#uh libraries exhibits

[g1rld1ary]

the way i see you ; remus lupin x reader

➻ synopsis: you're an artist, but you never let any of your friends see your work. they finally attend one of your exhibits and see your feelings on paper

➻ word count: 4346

➻ content: swearing, allusions to sex, gryffindor reader but literally mentioned once, no pronouns but implied to be fem reader, kissing, no war AU!!

➻ the remus brainrot is strong rn

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

You were an artist, you had been the whole time the boys knew you. Even in first year as a shy eleven year old, you were always scribbling away in a little sketchbook that lived in the big pockets of your robes. The hobby only developed as you got older, expanding mediums and filling countless sketchbooks. When you weren’t studying (or even when you were supposed to be) it was almost a given that you’d be working on a piece somewhere, far from the prying eyes of others.

Your friends caught glances of your art sometimes, doodles on the corner of your essays or notes, maybe a stray page left out in your dorm which told them you were good, but you never ever willingly let them see it. They didn’t know why, truthfully, you didn’t know either, but it had always been that way and everyone had more or less accepted that.

“Have you ever drawn me?” Sirius asked one afternoon as you all sat out by the Black Lake, cocky grin on his face.

“’Course,” You answered simply, moving to turn back to your conversation with Remus.

“Wait, really?”

“Well you have to have drawn me then, right? Can’t just be Padfoot!” James cut in quickly, making you laugh, nodding.

“Before everyone starts asking, lets just establish that I’ve drawn all of you at some point, okay?” You thought that would calm them down, but it only riled them up further, much to your chagrin.

“And you haven’t shown us?” Marlene cried dramatically.

“I deserve to see you capture my beauty!” Sirius collapsed in an exaggerated performance and you couldn’t decide whether you were amused or embarrassed, giggling and hiding your face in Remus’ shoulder. He merely pat you on the shoulder, shooting you a fond gaze you couldn’t see. James caught it though, and smirked in a way that Remus knew he was about to be embarrassed.

“Have you drawn Moony?” He asked, and you both looked at him suddenly.

“Prongs, don’t,” Remus said sternly, then turning to you, “It’s okay, you don’t have to answer… I know they must ruin the picture.” He gestured down to his scars. You just looked at him for a moment, utterly baffled.

“As if some silly scars would stop me from drawing you,” You said, a sweet smile on your lips, “You’re my biggest inspiration, Moony.” He blushed at that but the rest of your friends tactfully ignored it, though the boys shot him some shit-eating looks.

It was probably true that you drew Remus the most, but it was only because you spent the most time with him! Or, that’s what you told yourself anyway. Remus Lupin was your best friend in the world, and you loved him more than anything. Since you were always together and hanging out, clearly you’d draw him more, it was perfectly natural!

Your study sessions together in the library often devolved quickly, essays abandoned to the side, both of you falling into chatter as you studied and sketched him.

“What’re you drawing, dove?” He’d always ask, knowing you’d never tell. You’d simply press your lips into a cheeky smile, shaking your head resolutely.

“Uh-uh,” You’d say, “An artist never reveals her secrets.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s magicians, stupid,” He laughed, running a hand through his curls.

“Oh,” You frowned, “Well I’m that too, aren’t I?”

“Hardly,” He snorted, “Your essays are more doodles than writing.”

“Hey, Slughorn gave me a whole extra mark for the portrait I drew last week, so none of that.”

Or you’d follow him out of the pub you were all in when Remus needed a smoke, sitting on the blacked out window ledge as he lit up. You thought he might have been the most beautiful person in the world when he smoked, the way the lighter brought out the gold flecks in his eyes and hair and the shadows of night emphasised his unreal bone structure. You’d probably drawn him in that exact scenario hundreds of times, but it wasn’t your fault he looked like a fallen angel. When he leaned over to give you a puff you took it gratefully, if only for the proximity. You weren’t much of a smoker, but for Remus you’d let your lungs rot.

It was moments like that where you’d wonder what it would be like to kiss him, lean past the cigarette and put your mouth on his. Sometimes you thought he wanted it too, the way he’d get slightly too close for best friends, his own hand being the one to stick the dart into your mouth, sometimes so close your lips brushed his fingers. Moments like that made you wonder if he loved you back. Then later, when everyone was drunker, you’d see him stick his tongue down some prettier girl’s throat and you’d remember your place as his best friend. If it stung you tried not to show it, letting some sleazy guy a few years older than you buy you drinks until Peter told you it was time to leave.

Still, you were mostly alright with just being friends with Remus. You still got most of the benefits; his conversation, his dry humour, the ability to look at his gorgeous face. Who needed everything else? Plus, you could draw him whenever you wanted, doing whatever you wanted — not in a weird way. Mostly. You still would never admit that you’d drawn him holding your hand, or kissing you, or other things you desired… The magic of art, right?

After years of bugging, you finally submitted to your friends constant nagging. The day that you officially graduated Hogwarts was an emotional one. Seven years of constant laughter and magic (both literal and the sentimental kind) were over, and the world seemed too large and intimidating compared to the familiar walls of your school. Yet there was no stopping it, and you were all Hogwarts graduates.

While all your parents cried and reminisced over coffee in the Great Hall, your friends had gone for one last deep conversation by the Black Lake. Discussions of the future were unavoidable, but were mostly positive. Talks of trips you’d take, apartments you’d live in and hell you’d raise. When you all quietened down slightly, struck by it being the last time you’d sit in front of the lake, you cleared your throat.

“Um, I have something for you guys, a graduation gift.” From your purse you pulled the envelopes, all filled with fancy cardstock from the art shop near your family home. You’d drawn a simple grey-lead portrait of each of your friends, framed with a little message of congratulations. You watched anxiously as they each opened the envelopes, nervous all the hype would make the art seem inconsequential. Your fear couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Sirius gasped dramatically as he saw what it was, but a genuine smile followed straight after. James burst straight into tears, hardly getting the picture all the way out. You could tell Lily was trying not to follow, but seeing her boyfriend cry set off the waterworks for her. Marlene and Mary were inspecting the others, pointing out the little details you’d put in, like Mary’s favourite daisy earrings or the slit Marlene had impulsively shaved into her eyebrow only a few weeks before. Peter was bright pink, flattered to the highest degree. Remus was hard to read, simply staring at you with the strangest look in his eye. You couldn’t ask him about it though, being ambushed with hugs from every direction.

“I can’t believe you’ve been hiding all this talent from us,” Peter said, the rest agreeing.

“Didn’t know we had our very own Da Vinci hiding behind a Gryffindor tie,” Marlene added, making you blush and grin.

You dreaded to imagine what it would look like from an outsider’s perspective, the eight of you teary, sweaty messes all piled on top of each other. Well, seven of you.

“Come on, Moony,” James called in a sing-song voice, “If you can’t submit to a hug at our graduation I am going to give you the biggest, slobberiest kiss and you won’t be able to do a thing about it.” Remus snorted, rolling his eyes.

“You look like absolute wankers,” Was all he said, but joined the pile nonetheless, and you were extra glad he was mainly holding on to you. When you all finally pulled away it was minutes later, but the whole thing was strangely cathartic.

“We all have to promise that we’ll always be friends, no matter what,” Mary said, putting her pinky finger out. The rest of you agreed, sticking your pinkies in for a very convoluted eight way promise. With that sorted your friends started heading back up the hill to the school building, ready to leave Hogwarts forever and prepare for a long night of heavy drinking. Remus held you back. James sent you a suggestive glance when he noticed but left it that, drawing Lily in for a bittersweet kiss.

You turned to Remus, only for his eyes to be locked on the portrait. You’d spent so much time trying to get it perfect for him, practising the stupid knot he insisted on tying every day despite the rest of the school going with a less convoluted method of wearing their ties.

“Do you like it?” You asked, subconsciously twisting your ring around your pointer finger. Remus let out a half laugh.

“I love it, honest. It’s insane, really. That you can make this just like that. It’s just…” You searched his eyes for the rest of the sentence. “You make me look…” He didn’t finish but you knew immediately what he meant. Remus hated looking at himself, training his eyes down in the bathroom and opting to always be the photographer so he didn’t have to see himself in the final product. You knew of course it was because of his scars, but you genuinely couldn’t believe he thought they were ugly, much less made him ugly.

“I wish you could see yourself the way I see you, just once,” You sighed, grabbing his free hand and interlocking your fingers, leading him back to where the others were waiting.

Four years out of Hogwarts and you’d all kept your promise. Of course you didn’t see each other quite as much as the boarding school schedule allowed, but the boys all had an apartment together which brought you together often enough — except James and Lily who were married and had moved down to Godric’s Hollow to raise baby Harry. That similarly brought you all to meet often, all determined to spoil Harry as his aunts and uncles.

You weren’t a full-time artist professionally, though you still did it just as much. You’d evolved to paints by then; living with a muggle because the rent was cheap had the added bonus of not having to worry about leaving your paintings on the easel since you didn’t really care what they thought about your art anyway.

Your friends were all huddled in the boys’ apartment living room, every seat taken as you all caught up. You were on the couch with Remus, absentmindedly running your hands through his hair as his head rested on your lap. You still weren’t dating, but Lily always said you might as well have been. You laughed her off every time — if he hadn’t said anything by now how could he feel the same way? You tried to pretend it didn’t still sting.

You’d tried dating, Remus too. He’d had countless partners since you’d finished school — even more one night stands. Nothing lasted more than a few months. You’d done slightly better, you made it about a year with some bloke that Remus hated before he revealed himself as a colossal dickhead, and you’d been mostly single since.

The group was trying to organise their next meeting.

“What about the movies next Friday? I wanna see that new muggle film, Knife Runner,” James suggested and you and Remus both snorted.

“Blade Runner, love,” Lily corrected with a giggle and James burst out laughing, making a quick joke at his own expense. You’d dug your planner out of your purse to check your availability and frowned, closing the book quickly.

“I can’t do next Friday, sorry, how about Saturday?”

“And what plans have you got on a Friday night, you minx?” Mary asked with wiggling eyebrows. Even Remus looked interested, which made your heart stutter.

“Just a work thing,” You answered quickly, not wanting to reveal the real reason.

“You lie like a rug!” Marlene yelled, sitting up from her spot on the floor. You winced, you shouldn’t have made an excuse that she could so easily disprove, being in the same department of the ministry. “What plans are you too embarrassed to tell us about, slag?” You laughed shortly, their assumptions were so completely off.

“It’s not what you think—”

“Not what you think my arse, who’s ‘Davis Show’ and why is he surrounded by hearts, you absolute tart!” Sirius cried, displaying the planner for everyone to see. You couldn’t help but burst out laughing, wheezing as you looked at your friends’ faux-scandalised expressions.

“Look you twats, Davis Show isn’t a man. I’ve been invited to put my art in a show at the Davis Gallery down on Welking Road next week. I can assure you I’m not shagging a man named Davis.”

The whiplash was immediate, the gossip sniffing exchanged for celebrations, you couldn’t tell whose yelling was whose. Peter immediately ran to the kitchen for a bottle of champagne, passing glasses around the room. When the initial excitement wore down you were subjected to a million questions, and tried to answer each of them patiently.

“I can’t believe you weren’t gonna tell us,” Mary pouted and you sighed.

“You know how I get about my art,” You explained, “It’s not that I don’t love you all, obviously, it just makes me so nervous thinking about you guys all seeing my stuff.”

“You know we’re all coming now, right?” James said, wiping his glasses where the champagne bubbles had created smudges.

“You really don’t have to,” You put in quickly, “It’s so embarrassing.”

“Why won’t you let us appreciate you?” Marlene whined.

“It’s just, my art is like an extension of my soul. I don’t think I’d be able to recover if you didn’t think it was good.” Your friends grew rowdy at that, offended you’d even think they wouldn’t adore your art no matter what. You felt Remus put a hand on your thigh and gave him a weak smile, knowing he’d shut down the conversation if you wanted him to. You didn’t want to make a big deal out of nothing though, especially when everyone was being so supportive. You figured everyone was so busy they’d forget it by the next week anyway.

Friday came, and you were a wreck of nerves. Although you’d sold pieces here and there throughout the years, this show would be the first time your art would be displayed as a collective, and you were terrified of rejection.

You’d figured your friends weren’t actually coming since none of them had really mentioned anything since. Apart from Lily, of course, who’d sent an owl to your desk that morning with a sweet good luck note and your favourite chocolate.

Even Remus hadn’t said anything when you went for coffee on your lunch break. That did puzzle you, you knew he would never go if he thought it would make you uncomfortable, but it wasn’t like him as your best friend to forget something so monumental in your life. You thought he was acting kind of weird though, more affectionate than he usually was. He kept looking at you longer than he should, and you wondered if you’d miscounted how far away the next full moon was. When you asked him about it he just brushed it off, looking down at his tea instead like he’d been caught.

“I love you,” He said and you laughed.

“I love you too, Lupin!” You cooed, patting him softly on the hand.

“You’re amazing, you know?” You arched a brow.

“What are you trying to make up for?” You asked suspiciously, giving him a once over to search for answers.

“Nothing, promise,” He smiled in a way that made your knees a little weak, “I just wanted to make sure you knew.”

“You’re gonna give me an ego,” You grumbled, packing up your things to get back to work. As you parted ways he pressed a kiss down to your cheek and you stumbled. Remus was never this affectionate as a person — a pat on the back, a hug if you needed one, yes, but he was never one for casual platonic kisses. You figured it must have been his way to apologise for not coming to the art show? But he knew you didn’t mind, so what was he apologising for? You tried to shake it off and get back to work, but you couldn’t get your closeness out of your head.

