felt and she had trouble keeping her voice down. Every inch of her body felt eclectic and sensitive.

“I want you to come for me baby, play with your nipples,” Jungkook said.

Compliance was immediate. The need to reach that high fueled her and her hands were under her shirt pulling on her nipples hard. They were very sensitive so the heightened pleasure came quickly.

“So fucking close,” YN moaned out.

As someone who dreamed of making her cum, Jungkook took that as a notice to pick it up, and though he couldn’t pick up the pace in that position, he slapped her clit harder than he had before. It sent a jolt through her body and five hits in YN’s body spasmed for a moment and she came.

A gasp and soft scream escaped her as she rode out the climax and the feel of Jungkook continued to fuck her. Her hands dropped from her chest, but the sensitivity didn’t stop as Jungkoook continued fucking into her chasing his own high. 

There was no oversensitivity though, his pace helped extend her high and once his hips bucked, he pulled out just in time to cum all over her stomach. YN was still barely coming down from her high.

After a moment of maintaining their positions, Jungkook rolled to the side and rested beside her.

“Shit, that was fucking hot,” he said.

Soft laughter escaped YN. “Drunk me shouldn’t have told you about the spanking thing. I feel like the room is still moving.”

“All the more reason I’m glad you told me about it.”

With the limited energy, she had she slapped whatever body part that was closest to her hand, which turned out to be his thigh, where a bit of his cum had leaked. YN made a face in reaction, causing Jungkook to laugh but not move.

For several moments they lay there with the sole sound being from the TV. It took some time, but eventually, their breathing leveled out and their chests stopped moving so rapidly. 

Once calm enough Jungkook pressed a kiss to her forehead and then hopped out of the bed, leaving YN alone and confused for a few minutes before he returned with a wet rag. He carefully wiped off YN’s stomach and between her legs where some of his cum dripped down to, then his thigh. YN thought he was done until he took the hand she’d touched his thigh with and wiped it clean before pressing gentle kisses to every finger and then her palm.

The woman could have physically swooned from that and it didn’t help with he gave her the sweetest smile.

“You up for a shower?” he asked.

YN nodded and then carefully got up. Her body still felt odd from pleasure so walking was a little weird, but before she could get used to it Jungkook had her in his arms and carried her to the shower that he’d already started. 

There was a bench so he sat her there and adjusted the showerhead angle so it would hit her too. Then he grabbed another rag and got it lathered. Naturally, YN reached out to take it once he directed it towards her, but Jungkook slapped her hand out of the way and waved her up. She did as she was told and the next thing she knew Jungkook was the one washing her body.

Every second of his touch was gentle and despite how sweet the moment was she couldn’t help but get riled up. Horniness hadn’t left her, just dimmed for a moment. Not that she planned to act on it, but then Jungkook turned her around and the feeling of his dick against her ass sent her over the edge.

While he tried to clean her back YN pushed back into him, her ass grinding against him in slow circles. As seconds ticked by - and she felt him harden - she pressed against him harder, until he dropped the rag and his hand was around her throat. Another thing drunk her mentioned.

“I was trying to be sweet,” he whined.

“You were sweet. So sweet, baby. But I need another feel,” YN cooed.

That sweetness exited the moment she said that. Jungkook’s hand on her throat tightened and he moved with her as they continued their grinding. Wet, soap slicked bodies moved as one, both eager and needing each other.

Before either of them knew it YN was bent over, hands on the bench and one foot up as well. Jungkook pushed inside of her, one of his feet on the bench for leverage, and his thrust into her.

It was only the second time but neither was sure they’d ever get used to the feeling. The way Jungkook stretched YN and the way her pussy clung to him so tightly. Each more filled with so much pleasure that YN was wet enough that every thrust could be heard over every other sound. Jungkook played into it by keeping a quick speed just so they both could hear how good they sounded together.

Though he moved his hand when they got into position Jungkook’s hand found its way around YN’s throat again as he pulled her up so her back was pressed to his chest. Her pussy spasmed at that, getting him to adjust his fingers and press tighter. It earned him more of the pulsing and choked moaning for her.

In seconds he came and after a few rough thrusts, YN did too.

