#that's another thing i need to have some time to sit with the textbook myself but i can't do it tomorrow so after class wednesday should

[sourcherryandsprinkles]

What about Coryo and childhood friend reader who are very close and spend all their time together. They gossip about a classmate getting rumorly pregnant and the conversation turn into sex and they talk about experiences (lack of) and end up doing stuff and learning together about pleasure. I’m a sucker for virgin reader and coryo smut

Request: Virgin coriolanus and reader touching each other in secret

Request: young snow with prompt 2 ehehe ‘’No one needs to know.’’

Warnings: 18+, smut, ooc!Coriolanus, virgin!Coryo, virgin!reader, mutual masturbation, p + v (just the tip), let me know if I missed some

my taglists are here + you can send requests here at any time

—

‘’Some people should not be allowed to procreate. The world does not need more superior thinking brats like Arachne Crane,’’ Coriolanus said concerning the rumors about your classmate’s alleged pregnancy. 

It wasn’t a very nice thing to say, but you had to agree with him. 

‘’Who do you think is the unlucky father?’’ you asked, getting deeper into the gossips instead of focussing on the subject you were studying. ‘’Festus?’’

Coriolanus shrugged, taking a pen and scribbling down some notes. ‘’I don’t know. Probably. I doubt it’s true, though. Because if it were, Arachne’s dad would arrange a marriage to cover up the pregnancy. Can’t have his darling daughter pregnant with a bastard.’’ 

The conversation died down and you both went back to your textbooks. Exams were in a few weeks, and you needed good grades to get into university. You also promised Coriolanus to help him and make quiz cards. If he doesn't get the best grades, the Plint prize will go to another student and he won’t be able to attend university with you. 

‘’Have you ever…?‘’ you asked in the quiet of the bedroom, curiosity hanging in the air. 

Your question had him confused at first, but it clicked and he shook his head. ‘’No.’’ Coriolanus cleared his throat, uncomfortable to dive into a private subject. ‘’I mean, I have…you know. Myself,’’ he corrected, always honest with you. ‘’Just, not…with someone. Have you?’’

By your parents’ request, you were preserving yourself for marriage. You never understood why they insisted on you being pure or how it was any of their business, but you respected their request.  

You shook your head. ‘’No.’’ Grabbing a piece of paper, you searched for your pen, which seemed to have gone missing on Coriolanus’ bed. ‘’Do you have a pen I can borrow? I’m gonna get started with the flashcards.’’

He grabbed a spare one from his desk and handed it to you. ‘’Why did you want to know?’’ 

‘’Just curious.’’ 

You began writing down some questions, your pen gliding over the flashcards. 

It wasn’t until your pile of flashcards tipped on the side and fell on the bed that you realized how many you had made. You chuckled at the little mishap, and the sound of your laughter caught Coriolanus' attention.

‘’Wow. How many are there?’’ he asked, looking over at the scattered flashcards.

You shrugged, gathering the flashcards into a neat pile. ‘’Lost count. Are you ready to be quizzed?’’ 

He closed his textbooks and joined you on the bed, sitting criss-cross. There was a nervous look on his face, but you reassured him. 

‘’Don't worry, you've got this, Coryo.’’ You gave him an encouraging smile. ‘’If you get ten right…I’ll reward you with a kiss.’’ It was meant as a joke, but Coriolanus didn't get it.

‘’A kiss?’’ the blond repeated, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise. He expected a cookie or a strawberry, not a kiss. 

‘’Unless you don’t want me to kiss you—’’ 

‘’I didn’t say that!’’ 

The sun started to go down when you made it through half the flashcards. As expected, Coriolanus did a great performance. He was always on top of his subjects, focussing on his academics instead of social life. All his hard work was paying off. 

It also meant that you owed him a kiss. 

Biting your bottom lip, you suddenly felt shy. Why did you make that deal?

‘’You do remember we were each other’s first kiss, do you?’’ Coriolanus reminded, sensing your hesitation. 

Although it happened three years ago, the image was vivid in your mind. It was your fourteenth birthday. You asked him to kiss you as a birthday present so you wouldn’t have to lie to the girls at the academy when they asked if you had kissed anyone yet. Any other boy would have laughed, but Coriolanus just nodded and pressed his lips on yours. 

You took a steady breath, telling yourself you had to honor your promises, and leaned over the space between you to kiss him. You counted to five, then pulled back slightly. Coriolanus opened his eyes, their ocean blue hue appearing brighter from up close. They were so beautiful — he was so beautiful.

Before you could break your staring, Coriolanus cupped the side of your face and drew you back in for another kiss. You kissed him back by instinct, but you were confused. Was he not satisfied by your kiss? Maybe you should have counted to ten instead of five? 

The delicate brush of his thumb against your cheek pulled you out of your thoughts, luring you into a bubble of warmth and tenderness. His lips were soft against yours, and the faint scent of roses enveloped you. He always smelled of roses. 

His hand settled at the small of your back, pulling you closer across the bed. You let him guide you, pawing at the front of his button up to hold yourself up at his height. A soft gasp left your lips when Coriolanus slipped his tongue to deepen the kiss, a rush of emotions flooding through you. You tangled your hands in his hair, letting your pulsions lead until you were both breathless.

‘’What are we doing?’’ you asked quietly, almost a whisper. 

You were delving into uncharted territories, taking untraveled roads of your friendship without knowing where they would lead you. 

Coriolanus didn’t respond, not knowing what to say. 

Your fingers brushed his curls from his eyes as his nose brushed yours, eager to get his lips on yours again. He glanced at you, searching your eyes for some guidance, but you were just as lost as him. 

‘’I want to kiss you again,’’ Coriolanus confessed, the hand on your back moving to your hip. ‘’I want… I want you.’’

Have me, you wanted to tell him. Take all of me, but a small voice at the back of your head reminded you of the promise you made to your parents. 

‘’If you don’t put it in, you’re still gonna be a virgin,’’ he said, as if he had read your mind. 

Coriolanus used his desk chair to block the door, ensuring no one would come in. Tigris was out and Grandma'am was tending to her flowers, but he didn't want to risk it. You felt also more comfortable with the door blocked and his makeshift curtain slightly closed. The Snow penthouse was so high, it was impossible to see inside from another building.

You began taking off your clothes in a comfortable silence, your dark pink dress joining Coriolanus’ button up and trousers on the floor. Left in your undergarments, you sat on the bed facing each other. You bit your bottom lip as you averted your eyes from your friend’s half naked body, uncertain if you should be looking. 

Holding your breath, you reached back and undid your bra while Coriolanus removed his white boxers. It wasn’t as nerve-wracking if you both undressed at the same time. You felt your face flush as your eyes lowered to his cock, seeing it soft and resting against his thigh. There was light blond hair at the base, which matched the hair on his head.  

Coriolanus’s cock twitched as he glanced at your chest. Your breasts were full enough to not be considered small and your nipples were perfectly peaked. You were the prettiest girl he ever laid his eyes on. 

Not giving yourself time to feel shy, you followed suit by taking your last layer off, lifting your hips to pull it down. There wasn’t much room to move around so Coriolanus helped you get your panties down the rest of your legs, and dropped them on the bed. 

‘’Thanks.’’

You fought the reflex to clamp your legs shut the way a lady should, and instead parted them, revealing your glistening core. From this position, your labias were parted like a flower, completely exposed to your best friend's eyes. 

You dipped between your folds to collect moisture and started rubbing your clit with the tip of your thumb. 

Coriolanus scooted closer to you, and effortlessly gripped his hand around his cock to stroke it nice and slow while he watched you. He followed your pace, leaned his head back when he swiped his thumb over the leaky red tip, and tried not to make any sound. 

You looked over at Coriolanus, and your core clenched. Now you understood what Clemensia was talking about in the girls locker rooms. Without stopping your motions on your clit, you brought two fingers and slowly slipped them inside of you, making you gasp. You usually started with one, but you needed something bigger that you didn't want to admit out loud. 

Closing your eyes, you let your imagination run free, imagining Coriolanus' cock inside you, filling you up. ‘’Ah, Coryo,’’ you slipped, letting go of your clit to grope one of your breasts and pull on your taut nipple. 

Coriolanus couldn’t stop the groan from escaping his lips when he heard you moan his name. He picked up speed as he stared at you, the springs on his mattress creaking underneath. This is why he always did this in the shower. 

When you opened your eyes, you pulled out your fingers andrested your hand on Coriolanus' knee. ‘’Can I try?’’ 

The room hung in a momentary silence, the weight of your question settling between you and Coriolanus. His usually composed demeanor faltered, and he was momentarily lost for words, caught off guard by the words that left your mouth. 

‘’I-if you want to.’’ He removed his hand from his cock and followed with his gaze as your hand bravely traveled up his thigh. 

Gently, you wrapped your hand around him. It was heavier than you thought, and warm. You began moving your hand up and down, but it wasn’t slippery enough for your liking so you dipped your fingers between your folds to collect some of your arousal to lubricate your strokes. 

‘’That’s better,’’ you said to yourself. 

Coriolanus wanted to kiss you. That was hot. 

Not wanting you to be neglected, he grabbed your ankles and pulled you closer, draping your legs over his so he could play with your clit and breasts. Lewd noises filled the room, coming from both of your mouths. It was a blessing Grandma’am had hearing troubles because the walls at the penthouse were thin. 

As you began to work towards your climax, you directed Coriolanus’ cock toward your pussy and pressed his tip against your folds. If you don’t put it in, you’re still gonna be a virgin, he had said. The pressure situated onto your pussy felt so delicious. 

Sensing what you were trying to do, Coriolanus got a better idea. He moved your hands away and rubbed his tip against your puffy clit. The tingling sensation began to overwhelm you, bringing tears to your eyes while he continued to stroke your folds and clit with his cock. 

‘’Ahh! Yes, Coryo— That feels so good!’’ 

The both of you were making a choir of beautiful whines and moans as you could feel your release approaching quickly. You came with a cry when you felt his tip pushing through without getting in fully, quivering against him.  

Coriolanus couldn't look away from your core, overwhelmed by how warm and wet you felt around him. He continued to rub himself against you until white strings dribbled out of the head of his cock, painting your pussy with a beautiful mess. 

‘’That was…’’ you panted out, looking down at yourself. ‘’No one needs to know, right?’’

‘’No one needs to know,’’ he confirmed.

''Should we get back to the flashcards?''

—

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[minnieminshi]

Pucking Chemistry

Summary: You never should’ve agreed to tutor the captain of the hockey team. Who shows up a full hour after the agreed meeting time? Choi Seungcheol, apparently as you’ve come to learn. And now you’re stuck tutoring him because for some reason, you're his last hope to pass chemistry so he’s eligible to play in an upcoming tournament. 

Warnings: cursing because I can’t help myself lol, mentions of your father abandoning the family (it's minor and only mentioned like once)

Word Count: 9.9K (I was possessed lol)

Extra info: high school setting, Cheol uses the term "princess" a lot and I'm a sucker for calling people by their last name, mentions of Monsta X’s I.M (aka Changkyun) and Kard’s Somin (but she gets mentioned like once lol), your little brother’s name never gets mentioned but you do call him Frosty lol, and my knowledge of hockey is limited to watching Dr. Mike on yt talk about hockey injuries so there’s not a whole lot of hockey action in this fic lmao.

Author's Note: this fic made me realize my little brother is turning 13 this year and I can’t handle that because what do you mean he’s a teen now he literally turned one the other day and I think that shows in this fic lol. Also if I only count the days I actually sat down to write this fic it only took me 3 days lol, but I had 3 tests this week and had to be productive so that nerfed me. This is also the first fic I'm posting in this app so bare with me lol and in honor of Scoups and Jeonghan getting cleared to return to activities, I present the beginning of this series

Sporteen Masterlist

Sitting in the school’s library, all your chemistry notes laid out, you began to rethink agreeing to tutor the school’s hockey captain, Choi Seungcheol. With another glance to your phone, you sighed, ten minutes passed what the two of you agreed to meet at. If you didn’t like your chemistry teacher as much as you do, you would have never agreed to do this. 

He’s a sweet guy, I’m sure he won’t give you any problems!

But it’s only ten minutes and sometimes things come up. Maybe he’d walk in after a few more minutes and then you two could finally start. 

Except those ten minutes slowly morphed into thirty minutes, forty five minutes, and now suddenly it’s an hour and not a single word from Choi Seungcheol about where the hell he’s at.

And while having to wait an hour for someone to show up to something they needed sucked, that’s not what pissed you off. What pissed you off was the fact that after this tutoring session, you had a date with Changkyun, set up by your friend Somin, but thanks to the no show Choi Seungcheol, you’d have to rush home, get your little brother ready for the evening and get ready for your date. And while you could hypothetically get everything done in time, you would prefer it if you didn’t have to rush. Your little brother’s probably gonna complain about his quick dinner of chicken nuggets and macaroni after you promised him yesterday you’d make him what he called an “actual meal.” You reminded him that he was twelve and fully capable of cooking for himself and suddenly the quick meal was the best thing he’s ever eaten. 

So he could survive a rushed meal, however getting ready for your date was a different story. Rushing to get ready in the morning for school was one thing. You could halfass an outfit and get your brother out the door in fifteen minutes flat if your mom was already at work, but you needed a little more time to actually look good enough for someone who wasn’t related to you or hasn’t seen you slumped over your desk with textbooks and notes sprawled all over the floor. 

Now, because of Choi Seungcheol, you’d have to rush, something you wished wouldn’t happen. 

“Sweet guy my ass,” you mutter under your breath as you begin shoving your things into your backpack. Just as you finished shoving the last textbook into your backpack, a deep voice caught you off guard before you rolled your eyes.  

“Where’re you going princess, aren’t you gonna tutor me?” 

Oh? 

Letting out a low chuckle, you turn to face the captain who you wished you could smack that smirk off his face and crossing your arms over your chest, you leaned against the table. “Tutor you? I agreed to tutor you an hour ago, and since that’s passed, I’m heading home to go enjoy my evening.” 

As you turned around to grab your backpack and go home, you felt a hand on your shoulder. You looked up to see him holding onto you, a hesitant look in his eyes. Your brows furrowed as you shook his hand off. 

“Look, I’m sorry about being late, but something came up.” He muttered, his hand falling to his side as he shoved his hands into the front pocket of his hoodie. You scoffed as you shouldered your bag. “Too busy to send a heads up?” 

You look up to see a light blush dust his cheeks as he looks away from you, and if you weren’t so pissed at him, you’d find him kinda cute. 

“I’m sorry.” 

You sighed as you glance at the clock on the wall, and with a sigh, you turn to the hockey player. “Look, I have plans so I can give you 45 minutes.” 

“Forty five minutes? That’s barely any time to learn anything,” he complained with a small pout on his lips as you rolled your eyes. “Take it or leave it Choi, you’re the one who was late.” 

He let out a small huff before agreeing to the terms, pulling out a chair as you pulled out your phone, setting an alarm for exactly 45 minutes. Thankfully tutoring him wasn’t terrible, he actually seemed to listen to you and he even took notes while you explained the most recent lesson to him. Maybe if he was kind enough to send a message earlier you might actually feel bad about leaving, but alas that wasn’t the case. 

With the default alarm ringing, you began packing up your things once again, this time, really just throwing everything with no regard as to how things landed in your bag. With a little speeding you should be able to make it home in about fifteen minutes which gives you about ten minutes to make your brother’s dinner and have about thirty minutes to get ready for your date. Perfect timing as long as you leave right now. 

Just as you begin to walk away, pulling up your little brother’s contact to tell him you’re on your way, Seungcheol calls you out. “Are we still good for next week?” You freeze, slowly turning to look at him as your phone rings. “Next week? Listen Choi, I think it’s best if you find someone else to tutor you.”

Before he can say anything, you cut him off. “Listen, I have things to take care of after school and I can’t wait for over an hour, wondering if you’ll show up. I’ll tell Ms. Park to find someone else and we don’t have to worry about seeing each other again.” With that, you walk out the library, your little brother having finally picked up and making things easier for you as he grabbed all the food you told him to. 

Looks like things will be going back to normal after today, no more having to worry about Choi Seungcheol. 

Or so you thought. 

What you didn’t expect to see when coming to pick up your little brother from his little hockey club practice is Choi Seungcheol out on the ice, with your little brother excitedly talking to him about who knows what. 

You internally groan, why, just why did he have to be the one to coach your little brother’s team. And why did you have to say you’d never see him again, it’s like you were asking for the universe to play a cruel prank on you by making sure this would happen to you. 

Weeks ago, when your little brother asked you if you could start taking him to a hockey club he joined every Saturday, you didn’t see any issue with it initially. As long as he had the proper gear (that your guys’ mom provided) you thought it was great he found a sport he enjoyed after he burned through basketball, soccer, tennis, and baseball in a matter of a few years. Plus it meant you could have Saturday to yourself for a few hours while everyone else was out of the house. So a win-win in your book. 

Or so it was a win before you were left in disbelief, standing off to the side as you watched him talk to Seungcheol. You shook your head, calling out his name as you made your way to the plexiglass wall, wanting to go home. You made the rookie mistake of walking into the rink with no jacket, thinking it would be a quick run of picking him up and going back home. How foolish of you to think things would work out for you. 

You let out a small gasp as you made eye contact with your little brother, holding it for a few seconds, only to have him ignore you and continue to talk to his coach, who you knew was aware of your presence. You groan, grounding the heels of your palms into your eyes. Oh how you wished you were an only child in moments like this. Instead you were cursed to be a big sister to a little brother who made your life oh so difficult. 

Calling out his name one more time, he finally looked over at you and started to make his way off the rink. You sighed, thankful you weren’t going to have to resort to actually going out on the ice to drag him out. 

