Tumgik
#instead take it as a sign that I'm working on something. (do continue sending asks if your curious. It -does- help actually.)
doodlingbot · 10 months
Note
About the swap au (if your still awnsering questions about it), do 1010s 'human' forms look similar to the charters to blend in? Like is Eloni got a spacey or student look to blend in around DJ SS? Haym matching Sayu's crew for fun outinga? Purl a refined look for around the concert hall? Zimelu rocking a leather jacket, trying to get Tatiana’s to wear her? Rin and Eve corridating crazy outfits?
Sorry if this is a lot but I'm super curious.
'About the swap au (if your still answering questions about it)' 'Sorry if this is a lot but I'm super curious.'
(It's safe to just assume I'm still answering questions about the AU. There is plot in this AU I want to get to and post eventually. Sending asks actually helps a ton at keeping me focused on working on this stuff. So don't apologize when I should be the one thanking you for taking the time to be curious and ask about it.)
[AU]
Their MK IVs? Usually not. It's the MK Vs that get the make over treatment.
Their 'human' disguises, the MK IVs, don't necessarily need to match their charters. Those bodies are for the 1010s' own personal uses to get out on the town. And they usually won't be in them when they're with their charters, those bodies lack built in weapons for 'proper protection' and a big part of their jobs under their charters are as body guards along side being assistants.
(There are exceptions as Tatianas face isn't known as a charter, and there are also probably obscurities with Sayu's team as well. Not as big of targets as say, DJ Subatomic Supernova who everyone in Cast Tech should know of.)
The 1010s are usually just going to dress how they personally please in their MK IVs. Though that doesn't mean there wont be overlaps, don't think Yellow would honestly need to change his usual MK IV get up to blend in with Sayu's team.
There's this one particular bit in here though I zeroed in on while reading this ask.
'Zimelu rocking a leather jacket, trying to get Tatiana’s to wear her?'
I'm going to make the assumption that you were saying 'trying to get Tatiana to wear hers' (but do correct me if I'm wrong.) Latched on because Red trying to get Tatiana to wear one of her older jackets is very in line.
Tumblr media
35 notes · View notes
milliesfishes · 1 month
Note
Coryo Request! Secretary! reader that he’s obsessed with and she is never late but gets mugged on the way to work and she comes in crying upset about being late and he’s like who. did. this. to. you. And refuses to let her take public transit again
౨ৎ⋆𝓬𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓸𝓵𝓪𝓷𝓾𝓼 𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓼 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓶𝓾𝓰𝓰𝓮𝓭౨ৎ⋆ 𝓯𝓮𝓶 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓮𝓻 𝔁 𝓬𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓸𝓵𝓪𝓷𝓾𝓼 𝓼𝓷𝓸𝔀
Tumblr media
It was half-past nine. You had never before traipsed in later than eight thirty, unlike some of the assistants Coriolanus had employed who seemed to carry excuses in their handbags.
No, you were always through the door as he arrived, greeting him with a happy smile and the angelic sight of you in some pretty ensemble that wouldn't exit his mind for the rest of the day. Today was the first day you had ever been late. There was no call-in either, terribly out of character.
Coriolanus found himself checking and rechecking his watch, straining his ears for the familiar click of your heels against the marble floor. His mind was elsewhere, and he found himself utterly unable to complete any work. The pile seemed to loom the longer he stared at it.
Truthfully his concern was far past the usual employer-employee regular. You had become such a fixture to him- a sign of goodness in the raunchy world of politics that he depended on. When there was a dull point in a meeting, a pause or a lull in conversation, he found his thoughts drifting to you.
The way you smiled every time you saw him, no matter what. The genuine concern pooling in your voice when you asked how he was doing. And oh, he'd be a fool to ignore your face like an angel's. Heavenly to even the most atheist of men. Coriolanus was a connoisseur of perfection, and you were the pinnacle of it.
He had resisted your draw at first, turning instead to the women at his disposal, the right women some had said. The women who would boost him politically, gain favor with a few choice persons at a government level. His presidential wins were continuous after all.
It hadn't mattered how much he'd courted or flirted. None of them held a candle to you, as if their unearned advantages were supposed to make up for personality. Your Midas touch had ruined him for anyone else. And so he threw any thoughts of propriety to the wind.
Coriolanus' affections were idle, however, not wanting to scare you away with how besotted he was. He merely watched you from afar, occasionally gifting you with lavish little things that sent you flying into his office with a sunshine smile and a sweet thank you on your tongue.
But today he was becoming worried. You were nowhere to be found. Someone else had taken over for now, answering calls and sending messages in your stead. Running a tense hand through his hair, Coriolanus' concern was more than distracting. Had something happened overnight? Were you harmed in any way?
The door to his office opened, and he paid it no mind, expecting it to be the woman who'd taken your place. It wasn't until he heard your voice meekly asking if he could sign the documents in your hands that he looked up.
Your cheeks were flushed, and he could see dried tear tracks on them, though you were holding your head high. Setting his pen down, Coriolanus stood, brow furrowed. "What's happened?"
"The Head Gamemaker needs-"
"No, not that." He cut you off smoothly, coming around his desk to stand in front of you, taking the papers from your hands and depositing them on the wooden surface. "You were late. What happened?"
Lower lip trembling, you took in a shuddering breath, the wounds of whatever ordeal you had been through clearly unhealed. "I'm sorry-"
"Don't apologize," he said firmly, lifting a hand to tilt your chin up at him. You tried to avoid his gaze, but he held it fast, waiting for you to reveal the details of your morning. Coriolanus repeated the words for a third time, this time resolute. "What happened?"
A tear escaped your eye, trickling down to where his thumb swiped it away. In broken tones, the tale spilled from your lips, of how you'd been walking to work as you did every morning when two men grabbed you and seized everything in your possession, right down to your coffee. If it hadn't been for a passerby, you could have been kidnapped or worse.
His heart sank as you confessed, anger simmering in him at the thought of someone daring to rob and harm you. You were his, even if not in full yet. Under the power of his presidential shadow, nobody would dare harm you again.
Both his hands were on your cheeks now, and he held your eyes firmly. "You're not walking here by yourself anymore."
Eyebrows quirking in surprise, you tried to smooth it out, as was your way. "I don't have-"
"I'll send a car in the morning. And every morning from now on," Coriolanus interjected, brushing the last of your tears away. "It isn't safe for you to be out on the streets like that."
The look in your eyes was the anthem of his soul. You held a special corner of his heart, tucked away in the one spot it was soft. A little guiltily, you whispered, "Thank you."
"It's no problem," he assured you, still cupping your face in his hands. Then, quietly, "I want you safe."
Something shifted in your eyes, the phantoms of your awful morning ushered out by a tranquil light. Lips parting just barely, you studied him, breaths softening from their frenzied before.
Coriolanus could feel it- the spark of something different lighting a flame in you. Maybe someday it would catch up to his roaring fire. You could only stare at him for a moment, something blooming in your eyes.
The roseate glow that overtook your previous despair endeared him beyond all else. Coriolanus resolved right then that he would do whatever was possible to see it again.
All else be damned, someday you would be his.
Tumblr media
194 notes · View notes
iliketangerines · 4 months
Note
Fujin with a reader who’s one of Raidens students- like they’re secretly seeing each other. Maybe one day he expresses how badly he wants the warmth of a family ((actually canon- he totally has a breeding kink- no joke)) and reader and him get to talking. It leads to things and when reader starts showing signs of pregnancy- like throwing up and a baby bump..they have to tell Raiden-
a family of my own
a/n: i'm feeling very hurt/no comfort right now. not proofread
pairing: fujin x afab!reader
warnings: nsfw (MDNI), brief and suggestive
Tumblr media Tumblr media
you give Fujin a glance from the corner of your eye before going back to focus on whatever Lord Raiden was talking about, and Fujin smiles, wind sweeping up around him in an effort to cool his warming body
he passes by your group idly, checking on their form as they move through the basic stances, and his eyes rove over yours especially
you are strong no doubt, the effort of your training clear on your body, and it was something that Fujin greatly liked to indulge in
Fujin walks through the group, quickly fixing any bad posture and improper gestures, before making his way to stand by his brother
Lord Raiden still drones on about how energy should flow through you, not against you, and only gives the briefest of nods to Fujin before continuing on with his lecture
the wind god stands by his brother as expected and chimes in with his own opinions that roughly align with Raiden’s at times
he is mostly stuck watching you however, how you flow with the movements, your body precise and agile, and how you make not one single mistake
by the end, most of the other students are breathless and exhausted, but you are as still as a leaf on a calm lake, barely even breaking a sweat
Lord Raiden calls for the end of the training session, and the students bow and take their leave with you doing the same
you give Fujin a slow blink before leaving, and Fujin knows that you want him to come to your bedroom tonight
and he will gladly oblige to your demands
for a second, he muses on the fact that he is the god, one who could control the wind and bring down trees and houses and lives with just a flick of his finger, but he bends so easily to your will
he supposes it’s worth it, he enjoys your warmth, your strength, your kindness, and it is quite the treat to work for you
you are quite picky, always the one choosing when to bed and when not, sometimes he will come and you decide he was too late or too early and send him away
it makes the chase all that much better
Fujin waits for the moon to just barely peek over the horizon and checks that Lord Raiden was not looking before he walks to your room
his footsteps make no sound, light as a breeze in the cavernous walls, and the only sound of his entrance is the slight creak of the sliding door to your room
your back is turned to the door, baggy clothes on as you face the window, only the slight tilt of your head indicates that you know that he’s entered the room
Fujin steps in lightly, closing the door behind him with the soft sound of a thump, and he goes and sits next to you
you don’t move a single muscle as he sits down next to you, not even a peep, and Fujin knows it’s a night where you do not want physical intimacy but emotional intimacy instead
or at least, you wanted the emotional intimacy first before the physical one
you don’t say a single word to Fujin for a while, but he waits patiently, closing his eyes to meditate as he waits
it’s a loud silence, the sound of the flame in the corner, the crickets singing outside the window, and Fujin can hear the beginnings of a rainstorm forming
minutes pass by quickly, but he does not forget why he is here in your bedroom and only opens his eyes slowly when you finally start to speak
it’s a light simple conversation, cordial questions about his day and what he did, and he does the same for you, asking about your training and the other initiates
and then it quickly takes a turn when you ask what future plans that Fujin has after you, just as the god expected, and he answers that he will keep you close to his heart
your question is vague and so is his answer, and it seems to satisfy you because you open your eyes and turn to look at Fujin, your eyes half-lidded and slightly hazy
but then the haziness clears, and you ask what he wants for, what he craves
the question makes Fujin pause, he could easily answer it wrong and be sent from your room back to his
a few seconds pass, and he can see you shift in your spot, relaxing into your mat
Fujin takes it as a sign to take his time with his answer
there were many things he wished for, a world without death, a world where Mortal Kombat did not exist but only as a nightmare, a world where his champions had lived
all of them die in his throat as he thinks of them, and the god has to close his eyes and concentrate on what he truly wants, what his soul flickers and roars for
something warm, something firm, something of hard work but great reward, and Fujin opens his eyes to find your staring at his with a cold stare
a family, that is what Fujin craves, and you tilt your head at the question, mouth still as you think about your answer
neither of you move from your spot, and Fujin waits for you to formulate your answer, to answer from the depths of your soul
there is no rush, the moon is now high in the sky from the time he had entered your room, and you are still silent as you stare at him with those dark eyes
then you agree, voice firm, strong, unwavering, and you move from your mat to straddle Fujin’s lap, pressing your lips to his with resolve
the god melts into your kiss, hands coming up carefully to hold onto your hips and lightly squeeze them as to not scare you away
you hum in approval, grinding your hips down on him, and Fujin sighs into your mouth, at your softness, your taste, your hand on his body
your fingers are relentless, tugging at his braid and pulling strands loose from his tight braid, and you groan into his mouth as your hips move against his
and then you stop, looking down at him with those eyes of yours, those eyes that captured Fujin’s soul and expressed yours so deeply
he can see you are unsure, and he stops, pressing his lips and willing himself to concentrate as he asks if you are okay
you purse your lips as well and ask if he’s sure he wants a family, if he wants a family with you especially because you know you are high maintenance
you know that you are hard work and many others had given up because they did not want to try and keep up with your standards
Fujin nods, sure and firm and without hesitation, and he gently pushes you off his lap to hold your hands in his
he asks for just a night of talking, to quell your thoughts and to think things through, and you furrow your brows but agree
the both of you lay down on the mat, and Fujin buries his nose into your hair, breathing in your sweet scent
it’s a slow conversation, one of feelings and thought, and Fujin thinks and words every answer and question carefully and you do the same
the night passes, sun peeking over the ridge of the landscape, and you are fast asleep in Fujin’s arms, smiling and cuddling in closer to him
the next few nights you invite him to your room, and he accepts every time
on the last night, you initiate more than just touches and conversation, and Fujin sighs into your hair at the sight of you so pliant and needy for him as he thrusts into you
he kisses every inch of your skin, your neck, your chest, your stomach, your thighs, every possible part he could, worshiping you as best he could
you are lovely, little whimpers and pants into the air, the wind carrying them and dispersing them to only his ears
your fingernails are blunt and dig into his muscle as he cums in you, but he doesn’t mind because it was your way of marking him as yours just as he marks you as his
the next few months you invite him to his room every weekend, and he stays the night every time, leaving only right before the sun rises and giving you soft kisses to indicate his leave
finally, one night you invite him to your room, and you hand him the pregnancy test, shoulders tense, eyes hard, fingers white with how hard you clench them
Fujin nearly pulls you in to him hard to give you a breathless kiss, but he collects himself and opens his arms for you to walk in and hug him
it’s a gentle one, where you just cup his back, and holds you tightly to him as you cry tears of joy
but then there is the matter of his brother, stern, adamant on the relations between god and human as a strictly professional one
your mentor would not be happy
as his best student and role models for the others, he would certainly be displeased with your pregnancy
Fujin had confidence he would not throw you out, and if he did, he would battle his brother until he let you
the days come, where Fujin stays in later than the sunrise, helps you out of your bed to the bathroom as you retch up dinner
his presence around you becomes more pronounced, and your body becomes sluggish, tired
Raiden takes notice and finds you after training, looking down at your figure and asking what was happening with his best student
Fujin takes stand next to you, arm on your shoulder, and Raiden narrows his eyes at the sight, lips twitching downward
you say that you are expecting a child with Fujin, point blank and simple, and you stare up at him with a determined expression
the god lets out an irritated grunt, then a more pronounced word of surprise as his eyes flick between the two of you
and then there’s an angrier word, and Fujin can feel the telltale electrical sparks sounding around his brother
stepping in front of you, the wind god glares at the thunder god, and no words are spoken as they bare their teeth at each other
you don’t step in between them either, not in the mood to calm a tornado or bear the brunt of a thunderstorm, and you roll your eyes and move away from them to the kitchens
the baby was feeling peckish and so were you
222 notes · View notes
happy74827 · 8 months
Text
The Calm After The Storm
Tumblr media
[Mike Ross x Female!Reader]
Synopsis: A minor mishap sends a stressed out Mike over his breaking point, but thankfully, you're there to bring him right back down.
WC: 1624
Category: Mega Fluff, Slight Lime
It was about time that I wrote another Mike fic. Enjoy! (You best enjoy this @yoursacredqueenmother)
『••✎••』
Mike looked about ready to explode.
"Mike," you said quietly, reaching out to touch his arm. He was clenching and unclenching his fists at his sides. His breathing was coming out in short, shallow bursts. He was trying to look calm, but the way his lips pressed together and the tension in his jaw was a clear sign that he was not.