Once again they were left with labored breath and shaking bodies. However, they recovered faster the second time and took the time to clean each other carefully, but not go for a third round.

After getting cleaned and dressed - Jungkook in boxers and YN in one of his bigger shirts, something Jungkook insisted on. With them clothed there was no keeping him off her from that point on. He grabbed the snacks, turned down the lights, found a new show for them to watch, and then wrapped YN up in his arms so tight she had little to no room to escape even if she tried.

Not that she tried.

They spent the evening wrapped up in each other and that’s how they were when Yoongi woke them screaming about how he said he didn’t want to be an uncle yet. There was a lot of time spent telling him YN was on the pill and it had been an accident.

There were not enough bribes in the world to stop him from setting a reminder to have YN take a pregnancy test in a month’s time.

But even Yoongi’s theatrics couldn’t stop the glee that Jungkook felt when he saw rumors about them because of the concert. He’d finally made them true.

[myjisung]

ᝰ fleeting moment ( HHJ )

pairing. hwang hyunjin x gn!reader

content. bachata dancer!hyunjin, felix as reader's bff, gn!reader, strangers to lovers, slice of life au, no smut — eventual fluff.

warning. alcohol consumption ( one glass of wine in the first scene and no one gets tipsy )

wordcount. 4,4k

summary. After Felix begs you to come to a Bachata class a dozen times, you finally cave and accept. Despite not knowing anything of romantic dances, you suppose it would not hurt to accompany your best friend once. What's the worst thing that could happen? Being stranded by your friend after only a few dances and having to find a partner yourself? Maybe, but Felix would never do this to you, right?

part one. | part two.

It was early evening. Sat right outside of a café, you could see how the sun was starting its slow descent. You would have loved to bask in the last remnants of sunlight, listening to the birds' distant chirping and the quiet bustling of a city centre on the brink of death. Yet, right in front of you, Felix was growing more and more agitated as he talked your ears off.

"I promise you it'll be fun!" He exclaimed, gently smacking his hands on the small table you were sat at. The motion had the table shaking and you worried for your glasses of white wine. Felix sighed. "Come on, i beg of you, just try."

You sighed in return, positioning the glasses in the centre of the table in a way to make sure sure they would not fall down if your friend decided to bump the table again. You had had this conversation many times before. So much so that you knew how it would end—Felix would pout and stop talking, you would roll your eyes, pay for the drinks you had had and leave the café annoyed at each other; as usual.

"It won't be fun for either of us. I won't dance and you'll get bummed out by it." You said.

At that, Felix huffed.

"And why is that exactly? You've said many times that it looks fun. You even told me before that you would try it out. You've seen how animated the bar gets, the music is great and the people there are as welcoming as it gets! You don't have to be embarrassed" He argued.

"You know I SO will get embarrassed! I don't dance, Felix—at least, I don't dance like that."

Your friends' eyes rolled to the back of their sockets in such a way you thought they would pop out of his skull. With another sigh, Felix grabbed his glass and drank a few sips of his wine before setting it back down on the table. He snatched an olive and popped it in his mouth. His pupils—now back in the area they were meant to be—scanned the place. They went up and down the street, looked at the people strolling and then back at you. Your own glass in your hand, you made the wine twirl a little, like a connaisseur would, as you held his gaze. Felix breathed in.

"What do you mean 'like that'?" he asked.

At that, you drank what was left in your glass which gave you a few seconds to plan what you would retort. You did dance. Felix knew that, which is why he offered to take you to those classes he had joined a few weeks back. He had said it was fun; the people there were kind and everyone danced without caring about the way they looked as they moved around the place. The problem was that you were one to dance on your own. Couples dances was something you had never tried out before.

"Bachata is a romantic dance. You've got to dance with someone else, let yourself be guided or be the guide. Do I look like I can do any of that?" You replied, raising your eyebrows.

"Okay. I hadn't tried romantic dances before either. I promise you it's fun, quite easy too! It's only a beginners' class anyway."

"But you've told me before all kinds of people go there! Even dancers used to things like Salsa and what not. I can't do it."