“Took you long enough, I’m freezing over here,” you said once he was at the wall, carefully stepping onto the non-frozen ground with his skates. “That’s on you for not bringing a jacket into the rink.” 

“And that’s on you when all you get for dinner is a slice of bread,” you say when you hand him his sneakers that he had put on the seats before practice had started, and where his backpack was. “Can’t believe you feed me like I’m some paperboy from the 1900s,” he grumbled, but he took the shoes. 

Before you could shoot back a reply, Seungcheol skates up to the wall, a smirk on his face. You roll your eyes, wishing he’d go back to doing figure eights or whatever the hell he does on the ice. He calls out your name but you choose to pretend you don’t hear him, instead leaning down to grab your brother’s backpack, a small groan leaving your lips from the sheer weight in his bag. It’s like he carries rocks in this thing, you complain as you shoulder the bag. He shoots you a look as if asking why are you carrying my backpack, but he doesn’t question it, you know the whole gift horse saying. 

Just as he finishes tying his shoe, Seungcheol crosses the threshold, leaning against the door as he eyes you. You could feel your eye twitching as you watched him what looked like inspect you, and you fight back a groan when he smirks at you.  

“What happened to never seeing each other again prin-” 

“Don’t finish that sentence,” you grit out, hoping your little brother could help you if he truly cared about you. You glance over at him, and just from the look in his eyes, you know he’s not helping you out. It’s like his eyes are shining with awe just from being near Seungcheol and you wonder what your little brother sees in him. 

He can’t be that great, you still– well hate’s not the word, that’s too strong, it’s more so you greatly dislike him for what he did a week ago. You still think it was shitty of him to not tell you anything about being late. And of course his cocky personality is really starting to get on your nerves, especially when he calls you princess, as if you two are that close. You’ve only spoken to him a handful of times and yet he calls you a petname as if you’ve known each other for ages. It just makes your skin crawl. 

“You know each other?” Your brother asks, poking his head into the conversation as he looks between the two of you. Before you could say anything, Seungcheol butts in, “she tutors me.” 

Your jaw drops as he smiles, as if he didn’t just lie to your little brother. It’s like every time he opens his mouth he finds a new way to piss you off. You dryly chuckle as you grab your brother’s shoulder, trying to guide him away so you can leave. “I don’t, now come on, I gotta start prepping dinner.” 

“But it’s Saturday, we usually eat out today,” he says and you give him a tightlipped smile. “I just feel like cooking today so why don’t we go home now.” 

At that, it seems like your brother finally puts the pieces together, and nods his head. Just as the two of you are about to leave the rink, Seungcheol calls out your name once again. Already knowing what he’s going to ask you shake your head. “I’ll tell Ms. Park on Monday to find someone else to help you.” 

And with that, you’re gone and Seungcheol’s on his own again, wondering how the hell he’s supposed to get his chemistry grade up without your help. 

“Do you hate Scoups hyung?” Your brother asks once you pull out of the parking lot, your car currently playing I’ll Make a Man Out of You as you let out a confused sound. “Scoups? Is that what you guys call him,” you chuckle, finding the nickname a little silly. 

“He said he doesn’t like people calling him his full name,” he explains with a shrug. “Now, do you hate him?” 

Wow, he’s really not letting this go. 

You sigh as you look over to your right. He’s looking at you expectantly, as if there’s this great and terrible backstory to explain why you wanted to leave the rink as soon as the hockey player approached you. When you tell your brother what happened a few days ago between the two of you, he just rolls his eyes. Yes rolls his eyes, as if being forced to wait an hour for someone to show up isn’t a good enough reason to dislike a person. 

“He apologized, what’s the big deal?” He asks, and it’s moments like this when you're reminded your brother is just a boy. “It’s the fact he made me wait an hour with no heads up that I’m still upset about.” Your brother looks over at you, a small smile on his face. “I think he’s a good guy, I’m sure he had a reason why he was late. I don’t think he meant to blow you off like that.” 

You blink, letting his words sink in for a moment before shaking your head, focusing back on the road. “Let’s stop talking about Choi and focus back on planning your essay that you have due on Monday.” 

He groans, throwing his head back onto the headrest, complaining about why his teacher needed them to write about an important person in their life. “I’m going to write about our dog,” he mutters once the two of you pull up into the parking lot of your apartment. You chuckle, locking the car as he holds open the elevator for you. “We don’t even have a dog.” 

“Ms. Kang doesn’t know that.” He shrugs and sometimes you wonder how your brother’s made it this far. “Whatever you say Frosty, but that essay better be done by tomorrow since mom wants us to go out to eat for dinner.”

“Hey Frosty’s a pretty good name for a dog, you think I could use it for a husky?” 

“You know what, go crazy dude.” 

The last thing you expect when you were walking to the parking lot, heading over to the middle school to go pick up your brother, was to be pinned against a wall in the science building, much less to see Choi Seungcheol, on his knees, begging for you to not talk to Ms. Park. 

You could only blink, wondering what the hell has gotten into him. Did he hit his head too hard from a fall on the ice or something? Feeling a little embarrassed, you try getting him back on his feet before anyone walks down the hall. Thankfully he gets up, but unfortunately he keeps you pinned to the wall, towering over you. 

“Choi, what the fuck’s gotten into you,” you mutter, trying to push him slightly away from you, putting some breathing space between the two of you. 

“Please don’t talk to Ms. Park to find a replacement tutor.” He quietly says and you could feel your jaw drop. No fucking way he’s still on this. You put your hands on his shoulders, effectively getting him to look at you. “You can’t be serious.” 

He groans as he closes his eyes, as if he was thinking of what the best thing to say is. One of your eyebrows raise as you wait to see what he says, and what looks like great reluctance from him, he finally confesses his woes.

“There’s a big tournament coming up in a month and if I wanna play, I need to get my chem grade up.” 

You stare at him for a few seconds. That’s it? Why would this concern you? Feeling a little nice, you don’t voice out your thoughts and instead ask, “so what does that have to do with me? You can just find another tutor.” 

He shakes his head and you tilt your head to the side, now intrigued on what he could possibly say. 

“You’re the only person who actually makes chemistry make sense so if I want a chance to pass this class,” he looks up and your breath hitches when you look into his eyes. You never noticed how pretty his eyes are, or how fucking long his eyelashes are. Shaking those thoughts away, you notice what looks like hope in his eyes, and you realize he really thinks you’ll help him. “I need your help.” 

You blink, trying to weigh your options. While you still hold a grudge against him for the first tutoring session, this tournament’s important to him. The two of you are seniors, and depending on his plans for after graduation, this may be the last time he gets to play the sport. Then of course, you can’t stop thinking about what your brother said the other day, and unfortunately for you, you trust your brother’s judgment. And if Seungcheol’s ineligible to play, you really don’t want that to affect your brother’s team. He’s grown to love the sport in the weeks he’s played and you really don’t want him to lose his growing passion. 

You sigh, closing your eyes as you lean your head back against the wall. “Fine, I won’t talk to her.” He smiles and before he could thank you, you cut him off. “But just know I’m doing this for my brother, he really seems to like you and I don’t want you failing to affect your coaching.” 

“I’ll take it as long as you’re agreeing to keep tutoring me,” he smiles and you’re stunned into silence for a few seconds when you see dimples dot his cheeks. You shake out of it and wiggle out of his grasp. “Yeah, just make sure you’re not late without a heads up, Choi.” 

The next few weeks are filled with Choi Seungcheol, and you’re not sure how you feel about that statement just yet. In the beginning, you were still a bit reluctant, still fearing he’d be late with no excuse, but at your first tutoring session, he had arrived at the library before you. You were walking to some of the tables at the back of the library when you heard someone call your name, only to see it was Seungcheol, who had reserved a study room for the two of you and already had all of his notes out. 

You felt a little bad even though you arrived on time. You had to drop your brother at home so you couldn’t meet right after school, but you did your best to get there as soon as possible. 

He was very attentive while you explained everything to him and you wondered how he was failing chemistry in the first place when it seemed like he knew all the topics. It was when the two of you got to the practice problems did you see where the problems were coming from. 

Your teacher, Ms. Park, has the tendency to make half of your homework situational problems, where you had to apply the basic knowledge that, on its own, was quite simple, but once put in a non-laboratory setting became a lot more difficult if one didn’t have a complete grasp on the concept. And that’s what you suspect is happening to Seungcheol, and the reason he was failing the class. Good thing you caught on in the beginning of these sessions and you could plan accordingly. 

It was another tutoring session when your phone started ringing, you grabbed your phone, confused on who was calling you when you excused yourself, leaving him to work on a problem on his own while you stepped out into the study room next door to take the call. 

Your eyes widen when you hear your little brother’s quiet voice on the other end, hoarse as he asks if you could come back home. You tell him you’re on your way before hanging up the call, and rushing into the study room you were just in. 

Seungcheol jumped at your sudden intrusion, but before he could complain about you scaring him, you started to throw your things into your bag, grabbing your keys. “I’m sorry but my little brother’s sick so I gotta go take care of him.” 

You were halfway through the door when you turned to look at him, “I’ll make it up to when he’s all better!” And just like that, you were out the door, apologizing to the little kid you almost bulldozed down in your rush to your car. 

You make it back home in a new record, most definitely going past the speed limits as you skid into the parking spot in the parking garage, haphazardly raising your hand with your keys in hand in the air as you run towards the elevator, not double checking to see if you actually locked your car. If you didn’t live on the fifth floor, you’d actually consider taking the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator, but alas, not even the haze of trying to get to your little brother was enough for you to suddenly have an increase in stamina. 

Thankfully the elevator didn’t take long and you were able to make it to your apartment, throwing open the door as you tossed your backpack down the hallway. You rush into the living room to see your little brother laying across the couch, buried under a pile of blankets. He’s really out of it if he didn’t even bother to look up at all the noise you made trying to get in. You sigh before heading to the bathroom, looking for a thermometer and to check if there was anything you could give him over the counter. 

Tsking at the 100.4° on the small screen, you wiped a damp towel over his forehead, wondering how he got this bad in the span of the 45 minutes that you were gone. He didn’t look too bad when you had picked him up from school, tired sure, but not knocking on death’s door like he is now. You were about to give him the medicine you found when there was a knock at the door. Not knowing who it could be, you quickly gave your brother the medicine and headed to the door. 

You check through the peephole and take a step back, your jaw slacking as you realize who’s on the other side of your door. 

Choi Seungcheol. 

How the fuck did he figure out where you live? You don’t remember telling him and last time you checked, your address wasn’t public knowledge. Shaking off the initial shock, you open the door, now curious as to why he’s here. Before he could explain his sudden visit, you beat him to the punch. “How the hell do you know where I live?” 

He pointed to the floor above you. “Jeonghan told me, plus it was listed on the emergency contacts your brother filled out.” You blinked at him, wondering why your upstairs neighbor would rat you out like that, or how he knew your exact unit number. Whatever, what’s done is done. You point at the convenience store bag in his hand, asking about what he has. 

He brings his free hand to scratch the back on his neck, a nervous chuckle leaving his lips, avoiding eye contact. “I- uh got kinda worried and wanted to check up on you guys.” He brings the bag up, “I don’t know what he’s sick with so I just got the generic stuff and I brought snacks.” 

You stare at him for a few moments before chuckling, thanking him as you take the bag from him and gesture for him to follow you into the apartment. He hesitates for a second before you nod at him, assuring him that it’s okay. He slips his shoes off and sets them down next to yours, following you into the apartment. 

Your little brother looks a little better, actually looking up when the two of you walk into the living room (it’s only a few steps past the little entryway). He looks at the two of you for a second before laying back down. He shoots back up, as if wondering if Seungcheol is actually in your guys’ apartment. 

“Real or am I hallucinating?” 

You laugh as you adjust the towel over his forehead, “as crazy as it looks, he’s real. Now you should lie back down while I make you a porridge to eat.” He nods his head, laying back down as he adjusts the towel to sit over his eyes. You expected Seungcheol to stay in the living room with your brother, you didn’t expect him to follow you into the kitchen, asking if he could help you. Getting over the initial shock, something that keeps happening whenever you’re around him apparently, and start telling him to grab everything that you need. 

It was funny to see him panic everytime you left him on his own to check on your brother, his eyes wide as his head kept snapping from the stove to you. Who knew the tough hockey captain could get so nervous by being left alone in the kitchen? 

Thankfully it didn’t take long for the porridge to be made, and once you confirmed that your brother was able to keep his food down, you went back into the kitchen. “How do you like your ramen Choi?” 

You turn to see him pouting and for some reason you feel the urge to poke his cheeks. Weird. 

“Why do you keep calling me Choi?” He complains, leaning against the counter as he watches you take out another pot and two packages of your favorite ramen brand. You look over your shoulder, closing the cabinet before standing back up. “Would you prefer me calling you by your full name?” You tease, smiling as you see his cheeks turn the softest shade of pink. He stumbles over his words before you hear him mutter a quiet no, and you just laugh. 

“I just don’t get why you call me by my last name instead of what everyone else calls me,” he says, handing you an egg when you ask for one. You shrug, “it started when you blew me off the first tutoring session and it kinda stuck.” 

“What do I have to do for you to call me something other than my last name,” he begs, and you laugh at how serious this is for him. You didn’t think his name would be this sore spot for him, but it is amusing to see him so stressed over something so small. You look over at him while the water’s boiling, biting your lip as you pretend to think it over. “Get over a 90 on our next chem test and I might consider it.” 

His jaw drops as he stands there frozen for a few seconds before groaning. “A 90? Listen, you're a great tutor but our next test is in literally three days and the best I’m getting is probably a mid 70.” 

“Then Choi it is,” you reply, grabbing two bowls. At least he believes he can pass this next test, that’s some progress. Before he can start complaining, you both freeze when you hear your little brother yell out, “can you two stop flirting and get me another bowl of porridge,” and before you can yell at him for even saying that he throws in a little “please” at the end. Wow, how polite of him. 

“We’re not flirting!” You say, walking into the living room to take his bowl, and as much as you want to tackle him to the ground for even suggesting you’re flirting with the hockey player, you decide to take pity on him, this time. He’s lucky his body failed him today. 

Once your sickly brother is content with his second bowl of porridge, you take your and Seuncheol’s bowls to your small dining table. He follows and you go back for utensils, asking what he’d like to drink. Once everything is set on the table, the two of you start eating in a comfortable silence, the show your brother was watching filling the otherwise silent apartment. Your eyes fall to his backpack that was by the door and you swallow what’s in your mouth before motioning to his bag. 

“Wanna continue with where we left off? I really think if we can get past this topic you can definitely score somewhere in the 80s.” His eyes follow at what you’re pointing at, and he nods, finishing his bowl before getting up to grab his backpack, and even getting your backpack that you had thrown earlier. 

The two of you pick up where you left off, occasionally taking breaks when your little brother claims he needs your assistance with what he calls “surviving” when in all actuality it was just him wanting another refill of his water. 

It was nearing 8 o’clock when the two of you were done for the day. As he was gathering his things, your brother got enough strength to get off the couch, heading to his room before waving bye to Seungcheol, telling him he’d definitely be good to go to practice on Saturday. The hockey player laughs as he leans over the table to fist bump him, telling him he better keep his word. You smile at the exchange, happy to see your brother doing better. 

“Come on, I’ll see you down,” you say when he’s gotten all his things. Before he can argue with you about it being unnecessary, you wave him off, saying how it’s the least you could do after he came all the way over to check up on the two of you.

The two of you are in the elevator when he finally speaks again. 

“Is it usually the two of you this late into the evening?” He asks, his eyes hesitantly flitting from your face to the wall next to your head. You hum, leaning against the railing with your eyes closed, “our mom works late at the hospital and…” You trail off, opening your eyes to see Seungcheol watching you, something in his eyes that makes you look away, the floor suddenly a lot more interesting to look at. Why does he look at you with so much care? 

“Our dad left when my brother was a couple of months old so it's just been us three,” you say, not quite believing you're actually telling him this about yourself. Hell, you don’t even know if he has siblings and yet you’re out here telling him your family life. Crazy what some dimples and pretty brown eyes can do to a girl. 

“Oh.” 

Ah, probably should’ve lied about your absent father. Something about him working late should’ve been excuse enough. Well, too late for that you internally groan at. Before you can apologize for making things awkward, he interrupts you. 

“Can we move our tutoring sessions to your place?”

Your jaw drops for a few seconds before you snap out of it, blinking to try to get your brain caught up to speed. “Why?” 

He sighs, turning away to face the elevator doors and you’ve never been more thankful for someone to stop looking at you. “I kinda hate the idea of your little brother waiting at home by himself while you’re tutoring me.” 

“He’s twelve, but as long as you don’t mind coming over here,” you say, glancing over at him, “then okay, we can move to our apartment.” He smiles and you feel this weird pang in your chest. The last time you felt this excited over a person was when you were getting ready for your date with Changkyun the other day. Does that mean you’re starting to actually enjoy Seungcheol’s company? 

Bound to happen considering you spend your Monday and Wednesday afternoons with the guy. It’s just, it feels different than what you felt with Changkyun and part of you just wants to bury that thought away and focus on anything else. Thankfully the elevator ride didn’t last too long and you walked Seungcheol to his car, your chest feeling a little bit tighter as you watched him drive away. 

It’s Saturday and you’re back at the rink to pick up your brother from practice. He’d gotten better and while you were hesitant to drop him off at practice, he insisted that he was all good to practice. You let him go, but not without texting Seungcheol before heading over to practice, asking him to keep an eye on your brother. This was the first time you texted him about something other than about your tutoring sessions and while your hands were shaking just thinking about talking to him about something other than chemistry, thankfully he agreed to keep an eye on your brother. 