Evening fell and you were setting up your stall before the other patrons came in. Rearranging the paintings until you were pretty much perfectly happy, you looked around, still not fully believing you were really here. People were filtering in, well dressed and chattering softly as young waiters handed out flutes of champagne. You straightened out your silky black skirt in an effort to look more presentable, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear.

At first things were slow, and you almost regretted not inviting your friends, if only so they could make your area look more interesting. And once you let that thought in, you kind of regretted not inviting them anyway. After all, they were the dearest people in your life and this was such a meaningful event to you.

You couldn’t think about that for long though since people had begun to filter over to you, making polite small talk as they admired your paintings. You tried to be energetic, smiling widely if you ever locked eyes with someone. However, deep down, you just wanted your friends.

A little old woman approached you for a while, wanting to know the meaning behind basically every painting and you told her happily, sharing the memories that inspired each work.

“Seems like you’ve got some true friends,” She said, “I hope you keep them close.” You agreed, thanking her profusely as she bought a landscape of the Whomping Willow.

It was growing closer and closer to closing, and honestly, it had been a wonderful night. Seeing the way that people reacted and interacted with your art was a magical experience, and changed the way you thought about it entirely. You decided that if you ever got the opportunity again, you’d want to share it with everyone else.

You were just moving to start packing up when you heard a myriad of gasps.

“What the fuck, dude?” The unmistakeable voice of Marlene McKinnon said from behind you. You whipped around to meet them, breaking into a cheek splitting smile.

“What are you guys doing here?” You asked, rushing over to scoop them all up into a hug.

“Fuck that, why didn’t you tell us that we’re your exhibition?” Sirius cried, running up to examine the paintings more clearly.

“And that they’re literally professional?” Peter added, eyes wide in wonder. You flushed red under their praise. If your friends thought your pencil portraits were good, they were nothing compared to your paintings.

Plus, every one of them was of your friends, or something sentimental to you all. Landscapes of Hogwarts, portraits of your friends, captured memories of long summer days, or life sketches from when you were all together. You watched them observe the paintings with nervous excitement, loving as they gave specific, personal compliments that only people who truly knew you could give.

“This our apartment,” Sirius said, pointing to one of your biggest pieces, “That’s our couch, the pillow Prongs has permanently ruined with butterbeer, that’s Moony!”

“There are a lot of paintings of Moony, aren’t there?” James whispered to you, wiggling his eyebrows. You flushed again. Sirius continued on, seeming (or pretending) not to have heard.

“We have to have this in the flat. Right boys?” Your eyes widened.

“Really?”

“For sure,” Peter said, “I’m buying this one too.” He gestured to one of him and James playing chess in the Gryffindor common room.

“And this is taking pride of place at home.” James pointed to a portrait of his and Lily’s wedding, and Lily similarly chose one of her and baby Harry. Marlene took one of her and Mary on the beach and Mary took one of the group at a house party. Half your paintings ended up being sold by the end of the night, and you couldn’t feel luckier. The only one who hadn’t said anything was Remus, who couldn’t keep his eyes off the paintings.

You shooed your friends out of the gallery once it really was closing time, and got to work packing away your things. You were deep in thought, reflecting on the wild day when someone cleared their throat behind you. It was Remus, and he moved to help you put your things away, stacking the paintings between bubble wrap to protect them.

“These are really beautiful,” He said, “I mean, we knew you were talented but… these are seriously on another level.”

“Thanks, Remus.” You smiled, unable to make eye contact as you watched him handle all the paintings you’d done of him. Portraits like the others, but also studies of his hands — god you were obsessed with his hands — his profile, and one less than innocent picture of his back, scars resting over muscles. You probably shouldn’t have put that one out, but to be fair you didn’t know he’d see it.

There was a somewhat awkward silence between the two of you. Not uncomfortable, per se, but there were definitely things you both wanted to say that neither knew how to.

“Let me drive you home,” Remus settled on and you nodded, letting him help you load your work into the boot of his car. You sat in the passenger seat, absentmindedly tapping your fingers on the dashboard to whatever radio station Remus had turned on. Remus stared straight ahead, knuckles pulled tight around the steering wheel.

“I’m really proud of you, you know. This whole show was incredible.” You went to thank him again but he kept talking. “I just wanted to know, um, there were a lot of paintings of me. I was just wondering why, why me?” You hesitated, unsure of what was going to come out of your mouth.

“I wish you could see yourself the way I see you,” You decided on with a bit of a sigh.

“You’ve said that before, what does that mean?” Your breath hitched. You definitely didn’t intend for it all to come out tonight, but if you didn’t say it now you doubted you ever would.

“You are the most beautiful person I know, Remus. I mean, even aside from your personality — which we know I have to be at least somewhat a fan of after all these years — you’re totally fit. Your eyes, your hair, God, your fucking bone structure, you’re literally a walking renaissance painting. And I know you think your scars make you ugly, but you don’t know how turned on I get thinking about how they’d feel on my skin.” Shit, you probably should’ve stopped talking.

You hadn’t realised he’d parked while you were rambling, but now you were sitting outside his apartment and he was looking at you with eyes that looked more like the wolf than him.

“I turn you on?” He whispered, voice suddenly gravelly as he leaned closer in to you.

“More than anything,” You breathed, brain buffering at the feeling of his breath on your face. Suddenly his mouth was on yours, hot and electric and not at all gentle. It felt like years of pent up frustration being let out all at once, and if he was anything like you, it probably was.

“Up,” He mumbled between kisses and you heard him undoing his seatbelt, hurrying to do the same. You barely disconnected to get out of the car, attaching yourself to his arm as he led the way up to the boys’ flat.

You made it up the three flights of stairs, not without Remus pushing you up against the stairwell wall to stick his tongue in your mouth, and stumbled straight into his bedroom, shedding layers as soon as the door was safely shut.

The next morning you awoke first, initially convinced you were dreaming when you saw him lying peacefully beside you. Eventually you rolled onto your side, ready to get out of bed for a glass of water when his nightstand caught your eye. There, in pride of place, was your graduation portrait of him, with a polaroid of the two of you stuck to the corner. Maybe he really had liked you as long as you’d liked him.

[localnerdforsteveharrington]

Mattheo riddle x fem reader and smut based off pepper by Lana del ray?

Pepper // m.r

Warnings: smutty, oral (male receiving), exhibition kink sorta, kissing, riding.

I sit across from Mattheo at the library desk. He’s trying to explain whatever new potion from lessons with me. Our newts exams are taking over our entires lives. Potions is by far my worst subject but I gotta pass it for my future career.

He turns to me, “darling? You listening or not? You have to pass the exam, love”. I whine and give him a look. “I’ll survive, can we do something fun now?” I practically beg with a pout.

Moving to grab another more interesting book but just then I feel myself being pushed with my back to the shelf. “Fine, how bout you do something for me and when you get an answer right then you get to come, got it, darling?” Matty says and I nod immediately, feeling his hand slyly grope my ass.

We move so that he has his legs spread with trousers and all down to his ankles. I sit between his legs, my hands on his knees for balance. Slowly I start taking him into my mouth. It’s always a stretch but we get over it. His grip on my hair starts the movement as my mouth struggles to take all of him.

This continues for a few minutes and he tries to keep me quiet incase someone hears sounds and decides to investigate whatever is happening. My moans are luckily muffled but then I feel him take a tougher grip of my hair and pull me off of him.

“So, darling, what are the main ingredients of polyjuice potion? Give me all of them, doll” he asks. I think for a second, my hands still grip his thighs. “I- uh- is it lacewing flies and- um powdered Bicorn?” I wonder aloud, “then leeches and some others.”

“C’mon, darling. You meant to be so smart, answer my question and I’ll make you come” Mattheo practically orders me. “Then there is- uh - one second - knotgrass” I manage out, my thoughts now absorbed with the idea of him taking me in the very public library.

“Two more for me, sweetheart. Just two more” he whispers into my ear and the sound of his voice completely takes over. “M’ sorry, I can’t, I need you” I beg. “Of course, doll but we gotta continue with work after this, ok?” Theo says.

Mattheo pulls me onto his lap and moves my panties to this side. I feel him push part way into me and I have to bite my lip to conceal the moans. “C’mon, ride me, baby. Ride me” he order and I do as he has told me.

I begin moving up and down on him but have to push my face into his shoulder to hide any inevitable sounds just incase anyone is nearby. It really doesn’t take long for my climax to come. My last straw is when he thrusts up into me.

Everything completely unwinds and I feel myself fall apart on him. I can taste the blood as I bite down on my tongue. Slowly everything stops and all I have to conceal is my breathing. “You did so good, darling” Mattheo mutters into my ears.

[mymoodwriting]

Request for Anon (Vampire Felix) 5.3k, yandere, vampires, stalking, creep, kidnapping, trespassing, breaking and entering, non-con, dub-con, smut, blood, biting, pussy licking, penetration, implied somnophilia, fingering, cream pie, manipulation, mind control, pheromones, aphrodisiac (@starillusion13)

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you… uh… what’s your name again?”

“Felix.”

“Right, sorry. You don’t look that familiar to me.”

“It’s okay. I mostly hang around in the back of the classroom.”

“Ah, that explains it.”

“Since we’re partners for the final, what do you want to do?”

“Well, do you want to go to the library to discuss the project?”

“I actually have an idea for it.”

“Really? Let’s hear it then.”

“Since we’re supposed to pick a theme, I was thinking vision.”

“Vision?”

“A lot of times photography is about capturing a moment, but what if we create one instead. You could think of some sort of vision you have in mind, and we can go around the city trying to recreate it. That way we can capture multiple ideas under one theme.”

“Hm. I kinda like that.”

“Yeah? I was thinking you could be the model, since it’s your visions we’re gonna bring to life.”

“Me? I don’t know, I’m usually behind the camera.”

“Then this is a great opportunity to try something new. I’ll capture you in the beautifulest of portraits.”

“Alright. I’ll think about it, but I like the theme of vision.”

“Cool. I do have some prior engagements, so why don’t we meet up tomorrow in the courtyard.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“See you then.”

School was always gonna be a challenge with a photography major, but you wanted to pursue your passions and were fortunate enough to do so. You had been told to partner up for the final project, which would be a whole exhibition on a topic of your choosing that demonstrates the things you’ve learned in class. You liked Felix’s idea, so that night you began thinking of ideas, knowing this was also a great opportunity to explore the city. Before knocking out you made an outline for the project, feeling proud, and eager to show Felix the next day.

🖤

“Over here!”

When you got to the courtyard you began looking around for Felix, but he spotted you first and called you over. You had brought your notes from the other day, ready to brainstorm for the project.

“I hope I didn’t keep you waiting long.”

“I just got here a minute ago. So, did you think about my suggestion?”

“Yes, and I got some ideas.”

The two of you went over your notes, and reworked everything to fit the theme. You began outlining the type of shots you wanted to get, and where to go. Some were definitely gonna be left blank as you might just find a good place while walking around the city.

“You’re gonna model for all these, right?”

“I… I could do a few. This is our project, you should be photographed as well.”

“I much prefer being behind the camera to capture such precious moments. Let’s just start with you as the model and see how you feel, okay?”

“We can do that.”

You agreed on the date and where to meet, making sure you both still had time for other assignments. You were really looking forward to the big day. You had gone out into the city to take pictures before, but this would be your first photography outing with someone else. It was going to be a whole new experience. On the day you and Felix met up on campus before setting out into the city. You thought it best to take public transportation to really immerse yourself in the city and see what it had to offer. Felix was already taking pictures though, glancing out the window, and pointing the lens at you.

“Felix, cut it out. We’re not even at our shooting location.”

“Yeah, but these kinds of shots are gold. If you don’t mind.”

“I have to look at them first before you decide to keep anything.”

“Deal.”

You had your itinerary to follow, but were open to spontaneous shots if the situation arised.  You took some pictures at well known tourist locations, as well as landmarks. A few places caught your attention and you made some stops along the way. 

“Hey, why don’t we stop to get a drink. I know a good place around here.”

“Sure.”

Felix led you over to this drink cafe nearby, and you were so surprised to see it too. This place was one of your favorite places, and you couldn’t hide your excitement.

“What a coincidence.”

“I knew you’d like it.” Felix commented. “Drinks on me.”

You couldn’t really argue with him as he kept you away from the cashier so he could pay. You both hung around the cafe to enjoy your drinks and get some rest. You looked at the pictures you had taken so far, liking the vibes. It made you a bit shy as well, being the model in the photos. Felix did such a good job to capture you in such a beautiful way, it was hard to believe that was you in the pictures.

“You’re a really good photographer.”

“I’ve had a lot of practice.”

“So, what’s your plan for the future? Open up a studio?”

“I’m not so sure. What I really want to do is keep photographing the things I like. That would be enough for me.”

“Oh, you could be some exclusive photographer who only takes pictures if he likes what he sees. People would pay a lot of money for someone like that.”

“I already do that, although I am curious how much people would pay.”

“Lots. Your portfolio must look incredible.”

“I could show you after this. My loft isn’t far from campus.”

“I didn’t know you had your own place.”

“It’s been my home for a while now. A great view, quiet neighbors, and plenty of space for my work. You’re more than welcome to come over.”

“Sounds like fun.”

Once you finished up you were back on the road, continuing with your plan. By then you felt more confident and comfortable in front of the lens. Felix also played a big part in making you feel less nervous, treating you like a professional and giving you directions and compliments. You found yourself smiling so wide for the pictures, genuinely enjoying yourself. Around lunchtime Felix suggested a place, and to your surprise it was a restaurant you had been to back in your freshman year. You hadn’t had a chance to return despite wanting to, and it seemed that today would be that day.

“The food was so good the last time I was here. I hope it still is.”

“I’m sure it is.”

“How’d you know about this place anyway?”

“I stumbled upon it while wandering the city following my heart.”