"So, let me get this straight: I visit art galleries with you because you're passionate and don't wanna go alone but you won't come to ONE Bachata class for me?"

'This bitch', you thought. What a low blow. The things you had done for Felix in the past years—you had lost count how many times you had sneaked into his room so that he could tire himself out crying in your arms when he got a bit too overwhelmed. You had given your entire self to Felix; time, money, love, you put so much into this friendship you built yet there he was, tricking you into letting things go his way.

"You're so annoying." You whispered, eating two olives in one go.

"Maybe. But I promise I'm doing it for you this time."

Felix smiled and so did you, though faintly.

"Just wear whatever, no one cares!"

"I'm literally only coming because you asked so help me out a little. What do people usually wear to these classes?"

Felix had been waiting for you for what felt like hours but actually was twenty minutes. You knew you were making a bigger deal than it should have been out of all of this but you could not help it. You were nervous. Never had you tried dancing the way you would later tonight so there was no way your nerves would calm down.

On the other side of the door, you could hear Felix mumble under his breath about how you were getting on his nerves. Serves him right, you thought. Afterall, you were doing him a favor right now. Staring at your reflection in the wall length mirror, you second guessed your outfit. It was the fourth one you were trying out.

"Just, I don't even know. Leggings? They usually got leggings on or baggy pants; in depends on what you want to wear. And for the top, really anything is fine. You don't need to worry about any of this. As long as you're dressed, it's fine." He explained as calmly as he could.

Alright so, what you had on looked quite okay then.

"Come look!" You said; and Felix did not even wait a single second to push on the handle and open the door.

Your friend gazed at you up and down and gave you a tight smile. You sensed no mockery in it, just slight annoyance and a bit of hurry, maybe.

"Yeah, that's good. Now come on, we're gonna miss half of the class if you keep this up."

"Alright, alright, my bad. Coming!"

In a hurry, you grabbed your bag along with a jacket—the city got cold at night and you were not fond of the idea of walking around and risk catching a cold. Felix waited for you right outside your appartment, tapping his foot just loud enough so that it echoed in the lobby. One last look in the mirror hung up in your entryway and you were gone.

The sun had finally set when you got out of your appartment building. Felix was talking about how you both had to walk faster if you wanted to catch the bus that would take you to the bar the Bachata classes were held at. The more you walked, the more you felt nervous. When you sat at the back of the bus, you felt entirely different, rather sick than nervous.

Felix kept saying that it was going to be fine, that everyone would teach you the basics and help you around if you needed it. He even promised that he would dance with you the first few songs. In his words, you would not even have to do anything. Felix would guide you and you would simply have to follow him. Easier said than done but you kept that to yourself, not wanting to get your friend even more worked up.

You rode the bus for ten or maybe fifteen minutes before Felix said you had to get off. Silently, you followed him as he stepped out of the vehicle and started walking away.

Your friend walked a hasty pace. You could tell Felix was slightly impatient; he really wanted to get there. Those Bachata classes he attended must have been fun for him to act this way. Despite Felix's behavior, you could not help but think you did not belong in such classes. Maybe you should have stayed home afterall.

You turned left and right and then left again. Felix talked as you followed him a few steps behind but you did not listen neither did you pretend to. Still far from calm, you nervously fixed your hair as your friend finally stopped in front of a worn out building.

It stood at three floors tall maximum, built from brown and red bricks and looked cosy stuck in between two newer looking shops. The old bar faced you both as Felix threw you a questioning gaze. 'You ready?' was what you could read in his eyes; so, you nodded and your friend smiled.

In one swift motion, Felix pushed the bar's heavy wooden door before letting you in first. You quietly thanked him before squeezing past him and making your way into a neon lit room. People stood left and right, crowding the bar. Men were yelling their bland orders to the young woman mixing drinks and women looked bored as young men shoved their faces into their personal spaces.

This was truly not the places you liked to frequent and Felix knew that so, gently he grabbed you by the elbow. Upon feeling his skin against yours, you turned your head in an attempt to look into his eyes. Once done, Felix smiled and moved his head to the left, indicating the way he was going to take you.