You grab a jacket from the backseat, not wanting to freeze while you wait for your brother. He always manages to be the last one out of the rink, always talking to Seungcheol while everyone else skates towards the door to change out of their skates and into their shoes. 

And just like the past couple of weeks, your brother was still out on the ice, except instead of the two standing to the side talking about their practice, the two were skating over across the ice, the small black puck gliding between the two of them as they pass the puck amongst themselves. If you squint, you can see what you assumed is Seungcheol giving your brother tips because soon he nods and adjusts his hold on his stick. 

Then, catching the two of you off guard, he steals the puck from the hockey player, successfully scoring a goal on the unguarded net. Your mouth falls open before cheering for your brother. Sure it wasn't a game changing play, but you were still proud of him. Upon hearing your cheering, your brother skates to the wall where you’re standing, the short wall and the plexiglass the only thing separating the two of you. 

“Did you see that! I totally got him good!” He excitedly told you and you smiled. “Sure did dude, next time I think you should go for his knees, then you’d have no one stopping you,” you joke, smiling as your little brother laughs, complaining how that’s “not very good sportsmanship” but winks at you when Seungcheol skates over to the two of you, wiping off some of the ice shavings off his pants. 

“I can’t believe you’re telling your brother to kill me, princess,” he pouts and you roll your eyes, glad it’s so cold in the rink you can’t tell if your face is burning from the petname or from the freezing temperatures. You roll your eyes, pulling the collar of your jacket higher in an effort to cover your face. “Isn’t that part of the sport Choi, pushing and shoving each other?” 

He shrugs, a smile on his face. “Glad to see you know something about the sport, I see Frosty over has been teaching you.” Your brother groans when he hears his coach use the nickname you gave him once he started hockey. It started off as a small joke that somehow morphed to having the whole team only ever calling him Frosty. Hey, at least he’s already got a marketable name, you told him one day when you were driving back home after practice a few weeks ago.  

You shrug, tugging your jacket tighter. In all actuality your brother hadn’t explained the sport all that much besides the occasional “you don’t do that” or “that’s a good thing” or other vague explanations when you ask him questions. Instead, after a tutoring session with Seungcheol, and as a way to procrastinate an essay you had to work on, you decided to look into the sport. It wasn’t much, just a quick google search about the rules that had you clicking off the site after a few paragraphs and instead watching a couple of matches on youtube. You had half the mind to ask Seungcheol but decided against it. You were just supposed to be tutoring him in chemistry and you thought learning more about the sport he put years in was a little much for you. (And the thought of him in his full uniform was starting to make your heart ache just a little much.) 

“Might as well since I come here once a week,” you say, and Seungcheol smiles, and you wish he didn’t have such a cute smile. His gummy smile is going to be the death of you, you think as you look over to see if your brother’s got his shoes on. 

You don’t know when you started to see Seungcheol in a different light. Probably around the time your brother got sick since that was the first time you got to see him not in a school setting. Or to be more exact, the moment he asked if your tutoring sessions could be moved to your apartment so you could watch over your brother. Whenever it was, you wished it didn’t happen. 

After the results of the chemistry test the two of you have a week, your tutoring sessions would be over since by then you’d know whether or not he’d be good to compete in the tournament. While a part of you was sad to think about not being with him every Monday and Wednesday with him, you’re at least happy about the fact his grade’s would be doing better. And sure, at first you were helping him out reluctantly, but after spending so much time with him, you realized he was nothing like you originally thought he was like. 

Your first meeting really was just a fluke, and he was just a nice guy. You actually had asked him after a few sessions why he was so late to the first tutoring session and you can remember the cute blush that grew on his face as he explained how he was planning the youth hockey team’s practice and lost track of the time. He looked so cute, his cheeks a rosy pink and a small pout on his lips, and that’s when you thought, yeah, he’s not that bad of a guy. 

“Okay, I’m good to go,” your brother says, and you blink, snapping out of your thoughts. You nod, extending your hand to help him carry some of his gear. Noticing your empty motions, Seungcheol takes a step towards you but you shake your head. “I’ll see you on Monday Choi.” 

“Yeah… see you later, princess.” 

You’re really, truly fucked, you come to realize as you stare at your phone. Why, just why did you have to send that text? 

Your friend, who was under the impression you still hated Seungcheol for blowing you off the first tutoring session, asked if there was a way you could set her up with him for a date. And you, still not wanting to admit the fact that you’ve definitely started catching feelings for the captain, agreed to set the two up. And trying to convince yourself that the warm feeling you get in your chest from just seeing him smile meant nothing, you sent a text wondering if he was down to meet with your friend over the weekend. 

And now you’re waiting for a response, hoping that he won’t agree to the date. Hell, you’re on your knees hoping that even if he does say yes, that it goes horrible so they don’t keep meeting. Terrible, yes, but your heart can’t handle the idea of someone who isn’t you by his side. And yet you still won’t admit that you have a crush on him. (Denial is one hell of a drug.) 

When you hear your phone go off from a notification, you push yourself off the floor, where you’ve made home the past couple of minutes. With a shaky hand, you flip your phone over, clicking on the notification. 

Choi 🏒: tell her sorry, I’m not interested in dating right now 🫤

Oh. 

He’s not interested in dating right now? For some reason that hurts more than if he said he is interested in the date. With a shaky inhale you text him back, letting him know you’ll let her know and you toss your phone away, burying your face against your knees. 

Okay so maybe you do have a crush on Seungcheol, big fucking hurray. 

You’re walking back to your car when you hear someone calling out your name. You recognize the voice and freeze, wondering what Seungcheol wants with you and wishing he’d just leave you alone. Despite him doing nothing wrong, you really don’t want to see him right now, especially since you were going to use the drive back home to prepare yourself for your tutoring session with him. 

He runs up to you, a smile on his face as he blocks you from opening the driver’s side. You cross your arms over your chest, raising an eyebrow as you look at him. “What’s up Choi?” 

“I came by to tell you that I can’t make it to today’s session.” He explains and you notice how his cheeks are tinted pink. Just how far was he running from? You give him a look as you lean against your car. “So why didn’t you just text me then?” 

“I wanted to see you.” 

Your eyes widen as you turn to face him fully. You feel your face burn as you try unsuccessfully to say something in return. He smiles and you want nothing more than to wipe his adorable smile off his face. The fact he doesn’t even know the emotional turmoil he’s putting you through is insane and you wish he didn’t have this much power over you. You try coughing, covering your face as you look away from him. “Yeah, whatever, is that all you have to say?” 

He nods and he shoves his hands into the pockets of his sweats and still with that frustratingly cute smile, his stupid dimples on full display, “I’m still good for Wednesday though, I want to celebrate our last session before the test Friday.” You nod, a tight lipped smile on display as you wave him goodbye. 

Once in the comfort of your car, you groan, dropping your head on the steering wheel, wishing you weren’t so crushed over this. Things come up all the time, it’s not a big deal he can’t make it today. If anything you can just use this time to get your homework done for the week so you don’t have to worry about it later. Maybe instead of groveling over a guy you could actually be productive for once. 

Wednesday rolls around and you don’t think you’ve given yourself a chance to think about Seungcheol. How could you when you’ve been busy doing your homework, planning what you’d cover in today’s session, helping your brother with his homework, doing all the chores around the apartment, and if you weren’t busy with all that you had your headphones on, not even giving yourself the chance to think. Who needs to think when you’ve been so busy? 

You pull out of the parking lot of the middle school, your little brother grabbing your phone to change the song that was playing. Sticking to a song that you hoped wouldn’t show up on your spotify wrapped, you keep driving, your thoughts starting to drift off to Seungcheol. Catching yourself, you will yourself to listen to the song your brother chose, and you wonder which was worse for your mental health. 

Once in the comfort of your apartment, your little brother heads off to his room claiming how he doesn’t want to watch his older sister flirt with his hockey coach while he does his homework. At first you’d argue that you weren’t but as of late you knew there was no saving yourself and didn’t even try to fight back anymore, only groaning as you started to set the table. 

A few minutes later you hear someone at the door and you take a deep breath, preparing yourself to get through your last session and as a way to prepare your heart for the inevitable. Seungcheol smiles as he steps inside, slipping off his shoes as he places them next to yours. You turn around and your eyes widen as your face heats up as you take in his appearance. He was just wearing a pair of sweats and a black shirt and yet you could feel your heartbeat race at the sight. You quickly turn around, pretending to adjust your notebook as you try to calm your beating heart. He’s worn that outfit combo tons of times and yet now your heart decides to give you trouble. 

If he notices your internal struggle, he doesn’t say anything. He takes his seat at the table, taking out his things as you finally look at him to start. Hopefully your heart can take the next few hours, if not, thankfully your mom’s a registered nurse. 

“Hey princess,” he starts and you, against your better judgment, smile at the petname, “can I ask you something.” You put your pencil down, turning to face him as he put his pencil down, the problem you had given him to work on an afterthought. “Sure, go ahead.” 

“If I ace this test will you come watch me play in my tournament?” He asks, his eyes sparkling with hope and you find yourself leaning against your hand to cover your mouth so he can’t see the dopey smile on your face. “When you say ace, how high of a score are we talking here,” you tease. You don’t know where this sudden confidence came from but if it helps you from burning away in your seat, you’ll take it. 

He smirks, leaning close to you and your breath hitches, freezing in your seat. “I say at least a mid 90.” You chuckle, leaning in close as you internally scream at yourself to back the fuck away from him. “Sure, you got yourself a deal, but I’m expecting the best from you Choi.” You say, beginning to turn away so he can’t see the dopey smile on your face.

“Of course, can't disappoint my princess, can I?” His pointer finger and thumb gently hold your chin, making you look at him and his stupid smug face that you so desperately want to kiss. 

Oh yeah, your heart’s definitely going to explode. 

You think you mutter something along the lines of “in your dreams Choi” but at this point you’re not even sure you can still rangle up enough brain cells to formulate a coherent thought. Heat floods your cheeks as he still holds your face and you swear you see his eyes fall to your lips, or at least you think they do. You’re too busy staring at his lips to really be too sure. 

Somehow your one brain cell manages to scramble enough thoughts to control your body, except it makes you lean in closer to him, close enough you can feel his breath hover over your lips. Your eyes flutter shut and just when you think everything is going great you hear your little brother yell your name from his room and that’s enough to snap the two of you out of the daze you’re in. You clear your throat, excusing yourself as you push out your chair and head to your brother’s room, wondering what the hell he needs that he just needs you right now.

“What do you want?”  You hiss out, leaning against the doorframe of his room. He looks up from his desk, papers scattered across the wooden surface as he turns his swivel chair to face you. He shrugs, “I felt this weird disturbance in the force and called you over here.” 

It takes everything in you to not throw him across his room. You sigh, “yeah that disturbance was born twelve years ago.” 

“Hey!” He throws a pokemon plushie, piplup if you remember correctly, at you. You duck and the plushie hits your bedroom door behind you. You turn around to pick it up, only to immediately throw it back at him, and successfully manage to hit him in the head with it. He stumbles back in his chair and you laugh at him. He glares at you for a moment before breaking out into laughter as well. “Okay fine good aim, I’ll give it to you,” he acknowledges with a surrender of his hands, the plushie back on his shelves, joining the rest of his collection. “Now go back to tutoring Scoups hyung so you can make dinner.” 

You shake your head, a small smile on your face. “You can always make dinner, you should probably start now since I’ll be going off to coll-” 

“Don’t say the c word!” He interrupts, a new pokemon plushie in hand. His eyes are wide and your smile softens before it’s turning into a small pout. The past year you’ve been trying to teach your brother how to take care of things around the apartment since soon it’ll just be him waiting for your mom to come home, but each time he always changes the subject, or even resorting to throwing his plushies to stop the conversation. In that moment you don’t see your twelve year old brother who loves to get on your nerves, instead you see your baby brother who never left your side for anything. Your other half despite the six year difference between the two of you.

Before you know it, your throat tightens up as you watch him lower the plushie, turned away so he’s not looking at you. “Um… you should probably go back to Scoups hyung.” His voice is small, like if speaks any louder and he might start crying.  

You nod, slowly backing out of his room, “yeah, just let me know if you need anything.” You turn to walk out when you turn back to face him, “I’ll make your favorite for dinner tonight.” His head perks up and you smile at him, to which he returns. 

You make it back to the living room to see Seungcheol working on the problems you had left him. You let out a small chuckle, and he looks up, smiling when he notices your back. “Everything okay?” 

You nod, “he’s fine, he was just a little bored.” He smiles and the two of you get back to your homework. Soon enough, the two of you finish, even with the practice you gave him to really prepare him for your upcoming test, and you relax in your seat, a smile on your face. Seungcheol faces you, his smile growing as he looks from his papers to you. “Thank you, I don’t think I could’ve done this without you.” 

You wave his compliment off, your smile perpetually stuck on your face when you're around him. “Nope, it’s all you Choi, I’m simply here to help you. Now you’ve gotta ace this test so I can go watch you win this tournament.” He smiles and you don’t think you’d ever find dimples this cute on another person in your life. 

“Anything for you, princess.” 

You’re walking out of your last period class when you hear Seungcheol call your name out. You turn around, already smiling since you know what this is going to be about, and judging by his voice, it’s going to be good news. 

He runs up to you, stapled papers in hand and you just know it’s his chemistry test. He makes it infront of you, his hands coming up to hold your shoulders in an effort to stabilize himself, his test pressing against your shoulder. “I got my results back!” 

You laugh, your hands coming up to rest over his, smiling and feeling heat begin to creep up your face at the close proximity. “I can tell, but come on I’m dying to know what you got Choi.” A light blush grows on his face as his smile grows, his hands moving away from your shoulders as he straightens up his test since it had gotten crumpled during everything. 

Once it was straightened out, he flipped it over, handing the test to you. You take the test and your eyes widen when you see the large 100 written next to his name. You look up to see him smiling and in your excitement, you pull him into a hug. “Oh my god! I knew you could do it, this is amazing!” He tightens his hold on you, picking you off the ground to spin you in a hug. You’re laughing as he gently sets you down, you’re smiling so much your cheeks are starting to hurt but you don’t even care right now. You’re just so happy for Seungcheol, happy that this means he gets to play in his tournament. 

He pulls you into another hug, muttering into your hair, “thank you, I wouldn’t have been able to do this without you.” You pull him closer, “of course Cheol.” 

The day of the tournament arrived and you don’t know why you’re so nervous. Seungcheol and the team have been doing great all day, moving farther and farther up the rackets, and yet you’re still nervous. It probably has to deal with the fact neither of you really discussed what happened last week, the whole really intimate hug in the middle of the hallway and all that. You two actually were texting back and forth the past week, and yet neither of you dared to talk about the hallway incident. 

Just like how neither one of you spoke about the almost kiss back in your apartment. 

So your nerves are most definitely tied to whatever you got going on with the captain of the hockey, the very same captain who’s leading his team to victory. This is the first time you’re seeing Seungcheol in his full uniform and damn, he looks good in his uniform. Something about how it makes him look larger just makes your heart beat faster every time he skates by where you’re sitting. 

The first time he skated by, you watched as he did a double-take before smiling his gummy smile, dimples on full display and waving at you and your brother, who insisted on coming along. (You weren’t going to tell him no, of course you’re going to bring him along.) Occasionally, he’d shoot you a look, smiling at you and you’d wave at him, feeling your face burn up every time. 

It’s the final match of the day, and you don’t think you’ve screamed this much in your life. You always make sure to cheer for Seungcheol every time he makes a goal, and halfway through the day, it turns into a competition between you and your brother on who could cheer the loudest for him. And you’re not about to lose against your brother. 

Somehow the match had gone into overtime due to the teams being tied and you’re at the edge of your seat, your little brother in the same position. At some point he grabbed your gloved hand, squeezing tight as they entered the sudden death overtime. (Why the hell is it called that?) You squeeze his hand as you watch Seungcheol go head to head against someone on the other team and you hold your breath watching as the two try to steal the puck from the other. 

Just when it looks like the other guy’s about to steal the puck, Seungcheol finds an opening, sending the puck into the unguarded goal, making the winning shot. 

You and your brother shoot up in your seats, and you pull him into a hug as you both jump in excitement and happiness. Seungcheol gets affectionately tackled by his teammates as they swarm him, and you can hear them chanting their captain’s name as the announcer relays the winning team. You look over once you’ve calmed down a bit and somehow manage to make eye contact with him. You smile and you mouth “I’m so proud of you," hoping he’d be able to understand you. 

It seems like he does because soon enough it looks like he mouths something along the lines of, “all for you, princess.” 

The tournament’s over now and you’re waiting for your little brother to finish in the restroom before you two head back home. A part of you wishes you’d get to see Seungcheol before leaving but he’s probably busy with after game things and celebrating that you’ll just settle with talking to him some other time. 

You’re about to text your brother to ask him where he’s at when you feel someone come up from behind you, spinning you around. You shriek, holding your phone close to your chest, about to curse out whoever it was when you hear the person laughing and you immediately soften, knowing exactly who it is. 

He sets you back down, turning you to face him. You smile and before you can even open your mouth to congratulate him on winning his senior tournament, he cups your face, leaning in to kiss you. Your eyes widen at the contact before they flutter shut, your own hands coming up to rest over his. His hands are freezing but you don’t mind, not when your face is burning up enough you’re sure you could warm up his hands in minutes. Your hands drift from his to rest over his shoulders, pulling him closer as you lean slightly back, with him following. He pulls away from the kiss to catch his breath, causing you to chase after his lips, already missing the pillowy feeling of them on your own. He chuckles before dipping down to kiss you again when someone clears their throat. 

You groan, already knowing who it is, dreading whatever comment he has to say. You look over your shoulder, only to see your little brother smiling. You definitely expected him to be pulling some disgusted face to make fun of you. Instead he was smiling, smiling so big you would think he just won a year’s supply of his favorite food. 