“Poetic.”

“Thanks.”

“But we are gonna go half on the bill, at least, since I doubt you’d let this be my treat.”

“I’ll allow half.”

“Good.”

The food was as delicious as before, and it just made the day all the more enjoyable. The last few stops for the evening would be a bit more challenging as you were running out of daylight, and some places wouldn’t give such good results so late at night. You agreed to try to finish up another day, but what you had so far was pretty good and you could make it work for your project. Since you were pretty much done for the day you went to Felix’s loft, quite excited to see his place.

He lived on one of the top floors of the , and as soon as he opened the door you felt more like you were walking into his work studio. He had pictures all over the place, and it seemed that he painted as well. It was hard to deny his talent and you couldn’t believe he wasn’t already working and building his career.

“Felix… how haven’t you gotten an internship at least, all this work is amazing!”

“I like what I do, and I’m not so sure I want to listen to someone else order me around in regards to my work.”

“I get that. I’m not entirely eager to get told how to take my pictures.”

“Since you’re here, how about we order dinner? Campus isn’t that far as you know, so I can walk you back later.”

“Sure. That sounds awesome.”

“Cool. Now, I do know I brought you here to see my portfolio, this isn’t really it, so just give me a moment so-” Felix’s phone suddenly began ringing. “Oh, I gotta take this. I’ll be right back after this call with that portfolio. Feel free to look around.”

“Thanks.”

You walked around the loft, taking in all of the different pictures and pieces of art. You were left in such awe, wondering how someone this talented was still a student. While browsing you notice a light over a door. Curiosity got the best of you and you went over to investigate. The door itself was different and it felt oddly familiar, then it hit you. This was a darkroom. Some of the pictures you had seen were film, but it was cool to see Felix could develop his pictures at home. When he got back you’d certainly ask to go inside. Before going back to the main area you noticed a table in the hall, and what seemed to be a photo album on top of it.

The color on the binding was your favorite and you were curious to see what kind of pictures Felix had stored in an album. You picked it up and opened it up to a random page. Your previous calm and intrigue quickly melted away, replaced with confusion. The pictures staring back at you were like a reflection. Every picture was of you, and you weren’t looking into the lens, meaning they had been taken without your knowledge. Some of the pictures you couldn’t really recognize as they were so mundane. Images of you studying in the school library, standing in line to order, side profiles of you in class. There were just so many, and when you came across a certain one you froze.

The picture you stared at was of you at senior prom, dancing with your friends as you didn’t really have a date. You were so happy and blissfully unaware that someone had been watching you. That image really let you know how long you had been under surveillance. You were an upperclassman in uni now, and all along someone had been following you. At the moment you began to feel sick, but what you really needed to do was run. You dropped the album and ran back over to the door, getting your bag and fumbling to get your shoes on. The sound of your heart pounding was filling your ears, and tears were blurring your vision. You were so scared.

“Y/n.”

Felix suddenly appeared, grabbing your arm and pulling you to face him. You screamed and shoved him back. He looked genuinely confused and worried which freaked you out all the more. Before he could say more you scrambled to get the pepper spray from your bag and blast Felix with it. He yelled and stumbled back, giving you the chance to escape. You kept the pepper spray in hand as you made your way down to the ground floor, desperately hailing a cab to get you out of there. Once inside you blurted out to be taken to the airport, starting to calm down as the vehicle began moving.

You were processing for a long while, forgetting your situation until the cab driver asked if you were going to pick someone up or were getting on a flight. Your head wasn’t clear, but you could at least think better. You apologized to the cab driver and asked them to take you back to campus, telling them you had drank too much. They seemed confused but made no other comment. Thankfully it wasn’t that late when you got back to campus, other students were still around but you paid them no mind. You hurried back to your dorm and were relieved once back in your own bed. Your roommate had a late class, so for the moment you were all alone.

Now you could let everything process and settle in. You rushed to the bathroom and threw up. The few pictures you saw flashed through your eyes, making you very aware of the lack of privacy you truly had. Despite being fully clothed you felt naked, and you started to wonder if you were even safe in your own dorm. In a bit of a panic you looked all over your room, searching for potential hidden cameras. You even went on the internet to find out ways of discovering hidden cameras, but you seemed to be in the clear. For the time being you could breathe easy, but you started to realize what came next. You needed to report this to the police. That guy had so many pictures of you, and who knew what else.

You waited for your roommate to get back, not wanting to go to the police station alone. They didn’t have all the details, but they understood you were scared. The two of you made your way to the police station, making a report. Unfortunately they couldn’t do much given that you weren’t hurt in any way, physically that is. Also, the only evidence was your word, and the police couldn’t get a warrant to search his place without a real cause. Misu was about to start arguing but you held her back, knowing there wasn’t a point. At the moment the police couldn’t do anything, not even a restraining order.

You left the station, feeling worse than before. Even though you were falling apart again Misu had the resolve for the both of you. For starters she wanted to go to your photography class professor, hoping to get you two separated for the final project. It was getting late, so you knew there was a chance the professor would be gone, but to your surprise they were still around. They knew you, but not Misu since she wasn’t a photography major. Still, your friend was quick to speak on your behalf, explaining the situation to the best of her ability, only to be hit with a confusing statement.

“I’m sorry, who’s Felix?”

“Huh? Her partner for-”

“Y/n is doing the final on her own. That’s what you asked of me, remember?”

“I… no… no you assigned partners for everyone, and I was placed with Felix…”

“There isn’t a Felix in your class, and partners were optional. Not everyone is partnered up with someone for the final. Are you alright?”

“I… uh…”

“Let’s go.” Misu stated. “Have a good night.”

You were still stuck in your own head as Misu led you outside the office. They were just as confused as you, but mostly worried. You weren’t lying about this guy you had spent a whole day with. She knew about Felix, but there seemed to be more.

“Okay, a lot happened today, so how about we get back to the dorm and rest. We can figure out more tomorrow.”

“I’m not lying…”

“I know, but we both need time to process. Let’s go, and we can figure out a new plan once our head’s on straight.”

“Okay…”

You got back to the dorm, Misu hoping into the shower. You curled up on your bed, trying to figure out what was going on with you. The day had started off so well, and now you were so lost. A knock at the door pulled you back to reality, probably a dormmate needing to borrow something. You didn’t think twice about opening the door, and that was your mistake.

“Y/n, are you okay!?”

Felix was suddenly pushing his way into your room, taking your head in his hands, looking you up and down with big worried eyes. You were frozen in fear, unable to react. A part of you thought maybe you were imagining things, cause this just wasn’t possible.

“I was so scared something might have happened to you when you ran out like that.”

“… you… you… let go!”

After a moment you managed to snap yourself out of your daze, pulling yourself out of Felix’s grasp, but it was only for a moment. He was quick to grab your shoulders and hold you in place, still giving you those worried eyes.

“Why’d you just storm out like that? I-”

“Let go, you psycho! I saw the photo album! You have all those pictures of me! Stalker!”

“Oh… you saw that…”

“I don’t know how you found me but you need to leave!”

You had tears running down your cheeks, your heart once again pounding in your chest. You had no idea what Felix was capable of, yet you had the strength to be brave and stand up for yourself. Although you weren’t alone. A moment later Misu stepped out of the bathroom. She didn’t need any information. This was a female dorm, so any guy around was bad news, and she could see you weren’t okay.

“Get out!”

“Sleep.”

You saw a flash of red in Felix’s eyes as he looked at Misu, and then she collapsed to the ground. Chills ran down your spine, and Felix’s attention slowly returned to you. 

“… what… what are you…”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want you to find out this way. I thought I could do this for a few more years.” Felix took your head in his hands once more. “That I could just watch you from afar, admire your beauty and see you live your life, but today… it was so wonderful being with you… and it makes me all the more afraid to leave you out in the world… it’s not safe and I’m the only one who can protect you.”

“… no… no you… you’re crazy…”

“Sh, sh, I know you must be so confused, but everything is going to be okay, just… just let me have this… let me have you… I’ll take care of everything.”

“I… I…”

You didn’t get much time to respond before Felix’s lips were pressed against yours, pulling you close into a deeper kiss. It felt needy and desperate, as if he had been holding back for so long and was finally letting go. When he pulled away for air you pushed him back, getting out of his grasp. You wiped the taste of him off your lips, your mind racing with thoughts you couldn’t comprehend.

“… get out… please… just…”

“I can’t just leave you alone anymore.”

In the blink of an eye you were pinned to the wall, Felix staring you down with red glowing eyes. A scream creeped up your throat, but Felix was quick to die it down by kissing you once more. This time he was more needy, holding you tightly and practically trying to eat you. A moan escaped your lips, and you mentally cursed yourself out for enjoying this. He was a creep, your stalker, and this wasn’t right. You tried to push him off, but he didn’t budge at all.

“I’ve wanted to do this for so long. I want to be the one to deflower you. I feared you’d be ruined your prom night, but no one was brave enough to try. I might have lost my mind if someone did this before me. Thank you for waiting.”

“Felix-”

“I won’t hurt you, I never could.” Felix smiled at you. “Let me have a taste.”

For a moment you saw a flash of fangs. You couldn’t process that fast enough before they had dug into your neck. Your eyes went wide from the shock, feeling the sting of skin breaking. You thought you’d yell, but instead another moan slipped from your lips. A warm and pleasurable sensation began to spread across your body, pulling you under. When Felix pulled away you could vaguely make out the red on his lips.

“You taste divine. So delicious.”

A part of you knew this wasn’t good, but you could do little to fight the exhaustion creeping up. You weakly grabbed Felix’s arms, but it was hard to keep your eyes open. It wasn’t long before darkness took hold and swallowed you whole.

🖤

You began to regain consciousness with a whimper, feeling something heavy on top of your body. As you opened your eyes you saw that you didn’t recognize the room you were in, but that was the least of your problems. You felt cold, starting to realize you were completely naked, and that heaviness on top of you was another person. Felix was on top of you, kissing at your bare chest. You shivered as he ran his fangs along your stomach. Then red eyes slowly looked up at you, making you grow fearful.

“You’re awake… sorry about before… I drank more than I meant to.” Felix began crawling up towards you. “But you just tasted so good. It’s okay now, we’re home, and I’m going to show you just how good I can make you feel.”

“Felix… what… what are-”

“Sh, just enjoy it, you deserve nothing less than perfection.”

You couldn’t move as Felix was fully on top of you, staring you down with those red eyes, fangs out and present. You thought you were dreaming before, but reality was staring you right in the face. He was a vampire, and you had no idea what else he was capable of. He was aware that you were nervous, scared, but he intended to melt that all away. He leaned down to kiss you, softly this time, and you could feel his fangs right against your lips. You tried to move away, but that just ended with you cutting your lip on his fangs. You yelped, and Felix quickly stopped. He grabbed your chin, holding you still as he licked the drop of blood blossoming from your lips, a satisfied smile on his face.

“Even from a distance your blood always drove me insane. To taste it now… such sweet bliss.”

Felix kissing you now was strange as you got a taste of your own blood from him, but he didn’t stay on your lips for long. He began leaving bloody kisses down your chest, making you shiver. His hands trailed down your sides, getting to your thighs and massaging them before pushing your legs apart. You yelped, trying to close your legs, but he kept them open.

“Easy, I won’t bite down there. I just want to taste everything.”

A smirk adorned his lips when your eyes met before he buried his face in your center. You threw your head back as you felt his tongue between your folds, the wet and slimy sensation making your face burn. He seemed to know what he was doing, teasing you slowly and softly, sucking on your clit and giving it a little nibble. Your whole body was growing hot, and you felt nervous in an exciting way. He was right about you being a virgin. No one ever really asked you out, and you weren’t exactly looking for a one night stand. So this was all new to you, and you had no other point of reference, so it all felt incredible.

You were getting lost in the feeling, starting to forget about the other things going on. Felix’s lips moved up, getting back to your stomach. He was covered in your slick, leaving slimy kisses on your body. Soon you felt fingers teasing you down there, making you shiver. You wanted to say something, perhaps get him to stop, but you didn’t want him to, not really. It all felt so nice and you wanted to see it to the end. Felix loomed over you as his fingers started working you over, watching you smile, seeing that you were enjoying yourself. He couldn’t help himself while watching, diving down into the crook of your neck to bite you. No blood drinking, but just to pump you full of pheromones and add to the experience.

A mewl escaped your lips as your eyes went wide, feeling this added sensation course through you. It set a fire along your skin, and any touch just created sparks. You started begging, wanting something you couldn’t really comprehend, but Felix knew what it was. He pressed his lips to yours, letting you get a taste of yourself. While you were distracted he pulled away his fingers, wrapping your legs around his waist as he guided himself into you. A loud moan came from your lips as you felt yourself getting stretched open. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head and your mouth hung open. It hurt for a moment before you started to get used to the feeling. Felix’s hot breath was against your ear, the whimpers and moans, along with his words of joy over being the one to make you feel so good.

He couldn’t resist, and started moving inside you, seeing you take everything so well. You were a shaking mess beneath him, clearly experiencing this for the first time. It just motivated him all the more to keep going, wanting to see you completely fall apart. He kept a steady rhythm at first, wanting to drag this out for as long as he could, but his own desires would soon override him. He wanted to turn you into a babbling mess of pleasure as his thrust got harder, rubbing against your sweet spot every time. Of course he couldn’t resist his own temptation and bit you once more, drinking your blood and pumping you full of pheromones. It was all so overwhelming you swear you saw white in the moment.

“F… Felix…”

“It’s okay, I got you, just feel it.”