You weren't sure what was going to set him off. Maybe it was the stress of the case. Maybe it was the fact that Louis had him doing his dirty work again. Maybe it was a combination of the two.
But when he whirled on you, his blue eyes were dark. You had seen this side of him before, but it was only when Louis was being particularly nasty. It was a side that made him seem a little scary. You didn't think he would ever resort to violence, but the rage that was in his eyes now... you felt a shiver go up your spine.
"Of course, the night I planned to make dinner for you, we only have beer and cheese," he said, his voice rising. "I had a whole menu planned and then I get home and realize that my stupid, idiotic, asshole roommate ate all of the food."
"Hey, don't blame me because you don't know how to lock up the food," the aforementioned asshole said. Trevor was lounging on the couch, a beer in his hand and a half-eaten package of cheese next to him. He took another swig from his bottle and continued. "If you wanted something special, you should have hidden it from me."
That ticked Mike off even more. You saw him take a step forward, like he was going to pounce on Trevor and rip his head off, so you placed your hand on his chest. "Mike, hey, relax. It’s just food.”
"I wanted tonight to be special and then Louis decided to dump all his shit on me, causing me to be late a hour, and now when I come home to relax and make my meal. He devours it!"
"I'm a growing boy. I need sustenance."
"Trevor, you are such a—”
"Mike," you said a little louder, cutting him off. You put both hands on his chest, trying to calm him down. "Calm down, please."
He looked down at you, and his face softened. Some of the color faded from his cheeks, and his fists slowly relaxed. The tension in his jaw released, and his shoulders slumped a little.
"We'll just order pizza or something," you suggested.
"But I wanted tonight to be special," he muttered.
"It's already special," you assured him, smiling up at him.
He still seemed upset, but not quite as ready to murder Trevor. So, you pulled him by the tie, leading him towards the bedroom away from the prying eyes of Trevor — who personally, you thought to be a bit of an ass — and closed the door behind you.
You sat him down on the edge of the bed and crawled behind him to give his tense shoulders a massage. He leaned back into your hands with a sigh.
"Better?"
"A little."
You gave his shoulders a squeeze and placed a kiss at the top of his neck, near his hairline. Then another kiss right below his ear, which caused him to shiver.
"Now?"
"Mmm..."
You trailed kisses down his neck, then back up to his jaw. Your hands ran down his arms, squeezing lightly. His breathing was picking up, and you could feel him relaxing beneath your touch.
"I don’t think the fridge deserved that slam," you murmured against his skin. “You almost broke it in half."
He sighed again. “You’re right, I should’ve slammed Trevor’s head instead.
You let out a small laugh, and you kissed his temple. You moved your hands back up to his shoulders and pushed him down gently, so that his back was on the bed. He looked up at you, his eyes a bit brighter.
"So, Louis had you doing his dirty work, huh?" you asked, climbing onto the bed and straddling his waist. You slowly undid the knot in his tie, letting the silk slide between your fingers.
"Yeah. He always has me doing the boring stuff, and he never gives me credit for it."
"I thought you were technically Harvey's associate."
"I am, but Louis thinks he can order me around because he’s “in charge” of all the associates."
"Hmm, and then I suppose he blamed you for something you didn’t do?"
"Oh, you don’t know the half of it," he grumbled, his face hardening again. You ran your finger over his eyebrows, smoothing the crease between them, and his features relaxed once more.
"Well, you can worry about him tomorrow," you said, tossing the tie aside. You ran your hands over his chest, feeling the solid muscles beneath his shirt. He looked good in a suit, despite the tie he had chosen to wear today. Too tiny for his neck, but he looked handsome, nonetheless.
“I still can’t believe you wanted to make me dinner tonight, though," you teased, grinning down at him. "What's the occasion? It's not my birthday."
"No, but you told me a while back that you missed the home cooked meals back home. So I was going to make dinner, but now there's no food, so I can't, so now I'm a disappointment and a failure… again."
"First of all,” You reached out and smacked him lightly on the arm. He looked up at you in confusion.
"That's for blaming yourself. What did I tell you about doing that?"
"Blame the other guy?"
"No. Now, what did I tell you the last time you started blaming yourself for things?"
He sighed. "That it was okay and I'm human and it's perfectly normal to make mistakes, but I have to learn to not let them get the better of me and to focus on the future."
"Exactly. Now, secondly..."
You leaned down and captured his lips in a slow, gentle kiss. He lifted his hands and placed them on either side of your neck, deepening the kiss. His lips were soft against yours, and you smiled against him.
You pulled away slightly and leaned your forehead against his. "Secondly, when did I say that? I don’t remember talking about that.
"September 13th, around 4 o'clock in the afternoon. We were walking to the museum you wanted to visit, and we stopped to get hot chocolate."
"I—” You sat up, your brow furrowed. You stared down at him, wondering if he was joking, but he looked completely serious.
You knew his photographic memory was amazing, as he bragged about it constantly, but to have him remember a conversation like that so vividly and precisely? And on top of that, to have it stuck in his mind because it was important to you? You felt a surge of affection for him, and your heart swelled.
Mike noticed your look, and his cheeks colored. "What?"
A smile slowly grew on your face, and you shook your head. "You're so sweet."
"Well, I'm not exactly a piece of candy," he joked. "Unless you count Sour Patch Kids, in which case, I'm like, super sour."
"You are not sour," you said, laughing. "You're the sweetest person I know."
"Sweet like cotton candy or sweet like apple pie?"
"Hmm," you pretended to think, placing a finger on your chin. You were trying not to laugh, but the twinkle in his eye was making it hard. "Probably more like apple pie. Sweet enough without the cavities."
"An apple a day keeps the doctor away… well, technically, it would be dentist in this case, but still—"
You cut him off with a kiss, and he pulled you down onto his chest. Your noses bumped together, causing you to both giggle, but it quickly turned into a heated exchange of tongues. You were both breathing heavily, and you could feel the blood rushing through your body, making you feel flushed and hot.
Your hands were on either side of his face, your thumbs rubbing circles into his skin, while his were roaming all over your body, feeling the curve of your back, the slope of your neck, and the softness of your hair. He slid one hand underneath your shirt, and his fingers left a trail of goosebumps as they traveled up your stomach.
He broke the kiss and moved his lips to your neck, where he began nibbling and sucking on the sensitive skin there. You let out a soft moan, and you could feel him smile against you.
He rolled the two of you over, so that he was hovering over you. Those blue eyes stared into yours, and you smiled. His mouth curved up into a smirk, and you thought he’d pull your shirt off or start undoing his belt buckle.
But he did neither. Instead, he leaned close to your ear and whispered,
“Want to skip dinner and order dessert instead?"
You giggled, wrapping your arms around his neck. "Depends on what you're ordering."
"A Trevor free apartment for a few hours," he suggested, waggling his eyebrows. “Maybe some fried Oreos on the side?
You smirked as he pushed your hair back. His hand caressed the side of your face, and his thumb ran across your bottom lip.
"How about an appetizer before we get started on dessert?"
"That's my favorite part," he breathed, lowering his head towards yours. His lips brushed yours, and you closed your eyes, savoring the feeling.
Trevor was definitely an ass, but his eating habits sure did have a silver lining.
And, oh, was it delicious.
275 notes · View notes
gloomygumi · 11 months
Text
idiosyncrasies - satoru gojo x gn!reader
Tumblr media Tumblr media
summary: part one︱after listening to geto and shoko's theory, you finally decide to do something about your unspoken feelings.
contents: fluff, little bit of pining, highschool!gojo, dessert cafés, the most awkwardly written confession ever, still ooc and still self indulgent
word count: 2.0k
a/n: ask and you shall receive !! i'm so sorry or the wait 😭😭 i really couldn't work out where i wanted this fic to go, but hopefully you'll enjoy how it ends :) feel free to send any requests to my ask box, i'm always grateful for ideas !!
Tumblr media
in the days that followed shoko and geto sharing their revelations over an otherwise uneventful lunch period, you found yourself unable to shake your keen awareness of satoru's actions and behaviors around you. it was as if a spotlight had been cast on his every move, making it impossible for you to dismiss the possibility of deeper feelings hidden beneath his friendly facade.
your interactions with gojo became increasingly awkward. you couldn't help but scrutinize every touch, every glance, every shared laugh, searching for signs that he too yearned for more than friendship for you.
in doing so, you discovered even more of his peculiar habits.
one particularly mild october afternoon, you had accompanied satoru to a local coffee shop. it was a place you both routinely visited, sometimes alone but often together. the inviting aroma of freshly brewed coffee and the quiet ambiance had hosted more than its fair share of your group study sessions and whispered conversations.
as you sipped your coffee and engaged in light and casual conversation, you couldn't help but to let out a sigh of satisfaction and softly hum along to the familiar melodies playing in the background. your gaze was intermittently drawn to satoru and eventually, you took notice of your companion carefully arranging the froth on his cappuccino into a somewhat wonky heart shape with the end of his spoon. he almost appeared to be glowing under the dim lights as he playfully peered over his usual sunglasses to meet your gaze.
"what's with the latte art today, satoru?" you asked, tilting your head in an attempt to get a less obstructed view of his masterpiece.
he shot you a boyish grin, leaning in closer to you from across the table as if he were sharing a secret, his eyes holding a mischievous glint. "it's for you." he replied with a cheeky wink.
you blink up at him, feeling your face flush as your mind races in an attempt to come up with some sort of response. you bring your hand up and gently push his face away from yours with your palm, eliciting a hearty laugh from him. in a feeble attempt to reground yourself, you take another hurried gulp of your coffee, making a point to not look at him.
Tumblr media
on another night a few weeks later after a particularly grueling solo mission, you returned to the dorms exhausted and covered in small cuts and bruises. despite your injuries being mild, satoru insisted on taking care of your wounds, pestering you until you finally relented. his touch was gentle and warm, a shocking contrast to the unrelenting blows you had previously endured.
"you really don't have to do this, satoru." you said, trying to keep your voice steady as he tended to one of the nastier scrapes spanning the length of your forearm. "really, it's not that bad. i'll just ask shoko to look over it in the morning."
he keeps his gaze trained on his self-appointed task. "you know that i'll always take care of you."
the silence that followed was comfortable, both of you watching his nibble fingers continue to work at disinfecting and bandaging every wound.
when he finally finished looking over his handiwork, he stood from his position on the floor of the common room. wordlessly, he helped you to your feet from the couch and gently guided you down the hallway before stopping right outside of your dorm room.
unsure of how to end the exchange, you wait for him to speak first. instead, he tenderly presses his lips to your temple, mumbling a quiet "sleep tight." before disappearing from your sight, presumably heading to his own room for the night.
you stand still in your own doorway for a few minutes, still feeling the lingering warmth of his touch. you let out a soft sigh, faintly smiling to yourself before crawling into your bed and immediately drifting into a deep slumber.
Tumblr media
"you've ruined my life!"
shoko doesn't even look up as you slam your hands onto her desk, too preoccupied with her phone. "what are you talking about?" she drawls.
"what am i talking about!? you know exactly what i'm talking about, shoko. what you said about satoru!" you hiss at her.
shoko finally lifts her gaze from her phone, her eyes locking onto yours. she raises an eyebrow, feigning innocence. "oh, that? we were just speaking the truth, you know."
you groan in frustration, flopping down into your designated chair beside her. "you and geto have planted this idea in my head, and now i can't stop thinking about it. it's driving me crazy!" your words are muffled as you buried your face in the crook of your crossed arms on the desk in front of you.
shoko turns to face you, giving you a somewhat sympathetic look. "is it really that bad that he likes you? i know he's kind of annoying, but he is your friend..."
your head shoots up at her suggestion. "what? no! it's not that i don't like him!" almost as if shocked by the volume of your own voice, you clamp your hands over your mouth. you stare at shoko with wide eyes as she laughs at you. "i just... wasn't prepared for this, that's all..." you mutter, embarrassed.
shoko tilts her head thoughtfully as her laughter subsides. "i get it, i get it. you're worried about what might happen to your friendship if things change."
you nod your head rapidly, grateful that she understands your hesitation. "exactly! what if this is all a huge misunderstanding, it would make things so awkward, right?" you reply, before quietly confessing. "i really don't want to lose him as a friend, shoko."
your friend leans back in her chair, her expression thoughtful. "i don't think you have to worry about that, it's still gojo after all. he doesn't exactly seem like the type to let something like this to get in the way of his friendships." she gives you a reassuring smile but before you can thank her for the encouragement, the classroom door swings open and in walks the final two members of your class.
you and shoko are quick to drop your conversation as you both shift your focus to satoru and suguru's loud bickering, which works to quickly lighten the mood in the room.
you can't help but to let out a genuine laugh, satoru's wild gestures and suguru's deadpan responses creating an entertaining spectacle. although you're not completely sure what the topic of their debate is yet, it's clear that the dynamic duo's spirited conversation brings a sense of comfortable familiarity to the room.
they make their way towards their desks, they quickly pull you and shoko into their conversation. boisterous laughter fills the room for the next several minutes before yaga enters, yelling at the class to quieten down.
as you settle back into your seat, your mind can't help but to replay your earlier conversation with shoko. the more you thought about it, the more you realised she was right. perhaps it was a good idea to bring your feelings up to satoru - even if he didn't feel the same, maybe a firm rejection was just what you needed to calm your racing thoughts.
before you know it, the bell that signals the end of class is ringing. you stand up, stretching your arms above your head in an attempt to alleviate the tension that had settled in your shoulders. before you have the opportunity to gather your belongings, a familiar weight gently presses against the crown of your head. It's satoru's trademark gesture, using your head as his unofficial armrest.
"there's a new dessert café that just opened, wanna join me?" his voice is warm and inviting as always, drawing your attention away from your thoughts. "i read online that they have something called a volcano cake, doesn't that sound so cool? we have to try it."
you don't even realise that you're smiling, replying before you even have the chance to check your schedule. "alright, let's go." he straightens up and you finally lift your bag as you both walk towards the open door. before you leave, you turn to wave goodbye to shoko and geto only to see them already exchanging smug grins and giving you a double thumbs up each. you lower your hand and scoff at their antics.
as you strolled down the unfamiliar streets toward the café, the warm rays of the late afternoon sun created a scenic walk. your footsteps fell in sync with his as your conversation came to a gradual stop, a comfortable silence overcoming you before you finally arrived at your destination. satoru urges you to find a good seat for you both while he orders, and you're once again left alone with your thoughts.
he's back before you know it, his tray stacked high with all sorts of sweet treats. as he sets it down in front of you, the anticipated dessert catches your eye - a molten chocolate eruption atop a delicate slice of cake, sprinkled with icing sugar and decorated with an assortment of berries. you had to admit, it looked impressive.
you marveled at his overwhelming delight as he described each desert, his childlike joy and bright smile was infectious as you continued to listen to his speech.
"look at this one," he said, gesturing to a miniature cheesecake adorned with a raspberry glaze. "i tried something similar at a bakery with suguru a while back, and it was so good i had to get one for you to try too! and this one," he continued, pointing to a chocolate delicate mousse tart, "it's like a dream in every bite, i promise you."
his animated explanations only heightened the anticipation, and you couldn't help but be charmed by his passion for sweets. as you dug into the platter of desserts together, the conversation continued to shift through multiple topics.
it was then you finally decided to address the elephant in the room, telling yourself it was the perfect moment. tucked into the back corner with the afternoon sun casting its soft gaze over the two of you, you spoke up.