“If you’re done making out with your boyfriend, do you wanna ask him if he wants to join us for dinner?” 

Seungcheol's hand slips into your own, squeezing your gloved hand as you look up at him. His smile is so big and his cheeks are a pretty pink blush. “I really like the sound of that, what do you think princess?” 

You like that a lot, you think, squeezing his hand as you drag him to follow you and your brother, laughing when you hear his teammates cheering for their captain, for finally getting his girl. 

Maybe tutoring the captain wasn’t so bad after all.

[mariclerc]

A project of love | ls2

Summary: where you have to do a project with your crush and you try not to fall for him.

Warning: none.

a/n: requested and dedicated by @bananaleclerc I hope you like it!! And yes, I need a break from posting so much 😂😂

You're hunched over a textbook at a library table, surrounded by scattered notes and a half-eaten granola bar. Just then Logan enters the library, a whirlwind of energy and a backpack overflowing with what looks like every microbiology textbook ever written.

He slammed his books down next to you. “Hey there, study buddy! Ready to conquer the microscopic world?”

You jump a little, startled. He flashes a dazzling smile. “Uh, yeah, hi Logan. I was just... uh... reviewing.” You say, trying to sound casual.

“Awesome! Me too. Though, to be honest, my brain feels like it's about to explode from all these bacteria names.” He pulls out a chair dramatically and sits down. “Did you get a chance to look at the project outline Professor Davies sent? Apparently, we're germ-fighting partners!”

Your stomach flips. Internally screaming, you manage a smile. “Yeah, I saw it. Partnered up, huh? Makes sense, I guess.”

“Definitely! We balance each other out, right? You with your quiet genius vibe, and me... well, I bring the enthusiasm.”

You laugh nervously, a blush creeping up your cheeks.

“I wouldn't call myself a genius, but hopefully, I can keep up with your... enthusiasm.”

“Oh, you will, trust me. So, what do you think? Should we start with some foundational stuff, or dive straight into the exciting world of, like, antibiotic resistance?” he grins.

You take a deep breath, trying to focus. “Maybe foundational stuff first? That way, we're both on the same page when we get to the more complex topics.”

”Sounds like a plan! But hey, don't worry about keeping up. Like I said, I'm basically a walking microbiology encyclopedia. Just ask away if you get lost.”

You nod, but your mind is racing. Trying to focus on the project feels impossible now that you're so close to him.

You clear your throat. “Okay, so... cell walls of bacteria... what were we talking about those in lecture?”

Logan launches into an explanation, peppered with jokes and pop culture references. You try to concentrate, but all you can think about is the way his eyes light up when he talks about something he's passionate about.

Later, after a productive study session, you're packing your things.

“So, should we meet again tomorrow? Same time, same place?”

You feel your heart pounding. “Uh, yeah, sure. Sounds good.”

“Great! Hey, you seem a little quiet today. Everything alright?” he asks softly.

You force a smile. “Yeah, no, I'm just... tired, I guess... All this studying.”

“Studying can be draining! But hey, at least we're suffering together, right?” He winks at you. “See you tomorrow, germ fighter!”

He flashes another smile and throws you a peace sign before walking off. You sigh, a mix of frustration and a secret thrill bubbling in your chest. Studying with Logan might be the most nerve-wracking, yet strangely fun, experience of your university career so far.

You watch him disappear into the library crowd, a bittersweet pang in your chest.

You mutter to yourself. “Germ fighter, huh? More like heartbreaker.”

You gather your things, a sudden wave of determination washing over you. You like Logan, a lot. But you can't let that distract you from the project. You take a deep breath and head out of the library, a plan forming in your mind.

***

The next day, you arrive at the study table a few minutes early. You've spent the morning making flashcards – not just on microbiology, but also on Logan's interests you've gleaned from his conversation snippets. Genetics? Check. Obsession with the movie "The Andromeda Strain"? Double check.

He bursts in, a little late and slightly out of breath.

“Sorry I'm late! Professor Davies got us sidetracked talking about her research on bioluminescent bacteria. Apparently, there's a kind that glows neon green – can you believe it?” He says hurriedly, making you laugh a little, just then he notices the flashcards on the table. “Whoa, flashcards? You serious?”

You nod smiling, not as nervously as yesterday. “Just thought they might help us remember all this complex stuff. Besides, I found some fun facts related to the topics we need to cover. Maybe a little trivia can keep things interesting?”

His eyes wide at your words. “You got fun facts about bacteria? Okay, you officially win coolest study partner ever! Shoot, let's hear one.”

You pick up a flashcard and grin. Maybe studying with Logan won't be so bad after all. Maybe you can find a way to balance your academic focus with a sprinkle of something more.

***

The following week becomes a whirlwind of flashcards, late-night library sessions fueled by takeout, and a slow, simmering tension between you and Logan. Your knowledge of bacteria trivia becomes legendary, earning you surprised yet impressed glances from Logan. He, in turn, starts bringing coffee (with extra whipped cream for you, which you secretly adore) and peppering the study sessions with personal anecdotes, revealing a surprisingly deep and caring side beneath his bubbly exterior.

One rainy afternoon, hunched over a microscope analyzing bacterial cultures, Logan asks. “Hey, you ever wonder what those bioluminescent bacteria actually look like in real life?”

You glance up, surprised by the sudden seriousness in his voice. “Not really.” you admit, “but Professor Davies said she has some under a special microscope in her lab. Maybe we could ask if we could take a peek after our next class?”

He grins, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Perfect... We can make it a little research adventure.”

The stolen glance you share sparks a warmth in your chest, a silent acknowledgement that this is more than just a study session. The next day, after you convince a hesitant Professor Davies to let you glimpse the glowing bacteria, you find yourselves alone in the dimly lit lab.

As you peer through the microscope, Logan leans closer, his shoulder brushing yours. “Wow.” he whispers, “they're incredible.”

You hum in agreement, captivated by the tiny emerald lights dancing before your eyes. The silence stretches, charged with unspoken emotions. You can feel the heat radiating from him, his breath tickling your ear.

Suddenly, the lab door bursts open, revealing Professor Davies returning from her meeting. You and Logan jump apart, both cheeks flushing a deep red.

“Did you get to see them?” she asks cheerfully.

“Yes, Professor,” you stammer a little bit, “they're amazing!”

As the week progresses, the air between you crackles with a new awareness. You find yourself stealing glances at Logan as he talks, your heart skipping a beat when he laughs at one of your jokes.

During a particularly frustrating attempt at culturing E. coli, you blurt out, “Ugh, these bacteria are so stubborn!”

“Hey,” Logan says softly, placing a hand on yours, “we'll figure it out together... Like always.”

His touch sends a jolt through you, and you meet his gaze, your eyes locked in a silent conversation. In that moment, you both know this partnership has become something more, a budding connection waiting to bloom amidst the petri dishes and microscopes.

The shared look hangs heavy in the air, the frustration of the stubborn E. coli forgotten. Logan's hand lingers on yours, his thumb gently brushing against your skin. You can feel the warmth radiating from him, and a blush creeps up your neck.

“Maybe,” he starts, his voice a low rumble, “we should take a break from these little buggers. Grab some coffee, clear our heads?”

You nod mutely, your heart pounding a frantic rhythm against your ribs. Stepping out of the lab, the rain has stopped, leaving the air fresh and clean. As you walk side-by-side, a comfortable silence settles between you. You steal a glance at Logan, his profile sharp against the setting sun.

Reaching the familiar coffee shop you frequent, you order your usual, Logan opting for his favorite with extra whipped cream (a detail that makes your stomach flutter with a strange mix of amusement and affection). Settling into a quiet corner booth, you both sip your drinks, the tension still simmering beneath the surface.

“Thanks for sticking with this project,” Logan says, his gaze fixed on you. “It wouldn't have been nearly as fun without you.”

A shy smile graces your lips. “It wouldn't have been so bad with you either.”

He leans closer, his eyes searching yours. The air crackles with unspoken desire. In a voice barely above a whisper, he asks, “Can I do something?”

Your breath catches in your throat. You nod hesitantly, a shiver running down your spine. He closes the distance between you, his hand cupping your cheek. His touch is soft, sending a jolt of electricity through you.

The kiss is tentative at first, a brush of lips that sends a wave of heat through your body. But then, something shifts. He deepens the kiss, his hand moving to cradle your head, tilting it for better access. You melt into him, the taste of coffee and something uniquely Logan swirling on your tongue.

The kiss is brief, broken by a gasp for air. He leans his forehead against yours, his chest rising and falling with each ragged breath. Your eyes flutter open to meet his, a goofy grin plastered across his face.

“Wow,” he breathes, a mixture of awe and amusement in his voice.

You can only manage a shaky smile, your heart overflowing with a mix of exhilaration and nervousness. The world seems to tilt on its axis, and for a moment, only you and Logan exist in this small corner of the coffee shop.

As you pull back and smile, a newfound confidence sparks within you... Maybe this partnership, born amidst bacteria and microscopes, could blossom into something more. And you, for one, are eager to see where it leads.

[exaltedfuzz]

Hi! Do you have some personal HCs regarding how Lana dealt with the grief of losing her parents? She'd known them her whole life compared to Ema, and I love to think about (read: make myself sad about) how she managed to balance that and trying to do the best by her only remaining family.

Hello! Honestly, if a question contains “do you have some personal HCs regarding [...] Lana”, the answer is almost definitely yes, and this is no exception! Thanks for the ask. I’ve got a couple scripts in early stages around this very topic, so I don’t want to spoil too many of my thoughts in case I ever want to make a comic about them, or something. (Honestly, I should just write fanfic at this point… I have a rough piece of prose writing in the works that I'll attach part of under the cut... A little teaser.)

Around the time Lana would have had to start taking care of Ema, I think I’ve settled on it being most likely between 16 and 18, since I think if she hadn’t had to stay put for Ema, she’d have moved away to go to uni. So she’d be in a pretty tense time in her life anyway, with exams coming up, and whatever teenage stuff she was dealing with. I imagine that when she got the call saying that her parents were dead, she didn’t have much time to grieve alone before Ema was asking what was wrong, and her focus had to very quickly switch right onto making sure that her sister was ok. In general, I think the thing with Lana is that she’s massively self sacrificial, so her coping mechanism became doing the best possible job she could for Ema, and in that, there wouldn’t be much time for grief between making sure Ema was fed, making sure she was getting good grades so she’d manage to get onto a law course (so she could earn good money to put Ema through college), making sure she could drive, so they could shop and get places…

Here she is...

I think one of the biggest struggles in the early days was learning how to drive. She would have probably been about to start lessons, or just started, (if we assume she was 16 or so) and her parents just died in a car crash. But she’d just have to get on with it, because it was necessary. (She doesn’t have the best record with cars, does she?)

Since Ema says she “used to be so gentle, always smiling”, I think that this was the image of her that Ema experienced most often, so it’s safe to say that she was really patient with her. Ema was probably the only thing that kept her going at a lot of different points in her life.

I expect there would have been some really rough moments though, once Ema was off to sleep and she was alone in a house much too big for a teenage girl and a baby. I like to think that they at least got to inherit a house. (They deserve a little bit of a break, don't they?)

Here's a doodle of her in the first few seconds of having to acknowledge the fact that she's on her own. This is based on a line from the thing under the cut.

And, as promised, here's a little bit of writing. Rough and underdeveloped, I think, but hopefully enjoyable.

The landline didn’t usually go. If it was important, her parents would call her cell. But it did go. Three times, consecutively. She could recall it all. Ema, sitting up at the table with her, eating her pot of yoghurt and drawing in the back of Lana’s notebook. Lana’s textbook laid out in front of her - this was the one thing she didn’t remember. It was physics, that much she knew, but she just couldn’t bring herself to care about whatever was on that page after the rest of what she learned that night. She was smiling, Ema was too. She couldn’t keep her sticky little hands off of Lana’s pens and pencils. It was achingly normal. So familiar. Her parents would have a conference, or a party, or a theatre trip planned, and she was old enough to look after Ema, so she did. She was good with her.

So when they told her to not wait up, to make sure Ema got a little snack if she was hungry, to call them if she needed anything, it was normal. Another night in, another night of making sure Ema didn’t get too curious about what all the fun things under the sink were, another night of studying, another quiet night. She liked them. Sure, it was hard to be saddled with looking after the most curious baby to ever have little hands to grab with, and it was hard to not feel like she was missing out whenever her friends would go out, while she was here, eating carrot sticks and cucumber to try to encourage Ema to follow suit - those days still tasted like hummus in her mind. But it was a labour of love, and Lana was happy to sacrifice her time for her baby sister.

She tried not to be bitter. She didn’t want to be, because Ema was such a joy. But when she’d sit up at the table, nose in her books as always, and she’d hear all the fawning over the youngest Skye, she did feel left out. When Ema was born, Lana stopped getting so many little treats. Her parents used to take her out with them to these excursions. It was a lot of fun to get to talk to the scientists who worked with her mum, she loved seeing the crappy plays that the amateur dramatic society put on, she’d always end up getting sweets and snacks when her dad took her to the shops, and it just kind of stopped when Ema was born. It was a hard time for Lana, but she couldn’t resent Ema. She had a silly smile, and little hands which wanted nothing more than to squeeze Lana’s fingers, and poke around at her face. Holding Ema in her arms while she conducted her first scientific experiments on the elastic potential of Lana’s nose almost made her cry.

She told her parents then that she wasn’t ever going to let anyone hurt Ema, and she’d done her best to make good on that promise until her life was once again torn out from under her feet with the SL-9 incident, and she found herself constantly hurting Ema all on her own in her self absorption. She never forgave herself for that. Ema did, though. She was always so excited to come and see her on the other side of that visitation room, and she still told her everything, like Lana made sure she knew she could. Her eyes looked sad, though. Lana had watched those eyes as they changed from barely betraying any conscious thought, to when they quirked half closed with Ema’s newfound sarcastic smirk. Lana wasn’t quite sure she liked that. Her baby sister was older than she was that night by now, and she definitely didn’t seem like she could handle looking after a kid. What must Lana have looked like?

She knew what she felt like, that’s for sure. Of course, she stood up, with a sigh, on the third repetition of that irritating ringing, and held up the phone to her ear. She was so ready to tell whoever was on the other side that they didn’t need double glazed windows.

“Hello?”

“Is this the Skye residence?”

It was cold. Maybe they did need double glazed windows. Lana hesitated before she responded.

“Ah, yes?”

“Am I speaking to Miss Lana Skye?”

“...Who is this?”

There was too much blood rushing through Lana’s head for her to really hear what the response was.

“Sorry, could you repeat that last bit?”

“There’s been an incident involving a Mr. and Dr. Skye.”

She didn’t care about the rest of whatever he said. Something about investigation being open, something about intensive care, something about an escort car to the hospital being arranged. She could not speak, and her eyes failed. She leant forward, one hand white knuckled around the phone, the other now beginning to bleed with how Lana was chewing at her thumbnail. Ema was still babbling on the other side of the kitchen-diner. She never wished Ema would shut up, but she didn’t want to hear her making these silly noises as if their lives weren’t about to become impossible.

Lana was about to put Ema to bed. It was late. She didn’t remember the time. It was easier that way. She was supposed to be giving a presentation tomorrow at school, and she wanted to be sharp and awake for it. She wasn’t really planning on staying up much longer herself. Certainly not to wait for her parents to get back. She supposed they never would, now. She recognised the way this officer spoke from all the stupid cop shows she watched. She didn’t need it spelled out for her. She mumbled out a thanks, and hung up.

She always hated crying. She couldn’t stand it. The way her breath sounded as it shuddered out of her made her feel weak, and she wasn’t weak. She couldn’t ever afford to be, and that was all she could think of. Lana didn’t notice Ema getting out of the chair and unsteadily walking over to her, and her little grasping hands reaching for the hem of her jumper managed to ground her again. She looked over her shoulder at her sister. Eyes so wide and full of questions, all of which Lana realised, in that moment, she would have to answer. She must have scared her with the way her eyebrows furrowed and the way she grit her teeth, because Ema pulled a little sad face at her.

“Why are you crying?”

Ema wasn’t really that helpful sometimes. Lana swallowed, and looked for an answer. She tilted her head up, closed her eyes, and covered them with her hand, before breathing.

All she could manage to choke out was confirmation: “I’m very upset.”

What a useless statement.

Ema wasn’t ever satisfied with one answer. She just kept asking why. Lana knew that you had to be honest with kids when they had complex questions, so she picked Ema up in her skinny arms and held her while she explained. Usually, she was delighted to explain everything about the world to her sister, but this was hard. Not as hard as seeing Ema’s little pout as she tried to comprehend, though.

As she sat in the escort car on her way to the hospital, as if their presence would miraculously bring their parents to life, she kept holding Ema. She kissed the top of her head and tried not to cry on her soft hair. Her stomach turned as she thought about what the last thing her mum had said to her was. It had escaped her mind until now, and she wished she could let it escape her mind forever.

"No boyfriends over, alright? Be good. Love you. See you in the morning."

She supposed she'd never get to tell them now that there never would be any boyfriends. It was selfish of her to care about something so trivial, so she tried her best to push it to the side. Ema never had to know, either. It wasn't important.

She didn't end up giving her presentation. Or going to school, for the next few days. Ema was at home, so Lana was at home.

[matenrou-fan]

Hello, hello!

May I request headcanons of Mammon, Solomon and Lucifer with a reader who likes to take naps at random places?

Mammon, Solomon and Lucifer with a GN! s/o who likes to take naps at random places

I haven't written anything for OM for a long time and I'm so ashamed of that… here, hope you will enjoy it!! <3

GNreader, fluff, just wholesome stuff;;

-"Huh?! Have you fallen asleep again?! Humans are so strange.."