Felix stole another kiss from you, ultimately pushing you over the edge as you couldn’t possibly hold back anymore. You moaned into the kiss, shaking under him as he kept moving, taking advantage of your sensitive state and wanting to make this pleasurable feeling last as long as possible. It was sweet torture as these sparks of euphoria coursed through, clouding your judgment and just making you crave more. Felix was the same. Even as you came down from your high he wanted to do it again and again. To make you melt in his embrace and love him the same way he has always wanted you.

There was no time to rest for you as Felix kept going, working you over to another orgasm before you knew it. He had so much strength and stamina you couldn’t possibly keep up with him, but you didn’t want him to stop. He knew your feelings well, holding back until he couldn’t anymore and spilling his seed inside you. The way you sucked him in and held him let him know everything. You were here with him, and you were doing so well. He was far from done, and you couldn’t take much more of it, but everything would be alright in the end. You knew that, even in your semi conscious state. Felix was gonna make you feel pleasure like never before, like no one else could ever give you.

🖤

You had no idea when you had passed out, but waking in the morning told you everything. Your body was sore, and you could barely move. You had a stiff pain in your neck, but there wasn’t much you could do. After a moment you realized you were alone, and in a vaguely familiar room. Memories of last night began to surface and you felt your face burn from embarrassment. None of this was okay, and you needed to get away from this place. You mustered up the strength to sit up, but that was about it. A moment later you fell back onto the pillow, too exhausted to do anything.

“You’re up.”

You heard the door open and Felix walked in with a tray in hand. He seemed perfectly fine, quite beautiful in fact. His smile was so bright and he sat at your bedside, placing the tray on the nightstand. He gently caressed your cheeks, looking at you with such love. You knew what he really was, but you couldn’t do much to escape him at the moment.

“You must be exhausted, but it’s okay, you can just stay in bed today.”

“Felix… what… where am I…?”

“This? It’s your room. I’ve had it prepared for a while now, and I’m happy you’re finally here. I filled the closet with clothes that would suit you, and this all seems to be your taste. Do let me know if you need anything else.”

“I… I want to go home… I need to go home…”

“No, no, you need to stay here where you’re safe, where I can properly look after you. I can’t let anyone hurt you.”

“The only one who’s done that is you.”

“I didn’t hurt you. We had fun last night, and I’m here to take care of you now.”

You weren’t really sure what he meant, but Felix helped you sit up, resting your back against the headboard. He helped you drink some water and cranberry juice, then began to apply some ointments over your skin. You couldn’t move away from him as your body didn’t have the strength. His touch was gentle though, and he held you with such care.

“… why… why are you doing this… why me…?”

“Hm… I just saw you one day, and you caught my eye. I had to know more about you, and one thing just led to another. It was like bird watching. You find something so beautiful and you just want to watch it, see what it does with its life.”

“… how long… how long have you been watching me?”

“Just a few years. I was so excited when you chose to go out of state for college. I would get to see you in a whole new environment. Although I had forgotten how awful the real world could be. The last thing I wanted to see was your suffering. I wanted to intervene but that would ruin your beauty. I really thought I could just sit back and watch… but everyday the temptation grew greater… I always wanted to meet you, but later in your life… at least that was the plan.” Felix chuckled. “I really couldn’t help myself anymore. Your pictures weren’t enough, seeing you from a distance wasn’t enough. I got closer and closer until I couldn’t hold back anymore. This final project seemed like the perfect time to introduce myself but being at your side… you were so mesmerizing, I didn’t want to let you go. I don’t want the world to hurt you, I won’t let it, so I’m going to keep you safe, you can trust me.”

“No, no, Felix this is wrong. Everything you’ve said-”

“Sh, sh, sh, I know it’s a lot to take in at once, but you’ll understand in time. I must do this to preserve your beauty, your innocence. I’ll take care of you, I promise.”

“Felix, please.”

“It’s okay. You’ll come around eventually, and I have all the time in the world.”

Felix smiled brightly, pressing a kiss to your cheek. You had more to say, still freaking out on the inside, but a wave of red light seemed to calm you down. In fact it was making you feel tired, and your eyelids began to grow heavy. You didn’t want to fall asleep, but it was out of your control now. Felix tucked you back into bed, gently caressing your face, and placing another kiss on your head.

“Sweet dreams, my beautiful flower.”

[senkusimper]

you can't just say perchance - bk+reader

pov: you misusing the word perchance

exhibit A

ever since you were paired with bakugou katsuki for a joint training exercise, you realized that tolerating his explosive personality might just be more challenging than facing a villain. as you both sat in the training room, strategizing for the upcoming exercise, you couldn’t help but notice how he bristled every time you uttered the word "perchance."

"so... BK... perchance we should start with a frontal assault?" you suggested with a hand on your hip trying to gauge his reaction. you saw his eyebrow twitch.

"you sound like an idiot."

"sorry i thought-" you started but unsurprisingly bakugou cut you off, in a very bakugou fashion.

"thinking ain't your strong suit, obviously" he retorted, rubbing his temples.

the exercise proceeded with bakugou leading, his explosive quirk echoing through the training grounds. despite how harsh his demeanor seemed, you were intrigued by his determination and skill.

exhibit B

in the days that followed, you couldn't help but tease him by randomly slipping the word "perchance" into your casual conversations. each time he'd shoot you a withering glare or correct you with a grumble. it had started to turn into a game for you, with bakugou becoming increasingly more exasperated and you finding more creative ways to misuse the word.

one afternoon, during your lunch break you had seated yourself with bakugou, kirishima, denki and sero. you guys were casually chit chatting, talking more than eating your lunches.

you noticed the red head eyeing your onigiri. you smiled a bit and held one out to him, "would you like one kirishima?"

kirishima smiled, "no no it's alright."

you were persistent however and he caved in; denki also tried to get some of your food as well.

"that's not fair! how come he gets some???" denki turned to you, shaking you by your shoulders slightly.

you shrugged your shoulders, not knowing why you felt like offering up your food but you saw the way he stared at it, it's just one. "perchance."

you jumped when the table shook as two hands slapped down onto it. the culprit? bakugou. he looked so fed up, his head hung down and you could see his eyebrows furrow. "you can't just say 'perchance'."

you started smiling slightly, trying to hold back a giggle. "right right sorry, BK. it won't happen again."

he scoffed and sat back down, rolling his eyes. lunch continued and by the time everyone else had finished eating, you found yourself so full and with one onigiri left. lightbulb.

"perchance, bakugou, would you like the last onigiri?" you held up the little ball, looking at him innocently.

he slammed his tray down with a scowl, "i swear to god, if you say perchance one more time—"

exhibit c

the days went on, and your use of “perchance” continued to drive bakugou up the wall. it had become a sort of game for you, though bakugou wasn’t amused.

one evening, as you both worked on your hero essay revisions in the library, bakugou seemed unusually pensive. after a long silence, he cleared his throat and turned to you, his voice oddly hesitant.

“uh, listen. perchance you might want to… go out sometime?”

you blinked and paused for a moment, surprised by his choice of words. you tilted your head to the side while smiling, "did you just use 'perchance'?"

you could see the light blush creeping up his cheeks. "yeah so what?"

"actually, bk, using ‘perchance’ here is kind of... off." you stifled a laugh, "you should use 'maybe' or 'perhaps'."

bakugou rolled his eyes and turned his head away from you "just answer the question."

........................... "perchance."

he stood up, arms crossed and huffing loudly.

"i'm joking!" you put your hands up in defense, "yes i'd like to go out with you sometime."

[shesoutofhere]

Meet Me In the Corner

(Definitely gonna be multiple parts)

Literally ignore typos or I'll cry

Warnings: None

Pairing: Peter Parker x reader

Summary: You get paired up with Peter for your final project in a class. You're ecstatic, Peter? Not so much.

Pt.1, Pt.2, Pt.3, Pt.4

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You’re zoned out in a lecture when suddenly, your professor claps his hands together to catch everyone's attention.

“Right guys, before class is over, today you’ll be getting assigned your partners for the last final project.” Dammit, you thought, you completely forgot about the partnered assignment. It's not like you didn’t have any friends in the class, it was just that for the final assignment, your class would be paired up with the film class.

You told yourself that you were going to at least try to get familiar with some of the students from that class, but it completely slipped your mind.

“Okay, I'm gonna put your pairs up on the board, your job is to email your partner and start coming up with some ideas for your story idea form, speaking of story idea form, that'll be due this Friday. On that note, I’ll see you all on Wednesday.” Everyone around you groans, yourself included, Of course, the form is due Friday. You snap a photo of the board and head out of the lecture hall.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Your nose and hands are freezing by the time you make it to the library. Once you find a nice cozy spot tucked away in the corner, you take your phone and laptop out.

You look at the picture you took of the board and zoom in on it to find your partner's name and email.

You squint until you see It, Peter Parker. Oh, you know him, well you don’t know know him, but you know of him. Now and then he’ll take photos for the school. They’re great and you can’t help but feel a little excited knowing that he’s going to be taking the pictures for the project.

You type a simple email to Peter.

Hey, it’s your partner for the final conjoined assignment. Would love to get in touch to start planning what we want to do.

Thanks!

A couple of minutes later you hear a ping go off, It’s your mail.

You open the notification and it's from Peter.

Yeah, do you have time right now?

You reply to the thread,

Yeah, I'm currently in the library on the third floor, in a corner.

You don’t receive a message back and assume he got busy. Twenty minutes go by, and you’ve finally focused in on your work when all of a sudden the chair from across you gets pulled out. You look up right away to see who it is. Now sitting in front of you is Peter.

You sit up with a small gasp, in all honesty, you didn’t expect to see him.

“Um, Hi”

Peter speaks up “Hey.”

There's an awkward pause. To try and ease the tension you say, “I didn’t know you were going to show up.”

 Peter starts to take his laptop out of his backpack,  “Well I did ask if you had time” His tone is dry.

There's another pause, this time Peter breaks the silence, “Do you want to start outlining this thing?”

You jump to answer “Yes!, so this is just what I was thinking, and feel free to throw in your ideas, but I know that the campus art museum is doing a night exhibition for the donor's gala,  and I have a friend who could get us in after hours if we want to get any shots without the big crowd.” You pause for a moment to see if Peter has any questions but he’s just staring right back at you, so you continue.

“I can write the article and you can take the photos and I don’t mind bringing an extra camera just in case you want some b-roll, So, thoughts?”

Peter has a look on his face that you can’t decipher, “So the gala, It’s at night?” You give him a nod, and for a split second, you swear you see him grimace.

“ Uh, nights don’t really work for me, sooo” He trails off.

“Oh, well we don’t have to go with my idea, it’s just something I was throwing out there.” For some reason you feel like you’ve been shot down, maybe you got ahead of yourself, and you start to feel embarrassed.

Peter lets out a sigh, “Well it sounds like you had it all planned out”

You throw your hands up, waving them back and forth, “No, no, was totally just free balling it, really anything you want to do, I’m totally fine with it.”

Peter doesn’t look convinced, he lets out another sigh, “If I'm being honest I’m completely blanking on ideas, so if you want to go ahead and do the gala I'm sure I can work something out.”

You try not to look overly excited, so you reply with a cool “All right, works for me.”

You’d hoped that talking about the assignment would make the atmosphere less awkward but now that you’ve stopped talking, the air feels heavy again.

Peters typing away on his computer and looks as if he’s in his own world.

Throughout this entire interaction, you haven’t been able to read Peter. He hasn’t been mean or anything but he hasn’t been talkative either.

Your internal monologue is interrupted when Peter stands up from his chair. He looks at his things and then looks back up at you “You mind watching over my things for a bit.”

“No, I’ll watch them for you.” With that Peter walks away.

You’re a bit confused now. Are you guys supposed to be working on the project? Is he working on his things? Should you head out when he gets back? Curiosity gets the best of you; you lean over the table to get a look at his laptop. You hover just far enough to touch the keypad to wake up the computer. On the screen, you see a bunch of math problems, or maybe science? You honestly couldn’t tell. You quickly sit back down in your seat.

OK, so Peter isn’t working on the project, this doesn’t help you feel at ease. If he’s not working on the project then what's the point of sitting here? You’ve decided that you’ll leave when he gets back.

Wait.

 Why do you have to leave? Technically you were here first, also, you happen to like this spot. Now you're really conflicted.

Your thoughts get interrupted by the sound of chatter. You frown. This is the quiet floor. The noise seems to get louder and closer. A little bit away from the table you see Peter, talking to some girl. Interesting, you think.  You can't make out what she’s saying but you see them both nonstop giggling. Peter gives her shoulder a rub and starts to head back to your table and you quickly look back down at your laptop.

When Peter makes it to the table, the smile he had previously is now replaced by the same dead-like stare he had earlier.

You start to get upset. So, Peter can smile, he just doesn’t want to smile around you. You try not to think too negatively, you try to rationalize the fact that he may just be shy around new people.

Not being able to take this back and forth with yourself, you decide that you’ll head out. You start to pack your things up. Peter clears his throat “Heading out?”, you give him a nod “Yeah, but whatever I work on I’ll email you” Peter just nods back at you.

You can’t help but feel peeved by his nonchalant attitude. Zipping up your backpack and slipping it on your back, you head out without a goodbye. You make it just outside the library when you realize you don’t have your beanie. You must have left it back at the table. Well, no chance you're going back, so you start heading in the direction of your dorm. You don’t get very far before you feel someone grab your shoulder. You turn quickly, startled by the hand on your shoulder. When you turn around you see Peter and your beanie in his hand.

He still has this dry look on his face when he extends your beanie towards you, “You left this behind.”

You reach for your beanie and immediately put it on “Thanks, I completely forgot about it” You didn’t but there's no chance you were telling him the reason you didn’t want to go back and get it was because you didn’t want to interact with him again.

Peter rocks back and forth on his feet, he looks like he's about to say something when all of a sudden someone yells from behind you.