"hey, satoru." you began, your voice soft and surprisingly steady. "there's something i want to talk to you about."
you can feel his gaze on you, and can almost imagine how his head tilts with curiosity. "hm? what's on your mind?" he muses.
your gaze is trained on your hands which lay flat on the table before you, your fingers lightly tapping a rhythm. as you take a moment to gather your thoughts, you listen to the distant chatter of the other customers that surround you, the soft clinks of cutlery brushing ceramic. "shoko and geto, they mentioned something to me not too long ago," you started, "they said that they think you... like me." your words carry an aura of uncertainty, but you finally urge yourself to look at his face. gojo's expression is a mix of shock and mock betrayal, his eyes are wide and his jaw is clenched.
"those jerks..." her whines. "i wanted to be the one to tell you! i should've known they'd blab about it eventually." your jaw drops and you can barely hold in a shocked yelp at his unexpected admission, rendered momentarily speechless as you watch him roll his eyes and slump further back into his chair with his arms crossed.
"what are you talking about?" you stammer, trying to come up with anything to say. you can feel the tension from moments ago dissipate as your shoulders relax.
"well, i mean it's not a secret anymore, right?" you can recognise the playful glint in his eyes as he teases you, shifting his posture once again to lean in closer to you from over the table. "i like you. a lot."
you don't make any attempt to conceal the warm smile that graces your features, eyes crinkling in delight. "well, that's quite the confession, satoru."
he shrugs, still maintaining eye contact. "i figured i'd take the plunge. go big or go home, right?" a crooked, cocky smile found its home on his lips as you lightly scoff at his unwavering self-confidence.
"yeah, yeah." you mumble, raising your eyebrow in amusement at his declaration. "i like you too." feigning nonchalance at his confession, but the bright fondness that shone through your eyes made your affections clear.
you couldn't wait to tell shoko the good news.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
301 notes · View notes
alia-schlatt · 1 month
Text
Little Things || Jschlatt
��� Summery ♡
A long day as a teacher ending in laughing with Jay.
♡ Warnings ♡
None, SFW
♡ Word Count♡
Total words: 885
♡ Authors Note ♡
Literally came up with this idea while in English class. Hope you enjoy!!
(Story under the cut)
Tumblr media
"I've explained this to you guys many times, so I don't understand why you are all still confused. But let's go through it again."  sigh sharing my screen with the class of fifteen year olds, I was teaching. A small knock at the door was heard before it opened a crack. Schlatt stuck his head in and smiled. I muted and smiled at him.
"Hi"
"Hey Toots, I'm ordering some lunch from Allies. You want something for when your done with classes" He asks. 
"House Combo please, and do you think you can pour me a glass of coke?" I question. 
"Coming right up" He whispers giving me a wink and closing the door. 
"Sorry about that, just had to answer a quick question for someone. I hope you guys are going to listen this time because this is the last time I'm going over this task with you guys." I look at the chat bar of the google chrome meeting and sigh. "This task is due this evening at midnight Kylie" I answer the question. The door opens and Schlatt softly lays my diet coke on the table. He winks and gives me two thumbs up before closing the door again
********
Two and a half hours later I end my final class and stretch. I stand up and open my office door a sign that I'm not in a lesson. I quickly run and use the bathroom before coming back to the desk and ticking off stuff I've done off my to-do list. I still see there's a few things I haven't done yet that include marking a few tests and sending a few emails. I open spotify and put on a lofi playlist Schlatt had made at some point for me. I open my emails and continue working my head nodding to the beat. 
I don't even notice when Schlatt leans against the door frame and smirks at me. I'm typing away furiously, when he clears his throat startling me. I look up and his eyes soften.
"How long till your done with work toots?" He questions.
I look down at my to-do list. The last 3 tasks standing out to me. "half an hour at the most" I smile. He nods.
"Movie night?" he asks.
"Yes, but we need snacks" I tell him.
"Want me to run out and go grab some while you finish up here?" He asks.
I nod "I'll get started on dinner in the meantime" I tell him. 
"Don't worry, I'm craving pizza. I'll stop and get on the way home" He tells me. "You just destress, 'ight?"
"Sounds perfect" 
"Sweet, I'll see you soon beautiful" He says kissing my forehead before walking out the room. I heard him moving around our apartment before the door closing signaling he's left.
A few more sent emails and a few Market assignments later I'm finally turning off my PC for the weekend. I decide to take a shower and slip out of my jeans and button up exchanging them instead for a pair of pj pants and one of Schlatts hoodies. I pull the curtains in the lounge closed and turn on the TV. I run into our bedroom and grab my fluffy blanket on the bed to bring to the couch. When I walk back into the Living room Schlatts closing the Apartment door with his foot, Pizza and Target packets in one, a bunch of flowers In the other. He slides the two boxes of pizza onto the counter before laying the two target packets down afterwards. He turns to me. 
"Saw these and they reminded me of you. So perfectly perfect. Here" He says handing them to me. 
"Technically perfectly perfect isn't-" He cuts me off pulling me into his side and looking down at me. 
"Don' have to flaunt the english degree" he jokes and I smile sniffing the flowers. 
I look back up at him "These are perfect Jay, Seriously. Thank you" I smile. 
His hands slip onto my waist and he pulls me closer to kiss him. When we pull apart he keeps our foreheads touching. "I love you Toots" he says. 
"Love you too" I say pulling away from his grip and finding a vase for the flowers. I grab our snack plates and start going through what he brough. All of it's my favourite candy. Once we have our snacks we go and sit down on the couch, pizza snacks and a selection of drinks. I pull the blanket over me and Jay pulls me closer to him opening netflix. 
"What we watching?" I ask. 
"How's a romance sound?" 
"You Hate romances" 
"You love them"
"How's about a rom-com. You can at least enjoy that a bit" I say. 
"Whatever you want Toots"
"Are you just going to keep agreeing to everything I say?"
"I think so yeah"
I shake my head. "I love the small things you do for me Jay" 
He winks at me, putting on some rom-com with Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston. We spend the night half watching the movies, making jokes, and sharing smiles. My stomach hurts from laughter. I watch Schlatt as he starts trying to fight sleep. If only he knew how much these little moments together mattered to me. 
45 notes · View notes
moonydoodlez · 1 year
Text
Good Intentions
Pairing: Eddie Munson x F!Reader
Summary: You decided to go to Eddie's as your anxiety was rising, instead you meet Wayne for the first time.
Warnings: Anxiety, Use of Y/n (once),
Word count: 1k
Note: This is kinda bad but I have had this idea stuck in my head for days
Tumblr media
As the numbers faded into single digits, your mind ran in circles. Overthinking everything that happened in the day. Should you have said that? Why did you wear that outfit? Your mind continues on until you're twisting in bed, unable to shake the anxiety. Unable to shake the uncertainty you had felt all day. 
Eventually coming to the conclusion you wouldn't be able to sleep tonight, you sat up looking around the dark room. The moon lit up the room just enough to see the pink phone that sat on your night stand. You wanted to call Eddie, Your mind felt foggy from the anxiety that had been building up all night.
You knew he loved you. He had always made sure that you knew deep down he loved you more than life itself. His love was bright and shiny and would always surround you, yet deep down you felt like a burden. Something that had attached to him and wouldn't let go. You couldn’t call him.  
Again the minutes ticked by until hints of blue and pinks had surrounded your window. The shining of the sun beginning to rise had filled your once cold and lonesome room with warmth. Taking one more breath you slid your feet over the covers until they hit the cold surface below. The floors creak as you made your way over to where you had the pink fluffy socks he had bought you one cold morning, and a worn pair of converse. 
As the sun began to rise you set off in your car. Luckily it was only a five minute drive. The trees swayed as you drove down the road to the trailer park. Eventually you drove past the Forest Hills sign. The trailer coming into view. The rising sun had yet to light up the lonely trailer park, Keeping it quite dark as you locked your car. 
You squint your eyes at the hazy figure that sat on the bench next to the trailer. It couldn’t possibly be Eddie as it was way too early for him to be up.
Your eyes widened as you realized it was Wayne. He had clearly already seen you so there was no backing out now as you slowly walked toward the trailer. You hoped he wouldn't say anything as you crept closer.
You and Eddie may have been dating for months now, but Wayne had always been working when you were over. You weren’t even sure if he knew Eddie had a girlfriend. 
“Hey, who is that?” The deep voice uttered.
“Shit” You whispered, stopping halfway to the stairs that led into the trailer.
You inhaled knowing the only way to get out of this was to just go over there. Your feet glided to where he sat before the light near him illuminated your face.
“Hi” You smiled sincerely. “I’m uh here for Eddie” You fiddled with your hands standing in front of the man. His glare sending you into oblivion.
“You seeing Ed?” He questioned, taking a long drag of his cigarette before meeting your eyes. His eyes scanned you up and down before raising his eyebrows. “Is there a reason you seeing him this early?” He asked.
You could tell he didn’t trust you, trust your intentions of why you were here. Especially since he clearly didn’t know you were together. 
“I um” You started.
“Listen hon, you seem like a nice girl but if you have bad intentions with my nephew you ‘ought to leave” He said gruffly.
“No that's not why I'm he-” You began again before a different voice interrupted you. 
“Baby,” The voice said. You looked back and there was Eddie Looking out the trailer door standing in his boxers from inside the trailer. As he noticed that it was you he began down the steps, jogging over to where you and Wayne were. 
“Hey, what are you doing here so early?” He asked, before coming up next to you wrapping his arm around your shoulders.
“I couldn’t sleep” You whispered looking up at him, leaning into his touch. “But I um met your uncle” You smiled before nervously looking at Wayne.
You knew Wayne was a nice man. You had heard enough about Wayne over the last months to know this was true. However this was the man who raised the person you loved. It made you nervous to meet Eddies ‘Parent’.
“Yeah.” Eddie said excitedly. “Wayne this is my girlfriend, Y/N” He smiled.
Eddie seemed very excited to introduce you as his girlfriend, although Wayne’s uncertainty of you was still visible.
“It’s nice to meet ya, hon '' He continued staring at the two of you. Watching closely at how you interacted with him. 
“Lets go lay down, ya” Eddie cooed, bringing you closer to him. He pulled you into his shoulder as you two walked back to the trailer. As you two began up the steps you couldn’t get rid of Wayne's words. 
“You go in, I left something in my car. I’ll be back ok” You smiled as he closed the door behind him. You jogged over to Wayne. 
“You ok?” Wayne asked with more sincerity in his voice than previously.
“Listen I really love him, and I really mean no harm, despite what you might be thinking. I have good intentions. I would never want to hurt him. I get your like this because of how everybody has treated him in the past. I would never do that though. I would never ever hurt him like that.” You rushed out suddenly feeling bad that you had unleashed all your pent up emotion on him.
“I believe you, I jus’ need some time to trust, ok hon” He smiled sympathetically before finally finish of his cigarette beginning to get up. 
“Okay” You whispered before turning around toward the trailer.
You took a deep breath, a smile crept up realizing that he was on your way to liking you. Maybe coming here wasn’t such a bad idea.
Masterlist Eddie Masterlist
209 notes · View notes
phr3ia · 2 months
Text
Fragmented Glass (Satoru Gojo x Fem!Reader) [Chapter 11 : Realization]
[Three weeks later...]
Satoru sat in his office, sighing deeply as he stared out the window. There were times when he wished he could simply escape the monotony of his daily routine; teach, train, mission, sleep, repeat. It was not that he disliked his job, as he enjoyed molding young minds, but the lack of excitement left him wanting more.
He pulled out his phone, the screen illuminating his face as he scrolled through his messages. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he thought about texting you. He typed a few words, then deleted them, his thumb hovering over the send button. He knew you were busy, but the urge to reach out was strong. He took a deep breath, then typed again, a nervous energy buzzing in his fingertips.
(SMS)
12:02 PM - Satoru : Hey 🙃! You busy?
Satoru chewed on his lip, waiting for your response. The ticking of the clock felt excruciating, and his mind raced with thoughts.
12:09 PM - You : Hi! Just having a lunch break now. Bakeshop's not too busy today. How about you?.
12:10 PM - Satoru: Bored as always. By the way, what are you having for lunch?
12:13 PM - You : Bread and tea. Not much.
12:16 PM - Satoru: No protein? You need to eat healthier. I can't have my wife getting sick, now can I? And you know that's not enough. That's just snack, not a proper meal. You'll get sick eating like that 😤😡.
12:18 PM - You : Haha, it's just a bread. I'm fine, Satoru. Don't worry.
12:20 PM - Satoru: Well, I'm not letting you off that easily. I'll pick you up from work today, and we'll have a proper meal.
12:22 PM - You : You just want to have a date with me, I know 😏....
12:24 PM - Satoru: Well, I mean...I want to see you, after all. Don't tell me you don't want to hang out with me 🥺?
Ten minutes had passed, and still no reply from you. His nerves were starting to get the best of him as he anxiously checked his phone for any sign of a message.
(Phone Ringing...)
Instead of replying, you called him.
Satoru picked up the call, his heart racing a little faster. "Hey. What's up? Are you okay?"
"I just saw your text, but my shift just started ten minutes ago.." you paused for a moment, taking a deep breath before continuing, "Actually, I just wanted to let you know that I really love hanging out with you. And I'm glad we're getting to know each other...in this way. Thank you for everything, Satoru."
Satoru's heart skipped a beat at your words. He fidgeted with the pen on his desk, struggling to find the right words. "R-Really? You...you make me happy, too." His voice was soft, barely audible.
"Alright, I gotta go. See you tonight!" you ended the call, smiling as you went back to work.
~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~
Nobara elbowed Itadori, pointing at their Sensei. "Look at him." she whispered, highlighting Satoru's awkward silence and the blush creeping up on his cheeks.
Itadori, still oblivious, glanced at Satoru, then back at Nobara. "Huh? What's so funny?"
"Sensei's in love, silly. He's totally head over heels for his wife." Nobara explained, amused by Satoru's reaction.
Itadori's eyes widened. "Oh, you're right. To think that it was just a marriage of convenience. Sensei ended up falling in love with her after all."
"Yeah. He is falling hard for his wife. Look at how bright red he is!"
Itadori leaned closer to Nobara, lowering his voice. "Do you remember when I told you that Sensei and I spied on his wife months ago? He thought she was up to something fishy. But now, look at him. He's gone from suspicion to full-blown love."
"Did you guys find anything suspicious?" Nobara asked.
Itadori shook his head. "Nope. Nothing. I guess she won Sensei over by just being herself. Now, he's hooked, just like that." He gestured with his fingers, mimicking a fish catching a bait.
"He's smitten!" Nobara grinned.
Nobara chuckled, watching Satoru fiddle with his pen. It was clear to see that Satoru had grown fond of you, and for once, Itadori found himself genuinely happy for Satoru. "Well, I'm glad to see that Sensei is finding happiness, even if it's through an arranged marriage."
"I can hear you two, you know. I'm not that old yet to lose my hearing." Satoru chimed in, peaking through his blindfold.
"Sheeesh...I didn't expect you to fall in love like this, Sensei. You seem like a completely different person when you're in love. It's awesome!" Itadori grinned.
"In love?" the word 'LOVE' caught Satoru off guard. "Is that what you call it?" Satoru asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Uncertainty lingered in his eyes.
Nobara giggled. "Sensei, stop being silly. Of course, it's love. Your cheeks are turning red just thinking about her, and you seem to be worrying about her more than usual. That's love, Sensei."
Satoru's eyes widened further at Nobara's assessment. He looked down, fiddling with his pen again. "It's just...it's just," he stammered, at a loss for words.
"You fell for her, that's all. And there's nothing wrong with that. Embrace it, Sensei." Itadori encouraged, patting him on the back.