Trusting your friend to the fullest, you let him lead you down a flight of stairs. The lower you got the quieter the pop music was and the calmer you felt. Despite your heart still beating out of your chest at the thought of dancing, at least you were not in that packed closed space anymore and you were thankful for it.

One floor down, Felix walked in front of you again and led you towards a door he promptly opened. That was when you started hearing the type of melodies Felix had been obsessed with the past weeks: latin music you even caught him practise to a few times.

The lights in the room were dimmed, as if to create a warmer atmosphere, which you appreciated. The neon lights upstairs would have given you headaches after a few hours. There were a few people there, practising among themselves, trying out new moves or simply making small talk with one another. They looked as if they had known each other for a while, were you the only new comer tonight?

The first thing you noticed was the small number of men present compared to the number of women. If your calculation was right, there was about one man for at least three or four women, how difficult.

As Felix had excitedly explained after his very first class, men are usually the ones to lead in Bachata. To which you had asked whether women could lead if they felt like it. Felix said that they definitely could, only men seemed to do it more often. One thing was for sure, you would not be guiding anyone tonight. You did not know anything about the dance neither did you want to lead anyone anyway.

As soon as he entered the room, Felix threw smiles at the people calling out his name. He shook a few hands, hugged two guys you had seen before on his instagram and greeted the two people who seemed to be the instructors; a man and a woman who smiled at you kindly. They had not seen you before and you could tell from their face expressions that they knew you had never come here before. In order to avoid any misunderstanding, you thought you should introduce yourself.

"This is y/n, my close friend. Is it okay if we attend tonight's class together? I wanted to show off." Explained Felix with a cocky smile before you could even say anything.

The two instructors looked at you again. You offered a small smile despite the nervousness that made your stomach toss and turn and they smiled back.

"Of course. We love seeing new faces!"

Against all odds, Bachata was easier than you thought. You had spent the first half an hour learning the basic steps along with other experienced dancers. The instructors had told you to keep your knees slightly bent in order to facilitate the Cuban hip motion you had to incorporate in your fourth and last beat after every three-steps. That swaying of the hips was very important to Bachata. It was a part of the soul of the dance, the focus on the lower part of your body and almost steadyness of its upper part made it all look like Bachata and nothing else.

The music was slower than you thought, more sensual even. You could feel the romance in every song that played all throughout your learning. The bittersweet lyrics had your heart ache and so did the instrumentalisation of accoustic guitar. You caught yourself liking the music a bit more than you had originally told Felix, something you were not about to admit. Coming to this class was more than enough.

After the basic steps and hips motion, you were told to couple up so you could get a feel of what being guided felt like. As soon as you had heard that, your head turned to Felix who was already swarmed by other people. You watched as he kindly turned each and every single one of them down, promising dances later tonight as he explained he swore he would teach you first.

"How popular." You mocked, as he gently placed a hand on your lower back and took your hand with the other.

"Put your second hand right behind my shoulder and let's get it over with." He replied with a smile.

You quickly learned that synching your feet with the beat while also paying attention to the slight push and pulls of Felix's hands was harder that you thought. Of course you were shown different moves by the instructors and learned that a push to the right meant you had to spin and one to your shoulder that you had to bend over so that your guide's arm could pass over your head in a sensual motion as you were supposed to arch your back. But what you did not know was that Bachata dancers did not have to stick to one choreography. Yes, you were indeed shown that after that little spin on the third beat you were going to have to throw your arms up and gently sway your hips as you followed the leader's steps in bringing you to a closer embrace. However Felix, as the leader, could do as he pleased.

Through three dances with your friend, you learned to not only pay attention to every little push on your body but also to match your feet to the beat and make sure to not step on the guide's shoes as he brought you wherever he wanted to. Easier said than done but you eventually got the hang of it despite still making numerous mistakes. You were a first-timer afterall and it was only Felix so, what harm could it do?

"Okay, I think you pretty much got it now." Declared Felix as he gently let go of both your waist and your hand.

You laughed a little, pleased with the half compliment he just gave you.

"It's definitely all thanks to Minho and Xiaoting's work. They're good teachers, I feel like I could learn anything from them." You joked, throwing your friend a knowing glance before fixing your hair—the dancing had messed it all up quite a bit.