“Yo, Parker!”

Peter tensed up for a second before a smile spread across his face. The guy who yelled comes into view as he walks in front of you to dab up Peter. You just stand there; not really sure what it is you're supposed to be doing.

The guy turns and looks at you and offers a hello, you give him a hi back. He faces Peter again and asks, “Is this a friend of yours?”

Peter Replies with a “No, partner for an assignment.”

Ah, not friends, that's fine, definitely the truth.

The mystery guy just nods his head. You feel even more annoyed with Peter. He has clearly shown that he is more than capable of being chatty and friendly with those around him. It dawns on you that maybe Peter isn’t fond of you. Before this revelation makes you spiral you decide to leave for real this time. Peter and the mystery guy seem wrapped in a conversation, so you decide to just start walking away. Peter sees you walking and puts a pause to his current conversation. He yells your name. You act as if you don’t hear him. At this point, you really just want to get out of the cold and back in your dorm away from Peter and everyone else.

 You hear Peter yell your name again and turn around, letting out a small groan.

Peters in front of you once again “Is there any way we can get into the Art Museum before the gala?” You can't help but squint your eyes at him. He wants to ask this now? Why didn’t he just ask earlier?

You reply, “Yeah, I’ll just have to text my friend and see when he can get us in” At this point, you start to feel yourself shiver, you want to get somewhere warm, like, immediately. for about the third time today, you and Peter are stuck in a silent stare-off. Having enough you speak up first “Okay Peter, I'm gonna go now, I’ll send you an email when I get an answer” Peter doesn’t give a reply so you choose this as the moment to walk off before he can think of something else to add.

With your mood ruined, you begin your journey back to your dorm.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

omg Hi, Hello. My apologies for the slow start but I promise It'll pick up, I got big plans for these two.

[kissohee]

hiii ! omg i haven’t used tumblr in years and i love love loooove your blog, it’s amazing !!

i was wondering what you could write about in a situation where sohee and y/n are studying for an exam in the library and y/n starts teasing him under the table and IDK YOURE MAGICAL YOULL FIGURE OUT THE REST I LOVE YOU 🩷

sohee x reader ☆ nsfw ; wc : 1.7k+ ☆ one-shot mdni! warnings; y/n has no personal boundaries, exhibition, handjob a/n; thank u so so much! lyt! ❣️

When the professor announced that an exam would be held about the current topic you were learning in class, you were in no doubt very nervous. You hadn't exactly understood the topic very well, so you knew if you didn't do anything about it, you were more than likely going to fail. Thankfully there was a classmate of yours who happened to really understand it, and you've heard from so many people that he really likes you too. So you jumped to the opportunity to ask him to help you study.

Which led you to now. Sitting in your schools public library, with books sprawled all over the table you were using. Sohee sat besides you, typing away on his laptop, marking off things you guys need to go over.

"We should probably go over this. Professor said it'll 100% be on the exam." He says, opening one of the books, trying to find the topic in it.

"Sure, whatever you think we should." You couldn't help but admire Sohee from up close. Yes, you've heard about him liking you from everyone but you never really saw anything in him. Until now. And you have no idea if it's because he's helping you or because he is just really cute. In fact, you think he's so cute to the point where you start imagining what he'd be like if you touched him. Probably whiney, might move a lot, or maybe he's just completely unpredictable. And you sure as hell wanted to find out. When he doesn't look, you place your hand on his thigh, pushing off it to stand up and stretch. When you look at him, you see him looking at his thigh, where your hand was, before balling up his hands out of nervousness. "Want to take a break?" He asks, looking up at you as you stretch. "No I'm okay!" You smile at him when he nods, and you sit back down, closer to him than you were before. Which he notices, because you see him take small glances at you through the corner of your eye. Your hand going right back on his thigh, trying to find any way to make it seem like you weren't trying to do anything on purpose, "I like the way your jeans feel.!" You take the opportunity to softly rub his thigh, fingers getting closer to his crotch and he nervously smiles. "What are they made out of?" "Uh," He freezes, "Normal jean material?" He is visibly confused on why you're acting different than you were before. You move your hand so it's near his crotch, taking notice to the way his bread hitched and how he freezes what he was doing. However, he tries very hard not to react in an obvious way. And you just keep it there, which confuses Sohee even more. In the back of his mind, he's praying you don't move your hand anymore than you already have. "Sohee, what about this one?" You pretend to act confused, dragging your hand up to point at the book, your fingers softly making contact with his bulge as you do. His hips shifting slightly from your fingers, a boner growing in his pants. He could almost die right now. You probably didn't even mean to touch him like that, or at least you were acting like you didn't. "Nevermind, I remember it was addressed in that one book." You pretend to look around for it, "Oh right, it's in my backpack." Your backpack, which just so happens to be on the chair next to him, has him quickly going for it. "Here, I'll-" "No it's okay, I got it." He sits back down in defeat and watches as you lean over him, reaching for your backpack. He feels you accidentally rub against him in the process, making him bite his lip quickly to avoid making a sound. When you finally grab your backpack, which felt like eternity to him, you sit back down in your chair. Pretending that nothing happened. Sohee though, was internally panicking. He's sitting in the library, helping the person he really likes.. study, and yet he is sitting here, with a boner. This is the most pathetic he has ever felt in his entire life. So he opted to just covering it with his sweater, and he's never been so thankful for him picking a sweater 2x his size.

However, it was hard to ignore the way he would shift in his chair every 2 seconds because of how uncomfortable he felt. Plus, he liked the feeling he would get of his pants rubbing against him every time he did. "Are you okay?" You ask him, pretending to be oblivious to the mess you started, which almost angered him. "Uh huh." He responded short and quick, trying to avert your attention back onto the stacks of books you guys had but you look at him with furrowed eyebrows instead. You look at his hands, which are in his sweater pocket, helping to pull it over to cover his bulge. "What are you doing?" "Nothing!" He yells quietly, remembering you guys are still in the library. "Let me see!" You place your hand on him again, causing him to jolt. "What?" You move your hand to reach for his sweater but he quickly holds it down. "No!" He says louder than he meant to, and he takes a quick look around to make sure no one was looking. "Sohee," You whine, "It's not a big deal!" "But," his grip on his sweater loosens and his voice gets smaller, "It's embarrasing." You grab his sweater and push it up a little, revealing how hard he was. When you look up at Sohee, he's avoiding eye contact, looking everywhere but at you. When you place a hand over his growing cock, he grabs his sweater to cover it again. "Please don't do that." "Sohee," He shakes his head and sits up straight.

"There's people.." He looks around again, as if trying to prove the fact that other people were only a few feet away from you guys. "They won't know." You whisper into his ear, sending shivers down his back. "It must hurt a lot." He nods, his face bright red from embarrassment. "So please let go." The second you say that, he let his hands fall to his side, allowing you to once again lift his sweater. "Pretend you're reading or something so people don't think anything weird." He immedeatly grabs one of the books sitting on the table and starts pretending to skim it. However, he loses his focus the second your hand is placed on his bulge again. And he swears he could see stars when you started moving the palm of your hand in circles on it. His cock is so hard, you swear it could break his zipper open so using his sweater to cover, you unzip his pants and pull his cock out. "You did this on purpose.." He looks at you, his eyes soft. "What.?" You softly rub your thumb against his slit and he holds his hand above yours, hesitant on stopping you. "All the te-teasing." He softly drops the book on the table, giving up on trying to look like he was reading it. His attention fully falling on you. "Yeah," You let your thumb run against his slit again, "But you're not mad, right?" "H-how could I b-be..." He stammers over his words when your hand starts pumping him fully. Allowing him to finally feel the pleasure he's been wanting to for the past 10 minutes.

His head falls back, and he starts shifting his hips to the same pace as your hand. His teeth holding his bottom lip, failing when he lets out a small whimper only you could hear. "You're so cute," you tell him, looking at him with a smile while he's clearly struggling at keeping quiet. When he whimpers again, it's a little louder than before. "Shh, Sohee.." You stop moving your hand, "We're still in public. You don't want to be caught, do you?" "So-sorry..," He bucks his hips up into your hand, asking you to continue. "Please please please..." He almost forgot other people were around you guys, but he couldn't care. He just needs to cum, and if others are watching, then so be it. He lets out more soft pleads until you start moving your hand up and down his cock again. Adding your thumb against his tip every once in a while. His hips lifting up to fuck your hand, and you let him. Wiping off the sweat that falls from his forehead. When he notices that you stopped moving your hand again to let him fuck up into it, he takes his and forces you to move it. He's just using your hand at this point, and he feels himself get closer. "F-fuck please continue...." "Are you close?" He immedeatly responds with quick head nods, his eyes closed shut. The longer you look at him the more you wished you hadn't decided to do this in the library of all places. "You look so..." You trail off, "I really wish I could kiss you right now." When you said that, Sohee felt his heartbeat speed up at a rate he didn't know it could go. He would love to respond, or maybe even kiss you, but he just can't find the strength in him to do either one. "Shit.." He can't believe his about to cum in public, and yet just thinking about that is helping in getting him over the edge. "Y/n... Ahh.... Ah fuck.." He whispers out moans as his hips twitch, you help him ride his high. He feels his cum warm against his skin, watching as your hand comes out from under his sweater, covered in it. When he finally gets ahold of his breathing, he looks around for a tissue of some sort but when he couldn't find one, he takes your hand and cleaned it off using his sweater. He could just throw it in the wash the next time he does landurary. "Let's get out of here." Sohee stands up, adjusting himself. "Why?" You look at him confused when he starts grabbing your stuff. "It's your turn."

i hope this was good! ik these type of fics are written a certain way but i wanted to change things up a bit. 😵‍💫 - 🐠

[wutheringskies]

Prompt - Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji in the 15-year old selves's bodies

I just had a thought. imagine WWX and LWJ transmigrating into an alternate reality (which is pretty much the same, but events changed there do not affect events in their world) as their 15-year-old selves; and for half a day, they both think it's an individual thing; and then Wei Wuxian sees Lan Zhan, and can't control his words, "Oh my god, Lan Zhan so cute!!" and Lan Wangji is like "Wei Ying (fond) is adorable too."

and they both sorta have that look and realize they both transmigrated; and it's so funny because by the rules of the array (or whatever), they can't tell anyone where they are from, or about the future (like they can only personally act differently and suggest actions to other people, knowing very well they hold little power to cause systemic changes, just two nails in a machine, but well, what are they if not always trying).

and this time, Wei Wuxian doesn't punch Jin Zixuan "but Lan Zhan... I really wanted to," But he does say a grand choice of crass words that get him punishment with Lan Wangji again, who's forcibly out of his seclusion and in classes.

And in classes, Lan Wangji sits in front, ever the dutiful while Wei Wuxian sits behind him; sleeping, talking, flirting, writing notes; and Lan Wangji doesn't reprimand him as much; and when Jiang Cheng says rude shit to him, the Second Young Master Lan glares at him and everyone is so confused.

and they have punishment together in the library and it's just... Wei Wuxian courting Lan Wangji. Lan Wangji courting him back.

Exhibit 1:

"Lan Zhan, my hands really, really hurt from all this copying :(("

"I will do it."

"Hehe~"

Exhibit 2:

"Er-gege, I really can't go on without alcohol. Please."

"No."

"You said you'd never deny me, your husband."

"We are not married yet in this reality."

"So, our marriage is limited only to one realm? Only our reality? So, I'm a young, virgin, unmarried boy?? Are you abandoning your husbandly duties?"

"..."

"Fine, then we are not married. I won't even ask! I won't marry you."

"... I will take you to Caiyi. You can drink there. Do not drink with others in the dorm."

"And in the Jingshi?"

"..."

"Are you denying me my marital home? You said it was our home!"

"Alright."

"Hahahahahahahahahaha"

Exhibit 3:

"Er-gege, let me sleep."

"Wei Ying, we are in class."

"But it's 6 am. Er-gege, I'm not even alive right now. I've been dead and I was more alive when I was dead than now."

"..."

"Please hide me from your uncle. I really can't keep my eyes open."

"Did you not sleep well?"

"How can I sleep??? Next to Jiang Cheng! Without my husband to hold me??"

"..."

Exhibit 4:

Wei Wuxian is messing around in the creek in Cloud Recesses when someone shoves him lightly. He doesn't fall but his hair opens and his ribbon disappears. Everyone laughs but then Lan Wangji walks over, stands behind him, pulls a red ribbon out of a sleeve, ties his hair up while asking him if he's okay and casts an icy look at the guy who shoved him, pats his head and leaves.

Jiang Cheng: "what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck"

Nie Huaisang: "OH. UM. uhm. Uh. Wei-xiong..."

[f10werfae]

Babyboy

pairing: Boyfriend!Tom Holland x Older!GF!Reader

summary: Tom meets Y/n’s narcissistic older sister S/n who wants Tom all to herself; Y/n gets overprotective of her babyboy, showing just how possessive she really is (Tom is 26, Reader is 31) (fluff ending‼️) (Requested by @peterholland04 )

Tom Masterlist, Full Masterlist, Library blog: @f10werfaes-cosy-collection

likes, comments and reblogs are appreciated♥️

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

“It’s okay dove, what’s the worst that could happen eh“ Tom whispered nuzzling his head into his lover’s neck, peppering soft kisses all over it. His hands clutching Y/n in his, the both of them sitting in the kitchen of her parent’s new house for their housewarming party. “She keeps staring at me like i’m some sort of exhibit” Y/n sighed leaning her head onto his shoulder, playing with his fingers on her lap.