Satoru still hesitated, mulling over Nobara and Itadori's words. He had spent most of his life as a lone wolf, never allowing himself to be vulnerable to anyone. The idea of falling in love was foreign, and yet, as he thought about you, his heart swelled with warmth.
As Satoru sat on his comfy chair, contemplating Nobara and Itadori's assertion, he found himself drifting back to memories of you. The way your smile would lighten up his mood, the beautiful sound of your voice when you laughed, the kindness and genuine care in your gaze.
He couldn't deny it anymore. The constant longing, the butterflies in his stomach that flutters whenever he caught a glimpse of you, the protective instinct that bubbled within him—these were all signs he had brushed off as mere infatuation.
But no. It wasn't just affection, it was LOVE. The realization slammed into him like a freight train, leaving him breathless, his face burning with a blush that refused to fade.
"What do I do now?" Satoru muttered to himself, feeling confused. He looked up at Nobara and Itadori, seeking guidance. "I never expected this, you know. Our relationship was just supposed to be an arrangement. What if she doesn't feel the same way? Do you think she'll accept me? I mean, I never intended to fall in love with her."
Nobara placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Sensei, sometimes things just happen. Don't beat yourself up over the past. All you can do now is be honest with her and see where it leads. Love is unpredictable – just take it one step at a time. And who knows? Maybe your relationship can turn into one of the greatest love stories."
Itadori nodded in agreement. "I think you owe it to yourself to try, Sensei. After all, you don't want to live with regrets, do you? If she doesn't feel the same way, then you'll at least know you tried. But if she does..." His voice trailed off, leaving the rest to Satoru's imagination.
Satoru inhaled deeply, a mix of anxiety and determination swimming within him. "Okay, I'll give it a shot. Thanks, you two."
Itadori and Nobara exchanged a hopeful smile, their gaze lingering on their Sensei as they shared a sense of optimism for what the future held.
"Alright, enough chitchat. Back to class, everyone!" With a wave of his hand, he sent his students scurrying back into the classroom.
~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~
[4 hours later...]
Satoru stood up, stretching his arms above his head. He took off his blindfold, revealing his piercing blue eyes before putting on his sunglasses. He was about to leave JuJutsu High when he saw Itadori walking towards his direction.
"Good luck, Sensei." Itadori said, giving Satoru a thumbs-up.
Satoru chuckled, pausing for a moment before facing Itadori. "You think I should go through with it?"
"If you truly believe you've fallen in love, then yes. You only live once, Sensei. Why waste the opportunity to share your life with someone you love? And besides...When I went to your place last week, I saw the way she looks at you...Those eyes, man. They speak volumes..."
Satoru furrowed his brow, confusion evident in his expression. "What do you mean...?"
Itadori just smiled at him and replied, "Goodbye, Sensei. Now, go and win her heart!" As Itadori turned and walked away, Satoru couldn't shake the feeling that Itadori had seen something in your gaze that he had overlooked.
Tumblr media
•┈••✦ ❤ ✦••┈•
End of Chapter 11 🥀...
@kalopsia-flaneur @thatmartinkitten @staruus @miizuzu @haikomaiko
18 notes · View notes
nicosraf · 8 months
Note
Sorry if this gets rambly, but I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate and admire you for turning down a traditional publishing offer to continue to write the way you want. There's a certain level of tender rawness in your works that I know would be completely stripped away by a publishing house. From the topics you write about to the way you portray queerness, it would all be soulless and devoid of any beauty if you signed it all away. I don't think I would love your work as much as I do if you didn't self-publish. From the topics you write about to the way you portray queerness, it would all be soulless and devoid of any beauty if you signed it all away. My previous experiences with reading self-published books has always been 50/50, and most of the time, I felt like they would've been better if they were polished and cleaned by a traditional publisher. In reading Angels Before Man, I've come to realize how important it is to read books outside of the "approved publisher" bubble. It feels so liberating to read something so unapologetically queer and dark and emotional. In a world where queer works feel like they're getting more and more santitized for the comfort of cishet corporate overlords, it's comforting to know that we're able to tell our stories on our own terms.
Hello!!! Thank you for saying this. I'm sorry if I also get rambly but I have a lot, a lot, of thoughts on self-publishing and the industry after I've taken some big steps away from it.
I need to make the small correction that I didn't turn down a deal itself. I was in limbo waiting for the deal and had already gotten a rejection or two on ABM getting picked up. I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to talk about but I'll try to be clear
The series of events goes: I posted ABM online in November 2022, my agent reached out to me in January, ABM immediately gets sent to a "very interested" publisher in February, then I revised the book before I sent it to other "interested/excited" publishers around March. I lasted until early August, had a meltdown, then begged my agent to tell the publishers to let go of my book so I could work on the sequel.
I'm giving context because "stripped away by a publishing house" really struck a cord with me.
Here's the thing: the publishing industry is in a downward spiral. The author dream is gone. If you sell a book, your advance is more likely to be, say, 50k instead of 100k and that 50k is going to split into 4 payments over 2 years. Publishers don't market books anymore; they just make you open up a TikTok account and tell you to dance. Editors are overworked and picking up books that either are or feel already developmentally edited and (some) are asking for blurbs from big name authors (?!) before they look at your manuscript. They want books they can line edit quickly and send to market — but it's not their fault. HarperCollins editors were on strike for an absurdly long time and have gained... well, basically nothing. Agents and editors are leaving the industry. Publishing houses are "poaching" successful indie books and stroking indie author egos to take half their royalties.
I haven't even gotten to the racism and white liberalism problem. Look at Xiran Jay Zhao having their work being held hostage by their publisher for being anti-genocide. I worry about how queerness is represented in tradbooks but maybe more deeply worry about the race problem. There were calls for diversity 10 years and they've led absolutely nowhere. "Diversity" focused imprints keep getting shut down and leaving their authors in limbo.
But about editing again — so I'm sure you've heard of this book Babel by RF Kuang. It's popular but gets critiqued for hand-holding a white audience too much. Here's the thing though — I made a similar comment to my buddy and he told me whether that's the fault of Kuang or the fault of the editor. And that made me think — how many books are critiqued for what authors may have been forced to do? Yellowface by Kuang, written after Babel, goes into a manuscript getting heavily changed to appeal to white readers. Editors say "But I'm confused" and "But it doesn't make sense to me" because your editor is themselves the inescapable, white audience. And usually the cishet audience too — the straight person sighing that your fags are too problematic in these scary political times.
So why am I saying all this?? Look, I've never thought ABM was perfect. I think it's got some mediocre lines, some things I attempted that I don't think I pulled off. I, also, got into the habit of looking at self-published books (my own included) and thinking, "Oh this needed a professional hand-holding it." Tradpub was exciting to me because I could have someone hold my hand and work on the prose with me. I wanted to make the prose better.
But so I step into tradpub and it all goes wrong. They don't know what to do with me. They suggest a revision to cut it down to a novella. I get angry and then get angrier when I'm treated like I'm being spoiled; it's not about my "vision" here. Imagine if I announced to ABM readers that I cut ABM to 80 pages for a little bit of money?? Others started implying Part 2 basically needed to go; it's too confusing, too fucked up. Part 1 was perfect. Rafael, have u considered it being more of a romantasy? Have you considered a happy ending. Have you considered Michael and Lucifer having romantic virgin sex and have you considered cutting that other part with God entirety. Have you considered whether you're just trying to shock people and maybe you need to calm down
Well, I responded to all this with "What about the readers?? I can't make any big changes. They wouldn't like that." But I saw that they didn't want my readers.
There's a publisher right now who has Angels Before Man by rafael nicolás slapped on their "type of books we want" brochure they sent to (I believe) agents. They never contacted me though. I started to see that maybe no publisher ever wanted ABM. They wanted something like ABM, the idea of ABM and the idea of rafael, the mysterious queer mexican guy. you see, the publishing dream is not dead! you too can be like rafael. you can be a nobody who gets their book picked up by Penguin Random House and Fixed to Be Good and make a hundred thousand dollars and youll get to sit at the cool kids table.
Anyway, I love to read self-published, 0 rating books. They're usually weird, full of typos sometimes, but I never care. I don't read to judge something on a merit of goodness anyway (what does that mean) but just to experience something. I love reading porn, but I'm not usually sexually tantalized but it; I just love how insane it is. And seeing someone put their whole heart in something full of typos and pacing issues and plot holes is a thousand times more fulfilling to me than reading a polished husk of 3-act structure, perfect clean characters, strong prose that was worked on by 19 people and doesn't hold the dreams/desires/flaws of anyone.
I'm really happy to self-publish. I like not having a censor and pouring my heart into something. And work! Hard work is incredibly fulfilling to me; I care more about the work I put into A&M than the product it'll end up being. But I also keep thinking of situations like Babel and I think that if my work sucks, at least it's because of me and my skill, or lack thereof. It gives me a little bit of dignity.
thank you again for the ask. i appreciate it very much.
36 notes · View notes
k7l4d4 · 4 months
Text
K Reviews and Rants: Murder Drones! Episode 1
Hello all. Today, I embark on a new adventure! I could, technically, be continuing Miraculous Ladybug... but I decided I'd rather do something that doesn't risk me getting an aneurysm at thinking how much it's gone down hill. So, instead, I'm going to review stuff you can find for free online before moving on to other stuff.
Now, Murder Drones, at a first glance, is a fairly tongue in cheek dark parody of various horror genres, centered around the titular drones. But, many secrets lie in waiting... well, this should be fun!
Onto the review. As always, warnings for any profanity on my part.
Okay, not even two minutes in, and this is pretty interesting.
The basic concept "humans end up wiping themselves out on a planet they colonized and the robots left behind form their own civilization, but humans get mad about it so they decide to send other robots to deal with it" is solid. The opening scene is also very tongue in cheek, given that it's literally listed as a file labeled "Exposition." Near the end of the two minute mark, it transitions to a punk-looking robot with a female sounding voice giving a... less then well made presentation.
Said female robot, Uzi going by the closed captions, is complaining about how passive the Workers are being regarding their enemies. Which, given that they are reliant on three big doors, is a valid concern; no matter how durable they are, eventually the Murder Drones are gonna get past them... either by figuring out how to break them, or by breaking the areas AROUND them.
Also, I really, REALLY hope that Uzi didn't use actual blueprints in that presentation, because it's never good when stuff like that is easily accessible in such dangerous circumstances.
Apparently Uzi's answer to the eventual conflict is to make a railgun... and brought it to class. Working or not working, that's insanely dangerous... and it's hilarious how the principle is just looking on like "okay." It's hysterical to me how nonchalant he is about it. But Uzi cackling maniacally while powering up the railgun... yeah, bad sign. She's not alright in the head.
... I'm dying of laughter. The project was a word problem... about buying watermelons. Not even getting into how dumb of a project that is for homework, what's even stupider is how is it even POSSIBLE Uzi misinterpreted it THAT BADLY!? Like, this is the kind of scene that always has me hoping "I hope this sets the tone going forward." It's just hysterical.
One exploding railgun, a dented door, and now we are in the nurse's office. Why would robots even have that? Plus, more tongue in cheek jokes plastered across the wall. I gotta give props on the background details, even if they are just one-off jokes, taking the time to put them in is really cool.
Wow, some bitchy robot cheerleaders made a "joke" about how Uzi was still alive. That's totally fine and not at all disgusting. Ugh...
Really confused on why Uzi has an icepack on her face... is it to cool down her circuits or something?
Oh, new robot dude just walked in. I can't tell if his comments on some guy named Chad's "classic toxic masculinity never ending up being problematic" is just being tongue in cheek or robots being weird about making connections or something. Either way, it's funny from the perspective of making fun of old high school movies and tv show cliches.
O-kay, looks like Uzi's more unpopular than I thought... and really hammering home the "self aware up to a point" idea here, given the "angsty teen" comments. Oh, and apparently her dad's a big deal for making the doors, so Uzi's family name is... Doorman. I wish I was making that up.
Uzi asks why Thad's in the nurse's office, making a joke about testosterone... which goes over Thad's head. Kinda curious myself, since he clearly intended to go there but didn't know UZI was there. It's a bit weird that the question's unanswered.
With the reason behind Thad being at the nurse going unanswered, he questions Uzi about the railgun, and Uzi explains that she's gonna sneak out to get the last part she needs... with Thad having a very good point on why she does that, while also making a reference to how it sounds like she's dealing with some emotional repression (I feel your pain, Uzi, I feel your pain).
Like, for real, WHY would she need to go specifically to the Murder Drone's lair to get the last part she needs? Couldn't she go, I dunno, anywhere else? Like, the things are hunting Workers like her, that doesn't mean they have an abundance of parts she'd need to make her railgun. ...Please don't tell me she's secretly suicidal, please...
Ha! The alarm's built into her head.
Uzi dramatically suiting up... before acting like every stereotypical teen ever in trying to swipe her parents' keys before leaving.
Okay, there's a big vent between the doors. While the whole "crawling through vents" thing is a hollywood invention, it's a genuine security risk when your enemies have missiles, are robots, and can fly. Oh, and Uzi immediately got caught by Khan while sneaking out, I guess. That's also something.
Khan just laughs off the idea of Uzi having a boyfriend. Dick move, Khan, Dick move.
Then Uzi manages to convince him she wants to get into doors like him, and he falls for it instantly. It's totally hilarious. Also, it kinda looks like Khan DOES want to bond with Uzi... but he's got a very limited understanding of how to do so. I don't think he's all there either, given he talked to one of his doors like it's a puppy dog.
...Okay, Khan needs therapy over having had to basically mercy kill Uzi's mom. Like, immediately.
Yeesh, getting a proper look at things outside of the compound, this place looks like shit. I've got no clue if it looked nicer after the Workers took over and just went to hell after the Murder Drones attacked, but... yeah, it's bad.
Okay, so... when Uzi said she "planned to go to the Murder Drones' Lair." She didn't just mean "around the corpse spire," she meant "into" it. ...The 'secretly suicidal' idea is looking more and more likely.
Huh, she actually found stuff other then murdered Worker parts. I'm surprised.
...And one of the Murder Drones is apparently back from a hunt and enjoying a "snack." Uzi, you should probably be reconsidering your life choices right now... and it spotted her. Yup, she's dead.
She got her fighting skills from pirated anime? This is believable, as she is a robot and thus can do shit that would break a human body.
And while it might've cost her an acid-injected hand, we finally get to see the Railgun go off!! ...Fuck that is both awesome and terrifying, AND SHE MADE THIS IN A CLOSED OFF OUTPOST!? Uzi is scary, and anyone who thinks she isn't is in denial.
Hurray, she killed one of the monsters and oh fuck they can regenerate their heads!! FUCK!!!
And she slapped it with a dismembered arm.
Huh, this Nazi-dressed robot's blinking headlight looks a bit off. Also, he's a sweetheart. WHO THOUGHT MAKING THE ROBOTIC MURDER MACHINE A SWEETHEART WAS A GOOD IDEA?!? Don't these people know that giving one of the vicious killers a heart of gold is guaranteed to make them turn on you!?
Huh, I guess his regeneration busted one of his sensors. So... Uzi's safe. For now.
Okay, we learned two things; one, they are called Disassembly Drones, and two, this guy's name is Serial Designation N. He is a puppo of adorableness that I wish to protect, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't need the help in that regard.
Please, N, stop talking. You are making it hard to remember you are a brutal murderer designed to kill everyone Uzi knows!
N is surprisingly chill at having lost three hours of time. Okay, so he's not just sweet, he's stupid as well; that does reduce the odds of him attempting a heel-face turn, the dumb ones tend to take the longest to realize they are on the wrong side.