Amused, Felix rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, sure. Since they're that good I guess you don't really need me afterall. So, we'll switch partners alright? I told some girls I'd dance with them, so..."

No. No, absolutely not. He could not do this to you. What did he mean 'switch partners'? You did not come to dance with other people, especially not such a romantic dance that had your body almost pressed to the other's. There was no way you were about to just, do that with a stranger. What did Felix even think?

"Oh please. Come on, no let's not- Felix. You know I can't-"

"There's plenty of other people who would be ready to guide you. They're all very kind to new comers." He assured.

"Have you seen how many people actually lead here? No one's gonna be available for me anyway." You argued, nervous tears starting to well up in your eyes.

"Just ask. Don't be shy."

With that, Felix offered you a last smile before spinning on his feet and walking towards one of the women he promised a dance. 'Traitor', you thought as you swallowed back your tears. Making you come here and promising dances only to leave you be on your own for the remainder of the class, how terrible. Maybe you would have to reconsider calling that man your best friend. Afterall, what kind of friend—let alone a best one at that—would leave you alone in such a place.

Sure, you wanted to dance some more. Bachata was in fact quite fun. You liked not knowing the moves you would have to perform next, the thrill of your partner's fingers running up your spine right before pushing you for a spin and a half dip. You liked giggling after making a mistake and struggling to make a move look right. But you still did not feel up to leading. Despite liking to try things out, you felt like you needed to be guided some more, taught new moves and maybe gain more confidence before even trying to do anything but follow someone's lead.

Yet, every leader looked busy. Either they were already dancing and had a list of upcoming dances they had promised to other people in the room who were waiting for their turn or had they gone upstairs to grab a drink and rest a little before the class that came right after Bachata: Salsa. You looked around, tried to find anyone who seemed up to dancing with you, in vain. Slowly, you moved out of the centre of the room, aiming at a corner where a tall stool waited for you to sit on.

Gently, fingers brushed on your shoulder, sending chills down your spine and stopping you in your tracks. You turned to face a tall man, dressed in simple dark clothes. He looked heavenly; shoulder-length black hair slightly damp with sweat and a gentle smile painting his full lips—so gorgeous you wondered how you had not seen him before. Pink dusted his cheeks, as if he had given his all for the past hour and that made him so much more attractive. Something about his bushy eyebrows, the line of his jaw and the twinkle in his eyes made your knees weak.

"How about we dance the next one together?" He asked with an even gentler smile.

The real question was how was he not dancing right now? Every other guide was taken but this one—this god of a man—was not busy making other people spin on their feet and dipping them in a way that would make every single one of them instantly fall in love. How come? And oddly enough, he was offering you a dance even though leaders were usually the ones asked to dance. No, really, how come?

"You don't have a list of people to dance with for the rest of the class like the others?" You replied before you could even think.

He giggled. The gorgeous man giggled and your heart made two—maybe three—loopings. This was unfair.

"Mmh" He confirmed, "Want me to be honest?"

The music changed and he extended his hand for you to take. You silently accepted his previous request by taking it. With soft pulls, the man led you a bit further away from the centre of the room, as if he did not want to be the focus of this dance. Once he got you both where he wanted you to be, he placed his second hand on your lower back and waited for you to grab him the way you were supposed to. As you anchored yourself in the ground and lightly pinched at his shirt for better grasp, he started guiding you to taking your steps.

"Yes, I'd prefer if you were honest." You finally answered before he sent you spinning to the left.

"I've refused quite a few dances, actually." The man placed his hand on your hip upon leading you to newer moves, "I was waiting for your partner to move on to other dances." Another spin.

Your cheeks burned up as you heard him over the loud music.

"Is that so?" You asked, "You like teaching or something?"

His fingers brushed on your upper back as he made you bend forward and let you finish the last two steps of the set solo. You threw your arm up—the other still linked by the tips of your fingers to his free hand—let your fingers run down your torso and then embraced him once again.

"Not really," He admitted, "I usually avoid new comers, it's kind of a hassle. But you're doing well, I was curious."