Soon enough the couple are ushered out to sit in the living while the older adults took over the kitchen, with Y/n, Tom and her older sister being left alone. “So Tom where did you and my baby sister meet? Did you know she was never really a sight for the eyes until I fixed her up” S/n giggled said leaning forward, unbuttoning a few buttons of her shirt showing off her cleavage, making Y/n scoff subtly. Tom seeing this just held her tighter, even moving his woman to sit on his lap, just to show S/n that he was taken and deeply in love.

“Uh we met through a friend right babe? We just fell in love at first sigh-t” Tom said dramatically, watching S/n’s face try to hold back a scowl as Y/n turned his jaw to press a full open-mouthed kiss on his lips, interrupting their conversation. Tom’s eyes closing as his arms wrapped around his woman, his knees widening a bit to get her more comfortable.

“Whoops, sorry just can’t keep my hands off him, he’s just too irresistible” Y/n giggled wiping the saliva from the bottom of Tom’s chin, S/n looked on jealous as she saw the way Tom’s eyes sparkled looking at Y/n; his hands clearly itching to climb up the blouse she was wearing as she combed about his messy curls.

“No it’s okay! Remember your last boyfriend? He loved that too” S/n smirked taunting her younger sister; although Y/n’s eyes twitched in anger she kept her calm, feeling Tom’s hands rub her back soothingly. “Yeah. I remember Mark, in your bed mostly though not mine” Y/n replied back not even looking at her older sister, instead focusing on Tom and placing kisses onto his face; Tom earlier that morning had went through plans with Y/n, to prepare her for these type of comments.

“Haha, we both know that only happened because you weren’t gonna give the poor guy a baby, wasn’t that it? Or was it when you said you weren’t in the mood for sex? I don’t know, all I remember was that you couldn’t satisfy him, and who better than your big sissy”

S/n smirked knowing she hit Y/n right where it hurts, Y/n tightened her grip onto Tom’s button up, her eyes already welling up with tears with frustration . “You- I’ve dealt with your bullshit for so many years, all the “sisterly” ways you’ve stolen things I love. But ya know what? I’m glad you took Mark right outta my hands, he was a cunt and you know it too. He couldn’t keep it in his pants and used you as a rebound, where is he now “sissy?” Could you not satisfy him enough? Or did you finally see the pig of a man I had to be with?”

By the time Y/n had finished her piece, her chest was visibly breathing deeply, her finger pointed right at her sister menacingly as Tom held her waist tightly to make sure she wouldn’t start anything physical. S/n knew how wrong and toxic Mark was, Tom had swooped in as Y/n’s knight and saved her. Treating her like a princess, giving her a new definition of love.

“I- Well- Tom see? This is the woman you want to spend the rest of your life with? Really? She’s so unstable, a few words get her panties in such a twist” S/n laughed watching Y/n get up and start to gather her things from around the room, “Yes. Y/n is the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, I honestly think i’d rather be found in a ditch than by your side S/n. Usually i’d stay quiet, but not when you’re disrespecting my woman and my family. She doesn’t deserve you as an older sister, in fact, I wouldn’t even wish a character like you on my worst enemy. What sort of person meddles with a person’s happiness, purely just for her own gain”

S/n sat there silent, looking like a child that had just been scolded, her body now leaned back and sitting up right in the chair; completely different from her pose trying to seduce Tom earlier. Y/n still standing just looked at her poor excuse of a sister, letting Tom gather the rest of her things, his jaw chiseled as his face remained stern and hard. “I’ll say bye to your parents love, and we’ll be on our way, to OUR house” Tom emphasised side eyeing S/n before disappearing into the kitchen.

“Why do you always treat me like this S/n? I don’t get it, what did I do to you?” Y/n whispered, her older sister stayed staring at the floor in silence for a while, “Because why do you deserve him? That’s what I don’t get, you were nothing before me”

“Yeah fuck you seriously, hope you find someone that loves you for something other than your ugly personality bitch” Y/n said leaning into her face, saying each word with venom, before walking out into the hallway and connecting her hands with Tom; the happy couple made their exit out of the suburban home.

-

“She will never change, told you she sucks” Y/n sighed, breaking the silence that took over their whole ride home, the atmosphere so thick you could cut it with a knife. Y/n’s eyes suddenly drifted to his lap, “Wait- Tommy baby, are you seriously horny right now, what the fuck is this?” She laughed palming his hardened cock through his trousers, watching him groan and slap her hand away.

“S-seeing you so feisty and snarky, just ya know, made me think of you in-in our bed” Tom whimpered adjusting his pants, his face flushed red probably due to embarrassment. “Aww did it now, babyboy” Y/n smirked knowing just how much he loved that nickname, especially when she used it to smother and cuddle him, or when she was bouncing herself onto his thick cock; feeling it harden again for their next few rounds.

“God you’re really my woman, let’s get into the house, n’ I want you to take your frustrations out on me, mommy” Tom whispered leaning in, his lips brushing against Y/n’s; her body visibly squirming in delight from the name he called her. The both of them wasting no time in reaching their bed, which ended in them Christening every surface in the household.

——/-

(Taglist no longer accepts new @, library blog for new users @f10werfaes-cosy-collection )

Taglist: @esposadomd @elenavampire21 @stuckysgirl27 @cookielovesbook-akie @theekyliepage @acornacre @fdl305 @alexxavicry @bookfrog242 @alina02 @aerangi @mischiefsemimanaged @nikkitc0703 @hallecarey1 @misshale21 @stormcloudss @uwiuwi @marvelgurl @vrittivsanghavi

[aquietwritingcorner]

TMNTStoryComp, Round One: To the Library!

(For @tmntstorycomp Round One Part 2 polls. Vote for Sanctuary here!)

_____________________________________

After receiving invitations, flowers, food, a card to a therapist—which Don saw Raph eyeing thoughtfully, before eyeing him, when he thought Don wasn’t looking—amongst other things, as well as bits and pieces of information, Raphael, Donatello, and Ms. Morrison had finally found a corner that felt relatively safe where they could sit down and compile what they knew.

“Alright,” Don said, pulling a notebook out of his duffle bag. “Let’s list what we’ve learned.”

Raph nodded, making sure that Ms. Morrison was comfortable and that Lucy was settled on her lap, before he let go of her and crossed his arms. “Well, for starters, we know that none of us are from here,” Raph said.

Don nodded. “Like a multiverse situation.”

“Multiverse?” Ms. Morrison asked, tilting her head.

“Yes, ma’am,” Don said. “In a nutshell, the multiverse is similar but not exact realities that exist at the same time. Think of it like when a group of people is asked to paint a bowl of fruit. Everyone will paint a bowl of fruit. But how each painting looks and what variations they paint of the fruits and the bowl will vary. They all still painted bowls of fruit. But each one is still different.”

“So, the people here, then, are different versions of people from our painting,” Ms. Morrison said.

“Exactly,” Don said, smiling.

Ms. Morrison hummed thoughtfully, clearing turning things over in her mind. “Thank you for explaining, Donatello,” she said.

“Not a problem,” Don said with a smile.

“Okay, so the multiverse is a given,” Raph said. “But we know that none of us came here willingly,”

Don nodded. “Right. Of the people we’ve talked to, it seems that we were all just here suddenly.”

“Including children, without their guardians,” Ms. Morrison said with a frown. “Although I heard that the nice man who gave you the card, Donatello, was looking after the children. We should check on them.”

“I’ll put a note by that,” Don said. “I’d like to talk to him again anyway. What else do we know?”

Ms. Morrison hummed. “Well, the young man who spoke to everyone earlier said this was some sort of competition.”

“Right.” Raph said. “But we don’t know what kind. Are we talking a fight? An exhibition? Parcheesi?”

“No one seemed to automatically assume that it would be violent,” Don said. “Although there are clearly some here that want it to be.”

“Yeah. As much as I like a good fight, I don’t like the fact that it would mean kids would be fighting,” Raph said.

“I don’t like the idea of you two fighting,” Ms. Morrison said. “You two are good boys. I don’t want you caught up in anything violent.”

Raph and Don exchanged a look.

“We appreciate that, Ms. Morrison,” Don said after a moment.

“Yeah, but if it comes down to it, don’t you worry,” Raph said. “We can take care of things.”

Don frowned. “Truthfully, I’d rather it didn’t come down to it either. Especially since it seems that some people here already have experience with other similar situations.”

“Yeah, I hear ya,” Raph said with a frown “We do got one other big piece of the puzzle.” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “That guy is responsible for all of this.”

“That guy, who is just as much a puzzle as this place. We don’t even know his name yet,” Don said, his frown matching Raph’s as he glanced in the direction of the magical turtle. “And who apparently has some sort of magical ability.”

“Magic.” Ms. Morrison said. “I wouldn’t have believed such a thing before now. But I supposed if aliens exist, well, why not magic?” She tilted her head. “What does he look like?” she asked. “This young man?”

Raph and Don exchanged looks.

“Uh… well, kinda like a big turtle. Like a person-turtle,” Raph said. “His skin’s kinda an emerald green color, looks like his eyes are… orange? Or maybe a shade of yellow. He’s got some yellow stripes that seem to start on his head and go down his arms and legs. He’s got black… I guess you could call them skin-tight leg and arm warmers on, go up to his thighs and upper arms. He’s got poofy arm and leg warmers over that, yellow and orange, on opposite sides. He’s got a black mask with short mask tails over his eyes, and a necklace of some sort on. And…” Raph squinted. “Don, are his nails painted?”

Don blinked for a moment, pulled a set of binoculars out, looked and then nodded. “Yep. Alternating black and white.”

“Yeah,” Raph said. “He looks like a troublemaker.”

“He sounds like a child,” Ms. Morrison said.

“His necklace is a skull,” Don said, still looking through his binoculars. “And I don’t know if you noticed, Raph, but when he did his magic or whatever that was, his stripes turned black, with a yellow outlines to them. And they almost looked like they were giving off… circles? Blobs?... that float away.” He frowned. “I wonder if that speaks to the way his magic works, as if maybe he has to give part of himself away when does—uh oh.”

Raph and Ms. Morrison tensed.

“Uh-oh?” Raph said.

“Yeah, his stripes are starting to turn black again and—” Don put down the binoculars, stuffed everything in his bag, and reached out to hold onto Raph and Ms. Morrison while she held onto Lucy. “Hang on, he’s doing something!”

The world moved and swirled around them, and Raph and Don both tightened their grip on Ms. Morrison, just in case the chair she was sitting on suddenly disappeared. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to, but when the world resolved itself, they were standing in—

“A library?” Raph said, looking around, astonished.

“A library!” Don proclaimed eagerly.

“A library,” Ms.  Morrison hummed, holding onto her cat. “Well, once again I’m afraid that I won’t be much help to you boys here.”

“Not necessarily,” Don said. “There’s more than one way to gather information, or to compile and understand it. Something tells me that you can be a help to us that way.”

“And something tells me that you’re about to go crazy in here, Brainiac,” Raph said, reaching down to help Ms. Morrison up from her chair.

Don grinned at his brother. “You know me so well.” He reached over to pull a book from a shelf, and looked at it, surprise blooming on his face.

“What is it?” Raph asked.

“There’s no title or anything on the cover,” Don said. He opened it. “And it seems to be blank.” He reached for another one. “This one has a partial title on it, but the inside is incomplete.”

Raph looked around, putting Ms. Morrison’s hand on Don’s arm while he moved to a nearby railing. He could look down over the library that way, and he surveyed it, quickly.

“Well, obviously all of them aren’t that way,” he called back to his brother and the elderly woman. “I see people reading.”

Don and Ms. Morrison walked up to him, Don frowning. “So, some books are blank, some are partial, and some are complete.”

“But why?” Ms. Morrison asked.

Don hummed. “I have a theory, but no proof.” He looked at Raph. “We need to split up. Here.” He reached into his duffle and pulled out the pad and pencil from earlier. “Go look. See what books are complete and which ones aren’t. See what people are reading. Write it down. I’m going to do the same, and we can compare. We can meet up in the kid’s section in an hour. It seems to be fairly central.”

“Raphael,” Ms. Morrison said, tapping on his arm. “Why don’t you take me there first? Donatello can go ahead and get started, and I can stay there.”

“I ain’t leaving you alone,” Raph said. “You can’t read, but you can still help.”

“I will be helping,” she said. “If it’s central, then people will be passing through there. I can listen for information.” She gave them an amused smile. “My sense of hearing is pretty sharp for an old woman. Besides,” she said, petting Lucy, “A cat is bound to get people to stop.”

“It’s not a bad idea,” Don said.

Raph frowned, clearly not entirely happy with the idea. “Donnie. Ya got an extra shell cell on you?”

Don nodded, already digging through his bag. “Excellent idea, Raph.”

Raph took it as soon as Don handed it to him, and he placed it in Ms. Morrison’s hands. “This is another one of our phones. Don builds ‘em for the fun of it.” He guided her hands over it. “If you need us, press this button right here, and we’ll come back as quick as we can, alright?”

“Alright,” Ms. Morrison said. “But I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

“Just humor me, okay, Ms. M?” Raph said.

She smiled indulgently at him. “Of course, dear.”

Don nodded. “Okay, so then we’re splitting up?”

Raph nodded. “I’ll get Ms. M down to the kid’s section and settled. But Don—be careful.”

“You three, as well,” Don said. “I’ll meet you there in an hour.”

“Don’t lose track of time,” Raph warned.

The group split up then, Don quickly heading to start working on his theory, Raph escorting Ms. Morrison to the children’s section and making sure that she and Lucy were settled before he started his own exploration.

Hopefully, the group would find some useful information here. After all, there were still lots of competitors to talk to.