ANd it looks like the acid is neutralized by the Disassembly Drone's saliva... what weirdo thought that was a good design choice!? Also, the way Uzi goes "we are never talking about this" is such a vibe.
N decides to give the scoop on the other two members:
First is V, who is... psychotic. That's literally the only word to describe it, she just comes off as insane and sadistic for the sake of being sadistic. She also might have some memory issues if she hasn't figured out who N is by this point.
Second is J, the leader. She seems, by all accounts, to be an ultra-aggressive, fanatically loyal corporate jackboot. On the other hand, everything about her screams to me "SHIP HER WITH UZI!!" So I shall. It's toxic, but it is a good poison to endure.
Uzi describes the device in the Murder Drone's base as a spaceship, N as a one use missile (since they weren't taught how to land). They are, technically speaking, both right. Ships need fuel, so unless Uzi could scrounge up enough to transport them off the planet, AND scavenge all the components needed to repair it, it'd be better served breaking it down for parts and coming up with a new design entirely.
Also, the fact that Uzi, a violently unstable Drone with a chip on her shoulder about her people being left to slaughter, is thinking about getting off the planet... yeah, that's a warning sign about her intentions right there.
N's reasoning for continuing the slaughter, aside from the very creepy vibes that imply he and the rest are addicted to Worker Oil (VAMPIRE VIBES!!!) and the pragmatic reason that they need to do so to avoid overheating and dying... it fits him as a character, but also kind of highlights that he's not mentally suited for all this stuff, and makes me question who thought including him in this was a good idea. Although given he's lasted this long, he's definitely not harmless.
Uzi then hits the nail on the head; the Disassembly Drones have no guarantee that they won't be scrapped themselves once their mission is done... but given that J probably wouldn't care given how much of a fanatic she comes off as, and V is too insane to probably process the idea, N might be swayed... given time, at least.
Okay, Uzi apparently has enough survival instincts to run for it when she realized that the other two, non-malfunctioning Murder Drones are back. Good on her!
I'm honestly surprised that V didn't just attack Uzi the second she saw her, given her personality. Of course, said personality might be WHY she's not attacking; her mind probably doesn't think in traditional processes regarding priorities. Still, it's weird that she didn't go for the kill given how brutal she is.
Huh, the Disassembly Drones can reboot each other using slaps. That's... an interesting design choice.
And N, now able to actually remember and process the data his sensors were feeding him, instantly goes to get rid of Uzi's railgun, out of concern of what it would do to his squad. WHY IS HE SO WHOLESOME!? Then again, he's chasing Uzi back to the Doors, and Uzi has the master key and is absolutely slower then him... yeah, we're probably gonna be seeing N's dangerous side in a moment or two.
And now the Worker Defense Force are dropping death flags. I gotta say, I genuinely do like the tongue-in-cheek nature of this; like, they are being incredibly obvious they are dropping death flags, but the show is making it so clear that these folks know about tropes, even subconsciously, that it makes this morbidly funny.
Uzi tries to close the door... too late.
Yeah... N prying open those massive doors using nothing but his bare hands (clawed though they may be), is super terrifying, and I am unashamed to admit it. I would be pissing myself if I was there in person.
Yup, still N. Even when he has to remind himself he's planning to kill everyone there, he's just such a sweetheart. WHY!? WHY WOULD YOU GIVE US SUCH A SWEET HEART YOU CRUEL WORLD!?
And this... this is the slaughter I was dreading was coming. Seeing just how brutally N is killing them all, I'm severely disturbed. Like, this is horrific even WITH the Drones, if they were people, animated or not...? Yeah, this would be a gore fest.
Hey, Khan got the pack of cards! ...How long does it take to get a fresh pack of playing cards?
N continues to be a sweetheart even while planning to murder someone he had a nice time with.
...There is no way Khan is going to shoot. The dude is screaming PTSD attacks. Also, I'm surprised N is taking so long in killing Uzi, enough time to do nothing as Khan slowly backs away and closes the doors and raises the alarm. Seriously, what is it about Uzi that is holding the Murder Drones back!?
V claiming to have been trying to get past the doors for months isn't really as vast a length of time as it sounds. V doesn't seem the type to really understand the idea of trying different tactics; odds are she just kept blasting at it in the hopes she'd eventually get through.
Hey look, N is starting to show doubts about their mission! I guess seeing a PTSD-driven coward of a father abandon his daughter to die would do that. Unfortunately, he's trying that on the literal fanatic who has made it clear that even if she's willing to be civil when he does a good job, she will KILL him if he proves himself too much of a liability. We can all guess where this is going.
Honestly, given how fanatic she is for the company, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if J believes her own speech about putting N down being for his own good... and the way she describes their mission being that the Workers are corrupted, as well as how Uzi seems strangely protected from immediate murdering... maybe there's more going on with this?
But yeah, J is being a total dick to N. Bad J. Uzi will make you sleep on the couch for this!
Okay, so Uzi's alive, and is now forced to work with N in order to save her outpost. Honestly, I can get it; even if N's nice, he's been knowingly and willingly complicit in the slaughter of her people... but she's at least willing to work with him. They give me very "Dumbass Big Bro/Smartass Little Sis" vibes.
Hey, it's Thad again! Honestly curious how he's alive, since neither of the Murder Drones on the attack seem the type to let someone survive a hit from them if they aren't in a position to instantly kill them at point blank range. It's odd. Maybe Thad's weird in whatever way Uzi is, but less? Or maybe Uzi's a vector for some kind of virus...?
Wow, N is standing up to himself! THAT'S A MIRACLE!!!
Wow, Uzi making N fight his crush? That's cold. Oooh, maybe it's the battle of future lovers!? /j (Yes, I know there's no chance in hell that Uzi gets with J, but my dream lives on in my heart!!)
Really surprised J just stood there while Uzi chucked a pen at her head hard enough to rupture one of her eye things. Seriously, what is it about Uzi that makes Murder Drones be dumb!?
Huh, even in the middle of a fight, J can't help but be a Corporate shill.
N, having an emotional conflict about having to battle your crush should wait until she's NOT blasting missiles at you.
Hey, N managed to beat V via gross-out tactics! It's less disgusting then normal! Helps that he's a robot, but still, using licking as a distraction to get free to assist an ally is valid.
Okay, so in addition to being a shill, J's also the type to plan her monologue's in advance. I approve! Oh, and she got stabbed by her own nanite tail stinger thing, and in a place she can't use her saliva to neutralize... and she uses business terms in place of cursing. I knew she was a shill, but MAN is she a shill!!!
Uzi claimed she would fire if J said one more buzzword... but given the grin on her face, she was gonna do it anyway... which I think J realized. And now J is nothing but arms and her lower torso... given that the Murder Drones can regenerate, they should probably get those parts in some kind of storage/isolation/prison thing or whatever.
Now, this would be the part where the rebel outcast, having saved their people from danger, is now accepted as a hero... but instead, seeing as Uzi is rightfully pissed off at Khan for leaving her for dead, she decides to leave and banish herself. Also, I think her head might be a bit scrambled if she thought that anyone would banish her; yeah, she lead the Murder Drones to them, but she also saved all their lives and (possibly) took one of the Murder Drones down for good. That's HUGE.
And now Uzi reveals her big plan; kill all humans in revenge, laughing maniacally, while some weird symbol appears in her eye. Huh... looks like that whole "we're here because the Workers are corrupted" bit might not have been full of baloney after all! And more Murder Drones are on their way... that's not good.
I gotta say, this was awesome. Not as funny as I'd hoped, but so far, I think it's balancing the tongue in cheek referential and meta humor with the ongoing actions well enough. Looking forward to more!!
12 notes · View notes
skz317cb97 · 2 years
Text
A History of Pain
Part 1
Bang Chan x Female reader
Word count: 7.6K
Synopsis: You've come back to Korea to stay and start living with your adopted brother Minho and his friends, one of which, Chan, you can't help but be drawn to despite your brother's warnings to both of you. When people from your childhood and the things that happened to you keep coming up, you're forced to face things from your past and present. Will you be okay or will the time bomb that is your history finally blow up in your face?
A/N: 18+ only! You may recognize part of this from when I posted from my WIPs. This was the 'brother's best friend' story. I've practically been getting death threats from @jquellen27 any time I mention writing and it's not this story so I've decided to make it a series since it's so long and HOPEFULLY it will force me to work on it more. 🤞Anyway here's part one, I hope you enjoy and if you do please like, reblog, comment, shoot me an ask, I always welcome all of it!
Part 2👈
Tumblr media
Warnings for this series: This story will have elements of death and flashbacks to abuse (mental, physical and sexual) throughout. It will not be explicit or overly detailed, but it will be a vital part of the plot. If that is a topic that can be triggering or make you uncomfortable, I would suggest skipping this series! There will also be strong language/cursing, adult content, and sexual themes throughout but not in every part so I will be adding warnings for each part accordingly. If I ever miss something that should be in the warnings, PLEASE let me know and I will add it! This is and Idol AU so while they are in a group together it is not Stray Kids, hence no Jeongin and Seungmin and even though a company is mentioned it is not JYP. Just for clarification these are characters and not ment to portray the actual people in any way.
Pt. 1 Warnings: Not much in this one really, suggestive but nothing explicit, night terrors depicted, mentions of nudity. I think that's all. Again let me know if I missed anything!
Tumblr media
You weaved your way through the Incheon International airport scanning the faces in the crowd looking for your big brother, who was supposed to be picking you up after your eighteen-hour flight. What you found instead was a stuffy looking chauffeur holding a sign with your name on it. You walked up to the man and pointed at the sign. 
“I’m Lee Y/N.” He looked at you funny and continued to scan the people behind you. You rolled your eyes. You had dealt with things like this your whole life, ever since the Lee’s had adopted you. Your family was Korean and you, very obviously weren’t. You sighed. 
“Minho sent you I assume...” When you mentioned your brother’s name the driver seemed to realize you were in fact telling the truth about who you were. 
“Yes, ma’am. I am to take you to the dorm where he will escort you to your parent’s house.” You nodded, tossed your book bag at him and slid your suitcase over. 
“Whatever you say Jeeves. I’m beat let’s go!” He let out an exasperated sigh and lead you towards the exit. When you were settled in the car you pulled out your phone to call your brother and bitch him out for not at least warning you he wasn’t able to get you. It rang twice and he answered.
"Heeey Minhooo, landed safely. You forget to mention something?" Minho face palmed himself.
"I'm sorry! It’s been a while since you’ve been home. Things have gotten a little crazy. I had to send a company car. I’m so so sorry I meant to tell you I’ve just been so busy with work I forgot." It had been a long time since you’d been there.
You had missed Minho and your parents so much but you had been attending university in America and it wasn’t always easy to get back home. You knew Minho and his rap group had been doing well but when you were in your bubble in America following Korean hip hop groups, even your brother's, wasn’t on the top of your priority list. Whenever you spoke to Minho he was more concerned about how your schooling was going, if you were okay, and updating you on the parents and the cats. Not his career. You wanted to give him a little grief but you were too tired. 
"It’s okay Min, don’t worry about it." You slunk down in your seat, giving in this time.
"Look I’m still at the studio right now. I’ll have to take you to mom and dad’s tomorrow so when you get to the dorm just take the guest room and make yourself at home okay? The guys are gone for the weekend. I’ll let you know when I’m leaving and I’ll take you to dinner to make up for it." The promise of dinner perked you back up, especially if your brother was paying.
"Okay, sounds good. Love you." Minho hummed.
"Hmmmm... ew." And you groaned.
"God you’re such an ass." He laughed.
"Love you too." You gave him a hum this time.
"Mmhmm that’s better. See you later." You hung up and looked out the window as you neared your destination.
When you got to the dorm the driver carried your bags up and put them by the door. 
“Will there be anything else ma’am?” You shook your head. 
“That will be all Jeeves thanks a million!” He shook his head and left. You typed in the key code Minho had given you and went in, dragging your bags behind you. It was a nice place but very clearly lived in by men. There was more weight equipment than furniture in the living room and nothing in the form of pictures or art on the walls. One thing they did have on the wall was a giant tv and video games piled up underneath of course. Off the living room there was a hall. You went down it and investigated. You opened every door trying to get your bearings and figure out where everything was. The first door you opened had a bed a dresser and more weights than the damn living room did. The next room was just a bed, a dresser, and a night stand. There were a few framed pictures and a book on the night stand. Minimal, clean. You didn’t even have to look twice to know it was Minho’s room. The room next to your brother’s looked like a clothes bomb went off in it. Jisung was the only one of the guys you had ever met and from the things your brother had told you about him this was almost definitely his room. The next room had a bed and a desk and a dresser but not much else, similar to Minho’s. Minimal and clean. There was a computer and lot of DJ equipment on the desk and a big set of noise cancelling headphones. You pulled that door closed and opened the one across the hall from it. A bed, a dresser, a night stand, and nothing else. This was clearly the guest room. You sat your stuff down and finished exploring.  
Right at the very end of the hall was the bathroom. You cringed at the idea of a bunch of men sharing one bathroom but when you peeked in you were pleasantly surprised to see that it was rather big with a nice tub and you found it remarkably clean, although, with Minho living there perhaps it shouldn’t have been so surprising. He was a bit of a neat freak at times. You quickly peeked in the other two rooms across the hall. One practically looked like an art studio with a bed and the other had probably the most gaming equipment you’d ever seen per square foot. 
Once you were acquainted with the place you decided to take advantage of that huge tub you saw and take a hot bath. You were exhausted and stunk after that flight and Minho had told you to make yourself at home. You dipped into his room and rummaged through his dresser looking for your favorite t-shirt of his.
You looked down at his night stand and saw the pictures he had set up. One of your parents, you and Minho from the last Christmas you were able to visit, another of Soonie, Doongie, and Dori all wearing top hats and bow ties, and then one of you and Minho the day you were officially adopted. You both had your arms wrapped around each other. You with a giant smile on your face, Minho and his permanent grimace. You picked it up and looked at it smiling remembering this day because it was the day you found out you had a REAL big brother and you were so happy. You fought off the tears of the memory, put the picture back, grabbed the t-shirt, and went to dig out some sweat pants and your travel toiletries.
You ran the bath almost hotter than you could stand it, added some bubble bath you nosed around under the sink for and lit a couple of candles that you had found under there as well. You climbed in and drew the curtain mostly closed. You leaned back in the tub soaking in the warmth of, not only the water but the candle light. You were just drifting into a quiet relaxation, finally, after that shitty eighteen-hour flight when suddenly that peace went out the metaphorical door with the opening of the literal door.
You were a bit startled to see standing there, absolutely bewildered, a guy probably around your brother’s age. Cute, broad shoulders, a mess of curls and confusion. Luckily you weren’t an idiot. Even though it was just supposed to be you and Minho you had pulled the curtain most of the way closed for just this reason, so now there was no way the man standing there could see your nude body even if you were fully submerged in bubbles. The curtain was open only enough for you to see out of as you laid there. The man stood there speechless. 
“Can I help you?” You finally asked as he just looked at you blankly, his mouth agape. He shook his head and quickly looked away realizing he was staring at you while you were naked in a bathtub. 
“I-I-I…” His ears turned bright red and he stammered until he finally cleared his throat. 
“What are you doing?” You quirked your eyebrow at him. 
“Well, I WAS relaxing in the tub…” The guy shook his head still keeping his eyes directed anywhere but you. 
“No, I mean who are you?!” You sighed heavily. 
“Who are you? You walked in on me?” He couldn’t help but finally look at you again. Your eyes locking, an incredulous expression plastered on his face. 
“Yea in MY bathroom!” You shrugged. 