-Mammon has no idea how you are able to find enough comfort in such places like your desk, kitchen's chair or something.. It's unbelievable, you're like Belphie!

-So expect some whines from your first man who keeps acting all annoyed and angry by your sleepy behavior. He wanted to play some games, actually, and you again fell asleep right when he brought a new deck of cards!

-..but he actually likes it. Because when you fall asleep like that, he has a chance to admire the beauty of your face more carefully, being much closer than he would allow himself when you're awake.

-"You have no idea how it hurts, s/o.." - he mumbled, not hiding his bright red cheeks as you didn't see it anyway. Instead, Mammon's hands are on your hair, as he fixes small locks that fall on your forehead. - "..to not be able to show you my whole feelings.. But it's my fault, isn't it? I'm just a fool who needs to be more bold.."

-It's one of his favorite things now. Talk with you about some sweet nothings that he's usually too shy to say out loud. ..yet most of the time it's all ended up with Mammon showering you with compliments. He can be quite poetic, actually, telling you some deep words that probably would make your stomach tickle if you would actually hear it.

-...Asmo catches him at least one time when Mammon has his casual chit chat with his adorable sleepyhead.

-As an avatar of Greed, he always preferred to hang out in his room where no one can poke their nosey little noses in his business with you and interrupt his fun by dragging you away. Also, Mammon is just hoping that you will fall asleep on his couch instead of the one that is standing in the living room. And then your generous boyfriend will have no choice but to keep you in his room for the whole night, carefully carrying you in his bed to cuddle.. and maybe to place a few kisses on your forehead?

-"S/o, look, I found out about this new curse.. Oh. Someone decided to take a little break?"

-It's amuse him so much, to see how you always don't miss a chance to have some rest, letting your guard down whenever he's with you. Well, you fall asleep so easily because you feel safe around him, no?

-Absolutely like to study with you. Or maybe study you? Solomon is sitting here, reading one of his magic books.. Or at least is what you think he's doing, when actually his eyes are fastened on your adorable face, watching and memorizing every small change in your expression as you slowly start to drift to sleep again, right while sitting at the table. It's much more interesting than any books he's ever read before or will have a chance to read.

-"You're so adorable like that, s/o.." - he chuckled, stroking your head before taking his phone from pocket and turning on the camera. - "You don't mind a little photoshoot? I swear to keep it only to myself.."

-Would love to wake you up with tickles or slight pinch in your cheek just to see your grumpy sleepy face as you mumble something under your breath. Teasing you is so fun, and now Solomon would drag another amusing reaction from you by showing off these precious pictures with you.

-But if you fall asleep during lessons he wouldn't even try to tap your shoulder or something, letting you have some rest and hiding your sleeping figure behind books. In this case you would have to pay a visit to Celestial Realm and borrow his textbooks as you don't remember anything from school today.

-And who knows, maybe another wave of laziness will hit you and you will fall asleep right in Solomon's room, leaning on his shoulder as he explains to you a new section. It's a good way to be alone with you, as you're always busy with Demon brothers.. Ahh, or maybe now he can play with you in a little fairytale? Do you remember how the prince woke up his Sleeping Beauty?

-"S/o, I was hoping you will help me with some paperwo- …Ahh, nevermind."

-Seriously? Again? After he literally caught you sleeping right on the floor in the living room this morning? Unbelievable..

-Well, it just means now you will spend all your evenings with Lucifer, as he's checking on you and not letting you fall asleep again. But then why did you always end up sleeping on his lap while he worked on some documentary? The way his arm patted your head is so soothing and soporific, turning your small nap into a whole full deepsleep, and absolutely not waking you up..

-I didn't tell you this but Lucifer absolutely loves to lend his coat for you whenever you fall asleep. Your face always gets so soft and he swears he can notice your smile getting bigger as you cling to warm fabric with the light smell of his cologne.

-"Huh.. You should be honored I let you slack off like that.." - he signs with furrowed brows, then a playful smirk appears on his lips as he tickles your face a little. - "But I'm expecting you to return a favor for me, angel.."

-Loves to tease you about this goofy habit, comparing you with Belphegor sometimes. Well, but his youngest brother never would be as adorable as you are, at least because you don't mind clinging to Lucifer's chest when he's hugging your sleeping form and playing with your hair.

-If you end up falling asleep somewhere beyond the walls of his bedroom, your lover doesn't mind just carrying you to his place, even if someone from his brothers finds your adorable defenseless form first. Of course he would just tell them that he's going to give you a proper punishment and scold you for being so careless when actually Lucifer can't wait to get this cute sleeping face only for himself to admire. Well, but he can teach you a lesson and wakes you up with a few kisses, right in your lips. If you want to receive more, then you should try to control your sleepy behavior, dear..

[thebluntstudent]

FIVE TIPS FOR STUDYING WHEN ILL OR OTHERWISE INCONVENIENCED...

disclaimer: when at all possible, you should always prioritise physical and mental wellbeing over a good grade. If you are seriously ill to the point where it is heavily impeding your capacity to study, you are not fit to take an exam, or write an essay, and I hope your educational institute has measures for exceptional circumstances/extensions/deferrals to allow you to do so! Alas, it isn't always possible to do the ideal thing in life, and that is where my experience comes into play.

°•☆•°

Sometimes you find yourself in a crappy predicament a couple weeks before an essay is due, or an exam is scheduled, and you find yourself slipping further away from the stacl of textbooks on your desk, and closer to the comforts of your bed and the rest you really wish you had the time to make the most of.

Right now, my hormones are currently out of whack in a way that could meaning anything from (the most likely cause) PCOS to perimenopause at 22 to plenty of other less likely possibilities I'd rather not dwell on. This means that sitting up for more than 5-10 minutes in the same position sends my abdomen into spasms and sharp pains, and generally existing hour to hour is a painful, emotional, hot-flush filled experience.

That being said, I have an exam in a few days, and since deferral is not an option for me (this is my last attempt, I can't take any more time off of uni, my last attempt was last year during a period of several losses that occurred on an interruption year I had taken due to burn-out and unresolved trauma sliding into my life- you get where I'm going with the 'sometimes life is a bitch and your general and academic life can't be pretty and pristine' bit) I have been doing my best to balance comfort and productivity in a way that helps me look out for what I need right now whilst still getting in as much revisiom as I'm able to.

So! I thought I'd share my little tips for building a comfy study space when conditions are not ideal but you still gotta keep moving:

• abandon the 'do not study in bed' tip, but only for as long as it helps you as opposed to hindering you. I have tried sittimg up at a desk with pillows and blankets swathing me- and all I get for it is hefty back pain and constant awkward readjustments every time I start heating up or shift around in my seat too much. If you're ill, you aren't doing yourself any good sitting hunched over a desk either- and frankly your sleep is probably going to be buggered until you're feeling better anyways. So, if sitting at a desk is putting you off, prop up some pillows, rest your writing materials on a hard surface (a folder, an A4 hardback- a chopping board works for a cute wannabe lap desk too), and set a zone of your bed aside (or just use a bedside cabinet if you have one) for anything you'll be using fairly often- by which I mean stationary, textbooks you'll be using over the course of the next hour or so- just enough stuff to save you constantly getting up out of your comfy study bubble.

• listen to tesco: every little helps. What I like to do to get myself going when I'm feeling naff- which works also if you're simply having a difficult time focusing yourself for the day- is to do micro pomodoro sessions, where I'll dedicate myself to 5 minutes minimum of focused study. If I really can't bring myself to continue longer than 5 minutes, I'll let myself rest for a little while (up to 20-30 minutes) before getting myself to do another micro session. This may not seem very productive, but you are more likely to do a good hour of work on a bad day when you tell yourself you only need to do little 5 minute sessions, than procrastinating studying because you feel as if you'll have to sit up and focus for a much longer period of time for it to count. Every. Little. Helps. In 5 minutes you can run through a topic of flash cards, do a slide of lecture notes, answer small exam questions, do a page or two of readings- and on a good day, that 5 minutes might turn into 10 with a small break, then 15, then you'll find yourself picking up your regular pace in no time! But again, even 5 minutes, just one little session, is a win when the world is throwing hurdles at you <3

• maximise your comfort: you know the little things that bring you joy, and you don't habe to be rolling in cash to surround yourself with little things to keep you going when all you want to do is sleep. My current comforts are the loyal presence of my cat next to me, a few old blankets I can swaddle myself in to stare at the ceiling when my ovaries are throwing a tantrum, a little variety of teas (currently rocking a chai latte with home bargains vanilla syrup, girl gotta have her sweet relief), a pack of energy drinks, some painkillers, and a little incense tray nearby that I forget to use 70% of the time (though the remaining 30% makes up for that). None of this is in particular mandatory- if it were, the dog people of the world would be doomed. The point is, find your little comforts- an activity you can do from the comfort of your bed like a puzzle, sensory toy or just a book to doodle in, a certain type of drink or snack you really love, some smellies (perfume, incense, candles, wax melts, and so on), supplies for whatever ails you- little personal things to relax you whilst you try to gather your energy.

• Now is not the time to push it. I tend to find the times in which I am most likely to push myself past my limits are the times in whicj something is inhibiting me- the frustration of being bed-bound, fatigued due to chronic conditions, etc tends to make me feel even more than usual that I am not doing enough because of my awareness of my present restrictions. Though this post is about pusning through bad times, you should be doing so with self-compassion, and with the mindset that every little bit you achieve in your current state is a win, a bonus, even if you find yourself unable to work to the same standard as normal. You aren't well- you aren't supposed to be functioning at 100% because your body is only functioning at 50%, and if you want to get back to your regular stressed student self you need to rest! Remember that a slightly lower grade than you were expecting in the short-term is not a reflection on your character, and it's better to *be* better for the long-term than to work yourself into a ditch and burn-out when you are already at a low point.

• If healthy study you is a carefully rehearsed play, then sick study you is a completely improvised show. Don't knock the analogy, even if it is silly and obscure- when I am at my peak, I will time-block my studies, plan to do certain topics on certain days, do 30-5 or 50-10 study sessions, work during a set period from the morning to the mid afternoon.

When I am ill, I do not know when I will be unable to sit up to work. I do not know when I will be able to sleep, to stomach food, to concentrate- so I have to accept that the normal routines that keep me consistent have to be chucked in the bin for the time being. Instead of planning my whole day, I create a vague, rough outline of the next few things I want to get done. This way, I don't feel crushed when I start working on lecture notes and find myself flat out on my back crying 10 minutes later- I just pick up where I left off when I'm ready, and work in increments from there.

°•☆•°

Right now my sleep is a bit fudgy because of night sweats/panics and p a i n, and by building a cosy space and letting my plans adapt to my body's needs I've managed to get 3 hrs of lecture notes, 2 sets of flashcards, and a set of logic practise questkons done over night between 8pm-4:30am. If I had tried to stick to my regular 'good day' study routine, I don't think I would have lasted 15 minutes before giving up and crawling over to youtube with a bowl of white chocolate and a horlicks in hand.

It is this kind of adaptability to external conditions that allowed me to survive an unstable home situation during college that meant weeks without wifi, constantly moving between different homes and constant fear of eviction due to family debts I was too young to do anything about- and allowed me to get into the top university in London* as a working class girly from a council estate.

I was given the opportunity to do an extra year at college for free due to these circumstances and a great support network within the institute to make sure I got into the specific university that I wanted to, and I had to take an interruption after my firdt yesr of university because I am not a super-human, and I knew my limits- but I'm still going, and the time away I've had has paid off and gotten me back to my scrappy, chaotic, passionately nerdy self.

You can be messy and be a good student too- and you can get through the worst of times with a little adaptability, perseverance, a good support network and a little self care ♡

*Times Good University Guide, 2024.

[svechnikovvv]

tutoring sessions

pairing: jack hughes x fem!reader

warnings: profanity

summary: what happens when jack hughes asks you to tutor him?

a/n: finally finished this (: i put aside my coding project just so i could finish this for you guys

masterlist: here

i was sitting at my usual secluded table in the cafeteria when jack hughes, one of the school’s most adored hockey players, takes a seat in front of me.

“hi,” he smiles.

“uh… hi?”

“y/n right?” i nod slowly, my brows furrowed

“i’m struggling with math and was wondering if you could tutor me? some people have told me that you’re the best person to go to for this kinda stuff.” i shrug

“just let me know when and what time,” i tell him and he nods.

“do you have something i can write on?” he pulls out a pen from his pocket and i grab a notecard i was using as a bookmark, and slide it over to him. he scribbles some things down on the card and hands it back to me. i look at it and see an address, number, and a date and time. i look up at him and he shoots me a wink, walking back to his table. i sigh and go back to my work in front of me. what did i just get myself into?

i manage to get through the rest of the week, and it’s finally saturday. which means it’s my first day to tutor jack. he’s been giving me glances in the hallways and everytime i see him pretty much. wonder what that’s about.

i head over to the address he gave me, and i get there five minutes before the time he specified. i knock on the door and a beautiful woman answers the door.

“hi, i’m ellen, jack’s mom. he said he’d get some company soon. come in,” she steps aside for me to enter and i do. i take a marvel at the house and i see some baby pictures hanging up on the walls. i walk closer to take a better inspection and ellen laughs. i look back at her and she gives me a smile.

“see that one in the middle?” i nod my head “that’s jack. the one on the right is his older brother quinn, and the one on the left is his younger brother luke.” i awe at the picture and she continues to tell me about more of the pictures hanging up. some had a backstory, and some didn’t.

“mommm,” jack whines and both ellen and i turn around to see an embarrassed jack.

“don’t be such a drama queen.” she shakes her head

“i think it’s time y/n and i study some algebra, yeah?” he then grabs my hand and drags me somewhere. i wave a quick goodbye to ellen and soon jack and i are in some room that’s secluded off with a big tv mounted on the wall.

“this is the entertainment room. just make yourself comfy.” i nod and take a seat on the couch, immediately sinking into it. jack then takes a seat beside me and unzips his bookbag that i didn’t even notice he had. he takes out a thick textbook and sets it on the table.

“okay, what exactly is causing you trouble?”

“um…” he flips a couple pages and stops on polynomials. i briefly scan what he needs to do and nod my head.

“okay, this should be fairly easy.” for the next hour, i begin to walk him through the lesson and help him better understand it. i give him some practice problems to work with, and with a little bit of help, he starts to understand it.

two hours later, and i’m leaving.

“thank you, for tutoring me.” i nod and start to walk away before he grabs my hand, making me spin around.

“y/n? would you um, maybe want to get coffee?” i shrug my shoulders

“i don’t see why not.” he smiles excitedly and then walks back up to his door.

“you won’t regret it,” he points at me and i laugh, walking away and heading in the direction of my house.

that night, i fell asleep with a smile on my face.

i continued to tutor jack for another few months before he finally asked me to be his girlfriend.

him and i were currently lying on his roof watching the stars in the sky.

“jack?” he hums and i sit up, looking down at him.

“what do you see in me?” his attention is torn away from the sky at my question and he sits up too, looking at me. he takes my hands in his and places a soft kiss to both.

“baby, what caused you to ask this?”

“i’ve just been thinking about it lately. so many people judge you for dating ‘a nerd’ and i keep hearing how you deserve someone better.” he frowns

“respectfully, shut the fuck up. so what if you’re a nerd, huh? you’re my nerd. you’re my nerd who helped me pass algebra 2. you’re a damn academic weapon. they’re just jealous they don’t have your einstein-ness.” i laugh at his words at the end and then it goes quiet again. he wraps the blanket we brought out around the two of us and i mean my head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

“i’m going to be honest with you, i never meant to fall in love with you, i just did. and it’s something i will never regret. falling for you was the best thing that’s happened to me since i discovered that kraft mac n cheese comes in different shapes. and you want to talk about scientific breakthrough? that right there.” we both laugh. “anyways, point is, i wouldn’t trade you for anything. not even angelina jolie.” i gasp and look at him

“are you serious? angelina jolie is fucking hot.” he shrugs

“my girl is better.” he smiles and presses a kiss on my cheek.

“mm, debatable, but alright.” he rolls his eyes and we go back to watching the stars.

“jack?” he hums again “how many years did it take for you to realize kraft mac n cheese came in different shapes?”

“way too many. i could’ve been living a lavish childhood eating star wars-shaped macaroni.”

“don’t worry, i’ll buy you all the star wars macaroni you want.”

“another reason why you’re the best.”

tags: @goldenbrokenheart @liquidflyer @woodruff-edwards @hockeyboysarehot @ajbird2010 @hughesx3 @hannahh01938 @theywantedplayer @k1ttyt3ar @jackhughesily @jackhues @marauderzkinnie @i-padfootblack-things @fanboysfangirl @austinbutlerscaresme

a/n: this one has been sitting in the drafts and it’s finally done 🫶🏻

[tulipsstudyblr]

How to Make it Through to the End of the School Year

I myself am pushing through to the end of my spring semester (gotta make it to finals week 😅) and it's rough, for sure. I'm rounding out my junior year of college and it's quickly hitting me that after this, I'll only have one more year left of school (as of right now).

I know I listed in the bio of this blog that there would be advice/study tips and while I am no expert, I can speak from my experience and what has worked for me. DIsclaimer: everyone is different and what I may or may not list here is not a cure-all for everyone, this is just how I stay productive and efficient.

Taking breaks! - I struggle a lot with recognizing my limits and taking healthy breaks so I can work best. Recently, a friend and I have been having outside study times ("picnics") where we sit and do some work and/or color. One evening, we even made chai lattes on the lawn to have while we colored. Personally, I love simple coloring books (like Disney, but I'm currently working in a Bluey book). Also, this past weekend, I made time in between my textbook readings to rewatch a favorite movie of mine, Ella Enchanted. I haven't taken the proper time to watch TV in a while, so it was a nice change of pace.