[peaceoutofthepieces]

Uh hi! So I know you usually do ship stuff, but I am desperate for some Isaac Henderson angst content. I’ve found a few here and there but most of them aren’t actually super angsty and a lot somehow feel more about the other characters even if they’re meant to be about Isaac. They’re good but nothings really scratched that itch so far. Could you write something using #12 from the angsty dialogue prompts? Or honestly if you’d rather not do that one, any one of the prompts would be great. I’ll leave it up to you what exactly it’s about and who the line is directed at, I just wanna see my fave go through it.

hello!! i'm sorry this took so long! i would like to clarify that i started it ages ago, but it was at less than 1000 words yesterday evening, and then it was finished at 2am last night. (i got so into it i'm currently in the mindset of "that's it, i'm going to try and post at least a fic a week now 😤", but we will see if that actually happens.) so, i hope if nothing else it's sufficiently angsty and not too ooc. you did give me quite a bit of freedom, and it remains unclear if that was a good choice or not 😅 anyway, enjoy!!

12. "Help me."

Post-prom, Isaac felt out of sorts. 

His situation with James and his odd encounter at Elle’s exhibition had been eye-opening, to say the least. Angela Chen’s Ace still resided on his nightstand, though he’d finished reading it two days after lifting it from the library. He couldn’t bring himself to return it just yet; he found himself going back to it at night, rereading sections over again as if they would tell him something new, feeling he was still missing something. And anyway, they were still on summer holidays. The school wouldn’t miss it for now. 

No one seemed to be missing him much, either.

It was becoming more noticeable, this summer break, how he was the odd one out. He’d been aware his friends were essentially coupled off for months now, and Paris had cemented it, but Paris had also kept them stuck together as a group. 

(Plus, most of the Paris trip had been before things had become royally awkward with James, but he was mostly avoiding thinking about all that.)

The situation with Darcy had understandably taken a bit of a priority in the past couple of weeks, but it didn’t explain the shift that had seemed to happen within all his friends since prom. Isaac had figured for a while that Elle would be leaving, and he assumed it was why she and Tao had been attached at the hip. He didn’t begrudge them it, really. He had watched them pine over each other long enough that leaving them this time together felt warranted. Besides, it wasn’t like they were asking Charlie to movie nights recently, either. 

But it also wasn’t likely Charlie was waiting to be asked, these days. He and Nick had seemingly re-entered their honeymoon phase, which was fair given that they finally could be as coupley as they wanted wherever and whenever they wanted. Isaac just found it odd that it seemed to be more since prom than Nick’s coming out, but he was not going to ask about that. It made sense he didn’t want to think about. The intense, somewhat dark cloud that seemed to still hang over Nick around Charlie was more worth questioning, but it was also part of what kept Isaac from encroaching on them recently. 

Everyone seemed to have something going on. His going-ons felt a little unworthy, in comparison. He wasn’t sure if he was feeling shit about himself because he didn’t want to put an extra burden on his friends and it was a bit sad he considered his feelings a burden, or if that was an excuse for not having to talk about it because he didn’t really know how and it was making him feel shit. 

So, yes. Out of sorts. 

Out of sorts and alone, most of the time. 

He was not in the habit of pitying himself, however, and he was not about to start now. So what if he was having some life-defining realisations about himself and he had no one to share them with? He’d coped with life mostly on his own so far and he’d continue to do so. 

And he was coping. Perfectly. 

Kind of. 

Sitting in one of his best friend’s houses, surrounded by their other friends and staring into a book was how he always coped, so this was perfectly normal. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t absorbing the words and everyone seemed louder than usual. He hadn’t been sleeping well. He was tired. That’s all he was feeling. 

Tara tugged at his foot from where she and Darcy were perched on the floor by his armchair. “Isaac, we're gonna play a boardgame. Put the book down and come join us!”

Isaac looked, but Tao and Elle were still wrapped up in each other in the corner and Nick and Charlie were nowhere in sight. He raised an eyebrow at Tara. “We are?”

“Yes! Nick and Charlie are away to get them right now, so come get comfy.”

Darcy snorted. “Good idea, because we could be waiting for a bit.”

Tara slugged her shoulder and Darcy only giggled again. 

“Shouldn't they have passed the honeymoon phase by now?” Isaac asked, lowering his book slightly but not yet closing it. 

“Nick and Charlie?” Tara grinned. “I'm not sure those two will ever come out of it.”

“Well, I can't say I don't understand,” Darcy quipped, leaning in to Tara with a grin. Tara turned towards her, and their smiles melded as they kissed.

Isaac snapped his book closed. “Actually, I think I'll go to the loo while we're waiting.”

No one gave any sign of hearing him, so Isaac slipped quietly out of the room and up to the bathroom. He rolled his eyes at the giggles coming from Charlie's room and didn't pause. Closing the bathroom door behind him, he finally released a sharp breath. He perched himself on the edge of the bath and pulled out his phone.

Instagram was a distraction he did not often indulge in. His follow count was small—only his friends and favourite authors alongside a small cluster of bookstagrammers he'd found to have good taste. He saved a couple of recommendation posts, then began clicking through stories, pausing when he reached James's. 

The story was almost timed out, all of it from last night, seemingly at a party. Isaac had stopped on a video where James appeared to be singing along to the song playing with another boy. In the middle of it, the boy had swooped forward to kiss James on the cheek. 

Isaac stared at James’s delighted expression and something complicated clenched in his chest. He quickly locked the phone and set it beside him, directing his focus to the wall. 

It was good, he rationalised. James was wonderful; he deserved to be going out and having fun, and he deserved, without question, to have a handsome boy having fun with him. Whether they were friends or something more didn't matter, but the something more definitely seemed possible, if not likely. And James deserved someone who could give him that. 

Isaac had not been able to give him that—did not want to give anyone that, could not derive any joy from it, even from the chance of it giving joy to someone else. 

He was not incapable of love. He knew that. When he looked at his family, when he looked at Charlie and Tao and Elle, he was always so full of love he felt he might explode from it. It wasn't romantic, and it wasn't physical, but it was love, in its purest form it seemed, to him, given he did not want anything in return for it but their happiness and their continued place in his life. 

It was love, uncomplicated, unconditional love, and why wouldn't that be enough? 

He never seemed to be enough. 

He always did what he could to be a good son and a good friend, and he had never doubted it until recently. James had been one of those good friends. He still was, as far as Isaac was concerned, but their relationship had undeniably changed. Maybe it was simply in an awkward phase that would pass, but Isaac, at the moment, could not believe it would ever be the same. For a time, James had been something of his best friend—not because Isaac liked him more than Charlie or Tao or Elle, or because he really spent more time with him, but because James was Isaac’s friend in a way they were not. They spent time together, the two of them, and shared interests the two of them, and when they had been together they had not felt the need for any company outside of the two of them. 

But that had not meant the same to James as it had to Isaac, and Isaac could not give him anything more. He understood that his rejection would not be taken without consequence, but he hadn't been prepared to be, in a way, rejected in return. 

Was this all he would ever achieve? Having friends who would always be somewhat distant—who would always have someone closer, someone better—or having someone close who would eventually want that closeness in a way he did not. Before, he'd worried he was not worthy of that want to begin with. Never had he thought it would be his inability to return it that would be the issue. Could he be upset, that it was his not wanting to be too close that lost him all closeness as a result? 

He was alone on an island of his own making. He couldn't blame anyone for leaving him there if he wasn't going to invite them in, could he? 

Was this, then—alone in the bathroom of his best friend's house with his phone locked beside him and tears in his throat—all he was destined for? 

Isaac Island, party of one. 

A knock on the door startled him, and he swore quietly as he knocked his phone onto the tiles. As he picked it up, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and blanched. There were no tears, but his eyes were red and his face was blotchy and the tears were waiting in his throat, they surely would be there if he went back downstairs to—

Another knock.

“One—one minute,” he tried, clearing his throat when his voice cracked. He quickly turned on the tap and ran his hands and wrists under the cool water, but it did nothing to steady his breathing. The thought of his aloneness had choked him, but the thought of returning into company strangled him. It was not his friends’ fault—he refused to make it his friends’ fault—but at the moment, he couldn't bear them all the same. 

He cupped more cold water in his hands and scrubbed it over his face, but it did not shock him out of the spiral of his thoughts. The third knock barely registered over the growing ringing in his ears. 

“Isaac?” Not Charlie, like Isaac had thought. Not Nick either, or Tara, or any of them. “Are you okay? I'd really like to use the loo.”

His island, he thought deliriously, was sinking; he was drowning, and still, he could do nothing but soak his hands under the tap and soak his face in turn and suck in breaths that did not hold enough oxygen. He was drowning, he was sinking, he could not see it but his body felt it and his lungs were going to seize, he was dying—

He cut the knocking off by throwing open the door and gasping, “Help me.”

Isaac had one second to appreciate Tori’s bewildered expression before it turned serious and she took to action. “Isaac? Hey. Look at me.” She set her hands on his shoulders as he wrapped his arms around his middle, still heaving. “I'm assuming you didn't just get diagnosed with asthma,” Tori said, still impossibly calm—perhaps he was actually the sea, he thought, undefinable and raving, and she the island, unravagable. Isaac shook his head. “Alright. I think, then, this is likely a panic attack. Would it help if I get Charlie?”

Isaac shook his head more vigorously. 

To her credit, Tori only considered him for a few seconds, and didn't argue. She guided him back into the bathroom and gently kicked the door closed. “Sit,” she told him. He did, and she crouched in front of him. Immediately, with his knees pulled to his chest and the bath supporting his back, it was better. He was not so adrift. “You're alright. It will pass. I know it's stupid, but you really do just have to focus on breathing.”

She started counting. It was only when she'd repeated the numbers four times that he understood she was telling him how long to breathe in and out for. Then he tried to follow it, and slowly, air felt like it was moving through him regularly again. 

Isaac wiped at his cheek. To his embarrassment, his fingers came away damp. He didn't look at Tori, but he said, “Thank you.” Then, “Sorry.”

She didn't brush off his apology, or tell him to get out now so she could actually use the loo—both of which would have been fair and not unexpected responses. Instead, she turned and sat next to him. She leaned against the bath to his left, a few inches between their shoulders, and stared at the wall quietly with him. 

When his skin stopped vibrating, he tucked his arms around his middle again and breathed out. “How did you know what to do?” he asked. 

She glanced at him and shrugged. “I didn't, really.”

It was all she offered, but it seemed honest. Isaac decided not to push. He was too grateful to care much. 

“Do you want to tell me what it was about?” she asked, softly. 

Isaac looked over at her. She was looking back, unsmiling but not unhappy. She reminded him a lot of Charlie, Isaac had always thought. They seemed similar in ways they likely weren't even aware of. It was both comforting and unnerving. “Do you really want me to?”

Tori shrugged again. “I'd prefer it if you told Charlie or your other friends, because I think that would be more helpful. But I don't think you want to. So you can tell me, if you need to tell someone.”

That was—exactly what Isaac needed, really. He didn't exactly think it should be Tori. They'd known each other a while, and they liked each other well enough, but they weren't friends. Plus, Isaac knew she and Charlie were actually close; it felt weird and unfair to tell her something and then ask her to keep it from him. 

But in this moment, he could not think of a better option, and the mere thought of getting the weight off his chest was a relief. 

“I think I'm going to end up alone,” he said, blunt and ridiculous. Tori, completely fairly, raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “Not because I think I'm unlovable or something like that.” Although that was part of it. “But because—” Could he say the actual words? “—I think I'm asexual, and aromantic, so I don't think I'll ever love love anyone, and I think that means I'll always be a bit alone.”

He could. 

It still seemed sad and pathetic when he said it out loud, maybe even more so, but the act of it—the unretractable reality of it—settled something in him. 

Tori's expression, a little confused but free of judgement, only added to that feeling. “So, you don't feel romantic or sexual attraction,” she said slowly. “At all. Is that what you mean?”

Isaac was vaguely impressed. He nodded. 

“When did you figure this out?”

Isaac took a long, heavy breath. “I think, properly, I started to figure it out in Paris, when I realised this guy liked me and I was trying to figure out if I liked him back? But I think I'd been starting to realise it long before then. I just…hadn't known what to call it, or what it meant.”

Tori, he noticed gratefully, took time to process this before nodding. “And now?”

Isaac blinked. “Now?”

“What do you think it means now?”

Oh. Isaac hadn't expected the question, and he found himself unsure of how to answer. “I think it means I'm always going to be lonely.”

Tori tilted her head. “But you didn't think that before.”

“What?”

“You said you don't think you're unlovable. And I agree. I think Charlie loves you a lot. I think most people would, because you are a very nice person. You didn't think of that as less important because it wasn't romantic before. What changed?”

Changed? Nothing. Everything. They were growing up, and love had more meanings when you grew up, and some of those meanings became less important. He looked at the wall again. “They have other people they love more,” he said softly. 

“And you won't ever have that,” Tori returned, equally soft. Not a barb, not a rebuke, nothing negative at all. Just realising; working through it alongside him. “So you think you won't ever be the most important person to someone.”

Isaac swallowed, unable to answer. Not because he didn't know the answer—because it was yes, it was true, she was right, of course she was—but because it was impossible to admit. 

“I think that's the case for most people,” Tori said, at once blunt and thoughtful. Isaac looked back at her, awaiting an explanation. “Think about it. Even the most in love people usually have children, and then their children are the most important people, or at least equally important. And if they have more than one child, no one of them is the most important, and neither of the parents are the most important to the other. I think, instead of having one supremely important person, most people have a group of important people in their life.”

She looked over at him and continued. “There probably are different levels and different kinds of importance, but I don't think that necessarily means one is worth less than the other.”

Isaac sat, for a moment, and absorbed that. Could it be true? He thought of his family. He was lucky, in that scenario. His parents were kind, were wonderful, and he knew without question that they loved him, and he loved them. Neither one of them, he realised, was more important to him than the other. He had different relationships with them both, but each of their losses would leave an equally sized hole in his heart. 