“Fair enough but to be fair to me, it’s also my brother’s bathroom.” God had Minho not even bothered to warn them you would be here JUST in case? You suddenly fought back the urge to giggle when you saw curly had the confused face again.  
“I think you must have the wrong place because I know all my friend’s sisters.” You shrugged your shoulders again.  
“Well clearly you don’t because my brother lives here and I’ve never met you in my life.” Curly man shook his head. 
“No sorry it’s just not possible, no one I live with is American.” This. Again. You shook your head sarcastically in reply. 
“My brother is Korean. I’m adopted.” His face fell a little when you said that. 
“Oh...” You could hear the pity in the two-letter word. You waved him off. 
“Spare me. That was the easiest part of my life. Look sorry, I’m not sure why my brother never told you about me but I assure you he does in fact live here.” You were starting to get irritated with this guy questioning you.  
“How are you SO certain your brother lives here?!” He was clearly losing his patience as well. You were good at wearing that down in people, though it wasn’t always intentional. 
“Because JERK! He had a car drop me off here, I used the code to get into the place, and I’ve already been in his room and saw all his stuff. I snatched a shirt I bought him for Christmas, saw pictures of OUR family. THAT’S how I know. Now if you don’t mind I just got off an airplane that I was in for almost an entire day and it’s hard to relax when there’s a strange man watching me in the tub!” His eyes quickly flew away as if he’d just realized again that he shouldn’t be looking at you, even if the curtain kept you from being exposed. You were taking a mental note, two strikes now, you needed to give Minho a piece of your mind when he got home.  
“Look I’m sorry. I-I... didn’t realize... I’ll leave you to finish. Sorry.” His whole face was red now. He left quickly and you felt a little bad for being so difficult. You could have just said your brother was Minho. It wasn’t his fault any more than it was yours that Minho failed to mention you would be there let alone existed and he seemed like he genuinely meant his apology once he’d realized his mistake. You sighed, blew out the candles and pulled the plug to drain the water. You got out and started drying off and getting dressed.
When you walked out you took your dirty clothes and towel into your room and realized the door to the room across from yours was cracked. You heard soft r&b music coming from it and someone singing. You walked over peeking in. Your eyes went wide and your heart rate picked up a little. Mr. curly man had his back to you, his shirt off, the muscles of his back flexed and relaxed with every movement he made as he folded clothes and sang along to the song that you now realized was Dive In by Trey Songz. His voice was pretty.
You bit your lip as he bent down, unable to stop yourself from checking out his ass in the basketball shorts he was wearing. God he was REALLY cute and the way he was singing that song made you feel things. You didn’t know what to think, you usually didn’t give two shits about guys, relationships, or sex but there was something about him that struck a chord with you.
He turned and you quickly ducked back so that he wouldn’t see you spying. You waited a couple of minutes, then tapped the door frame and pushed the door open a little more. He stopped singing and turned towards you. The front of him looked even better than the back and then you noticed him holding a pair of black briefs he’d been folding. Now your ears were burning red. You cleared your throat looking at the underwear in his hands. When you did he snatched the underwear behind his back, hiding them out of your sight. 
“Ahem... Uh... hey. Um... I just wanted to say sorry. I didn’t mean to be such a pain in the ass. I’m just tired and grumpy from the flight and I was caught off guard, I didn’t think anyone else was going to be here. My name is Lee Y/N, I’m Minho’s little sister.” The man’s jaw dropped.  
“MINHO HAS A LITTLE SISTER?!” You would have laughed at his reaction if you weren’t so irritated that your brother had not disclosed this information to everyone and you were unsure as to why.  
“I’m Chan... er... uh, or Chris. Sorry I didn’t mean to shout it’s just he’s never mentioned you before. Wow Minho’s little sister.” You shrugged your shoulders. 
“I’m not sure why he hasn’t, he has pictures of us in his room.” The gorgeous man, who you now knew was... Chan or Chris? He looked shocked again. 
“That’s you?! Oh! I always wondered who that was in those photos! Lee Know is kind of private about his family life so I never asked. I just kind of assumed you were and old classmate or maybe an ex-girlfriend since he never talked about it.” You smiled at him. 
“Nope. Sister. Either way, I’m sorry for the confusion and for being rude to you Chan.” He scoffed and flashed a bright smile back at you. 
“No, you weren’t really. Also knowing that you grew up with Lee Know your reaction makes so much sense now.” He laughed and his dimples popped out. You couldn’t help but smile back. He was cute and sweet; you felt your face getting red.
Thankfully before you could complete the transformation into a tomato you heard the man of the hour come walking into the dorm. You went out into the living room, shirtless Chan following closely behind. When Minho saw him there, he got a very serious look on his face. 
“What are you doing here Chan?” Chan scoffed. 
“I live here Minho.” Minho shook his head. 
“No, I mean everyone was supposed to be gone this weekend.” Chan nodded. 
“Yea, everyone but me is. I had work I was hoping to do with a little peace and quiet.” Minho eyed shirtless Chan up and down suspiciously. 
“What were you doing back there with my sister?” Chan’s eyes went wide and his ears got red. His mouth opened ready to defend himself of any wrong doing but you immediately interrupted Minho’s line of questioning. You were tired, confused, pissed, hurt.  
“He was finding out you had one asshole.” Minho looked at you and quiet, angry, tears had started welling in your eyes. You stormed off to what was your room for the time being and slammed the door closed. Minho hadn’t made you cry very many times in your life but every time he ever had he felt so guilty. You had been sad enough for an entire lifetime already and he had promised to always protect you. He ran his hand down his face, sighed, and turned towards Chan again. 
“Ugh. SHIT! I wish you would’ve told me you were going to be here.” Chan shook his head at Minho. 
“Why wouldn’t you just mention that you have a sister Minho?!” Minho pushed his fingers into his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. 
“She’s dealt with a lot in her past and I wanted to protect her from this part of my life for as long as possible. You know how these people get Chan. All I need is for the wrong person to get the wrong idea and then the next thing you know she’s being accused of dating one of us or fucking all of us and then her life story is plastered all over the paper. I don’t need anyone digging into her life and dredging up old shit.” Chan huffed a heavy breath out. 
“But not even us man? You couldn’t even tell us?” Minho shook his head. 
“No. She was far away at school and happy that’s all I cared about. No one asked so I just didn’t say. Jisungie figured it out a couple years ago when she was back for Christmas, I made him swear not to tell anyone. Chan I just wanted to try and keep her as far from all of this as possible, that’s why I never told you guys.” Chan understood a thing or two about being protective. He had a little sister too and God knows she’s had to deal with her own share of what this life brought with it but Chan also knew that he wouldn’t always be able to shield her from it and neither could Minho with you. 
“Look you go smooth things over with your sister and I’ll order take out for dinner.” Minho nodded  
“Okay, yea. Maybe put on a shirt too.” Chan laughed and Minho shot him a glare. 
“God calm down I’ll put a shirt on.” Chan started to make the call for dinner as your brother headed towards your room. Minho tapped on the door and cracked it open looking in. 
“Y/N?” You didn’t reply to him, you just sniffled laying on the bed curled up with your back to the door. Minho walked over and sat on the edge of the bed trying to figure out what to say. Before he could say anything though you spoke. 
“Are you ashamed that I’m your sister?” All of Minho’s breath left his body and his eyes went wide. He turned towards you, grabbed your shoulder, and made you look at him. 
“HEY NO! No no, that’s not what this is about Y/N. You just... things are different here now because of my job and it can be hard on our families and friends. It’s not fair but it’s how it is. I just didn’t want you hurt getting caught up in gossip or lies. I just wanted to protect you.” You sat up and hugged your brother glad to know that he wasn’t embarrassed by you, that he was only doing what he always did, trying to protect you. At first Minho sat there just letting you hug him but eventually he put his arms around you, hugging you back. 
“Well, however different things are here now, I’m just gonna have to get used to it Min.” Minho pulled away looking at you confused. 
“What do you mean?” You had something you had been keeping secret also and it was time to spill the beans.  
“I’m back for good Minho. I’m moving back to Korea.” He didn’t understand. 
“Wait... how? You didn’t finish your degree in 4 years.” You shook your head and chewed your lip. 
“No. I didn’t. Look Min there’s a lot to talk about concerning America and school and I’m exhausted from the flight. Can we talk about it tomorrow?” Minho wanted to press you but decided after he had kind of kept your existence secret from the guys the least he could do was let you rest before hounding you about school. 
“Okay. But we ARE talking about this tomorrow!” He put out his pinky and you wrapped yours around it and nodded. 
“Alright come on Chan’s ordering dinner.” You all settled in the living room, Chan now wearing a shirt, and watched a movie while you waited for the food to show up. Minho fought the urge to interrogate you about school and moving home and Chan fought the urge to steal glances at you any time he was certain Minho wasn’t looking.
As soon as he’d seen you earlier he had immediately wondered why there was a gorgeous woman in his tub. He was sure you had noticed him turning red, his skin was on fire almost as soon as he saw you. It’s why he’d taken his shirt off when he’d gone into his room, trying to cool down. Then suddenly you were in his doorway. Your brother’s shirt swallowed you but you looked cute and comfy and Chan was standing there shirtless with his underwear in his hands like an idiot. He was embarrassed as hell when he realized but you had been gracious and acted like you hadn’t seen anything which Chan had been thankful for. Then you said you were Minho’s sister and his brain exploded.
Now he was sitting there with both of you trying not to stare at you and totally failing. When there was a knock at the door Chan sprung up quickly to answer it. 
“Food’s here!” Chan went to get it while you and Minho went to sit at the table in the kitchen. When Chan was back with the food he found Minho sitting at one end of the table and you sitting to the side of him. There was a seat next to you and then one on the other side of Minho across from you. Chan really wanted to sit next to you but he also didn’t have a death wish so he sat across from you, next to Minho, and started passing out food. Chan handed you your food. 
“I wasn’t sure what you like or would want so I got you jajangmyeon like me, I hope that’s okay.” You smiled at him brightly. 
“That’s perfect, I’m bad at spice and I haven’t had it in FOREVER!” You quickly opened the dish and Chan smiled ear to ear, happy to know he’d made a good choice for you.  
“I don’t do spicey either! Well, I try some times, usually when your brother encourages it but it never ends well.” Chan laughed. You all ate and conversated a while, talking about your flight, what it was like growing up with Minho, how things were going for the guys who’s names you were trying to remember. 
“So let me see, I think I have it. Felix, Jisung, who I know, well I have met, Changbin, Chan... Chan... I’m missing one.” Minho laughed. 
“Hyunjin.” You snapped your fingers. 
“Shit! Hyunjin!” You all laughed. 
“Once you meet Hyunjin I’m sure you’ll never forget him again.” Minho stopped laughing and glared at Chan. You continued laughing. 
“What does that mean?” Minho shifted in his seat very much so disliking the direction this converstation seemed to be going. He didn’t want you to think of his friends like that and he CERTAINLY didn’t want them thinking of you like that. Chan elaborated. 
“Most women tend to remember Hyunjin once they’ve seen him. Hyunjin is... cute.” Chan giggled. It was adorable how he laughed like that sometimes. Like a kid at a sleep over trying to stay quiet. 
“Oh? Is he as cute as you are?” Chan turned beet red and he almost choked on his food while your brother immediately cleared his throat. 
“AHEHEHEM! Okay! Y/N I’ll clean up here! Why don’t you go get some sleep since your exhausted from your flight. Yea?” You rolled your eyes at your brother. You were tired though and now full, so you decided it probably was time for bed. You walked over and poked the tip of Minho’s nose. 
“Goodnight grump. Love you.” He made a disgusted face but still made you hug him before he’d let you leave. You walked over and gave Chan a hug from behind. He froze. His arms at his sides and his eyes on Minho who was staring daggers at him. 
“Goodnight Channie. Thanks for the dinner.” You smiled at him and he cleared the lump from his throat. 
“Oh uh... you're welcome. Goodnight Y/N.” You headed through the living room towards your room. Once Minho heard your door click he pointed at Chan. 
“Don’t.” Chan’s eyes went wide. 
“Don’t what?!” Minho rolled his eyes. 
“I’m not blind. Seriously don’t Chan. She’s been through enough.” Chan shook his head. 
“Nonono Lee Know you’ve got it all wrong...” He had it 100% right. 
“It’s not like that!” It definitely was. You gave him butterflies and goosebumps and made his head feel all swimmy but the fact that Minho was your brother, one, terrified him, and two, meant that he had to be respectful and treat you as if you were his own sister. 
“Whatever you say Chan. She’s never been interested boyfriends or dating anyway but just remember this conversation and don’t feel bad because as soon as the rest of the guys are home we’ll be having the exact same talk. She is off limits, out of bounds. Understood?” Chan nodded nervously. Minho cleared the table and headed to bed and Chan went to finish some work in his room. When he got to his door he turned and looked at yours and smiled, then went into his room and shut the door. He put on his headphones and started working feeling more inspired than ever.  
In the middle of the night, after Chan had called it quits on the track he was working on and finally went to bed, he was woken up by a blood curdling scream. His eyes shot open and he leapt from his bed to try to locate the source, forgetting that you were there until he made it to the hall and Minho was already running past him and into your room.
Chan followed him in thinking you were being attacked or something but when he got in there you were alone and thrashing on the bed screaming. Pleas for help falling in between ear-piercing screams. Minho wrapped his arms around you so you wouldn’t hurt yourself, got close to your ear and started whispering something. 
“You’re home, you’re safe, I’m here, it’s okay, wake up Y/N, wake up.” You stopped screaming and convulsing and started calming down. Minho kept whispering. 
“Wake up Y/N, wake up.” Your eyes fluttered open and you found yourself in a bear hug by Minho, a worried expression on his face and you saw Chan standing there totally shell shocked. You didn’t remember anything but you knew what had happened without your brother telling you. You’d had another night terror. It was always overwhelming after having one, whether you remembered it or not. You started to cry and Minho just held you and hugged you tightly. 
“It’s okay. You’re alright.” Minho looked over his shoulder at Chan. 
“Chan.” He stood there his heart still pounding out of his chest.  
“Chan!” Chan snapped out of it and looked at Minho. 
“Will you grab some water for her please?” Chan nodded and headed straight to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water for you from the fridge. He stopped for a second to take a couple of deep breaths and get a hold of himself. Chan had never seen anything like that before. It was like you were possessed or something. When Chan got back to your room you and Minho were both sitting up in your bed and Minho had managed to calm you down for the most part. Chan walked up to the side of your bed and handed you the bottle of water. You took it and gave him a small smile. 
“Thank you Chan.” Your voice was quiet and you wouldn’t look him in the eye. You were embarrassed he’d seen you like that. You couldn’t control it but still, it was embarrassing. You took a drink of the water Chan brought you and your brother pushed a bit of hair out of your eyes. 
“I thought you weren’t having these anymore?” He questioned you now that you were calm. You shook your head. 
“I haven’t been. I think it was just exhaustion from the flight Min, really. I’m okay now.” Minho pressed his lips together not fully believing you. 
“Really Minho, I am, I’m okay.” He nodded and gave you a kiss on the forehead. Chan had never seen Minho treat any human like the way he was with you. Tender, gentle. An animal sure, people no. He was caring but in other ways except with you apparently, which Chan was taking note of.  
“Okay, if you can’t fall back asleep promise you’ll come wake me up.” You agreed and Minho got up to head back to his own bed in his own room and Chan followed. 
“Thanks again for the water Chan.” He turned back and gave you a half smile that made one of his dimples pop out again.  
“No problem Y/N, sleep well.” He pulled your door closed heading back to his own room as well. Minho stopped him. 