Properly eating and hydrating - This is also something I struggle with. I understand how easy it is to get hyperfocused and forget about food in the midst of studying. I am thankful to have a girlfriend who will check in on me when she can to make sure my water bottle is filled if I have been busy throughout the day, but I have also set an alarm on my laptop to ding every 20 minutes. I'm using the Google Chrome extension "Water Reminder", which has been super helpful for me! It's not super cutesy and aesthetic like other Chrome extensions, but I like the simple ding that reminds me to drink water in case I haven't in a while. Hearing a reminder to drink water also allows me to check in with myself to see how I'm feeling in terms of hunger. I try to schedule meals times specifically for myself so that I can remember to eat. Some people are really great about intuitive eating, but I am unfortunately not one of those people. Keeping track of the time and keeping meals times at 7:30 - 8:00 am (breakfast), 11:00 am - 12:00 pm (lunch), and 5:00 pm (dinner/supper), I find it easier to keep up with eating so that I can stay healthy and nourished.

Studying - probably a more obvious "tip", but with my own addition. I like to romanticize the idea of studying. I use specifically colored pens, marker, and highlighters to make each of my notes in class and outside of class to keep myself focused. I love things that are artsy and colorful, so using lots of colors keeps my attention on the material.

Self care - I love face masks, body lotion, and moisturizers. I can't afford the super expensive skincare that you see on TIkTok and Instagram, but I have found some products that work well for me. I like the non abrasive Neutrogena face wash, Nivea body lotion (with shea butter - this also helped heal my tattoos!), and peach slices acne patches (my current lifesavers). Freeman is a brand that makes some really good face masks that have worked for my somewhat senstiive skin and they have a good variety so that you can find what you may be looking for you. They're an inexpensive brand (I think) that works pretty well. Even my sister who is into cosmetology and skincare and knows all the nitty gritty details about what ingredients are good recommended the brand to me so I definitely love to use those when I can (no more than twice a week, though; no need to wear down my face)

Get a study buddy - if you're like me and you find it easier to be productive with another body around, see if you can find someone to study with you or to at least hang around you while you work. As I saif before, a friend and I have been having little picnics outside in the nice weather to work, but I have also met up with others in a library space or a study room to keep myself prodcutive. Some days, I am really productive on my own and in my room, but other days, I really need a change of scenery. Being outside of the space where my lovely bed is and having someone else bear witness to how productive or not I am being is certainly a motivator.

I may discover new habits that can help me as I progress through the next month, but as of right now, these are the main things that are helping me.

[corvid-language-library]

2024 Goals Monthly Check-In

I actually didn't do this last month because I was ill all of February and didn't make much/any progress with anything so I felt it was kinda pointless 😅 Let's see where I'm at now!

Japanese

1) Reach ~N3 level - I've not really been focusing on this so much. I've started using HelloTalk again and occasionally trying to learn a little new N3 grammar/kanji/vocab, but I should probably study in a more focused way.

2) Learn 10 songs by heart to a level where I could sing them at karaoke - Oh yeah I haven't worked on this at all, I kinda forgot it was a thing lmao

3) Finish reading another book of short stories - No progress made whoops. I try to read articles on Todai/NHK Easy a bit more but I've not touched my short story book.

4) Finish both Minna No Nihongo books - I'm about halfway through unit 11, so I'm a little behind but not too much. Hoping to finish unit 11 tonight and unit 12 at some point this week, but we'll see what happens!

Norwegian

1) Read at least 2 books in Norwegian - Not started yet

2) Maintain an overall B2/C1 level - I think I'm maintaining, but I need to immerse more for sure

3) Finish Enjoy Norwegian textbook - I've completed unit 2 so I'm a little behind where I wanted to be, but I should be able to catch up relatively easily.

Life in Japan Goals

As with last time, I'm just gonna focus on the goals where I've made progress rather than listing all 11. So:

1) Get my hair cut - Did it! And it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be :D

4) Have a 10-minute conversation with a native speaker in Japanese that’s not an italki lesson - I managed to chat with the hairdresser, so I can definitely say I did this!

6) Go to the dentist - I've booked an appointment and I'll be going next Monday. Absolutely terrified :D

7) Go to a prefecture I haven’t been to before - I went to Tochigi last weekend!

11) Be able to point to every prefecture on a map and name their capital cities - I can still more or less do this, but I sometimes mix up some prefectures or can't quite remember a capital

Non-language

1) Read 36 books - I've read 11/36 books, which means I'm 3 books ahead of schedule.

2) Complete a first draft of a novel manuscript - no progress made lol

3) Comfortable two-block oversplit with back bend - my oversplits are there but they feel very tight and not comfortable, so I need to work more on them.

4) Consistently hold a handstand for 5 seconds - I can barely balance on my hands at all atm lmao but I'll keep trying

5) Noticeably improve my demi pointe - I'm using the strength in my feet a lot more than I used to but I'm not getting much higher. I'll keep at it!

Health/diet goals under the cut:

Diet & health goals

1) Tackle my diet soda and sugar addictions - I've come a long way with the binge eating! I bought a multipack of chocolate marshmallow biscuits and managed to just take one with me to work every day instead of sitting and binging the whole lot. And right now I have a family-sized bag of mini eggs in my cupboard and I'm managing to eat a controlled set portion each day. I still mess up my diet sometimes, but I'm very happy with how I'm doing!

Diet soda is still a huge problem though lol

2) Slim down enough that none of my clothes are tight anymore - I look and feel SO much better about myself! For ages I've not wanted to dress up nicely because I felt like I looked frumpy or chubby or shapeless in my nice outfits. But when I was packing for Utsunomiya, I tried on all my cute outfits and I thought they looked good! I still want to lose a bit more so that I can see my abs, but I'm really happy with my progress here.

[sparkylilacs]

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Kid!

Chapter 3

The next morning I get ready for yet another new school. My record for shortest time spent at a new school was half a day. In the fifth grade I got a teacher to quit and was kicked out when I brought a spider's egg sack to class and it hatched all over his desk after he confiscated my pencil bag for coloring during lecture. Apparently he was a humongous arachnophobe. I didn't have any books for this school yet so I packed my backpack with only a notebook (for doodling), my personal project folder, and a sack lunch Paco handed out to all us kids as we left. The twins turned right at the corner and I followed Wanda and Hey to the left and presumably to the high school. Or not, sometimes other kids in group homes had led me off wrong roads then ditched me so I'd be late. Or just lost, with some of them it was hard to tell. I never actually got lost, though I was often late, I have an amazing sense of direction. In the hall kids were buzzing in every direction. 

My first room was English literature. I got there no problem since I'm used to commotion. The teacher started by saying the basic speech on how she hoped I would feel welcome and asked me what some of my hobbies were. "I like to free climb, and practice kickboxing," I say. Sure, I am interested in those things and could say what my real hobbies are, reading comics and researching random stuff on the internet, but I find introducing myself this way gives me more space. The teacher said my hobbies were interesting and asked me to sit down. When she told us to turn to page fifty in the textbook, I just sat there wondering how long it would take her to realize I hadn't been issued one yet. My record was three months.

It wasn't to be beat this time. The teacher remembered after a minute and brought one over to me. The rest of the morning classes went the same way, as expected. Lunch things seemed usual as well, but quickly went very wrong. When I entered the cafeteria people stared, I was used to this. But when a boy sauntered up to me and asked "Did they hit you with their canes?" I had no answer. My blank stare told him he needed to clarify and he said, "The old folks you knocked off with the roof tiles". Some kids near enough to hear gave him stop now gestures, but others were getting up. Closing in on me. My mind was spinning over what he meant. Somehow my injuring Mr. Tipton had been told and expanded in rumor fashion all over the school, but the only people who could have talked were the Garcia house kids. 

This was bad, one of the worst people to live with is a snooping gossip. I learned that fast at the group center when I first went into the system. What was worse was how close this boy was to me now. "Why else were you climbing on the roof, who do you think you are Spider-Man?". I gritted my teeth and tried to push past him, but he didn't budge and the others packed around tighter. So I used a classic swipe, not even really a kick. Just to unbalance him and hoping I'd topple the whole group like dominos. Unluckily for me he went forward instead of backward. Taking us both down instead. 

My head was still buzzing a bit from hitting the floor, but I still heard a kid say, "Look she does think she's Spider-Man!". Pushing the boy off me I saw I hadn't zipped my pack all the way and my personal project folder had spilled all over the cafeteria floor. Pictures from newspapers, articles, and maps dated by year of activity splayed out for all around to see. "Spider Girl is better," said another voice. Laughter echoed around me as I scooped up what I could and ran out of there. The buzzing in my head seemed to grow louder as I darted through the hall to the exit. Vaguely I heard Hey shout at me as I passed, but I paid no attention. In the school yard I climbed the fence swiftly, jumped down landing on my feet and immediately continued running. No real direction in mind, just trying to put as much distance between me and the school as possible. Before I had been teased, whispered about, and shoved around, but the Spider-Man file was my biggest secret. I hadn't even shown it to my brother. And now it was all over the new school. 

So I ran unconcerned about punishments for running out in the middle of a school day. I was crossing a street when the buzzing in my head stopped and I heard Hey behind me. But he wasn't as fast as I was. A truck was barreling towards him, without realizing I had changed direction I kicked off a passing car and grabbed Hey, using the momentum to pull him back to the sidewalk with me. He stared at me, eyes big still dazed with shock. "How'd you do that?" he asked. I shrugged, "I do parkour". Shaking his head he said, "Okay, but why did you leave school? Do you know how much trouble you'll be in? I overheard your caseworker talking about how close you are to juvie if you don't shape up,". All my nerves were still tingling but that sent my gut writhing. Ms. Wilt had warned me before for other infractions, yet nothing I had done really could send me to juvenile detention. Although if nobody else would take me in. If I was just too much trouble to be bothered with. It might be all that was left. Acting unconcerned I said, "If you didn't eavesdrop then I wouldn't have run,". Hey gave me a quizzical look then his eyes cleared. He said, "That's Wanda. A real gossip. I think it's how she survives from place to place. Only been here half a year and already she knows everything,". I grunted and started heading down the street. Still not sure I believed he was innocent. Denial was the second language of a confronted gossip.

"Where are you going now?" he asked.

 "Back," I reply.

"How do you know that's the right way? I am barely sure where we are now, and you were running faster,".

"I never get lost,", I shoot over my shoulder, not stopping for him to catch up.

[woodpengu]

As a person who loves to read and cares about quality in my writing, I need more than a single line of 5 stars to properly rate them with. And, no, the solution isn't to extend it to 10 stars.

Conversations with my lovely fiance over our love of reading whatever scratches the itch of the moment have resulted in an expanded idea. (note, the conversations were primarily focused on fictional books, but this could apply to more than that with some tweaks in perception/definition, mayhaps)

First: half stars. The option to give a fraction of a star to something rather than the total average votes from the reading community doing that for me... because I don't have the same opinion as someone else, nor does the rating reflect the same reasoning. "But that's what the comment/review window is for." My dude... I'm a complex organic lifeform with my brain matter defining me as an apex predator over the bear that wants to maul my ass. I have needs and laziness to put that bear to shame; give me my convenience.

Second: multiple ratings. Like, four categories of rating up to 5 stars (including, .5 and 0, please n thankies). Examples? I came up with the following (rough summaries)... 1. Technical Skill: Grammar, punctuation, vocabulary usage (doesn't have to be superfluous, just match consistently throughout the story), dynamic sentence lengths, etc. Am I reading a fictional tale or a textbook article; a persuasive essay or journalism on social issue; and does the writing match the intent? Which bleeds into... 2. Story Telling: Flow, emoting, pacing, clear themes, readable setting, etc. Is the writing too technical for fiction; too cerebral for YA; out of touch with the setting it's speaking from; misrepresenting a character's age, gender, [insert demographic here], or misrepresenting the themes in some way? Can I see myself sitting across the fire from an old nomad as they tell me this tale or am I distracted by the neighbor's cat in heat or the drunken minstrel wooing... someone (same thing, right?). 3. World Building: Believable, inspired (rather than stolen) concepts/ideas, relatable, comprehensive, etc. If I dropped into this world, could I discern what it takes to survive/thrive in it? Did I read this idea somewhere else before OR something like it? Religion, culture, philosophy, history, science, art, challenges/obstacles having explanations for presence or lack that aren't edgelordy or "because I said so". 4. Personal Feelings: The genuine, general feedback of the reader of [insert media here]. The biased opinion or personal thought of an individual towards what they've consumed. How did I, personally, as the reader, feel about this book/story/novel/manga/etc.?

Why? Because I've been known to absolutely despise a good book or absolutely love a bad one. Because I've been led on by a book with phenomenal writing only to encounter plagiarism within. Because the reason one person rates a book at 5 stars differs from another: some are personal, some are impartial, some are rating something very specific to themselves. And this all renders the average ratings on a book inaccurate.

I care too much for the above (world-building, skill of a writer, personal thoughts/feels) to settle for calling certain praised works "praiseworthy" in my own experience. No, I don't mean that I need everything to be Tolkien, because I would give it a lower rating in some categories than in others since there are ways it doesn't reach me as the reader. Books like "House of Leaves" or "Don Quixote" might be critically acclaimed pieces of literary brilliance, but they are difficult-to-consume pieces... which lowers my enjoyment of them. And my needs and mood differ throughout the day, which is why I have 6+ books on my "currently reading" list, changing up what suits me at that time.

It also goes back to recovering from complex traumas as a neurospicy adult trudging through the ick of the modern day. My brain requires more touchstones in the now, points of reference for sparking memory about media I've consumed and why I had certain feelings towards it. (Catcher in the Rye was a love of my youth and is far too cringe for my adulthood) Utilizing that data as a lens (alongside my stress level and mood meter of the moment) through which to look at something else I'm curious to give a try. And that's harder for me to do when the ratings and comments are vague and based inconsistently on personal feelings rather than the actual skill or quality of the work itself. Which adds to the common habit of traumatized beans to consume the same bits of media repeatedly (yay, trust issues).

Yes, I've been known to love a trash novel and hate a classic, but that's personal feelings opposed to writer skills. Which clicks back into my old post about critiques on art: you can hate something that is technically brilliant and well-executed... and you can love something that could use a LOT of reworking [*side-eyes Twilight*]. But the difference is crucial. Just finished a book that I would give 0 stars to on every category... that was gifted to me by a dear friend who is also dear friends with the author. But they weren't expecting me to love it as much as they were being supportive of their writer friend (kudos). Versus a different friend singing the praises of a book that turned out to be plagiarism incarnate with a side-serving of ick. Versus another person absolutely hating a story I enjoyed that scored high in multiple categories.

Point being... I need to live in a less-generalized reality.

[thaliaisalesbian]

i get myself twisted in threads

Chapter 17: i sit there silently

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18

“I hear you have assignments for me?” Steve’s leaning against the Byers’ porch railing. He’s trying to look smooth, but he’s pretty sure it’s not working. Not when Jonathan knows he’s leaning because he’s not supposed to put all of his weight on his ankles too often yet.

At least he’s got good crutches that don’t cause chafing, and Will’s even offered to decorate them when he gets a chance.

Luckily for him, that doesn’t seem to stop Jonathan from kissing him once the door is shut behind them.

“Yeah, they’re in a folder in my room.”

“Really? You’ve just been keeping them here the whole time?”

“Yeah. There are a lot, man. You don’t have to go back, you could just graduate with us instead.” It’s nice that Jonathan thinks he could graduate this year if he went back. He doesn’t even think he could graduate this year.

Jonathan’s probably only saying it to soften the blow a little.

“I think I need something that’s at least a little normal, right now.” That’s what he’s been telling everyone, and for the most part they’re accepting it as an answer.

El always looks suspicious when he says it, but that might be because she doesn’t want him to move out of the cabin.

He’s currently choosing to believe that she can’t actually read his mind, despite some of the things she says and does that make it seem like she can.

“Well, I’ve got homework tonight, we could work on it together.” Jonathan gets the folder—it must have been hidden, because Steve hasn’t seen it before—and then gets himself set up.

Steve stares at the first page; it’s an English assignment from early December, copied down in Nancy’s handwriting.

“Okay, so an essay.” He puts that aside for now. If it’s a book report, he can’t do it right now anyway. He doesn’t have the book with him.

The next one is a math assignment, which he can do—at least some of it. He starts on the standalone questions, not bothering to look at the word problems. He always struggles the most with word problems. They suck, and he kind of wants to rip them off the page and burn them..

By the time Will and Joyce get home, he’s gotten through three assignments total, two for math and one for his ‘arts’ class—since he can’t take gym, he’ll need another class to make up for it. So they’ve just given him a bunch of random art assignments, apparently.

He wonders if there are written assignments for the drama classes. Probably not. And if they were, they’d be about those hard-to-read plays, so he wouldn’t be able to do them anyway.

“Are you at a good break point?” Joyce puts a hand on his shoulder, and he jumps a little. “Looks like you’ve gotten a lot done, after being out of school for so long.”

“Some of the math is pretty easy.” He shrugs. “English, history, and science are gonna be harder.” He likes history, though. It’s just so hard to read the tiny print in the textbook. He did a lot better last year, when his teacher acted out some things and read others to them dramatically. His notes hadn’t been the neatest, but he’d gotten his first A- in a class since middle school.

He’d been so excited when he’d seen that on his report card. Of course, that one A- hadn’t been enough to get him out of trouble.

His teacher this year—Mrs. Click—doesn’t do that; she mostly just assigns reading and then has a quiz on it.

He’s not doing great.

“So you’ve decided to go back, then?”