He knew that probably wasn't the same for most people, but if he could find that one example in his own life so easily, he couldn't deny it was possible in others. 

“I suppose,” Isaac said. “I think I know what you mean. I don't think it's the same, but—I know what you mean.”

Tori did smile, now. A barely there thing, but warm and kind, all the same. “It probably isn't the same. I know me saying I love my brothers equally and neither of them are less important doesn't mean anything for your friends treating you the same as their partners, or even other friends. But I think—every relationship is as important as you make it. And sometimes, people might not know they aren't making it important, if they don't know what's important about it to you.”

“Has important stopped sounding like a real word to you, too?” Isaac asked. 

“About six ‘important’s ago,” Tori agreed. 

Isaac laughed, and his relief grew. Tori's smile also grew, just a tick. 

“You're saying I should just talk to my friends,” Isaac noted, eventually, and Tori's smile grew wry. 

“I did say that at the very beginning, yes.” Isaac laughed again, and she shook her head. “But I am saying you should explain to them. I can't promise you're wrong, or tell you everything will be fine,” she said truthfully. “But I don't think you can assume people can't give you what you need, if you don't tell them what that is and let them try.”

Isaac’s chest tightened again, but it was different to the breathless feeling from before. Instead of hopelessness, it was an anticipatory sort of buzz. There was a sureness that hadn't been there before. 

There was a clatter from outside, and this time it was Charlie's voice that called out. “Isaac! Are you still up here? We have the game set up.”

Isaac looked from the door back to Tori. She gave him another smile and nodded. “Go on. I have really needed to pee for about ten minutes now.”

Isaac laughed, again, and got to his feet. Tori passed his phone up to him, and he thanked her once more. He knew she could tell he meant for everything, and she wouldn't appreciate him making more of it, so he took his leave without another word, leaving her to pee in peace. 

Charlie was hovering at the top of the stairs. His face broke into a smile at Isaac’s appearance. “There you are. You've been up here ages.” His smile drooped slightly as Isaac came closer. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Isaac nodded. “Sorry, I got caught talking to Tori.”

“In the bathroom?” Charlie huffed, bewildered but amused. For a moment Isaac pictured Tori's expression when he'd opened the door to her, and he smiled. 

He only hesitated for a second before saying, “I wanted to talk to all of you about something, actually.”

Immediately, Charlie's expression softened. “Yeah?” When Isaac nodded, Charlie smiled and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, tugging him towards the staircase. “Come on, then. The game can wait.”

[importantthingshurtsometimes]

life update: school’s out!!! and with that, year one went by like a flash. says a lot about me that the first thing i did was go to the library and get some books to read.

(currently reading: hood feminism)

anyways so; i’m done with the first draft of my EE and TOK exhibition, got them marked by my teacher, so june holidays will go in that. finalised my chem IA, so i will start trials in july. start of july is when i’m shooting a short film for my CAS project. fingers crossed it goes well🤞

well. hope i’m productive during the holidays cause uh. my current predicted grades are NOT good 👍

[garadinervi]

'for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf' by Ntozake Shange, «Playbill», Equinox Theatre, Houston, TX, November 19, 1977 [Marjorie Randal National Women's Conference Collection, Box 1, Folder 11, UH Libraries Exhibits, University of Houston, Houston, TX]

With: Deborah Arceneaux, Laura Booker, Jan Crain, Dannette Johnson, Barbara Marshall, Leslie Mays, and Brenda Sers

Direction: Bruce Bowen

[pippeebottom]

6, 11 and 12?

6. say three nice things about yourself (three physical and three non-physical)

ahhh you don’t know me well enough to know much im gonna struggle with this hmm uh um

nonphysical:

1. it’s cool how passionate i am about things that interest me

2. i think i am pretty darn funny

3. i continue to choose to be kind even though I’ve been through a lot and that’s neat

physical:

1. i have cool tattoos and piercings

2. my body proportions are nice??

3. i have a dimple when i smile that is cute

11. what’s your ideal date?

it really depends because i’m willing to do a lot of different things if it makes the people around me happy! but my *ideal* date would probably include some kind of coffee (i love a good cafe) or fun drink, going to a library/book store/art exhibit or museum and spending time outside (hiking or picnicking or basking in the sun like cats!) and maybe a sweet treat of some kind!!

12. how are you?

im okay!! i had to train a new employee today and it took a lot out of me, so i’m pretty sleepy! but work is winding down and hopefully i’ll be able to rest soon

thank you for asking!! even if you forced me to be nice to myself!! 🫶🏻

[thesunshineriptide]

Chicago Things I’ve Experienced that give TWST boy energy

Cw// uh shit you find in urban cities, swearing, chaotic behavior, light bullying of my hometown and also the boys

Riddle: I went to the library when I was like 12 and a lady yelled at me about my jacket that had a lyric on the back (I did not know her. She went on a rant about keeping my image clean and not doing free advertising for people I don’t know. Very strange I cried afterward)

Ace: saw a guy wearing the different patterns. One was neon tie dye, one was checkered pattern, and the other was like a gradient background with palm leaf pattern on it. He was also wearing socks with sandals and really stupid sunglasses

Deuce: going to the museum of science and industry into the cloning exhibit and having to listen to 20 small children ask where the chicks (baby chickens) come from (cloning)

Cater: walking down the street and running into some asshole taking pictures of the building in the middle of the fucking sidewalk.

Trey: the roughly 10 million donut shops in Chicagoland area that all claim to be the best. The best is dorite donuts or firecakes but every mom and pop place thinks they have the corner market on overly sweet fried dough

Leona: the bus driver that looks like he’s slept 3 hours in the past week and has definitely run over someone glaring at me while I try and pay for my ride

Ruggie: ex coworker of mine being given popcorn by a guest (“They said they didn’t want it”) and proceeding to eat it. I suspect this popcorn was dropped on the ground and that’s why they didn’t want it but it remains a mystery to this day

Jack: saw two people get off of the bike path to bike on the highway. This is very illegal and very dangerous, please do not do that.

Azul: mafia tours. Chicago literally has so much mafia history that we take tourists on TOURS of the city to go see old crime spots.

Jade: me telling everyone not to swim in the lake and being ignored until I tell them about lampreys in the lake, then people want to listen.

Floyd: Floyd is literally so Chicago vibes I don’t know if I can narrow it down. I’m gonna say riot fest being banned from a park because of property damage but in reality it’s just the whole city he would love it here

Kalim: Lincoln park zoo. Just like as a whole

Jamil: calling it “the bean” because fuck Anish Kapoor :)

Vil: the Magnificent Mile that is decently impressive and actually 1.3 miles. He would love the overpriced food and clothes

Rook: that time the archerfish at the Shedd aquarium spat on me not once, not twice, but four times. Stop hunting me you fucking fish that’s so fucking rude I am not a BUG.

Epel: the cow tunnels going through the city and also the fact that we just built roads on top of each other since we’re slowly sinking into the swamp we’re built on

Idia: Chicago formerly being the candy capital of the world long, long ago. We actually still have a lot of candy places here and Idia would probably adore getting a 15 pound bag of sour patch kids :)

Ortho: the fact that Greek town smells like chocolate half the time. This is because of the chocolate factory, Blommers, that is still in town and in production! Ortho would enjoy simply knowing it smells nice

Malleus: malleus is making friends with every gargoyle in town, except for Defiance and Prowl in front of the art institute, which are not gargoyles and he will be informing everyone who has that misconception about it.

Lilia: the guy that tried to cross Lake Michigan in a giant red hamster ball. Twice. He was retrieved unharmed both times

Sebek: the chance the snapper incident many moons ago

Silver: the people who sleep on public transport. I’m terrified of them how do you know when to wake up?? How do you know when to get off the bus??

[breakerwhiskey]

246 - TWO HUNDRED FORTY SIX

Please visit breakerwhiskey.com for more information or to send a message to Whiskey's radio. Breaker Whiskey is an Atypical Artists production created by Lauren Shippen. If you'd like to support the show, please visit patreon.com/breakerwhiskey.

Transcript under the cut. For more episodes, click here.

[click, static]

Okay, Birdie, we’ve gone North. We’ve gone so far North that we’re quite literally at the Canadian border. I’ve never been to Canada. Well, I guess I have now—the moment we got to the sign, I stopped the car and Harry and I both jumped out and ran for the other side of the border. One of those moments where we both had the exact same idea at the exact same time.

I missed that. The way that we can be in perfect sync. Sometimes on a job, we could communicate with just a look. The whole crew had that ability to some extent, but it always felt…you know. Better. With Harry.

Things have been…better. With Harry. I demanded she tell me anything else she’d left out about Pete and her snitching and…I think I know everything now. Even if I have no idea what to do with it. But it’s cleared the air some. Made me understand her a little more. Even if I’m still furious so much of the time…that fury is not aimed solely at her anymore.

It’s her birthday today. June 30th. She didn’t mention anything to me—it’s not like we’ve got a wall calendar hanging off the rearview mirror or anything, so it was only when I was doing my usual marking of my atlas that I realized.

I didn’t get her a gift, obviously. A trip to Canada, I guess. When I wished her a happy birthday, she just sort of…quietly said thank you and that was that.

We’re both a year older and not any wiser for it. We know more now, about the world, about each other. It doesn’t feel like—I’m not sure what other secrets we possibly would have to reveal to each other. And yet, I don’t feel like I actually understand anything. I’m still just…out to sea.

I don’t know. I miss Donnie. I wish I could talk to him about this stuff, I wish—I wish I could talk to him about Pete. I wish I could have someone else’s perspective on her. On us. And the real problem is that, despite everything, I still—

The look on her face when she got to the other side of the border. We were both out of breath and red faced, like kids who had raced to the front door. And she smiled so big and she looked at me and said “Didn’t I tell you once that I’d take you to another country someday?”

I honestly couldn’t believe that she remembered that. She said it one time, years ago. I remembered it of course, because at that time I was looking for any kind of scrap that she…

We were at a new exhibit at the Morgan Library—rare manuscripts, I think from the renaissance, I can’t really remember. Pete—(voice cracking) uh, Pete, um, loved—loved stealing manuscripts. They were hard to steal, because they had to be so delicately handled, but Harry knew how to do it, which gave Pete an advantage that most thieves didn’t have. With big exhibits of them, we could steal just one, not a whole collection, and still get a really good deal for them. Especially since there is always a wealthy person out there who wants to own one just for the sake of having something rare and won’t fuss too much about where it came from.

Anyway, we were casing the place, her and I, because Harry could spend hours looking at every corner of an exhibit and make it seem totally natural, like she was just looking at the art. She usually went alone, just to get the layout of the exhibits, but we’d never tried robbing the Morgan Library before, so I went with her to get a sense for the whole building’s security. And we…

We had a good time. We had a really good time. We laughed at all the weird margin drawings that the monks would leave in the books of hours, or whatever they were, and Harry would tell me about the history of when and where these things had been written and, if she’d been to the place herself, she’d talk a little bit about what it was like now. I’ve never been…anywhere. And when I told her that, she said, “I’ll take you someday. Everyone should leave the country at least once”.

Actually, I think she said “continent”. That’s…obviously not possible now. Well, I guess we could go to South America but…I’m just happy she remembers that conversation at all. I thought about it for weeks afterwards. What she meant by it. The implication that she would be with me if I traveled. That she’d be the one to take me.

You know, I could get her a rare manuscript for her next birthday—I could walk into any museum in this country and walk right out with one, just like I did with that painting in Santa Fe.

"Her next birthday”…guess I am thinking that we’ll still be, well, that we’ll still be alive and that we’ll still be together a year from now. But I really don’t know that for certain, do I?

Anyway, should we keep going North or…do you want to give us a little direction here? Literal direction, in this case.

[click, static]

[beeps]

[hourcat]

OK but Pierre being captain of *insert random sport here* team and flirting with everyone but secretly in love with a shy boy who loves ferrari and design. and like EVERYONE is in love with Charles but he only has eyes for Pierre but too shy to interact with him. be brave Charlo!

HELLOOOOOOOO. college au babey!!! pierre is the captain of the football team (i'm sorry literally everything about me is predictable) and charles is a studio art major, interning w ferrari's luxury design team. both theeee centers of attention in their specific social spheres, both desirable in their own elusive ways, but they're just far away enough from each other to think they're on different ""popularity"" levels, so they've never really talked.

as it turns out, they're both seniors taking the same shitty science course so they can fulfill all their credits before graduation, and they're lab partners the whole semester. they're also both TERRIBLE in the class. pierre is a party boy to the end, of course, but he always makes time to study w charles in the library before tests and stuff. charles always brings him coffees! pierre keeps sneaking glances at him between chapter reviews! charles KNOWS pierre is a big flirt, he KNOWS, but it doesn't stop the butterflies whenever he plays along with it! pierre is so disarmingly honest w/charles it makes his HEAD spin and he's like. oh. he's not like any other jock around here is he.

and eventually charles gathers up the nerve to "casually" invite him to his studio exhibit! but pierre is like "i cant, i'm traveling for *insert whatever away game* :(" and charles tells him it's fine but then spends the night sketching embarrassingly heartache-y drawings in his sketchpad ("you're just lab partners charles don't be fucking stupid" he tells himself) ((his roommates are like. "should we, uh. ask"))

BUT THEN MONDAY ROLLS AROUND and charles walks over to the studio to find PIERRE PERCHED THERE ON THE FRONT STEPS, coffees in hand. he says "hey, i really am sorry i missed your exhibit. am i too late for a rundown" said with a smile, and charles almost swoons right there on the sidewalk.

("you have to sign in you know." "what? people can't know i'm here!" "why?" "i skipped class for this! they'll find me!" "....oh.")