“When I say she’s been through a lot this is the kind of stuff I’m talking about Chan. Okay? Stuff she still has night terrors about. She had a HARD life before she came to live with our family. You get what I’m saying?” Chan shook his head and Minho headed to his room.
The rest of the night was peaceful but Chan only half slept, keeping and ear out for you just in case. Minho woke up first in the morning and started coffee and breakfast. You came stumbling out when you smelled the bacon. You drug yourself into the kitchen like a zombie. You had slept okay the rest of the night but jet lag was still kicking your ass. 
“Before you even think about speaking to me you better have caffeine.” Your brother scoffed. 
“Yes your highness, the royal coffee is ready.” You put your finger to your lips. 
“Shhhh shh shh, no words just point me in the direction of the coffee.” Minho laughed. He walked up behind you placing his hands on your shoulders and turning you a little to the left where you saw the coffee pot. 
“Ahhh black gold.” You brother shook his head and went back to cooking. 
“That’s oil.” You grabbed a mug. 
“Maybe to you. This is worth more than any petrol to me.” He laughed and set a plate of food on the table. 
“Eat up, we gotta go see the parents.” You sat down with your coffee and started to eat the breakfast Minho made you. 
“You’ve gotten really good at cooking Min.” He smiled at you and gave you a little bow. 
“Looks like the coffee is working already. Maybe it is more valuable than petrol.” You flipped your brother off as Chan came into the kitchen and you suddenly wished you had made a trip to the bathroom to wash up a bit before coming out there. You were certain you looked like death. Chan looked adorable of course. His curls were even messier than they had been the night before and his eyes were puffy and half closed. He looked like he was sleep walking but then he spoke to you. 
“Good morning.” His voice was deep and sleepy it made you wonder if he would sound like that if you had woken up next to him. What?! You needed to keep those thoughts out of your brain. You shook your head and smiled at him. 
“Good morning Chan.” He smiled back and his eyes actually did close. He was so cute sleepy like that. Minho put another plate down on the table. 
“Eat up Chan.” Chan opened his eyes again. His smile got bigger and he groaned, another sound your imagination didn’t need to go running wild with either. 
“Ughh! Yes! Thanks Minho! I have to go to yoga soon and I was just gonna grab some fruit or something.” Yoga? Is life testing you with yet another thing you were trying to not let your imagination run away with. Chan stretching, bending, sweating... 
“Y/N???” Your brother had said something. 
“What?” He sat down at the table with his own plate. 
“I asked you if you’ve talked to mom or dad since you got in.” You shook your head answering but also trying to get the residual thoughts of Chan doing yoga out of your head. 
“Yea I called mom on the car ride here yesterday and let her know I landed safe and that you said we’d be coming over today.” Minho nonchalantly looked at his plate. 
“Do they know you’re moving back?” Chan’s ears perked a little. You were moving back? Meaning you’d be around more? 
“You’re just gonna jump right into that huh?” Minho nodded and you sighed. 
“Okay Min don’t freak out but... I got kicked out of school and before you ask because of poor grades and my attendance.” Minho held back the urge to immediately go in to lecture mode and let you finish. You hadn’t mentioned this on any of the calls the two of you had. 
“This last semester at school I had a lot of... issues.” Your brother’s eyes narrowed and you continued. 
“Okay well you know the one person I was NEVER supposed to see?” Minho’s face stiffened. Oh, he knew. 
“Well, I found him.” His jaw dropped; he couldn’t help his reaction. He shouted 
“YOU FOUND YOUR DAD!?” Chan suddenly felt like he was in the middle of something that was a very private family thing and it was. Minho cut the topic of converstation off quickly. 
“We’ll be discussing this on the way to mom and dads.” He spoke through gritted teeth and you sunk down in your chair pushing what was left of your breakfast around your plate. You knew Minho would be pissed. You all finished breakfast in relative awkward silence, then Chan left for his yoga class and you got ready to go to your mom and dad’s with Minho. You were about ten minutes into the tense drive to your parent’s place in Gimpo when Minho finally broke the silence. 
“So, how did you fall behind so much and why didn’t you tell me what was happening? I’m here trying to protect you from these people dragging your past up and you’re running around America doing it yourself!” You looked out the window at the passing scenery. 
“I honestly didn’t realize it was getting so out of hand Min. I just... I was convinced I needed to find George and confront him. I knew it wouldn’t be easy but it ended up being even harder than I had expected and I fell behind on classes and assignments, missed tests. I was so caught up in trying to find him and prove something that I fucked up Min. I knew if I told you I was looking for him you’d try and talk me out of it and I knew if I told you about school you’d be disappointed. I know you’re disappointed in me Minho.” You kept looking out the window not wanting to see the look on your brother’s face. He sighed. 
“I’m not disappointed in you Y/N. I just... I wish you would’ve told me what was actually going on. So you did find him though, right?” You shook your head. 
“Yea. I did.” Minho waited for you to continue but you didn’t. 
“And? What happened?” You shrugged and looked a little defeated. 
“I immediately realized falling behind was pointless just like looking for him had been. He was high as a kite. Nothing changed there I guess. He didn’t even realize who I was. I just left. Didn’t bother trying to explain. He always hated me anyway, I don’t know why I was so convinced I had to confront him like it would’ve made some kind of difference.” Minho’s jaw ticked. He absolutely hated your biological dad. He’d only met him twice when you both were younger, before your adoption had been finalized and he still had SOME rights to see you. Minho remembered each time as clear as day and neither left him with particularly fond memories of your father. 
“Is after you saw him when your night terrors started again?” You shook your head yes. 
“God damn it Y/N you said you weren’t having them! Why aren’t you telling me things! You used to tell me everything!” You sat there quietly for a bit with no answer to give, no good answer.
“Min, are you gonna make me tell mom and dad about finding George?” He let out a breath as he considered your question. 
“How are you going to explain school?”  He quizzed.
“I’m just gonna say I had issues and fell behind. It’s the truth technically.” Minho definitely didn’t like hiding things from your parents but this was actually one of the instances he figured, maybe it was best if they didn’t know. 
“As long as you tell them about school and moving back, I won’t mention George. Deal?” You nodded in agreement, smiling at your brother.
Surprisingly enough when you broke the news to your parents about school and moving back during dinner, they took it fairly well. That would probably have been a very different outcome had Minho made you tell your parents about finding your birth father also. You were grateful that he had agreed to not tell your parents. Your mother, always a worrier when it came to you, only wanted to know one thing. 
“Where will you be living sweetheart? You know you’re always welcome to your room here.” You grabbed your mom’s hand and gave it a squeeze smiling at her. 
“Well about that. While I appreciate the offer mom, I was going to ask Minho if he thought I could stay with him until I got a job and a place of my own? I already failed at school and had to move home I don’t think I can to move back in with my parents on top of all that.” Minho’s eyes got big and he hacked on the bite of food he had in his mouth. 
“Well... I don’t know... I live with five other guys Y/N I don’t know if that’s app-” Your mom cut Minho off, pish poshing him. 
“Every one of those boys is an absolute sweet heart and a gentleman Minho. I think as long as they didn’t mind it would be fine. Don’t you?” Minho got that look on his face, the one he gets whenever he knows you’re probably about to get your way, the one that makes him look like an irritated kitty cat. 
“Pleeaaasssee Min Min? Will you ask them? I promise to help around the dorm and I’ll find a job and my own place asap!” He let out a heavy sigh knowing he couldn’t say no to you now. Not in front of your mom, not when you called him Min Min. 
“I'll ASK! But if they say no...” You shook your head. 
“Then I’ll just have to suck it up and stay with mom and dad whether I want to or not.” After spending the day with your parents, having dinner, and you and Minho doing the dishes, you both got loaded up with plenty of left overs and in the car to head back to the dorm. 
“You think I don’t know you pulled that at dinner, knowing mom would take your side?” You looked at your brother feigning innocence. 
“I- Min. Mom is the one that aske-” He scoffed. 
“Cut the shit Y/N.” You smirked. 
“Okay so I had a feeling mom would bring that up and maybe I knew that she would probably take my side but I really meant what I said about not wanting to have to move back with the parents after everything else. It's too much Minho.” Your brother was thrilled to have you staying with him. It’s not like he didn’t want you around, it was the five other men that lived with him that made him uneasy about the arrangement. 
“You have to promise me something Y/N. One thing.” You looked at your brother waiting for what he was going to ask for in return. 
“Don’t try anything funny with any of the guys.” Your face started to burn it was so red. You and Minho never talked about stuff like that.
“MINHO!” He shooed his hand at you to shoosh you. 
“I mean it! If you want to stay you have to promise that you’re not gonna try and date any of them, I mean it Y/N, I’m serious. It will just end with you getting hurt.” You threw up your hands. 
“Minho I don’t even date-” He shook his head. 
“I don’t care, promise or you’re not staying, I’ll turn around and take you back to mom and dad’s right now.” He hit the turn signal to get off the highway. 
‘’Okay okay! Jeeze I promise I won’t date any of your friends. Christ!” You sat in silence in the car for a bit before you broke the awkward silence again. 
“I really will help around the place and find work. I’m not sure where yet but...” Minho sighed. 
“Well, I might be able to help with that too. It won’t be anything fancy but I can probably get you in a temp position at the company. If a full-time position opens, I could put in a word. You bounced in your seat. 
“If I wasn’t absolutely certain you would crash us into the river, I’d hug you.” Minho cocked his eyebrow at you. 
“Bold of you to assume I won’t do it for even considering it.” When you pulled up to the parking lot of the dorm Minho’s text notification went off. He pulled out his phone, looked at it and sighed. 
“What’s up?” He quickly text the person back and put it back in his pocket. 
“It’s Hannie. He’s back in town but he’s stranded at the company so I gotta go get him. Do you want to come?” You were still fighting jet lag and it had been a long day with your parents. You really didn’t want to. 
“I’ll just head up to bed Min. Tell Jisung I said hi and that I’ll see him tomorrow.” You kissed your palm and half smacked your brother in the face a little harder than necessary before quickly getting out of the car. 
“Love you!” You ran towards the doors to the building and Minho rolled his eyes and took off to meet Jisung.
It was already pretty late when you were getting in. Most of the dorm lights were off. You navigated through the living room in the dark as best you could, you managed not to hurt yourself at least. Once you got to the hall you could see a little. Chan’s door was closed but you could see the light was on through the crack at the bottom and heard more of the same kind of soft r&b from the day before. You went over and tapped on it lightly and waited to hear if Chan replied. If he was asleep or working with his headphones on you wouldn’t bother him.
Suddenly the bathroom door opened and there was Chan, fresh out of the shower, water still dripping down the lines of his body, his wet curls clumping together and sticking to his forehead. He had one end of a towel scrunched up in one hand, drying his hair and another end of the towel gripped in his other hand drying his midsection. The rest of the towel happened to drape and keep you from seeing EVERYTHING but only barely and his ass was out for the world. 
“OHFUCK! Sorry! I... Uh... didn’t see anything!” You closed your eyes and covered them with your hands as you screamed the apology. Chan almost dropped the towel and then wrapped it around himself. 
“OH FUCK! FUCK! No Uh I’m sorry I didn’t realize you were back! I uh... I’m covered now.” You opened your eyes again and you both moved, you away from his door, him towards it, tandem movements, almost like dancing. He pushed his hair away from his face and gave you a nervous smile and those damn dimples popped out again. He was equal parts sexy and adorable and he swung wildly back and forth between the two. He walked out dripping wet, firm and naked and then blushed and those dimples showed up and he was the cutest guy you’d ever seen.  
“I’m really really sorry Chan!” He was still gripping the towel around him to make sure he was covered but it hung low and you couldn’t help but notice the curve of his hip leading to what was hiding under the towel now. 
“No seriously it’s totally my fault, I knew you were staying with us I should have been more careful. I’m really sorry if I made you uncomfortable.” You shook your head. 
“No, it’s fine. You didn’t.” You both stood there in awkward silence for a minute, completely red faces. 
“I’m... gonna... go get dressed now. Uh can you do me a favor and not tell your brother about this?” Chan opened his door and started backing into his room. 
“RIGHT! Yea no, tell him about what? You know?” Chan let out a sigh of relief 
“Thanks Y/N, uh, goodnight.” He smiled at you. 
“Goodnight Chan.” He closed his door and you went into your room across the hall and shut yours. You leaned against it trying to catch your breath. The way Chan made you feel just the few times you had been around him; no one had ever made you feel like that before and now this? But you had JUST promised your brother. 
“Fuck.”
Please do not repost or translate any of my works. My blog and stories are NSFW and 18+ ONLY! Minors, ageless, and blank blogs will be blocked!
Tag list: @ughbehavior @septicrebel @chansynie @caroline-ds-world @cb97percent (since it's Channie) @3rachasninja
108 notes · View notes
bruggle · 1 year
Text
Now to answer questions literally nobody asked!
Aurora is Eon's neice; why can't she be claimed as his heir?
Because I said so. No. So before Academy aired, I personally headcannoned that Eon had a younger sister. And that's part of the reason why he was so adamant about Aurora not becoming a skylander; his sister would kill him. Here, I'm gonna say that yes, Eon has a younger sister who married a different lord and had two children. A son and a daughter. The son is the heir to hid father's lordship, and Eon was originally going to name Aurora his heir. But then she fell in love with the heir to one of the Cloudbreak Island lordships, and so that plan went out the window. He does not blame her, of course. He was overjoyed when he heard the news. But it did make things difficult.
How did Perry wind up in Skylands in this AU? (Non spoiler verison)
Ok, so to explain I need to say a bit from my original idea:
There is a stretch of woods behind Perry's childhood home. As a child, she was scared to death of going into it because she claimed there was something "weird" about it. Now, obviously, that's where I'm putting the portal. So within this AU, Perry decides to be brave when she's 17 and go into the woods despite how much it weirds her out. She finds the portal and messes around with it, which of course, isn't a good idea. Don't play around with things you don't understand. This leads to her being transported to Skylands by accident, with no way home. And this leads into the next question:
Why did Eon choose to adopt Perry as his heir and daughter?
He originally wasn't going to; when he first came across Perry, he figured she was yet another random encounter of Skylands' magic going haywire and bringing yet another person from another world/time. (Because according to Dive Clops' back story, time vortexes are relatively common???) And he is one of the few beings who still regard an old law of bringing unwitting travelers up to speed with how Skylands works: how to read, write, currency, politics, etc. and then letting them figure out what to do from there. However, as she was being taught all these things, he noticed many of the same signs that he exhibited that marked him as a Portal Master when his master took him under his wing. So now he really can't just let her galavant around Skylands. That would basically be a death sentence. He then comes to the realization that he could probably adopt her and name her his heir. This kills two birds with one stone; keeps his people from having to adjust to a new rule, and keeps her safe. So, he teaches Perry how to hide the fact that she is a Portal Master and then sends a letter to Aurora asking if she would be willing to take Perry as a Lady in Waiting. Aurora agrees, and Perry learns how to act as a Lady should from both her hand maids and Aurora. The two girls get along very well and continue to send letters to one another.
Does Kaosandra know that Kaos is a Portal Master?
I've thought long and hard about this one, and have ultimately decided no. She will not know. The linchpin for this was the existence of the Wilikin. If the Wilikin exist, then she would know 100%. But so would the rest of his family, who would gladly turn him over to Nefarion. And even if he just made one and showed her, it would still feel too convenient. So instead, I'm having it be to where he made one wilikin while by himself out of loneliness, freaked out, accidentally destroy it, and never tried again.
Glumshanks will know that he's a Portal Master though, he raised Kaos and knows when things are bothering him. He helps Kaos hide it.