“Yeah, I think so. I want something a little normal, you know? And maybe people will stop trying to spy on us and stuff.”

He knows that Nancy and Jonathan have tried to hide it from him, but there are people watching them. They’re curious, and he knows it’s only a matter of time before someone says something to them directly—or worse, goes to Will or Mike, or any of the other kids. They might ask Joyce, too, but he doesn’t think anyone wants to try asking Hopper.

“Well, you know you’re welcome to study here anytime. Do you know what you have to get done before you go back?”

He looks over at Jonathan. He hadn’t thought about that.

“Most of it.” He says, apologetically. “Nance and I will help, don’t worry.”

“I can help too!” Will takes the seat next to him, looking way too excited about homework. “I can read stuff to you if you need it.”

How had he known?

“That will help, Will, thanks. But you’ve got your own stuff to do.”

“Will, what do you mean?” Joyce asks.

“He did all the math problems but the word ones.” Will shrugs. “So he can do the math, but maybe the word problems are hard to read or something. And he likes it when El reads to him.”

“El’s a good reader.” It’s a weak defense, and he knows it. He probably should have at least offered to read to her.

“We can talk about that more later. What do you guys want for dinner? Steve, I’ll call Jim and let him know you’re staying the night.”

He wants to ask why, but the last time he did that, Will gave him a weird look, and Joyce just looked sad. 

“Can we have pizza? Since Steve’s here?” Will bounces, and Steve grins at him. He kind of wants to bounce, too, but he’s too old for that.

“Don’t expect that to work for long,” Joyce warns. “Steve’s Jonathan’s boyfriend, I think he’s going to be over a lot.”

“But it works for now, and that’s what matters.”

“Oh, so you’re just using me to get pizza? Wow, little Byers, I expected better of you.”

“That’s not what I’m doing!”

“Seems like it is, Will.” Jonathan adds. “Maybe Steve and I should stay in my room, if you’re just going to try and use him like this.”

“Or maybe you just want to make out with him.”

“That’s a benefit, yeah.” Jonathan admits, kissing Steve with… a little flair than he normally would in front of the kids.

“Ew. Mom, tell them to stop making out in front of me!”

“Are there any clothes off?”

“No.”

“Then no, they’re fine.” Steve pulls away a little. He could really get used to this. He and Nancy could never make fun of Mike this way, her mom would have had a fit. But Joyce doesn’t care, and Will doesn’t mean it in the same way Mike had. He’s not rude or mean, he’s only teasing them. Sure, he’s probably a little grossed out, but only because Jonathan’s his big brother. Not because he hates Steve.

“Should we go to my room until the pizza gets here?” Jonathan murmurs. “I’m sure Mom wouldn’t mind.”

“No, stay out here, it’ll be ten minutes.” Joyce knows everything. “Will, grab the paper plates, will you? Jonathan, Steve, clear the table. If you put things back in Jonathan’s room, the door stays open.”

“How much did you get done?”

“Most of two math assignments, and one of the random arts ones.” He’s still got months’ worth of work to make up. He’s starting to see what Hopper went when he said he might want to wait.

It would give him more time to catch up, not that it would matter when he’d just be starting the year over.

“Want me to hand them in for you?”

“Not yet. I don’t think Hopper’s told them either way. Maybe when I look at some more of these, I’ll change my mind.” He won’t. He knows he won’t. He probably should, since even with Nancy and Jonathan’s help he’s not going to make it through even half of this work, but he won’t.

He’s too scared of what will happen if he doesn’t even try.

finish on ao3 or continue reading

The three of them fall into an easy routine, over the next few weeks. Nancy would like to call it a nice routine, but the arguments with her mother that have become part of the routine is not at all nice.

It’s after one of these fights that she’s meant to hang out with Jonathan and Steve at the Byers’. Maybe do homework, but she’s doubting they’ll actually get much done.

“Next weekend.” Steve’s gotten dangerous on his crutches, lately. He and Jonathan are on the porch steps, and she keeps thinking that he’s going to fall. “Next weekend, and I get to go back to my house.”

Nancy’s not so sure that’s a good thing; Steve’s happier than she’s ever known him to be now. But he wants to go back. None of them, not even El’s puppy dog eyes (which, of course, Steve had taught her to use) can sway him.

“What about school?” She’s not a part of getting Steve up to speed on schoolwork, mostly because her mother will try and lock her in her bedroom if she spends any more time with her boys, no matter who else is around.

“I’m going back on Monday, Jon’s been turning in some of my stuff for me as I get it done. I think it’s enough to get me through a couple of classes.”

Some of his work is good, she’s sure, but Nancy’s seen some of his essays. She’s worried about what will happen when he finds out that he can’t graduate this year.

She honestly doesn’t know if he expects to graduate this year. She hasn’t asked.

“Nance,” Steve leans towards her, so much that she’s worried he’s going to overbalance and fall, “How would you feel about spending the weekend with me and Jonathan?”

“We’re going to help him move back and get readjusted.” Jonathan corrects, smiling a little. “I’ve been promised movies and pizza.”

“And kissing.” Steve adds.

“Oh, yes, that’s the deciding factor.” Jonathan wraps an arm around Steve’s shoulders. “Your mom will have a field day with that, though, right?”

“Yeah, she’ll be pissed. She’s already mad at me.”

Nancy hasn’t told either of them what exactly her mom had said the first time she’d rebuked her for spending her time with Jonathan and Steve.

“Still?” Steve asks.

“You know, she’s never needed someone to babysit Holly so often until I started spending more time with you both. She doesn’t like that I’m alone with you, is what I think it is. She never seemed to mind before. At least not this much.”

Nancy can’t figure out what’s set her off this time. She hasn’t heard anything at school, and most of what goes through her mom’s church gets around the high schoolers just as quickly. So she doesn’t think it’s a rumor.

“Want to talk about it?” Steve finally lets Jonathan guide him to sit on the steps, but that’s probably just because he’s distracted with her. He’s got his little worried face on; it’s one he usually tries his best to hide.

“I… don’t know. I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Want to talk about how you feel about it?”

She’s still figuring that out, too. On one hand, it’s really annoying and overprotective of her mom to be acting like this. On the other hand, she doesn’t think she’s had so much of her mom’s undivided attention since before Holly was born.

“You don’t have to!” Steve starts to backtrack after she’s quiet for a minute. Jonathan’s gone inside, probably to grab drinks or something.

“No, I’m just… I don’t know, it’s one of those things where the attention is nice, it’s more undivided attention from her than I’ve had since she was pregnant with Holly,” That’s also around the time her dad checked out. She’s still not sure if it’s because he hadn’t wanted another kid, or if there’s something else at play. “But I don’t like how she’s giving me attention, if that makes sense. She’s being more overbearing and overprotective than anything, and I don’t know what to do about it.”

It feels strange, to admit that out loud. She’s so used to knowing what to do for everything, or at least being able to figure it out. She’s done that with monsters from alternate dimensions! Her mom should be easier to handle than those!

That’s not how things are shaping up, though, and Nancy doesn’t like the pit that forms in her stomach when she thinks about it.

“Yeah, she’s being weird about it.” Steve agrees. “It’s not like you weren’t spending time with me alone, or time with Jonathan alone, before. Why is this so different?”

“I don’t know. She won’t actually tell me, she just keeps saying that I’m in trouble.” Jonathan hands them both a water.

“You could just stay here.” He offers. “Mom won’t mind.”

“Yeah, and that’s going to go over so well.”

“You could tell her that you’re going to move in with Steve, and then pretend to compromise with moving in here.” Jonathan suggests, looking a little too amused by it.

“Oh, she’d hate that.”

Thankfully, Jonathan and Steve steer the conversation away from her mom after that.

She’d never actually move in with the Byers’, Joyce has enough on her plate already without having to worry about her, too. But it’s nice to know that it’s an option, if she needs it.

They sit out there until it starts to rain, just talking, and if anyone is watching to report back to her mom at church, they’re not going to find anything untoward happening.

“Are we actually going to do homework now?”

“No, I’ve got a surprise for you.” Steve says. “I think you’ll like it.”

“Should I be worried?” She looks at Jonathan, but he shakes his head.

“No, it’ll be great.”

Inside, Steve’s ditched his crutches to set up the table; it almost looks like he's made them a fancy meal.

“I didn’t know about it until yesterday.” Jonathan tells her, pulling out her chair for her.  “He started then and just stayed the night.”

Nancy pushes down the jealousy that flares up. She’s glad that Steve and Jonathan are getting closer, but she can’t help but be upset that she’s not getting the same opportunities to spend time with them.

“He did say I could make dinner, though.”

The table���s only set for three—for the first time since she’s arrived, Nancy wonders where Joyce and Will are.

“Mom took Will to the arcade and then they’re having dinner with El and Hopper at the cabin.” Jonathan answers before she can ask. “Mom was very insistent on clearing out. You’d almost think she’d been waiting for it.”

“She was!” Steve sets down a large pot—one that’s probably too big to use for canned soup, at least. “Jonathan made us soup.”

“And I have to wait and see what you made us?”

“Yes, you do.”

It’s dessert, then, but what type of dessert? How had he managed to make it so that Joanthan hadn’t known about it until yesterday?

Between the three of them, they manage to eat most of the pot. Since they cooked, she clears the table, washing out their bowls while Steve gets his surprise ready for them.

“Wait, is that…”

It’s not exactly like the picture, but it looks like one of the cakes Mrs. Henderson had shown them when they’d asked her for recipes.

“I wanted you and Jonathan to have the first thing I made from it. I still don’t think I can thank you enough for that. I don’t even know how you figured it out.”

That’s easy. They’d gone to his house to get him clothes and a few other things, and they’d snooped.

Well, she’d snooped. Jonathan had stayed in the living room like a good, boring guy who was pretending he didn’t want to know more about his crush. She’d been the one checking the corners of his room, under his bed, the top shelves of his closet (she’d had to go in there anyway to get clothes), and even opening every kitchen cupboard to see if there was a secret passion she could uncover.

It meant they’d been able to give Steve a thoughtful, personalized gift though, so Jonathan had only complained about it a little.

“He spent all day making it.” Jonathan leans over, not quite whispering. “He wanted to wait and bring it over today.”

“Then I reconsidered, because if I made it at the cabin then it might not survive the trip here.” Steve plates them all big pieces—over half the cake, total. “But Jonathan wasn’t too nosy about it. Will kept trying to steal the batter.”

“Will is a well-behaved child who would never do such a thing.” Jonathan can’t keep a straight face.

“Will is a menace like the rest of his friends, but he’s better at hiding it.” Steve counters. “Even Max is a menace, she just likes to pretend otherwise.”

“Okay, so they’re all menaces.” Nancy jumps in. “But I think we can agree that Mike is the worst.”

“Yes.” Steve points at her with his fork. “He is. He still hates me, you know?”

“Oh, he’s faking it now. At least most of it.”

“You two don’t have to live with Will, you don’t know anything about menaces.” Jonathan takes a bite of his cake, and the expression that he can’t keep off of his face afterward ruins the rest of the bit. “He steals all of my stuff, he’s always hiding things from me.”

“No, he’s not.” Steve rolls his eyes. “Sounds like you’re stealing that line from Lucus.”

“And so what if I am?”

“Then it’s a lie. I’m going to have to tell El about this, Jon. If she doesn’t know already.”

“Yeah, Jonathan. Friends don’t lie.” Nancy leans into Steve’s side.

“We’re not friends, though, we’re dating.”

“That just makes it even worse! I might have to take a page out of Munson’s book and get on the table to explain to you.” Steve only wraps an arm around her, though, so he’s not going anywhere.

“He hasn’t done that lately!”

“Well, it’s usually pretty funny, he should!”

“Aren’t you the target of most of his speeches?”

“Nah, not really. He hasn’t taken a dig at Hargrove yet?”

“No. After what happened to you, I don’t think anyone wants to.” With that, Jonathan effectively ends that line of discussion.

Somehow, though, it’s not awkward or weird when they finish eating their cake in silence—Nancy wants to say ‘fuck it’ and eat the entire thing tonight, but it’s so rich that they’d probably all be sick from it.

After everything is cleaned up, they manage to squish together on Jonathan’s bed, but they’re all full and tired. Neither of them even react when she takes her shirt off. She’s pretty sure if she took her pants off it’d be a different story, but she’s not in the mood for that.

“Naptime?” She could probably make Steve move so she can be in the middle, but that would take effort.

“Why does it feel like we always end up napping when we’re together?” Jonathan grumbles.

“Cause we do. We like sleeping, I guess.”

“Sleeping and cuddling.” Nancy corrects. “We always wake up in the weirdest positions.”

“That’s Steve’s fault, he moves so much. And he’s an octopus.”

“If I were actually an octopus, neither of you would leave this bed ever again.”

“That sounds pretty good, actually.” She’s the only one with her eyes open; the boys are both half-asleep already. “Wait, Jon, is your mom going to wake us up when she gets home?”

“Probably, cause you can’t stay the night, can you?” They can’t see it, but she shakes her head.

“No, she’s staying.” Steve turns a little so he can squeeze her. “See if you can get me to let go.”

“I don’t think that’s how it works, Steve.”

“It’s definitely how it works.”

“Stop bickering and go to sleep.” Nancy closes her eyes.

It’d be nice if that’s how it worked; she knows that Steve really wouldn’t let her go, and she really wouldn’t mind.

<- 16 18 ->

[finniestoncrane]

since you said it was okay for us to send in multiple ones i worked up the nerve to send one in for a blind date I’ll try to be as concise as I can with describing myself so apologies if this is a little long im not super great at describing myself in generalities. i trust your judgement completely. anyways!

I’m 30, bisexual, usually get mistaken for someone younger due to my size and sound of my voice, I have a couple of different chronic pain conditions but not so bad I can’t function normally, I’m friendly and kind to most people I meet but I also don’t take people’s shit you’ll definitely know if I don’t like someone i don’t really hide it that well —I’m pretty emotionally reactive is what I’m saying. I enjoy reading, some of my favorite authors and books include Edgar Allan Poe, Dracula and Alice in Wonderland (my favorite book) just to name a few, I also really enjoy audio horror dramas despite being bad with horror visually, i really enjoy engaging my brain so I kinda also really enjoy riddles and puzzle games even though my track record isn’t that great at solving them 100% of the time, I also enjoy victorian things and the period very much and my favorite holiday is Halloween! I also tend to show someone I like them no matter if it’s platonic or romantic through physical touch as long as I know they are okay with it

please don’t feel obligated to do this if you don’t feel up to it I just wanted to send in another one since your framing device is extremely adorable and fascinating to me! plus i am very curious who you’d choose for me in this situation. congratulations again finnie you deserve this so much 💚!!

💜 blind date 💜 the kitchen is now closed! 🔞minors dni🔞 • masterlist • kofi link • tag: finnie1500 (to follow or to block) a/n: you stop being so sweet or i'll have to serve you on the dessert menu ;-; 💚

"Hello, welcome to the Vill-Inn! We'll uh... take your order from over here when you're ready. Just shout! There's a weird aura over there... bit of a strange vibe. It's giving us the heebiest of jeebies."

It's not as if there's a rain cloud above him or bats circling the table, but you get what they mean when you sit down across from your date.

"Jonathan Crane, my dear. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

He's charming, completely so. But there's something under that exterior layer, something dark and brooding. Something poetic, almost.

There are several points at the beginning of your conversation with him where you can see him wincing, but trying to hide the expression of pain on his face. It turns out to be an excellent way to open up to each other, as he divulges his chronic pain issues, most of which are the result of injuries from a certain Dark Knight.

"The suffering adds to my will for destruction, though. But I admire others who can admit to needing help, as they should. If you ever need someone to... discuss this with... I can offer some psychological comfort."

The more you reveal of yourself, the more interested he is. You can see him, teasing apart sections of your brain, of your psyche, and lapping them up with intrigue. A kind person who can react emotionally and keep people's cruelty at a distance?

"Very interesting. Tell me more."

Everything he says is accompanied by a wide and curved grin that feels mischievous more than conniving or malevolent, and the only time it really falls to one of warmth and surprise is when you reveal more about yourself, things that he finds a lot in common with.

Your choice of literature is certainly on par with his. When he delves into fiction as opposed to his psychology textbooks and research works, he would definitely opt for a gothic, melancholic terror. In fact, he has his copy of Sleepy Hollow with him.

"If you haven't read it, I can lend it to you. Returning it would be a good reason for us to meet again, no?"

He's intellectual, and enjoys problem solving. And while you admit you might not be much help on the difficult ones he can't quite get as quickly as certain, green-donning colleagues, havinng some emotional support would be just as effective. A love of horror is yet again more common ground, and his sly smile widens, his eyes lighting up, when you mention your love of Halloween. And when you notice the excitement, you reach out to place your hand on top of his. It's cold, but you warm him up, and he is grateful for the connection.

You might have read Sleepy Hollow before, but you'll take it anyway. Anything to meet up with Jonathan again.

[propheciesanddreams]

Another Rosekiller fic

No cw this time it’s fluff!!

“He’s moping again.”

“Hmm?” Evan looked up from his Charms essay to see one of his two best friends standing there.

“I said he’s moping again.” Regulus repeated, shoving his hands in his pockets. He’d changed out of his outer robes though he was still in his uniform from today so he managed to still have an air of grace to him even as he stood there in front of Evan. Regulus was the only out of the three who seemed not less comfortable in lounge clothes than his uniform. Whereas Evan had been in a set of pyjama trousers and a band tee from a concert he’d seen last summer with Barty since the moment he had gotten back to the dorms after dinner, three hours ago. Speaking of the boy. Evan rolled his eyes and looked back at his book, eyes catching on a bit of highlighted text there. As he copied the information over to his essay, he replied,

“And who’s got him upset this time?”