"Just curious?" You boldly questioned.

"I suppose. But that's not what you'd like to hear, right?"

You blushed even more. Were you that easy to read?

"I'd be lying anyway" He eventually said, "I just wanted to dance with you. Would that suffice for now?"

"Yeah, for now."

You lost count of how many dances you gave him that night. Next thing you knew, one dance became two, then three, then your hands would not leave his body until the music changed for a much faster pace and colorful soul. Salsa, you remembered, a class you were definitely not ready for.

Through those dances, you had learned a few things about your partner. One, his hands were magical; cold, long slender fingers that perfectly guided you to complete the moves he had in mind. Two, his smile always reached the corners of his eyes when he caught you gazing at his face. Three, the more he danced, the huskier his voice got. Four, he was quite popular among the dancers at this Bachata class; he was invited to dance more than once and he always politely refused, pretending to have promised to teach you for the rest of the night—which he definitely had not. Five and last, he knew he was attrative and played with it just enough for it to make you go crazy.

Gently, he let go of your hand as he figured out you did not know anything of Salsa. Then, the hand he had placed on your hip left your body in a slow motion and you imitated him by letting go of his shirt. You did not want this to end. If you could, you would have danced with him all night and the following day until you both passed out from exhaustion. However, things very rarely went your way so you knew you had to let go this once.

The man smiled at you and slowly parted his lips as if to say goodbye, you could feel it on the tip of his tongue. So, you beat him to it.

"I didn't catch your name." You said.

He frowned. You thought you had said something wrong but he took a step towards you and leaned his head down, letting it drop right next to yours so that his ear was close to your lips. He had not heard you.

"Your name," You repeated "What's your name?"

"Oh," He uttered. Slowly, he tipped his head up and drew closer to your own ear only so that he could whisper in yours "Hyunjin."

If you had no self restraint you would have tried to kiss him then and now. But, three things to consider: lots of people were around, these people included your own best friend, and you did not know nearly anything of value about Hyunjin. So, you did the next best thing and whisper back.

"Y/n," You introduced yourself. "I'll come back."

Then, you broke apart and you sent him one last glance before turning on your feet and looking for the one who had accompanied you. Felix waved at you from accross the room and you walked toward him at a fast pace, quite embarrassed about what you just did.

"So, did you have fun?" Felix asked while putting his jacket back on.

You glanced above your shoulder and Hyunjin was nowhere to be seen. He had already left.

"Lots of fun." You admitted.

"I told you."

Once dressed, Felix led you out of the room. You grabbed your things, went up the stairs you had taken earlier tonight, walked through the neon lit bar again and then stepped right outside. The soft breeze made you shiver so you put your own jacket on.

"We've got a few minutes until the next bus, let's hurry" Felix said before starting to pace towards the place you had stopped at earlier.

Under the stars, you silently wondered about Hyunjin; about his hands and the way they made you dance. You thought about how you had not really seen him before he asked you to dance. You reminisced about how he told you he had refused many dances solely to focus on you and pink dusted your cheeks again. How ridiculous.

The bus was already there when you turned at the corner of a street you had walked down a few hours ago. You got on and the doors closed behind you. As this was a late night ride, the vehicle was almost empty if it was not for that half asleep man laying down at the very back of it. Felix dropped down right beside you after you picked a seat and you were left wondering some more.

Every thought you had brought you to the same answer: you wanted to see him again. No matter how you looked at it, you had to meet Hyunjin once more.

"Hey," You uttered, which grabbed Felix's attention despite him being focused on his phone's screen. "When's the next Bachata class?"

Upon hearing that, Felix smirked a little.

"Next Thursday. Wanna come?"

"Oh, definitely."

a/n. this was meant to be a one shot at first but i thought it could do with a continuation so, two shot it is! i'll upload the next and last part as soon as i get to work on it. thank you so much for reading, i hope you liked this ♡

taglist. @zoe8stay @starlostseungmin @starzzns @dumbfound-princess @hyukabean @l3visbby @yejiimg @eggielix @pearlygraysky @meowmeowisdaname @minilinooo @mybelovedhamji @hyuneater — let me know if you would like to be added / removed.