Don't get me wrong, I love the Wilikin. But they don't fit in this story without giving away a necessary secret.
You've mentioned that the Skylanders are going to be members of staff or guards, who has what jobs?
So I've actually got a mix of NPCs and Skylanders in different jobs. Here's what I got so far:
Hugo - Eon's valet
A valet is basically the men's version of a handmaid, but they also act as an assistant. Hugo did, however, also teach Perry how to read and write in Skylish.
Cali - housekeeper
So the housekeeper is basically the female version of a butler. Now, if there is both a butler and housekeeper, all the maid servants (with the exception of head nurse and hand maids) listen to the housekeeper while all the man servants (with the exception of the valet) listen to the butler. I feel this suits Cali.
Flynn - coachman
Of course our main man is in charge of transportation.
Ghost Roaster - head cook
This is also obvious lmao
Camo - gardener
This is mostly so that I can put Camo and Ghost Roaster into situations because their dynamic is hilarious
Sonic Boom - head nurse (but currently working with Whirlwind in the infirmary)
So the head nurse is the staff member who takes care of the babies and young children, but there obviously isn't any of those (and won't be for a good long time. Period) so for the moment, she either offers to watch children of the other staff members or helps out in the infirmary.
Whirlwind - infirmary keeper
This is not an actual historical position, but in a world where there are 2 foot tall pests (chompys) and magic potions for just about everything, having someone who knows what to do about wounds seems like a good idea.
Hex and Stealth Elf - hand maids
Hand maids are in charge of all the lady's needs as well as helping with her dress and hair. I imagine Hex being better with the dressing part of the job while Stealth is better at hair.
Spyro - head guard
Of course our boy is here :)
10 notes · View notes
heathfall · 11 months
Text
HalfClan, Moons 1-6
(I'll be doing patrols on each even moon because uh... I want to.)
Moon 1:
Frogpaw becomes a warrior, with Nectarheart as her mentor. Roachheart gives Frogpaw something (blue feathers) as a congratulations. How sweet!
Tumblr media
Frogpaw. She is now strange!
Brackentail decides to always carry some catmint around.
Tumblr media
Brackentail and her catmint. Are we nervous about something, Brackentail?
Not much else happens. Marigoldpaw and Frogpaw begin to become friends (Frogpaw asks Marigoldpaw how she's doing, while Marigoldpaw talks to Frogpaw about training.)
Cricketstar gets into a small spat with Mousedapple, as well as saying something that rubbed Brackentail the wrong way, but she's also found herself to be really positive to Brackentail.
Additionally, Roachheart tries to make sure Mousedapple is following the warrior code. Mousedapple is just losing this moon.
Moon 2:
Patrol time! I'm sending the apprentices and their mentors out.
On patrol: Nectarfoot (patrol leader), Mousedapple, Marigoldpaw, and Frogpaw.
Although they went out, meaning to patrol the territory and teach the apprentices about different scents, a rabbit bursts out from cover, startled by the patrol. The mentors decide that this is a great opportunity for the apprentices to learn different hunting tactics, and Nectarfoot rallies the patrol nearly instantly. Together, they manage to corner and catch the rabbit!*
End patrol.
Frogpaw and Marigoldpaw go on a walk together! How sweet. I'm glad they're getting along.
Cricketstar finds the way Marigoldpaw acts increasingly uncomfortable. Not sure why she's beefing with a kid, but Roachheart also finds Cricketstar's actions increasingly uncomfortable, and Mousedapple complains about Cricketstar. Hopefully this is growing pains and not a sign of something deeper.
Marigoldpaw saw Jasperstream miss an easy catch, and Jasperstream is worried that he'll never accomplish as much as Alderfur. Poor guy. It's tough going from being a kittypet to a warrior.
Moon 3:
The apprentice friendship continues, as Frogpaw listens to Marigoldpaw talk about how hard training has been. However, Marigoldpaw wishes that she had Frogpaw's mentor instead. :( Mousedapple is trying his best.
Alderfur wishes that Jasperstream won't take his duties more seriously, but Jasperstream makes sure that Marigoldpaw knows they are loved!
It's Turtlerun's time to beef with everyone. I suppose he woke up on the wrong side of the nest. Cricketstar heard a ugly rumor about Turtlerun, spread by either Mousedapple or Alderfur.
Moon 4:
Mousedapple travels to the other clans to bring them an important message about how HalfClan has now fully spread to the edges of the last Clan's territory, and as such they are now ready to go to Gatherings.
Patrol time!
On patrol: Cricketstar, Brackentail, Turtlerun, Jasperstream, and Roachheart
As the medicine cat's patrol goes onto HalfClan territory. Cricketstar tells Brackentail about the dream they had last night, and what the vision could mean for HalfClan. Intrigued, both Brackentail and Jasperstream set about trying to decipher this message. By the time the patrol returns to camp, they have a solid idea of what to do with the information.
End patrol.
Frogpaw catches Marigoldpaw complaining about her behind her back, while Marigoldpaw is reading a bit too far into Frogpaw's kindness. Oh no!
Jasperstream continues to not do a lot of work, while Mousedapple apologizes to Turtlerun for hurting his feelings.
Moon 5:
Cricketstar calls the Clan to a meeting, and declares Marigoldpaw to be a warrior. They are called Marigoldfrost and celebrated for their thoughtfulness.
Tumblr media
Marigoldfrost! They are now fierce, as well as an excellent speaker. Guess they learned something from Mousedapple after all!
Just before their ceremony, however, Frogpaw tells Marigold that her pelt looks like it's a different color today. Also, Mousedapple never realized until now how much they love spending time with Marigoldfrost. I guess you never know how good you have it until it's gone.
Moon 6:
Patrol time!
On patrol: Cricketstar, Marigoldfrost, Nectarfoot, and Frogpaw
The patrol goes to mark the border lines, but a gang of rogues bursts from the bushes in an ambush. Marigoldfrost, fierce as she is, leads the patrol in without a second thought, and they drive the rogues away unscathed.
End patrol.
Marigoldfrost, Jasperstream, and Frogpaw have been spending time together recently. Frogpaw shares her prey with Jasperstream, while Marigoldfrost tells him about a hunting technique. However, there are rumors going around-- Jasperstream heard an ugly rumor about Roachheart, while Alderfur caught him in a lie.
***
(Patrol, Moon 2)
*The early spring weather blew a gust of wind through the trees, bringing with it scents from the other Clans. Nectarfoot weaved through the trees, leading the patrol toward their border with QuietClan.
"Now, Frogpaw, what do you smell?" she prompted.
"Hm?" Frogpaw said, snapping back into focus. "Sorry, what was that?" Nectarfoot sighed. "Frogpaw, you'll never become a warrior with your head in the clouds like that. What do you smell?"
"Rabbit," Marigoldpaw said.
"What?" Nectarfoot waved her tail confusedly. "No, it's-"
"She's right!" shouted Mousedapple, startling. "Look!"
From underneath the oak tree, a rabbit exited its warren, thumping its way toward the moor of FlowerClan's territory. Nectarfoot laid eyes on it, shouting instantly, "Marigoldpaw! Frogpaw! Get in front of it!"
The two apprentices leapt into action, splitting up around the trees and outspeeding the rabbit. Mousedapple and Nectarfoot worked alongside each other as though they had done it for moons, matching pawstep to pawstep as they ran the rabbit into the apprentices. Marigoldpaw lunged for the kill, snapping the rabbit's neck.
"Good job, everyone!" Nectarfoot panted, her eyes glowing as she looked at the patrol. "Well done!"
4 notes · View notes
halfbakedspuds · 7 months
Text
Taking the open tag from @oh-no-another-idea. The rules are simple: Take the words you are given and find a passage in your WIP where that word appears.
My words are: Sight, sweet, tickets, and tape, and I'm using scenes from my WIP: Children of the Stars.
Sight
"Never thought I'd say this, Wilhelm, but damned be the throne if you aren't a sight for sore eyes," Adrian called over. At his hip, his hand was a blur as it emptied spent casings and deftly slotted fresh bullets into the cylinder. Not showing any sign of having paid conscious attention to the task, the praetor continued to pick off targets with his free left hand while he worked.
Wilhelm allowed himself a smile as he slotted in a new powercell for his auto-pulser, "Well ignore my forwardness, but you look quite a poor sight in this battle,"
"And you still sound Titanaen, we all have our shortcomings" Adrian shot back, ducking into cover as an enemy laser pulse send a spray of debris towards where he'd just shown his face, "Ready?"
Sweet
"Here," Adrian said, handing glasses of the milky drink to Lyanni and Zeltin. Lyanni took a moment to simply look at it skeptically. It looked a bit like cloudy water, the kind she had often seen near mines as a child and fervently been warned to never drink. On the other hand it looked like a substance that did not bear naming in polite conversation.
She shuddered.
"What is this?" She asked innocently enough.
Adrian opened his mouth to say something, then abruptly shut it in contemplation. After a long moment he answerred, "On Callisto, our word for it is firvāer, I think the closest approximation in your language would be 'Fire-water'.... Don't look at me like that, it's safe. Just bites a bit,"
Lyanni was still skeptic, but given that Zeltin seemed to be enjoying the drink, she reluctantly took a sip.
Her first thought was that it felt... angry, for lack of a better description, a burning sensation that slithered down her throat. The second thought was that the drink was surprisingly sweet, and paradoxically it actually began to cool her down in the afternoon heat.
"How is it?" Adrian ventured with a knowing smile on his face.
"Adrian Julius Castellan, why have you never told me that we have such a miracle liquid in the house?"
Tickets
The group all tensed and whirled around as a massive explosion went off in the distance, each bringing shotguns, rifles or revolvers to bear on the source of the sound. Isabelle, having not heard anything, was the last to turn around.
"Well shit," Marcus whistled as he shouldered his rifle. The others followed his example one at a time as they watched the great fireball rise slowly on the other side of their floor.
"Whereabouts is that?" Avery asked, slotting their shotgun into the hollow of their prosthetic leg, "Gasworks?"
Adrian nodded, "At least the Zolverrein clans won't bother us over that for a while. The Gasworks are fucked,"
"Tickets," Agreed Simon.
Mother will not be happy about this, Isabelle signed back in warning. She used a modified version of the sign for mother that used two closed fingers and two open ones, like a gun, instead of an open hand, their group's sign-name for Marea Castellan. Adrian translated for Dima's sake.
"If she asks, we were down in three-eight-five doing a money-run. Not at the gasworks," He nudged his boyfriend to drive home who in particular had to keep their mouth shut, "Alright, Dima?"
Tape
"My mother always said: 'Duct-tape can fix the world'," Adrian said through gritted teeth as he tore the duct-tape he'd used to secure Lyanni's arm to her shoulder, keeping it in place while he worked on the machinery within.
Lya grunted, "Clearly your mother has never had to close a knife wound,"
"Clearly, you have never been desperate enough staunch bleeding that you've resolved to make do with the most sideways and accursed setup ever witnessed,"
I'm tagging @thatoneterrariaplayers-vault if you want it, as well as anyone who wants to take this no-pressure tag with the words star, mirror, gaze, and void.
1 note · View note
lululawrence · 2 years
Note
Hi! May I ask why you choose to send cards to people you don't even know? Do you pay for everything yourself?
lolll ya know, valid question. the first year i did it, i offered christmas cards only to my mutuals and they weren't homemade. i just bought some cute ones from target and mailed them off to the people in my group chats and mutuals from tumblr who saw my post and reached out. i had seen some other people offering cards to their mutuals the first christmas i was on tumblr, and i loved that idea so much i wanted to do the same, so i did.
after that first year, though, i had so much fun and had a decent amount of interaction with my blog even if i didn't really know who they were, i figured why not offer cards to everyone? no one has to take me up on it if they don't want to, if they aren't comfortable sharing their address, that's fine! they just won't sign up. i didn't know if there would be a big participation or anything, but i figured it was worth a try. i kinda stepped up my game that year and got some boxed handmade cards that are absolutely beautiful to send out. i still buy a box of those just in case something goes wrong and i run out of my own homemade cards now, so i have backup, because i love them.
more people than i expected signed up for the cards that year, and i had so much fun! it really took a time of year that is full of depression and anxiety and stress and worries for me and allows me instead to focus on other people. on helping others have some cheer during the holiday season. i've always been someone who believed that if i'm having a hard time, the best way to get through it is to turn my focus outward and instead find ways to help other people. so i continued!
i had wanted to try to make my own christmas cards, like i used to when i didn't have any kids and when my oldest was just a baby, but it took a few years to get to the point of being able to do that. it took a lot of work and was of course a much longer process, but i'm not really an artistic person. card making was something i felt like i could do decently well and was a bit more personal, you know? and again, it was a way that i could find joy during a time of year that is insanely difficult for me because it is just riddled with triggers. adding the making of the cards to the mix has meant that the last few years has been a big learning curve for me and i didn't get the cards out on time the last two years... maybe the last three hah but i TRIED and i still sent cards to everyone who asked one, even if they didn't get there until well into the new year haha
this year though you're all getting them on time as long as the postal services do what they're supposed to do haha!
as for paying for them, yes i pay for them all myself. since i purchase everything (except for the stickers i use, which are actually kind of stupidly difficult to find outside of Christmastime) only when they're on sale (usually buy one get one free or something) and use coupons on top of it, things don't really cost as much as they could. especially when you consider that i make over 100 cards using what i purchase, and then still have supplies left over so i can use them towards the cards i make next year too. basically, i spread out the purchasing of the items i use through the year as best as i can to make it more cost effective and less of a burden on our finances at christmas/birthday season in my house. i went a bit more simple with the cards this year compared to previous years because finances have been a lot tighter for us the last six months than what they have been even previously, and i couldn't really fill in the holes of what was missing after everything i made last year. but it was fine, i just figured out a design that would work using just what i already had in my supplies and voila! hehe
so yeah. long story short, i do it because it makes me happy during a difficult time of year for myself and as long as people are interested in cards from a stranger, i'll keep doing it. literally the only thing that could ever stop me is if i didn't have the money to buy the stamps to send them out or something. hehe
hope that helps, and happy holidays!
12 notes · View notes
asotin · 1 year
Note
Why are you deleting fics?? I literally JUST found your kakairu works and I’m in love!
Always your right to delete of course ❤️ just curious as to the reason behind it
aww i'm so glad you enjoy them!! that makes me really, really happy
i appreciate your respect and understanding. i'm deleting the fics for a few reasons. 1) i'm uncomfortable with ao3's stance on what it will host, and i feel complicit by continuing to use the website actively. instead of just talking about my dissatisfaction, i realized that i need to actually do something. 2) i catch a lot of spelling and grammar issues when i go back and edit. (huge thanks to the people who've pointed out some of the typos! especially the person who spotted a "ducking" that turned into a "fucking". that one was especially embarrassing.) this seems like a good way to fix them up. 3) several of the fics bring up memories that hurt. i don't want to dump my personal life on people who didn't sign up for that, so suffice it to say that i'd like those fics to stay out of sight for a while. those are the ones i'm considering not reuploading
thank you so much for your interest! i'm glad you felt comfortable reaching out and asking, and it really made my day to see that you enjoy my writing!! i do intend to make the majority available again soon just like i intend to keep my promise to open up prompts. it's going to take a little while after i finish deleting to do the editing and get the new site working, though, since i got unexpectedly busy all of a sudden. i may end up making a page that links to pdf and/or gdocs versions of everything in the meantime
i'll make another post when i have more solid plans, but feel free to check in again! i have a terrible memory, so it's always okay to send me an ask or a dm! i promise i'm friendly
6 notes · View notes