Regulus smiled, briefly. Always briefly with Regulus; Evan wished he would smile more sometimes, he deserved happiness in his life. He sat down on the sofa next to Evan. Not like how Barty would, with an undignified plop. No, Regulus sat with poise and grace that was instilled in him for the last sixteen years of his life. Evan put his quill to his mouth and surveyed his friend as he waited for the answer.

“Melanie? Was that her name this time? Marlana? Maladroit?” Regulus mused. He pronounced the last word in a perfect French accent.

“That one’s not even a name,” Evan snorted.

“Yeah well it’s accurate for Barty.” Regulus reasoned. That it was.

“And you want me to talk to him?” Evan scanned the next page of his charms textbook, frustrated. There was nothing useful on this page that he hadn't already used, he’d have to go to the library.

“Finished mine last night.” Regulus nodded towards the essay. “I’ve got a book that was really helpful, I’ll get it once he stops moping because if I go up there and have to hear one more thing about this girl I will drown myself.”

“Are you bribing me, Regulus Black?” Evan shut his textbook as he spoke. Already resigning to the fact that he’ll have to go upstairs and confront Barty.

“Is it working?” Regulus leaned back with his arms crossed and raised an eyebrow. It would have been much more convincing if the dark green sofa weren’t currently attempting to swallow him whole. Nobody could sit in these sofas without being consumed eventually but least of all Regulus who always sat all the way back and he was just so small with that seeker build. Though Evan would never say as much to him.

“Fine. Can you look over what I’ve written so far?” He passed his parchment over and Regulus nodded, already reading through the scribbled notes there.

Evan sighed and stood, wiping nonexistent dust off his pyjama trousers as he did so, just for something to do. His footsteps felt heavy as he climbed the staircase and ambled down the hall to their dorm. The dark shadows in the lake windows along the hall felt as ominous as this encounter would be.

Barty was an absolute menace when he was moping. Anything could send him into dramatics, a poor test grade, a detention, missing a bludger he should have hit in practice, and, yes, girls. Then similarly, he’d seen Barty cast aside poor grades, laugh about detentions, tease himself over a poor play in an actual game, and wave off a girl as just some fun he was having. The inconsistencies made it so Evan and Regulus rarely knew what to expect from him on any given day.

That was how they had developed a routine on how they approached him. Regulus usually with blunt, unapologetic truths about how Barty needed to get up off his ass and do something about it. Evan, on the other hand, with kind words and sometimes a cuppa. It was a real good auror, bad auror dynamic they have. Unfortunately, there’s no telling at the jump which one Barty will need. He tended to respond to both approaches with no rhyme or reason. It seems today he needs softness if Regulus wasn’t able to sort him out already, and Evan is willing to do that for him. He’s always willing to be whatever Barty needs.

The loud tones of The Bludgers hit him as soon as he opened the dorm door. At least it seems Barty had the sense to throw up a silencing charm, or maybe that had been Regulus’ doing. He pulls out his wand and silences the record player with a quick spell. To Barty’s credit, he didn’t move.

“Alright, what’s this about?” Evan plopped down on the end of Barty’s bed and fixed the back of Barty’s head with an impatient stare. A moment later, Barty rolled over, knocking his foot against Evan’s thigh but not seeming to care that they were touching because he left it resting there.

“Am I unlovable?” Barty asked after a long pause.

“Unlovable?” Evan repeated. He screwed his nose up, not at the word itself but at the word in association with Barty. “Since when does that bother you?”

“So I am.” He sounded defeated. He sounded like he’d taken a brain altering potion. Or maybe someone using polyjuice on him because this surely was not Barty.

"That's not what I'm saying, Barty." He looked down the bed at his friend who was properly in a stroop. His brows were furrowed deep in thought, arms crossed in front of him, lips turned downward and in a bit of a pout as well. It struck Evan as fairly cute before he shook those thoughts and returned to how annoying his friend was being. "Look, mate, it's not that–"

"Mate." Barty mimicked bitterly. Evan raised an eyebrow at him unsure where they had gone wrong and why that word would be bothering Barty. "I–you know actually it's fine, forget it, mate."

"What did I–" Evan attempted to begin asking the question but Barty kicked at Evan's thigh where their bodies were touching. He moved up the bed again while grabbing an afghan his mother had knit for him and wrapping it around him tightly.

"Can you leave me alone?" He asked, his voice small. Wrapped up in the afghan as he was, Evan could tell this wasn't the usual stroop. His eyes were red and watery around the edges and there were deep, dark bags under them. Evan tried to think back if Barty had been sleeping lately and he couldn't remember. He should have been paying attention to this. He should at least know the name of someone obviously this important to Barty. Reflecting back, he can't remember a single conversation they've had about girls all week.

"Err, yeah." He muttered and got up off the bed. He stopped at the door, turning back to Barty. "You're not unloveable, Barty." A final attempt at pulling his friend out of this sadness. The boy under the blanket didn't respond and Evan took his leave.

~~~

A stream of purple light shoots over top of Evan’s face as he’s lounging in his bed and hits a bundle of blankets to his right.

“Ow! What the fuck!” Barty is to his feet, grasping for his wand off his bedside table, within seconds. However, Regulus has already shot off another wordless hex. “What. The. Fuck!” Barty growls again, rising to his feet once more, and attempts to shoot off his own stinging hex but Regulus, the better dueler, has already set up a shield charm and sent another hex. This time it catches the edge of Barty’s robes on fire and he’s distracted from calling out another spell by having to stomp the fire out.

Evan’s brain seems to finally catch up after that and he throws a shield up for Barty and glares over at Regulus just as another stream of pink light makes its way across the dorm.

“What are you on about?” Evan shrieks. Duelling in their dorm isn’t uncommon but usually both parties have agreed to it before having a hex hurled at their head. This has come completely unprovoked. As far as Evan is aware, Barty hasn’t said anything to either of them in two days. Not since he told Evan to get out of the dorm. He tries not to think about that or the bitter way Barty had said 'mate' as if the word were no longer true.

Evan had of course had to come back later that evening for bed but Barty had already closed the curtains of his four-poster around himself. He had skipped all his classes the following day and then today, a Hogsmeade Saturday, he had stayed in the dorm all day despite the many girls who had been disappointed in not seeing him.

"His moping is driving me mad." Regulus explained, setting his wand back to his side but keeping his grip tight. Across the room, Barty did the same though with a lot less poise. He pushed his hair back from his face, attempting to regain his breath as he did so. Evan lowered his shield.

"You don't just attack, Reggie, we've been over this." Evan attempted to joke but it fell flat as the other two dorm members glared daggers at each other across the small space.

"You act like you've never spent a weekend in bed, hypocrite." Barty replied. Which was actually a very fair point, when Regulus moped, it was much more difficult to bring him back than it was when he or Barty got in a way.

"Just tell us who it was?" Regulus ignored Barty's accusations. "We'll prank them, then you can move on." He waved a hand in the air indicating how he expected the situation would simply disappear.

"It has been a while since we've pranked anyone." Evan agreed, eager to have his friend back. Chaos was Barty's love language, hopefully it would bring him back.

Instead, Barty just rolled his eyes and groaned at them. He picked up his blanket again and climbed back onto his bed. With a quick flick of his wand, all the curtains closed around him. Evan and Regulus exchanged a look; Regulus' a bit more murderous than Evan's soft concern though they seemed on the same page as they walked over and reopened the curtains.

"You're really gone for this bird aren't you, mate." Evan climbed onto the edge of the bed. Across from him, Regulus did the same so they were now all three on the bed.

"Mate." Barty mimicked in a bitter tone from under his blanket cocoon.

"Ok that's the second time you've taken issue with me calling you mate what the fuck is wrong with you?" Evan could feel his anger rising, he tried not to get angry, not usually. Sometimes his anger built up way too much and it overtook him completely so there was nothing left to do but to scream.

These moments were rare and he attempted to contain them to moments when he was alone. Only Barty had seen him erupt once before in fourth year when they'd gotten back from the Easter holidays and Evan had spent two weeks holding his anger back at home. It had taken a hold of him without any warning and it was doing so again this time too. His very bones vibrating with the anger he hadn't realised was within him.

"Are we not mates anymore? Is that what this is? Some bird has you choosing between your mates or her because that's fucked mate! We're the ones who–"

"Not a bird."

"are there when yo–what?" Evan fixed him with a confused look but he only seemed to retreat further into his blanket. A cursory glance at Regulus showed that Evan was the only one of them truly confused by this statement. Instead of reacting, Regulus seemed to have found a very interesting spot on the floor that needed staring at.

"It's not a girl." Barty repeated, plainly. "I'm not with a bird, not with anyone right now. No one is making me choose anything." Evan tried to click together all the pieces he'd just been given but they weren't making sense in his head. He supposes he'd never really seen Barty differentiate between flirting with girls or guys, he just hadn't thought much of it. It was just, Barty. Barty was just a flirt, it didn't matter but had he actually been dating guys too? He hadn't noticed if he had been. This feels like something a best friend should know, shouldn't it?

Evan felt the weight of two sets of eyes on him as both his friends were now staring at him.

"What?" He asked, realising he must have missed something.

"I asked if that was a problem." Barty stated in a more confident voice than before. The defiance he used as self-defence shining through.

"Oh! No, no not at all. You're still Barty. Still my best mate." Evan offered him a smile and patted his shoulder over the blanket. He felt Barty wince and couldn't help the anger rising again, why was Barty so upset by this so suddenly. "What did I say wron–"

"It's nothing." Barty cut him off.

"It's clearly something." Evan shakes his head, he can deal with Barty in a mood, but Barty being upset with him when he's done nothing wrong isn't something he can manage with a level head. "Why are you upset with–"

He can't finish yet another sentence between Barty has snaked an arm out from the blanket to tug Evan forward and Evan has tipped off balance so that he has to place his hands on Barty to stop himself from fully falling on top of the other boy. One hand falls on his thigh and the other on his shoulder and he barely has time to process the fall (or the push?) before he looks into Barty's eyes and sees a faint blush on his friend's cheeks right there across those beautiful freckles and he's smirking. The bastard is smirking up at him like this was his plan all along but he isn't fooling anyone because Evan can hear his breath hitch all the same when one of them, he really isn't sure who, closes the gap between them.

Just like that, he's kissing his best mate.

Mate.

Oh, now he gets it.

What a horrible word in hindsight.

Distantly, Regulus mumbles something to the pair and Evan feels the shift in weight off the bed but he doesn't focus enough to comprehend what his friend said because he's kissing Barty and Barty is kissing him back and Barty is…pulling away. He frowns.

"Hey Ev?" Barty asks.

"Yeah?" Evan asks back. He doesn't move from where he was, confused as ever from Barty's behaviour.

"Will you do me a favour?" His breath skates across Evan's cheeks and makes him shiver.

"What is it?" His voice is barely a whisper.

"Will you shut up? You're thinking so loud." He whispered back, his voice steady and strong. Evan barely had time to nod before Barty hooked his hand around his neck and pulled them back together.

~~~

Time finds them still on Barty's bed when Regulus returns to the dorm. It might have been hours later or only minutes, Evan isn't sure. They're laying on their sides facing one another, Barty's fingers brushing against Evan's cheek absently. They aren't saying anything, they haven't been saying anything, yet the silence feels so different than it had moments, minutes, hours (however long it had truly been) before.

"Are you done moping?" Regulus asked. Barty made a noncommittal noise, his eyes not leaving Evan's. "Are you two mates again?" This drew Barty's attention more, he raised up on his elbow to glare at Regulus across the room. Before wands could be drawn yet again, Evan answered instead.

"I think it's safe to say we won't be just mates any longer." Barty looks over at him with an expression of shock and then it softens and he lays back down where he had been a moment before.

[insert actual fic ending here 😅]

[rendy-a]

Hello, hello! It's so nice to see you write for the pet au. You write really well too! I find myself gushing with every post you come up with, haha! XD

I'd like to request for some headcanons where Trey, Ruggie, and Azul are bought by a master that's often forgetful and likes to daydream, just very deattached from reality overall. How will these pets handle such a master? I'm interested to find out your take~

Thank you in advance! <3

Ah, my first ask!  How exciting 😊.  I’m glad you are enjoying my take on the Pet AU.  I am trying hard to make sure I do it justice.

A master who lives in their own world of daydreams.  Most would choose a companion type pet to be a dedicated secretary for such a forgetful master.  For a house pet like Trey, Ruggie and Azul, its an added challenge they must tackle.

It’s less like you need a pet and more like you need a big brother.  Luckily for you, Trey has that covered!  You’re just another one of his adorable little siblings to look out for!

He’ll encourage you to sit at the counter while he bakes the day’s meal.  Go ahead and tell him your rambling stories, he doesn’t mind at all.  The way your train of thought wanders is just so cute!  You probably forget what you were trying to say by the end of it but…that’s just perfect because it’s time to try a cookie fresh from the oven anyway!

Trey is also on top of reminding you about all the little things you need to do.  Did you send that Thank You card for the birthday gift?  How about that early morning meeting you have tomorrow?  Better go to be early!  And his absolute must-do, brushing your teeth!  Do you need him to give you a step-by-step on all the best tips for good oral hygiene?  He is happy to do it.

Trey also has another side though.  Just like any overprotective big brother, he sometimes likes to keep things from you…for your own good!  If he judges a task to be something he doesn’t think you should do, he will just not remind you about it.  That lunch with your old high school friend that always seems to put you down, looks like he also “forgot” when that was supposed to happen.  Guess you missed that, huh?  Maybe next time… Don’t be sad Master, I’ll bake you a tarte to cheer you up.  Come, tell me a story while I start the oven.

What ever possessed a sweet innocent daydreamer like you to adopt a con man like Ruggie?  You are a textbook odd couple, a total mismatched pair!  Not that he doesn’t try to clean up his act but…you make it so hard. 

Sometimes you’ll give him treats and then…forget you’ve just given him a treat.  Now you are asking Ruggie if he wants a second doughnut for being such a good boy?  Is…is this a trick?  He will resist this time but honestly master, he can only take so much!

And then there are the reminders you need for your forgetfulness.  Does he remind you?  Of course!  He is fond of his sweet master, after all.  Just don’t think he doesn’t get anything out of it!  He has a skill for bringing things up with such perfect timing to get out of things or save himself effort.  Bath time?  Oh, but wait master, didn’t you need to call your granny tonight?  Guess bath time will have to wait for later.  Or don’t you need to go downtown now?  Guess he can ride with you to do his shopping then.  Shishishi!

The one thing Ruggie won’t stand for, though, is to have anyone else take advantage of you.  Did you already pay for your coffee?  Yes master, he remembers and…maybe he should do your morning coffee run from now on.  Just relax and look out the window for a bit.  Ruggie will be right back.  Got your head in the clouds again master?  Don’t worry about it, I’ve got your back.

You are quite a problem for Azul to solve.  He is so desperately trying to win your attention and then these sorts of things happen.  Did you see that!?  He managed to levitate every single plate you dropped and get them all set on the table before any of the food even spilled and…you are just distractedly gazing into space.  Ok then, maybe next time.  Ah master, that task you set him to is complete.  All your socks are arranged perfectly by color, seasonal use and material.  Oh…you don’t remember asking him to organize your socks…well silly him.  He spends a lot of time in his octopot getting over the disappointment.

Where he has more success is in keeping you on schedule.  It is in Azul’s nature to make careful plans, for himself and now for you too.  He has long since discovered the best way to track all your appointments and deliver you timely reminders for them.  Even though its taxing to send so many updates, when you get home with the milk AND the bread AND the cereal, well it feels like a big win to you both.

Everything you put him through is worth it, when you give him one of those soft smiles and tell him all your thoughts.  Your dreams are always so interesting to him.  Such imaginative ideas and never with any judgement.  Azul thinks the world would be wonderful if it was just the way it is in your dream.  As he listens to your rambles, he secretly tries to plan ways to make your impossible daydreams come true.  Maybe someday I’ll be part of your world Master.

[emmetofthestars]

aa sry thought of another question, on days when they're not working do any have particular hobbies? or like which are like wow i have no idea what to do with myself right now

recently i thought about achilles scrapbooking :J but he takes photos and such out of textbooks or whatever he finds. i think he needs a page/poster just about achilles the mythological figure with images and text. he would do that.

crow and jay like to wander around outside and climb as high as possible wherever they can and just chill and talk. perhaps snag some alcohol and soda first. sometimes gary comes with

gary is finding every excuse to jump into a body of water. it loves to fucking sweem you cant take that away from it. honestly i think it should dig holes too or something

i wanted to say maybe some of them play chess but then i remembered they dont know wtf chess is or how to play it, nor would they have a chessboard. sad.

iris is a little. difficult for me. im not sure she can even write, so while she would write things down im not sure she can. i can't imagine what they would exactly like. infact i feel like they would do chores to pass time. besides that they just chill. theyre not very high energy so they legit dont mind just laying around somewhere and occasionally talking to someone. maybe watch tv and fall asleep halfway through, completely slumped in its seat

daisyy. daisy is goina try and cook and mess up. maybe even bake but thatd be too hardcore for him tbh. she would also enjoy the outside and hanging with achilles

minnie wtf do you do. minnie is there. minnie builds. minnie makes things. minnie just is.

charon sits around and is evil. jk but with how reluctant they are to talk to other people outside of medical checkups i think they really dont have much to do besides sit in their room and read or sit in their infirmary and read. maybe go outside and look at things. maybe secretly snack on candies.

sometimes carl sneaks around collecting things he likes and he kinda hoards them in his room. puts them in his little pillow-blanket fort if it fits. posters and whatnot. and of course anything red blue or white, or with stars on it. some nights he dares to sneak outside and stargaze. other nights he just listens to a radio.